Another Birthday With George And Walter

For several years now my birthday always brings to mind the remarkable coincidence that I share the day with two of my favorite personalities from the world of the arts. Studying them in depth came later in my life and it's only been in the last thirty years or so that I realized September 29 was a big day we shared. It's a coincidence from somewhere in the stars beyond time. I don't want to attempt an explanation. And there's no delusion here, my friends, I will never approach their genius. Not sure I'd want to. I'll simply leave it at that and let this post unfold.

So who are these two artists? They are Walter Inglis Anderson and George Gershwin. I discovered Anderson on my own in the 1970s during the dedication of a National Park Service visitor center in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. The award-winning center featured architectural elements incorporating his motifs as well as interior displays of his nature paintings, island journals, and other books. The building itself, a gift to the National Park Service, was a work of art emerging from the salt marsh at the edge of Davis Bayou. Unfortunately, the center was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. In regard to George Gershwin, I had an ear for him very early in life as my mom and dad enjoyed listening to his work on radio, records, and television.

Walter Inglis "Bob" Anderson, Self-Portrait, ca. 1941

George Gershwin a few months before his death in 1937

Anderson and Gershwin were filled with creative genius and tragic loss. Anderson died (1965) in his early sixties recognized as a local artist and obscure introvert wracked by schizophrenia. National appreciation of his contribution to American art would come slowly and long after his death. Even today he's not well known among general populations beyond the South. Gershwin would die of an aggressive brain tumor at the age of 37 at the height of his career and known throughout the world.

Frogs, Bugs, Flowers         Walter Anderson, ca 1945

Walter Inglis Anderson, was born on September 29, 1903 in New Orleans. After training at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in the mid-1920s, he spent most of his career associated with Shearwater Pottery, a family enterprise founded in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Though deeply troubled with mental illness for much of his life, he produced thousands of vivid works of art - often called "abstract realism" - seeking to celebrate the unity of human existence with nature. I often describe his work as decorated illustrations that play freely with figure and ground and the positives and negatives of visual perception. His realizations of nature explode in the mind's eye. Observing Anderson is a meditative experience. Visit the Walter Inglis Anderson Museum of Art site to learn more about the life and work of this regional artist whose work has only recently has taken on national significance.

George Gershwin was born in New York in 1898. He went on to become perhaps the most beloved American composer of the last century through his many compositions for the musical stage, the concert hall, and what has become known as the Great American Songbook. Gershwin's appeal comes in part from his colorful and lively incorporation of jazz motifs in all of his music. He died in 1937 with what could only be called a spectacular career ahead of him. I often imagine what he could have brought to American music had he lived another forty years.

Today I begin my 77th year still deeply immersed in the amazing output of  Anderson and Gershwin. Although I'm perfectly happy not to share their fame, I'm honored to share their interpretations of the American experience with anyone. And what fine interpretations they are.

Little Room, South Wall              Walter Inglis Anderson, 1950-65

Sources

Photos and Illustrations:

Walter "Bob" Anderson, Self-portrait, 1941. Walter Anderson Museum of Art, Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
Frogs, Bugs, and Flowers, Walter Anderson, ca 1945. Repository: Roger H. Ogden Collection. Copyright held by Roger H. Ogden.
George Gershwin 1937. Carl Van Vechten Collection, Library of Congress

A Full Harvest Supermoon 2023

The moon, like a flower in heaven's bower, with silent delight sits and smiles on the night.

                                                               William Blake

A few hours before sunrise on September 29 the Harvest Moon reaches 100% percent or full illumination. This full moon is special because it coincides with its orbital perigee or closest approach to Earth. That makes our moon appear larger, thus, we know it as a supermoon. They actually occur about four times a year and tonight you'll be able to enjoy the last supermoon of 2023.

