Pick a little, talk a little

by chuckofish

Is anyone else as tired as I am of headlines like this?

The (Secretly Filthy) Winter Wardrobe Staples You Need to Wash Right Now

I mean c’mon. It’s the “You Need” and the “Right Now,” you know?

Isn’t there enough stress and pressure on us without getting hit right and left on the internet with orders about stuff like that?

Well, I say you need to sit down right now

George Willison, “Nancy Parsons in Turkish Dress”

and stare out the window.

Winslow Homer, “Looking Out the Window”

Eat some candy if you feel like it

James Peale, “Still Life With Fruit”

and have a glass of wine.

Johannes Vermeer, “The Glass of Wine”

Then watch some great old tv show without commercials.

But under no circumstances plan

9 DIY Projects That Help You Stay Organized.

And P.S. I don’t care if they are secretly filthy. I am not going to hand wash my leather gloves.

But I might re-read this old poem by W. Wordsworth that daughter #2 emailed me yesterday.

SHE was a Phantom of delight

When first she gleamed upon my sight;

A lovely Apparition, sent

To be a moment’s ornament;

Her eyes as stars of Twilight fair;

Like Twilight’s, too, her dusky hair;

But all things else about her drawn

From May-time and the cheerful Dawn;

A dancing Shape, an Image gay,

To haunt, to startle, and way-lay.

I saw her upon nearer view,

A Spirit, yet a Woman too!

Her household motions light and free,

And steps of virgin-liberty;

A countenance in which did meet

Sweet records, promises as sweet;

A Creature not too bright or good

For human nature’s daily food;

For transient sorrows, simple wiles,

Praise, blame, love, kisses, tears, and smiles.

And now I see with eye serene

The very pulse of the machine;

A Being breathing thoughtful breath,

A Traveller between life and death;

The reason firm, the temperate will,

Endurance, foresight, strength, and skill;

A perfect Woman, nobly planned,

To warn, to comfort, and command;

And yet a Spirit still, and bright

With something of angelic light.

I’m just saying.

3 Comments

The long procession

by chuckofish

Well, I might not go quite so far as Calvin, but there is something to what he says. These gray winter days are certainly conducive to reflection. And reflection is a good thing.

“[My grandfather] returned to what he called ‘studying.’ He sat looking down at his lap, his left hand idle on the chair arm, his right scratching his head, his white hair gleaming in the lamplight. I knew that when he was studying he was thinking, but I did not know what about. Now I have aged into knowledge of what he thought about. He thought of his strength and endurance when he was young, his merriment and joy, and how his life’s burdens had then grown upon him. He thought of that arc of country that centered upon Port William as he first had known it in the years just after the Civil War, and as it had changed, and as it had become; and how all that time, which would have seemed almost forever when he was a boy, now seemed hardly any time at all. He thought of the people he remembered, now dead, and of those who had come and gone before his knowledge, and of those who would come after, and of his own place in that long procession.” (Wendell Berry, Andy Catlett: Early Travels)

Let’s all try to work some “studying” into our schedule.

4 Comments

Meet, right and our bounden duty

by chuckofish

Sunday was the first Sunday in Lent so we had the Great Litany at the beginning of our service–you know, that’s the one where we implore Christ to preserve us from evil and wickedness, from sin, from the crafts and assaults of the devil, and from everlasting damnation, etc, etc, etc.

We also switch to Rite I in our church so we go back to “and with thy spirit” and “we most heartily thank thee for that thou dost feed us, in these holy mysteries.” Of course, I am one of only a handful of people that probably enjoys this, but oh well, c’est la vie.

It snowed Sunday morning, so a lot of people stayed home, and I might have myself but for the fact that I was reading. It was a good reading too: Romans 10:8b–13

The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach); ⁹because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved.¹¹The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” ¹²For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and bestows his riches upon all who call upon him. ¹³For, “every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”

After church, I had to go to the grocery store to pick up the cake for the baby shower I was co-hosting with Becky. The driving was worse than ever, but I got the cake and made it home. Then the OM drove me over to the baby shower and dropped me off with all my stuff. It was a fun party and the mama-to-be received a lot of presents.

Daughter #1 sent her a present from NYC and it was a big hit.

Ah, sunrise, sunset. And now it is Monday and I don’t have Presidents Day off. Hats off anyway to Washington and Lincoln, Rutherford B. Hayes

and cousin Lyss

et al. Huzzah.

