Spanish views from a small town

It was cold last night. We slept with the window open, and I had to pull the covers well up. Sitting in my study, eating my breakfast, I was shivering. Using the mouse on the computer, my hand went cold. A small foretaste of the months to come. I should try to fix my little laptop, so I can sit more comfortably in the winter-warm kitchen. But the money I had thought to save up to do it never appeared. I should also do something to my desktop, but the same problem applies. As it is, new, more pressing repairs have taken priority, and now they have to be paid. The usual running in circles, biting tails, when incoming money is less than outgoing. Our daughter will soon be paid the three weeks she worked this month. Working in a cannery can be easy or it can be an inferno depending on where you're placed, who is your supervisor, and what companions are your lot. My daughter has had peaceful days, and she has had days when she was crying because she had to go to work. But she's stuc...

This semester my daughter has an interesting class called Philosophy of the History of Religion. It sounds quite fancy and deep, but the two words that caught my attention were "history" and "religion." I love history in just about any form, and I've always been interested in the different belief systems man has held since he began to wonder about the world.  My daughter said there would be no problem with my attending the class as an observer, especially since the professor is relaxed and approachable. So yesterday at twelve thirty saw me sitting outside the classroom, waiting for my daughter and ready for my return to a formal classroom in almost thirty years.  There were very few students. Empty seats gaped here and there and from the middle of the classroom to the back was a sea of emptiness. Not many people rush to study Philosophy; it doesn't generate money in the real world. The professor had his notes in book form, and referred to them copiously....

The other night my daughter remembered to tell me that I could now apply for her scholarship. She had forgotten to tell me that the period opened on the seventh of August. It's a good thing the deadline is the thirtieth of October. I had thought it would begin this month. At any rate, I got down to the job on the computer.  The application has to be done on internet, so if you're poor enough not to have internet and really need the scholarship, you're in a bad spot. Another thing, be prepared to pay for your child's room and board until probably February. Because between the application at the beginning of the school year and final decision, you've got about five months that aren't covered. And if your child has to buy textbooks, you also have to shell out, unless you have any money left from the year before. Generally, there isn't. My daughter is lucky that in the Philosophy Department they don't use textbooks. But she still has to pay for the photoc...