From the mountains to the sea Georgians should have a spectacular view of the Harvest Moon this year.  For many years I was fortunate to witness September's full moon emerge from the sea. It was always a sublime event powered by the realization that you were a witness to a sensory immersion experienced by coastal inhabitants for thousands of years. The simplicity always amazed me. Here was a man, a strip of sand, a plain of water, all under a dome of sky and caressed by the touch of wind and the sound of surf. Add the rising moon and expect the surreal. The experience was so powerful even when friends were along the conversations almost always stopped in homage when the first moon sliver rose out of the sea.

Lowcountry moonrise, McQueens Island, Savannah, Georgia, 1951

. . .Her eyes, he says, are stars at dusk,

Her mouth as sweet as red-rose-musk;

And when she dances his young heart swells

With flutes and viols and silver bells;

His brain is dizzy, his senses swim,

When she slants her ragtime eyes at him.

Moonlight shadows, he bids her see,

Move no more silently than she.

It was this way, he says, she came,

Into his cold heart, bearing flame.

And now that his heart is all on fire

Will she refuse his heart's desire? . . . .

Tonight when the harvest moon is climbing high, go outside. Take a friend or someone you love. Get lost in it.




Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
National Park Service, Fort Pulaski National Monument Handbook, 1954

Text:
intro quotation, William Blake, Songs of Innocence and Experience, originally published in 1789.
poem excerpt, Conrad Aiken, Turns and Movies: VI. Violet Moore and Bert Moore

William Faulkner: A 20th Century Southern Stream-Of-Consciousness

Today we remember William Faulkner, the celebrated world-famous writer and favorite son of Oxford, Mississippi, who was born on September 25, 1897. He explored the character of the South in a string of novels and stories predominately over a twenty year period beginning around 1920. This work earned him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949. Later work was recognized with two Pulitzer Prizes.

Faulkner has never been an easy read for me. His complexity and detail, along with the run on sentences and page long paragraphs, makes the experience as challenging as the analysis of his characters. Having lived almost five decades in the Deep South, I can appreciate in my own small way the 20th century Southern personality Faulkner captured from his Mississippi home in fictional Yoknapatawpha County. Southern folks then were quite different from their fellow Americans. Today that regional character continues to change with a changing South. It is an interesting overlay.

In 1956, Faulkner sat for a Paris Review interview by author, oral historian, and editor, Jean Stein. It became a seminal piece on the art of fiction as well as an insightful exchange on the writer himself. Readers can access an article based on the interview at this link.

And here is the the author reading from The Sound and the Fury, a novel ignored by readers when first published in 1929, but earning him fame after the publication of Sanctuary in 1931.

It would be a serious error to end a post about Faulkner without mentioning Rowan Oak, his home in Oxford. For over thirty years the house and acres surrounding it provided Faulkner with sanctuary and inspiration during his most productive period. Today the home is a mecca for Faulkner enthusiasts. Visitors can tour the house and grounds as well as the nearby historic Oxford Square - don't miss Square Books, Oxford's world-famous bookstore - and the University of Mississippi Museum and campus.

There is no mechanical way to get the writing done, no shortcut. The young writer would be a fool to follow a theory. Teach yourself by your own mistakes; people learn only by error. The good artist believes that nobody is good enough to give him advice. He has supreme vanity. No matter how much he admires the old writer, he wants to beat him.

                                            William Faulkner

Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
Faulkner photo, Carl Van Vecten Collection, United States Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Rowan Oak photo, User:Wescbell, Creative Common Attribution-ShareAlike3.0 Unported

Text:
end quote, from the Paris Review interview, 1956.
Wikipedia.org

A Birthday For John Rutter, Master Composer For Choirs World-Wide

 

John Rutter at Clare College, Cambridge, England

John Rutter, the renowned British composer, conductor and arranger, turns 78 today. He is best known and loved for his choral music, the Cambridge Singers choir, and their recording label, Collegium Records. Doing an Internet search for Rutter doesn't bring up much more than the same brief biography. Though far from reclusive, the composer enjoys his privacy, but he does have a fairly active Facebook page. In addition, there is the occasional article here, and here that gives readers some insight into the man behind the music. My take on this relative dearth of information is simply that one should get to know the man through his music. Here is an anthem he wrote for the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011:

