Collaboration in Time and Space

Two events involving my son Eric coalesce to begin our new year. The first involves his trans-Atlantic collaboration with my god-daughter Anja Decke to put on a multi-lingual version of his ecology musical for children, “Animal Party.” Anja’s father, Gerd Decke, is a long-time friend of fifty years who opened the door for me to the German church world and collaborated with me on translations of some of my writings as well as working with me on many research projects over the years. Now Anja, who, like Eric, writes and produces theater for children in German-English learning situations, has collaborated with Eric to introduce his work to audiences in Berlin. You can find an extensive pictorial story about it at her website, www.kidstheatre.de under “Aktuelles.” Don’t let the German intimidate you. Just follow the links to the Sonnenblumen-Grundschule for colorful pictures. Her German text picks up the spirit of Eric’s original “Animal Party” in a lively manner and conveys it to a wider world. To see this second generation of trans-Atlantic cooperation is indeed heartening. Congratulations to Eric and Anja!

At the same time, Eric has been helping me construct some new furniture for his reconstituted household in Asheville. So here we have an intergenerational collaboration with a very practical outcome. The bed employs several pieces of walnut laid in together between the cherry pieces to make a headboard reflecting the mountains around us.
So the year starts off with two forms of collaboration representing space and time. Now there’s something a philosopher can blog about! Meanwhile, savor the thing itself (Ding an sich).