dual personalities

Month: February, 2025

February 14, 2025

TGIF in a major way.

by chuckofish

Well hello, readers. My mother made it safe and sound to Illinois for a visit with the Prairie Girls. Early reports indicate time spent listening to Katie read aloud, doing puzzles on the floor and at least one glass of wine. I, on the other less fun hand, had work-related phone calls scheduled up utill 8:30 pm tonight and I am not in a good mood.

But! Once I get through work tomorrow, I have weekend plans too. The Women’s Ministry retreat for my church is this weekend and we are venturing all the way out to Wildwood. Funnily enough, the hotel is two blocks from my brother’s new house. Mr. Smith is going to stay with his cousins (the twins) this weekend. It will be an adventure for everyone.

And on Monday, I will host the Commemoration of George Washington’s birthday at Lafayette Park. Prayers for me, please!

This afternoon, Mr. Smith came to keep me company in my home office until he took up half the chair and wouldn’t make room for me!! It’s a good thing he’s so cute and soft.

Have a wonderful weekend!

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February 13, 2025

Onward and upward

by chuckofish

When did we start naming winter storms? I had no idea that this was a thing. We are told that Winter Storm Illiana is upon us and that Winter Storm Jett is on the way. Good grief, Charlie Brown!

I wouldn’t be concerned but I am supposed to drive up to Mahomet, IL today and return over the weekend. It appears that I might get stuck there. Does that matter? Well, I do have that DAR Presidents Day event on Monday at which daughter #1 is officiating…bad weather does complicate things, doesn’t it?

But I am motivated to see these little Valentines…

So I’ll be heading out shortly.

Meanwhile, this is important: 10 things your children should know about you. I am always amazed when people know hardly anything about their parents or grandparents because they really haven’t spent much time talking to them (about things that matter).

And this made me laugh…

So please pray for travel mercies and that Winter Storm Jett doesn’t materialize ahead of schedule!

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February 12, 2025

Lest we forget

by chuckofish

Well, I for one, am glad to hear that the SecDef has changed the name of Fort Bragg Liberty back to Fort Bragg. But with a twist. Fort Bragg was named after Confederate General Braxton Bragg, but this time it is named after a different Bragg:

For nearly a century under the designation of Camp Bragg and subsequently Fort Bragg, tens of thousands of Soldiers trained and deployed increases and conflicts around the world in defense of our nation. Fort Bragg has a long and proven history of equipping, training, and preparing our Soldiers to fight and prevail in any operational environment. This directive honors the personal courage and selfless service of all those who have trained to fight and win our nation’s wars, including Pfc. Bragg, and is in keeping with the installation’s esteemed and storied history.

Pursuant to the authority of the Secretary of Defense, Title 10, United States Code, Section 113, 1 direct the Army to change the name of Fort Liberty, North Carolina, to Fort Bragg. North Carolina, in honor of Private First Class Roland L. Bragg, who served with great distinction during World War II with the United States Army, and in recognition of the installation’s storied history of service to the United States of America.

Born in 1923 in Sabattus, Maine, Pfc. Bragg entered U.S. Army service and was assigned to the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 17th Airborne Division, XVIII Airborne Corps, and was stationed at Fort Bragg during World War II. Pfc. Bragg fought with distinction in the European theater of operations. He received the Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity, and the Purple Heart for wounds sustained, during the Battle of the Bulge. During these hellish conditions and amidst ferocious fighting, Pfc. Bragg saved a fellow Soldier’s life by commandeering an enemy ambulance and driving it 20 miles to transport a fellow wounded warrior to an allied hospital in Belgium.

For nearly a century under the designation of Camp Bragg and subsequently Fort Bragg, tens of thousands of Soldiers trained and deployed increases and conflicts around the world in defense of our nation. Fort Bragg has a long and proven history of equipping, training, and preparing our Soldiers to fight and prevail in any operational environment. This directive honors the personal courage and selfless service of all those who have trained to fight and win our nation’s wars, including Pfc. Bragg, and is in keeping with the installation’s esteemed and storied history.

Well done. 👏👏👏

Today, as you know, is the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president. He was a great president and a great writer. Here is a letter he wrote to his Quaker friend Eliza Gurney on September 4, 1864:

My esteemed friend.

