The seasons of our lives also change it seems so quickly just as the seasons of Nature do. How did I reach 70 in the blink of an eye? Thank you for your goodness and illumination in this time of Chaos.
I'm 70, too. When my father turned 80, we had a tribute for him. He spoke for about 10 minutes. His first words: I can't believe how fast it's all gone by.
Pushing up against 73, I'm facing the frustrations of complaining joints when my mind insists I should still be able to do anything I did ten years ago. Yet I am learning to let go of expectations and possessions that nowadays feel more like burdens than pleasures. And I refuse to urge time on to the next season, the next holiday, the next vacation. Days are precious, and I try to savor them. (Though having my 10 and 13 YO grandchildren living with us means days are filled with youthful energy, issues and crises...so days go by in a hurry!)
There is a great routine that George Carlin did about aging. Basically, he begins with a person asking a young child "How old are you?" The child proudly says "I'm three and a half." Then Carlin goes through the ages showing where it changes from people saying they are older to things like your "I'm pushing up against 73." George's great punch line at the end goes like this when he asks a person whose age is in the triple digits "How old are you?" to which the person says "I'm one hundred and three and a half!"
Judith, I received copy of a post you addressed to 'Keith' but appeared to be for Martin London about coping some of his Blog. You might check your post to 'Keith' to learn whether you intended it for him. Salud!
How many times have we heard federal elections are all about the Supreme Court? A lot.
Conservatives have fixated on SCOTUS for decades and have realized their goal, a stacked court brazenly making decisions in darkness. So, is this a cause for celebration or concern for conservative voters?
The Texas abortion controversy has buried all the terrible news of the past four weeks about Afghanistan, Climate Change and Covid. At the same time it has awakened the sleeping beast on the left. The million woman march is organizing in 50 states. Members of Congress mailboxes electronic and snail mail are filling up. Republican women are finding out individual rights may not apply to Americans in women's bodies.
Defenders of Trump's appointees who pledged stare decisis regarding Roe have shown their contempt for pre-appointment promises. Has Fox News even yet reported on the abomination of abortion and vigilante enforcement in Texas?
Everything we feared last month about the 2022 elections has been tossed out the window. Biden and the Democrats have a fresh start that could not have come at a better time.
I am bemused by pundits who write with gobsmacking immediacy rather than serene reflection. How ‘disastrous’ that President Biden’s poll numbers have dipped below 50% and the ‘American public’ thinks badly of Biden/Afghanistan. I place these ‘instant polls’ in the same category of those pundits who mercurial praise or bash the NYMets or Yankees, depending upon their most recent winning or losing streaks.
I am neither enthralled with our ‘scientific’ spot polls or the sagacity of the “American public.’ The recent media rattatatat pummeling of President Biden certainly is reflected in recent polls.
I am reasonably optimistic that the “American public’ will look more favorably upon President Biden by the 2022 elections. Afghanistan will fade in the memory of the great majority of Americans, with a residual warm glow that we are out of Afghanistan and a humongous number of people were evacuated. The Biden administration will have managed well the peripatetic pandemic and the economy will be on a more even keel. Hopefully the Democrats will get their act together and pass a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill and a $2.5-3 trillion human infrastructure bill. Just because I miscalled the Hillary/Donnie 2016 election is no reason why I can’t be right now—perhaps I am older and wiser.
Keith, Certainly, you are older, how else could it be? With reference the 'human infrastructure' bill, you've chipped it down as it will be, but I hope it's passed not more than a whisper away from $3 trillion. Salud!
I'm not as fond of Keith's use of 'peripatetic' with reference to the pandemic. Think how long it is lasting and not over yet. Wait to see what happens once school starts. Unfortunately, Biden is not alone in this. He cannot stop DeSantis, Abbott, Ducey, et al. 'Peripatetic' means moving around from place to place for 'short' periods of time. So now, Christine, your know more about the word!
"Conservatives" have targeted the political and intellectual chokepoints of our society for a long time, with great success. We "liberals" tend to assume that the underlying absurdity of their positions will be self-evident.
When I got back from a few days away, the basil in the garden had transformed from gorgeous, full-leafed plants to end of season . . . I spent the day salvaging the best of a dying crop and making pesto! And, every summer I say I'm going to start the pesto process earlier and I did do a few batches but not enough!
Yes, the seasons and years of our lives turn too quickly. It is a natural process to slow down a bit as one ages, but education, experience, and compassion that is gained throughout those years provides wisdom to more effectively fight the tough battles that are on the horizon.
The confluence of what we are witnessing within our country . . . inexplicable insanity regarding anti-vaccination, anti-masking, Texas, Florida (et.al.) and republican politics, the weather disasters created by climate change combined with mass migration/refugees fleeing war/unlivable conditions topped off with a pandemic, etc. . . . is overwhelming and unsettling beyond what most of us have ever experienced in our lifetime.
Heather's daily letters, videos, podcasts provide order to chaos and inadvertently brought together a "community" in a (good) way that (undoubtedly) was not anticipated. There is power in words and knowledge and there is a lot of work to be done!
There is power in community, especially one made of those who rail against the artifice and dissembling of elected officials and their contrivances only for self benefit. How Heather takes in so much every day and winnows out what I need to hear and contemplate is inspiring and encouraging. I so appreciate reading through all of the comments, even though I do stay up way too late.
The Guess Who, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young. My heart swells with re-awakened pride in those icons of my youth.
My wife grew up on a farm about 10 minutes from Scott Young’s summer (presumably) home. He too was a celebrated man for his time - a revered sportswriter for the national newspaper, an author of several books for boys. I hasten to add that “celebrated” is a long walk away from “famous” as his son Neil is.
I once teased Judy that she could have walked up the hill to the Young house, knocked on the door and introduced herself to Neil Young. :)
Why would I have done that was her reply. I was dumbfounded. Why would you have not wanted to meet Neil Young? Neil freaking Young?
Then I realized that she had “missed” the Sixties. She had never heard of CSN&Y.
I’m sure I said something completely stupid. And she reminded me that while I was swanning around with my sports and music, she had been keeping a farm afloat. Her father had died in her arms of a heart attack when she was 16. She was the oldest child remaining at home. Her mother was paralyzed with grief for months and so Judy had attended school after chores in the morning and rushed home to more farm work each evening. “I had no teenage years”, was her conclusion. I was silenced. I had known all the basic facts above but never had viewed them in that light.
One takes one’s education as it comes. That education went on for a mutual lifetime. We were a collision and a filling of empty spaces.
Still are, I hasten to add.
