A NORTHERN SUNDAY

Sunday night. Not early, but not too late either.
It has been a busy day.

Church this AM, a 150 year-old church, open only in the summer season.
This is our second year worshipping there in the summer.
It is beautifully cared for by an obviously loving congregation, the members of which must worship elsewhere in the off season.

And then there was breakfast in town…
How sweet it is!

And then, open house at a resort founded in the 1880’s.
We have seen it from the lake for years – and today we visited its 50+ acres.

A central hotel/dining room and many cottages of varying sizes and grounds and woods and beachfront.

There is a pier jutting out from the beach area where last century [19th] a steamer brought guests to the resort from a railroad station.

We got to thinking: in the 1880’s, guests from downstate would travel North not by car but by rail and then, not having a car, would board asmall steamer and travel the 18 or so miles to the resort.

And we thought some more: railroads last century, and by that I mean the 19th, not the 20th, were in the business of building lines to resorts. The world class Grand Hotel of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is one such railroad hotel.

The resort on our lake was not such a facility, but it was serviced by rail and steam boat.
Kinger Lake on the west side of southern Michigan had similar steam service.

Some more thinking reminded us of what a boom time it must have been in North America and the UK in the latter part of the 19th Century. So many lovely places were built then and in one form or another have survived down to our own time.

The dining room at our Lake’s resort is no longer serving meals. All the cottages have been outfitted with kitchens, but some of the furnishings and utensils have been preserved and are on display.
We have never seen so many vinegar cruets all lined up in a row.
And bottles and serving utensils and lake ice tongs and on and on.

And a wooden box labeled Removable Motors for Canoes and Boats Johnson Motors, Elkhart, Indiana [outboard motors].

And a professional band was playing appropriate music – one tune was a sea chantey (sp?), a type of music dear to our hearts ever since we attended a performance by the allegedly only living musician who makes his living as a singer of such important songs on a real ‘tall ship’, one which has no motorized enhancers of sailing equipment.

I would include his name if I was not Up North.

Never have we spent a summer in the North without discovering some new delight.

NORTHERN NOTES

As I begin to write, it is late once again, 11:30 PM.
It has been a good day in the North.
But it has been busy. Good stuff has happened.

We uncovered and worked on the boat, and found a ten dollar bill On the bottom of the lake, under the motor.
I was in the water like a flash.
We dried it out. It was/is the real thing.

White caps convinced us eat in the slip. We’ll take ‘er out tomorrow, God willing.

Ten dollars!!
A good sign??

Another sign: upon arriving here Wednesday night, 11:00PM, we found a bird nest on our stairs.
Dried mud, straw, a perfect circle.

We don’t as yet know how it came to be there.
I am being honest.
I could make up some great explanations, especially after having had a bird land on my shoulder.
Anyway, we’ll find out the why and make it public.
I bet I could make up a better story.

Talk about omens!

And there have been three deaths: Ed McMann; Farah Fawcett; and Michael Jackson.

msm coverage has been interesting.
Now, we have not watched it, but occasional checking has revealed virtual preemption of news programming in favor the Jackson stuff.

And precious little time devoted to Farah or Ed.

Ed was a WW2 Marine fighter pilot and part of a unique TV duo.
Farah an important actress in her own right.

And then there is the coverage for Mike.

Was Mike an important part of the American scene??

He was important, but not in the same way as Mr. McMann and Miss Fawcett.

And yet he got/gets the coverage, ad nauseam (sp?).

There is meaning in that fact.
Enough said.

We talked of such things to a couple of our neighbors on our walks to and from the boat.

We talked of Iran and taxes and b.o. and the US House and Senate and shook our heads.

But we are in the North and those things are far away.

And one feels safe.

Perhaps that is one of the charms of this most perfect part of the world.

STEP BY STEP – BIT BY BIT

The US Navy is shadowing a freighter possibly carrying missiles or missile parts or other internationally banned material.
North Korea threatens ‘seas of fire’ if it is interfered with.
Disturbing activity is observed in and around missile facilities.

Iranian streets witness days of rioting.
Iranian military maneuvers are taking place off shore.

Step by step, bit by bit, b.o. is seemingly out of touch with these and other international matters.

This brief post will not reference domestic problems facing the b.o. Administration except to say that problems are mounting there as well: lack of plans and planning; costs; bipartisan concerns; etc., etc.

Again, to the point: a theory is taking form here that what we have is a progressively failing Presidency.

b.o. is a gifted campaigner, a gifted politician, a Chicago pol. He can win elections.
It appears that he cannot handle crises.
He has yet to do so.

Now, it could be that he is just new at the task.

It could be.

