dual personalities

February 26, 2018

“Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.”*

by chuckofish

After raining all week, it rained all day Saturday and our front yard was literally a lake. On Sunday morning, however, a great bright orb appeared in the sky, and proceeded to dry everything up. It was nice to see the sun after such a long time. Of course, there are now signs of spring everywhere.

But we mustn’t get ahead of ourselves.

I re-read The Last Kind Words Saloon by Larry McMurtry. It is a very short novell(a) about Charles Goodnight, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday, Buffalo Bill, various women and Indians. McMurtry is long past his Lonesome Dove powers, but there is something about his books that soothes my soul. When I finished that, I started Goodbye My Lovely by my hero, Raymond Chandler. I have a whole pile of current novels to read, but I just can’t seem to want to read them.

A couple of weeks ago, I gave my Valentine the DVD set of the three Godfather movies, because it had occurred to me that I had never actually seen The Godfather (1972) in its entirety. We watched it Saturday night. I remember when my parents went to see it. (I was deemed too young.) They didn’t love it, but they were somewhat impressed I think. It was new and different and shocking for the time.

Screen Shot 2018-02-25 at 11.50.13 AM.png

It holds up after all these years, but I can’t say I loved it or anything. I guess I just do not understand gangster movies or their appeal. They are about criminals, violent sick criminals. With whom am I supposed to identify? Much less care about? The OM says their appeal has to do with people’s vicarious desire to kill/do violence to their enemies without consequences. Really? Yikes. And why did Marlon Brando win an Oscar for that role? If anyone deserved an Oscar it was Al Pacino who was the center of the film. He is really good–you can follow the arc of his character, how he changes, how his eyes deaden, how he becomes a criminal. [According to IMDB, Pacino did not attend the Oscar ceremony in protest of perceived category fraud. As his performance reflected greater screen time than that of his co-star Marlon Brando, Pacino believed he should have received a nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Well, welcome to Hollywood, Al. You were robbed.] The movie has a very good cast–James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton. Well, now I’ve seen it.

I went to church on Sunday–rite I for Lent–and enjoyed the service except for an overabundance of virtue-signaling in the sermon by our associate rector. Saints preserve me. The ushers were also annoyingly loud out in the narthex during the sermon, and I was seriously contemplating going out to tell them to please shut the heck up, but was saved from having to do so when my friend Carla got up and went and did it first! You go, girl. We all know that guys want to usher so they don’t have to sit through the service, but gabbing in the narthex is not okay.

While I was sitting in church during this penitential season, I couldn’t help but think some more about The Godfather, especially the sickening baptism scene, the climax of the film. You remember: while the baptism of Michael Corleone’s goddaughter is being enacted in some ornate Catholic church, the elaborate murders of the heads of the five New York mafia families are simultaneously going on, orchestrated by Michael. In essence, he is being baptized twice: once as he renews his own baptismal vows, and secondly as he is “baptized” into organized crime as the new don.

This is all very well and brilliant film-making, blah, blah, blah, oh the irony. But no thank you. Just not my cup of tea I guess.

When I got home from church, I convinced the OM to take a drive down to Ted Drewes–our first of the year.

My mocha concrete hit the spot. The OM did a little advertising for the boy.

I spent quite some time washing some more 30-year old toys I unearthed, but sadly, the wee babes didn’t come over as planned–sad face–so I don’t have any cute pictures. C’est la vie. We roll with the punches.

So it’s back to the salt mine today. Have a good Monday.

*Clemenza in The Godfather

5 Comments

February 24, 2018

You close the door and start the motor, I roll the window down*

by chuckofish

No time for a post today — I’m off to Ogdensburg for the annual Clerks’ Records Review and then I have to rush home to attend a memorial service. In the meantime, enjoy this tune

and don’t spend too much time looking in the rear view mirror.

*Boy, “Drive Darling, Drive”

1 Comment

February 23, 2018

I’m gonna ride

by chuckofish

Screen Shot 2018-02-22 at 10.10.33 AM

It has been a gray, gloomy week and there seems to be more of the same in store for us in flyover country. Everyone says we need the rain and that is surely true, but, gee, a glimpse of the sun would be quite welcome.

This weekend I plan to hunker down and do some work around the old manse.

I think I will get out my unfinished needlepoint projects and choose one to work on.

Then I may catch up on John Crist videos. This was funny:

Screen Shot 2018-02-22 at 10.37.31 AM.png

Nice to know there are kids over-dosing on John Crist videos and not heroin. Speaking of obsessed, the wee babes are very into the Spirit Netflix show.

Especially little Lottie.Anyway, if you have young children, you might want to check out this show on Netflix. I hear it is awesome.

