Uncategorized | dual personalities

Guiding light

by chuckofish

How about a little Mumford & Sons to get you started this morning?

I meant to mention earlier that Mary Oliver, the poet, died last week. Known for her “secular psalms,” she has been dubbed by some “the unofficial poet laureate” of the Unitarian Universalist denomination. Well, then. I liked her anyway.

Song of the Builders

On a summer morning

I sat down

on a hillside

to think about God –

a worthy pastime.

Near me, I saw

a single cricket;

it was moving the grains of the hillside

this way and that way.

How great was its energy,

how humble its effort.

Let us hope

it will always be like this,

each of us going on

in our inexplicable ways

building the universe.

You can read about her here and here.

I will also note that on this day in 1848 James W. Marshall found gold at Sutter’s Mill near Sacramento. Our great-great-great grandfather, Silas Hough, went west the following year to seek his fortune, but died of cholera just east of the Rocky Mountains.

Screen Shot 2019-01-23 at 12.27.49 PM.png His 16-year old son, our great-great grandfather John Simpson Hough who had accompanied him, went home to Philadelphia. He didn’t stay long though. He had seen the Rocky Mountains and there was no holding him back.

And, hey, this was an interesting interview. (I had never heard of this book. I may have to read it.)

When people talk about poverty, there are different kinds. There is a poverty of status in our country where you have all the food and water you need but you think other people are doing better all around you. You can also have a poverty of control. You feel you can’t choose how you spend your day, when to get up. We don’t talk about those kinds of poverty a lot.

Food for thought.

(The painting is Sunrise on the Mountains at the Head of Moraine Park, Near Estes Park, about 1920, by Charles Partridge Adams, CU Art Museum, University of Colorado Boulder

4 Comments

January 23, 2019

Small world department

by chuckofish

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This made me laugh.

The boy and daughter #1 are training to run in a half marathon in April. I salute them. I would be happy to be able to walk a half marathon, but it ain’t gonna happen. (My achilles tendons have not recovered as it is from my trip to Israel.) Well, I ride my stationery bike every morning for half an hour–the best I can do–while listening to my favorite Calvinists discuss scripture on Youtube. The half hour flies by!

One result of this foray into the evangelical world is that I discovered what became of a girl who was in the class above me at school growing up. I happened to be reading about Wheaton College in Illinois one day when I found out that one of its Presidents had the same last name as this girl. I recalled that she (and her older sister) went to Wheaton. (Wheaton was not a college many people from my school went to, so I remembered.) They were a very religious family and their lovely daughters were always impeccably groomed and conservatively dressed. (Remember: this was the 1970s!) They were not concerned with being cool like the rest of us, but went about their business in a focused and serious way. Hmmm, I thought, I wonder if her grandfather had been the President? As it turned out, he was. (The libraries at both Wheaton College and Covenant Theological Seminary bear his name.)

This girl went on with her education and received a PhD in English literature from Vanderbilt. She is now an author and speaker who has taught literature, directed women’s Bible studies, and “loves working with women in studying the Scriptures.” She directed The Gospel Coalition’s women’s initiatives from 2010 to 2017. She is not just riding her stationery bike and listening to panels with the likes of R.C. Sproul and John Piper. She is on the panel with them!

It is a small world, n’est-ce pas? You can read one of her articles here.

Have a good day!

4 Comments

January 22, 2019

On a wing and a prayer

by chuckofish

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Recently I received the Williams College alumni magazine, the one that just has all the class notes. I admit, I look at the obits first. I like to read about the old guys, class of 1939 and on…the WWII vets.

This one caught my eye:

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Imagine being a decorated dive bomber pilot in the war, coming home and settling in to a career in advertising! Talk about switching gears. Plus, I remember Wrestling at the Chase! We thought it was hilarious. Well, it sounds like he had a good long life, 100 years wittily re-writing song lyrics and all.

So did this guy, class of 1948:

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How great is it that he became a volunteer deputy sheriff in NC after retiring?. Also, he was from Worcester. I wonder if my mother knew him?

