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Days of Infamy and Hope

  "To be nameless in worthy deeds exceeds an infamous history."                            Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682) Our recent generations have often been defined, unfortunately, by the question:  "Where were you when...?"  As the generations overlap one another, the questions are always different as are the responses.  One thing that is constant is how we are all affected by what Franklin D. Roosevelt coined "a day that will live in infamy" when he referred to the early Sunday morning attack on Pearl Harbor by the military forces of Japan.   December7, 1941 I think of how it affected my parent's generation...the fear, anger, and, sadly the resulting xenophobia against those of Japanese origin. After the initial shock came the call to arms to which the "greatest generation" immediately responded.  That same generation had seen, only twelve years earlier, the economic collapse of the great United States followed by years of universal pove
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An August Weekend of Beauty and Calamity

  "Summer's lease hath all too short a date."                       William Shakespeare (1564-1616) It's the dog-days of summer and the 4th anniversary of my blog. (Post #65 but who's counting?!)  What better way to spend them than a weekend in the country.  The cornfields are, indeed, now as high as an elephant's eye, yielding their sweet kernels.  The farmer across from us, rotating his crops, has put in soy beans where there was corn a year ago.  The frogs in our pond are conversing frantically.  The hops plants are starting to bloom and all our lavender has been harvested. Our daughter's dog, Blanche, lays on the lawn, following the shadows, so she'll remain in the sunlight during the late afternoon. HOPS! And, a visit from our son, Marc, up from "the City", is always a special time, catching up over the past few months of the pandemic. It's always exciting for me to hear about the next film he's working on!  It is, indeed, a spec

WATCHING & READING

  " 'Tis the good reader that makes the good book."                                     Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803-1882 Two of the most frequent questions I heard during our pandemic cloistering was "What are you reading?" and "What are you watching?".  As for the reading part of it, it wasn't like I didn't have a large stack of books next to my desk, some of which were fairly large tomes... It was that I am a very slow reader, most of which is done in bed at night.  After a few paragraphs, my eyes become heavy and I might actually fall asleep with my face in the book.  Truth be told, I must confess that I have always been a slow reader.  Way back in early grade school, I remembering being pulled out of class and going down the hall to see Mrs. Harris, the reading specialist.  Perhaps I was dyslexic but my own feeling is that I'm just slow! My wife likes to have an electronic device in her hands for reading like from an I-pad or a Nook.  I

It's About Time

"'Fool' said my Muse , to me, 'look in thy heart and write.' "                             Sonnet I, Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586)  It's been around six months since I last wrote a blog, having lacked the inspiration towards literary creativity, thanks to a world-wide pandemic. It's been an introspective time when sharing thoughts with others has been low on my list. Much has happened over this hiatus, not the least of which has been the introduction of numerous vaccines against Covid-19 that has allowed many of us to resume some semblance of normality in our daily lives. So, what's happened over this time span and what have I been up to?   First, lest we forget, almost 600,000 lives have been lost in our country and millions globally. As I write this, the pandemic rages in other parts of the world. The virus, being what viruses do, is ever-changing, with new variants and more opportunities for transmission. Our own CDC has recommended a mask-off o

THANKSGIVING

  " From too much love of living, from hope and fear set free,     We thank with brief thanksgiving whatever gods may be That no man lives forever, that dead men rise up never; That even the weariest river winds somewhere safe to sea"                                   Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909) I suddenly realize, having fallen victim to Covid fatigue, not to mention severe writer's block, that I've not written a blog in two months.  Always seeking my muse and inspiration, it came to me that this is a year for firsts, especially for me, some pleasant but not always.  Maybe it's the approaching Thanksgiving that has given me pause to look back on 2020...or as Queen Elizabeth II has said in 1992, "1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure.  In the words of one of my more sympathetic correspondents, it has turned out to be an annus horribilis."   She had, in fact, experienced many personal and family tragedies. Fortun

What Keeps Me Up at Night

  As I Lie Awake at Night "Pensive poets painful vigils keep,        Sleepless themselves to give their readers sleep"                                           Alexander Pope (1688-1744) As you who follow my blogs know, I have not written one in a few months. My muse had completely escaped me, but the goddess can suddenly appear out of the blue...and I will write.  We have all gone through a terrible year with many describing Covid-19 dreams or, in some cases, nightmares.  We are at a juncture in our country that will have vast repercussions, not so much for us elders, but for our children and grandchildren.  As I know many of you have found, we have become preoccupied with this chasm and wondering if we'll make it to the other side. This blog is now three years old and, looking back, I think I have only written one that has addressed partisan politics.  As I was growing up, my parents always taught me not to discuss sex, politics, or religion in "polite company&quo