A Day in the Life: Henry W. Morisada Rietz ’89, Associate Professor of Religious Studies

October 27th, 2011 | By | Section: Features

Photograph by Sophie Fajardo.

6:00 a.m.—Internal alarm clock goes off. Roll over, find the remote, turn on the local news for the weather and go through emails on my phone, deleting the morning junk mail. Skim through last week’s Honolulu Star Advertiser (my parents send them to me). Hey, I am used to reading ancient texts; last week’s news is still news to me.
6:30 a.m.—Wake up Katherine. Time to get up! Go downstairs and heat up Marcia’s goulash—leftovers from last night dinner at the White’s–for everyone’s sack lunch. Katherine and I have breakfast.
7:14 a.m.—Maile’s out of the bathroom, so it’s my turn to jump in the shower. Briefly debate whether I should shave. Nah.
7:34 a.m.—Drive Katherine to the Middle School and make plans for the weekend while listening to the Morning Jolt with Jamie. What does she want for her birthday?
7:55 a.m.—Return home. Finish my chores and drive through the bank.
8:25 a.m.—Arrive at the office and start up the computer. Answer a few emails and prepare for class. Rereading Amos and Hosea and revising my lesson plan. “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24). Great material!
8:55 a.m.—Sarah texts good morning. She is still on the road doing college fairs and school visits. This week it is Las Vegas. Give her a quick call. Then back to preparing for class.
10:00 a.m.—Hebrew Bible class.
10:50 a.m.—Chat with a few students after class and slowly make my way back to the office.
11:05 a.m.—Check email and the news. Forward an article in the LA Times about a nun who is a fan of the Texas Rangers to a colleague who has written on baseball as religion. Surf the web for prophecy believers’ reactions to the Vatican’s proposal to reform the global financial system.
11:19 a.m.—Start eating the goulash while re-reading the chapters from Paul Boyer, When Time Shall Be No More for class. Boyer’s book begins with a quotation from William Ramsey about a letter he had received cautioning “My dear brother, do let me advise you to stop your studies of the prophecies. I never knew a man who began to study them and to write on them who did not ultimately go crazy.” Fabulous.
12:36 p.m.—Take a break and talk with Cheryl and Angela about our families’ Halloween plans.
12:47 p.m.—Review documents for Executive Council.
1:15 p.m.—Apocalyptic Sectuality class. What a wonderful surprise to find Molly Kennedy ’11 sitting in class. Evidence of life after Grinnell!
2:15 p.m.—Meet with Emily Mester ’14 and head down to Saints’ Rest to talk about classes, potential majors, campus study, and beyond over a cup of coffee. Thanks, Dave!
3:13 p.m.—Arrive back in my office to prepare for meeting.
3:30 p.m.—Executive Council meeting.
5:25 p.m.—Arrive back in my office after talking with a few colleagues. Catch up on email.
5:46 p.m.—Briefly call parents (weather today in Honolulu is sunny with a high of 86 degrees) and Sarah, then off to dinner with Ed Gilday [Religious Studies].
7:56 p.m.—Arrive at the high school football field just in time to listen to Maile and the pep band play at halftime. They sound great! Then cheer on the Tigers in their first round play-off victory.
9:57 p.m.—Stop in at Lonn’s to catch the end of the World Series game, only to find out it is postponed. Catch up with Don and Adam.
10:55 p.m.—Back at home. Sort the recycling and put out the trash. Call Sarah.
11:31 p.m.—With our cats Neko at my feet and Mochi next to me, I turn out the lights.