I love these WWII veterans–truly we will not see their like again. They worked hard, they supported their church and civic groups and charities…They had lived through the war–as dive bomber pilots–and had learned something. They had lost friends and knew they were lucky to be alive.

Maybe they knew what life is really all about: “He enjoyed a good burger, a good book, a glass of wine and a fire in the fireplace.” (A member of the class of 1950 recalled about a classmate.)

Let’s all take a moment.

Into paradise may the angels lead thee and at thy coming may the martyrs receive thee, and bring thee into the holy city Jerusalem. (BCP, Burial of the Dead, Rite I)

3 Comments

January 21, 2019

“Cheerful in God, arise and shine…

by chuckofish

…while rays divine stream all around.”*

Daughter #1 found a few pictures on her phone from Christmas that I had not seen and I had to share this one. Those little faces–especially the little guy in the bow tie on the left– are sure to make you smile, right?

How was your weekend? We had fun celebrating other people’s birthdays.

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We drank Prosecco and listened to show tunes on the record player. We are such hipsters.

We unearthed some more toys in the basement and cleaned them up.

I put the blocks away for a later date. I’m not sure the wee laddie is quite ready for them and we do not need to provide him with more missiles than he already has.

I read a lot in this book which I bought for a dollar at an estate sale a few weeks ago.

It is a children’s book from 1944, which tells the history of the world between the years 1809 to 1865, cleverly intertwining the stories. It is a book about people: Simon Bolivar, Napoleon, Queen Victoria, Benito Jaurez, Daniel Boone, Li Hung Chang, Buffalo Bill…which is the way I like history taught. I have enjoyed it a lot, especially the bits about Ulysses S. Grant.

Anyway, if you ever run across this book at an estate sale or used bookstore, pick it up! pick it up!

It snowed some more (but not on the day predicted). We thought we had dodged it, but no. Why do we ever listen to the meteorologists? Everyone still came over for dinner on Sunday night and we had tortellini.

We had way too much fun.

And today is a day off!

*Philip Doddridge, hymn #543

4 Comments

January 19, 2019

Ce n’est rien. C’est une cauchemar.

by chuckofish

I keep telling myself “it’s nothing” but when I’m being realistic, I admit that it IS a nightmare. And so the kitchen saga continues. This week our new dishwasher was delivered and installed. “Yay!”, thought I. Alas, we can’t use it because, as you can see,

the door crashes into the stove! The stove installation required a new circuit box that sticks out a couple inches from the wall and so pushes the stove forward — hence the dishwasher problem. I’ve been trying to contact our contractor, who, naturally, has not answered either my email or phone calls. Oh, and you’ll also notice that we still have no counters. I called the companies from which the contractor allegedly ordered them only to discover that he had not done so. No wonder he’s gone silent. Lest anyone think that the DH and I are super naive and stupid, I would say in our defense that we have worked with this contractor several times before, and we never had any trouble. Previous experience suggested we could trust him. I guess we were wrong. There’s a lesson here somewhere…

Well, I could sit around gnashing my teeth, but life is too short. The DH is in Baltimore this weekend so I have no car, and since the temperature outside is a balmy -6 and we are due to get about 8″ of snow, I’m taking the opportunity to paint the old, abused sideboard that goes in my kitchen. After sanding it looked like this:

This poor thing needs a facelift more than I do! I spent yesterday sanding and priming and now I am all set to paint. Preparation is quite a process: clean; sand; clean; sand; clean; prime; sand; clean; prime; sand and clean once last time. I took this picture about halfway through:

By the time I finished last night I could hardly move, and I must say that I’m feeling the effects this morning. However, I’m determined to get to work right after I finish this post and have one more cup of tea. After all, I’m burning daylight!

UPDATE: The first coat of paint is on!

The messy looking part is just the underside of where the drawers go — I’m being careful everywhere else. Now I’m off for a light sand before the second coat. Wish me luck!