It’s a whole thing. We even gave Lottie the Spirit plush toy for Valentine’s Day.

Screen Shot 2018-02-22 at 4.43.58 PM.png

Well…hopefully, they can tear themselves away long enough to come over to our house on Sunday for dinner.

Happy Friday!

6 Comments

February 22, 2018

“Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

by chuckofish

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

¹⁴Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

¹⁵For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

¹⁶I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

¹⁷And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

¹⁸For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

¹⁹And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

²⁰He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

²¹The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

–Revelation 22: 13–21 (the last page of the Bible)

Well, Billy Graham has died at the age of 99. He always said, “I’ve read the last page of the Bible, it’s all going to turn out all right.”

We know that he is where he longed to be. “My home is in Heaven. I’m just traveling through this world,” he said.

But we will miss him, won’t we? Just knowing he was still there was reassuring.

Screen Shot 2018-02-21 at 10.28.25 AM.png

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

I am reminded of how Billy Graham went to visit the dying Steve McQueen and pray with him. As they parted, so the story goes, Steve said, “I’ll see you in Heaven.”

I’m sure there was quite a delegation there to greet Billy.

[Here is a nice testimony about Billy and Ruth. Be sure to read this story about Tommy James (of the Shondells) and his conversion experience. Here’s something from Wheaton College. Here’s what the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church had to say about Billy Graham yesterday. And this is a classic.]

7 Comments

February 21, 2018

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”*

by chuckofish

I have been super busy at work lately.

Screen Shot 2018-02-20 at 6.50.31 PM.png

Thankfully my office is a pleasant space filled with lovely things I have brought from home.

And thankfully I like my job.

Each day I live I thank the Lord
I do the work I love;
And in it find a rich reward,
All price and praise above.
For few may do the work they love,
The fond unique employ,
That fits them as a hand a glove,
And gives them joy.

Oh gentlefolk, do you and you
Who toil for daily hire,
Consider that the job you do
Is to your heart’s desire?
Aye, though you are to it resigned,
And will no duty shirk,
Oh do you in your private mind
Adore your work?

Twice happy man whose job is joy,
Whose hand and heart combine,
In brave and excellent employ
As radiantly as mine!
But oh the weary, dreary day,
The wear and tear and irk
Of countless souls who cannot say:
‘I love my work.’

–Robert Service

And remember: “If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; blame yourself, tell yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches; for to the creator there is no poverty and no poor indifferent place.” (Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet)

*Philippians 4:13

4 Comments

February 20, 2018

By night when others soundly slept

by chuckofish

By night when others soundly slept

And hath at once both ease and Rest,

My waking eyes were open kept

And so to lie I found it best.

I sought him whom my Soul did Love,

With tears I sought him earnestly.

He bow’d his ear down from Above.

In vain I did not seek or cry.

My hungry Soul he fill’d with Good;

He in his Bottle put my tears,

My smarting wounds washt in his blood,

And banisht thence my Doubts and fears.

What to my Saviour shall I give

Who freely hath done this for me?

I’ll serve him here whilst I shall live

And Love him to Eternity.

–Anne Bradstreet (1647 or earlier)

The painting is by George Sotter (1979–1953)

2 Comments

February 19, 2018

Postcards from Mid-MO

by chuckofish

Our quick trip to Mid-Missouri–although the drive there was in a rainy/snowy mix all the way–was short but super fun.

We went to the state capitol, Jefferson City, which looks like a movie set of a small town.

We toured the capitol,

which was deserted on Saturday. We wandered around and saw our favorite murals.

Some nice guy unlocked the House lounge so we could see the Thomas Hart Benton murals.

Daughter #1 used her secret code to get us into the Supreme Court building and we checked out her office.

It was much nicer than she had led us to believe. I was glad to see that my favorite elephant planter had found a nice home there.

I was also happy to see that the 10 Commandments are still outside.

And also these guys.

It was a rather cold and bleak midwinter day.

But the sun came out and it cleared up around three o’clock. We took the OM back to daughter #1’s apartment to chillax (nap) and then we headed into bustling Columbia to check out a nice shop and the wine bar.

Screen Shot 2018-02-18 at 1.15.59 PM.png

When we finally packed up and made our way home, daughter #1 made pesto and we watched those favorite Simpsons episodes I wrote about last week. We watched some Olympics and then turned in around 9:30 pm–par for the course.

We headed home on Sunday morning.

I finished re-reading Dead Man’s Walk by Larry McMurtry–not as good certainly as Lonesome Dove, but a good adventure story which held my interest. Woodrow Call and Augustus McCrae fighting off hostile Indians is quite diverting in 2018 and I may read more in that genre. I need diversion.