I have not forgotten–probably never shall forget–the very impressive occasion when yourself and friends visited me on a Sabbath forenoon two years ago. Nor has your kind letter, written nearly a year later, ever been forgotten. In all, it has been your purpose to strengthen my reliance on God. I am much indebted to the good Christian people of the country for their constant prayers and consolation; and to no one of them, more than yourself. The purposes of the Almighty are perfect, and must prevail, though we erring mortals may fail to accurately perceive them in advance. We hoped for a happy termination of this terrible war long before this; but God knows best, and has ruled otherwise. We shall acknowledge His wisdom and our own error therein. Meanwhile we must work earnestly in the best light He gives us, trusting that so working still conduces to the great ends He ordains. Surely He intends some great good to follow this mighty convulsion, which no mortal could make, and no mortal could stay.

Your people–the Friends–have had, and are having, a very great trial. On principle, and faith, opposed to both war and oppression, they can only practically oppose oppression by war. In this hard dilemma, some have chosen one horn and some the other. For those appealing to me on conscientious grounds, I have done, and shall do, the best I could and can, in my own conscience, under my oath to the law. That you believe this I doubt not; and believing it, I shall receive it, for our country and myself, your earnest prayers to our Father in Heaven. Your sincere friend

A. Lincoln.

If you have never visited Springfield, Illinois and the Lincoln Home Site and the Presidential Library and Museum, I suggest you do! (Springfield and the Sangamon Valley also enjoy a strong literary tradition with Lincoln, Vachel Lindsay, Edgar Lee Masters, William Maxwell, among others, hailing from there.)

I regret that I never made it to Brooklyn to visit Henry Ward Beecher’s Plymouth Church when daughter #1 lived in NYC. They have a stained glass window depicting Lincoln…

But I will stop in Springfield sometime to visit First Presbyterian Church where the Lincolns rented a pew and regularly attended church services.

In Missouri, while Washington’s Birthday is a federal holiday, Lincoln’s Birthday is still a state holiday, falling on February 12 regardless of the day of the week. We will toast him and remember his funeral in Springfield where at least six Protestant clergymen participated in the service: four from Springfield and two from the East Coast. The Rev. Albert Hale, the 65-year-old pastor of Springfield’s Second Presbyterian Church, offered the introductory prayer. A graduate of Yale Divinity School, he knew Lincoln before he was the president. During his prayer he recalled Lincoln as someone to emulate: “Merciful God, bless us, and we pray Thee help us to cherish the memory of his life, and the worth of the high example he has shown us. Sanctify the event to all in public office; may they learn wisdom from that example, and study to follow in the steps of him whom Thou hast taken away.“

Amen.

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February 11, 2025

It’s a twister!

by chuckofish

Yesterday was the anniversary of the February 10, 1959 “tornado outbreak” in St. Louis. I was not-quite three years old so I don’t remember it and luckily we lived in a part of town that was not hit. However, the F4 tornado did sweep through my current stomping grounds–Warson Woods, Rock Hill, Brentwood–on its way to the city.

It toppled the Channel 2 television tower and one of the Arena’s two towers before moving on to devastate the area around Boyle and Olive Streets (Gaslight Square).

The tornado was on the ground for at least 35 minutes, traveled 23.9 miles (38.5 km), was 200 yards (180 m) wide, and caused $50.25 million is damage. 345 people were injured and 21 others were killed, making it the third deadliest tornado in the city’s history.

Interestingly, the heyday of Gaslight Square was actually kick-started in the aftermath of the city’s 1959 tornado outbreak, which caused severe property damage but also led to an influx of attention and insurance money. Business owners took advantage of this to revitalize the local economy. It became a very hip place to hang out–even my parents went there. Entertainers who performed in the clubs included: Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand, Judy Collins, the Smothers Brothers, Phyllis Diller, Woody Allen, and so on…

A 1962 episode of the TV show Route 66 titled “Hey Moth, Come Eat the Flame” was set and filmed inside The Darkside jazz club. How cool can you get?

Gaslight Square didn’t last long, however, and the Board of Alderman, who had officially renamed the district on 24 March 1961, retired the name in December of 1972. Easy come, easy go. C’est la vie.


P.S. I watched the Route 66 episode and besides the scenes in Gaslight Square there are scenes shot at the Chase Park Plaza on Kingshighway and the old Rock Hill quarry (which is mostly filled in now) and in some bowling alley I could not identify. It’s worth checking out for that!

