October | 2016 | dual personalities

To be a fool

by chuckofish

Today is the birthday of the great Quaker John Woolman (1720–1782).

I find that to be a fool as to worldly wisdom, and commit my cause to God, not fearing to offend men, who take offence at the simplicity of truth, is the only way to remain immoved by the sentiments of others. The fear of man brings a snare; by halting in our duty, and going back in the time of trial, our hands grow weaker, our spirits get mingled with the people, our ears grow dull as to hearing the language of the True Shepherd; that when we look at the way of the righteous, it seems as though it was not for us to follow them.

There is a love clothes my mind, while I write, which is superior to all expressions; and I find my heart open to encourage a holy emulation, to advance forward in Christian firmness. Deep humility is a strong bulwark; and as we enter into it, we find safety. The foolishness of God is wiser than man, and the weakness of God is stronger than man. Being unclothed of our own wisdom and knowing the abasement of the creature, therein we find that power to arise which gives health and vigor to us.

–Journal, 1774

Celebrate accordingly.

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Let’s just take a moment

by chuckofish

Daughters #1 and 2 have come and gone.

We spent a good amount of time this past weekend toasting Bob Dylan and his Nobel Prize,

making wedding reception plans,

and picking out a wedding dress.

I made four trips to the airport and drove to Pevely, Missouri and back. The boy played DJ and the OM made tacos. And we managed to watch one of our favorite Woody Allen movies

as well as some classic Buffy episodes.

We accomplished a fair amount and had a boatload of fun. Now the girls have gone home. Sigh. But as we all know,

You cannot prevent the birds of sadness from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from nesting in your hair.

–Chinese proverb

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At the still point of the turning world (finally)

by chuckofish

“Go, go, go, said the bird: human kind cannot bear too much reality.” I’ll say. Having had enough of real life for the time being, I took a day off yesterday to drive son #3 back to his lovely Vermont college. I had great company for the outward journey, and wonderful music, and very, very lovely scenery to look at. It’s leaf-peeping time in the north country.

Photos taken through the windshield can’t do it justice, but groups of Japanese tourists are indication enough that the colors were magnificent. No kidding, here they are by the side of the road risking life and limb to take pictures, and looking in the wrong direction, I might add.

Once on campus, we had lunch at Tim’s nice apartment. And there I reached my still point; it was so quiet we might have been the only people on the planet. Bliss. In another life, I would have stayed for the whole weekend. Oh, well. You know how it is: “Time past and time future/What might have been and what has been…” So I turned around and made my way home, pausing briefly at my favorite antique store

to take yet another blurry photo. Then I drove off into the sunset — literally. The sun was in my eyes all the way home. For relief I looked in the rear view mirror at the perfect autumn light that I could have enjoyed had I been driving east. Even so, it is always nice to arrive home again, despite the work that awaits. One day’s delightful respite is good enough for me!

I leave you with this, because maybe we should laugh at this crazy world a little more often. And also because a regular dose of Mr. Newman makes everything better.

* title and quotes from T.S. Eliot’s “Four Quartets”

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October 14, 2016

“You don’t need a weather man To know which way the wind blows”*

by chuckofish

Zut alors, it is Friday again. My girls are visiting this weekend, daughter #1 having arrived last night and daughter #2 expected tomorrow morning.

We’re doing some wedding planning, so the weekend will be a veritable tourbillon d’activités. I hope I can keep up.

In other news: yesterday I spied an iris bud amidst the fall leaves.

Can you believe it? You go, little iris plant!

And here’s some good news…and about time!

Here’s another reason to visit Oklahoma.

This is an interesting story with a happy ending (even though it is an obituary.)

The St. Louis Blues opened their 50th season last night against the Minnesota Wild. They want us to care, I suppose, because we don’t have a football team anymore.

We’ll see. And this is so true:

Have a terrific weekend!

*Subterranean Homesick Blues, Bob Dylan, 1965

3 Comments

October 13, 2016

This and that

by chuckofish

Paddington Bear first appeared on October 13, 1958 and has been featured in more than twenty books written by Michael Bond.

Our pater, who was fond of bears and anything English, was a fan of Paddington.

Today is also the birthday of Leon Leonwood Bean (October 13, 1872 – February 5, 1967) the American inventor, author, outdoor enthusiast, and founder of the company L.L. Bean. I vividly remember visiting the L.L. Bean store in Freeport, Maine in 1964. I got a new pair of Blucher Moccassins, which I absolutely loved and wore all summer.

When I wore them to school, however, the original Mean Girl said, “Nice brown tie-up shoes, Katie,” and that was the last time I wore those shoes. As usual, I was ahead of my time, but in the third grade I couldn’t handle being so en avance sur la mode.

I got another pair in high school, when they were all the rage.

I went to college carrying one of these

and equipped with my first pair of L.L. Bean “duck boots,” which I wore happily through my four years in New England and on and on. (I still have them.) This was before the ‘preppie” look became all the rage. Again, en avance sur la mode. I do still think that nothing beats those boots or the “duck shoes” as rainwear for feet. (Maybe these.)