Today Heather writes about the seasons. She ignited a flood of the most amazing memories and conclusions drawn from years of living. There are many stunning posts today - posts of memory that have no hard edges to collide with. Just beautiful, wise writing. Thank you all.
This is powerful Eric and courageous of you to share. How one day our mind can suddenly awaken to what was always right there before us but unrecognized. Thank you for sharing this here. A shift in the light to see thru the glass less darkly. I am reminded of a speech by Bill Clinton about fundamentalism and seeing through the glass darkly. Wisdom comes from such moments when the light shifts and we see that which was there all along. https://www.beliefnet.com/news/politics/2004/09/all-of-us-see-through-the-glass-darkly.aspx
Something I enjoy from a basil plant gone to seed is to pluck the flowering head and carry it in my car on the console, occasionally picking it up and squeezing it to release the scent.
Heather, I am deeply grateful for your daily posts; thank you for your wisdom, brilliance, and the historical perspective that you provide that helps us to connect the dots. Your writing is always sobering and hopeful at the same time. xo
Although much of the news is awful—and you never sugarcoat in your postings—I always feel calmer and more knowledgeable after reading your daily letter. And, the weekly photo provides a meditative moment. For a New Englander transplanted in Florida (the defiant Alachua County is home) the images from Maine are a treat!
I agree! As a CT/New Englander at heart, transplanted to the Memphis TN area, your grounded in earth and common sense writings and Buddy's beautiful photos make me yearn for home, but also fill my heart with joy that New England IS!
My husband and I have also become calmer and more informed about the politics and goings on in the country. He is a collector of old newspapers (including revolutionary era) and reading from the original sources (news before it was history!) also provokes thinking in the context of the era with the perspective of what became the future.
Rowshan, thank you for posting the beautiful John Keats poem. "the granary floor" is a reference that is heart warming since our area volunteers are faced with the restoration of our local landmark which is a 1747 custom grain mill that has flood damage.
thanks for sharing. The poetry, the word craft, is exquisite. Not only does the poem create the mental picture, it sings. I remember we used to memorize poems in school. I don't hear so much of that now.
On the other hand, I see more poetry in music in the more recent generations, and the music has trended to the hip hop/rap genres. In 2020, the music I collected was protest songs - they proliferated after May 25, 2020. Art is necessary.
Keats captures the richness and sadness of autumn with inimitable grace. I am grateful that Heather’s post of Buddy’s photo moved you to post Keats’s poem.
We were at war in Afghanistan for twenty years. The fight was against the Taliban. Originally, the justification was the failure of the Afghanis to control terrorist groups that threatened the safety and well-being of the United States citizenry. But even after first we beat the Taliban, and a U.S. supported government was installed, and even after we killed Usama Bin Laden, we continued to support the war against the Taliban insurgency. The cost was horrendous: 2,500 American servicemen and women, thousands of US contractors, all at the expense of billions of dollars.
Why did we continue to fight this war? Because the Taliban represented everything that we thought was evil, contrary to our laws, culture, and Constitutional values. They were religious fundamentalists, they had no notion of equality, no integrity, no judicial system that followed the rule of law. Most prominently they subjected women to the role of enslaved people. In the pre-civil war United States, not only was there no school for slaves, it was against the law to create one. Under Taliban rule, a school dedicated to teaching girls how to read was burned to the ground. Even twenty years after the US at first defeated the Taliban, only 37% of Afghani girls know how to read.
The recent anti-abortion law In Texas is right out of the Taliban handbook. Women have no control over their reproductive systems. They are slaves to male domination. What's more, Texas has eviscerated it's rule of law. Physicians face felony charges for performing abortions later than 6 weeks of pregnancy. Everyone, in or out of the state, has the right to sue any person who ”aids or abets" a woman who gets an abortion after 6 weeks of pregnancy. The concept of “standing to sue," which is explicit in the Federal Constitution, no longer exists in the State of Texas. In Texas, it's now neighbor against neighbor.
The new tribal Republican right is an absolute threat to our democracy. The Big Lie, the party's vigorous effort to block any inquiry into the January 6th Capitol insurrection, the rash of anti-voting new legislation, all are consistent with Taliban rule.
And perhaps most shocking, the Federal judiciary, now controlled by the Taliban wing of our judiciary, has turned its back on Texas women and on the rule or law.
The Judiciary's reaction to this Texas anti-abortion scheme, is a step too far. Despite the unambiguous unconstitutionality of the Texas statute, both the Fifth Circuit, and more importantly, the Supreme Court, refused to interfere. And the Supremes’ did the dirty deed in the dark of night, on the stroke of midnight, on something called “the shadow docket.”– a place lacking the regular opportunities to file written or oral arguments. And all of this happened because tribal chief McConnell stole a Supreme Court seat from Obama, and put Amy Coney Barrett on the Court. Earlier, Justice Kavanagh had made a pre-confirmation promise not to disturb a woman’s freedom of choice as protected in Roe v Wade--a promise he has now broken-- an offense for which we have no remedy. When Barrett and Kavanagh joined Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch on the Court, Roe was doomed.
For sure, the judicial Talibans will argue that this decision is not permanent, and the Court will take the matter up in regular order next year, but this is legal mumbo-jumbo. They cannot walk away from the truth. They have allowed Texas to control a woman’s reproductive freedom, and in doing so have disgraced the Court.
Let me be clear. I believe in a woman’s right to choose. I believe that it is morally and legally reprehensible to make laws that imprison physicians who would accommodate women who wish to terminate their pregnancies in accordance with the 50-year old Supreme Court decision in Wade. And I do understand that a minority of our population disagrees with me.
But the evil here goes well beyond the abortion issue. It is about judicial fundamentalism and tribalism shredding the rule of law. The Sixth Circuit and the Supreme Court have brazenly dismissed the rule of law without legal due process. Once that virus spreads, we will become more like China than a western democracy.
I do believe the Texas/Supreme Court abortion outrage is so horrendous that the Democrats can be fired up to recognize what is at risk here. 2024 is the key. The Democrats must maintain the House and they must pick up three seats in the Senate (two Democrats will vote against abolishing the ancient filibuster rule by which the tribal Republican caucus can veto any Democrat-sponsored legislation. Only by abolishing the filibuster rule and adding four Justices to the Supreme Court can our democracy prevail. And I believe the American Taliban has now so completely shat upon our Constitutional democracy that enough people -- Democrats, Independents, and perhaps some sensible Republicans-- will gag at the stink, pay attention, and vote to fix this. The stakes are very high.
