What can one say about Memorial Day that has not already been said?
The Weekend has become a holiday weekend, one to enjoy time off form work, form routine.
It is a time to reconnect…if one has been disconnected…a time to kick back, unless you are in serious retail…
And for some it is a time to carouse and get smashed and the like, if we are to believe the msm reports that police will be out in force on roads and lakes to do their best to keep folks from killing and maiming themselves whilst acting like ill-behaved kids.
In past years I have quoted poets and others who have said this or that…and at times I have tried to develop some creative thought or two.
This time I poured a couple of fingers of Jack Daniels and lit a cigar and opened up a six-hundred page book of the wisdom of Winston Spencer Churchill.
Be it known that he qualifies as an expert on a lot of grounds, but two of ‘em are that he is ½ American and a combat veteran of many, many wars.
And he is a genius.
A renaissance man if there ever was one.
‘Nuff said.
Two quotes will suffice.
The first one has to do with the mission, once war has begun:
Once you are so unfortunate as to be drawn into a war, no price is too great to pay for an early and victorious peace.
The second quote has to do with those who have perished whilst in service:
There is really no limitation to the number of different ways in which the desire to show reverence and affection to the memory of the fallen, and to preserve that memory, have manifested themselves. But the great mass of those who fell could not indulge in expensive monuments, and the thing that is deeply ingrained in soldierly breasts is that all should be treated alike, general and private, prince and peasant, all who lie there in common honour, and that the wealthy should forgo in this matter that which their wealth would enable them to obtain.
We will attend a parade in our home town. Part of our family will walk in that parade.
Others of us will take folks to see it and cheer on those who are involved.
And we will talk a lot of things appropriate.
Have a good Memorial Day, Dear Friends.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
DON'T WHINE ON THE YACHT
It must be a most humbling experience to find oneself in the presence of a tornado.
Kind of like hearing a shotgun being locked and loaded…
Or staring down the line of site with a police canine who is not too sure of you…
I thought of these situations whilst ruminating over seeing and hearing customers at a favorite store of mine berate sales staff over the most trifling of issues…
It makes you wonder what has been going on in their days…or indeed, in their lives.
It does not take much courage to berate a salesperson in a retail establishment.
And it must really help the sales staff get through the day.
Loss of civility…lots of losses going on these days.
Our new priest reminds us each Sunday that life is short; that we should do our utmost to take advantage of the opportunities for good that come our ways…
Life is short…
We are replaceable.
We sell our house. New folks will eventually move in. We hope sooner rather than later, in this case.
We retire. We are replaced distressingly soon.
We don’t go here or there. Often no one notices.
Thoughts of tornadoes and shotguns and police dogs can remind us of lots of realities.
As someone said recently, I think on one of the talk shoes I listen to, “Quit whining on the yacht….” Or “I think this champagne is a little flat.”
On days when pressures build and you are not sure how things are going to turn out, it is good to remember that while winning is important, how you play the game is also an important part of the dynamic.
It has been raining a lot here this month.
Part of our deck has changed color.
This does not make Dear Wife happy.
I remind her of our trip in ’08 to Alaska when a very attractive naturalist informed us that in Alaska heavy rain is sometimes called “liquid sunshine.”
Lots of folks are in harm's way these days.
Well, probably lots of folks are always in harm's way.
Only right now the msm is telling us about quite a few of them who are not half way around the world.
This is the day the Lord hast made.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
And think about doing what you can to help someone out, even if just a little bit.
Kind of like hearing a shotgun being locked and loaded…
Or staring down the line of site with a police canine who is not too sure of you…
I thought of these situations whilst ruminating over seeing and hearing customers at a favorite store of mine berate sales staff over the most trifling of issues…
It makes you wonder what has been going on in their days…or indeed, in their lives.
It does not take much courage to berate a salesperson in a retail establishment.
And it must really help the sales staff get through the day.
Loss of civility…lots of losses going on these days.
Our new priest reminds us each Sunday that life is short; that we should do our utmost to take advantage of the opportunities for good that come our ways…
Life is short…
We are replaceable.
We sell our house. New folks will eventually move in. We hope sooner rather than later, in this case.
