Saturday, May 31, 2003
BY CHANCE
Some wonderful changes appear to have come into being largely through the mysterious element of chance.
It may be that this continent on which we live was "discovered" by wandering Norsemen long before Columbus set off to find a route to the riches of India and, on the way, chanced upon the Caribbean Islands. There is also a theory now being talked around that we were also discovered from the other direction. It is widely held someone from China visited our Pacific shores, probably at about the same time as the Norsemen hit the eastern edges of what is now Canada. He, or they, may have drifted with Pacific currents which still bring us occasional reminders of Asia, or they may have been a bit later trying to find a new route to the markets of Europe.
No one knows because chance leaves no records on purpose. We find some by accident, however, and our intense studies are based on, yes ...on a chance of finding proofs some day ... somewhere.
Only when we get into the areas of religious concerns do we shy away from the idea of chance.
What is providential and destined by a deity vies with the very idea of chance happenings. I cannot agree with the Deist view that holds the Universe came into being due to more or less accidental circumstances prevailing at the time. It has been, it seems, set up as a giant clock-work mechanism of some type which has been ticking away and running down ever since. That would be chance, but it seems to me, to be a vaster concept which demands more than such a trite and trivial categorization.
When your child is in the process of being born at the hospital, you don’t want the doctors and nurses to be doing things by chance, do you?
Think about it from time to time. To put your reliance on chance is risky at best. If you lose a dollar of two on the lottery from time-to-time, trusting to chance, the loss may not be too great, and that should be the extent of such ventures for most of us.
To "bet you life" or any portion thereof, is foolishness.
Much in Mankind’s history which may seem to have happened by chance really came about from the concerted mental and physical efforts of scores of people in the past who contemplated and worked diligently trying to make their world a better place in which to live. We are doing it now in our space ventures and in countless other ways, and, in truth, we leave very little to chance.
We don't trust it.
A.L.M. May 30,2003 [c679wds]
Friday, May 30, 2003
THINGS WE DON'T DO
Very few days go by without us being reminded that we should have done certain things which we have left undone.
All of us are guilty, too without exception.
Let me tally up a few of them as examples of how lax we can become, and so easily, too.
Do you get enough rest, for instance? Do you sleep erratically? Can it be that your irregular hours do you noticeably physical harm? I have found, by experience, that if one keeps regular hours - getting up and retiring at more or less the same times each morning and evening, life proceeds smoother and without undo complications. I am not a harsh, demanding stickler for such rules because a change of pace can also bring some special benefits as well, if properly compensated for by a nap now and then or just a period of "quiet time" time during the active day.
We need to stay within a certain, pre-set framework insofar as foods, medications and routines of work are concerned. I know there are now certain physical acts which I can no longer perform, so I've got to temper my ways of doing so that I do not violate any of the warning signs which tell me - quite plainly I as a rule - when I am "overdoing it" or "showing off". Ego does play a role in much of this, too, in case you think my use of the term "showing off" too harsh or too playful. We learn it individually. I have come to know I can't do the outdoor gardening work I used to get done as routine. Our neighbor on the in back of ours, Mark had to learn it, as has our neighbor Bob, who lives across the street. Every now and then we have spot each other "showing off" by doing physical things we know, full well, are either forbidden or questionable.
Oft time we see older people slacking off on on mental activities at this special time when they should be increasing that sort of thing while eliminating physical work. The tendency to become what is now called a "couch potato" is a hallmark of our times with many people - far too many - with TV as the main (but not to only) area of concern. It is a mistake to cut down on one's reading, for instance. It is, perhaps, an error to turn to technology in the form of computerized equipment which intimidates us even more so than it does the younger people who are now compelled to make use of it daily. Use your computer as an "adjunct to"; as an "extension of"; as "condiment" rather than "entree”and as a "dessert" rather than the "main course" of your intellectual meal.
A.L.M. May 29, 2003 [c704wds]
Thursday, May 29, 2003
A MAN NAMED MARSHALL
Who was Thomas Riley Marshall?
