Saturday, April 10, 2004
REASSESMENT
Have we, as a nation, reached a point where we find ourselves disenchanted with some of the novel features which made our country become what it is today - the ackowledeged leader of the world of free nations.
Do we still revere the trappings of our cultural growth enough to use them as a firm basis for continued groweh ,or have we reached a level at which we are pausing as if to catch our breath before we continue, to where ever it might be we intend to go.
The Commonwealth of Virginia will be observing its 400th Birthday in 2007, and a hint of what is being planned to celebrate that anniverisary date is already apparent in the form of a strip across the lower edge of the state's automobile licnse plates
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Each of the other states of the nation will,in time and in turn, mark the anniversay of their beginning and each holds a heritage which is different from all others. The astonishing variety of attitudes which formed this collection of individual states is a remarkrable thing to behold.Some settlers came seeking material advancement; some saw that success in the form of gold to be had for the taking without effort; oters saw it as a place where they could practice their religious feelings without restrictions. Some individuals, no doubt, saw coming to the New World as a means of setting up their own,private entity of extended land and ownership and dominent authority and power over large groups of people. Some few. perhaps, may well have come with some basic thought of living a life of absolute freedom from oppression of any kind and we can be assured that any of these reasons for coming were highly theoretical and far from being practical - certainly not easy.
It will be interesting to see what the first in line,the Commonwealth of Virginia devises as a proper means of remembering who we were and where we came from and for what reasons. Have we realized our dreams? Did anything work out the way it was planned? Or,are we still questing for change and improvement or modifications? Or are they diffeent from the way they were origianly planned? It might be logical for use to assume that Virginia, as the first of the states to do so, so, might celebrate its 400th year by leaning heavily on the treasure it as already has in the restored City of Willimsburg. This remarkable monument of our national existence will be in the background of each state's observance of it's annivesary for whatever year. It is a vibrant,living symbol of the early Colonial values which are still found to some degree in American life styles today.
It might be wise to refrain from overdoing the 400th celebrations. If so, what will we do when the 500th rolls around?
.A.L.M. April 9, 2004 [c480wds]
Friday, April 09, 2004
SAGE REMINDERS
The oft celebated Sage of Ccncord – Ralph Waldo Emerson – left us a wealth of maxims which we find, so often, apply readily to present-day events and circumstances.
One such use came to mind Thursday when Dr. Condileezza Rice was testifying under oath before the group of five Democrats and five Republicans serving as a board of inquiry concernig the causes of the September 11th debacle and a the possibilities that it could have been prevented.
Several factors kept me on edge throghout the entire session. A vaguly antagonistic attitude was seen in Democratic members who seemed intent on how they could estalish an illusion that President President Geoge W. Bush was reponsible for the entire affair and that he did not give the problem the importnce it deservd. They kept setting forth the idea that Bush was the sole person who could have prevented "September11th from happening";' that he had not done so because he was, they claimed, too preoccupied with a project to send troops to invade Iraq and ignored threats from the Al Quada.
Another point which worried me was that the questioners, at times, revealed their weaknesses and uncertain grounds by repeatedly and rudely interupting the speaker as she testified in reply to their questions. I felt that one particularly aggressive individual spoke to her in a tone of voice which was very close to condescending and addressed Dr. Rice as "Mrs. Rice" even though the proper desognation had been firmly established by common usage at the start of the procedings.
Where does Emerson fit into all of this?
In spite of promises that that it would not be so, the panel is defintely partisan which indicat that nothing can be expcted to come directly from it. However, it's actions may cause individuals to think through thematter ontheir own.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said: "What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny next to our awareness of what lies within us."
Dr. Rice, I felt, spoke with calm assurance. She exhibited quite well her qualificatins for her place in our govenment. Her questioners did not alway speak with such assurance. She took their blantant attempts to confuse and confound her without stopping, but continued to make her point over the obstacles. At times. Her train of thought was actually given emphasis by the fact that it surmounted their crude attempts at derailment. If one could listen to a tape of such verbal constrictions, it might sound more like a tape editor had "beeped out" unwanted words and phrases, but her thought goes on.
Considering what we have heard thus far in the hearing it would certainly suggest that Emerson's words will sum it all up for most of us when the panel has completed its charade.
L.M. April 8, 2004 [c479wds]
Thursday, April 08, 2004
AIR WARS
I supposer it would be natural for anyone born when the Wright Brothers were still active in the aviation news of the day, to be somewhat addicted to reading everything available concerning flying. I read my share of them, I''m sure, and always felt they were the men who actually won the war against the hordes of Huns who were not exactly dummies themselves and often proved to be worthy antagonists in air battles.. I came across a novel approach to the old WWI flying Aces theme just recently - a novel called “Flight of Eagles”by Jack Higgins.
One would think just about every twist concerning the switching of twins had been worked by those who compound fiction stories, but here's a new and different one -.at least for me. It tells of the exploits of twin brothers who were war time aces - the one for the RAF and the U S Air Force and the other for the Luftwaffe. It all seems to make good, logical sense, too, and is not at all difficult to understand how sides were chosen and how each man acted according to his feelings.