Also diverting are the wee babes who came over on Sunday night. The wee laddie was a little under the weather with a cough and runny nose,

Pappy has a grip on the wee laddie.

but that didn’t slow him down much. He reunited with his old friends the handles on the highboy.

Who said, “The vandals took the handles”?

Little Lottie was on the go as well.

They chased each other around the dining room and under the table. They ate meatloaf. We listened to their favorite song–“In the Bleak Midwinter”–such nascent Episcopalians.

Good times. Now we’re off to the salt mine again. Have a good week!

8 Comments

February 17, 2018

Don’t be afraid to write in a book — own it!

by chuckofish

Last week I wrote about the prologues of books. This week’s post will continue the theme, this time concentrating on dedications and doodles, and what we learn from them.

A few days ago, I received a box from my cousin Steve containing four books that had belonged to our grandfather and great-grandmother, and to a distant uncle by marriage.

This 1880 edition of Ben Hur belonged to George S. Smith, who married Sarah Pamela Rand in 1882, when they were both in their fifties. She was the daughter of Robert Rand and Laura Wheeler Rand. I believe that I read this copy of Ben Hur the summer I visited my aunt Susanne when I was about 13. I am delighted to see it again!

More unusual is the book, Up from Slavery, the autobiography of Booker T. Washington that Susie Louise Cameron gave to James Erskine, the uncle who raised her and her sister after their mother’s death. It is inscribed thus:

What an interesting gift choice. I was so intrigued that I started reading it, and I must say that I am incredibly impressed. Booker T. Washington was a profoundly thoughtful Christian man, who should be much more celebrated than he is. I’ll blog about him next week. In the meantime, let’s turn to the two volumes that belonged to our grandfather, Bunker Cameron.

The first, Two Little Savages by Ernest Thompson Seton, he received from his sister when he was 13 years old.

The classic story of two farm boys, who build a teepee in the woods and decide to live off the land for a month, the book primarily teaches practical woodcraft. The well worn pages and slightly broken binding suggest that Bunker got a lot of use from the gift. Certainly, he was the type to enjoy “going native” in the Vermont woods. Two Little Savages is still in print and would make a perfect gift for anyone who wants to learn how to survive in the wild — or at least the backyard. Today’s youth could use more of this type of thing, don’t you agree?

Finally, we have a school text, Selections from Irving’s Sketch Book, in which we find these lovely doodles and comments:

Some things never change, especially the impulse to write our names and draw in our books . Notably, none of the books I’ve inherited contain book plates. I suppose that before the advent of the stick-in, write-on kind we use now such extravagances were the province of the rich.

As for the rest of us, it’s fine to write in books as long as we don’t deface them (YES to light annotations, but NO to underlining and highlighting). When you give a book as a gift, you should always include a dedication. Such inscriptions give a book a provenance and add to its history. Your message will resonate long after the hand who wrote it is gone, and someday someone may wonder enough about the book’s previous owner to go find out who he/she was.

Books are wonderful artifacts. Treat them with respect and care, but don’t leave them on the shelf. Read them!

5 Comments

February 16, 2018

“For I acknowledge my faults; and my sin is ever before me.”*

by chuckofish

So how is your Lent going so far?

Screen Shot 2018-02-15 at 4.53.26 PM.png Here’s a little book –“A Few Words About Lent”–that may interest you. It was written in 1861 by Charles Todd Quintard, whose feast day is today on the Episcopal Church calendar. Charles was an American physician and clergyman who became the second bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee and the first Vice-Chancellor of the University of the South.

Mighty God, we bless thy Name for the example of thy bishop Charles Todd Quintard, who persevered to reconcile the divisions among the people of his time: Grant, we pray, that thy Church may ever be one, that it may be a refuge for all, for the honor of thy Name; through Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Anyway, it is finally Friday. The OM and I are planning to road-trip to Columbia this weekend. On Saturday we will tour our state capitol with daughter #1. We are living in the fast lane, right?

I am pretty excited to see the old river town. I have not been there since I accompanied daughter #2 and her fourth grade class on a field trip to Jefferson City back in the day.

Screen Shot 2018-02-15 at 1.33.26 PM.png Jefferson City is on the northern edge of the Ozark Plateau on the southern side of the Missouri River in a region known as Mid-Missouri. The Jeff City website proudly announces that Jefferson City was chosen by Rand McNally as “America’s Most Beautiful Small Town!” However, it does not say when that was. [I searched around the internet and it was 2013!]

When we get back on Sunday, we’ll hopefully get to see the wee babes. Last weekend little Lottie was sick with an ear infection, so only the wee lad and his dad came over.

Here they are reading quietly together. Such book worms!

