Saturday, November 11, 2006
WEBB BUILDING A curious thing takes place naturally in political activities in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It's a good feature of our political life over the years and decades of years. In the short version it can irritate some people, especially newcomers. Native Virginian families seem to go along with suffering any noticeable social mishaps. We have just been through a rather noisy Mid-Term election here in the "Old Dominion" and we have a history of having survived - even prospered because of such political change interruptions. As a Royal Colony, Virginia, had to be ready to "work with"... "get along with" or "encourage departure" of a number of King-appointed Governors...very often men poorly qualified to become rulers of an active, working growth of responsible, hardworking people. Some appointees remained problems ,of course, but he average Virginian learned it was best not to disturb their dreams but to go right on living as they had in the recent past. Here, in Virginia, just a week after the Mid-Term election displays of all sorts of unpleasantness, we are settled back into normal channels of living, working and laughing at our own foibles. The campaigns were, by area standards, "dirty". The fracturing of Truth was common place by all parties from the grassroots start of many wild actions. Attempts to make the opposition appear to be beyond the scope of the sheer mass of their accumulations - both of vile, purposeful corruption and sins of omission as well. I was particularly concerned when it was brought to light that Jim Webb had authored several "novels" - usually printed with quotation marks distinguish them for others. I'm going to find out some day who the wordy wise one was who elevated that criticism to be one of the best bits of humor in the election: how many viewers knew what a "Graphics Deviant" might be? The election is over...gone. Good riddance. Now we will all get to know our new Senator Jim Webb. He never held an elective office before .Maybe thats a good thing. He held some important appointed places, however, in both the Nixon and Regan eras. We'll all find more positive things about Jim as we help him weave his Webb. Andrew McCaskey amccsr@adelphia.net 11-11-06 [c-386wds]
Friday, November 10, 2006
ROOMS - ONE ONLY
Building a new one-room school house? That would seem to be an odd project for anyone to undertake today. Most of us were a bit upset with the tragic events at such a school building at Nickle Mines, Pa. a month a go. Young school girls murdered. The crimes shocked the entire nation and we agreed on he ntentof the local people - "simple folk" of the area - to raze the old school, plow the land and let it revert to the pasture land it had been. It made sense, we realized, that the local citizens neither wanted,or needed another show place, an exhibition area, an added to tourist trap attraction - perhaps a dramatic restoration of deed and actions best forgotten or vilified into obscurity. The suggested plan is now for erecting a new one-room school house on the same site. "A fitting memorial" for the young victims. A simple, brass marker and an area for prayer might be more fitting. If you are among those who like to visit one-room school houses, I assume the fine one built in 1871 at Rymer, West Virginia is still on display. Paul Yost, who was head of the College Centennial t, Fair mount, West Virginia - where he later - I'm told - became Dean Yost. The new site for the one-roomer school was twenty-five miles from home. Yost and his host of students started looking for authentic furnishings for the school. One of the first things found was an old brass classroom bell, the type schoolmasters would ring to get the attention of their charges. a nearby county gave a long-burning Franklin stove; others gave book collections including many from the 1890's when the school was built. McGuffey Readers, Mitchell's Geography, Ray's Arithmetic, desks, chairs and the American Legion and the VFW found a 1891 flag with thirty-five stars. It serves well as a memorial to early American educators. The old school is used to train new teachers. It quickly became a sight worthy visiting sing the Fairmont, W. Va. area. Andrew McCaskey amccsr@adelphia.net 11-10-06 [c359wds]
Thursday, November 09, 2006
HUCKLEBERRY FUNFor just about all of my life, I’ve been calling huckleberries blueberries and blueberries huckleberries! I’ll be first to admit that’s ignorant, but it never occurred to me that the two of them might be different. No one ever told me and I never asked. Recently, I came across a communication from an office located on the ump-teenth floor of the Empire State Building in New York of all which handed me a complete rundown on black and blue berries as well as huckled. I had to know all. I quickly realized the printed materials were “propaganda”. The “Blueberry Gang” had sent fine recipes and nutrition notes on blueberries but the huckleberry was barely mentioned with six lines of copy on page four. Blueberries are not only delicious they are unique. They are prob- ably the most widely distributed fruit in the world. Others, such as the banana, will grow only in steaming tropical zones; others – like apples – thrive in Temperate zones, but the blueberry grows where there is mulchy, acid soil. Blueberries are the only fruit which reaches our table wild or in a “native” state as well as in modern, highly cultivated forms. They are ready with just a quick washing. You have no peelings, no pits, no stems, no tops, no slippery seeds to count, no leavings or “for the birds” portions. The cultivation of blueberries increased enormously. In the 1920-30' there were widely scattered plantings, but that figure grew to over twenty thousand such farms by the middle of the century. You can still pick wild blueberries in the east from Maine to Alabama, in the Ozarks, the Cascades and the upper regions of the Pacific Northwest. Wild ones are smaller but good. Commercial types are marketed in four sizes. Deluxe means you from 70 to 90 berries per pint. Now a direct quote from the poop sheet: "In some parts of the country wild blueberries are called "huckleberries". They are different. They have ten rather hard seeds. They are not as sweet and blackish in color rather than blue." In spite of that unkind note, I was impressed. On my way home I stopped briefly at the Farmer's Open Market and bought a quart of blueberries from a man who sold "the best lookin' "huckleberries" he'd seen in years! Andrew McCaskey amccsr@adelphia.net 11-8-06 [c400wds]
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
