The origin of today’s blogpost title is usually credited to the American author and newspaper editor Horace Greeley (1811-1872) whose birthday we celebrate today. The quote, of course, concerns America’s expansion westward. It was a rallying cry for those 19th century pioneers who hoped to find a better life through hard work in the West.
“Washington [D.C.] is not a place to live in. The rents are high, the food is bad, the dust is disgusting and the morals are deplorable. Go West, young man, go West and grow up with the country.” (New York Daily Tribune, July 13, 1865)
(Photo taken by Matthew Brady of Greeley between 1844 and 1860)
Much was made of this quote in American history…and in quite a few movies. Mae West made a movie, Go West Young Man (1936) with Gary Cooper, and here’s Groucho Marx in a scene from Copacabana (1947):
Mr Horace Greeley was no fool I’m sure that you agree with me that Greeley was no fool What he is getting at is that Mr Greeley was no fool Boy The wisdom of the man can be denied by none For he’s the one that said
Before you go to Buffalo to Baltimore or Borneo To Eastern Pennsylvania or Japan Go West! Young Man!
How was your weekend? Mine was a nice back-to-normal one–estate sales, going out to lunch, happy hour with music at home, and church on Sunday. The boy and Lottie came over after church for Presbyterian Souffle. (The bud was sick and stayed home with Mom.) Mr. Smith continued to grow.
And Baby Ida went for her first walk in the stroller.
We watched some good movies: The High and the Mighty (1954), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954).
This was an interesting article about the turnaround of Barnes and Noble (and a lesson for the church.) “There’s a lesson in the Barnes & Noble turnaround. Remember your first love. And don’t lose sight of your ultimate purpose.”
Keep reading, keep praying, keep showing up. Pay attention. “Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” (Hebrews 2:1)
It makes me happy every year to open up our big box of Christmas ornaments that I have collected over the years and see them on a new tree.
Some were made by my aunts many years ago or by people I have worked with and some were made more recently by my daughters.
Some have been handed down from my parents and even my grandparents. Some were “store-bought” and quite a few were made by my children at school. (Do they make Christmas ornaments in elementary school any more?)
Some are part of a collection (bears).
Well, it’s nice to remember.
It’s also nice that TCM remembers all those performers/writers/directors/etc who die every year. Here is their 2022 in memoriam tribute:
They always include the little known actors who may have had just one scene in a great movie, like Mickey Kuhn who played the young Montgomery Clift in Red River (1948) and Virginia Patton who played Jimmy Stewart’s new sister-in-law in It’s a Wonderful Life (1946). I must say I think James Caan deserved more than the split second inclusion he got. C’est la vie. But I like that the last snippet of Sidney Poitier is of him playing a cowboy. He played several cowboys in his career and I think he enjoyed it.
Here’s an interesting article about the Magi and why they worshiped Jesus.
I liked this article about dealing with sleeplessness. “A good night’s sleep, like so many of God’s gifts, is one of those ordinary glories you don’t quite appreciate until it’s gone.”
Do you need to be reminded of “10 Ways to Be a Christian this Christmas”? These are 10 good ones.
Enjoy the week before Christmas! Slow down. Watch a Christmas movie. Read a poem.
*”The Three Kings” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow–read it here.
Well, we are into the holiday swing of things here in flyover country. The tree is up, thanks to the boy coming over and putting it in the stand and daughter #1 coming home to help decorate it. We are cooking with gas, as they say.
I went to see Lottie’s ‘Holiday Show’ put on by the dance studio where she takes lessons.
As always, she was front and center and knew all the moves and words to the song. Her brother, watching from the sidelines, pronounced it a “Nice job!” at the end.
On Saturday the OM, daughter #1 and I got up and dressed in our warmest gear so that we could go to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery to put wreaths on veterans’ graves as part of the Wreaths Across America event which coordinates wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as at more than 3,400 additional locations in all 50 U.S. states, at sea and abroad. My DAR chapter is a sponsor, so I volunteered to participate and the OM and daughter #1 gallantly offered to go along. However, the traffic down in Lemay was insane, backed up onto the highway, and after making a wrong turn into No Man’s Land, we cut bait and headed home. I felt bad until the DAR lady who coordinated our group replied to my email telling her that we were baling by saying she had been stuck in traffic for over an hour herself. The next day she followed up to say that she had been in a traffic line for over an hour and a half just waiting to pick up the wreaths! Zut alors. The best laid plans and all that.