But the odds are that he does not and never had any real ability to do anything but win elections.

And then he went and won a big one because he fooled a lot of easily fooled people.
And now he is dealing with problems, with people, who are not overwhelmed by his messianic visage, his self-proclaimed powers of knowing how to finesse previously unfixable issues.

No, what we are likely to be witnessing is the unraveling of a lot of empty promises from a man who never really had any answers.

Is there a bright side to all of this?

We can hope that enough sane heads will at least prevail to some extent; that his mistakes can be handled; that terrorist threats will not succeed in really hurting the nation; that he does not do fundamental damage to the economy; that perhaps enough voters will be able to be aware of reality and vote him out of office.

We could hope that he becomes aware of the inanity of his programs and can find a way to get out of his campaign promises.

We can hope.

Gramma said that hope springs eternal.

May it be so.

SHOES

Next week is a British cousin’s birthday.
We regularly exchange gifts on birthdays and on Christmas.

We bought the gift; found a card; wrapped up the lot with a newsy letter – and took it to the post office.

Walking along the sidewalk outside said post office was a very attractive young woman, skimpy top, short, short shorts – barefoot!

One of the thoughts which occurred to me was – forgive me – what should a host do if such a young woman was say, coming over for dinner?

Some of our favorite people routinely require all guests to remove street shoes upon entering their homes.
We do not particularly care for this practice. We do not expect it of our guests. We clean our rugs regularly.
But we do as we are asked.

To the point: what if such a household hosted the above attractive young woman and she arrived similarly unshod.
Should the host house require her to put on a pair of shoes???

Again, please forgive me.

I could not resist sharing the thought.

ROBINS

Robins have built a nest in our wisteria bush, right on the edge of the deck.

No sounds come from the nest as yet, so we figure the babes have not yet hatched.

One parent at a time sits on a bird feeder opposite, watching whatever.
Robins usually rarely or never sit there.

We’re preparing for a small church dinner at The Study tomorrow night.
Dear Wife is preparing salads and setting the table.
Himself is mowing and trimming and cleaning and so on.

Busy, busy.

And we get to watch a robin family.

How sweet it is.

HIDDEN

Tom Brokaw has accepted a position with the b.o. Administration.

ABC will be broadcasting from the White House re health care program developments.

MSNBC has messianic fantasies about b.o.

Yessiree, there is no hidden bias in the msm.

The operational word is hidden.

1944 AND 2009

This morning I watched the current White House Press Secretary at work.
And then I went out to mow the lawn.

I was disturbed. The mowing helped. Thoughts occurred.

Below are a few of them.

One of the lessons I tried to impart to my history/political science students for over thirty years was that history often is not what actually happened, but rather it is what we say happened – and that the importance of what we say happened depends upon our drawing the correct conclusions from those sayings.

Importance indeed.

For incorrect conclusions often are as important as incorrect ones, for just the opposite reasons.

To the point: on the Day called D, the United States, with Allies, carried out the greatest amphibious assault in history while at the same time conducting major operations, again with Allies, against another enemy at the other side of the world.

Both undertakings ended in complete and utter victory for the United States and Allies and complete and utter defeat for the two major enemies.

Within a couple of years of these feats, the US, to use a British term, virtually demobbed itself: mothballing ships; scrapping planes; dumping vehicles in the sea; sending millions of troops home to become teachers, builders, husbands and fathers, etc.

Against the advice of some Allies, of some geopoliticians who knew better, the US packed up and went home, hoping to take up where it left off before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the event which catapulted a most reluctant United States into WW2.

The record is clear: the US, prior to WW2, was anything but an aggrandizing, imperial power.
The Government, the people, were quite busy taking care of business at home.

The US is a most reluctant conqueror.

Is.

Has been.

It may not always be so.

The United States has the ability to be quite the opposite if it is willing to pay the price.
And it is not immune to the influence of geopolitical necessity.

Geopolitics is a sophisticated science. It is not understood by lots of people.
But that does not mean it is not real.

Gravity is not understood either.

One tenet of that science is that nations seek to defend themselves – to increase defenses as threats increase.

The US is no exception to this fundamental rule.

Great powers will eventually do whatever it takes to survive.

The US mistakenly demobbed from 1945-1950.

External threats convinced H.S. Truman; Ronald Reagan; President Bush and again President Bush, to revive the internationally comatose United States.

Presidents Carter and Clinton did not understand what was going on.

b.o. certainly does not appear to understand.
He was elected by people who have no understanding of what is going on whatsoever.

The people who elected him believe that the US has caused many of the diplomatic problems in the world; that the US can solve them by reversing traditional ways of dealing with international thugs and maniacs; and that U.S. military power is not nearly as important for U.S. and world security as it really is.