VOTER'S VERSIONS Today has been Election Day throughout our native land. Millions of citizens of this nation sought out their nearest voting site today and cast a ballot in favor of their favorite choice from among the candidates who's name had been set forth. A million others persons - for as many different reasons - it seems, did not vote. Sometimes I use stronger terms, but most of the time I think of this non-voting group as our Second Class Citizens. Over the years, I have wondered what stigma we could attach to such people who thus endanger our country and make it more difficult for others to maintain a worthy lifestyle; complicate our relations with other states who see us as being weak and divided into warring factions. The non-voter actually "votes" in a curious, blind, unthinking, nonsensical manner by his absence from the polling booth. I heard some talk along this line of thought during the last few weeks of this election, in particular, when it became apparent that many would stay away from the polls since this was a "meaningless" Mid-Term election. Many people stay away from it all and make of taking part only in major elections. They only show for major elections and they usually appear with woefully ignorance of issues under consideration. Theirs are self-inflicted wounds and do not deserve the "welcome home" treatments they, so often, get. The Australians have tried a system whereby persons who do not vote are charged a stiff tax for failing to do so. It did not work as planned. We each come away from the voting machine with different thoughts in mind, I suppose. I always feel a small portion of patriotism I guess you might call it in which I say to myself: "Well now! I've done my part! I've voted!" It feels good when an election official places a tiny sticker on my jacket which lets others know I have done my civic duty. I usually pass them along to grandchildren the next day or stick them on my coffee mug to remind me of a special time for all of us. Often we find people who do not vote are eagers critics of whatever system used by those who do so."O my,yes! I wish we'd go back to usin' plain ole paper and pencils again! It think maybe I'd go back if..." Andrew McCaskey amccsr@adelphia.net 11-7-06 [c-414wds]
Monday, November 06, 2006
LAST LASHING LIBERTIES. This is the last week of the year in which you can be as impolite, hateful, despicable and downright nasty with people about you if you choose to do so - and get away with it - unscathed! Just memories of past experiences can trigger hate and distrust at this time of each single year. They certainly do in quad-years when we go though some amazing governmental actions. At other times of the extremes in the puzzling days our lives, we can - if it be an election year - get away with calling even a big brute of a man a liar, cheat, a thief or other such type of sub-human - not only with impunity but even with the sound in massive gongs of praise and gratitude for our having expressed the public sentiment so well- so imposingly and so deftly. This year, I think, may well have been the one which has touched the bottom of the wordy pit. We have experienced an actual year of war in one of the Earth's most inhospitable regions; we have anger, distrust, suspicion and fears-of-sorts in our hearts and heads concerning events which took place "years ago but which remain very much a part of our national sense of enduring values. The harsh words we use - the comparisons bordering on indecent at times, are a futile play. of course. They are "plays" rather than "dramas" they could and should be. We gain little by trying always to be different. Intent often sets the goals. Perhaps, the paucity of serious thought and truly innovative actions and the use of common, street language terms really show up our distinctive lack of serious intent, our squandered educational aims and turns, and poor vocabularies to go right with such instructional ineptness and lassitude. Every recent election time has roiled up a froth of protests again "negative" advertising. It is a symptom of much that has taken place in other modes of dissemination of the vast treasure of which we have acquired but don't know, as yet, how to make proper use of for our mutual betterment. We thrive on pettiness and avoid the challenge of becoming a create being destined to have "dominion" over all. Have a good Election Day. Get your little piece for democracy "said" - electronically now, of course. Do your part with new, better more efficient equipment for recording and saving our same old, tired and re-treaded ideas, thoughts - have yet another try to hit back at hurt which has come your way! Andrew McCaskey amccsr@adelphia.net 11-6-06 [c436wds]
Sunday, November 05, 2006
WAR TIME WORDS "My name is Saddam Hussein and I approve this sentence." Yesterday - November 4, 2006 - we were waiting to hear those words - an approximation of words which have plagued us during these days of our Mid Term Elections. Just about all day we were TV-teased with repeated promises that the promises of the sentencing following the plodding trial of the Butcher of Baghdad. Hour-after-hour the promised bulletin did not arrive but we were in undated with the election's "Blame Words" tag line, seemingly minute-by-minute. I did not hear the decision until the next morning and, by that time, the story had been cut to just a few words printed among other headlines. It said that Saddam Husein was to die for his crimes by hanging. Concise, blunt and, some people, cruel. What do feel? Too little;too late? Or, too severe? There will be endless discussion on this and other points because the crimes covered by this trial were largely those related to the killing of Kurd citizens in northern section of Iraq in the early days of his despotic rule. The rest of the nation, which also suffered loss of life and property and many will be unsure of any punishment being handed out in their behalf. This would be a time when it would be good to know legal Latin terms for saying:"The body is gone!" (Corpus vamoose, maybe?) There will be an appeal, you may be sure. Care was taken to to make this appear to be a legitimate court trial by Iraqi law books and not a hasty military operation. Goodness knows it was slow enough and many people in other judicial systems had legitimate reasons for expressing some doubt if it was as legal as it was claimed to have been. The method of operation - a day or so at work and several weeks in recess seemed, at times to mark the events as a charade. People here in the United State should try to find out what part American lawyers Ramsey Clark and friend played in this defense of a known enemy. One has difficulty in seeing how their membership helped Saddam to get where he is with one foot now placed rather firmly on the scaffold platform. Are they to play a role in the Appeals phase upcoming? I think we are going we are going to hear more than his duo in the near future. It ain't over 'till the fat man swings. Andrew McCaskey amccsr@adelphia.net 11-5-06 [c-430wds]
|