3 Comments

February 13, 2016

Baby, it’s cold outside!

by chuckofish

Well, after an unseasonably warm few months, we finally got hit with winter. Loads of snow yesterday and now this from the national weather service:

Today

Mostly cloudy and cold, with a temperature falling to around -20 by noon. Wind chill values as low as -44. West wind 11 to 14 mph.

Tonight

Mostly cloudy, with a low around -23. Wind chill values as low as -40. Northwest wind 7 to 13 mph.

It’s a good day to stay home and cuddle up with a good romance — or, if you are like me, transcribe family letters. Yesterday, I typed up some of my great grandmother, Susie Louise Blais Cameron’s letters. Her handwriting is very difficult to read and you will notice that there are a couple of places where I just could not decipher it. Still, the letters are very sweet and tell a bit of my grandparents’ love story, which is appropriate for Valentine’s Day.

Here’s the letter in which my great grandmother invited my grandmother for a visit — the fateful visit during which she and my grandfather would slip off to Montpelier and get married in secret.

Dear Catherine Aug. 10, 1921

Bunker says you are coming to North Charlestown the latter part of August and I wonder if you would come to spend part of your time with us in Burlington. We would be very glad to have you if you would care to do so, and I know Bunker is counting on your coming. I would have written you sooner but only returned from my vacation a few days ago. Hoping this will reach you before you leave Chicago.

Very Sincerely,

Susie L. Cameron

When my Scottish great grandfather discovered what happened, he sent my grandfather to his bride, who had returned to Chicago. Bunker’s parents continued to encourage him, partly because they liked my grandmother, who was a suitable match. Here’s a letter that must have been written in June, 1922 when he and Catherine were living in Chicago:

Dear Bunker,

I am writing this short note so you will get it on your birthday. Catherine said you were going to have a few days’ vacation, and the 17^th was one of them so I hope you will have a happy time. Please use this (check) to help out – I wish it was more.

I am sure you will like your watch for it is a very nice one and will last you all your life if you take care of it. Any time you handle it, I hope you will think of father and mother and of how we want you to be a man in the true sense of the word. The chain I know you will like as it was made from a part of one Aunty (?) wore round her neck so many years. She left her watch and chain for me after she died and as it was such a long one, I knew it wouldn’t spoil it to take part of it, and I thought it would be very appropriate as your birthday and hers were both the 17^th of June and she always called you her boy.

I won’t write any more now. With loads and loads of love and many, many happy birthdays, Mother

I’ll have to find out which of Susie’s relatives had a June 17th birthday. Next we have another encouraging letter. Times must have been tough for Bunker and Catherine.

Dear Bunker, Dec. 27, 1922

I was so glad to get your letter yesterday telling us about your X-mas and also the one Saturday telling us about your advancement and raise. I think that is fine. Not only the raise in pay but the fact that you are going ahead and “making good” – a thing we had always wished and prayed for. That news coming first at Christmas time was the most wonderful Christmas present of all. I am so glad not only for your sake but for Catherine’s too. I am sure it will help her for I know she has had to plan pretty closely to make ends meet, but one doesn’t’ mind that so much if they can save a little as they go along. I was so pleased to hear you say you were going to still keep up the old budget plan – that is the only way to get along; and now for your Xmas presents. The little apron (?) is lovely and I am certainly going to wear it when I am dressed up and can be very proud of it, too. It is such a pretty color. I am glad you had a Christmas tree for it makes it seem so much more like Christmas and it was lovely to have it in your own little home, so I know just how you must have enjoyed it. I was so afraid our parcels would not reach you in time.

I don’t think the C C Candy is nearly as good as usual. We had a base first like yours and the chocolate tasted very bitter. The things you sent us were all very much appreciated. I will write Catherine tomorrow and I think Hazel will write very soon. She was delighted with her present and I know Papa and Erskine were too. We had a Christmas tree too. We put it in the window in the front room and it looked very nice. Hazel always wants a tree. I had it all ready when she got home Sunday morning. Poor girl, she had so little time to stay – had to get back Monday night – and be at work Tuesday morning. Erskine is here yet. He intends going over to Montreal before he goes back and he got word yesterday that his Mr. Campbell is out of town until after New Year, so he will have to stay longer than he intended but he hasn’t had any holidays since he left home, so I guess it won’t hurt him to take a few days. Erskine met Dan Beckworth on the street yesterday and he said you were looking fine and he said a good many nice things about Catherine too. I haven’t seen him since he came back. You will miss him won’t you?

