More dolphins

Hello Joan!  It's been many years since I listened to Toscanini; I remember I found his tempos "off" for some reason, too drawn out in the slow parts and too fast in the fast ones.
Napoleon is a riddle for me as well.  I sympathize with his projects, but he was clearly a monster of ego -- that comes out in all the writings about him.  At some point he decided that the only way to bring stability to French politics was to imitate Louis XIV and establish a court with all of Louis' formality.  This was largely successful, but the price was giving up many of the democratic ideals of the French Revolution.  We have to keep in mind the incredible difficulty of governing a country of such vanity as France.
Noah and Rivka are in 7th and 5th grades.  They don't have any extracurricular activities -- Noah loves video games and Rivka chatting on Skype with her friends at the computer.  They abhor the things Carolyn and I like to do -- going on hikes, visiting museums, so it's a challenge to keep them busy over the holidays.  Today Carolyn took them bowling while I work and bought them some hamsters, "Cookie" and "Skiddles."  They're both nice, affectionate children, and seem to be improving steadily in consideration for others and taking responsibility for their actions.  I'd like to inspire them with love for some activity, but don't believe in forcing them to do things they don't want to.  Noah was great at musical theater, but finds the practices boring (I agree); Rivka played clarinet for a while but says it hurts her mouth.  I haven't insisted that they continue.
The dolphins just seem to ooze affection and love for their trainers; maybe it's the smile frozen on their mouth by the shape of their jaws.  Still, I like to think that the love we experience is not our own creation, but a piece of a great cosmic love pervading the universe.  Since love just comes over me like an irresistible force, it seems reasonable to believe that it has its origin somewhere beyond myself, and that I'm part of a great system based on love.  It's a nice, comforting thought, and a reasonable one I think.  Take care, Sidney