I am the owner of a small collection of owls. I was inspired when D. A. Yoder, a friend of my fathers, gave me a small wall hanging that read:
A wise old owl lived in an oak,
the more he saw the less he spoke.
The less he spoke the more he heard,
Why can’t we be like that old bird?
I think I was nine years old when the poem was given to me.
The little owl on the header now at the top of this blog went with me to the hospital and Greencroft Rehab. He slept on the window sill. Life after pneumonia is filled with sleep.
Sleep in rehab is interrupted with therapy, otherwise known as exercise. The therapists gave me papers to take home to make sure I continued with the right exercises. They wanted me to continue to grow stronger. Here I am making do with the single three pound weight that we have in our house. Another weight is somewhere in the house, but we can’t find it.
I also have an exercise bike that I use for at least twenty minutes each day. The therapists also urged me to eat three well balanced meals a day. 
My friends offered me advice on diet that I am trying to abide by: plenty of fruits and green vegetables, they said. I have lost some weight, but I will tell you more about it when I’ve lost enough to brag about it.
Of course I have my “Joy” who adds to the spark in my life after pneumonia. Scott Hochstettler is her nephew. He is an associate professor of music at Goshen College where he teaches in the choral, vocal and opera theater programs.
When I first met “Joy” she seemed to downplay her interest in music, but I soon learn to respect her love for her nephew and the music he mastered and directed. I gladly escorted her to the Goshen College Homecoming Gala and to the St. Joseph Valley Camerata, a professional chamber ensemble, specializing in music from the Renaissance through the modern period. Both events were in the Sauder Concert Hall at Goshen College. The Camerata was founded and directed by David Seitz until 2010. Since then Scott Hochstetter has filled that position