(KSDK.com photo)
So we went home and decorated the tree and then I took a nap.
This weekend we also watched Home Alone (1990) which never fails to entertain…
…and Hatari (1962), Howard Hawks’s wonderful movie about a diverse group of fun-loving adventurers who capture exotic animals in Africa to export to zoos all over the world.
All the actors did their own stunts and, although they thought they might die any day, they all looked like they were having a terrific time. And Henry Mancini wrote the score.
Meanwhile the wee dog is becoming acclimated to car rides and short stays at our house, not to mention watching John Wayne movies.
This is a good thing because he will be moving in with us very soon. He is a happy little fella.
At church I noticed that I am finally able to sing without setting off a coughing fit. Finally. But both daughters are sick as is precious Katiebelle who I hear is watching A Charlie Brown Christmas on demand. “More Snoopy!”
Last week I watched about twenty minutes of an old movie about the racehorse Seabiscuit, which starred Shirley Temple and Lon McAllister. It was pretty bad, but it reminded me of the newer movie about Seabiscuit, which was a big hit in 2003, and so I watched it.
It was very good.
Although only twenty years has passed, it seems Hollywood has forgotten how to make a movie like this in the interim. Seabiscuit tells the story of an undersized, formerly mistreated Depression-era racehorse whose unlikely victories raised the spirits of the entire nation. It is about working hard and overcoming setbacks. Yes, bad things happen to everyone–the rich and the poor–but you don’t give up, you persevere. That’s the American way, remember?
“You know, you don’t throw a whole life away just ’cause he’s banged up a little,” says the trainer Tom Smith at one point. No you don’t. But what an old fashioned idea.
You may remember that this movie was nominated for a whole bunch of Academy Awards, but won none. (That was the year that The Return of the King ran away with almost everything.) C’est la vie. It is a wonderful, inspiring movie and I heartily recommend watching it, especially if you need a little boost. And who doesn’t?
We also watched the 1951 A Christmas Carol, which I contend is the definitive version.
Really excellent in every way and true to the original Dickens story, which certainly deserves a yearly viewing/reading.
I also ran across this ludicrous Sight & Sound poll of the 100 greatest films of all time. Granted it includes all movies, not just American films, but c’mon. No Lubitsch, no Wyler, and no Hawks! I admit I have not seen the #1 film “Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles.” But #2 is Vertigo and that invalidates the whole list in my opinion.
Well, you can’t watch A Charlie Brown Christmas on network TV anymore. “Farewell, Charlie Brown Christmas. You found out the true meaning of Christmas and shared it as long as you could. May we do the same,” writes Denny Burk. I have the DVD and I’ll watch it with my grandkids.
We must also note that yesterday was, of course, the 81st anniversary of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
A toast to all the Americans who were there and in particular to the 16 men who were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during the attack–11 posthumously. You can read about these men here. They came from all corners of the U.S. including Missouri (Lt. Commander Samuel G. Fuqua from Laddonia, MO, population 520). Lest we forget.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
How was your weekend? Mine was a quiet one, despite the fact that daughter #1 was home. She was busy with Monon Bell festivities (DePauw vs. Wabash) on Saturday. On Sunday we went to the early service at church because we had tickets to see ToKill a Mockingbird (1962) on the big screen in the afternoon…so we didn’t see the wee twins or have brunch at our house.
It is always a good idea to see a classic movie on the big screen, because–wow–what a difference! I was too young to go see it at the movies when it came out in 1962. My mother took my older brother and I remember they both raved about it when they came home. I saw it a few years later on TV with my younger sister. We were still pretty young to see it, and as I recall, we were home alone on a stormy night. It was scary! But we understood it. It had quite an impact. Soon after that, I read the book and loved it. I think I was in the seventh grade.
Since then I have seen it many times on the small screen as it is one of my favorite movies. It is a rare movie where every aspect of it clicks. The screenplay, the casting/acting, the music. To Kill a Mockingbird is a miracle of moviemaking. Black and white, no special effects, no histrionics–just real people and a great story. But, wow, it was great to see it as it was meant to be seen on a big theatrical screen with the sound just right.
