tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post7049072941486743136..comments2023-12-31T03:18:37.403-06:00Comments on "E pur si muove!": David L. Hunt 1923-2007Lester Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14746157071827337723noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post-31606913408607469912010-04-08T00:52:41.640-05:002010-04-08T00:52:41.640-05:00Very good story thanks for sharing.Very good story thanks for sharing.Hog Hunting Texashttp://www.centexhuntclub.com/Home_Page.phpnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post-28814875644880944812010-01-14T20:10:45.119-06:002010-01-14T20:10:45.119-06:00Thanks much for your kind comment. I found it ver...Thanks much for your kind comment. I found it very moving -- and true!Lester Hunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14746157071827337723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post-27409380253427009692010-01-14T19:36:42.838-06:002010-01-14T19:36:42.838-06:00Your Dad used to fix my watch(es) for years. I wen...Your Dad used to fix my watch(es) for years. I went this past summer to his shop here in Santa Rosa after phoning him and getting a disconnect message, and I saw the little shop sign gone. I kind of figured what had happened, and sadly drove to a local jeweler to get my watch battery replaced. They knew of him, and spoke of him kindly as one of the last of the old timers (pun intended?), and charged me more than David ever did for the battery replacement.<br /><br />I let it go as part of life, things change, but last week a friend emailed our private maillist of 70 people asking for a recommendation for watch repair, and so began my search on the internet for what happened. I found the article you posted in this blog, and your blog as well, both of which I found not only useful, but illuminating as well.<br /><br />You see, I admired your dad. He was a true craftsman, an independent businessman in a sea of soul-less corporate chain stores, a bit of local color, and I sensed immense integrity in his work, which is so rare these days. He believed in being honest and doing a good quality job, so I trusted him. He was part of what makes a thriving local community, by adding his value to it, even if he wasn't very active in it. I also enjoyed talking with him, and discovered a bit of the curmudgeony qualities you wrote about so well in your blog above. But I would look for common ground, and whatever wisdom he cared to share. I always enjoyed a visit to his enchanting little shop, and will miss him... <br /><br />He shared a lot of the same values as my father, who was in the same generation, and who taught me the values of honesty and integrity, and doing a good job for its intrinsic value. In doing so, and despite their limitations, both men made the world a better place, and this message is a tip of the hat to honor your dad.<br /><br />Ted Dutcher, Santa Rosa, CATed Dutchernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post-4451515833634925442008-01-31T10:55:00.000-06:002008-01-31T10:55:00.000-06:00Matt Barney, Your comment was posted while I was ...Matt Barney, Your comment was posted while I was in CA (for Dad's memorial non-service) so I missed responding to it. Anyway, in case you ever see this, thanks so much for your kind words. To answer your question: No, unlike Jean-Jacques Rousseau, whose father was also a watchmaker, I have no Swiss ancestry that I know of. English, Swedish, and Sicilian. Dad got into the business because an uncle of my mother's, one of the Sicilians, was a watchmaker in Santa Rosa CA.Lester Hunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14746157071827337723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post-73257450991337867452007-12-29T05:11:00.000-06:002007-12-29T05:11:00.000-06:00Very sorry to read your news, but I'm glad you pos...Very sorry to read your news, but I'm glad you posted it. I remember fondly as a student in two of your classes (in the late '80's) you mentioning that your father worked fixing clocks and watches. It made me think he/you might have Swiss ancenstors and I often wondered about the brilliant people who must have given birth to my favorite professor's own intelligence.Matt Barney, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08626308364477210553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post-34656903714805446862007-12-19T21:51:00.000-06:002007-12-19T21:51:00.000-06:00Ruchira, Thanks for your generous thoughts. My M...Ruchira, Thanks for your generous thoughts. My Mom died some five or six years ago. So we're both orphans! Yes, they were a pretty tough generation. My Dad always said that the Depression was their Defining Experience, but clearly WWII was another. It's now almost impossible to imagine what it must have been like: whole nations and empires intent on achieving one horribly costly goal, and seemingly every single person enthusiastically supporting it. My generation had Vietnam, which had the opposite sort of meaning!Lester Hunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14746157071827337723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post-56975871933304162992007-12-18T12:02:00.000-06:002007-12-18T12:02:00.000-06:00Apparently, some people have come away from this p...Apparently, some people have come away from this post with the impression that my differences with my Dad were political in nature. I should probably point out here