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"... the Supremes’ did the dirty deed in the dark of night, on the stroke of midnight, on something called “the shadow docket.”– a place lacking the regular opportunities to file written or oral arguments."
On the stroke of midnight ... sounds kinda spooky to me ... handing down a decision with no written or oral arguments ... what kind of legal process is that? If the Supreme Court can flaunt the law so blatantly, doesn't that open the door for anyone - and everyone - to follow suit? Coming apart at the seams ... it would seem Sistah USA is due for more than a cosmetic makeover ...
Meanwhile, back at the ranch ...,
Something beautiful and powerful happened last Wednesday. An estimated 2,000 water protectors gathered outside the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, to demonstrate against the Line 3 tar sands pipeline. Indigenous leaders, local community organizers, and state elected officials all spoke out on the need to stop Line 3.
Wednesday’s rally began with the arrival of the Treaty People Walk for Water - a group of people who walked 250 miles over 19 days, from the pipeline cross at the Mississippi River headwaters to the Capitol. In the final miles of their walk, they were joined by hundreds more in support.
The rally ended with organizers reading a statement of demands criticizing Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s support of the pipeline and militarization of police in its defense.
On Saturday, water protectors took action at the Governor’s email
Governor Walz has not responded to the demonstrators. And hundreds of people have continued to peacefully hold space and conduct ceremony at the White House.
If Governor Walz won’t act, it’s up to President Biden. Will you call the White House today to ask the President to stop construction of the Line 3 pipeline?
Action is taking place all over the country. After rallying at the White House and at the Army Corps of Engineers HQ, people took action by demonstrating at the home of White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klain. Two dozen were arrested for this peaceful demonstration, but a clear signal has been sent: We are deeply committed to stopping this pipeline, and we will not be ignored. In cities all over the U.S., people held their own actions in solidarity. We want to highlight an event in Washington, D.C., where allies in both houses of Congress just sent a letter to the White House asking President Biden to revoke Line 3’s permit.
Water protectors continue to resist on the frontlines -- in the face of increased police activity, the Giniw Collective blocked a Line 3 pump station, impeding construction and operation. Their courage is an inspiration, and we owe them our urgency. To learn about joining the frontline resistance camps visit www.stopline3.org/hub.
In a recent filing from Enbridge, the oil company claimed that they believe they can have the pipeline operational and pulling tar sands across Ashininaabe land “as soon as mid-September.” They may be bluffing on the exact date, but we don’t have the luxury of time.
We need leadership that is willing to honor our treaties, our earth, and our climate, and will act with bravery and love. We need President Biden to revoke Enbridge’s Line 3 permit.
Powerful and important post, Kathleen Allen. As in the glorious days, including the 18th century when pamphlets were very influential during pre-Revolutionary political agitation; a foremost writer was Thomas Paine, whose Common Sense appeared in January 1776. Your comment is a crucial Message To The People.
You have called upon us to STOP LINE 3 tar sands pipeline. HEAR THIS CALL ALL.
Thank you Fern, I get regular updates from the folks at the Lakota People's Law Project where I contribute monthly: https://action.lakotalaw.org/ ... our support is much needed and greatly appreciated!!
By the way Fern (love your name!) the post about Line 3 was written by Chase Iron Eyes at the Lakota People's Law Project - I should have given credit!!
Kathleen, Might you write their names and functions in a reply under you comment. It won't stay in that place, but that won't matter if you have a little backup with their names.
The bit about due process came from my heart - they say ignorance of the law has no excuse ... there is no excuse for me, I am sure - however, willful neglect and manipulation of the law by those who supposedly are qualified to exercise it justly ...? Seems like a serious violation to me!!
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. Do you mind letting us know whether you are Martin "Marty" London a litigation attorney, formally with the law firm, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP?
Martin, may I cut & paste your blog post to my FB page, with or without direct attribution, as you choose? Keith, slip of the brain, as much as I appreciate your in-depth comments, I meant previous post for Martin.
Judith: Thank you for the compliment. There was an error in the original post as copied onto my comment. I apologize. The corrected post is now on line. Plse use the correct one. You can get it at https://londonsbh.blogspot.com/ I am not a Facebook person, so you can leave my name off your FB post. It is hardly anonymous because it is under my blog address and includes, at the end, an address to subscribe. Thanks, again. Marty
Thank you so much. See my response to Judith, above. Just use only current blog post, which has been corrected. You may use my name or not, as you please. It would be an honor to "meet" your friends.
The important thing is to circulate material like this beyond this site, Martin's site, and wherever else it may appear. I wonder how many of those who have not been vaccinated or those who don’t bother with masks when in public places ever bother to read newspapers, or even know they exist.
When I check out in a supermarket or other store (for something I don’t choose to buy online), I usually ask the clerk if they are vaccinated. Some say “yes” (and I offer them a sticker saying so) but many say “no” with a dumb expression on their faces indicating they haven’t the foggiest idea what I am asking about, or about the Covid19 pandemic, the Supeme Court or Afghanistan, or anything else that really matters. Those headsets they are wearing drum music into their ears but little else. Same goes for the escapist TV they might watch or the internet sites they visit to peruse 'social media' posted by equally ignorant individuals.
There are many such people around. They are "the ignorant," the presence of which our democracy seems to pretend do not exist. But they do.
Thank you for your reply, Jack. I know the uninformed population you are addressing. The double assault on democracy here has been the loss of newspapers, local news, in particular, and the dominance of social media, which contributed to the collapse of the newspaper business. We do not have a free press anywhere near the necessary level. The survival of democracy must reckon with that. London's Blog, I believe, will be a valuable contribution to a distinctly educated and relatively informed audience. I would like to see major funding for local news outlets to be on social media and even distributed free in pamphlet form --- waking up that old time form of getting the word out. There are fair number of journalists who lost their calling, schools of journalism, college campuses, retired teaches, accountants.... It would serve a great need to begin to build local news delivery in various forms.
With no offense intended to them, will spreading the gospel of democracy have to reach the level of the distribution of pamphlets the Seventh Day Adventists offer in bus terminals, railroad stations and outside of my local library?
Jack do you know the history of pamphlets, including Thomas Paine's Common Sense? It is a worthy form. Perhaps your knowledge of them is exclusively tied the Seventh Day Adventists. Read up, Jack.
I find that 'must' is precisely the word to be used in regard to Martin London's blog post. Considering where we are and where we're headed, I also hold Heather Cox Richardson's "Letters..." to fall into the category of 'must'.
