I honestly cannot wait for this new show.
Hats off to ABC for bringing the Muppets back! My father was always a fan of them back in the 1970s. I think he related to Statler and Waldorf:
So mark your calendar for September 22 at 7:00 p.m. (Central). In the meantime, I will be in NYC and offline for a few days, so take it easy!
Readers of this blog know that I am a great one for prayer. Recently I was reading (in Springs in the Valley by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman) about the great 19th century Presbyterian minister Charles Grandison Finney (August 29, 1792 – August 16, 1875), abolitionist and president of Oberlin College.
The summer of 1853 was unusually hot and dry; pastures were scorched. There seemed likely to be a total crop failure. At the church in Oberlin the great congregation had gathered as usual. Though the sky was clear the burden of Finney’s prayer was for rain.
“We do not presume, O Lord, to dictate to Thee what is best for us; yet Thou didst invite us to come to Thee as children to an earthly father and tell Thee all our wants. We want rain. Our pastures are dry. The earth is gaping open for rain. The cows are wandering about and lowing in search of water. Even the squirrels are suffering from thirst. Unless Thou givest us rain our cattle will die, and our harvest will come to naught. O Lord, send us rain, and send it now! This is an easy thing for Thee to do. Send it now, Lord, for Christ’s sake.”
In a few minutes he had to cease preaching; his voice could not be heard because of the roar and rattle of the rain!
Yet another reminder that the direct approach is always best.
This guy has the right idea.
And, of course, Frederick Buechner always has something good to say.
The painting is by Eric Sloane.
I labored all weekend to get things ship-shape in my newly painted and papered master bedroom/bath and everything looks great.
I am very pleased. Unfortunately my photography skills are lacking, so you’ll just have to take my word for it. My wallpapered accent wall is fabulous. Everything else is clean and bright and creamy white.
Our Labor Day bar-b-que went well, but I forgot to take pictures.
Well, three day weekends are the best, right?
Now I have a two-day work week and then I head up to NYC to celebrate daughter #1’s birthday. We are going to walk around Central Park, see The King and I at Lincoln Center, check out the John Singer Sargent exhibit at the Met, take the ferry to Governor’s Island and the Brooklyn Ferry to Brooklyn where we will check out the Plymouth Church, and go to Dear Irving for birthday drinks with D#1’s friends. She has the itinerary all worked out (with naps scheduled in) and places to eat and drink. I love when someone else figures everything out for me!
In the meantime let’s not to forget to raise a toast tonight to the great man Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (September 8, 1828 – February 24, 1914) whose birthday is today.
And take a minute to listen this Steve Earle song about ol’ Col. Chamberlain and the 20th Maine.
Enjoy your Tuesday!
Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894, following the deaths of a number of workers during the Pullman Strike in Chicago. In an effort to conciliate organized labor after the strike, President Grover Cleveland and Congress designated the first Monday in September as a federal holiday.
When I was growing up it was considered the cut-off date for wearing white or seersucker. School resumed soon after. It also marked the start of the football season and new shows on T.V.
Much of all that has changed, but we still get the day off and for that I’m grateful. I will enjoy staying home today.
Of course, not everyone gets the day off. The boy will be laboring in his retail job. Here he is in yet another video for Total Lacrosse.
Don’t forget: If you liked what you saw, hit that thumb’s up sign!
(P.S. It takes awhile for those Youtube vids to load.)
[The above picture was taken circa 1977-78 when my dual personality and brother were laboring to repair the roof of my parents’ garage. I was too afraid to go up on the roof (I did try) so I took the picture with my trusty Instamatic commemorating the event. Par for the course.]
*Pray and work
Almighty God, you have so linked our lives one with another that all we do affects, for good or ill, all other lives: So guide us in the work we do, that we may do it not for self alone, but for the common good; and, as we seek a proper return for our own labor, make us mindful of the rightful aspirations of other workers, and arouse our concern for those who are out of work; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
–BCP
As usual, the week whizzed by and now I don’t remember much about it. Yesterday, I stayed home, did errands and jobs around the house, and not much else — it was balm for this tired soul. As one of my accomplishments, I mowed the lawn! That’s right, dear reader, yours truly mowed (!), and our new, lithium battery operated mower made it a delightful experience. Seriously. The machine starts at the touch of a button, is quiet, light-weight, and handles beautifully. 