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February 10, 2025

Morning by morning new mercies I see

by chuckofish

How was your weekend? I went to my DAR meeting on Saturday morning…

…where we had an excellent program on genealogy (that was kind of over my head). And then I watched an auction online back at home. I didn’t bid on anything–I was prepared to swoop in for a rescue, but that proved unnecessary. I practiced restraint.

On Sunday the OM and I reversed our usual schedule (which was quite discombobulating) so that we could pick up the twins at their dad’s store–he had to work–and then go to Sunday School first followed by the 11:00 service at church. Having been to Sunday School (after which they usually go home), the twins were not thrilled to have to go to the church service. I had to give Lottie stern looks several times and during the sermon I had to sit with my arm around the bud. At least they still respond to a stern look! I gave them a B+ for keeping their depravity in check. We delivered them back to their dad’s store, which was hoppin’, and went home.

We watched some pre-Super Bowl stuff and ate some dips. We saw Lauren Daigle sing. But I just couldn’t get excited about the whole thing. I mean I hate commercials!

Meanwhile, the week was wild:

And now we are supposed to get more snow! C’est la vie!

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February 7, 2025

It’s Friday again

by chuckofish

…Have a good one!

The Super Bowl is on Sunday and the Chiefs are playing, so I am kind of interested. I do not hate them as some Missourians do. I have no idea who Jon Batiste is–he will sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl–but I am looking forward to hearing Lauren Daigle sing “America the Beautiful”. And, by the way, there is only one national anthem and it is for everybody.

I will probably watch the kick off and then turn the channel. Then I will decide to watch an old movie instead. Can you think of a good football movie? I like The Best of Times (1985) but I have seen it recently. Maybe Friday Night Lights (2004) or The Blind Side (2009)?

And I do like this cold brew ad with Chan…

Well, this afternoon Mr. Smith is getting a shampoo, so that means happy hour afterwards.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

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February 6, 2025

Introverts at play in the fields of the Lord

by chuckofish

On Tuesday the boy dropped the little bud off at our house while he took Lottie to dance class after school. He ate his grilled cheese and fries from Mike Duffy’s and we hung out for awhile, amusing ourselves. He wondered where the Beanie Babies were and, after wracking my brain to remember where I had put them, we found them and brought them downstairs.

He thought it was great fun to take them all out as he used to do when he was little, climb in and put them all back in…

I said, you’ve grown a lot since the last time you did this! I remember when you and Lottie both fit in there with all the Beanies! Indeed.

During this time, daughter #2, along with the prairie girls, facetimed us to say hello. Ida especially was quite taken with the bud’s antics. Of course she was. She was all the heart-eye emojis. 😍

After we got off the phone, we watched the man across the street try to get his Goldendoodle to play catch with a ball. We decided to go out and engage with them, and so we put our shoes on and went out. The bud did indeed engage with the Doodle (named ‘Tator’ because he looks like a tator tot), playing catch and running all over the yard. I talked to my nice young neighbor and we exchanged phone numbers. We went back in after wearing out the Doodle and soon it was time for the bud to go home. When Lottie came in to pick up her brother, she was shocked to find that I had no candy. “But, Mamu, you always have candy!”

Mea culpa. I will be sure to rectify that situation a toute vitesse, little lady.

5 Comments
February 5, 2025

A scrolling world

by chuckofish

You may have noticed that I have been trying to read real books lately. I was shocked to realize that, indeed, I read very few entire books in 2024. Part of that is because most contemporary fiction is not worth the effort, and part of it is because I cannot read at bedtime because I fall asleep.

Well, I have given myself permission to read during the day–a silly thing, but it is something I struggle with. I am retired, I tell myself. I can do what I want. I do not have to be particularly “productive”.

But some of it, I must admit, is because I have a hard time focusing on reading. Obviously, this is not just my problem. This about reading in a scrolling world is pertinent to what a lot of us are feeling. Brain rot is real.

Well, I did read through the Bible for the third year in a row, so I can pat myself on the back for that. Right now, in my 5x5x5 NT reading plan, I am in the book of Acts, and Stephen–whose “face is like the face of an angel”–is about to be martyred. Sela.

The Grammy Awards are as out of touch as anything else these days, but the Americana genre keeps producing some interesting artists, including this year’s big winner, Sierra Ferrell…

So take heart, put your phone away, read a book!

“Why, what’s the matter,
That you have such a February face,
So full of frost, of storm and cloudiness?”