He was Vice-President of the United States in the year of 1916, the year I was a born , and he was popular enough politically to have been re-elected to serve to 1921. I should have remembered him but that's the way it has always been for Vice-Presidents. So many Veeps go unappreciated for years after their careers end or change radically.
But, Tom Riley Marshall is not among those totally forgotten at all. He has a remarkable niche in history because, he, in a short statement concerning the greatest need of our nation a that time. You, perhaps, are among the millions who have quoted him.
Thomas Marshall was born March 14th in 1854 in North Manchester Indiana. He graduated from Wabash College in 1873, was admitted to the bar in Indiana in 1875 and practiced law in Columbia City until 1908 when he was elected Governor of the State of Indiana. He is, of course, remembered by many for that service. His administration was an active one. He worked hard for new employer's liability laws, added child labor legislation by his efforts to give the state a new constitution a bit short in the legislature..
At the Democratic National Convention in Baltimore 1912, we was the favorite-son nominee of Indiana, but that was not to be. Woodrow Wilson was the nominee and Thomas R. Marshall was elected our Vice-President. As Presiding Office of the Senate he enjoyed great popularity and it was there that his sense of humor found expression.
Woodrow Wilson, by this time, by internationally occupied and Marshall presided over cabinet meetings during the President's absence to attend the peace conference re-hashing problems which had caused World War I switching them about as best they could at that time.
Later, during Wilson's severe and continuing illness, Marshall had to consider the possibility of naming himself as Acting President of the United States. Thus was a critical decision,and Thomas Marshall decided it would dangerously divide the nation at a time when unity was most urgent. Few men have had to face such a decision involving such drastic potential. I wonder what must have gone through his mind in the year until June 1, 1925 when he died. He must have thought at length and deeply concerning the fate of Wilson's League of Nations plans.
But, do we remember Thomas R. Marshall for that decision to refrain from naming himself Acting President of our nation? .
No.
Tom Marshall is best remembered as the man who stated before the U.S. Senate: “What this country needs is a really good five cent cigar.”
A.L.M. May 29, 2003 [c711wds]
Wednesday, May 28, 2003
PEEN PRESSURE
Every time I see a I see and hear the United States Senate being opened with prayer on C-Span, I wonder how we can be so confused and confounded as to favor of prayer in one area - a major portion of the Federal government for the lot of us in this case, and forbid it and condemn it in others!
Cervantes, the imminent Spanish writer of old who dealt brilliantly with attacking windmills' took the subject years ago when he said -in exactly what context I do not know :"“Pray to God but ply the hammer".
It amazes me how those old boys could handle English so well, and how they could face up to problems which seem to be so endlessly mind-boggling to us today - a few centuries later in our learning cycles -"circle" may be a more exact word because we seem to b e going around a level oval track as the years go along.
Cervantes seemed to have felt that one is not to pray and to expect magical results, some heavenly slight-of-handiwork which will alters the way things are to make them the way we want them to be. But, he would also remind u prayer does not, in any way preclude or suspend our need for hard work toward achievement of our gaols. Even when it comes to tilting with windmills - which is, you will agree, not too far removed from contending with some off today's politicians, one can pray that such and such a reform may come about but you have to keep digging to get the foundation deep enough to support whatever it is you hope to build.
Often, as a man or woman seeks the help of God prayerfully, they, in turn, feel a keener relationship to the problem a at hand and work harder to make it happen. Diligence in prayer is demanded and, along with a regular routine, one develops the means of making it all come about ...through God's intervening guidance - not with the events - but changes within our individual selves which make us work harder to make dreams become realities.
Keep our arm in shape. Don't be afraid to belly up to the workbench and don't set up a time-clock schedule. Work, and work some more to achieve modest goals. Talk with God , yes, but let's hear that hammer going as well!
The continuing presence of God among us brings it all about.
It is not the action which brings about the final changes. It is the reaction. It is our response to God's urgings which causes us to work toward our goals.
