There once was a time when a broadcast or print news item stuck pretty much to the topic under which it was titled or labeled.
That was then.
Now is now – and you never know.
Two examples:
The other day Sophie and I emerged from the bathroom wherein I had just completed giving her her doctor-ordered once-a-week bath.
We have a two-person Jacuzzi type tub and I put her in, climbed in as well, and proceeded to do the duty.
I stand up and bend over. She is only a foot or so high. She doesn't even have to sit down.
We had a grand time – well, not really. She hates the bath but she loves the drying out part which comes later.
The shampoo has to stay on her for five minutes before rinse off, so I left the door open, set the clock, and turned up the radio to help me pass the time while we waited for the minutes to go by.
I set the station to NPR. I do that sometimes.
I am open-minded.
A producer of plays or a director or some such person was being interviewed by one of the senior folks at NPR.
They were discussing an updated version of one of Shakespeare’s plays which he was hoping would eventually be used as a teaching instrument in schools for some kind of civil rights lesson.
Well, it was interesting and I stood listening and getting cold feet in the tub with Sophie and I was thinking ok, so maybe this is a good idea and maybe it is ok that they are using Shakespeare to teach stuff.
Who better than Shakespeare?
And then it happened.
The guy being interviewed, the producer or whatever he was, started to say that it was easy to understand the message, that it was in plain English and so on, AND THAT IT WAS NOT IN BUSH TALK.
At first, I thought that he was referring to some sort of rural, mountain vernacular type of language.
And then it hit me.
This is NPR.
There he was, doing a good job talking about his play, and he had to interject the President Bush Thing, another case of BUSH SYNDROME.
And then along came the ad/review for a new Cadillac model, a 2010 edition.
The article was in the Detroit Free Press and it was a swell review. The reviewer went on about the good points of the car and so on and how he and his wife drove it to a wedding in Michigan and how nice it would be for the newly married couple to have such a car to take on their honeymoon.
And then it happened.
The reviewer ended the review by lamenting that it was too bad that the gay newlyweds had to go to Massachusetts to get their marriage legalized since the benighted state of Michigan did not allow such marriages to be performed.
IN A CAR REVIEW???????
Gramma used to say that you cannot tell a book by its cover.
But car reviews and educational plays too????
Friday, September 25, 2009
THE WORLD IS WATCHING
At the u.n., b.o. touted the necessity of nations treating each other as equals, arguing that no nation should try to coerce the behavior of fellow or sister states.
Mainstream media generally has supported their candidate/President. You think?
At any rate, leave it to Powerline once again to call to our attention the shift, the drift, the growing realization on the part of that very msm that b.o. is really an eneffective leader.
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2009/09/024584.php
On the international stage, I would add that he is a dangerous leader.
Dangerous??
Yes, for if he really waits for the world to 'handle' the Iran nuclear situation, then he will be guilty, guilty of plunging the Middle East into a major conflict, a conflict which he could have avoided by making it clear to Israel and neighbors that the United States, forget the world, will not allow, repeat, will not allow, Iran to go nuclear.
Liberals will argue that the US has too much on the plate what with Afghanistan and Iraq and Korea and global warming, for God's sake, and algore getting $500 million Federal dollars to outsource car production [tis ok for him, cause he is algore and a dem].
I will argue that we are in a phase of, if you will, WW3, that just as in WW2, there could not be too much on the plate, that as the old saying goes, "You gotta do what you gotta do."
Liberals believe that you gotta do, but what they gotta do is not what should be done.
Iran cannot go nuclear. b.o. had better not wait for the world 'community' to do the preventing.
If Iran goes nuclear, so does Egypt and Saudi Arabia. And before that happens, long before, Israel will attack Iranian sites, and a new war cycle will begin.
b.o. did not know what he was in for when he ascended from Chicago politics and entered the varsity level, the professional level, of international politics.
He is a shallow amateur.
Folks who voted for him are ignorant citizens of the co-greatest nation on the planet.
b.o. has no idea of the problems which are out there.
We can only hope that wise heads help him to find his way.
They probably will. He is ignorant, but perhaps he will realize that he does not know what is really going on and let folks who really know the score set the courses that have to be followed.
There is another old saying/thought that I will conclude with.
Nations are not equal. Nations do not all contribute equally to the general good. Some, even many nowadays, contribute much that is evil [read not good for the United States].
And the world order, such as it is, is not self-sustaining.
There is no world government. There is no world court [in name only] . There is no world legislature.
What there is is quite the opposite. There is disorder and lawlessness. There are strong nations and there are weak ones, just as there are wealthy ones and poor ones.
And the law-abiding nations of the world need leadership, because the lawless ones do indeed have their leaders.
The United States of America is the leader of the law-abiding nations of the world. The United States has inherited this role, has grown into this role, and it had bloody well better act as though it has assumed this role.
The old saying: Lead or get out of the way. Getting out of the way is not an option, for there is no second stringer who is up to the job.
The United States is the only mission-capable nation, whether or not the President of the United States knows it, whether or not he believes that the United States is responsible for all the ills of the world.
He didn't know this as a candidate. He is finding it out now.
The world is watching to see how he does.
Mainstream media generally has supported their candidate/President. You think?
At any rate, leave it to Powerline once again to call to our attention the shift, the drift, the growing realization on the part of that very msm that b.o. is really an eneffective leader.
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2009/09/024584.php
On the international stage, I would add that he is a dangerous leader.
Dangerous??
Yes, for if he really waits for the world to 'handle' the Iran nuclear situation, then he will be guilty, guilty of plunging the Middle East into a major conflict, a conflict which he could have avoided by making it clear to Israel and neighbors that the United States, forget the world, will not allow, repeat, will not allow, Iran to go nuclear.
Liberals will argue that the US has too much on the plate what with Afghanistan and Iraq and Korea and global warming, for God's sake, and algore getting $500 million Federal dollars to outsource car production [tis ok for him, cause he is algore and a dem].
I will argue that we are in a phase of, if you will, WW3, that just as in WW2, there could not be too much on the plate, that as the old saying goes, "You gotta do what you gotta do."
Liberals believe that you gotta do, but what they gotta do is not what should be done.
Iran cannot go nuclear. b.o. had better not wait for the world 'community' to do the preventing.
If Iran goes nuclear, so does Egypt and Saudi Arabia. And before that happens, long before, Israel will attack Iranian sites, and a new war cycle will begin.
b.o. did not know what he was in for when he ascended from Chicago politics and entered the varsity level, the professional level, of international politics.
He is a shallow amateur.
Folks who voted for him are ignorant citizens of the co-greatest nation on the planet.
b.o. has no idea of the problems which are out there.
We can only hope that wise heads help him to find his way.
They probably will. He is ignorant, but perhaps he will realize that he does not know what is really going on and let folks who really know the score set the courses that have to be followed.
There is another old saying/thought that I will conclude with.
Nations are not equal. Nations do not all contribute equally to the general good. Some, even many nowadays, contribute much that is evil [read not good for the United States].
And the world order, such as it is, is not self-sustaining.