1962 was a great year for movies. The top money-makers were:
Other movies released that year included The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, How the West Was Won, The Days of Wine and Roses, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, The Miracle Worker, State Fair, and three Elvis Presley movies!
That’s a lot of good movies. Can you imagine?
Well, I do not go to the movies anymore except to see classics like this on the big screen. A good policy in my opinion.
Lottie drew a picture of going to the movies–she even got the red leather recliner seats right!
Today is Veterans Day. Originally known as Armistice Day, it is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11 when we honor military veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. In typical fashion, I like to show my respect by watching a war movie. Here are fourteen good suggestions. (I have limited my choices to American movies dealing with American soldiers.)
Back to Bataan (1945) Directed by Edward Dmytryk. With John Wayne, Anthony Quinn, Beulah Bondi, Fely Franquelli. In 1942, after the fall of the Philippines to the Japanese, U.S. Army Col. Joseph Madden stays behind to organize the local resistance against the Japanese invaders.
Sands of Iwo Jima (1949 Directed by Allan Dwan and starring Oscar-nominated John Wayne, the film follows a group of United States Marines from training to the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. Also featuring John Agar, Adele Mara and Forrest Tucker, it was written by Harry Brown and James Edward Grant.
Air Force (1943) The crew of an Air Force bomber arrives in Pearl Harbor in the aftermath of the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941, and is sent on to Manila to help with the defense of the Philippines. Directed by Howard Hawks and starring John Garfield, John Ridgely, Gig Young, Arthur Kennedy, and Harry Carey.
They Were Expendable ((1945) Directed by John Ford, starring Robert Montgomery and John Wayne, and featuring Donna Reed. The film is based on the 1942 book by William Lindsay White, relating the story of the exploits of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a United States PT boat unit defending the Philippines against Japanese invasion during the Battle of the Philippines (1941-42) in World War II .
Twelve O’Clock High (1949) Directed by Henry King, this movie tells the story of a hard-as-nails general (Oscar-nominated Gregory Peck) who takes over a B-17 bomber unit suffering from low morale and whips them into fighting shape.
Objective Burma (1945) Starring Errol Flynn and directed by Raoul Walsh, this movie is about a platoon of special ops who are ordered to parachute into the remote Burmese jungle and destroy a strategic Japanese radar station. Getting out isn’t easy.
Run Silent Run Deep (1958) A U.S. sub commander (Clark Gable), obsessed with sinking a certain Japanese ship, butts heads with his first officer (Burt Lancaster) and crew. Directed by Robert Wise.
The Great Escape (1963) Loosely based on the true story of an ambitious escape by Allied prisoners of war during World War II, the film is directed by John Sturges and stars Steve McQueen, James Garner, Charles Bronson and a large international cast.
Hacksaw Ridge (2016) Andrew Garfield stars as Seventh-day Adventist WWII hero Desmond T. Doss, who saved 75 men at the Battle of Okinawa without ever firing a weapon. Directed by Mel Gibson.
And if you are not in the mood for a WWII movie, here are a few more suggestions:
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) Directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and the rest of the Ford crew, it is the second film in Ford’s “Cavalry Trilogy,” along with Fort Apache (1948) and Rio Grande (1950).
The Horse Soldiers (1958) Set during the American Civil War, this fact-based story about a Union mission to destroy a railroad junction deep within Confederate territory is directed by John Ford and stars John Wayne, William Holden and Constance Towers.
The Sand Pebbles (1966) tells the story of an independent, rebellious U.S. Navy machinist’s mate, first class, aboard the fictional river gunboat USS San Pablo, on Yangtze Patrol in 1920s China. Directed by Robert Wise and stars Oscar-nominated Steve McQueen.
Glory (1989) Directed by Edward Zwick, this film is about the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, one of the Union Army ‘s earliest African-American regiments in the American Civil War. Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman and Andre Braugher star.
American Sniper (2014) Navy S.E.A.L. sniper Chris Kyle’s pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and turns him into a legend. Back home with his family after four tours of duty, Chris finds that it is the war he can’t leave behind. Directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Oscar-nominated Bradley Cooper.
There are lots of other good choices–these are just my favorites. How will you celebrate our brave veterans? What movie will you watch?