Well, my family was ahead of its time in regards to catalog shopping as well. My mother embraced this form of shopping in the 1960s, starting with the L.L. Bean catalog

and moving on to Carroll Reed and the Tog Shop. We loved looking at the catalogs together. We hardly ever bought anything, but when we did, it was pretty exciting.

Now I do all my shopping online, but that’s another story.

And just a reminder that Supernatural (Season 12) starts tonight.

Not that I am that huge a fan or anything, but I do love Dean Winchester, who says things like, “We know a little about a lot of things; just enough to make us dangerous.” I can relate.

6 Comments

October 12, 2016

“Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes, Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies”

by chuckofish

This is the day Nurse Edith Cavell was executed in 1915 by the Germans during WWI.

Accused of treason, i.e. helping British and French soldiers to cross the border and eventually enter Britain, Edith was found guilty by a court-martial and sentenced to death. Despite international pressure for mercy, she was shot by a German firing squad. Her execution received worldwide condemnation and extensive press coverage. While the First Geneva Convention ordinarily guaranteed protection of medical personnel, the German authorities justified prosecution merely on the basis of the German law and the interests of the German state. What were they thinking?

In the months and years following Edith’s death, countless newspaper articles, pamphlets, images, and books publicized her story. Her execution was represented as an act of German barbarism and moral depravity. (As it turned out, they weren’t wrong on that count.) The Allies claimed Edith as a martyr and she became an iconic propaganda figure for military recruitment in Britain. Within eight weeks of her death, enlistment into the British Army had doubled.

Edith, aged 49, was executed by firing squad just outside Brussels on October 12, 1915. Permission was given for the English Chaplain, the Rev. Stirling Gahan, to visit her the night before she died and together they repeated the words to the hymn Abide With Me. It was also to Gahan that Edith made her famous comment that “patriotism is not enough”. Her strong Anglican beliefs propelled her actions and so the Church of England commemorates her in their calendar of saints on October 12. Although we do not commemorate Edith Cavell on our Episcopal calendar, I think it is fitting that we recognize her here.

Martyrs never regret
what they have done
having done it.
Amazing too
they never frown.
It is all so mysterious
the way they remain
above us
beside us
within us;
how they beam
a human sunrise
and are so proud.

–Alice Walker

5 Comments

October 11, 2016

Drawing the line

by chuckofish

Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon completed surveying for the “Mason-Dixon line” separating Maryland and Pennsylvania on this day in 1767. The work was done between 1763 and 1767 in order to resolve a border dispute involving Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

In popular usage, the Mason–Dixon line still symbolizes a cultural boundary between the North and the South.

Reading about this, it suddenly occurred to me that the name “Dixie” (used as a historical nickname for the southern states) must derive from Jeremiah Dixon’s name!

Mind-blowing that I just thought of that. Did you know that?

Anyway, here’s a great song by Mark Knopfler (with James Taylor) about Mason and Dixon, which was itself inspired by the book Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon.

P.S. I read that book back in the 1990s and liked it.

4 Comments

October 10, 2016

Just as I am*

by chuckofish

Before we went home a little early on Friday in deference to the pre-debate ballyhoo/media circus at our flyover university, we had a long convo with our old friend the campus exterminator. (He really is one of the nicest guys we know–and the cutest. Picture Nathan Fillion if you will.)

He said there were no vermin in the traps he had set the week before. It seems that the rodent we spied last Friday was an errant vole who must have found his way out of the building. Before he left, our exterminator regaled us with tales of our building before the renovation 15 years ago when large rats held sway on the loading dock. We rolled our eyes appreciatively and assured him he was our hero. Unfortunately he could not linger because he had to take the traps over to some dorm where there was a mouse infestation. It seems the boys who live there had taken matters into their own hands and were killing the poor things themselves. Our soft-hearted exterminator was upset about this, so time was a-wasting. He reminded us to call him anytime and we assured him, oh, we will. He left with cupcakes.

So my weekend was relatively uneventful. I did go to the Vintage Market Days, “an upscale vintage-inspired outdoor market featuring original art, antiques, clothing, jewelry, handmade treasures, home décor, outdoor furnishings, consumable yummies, seasonal plantings and a little more” with my friend and her two sisters. It took several hours to work our way through the hordes of shoppers that were there and we were pretty exhausted when we finally made our way back to the car. A trip to Steak ‘N Shake afterwards revived us, however.

I spent the rest of the weekend puttering around my house, getting ready for a visit next weekend from daughters # 1 and 2–that is, if the weather allows for travel.

I started watching The Vicar of Dibley–a British sitcom that ran from 1994–2007–on Netflix.

The premise of this show is that a female Anglican priest is called to an old-fashioned congregation and hilarity ensues. As you can imagine, it is right up my alley.

And my question for you this week is: What did we amuse ourselves with before text-messaging?

Enjoy your Monday!