Some in the classical music world, mostly in Great Britain, find Rutter's compositions to be a bit simple, repetitive, and stylistically confused. Others place him at the top among contemporary composers. I have to side with the latter appraisals. The melodies are generally simple, the harmonies beautiful, and the style affords a perfect balance of music and message. Furthermore, choirs of all sizes and skill levels perform his work to appreciative audiences everywhere. If popularity is any indicator, John Rutter's music will be enjoyed for a long, long time.

Here is the finale of Rutter's 2016 composition, Visions, a four-part work based on the theme of Jerusalem:

Here is perhaps Rutter's most recognized and popular work, his choral work based on Cecil Frances Alexander's hymn, All Things Bright and Beautiful.

Splendid sounds indeed.







Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
Clare College Alumni

Text:

johnrutter.com

Storytelling: "My Soul Is Wrought To Sing Of Forms Transformed To Bodies New And Strange."

 

Every now and then I'm moved to let friends know what I'm reading especially when it's a significant experience and one I think others may want to enjoy for themselves. This month I opened two books, one and impressive favorite, the other its original source. 

We start by going back sixty years to a survey course in western civilization that introduced me to Elizabeth Hamilton's landmark work, Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. It became an instant favorite reinforced a few years later by an in-depth study of the book in a graduate course. 

Since then I returned to the book to answer my own questions as well as those from my three children whose interests in history and western civilization have closely parallelled those of Mom and Dad. Earlier this summer some videos on Greco-Roman themes revived my interest in Hamilton's work and I decided to read it one more time. Neither a hasty nor detailed search of the library - I feel like I live in one - led to the book. Good books have a habit of disappearing but I don't mind when they've gone on to enrich someone's knowledge and reading experience. Not to worry. My tattered and browned paperback was soon replaced with a beautiful hardbound copy of the 75th anniversary illustrated edition published in 2017. Revisiting Mythology was nothing less than a conversation with an old friend whose presence was long overdue. 

Shortly after finishing Hamilton's book I began thinking about reading more than a synopsis of the 250 myths. Finding the original stories would be easy because Hamilton used Ovid's Metamorphoses as the foundation for most of her book. My quest was to find a highly appreciated interpretation soon ended with Stanley Lombardo's 2010  translation written as a most readable, lyrical poem. 

Ovid, a Roman poet, wrote his 12,000 line verse in Latin around 8 CE. He wrote it as a continuos narrative of transformation and change in the Greco-Roman world from the creation of the world itself through the life of Julius Caesar (44 BCE). It is considered the first application of the concept of history to a people, place, and time. Essentially it is western civilization's first history book and one that has exercised profound influence on western art, literature and culture in general to this very day. 

Revisiting Mythology and reading Metamorphoses for the first time led me to add a few more Greco-Roman classics to my reading list. Better yet I'm adding a few novels both old and new and a poetry book or two. For the most part, reading novels will be a new direction for me. If you're interested in reading something different you may want to consider Mythology and Metamorphoses as a starting point. They definitely led me in new directions and reinforced familiar territory in my reading habits. I'm looking forward to the journey. Perhaps you too will find some new paths as well.

Sources

Text:

title quote, first line of Ovid's invocation to Metamorphoses

Fall 2023

 

The new season crept over Atlanta a few hours before sunrise this morning. It's what I call the beginning of our endless Fall and it's one of the events I most enjoy here in north Georgia. It usually persists well past Thanksgiving which means Christmas has a tendency to sneak up on you. I had an even harder time with it in Savannah where fall colors usually "peaked" in January if at all. In any case I'm already thinking about the possibility of Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners on the patio, events that have occurred more often than you'd expect during my 46 years of living in Georgia.