They do not know that the world and the US are forever intertwined – that N Korea and Iran and China and the US are locked together as in a ring – that the US cannot avoid certain responses to what they feel bound to do.

What the enemy states are undertaking is opposition to the US in a variety of ways, some of which can be, these days, thanks to science, most unpleasant indeed.

N Korea and Iran and China are the destablilzers of the world we all occupy.
They want to engage the US in a hostile fashion– that is their political necessity – unless the US gives them reasons not to do so.

Reasons they cannot refuse to honor.

b.o. and his advisors seem to need to learn this.

You should not be surprised that advisors can be ignorant.

b.o. has not proven that he is a great leader. It is possible that he is only a good politician – a Chicago politician no less.

Maybe he is only good at getting elected, at promising things to voters, to his constituencies.

And his constituencies are flagrantly, flamingly, ignorant.

All of them need to climb on the learning curve before it is too late.

We at The Study hope that they do their homework.

For we have a worry: it is possible that the bad guys will attack the US. It is possible that they are aware of an important maxim of politics and intrigue:

If you are going to strike a king, you had better do a good job, or he will kill you.

Our fear is that the bad buys know this and will do a real number on the US.

This is what Bush and Cheney worried about.
They were familiar with the maxim.

We fear that b.o. is not yet on the same track. His electorate certainly is not.

DOUBTING THOMAS

Now we know that The Study is not in the proverbial loop.
We do not know what is going on behind the closed doors of the Councils of the Wise. But we do try to look, read, and listen, and what is visible sure does give one reason to wonder.

b.o.’s open hand of friendship is still extended to north korea and iran, regardless of the former’s bluster about war with any and everybody and regardless of the apparent travesty of the recent election and threats of genocide by the latter.

Where is the American questioning of the election?
Where is the significant, effective condemnation of korea’s nuclear doings?

Surely, a time clock is running on the drama being played out between iran and Israel.

And then there are disturbing reports of reprisals against government officials who have defied or irritated the b.o. administration.
Now, political paybacks are not new, by any means, but the ignoring of them by the media is somewhat disheartening.

And we wonder at the impossible promises being made by b.o. regarding the new world of health care we are in for – and the fact that he promises that it will not cause any strain on the national budget.

We could go on, but the point is simply this: we are watching a President saying and doing things which do not seem to be engaging the problems meaningfully, honestly, or forthrightly.

The operational word here is honestly.

We are losing faith in the honesty of our President.

We are willing to change our minds.

But we are like the folks in Missouri. Or Doubting Thomas.

To date, the honesty of the administration is in doubt.
It is one thing to be economical with the truth during an election campaign.
It is quite another to be similarly economical whilst in office.

FRIDAY

Friday morning in the North.
It is not early.

We are thinking clearly.
Oatmeal and coffee and raisin bread and fruit.
Clear thoughts.

Busy days and cocktails have a way of playing havoc with clear thinking.

Too bad.
I seem to remember an old saw which said that booze played havoc with one’s amorous capabilities.
The response of one wag was that such was the case only with folks who had capability challenges in other areas as well.

Why on earth did I think of that?

Anyway, we are thinking clearly at the moment, I think.

The week has been quiet: cool nights, warm, sunny days.

And the neighbors are arriving for the weekend.

Before the end of school for the summer, and before vacations start for many of the younger folks, the weekends are the busiest in our Northern Community.

A few words of clarification:
Our camp is part of a community of camps which are permanently sited on a 21 mile long lake.

Some folks spend the summer and fall in permanent residence.
Others travel to and from permanent homes as schedules permit.

We are of the latter sort.
We come up for a week or so and then return ‘downstate’ for a week or so, depending on responsibilities.
As noted earlier, we are far enough North to enjoy the luxury of fewer people than downstate; an assortment of animals and birds not usually found in the city; and a sense of having gone to a ‘different’ place, a place which can restore the senses, the batteries, as it were.

We are on the Lake and have a modest boat berthed therein, the Kayla Elise.

Our local paper, there are two lovely villages within fifteen minutes, noted this week that a black bear was seen in town by a local minister having breakfast on main street eatery.

Nice!!

And as I mentioned the other day, I heard the coyotes howling the other night, late.

Walking Sophie yesterday AM we came across an orange bodied bird, black wings, dining on part of a little bush.
Baltimore Oriole??

Again, nice.

And of course, there are the deer and wild turkeys and critters like that.

And the bird which landed on my shoulder!

The garden is in.
New steps up to the front door are constructed – with the help of very talented neighbors.

And we are very grateful.

