Saturday, April 26, 2003
MAVERICK THE MAN
For some reason it proved difficult for me to associate the term "maverick" with a person - one man. It had always symbolized a stray, abandoned, scruffy and unmarked critter on the open ranges of the American western states.
It was a part of the verbal aura which surrounded the verbal patina which encrusted our special view of the Old West and kept it secure from change for us as devotees of the western films of long ago.
We had our own images of the way things should be ...saloons, cowpokes, gamblers, madams, boarding houses, and a maverick was an unbranded calf.
The man, Samuel A. Maverick was, I understand, a lawyer. He missed being at the Alamo with other Texas freedom fighters, because he had been elected by those who were there to be their representative to a forthcoming conference which would write the Texas freedom concept out as a legal document. He had come from South Carolina to Texas in l835 . At age twenty four, he was a rancher, and young man who was yet to take part in the Southern Cause when he accepted the job of being Assistant Treasurer of the Confederacy.
Even with all that, he would not have been remembered by most us except for one thing he did not do ...something he refused to do... which set him apart his fellow Texas ranchers. For some undisclosed reason which has never been made clear to me, Samuel A. Maverick would not brand his cattle. Yet, since they roamed the range with the polyglot herds bearing many symbols of ownership, and his unmarked animal caused confusion and trouble for other owners. So Maverick became the term describing any unbranded critter.
I have yet to come across a creditable reason why Maverick would have been so touchy about hot-iron-branding cattle. He was , certainly , not squeamish about such a thing, and it was far too early for the Animal Rights people to be on his neck. We'll, most likely, never know. It may well be that he was simply more of a lawyer than he was a cattleman.
He, was, we might say, a maverick.
A.L.M. April 25, 2003 [c568wds]
Friday, April 25, 2003
SST'S OUT!
It seems to be set.
Both the British and French are adamant about closing their trans-Atlantic SST service. That pretty much puts the damper on my own dream about taking a quick trip on one of them some week-end. Truthfully, my projected flight was quickly curbed the day years ago when I first saw the price of passage from here to there or from there to here.
I have a strong feeling that price may be among the many reasons for discontinuing the the zip trip schedule. It seems that the thousand dollar-and-up price has not been a major cause of anyone staying home. We may well have lost a few citizens, however, because a favorite plan was to fly from here to London or Paris on an SST flight, and then, for contrasts in time and comfort, to take the Queen Elizabeth back from there to here. I see not accounting covering the actual number of people who anted up a wad of wampum for the air fare needed and who, then, had to stay in Europe long enough to save up enough currency to pay their sea fee to come home. I find no dependable tally totally the travelers who never made it back.
A word from your travel agent: Travel people suggest you go to Europe by sea it and return by SST. Why? It's faster coming this way. Then too, if you go broke, it's better to be broke at home than in a critical credit card country.
They're big, those SST's, and common talk has it they are planning to put them in museums for people to gawk at. The SST was not meant to be a still-life specimen at all. It looks best in flight with a combination dragon fly/preying mantis stance especially when it is about to land. It has been an efficient plane in many way and has suffered only one disaster which strikes me as being a remarkable record. It was so far ahead of its time; ahead of the actual need for such a plane and they are old in technical ways which were not known when they were on the drawing boards.
a.l.m. APRIL 23, 2003 [c533wds] .
Thursday, April 24, 2003
WHATEVER BECAME OF....
Some years ago, about twenty - now that I bother to tally them up - I remember reading some glowing accounts of a new product which was being introduced to the always-eager world of air conditioning consumers.
It could have been called Polar Aire, I suppose, because it was a basic concept swiped from Mother Nature who outfitted the polar bear with hair that is actually like a slender tube leading from the black skin surface to the clean air. The result: a cooler polar bear. Wafted about by body action of the bear and by the wind and turmoil of an active lifestyle, each hair acted as a channel moving hot air to cooler areas.
The inventor had duplicated the structure of the polar bear hair and mounted a four-by-four foot collection of such air-hairs in a pad in the roof of the house where they would cause hot air from the attic to be released into the air above the house. A small fan in the edge of the hairy array, urged it to do so faster.
It was touted in the "New Products" section of some of the many trade publications of the industry for a few weeks, then, apparently shunted side and forgotten. I bring it up now and then and people are really surprised. They have very little trouble accepting the fact that the structure of polar bear hair is rather unusual and might well been used in air-conditioning, but they cannot bring themselves to believe that such a white bear has black skin.