that this is not true. In fact, there was a while, a few years ago, when we were both paid-up members of the Libertarian Party. Believe me, I would not find political disagreement a "pop quiz in tolerance." As the only individualist anarchist in a faculty of 2,053 ... if I found political differences hard to tolerate I would be stark raving bonkers by now!Lester Hunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14746157071827337723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post-38433136326862316042007-12-17T11:37:00.000-06:002007-12-17T11:37:00.000-06:00Anonymous #1, "But my belief is that you learn how...Anonymous #1, "But my belief is that you learn how to learn that sort of thing, and get a running start for the next life you live where you choose a similar focus." I don't think I've ever said this about a religious or spiritual belief before but: That would indeed be nice, if true. Whew! That may never happen again!Lester Hunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14746157071827337723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post-77696813660131989722007-12-13T08:16:00.000-06:002007-12-13T08:16:00.000-06:00He would have gotten along well with my Dad! We c...He would have gotten along well with my Dad! We can say they are the dying breed or the rugged proud individualist. We can say these guys were victims of the blue collar ethic.<BR/><BR/>Their prejudices may have been bothersome and scary but one has to wonder if we with our liberal outlooks could have been the generation to defeat Nazi fascism and dictatorial communism. Bless their hearts, they may have lead more fulfilling lives than we could understand.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post-14187783816785949842007-12-13T07:54:00.000-06:002007-12-13T07:54:00.000-06:00It's true that, in my understanding, you may not r...It's true that, in my understanding, you may not remember the details of how to fix a Bulova in 90 minutes flat. But my belief is that you learn how to learn that sort of thing, and get a running start for the next life you live where you choose a similar focus. In that way a Beethoven starts life with what seems to be an intuitive understanding of music which is actually the result of lifetimes of practice and work. He has to relearn the mechanics of music but they come easily and familiarly.<BR/><BR/>And besides, maybe what we're really working on here is not so much technical proficiency in a field as it is the refinement of our ability to create, perceive, and enjoy beauty. And through many lives we gradually build ourselves into magnificent, "large" souls who no longer need to reincarnate here to learn what this world has to teach. I think this is true, actually. I don't think there is any waste of what we learn and experience in these lives of ours.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post-7613978495755597532007-12-12T21:55:00.000-06:002007-12-12T21:55:00.000-06:00idrc and anon, Thanks for your kind words. As to...idrc and anon, Thanks for your kind words. As to reincarnation, I've always thought it could be great, provided that you could remember having lived your earlier lives. But by all accounts, you can't. Some people claim to remember <I>something</I>, but it always seems to be pretty skimpy stuff. Nothing like how to diagnose, repair, and reassemble a busted Bulova in 90 minutes flat.Lester Hunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14746157071827337723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post-48960907040863466652007-12-12T21:16:00.000-06:002007-12-12T21:16:00.000-06:00I'd like to extend my condolences as well to you a...I'd like to extend my condolences as well to you and your family.<BR/><BR/>I'm sorry to hear of your strong differences of opinion with your father. It's interesting to me to hear about because my differences with my father go the other direction - he is and always has been quite liberal, and I grew up to be very conservative. Conservative enough that the things you mentioned about your father make him sound like someone I would have got along with just fine.<BR/><BR/>Regarding the waste of knowledge: there is a possibility besides the grave being the end of everything, and a traditional heaven: purposeful reincarnation. My personal experiences with out-of-body travel (I'd highly recommend the books by businessman Robert Monroe about his initially accidental and then lifelong purposeful out-of-body experiences) have shown me firsthand that we live many, many lives and that none of what we learn is lost. Your father, in my opinion, will take with him to his next life his highly-developed mechanical skills. I hope that is not too morbid a way to talk at this difficult time for you. I understand it probably sounds silly, but if you're willing to read up on and practice the techniques for learning OOB travel you can verify it first-hand for yourself.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, all that aside, my best to you and your family.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22657443.post-6168489742694826442007-12-12T15:37:00.000-06:002007-12-12T15:37:00.000-06:00Your dad may not have liked me too much, either, b...Your dad may not have liked me too much, either, but may he rest in peace. <BR/><BR/>My sympathies to your family at this difficult time.I.D.R.C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08204918752374858278noreply@blogger.com