dual personalities

March 5, 2024

This leaping combustion of spring*

by chuckofish

In my daily Bible reading I am currently reading Deuteronomy. Moses really has his hands full with those stiff-necked Jews.

And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish.
–Deuteronomy 8:19

Of course, nothing has changed since then and we are worse than ever. Remember what Calvin said about the human heart being a factory of idols. He had read Deuteronomy!

In other news, today we celebrate the birthday of American illustrator and author Howard Pyle (1853-1911). Pyle was widely respected during his life and continues to be well regarded by illustrators and fine artists. His contemporary Vincent Van Gogh wrote in a letter to his brother Theo that Pyle’s work “struck me dumb with admiration.” I had a copy of Otto of the Silver Hand as a child, which deeply effected me. Looking at his art makes me want to watch Captain Blood (1936)–clearly the art director of this film was a fan of Howard Pyle.

Sixty-seven years later Hollywood still looked to Pyle for inspiration…

Today is also the anniversary of the day the great actor William Powell died in 1984. He was in a lot of really good movies throughout his long career, most notably The Thin Man (1934) et al, My Man Godfrey (1936), Life With Father (1947), and Mister Roberts (1961). I recommend watching any of these. Pour yourself a highball first.

This is a good example of sports testimony. “So yes, a missed pop fly did lead to grace — revealed in the instincts of a loving father, the kindness and generosity of a doctor, and a gift that kindled a lifetime of enriching interests. Sometimes the things we fear the most do happen. But that is not the end; there is One who is more. In those panic-stricken and dark moments, grace mysteriously goes to work.”

And speaking of baseball, can you even believe the uniform debacle in the MLB? See-through pants? Mis-matched uniforms? Stupid Nike.

And did you hear that the “British Board of Film Classification has decided to raise the rating on Mary Poppins from U (for Universal) to PG because of racial slurs. At two points in the film the neighbor of the Banks family, Admiral Boom, uses the term “Hottentots,” which some people now consider a derogatory name for one of the indigenous peoples of South Africa. The film has also been criticized for blackface because of the scene in which sooty chimney sweeps dance over rooftops.” (World News Group) The world is a clown show.

Enjoy your Tuesday. Do not forget the Lord.

*D.H. Lawrence, “The Enkindled Spring”

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March 4, 2024

Ponder anew, what the Almighty will do

by chuckofish

A quiet weekend by some standards, but one filled with low key blessings and great weather.

Everything is starting to pop!

At church we had a guest preacher who also played the guitar, accompanied by piano and…harmonica! I have to say I didn’t hate it. The congregation sang with gusto. The twins got an A for non-depraved behavior. They have really crossed a line in general maturity. When I was talking to the head of the Sunday School on Thursday, she said the boy is the friendliest boy there and that Lottie is a real thinker. I concurred. I said that if you asked the twins what they learned in Sunday School, Lottie could tell you in detail and the boy says, “We had fun.”

After church we headed to our house where, after bagels and bacon and handfuls of jelly beans, we indulged in some driveway sittin’ with Mr. Smith.

Meanwhile Ida caught up on reading my article about Alphonse Smith, Kirkwood’s greatest athlete, in the latest edition of the Kirkwood Historical review.

This will be a busy week. Here’s some Dolly to help get us through.

Sit in the sun if you can. Pet a nice dog. Read some history. Rock on.

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March 1, 2024

Turn! Turn! Turn!

by chuckofish

Well, hello there, readers. Happy Friday to you! Time to turn the page on the calendar again. January felt like molasses and February felt like Speedy Gonzalez (Beep! Beep!) My mother covered our exciting trip across the state of Illinois twice in one day earlier this week. I’ve got to say, though, I did enjoy driving the giant Tahoe. Other than that, it has been a pretty quiet week.

Because I was working from home today, I went to the post office (lol). I had to drop off some returns and mail some letters/bills etc. The mail is a slight trigger for me–because it is so unreliable these days. Well, turns out, it isn’t just me being crazy! The news says it isn’t fake news that the mail doesn’t come every day and some things just don’t arrive. I didn’t get my W2 this year!

A little validation.

I don’t have any plans this weekend (other Friday happy hour with my mother) but that’s okay. It’s about to be a busy season and I can use a little downtime.

And I don’t have any Mr. Smith content this week–he’s been pretty naughty lately. But this did make me laugh.