By this time I expected to see our rooftops bristling with bear hair, by someone must have decided it was not good for Santa's reindeer to graze upon such artificial stuff. It is amazing how we can adapt ideas from Nature. Nettles and burrs became paper clips and Velcro cloth; even air conditioning apparatus – early Indian inhabitants of the Luray, Virginia area are said to have inserted sections of hollow cane through the mountain walls to channel the cool air from the many underground caverns of the area... 57-degree, year round temperatures - into their hillside caves, shelters and and hogans.
A.L.M. April 22, 2003 [c579wds]
Wednesday, April 23, 2003
FLIGHT
Many of us have been reading a great deal concerning the first flights made by Orville and Wilbur Wright from the sands of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903.
Such anniversary dates, it seems, cause writers and editors to dredge up everything that has been written concerning such subjects and re-publish them in a special flow. It is easy to become sated on a set subject.
Before the subject of the Wright Brothers is set aside in favor of another date of importance, may I recommend you read an article in Smithsonian Magazine. It is in April 2003 edition, page 50, written by James Tobin titled "To Fly" It is, in my estimation, the best of the current spate of praise and acclaim.
For me, this article seemed to to be a worthwhile addition to the the remembering the exploits of the Wright Brothers. So few writers, delving in the sometimes rather musty backgrounds of these two bachelors of Dayton, Ohio fail to show us why and how could, or would, be driven to undertake such a puzzle as flight. He emphasis their “meticulous attention to detail" which was the hallmark for everything they did. They were undertaking something which was being investigated by some of the leading minds of their time, many with sufficient financial backing to assure stability to the project, and the author returns again and again to their innate sense of exactness.
One example, when then Wrights realized the slightest crash of their craft often caused delay and expense because joints of the wing structure pulled apart an had to be repaired or replaced -absorb time and money. They were concerned, too, about the overall weight of the craft and other sought to devise a new kind of connective. In place of wooden dowels which weighed less than metal screws, clamps or nails, they substituted short lengths of cord or rope, used as dowels, pressed from each end in a touch of strong glue. It was steps such as that creative and innovative idea which enabled the Wrights to enter the competitive field with a glider model which weighted only 112 pounds; light enough for three men to lift it and place it in any desire position. Little attentions to small details, such as this, and their special realization of natural ways of wing design – gull-inspired - combined and caused them to have to hold the craft down at times to keep it from flying away alone and unguided by itself in Kitty Hawk's brisk breezes. “Suddenly" the writer observes," they were no longer holding it up but holding it down".
Excepts from James Tobin book do more to set the Wright Brothers apart from being two bike mechanics who chanced upon the means of true and sustained flight. He deals forthrightly with their problems and we witness "“the meticulous attention to detail" which puts them well ahead of others.
A.L.M. April 21, 2003 [c792wds]
Tuesday, April 22, 2003
GUNDALOWS
The technical term for the long, flat-bottomed boats used so successfully on the Shenandoah River in early Virginia history seems to have been pronounced with the accent on the second syllable as gun-DAL-los Regardless, of the way it was said, there is a basic likeness to the European term gondola.
The inland waterman who ranged the scrawny length of the Shenandoah River from it's sources in the upper reaches of the Appalachian Mountain range down to Harper's Ferry, in what is now the edge of West Virginia,built and used these home-made river craft
These versions of the crafty built along the Shenandoah River were often exceptionally large and were designed for that one ,maiden and only trip down river. They ranged in length from sixty to ninety feet, ten or more feet wide. The boat itself was so crafted that all materials used could be sold downstream as building materials or other uses. Many of them were built at Port Republic, the uppermost end" of the rover where it divides into North and South forks. Some were also built at New Market which was at the highest navigable spot on the North Fork.
A loosely planked raft of logs served as a base for the flat-bottomed boats, they were4 bound together with such planking and vines and sapling strips. They were built “bottom up” or “top down” on dry ground beside the river, and when the time came for the turning overof the basi, pre-fabed bottom portion it was a festive occasion for all with music making, dancing, parties and other celebrations. Once on the water the shallow craft was loaded quickly with with wood and other products from the forests, all manner of farm produce, saplings for barrel encirclements, edible mes s f for both man and beast and – most important of all and pig iron ingots from the many foundries scattered all along the Blue Ridge, Massanutten and Appalachian ranges as well as from he within the Shenandoah Valley itself.