I had a very nice Christmas but we missed you and thought of you often and wished you could have been here, if only for the day, but every time I thought of you it was with pride and thankfulness and I only hope the clouds are lifted and everything will be brighter from here on. Of course there will always be troubles and trials and things we don’t like, but it seems good to learn that we are appreciated a little when we do work hard. You said Mr. Willis the Vice President had left. What is the trouble?

I will have to stop now so I can give this to the mail man. I will write Catherine tomorrow. Lots of love and hoping you will both have a happy New Year.

Mother

And not so long after that, my great grandmother wrote to my grandparents just after their first child, Susanne Elaine Cameron, was born:

Dear Bunker and Catherine, Dec. 24, 1923 You don’t know how surprised and pleased I was to hear Bunker’s voice over the telephone yesterday morning and to hear the glad news. I am so happy to learn your little daughter is here and everything satisfactory so far. I suppose Catherine and you feel very proud and happy and I sincerely hope that she will be a great comfort to you both. I know your Catherine will enjoy her company as she grows older. Personally, I like baby girls best – not that I wouldn’t have welcomed a grandson but I think whatever is sent us is all for the best. My first baby was a little two (??) and a half pound daughter and I thought she was the dearest little baby I ever saw. I would love to see your little girl. I am sorry you are so far away but never mind, it won’t take long for the time to go by and spring will be here before we know where we are. I called Mrs. Bell up this morning and told her the news. She was so surprised and said to tell you her birthday was the twenty-first, Connie’s the twenty-seventh and your baby’s the twenty-third – isn’t that rather funny?

I am glad you were able to open your Christmas presents and glad we sent them off early. Your parcel came Saturday all right. We are going to decorate our tree this afternoon. I truly wish you could all be here. But never mind, we will be thinking of you and I hope we can all be together next year. Erskine and Clara didn’t get here until nearly nine o’clock. Their train was three hours late. Father got up before five o’clock and went down to the station to meet them and had to wait there all that time. I got up a little after five and was getting dressed when Bunker called up. I was glad that I was the one to answer the telephone for Father would likely have gotten the message twisted and probably not remembered whether you had a son or daughter.

We had quite a fall of snow last night and I hope we are going to have a white Christmas after all. Be sure and write me often Bunker – even if only a few lines. I will be very curious to hear how Catherine and the baby are. Tell me all about your little daughter, what she is like and everything. I think she is going to be a real good baby and I hope she will for Catherine’s sake, as one always finds their first baby quite a problem. I will have to stop now for I hear the fellows moving upstairs and I will have to get their breakfast.

Good bye, papa and mama. Lots of love to both of you,

Mother and Grandmother

p.s. Father and Erskine and Clara were very much surprised when they got here and I told them the news. Clara feels [curious if you are] fully decided on the name yet and if we knew. I said not quite sure.

p.s. again. Mrs. Bell asked me what the baby’s name was and I told her I wasn’t sure yet.

That’s all I’ve gotten done so far and while readers unrelated to us may not find these particular letters edifying, they do remind us that it is important to SAVE such things. I wish that we had more such letters, for through them I could know those people a little bit better. Remember, even if you don’t have a Valentine of your own, you still have the memory of all those wonderful people who made it possible to be alive at all!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

5 Comments

February 12, 2016

“Adversity is the crucible for greatness.”*

by chuckofish

I have seen a couple of good movies recently which I heartily recommend for your weekend viewing.

Woodlawn (2015), directed by Andrew Erwin–It is a “Christian” movie and a very rousing one I thought. When I attended a conference last summer at the University of Alabama, Jeremiah Castille, Bama grad and a former NFL football player, gave the keynote address. At the end he mentioned that his son Caleb was making a movie, so I had been on the lookout for it. It was released on dvd last week. The film tells the story of how one Birmingham high school (Woodlawn) was integrated in 1973 and how the football team that was converted together helped to ease racial tensions. There are a few well-known actors in the movie–Jon Voight (as Bear Bryant), Sean Astin and Nic Bishop–but the rest are for the most part newcomers like Caleb Castille (on the poster above). They are all excellent and the production values are very high. I was impressed.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015), directed by Guy Ritchie–

Everyone my age watched the original The Man From U.N.C.L.E. on TV in the 1960s. My dual personality, in fact, had a huge crush on David McCallum who played Ilya Kuryakin. (He was probably her first crush ever since she was a kindergartner at the time.) Well, let me tell you that Armie Hammer as the new Ilya is pretty adorable, and, boy, can he drive a speed boat. He definitely steals the show. Henry Cavill is appropriately cool as Napoleon Solo and I really liked Alicia Vikander as Gaby. The direction by Guy Ritchie is stylish and fast-moving without being too stylish and fast-moving, if you know what I mean. The ’60s vibe is strong but does not take over. I really enjoyed the whole thing.

