Saturday, August 05, 2006
TIME WAS.... I have been surprised time-and-time again, in writing so much about historic Augusta Stone Presbyterian Church at Fort Defiance, Virginia, how the people who built that "wee kirk in the Valley" managed to prosper and get along so well very often with that which happened to be "at hand. Theirs was often a "make do" economy. In 1813, for instance, records show they had quite a large crowd of people in as guests for week to attend Installation Services making the Rev. Conrad Speece the third pastor of the church. The records of Lexington Presbytery of that time tell us that there was an average of three "gigs" - horse and buggy combinations - in each county of the Valley which meant that the crowd of people there on the hill on that day either walked or rode horseback to get there. We often forget that what we call "roads" simply did not exist. Most were ,at best, trails established by steady use. Lesser ones suffered from seasonal vegetation disguises, too, and fields were unfenced so many false pathways were offered to lead the traveler astray. All roads of the time were long ones, because they went around hills rather than over them. It is difficult for us to imagine such a lack of transport in those times. Cattle had to be driven to and from market and we have instances of human slaves being move from the market place Auction Block of the home of their new owner. There was no mail service. Letters arrived only because of he courtesy of travelers who happened to be going in the same direction you who wanted your notes to go. They might eventually arrive at the proper location - maybe. Contact with the outside world was often erratic and mostly verbal; so events took on the opinion of the traveler who told you about it quite often. Facts were kept at a bare minimum it often appears. Small, wonder,really, that people would gather in large numbers for church services which -in this particular occasion - started on Friday and ended on Tuesday. There was a special Communion Service, of course; the Installation Ceremonies themselves and a sample sermon by the newly appointed Minister. Members needed such time to get together to exchange small,medium and great news about shifts and changes in each family unit. Some took such opportunities to express their feelings and to comment on matter civic importance and their concern about people views and beliefs...that which they felt to be important at that particular time be business, politics, or social in nature. The often came early and stayed late. Andrew McCaskey Sr. amccsr@adelphia.net 8-5-06 [c458wds]
Friday, August 04, 2006
THE WHIRL AROUND US It may, to some extent, be the exceptionally hot weather we have been experiencing in so many sections of the nation recently but you can blame only so much on the weatherman. The slurred greeting in so many places has been: "S'hot anuff 4U?"and "a washed-out" feeling has been a general complaint. This is nothing new. One of the very first visitors to the eastern end of Virginia - a man named John Smith - complained in letters and in diary entrys-of-three or four -about the miserable weather he was encountering in e colony named Virginia. He disliked the sudden changes to which he was being subject. One day was sunny and the next day rain took over. Even within the span of a single day the same transition could change a bright,sunny afternoon into a soggy site. He had seen enough of the seasons in-action in Virgina to set a standard for complainer for all time, and we have had a flock of 'em! Once they learn to dress properly and seek cool, pleasant spots,or cozy, warm nooks as needed he come to love Mid-Atlantic variety - found even in the weather. The days news,too,has been disquieting and far from cheerful. It is a shame that so many of man's petty dislikes and hatefulness endure through so many centuries of Time. It seems impossible for a relatively small plot of land to could be the focal point of such a whirl-wide kaleidoscope of so many types of warfare and confusion which defies mankind's efforts to control it all. My first memory of conflict in the Middle East as a continuing,endless news event stems from a manuscript by an Englishman named Arthur Balfour. He set down a grand total of one hundred and twenty-five words sent it to interested persons who planned to do what the paper - thereafter widely known as "The Balfour Declaration" suggested. It gave official British approval to the concept of building a Jewish National Homeland in Palestine. As you know, it was done. Not, perhaps, even close to the way in which the originators may have had in mind. That was in November of 1917. I was one year old then and it has been a major problem ever since. It remains a main cause of so much that is happening today and affects the lives of all or us. Andrew McCaskey amccsr@adelphia.net 8-4-06 [c421wds]