Nights have been in the forties, days in the lower sixties.
Not many folks have put boats in the water as yet.

That will change.

Time really does go by faster when you are having a good time.

TWO DAYS BEFORE THE DAY

Thursday evening, nearly 11:00PM.
Late again.
And we are tired.
And the day, the week, have been busy. Good busy.

A few comments in no particular order.

b.o. is touring the Middle East and is making, apparently, mistake after mistake, misstep after misstep.
Maybe some good will come of all of them, or of some of them.
But my o my.

The historical spins; the partial histories; the perspective that a new US approach, more enlightened than those of all his predecessors will make sense of the Middle East puzzles boggles the mind.

Maybe he knows something that leaders have not known before.
Maybe.
Maybe not.

At any rate, we note that it is possible to compartmentalize one’s view of things.
Here at The Study we are immersed in things of Family; of community; and of Church.
There are whole hours that we do not think of what is going on in the outside world.
Flats of flowers have been purchased and planted – not the flats, but the flowers.

The koi are installed in their pond. Whew!!
Two summers ago we cleaned the pond and discoversd a large, ca. 6-8 inches in diameter, snapping turtle in our happy little koi pond of 13 fish. We thought he was a cutie until we started finding pieces of our fish floating in the pond.

We convened a trial; heard the evidence; found him guilty; and condemned him to transportation to the nearest lake.

Last summer came and went.

And yesterday, whilst cleaning the pond bottom, what I thought was a small rock became stuck in the pond vac.
The small rock was a small turtle.

We convened the court. Heard the evidence. Condemned him to transportation to the nearest lake.

And we are washing deck furniture; mowing; trimming; even washing screens and installing.

Again, whew!!
Dear Wife and Daughter have renewed a small garden by the Church parking lot.

And this Saturday two couples from my 50th Reunion will be here for dinner.

We reconnected ten years ago for our 40th.
We reconnected for our 50th.

And now we are having our first dinner together in one of our houses – ever.
We never got together in beteeen the Reunions.

Pathetic.

Friday we will clean and dust and arrange and stuff like that.
Today we did the grocery shopping – baby back ribs.

Bar is stocked.

Sophie Matilda is bathed. Her three beds have been washed.

And tomorrow errands are planned and more finishing touches are in store.

And so we put the affairs of the world on back burners.
We are not officeholders.

The world is not depending on us.

Lucky world!!

But another thing: today is 4 June, 2009.

It has been 65 years since the day called D, D-Day, 6 June 1944.

On and off, during the hurly burly, hereing and thereing [not words, I know] of the last few days, I have been wondering what we at The Study can say about this Day of Days.

Item: folks have been offering advice on books to read, movies to see to get an idea of what it must have been like to do what was done on that day and the days immediately following, 65 years ago.
One newspaper advised watching this or that Hollywood film –Longest Day; Saving Private Ryan; and several others.

Not the best choices.

I have looked in vain for a recommendation to view the best, the very best film available to get a sense of what happened on that summer morning so long ago.

No mention anywhere.

So here you have it: if it is rentable, rent it. If it is buyable, and it is, buy it.

But whatever you do, if you want to watch the best film ever made on the subject – that I have seen - get your hands on Band of Brothers.

Simply stated, there is nothing else like it.
It runs hours and hours. Watch it over the course of several nights.
Savor it. Feels the joys; fears; sorrows; relief; etc., all the panoply of feelings and emotions.

It is the best.

And you get a glimpse of what the survivors did after the War. The real vets do a bit of narraton throughout.

Check it out.
Get the book: Band of Brothers, Stephen Ambrose.
Paperback.

And meantime, whenever you seen a WWII era vet, recognizable by those baseball hats with military branch or whatever on it, thank him, usually a him, for his service.

I have yet to see an elderly lady wearing one of those hats.

But I would thank her if I did.

Let me know what you think.

SOLIDARITY

This item just came across our desk:

A few years ago, when GM was losing market share – for good – and losing money operating all of its plants, it apparently was a fact that it lost less money keeping an unprofitable plant open than it would have lost if it had done what it should have done – that is, if it had closed the plant.

Closing a plant would have cost GM more than operating a plant which also was losing money.

It was a lose/lose proposition.

IT COULD NOT CUT THE LOSER OUT AND SAVE MONEY!!

The reason???

Take a guess.

We understand that in France, if an individual holds a job for a year or so, it is virtually impossible to downsize, to remove him/her from that job.

We did not realize that there was a US version of this same thing.

Is it possible that this ‘wrinkle’ had a role in the downfall of the American icon??
Is it possible that the UAW had just a little to do with the collapse??

You think??