I had to go to the doctor’s for an annual ‘well’ visit yesterday morning so I treated myself to a daytime John Wayne birthday screening of The Horse Soldiers (1959) in the afternoon. It was great, of course, a true tonic for what ails ya. At least for me. It is important to know what your tonic is. (Hopefully not drugs or alcohol.)
On the evening of Memorial Day, after my family had gone home, I watched Twelve O’Clock High (1949), which is Gregory Peck’s greatest film (except for To Kill aMockingbird). He should have won the Academy Award for his portrayal of Brig. General Frank Savage.
As I have said before, it is incredible to me how the pilots and crews of those B-17s managed to do what they did over and over again. It is no wonder that many succumbed to battle fatigue, which is what this movie addresses. The film made use of actual combat footage during the battle scenes and the results are impressive. If you haven’t viewed it recently, treat yourself.
I also cleaned my closet and threw away/gave away a ton of old shoes that I will never wear again. That feels good.
And here’s another good one from Kevin DeYoung about What We Need Most. “Our main problem is not lack of time or resources or the annoying people in our lives. Your main problem and my main problem is that we do not see enough the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
(Prairie Peony)
And remember this:
“Only if your god can outrage and challenge you will you know that you worship the real God and not a figment of your imagination…If your god never disagrees with you, you might just be worshipping an idealized version of yourself.”
That’s a photo of an Allium (Allium giganteum) in Don’s yard. Isn’t it impressive? I’ve always wanted one in my yard. As he says, “Who doesn’t love a ball of purple stars?”
Well, I have been crossing items off my to-do list this week. And patting myself on the back as I go.
I also did my small group homework, reading Matthew 13…
“Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Those darn thorns, right? He who has ears, let him hear.
Did you hear that the Department of Education is investigating my alma mater Smith College, one of the “Seven Sisters” all-female colleges, for violations of Title IX regarding discrimination on the basis of sex? “An all-women’s college loses all meaning if it is admitting biological males,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey, said in a statement. Smith College changed its policy in 2015 to consider any applicant who self-identifies as a woman.
I am LOL-ing so hard.
And the Babylon Bee hits the nail on the head once again:
How was your weekend? Our weather was perfect! The Iris continued to wow…
And even the Japanese Iris (my favorite) is blooming!
Praise the Lord!
I met with two old friends for a Diet Coke date at McD’s on Friday afternoon–until it was overrun with Middle Schoolers after school–some things never change. As daughter #2 commented, “That was such a part of my life back in the day!” Mr. Smith came over a little later and daughter #1 played Bluetooth DJ…
We had Chik-fil-a for dinner–perfect!
On Saturday I went to a gathering celebrating the Saint Louis Watercolor Society’s 30th anniversary. My friend Mirka had a painting there and we had fun catching up. Then we went to the Annex in Webster Groves to hear our friend Gary play with his Bluegrass band.
Always a good time! Live music! Wine on the patio!
On Sunday I went to church by myself and heard a good sermon on Joshua 12:1, 6-7, 24; 13:1-7. Later I was able to go to the bud’s lacrosse game in the afternoon and catch up with the boy on the sidelines.
It was a busy weekend, indeed, with more social activities than usual! Now onward to the week ahead.
Thank God for his faithfulness! Thank God the President of the U.S. is unharmed. (As Anne wrote: “I am not inclined to think of the violent deaths of public figures as some sort of mere cultural spectacle, sometimes justifiable if enough people are angry about “social” justice. As rosy fingered—more like cloudy and gray—dawn is creeping up over the horizon, it seems the first post lamenting the fact that the gunman did not succeed has already appeared.”) So put down your phone and go outside. Pull some weeds. Talk to your neighbor. Pet a nice dog. Watch an old movie all the way through. Read a book! Better yet, open your Bible!
One of my old administrative assistants gave me these Iris bulbs for my birthday one year because I always admired hers so much. The OM and I planted them and they have been bringing me joy ever since.
