Busy, busy weekend! I am now a person who takes naps to survive exciting times.
I went to daughter #1’s first DAR chapter meeting as regent on Saturday morning. She handled it like a pro as I knew she would. (I have transferred to her chapter.)
Of course, I didn’t take a picture of the meeting after it started…c’est la vie. We had breakfast and then the meeting, followed by the program, which she presented: DAR 101. I learned a lot.
I was interested to learn that one early member of our chapter was Dr. Mary Walker, who served as a surgeon during the Civil War. Assigned to the Army of the Cumberland and later the 52nd Ohio Infantry, she was the first female surgeon in the US Army. She was captured by Confederate forces after crossing enemy lines to treat wounded civilians and arrested as a spy. She was then sent as a prisoner of war to Richmond, VA until released in a prisoner exchange. She is the only female to receive the Medal of Honor.
Pretty awesome. She tried to join the DAR in NYC, but they wouldn’t let her in because she wore pants. Yay, Cornelia Greene Chapter for being more open-minded.
Daughter #2 and DN arrived with the prairie girls around dinner time and we had toasted ravioli and daughter #1 opened some presents.
It was a full day.
On Sunday we got up bright and early and went to the early service at church and to Sunday School, then headed home and on to our favorite Wild Sun Winery to continue celebrating daughter #1’s birthday in our favorite style. We were joined by several of her friends (ages 3-96) as well as the boy and his family. A good time was had by all and the rain held off til it was time to go home.
Well, as my mother outlined, I had a very nice, quiet birthday. The fun will continue this weekend. And because this is my life, it’s probably going to rain on Sunday when I’m planning to head to the winery for a small get together. It hasn’t rained in Missouri in weeks, but don’t worry, Sunday afternoon the drought will come to end. Oh well.
I do have to say, I highly recommend taking a day off when you don’t have something you have to do. It was so nice to just do what I wanted on Wednesday. The art museum, lunch, Only Murders in the Building with Mr. Smith on my lap, lovely, lovely, lovely.
Anyway, I’m going to keep it short tonight. I have a busy, busy week ahead starting tomorrow and I need to get ready. Have a wonderful weekend and remember:
“But we have treasurers in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our bodies.”
We had quite a sunrise yesterday, due, they say, to the wildfires out west. (Photo from Fox2)
Red sky at morning, sailors take warning, and all that. But the sun shone all day and it warmed up considerably.
Daughter #1 took the day off for her birthday and we went to the Art Museum where we had not been for quite some time–probably since before Covid, as with so many things. It was fun to walk around without it being very crowded and look at all the good and bad art. When I was growing up we lived five minutes away and we went frequently with our Mother. It was free and we would sometimes go for an hour or so after church. We had our favorites to check out. That is still the way I like to go to the art museum–just to wander through and not look at every single painting, reading each description card. So we did that and then we sat outside at Taco Buddha back in daughter #1’s neighborhood and ate lunch. Lovely.
When I got home I worked a little on my article about Gratz Brown, the governor of Missouri after the Civil War. Here’s a fun fact: His granddaughter was Margaret Wise Brown who wrote Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny! Talk about your small world! File that one away in your Trivia File.
I also toasted all those brave Americans who died on September 11, 2001. In past years I have included this video about a fine young man who died in one of the towers helping others and I encourage you to watch it again. He was a lacrosse player and his initials were WRC. It wrecks me every time. Lest we forget.
Today we celebrate the birthday of our firstborn, lovely daughter #1!
We will toast her today and through the weekend! What a blessing our adult children are to us!
Happy birthday, precious cupcake of love!
I will say that nothing makes a person realize how life speeds by more than one’s own children reaching their own age milestones. In this vein, I enjoyed this reminder that life is too brief to waste. “[A] heart of wisdom recognizes that while each day of mortal life is very brief, it is profoundly significant because its minutes and hours are priceless. Each brief day of mortal life counts, not just for an earthly life well-lived, but for eternity.”
And for all of us who stress about the current state of the world, let us take heart and read Psalm 2:
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Mondays are for laundry, putting away toys and puzzles and games, vacuuming up crumbs, and generally getting situated for the week ahead. I also had to catch up with my Bible reading, which I had failed to do over the weekend. Now hear the word of the Lord:
And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.” (Ezekiel 37:13-14)
Now it is Tuesday. Time for a new ‘to do’ list!