With an unblemished week of beautiful weather behind us we expect it will continue into October. Other than shortening days and cooler nights about the only sign of seasonal change on the patio and around the house is the singular blooms that have replaced summer's clusters of color. 

As we enter the harvest cycle I am reminded of the bounty of nature we enjoy regardless of the season. And that reminds me of the calander and in particular the Napoleonic Calendar born in the spirit of the French Revolution and the romantic movement that followed. It's composed of ten day weeks, twelve months of thirty days, and assorted extra days to add up to the essential number, 365/6. Yes, it was a confusing time piece. On the other hand, using seasonal events, plant and animal names, and farming implements to label the days and months made the calendar a work of art. This day may be a Saturday in Atlanta but in 1800 in Paris the day was  Saffron.

Here in the next 29 days is a vivid picture of the season:

Safran (Saffron)

Chataignes (Chestnut)

Colchique (Autumn Crocus)

Cheval (Horse)

Balsamine (Yellow Balsam)

Carrotes (Carrots)

Amaranthe (Amaranth)

Panais (Parsnip)

Cuve (Tub)

Pommes de terre (Potatoes)

Immortelle (Strawflower)

Potiron (Giant Pumpkin)

Reseda (Mignonette)

Ane (Donkey)

Belle de nuit (Marvel of Peru)

Citroville (Summer Pumpkin)

Sarrazin (Buckwheat)

Touresol (Sunflower)

Pressoir (Wine-Press)

Chanvre (Hemp)

Peches (Peaches)

Navets (Turnip)

Amarillis (Amaryllis)

Boeuf (Cattle)

Aubegine (Eggplant)

Piment (Chile Pepper)

Tomate (Tomato)

Orge (Barley)

Tonneau (Barrel)

I think Vendemiaire provides us a comforting association with a different time and place, a pre-industrial existence where we can easily recognize ourselves as part of nature and not separate from it. That's as it should be. This is the season to be close to the earth and its harvest that sustains us through the cold and dark months to come. Welcome to Fall and the grape harvest. Let us enjoy it whether it be early or late.

Sources:

Photos and Illustrations:

Wikipedia entry: Vendemiaire, author unknown, National Library and Bureau of Measures,

Text:
Fondation Napoleon, www.napoleon.org

The Hobbit: "...The Prophecies Of The Old Songs..." Emerge

Today is the anniversary (1937) of the publication of The Hobbit. The author, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, developed the book out of his love for philology - the study of language in literature - and fantasy. Early in his life he was creating languages and incorporating them in stories that he later told to his children. Eventually The Hobbit would emerge as the first of several books based on Tolkien's fantasy world.

For all Tolkien fans who have come to love The Silmarillion, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and several others, Corey Olsen, a scholar known as the Tolkien Professor, wrote a history of The Hobbit for its 75 anniversary in 2012. Here is a post he wrote about the book and the evolution of its main character, Bilbo Baggins.

The dust jacket from 1937

Olsen included seven illustrations Tolkien drew for the book, one of them being the dust jacket, proving he was not only a superb writer but also an accomplished artist.

I first read The Hobbit almost sixty years ago. It was an instant favorite, and like all of Tolkien's fantasy, an armchair journey to be enjoyed over and over again. My appreciation for his works was easily passed on to my children. One of them took that appreciation to a much higher level and now writes fantasy fiction. Like Bilbo Baggins, he's going on an adventure.

Safe At Home: Fifty Years Of Standing On The Mountain

Parsons in 1973

Fifty years ago tonight, park rangers at Joshua Tree National Monument - now a national park - noticed a huge fireball on the ridge at Cap Rock. Upon investigation, they found a flaming coffin and the partially burned remains of Gram Parsons, a 26 year old musician who would become a music legend. He had died two days earlier after being found unconscious in his room at the nearby Joshua Tree Inn following a day fueled by alcohol and drugs. His death was the just the beginning of a series of bizarre events ending with his burial in the Garden of Memories in Metairie, Louisiana.