A>L>M> May 27, 2003 [c675wds]
Tuesday, May 27, 2003
THREE PEAKS
The writing life can be a time of many changes.
There are years when you write in a continuous flow and you do so without causing more than an occasional ripple in the lives of others. Then, there are times when you feel that things you have written have actually brought welcome changes to other people. You know it for the simple reason they tell you such has been the case. It males you feel better.
We – writers, musicians and artists - I suppose, for such genuine perks from time to time. It is common with anyone who writes consistently. There are high spots and I have hit three such times which have meant a great deal to me.
One came when I was just a kid. I had written a short poem which I submitted to our national church paper for young people. It was published in the paper which served as a program guide for youth groups. The minister's wife at our church helped gather program materials for inspirational programs at the weekly youth meetings. One Sunday evening she handed me a clipping to read to the group. I read it to them as it was including the initials “A.L.M.” by which it was signed . I never told her or my classmates that it was the poem I had written, but the experience encouraged me to write more.
Later, in 1970 it was my privilege to write the book and score for a musical comedy which was produced as the annual musical by the local high school music department. It ran for a week plus a Saturday matinee for grade-school kids bussed in from all over the county. All went well. The big thrill for me, playing string base in the pit orchestra, was on opening night when the house lights faded slowly and the roll of kettle drums and a slash of brass became the overture. It overwhelmed me - completely. What a thrill! All week long I saw and heard what I had written come to life before me!
The third incident is a puzzler.
While in the U.S.Army Air Corp. at Langley Field, Va., I had written a short article concerning the Woodrow Wilson Birthplace,located in Staunton, Virginia. My parent lived a block away on up the hill from the birthplace, and I walked past it almost every day I sold that piece to Christian Science “Monitor” for twenty dollars and, at about that same time, I was shipped overseas and wasn't state-side when it appeared in print. As the mail caught up with me, I received clippings from a score or more of papers which had reprinted the Wilson piece I had a letter from the Woodrow Wilson Birthplace asking me why I had not signed the guest register.
That was just a part of the surge. Years later, in 1978, a book was published “Woodrow Wilson in Retrospect” edited by Raymond F. Pisney (Library of Congress 78-51213) with an Introductory essay by Dr. Robert G. Hartje, Professor of History, Wittenburg University, Springfield, Ohio.
The kicker for me was, and is, that of the twenty-nine selections in the book – mine was the fourth. Just ahead of my comments are those of Franklin D. Roosevelt and I am followed by that of Colgate W. Darden, Jr. a Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia and a President of the University of Virginia. Today, when I look at that book, I can't believe I was every among such an exalted company ...names like Wertenbaker, Stanley, Gaines, Sir Leslie Munro, Barkley, Stevenson, Dodds, Krock - governors, historians, publishers, writers, politicians!
In addition, on page three the esteemed writer of the preface chose to make use of two quotes from my tribute to Woodrow Wilson.
I know, now, a great deal of what artist Andy Warhol meant when he spoke of everyone's"“fifteen minutes of fame"
A.L.M. May 26, 003 [c978wds]
Monday, May 26, 2003
CURRENT NEEDS
Outright praise, encouragement and clear-cut examples are greatly needed today to help young people avoid peer patterns which are deceptively enticing and dangerous.
It is past time for older men and women to refute our self-protecting tendencies to condemn all young people for those actions in which a few of them choose to take part.
The recent high school"prom" hazing case in the Midwest is typical of the sort of extravagant conduct in which young people seem to think they can grow to be adults. Hazing has long been a means of establishing lordship among groups of people and it is claimed to be a means whereby ones maturity and virility is proved to be worthy of belonging to the group. Primitive tribes practiced it in some very harsh and life-endangering forms. Our today, except then influenced by the use of drugs in pill or liquid forms, and other such factors, is, generally, intended to stay on a less threatening level. It can become very easy for it to slip across the lines of decency and safety.