–William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing

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February 4, 2025

Flyover Tuesday

by chuckofish

Well, here we are in February. Yesterday we broke a record from back in the 1880s–reaching the temperature of 76 degrees! I made my usual Monday trip to the grocery store and swung by the P.O. It is a soggy mess out there, but I am not complaining.

Today we toast the wonderful writer MacKinlay Kantor, who was born on this day in 1904 in Webster City, Iowa. He wrote a lot of short stories for popular and pulp magazines before publishing his first historical novel, Long Remember, in 1934. Kantor was a war correspondent with the British RAF during WWII and also served as a gunner in the U.S. Air Force. After his service he became a screenwriter in Hollywood. His verse novel about three American servicemen returning to civilian life, Glory for Me, was adapted for the screen, becoming the Academy Award-winning film The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). He won the Pulitzer Prize for Andersonville, based on the notorious Confederate prisoner-of-war camp in Georgia where nearly 13,000 Union soldiers died, in 1955. I would re-read it, but I’m not sure I can handle such total depravity right now.

Anyway, I have been an admirer of Kantor for a long, long time and I recommend his books (and movies made from his books).

At the moment I am reading another historical novel by another American writer who wrote short stories for magazines while working in a hardware store in his hometown of Bloomington, IL. Harold Sinclair also wrote a few well-received novels, but The Horse Soldiers was his only bestseller. I have my father’s old signed copy from 1955 and I am enjoying it. Of course, the movie version starring John Wayne and William Holden is a favorite of mine. Here’s a picture of the author with John Wayne and the director John Ford.

We also toast country singer Clint Black, who was born on this day in 1962. He was born in New Jersey, but grew up in Katy, Texas. We always think of him as the secret twin of George W. Bush.

Quite the resemblance, don’t you think?

Speaking of twinsies, the prairie girls are enjoying the warmer weather too…

Enjoy your day!

3 Comments
February 3, 2025

Well may we rejoice and sing

by chuckofish

It has warmed up quite a bit (thank goodness) and I got out and about this weekend. I did the flowers at church first thing on Saturday morning and then ventured down to the city to go to an estate sale. Daughter #1 and I were so adventurous! It was a nice house in Compton Heights down by St. Louis University, the same vintage (c. 1903) as the house I grew up in with three stories and lots of dark wood. We got a couple of books and a tassel curtain tieback for the window in my office. We said hey to our friend Lamar (who gave us our Lamar discount). We stopped at Straub’s on the way home and treated ourselves to lunch which we ate back at her house.

On Sunday, church was wonderful, as usual, but the communion hymn just broke me down to tears. They streamed down my face and I was such a mess at the end of the service. My son laughed at me a little, but with love.

William Cowper wrote this hymn in 1771 and it still packs a punch. The old Anglican hymns are pretty much all we have left of the Episcopal denomination, which is really sad. And I doubt if they sing this hymn anymore.

In our adult ed class we continued to learn about Francis and Edith Schaeffer and the founding of L’Abri, the French word for “shelter,” because they sought to provide a shelter from the pressures of a relentlessly secular 20th century. As time went by, so many people came that others were called to join the Schaeffers in their work, and more branches were established. Even Bob Dylan spent time there.

I had plans for after church, but everything fell apart, as sometimes happens. But it was a nice afternoon so I went over later to daughter #1’s house and enjoyed having Mr. Smith balance on my lap for some Mamu scritch-scratches until too many people had the nerve to walk by the house and he lost his doggie mind doing his Westie duty (i.e. barking).

This strikes me as very true. “Our phone has given us a constant stream of information. One thing it hasn’t given us is boredom. What if that was a costly bargain? A priceless forfeiture? What if it turns out that downtime from the fire hose of infinite data is necessary for good thinking, and for good life?”

By the way, don’t miss 31 Days of Oscar on TCM this month. The next ’31 days’ are dedicated to celebrating Academy Award-winning and nominated films leading up to the 97th annual Academy Awards, which air on March 2. I couldn’t care less about the Oscars in 2025–I haven’t seen a new movie at the movies since 2006–but there is a treasure trove to DVR this month on TCM. For instance, The Sting (1973) and Double Indemnity (1944) are on tonight!

So sing an old hymn, watch an old movie, pet a nice dog. Enjoy your Monday!

“On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.” (Zechariah 13:1)

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