Cap Rock                   jshyun/Flickr/Creative Commons License

In his brief fast and loose life as a musician Parsons imagined a new sound blending rock, country, R&B, and gospel. He called that sound "cosmic American music." If you listen to his seven years of work with The International Submarine Band, The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Emmylou Harris, you can hear that sound emerging.

And then there is Emmylou Harris. She loved him dearly. Here is In My Hour of Darkness, a song they wrote, here performed with harmony from Linda Ronstadt.

Earlier this year Emmylou Harris turned 76. Fame has been kind to her given such a long and successful touring and recording career. She's brought quality entertainment to millions of people since the beginning in those early days with Graham Parsons. We'll never know where the two of them would have gone together in the world of music but it's safe to say it would have been far. Here is a song she and Bill Danoff wrote as a tribute to Parsons:

In a few hours, the pilgrims will trek to Cap Rock to pay their respects to Parsons as they have for decades. Rangers may close the area, but that won't make a difference. The faithful will be there.

For more on the Gram Parsons story read his comprehensive Wikipedia entry with many links to his discography as well as a direct link the the entry on his death.


Safe at home, Gram, safe at home.






Sources

Text:
post title, adapted from Boulder to Birmingham

A Day For Pirate Speak

Blackbeard the Pirate Engraving, Benjamin Cole, ca. 1724

I like exploring words and word origins but I especially like spoken words so I'm really pleased to let readers know that today is International Talk Like A Pirate Day. Without a doubt the number of "arrrrrhhs" and "shiver me timbers" heard throughout the day brought out some smiles and responses. Undoubtedly some of you never want to hear anymore pirate speak until next year, perhaps at the earliest. There's nothing wrong with enjoying the lighter intentions of the day but being so fond of the topic I decided to share some information about the who, what, when, where, and how of pirate talk. If you enjoy the topic as much as I do you're going to like the following links:

Arrr Matey! The Origins of the Pirate Accent A strong case for the origin of pirate talk.

Pirate R As In I R Eland? This is a potential alternate explanation to the link above.

West Country Dialects A comprehensive resource on speech in Southwest England.

Bristolian Dictionary A long entertaining list from a 2009 post on Smarty's Blog.

Sid Totter (b. 1877): Listen to him speak in a 1950's West Country dialect.


If you find the above list a bit of a challenge and bypassed it, spend a few minutes with Robert Newton, a.k.a. Long John Silver, displaying his Dorset accent in a reading of a short poem. Earphones will be helpful:

And now enjoy Newton as Long John Silver:

Shiver me timbers! Not sure I care much about the origins after hearing Newton's performance again. I was four years-old when he appeared in Walt Disney's Treasure Island (1950). And yes, me hearties, he'll always be my personification of the perfect pirate.

Early Autumn In The Air

This morning Atlantans were greeted with temperatures in the 50s, a big hint that  fall is on its way. Other signs fill our small world on a ridge in the Piedmont woods southeast of Atlanta. The evenings cool comparatively quickly and the humidity rises after midnight instead of steaming us as on most summer days. In addition the hummingbirds are more aggressive than usual around the feeders as they prepare to migrate to the Florida coast and the great passage over the Gulf of Mexico to their winter home. In contrast the several pairs of cardinals we know don't thrash among the tropicals around our porch. In part, I suppose they're no longer as territorial now that their broods have fledged. Perhaps the biggest change in the season is its sound. For one the tree frogs are mostly quiet now that summer showers have ended and we're in the midst of the driest eight weeks of the year. In addition we no longer have the sunset symphony of cicadas, katydids, and other insects at our door. In late September they are confined to the deeper woods at the top of the ridge and their sounds drift down to the porch. I'll soon miss that sound but at least our conversations with friends on the porch will no longer be drowned out by the accompaniment.