And here’s a poem by Mary Oliver (1935-2019)–today is her birthday: “Invitation”
Oh do you have time to linger for just a little while out of your busy
and very important day for the goldfinches that have gathered in a field of thistles
for a musical battle, to see who can sing the highest note, or the lowest,
or the most expressive of mirth, or the most tender? Their strong, blunt beaks drink the air
as they strive melodiously not for your sake and not for mine
and not for the sake of winning but for sheer delight and gratitude— believe us, they say, it is a serious thing
just to be alive on this fresh morning in the broken world. I beg of you,
do not walk by without pausing to attend to this rather ridiculous performance.
It could mean something. It could mean everything. It could be what Rilke meant, when he wrote: You must change your life.
We had absolutely perfect weather this weekend–cool, sunny, breezy, no humidity. We did all the things. DN went to his wedding and we had serious Compton Lady time…
We went to the Missouri Botanical Garden where I had not been for literally years. The Koi are almost gone! The geese have taken over! Otherwise, it looked great.
We watched the bud play soccer…
I made it to church and to a great Sunday School class on Being Presbyterian.
Doubtless, were we to regard things as they appear, the kingdom of Christ would seem often to be on the verge of ruin. But the promise, that Christ shall never be thrust from his seat, takes away from us every fear.
Well, the Prairie Fam has arrived at Mamu’s. Mr. Smith and I stayed home tonight and, it seems, missed all of the excitement.
I’m picturing Ida with this vibe.
In other news, September is here. I can honestly say that August went by in a FLASH and before you know it, we’ll be titling blog posts with lines from ‘White Christmas’ and then it’ll be 2025. I finally ordered my new calendar for next year and I am amazed by how quickly the pages are being filled with plans. Most of them are related to the various clubs I’m in with my key demographic, ladies aged 70 and up. Oh and Missouri American Water came by to inspect the lead service line for my house and schedule the replacement…in SIX MONTHS. Good thing I have that new calendar.
Anyway, enough eyerolls. I’ve been reading The Screwtape Letters lately and boy it reads less like a satire and more like an accurate depiction of modern life. Written as a series of letters from a senior demon in Hell to his nephew, a junior tempter, it illustrates the importance of daily focus on faith by imagining how the devil tempts humans to turn away from Christianity. The Enemy to the narrator is, of course, God. The subject is a human being handled by the junior tempter.
“The great thing is to make him value an opinion for some quality other than truth, thus introducing an element of dishonesty and make-believe in the heart of what otherwise threatens to become a virtue. By this method thousands of humans have been brought to think that humility means pretty women trying to believe they are ugly and clever men trying to believe they are fools.”
“You will say that these are all very small sins; and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy. It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one–the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”
“We want him to be in the maximum uncertainty, so that his mind will be filled with contradictory pictures of the future, every one of which arouses hope or fear. There is nothing like suspense or anxiety for barricading a human’s mind against the Enemy. He wants men to be concerned with what they do; our business is to keep them thinking about what will happen to them.”
As the school year commences, we find ourselves getting busier and busier. My Bible Study has started up again. The wee bud has soccer practice and games will be starting soon. Lottie is back in her after-school dance class in Kirkwood, so that means that the boy brings the wee bud over to play while they wait to pick her up. It is a fun time for all, as I get to talk to the boy and the bud gets to do what he wants without having to share anything with his sister, including Mamu’s bowl of candy corn.
Later today daughter #2 is coming to town for a few days, while DN flies out of St. Louis to attend a wedding. I’m looking forward to seeing the prairie girls…
Maybe I can get Katie to wash some windows…
And, hey, football season has commenced so that means Matt Mitchell is back with his SEC Roll Call…
I might even watch an occasional Mizzou game to stay in the loop.
This is a good reminder that God is working amid the mundane moments of life. “While faithful plodding gets no fanfare, our labors in Christ will not be in vain. We honor Christ as we go about the millions of little moments in our lives: holding a baby, cooking a meal, leading our home, providing through work.”
And this is the cutest thing I’ve seen in a long time. He’s got the moves.
To paraphrase Anne who has such a way with words, I hope that 2024 is not the year I so relentlessly roll my eyes that I develop some kind of horrendous facial tic that makes it impossible for me to show myself in public. I mean, ye gods, what a clown show!
However, as always, it is good to keep our perspective. History teaches us that politics have always been thus. Think of Julius Caesar being literally back-stabbed to death by his friends. Think of Charles Sumner being caned on the floor of the U.S. Senate chamber by Representative Preston Brooks, a pro-slavery Democrat from South Carolina in 1856.