Thursday, August 03, 2006
WHICH WAY? I hear many voices complaining that television is "not as good as it used to be", but that suggests nostalgia in abundance and we all agree, I think, we can, a times, deceive ourselves about how much better yesterday's TV shows were... or seem to have been. Most of us, in completely honest moments, often arrive at the same observation are the very same people who are watching, have been, are and will continue to watch too much TV! When we start comparing a thing with itself we are admitting we have lost guiding standards by which we are able to make such decisions. If you look in any barrel of rotting apples and compare one rotting apple with another rotting apple our will end up with a rather warped idea of just what a good apple ought to look like! Remarkable changes have taken place in television in recent seasons. There can be little doubt about that. Some such changes have been good; others have been - well, not so welcome. The reality of it all, some insist was brought to the forefront of the world of entertainment when the concept of "reality" became established in American production firms following a sudden success in Europe. One by one, the TV networks bee agency-addicted to showing "reality" at each and every turn of the dial. True reality exists primarily for the participants rather than onlookers who tend to witness it out of context and to judge such events as witless meanderings or as stupid excess without sufficient reason. When one such hastily prepared replacement failed other followed quickly and many suffered a like fate. cam Rather than attempting to put the blame on any one factor, it may be wise to look at a wide range of potential factors which could have influenced change. There may well have been some stagnation in the old production of cliche sit-coms, personality detective shows, historical praise sequences, quiz shows and even the revelatory programs as "specials" became dull and actually revealed nothing new. News coverage, in particular, became personality cluttered. experimental, innovative broadcasting projects were given into the hands downright incompetents - many "trained" a college levels, rank charlatans, or well- financed dreamers eager to try favorite theories. Television has seemingly forgotten the very basic fact that it is part of the entertainment segment of our national culture. It, too, must reflect the views of the public it serves. Once it see itself as being self-sustaining it quickly becomes an embarrassing hindrance to us. Right now, TV in America is in urgent need of some simple but vital housecleaning chores. Consider: "time". Time divides itself in to two pieces in the viewer's mind "commercial" time...and "program" time. Right now, and you can check this yourself in any area, program time suffers grater loss. Many half-hour shows include four "breaks" for commercials. Plus an opening message, a closing and in-and out of the half-way "local station" break. Count the "mentions" as being a mere 5-10 seconds each keep a count on the number of 10-30-60-second spots run off -back-to-back, in each of the four five minute breaks and it is plain to see that the commercial time far exceeds program time. I have counted as many as fourteen commercial spots within such breaks. I have developed a "watch two shows" hobby. Change channels one to the other when commercial breaks occur; go back five minutes later and you will not have missed much of the show, in any. For a time you may enjoy watching two shows at one time; then you either forget to go back or decide to go with something else. TV's shortcomings are small , but numerous. Our expectations, too, are grandiose. Need we count on one only remedy? Try reading a book; listening to some music or walking in the woods. I'll bet you can give me a long list of every thing that's wrong with any of them, too! Andrew McCaskey amccsr@adelphia.net 8-3-06 [c680wds]
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
THE WORLD: SIZE OF... Do you get a feeling, now and then, that this wide, wide world of ours is getting a bit too small for many of the types of life - in particular the human portions - who have, I believe have been told they have "dominion" over it. A place such as Lebanon may be fine enough for a few people but when they get so thick they start stepping on each other's likes and dislikes, foibles, fancies and ignorance trouble becomes almost a sure thing. Let any one of them think of a strange way to do anything they, ordinarily, do well without being aware of it and we have a faction...a side...disagreement. Once such divisions find ways in which they can defend their view we have war. Wars are, for the most part, founded by fools, failures, fanatics and fancied by people who are outright frauds. Their wars are, then "performed" by fools who swarm to do their bidding. Such system often show where their