We retire. We are replaced distressingly soon.
We don’t go here or there. Often no one notices.
Thoughts of tornadoes and shotguns and police dogs can remind us of lots of realities.
As someone said recently, I think on one of the talk shoes I listen to, “Quit whining on the yacht….” Or “I think this champagne is a little flat.”
On days when pressures build and you are not sure how things are going to turn out, it is good to remember that while winning is important, how you play the game is also an important part of the dynamic.
It has been raining a lot here this month.
Part of our deck has changed color.
This does not make Dear Wife happy.
I remind her of our trip in ’08 to Alaska when a very attractive naturalist informed us that in Alaska heavy rain is sometimes called “liquid sunshine.”
Lots of folks are in harm's way these days.
Well, probably lots of folks are always in harm's way.
Only right now the msm is telling us about quite a few of them who are not half way around the world.
This is the day the Lord hast made.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
And think about doing what you can to help someone out, even if just a little bit.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
EDWARD HARDWICKE R.I.P.
Edward Hardwicke, who died on Monday aged 78, was best known on television for playing Dr Watson ....
The London Telegraph has just reported the death of Edward Hardwicke...superb actor who became Dr. Watson in so many excellent renditions of the Classic Tales.
We at The Study have enjoyed many hours of his artistry and his grasp of the intentions of the author of the Tales of the Master Detective.
We have it on good authority that he was every bit the gentleman he seemed to be on the screen.
Check out the obit:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/tv-radio-obituaries/8519646/Edward-Hardwicke.html
The London Telegraph has just reported the death of Edward Hardwicke...superb actor who became Dr. Watson in so many excellent renditions of the Classic Tales.
We at The Study have enjoyed many hours of his artistry and his grasp of the intentions of the author of the Tales of the Master Detective.
We have it on good authority that he was every bit the gentleman he seemed to be on the screen.
Check out the obit:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/tv-radio-obituaries/8519646/Edward-Hardwicke.html
Saturday, May 7, 2011
FOR 2012
Rudy Giuliani was a candidate of interest to us prior to the last election.
He is of interest to us now.
His campaign then was a joke.
Maybe he has learned what he has to do.
May he think seriously about helping to promote the welfare of the United States of America by engaging in and enriching the run up to the 2012 election.
He is of interest to us now.
His campaign then was a joke.
Maybe he has learned what he has to do.
May he think seriously about helping to promote the welfare of the United States of America by engaging in and enriching the run up to the 2012 election.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
HELLO TO THE TRUMPETS
The Wedding is over…a marriage has begun.
Our guests arrived and, as hoped, there was food and there was fellowship…and the tradition of honoring our heritage was continued.
We dressed for the occasion. We talked of fashion and beautiful people and history.
We lamented this and that and rejoiced in these and those (grammar?).
We shared family histories and trips taken.
We marveled at camera angles and precision planning…and we were glad to be together.
We learned a bit about things not commonly known.
We felt sorry for those who could not see the merits of the day.
Such events as The Wedding are reminders of the truism that we do not live by bread alone, as wise folks are so fond of saying..
For a few hours, for those who had eyes to see and ears to hear, a door, as the poet says, was half opened:
Say farewell to the trumpets!
You will hear them no more.
But their sweet sad silvery echoes
Will call to you still
Through the half-closed door.
Our guests arrived and, as hoped, there was food and there was fellowship…and the tradition of honoring our heritage was continued.
We dressed for the occasion. We talked of fashion and beautiful people and history.
We lamented this and that and rejoiced in these and those (grammar?).
We shared family histories and trips taken.
We marveled at camera angles and precision planning…and we were glad to be together.
We learned a bit about things not commonly known.
We felt sorry for those who could not see the merits of the day.
Such events as The Wedding are reminders of the truism that we do not live by bread alone, as wise folks are so fond of saying..
For a few hours, for those who had eyes to see and ears to hear, a door, as the poet says, was half opened:
Say farewell to the trumpets!
You will hear them no more.
But their sweet sad silvery echoes
Will call to you still
Through the half-closed door.
At The Study on 29 April 2011 we saw and heard the trumpets.
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