I think once it is read each person will make up his or her own mind about how they will proceed. I encouraged that it be read and offered a favorable opinion of Martin London. You are free to tell people that they must subscribe to it, but you need not tell me what I must do nor concern yourself with my exchanges with subscribers about this matter. Salud!
Thank you for keeping us centered knowing that as bad as the moment is as Americans we have been there before and prayerfully we will get through this terrible moment again.
Why was looking at Buddy's photograph, just now, the most beautiful to see? My head had a bad picture in it, soon after waking, of the Texas state legislature - yes, it did. Then I communicated with two dear subscriber friends, kim and Heydon, whom I've know on the Forum for quite some time. That felt good - to be with them and then with Buddy's picture... Thank you, Buddy. And, Heather, you brought together this past week the dreadful present and past with immense clarity and grace. We cannot live through it without agony, effort and each other.
My parents gave me my love for history. They grew up in Kingston, NY, the first capitol of NY State. The Hudson Valley was the first major artery into the continent for the Dutch and then the English. It rivaled Jamestown, VA and Plymouth, MA for its early history. Jamestown was my parents favorite historic site. My parents introduced me to my grandparents as a newborn in Yorktown, VA. This, Williamsburg's and Jamestown were my first historic site trips with my parents and younger sister as an early grade schooler, before the US interstate highway system was completed along the East coast.
Every village church and grave yard along the Hudson, every Dutch land patent, every stone and hand hewn house had a story of colonists, Revolutionary War soldiers and prisoners, and Indian settlements with archaeological finds of pottery and arrow heads. Historical societies had carefully accumulated and documented houses and families. It was a history rich environment to grow up in, read and write grade school and highschool reports on. And yet, it seems that those who followed in my family and community soon left that early history behind as shopping malls overwhelmed historical sites, turning them into out of place and out of mind tourist attractions for out of towners.
My father's interest in family genealogy took over an earlier family member's interest and records. He went to town and county offices mining their records before ancestry.com. My wife took my father's work, and joined my uncle in his genealogical work, to trace our multiple family branches back to Europe and out into the midwest. We discovered a trail to the US with towns named in New York that were brought with them from Massachusetts and earlier places.
History is both illuminating and connecting. Real history shows us both the best and worst of mankind, so that we can learn to be both good and courageous in the face of many challenges. The stone walls of New York and New England tell me a story of families and communities working together sun up to sun down, clearing woods and fields to become open farmland, and then more often returning to woods. This is a story of man's and nature's persistent efforts. Hard work, settlements and progress that return quickly to nature when left unattended and no longer useful8 for human use and survival. Returning to Nature's natural state will always overtake the artifacts of our time. The study of History keeps us informed of our greatest, less worthy and destructive endeavors for future generations to learn, amaze or curse us by. We cannot learn history through rose colored glasses as entertainment.
HCR's letters and reciting our memories are important windows and reminders of our past, present and future. Breadcrumbs for future generations.
For much of my life, the only season I liked more than the one we were in was the one we were going to next. Where I grew up / now live in Oregon, we are fortunate to have had pretty mild yet distinct seasons, although back in the day, Medford summers could get pretty darn hot. Now in Eugene, our summers are hotter and drier than ever, the winters alternate between quite mild and dryer, and much colder and dryer, except for the major snow dump or ice storm that we now get thanks to the phenomenon known as a "polar vortex" that sends really cold air down to us.
Now? I like summer. I like the daylight. I like being barefoot. Spring is promise, Fall is a sense of loss. Winter is to be endured as we get our 8 1/2 hours of daylight. August (especially the last half) does seem to be the transition month as we lose 3 minutes of daylight a day.
Musing about the seasons and how I still appreciate them all (even as I have a favorite) has given me respite from all the horrible political news that we've suffered through, and this horrible, combatable pandemic that we as a country seem too divided to fight.
Think I'll grab a cup of coffee and go catch a late summer/early fall sunrise out on the deck before the smoke from various forest fires blows in to chase me inside.
I'm thrilled with Autumn falling early upon us. The sunsets are glorious, the weather cooling off, sweaters & boots soon to come out of the closet... <bliss>
The seasons of our lives also change it seems so quickly just as the seasons of Nature do. How did I reach 70 in the blink of an eye? Thank you for your goodness and illumination in this time of Chaos.
I'm 70, too. When my father turned 80, we had a tribute for him. He spoke for about 10 minutes. His first words: I can't believe how fast it's all gone by.
Did you play that Sinatra song for him?
Pushing up against 73, I'm facing the frustrations of complaining joints when my mind insists I should still be able to do anything I did ten years ago. Yet I am learning to let go of expectations and possessions that nowadays feel more like burdens than pleasures. And I refuse to urge time on to the next season, the next holiday, the next vacation. Days are precious, and I try to savor them. (Though having my 10 and 13 YO grandchildren living with us means days are filled with youthful energy, issues and crises...so days go by in a hurry!)
There is a great routine that George Carlin did about aging. Basically, he begins with a person asking a young child "How old are you?" The child proudly says "I'm three and a half." Then Carlin goes through the ages showing where it changes from people saying they are older to things like your "I'm pushing up against 73." George's great punch line at the end goes like this when he asks a person whose age is in the triple digits "How old are you?" to which the person says "I'm one hundred and three and a half!"
Also 70, and it's SO true!
Less than two years away. My once black hair is mostly white. Fortunately, I'm not afraid to flaunt it.
Denial is not a river in Africa.
De nile is not just a river in Egypt
Yes, but I wrote "denial" for a reason.
I cannot tell you how much your letters, videos and podcasts mean to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
I second that!
This won’t qualify tor a metal, but I fourth that!
You mean "medal" and I thought you'd want to know.
That SIRI! ;-)
Yes, but most medals are made from metals.
🤣
I third that!
Seasons change and so do I, you need not wonder why. Have a wonderful holiday professor. Thank you for making the world good again.
Guess who….writes Letters we love!
https://youtu.be/NPX48NpSRvo
Excellent reference to the Guess Who!
Perfect!
Guess Who is playing in Coleman, Michigan September 11th?!
I don't know what you are talking about, but I vividly remember 9/11. It is Sunday MaryPat, may it be a pleaure.
The Guess Who, Fern. Or what is left of the group. Thanks.
The Guess Who didn't ring any bells for me until I checked on Youtube and found that I recognize every one of their hit songs! LOL!
Judith, I received copy of a post you addressed to 'Keith' but appeared to be for Martin London about coping some of his Blog. You might check your post to 'Keith' to learn whether you intended it for him. Salud!
Thank you. It was intended for Martin London! Sure looked to me like I clicked on Reply to him. I'll go back and rectify it.