And remember, “that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” –Deuteronomy 8:3

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February 29, 2024

The wind blows where it wishes

by chuckofish

Today is leap day. As you know, nearly every four years, we add an extra day to the calendar in the form of February 29. These additional 24 hours are built into the calendar to ensure that it stays in line with the Earth’s movement around the sun. While the modern calendar contains 365 days, the actual time it takes for Earth to orbit its star is slightly longer—roughly 365.2421 days.

Meanwhile the temperature dropped 60 degrees yesterday–from a record high of 86 on Tuesday to lows in the 20s. Wind chills in the 10s. The weathermen are loving it–getting to say things like “weather whiplash” etc. But we’ll be back in the 70s by the weekend, so no apocalypse yet. I am just glad we didn’t experience any tornadoes because of the “fast changing air masses”. Weather is endlessly fascinating because we cannot control it, despite our Power Dopplar radar scanning the skies.

This is a good one by Darryl Dash. “Big dreams impress, but ordinary faithfulness delivers. We tend to overestimate what can be done through large initiatives, and underestimate what can be done through ordinary obedience, persistent prayer, and sacrificial love.” The author also quotes Wendell Berry and that got me reading some Berry poetry. He is a favorite of mine. Here’s another good one:

He wrote this poem in 1967, but it sure resonates today.

Now go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

P.S. The flowers are in Don’s yard, not mine!

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February 28, 2024

Flyover adventuring

by chuckofish

Yesterday I had a little adventure when I accompanied daughter #1 on a work-related trip to Dugger, Indiana.

Dugger is the location of the Dugger Coal Museum.

We checked out the museum and then selected some items to borrow for an exhibit she is putting together back at headquarters.

You know we love history and appreciate people who care about it. And these guys sure do. Plus, I finally figured out what a dragline* is!

From Dugger we headed over to the Bear Run Mine and picked up a few more artifacts. Then we headed home after stopping at the gas station for some Diet Cokes and snacks. (There is really nowhere to dine thereabouts and it was a seven hour round trip.) It was good to be driving through Flyover Country and, as little Katie says, “I love the fields of Illinois!”

*P.S. What fictional character is nicknamed “Dragline”? Which actor won an Academy Award for playing him?

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February 27, 2024

A little brimstone

by chuckofish

Today is the 217th birthday of the great American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Like most of our mid-19th century poets, Longfellow is not much appreciated these days. Eric Metaxas writes in his book If You Can Keep It that part of this is due to the fact that since roughly the 1960s “public expressions of the heroic, whether in stories or other artworks have effectively disappeared. America decided that it made more sense to be suspicious of heroes than to venerate them.” So we don’t want to read about Paul Revere or the like anymore. This is a shame.

Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m going to go on reading Longfellow.

Here’s a poem, “The Ladder of Saint Augustine”, which was adapted into a hymn.

You can read the whole poem here.

And here’s a really good sermon on Revelation 14:6-7 by Kevin DeYoung that offers some more brimstone. “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come, and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.” Read the whole thing: it’s long–like all PCA sermons–but it’s worth it.

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February 26, 2024

A tisket, a tasket

by chuckofish

We had a warm, sunny weekend–quite a contrast with last weekend’s snowstorm. Everyone was out and about.

The Kirkwood Historical Society, on whose board I serve–note the official KHS quarter-zip–had their Trivia Night on Friday. It was a packed house at our old church and very festive. My team only had 5 players (compared to eight) but we managed to tie for first place. But we lost the tie breaker. Quel dommage.

Saturday I got up early to do the flowers at church. I think they turned out all right.

Then daughter #1 and I went to an estate sale and to the antique mall. We exhausted ourselves–well, I did–browsing, so we had a margarita in downtown Kirkwood and shared a quesadilla. Good times.

After watching golf/napping, the OM and I watched Night at the Museum (2006), because, after writing the Pop Quiz on U.S. Presidents in the movies last week, I wanted to see Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt again. He plays it very straight and with dignity.

I enjoyed the movie, mostly because it has no political agenda beyond emphasizing that history is, indeed, interesting. Also Mickey Rooney is truly hilarious. (“Are you crackin’ wise? I oughta punch you in the nose, Hopscotch.”) Of course, it’s ironic that since then they have removed the iconic equestrian statue of T.R. that stood for so long in front of the Museum of Natural History in NYC. I will spare you my thoughts on this.

In Sunday School we are starting a new session on the Westminster Confession of Faith, which I love. In our first class we got through one paragraph of Chapter One. Systematic theology! ❤️❤️❤️ The twins are great in church. They can say the Apostle’s Creed, the Lord’s Prayer and most of the Corporate Confession of Sin. They know the Doxology. This makes me very happy and I know the boy is proud of them. Lottie asked if she could bring her bulletin home.