weakness might be from their very formation. That is, I think, apparent in present groups, such as those in Iraq. Now that the Lebanon-Israel war has become a full-tilt conflict in so many ways there has to be a logical phase of criticism directed a the Shiites concern to manage the war. There are splits in the jihadism backing the war. We should exploit such cracks and crevices in the walls of Hate which have built with structural faults from their birth. It is more than mere rumor which tells us that many Muslims do not feel that the war in Iraq is going in their favor at all. They have seen far more Muslim deaths than expected and they been appalled by the intense destruction of Lebanese cities by Israel's artillery fire and impressive air power. There is strong evidence on various Web sites and on-line journals concerned in side-bar comments on events in the war zone - often by a members of yet another Muslin group known as "the Salafis". They are often called "scripture literalists" and they see the terrorist's technique of suicide attacks as being opposed to Muslim religious thought. They can be used to lead many Muslims away from the jihadi movement. Thus far we have heard very little of this small but critical element in the Muslim world. Their opposition to suicide attacks should be prominently stressed. It is apparent that the entire movement is quite sensitive to public opinion . We should use any such view of well-known Muslim persons when they denounce such method as being non-acceptable in a religious sense. Other critics of the present management think they ought to be doing more international projects such as those of "Sept. 11th." We need to realize that serous debate is not dead among Muslims and that not all of them are the Ben Laden type. We should improve our own, in fact, and participate in active, serious debate on problems we all face in an awesome array. Andrew McCaskey amccsr@adelphia.net 8-2-06 [c511wds
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
TWO OF 'EM! We have had, at least, two men name Benjamin Church in our national history. It would be unusual if you found two people today would were aware of each Ben Church and could tell why they both made the history books of their day. More accurately,perhaps, their stories may have come down to us in the oft-time confused and retouched agenda of local and regional histories told and retold often to someone's advantage. The one Benjamin Church attained to the place of being the first Surgeon-General of the Continental Army all the way from the 27th of July 1775 through October 17th of that same year. To avoid confusion to some extent, let's agree to call him "Doc". He was born at Newport, Rhode Island. He was the third Benjamin Church to attend Boston Latin School and he graduated from Harvard College in 1734. He then studied medicine with Dr. Joseph Pynchon and in London as well. He married Hannah Hill of Ross, Herfordshire, and returned to Boston where he built a good reputation as a physician and surgeon. From that point onward, as frictions grew pointing to an impending conflict between the Colonies and Great Britain his life became more and more complicated. He was a vigorous supporter of the Whig Party, an ardent patriot by reason of his writing and actions. He was a the same time, said to be a secret Tory sympathizer. He examined the bodies and treated some of the wounded in the "Boston Massacre"! He delivered a special Anniversary Oration of that event which marked him as an outstanding orator of his time. He was, in time, accused of passing secret information about a Whig Party gathering to General Gage of His Majesty's Redcoats. We can barely touch on the series of complex issues which came to light in his life story. It is a genuine oddity that no great writer has taken up this work as a major writing task. In this story we see Doctor Benjamin Church as a National hero and yet he falls before a military Courts Marshal procedure of questionable authority. As I read and re-read t of the case, I marvel at the fact that conspiracy theories have not come forth from events of his life. Now, we still have one Church remaining. I promised you "two" of them, did I not? You have already met him in a quick reference, because that other Benjamin Church was the Grandfather of one we have be talking about. He, too, did things in odd ways. He is known for his "aggressiveness and personal bravery." He is considered to have been the avenging arm of the Puritan God!" I still find myself reading about Colonel Benjamin Church as a hero, a murderer, a thief, liar, cheat and impostor or - as someone has put it: "...as a human being with character flaws - like the rest of us." Andrew McCaskey amccsr@adelphia.net 8-1-06 [c503wds]
Monday, July 31, 2006
