dual personalities

November 21, 2023

Who knoweth the spirit of a man

by chuckofish

I am off to the airport this morning to pick up darling daughter #2 and her petite famille. Hopefully their travel was easy and delay-free.

While cleaning up prior to their arrival, I came across an old issue of my secondary school’s alumnae association magazine.

It was the May 1969 issue and it included the headmaster, Mr. Beasley’s, last column. The times they were a-changin’ and he was very concerned. Although written 54 years ago, it could have been written yesterday. Here’s a bit:

How difficult it is to know when is the time to speak, and how even more difficult it is to know what to say! It is particularly difficult to know what to say to children in these days because they hear so much, and what they hear is so contradictory. Many of them want specific answers to profound questions, and yet the answers they need will inevitably have to be superficial because there is not time to probe, in depth, philosophical questions. It is a time of action, rather than meditation. It is a time of over-simplification. It is a time when the lines between good and evil are blurred. The times seem to be not only out of joint, but out of focus. We fail to realize that no man or woman is altogether good or altogether evil, but life is a continuing struggle to preserve the good, no matter in what terms you express this goodness.

Who knoweth the spirit of a man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?

I was finishing up the seventh grade and had no idea he was ending his tenure on such a troubled note. He retired that spring and died later that summer, which was quite a shock to everyone. We all wished him a long and happy retirement.

That fall my brother went off to college and nothing was ever the same. The seventies were a wild ride, but I came through it all right. Thanks be to God.

My old school is no more. It merged sometime in the eighties with the boys’ country day school and became another school altogether. As I approach my 50th reunion in the spring of 2024, my interest in the new school could not be less. And as they say, you can’t go home again.

Happy Thanksgiving week! Enjoy your family. Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. (Psalm 55:22)

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November 20, 2023

How marvelous, how wonderful! And my song shall ever be…*

by chuckofish

How was your weekend? We had another lovely fall weekend with a stupendous sunrise on Sunday. What a view out the kitchen window!

In church the choir sang and the wee bud stood up and applauded. I wanted to applaud after our sermon by our guest preacher Dan Doriani on the “I believe; help thou mine unbelief!” passage from Mark 9. How great is it to feel like that after a sermon? Yes, pretty great. We also found out that a new senior pastor has been called and it will be announced next week after he has had time to tell his current church that he is leaving. It has been nearly two years since our senior pastor left, but I think we have been doin’ all right.

The boy and the wee bud and daughter #1 came over after church. (Lottie went to another birthday party.) We had bagels and prosecco and good conversation. Then he moved a few things for me and turned one of the carseats around so baby Ida can use it. We are almost ready for a visit from daughter #2 and family.

By the way, the wee bud hit a milestone this weekend, scoring his first goal in a game with his indoor soccer team.

It was rather momentous! His other grandma, Mom and aunt cried. I would probably have too had I been there!

Miss Katie is also showing promise in her backyard…

…and Ida is the tunnel queen.

And hold the phone, Mizzou beat Florida with a field goal in the last 7 seconds! 😂😂😂

I tell you the world is falling apart, but there is still plenty about which to rejoice and be thankful.

Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.

(George Keith, 1787)

*I Stand Amazed, Charles Hutchison Gabriel

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November 17, 2023

“Have you ever ridden the bus before?” “No.” “Your mood is probably not going to improve.”

by chuckofish

Happy Friday, readers! I am ready for the weekend and my long list of chores ahead of Thanksgiving. I am going to “work” from home on Monday and then take the rest of the week off. I am very thankful for my job and the flexible schedule. I am also thankful for the beautiful fall weather and leaves we have been treated to this year. My neighborhood is just a colorful palate these days.

Of course, I’ve filled up approximately 3 1/2 bags with leaves the past two weeks, but that’s the price you pay for beauty. I will probably fill up another 3 this weekend!

I had to go out at night on Tuesday (!) for the University City Historical Society Annual Meeting and Dinner. I got officially voted onto the board–and helped lower the median age. We had this lovely cake. It’s amazing what Costco can do with a sheet cake these days!

And in Mr. Smith news, here he is in his travel LL Bean tote. He’s going to the groomer this weekend ahead of the holiday and our visitors.

He is learning to love car travel in the front seat. Even if I shame him when we walk out to the car.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Watch Planes, Train, and Automobiles, eat some pie, have as many crescent rolls as you want, and enjoy Prosecco with all your meals.

The title is, of course, from PTA. It’s the scene in the Jefferson City bus station. Lol.