The Bible teaches us that we, indeed, live in a fallen world.
I was recently reminded of all this when researching B. Gratz Brown, an early Governor of Missouri, who hailed from Kentucky but lived for a long time in Kirkwood, Missouri.
He limped because of an injury he incurred when dueling with his political foe Thomas C. Reynolds, the standard-bearer for the anti-Benton Democrats.
Ella Cecil Bodley, whose diary reveals many of the ordinary incidents of life in early Kirkwood, was not much taken with politics. In her July 21, 1858 entry she notes, “There was a barbeque in Kirkwood yesterday, with a good deal of speechifying. Cousin Frank Blair and Mr. Breckenridge and Mr. Barrett and Mr. Goal all made a speech, some of them two. I did not go to the barbeque for several reasons. Firstly, I look on such things as rather vulgar and I don’t like to go among strangers much, then it was very hot and I did not care to hear the speeches.”
I can relate to Ella, can’t you?
In 1858 Frank Blair was the most powerful politician in Missouri and at that barbeque was probably speaking in behalf of another cousin, B. Gratz Brown, who was running for re-election to the legislature. “Cousin Gratz” is mentioned many times in Ella’s diary–his visits to their home in Kirkwood, his romance and marriage to Mary Brown and his resignation as Editor of the influential Missouri Democrat.
In 1856 the Democratic party in St. Louis was split and Frank Blair was running for congress against Thomas C. Reynolds, who had no hope of beating Blair, but whose campaign was designed to help Trusten Polk’s race for Governor. Brown was running for the state legislature in support of Benton and Blair. In the heat of the campaign he wrote an editorial in his paper that was very offensive to Reynolds and Reynolds gave an equally strong reply in a competing newspaper. The editorial sparring continued until Reynolds challenged Brown to a duel.
Though illegal, dueling was not uncommon in those days in St. Louis, especially among newspaper editors. Most affairs of honor were settled on Bloody Island, a strip of land in the middle of the Mississippi River just below St. Louis, but the prominence of these two combatants demanded a more secure place to eliminate interference. The seconds decided on Selma Hall, the country home of Ferd Kennett, which was on the river forty miles below St. Louis.
When the smoke cleared, Brown was bent over, clutching his thigh and falling to the ground, the ball having split the bone just below his knee. Painfully wounded, Brown was carried on to the first boat passing up the river. When the boat reached the Levee that afternoon, a large crowd had already gathered and a squad of police prepared to arrest the survivor. When it was determined that the duel had not taken place in Missouri, no arrests were made.
Both men were only about 30 years old at the time. Reynolds was elected Lieutenant-governor of Missouri in 1860, but when the war started, he went south with Governor Claiborne Jackson and Gen. Sterling Price. When Jackson died, Reynolds became the Confederate Governor of Missouri in exile. When Lee surrendered, he went to Mexico with General Joe Shelby before ultimately returning to St. Louis to become a prominent attorney.
Gratz Brown became a U.S. Senator, the Governor of Missouri and ran for Vice-President of the U.S. on the Greeley-Brown ticket in 1872. He limped the rest of his life.
Look at that blue sky! Our little trip to Laumeier Sculpture Park on Labor Day morning was a success.
Mr. Smith got pretty worn out by the end, and had to be carried part of the way, but we all had fun.
I hadn’t been there in a couple of years. The twins had never been there at all and were introduced to the concept of “Sculpture”.
I don’t think they were that impressed, but enjoyed doing something different and seeing all the other dogs. Likewise Mr. Smith.
We went home and ate bagels and apples and then we watched the end of Ghostbusters, which we had started a few weeks ago. Then we played outside and then they played inside with Legos and then their dad picked them up. I collapsed.
It was a pleasant long weekend. Scottie Scheffler won the FedEx Cup! (He’s had quite a year–It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.)
And I watched a couple of good movies, notably The Undefeated (1969) with John Wayne and Rock Hudson and The Best of Times(1986) with Robin Williams and Kurt Russell.
I felt better after watching both of these movies, which is not something you feel a lot these days, you know what I mean?
Now I am getting ready for the arrival of daughter #2 and her famille on Thursday. Can’t wait to see these little firecrackers…
They’ve sure got the moves.
So, welcome, September! Stay positive! Pet a nice dog, take a walk in the sunshine, watch an old movie.
dual personalities 