There is no world government. There is no world court [in name only] . There is no world legislature.
What there is is quite the opposite. There is disorder and lawlessness. There are strong nations and there are weak ones, just as there are wealthy ones and poor ones.
And the law-abiding nations of the world need leadership, because the lawless ones do indeed have their leaders.
The United States of America is the leader of the law-abiding nations of the world. The United States has inherited this role, has grown into this role, and it had bloody well better act as though it has assumed this role.
The old saying: Lead or get out of the way. Getting out of the way is not an option, for there is no second stringer who is up to the job.
The United States is the only mission-capable nation, whether or not the President of the United States knows it, whether or not he believes that the United States is responsible for all the ills of the world.
He didn't know this as a candidate. He is finding it out now.
The world is watching to see how he does.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
THE NEXT LUNCH HOUR
Dear Wife has left The Study for a long weekend with Daughter and Cousin. They will enjoy a traditional, annual visit to a small town country fair; shop; dine; visit and visit and visit; and do all sorts of things I do not even know about. There will be cocktail hours and in-home and out-of-home dining and hopefully, fun to be had by all.
Sophie Matilda and I will hold down The Study.
There are the usual chores.
Hopefully, some of these will get done.
And there will be time, God willing, to monitor and think and talk and write about what on earth is going on around us.
As suggested in these pages earlier, we at The Study do not listen ‘live’ to any speeches by b.o. or his minions or to speeches by any of the foreign leaders [in our judgement] who are not worthy of being listened to.
Instead, we rely on analyses from a wide variety of resources and, on occasion, to reading the texts of said speeches.
We used both methods of understanding last night and this morning regarding the remarks yesterday by b.o. and gaddafi at the u.n..
We could say a lot of things about these two speeches. It is at times like these that I regret not being able to have lunch with all my former colleagues in our History Department.
We were a somewhat diverse group – liberals, moderates, conservatives, and some crossovers hard to describe.
Folks from other departments would sometimes come up to eat with us, just to observe or participate in often lively exchanges.
Only rarely would tempers flare.
But sentiments would invariably be strongly expressed.
Such would be the case on a day like this, a day after some remarkable performances by some of the world’s leaders.
At that luncheon table, a decade ago, i might have poured my coffee and made my sandwich and then have opened up with, “Well, gotta give him credit, b.o. is really out to change the role of the United States of America in world affairs.”
And that would get us going. If I didn’t do it, someone else would make a similar or a different point.
I find that Sophie Matilda agrees with almost everything I say, except when we talk about her baths or her taking of medicine.
To my colleagues, I might have said that I am not going to parrot the ridicule and disbelief which has greeted the statement by our President – except to say that he misrepresented reality, completely and entirely – in everything he said yesterday.
I might have said that it was an embarrassment, a humiliation, that I can imagine what any knowing observer must have thought.
I know what I now think about the speech, twenty-four hours later.
The professional diplomats, if not the politicians, the good ones, know the score.
They know the nature of science; the inevitability of the spread of technology, including nuclear technology; the role of alliances, even the necessity of alliances; of balances of power; of the inherent inequality of nations; of the need for a peacekeeper; of the importance of national interest; and on and on.
And then, of course, there is the matter of the u.n. itself and its abilities, or rather its inabilities, to cope with the problems of the world since its inception so many decades ago.
I would have suggested that the u.n. is a relic of WW2 – a leftover of the mindset that helped the Good Guys win that epic struggle: the idea that victory in that war would allow the world to move into broad, sunlit uplands, as, I believe, Churchill proclaimed.
Well, our side won the war but the uplands we moved into had some clouds.
And the clouds are getting denser, the more years that go by. And the u.n., the agency of peace created by the victors, has not turned out to be the innovation that its creators thought it would be.
And then our lunch hour would be over and we would go back to our twenty-five or thirty young students – and we would do what we could to share with them the skills we hoped would help them develop into responsible young persons.
And I would look forward to the next lunch hour.
Sophie Matilda and I will hold down The Study.
There are the usual chores.
Hopefully, some of these will get done.
And there will be time, God willing, to monitor and think and talk and write about what on earth is going on around us.
As suggested in these pages earlier, we at The Study do not listen ‘live’ to any speeches by b.o. or his minions or to speeches by any of the foreign leaders [in our judgement] who are not worthy of being listened to.
Instead, we rely on analyses from a wide variety of resources and, on occasion, to reading the texts of said speeches.
We used both methods of understanding last night and this morning regarding the remarks yesterday by b.o. and gaddafi at the u.n..
We could say a lot of things about these two speeches. It is at times like these that I regret not being able to have lunch with all my former colleagues in our History Department.
We were a somewhat diverse group – liberals, moderates, conservatives, and some crossovers hard to describe.
Folks from other departments would sometimes come up to eat with us, just to observe or participate in often lively exchanges.
Only rarely would tempers flare.
But sentiments would invariably be strongly expressed.
Such would be the case on a day like this, a day after some remarkable performances by some of the world’s leaders.
At that luncheon table, a decade ago, i might have poured my coffee and made my sandwich and then have opened up with, “Well, gotta give him credit, b.o. is really out to change the role of the United States of America in world affairs.”
And that would get us going. If I didn’t do it, someone else would make a similar or a different point.
I find that Sophie Matilda agrees with almost everything I say, except when we talk about her baths or her taking of medicine.
To my colleagues, I might have said that I am not going to parrot the ridicule and disbelief which has greeted the statement by our President – except to say that he misrepresented reality, completely and entirely – in everything he said yesterday.
I might have said that it was an embarrassment, a humiliation, that I can imagine what any knowing observer must have thought.
I know what I now think about the speech, twenty-four hours later.
The professional diplomats, if not the politicians, the good ones, know the score.
They know the nature of science; the inevitability of the spread of technology, including nuclear technology; the role of alliances, even the necessity of alliances; of balances of power; of the inherent inequality of nations; of the need for a peacekeeper; of the importance of national interest; and on and on.
And then, of course, there is the matter of the u.n. itself and its abilities, or rather its inabilities, to cope with the problems of the world since its inception so many decades ago.
I would have suggested that the u.n. is a relic of WW2 – a leftover of the mindset that helped the Good Guys win that epic struggle: the idea that victory in that war would allow the world to move into broad, sunlit uplands, as, I believe, Churchill proclaimed.
Well, our side won the war but the uplands we moved into had some clouds.
And the clouds are getting denser, the more years that go by. And the u.n., the agency of peace created by the victors, has not turned out to be the innovation that its creators thought it would be.
And then our lunch hour would be over and we would go back to our twenty-five or thirty young students – and we would do what we could to share with them the skills we hoped would help them develop into responsible young persons.
And I would look forward to the next lunch hour.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
WATCH AND LISTEN
The Study routinely scans the excellent reporting/editorializing done at Powerline.
The following caught our eye this morning:
Obama's [foreign policy problems] stem from a combination of inexperience, arrogance, and misguided ideology. He'll outgrow the first problem, but not the other two.