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November 16, 2023

Counting down to Thanksgiving

by chuckofish

I am told that Katie requested a “countdown calendar”–I gather that she is pretty excited to be headed our way in a few days. Of course, we are excited too and I have been busily cleaning the house and getting ready for their arrival. I’m not sure we will be adequately prepared for the dynamo that is Ida–she is a girl on the go these days!

Will we be able to keep up with her?

(Note she is carrying a dustpan!)

Well, ready or not, here they come–I can’t wait!

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November 15, 2023

Right on schedule

by chuckofish

The Christmas cactus is budding!

Well, as Emerson said, “Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”

This is sage advice indeed. I am an old lady so I have slowed down considerably and I do not think that is a bad thing.

We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts. Every man is tasked to make his life, even in its details, worthy of the contemplation of his most elevated and critical hour. If we refused, or rather used up, such paltry information as we get, the oracles would distinctly inform us how this might be done.

(Henry David Thoreau, Walden)

So elevate your life!

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November 14, 2023

A quiet mind

by chuckofish

Today we toast Aaron Copland (1900-1990) on his birthday. Born in Brooklyn of Lithuanian Jewish parents, he wrote some of the most deeply “American” music of the 20th century. I have loved his music since being introduced to it in childhood. Recently daughter #2 read the play “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder so here is Copland’s “Our Town Suite” which was used in the 1940 movie.

Here’s a reminder that Christians are to use their gifts to serve one another, but also that the testimony of Scripture demonstrates that “throughout redemptive history, God’s people have used their gifts not just for those within the covenant community but for others as well.”

And here’s a little reminder about the difference between Pilgrims and Puritans.

And here’s a prayer that I’ve included before, but it bears repeating:

“Give us grace and strength to forbear and to persevere. Give us courage and gaiety, and the quiet mind. Spare to us our friends, soften to us our enemies. Bless us, if it may be, in all our innocent endeavours. If it may not, give us the strength to encounter that which is to come, that we may be brave in peril, constant in tribulation, temperate in wrath, and in all changes of fortune, and down to the gates of death, loyal and loving to one another.”

(Robert Louis Stevenson)

Grace and peace to you!

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November 13, 2023

Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples!

by chuckofish

Thanksgiving is just around the corner! We should rejoice and be thankful, despite our manifold sins and general wickedness, all year round, but I especially do at this time of year. As always, it is the little things that stand out for me, such as the chip fest we enjoyed on Saturday night when the boy dropped off Lottie while the wee bud went to a birthday party. (Their Mom was in Dallas this weekend.)

Daughter #1 and Mr. Smith joined the OM and Lottie and me to watch The Gnome-Mobile (1967)–a vintage Disney film in which a multi-millionaire lumberman (Walter Brennan) and his two young grandchildren (played by the kids from Mary Poppins) encounter two gnomes in the Redwood forest of California who are supposedly the last of their kind. Hilarity ensues. Although there is no princess in this film, I think Lottie enjoyed it. At least now she knows what a gnome is.

On Sunday we all went to Sunday School, but then the boy took Lottie to a birthday party and the bud stayed with us through church. He came over to our house after church to hang out with daughter #1 and Mr. Smith who joined us for total depravity casserole. Of course, Lottie had told her brother all about The Gnome-Mobile (including the car chase) and he wanted to watch it, but I was like, um no, not right now.

The boy and Lottie came over after her party. We hung out on the driveway for awhile, probably for the last time til next year.

It was another beautiful weekend.

And Mizzou beat the pants off Tennessee! Hometowner Cody Schrader, a graduate of Lutheran South, was the star of the game. According to the AP, “Cody Schrader put together one of the most impressive performances in Missouri history Saturday night, running for 205 yards and a touchdown, catching five passes for 116 yards, and leading the No. 16 Tigers to a 36-7 rout of No. 14 Tennessee.” Normally I could care less about Mizzou football, much less watch a game, but Matt Mitchell gives them so much grief for being in the SEC, I have become an interested partisan. Anyway, I was pleased that they won.

In honor of Veterans Day we watched Gettysburg (1993) which is based on Michael Shaara’s fine book The Killer Angels. It is a good movie, except for the miscast Martin Sheen as Robert E. Lee. But I much prefer old Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain anyway. As you know, he is a hero of mine.

This is a different kind of army. If you look back through history you will see men fighting for pay, for women, for some other kind of loot. They fight for land, power, because a king leads them, or just because they like killing. But we are here for something new, this has not happened much, in the history of the world. We are an army out to set other men free. America should be free ground, all of it, not divided by a line between slave states and free – all the way from here to the Pacific Ocean. No man has to bow. No man born to royalty. Here we judge you by what you do, not by who your father was. Here you can be something. Here is the place to build a home. But it’s not the land, there’s always more land. It’s the idea that we all have value – you and me. What we are fighting for, in the end, we’re fighting for each other. Sorry, I didn’t mean to preach. …Gentlemen, I think if we lose this fight we lose the war, so if you choose to join us I will be personally very grateful.