Haste was important once the vessel was launched because much depended on riding the level of water moving in the stream. A much prized ability must have been that of anticipation of rain upstream and the river-lore knowledge of how it would affect flow down to the market place.
The entire crew - when everything had been sold in the Harper's Ferry market area, the crew would walk back to Port Republic or New Market where they would build yet another such disposable ship of commerce.
A.L.M. April 20, 2002 [c687wds]
Monday, April 21, 2003
QUANDARY
Whom do we believe?
“Yes,” the Iraqi people “love us.”
“No,” the Iraqi people “hate us”.
I get both versions daily often with nightly repeats and numerous echoes from other media people.
No one seems to pay too much attention to the origination of such views. We are to assume, it seems, that the items are being reported by someone physically present with and standing among the common Iraqi populace, reporting their feeling directly to us. Or, could it be mere drivel composed by someone at a stateside “news desk”?
I find myself wavering at times . Are American's “hated” or “loved”?
Perhaps it could be seen as some of both.
Why?” indeed, and “How?” When did all of come about?
I feel our coverage of the war news has been enhanced by the new policy of “embedding” personalities with specific outfits where they will stay instead of popping in and out during lulls action. The reporters become part of the outfit; they bond with with their fellow members and, as a result, we are witnessing some of the best coverage we have ever seen or heard. They witness the immediate reaction of the people. Personalities who have become stale in their regular routines on TV, are being given a new opportunity to develop into into worthy journalists. I listen for their view concerning the happiness of the common people, and trust them far more readily than I do the far-off readers of the Arabic newspapers.
If I hear conflicting reports of the degrees of “hate” and “love” being expressed by the people of Iraq, I am urged to find out who said so. We have defeatists right among us, people who are politically motivated to seek personal advancement at the expense of our national well-being; persons who pander to a segment of malcontents here at home who never see anything other than gloom and despair whatever happens.
The situation in Iraq is far more complex than most people here can imagine it to be. The religious differences, alone, are very marked and they, in turn, dictate political affiliations which are not exactly fine-tuned to any ideas of compatibility or peace. The populace is apprehensive concerning its local leadership and fear any foreign power follows because they know themselves to be weak and, hence, vulnerable.
Back off a bit. Give it some time. It's far too early to decide if they like or dislike us. Your confident attitude can reassure them toward a positive stance.
A.L.M. April 19, 2003 [c712wds]
Sunday, April 20, 2003
ON TOP OF THE WORLD!
There is no feeling created by Disney engineers that quite equals the joyous exhilaration youngsters feel when they find they can actually walk on stilts!
Suddenly, you are eight feet tall!
The cumbersome hulk of the Earth no longer tugs at you. You are a bird in flight, or a wisp of free air sweeping over vast spaces!
Stilts are said to have been “developed” rather than ”invented” may centuries ago as a practical means of helping French shepherds to move about more readily on swampy, marsh land areas. It was found that a good pair of stilts, skillfully used, also vastly improved his lookout status, giving him a far broader range of sight.
My only pair of stilts I ever had and the only ones I ever needed, were hand made by my Grandfather John Loeffert at the Box Factory he owned and operated in South Norfolk, Virginia (now called Chesapeake).They were sturdy and had three levels built-in. There were metal rods at one, two and three foot levels, set between two uprights into which the “feet” where clamped by inserting a sliding hook into the slot and putting a bit of weight on The level could be changed easily changed by inverting the stilt; pounding on the step to loosen the grip it had on the internal rod and replacing it in the desired, new level.
My brother Al and I learned to walk easily, as I remember it, at the lower level, a least. Then we advanced the two foot level and that became our standard, operational level. We started low, for safety reasons, and I can can still hear our parents cautioning us not to walk at the three-foot level”: “You'll break your urned fool necks!”
We ran races, including relay carrying various hard-to-hold objects such as a tray with cups of water on it, we became adept at exchanging stilts with someone else without dismounting, playing hop-scotch and other games.
To rise above the world of land-bound creatures; to feel the head-in-the-clouds sensation, every kid should have the opportunity to do some serious stilting.
I wonder if they will ever come back and be as popular as they were years ago. If Hula Hoops and Yo-Yo's can make it, certainly there is hope for stilts.
A L.M April 19, 2003 [c646wds]
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