In another month we'll see full fall color

Today may welcome a taste of early fall but its certainly not the end of high temperatures. In fact we're looking forward to that heat in just one week but the big difference will be humidity.  These warm days already feel more like a measure reserved for the Rockies and the central Continental Divide rather than the rolling Appalachian Piedmont. In other words we'll have stunningly beautiful summer days unless you looked at the calendar. The tulip poplar leaves already show a hint of yellow but they're hanging on for the first windy cool front to bring them down. Looking in our woods today you'd really see nothing but a rich green. Though summer may linger lovingly here in the Lower South we know Autumn brings its own pleasures.

To Autumn

O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stain'd
With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit
Beneath my shady roof; there thou may'st rest,
And tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe,
And all the daughters of the year shall dance!
Sing now the lusty song of fruits and flowers.

'The narrow bud opens her beauties to
The sun, and love runs in her thrilling veins;
Blossoms hang round the brows of Morning, and
Flourish down the bright cheek of modest Eve,
Till clust'ring Summer breaks forth into singing,
And feather'd clouds strew flowers round her head.

'The spirits of the air live in the smells
Of fruit; and Joy, with pinions light, roves round
The gardens, or sits singing in the trees.'
Thus sang the jolly Autumn as he sat,
Then rose, girded himself, and o'er the bleak
Hills fled from our sight; but left his golden load.

William Blake (1757-1827)



And so here's to fall, the color, the refreshment of cool breezes, pumpkins, mulled cider, and the smell of wood smoke. Perhaps it's a quieter time but there is much to be done. Take it at your own pace and enjoy.

The Battle Of Antietam: Blood Sacrifice

Today is the 161st anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, a one-day Civil War clash in the Great Valley of Maryland near the town of Sharpsburg. A marginal victory at best for the Union, it marked an end to Confederate success on the battlefield in the first year of the war. Furthermore, it provided President Abraham Lincoln an opportunity to issue his Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves in all the states that had seceded from the Union. The outcome and opportunity at Antietam came at a huge cost as it remains the bloodiest one-day battle in American history. In little more than twelve hours of conflict it became a blood sacrifice where almost 23,000 participants were dead, wounded or missing.

Bloody Lane, Antietam National Battlefield Walking Tour

Bloody Lane following the battle, September 17, 1862

We have much to remember at this sacred place. Some call the battle a turning point leading to Union victory in the war. Without question it is a monumental step in the evolution of human rights in the United States. Sometimes the memories are far more personal. For me, Antietam remains very close to my heart and soul. I was at most six years old when my mother and father first took me there to walk among the fields and forests, along the old Sharpsburg Pike and Bloody Lane, and over Burnside Bridge. The old monuments loomed large and in time a childhood full of memories at other Civil War sites and historical parks began to call out to me. In time I accepted that call and spent a career preserving those and other sites and helping visitors remember, understand and appreciate the American experience. It all began at Antietam and given the chance I wouldn't hesitate to do it all again.







Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
walking tour photo, National Park Service
historic photo, Alexander Gardner, The Photographic History of the Civil War in Ten volumes: Volume Two, Two Years of Grim War, The Review of Reviews Co., New York 1911, page 74

Mel Torme: The Velvet Fog

Scott Johnson, my kindred spirit when it comes to music history, posted a belated birthday tribute to Mel Torme in 2012. He rightfully described Torme as "one of the great all-time American artists, too little known and vastly under-appreciated." A few of the songs he mentions may not load correctly but you can hear them by going directly to You Tube. Many readers may not know the artist - he passed away in 1999 - but they would certainly recognize one of his most famous compositions, The Christmas Song, from its opening line, "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...." That song is one of around 300 Torme wrote, but in addition to his singing he also contributed to the world of entertainment as a composer, arranger, musician, actor and writer over his 65 year career.

Although I've had a life-long interest in popular music and jazz I never much listened to Torme until his death. After hearing so much praise for him in remembrances from the industry, I began listening more carefully to his performances and soon developed an appreciation of his crisp timing, perfect pitch, impeccable diction, and playfulness. Here's a fine example of the master at work with his idol, Ella Fitzgerald, in an unforgettable moment in jazz performance.