5 Comments

January 18, 2019

“My only regret in life is that I didn’t drink enough champagne.”*

by chuckofish

It’s finally Friday! It was a long, busy week at my flyover Institute and I am really ready for the three-day weekend. Daughter #1 is driving in to town from mid-MO, if she can figure out when to do so in between the weird weather they are forecasting for the weekend.

We will celebrate our mother’s/grandmother’s birthday (along with Dolly Parton’s and Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s) on Saturday–this calls for champagne–and, of course, Martin Luther King’s birthday on Monday.

Tonight we will toast Daniel Webster (1782-1852),

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along with Oliver Hardy (1892-1957), Cary Grant (1904-1986), Danny Kaye (1911-1987), and Kevin Costner (b. 1955)–all born on January 18. Just think of the movie viewing possibilities!

Screen Shot 2019-01-17 at 10.26.56 AM.png Screen Shot 2019-01-17 at 10.38.25 AM.png Personally I am leaning toward a Cary Grant marathon, which could include any of these favorites: Gunga Din (1939), The Awful Truth (1937), The Philadelphia Story (1940), Houseboat (1958), North By Northwest (1959), Charade (1963), or Father Goose (1964) or The Bishop’s Wife (1947) if you missed it at Christmas.

Screen Shot 2019-01-17 at 10.24.00 AM.png It might also be time to revisit Silverado (1985)–completely derivative, but entertaining nonetheless.

Screen Shot 2019-01-17 at 10.15.57 AM.png We should also mention that today on the Episcopal Church calendar is the feast day of Amy Carmichael (1867-1951), Protestant missionary in India, who was the real deal. She opened an orphanage and founded a mission in Dohnavur. She served in India for fifty-five years without furlough and authored many books about the missionary work there. Her most notable work was with girls and young women, some of whom were saved from customs that amounted to forced prostitution. You can read about her here. Why don’t they make a movie about this remarkable woman?

Lots of choices to make this weekend–make good ones!

And stay safe in the winter weather.

*John Maynard Keynes

9 Comments

January 17, 2019

The scattering winds

by chuckofish

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For to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth’;
and to the shower and the rain, ‘Be strong.’
He seals up the hand of every man,
that all men may know his work.
Then the beasts go into their lairs,
and remain in their dens.
From its chamber comes the whirlwind,
and cold from the scattering winds.
By the breath of God ice is given,
and the broad waters are frozen fast.

–Job 37:6-10

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I am grateful that I work inside. And have an attached garage. And seat heaters in my car. I am grateful for a warm coat and gloves.

What are you grateful for?

4 Comments

January 16, 2019

Just saying

by chuckofish

Screen Shot 2019-01-15 at 7.45.02 AM.png (Instragam @vegaslady42 who reposted it from somewhere else)

Meanwhile the amaryllis, given to us by my brother and his wife before Christmas, continues to grow. Hopefully it will bloom sometime in mid-February, just when we need it the most! The wee laddie was quite fascinated with it the other night and thus we have it staked now…as usual, he heeded his mother’s pleas for a “gentle touch!” only after some damage was already done. The Christmas cactus is also a favorite place for the wee babes to deposit their Playskool chicken and rooster…

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…which is quite brilliant if you ask me. Birds in the foliage, right? It is great to see them recognize things and make connections.

Lottie has been terrific at pointing out horses (“neigh!”) on fabric and in pictures for awhile. The first time she did this, it blew me away. She is one observant child.

Now she can find elephants everywhere.

She called the clock a “house” which I thought was brilliant as well.Our house is like a treasure hunt for them anyway. It is their job to “find” their toys that have been put away and drag them out. Books in particular.

They also like to move the little chairs around, because, you know, they can.

I have bought nothing new for them except the shopping cart, which, of course, the wee laddie thinks is a Sherman Tank. What was I thinking?

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Well, nothing is too precious in our house not to be “antiqued” further by the demonstrative hands of our two-year old, twenty-pound twin tornadoes.