A lot of important folks are in New York City this week. Far more than usual.
And diplomacy will command much of the broadcast and print media attention.
The Bismarkian sausage factory will be on display for those who have the eyes with which to see, the ears with which to hear.
Well, it is always more or less on display, but this week in NYC it will really be in the forefront.
b.o. will be on display.
We should watch him.
We should listen to him.
We should watch the analyses of what he says and does.
The United States is the leader of the Good Guys.
Watch and listen to what he says to and about the Allies of the leader of the Good Guys.
The following caught our eye this morning:
Obama's [foreign policy problems] stem from a combination of inexperience, arrogance, and misguided ideology. He'll outgrow the first problem, but not the other two.
A lot of important folks are in New York City this week. Far more than usual.
And diplomacy will command much of the broadcast and print media attention.
The Bismarkian sausage factory will be on display for those who have the eyes with which to see, the ears with which to hear.
Well, it is always more or less on display, but this week in NYC it will really be in the forefront.
b.o. will be on display.
We should watch him.
We should listen to him.
We should watch the analyses of what he says and does.
The United States is the leader of the Good Guys.
Watch and listen to what he says to and about the Allies of the leader of the Good Guys.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
ARE WE OR WERE WE?
'We can't afford the moral high ground' in the London Times is a must read for anyone trying to understand how nations work for and against each other in this modern age.
Unpleasant reading. It is like a dose of medicine that tastes dreadful.
It reminds me of the Bismark quotation oft quoted in these pages: "Those who like sausages and politics should never watch either being made."
Unpleasant, but oh so true.
Follow the link below.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6843433.ece
Accept the premises set forth in the article or not, but consider, as we see and hear in the next few weeks all sorts of nonsense being put forth by various world leaders, our own President included, that the world needs to scrap and replace the international order largely established, protected, and administered by the Anglo-American Special Relationship for the last two centuries, that the nations and agencies being proposed as the new protectors and administrators will not be Great Britain or the United States, the two greatest, most significant democracies the world has ever known.
I will not name the replacements being considered.
You can make up your own list of likely candidates, considering who and what is calling for the changes.
But I will emphasize again that they will not be the great democracies mentioned above.
And I will quote one of my favorite experts on such matters:
Many forms of government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time....
Churchill - 1947
Consider the speeches we will see/hear at the u.n. this week. And listen to b.o. call for new world orders. And listen to China calling for a new monetary system. And watch our diplomats sitting down with Iran and N. Korea promising us the fruits of extending the open hand. And watch the current sweeps going on rousting out the terrorists from New York City and related environs. And watch our Justice Department possibly undertaking prosecutions of the CIA and consider: are we on the right path in this year of change?
Or were we on the right path?
Unpleasant reading. It is like a dose of medicine that tastes dreadful.
It reminds me of the Bismark quotation oft quoted in these pages: "Those who like sausages and politics should never watch either being made."
Unpleasant, but oh so true.
Follow the link below.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6843433.ece
Accept the premises set forth in the article or not, but consider, as we see and hear in the next few weeks all sorts of nonsense being put forth by various world leaders, our own President included, that the world needs to scrap and replace the international order largely established, protected, and administered by the Anglo-American Special Relationship for the last two centuries, that the nations and agencies being proposed as the new protectors and administrators will not be Great Britain or the United States, the two greatest, most significant democracies the world has ever known.
I will not name the replacements being considered.
You can make up your own list of likely candidates, considering who and what is calling for the changes.
But I will emphasize again that they will not be the great democracies mentioned above.
And I will quote one of my favorite experts on such matters:
Many forms of government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time....
Churchill - 1947
Consider the speeches we will see/hear at the u.n. this week. And listen to b.o. call for new world orders. And listen to China calling for a new monetary system. And watch our diplomats sitting down with Iran and N. Korea promising us the fruits of extending the open hand. And watch the current sweeps going on rousting out the terrorists from New York City and related environs. And watch our Justice Department possibly undertaking prosecutions of the CIA and consider: are we on the right path in this year of change?
Or were we on the right path?
Monday, September 21, 2009
GOD'S ORDER OF THINGS
9pm Monday night.
Cool temps today but muggy, very humid. Temp in low 70’s.
Small animal activity around The Study is picking up.
Our resident squirrels are carrying ping pong sized things in their mouths and rolling on the ground and jumping from high branches and chasing each other from one end of our garden to the other.
A small silvery bird, sparrow sized, stopped by the still empty feeder. We will stock it and the corn feeder and the peanut feeder in a few weeks.
Son-in-law reported seeing three deer in his back yard yesterday eating delicacies from his garden.
Driving away from his house, Dear Wife saw a large bird ‘dining’ on roadside carrion – the scavenger was the size of a wild turkey and seemed to know exactly what it was doing.
Nuff said.
Neighbor’s five cats have worn a footpath across our front yard. You can see it if I let grass grow a bit.
Our grass can take it.
Honey bees, bless them, have been busy of late on our ‘everlasting’ plants, Gramma’s favs. We see very few nowadays.
Herds [I know, wrong word] of sparrows and grackles and the like have been descending on our grasses and apparently are getting some benefit.
All of our grass is of a volunteer variety.
Robins too are busy once again.
Which reminds me, I just purchased a book for Dear Wife and Daughter – and for myself – entitled Wesley the Owl, the story of a young woman and a barn owl – an account of a 17 or more year relationship of a young scientist and a lovely and loving creature.
The author states that a barn owl can detect a field mouse under three feet of snow by hearing the heartbeat of the mouse.
I thought of that today when I saw the robins ‘listening’ for the worms in the soil with that tilt of their heads.
Haven’t read the book yet, but will when the Ladies are through with it.
At any rate, the tempo of ‘natural life’ seems to be picking up, perhaps in anticipation of the coming change of seasons.
We need to order firewood. And soon the leaves will begin to fall.
God’s order of things.
Cool temps today but muggy, very humid. Temp in low 70’s.
Small animal activity around The Study is picking up.
Our resident squirrels are carrying ping pong sized things in their mouths and rolling on the ground and jumping from high branches and chasing each other from one end of our garden to the other.
A small silvery bird, sparrow sized, stopped by the still empty feeder. We will stock it and the corn feeder and the peanut feeder in a few weeks.
Son-in-law reported seeing three deer in his back yard yesterday eating delicacies from his garden.
Driving away from his house, Dear Wife saw a large bird ‘dining’ on roadside carrion – the scavenger was the size of a wild turkey and seemed to know exactly what it was doing.
Nuff said.
Neighbor’s five cats have worn a footpath across our front yard. You can see it if I let grass grow a bit.
Our grass can take it.
Honey bees, bless them, have been busy of late on our ‘everlasting’ plants, Gramma’s favs. We see very few nowadays.
Herds [I know, wrong word] of sparrows and grackles and the like have been descending on our grasses and apparently are getting some benefit.
All of our grass is of a volunteer variety.
Robins too are busy once again.
