dual personalities

Category: Veterans Day

November 12, 2019

Mish mosh*

by chuckofish

IMG_4082.JPG

We had our first snow of the season yesterday and, in fact, I had to call off afternoon classes and send everyone home early.  It is always a bit weird, though, when it snows and most of the leaves are still on the trees. The temperature dropped 40 degrees from what it had been over the sunny weekend.

Daughter #1 came into town on Friday because she was part of the big Veterans Day doings at the Soldiers Memorial downtown on Saturday.

Screen Shot 2019-11-11 at 2.20.10 PM.png

Members of the Scottish-American Military Society

I liked what Chris Pratt wrote about his older brother, a vet, on his Instagram:

Screen Shot 2019-11-11 at 2.19.20 PM.png

And this great picture of the Queen with her poppies. She remembers.

Screen Shot 2019-11-12 at 6.45.23 AM.png

scottmeachamwood @Instagram

I had my last chemo treatment on Friday and it was a surprisingly emotional experience to ring that bell and say goodbye to all those nice people who work in the Cancer Center at Missouri Baptist Hospital.

Screen Shot 2019-11-11 at 2.26.12 PM.png

Well, on to the next phase.

Over the weekend I re-read Delano Ames’ Corpse Diplomatique which I thoroughly enjoyed. Jane and Dagobert Brown are very diverting amateur sleuths and Jane is always saying things like:

I glanced at him witheringly and risked no comment. But Henry did not wither readily.

And we watched The Ten Commandments (1956). It is hard to beat Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner together in a movie.

Screen Shot 2019-11-11 at 3.32.06 PM.png

Be still my heart.

This movie holds up remarkably well and the pre-CG special effects–the parting of the Red Sea in particular–are impressive. I will also note that Yul Brynner was also in the King and I and Anastasia in 1956. Seriously–wow–quelle year.

The wee babes came over Sunday night for dinner, but no one took any pictures!

Today I will remind you is the 359th anniversary of the day John Bunyan was arrested and taken into custody for preaching in a Puritan meeting house in England. He was convicted as a dissenter and spent 12 years in jail. While there, he began a book–The Pilgrim’s Progress.

“Mr. Worldly-Wiseman is not an ancient relic of the past. He is everywhere today, disguising his heresy and error by proclaiming the gospel of contentment and peace achieved by self-satisfaction and works. If he mentions Christ, it is not as the Savior who took our place, but as a good example of an exemplary life. Do we need a good example to rescue us, or do we need a Savior?”

No surprise that it is still in print and read all over the world. It’s a story that never gets old. My denomination is full of Worldly-Wisemen, that’s for sure.

IMG_4083.JPG

Stay warm and drive safely.

*Yiddish for a motley assortment of things

3 Comments
November 11, 2016

Filled with wisdom and girded with strength

by chuckofish

Today is Veterans Day when we salute and pay our respects to all those who serve and have served in the military.

img_1793

1970a6c396313830757e3fed9b90c6dc

dscn0064

O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

This is also the anniversary of the Great Blue Norther of November 11, 1911 (11/11/1911) wherein a cold snap affected the central U.S.  Many cities broke record highs, going into the 70s and 80s early that afternoon. By nightfall, cities were dealing with temperatures in the teens and single-digits on the Fahrenheit scale. This is the only day in many flyover cities’ weather bureau jurisdictions where the record highs and lows were broken for the same day. Some cities experienced tornadoes on Saturday and a blizzard on Sunday. The main cause of such a dramatic cold snap was an extremely strong storm system separating warm, humid air from frigid, arctic air. Dramatic cold snaps tend to occur mostly in the month of November, though they can also come in February or March. They are nothing new, as you can see.

Today is also the birthday of Robert Bushnell Ryan (November 11, 1909 – July 11, 1973), film actor and graduate of Dartmouth College. He was never one of my favorite actors, but he did star in one of my favorite movies–you guessed it–The Professionals (1966). I have to admit that, after this week, I am in the mood for this great movie about “some men with guns, going somewhere, to do something dangerous.”

the-professionals-1966-film

Even though it is not a war movie, per se, it is about veterans. So I’m going with The Professionals. “Yes, ma’am, I’m on my way.”

3 Comments