(Jeff Daniels as Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain)

Well, continue to cultivate gratitude, appreciate your freedom and enjoy your Monday.

Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
For the Lord Most High is awesome;
He is a great King over all the earth.
He will subdue the peoples under us,
And the nations under our feet.
He will choose our inheritance for us,
The excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah

(Psalm 47:1-4)

3 Comments

November 10, 2023

Your weekly Mr. Smith content.

by chuckofish

In major news from my universe, Mr. Smith has learned to ride in the car sans me loading and unloading his crate each time. I am very happy. Plus, he looks so cute.

Today, I let him have free rein of the living room while I worked from home in my upstairs office. He was slightly confused but also entertained himself well by keeping watch out the window. He only interrupted one Zoom call when he melted down over a squirrel on the porch. I mean, it’s good to have security.

I don’t really have much else so I gathered some amusing instagrams from the “saved for the blog file.” The Eric Stonestreet one has me lol-ing. I don’t know why.

And don’t forget! It’s Chris Stapleton’s new album day!

5 Comments

November 9, 2023

Bread from heaven

by chuckofish

We are experiencing Indian Summer this week in flyover country–absolutely beautiful days in the 70s and even 80s with the sun hitting the orange leaves in a really spectacular way. And the leaf blowers are out in full force. I do get tired of all the noise, like a bajillion bees coming in waves to attack us. 🙄

My friend Don sent this photo of his birdbath with “the neighborhood bluebirds”.

I live a mile or so away and I have never seen a bluebird!

As we all know, the streaming platforms are a wasteland and I haven’t watched network tv for years. So I am forced to watch episodes of old shows like the old lady that I am. Lately, however, I have added Harry Wild to my watch list (on Acorn). It stars the lovely Jane Seymour as a recently retired English professor who discovers a knack for investigation and cannot help but interfere with the cases assigned to her police detective son.

Although she doesn’t quite look her age–she’s five years older than I am–she doesn’t hide the fact that she is an old retired lady. She dresses like I do. She drives an old (red) car and drinks (too much) red wine. She knows a lot about English literature. She speaks with grammatical precision and corrects those who don’t. I can actually relate to her. Also the show is filmed in Dublin and I have actually been there, so that is interesting and familiar. The show is not American, so the Irish are not stereotypes.

So I recommend it if you are looking for something to watch. And who isn’t?

Today we must not forget to remember that unsung hero Elijah Parish Lovejoy (November 9, 1802 – November 7, 1837) who was an American Presbyterian minister, journalist, newspaper editor and abolitionist. He was murdered by a pro-slavery mob in Alton, Illinois, during their attack on his warehouse to destroy his press and abolitionist materials. As I’ve said before, Lovejoy’s life (and murder) is another reminder to us today of how rough and dangerous life was in my part of the country back in the mid-nineteenth century. And people think emotions run high these days!

We also remember Edna May Oliver who died on this day, her birthday, in 1942. She was an American stage and screen actress who specialized in formidable older women, such as Lady Catherine de Bourgh in Pride and Prejudice (1940) and Miss Pross in A Tale of Two Cities (1935). She was only nominated once for a supporting actress Oscar, but it was for a doozy–Mrs. McKlennar in Drums Along the Mohawk (1939).

I re-watched this movie recently and was really impressed by it. And Edna May Oliver is great; she never crosses the line into farce which a lesser actress might do. She is always 100% believable.

So enjoy these last beautiful days of fall, watch an old lady in a tv show or movie, remember some history, and praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Help me to see that although I am in the wilderness
  it is not all briars and barrenness.
I have bread from heaven, streams from the rock,
  light by day, fire by night,
  thy dwelling place and thy mercy seat.

–Valley of Vision

4 Comments

November 8, 2023

Of shades and wanton winds

by chuckofish

Today we remember John Milton, English poet and Puritan, who died on this day in 1674. I wonder if he is still read in college. Probably not. Therefore, in protest, take down your Milton tome (I know you have one) and read some poetry.

You might start with “Lycidas”, which he wrote in 1637 following the death of his friend Henry King when his ship sank in the Irish Sea off the coast of Wales. Milton was 29 years old. Numerous novels have taken their titles from this poem, including Thomas Wolfe’s Look Homeward, Angel.

You can read the entire poem here.

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