*Just as I am, though tossed about

with many a conflict, many a doubt;

fightings and fears within, without,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

–Charlotte Elliott (1989-1971)

4 Comments

October 8, 2016

“It was sad when the great ship went down”

by chuckofish

Sad in more ways than one. I am feeling my age this week. A classroom full of freshman had never heard of Pete Seeger, and when I started playing them this song, several of them laughed.

It seems that banjos are goofy sounding. My reaction?

But I didn’t rant, I promise.

Still, there is much to celebrate. While son #3 and his girlfriend visited this week, they put up my new dining room drapes.

He’s quite the handyman and did a great job. It’s nice to be able to open the drapes easily and let in some light. I took this next picture on a dark, rainy morning but you’d never guess that.

Yes, there is much to be grateful for. The leaves are turning and the air is crisp and clear.

We took these pictures out at our cabin last weekend. The reds seem extra vibrant this year.

I love autumn, don’t you? It’s time to buy pumpkins, get out winter clothing, and start cooking again. We’re hosting coffee hour at church tomorrow, so I will need to do some baking today. What are your favorite fall baking recipes?

6 Comments

October 7, 2016

Friday movie pick: saddle up

by chuckofish

Apartment Therapy had a post about 15 Autumnal Movies to Get You in the Mood for Fall. Of course I hadn’t seen a lot of the movies (i.e. all the Harry Potter films) but I thought it was a good idea. I tried to come up with my own list, but my interest flagged and I failed.

However, I am also seeing lists of the twenty best westerns, probably due to the release of the new The Magnificent Seven. This subject interests me, but most of these lists include movies I loathe. This, of course, is just my opinion. Everyone is entitled to their own. But it got me to thinking of what my list of the 20 best westerns would actually include. (By this I mean movies that take place west of the Mississippi and therefore do not include Civil War movies such as The Horse Soldiers.)

My list does not include The Wild Bunch or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid or anything with Clint Eastwood. I watched Hang ’em High (1968) recently and the only thing in it that I liked was Clint himself,

who is very attractive and worth watching, but the movie itself was terrible and a perfect example of why the genre was ruined. The only Clint Eastwood western I might include would be The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), but, as you will see, I did not.

Well, here is my list of the 18 best westerns. You won’t be surprised–I have blogged about most of them. They are distinguished by great screenplays that feature outstanding characters, excellent direction and fine acting. Most also boast wonderful cinematography, although a few do not.

Shane (1953) George Stephens

Stagecoach (1939) John Ford

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) John Ford

The Searchers (1956) John Ford

My Darling Clementine (1946) John Ford

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) John Ford

3 Godfathers (1948) John Ford

How the West Was Won (1962) various

Rio Bravo (1957) Howard Hawks

Rio Grande (1950) John Ford

Hombre (1967) Martin Ritt

The Professionals (1966) Richard Brooks

El Dorado (1966) Howard Hawks

The Plainsman (1936) Cecil B. DeMille

The Magnificent Seven (1960) John Sturges

Jeremiah Johnson (1972) Sydney Pollack

Red River (1948) Howard Hawks

Santa Fe Trail (1940) Michael Curtiz

As you can see, I have nothing on my list after 1972. The only western I can think of from those latter days is Silverado (1985), which I enjoyed very much at the time. However, it is an extremely derivative movie. There is nothing original in it. Even the performances seem to me to be impersonations of other actors.

If you ask me, I think television caused the western genre to go downhill fast. Characters became caricatures, plots were repetitive and violence took the place of plot. The genre was further degraded in the fifties when screenwriters tried to address 20th century problems–racial prejudice, McCarthyism, etc–by making them issues in westerns to dreary effect. Nobody seemed to care about authenticity anymore–they just wanted to make a point. Heaven’s Gate (1980)–one of the worst movies ever and the biggest financial debacle in Hollywood history–dealt the final death blow.

What did I forget? There are plenty of westerns which I find highly enjoyable and that deserve some special call-out, but do not rank as “the best”. These would include: Rocky Mountain (1950), Johnny Guitar (1954), The Furies (1950), True Grit (1969), The Cowboys (1972), The Shootist (1976), The Big Country (1958), Monte Walsh (1970), Hondo (1953), Sergeant Rutledge (1960), The Long Riders (1980). And I did not include Lonesome Dove because it is a miniseries made for television and not, therefore, constrained to the 2-3 hour time limit of the others. But it ranks up there as a great western.

Anyway…there are two spots left in my “top 20”, so convince me!

Discuss among yourselves.

11 Comments

dual personalities

Month: October, 2016

October 19, 2016

To be a fool

by chuckofish

October 18, 2016

Let’s just take a moment

by chuckofish

October 15, 2016

At the still point of the turning world (finally)

by chuckofish

October 14, 2016

“You don’t need a weather man To know which way the wind blows”*

by chuckofish

October 13, 2016

This and that

by chuckofish

October 12, 2016

“Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes, Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies”

by chuckofish

October 11, 2016

Drawing the line

by chuckofish

October 10, 2016

Just as I am*

by chuckofish

October 8, 2016

“It was sad when the great ship went down”

by chuckofish

October 7, 2016

Friday movie pick: saddle up

by chuckofish