I received a letter recently from someone in my past…very distant past. They wrote to apologize for how they treated me those many years ago. “Dastardly sort, ill mannered”, they called themselves, although if the truth be known, I was not free from fault in the entire situation myself. None of us ever are. There is no end to the harm that we do to each other and except for that which happens to innocent children, all of us bear some responsibility for any chaos that erupts in our lives. While we can sympathize with those in difficult situations, including ourselves, it always bears looking at the actions that resulted in the ensuing difficult circumstances. Continue reading “Faultless”
Celebrity
I’ve been thinking a lot about celebrity lately; about how many of us aspire to be like them and how many of us let them determine our views on a myriad of subjects. We let them determine how we believe without taking the time to form our own opinions. It’s as if, because they are celebrities, they are wiser and more knowledgeable than we are.
I thought of this while I was stirring the peanut butter this morning, mixing the oil which had separated back into the ground peanuts. I was thinking of the Women’s March in Washington and all of the celebrities who attended and made speeches. My first thought was, “I wonder if Madonna has ever stirred peanut butter for her morning spread on toast?” My guess is not. I doubt that she cooks her own eggs or pours her own milk very often. Continue reading “Celebrity”
Much Ado About Nothing
I feel like I’m living in a Shakespearean play, but rather than being the husband who was cuckolded by his wife (or vice versa) we’ve been duped by the weatherman. More specifically, the National Weather Service and the Weather Channel convinced us that a catastrophe was upon us when I’ve seen more ice accumulate in my freezer with the door open. It was supposed to arrive on Friday, then Saturday and finally on Sunday and it did for some, but not here in Emporia. I watched the radar for two days and what was heading for Emporia never materialized. In fact, it looked like the Red Sea parting for the Israelites. There was freezing rain and sleet to the west, south, east and north, but we survived reasonably unscathed. Continue reading “Much Ado About Nothing”
The Best Things in Life Are Free
The best things in life may be free but you wouldn’t know it from looking at society today. Nothing is free! Everything is about making the almighty dollar. It’s most obvious when using the modern technology of the internet.
I will admit I am quite enamored of my cell phone. It is loaded down with apps, a lot of which I seldom use. Most of them were free to begin with and were fun or useful for a while, but if you want to go past stage one there’s always a price to be paid, and you are continually being bombarded with “upgrade to this”, “pay for this additional information”, or “buy this add-on” in every app and game. It doesn’t matter if it is a game, a diet app, calorie tracker, travel app, they are all looking for the latest revenue stream. Continue reading “The Best Things in Life Are Free”
Annus Horribillis
The best things in life may be free but you wouldn’t know it from looking at
In November of 1992, Queen Elizabeth gave a speech marking her 40th anniversary as queen. In that speech, she referred to the passing year as “Annus Horribilis” which means “Horrible year” in Latin. “1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure.” She said. “I suspect that I am not alone in thinking it so.” Continue reading “Annus Horribillis”
Peace on Earth
On Christmas day, 1863 during the height of the Civil War, William Wadsworth Longfellow, the most popular poet of the day and the author of such famous poems as Evangeline and Paul Revere’s Ride, found himself in Washington, DC. Longfellow was both sad and tired. His wife, the love of his life, had died two years earlier and Longfellow still bore the scars on his face from the burns he suffered in his futile attempt to save her. The country was in the midst of the brutal Civil War that pitted friends and neighbors, fathers and sons against each other. Finally, on November 27th, his oldest son, Charles, was wounded in a battle of the Mine Run Campaign in Virginia.
Longfellow was in Washington, DC to meet his son who had been transported there. It was uncertain if Charley, who had been wounded in the shoulder with the bullet passing very close to his spinal cord, would be paralyzed as a result or even survive at all.
Imagine the pain and uncertainty Longfellow must have been experiencing at that time. Things were uncertain not only in his own personal life, but the future of the nation was at stake at well. Yet, in the midst of the chaos surrounding him, Longfellow heard the ringing of bells, and he was once more reminded of the promise of the season.
“I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,and wild and sweetThe words repeatOf peace on earth, good-will to men!”
In addition to the verses that are normally sung at Christmas time, Longfellow’s poem included two stanzas referencing the war with the south and how the cannon sound was drowning out the sound of carols, which led him to become bereft of any hope.
“And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said;“For hate is strong,And mocks the songOf peace on earth, good-will to men!”
I don’t know if Washington, DC was in the throes of ice and snow like that the nation is experiencing this year, but the future at that point in time appeared to be very bleak and dreary. Eventually however, his thoughts of despair were replaced with the promise of this season.
“Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;The Wrong shall fail,The Right prevail,With peace on earth, good-will to men.”
>Here we are at Christmas, over a hundred and fifty years later and we find ourselves once again surrounded by hopelessness and despair. Anger still festers from the results of the election, the uncertainty of a new president hovers around us while the thoughts of the refuges from the war in Syria are not far from our hearts and minds. But just as in Longfellow’s time, hope is still to be heard. Hope is heard in the bells of the Salvation Army, collecting funds to provide food, toys for children and gifts for shut-ins. Hope is heard in the many organizations and businesses that provide gifts to families that would otherwise go without. Hope is heard in the CASA volunteers, in teachers who make sure that their students are taken care of and in the organizations that make sure that children have a safe environment. Hope is heard at Auspision, Hetlinger, and all of the other organizations that provide services for those developmentally challenged.
Look around you and you will see that the bells are still pealing out the song of “Peace on Earth, good-will to men”!