The Illinois case will go through a series of judgmental proceedure including legal court actions, semi-legal opinions and statements by nosey individuals, religious and social groups who sit in judgment of others and most trying of all – the court of public opinion trial by media by media presentation.
On of the most remarkable facets of this particular case, to me, was the fact that the entire thing was being videotaped. The frenzied filth flingers were certinlyy aware of that the camera was going with suitable lighting provided. Logic would have dictated that the gang turn on the camera wielder and give him or her the worst treatment possible. I fact, that they did not do so suggests they were actively fulfilling a leading role... even to cooperating with the video person in raising their beer cups and bottles in a pyramid over the slime cover bodies of the girls on the ground.
There is more than just"“hazing" involved. Role playing is apart of it all and they play those roles with which they are kept abreast of through our current entertainment levels.
Doesn't it strike you as odd that the doers of the dirty deeds, did not turn on the camera person and beat his or her into the filth about them? Instead, they chose to complete the roles they were playing.
The injustice associated with the entire story is that these were a few individuals apart from the the larger body of honest, decent, considerate and worthy young. To treat the participants in the prom as quasi hero idols is totally wrong.
Let's deal with the thing in a legal sense, then drop it. Put it away in the deepest landfill to be found and get on with the needed, more positive recognition of that which is good in our young people.
They need encouragement. A brighter road.
And, we need to be more alert to the precise nature of the examples we may cause to be placed before them.
A.L.M. May 25, 2003 [c827wds]
Sunday, May 25, 2003
THE NEED TO KNOW
We learn through necessity.
We have to know what a problem is all about before we can deal with it. I find it disturbing that so many people - at least, those who express themselves concerning national defense planning tend to play at something so serious.
One can prepare for such things only to a degree. We must know what the problem is before we can prepare to meet it which leads up to something called"“common sense".
It may not be the best method, but examine our history and see how often we have been been saved by our ability to learn quickly from experience of our own and that of others. I find critics of our defense preparations who think too often in terms which are far too narrow and do not include many segments of our population.
All is not forecast by other ahead of time. We learn things as we go along. We often often from others and in ways we don't understand at the moment. Braddock's Red Coats were well trained in battle techniques -all of the accepted, standard, right way to wage war, but they had to adapt - and quickly - to the methods used by the American Indian. Those who did not, died. Simple as that. So much for drills.
A young lady was heard praising her aged grandfather: “I am so glad,” she said,..so very glad to see that you are finally learning to put your hand over your mouth when you sneeze!”
He looked at her and smiled" It's the only way I know to catch my teeth!”
We prepare for emergency by being aware of what might transpire in a time of stress. We prepare for war conditions by living a calm, well-adjusted life before the war threatens. The quality of our life style determine if we will be ready or not I have had more than one Englishman tell me that during the mad nights of the Great Blitz in London in World War II, they, too, were amazed at how well people rallied in the time of need. With fifteen hundred fires burning in the city at one time, large areas had to be ignored in order to save others. Thousands of citizens rose to the occasion, above petty personal feeling, and helped others even while their section was being eaten by flames. As families of citizens, they had to learn to us Bomb Shelters hastily dug in the garden or front yard. No amount of drill in peace time would have made them ready to endure the discomfort of such sleepless nights of terror.
People here are concerned about security at our airports while the vast majority of container ships come and go without inspection in a dozen seaports. Disaster practice demonstrations have been performed in Chicago and other areas, and a city-wide evacuation _- a mass movement of millions of people - the entire population of our nation's capital is planned. If you have ever witnessed "normal" rush hours from DC into Virginia and Maryland you may question such a grandiose exhibition in several common sense ways.
To think of and actually plan for such a farcical scenario, in the name of national defense, reflects poorly on the many people truly concerned and seeking to provide methods whereby the American people may be made more secure in the face of potential attack.
About the only point of merit I see in such a plan is that we would have with us in Maryland and Virginia ample hosts of Washington reporters eager to let us know what they think might be happening.
A.L.M. May 24, 2003 [c936wds]
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