Here they are in their Olympics-watching outfits–remember the 1980 Miracle on Ice? Eruzione’s goal against the Soviet Union to clinch the “Miracle on Ice” victory is one of the most iconic sports moments of all time.

But did you know that ESPN officially recognized it as the No. 1 greatest sports highlight of all time and Sports Illustrated has named it the No. 1 sports moment of the 20th century? I did not know that. I remember watching the game in the living room of the St. Catherine’s School in Richmond, VA, when I was on hall monitor duty that night. It was, indeed, rather exciting. I seem to remember a lot of screaming, my own included.

If you need a break from the 2018 Olympics, you might want to watch Miracle (2004), starring Kurt Russell as the U.S. ice hockey coach, Herb Brooks. It is pretty good and worth it to see Kurt Russell rock the (terrible) 1980 fashion and hair.

Screen Shot 2018-02-15 at 5.12.05 PM.png

Have a good weekend!

*Psalm 51: 3

BTW: the painting at the top is Saint Catherine of Siena besieged by demons (Anonymous). St. Catherine’s School in Richmond, VA, on the other hand, is named after Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the patron saint of young women.

5 Comments

February 15, 2018

“And for the record, there were a few Jewish cowboys. Big guys, who were great shots, and spent money freely.”*

by chuckofish

Happy birthday to Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons (1989–present) which, you well know, is the longest-running U.S. primetime-television series in history, as well as the longest-running animated series and sitcom.

Our family watched The Simpsons together during its “Golden Age,” i.e. seasons one through nine. We thought the sitcom family bore an amazing ressemblance to our family–two girls, one boy; a neglected third child; a clueless, oafish father who nevertheless always seemed to come though in the end; and a long-suffering, mostly-together mother. They even go to church, although they are not Episcopalians. Sometimes we wondered if the writers weren’t looking over our shoulders at our lives. Remember the “Boy-Scoutz ‘n the Hood” episode?

Daughter #1 really identified with Lisa: “I don’t get it: straight A’s, perfect attendance, bathroom timer – I should be the most popular girl in school.” Daughter #2 was, of course, the baby Maggie.

Marge: Bart’s grades are up a little this term. But Lisa’s are way down.

Homer: Oh, why do we always have to have one good kid and one lousy kid? Why can’t both our kids be good?

Marge: We have three kids, Homer.

Homer: Marge, the dog doesn’t count as a kid.

Marge: No, I mean Maggie.

Homer: Oh, yeah.

And the boy, although never as “bad” as Bart, frequently felt a kinship with him. Remember the episode where Bart thinks he may have to repeat 4th grade (“Bart Gets an ‘F'”).

Bart, pushed to his limit, prays for help and then there is a massive snowstorm in Springfield, causing there to be a snow day. Bart could study, but does he?

Tonight we should all watch our favorite episodes and toast Matt Groening. Mine are:

“Lisa’s Substitute” with Mr. Bergstrom (Dustin Hoffman) as the substitute teacher who actually understands and appreciates Lisa.

Marge: Lisa, tell your father.

Lisa: Mr. Bergstrom left today.

Homer: [uncaring] Oh?

Lisa: He’s gone. Forever.

Homer: [still uncaring] And?

Lisa: I didn’t think you’d understand.

Homer: [even more uncaring than before] Hey! Just because I don’t care doesn’t mean I don’t understand.

Lisa: [snaps at Homer] I’m glad I’m not crying, because I would hate for you to think that what I’m about to say is based on emotion, but you, sir, are a baboon!

Homer: (gasp) Me?

Lisa: Yes, you! Baboon! Baboon! Baboon! Baboon!

Homer: I don’t think you realize what you’re saying…

Lisa: BABOON!! [She breaks down crying and runs upstairs to her room]

Bart: Whoa. Somebody was bound to say it one day, I just can’t believe it was her.

Homer: Did you hear that, Marge?! She called me a baboon, the stupidest, ugliest, smelliest ape of them all!

2. “A Streetcar Named Marge” when Marge is cast as Blanche DuBois in a musical version of the play, and Maggie has to go to the Ayn Rand School for Tots. She leads the tots in an elaborate “Great Escape.”

3. “Marge vs. the Monorail” with Phil Hartman providing the voice of Lyle Lanley, and Leonard Nimoy making a guest appearance.

The cultural and film references in these three episodes are many and perfect.

“I’ve sold monorails to Brockway, Ogdenville and North Haverbrook, and by God, it put them on the map!”

What is your favorite Simpsons episode? Here’s a list of the top 10 episodes–I guess everyone’s entitled to an opinion.

What is your most repeated Simpsons line? Doh!

10 Comments