*”So here they are: the dog-faced soldiers, the regulars, the fifty-cents-a-day professionals… riding the outposts of a nation. From Fort Reno to Fort Apache – from Sheridan to Startle – they were all the same: men in dirty-shirt blue and only a cold page in the history books to mark their passing. But wherever they rode – and whatever they fought for – that place became the United States.” (She Wore a Yellow Ribbon)
November is here and the quick slide to the holidays commences. Good grief. I have a lot of catching up to do.
You may have heard that a special one-night-only benefit concert featuring some of Eastern Kentucky’s biggest names in music was held in Lexington on October 11. Ricky Skaggs had a big hand in organizing the event and it raised over 2.5 million for flood relief. The event featured performances by Chris Stapleton, Dwight Yoakam and Tyler Childers. And this one with Chris and lovely Patty Loveless was pretty great…
Today we toast Lyle Lovett (born on this day in 1957) whom we have seen in concert several times and would gladly see again. He is a proud Texan, growing up in Klein where his family has ranched for five generations.
Here’s a new song about his twins that I really like:
All I have I gladly give them All I am they will exceed And one thing I know for sure If they improve the likes of me They make a better man of me
So to my father and my mother And to our fathers long before There are those who walk above us Who’ll remember that we were They will remember that we were
Yesterday was the anniversary of the death of our pater, ANC III, and of my great friend Dick (aka WWII Guy). It might be time to watch She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949) in their memory.
LORD, thou hast been our refuge, * from one generation to another. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever the earth and the world were made, * thou art God from everlasting, and the world without end. Thou turnest man to destruction; * again thou sayest, Come again, ye children of men. For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, * and as a watch in the night. As soon as thou scatterest them they are even as a sleep, * and fade away suddenly like the grass. In the morning it is green, and groweth up; * but in the evening it is cut down, dried up, and withered. For we consume away in thy displeasure, * and are afraid at thy wrathful indignation. Thou hast set our misdeeds before thee, * and our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
How was your weekend? I have been sick since Thursday and quite under the weather. I didn’t go to my Bible study group and I even stayed home from church. (Daughter #1 convinced me it wasn’t kosher to go to church these days when you are coughing and have laryngitis.)
But I enjoyed vicariously Katie’s Halloween party she hosted for some of her wee compadres…
Quelle wild bunch!
Daughter #1 came home and watched Signs (2002) with me and we really enjoyed it. In my book it is not a horror movie; it is a story about a man regaining his faith.
The twins came over for brunch after they went to church. The OM had made shepherd’s pie and the kids ate leftover Chick-fil-A tenders. We had a special Halloween torte from Cosco that was a winner. There were jelly beans in a bowl. It was kind of a free-for-all, as usual, but c’est la vie.
And the OM wore special socks…
But don’t forget that the real reason to celebrate has nothing to do with witches and scary monsters.
Since your majesty and your lordships desire a simple reply, I will answer without horns and without teeth. Unless I am convicted by scripture and plain reason–I do not accept the authority of popes and councils for they have contradicted each other–my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise, God help me.
Well, we finally got some rain after about a month without any and the storm was quite a whopper! But much needed and appreciated.
In other news, a 2,554-pound pumpkin won the record as the heaviest pumpkin in U.S. history! The super squash was grown near Buffalo, New York, this year. But wait! Just one week later, a new pumpkin king was crowned. A 2,560-pound pumpkin won a contest in Northern California, beating the first squash by six pounds. Who knew the competition was so fierce?
This article about the sin of contempt is very pertinent these days. It is a sin I grapple with daily. “But contempt is the silent killer of Christian charity. It has no place in the heart of a follower of Jesus.”
I had lunch the other day with two friends who are 93 and 82. We jokingly agreed that we are all very thankful to wake up every morning and know what day it is. But a lot of people forget that God commands us to be thankful: give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:18) As Darryl Dash writes, “To refuse to give thanks to God is, in some sense, the essence of sin, one of the greatest problems plaguing humanity (Romans 1: 21). Acknowledging God and giving thanks to him is no trifling matter.”
So may the Lord make me truly thankful for the big things (family, health, home, church) and for the smaller things, such as:
a house full of books and movies…
the internet, which can be a blessing. I stumbled upon this on the desiringGod website…
our memories
And a poem by Wendell Berry:
And, finally, a toast to Angela Lansbury who has died at age 96. I think I’ll watch either The World of Henry Orient (1964) or The Court Jester (1955)–both great favorites of mine in which she appeared.
dual personalities 