Today is, of course, the Ides of March, that infamous day upon which Julius Caesar met his end in 44 BC. I’m a huge fan of De Bello Gallico — Caesar was a great general. Anyone interested in leadership should read his works. It’s true that he was ruthless and very ambitious, but I do believe he wanted what was best for Rome (at least as long as it coincided with his own plans). If you have time tonight, raise a toast to Caesar and watch one of the many, many film versions of Shakespeare’s play. You can choose from the 1953 Marlon Brando as Mark Antony version

or the Charlton Heston as Mark Antony version from 1970.

If you are feeling more edgy and contemporary, you can try  “Caesar Must Die”, a 2012 Italian film in which a group of actual convicts puts on the play.

It’s an intriguing scenario and I think I might try it, but if you are uncertain, be sure to read son #2’s review, which will appear tomorrow (Sunday) on Rooster Illusion Reviews.

All this talk about the Ides has made me wonder what March 14th was like for Caesar. Did he take the prophecy seriously and foresee his own demise? I doubt it. He was a pretty confident guy and not the type who took such things to heart. Still, even Caesar had his good and bad days. Probably many of them were a mix of both — just like mine was yesterday!

For me, March 14 was delightful and seriously trying in equal measures. I’ll start with the delightful. My two young friends, about whom I blogged earlier, came over to hang out and play with some Lego that son #2 had carefully set up for the occasion in our family room. This time they also brought their mother and little brother. We drank tea and munched on the cookies they baked us, while the boys adventured. A great time was had by all.

What’s wrong with this picture?

However, if you look closely, you’ll notice something wrong in the background. Yes, on the left is a book tower with a towel and bucket on top. The temperature outside being in the mid forties, the new 8″ of snow we got earlier in the week and months of accumulated ice had finally started to melt…and make the roof leak.

Drip, drip, drip

Damn the ice dams! My ceiling is a mess, but I’m more worried about the floor. The water dripped into a bucket, but some of it went down the back of the wall and onto or under the floor, which is laminate. How will it dry out? Will there be mildew? Quelle disaster! I called various roofing companies, but despite their promises, no one called back. I suspect we weren’t the only ones experiencing this problem. Sigh…

True to the Janus nature of things, outside the weather is a mix of rain and snow. They say that it is inevitable that Spring will come, but I’m beginning to wonder. Has Spring sprung where you are?

And I’m going to take it today. Let’s begin with the sublime. I got up early this morning, gathered up my Presbyterian Session books and my friend, Wanda, the indefatigable, octogenarian Clerk of the Session, and we made our way to  Heuvelton, NY

tiny town, lots of churches

for the annual review of the books. You’ll recall that I posted last year about my trip to Evans Mills for the same purpose. I love all the nice, old churches in the North Country. The First Presbyterian Church of Heuvelton is a lovely clapboard building with a funky, lighthouse-like steeple and a dark interior. The people in charge were very kind and welcoming and the whole meeting was pleasant, though in some ways kind of depressing…

Time was all these churches had large congregations, but not anymore. The other Session clerks spoke of their churches having membership in the 10-35 range and none of them under 60 years old. How sad is that? What will happen to these places?  Well, I guess as long as three or more gathered in His name… I do feel blessed to belong to a church that has about 130 members, even if most of them are older than I am.

Now for the ridiculous.  Son #2 and I are going to a matinee today to see

I know, I know you are shocked that we would stoop so low, but I’m doing it for academic purposes only and since I don’t want to go alone, my darling son has agreed to accompany me. He is so good to his mother! I never made it through all of 300 and it’s possible I won’t make it through this either, but we’ll see. But I do have to go. I’m teaching Ancient Greek Warfare this semester and my students convinced me to give them extra credit for critiquing the film. I made the assignment difficult. Unfortunately, I can’t grade their papers unless I have seen the movie. I promise to watch something GOOD tonight! See what sacrifices I make for my students?

In other news, we have an update to last week’s post. My DH got interested in Dorothy Chamberlin and did some digging. Along with her obituary he found notice of an auction to sell her possessions in July 1974.

Please note that  the sale included a West Point WWI uniform and several WWI ‘insignia pins’.  Obviously, she had kept Guy’s effects all those years.  Maybe it was a love story after all.

Have a great weekend!

*Napoleon Bonaparte commenting on his invasion of Russia