After church we headed over to daughter #1’s house for brunch with Presbyterian Souffle. It was warm enough to frolic in the back yard with Mr. Smith and then walk up to Jackson Park and play on the playground.

Mr. Smith was living his best life.

Later that evening I ventured back to church for the Westminster Christian Academy touring ensemble concert. During spring break they are taking their show on the road–to Eastern Europe!–so this was practice for them. It brought me back to those days of yore when I sang in my high school choir and the boy sang in his high school choir. They sang at daughter #1’s church Sunday morning and she warned me that everyone was reaching for their Kleenex, but, verily, by the end of the concert I was a puddle of tears. What can I say?

And here’s Ida trying to decide which of my vintage Golden Books to read…

I can tell she’s leaning toward Sal Mineo in Tonka, but I know The Brave Little Tailor is a super fun and action-packed read. I read it to Katie when she was here a few weeks ago.

Have a good week! Embrace the simple pleasures in your life and be grateful for them. The blue sky, old movies, smart kids, small dogs, music, and Golden Books.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
–Dallan Forgail (8th Century)

4 Comments

February 23, 2024

“The old days are gone forever.”

by chuckofish

Happy Friday, readers. I hope you had a nice week. I took Monday off to help at my DAR chapter’s President’s Day event–a wreath laying at the George Washington statute in Lafayette Park. I was tasked with handling PR for the event and was pleased to get both Channel 2 and Channel 5 to send cameras to cover the event. In the St. Louis market, that is a win.

As you can see, the SAR served as the color guard–in historical dress. It was a very nice event and I was pleased to participate. I then went to lunch with my mother, talked to my sister on the phone, and got a pedicure. I just love not going to work.

Today, Mr. Smith went to the groomer and after we enjoyed happy hour at my mother’s house. On the drive home I received this text message.

Naturally, I curled up on the couch with Mr. Smith and we both enjoyed the movie. He was into it.

I love She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and watching it tonight it really struck me that you either get John Wayne or you don’t. And if you don’t, poor you.

On that note, you either get this joke or you don’t.

Have a great weekend!

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February 22, 2024

A certain natural gift for rhetoric

by chuckofish

A few nights ago I watched the movie Pygmalion (1938) which I had not seen in many years. It is based on the play by George Bernard Shaw.

It was really good! The screenplay is by Shaw himself (he won the Oscar for writing that year) and stars Leslie Howard as Henry Higgins, a part he was born to play. Wendy Hiller plays Eliza Doolittle and the wonderful Wilfrid Lawson plays her father Alfred Dolittle. Here’s a clip that shows both of Lawson’s big scenes.

It’s readily available on Youtube and I highly recommend it.

I could launch into a vent on why no one can write a screenplay like this today, one that even includes a good amount of social commentary, but I will not. What’s the point? Instead I will repeat my old mantra: watch an old movie, read an old book, look up from your phone, step into the sun, step into the light!

As for going outside, yesterday afternoon, the boy and the wee bud came over after school while Lottie was in dance class. The bud said, “Can we have some driveway sittin’ time, Mamu?” and I, of course, said YES. Since it was in the high 60s, it seemed right–the first day of driveway sittin’!

He tuned up the Raptor and drove around the yard, waving at all the neighbors and every dog that walked by. The boy and I sat on the driveway and talked. When the OM came home from work, he joined us. Lovely.

And here’s a poem for Thursday by William Blake:

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February 21, 2024

The gentle ranks of the meek

by chuckofish

Signs of spring are everywhere. Soon it will be time to clean up the Florida room and move all my plants. Some of them are getting to be rather large.

But we mustn’t get ahead of ourselves. We’re bound to have some more cold temperatures and maybe some more snow. One thing I have managed to learn over the years is to take one day at a time and enjoy its blessings.

As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.
Genesis 8:22

We haven’t heard from Anne for awhile, so here’s this. She reads all the things and is on X, formerly twitter, so I don’t have to be. She is brilliant and I am grateful. “[Madi is] screwed because she was born into a world where breakdancing was a thing, and worse, people following their hearts was the highest and best good. Her wretched father should have been a plowman with no better options. Madi herself should have been allowed to have servants and write a hefty amount of poetry. And all the people who walk across my parking lot should have been allowed to go to a store that figured out the through line between the self-checkout line and the bottom line.”

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