The old manse can take it.

By the way, yesterday the wee babes had their final NICU follow-up appointment. According to daughter #3, the doctors were very pleased with how they both are doing. Both are basically caught up developmentally to their same-aged peers…and they told us not to expect this until they were 3! Love and attention go a long, long way.

Thanks be to God.

8 Comments

January 15, 2019

A thrill of delight

by chuckofish

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Books of natural history make the most cheerful winter reading. I read in Audubon with a thrill of delight, when the snow covers the ground, of the magnolia, and the Florida keys, and their warm sea breezes; of the fence-rail, and the cotton-tree, and the migrations of the rice-bird; of the breaking up of winter in Labrador, and the melting of the snow on the forks of the Missouri; and owe an accession of health to these reminiscences of luxuriant nature.

—Henry David Thoreau, “Natural History of Massachusetts”

Here’s to some cheerful winter reading!

The painting is “Vermont Valley Farm – Winter” by Aldro Thompson Hibbard (American, 1886-1972)

3 Comments

January 14, 2019

“See, what you have to ask yourself is: what kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, that sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky?”

by chuckofish

Well, we did, indeed, have a little snow on Friday night.

I did a little shoveling, but the boy brought his snow blower over and did most of our driveway…

He made short work of what would have been a major effort/pain for me to do. I did some more shoveling on Sunday…by then the snow was heavy and icey. But it felt good to get out in the cold and do some physical work.

I spent the weekend reading M Train by Patti Smith, “an unforgettable odyssey of a legendary artist, told through the prism of the cafés and haunts she has worked in around the world. It is a book Patti Smith has described as ‘a roadmap to my life.’”

Like me, she is a person who sees signs and miracles in the world. She rescues objects and keeps talismans that are full of meaning for her.

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She wears vintage clothes and watches detective shows and visits cemeteries to pay homage to specific graves, usually of literary figures or artists. If I ever go to Tokyo I will, like Patti, want to have dinner at the restaurant Mifune. In other words, we are on the same page.

–Reading Ibsen?

–Yes, The Master Builder.

–Hmmmm, lovely play but fraught with symbolism.

–I hadn’t noticed, I said.

He stood before the fire for a moment then shook his head and left. Personally, I’m not much for symbolism. I never get it. Why can’t things be just as they are? I never thought to psychoanalyze Seymour Glass or sought to break down “Desolation Row.” I just wanted to get lost, become one with somewhere else, slip a wreath on a steeple top because I wished it. (M Train)

I also delved into Sam Anderson’s Boom Town, “The fantastical saga of Oklahoma City, its chaotic founding, its apocalyptic weather, its purloined basketball team, and the dream of becoming a world-class metropolis,” which DN gave me for Christmas, because he knows that OC is on my top-five list of places I want to visit. Isn’t it great to have a son-in-law who picks out books for me? I mean really.

The wee babes frolicked in the snow…

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…and they came over for Episcopal souffle on Sunday night. Can you believe how grown up they look?

Can you say, “chip and dip”?

And now it’s back to the rat race…have a good week!

Here is Patti Smith’s lovely elegy for her friend Sam Shepard.

*Graham Hess in Signs (2002)

7 Comments

dual personalities

Category: Uncategorized

January 24, 2019

Guiding light

by chuckofish

January 23, 2019

Small world department

by chuckofish

January 22, 2019

On a wing and a prayer

by chuckofish

January 21, 2019

“Cheerful in God, arise and shine…

by chuckofish

January 19, 2019

Ce n’est rien. C’est une cauchemar.

by chuckofish

January 18, 2019

“My only regret in life is that I didn’t drink enough champagne.”*

by chuckofish

January 17, 2019

The scattering winds

by chuckofish

January 16, 2019

Just saying

by chuckofish

January 15, 2019

A thrill of delight

by chuckofish

January 14, 2019

“See, what you have to ask yourself is: what kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, that sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky?”

by chuckofish