Which reminds me, I just purchased a book for Dear Wife and Daughter – and for myself – entitled Wesley the Owl, the story of a young woman and a barn owl – an account of a 17 or more year relationship of a young scientist and a lovely and loving creature.
The author states that a barn owl can detect a field mouse under three feet of snow by hearing the heartbeat of the mouse.
I thought of that today when I saw the robins ‘listening’ for the worms in the soil with that tilt of their heads.
Haven’t read the book yet, but will when the Ladies are through with it.
At any rate, the tempo of ‘natural life’ seems to be picking up, perhaps in anticipation of the coming change of seasons.
We need to order firewood. And soon the leaves will begin to fall.
God’s order of things.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
TIMES CHANGE
Saturday morning.
40+ degrees last night.
I would have used a degree symbol but I don’t know how to do that.
Weather is predicting 40 tonight.
And soon we go North to close up camp. Brrrr!
Dear Wife is planning to take Grandchildren to a rural orchard today to apple pick, wagon ride, hot dog eat, and cider and doughnut eat and relive the great days of doing same with our kids.
We used to do it once a year, a lifetime ago. A tradition.
Into a station wagon would go First Dog; Gramma Gaines; Dear Wife; our two kids; and myself and a camera and off we would go to this same orchard [order of passengers and cargo does not reflect relative importance].
We would do the cider and all of the above and then stop on the way home at a German eatery near the orchard.
Did this for years and years.
And then the kids grew and Gramma died. And First Dog passed away.
Times change.
And now the Grandkids are here.
And Dear Wife redoes the tradition.
You do what you can.
Seems a bit early, but why not?
We were visiting an upscale mall last week for some shopping and some very good dining, and in Macy’s, a store we dearly love, Christmas decorations already are being set out on one floor – trees and decorations and Santas.
Seems a bit early, but why not?
Times change.
We still think of Macy’s as Hudson’s, J.L. to be exact, in our minds, still the greatest department store ever to grace the world of retail marketing.
But that is another story.
Where Have All the Flowers Gone, Long Time Passing? as the song lyric so eloquently says?
It does not take much to set us to thinking of the 1960’s, so much a pivotal decade, so much so in so many ways.
The death of Mary Travers is a reminder of so many things.
We were not so much fans of her as of her group, as of her type of music, immortal folk music.
So many artists; so many coffee shops; so many dragons to slay; so many battles to be won.
The early 60’s – so very important a period.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood….
Many roads diverged in a lot of woods that decade, and we all took the roads we took.
40+ degrees last night.
I would have used a degree symbol but I don’t know how to do that.
Weather is predicting 40 tonight.
And soon we go North to close up camp. Brrrr!
Dear Wife is planning to take Grandchildren to a rural orchard today to apple pick, wagon ride, hot dog eat, and cider and doughnut eat and relive the great days of doing same with our kids.
We used to do it once a year, a lifetime ago. A tradition.
Into a station wagon would go First Dog; Gramma Gaines; Dear Wife; our two kids; and myself and a camera and off we would go to this same orchard [order of passengers and cargo does not reflect relative importance].
We would do the cider and all of the above and then stop on the way home at a German eatery near the orchard.
Did this for years and years.
And then the kids grew and Gramma died. And First Dog passed away.
Times change.
And now the Grandkids are here.
And Dear Wife redoes the tradition.
You do what you can.
Seems a bit early, but why not?
We were visiting an upscale mall last week for some shopping and some very good dining, and in Macy’s, a store we dearly love, Christmas decorations already are being set out on one floor – trees and decorations and Santas.
Seems a bit early, but why not?
Times change.
We still think of Macy’s as Hudson’s, J.L. to be exact, in our minds, still the greatest department store ever to grace the world of retail marketing.
But that is another story.
Where Have All the Flowers Gone, Long Time Passing? as the song lyric so eloquently says?
It does not take much to set us to thinking of the 1960’s, so much a pivotal decade, so much so in so many ways.
The death of Mary Travers is a reminder of so many things.
We were not so much fans of her as of her group, as of her type of music, immortal folk music.
So many artists; so many coffee shops; so many dragons to slay; so many battles to be won.
The early 60’s – so very important a period.
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood….
Many roads diverged in a lot of woods that decade, and we all took the roads we took.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
b.o. MARCHES ON
Now, b.o. has shown that he cannot deliver on many of his promises to dismantle the Bush/Cheney style of governance/leadership of the United States.
He has generally failed when it comes to the really difficult dismantlings, such as closing Gitmo; successfully fighting the Afghan War; withdrawing all US forces from Iraq by a ridiculous date; or ‘bringing the nation together.’
But when it comes to breaking a promise to foreign allies – allies which have ‘gone out on a limb’ to support a US national interest – b.o. seems to have more success.
We are speaking here, of course, of his just now announcement that he is scrapping the Bush plan to create SAM missile sites in Eastern Europe to interdict Iranian missile strikes against the US.
Russia opposed the idea.
Bush said the Russian opposition could be dealt with.
b.o. has decided that it is better to sacrifice the missile shield than to court continued discontent from the Kremlin.
Watch the reaction of the East European governments. And boy, will this strengthen b.o.’s hand with regard to the Iranians.
Now they will really have reasons to see him in a new, truer light.
Yeah, right!!
And we should expect renewed interest from Putin&Co. with regard to US-Russian relations.
b.o. marches on.
He has generally failed when it comes to the really difficult dismantlings, such as closing Gitmo; successfully fighting the Afghan War; withdrawing all US forces from Iraq by a ridiculous date; or ‘bringing the nation together.’
But when it comes to breaking a promise to foreign allies – allies which have ‘gone out on a limb’ to support a US national interest – b.o. seems to have more success.
We are speaking here, of course, of his just now announcement that he is scrapping the Bush plan to create SAM missile sites in Eastern Europe to interdict Iranian missile strikes against the US.
Russia opposed the idea.
Bush said the Russian opposition could be dealt with.
b.o. has decided that it is better to sacrifice the missile shield than to court continued discontent from the Kremlin.
Watch the reaction of the East European governments. And boy, will this strengthen b.o.’s hand with regard to the Iranians.
Now they will really have reasons to see him in a new, truer light.
Yeah, right!!
And we should expect renewed interest from Putin&Co. with regard to US-Russian relations.
b.o. marches on.
TWO MORE R.I.P.s
Joel at the Mole Hole has noted the passing of Mary Travers and Henry Gibson, both entertainers of our youth.
We at The Study are quite a bit older than Joel, but we our interests happily overlap regarding such things.
And as we noted on Joel's site, Ernie Harwell, the Detroit Tiger baseball announcer of many, many years, has just made a farewell appearance at the home field of the Tigers.
When jane fonda's Dad, Henry died, she said that we are all moving up to the turnstyle (sp?).
She was/is right.
We at The Study are quite a bit older than Joel, but we our interests happily overlap regarding such things.
And as we noted on Joel's site, Ernie Harwell, the Detroit Tiger baseball announcer of many, many years, has just made a farewell appearance at the home field of the Tigers.
When jane fonda's Dad, Henry died, she said that we are all moving up to the turnstyle (sp?).