These mowers are a little pricier than the normal kind, but it’s worth it. We used to have a loud, difficult-to-start mower that spewed smoke and vibrated so much that one’s hands would tingle for hours after using it. The contrast couldn’t be greater. Anyway, I love the new one.
Having gotten my exercise in, I spent some time planning home improvements. We finally found someone to do ice damage repair and some other jobs. This fact and my dual personality’s wonderful bedroom makeover have inspired me to look at wallpaper for my tiny foyer. Which of these do you prefer? William Morris Garden Craft in ‘Canvas’ or ‘Blue’,
or Zoffany Rome in ‘linen/stone’ or ‘blue’?
I really love the William Morris in blue, but I’m afraid the color might clash with my dining room. And the Zoffany blue might be too bold. I’m inclined toward the neutrals. What do you think? I need to get some samples, but as these are all only available in England, it could be quite a process. Fortunately, I can enlist the aid of my kind mother-in-law and son #2. I’ll keep you posted, although this could take months…
In other news, I discovered a really lovely song in Scottish Gaelic:
You can find the lyrics in Gaelic and English here.
And for any of you wondering how Gaelic pronunciation works, watch this. It kind of blew my mind.
What a language. No wonder it’s dying out.
Happy Labor Day!
My Mike Matheny-signed baseball has a case!
The bedroom/master bath reno is going well.
Don’t you just love the Thibaut “Luzon” wallpaper?
I am hoping to get things semi-put-back to normal this weekend if the painting is finished. Isn’t it going to be great?
The boy and daughter #3 and her parents are coming over for dinner on Sunday for a Labor Day bar-b-que.
Square dancing will be optional.
What are you up to this three-day Labor Day weekend? You might want to watch a good working-man movie such as The Grapes of Wrath (1940), The Bicycle Thief (1948), 9 to 5 (1980), On the Waterfront (1954) or the documentary Harlan County U.S.A. (1976).
Bruno and Antonio Ricci consider their options in this classic De Sica film.
I can’t say this is a favorite genre of mine, but these are all excellent movies.
Well, have a good weekend!
Come, labor on!
Who dares stand idle, on the harvest plain
While all around him waves the golden grain?
And to each servant does the Master say,
Go work today.
–hymn by Jane L. Borthwick (Ora Labora)
“All’s Well”, Winslow Homer 1896
“It was a dog’s life,” said the poor old gentleman, quite reassured, “but it made men of those who followed it. I see a change for the worse even in our own town here; full of loafers now, small and poor as ’tis, who once would have followed the sea, every lazy soul of ’em. There is no occupation so fit for just that class o’ men who never get beyond the fo’cas’le. I view it, in addition, that a community narrows down and grows dreadful ignorant when it is shut up to its own affairs, and gets no knowledge of the outside world except from a cheap, unprincipled newspaper. In the old days, a good part o’ the best men here knew a hundred ports and something of the way folks lived in them. They saw the world for themselves, and like’s not their wives and children saw it with them. They may not have had the best of knowledge to carry with ’em sight-seein’, but they were some acquainted with foreign lands an’ their laws, an’ could see outside the battle for town clerk here in Dunnet; they got some sense o’ proportion. Yes, they lived more dignified, and their houses were better within an’ without. Shipping’s a terrible loss to this part o’ New England from a social point o’ view, ma’am.”
–Sarah Orne Jewett, The Country of the Pointed Firs
Today is the birthday of Sarah Orne Jewett (September 3, 1849 – June 24, 1909)–American novelist, short story writer and Episcopalian.
The Sarah Orne Jewett House is a historic house museum at 5 Portland Street in South Berwick, Maine, which is just over the border from New Hampshire. Built in 1774, it is an excellent example of late Georgian architecture.