There must have been a number of families during World War II who were divided in their feelings concerning Axis thinking and that of the Allied nations. This book deal with one particular case and does so with amazing temperance and without upsetting anyone violently. The love of flying which both boys exhibit - a trait inherited from their father who was a "fliyer" in World War I, overshadows the "reason" behind the war. The twins are almost robots in one sense and as they fly they express their views only in a secondary sense.
I think most readers will anticipate that, sooner or later, the brothers are going to meet each other and that they will be forced to make decisions about taking each others lives. They meet several times and, as one might expect, in unusual circumstances. Yet, they remain brothers in every sense of the word and somehow it works out well with several unexpected twists along the way and at the very end.
Those persons interested in the aircraft of various nations of the era - the Russians, Finns, British, Germans, and Americans will find this book of special interest. "Jack Higgins" also writes under the name "Harry Patterson." There are also some interesting sidelights on the personal feelings of many Nazi-like personalities of the time.
A memorable feature of "Flight of Eagles" is a small Teddy Bear dressed as an "aviator". It was an on-craft mascot of the father of the twins in WWI and a passenger on every flight he made. It was also the mascot of one of the boys in World War II. You will find it interesting to follow the adventures of the mascot bear "Tarquin" as a secondary theme of the overall story.
Question: how close did Dwight Eisenhower ever come to being killed? You find out when you read "Flight of Eagles" - and you'll wonder if it is fact or fiction. I'm still deciding.
A.L.M. April 7.2004, [c524wds]
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
KEEPNG TIME
There are many ways of keeping time.
A favorite way is to pat our foot tapping lightly on the floor when a popular tune is being played.. We have, obediently, changed our clocks each Spring and Fall but not any more That set chore has been taken over by a radio transmitter located in Colorado which keeps our clocks set and re-set as needed. We all pay attention to time.
My concern with time began I'd say rather early, when I was about to become nine years of age. If I had to put a date on it. I would set it as having taken place in mid-January 1924.
My older brother Al and I had received identical gifts that Christmas from our parents we often did in those Depression years. They had given each of us a bright, new, ticking pocket watch.. We were both proud of the fact that we owned , as personal property, fine, new INGERSOL watches and in the famed ”Buck”:model which I was later told was called that because it sold for one dollar. I don't know that to be a fact, but it would have been in keeping with budgets of those days. .We both thought of our watches baa being cut-down versions of London's “Big Ben” himself.
For the first time in our lives we had time at hand ,and it was a good,, grown-up sort of feeling, too/ We consulted them frequently and told everyone what time of day or night it was, even if they were not concerned about it all. One afternoon ,when Al was taking a nap, I chanced upon his watch where had placed it for safekeeping on Mom;s cloth covered ironing board. In those days a “Buck” style pocket watch could be heard ticking away at a distance of several feet.
A mere touch of the tip of the smallest blade of my pocket knife caused the back cover to snap off and to fall gently to the ironing board cover. That revealed to me a wonderful maze of clock works! More discovery! Then. when I slanted the case a but two small parts fell out and I knew I was in dee[ trouble/ I had no idea how to replace them. I put everything down and let the room.
I found refuge on the front porch sitting on the wooden swing . The rest of that hour was the longest period of time I have ever known in all my lifetime. I awaited my fate and I knew my time had come when I heard my mother's voice booming from deep within the house, She spoke my name. That's all.. But she said. my full name and each part of it with equal emphasis, which is always a bad omen, and she made use of that special tone of voice, available only to mothers when calling their children to task which reaches out and demand ,
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` My punishment. I had to give my watch to my brother. Mother brokered the actual exchange and said we were never to speak of the subject edver again. It was not something we could be proud of having in the family, It did show,she said we each had a bad streak of selfishness we ought to get rid of if we wanted to live worthy lives.
I have often wondered why I did not simply leave my watch on the ironing board; take the pieces of the other one and lose them somewhere and saved a lot of trouble ,but if I had done it that way, we would not have found out about this the selfishness thing,, would we?
Mothers work in wondrous ways.
A.L.M. April 6, 2004 [c631wds]
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
WHAT IS A SPORT?
Have you ever given any thought to what constitutes a “sport” now -.today during our 2lst Century?
You well be surprised by the number and variety of types of activity which are on such a list in the general category of “sports” It is far more than simply an activity which calls for participants to move a ball through a set pattern or course against opposition to his doing so.
The term “sports”:is confused with the word “games” especially with those demanding physical exertion because “sports”, to many people suggests physical actions called exercises thought to be beneficial to the human body both in maintenance and upkeep of the structure..
When we think of such activities we usually start with the old Roman and Greek concepts of what made a sport, The so-called Roman “games” come to mind as examples of brutal competitions devised to graphically show qualities of bravery, stamina, endurance and the earlier Greek Olympic games were, perhaps, less stringent and demanding on those involved with some,e exceptions Our sports heritage stems from both sets of rules to some degree and there has been a nationalistic break-down to include regional and other activities
Some are not generally accepted as being sports:at all. We have also included “games”which are merchandised to fit current fads.
