Jim Andris
jandris@my-deja.comICQ# 6911908
![[CDir Cover]](jim89.gif)
Welcome to the personal section of my website. Maybe this will give you a few "snapshots" of who I am.
Visit my ancestors NEW!
See a map of my German ancestors' origins
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I wrote the paragraphs below in Fall, 1998, but I still believe what I said. You all should read Ray Kurzweil's book, the Age of Spiritual Machines, for an eye opening scenario of the next 100 years of technology.The hardest thing about teaching courses on using computer technology in education is that there is so little time to have any FUN just playing around! I got into computers in 1979 after being trained in philosophy of education. It started as just fooling around and blossomed into a career in instructional technology.
Who says that angels have to have feathered wings and blond hair, anyway? What is an angel? An angel is a holy presence that does God's work. But what is God's work? Well, the way I see it, the Earth is struggling to survive and evolve. What with wars, weather, and unwise use of Earth's resources, this survival and evolution is an "iffy" proposition. So maybe the Internet is an evolution of the Earth's intelligent resources; a way that we can quickly communicate and have greater vision than we did before. Maybe the Internet is a holy presence that does God's work in the world. Maybe that web server is in service to a higher presence. Maybe there IS an angel in my computer.
Some of the fun things in my life:
- I hit 61 on December 3, 1999..
- I just traded pictures with my first cousin Marlene Sagert via ICQ. My father, Fernand Andris, and her father, Alphonse Octave Andris were brothers and had a store business together for many years. This line of my ancestry is Belgian. Here is a picture of Marlene (lower left), her two sisters (Sharon and Geri), and Marlene's daughters.
- Home. We moved into a 100 year old townhouse on Accomac in 1998.
- Townhouse on Accomac
- The Downstairs
- (Some of) the Upstairs
- The Newly Landscaped Backyard (and some family and pet pics)
- Music. I'm still a ragtime nut! I discovered the Ragtime Rendezvous, which meets at Dressels Cafe in St. Louis on the first Sunday of each month at 5:30. There are more ragtime artists per square foot here than probably any other place on earth. Come and join us. The Friends of Scott Joplin have a web page somewhere on the net, but I can't find it just now. They're publishing my rags! I also have a fan club called The Ragtime Rascals.
- Warren Trachtmann has a great ragtime website. You can get to other ragtime sites from there.
- Listen to some great stride by James P. Johnson (not me) that I am working on: Snowy Mornin' Blues or Carolina Shout.
- In November I played Robert Hampton's Cataract Rag, Artie Matthews Pastime Rag #3, William Bolcom's Graceful Ghost Rag, and Joseph Lamb's Ragtime Nightengale.
- In December I played Joseph Lamb's Cleopatra Rag, Artie Matthews Pastime Rags #2 and 5, and two of my own rags: The St. Louis Zoo Rag and The Forest Park Stroll.
- Since December I have played lots of rags and am moving into stride piano. Under my belt, James P. Johnson's Snowy Mornin' Blues, Carolina Shout, Keep off the Grass. Working on other stride pieces.
- Sunday, March 5, 2000 I will play and sing Zes Confrey's Stumblin' (1922).
- Play Reading Group. I have joined a local play reading group. Here are some recent titles:
- Noel Coward's Private Lives. (I was director, November, 1997)
- A. E. Hotchner's The White House. (August, 1998)
- Yasmina Reza's Art, translated by Christopher Hampton. I played the part of Serge and Stephen played the part of Ivan.
- Herb Gardner's, A Thousand Clowns (November, 1998) It was the 25th Anniversary of the Second Sunday Play Reading Group. And we hosted it.
- Tina Howe's, Painting Churches (December, 1998)
- Conor McPherson's The Weir. I was Brendon, the bar keeper. (August, 1999)
- I was Wally in Garrison Keillor's The Prodigal Son. (September , 1999)
- Richard Vetere's The Marriage Fool in October, 1999. Steve and I hosted the group in our home.
- Literature. Some books I've recently read.
- Steven Watson, The Birth of the Beat Generation: visionaries, rebels, and hipsters, 1944-1960, Pantheon, 1995.
- Michael Coffey, ed., Terry Golway, text, The Irish in America, Simon and Schuster Audioworks, 1997.
- Tony Hillerman, several books in the last couple of years.
- Melodie Beattie, The Language of Letting Go, Hazelden Books, 1990.
- James Redfield, The Celestine Vision (a great book!)
- Gary Schmidgall's Walt Whitman: A Gay Life. His master work, Leaves of Grass, is still an inspiration.
- Art. Recently acquired:
- Andy Warhol's print: Beethoven, 1987
- Keith Haring poster Home is Where the Heart Is.
- Read Patricia Morrisroe's bio on Robert Mapplethorp and acquired a large Mapplethorp print of three irises in a brown jardinier against a yellow wall.
- Read biographies of other major art voices of the 20th Century on Larry Rivers, Francis Bacon (the artist) and Jasper Johns.
- Pottery. Acquired 3 pieces of Roseville Pottery last summer:
- A Ming Tree 8" vase. (1949)
- Apple Blossom candlesticks (1948)
- a Primrose jardinier (1931)
- and a White Rose urn (1940)
- Church Life. Still usher at Trinity Episcopal Church. Now doing service on the altar as a thurifer, torch or crucifer.
- Friendships. High school chums Will, Dee, Myra, Mariam and I and respective spouses met for a a 60th birthday reunion in San Diego for August 14-16, 1998. Lots of reminiscing about the tricks we played on each other back in the '50s.
- My Spouse. Stephen is recovering nicely from a recent illness. His daughter Stephanie and her partner, Dawn, came to visit last Memorial Day Weekend.
- My Birth Family.
- October, 1998 mom came to visit and see our new house with sister Vicki and her husband Jerry.
- Brother Tom and his wife, Dee's daughter Heidi gave birth to Anastasia Elizabeth in July, 1999. Ariana Daniell was born in November, 1997. This summer, mom will add two more great grandchildren, because Vicki's two oldest sons are also becoming parents
- Sister Vicki's second son got married last June.Vicki and I have started a family circle at www.ecircles.com.
- My former life as a gay activist. I settled down in 1985 and got out of the political sphere. But I did a lot for the St. Louis gay community in the years from 1975-1985. Here are some pictures of the first official St. Louis Pride Celebration in 1980.