Found it. I did post immediately under Martin's lengthy comment but 1) brain burp and 2) it somehow got kicked way down the line.
How many times have we heard federal elections are all about the Supreme Court? A lot.
Conservatives have fixated on SCOTUS for decades and have realized their goal, a stacked court brazenly making decisions in darkness. So, is this a cause for celebration or concern for conservative voters?
The Texas abortion controversy has buried all the terrible news of the past four weeks about Afghanistan, Climate Change and Covid. At the same time it has awakened the sleeping beast on the left. The million woman march is organizing in 50 states. Members of Congress mailboxes electronic and snail mail are filling up. Republican women are finding out individual rights may not apply to Americans in women's bodies.
Defenders of Trump's appointees who pledged stare decisis regarding Roe have shown their contempt for pre-appointment promises. Has Fox News even yet reported on the abomination of abortion and vigilante enforcement in Texas?
Everything we feared last month about the 2022 elections has been tossed out the window. Biden and the Democrats have a fresh start that could not have come at a better time.
Conservatives, be careful who you vote for.
I am bemused by pundits who write with gobsmacking immediacy rather than serene reflection. How ‘disastrous’ that President Biden’s poll numbers have dipped below 50% and the ‘American public’ thinks badly of Biden/Afghanistan. I place these ‘instant polls’ in the same category of those pundits who mercurial praise or bash the NYMets or Yankees, depending upon their most recent winning or losing streaks.
I am neither enthralled with our ‘scientific’ spot polls or the sagacity of the “American public.’ The recent media rattatatat pummeling of President Biden certainly is reflected in recent polls.
I am reasonably optimistic that the “American public’ will look more favorably upon President Biden by the 2022 elections. Afghanistan will fade in the memory of the great majority of Americans, with a residual warm glow that we are out of Afghanistan and a humongous number of people were evacuated. The Biden administration will have managed well the peripatetic pandemic and the economy will be on a more even keel. Hopefully the Democrats will get their act together and pass a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill and a $2.5-3 trillion human infrastructure bill. Just because I miscalled the Hillary/Donnie 2016 election is no reason why I can’t be right now—perhaps I am older and wiser.
Keith, Certainly, you are older, how else could it be? With reference the 'human infrastructure' bill, you've chipped it down as it will be, but I hope it's passed not more than a whisper away from $3 trillion. Salud!
I will forever wish we had recounted all of the votes in the 2016 presidential election..... because, who knows....
Wow. “peripatetic” pandemic. Gave it some legs and feet with a new word for me.
Thank you Keith.
I'm not as fond of Keith's use of 'peripatetic' with reference to the pandemic. Think how long it is lasting and not over yet. Wait to see what happens once school starts. Unfortunately, Biden is not alone in this. He cannot stop DeSantis, Abbott, Ducey, et al. 'Peripatetic' means moving around from place to place for 'short' periods of time. So now, Christine, your know more about the word!
Yay Mets! Poor guys haven't won the Series in ages, but they keep doing their best, and I keep cheering them on. 😃⚾
Here's hoping the Democrats awaken to the realization that they _must_ change tactics immediately and follow through on it. 🤞🏼
"Conservatives" have targeted the political and intellectual chokepoints of our society for a long time, with great success. We "liberals" tend to assume that the underlying absurdity of their positions will be self-evident.
Well said. I was a victim of that thinking far too long. It's hard to make other liberals accept not everyone sees things the same way.
When I got back from a few days away, the basil in the garden had transformed from gorgeous, full-leafed plants to end of season . . . I spent the day salvaging the best of a dying crop and making pesto! And, every summer I say I'm going to start the pesto process earlier and I did do a few batches but not enough!
Yes, the seasons and years of our lives turn too quickly. It is a natural process to slow down a bit as one ages, but education, experience, and compassion that is gained throughout those years provides wisdom to more effectively fight the tough battles that are on the horizon.
The confluence of what we are witnessing within our country . . . inexplicable insanity regarding anti-vaccination, anti-masking, Texas, Florida (et.al.) and republican politics, the weather disasters created by climate change combined with mass migration/refugees fleeing war/unlivable conditions topped off with a pandemic, etc. . . . is overwhelming and unsettling beyond what most of us have ever experienced in our lifetime.
Heather's daily letters, videos, podcasts provide order to chaos and inadvertently brought together a "community" in a (good) way that (undoubtedly) was not anticipated. There is power in words and knowledge and there is a lot of work to be done!
There is power in community, especially one made of those who rail against the artifice and dissembling of elected officials and their contrivances only for self benefit. How Heather takes in so much every day and winnows out what I need to hear and contemplate is inspiring and encouraging. I so appreciate reading through all of the comments, even though I do stay up way too late.
I end up reading them way too early. Often times I awaken +/- 0400 and read them with my morning coffee.
And, the refrain from Joni Mitchell's Circle Game resonates in my head (ironically written about Neil Young at the ripe old age of 20!!)
And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game
So many references to Canadians today!
The Guess Who, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young. My heart swells with re-awakened pride in those icons of my youth.
My wife grew up on a farm about 10 minutes from Scott Young’s summer (presumably) home. He too was a celebrated man for his time - a revered sportswriter for the national newspaper, an author of several books for boys. I hasten to add that “celebrated” is a long walk away from “famous” as his son Neil is.
I once teased Judy that she could have walked up the hill to the Young house, knocked on the door and introduced herself to Neil Young. :)
Why would I have done that was her reply. I was dumbfounded. Why would you have not wanted to meet Neil Young? Neil freaking Young?
Then I realized that she had “missed” the Sixties. She had never heard of CSN&Y.
I’m sure I said something completely stupid. And she reminded me that while I was swanning around with my sports and music, she had been keeping a farm afloat. Her father had died in her arms of a heart attack when she was 16. She was the oldest child remaining at home. Her mother was paralyzed with grief for months and so Judy had attended school after chores in the morning and rushed home to more farm work each evening. “I had no teenage years”, was her conclusion. I was silenced. I had known all the basic facts above but never had viewed them in that light.
One takes one’s education as it comes. That education went on for a mutual lifetime. We were a collision and a filling of empty spaces.
Still are, I hasten to add.
Today Heather writes about the seasons. She ignited a flood of the most amazing memories and conclusions drawn from years of living. There are many stunning posts today - posts of memory that have no hard edges to collide with. Just beautiful, wise writing. Thank you all.