She was/is right.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
A FEW OBSERVATIONS
We note that the four resident squirrels on our property are currently very active.
They are hereing and thereing - I am not sure what they are about, but it seems to us that they are engaged in pre-fall whatever, getting ready for the inevitable seasonal changes.
Three koi have had a good summer, all of them growing considerably.
Even the unfertilized grass has been growing rather lushly.
Dear Wife is attending a professional baseball game with visiting Dear Cousin and Friend. Dear Son is providing transport and refreshments. He also arranged for the tickets.
Good lad.
Dear Friend flew fifty some combat missions over Italy in WW2 in B-25s.
We enjoyed a long talk about those years last night.
With appropriate adult beverage.
Did you know that if you were American air crew and were shot down over enemy-held territory – and you made it back to American or Allied lines, you had an automatic ticket home?
We did not know that.
Neat!
Sophie and I are, as Gramma used to say, ‘Holding down the fort’ while the family is at the game.
Baseball, the national sport.
We restored our tree face for the umpteenth time.
Tree face = two eyes, a nose, and a mouth set against the side of a tree. Held on by screws.
Something, creatures or wind or whatever has cast them all down several times this summer.
We have brought the grill downstate in preparation for closing up The North and it has been in operation.
And we continue to watch the news, national and international.
Gramma also used to say ‘Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof’.
And, if you cannot say something nice, don't say anything.
I know, lots of people used to say that.
I still do. So do they.
Lots of people do.
Anyway, no evil spoken this post.
Except, the various policies of b.o. all appear to be headed for failure: his foreign policies; his appointments to office; his policies regarding health reform on the grande scale; his promises to his lunatic supporters (sorry); and so on.
Anyway, we watch. Lots of crazy policies are playing out to maturity and will either end his credibility or be altered so as to have a chance of seeming to be well thought out.
Wonder which it will be – failures or alterations.
We are starting to think that he might well be the first single-term President in quite a few years.
See, we almost stayed entirely positive.
They are hereing and thereing - I am not sure what they are about, but it seems to us that they are engaged in pre-fall whatever, getting ready for the inevitable seasonal changes.
Three koi have had a good summer, all of them growing considerably.
Even the unfertilized grass has been growing rather lushly.
Dear Wife is attending a professional baseball game with visiting Dear Cousin and Friend. Dear Son is providing transport and refreshments. He also arranged for the tickets.
Good lad.
Dear Friend flew fifty some combat missions over Italy in WW2 in B-25s.
We enjoyed a long talk about those years last night.
With appropriate adult beverage.
Did you know that if you were American air crew and were shot down over enemy-held territory – and you made it back to American or Allied lines, you had an automatic ticket home?
We did not know that.
Neat!
Sophie and I are, as Gramma used to say, ‘Holding down the fort’ while the family is at the game.
Baseball, the national sport.
We restored our tree face for the umpteenth time.
Tree face = two eyes, a nose, and a mouth set against the side of a tree. Held on by screws.
Something, creatures or wind or whatever has cast them all down several times this summer.
We have brought the grill downstate in preparation for closing up The North and it has been in operation.
And we continue to watch the news, national and international.
Gramma also used to say ‘Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof’.
And, if you cannot say something nice, don't say anything.
I know, lots of people used to say that.
I still do. So do they.
Lots of people do.
Anyway, no evil spoken this post.
Except, the various policies of b.o. all appear to be headed for failure: his foreign policies; his appointments to office; his policies regarding health reform on the grande scale; his promises to his lunatic supporters (sorry); and so on.
Anyway, we watch. Lots of crazy policies are playing out to maturity and will either end his credibility or be altered so as to have a chance of seeming to be well thought out.
Wonder which it will be – failures or alterations.
We are starting to think that he might well be the first single-term President in quite a few years.
See, we almost stayed entirely positive.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
MAYBE IS AN IMPORTANT WORD
ITEM: THE senior political analyst of npr insists that it is somehow worse for a Republican Congressman to call b.o. a liar than it was for the dem Speaker of the House to have called President Bush a liar.
The saddest thing about the Republican’s outburst is the fact that he almost immediately apologized for stating the truth about the current Chief Executive.
It is definitely time for THE senior p.a. of npr to retire – way past.
ITEM: Did b.o. apologize for calling the police sgt. he shared a beer with at the White House stupid??
ITEM: And folks are rightly in an uproar over sending an elite team of British Commando into harm’s way to rescue a NYT's reporter who was warned to stay away from the place he went to and where he was subsequently captured by barbarians.
And now the Commando Unit is being criticized for ‘allowing’ or ‘causing’ the death of the Afghani interpreter – as though they deliberately planned to allow the death of the ‘non-white’.
ITEM: And b.o. appoints communists to office – folks who believe that President Bush conspired in bring down The Towers.
ITEM: charlie wrangle still holds his chairmanship.
ITEM: ACORN soldiers on – supported by lots and lots of Americans. What does that say about the overall health of The Republic??
ITEM: The Afghan war is the war b.o. said he wanted to fight. He said he wanted to draw down the US effort in Iraq.
He is now the President. He is drawing down US forces in Iraq. How is he doing in Afghanistan??
ITEM: It looks like Michigan is going to get the new Gitmo. Lucky Michigan. Good work, b.o.
Is a leader supposed to slavishly follow stupid campaign promises made to satisfy stupid voters, or is he or she supposed to inform the electorate of what has to be done and then do the right thing and take the consequences if his stupid constituency votes him out of office??
ITEM: It is being argued by some that the current political and cultural divisions in our Republic were not brought on by any single climatic event, that instead they are symptoms of a growing rot which is infesting the core values of our people.
The fact that so many Americans have so much patience with the policies of b.o. argues in favor of this thesis.
The American Republic is no longer a child nation. It is not as old as the oldest. But it is old enough to feel some of the aches and pains of maturity.
All other great civilizations have eventually declined.
It is a sobering thought to think that the exceptional positive qualities of the United States are already in a state of terminal decline.
A people eventually get the government they deserve.
Do we deserve b.o. and his brand of government??
Maybe we do.
And then again, maybe we do not.
The saddest thing about the Republican’s outburst is the fact that he almost immediately apologized for stating the truth about the current Chief Executive.
It is definitely time for THE senior p.a. of npr to retire – way past.
ITEM: Did b.o. apologize for calling the police sgt. he shared a beer with at the White House stupid??
ITEM: And folks are rightly in an uproar over sending an elite team of British Commando into harm’s way to rescue a NYT's reporter who was warned to stay away from the place he went to and where he was subsequently captured by barbarians.
And now the Commando Unit is being criticized for ‘allowing’ or ‘causing’ the death of the Afghani interpreter – as though they deliberately planned to allow the death of the ‘non-white’.
ITEM: And b.o. appoints communists to office – folks who believe that President Bush conspired in bring down The Towers.
ITEM: charlie wrangle still holds his chairmanship.
ITEM: ACORN soldiers on – supported by lots and lots of Americans. What does that say about the overall health of The Republic??