I also watched the truly terrible Of Human Bondage (1934) starring an awful Bette Davis. It was worth it to see Leslie Howard who, as always, was quite appealing and redeemed the movie somewhat. Reportedly Bette did her own make-up and thought she deserved to win an Oscar for looking so bad, but her fake accent and over-acting are really quite heinous.

If you are a Vin Diesel fan like me, you might like The Last Witch Hunter (2015) about the guy who “stands between humanity and the combined forces of the most horrifying witches in history.”

Vin co-stars with Michael Caine and Elijah Wood in what is basically a comic book-movie hoping to spawn money-making sequels. It was enjoyable, but you would be better served to watch one of the first two movies described above.

P.S. I nearly forgot that Valentine’s Day is Sunday. Well, it’s just not on my radar these days. If you want appropriate Valentine viewing suggestions, I blogged about romantic movies/screen kisses here. Of course, there is nothing like Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald for romance. Here’s a great one to sing along with now:

Have a good weekend! I am co-hosting a baby shower for the daughter of a friend, so I will be knee-deep in gender-neutral baby stuff. How about you?

*Tandy Gerelds, the coach, in Woodlawn

5 Comments

February 11, 2016

A contant romance

by chuckofish

As we look into the open fire for our fancies, so we are apt to study the dim past for the wonderful and sublime, forgetful of the fact that the present is a constant romance, and that the happenings of to-day which we count of little importance are sure to startle somebody in the future, and engage the pen of the historian, philosopher, and poet.

–William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, preface to The Old Santa Fe Trail by Colonel Henry Inman

2 Comments

February 10, 2016

Mid-week pep talk

by chuckofish

“Doubt not, O poet, but persist. Say ‘It is in me, and shall out.’ Stand there, balked and dumb, stuttering and stammering, hissed and hooted, stand and strive, until at last rage draw out of thee that dream-power which every night shows thee is thine own; a power transcending all limit and privacy, and by virtue of which a man is the conductor of the whole river of electricity.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays

Oh man, when in doubt, read some Emerson. Isn’t he just the best?

And, by the way, don’t we all need one of these? Or we could have one made with a R.W. Emerson head.

And here’s a prayer to start the day by William Bright:

O Eternal Light, illuminate us; O eternal Power, strengthen us; O eternal Wisdom, instruct us; O eternal Mercy, have pity upon us; and grant us with all our hearts and minds to seek thy face, and to love thy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

(Prayer via here.)

3 Comments

February 9, 2016

Sackcloth and ashes

by chuckofish

Lent starts tomorrow. Lent, as you know, is a forty-day period of repentance and reflection leading up to Easter.

“Man of Sorrows” by William Dyce (1806–1864), Scottish National Gallery

The length is symbolic of Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness just before his temptation.

Before we plunge in, here is some food for thought from our old friend Fred Buechner:

During Lent, Christians are supposed to ask one way or another what it means to be themselves.

-If you had to bet everything you have on whether there is a God or whether there isn’t, which side would get your money and why?
-When you look at your face in the mirror, what do you see in it that you most like and what do you see in it that you most deplore?
-If you had only one last message to leave to the handful of people who are most important to you, what would it be in twenty-five words or less?
-Of all the things you have done in your life, which is the one you would most like to undo? Which is the one that makes you happiest to remember?
-Is there any person in the world, or any cause, that, if circumstances called for it, you would be willing to die for?
-If this were the last day of your life, what would you do with it?

To hear yourself try to answer questions like these is to begin to hear something not only of who you are but of both what you are becoming and what you are failing to become. It can me a pretty depressing business all in all, but if sackcloth and ashes are at the start of it, something like Easter may be at the end.

—Whistling in the Dark

If nothing else, Buechner reminds us that our lives are important and that we must take them seriously. It is a good thing to take these forty days and practice some introspection. Times a-wastin’!

3 Comments

February 8, 2016

“While life’s dark maze I tread”*

by chuckofish

Yesterday was the last Sunday in Epiphany. We are heading into Lent. Tomorrow we eat pancakes.