This is powerful Eric and courageous of you to share. How one day our mind can suddenly awaken to what was always right there before us but unrecognized. Thank you for sharing this here. A shift in the light to see thru the glass less darkly. I am reminded of a speech by Bill Clinton about fundamentalism and seeing through the glass darkly. Wisdom comes from such moments when the light shifts and we see that which was there all along. https://www.beliefnet.com/news/politics/2004/09/all-of-us-see-through-the-glass-darkly.aspx
I love that song. It always makes me weep, in a good cathartic way.
Something I enjoy from a basil plant gone to seed is to pluck the flowering head and carry it in my car on the console, occasionally picking it up and squeezing it to release the scent.
A great way to keep the summer going - thanks for the tip!
Heather, I am deeply grateful for your daily posts; thank you for your wisdom, brilliance, and the historical perspective that you provide that helps us to connect the dots. Your writing is always sobering and hopeful at the same time. xo
well said
Although much of the news is awful—and you never sugarcoat in your postings—I always feel calmer and more knowledgeable after reading your daily letter. And, the weekly photo provides a meditative moment. For a New Englander transplanted in Florida (the defiant Alachua County is home) the images from Maine are a treat!
I agree! As a CT/New Englander at heart, transplanted to the Memphis TN area, your grounded in earth and common sense writings and Buddy's beautiful photos make me yearn for home, but also fill my heart with joy that New England IS!
My husband and I have also become calmer and more informed about the politics and goings on in the country. He is a collector of old newspapers (including revolutionary era) and reading from the original sources (news before it was history!) also provokes thinking in the context of the era with the perspective of what became the future.
What bliss! Buddy's photo and your "the seasons had turned, just like that" took me instantly to a favorite, mystical poem. Thank you for the journey!
"To Autumn"
John Keats
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.
Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,
Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
Steady thy laden head across a brook;
Or by a cider-press, with patient look,
Thou watchest the last oozings, hours by hours.
Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,--
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The redbreast whistles from a garden-croft,
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.
Rowshan, thank you for posting the beautiful John Keats poem. "the granary floor" is a reference that is heart warming since our area volunteers are faced with the restoration of our local landmark which is a 1747 custom grain mill that has flood damage.
thanks for sharing. The poetry, the word craft, is exquisite. Not only does the poem create the mental picture, it sings. I remember we used to memorize poems in school. I don't hear so much of that now.
On the other hand, I see more poetry in music in the more recent generations, and the music has trended to the hip hop/rap genres. In 2020, the music I collected was protest songs - they proliferated after May 25, 2020. Art is necessary.
Isn't Buddy's photo beautiful and awe-inspiring?
Yes, it is, Beverly!
Keats captures the richness and sadness of autumn with inimitable grace. I am grateful that Heather’s post of Buddy’s photo moved you to post Keats’s poem.
It has been one of my favorites since my teens -- so delighted that it gave you pleasure.
Exquisite, Rowshan. Thank you. Peace and love to you.
Thank you, Fern -- and to you!
Perfect, thank you, Rowshan!
You're most welcome, Daria!
Thank you.
We were at war in Afghanistan for twenty years. The fight was against the Taliban. Originally, the justification was the failure of the Afghanis to control terrorist groups that threatened the safety and well-being of the United States citizenry. But even after first we beat the Taliban, and a U.S. supported government was installed, and even after we killed Usama Bin Laden, we continued to support the war against the Taliban insurgency. The cost was horrendous: 2,500 American servicemen and women, thousands of US contractors, all at the expense of billions of dollars.
Why did we continue to fight this war? Because the Taliban represented everything that we thought was evil, contrary to our laws, culture, and Constitutional values. They were religious fundamentalists, they had no notion of equality, no integrity, no judicial system that followed the rule of law. Most prominently they subjected women to the role of enslaved people. In the pre-civil war United States, not only was there no school for slaves, it was against the law to create one. Under Taliban rule, a school dedicated to teaching girls how to read was burned to the ground. Even twenty years after the US at first defeated the Taliban, only 37% of Afghani girls know how to read.
The recent anti-abortion law In Texas is right out of the Taliban handbook. Women have no control over their reproductive systems. They are slaves to male domination. What's more, Texas has eviscerated it's rule of law. Physicians face felony charges for performing abortions later than 6 weeks of pregnancy. Everyone, in or out of the state, has the right to sue any person who ”aids or abets" a woman who gets an abortion after 6 weeks of pregnancy. The concept of “standing to sue," which is explicit in the Federal Constitution, no longer exists in the State of Texas. In Texas, it's now neighbor against neighbor.
The new tribal Republican right is an absolute threat to our democracy. The Big Lie, the party's vigorous effort to block any inquiry into the January 6th Capitol insurrection, the rash of anti-voting new legislation, all are consistent with Taliban rule.
And perhaps most shocking, the Federal judiciary, now controlled by the Taliban wing of our judiciary, has turned its back on Texas women and on the rule or law.
The Judiciary's reaction to this Texas anti-abortion scheme, is a step too far. Despite the unambiguous unconstitutionality of the Texas statute, both the Fifth Circuit, and more importantly, the Supreme Court, refused to interfere. And the Supremes’ did the dirty deed in the dark of night, on the stroke of midnight, on something called “the shadow docket.”– a place lacking the regular opportunities to file written or oral arguments. And all of this happened because tribal chief McConnell stole a Supreme Court seat from Obama, and put Amy Coney Barrett on the Court. Earlier, Justice Kavanagh had made a pre-confirmation promise not to disturb a woman’s freedom of choice as protected in Roe v Wade--a promise he has now broken-- an offense for which we have no remedy. When Barrett and Kavanagh joined Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch on the Court, Roe was doomed.
For sure, the judicial Talibans will argue that this decision is not permanent, and the Court will take the matter up in regular order next year, but this is legal mumbo-jumbo. They cannot walk away from the truth. They have allowed Texas to control a woman’s reproductive freedom, and in doing so have disgraced the Court.
Let me be clear. I believe in a woman’s right to choose. I believe that it is morally and legally reprehensible to make laws that imprison physicians who would accommodate women who wish to terminate their pregnancies in accordance with the 50-year old Supreme Court decision in Wade. And I do understand that a minority of our population disagrees with me.
But the evil here goes well beyond the abortion issue. It is about judicial fundamentalism and tribalism shredding the rule of law. The Sixth Circuit and the Supreme Court have brazenly dismissed the rule of law without legal due process. Once that virus spreads, we will become more like China than a western democracy.