And just in case you want to associate "The Velvet Fog" with his signature song - he called it his "annuity" - here is Torme performing it late in his career.

There's no question that Mel Torme, one of he earliest singers of what the music industry would know as "cool jazz", left quite a mark on the world of entertainment. For that we're pleased to remember him on his birthday, September 13, 1925. What memories we have of the man and his music.

H. L. Mencken: Skepticism At Its Finest

After all these years, the Sage of Baltimore - Henry Louis Mencken - still has so much to tell us about the American experience. In his day he invented the term "booboisie" to refer to the masses who didn't read much, know much or even care much about their lives as citizens of a democratic republic. Today we could easily apply his term to the masses who are well-schooled but not well-educated, who apply emotion rather than reason and logic to their decision making, and who align themselves with coalitions of self-interests wrapped in collectivist totalitarianism. Another term for the modern-day "booboisie" is "moonbat". I think Mencken would have a even more colorful term for them if were still with us. And oh would he have a time with our political and social landscape today.

Mencken portrait photo taken around 1923

Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance. No one in this world, so far as I know - and I have researched the records for years, and employed agents to help me - has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost office thereby.

Henry Louis Mencken, the "Sage of Baltimore," was born on this day in 1880. He was a leading journalist and author on the American scene, humorist, and a student of the American language. Mencken's stature seems to be on the rise over the last few decades. I'd guess it's because we experienced a concurrent rise in many nation-wide opportunities to watch logic, practicality, and skepticism destroy a multitude of political pretenders and their policies regardless of political persuasion.

Puritanism is the haunting fear that someone, somewhere is having a good time.

Mencken (right) celebrating the end of Prohibition in 1933

As much as I enjoy reading all of Mencken's work, the autobiographical books remain my favorites. His three-part "Days" series,  Happy Days (1940), Newspaper Days (19441), and Heathen Days (1943) should be essential reading. They cover life and times from birth through 1936, the most productive and positive time in his life. After the mid-1930's, Mencken fell a bit out of fashion as his curmudgeonly persistence began to grind on the American psyche. His perceived sympathy with German nationalism helped undermine his reputation into the 40's. In one of the great ironies in American literature, a stroke in 1948 rendered him unable to read, speak or write beyond simple phrases or sentences. Although he regained some communications skills over time, he spent the next seven years enjoying music, listening to readings, and conversing with friends until his death in 1956.

If, after I depart this vale, you ever remember me and have thought to please my ghost, forgive some sinner and wink your eye at some homely girl.

Those who want the full Mencken story should read Terry Teachout's, The Skeptic: A Life of H.L. Mencken (2003). Teachout is a superb writer who treats his subject with objectivity and warmth. I also enjoyed a biography, Mencken: The American Iconoclast (2005), by the eminent Mencken scholar, Marion Elizabeth Rodgers.

If reading isn't to your liking but you still want some immersion into the man and his times, C-SPAN's American Writers Project produced a fine two-hour program on Mencken that should not be missed. It is a thorough multimedia exploration.

Mencken at home a few months before his death

I'm the third generation in my family to consider Mencken a favorite writer. Though the author as skeptic likely played a role in his popularity over the years, I think the humor sold him to the family - certainly has in my case. But there is a sad note to this story. In 1959 - I was 13 that year - two family members who were among the first generation to appreciate Mencken passed away just one day part. My dad was the executor of this challenging estate. The late relatives had shared a large home with other brothers and accumulated seventy years of cultural history within its walls. It seemed the only thing that left the house was weekly trash. Included in that history collection they retained were thousands of magazines. No institution or person wanted them as they had not yet achieved a patina of age, worth or "significance." I was given the responsibility of burning them and in doing so I watched a near complete, mint collection of The Smart Set and The American Mercury magazines rise up in smoke on a cold winter day. Both magazines were under the editorship of H.L. Mencken early in his career and featured many new writers who were to become famous in the decades to follow. Today, the collection could bring as much as five figures at a major literary auction. So much wisdom up in smoke. If the Sage of Baltimore were alive today, he would not be happy at this outcome, nor would he be surprised...