ITEM: The Afghan war is the war b.o. said he wanted to fight. He said he wanted to draw down the US effort in Iraq.
He is now the President. He is drawing down US forces in Iraq. How is he doing in Afghanistan??
ITEM: It looks like Michigan is going to get the new Gitmo. Lucky Michigan. Good work, b.o.
Is a leader supposed to slavishly follow stupid campaign promises made to satisfy stupid voters, or is he or she supposed to inform the electorate of what has to be done and then do the right thing and take the consequences if his stupid constituency votes him out of office??
ITEM: It is being argued by some that the current political and cultural divisions in our Republic were not brought on by any single climatic event, that instead they are symptoms of a growing rot which is infesting the core values of our people.
The fact that so many Americans have so much patience with the policies of b.o. argues in favor of this thesis.
The American Republic is no longer a child nation. It is not as old as the oldest. But it is old enough to feel some of the aches and pains of maturity.
All other great civilizations have eventually declined.
It is a sobering thought to think that the exceptional positive qualities of the United States are already in a state of terminal decline.
A people eventually get the government they deserve.
Do we deserve b.o. and his brand of government??
Maybe we do.
And then again, maybe we do not.
Friday, September 11, 2009
'FOR THE FALLEN'
What to say on this Day of Days?
We watched the morning coverage of tributes and the commemorations and shed a few tears as we watched and remembered.
But what to say?
We can do no better at this late hour than quote a stanza from a poem written in 1914 to honor the dead of the BEF in the Great War of that year and now applicable "...as a tribute to all casualties of war, regardless of nation."
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
As we so often have been saying of late, lest we forget.
We watched the morning coverage of tributes and the commemorations and shed a few tears as we watched and remembered.
But what to say?
We can do no better at this late hour than quote a stanza from a poem written in 1914 to honor the dead of the BEF in the Great War of that year and now applicable "...as a tribute to all casualties of war, regardless of nation."
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
As we so often have been saying of late, lest we forget.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
MORE LATER
It is sooooo easy to be negative.
I know, there is a lot to be positive about, but there is so much of the other kind of stuff going on.
For example, President b.o. has started to remind me of Emperor Nero.
I keep having this crazy picture in my mind of him in a toga fiddling around making his speeches about his health care fixation while so many other problems are figuratively burning up the world.
Yeah, I think that is one of the big negatives pressing in on us here at The Study.
There he is up on his Seven Hills, blah blah blah – no substance – lies, impossible promises, idiotic appointments and gestures and policies, while more and more countries are making nukes; making hostile combinations; blowing up our troops; planning to attack each other; interest groups and pressure groups here at home are contributing more to the problems than they are solving; the economy is not improving; and on and on and on.
A Congressman says the truth about b.o.. Good for him.
And then he apologized. That is bad.
h. reid called President Bush a liar and proudly announced that he was not going to apologize.
That was bad.
Israel is going to strike Iran. Sure looks like it.
Venezuela is moving toward Moscow and is working to subvert in advance any oil embargo it might face in the future.
The most we can hope for in the health care/insurance reform is that nothing important will happen.
Congressional leadership – majority leadership - is, plainly speaking, disgusting.
The US will not develop new petroleum resources.
The US will begin to mandate mercury-laden lightbulbs – a true health menace when broken and relatively expensive. And they are dimmer than our good old-fashioned kind.
We at The Study plan to stock up, big time, on the old style – the healthy kind. The old kind.
A hope: the b.o. snow plow steam engine. It keeps on piling up the snow.
Bring it on. Pile up more and more.
But the Republican Party has no one who has as yet accepted or who has stepped up to assume the ‘mantle’ of presidential hopeful who can win.
Where is such a person?
How come there is no one on the fabled horizon?
This is bad.
And another negative – the idiot who just resigned, or who was actually fired from his czardom as head of this or that – was/is a self-proclaimed commie who thinks that President Bush helped to plan the attacks of 9-11.
So does marty sheen (sp?), the g.d. actor who has demanded a meeting with b.o. to demand that b.o. investigate this nonsense – because he apparently believes it is true.
GOOD GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And his appointment was praised by numerous toadies in the b.o. admin.
GOOD GOD!!!!!!!!!!
And then we are told by very good doctors that we should not smoke cigars.
Now, now you are talking big negatives.
We are not to smoke cigars.
We are adult. I know of a cigar store. It is but a short drive from The Study.
It would be so easy.
They like me.
It is small and old and housed in a little green storefront that looks – that looks Victorian.
We love things Victorian.
Anyway, you walk in….and things happen.
You forget about b.o.
You forget about Iran.
Instead, you look at leather sofas and chairs and big ash trays and hundreds of cigars in the huge humidor.
And the world of the 21st century recedes – and you can imagine that you hear horses clopping by outside instead of cars and horns and such.
And the aromas.
And the doctor says stop smoking.
Anyway, enough.
It is late.
We have had our manhattans and scotches w/o benefit of the leaf – and it is time for bed.
Take care.
More later.
I know, there is a lot to be positive about, but there is so much of the other kind of stuff going on.
For example, President b.o. has started to remind me of Emperor Nero.
I keep having this crazy picture in my mind of him in a toga fiddling around making his speeches about his health care fixation while so many other problems are figuratively burning up the world.
Yeah, I think that is one of the big negatives pressing in on us here at The Study.
There he is up on his Seven Hills, blah blah blah – no substance – lies, impossible promises, idiotic appointments and gestures and policies, while more and more countries are making nukes; making hostile combinations; blowing up our troops; planning to attack each other; interest groups and pressure groups here at home are contributing more to the problems than they are solving; the economy is not improving; and on and on and on.
A Congressman says the truth about b.o.. Good for him.
And then he apologized. That is bad.
h. reid called President Bush a liar and proudly announced that he was not going to apologize.
That was bad.
Israel is going to strike Iran. Sure looks like it.
Venezuela is moving toward Moscow and is working to subvert in advance any oil embargo it might face in the future.
The most we can hope for in the health care/insurance reform is that nothing important will happen.
Congressional leadership – majority leadership - is, plainly speaking, disgusting.
The US will not develop new petroleum resources.
The US will begin to mandate mercury-laden lightbulbs – a true health menace when broken and relatively expensive. And they are dimmer than our good old-fashioned kind.
We at The Study plan to stock up, big time, on the old style – the healthy kind. The old kind.
A hope: the b.o. snow plow steam engine. It keeps on piling up the snow.
Bring it on. Pile up more and more.
But the Republican Party has no one who has as yet accepted or who has stepped up to assume the ‘mantle’ of presidential hopeful who can win.
Where is such a person?
How come there is no one on the fabled horizon?
This is bad.
And another negative – the idiot who just resigned, or who was actually fired from his czardom as head of this or that – was/is a self-proclaimed commie who thinks that President Bush helped to plan the attacks of 9-11.
So does marty sheen (sp?), the g.d. actor who has demanded a meeting with b.o. to demand that b.o. investigate this nonsense – because he apparently believes it is true.