I do believe the Texas/Supreme Court abortion outrage is so horrendous that the Democrats can be fired up to recognize what is at risk here. 2024 is the key. The Democrats must maintain the House and they must pick up three seats in the Senate (two Democrats will vote against abolishing the ancient filibuster rule by which the tribal Republican caucus can veto any Democrat-sponsored legislation. Only by abolishing the filibuster rule and adding four Justices to the Supreme Court can our democracy prevail. And I believe the American Taliban has now so completely shat upon our Constitutional democracy that enough people -- Democrats, Independents, and perhaps some sensible Republicans-- will gag at the stink, pay attention, and vote to fix this. The stakes are very high.
A bientot.
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"... the Supremes’ did the dirty deed in the dark of night, on the stroke of midnight, on something called “the shadow docket.”– a place lacking the regular opportunities to file written or oral arguments."
On the stroke of midnight ... sounds kinda spooky to me ... handing down a decision with no written or oral arguments ... what kind of legal process is that? If the Supreme Court can flaunt the law so blatantly, doesn't that open the door for anyone - and everyone - to follow suit? Coming apart at the seams ... it would seem Sistah USA is due for more than a cosmetic makeover ...
Meanwhile, back at the ranch ...,
Something beautiful and powerful happened last Wednesday. An estimated 2,000 water protectors gathered outside the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, to demonstrate against the Line 3 tar sands pipeline. Indigenous leaders, local community organizers, and state elected officials all spoke out on the need to stop Line 3.
Wednesday’s rally began with the arrival of the Treaty People Walk for Water - a group of people who walked 250 miles over 19 days, from the pipeline cross at the Mississippi River headwaters to the Capitol. In the final miles of their walk, they were joined by hundreds more in support.
The rally ended with organizers reading a statement of demands criticizing Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s support of the pipeline and militarization of police in its defense.
On Saturday, water protectors took action at the Governor’s email
Governor Walz has not responded to the demonstrators. And hundreds of people have continued to peacefully hold space and conduct ceremony at the White House.
If Governor Walz won’t act, it’s up to President Biden. Will you call the White House today to ask the President to stop construction of the Line 3 pipeline?
Action is taking place all over the country. After rallying at the White House and at the Army Corps of Engineers HQ, people took action by demonstrating at the home of White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klain. Two dozen were arrested for this peaceful demonstration, but a clear signal has been sent: We are deeply committed to stopping this pipeline, and we will not be ignored. In cities all over the U.S., people held their own actions in solidarity. We want to highlight an event in Washington, D.C., where allies in both houses of Congress just sent a letter to the White House asking President Biden to revoke Line 3’s permit.
Water protectors continue to resist on the frontlines -- in the face of increased police activity, the Giniw Collective blocked a Line 3 pump station, impeding construction and operation. Their courage is an inspiration, and we owe them our urgency. To learn about joining the frontline resistance camps visit www.stopline3.org/hub.
In a recent filing from Enbridge, the oil company claimed that they believe they can have the pipeline operational and pulling tar sands across Ashininaabe land “as soon as mid-September.” They may be bluffing on the exact date, but we don’t have the luxury of time.
We need leadership that is willing to honor our treaties, our earth, and our climate, and will act with bravery and love. We need President Biden to revoke Enbridge’s Line 3 permit.
Call the White House today to let him know.
In solidarity,
The Stop Line 3 Team
info@weprotectthewater.org
Powerful and important post, Kathleen Allen. As in the glorious days, including the 18th century when pamphlets were very influential during pre-Revolutionary political agitation; a foremost writer was Thomas Paine, whose Common Sense appeared in January 1776. Your comment is a crucial Message To The People.
You have called upon us to STOP LINE 3 tar sands pipeline. HEAR THIS CALL ALL.
Thank you Fern, I get regular updates from the folks at the Lakota People's Law Project where I contribute monthly: https://action.lakotalaw.org/ ... our support is much needed and greatly appreciated!!
I intended to contribute and will absolutely do so this coming week.
Excellent - thank you!!
By the way Fern (love your name!) the post about Line 3 was written by Chase Iron Eyes at the Lakota People's Law Project - I should have given credit!!
Kathleen, Might you write their names and functions in a reply under you comment. It won't stay in that place, but that won't matter if you have a little backup with their names.
The bit about due process came from my heart - they say ignorance of the law has no excuse ... there is no excuse for me, I am sure - however, willful neglect and manipulation of the law by those who supposedly are qualified to exercise it justly ...? Seems like a serious violation to me!!
Above update about Line 3 comes from Chase Iron Eyes at the Lakota People's Law Project - https://action.lakotalaw.org/ ....
Thank you.
There is an election in 2022, so the chance to extend our majorities in the House and Senate comes much sooner than 2024. Just sayin'.
You are correct. I goofed!
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. Do you mind letting us know whether you are Martin "Marty" London a litigation attorney, formally with the law firm, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP?
Yup, that's me! Still counsel to PW, retired partner.
Fern is the firm one of ‘Them ‘ or Us ?
Covers a range, including corporate and bigwigs ... nothing to fear in my opinion, more to learn. He is a very intelligent and experienced person.
Thank you for every word you have written in this post. I needed every one of those words today. I have subscribed, thank you.
Martin, may I cut & paste your blog post to my FB page, with or without direct attribution, as you choose? Keith, slip of the brain, as much as I appreciate your in-depth comments, I meant previous post for Martin.
Judith: Thank you for the compliment. There was an error in the original post as copied onto my comment. I apologize. The corrected post is now on line. Plse use the correct one. You can get it at https://londonsbh.blogspot.com/ I am not a Facebook person, so you can leave my name off your FB post. It is hardly anonymous because it is under my blog address and includes, at the end, an address to subscribe. Thanks, again. Marty
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I also pose the same question about posting to my FB page. I would like to introduce you to my friends.
Thank you so much. See my response to Judith, above. Just use only current blog post, which has been corrected. You may use my name or not, as you please. It would be an honor to "meet" your friends.
Thank you. New England will appreciate your writings.
Excellent. Thank you.
I am including this in my next blog posting. This is something which all who read it must forward to others.
I look forward to reading Martin's blog, but 'MUST', Jack is a tad too hot in my book. Cheers!
The important thing is to circulate material like this beyond this site, Martin's site, and wherever else it may appear. I wonder how many of those who have not been vaccinated or those who don’t bother with masks when in public places ever bother to read newspapers, or even know they exist.
When I check out in a supermarket or other store (for something I don’t choose to buy online), I usually ask the clerk if they are vaccinated. Some say “yes” (and I offer them a sticker saying so) but many say “no” with a dumb expression on their faces indicating they haven’t the foggiest idea what I am asking about, or about the Covid19 pandemic, the Supeme Court or Afghanistan, or anything else that really matters. Those headsets they are wearing drum music into their ears but little else. Same goes for the escapist TV they might watch or the internet sites they visit to peruse 'social media' posted by equally ignorant individuals.
