The long and winding road into retirement. When you hit 55 here in California, a teacher can begin thinking about the retirement process. At some point starting at age 55 you must declare with STRS what option you plan to take for your retirement benefit which will depend on if you have a spouse and…
Category: Life of Jim
“Boats Against the Current” – Speaking at the 2017 Del Campo High School Graduation.
I’ve never spoken at a Del Campo High School graduation. The last time I spoke at a graduation was June 1973 when I graduated from Placer High School in Auburn, California. But I have always wanted to do it. In the spring I heard they were going to eliminate having a teacher speaker, so I…
The Kitchen
The Kitchen. Saturday, October 1, 2016. Gary came up with the idea of celebrating my birthday and Peggy’s birthday at The Kitchen. First Course Bittersweet October Butter and Hops-Basted Sea Scallop Tomato Jam, Centennial Hops, Roasted Sunchokes and Vadouvan Spices Chef’s Notes: An ode to the most lustrous of months, October is a messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause…
The Summer of Concerts… and a couple in the fall
June. July. August. 2016. 1. The Lumineers. Kansas City Live. Kansas City Missouri. Friday, June 10, 2016. Had not been a fan of the Lumineers for long, but when I heard they were playing…
“Emma’s Chance” World Premiere with Anna Elizabeth James
June 30, 2016 Anna Elizabeth James. To me she will always be Annie.
AP Language and Composition Scoring – Kansas City
June 10-18, 2016. Unless you’ve done it, you can’t understand how it can be fun to spend seven consecutive days scoring AP Language and Composition essays. But it is.
Northrise Adventure 2016 (2) Friday tour and preparations
One of the aspects that has set this trip apart is that there are so many people here who have NEVER been to Zambia before. They have all been friends of Northrise, but they have never made the trek to Ndola. So on Friday we took a tour of Mapalo, Arising Life, and Caravelle House….
Northrise Adventure 2016 (1)
Months in planning, I am about to embark on a new adventure to Ndola, Zambia. What a wonder it will be to discover what God has in store. Left Sacramento on JetBlue at 11:30 p.m and arrived in NYC Kennedy at 7:30 a.m. Next leg is the big boy – 15 hours direct to Johannesburg. We…
Adri Turns 80
Adri Jimmerfield is 80. We first met Adri in the early 70s when she and her husband Gil came to Placer High to start a Young Life club. They started hanging out and making connections with kids at games and other school events and I remember they fist took kids to Woodleaf, Young Life’s camp…
Won’t Get Fooled Again
November 20, 1973. We’ve told the story for nearly 43 years now and we needed redemption. Some time in the late summer or early fall of 1973 my buddy-since-the-third-grade Larry Finney and I headed to downtown Sacramento and the Farmer’s Market (now the Sheraton Hotel on J Street) to line up at their box officento get…
114 Miles
We wanted the see the ocean. This would be the fifth time that Scott Evans and I would ride the Wine Country Century, but this time we decided we wanted to see the ocean. The 200K ride (124 miles) has a loop that hits the Pacific Coast Highway at Coleman Valley Road then turns north…
Thanks coach. You made me a champion.
My high school wrestling coach Bill Flake was inducted into the Placer High School Athletic Hall of Fame last night. He was also my freshman football coach. As much as anyone, this man taught me how to be a champion and made me a champion (1973 Sierra Foothill League Wrestling Champion at 177 lbs.) when…
James Mason Jordan 