GOOD GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And his appointment was praised by numerous toadies in the b.o. admin.
GOOD GOD!!!!!!!!!!
And then we are told by very good doctors that we should not smoke cigars.
Now, now you are talking big negatives.
We are not to smoke cigars.
We are adult. I know of a cigar store. It is but a short drive from The Study.
It would be so easy.
They like me.
It is small and old and housed in a little green storefront that looks – that looks Victorian.
We love things Victorian.
Anyway, you walk in….and things happen.
You forget about b.o.
You forget about Iran.
Instead, you look at leather sofas and chairs and big ash trays and hundreds of cigars in the huge humidor.
And the world of the 21st century recedes – and you can imagine that you hear horses clopping by outside instead of cars and horns and such.
And the aromas.
And the doctor says stop smoking.
Anyway, enough.
It is late.
We have had our manhattans and scotches w/o benefit of the leaf – and it is time for bed.
Take care.
More later.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
EXCITING TIME
Back from two weeks in The North.
Back to the real world.
Or is the real world Up North?
We have asked that question before in these pages.
Anyway, we are back to whatever world this is and a lot is going on.
Postings have been less than usual. That is what happens when one is with friends and lots of friendly things are going on.
Thankfully, we have a few friends ‘downstate’ too, but even so, posting is easier when home at The Study.
Tonight b.o. presses the argument again for the program it is believed precious few in the Congress have thought through.
As is our custom, we will probably skip the actual performance, opting instead for reading the text and watching immediate and subsequent analysis by knowledgeable folks on both ‘sides of the aisle’.
Even some of the non-knowledgeable folks are ok to scan by – for a moment anyway.
We never watch b.o. in action if we can help it, as we have said before.
He has proven to us that he speaks out of both sides of his mouth excessively, even for a politician, even for a Chicago democratic politician.
And we are persuaded that that is quite an accomplishment, that to do so takes an inveterate liar.
And he is an accomplished one indeed.
At any rate, we will read and watch even more closely the reaction(s).
These are exciting times in the life of our Republic.
How can anyone be bored with such goings on?
Depressed sometimes?
Yes.
Bored??
No!
As Dr. Johnson said two centuries or so ago, “When one is tired of London, one is tired of life.”
When one is tired of the evolution of the United States of America, one is indeed tired of life.
Back to the real world.
Or is the real world Up North?
We have asked that question before in these pages.
Anyway, we are back to whatever world this is and a lot is going on.
Postings have been less than usual. That is what happens when one is with friends and lots of friendly things are going on.
Thankfully, we have a few friends ‘downstate’ too, but even so, posting is easier when home at The Study.
Tonight b.o. presses the argument again for the program it is believed precious few in the Congress have thought through.
As is our custom, we will probably skip the actual performance, opting instead for reading the text and watching immediate and subsequent analysis by knowledgeable folks on both ‘sides of the aisle’.
Even some of the non-knowledgeable folks are ok to scan by – for a moment anyway.
We never watch b.o. in action if we can help it, as we have said before.
He has proven to us that he speaks out of both sides of his mouth excessively, even for a politician, even for a Chicago democratic politician.
And we are persuaded that that is quite an accomplishment, that to do so takes an inveterate liar.
And he is an accomplished one indeed.
At any rate, we will read and watch even more closely the reaction(s).
These are exciting times in the life of our Republic.
How can anyone be bored with such goings on?
Depressed sometimes?
Yes.
Bored??
No!
As Dr. Johnson said two centuries or so ago, “When one is tired of London, one is tired of life.”
When one is tired of the evolution of the United States of America, one is indeed tired of life.
REGARDING HYPOCRISY AND POPPYCOCK
On Sunday, 21 September 2008, we published an item on the apology and service of repentence carried out by Bishop Shori, P.B. of ECUSA, the Episcopal Church of the United States.You can read the post at:
http://nonivorytower.blogspot.com/2008/09/stuff-of-hypocrisy-and-poppycock-bishop.html
On 8 September 2009, Anonymous wrote a reply, calling our post 'rubbish' and nit-picking.
Anon's definition of real repentence does not require the real penitent to have done anything wrong for which he or she is sorry, rather only that the penitent be sorry that the misdeed was done at all by someone, anyone, anytime.
Anon further allows that the 'real meaning' of repentence is merely that one have a 'change of mind' in order to carry out a real act of repentence.
And finally, rather than criticize the sincerely and meaningfully penitent P.B., Anon believes that The Study should praise her and TEC for being sorry for slavery practiced by members of TEC.
What should one say to this?
Couple of things.
One is that there are definitions and there are definitions. The one we used is one and it is a real one. It may not be one sufficient to satisfy Anon. But it says:
re·pent
1. To feel remorse, contrition, or self-reproach for what one has done or failed to do; be contrite.
2. To feel such regret for past conduct as to change one's mind regarding it:
3. To make a change for the better as a result of remorse or contrition for one's sins. [emphasis mine]
Note the personal tone of the definitions, personal and specific. NOT general, not generic. The penitent is to feel the remorse for what he or she has done and is expected to change his or her mind regarding said behavior.
Did the P.B. once approve of slavery??? I/we think she did not change her mind, unless she is a former slaver.And she is/was not.
And the penitent is to make a change for the better. TEC cannot change the insitutution's mind about slavery because it has already done so. She is not changing anything. She is not penitent for anything she has ever done.
She is not changing her mind.
Her service of apology and repentence is thusly not what Anon apparently thinks it was, that is, the real thing.
Come on Anon.
You are missing the points!!!!
http://nonivorytower.blogspot.com/2008/09/stuff-of-hypocrisy-and-poppycock-bishop.html
On 8 September 2009, Anonymous wrote a reply, calling our post 'rubbish' and nit-picking.
Anon's definition of real repentence does not require the real penitent to have done anything wrong for which he or she is sorry, rather only that the penitent be sorry that the misdeed was done at all by someone, anyone, anytime.
Anon further allows that the 'real meaning' of repentence is merely that one have a 'change of mind' in order to carry out a real act of repentence.
And finally, rather than criticize the sincerely and meaningfully penitent P.B., Anon believes that The Study should praise her and TEC for being sorry for slavery practiced by members of TEC.
What should one say to this?
Couple of things.
One is that there are definitions and there are definitions. The one we used is one and it is a real one. It may not be one sufficient to satisfy Anon. But it says:
re·pent
1. To feel remorse, contrition, or self-reproach for what one has done or failed to do; be contrite.
2. To feel such regret for past conduct as to change one's mind regarding it:
3. To make a change for the better as a result of remorse or contrition for one's sins. [emphasis mine]
Note the personal tone of the definitions, personal and specific. NOT general, not generic. The penitent is to feel the remorse for what he or she has done and is expected to change his or her mind regarding said behavior.
Did the P.B. once approve of slavery??? I/we think she did not change her mind, unless she is a former slaver.And she is/was not.
And the penitent is to make a change for the better. TEC cannot change the insitutution's mind about slavery because it has already done so. She is not changing anything. She is not penitent for anything she has ever done.
