The news this week was so important that I wrote through the weekend, and I don't know about you all, but I need a very early bedtime tonight. I also need a reminder that there is something out there that will last longer than the next news cycle. To that end, here's one of my favorite images from from Buddy's files. As Ecclesiastes puts it: "One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever."
Honestly, the Aug 16 newsletter was such a tour de force that if I were your boss, I’d tell you to take the rest of the week off! Thank you for being such a wise and calm navigator through these stormy times.
I love the personal way you write. It is as if I am talking with a good friend who delights me when she express herself with such grace about that which could turn us to our darkest sides.
Coincidently yesterday I sent out postcards from the Southwest to several relatives with photos of early Pueblo cliff dwellings dating back 1,200 years. My messages included a statement reminding that nothing we make today will last 1,200 years. That the Pueblos lived much closer and in sync with Earth and Mother Nature.
We may make Earth uninhabitable for humans, lasting thousands of years, but like post Chernobyl, Earth and Nature will live on and our accomplishments will quickly turn to dust.
I am ok with this, if we prove unworthy. But I will not quit trying to do better while I here.
Thank you for all you do. A beautiful quote and beautiful picture. I needed this to center me; I am a teacher and tomorrow is our First Day of school. We are watching a fire exploding in El Dorado County, California. I didn't think I could sleep tonight until I read your lovely post. Sleep well and thank you for perspective❤
In one of the regular eerie coincidences in the rerun of Doonesbury (with new segments every Sunday so we can keep up to date with our old friends), BD is flying back to Vietnam 20 years after the war ended (the reruns have now reached the 1990s strips), sitting next to a young Vietnamese stockbroker who is completely over the war and fully globalized.
The difference of course is that Vietnam was much more a part of the world - even in the 1960s but the same military misinformation and blue sky narratives from government officials again appear.
As a young historian at the time, it caused me to lose faith in the government as an entity - while trusting individuals who hewed to the truth - even as far as they knew it. That mistrust has pervaded my own reading of American cultural history - to the present.
And it does make the case that rogue capitalism has no business fighting wars where profits are to be made without any cultural and societal standards.
Ecclesiastes also tells us that there is a time for everything. We've had our time to break down, now perhaps it is a time to build up again. Rest well, you are a major contributor to the effort.
Heather your calm presentation of facts backed by historical events is the antidote to our current world . Your words need to be heard and read by the Fox News and Twitter feed audience . Thank you for giving us what we need to argue intelligently
Thank you, Heather, for all you do. You were so pooped on today's FB Live yet still gave a great lecture! Rest and enjoy your evening. Very best wishes to you and Buddy now and always! Congratulations to you both!
lets hope the earth abideth forever in a way that includes its inhabitants The flora and fauna we love… that’s why the political scene and what is being decided in our name has the existential import it does. With gratitude to you Heather for the perspective you always. bring
I’m quite frankly exhausted from the news cycles this week. I leave the comfort of home on Friday in Florida for 2 weeks at our house in Blue Hill. I can already taste the Bagaduce oysters and the crab rolls, I can see the birding trails and the hikes, I will look forward to our annual visit to Aragosta. Heaven. Plus Perry’s for lobster. I will read your posts, but may not have the wherewithal to respond. Thank you so much for what you do!
If, as some of the comments here suggest, you and Buddy are getting married....congratulations! It is clear that you both have a sensitivity to nature as this photo shows. And you both have something wonderful to offer us. History and the natural world. Thank you for your work, and for sharing your part of the world with the rest of us.
Honestly, the Aug 16 newsletter was such a tour de force that if I were your boss, I’d tell you to take the rest of the week off! Thank you for being such a wise and calm navigator through these stormy times.
I love the personal way you write. It is as if I am talking with a good friend who delights me when she express herself with such grace about that which could turn us to our darkest sides.
Jim
Coincidently yesterday I sent out postcards from the Southwest to several relatives with photos of early Pueblo cliff dwellings dating back 1,200 years. My messages included a statement reminding that nothing we make today will last 1,200 years. That the Pueblos lived much closer and in sync with Earth and Mother Nature.
We may make Earth uninhabitable for humans, lasting thousands of years, but like post Chernobyl, Earth and Nature will live on and our accomplishments will quickly turn to dust.
I am ok with this, if we prove unworthy. But I will not quit trying to do better while I here.
Thank you for all you do. A beautiful quote and beautiful picture. I needed this to center me; I am a teacher and tomorrow is our First Day of school. We are watching a fire exploding in El Dorado County, California. I didn't think I could sleep tonight until I read your lovely post. Sleep well and thank you for perspective❤
And congratulations to you and Buddy--good news in a time turmoil.
Rest up! The free education you are giving all of us is beyond price. Thank you for everything.
In one of the regular eerie coincidences in the rerun of Doonesbury (with new segments every Sunday so we can keep up to date with our old friends), BD is flying back to Vietnam 20 years after the war ended (the reruns have now reached the 1990s strips), sitting next to a young Vietnamese stockbroker who is completely over the war and fully globalized.
The difference of course is that Vietnam was much more a part of the world - even in the 1960s but the same military misinformation and blue sky narratives from government officials again appear.
As a young historian at the time, it caused me to lose faith in the government as an entity - while trusting individuals who hewed to the truth - even as far as they knew it. That mistrust has pervaded my own reading of American cultural history - to the present.
And it does make the case that rogue capitalism has no business fighting wars where profits are to be made without any cultural and societal standards.
Ecclesiastes also tells us that there is a time for everything. We've had our time to break down, now perhaps it is a time to build up again. Rest well, you are a major contributor to the effort.
Heather your calm presentation of facts backed by historical events is the antidote to our current world . Your words need to be heard and read by the Fox News and Twitter feed audience . Thank you for giving us what we need to argue intelligently
And your photos are always good for our souls
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a type writer and bleed.”-E.H
We are all so grateful.
Thank you, Heather, for all you do. You were so pooped on today's FB Live yet still gave a great lecture! Rest and enjoy your evening. Very best wishes to you and Buddy now and always! Congratulations to you both!
Beautiful
Just the right medicine after such a painful news cycle
Beautiful quote
lets hope the earth abideth forever in a way that includes its inhabitants The flora and fauna we love… that’s why the political scene and what is being decided in our name has the existential import it does. With gratitude to you Heather for the perspective you always. bring
I’m quite frankly exhausted from the news cycles this week. I leave the comfort of home on Friday in Florida for 2 weeks at our house in Blue Hill. I can already taste the Bagaduce oysters and the crab rolls, I can see the birding trails and the hikes, I will look forward to our annual visit to Aragosta. Heaven. Plus Perry’s for lobster. I will read your posts, but may not have the wherewithal to respond. Thank you so much for what you do!
Thank you for all you do to help us understand what is happening around us.
If, as some of the comments here suggest, you and Buddy are getting married....congratulations! It is clear that you both have a sensitivity to nature as this photo shows. And you both have something wonderful to offer us. History and the natural world. Thank you for your work, and for sharing your part of the world with the rest of us.