There are still an amazing bounty of flowers still blooming in our flyover town. It must be all that rain we had in the spring. Long after the Daylilies in my yard are gone, Don’s garden is still pretty lush…
Meanwhile the twins started third grade and Katie started kindergarten. Sunrise, sunset. And I guess that means the summer is over…
This picture of the prairie girls reminds me of the conversation I had with Lottie about her recent trip to Oklahoma. I said, oh yes, they have great clouds in Oklahoma–big sky, big clouds. And she said (with a bit of a tone) well, their clouds are no better than our clouds here in Missouri! I stand corrected.
Here’s a wonderful reminder from John Piper about God’s provision for us.
We won’t endure on our own. God brings brothers and sisters in Christ into our lives to help us along the path to heaven. That’s actually one of the great themes in Bunyan’s famous allegory Pilgrim’s Progress. Faithful and Hopeful are the friends Christian needs, his fellowship, along his path to the gates of the Celestial City.
And I really like the new Zach Williams song, don’t you?
*Oliver in Only Murders in the Building
Mabel Mora – “I’m a stranger that lied to you a bunch. And you’re two randos that dragged me into a podcast.”
Oliver Putnam – “‘Rando’ is a slang term for a person of no significance.”
Charles-Haden Savage – “I used context clues, but thank you.”
Hard to believe it is October 10th already and we are well on our way to Halloween (or, if you prefer, Reformation Day) and the slide to the end of the year!
Don’s chrysanthemums
Yesterday I had lunch with my friend Ben at his fancy retirement community. We were joined by three other friends who live there which made it almost a party. It was quite enjoyable and a reminder that old friends are best. We talked about poetry and old times and avoided politics.
Speaking of celebrating, today we toast the great Yul Brynner on the anniversary of his death in 1985. Yul was without peer and we will enjoy watching one of his movies.
Shall it be The King and I (1956) or The Magnificent Seven (1960) or The Ten Commandments (1956)?
We are experiencing absolutely beautiful weather here in flyover country and I feel almost guilty considering what those south and east of us are enduring. There but for the grace of God…Here’s an inspiring article about God’s Grace working through the church in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
Daughter #2 sent this picture and it made me chuckle:
Preschool on the prairie
And finally, this made me laugh–100 raccoons! ‘Somehow the word got out in raccoon land and they all showed up to her house expecting a meal,’ Kevin McCarty, a spokesperson for the Kitsap County Sheriff, said.
Time continues to march on and we are nearly halfway into the year.
It is hot here, and the hostas are looking pretty droopy and sad. The lawn, despite copious watering, is burning up. But the day lilies are amazing as usual–they love the heat! They scoff at the lack of rain. They just keep going.
(Photos taken from my car!)
This old plant is native to Asia and arrived on our shores early during the colonial period from Europe. It was so popular, and “passed along” from so many gardeners to their neighbors, it now grows happily from coast to coast, often along roadsides. When wagon trains went west, the old orange day lilies rode along with many a frontier gardener. I think that’s great.
Everyone should have some day lilies in their yard!
Today we remember my mother who died on this day in 1988. I can’t believe I have lived over half my life without her. Here she is with her baby sister Donna circa 1934.
Weep not, weep not, She is not dead; She’s resting in the bosom of Jesus. Heart-broken husband–weep no more; Grief-stricken son–weep no more; Left-lonesome daughter –weep no more; She only just gone home.
— from “Go Down, Death” by James Weldon Johnson (who also died on this day in 1938)
All the flowers have been blooming ahead of schedule this spring–now the day lilies are going strong!
Don’s flowers are amazing!
I am happy to have his photos to share because I am feeling too crummy to go outside and take pictures of my own. Yes, another cold with painful sinuses. What is with this? I am not amused.
Anyway, I wanted to remind everyone that, of course, today is June 6th and that means the 80th anniversary of D-Day! Lest we forget, D-Day was the name given to the June 6, 1944, invasion of the beaches at Normandy in northern France by troops from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom during World War II. France at the time was occupied by the armies of Nazi Germany, and the amphibious assault—codenamed Operation Overlord—landed some 156,000 Allied soldiers on the beaches of Normandy by the end of the day.