BIG BLOW FROM NOWHERE I have not had any really serious business with major hurricanes and the likes, but I have seen the physical damage such errant and everywhere winds can do. I respect their presence and hope to stay uninformed of their excesses on a first hand basis. I was surprised just the other day, when someone pointed out to me that hurricanes seldom, if ever, have lightening as a regular part of their general make-up. If it does occur it is usually most apparent on the inner eye wall area. They are best viewed from above and observers in planes above the eye of the storm can see numerous such fiery strikes at rates of several per minute. I' m told ex pierced weather-personnel joke about such storms: "Hurricanes blow a great deal; they rain and they flood, but they don't snap, crackle and pop away!" There are certain such storms which are designated as being "electric" hurricanes. The electric fields measured above the eye of such storms are as high or higher than those found in ordinary, land-based "meso-scale" thunderstorms - as much as 8 kilovolts...and that is considered to be "big." We are finding that we still need to, learn a great deal more about hurricanes to work to learn to forestall some of the great damage of the hurricanes seasons year after year. We know more about where they originate as we watch African winds become America's storms. We are aware of the Sahara sand storms and of reactions over the South Atlantic, but we still ignorant of the precise ways in which they interact. What, exactly, are the nucleation points of the elements? We do not yet understand the interplay of desert sands and the flow of water vapors of the vast Atlantic breeding area. Andrew McCaskey amccsr@adelphia.net 7-31-06 [c317wds]
Sunday, July 30, 2006
TRANSLATIONS I, like many others, I'm sure have long wondered what the city name "Shanghai" actually meant. I have a URL address which gives me the true meaning of such words, now but for along time I lived this written word world without that aid to verbal respectability regarding the true definitions of foreign words. Just last night I was reading a nostalgia article by a GI who once talked to a Chinese person he met on one of the docks along the Whangpoo River who told him that the name "Shanghai" meant:"up from the river." It sorta makes sense, doesn't it.? People who hailed from south of wherever you may have been could speak with pride of being from the more populated coastline. Or, highlanders could look down on such a visitor as something dragged in by sea gulls from down on the salty waters. I have met people from other countries who have thought it to be great fun to teach others improper meanings of words, so for the moment, until I can check it out, I'm going to accept that "shanghai" means "up from the sea." I remember one "Little Theater" group years ago, when, when they did a very good production of "Teahouse of the August Moon" did not find out that the long banners they had made were not really Japanese words for "Tea House", "Moon", or "August". No. They were a laundry list - in Chinese. It was hushed up pretty well, and didn't cause any to-do. A GI friend of mine who was taken prisoner at Anzio and remained in German prison camps for the rest of the war tells or double-featured word switching tournament which and, probably, never been duplicated in detail. My friend, aware of the Nazi tendency to segregate captured officer and enlisted men when taking prisoners not wanted to end up in a locked cell. He thought he would "last longer" as an active, working, laborer type. To accomplish that goal he ripped newly stitched corporal stripes from the arms of his uniform and smearing mud on the areas. He knew his dog tags still read:"Pvt." His plan worked and Frankie, from that time on, did what I call his "share cropping for the Reich". They were marched back up through Italy, their freight cars bombed by American planes gave them freedom for a short time but they were recaptured by their German "tour guides" and marched up through Italy, through central Europe and into Germany proper where they were put to work on a potato farm. The word thing? No, I've not forgotten ... let's see. Yes, one more detail: There happened to be a detached of Russian female prisoners the same farm site. They became casually acquainted and the GI's thought it would be fun to mis-teach the Russian women the rawest elements of our language first. They did and only later found the Russian females were doing the same thing in reverse! CODA: Something of value ought to evolve from a piece such as this. Over the years, I have often thought that in those eras of so-called "cultural" or "Arts" exchanges we have with foreign nations from time-to-time we have not always sent our "best". We have not used this exchange opportunity wisely. We should send our very best. We "translate" true American values ineptly. Andrew McCaskey amccsr@adelphia.net 7-30-06 [c576wds]
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