There are many such people around. They are "the ignorant," the presence of which our democracy seems to pretend do not exist. But they do.
Thank you for your reply, Jack. I know the uninformed population you are addressing. The double assault on democracy here has been the loss of newspapers, local news, in particular, and the dominance of social media, which contributed to the collapse of the newspaper business. We do not have a free press anywhere near the necessary level. The survival of democracy must reckon with that. London's Blog, I believe, will be a valuable contribution to a distinctly educated and relatively informed audience. I would like to see major funding for local news outlets to be on social media and even distributed free in pamphlet form --- waking up that old time form of getting the word out. There are fair number of journalists who lost their calling, schools of journalism, college campuses, retired teaches, accountants.... It would serve a great need to begin to build local news delivery in various forms.
With no offense intended to them, will spreading the gospel of democracy have to reach the level of the distribution of pamphlets the Seventh Day Adventists offer in bus terminals, railroad stations and outside of my local library?
Jack do you know the history of pamphlets, including Thomas Paine's Common Sense? It is a worthy form. Perhaps your knowledge of them is exclusively tied the Seventh Day Adventists. Read up, Jack.
So, so true! Thank you for putting into words a very evident truth. Truth matters.
I find that 'must' is precisely the word to be used in regard to Martin London's blog post. Considering where we are and where we're headed, I also hold Heather Cox Richardson's "Letters..." to fall into the category of 'must'.
I think once it is read each person will make up his or her own mind about how they will proceed. I encouraged that it be read and offered a favorable opinion of Martin London. You are free to tell people that they must subscribe to it, but you need not tell me what I must do nor concern yourself with my exchanges with subscribers about this matter. Salud!
I hope you have a great school year! Stay safe; you are our life line in this messed up world.
Grateful for your historical perspective, your quality writing, and the facts.
Thank you for keeping us centered knowing that as bad as the moment is as Americans we have been there before and prayerfully we will get through this terrible moment again.
Amen. 🙏🏻
Why was looking at Buddy's photograph, just now, the most beautiful to see? My head had a bad picture in it, soon after waking, of the Texas state legislature - yes, it did. Then I communicated with two dear subscriber friends, kim and Heydon, whom I've know on the Forum for quite some time. That felt good - to be with them and then with Buddy's picture... Thank you, Buddy. And, Heather, you brought together this past week the dreadful present and past with immense clarity and grace. We cannot live through it without agony, effort and each other.
We can’t live through this without taking action. It’s time for some GOOD TROUBLE!
My parents gave me my love for history. They grew up in Kingston, NY, the first capitol of NY State. The Hudson Valley was the first major artery into the continent for the Dutch and then the English. It rivaled Jamestown, VA and Plymouth, MA for its early history. Jamestown was my parents favorite historic site. My parents introduced me to my grandparents as a newborn in Yorktown, VA. This, Williamsburg's and Jamestown were my first historic site trips with my parents and younger sister as an early grade schooler, before the US interstate highway system was completed along the East coast.
Every village church and grave yard along the Hudson, every Dutch land patent, every stone and hand hewn house had a story of colonists, Revolutionary War soldiers and prisoners, and Indian settlements with archaeological finds of pottery and arrow heads. Historical societies had carefully accumulated and documented houses and families. It was a history rich environment to grow up in, read and write grade school and highschool reports on. And yet, it seems that those who followed in my family and community soon left that early history behind as shopping malls overwhelmed historical sites, turning them into out of place and out of mind tourist attractions for out of towners.
My father's interest in family genealogy took over an earlier family member's interest and records. He went to town and county offices mining their records before ancestry.com. My wife took my father's work, and joined my uncle in his genealogical work, to trace our multiple family branches back to Europe and out into the midwest. We discovered a trail to the US with towns named in New York that were brought with them from Massachusetts and earlier places.
History is both illuminating and connecting. Real history shows us both the best and worst of mankind, so that we can learn to be both good and courageous in the face of many challenges. The stone walls of New York and New England tell me a story of families and communities working together sun up to sun down, clearing woods and fields to become open farmland, and then more often returning to woods. This is a story of man's and nature's persistent efforts. Hard work, settlements and progress that return quickly to nature when left unattended and no longer useful8 for human use and survival. Returning to Nature's natural state will always overtake the artifacts of our time. The study of History keeps us informed of our greatest, less worthy and destructive endeavors for future generations to learn, amaze or curse us by. We cannot learn history through rose colored glasses as entertainment.
HCR's letters and reciting our memories are important windows and reminders of our past, present and future. Breadcrumbs for future generations.
Beautiful. Thank you.
So grateful for this photo of serenity in the midst of this hate-filled time. Many thanks to you and Buddy for it.
Rest well and awaken refreshed everyone.
You always bring a smile to me. Good Sunday and Monday and Tuesday....
Hi Fern! I'm glad to know that, thank you. Have a great long weekend!
For much of my life, the only season I liked more than the one we were in was the one we were going to next. Where I grew up / now live in Oregon, we are fortunate to have had pretty mild yet distinct seasons, although back in the day, Medford summers could get pretty darn hot. Now in Eugene, our summers are hotter and drier than ever, the winters alternate between quite mild and dryer, and much colder and dryer, except for the major snow dump or ice storm that we now get thanks to the phenomenon known as a "polar vortex" that sends really cold air down to us.
Now? I like summer. I like the daylight. I like being barefoot. Spring is promise, Fall is a sense of loss. Winter is to be endured as we get our 8 1/2 hours of daylight. August (especially the last half) does seem to be the transition month as we lose 3 minutes of daylight a day.
Musing about the seasons and how I still appreciate them all (even as I have a favorite) has given me respite from all the horrible political news that we've suffered through, and this horrible, combatable pandemic that we as a country seem too divided to fight.
Think I'll grab a cup of coffee and go catch a late summer/early fall sunrise out on the deck before the smoke from various forest fires blows in to chase me inside.
I'm thrilled with Autumn falling early upon us. The sunsets are glorious, the weather cooling off, sweaters & boots soon to come out of the closet... <bliss>
I'm with you, Ally. I'll take nature over the current chaos any day! Hope the sunrise was all you could hope for.
Yes. We have to cling to Nature for as long as we have her. She certainly has not been treated well.
Warmly, crisply, coldly and hot in expression. Thank you for taking me through the seasons this Sunday morning, Ally.