I guess I’ll have to add it to my list of literary/historic places to visit. In the meantime, let’s toast old Sarah and maybe re-read The Country of the Pointed Firs, which I have somewhere. You can download it here.
While we’re toasting Sarah, we may want to raise a glass to Sally Benson (September 3, 1897 – July 19, 1972) whose birthday is also today. She was a screenwriter and prolific short story writer for The New Yorker back in its heyday. She is best known for her semi-autobiographical stories collected in Junior Miss and Meet Me in St. Louis. Yes, that “Meet Me in St. Louis.”
Her other screen credits include Shadow of a Doubt (1943) for Alfred Hitchcock, Summer Magic (1963) for Walt Disney, Viva Las Vegas (1964) for Elvis, and The Singing Nun (1966)–quite a disparate group! Her screenplay for Anna and the King of Siam (1946) was nominated for an Academy Award.
Here is a sketch of the St. Louis house in which Sally grew up:
This North St. Louis neighborhood “declined” and the house was torn down in 1994. Here’s a picture of the Hollywood version:
(The pictures of the “Meet Me in St. Louis” houses were found here on a fun blog about houses.)
The Hollywood version was eventually torn down too when MGM sold off its lots in the 1970s.
C’est la vie. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. (See above quote.)
September’s Baccalaureate
A combination is
Of Crickets—Crows—and Retrospects
And a dissembling BreezeThat hints without assuming—
An Innuendo sear
That makes the Heart put up its Fun
And turn Philosopher.
–Emily Dickinson
Yes, September is here.
And I have a very cute calendar page for this month, don’t I?
Although Abraham Lincoln spent most of his formative years in Indiana, he lived for 24 years in Springfield, Illinois. So if you are an admirer of our 16th president (and who isn’t?) you ought to avail yourself of the opportunity to visit this small city and state capitol.
The layout of the town is based on a grid street system, with numbered streets starting with the longitudinal First Street which leads to the Illinois State Capitol. The cross streets are named after presidents: Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Madison and so on just like the town I live in. We could walk everywhere from our centrally located hotel. Luckily the weather was balmy and the temperature moderate for August.
We went to the magnificent Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
I was impressed. You start your tour in a replica of the log cabin Abe grew up in
and end up at the White House. In between there are many vignettes,
complete with sound effects, music and characters speaking. By the end Lincoln has been shot at Ford’s theater and is lying in state. It is an incredibly moving experience. I seriously was close to tears several times.
There is also a cool hologram presentation and a movie–all very well done. It was “experiential”–but not interactive (which I loathe).
Usually I like Museum gift shops, but I was turned off in this one by the crass commercialization of our most revered president.
Really? Couzies with the Gettysburg Address? I mean really, there was Abe Lincoln everything. Good grief, Charlie Brown!
We also visited the only home he ever owned, which is open to the public and operated by the National Park Service.
There are several other houses to visit in this park and you really do get a sense of what the town must have been like in the mid-19th century. To me it was awesome to stand in the great man’s lovely home.
As always, it was fascinating to see the other people who made the pilgrimage to Springfield. They ranged from classy Japanese tourists
to this guy.
But whoever and whatever their reasons–I am always pleased to see people visiting historical sites.
In between all this history we made several stops to eat and drink.
There were plenty of good dining options, even hipster microbreweries with outdoor patios complete with bocce ball courts. And of course there were Episcopal churches to make us feel right at home.
There were many more places of interest we did not get to: Lincoln’s Tomb, the Old State Capitol,
the Dana-Thomas House (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright) and the Vachel Lindsay House. Perhaps we shall return another day.
Because, you know, road trips are the best!
P.S.
Doesn’t this dude look just like Nate?
Just kidding!
As I mentioned on Friday, we roadtripped to the midwest hotspot and state capitol, Springfield, Illinois, on Saturday. I am still recovering from our wild weekend of Land-o-Lincoln pursuits which included stops at great places like this:
Yes, a pink elephant, soft-serve ice cream and an antique mall in an old highschool gymnasium–I am finally at a point in my life where I can stop at places like this and check them out.
More tomorrow…
*Walt Whitman, O Captain! My Captain!
