College isn't for everyone but education is a lifelong career. Over the course of your lifetime, you have the freedom to study everything that interests you as much as your time and obligations will allow. Magazines, books, online, the world is at your fingertips. Biography, history, science, adventure - it's easier than ever before to keep learning. - Sally Clark
Uncle Al Tersteeg only had an 8th grade education but was a man of constant learning and life long curiosity. Of all the "Olds" that would get into discussions and arguments in the boisterous Lavin gatherings, he tended to be the most quiet and would rarely enter the fray and mindless Irish arguments. My Dad was similar to Uncle Al and as outliers among all the Lavins & Sheas they were often ill-equipped to keep up with the speed and volume of their conversations. Fun gatherings until someone brought up or wandered into the too personal side of a conversation or the alcohol made someone more pointed and less kind in their comments.
One of the more fond memories of Uncle Al was his books, he was always reading. He had an odd combination of going to the library, used book stores and on rare occasions buy a brand new book. He was a huge fan of all the old school televised shows that covered history, nature or science. Uncle Al not only liked to share what interesting things he had learned, he would often ask all of us younger ones what we were studying in school or if we had ever read on a particular topic.
Uncle Al passed in 1999 and I still miss him. On those rare occasion when he and Dad would talk about what they had read or saw on TV it was a real joy to see their love of learning. Not to speak ill of the all the Lavins & Sheas, they were a lot of fun and always animated. They were far better story tellers than Dad & Uncle Al, but the love of learning, the curiosities of life, the wonder of being is one thing I will always thank Uncle Al for embodying as one of the least degreed and most educated people I have ever known.
Happy Wednesday ADD Irregulars!
September Meadow - Vermont
Today marks the three hundred and thirtieth birthday of the Frenchman François-Marie Arouet, better known by his nom de plume, Voltaire (1694-1778).
Born into a bourgeois family during the reign of Louis XIV, the “Sun King” (r. 1643-1715), Voltaire suffered tragedy at a young age when his mother died. Never close with his father or brother, Voltaire exhibited a rebellious attitude toward authority from his youth. His brilliant mind was fostered in the care of the Society of Jesus, who introduced him to the joys of literature and theater. Despite his later criticisms against the Church, Voltaire, throughout his life, fondly recalled his dedicated Jesuit teachers.
Although he spent time as a civil servant in the French embassy to the Hague, Voltaire’s main love was writing—an endeavor where he excelled in various genres, including poetry, which led to his appointment as the royal court poet for King Louis XV. Widely recognized as one of the greatest French writers, and even hyperbolically referred to by ...
Padre - Tom Miller invites you to a Coffee Talk, Speakeasies, Schmoozes, Tea Times, Afterhours and other gatherings.
https://teams.live.com/meet/93792382189049?p=DiBHsYfuECPgDrG7vO
2026 Coffee Talk with the ADD Irregulars
Thursday, January 1, 2026
6:00 AM - 8:00 AM (CST)
Occurs every day starting 1/1 until 12/31/2027
Coffee Talk - Daily beginning at 6:00 AM Central Time Zone - USA
White Pilled Wednesday - A break from the heaviness of news and current events to focus upon things more personal & positive for the first hour of Coffee Talk.
Afternoon Chats - Most Tuesday, Friday & Sundays 2:00 PM Central
Other chats as posted in the community.