She is not changing her mind.
Her service of apology and repentence is thusly not what Anon apparently thinks it was, that is, the real thing.
Come on Anon.
You are missing the points!!!!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
A DAY IN THE NORTH
Midnight and scotch and jack daniels.
And a laptop.
And The North.
It is late – and we have tasted – but we are ok.
Now, there is a combination.
We are hosting two relatives Up North this weekend.
One is a cousin. The other is her friend, a WW2 veteran, crewman on a B-24 flying over Italy in the last War.
I/we are looking forward to many lively discussions over the next few days.
It is September 3. The seventieth anniversary of the start of WW2.
Will there be any mention in the msm?
I wonder.
Our guest was a young lad who was crew on a B-24. I hope to have long discussions with him.
We received a letter from a British cousin the other day. She lamented the dirth of statesmen these days.
Is it the people or the times or the culture or the what that brings forth the Churchills and the Reagans and the FDRs?
Anyway, we do not have the greats today. She is right. It is true. We have no prominent statesmen/women on deck, as it were.
Why not?
It is late.
I have to walk Sophie Matilda and it is dark and cold outside. 48 tonight is forecast.
It is ok. She has had her pills and her ear meds and she is ready.
I will take her out. Our guests are tucked in in their minibeds and they are comfy.
We had drinks and dinner and conversation and they all went on a walk.
We look forward to tomorrow.
Another day, a good day in The North.
And a laptop.
And The North.
It is late – and we have tasted – but we are ok.
Now, there is a combination.
We are hosting two relatives Up North this weekend.
One is a cousin. The other is her friend, a WW2 veteran, crewman on a B-24 flying over Italy in the last War.
I/we are looking forward to many lively discussions over the next few days.
It is September 3. The seventieth anniversary of the start of WW2.
Will there be any mention in the msm?
I wonder.
Our guest was a young lad who was crew on a B-24. I hope to have long discussions with him.
We received a letter from a British cousin the other day. She lamented the dirth of statesmen these days.
Is it the people or the times or the culture or the what that brings forth the Churchills and the Reagans and the FDRs?
Anyway, we do not have the greats today. She is right. It is true. We have no prominent statesmen/women on deck, as it were.
Why not?
It is late.
I have to walk Sophie Matilda and it is dark and cold outside. 48 tonight is forecast.
It is ok. She has had her pills and her ear meds and she is ready.
I will take her out. Our guests are tucked in in their minibeds and they are comfy.
We had drinks and dinner and conversation and they all went on a walk.
We look forward to tomorrow.
Another day, a good day in The North.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
WARMLY TREATED
Dear Wife was reading last night.
I was at our laptop.
And we heard it – the yip/howl of coyotes.
Now, folks up here in The North take such things for granted. We are in The North, but honestly, we are greenhorns really. Downstaters as the natives say around here.
And such a thing as the yip of a coyote is exciting to us.
So is stopping by the tasting room of a winery [there are lots of them up here] and whilst visiting with the server at the tasting bar being offered a free taste of premium wine reserved for paid tasting only and then being offered a small glass of premium imported Italian wine which is kept on hand for personal enjoyment.
That was/is a long sentence. Sorry.
This happened yesterday. We were reminded of the time a few years ago we were offered glasses of wine in a small-town grocery store by the owner as he sat talking to friends by the cash register, several open bottles standing ready.
He is the fellow I wrote about some time ago who, when asked by me if he had any fat-free half-and-half, replied that “No I do not. I only sell things I understand.”
I love it.
And then there was the incident of the anniversary benefit of a diners’ club we belong to.
We joined a diners’ club at a restaurant we love overlooking a beautiful bay on Lake Michigan.
The restaurant has branches downstate.
We tried to go to the downstate version a couple of weeks ago to claim the anniversary benefit of $20 off your anniversary dinner. Members are eligible any day of the anniversary month.
Well, I had temporarily lost the coupon.
We had never visited the downstate establishment.
I called to make a reservation and to explain that I had lost my benefit coupon but not my membership card.
The management informed me on the phone that we could not claim the benefit w/o the coupon and that I should contact some office or other by phone to get another.
He had the right, but I did not feel warmly treated. And this on the heels of a recorded message informing me that if we ate at this downstate branch of our membership, we would be in the foremost ‘bar crowd’ in the city.
Well, we resolved to utilize our coupon which I subsequently found when we got back to The North where we would not have to be a part of a ‘bar crowd’.
And then I forgot to take the coupon North with us.
With one day to go on our eligibility, we walked into the eatery, told the manager that we were going to enjoy a meal with him no matter what, but that I had forgotten the coupon, etc..
What did he say, this Northern manager??
He said no problem. Happy anniversary. You can have the benefit today. Send me the coupon when you get back ‘downstate’.
How sweet it is.
We felt warmly treated indeed.
And the dinner was perfect.
I was at our laptop.
And we heard it – the yip/howl of coyotes.
Now, folks up here in The North take such things for granted. We are in The North, but honestly, we are greenhorns really. Downstaters as the natives say around here.
And such a thing as the yip of a coyote is exciting to us.
So is stopping by the tasting room of a winery [there are lots of them up here] and whilst visiting with the server at the tasting bar being offered a free taste of premium wine reserved for paid tasting only and then being offered a small glass of premium imported Italian wine which is kept on hand for personal enjoyment.
That was/is a long sentence. Sorry.
This happened yesterday. We were reminded of the time a few years ago we were offered glasses of wine in a small-town grocery store by the owner as he sat talking to friends by the cash register, several open bottles standing ready.
He is the fellow I wrote about some time ago who, when asked by me if he had any fat-free half-and-half, replied that “No I do not. I only sell things I understand.”
I love it.
And then there was the incident of the anniversary benefit of a diners’ club we belong to.
We joined a diners’ club at a restaurant we love overlooking a beautiful bay on Lake Michigan.
The restaurant has branches downstate.
We tried to go to the downstate version a couple of weeks ago to claim the anniversary benefit of $20 off your anniversary dinner. Members are eligible any day of the anniversary month.
Well, I had temporarily lost the coupon.
We had never visited the downstate establishment.
I called to make a reservation and to explain that I had lost my benefit coupon but not my membership card.
The management informed me on the phone that we could not claim the benefit w/o the coupon and that I should contact some office or other by phone to get another.
He had the right, but I did not feel warmly treated. And this on the heels of a recorded message informing me that if we ate at this downstate branch of our membership, we would be in the foremost ‘bar crowd’ in the city.
Well, we resolved to utilize our coupon which I subsequently found when we got back to The North where we would not have to be a part of a ‘bar crowd’.
And then I forgot to take the coupon North with us.
With one day to go on our eligibility, we walked into the eatery, told the manager that we were going to enjoy a meal with him no matter what, but that I had forgotten the coupon, etc..
What did he say, this Northern manager??
He said no problem. Happy anniversary. You can have the benefit today. Send me the coupon when you get back ‘downstate’.
How sweet it is.
We felt warmly treated indeed.
And the dinner was perfect.
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