So a toast to those brave men who stormed the beaches–including Robert Montgomery, Yogi Berra, James Doohan, Charles Durning, David Niven, Alec Guinness, Richard Todd (parachuting from a plane), and, of course, J.D. Salinger. John Ford was also there, leading a team of US Coast Guard cameramen in filming a documentary on D-Day for the Navy. I like to think of my friend Herschel, who also parachuted from a plane and lived to return to flyover country and lead his mild-mannered life. I only knew about his involvement in D-Day when I read it in his obituary.
I’m going to watch The Longest Day (1962) tonight but it will probably take me three nights to see the whole thing.
(Red Buttons in the Herschel A. part.)
Lest we forget.
Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.
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.
How was your weekend? Hope you managed to keep cool. We had more storms and this time the electricity at our house went out for an hour and a half! I was just packing a bag to go to daughter #1’s house, when it came back on. Such drama–these days we are lost without our precious electricity.
Poor daughter #2 and famille had their air conditioning go out on Saturday and had to wait all day to get it fixed. I am sympathetic, but back in my day, we didn’t have central air conditioning at all and we had to wait all summer for relief. We are very spoiled now, that’s for sure. We would go to the movies to sit for a few hours in the AC. Grocery shopping was also a diversion!
Anyway, c’est la vie. Saturday morning I went to a flower arranging workshop at church led by the floral director at Schnucks Markets. I learned a lot!
I like the fact that the flowers at our church are always done by volunteers. There is no “the flowers are given (i.e. paid for) to the glory of God and in thanksgiving for/in memory of by so-and-so” announcement in the bulletin. It is just an anonymous gift. But we in the flower guild do our best (for the glory of God) and every week the arrangements are very different.
After church on Sunday there was a reception for a lady who is retiring after working there for 24 years–one of those unsung women who make everything run smoothly in the office and, if they are lucky, are appreciated for being “hard-working” and “organized”. Lois was also lauded for her sincere faith. Well, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men” (Colossians 3:23).
I watched a really good movie–Intruder in the Dust (1949) based on William Faulkner’s novel, which is basically a mystery story set in the deep South. It is the story of Lucas Beauchamp, an independent, land-owning black man, who is unjustly accused of the murder of a white man, Vinson Gowrie. Through the help of two teenage boys, the town lawyer and an elderly white lady, who figure out who the real murderer is, he is able to prove his innocence.
I had not seen this movie in many years. It held up. Shot entirely on location in Oxford, Mississippi, it has an air of authenticity that the backlot never would have achieved. The actors are all solid. The screenplay by Ben Maddow sticks to Faulkner’s book. The Director Clarence Brown, who grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee and apparently knew something about the South, was not even nominated for an Oscar for this movie, but he won the British Academy Film Award for it. (Brown holds the record for the most Academy Award for direction nominations–6–without a win.)
Not surprisingly, the film failed at the box office, not even earning back its negative costs according to studio records. There is, after all, no romance in this movie; there are no pretty girls. There is no real action to speak of–only the threat of action (a lynching). There are tense moments, to be sure, for our heroes as they ride around at night and dig up a dead body and, when they get the sheriff on board with their plan, dig the body up again. But American audiences were not interested.
It is said, however, that William Faulkner himself was pleased with the film and Ralph Ellison wrote that of the whole cycle of race-based movies released in 1949, Intruder in the Dust was “the only film that could be shown in Harlem without arousing unintended laughter, for it is the only one of the four in which Negroes can make complete identification with their screen image.”
Check it out. It’s worth a viewing. Then read the book!
“Some things you must always be unable to bear. Some things you must never stop refusing to bear. Injustice and outrage and dishonor and shame. No matter how young you are or how old you have got. Not for kudos and not for cash: your picture in the paper nor money in the bank either. Just refuse to bear them.”
dual personalities 