Your list would, of course, would contain those which are potentially blood-letting. What would head such a list today Where do we start? Boxing? Wrestling. Diving? High or sky ?” How about Fencing? Football, hockey, soccer and others? Where do we place automobile racing? It thrives on disaster potential in the mind of many fans.
We are going to have to re-define what we mean by the term “sports”and what we mean by a “game” which is an exhibition played largely for the accumulation of statistics which set the participants apart from others. The English language has about a dozen or so meanings for this word “sport” and we need to limit our classifications of them to keep those which are of an athletic nature separated from those which are to be observed rather than played.
Another reform which should be taken seriously concerns the rising costs of participation in favorite sports, Referring once more to the ancient Greek and Roman examples ,both were free to the public and underwritten by government. We should pay our own way in sports and , it is logical that a fee be charged to sustain the costs of the operation which can be related to the amount of financial help available through commercial sponsorship by business firms. The cost of attending baseball, football and auto racing events is currently prohibitive for many people. If sports activity is to grow in America some serious attendance must be paid to keeping the cost of admission at reasonable levels. And, there has to be a better way of paying players for their services than the existing system of public bidding in millions of dollars for extended contractual agreements.
The sports world is a bit hazy with such things obscuring the very real and essential values of sports in the well-being of our nation. Reformation is badly needed from within to avoid disaster.
A.L.M. April 5, 2004 [c551wds]
Monday, April 05, 2004
TRAVEL TRAVAIL
If it is true that travel conditions have become so demanding, why don't more people opt to stay home more often?
In so many cases people don't have to travel as much as they do. Many do so because they do not trust others to do things on their behalf They know how they would do such favors and suspect other would be as negligent if one is not there as actual presence. Lots of people actually enjoy a degree of physical discomfort as a variant from the rather staid norm at home, too. The home life we used to laud so much slipped into a make-do sort of places to stay until; we can hit the road once more. A great many people would have absolutely no goal at all. They miove about to seek out new ways in which the can be insulted, demeaned, and physically or emotionally assaulted by craven commercialized citizens in the industries associated with traveling.
The constantly disgruntled traveler is often asking too much, I fear, They expect to find every little spoiled-brat feature they enjoy at home when they travel. No neat, clean and orderly motel bedroom ever going to resemble the trashed- out collection of spaces between walls many people call “home.”. And, far more people than you might imagine live is such haphazard surroundings, .On the road the pig seeks his sty
Travel today - aside from special precautions being taken during wartime emergencies - is about as convenient as it has ever been. .It may no be less costly, I will grant, but it is variable and there are levels for various economic demands. You pick and choose, and what ever some persons choose is never going to suit them in some small detail. And you will hear about it. When it happens to you - smile, in pity and understanding. Try not to smirk. When one meets hazards of this type avoid trying to solve their problems. Learn to take the bad with the lousy and go your way rejoicing that you are not part of such a problem.
A.L.M. April 4, 2004 [c402wds]
Sunday, April 04, 2004
WE
The British historian Arnold Toynbee once described America as bring "a large, friendly dog in a very small room. Every time it wags its tail, it knock over a chair."
It is a designation of which we may be proud. It was said in and era when many world leaders were thinking and saying we were rather more like a mad dog, rabid and running loose intent on spreading alien ideas and concepts and ceaselessly ravaging the smaller nation of the world without mercy.
Look and listen to the varied voices speaking of us even now in our time of national election when we are going n thorough the cumbersome process of selection of a leader for the next four or eight perilous years. Some of us remember when we use to say such things about the English - describing them as a people who would "middle their way through" any b ad situation.
That was not a nice thing to say. It is not so easy to see the humor in the statement but I have witnessed the quality in the British people first hand - a quality which says they can endure, and face any dangers knowing that, in time, their rightness would rule. It seemed impossible during xhose hectic days and interminable nights. The more the Nazi bombs struck, the more stubborn Englishmen and women became; determined to see it through."muddling", you might say. When they were, backs to the wall, and in dire need. I came to feel that the "muddle through” term was the same as a term I grew with among the Appalachian mountain people in southwestern Virginia. The mountain folks spoke of "makin' do" - using what you had to do the best you could against wrongdoers.
I cannot forget those days. The city of Norwich, in Norfolk County, East Anglia, was hit for the first time at high noon just when the major manufacturing plants – shoe factories and a large chocolate plant and others - were sending thousands of workers out into the narrow, hilly streets. It all came upon them without warning and they became a new people dedicated. They hunkered down and did those things they had to do with what remained. Then , at long last, in came the tail-wagging Yanks who began upsetting chairs of tradition right away. We all, however, got along well with each other and, together, seem to have “muddled though” it all and helped to re-write some pages of history.
A.L.M. April 3, 2004 [c424wds]
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