I had another confirmation class to go to on Sunday which meant another painful meeting with the eighth graders! We had a lesson in using a concordance. I thought this was kind of fun, but then I am such a nerd. We mentors were instructed to bring a bible with a concordance, so I hauled out my old NIV study bible from back in the day when I was in a small group. It made me realize how seldom I use it, now that one can find everything on the computer–and so fast!

Anyway, I told my ‘mentee’ as we were leaving that when she was bored sometime she should play with the concordance. It really can be fun. You know, look up words and then follow up with the bible verses. Super fun and better than trolling your iPhone! She smiled and nodded enthusiastically, probably thinking, “OMG, how did I get stuck with this person?”

The weather this weekend was warm and springlike. I ran a lot of errands and even induced the OM to go to an estate sale on “The Hill”–an historically Italian-American neighborhood in south city which is terra incognita to me.

The estate sale was run by the most reputable and high-end estate sale company and the pictures online looked like there was a lot of good stuff, so I wanted to check it out. We got lost of course, but we finally found it–right around the corner from St. Ambrose Church.

The exhilaration of finding the place was unfortunately followed by the let down of most of the good stuff being already gone. C’est la vie. I did a little sleuthing and figured out that the house was owned by a retired Episcopal priest! Do I have a nose for finding Episcopalians or what? Even in the heart of Little Italy. I bought one of his bibles for $2. There were a bunch of old Vanderbilt yearbooks, which, had I been alone, I might have perused and even bought. I get a kick out of old yearbooks.

We had dinner out with the boy and daughter #3 and her parents on Saturday and we went to a Super Bowl party for oldsters, where we mostly watched the commercials. The PSA about the rampant problem with heroin starred a girl from our church!

Which I guess really brings home the message of heroin addiction and the girl next door. Sigh. I remember Tori (or maybe it was her sister) as a toddler going up to communion with her mother and saying in a loud voice, “Crackers? I want a cracker!” My older and more sophisticated daughters thought that was uproariously funny and for years afterwards would say, “Crackers? I want a cracker!” at inappropriate times.

And Peytie Pie won the Super Bowl!

Well, it’s Monday. Have a good one!

*Ray Palmer, 1830, “My Faith Looks Up to Thee”

3 Comments

February 5, 2016

“I am a ham! And the ham in an actor is what makes him interesting.”*

by chuckofish

I have posted a lot about movies recently, so you will probably be all, oh, another blogpost about old movies.

But today happens to be the birthday of the great character actor and Episcopalian John Carradine (February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988), so how could I not?

Hatfield in Stagecoach (1939)

He had one of those truly amazing careers spanning 60 years (1930-1990) where he made literally hundreds of movies–by some counts over 300. He was in some of the best movies ever made in Hollywood (Stagecoach, The Grapes of Wrath)

As Casy in The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

and some of the worst (too many to count involving mummies, zombies and even sex kittens).

Dracula in Billy the Kid vs. Dracula (1966)

Well, he was a real working actor, and he had quite a range. He was even the voice of the Great Owl in The Secret of NIMH (1982)!

But he never was even nominated for an Oscar. They threw him a bone with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Sigh.

In honor of his birthday, I suggest we watch one of his good movies–

Caldwell in Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)

Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) or The Proud Rebel (1958) or The Shootist (1976) or even Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), a movie I like a lot.

His funeral was held at St. Thomas the Apostle in Hollywood. His ashes were scattered at sea.

And, yes, I will be watching at least part of Super Bowl 50–I can’t miss my Peytie Pie!

Enjoy the weekend!

*John Carradine

4 Comments

dual personalities

Month: February, 2016

February 17, 2016

Pick a little, talk a little

by chuckofish

The (Secretly Filthy) Winter Wardrobe Staples You Need to Wash Right Now

9 DIY Projects That Help You Stay Organized.

February 16, 2016

The long procession

by chuckofish

February 15, 2016

Meet, right and our bounden duty

by chuckofish

February 13, 2016

Baby, it’s cold outside!

by chuckofish

February 12, 2016

“Adversity is the crucible for greatness.”*

by chuckofish

February 11, 2016

A contant romance

by chuckofish

February 10, 2016

Mid-week pep talk

by chuckofish

February 9, 2016

Sackcloth and ashes

by chuckofish

February 8, 2016

“While life’s dark maze I tread”*

by chuckofish

February 5, 2016

“I am a ham! And the ham in an actor is what makes him interesting.”*

by chuckofish