No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.

Sources


Photos and Illustrations:
1923 portrait, public domain
Mencken celebrating, Baltimore Sun
Mencken at home, Baltimore Sun

Quotations:
Democracy is.... "Notes on Journalism," Chicago Tribune, September 19, 1926;
Puritanism is.... " Sententae," The Citizen and the State, p.624;
If, after I.... "Epitaph," from Smart Set (December 1921);
No one ever.... paraphrase of the "Democracy" quote as noted in The Yale Book of Quotations (2006)

Muslim Conquest And The Meaning Of September 11

In 1683 Muslim forces laid siege to the city of Vienna for almost two months. Their objective was far larger than a city. It was in fact the defeat of Europe and an end to the Christian world. On September 11 the Moslem Turks and Tartars repeatedly skirmished with the far-inferior Christian forces. It was the culmination of a regional siege in which Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa executed 30,000 Christians who would not convert. His thoughts of victory would not be realized. On the following day the army of the Holy Roman Empire and the commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania defeated the much larger Army of the Ottoman Empire in what we know as the Battle of Vienna,  You can read more about this complex battle at the link. With their defeat the 300 year-long Muslim effort to conquer Europe, one that included a first siege by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1529, came to an end.  

Battle of Vienna                          Franz Geffels (fl, 1635-1671)

Wikipedia's Siege of Vienna entry has more on this event as well as others involving the history of this pivotal city over the past thousand years.

By coincidence or intention the date of September 11 witnessed two significant events in the thousand year long history of religious conflict between Christians and Muslims. I doubt we have seen the last conflict as such history demands remembrance and constant vigilance for revenge.

Sources

Text:

The Deline and Fall of the Ottoman Empire, Alan Palmer, Barned and Noble Publishing, 1992

"The Historical Significance of the Date September 11," agapebiblestudy.com 

9/11

Lest we forget . . .

Sources

Photos and Illustrations:
National Park Service

Patsy Cline: A Sound Fondly Remembered

The Maryland-Virginia area has produced a number of entertainment celebrities over the years. Just last week, I posted about Arthur Godfrey, an early television star whose name is rarely recognized today. There was another tremendous star that rose out of the region in the 1950s. Arthur Godfrey made her a national star, and that star, Patsy Cline, still shines bright all these years after her death in a plane crash in 1963.

Patsy Cline, Nashville, 1962

Never met Patsy. Never knew anyone who did. But I did grow up with her music often hearing it over the radio all day at our family's summer haunt in Burlington, West Virginia. The village was on U.S. 50, just a dozen ridges and forty miles west of her first home in Gore, Virginia and a tad farther from her birthplace in Winchester. Perhaps it was too far to claim her as a hometown girl, but the locals loved her and talked often about how proud they were of a country kid who made it big.

Cline was born on this day in 1932. In her brief recording career of eight years she had a powerful influence as one of the most successful country singers to cross over into popular music. The depth of that popularity can be measured by her Guinness World Record for having the most weeks on the U.S. charts for any album in any genre by a female artist: 722. Out of the total, 251 weeks were at #1 with Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits, originally released in 1967. Here is a sample of that greatness:

Cline also took this Willie Nelson song to #1 on country charts in 1961:

Sixty years after her passing music fans still appreciate her amazing vocal technique and sincere, soulful sound. That makes the world of American music a far richer experience. I hope that appreciation continues for years to come.






Sources


Photos and Illustrations:
Les Leverett, WSM Studios, Nashville

Labor Day 2023: It's My Job

Most Labor Day weekends in north Georgia are enjoyed in beautiful weather foreshadowing the spectacular and seemingly endless fall so characteristic of this region. This year's weekend is no exception whether you're camping in the mountains, enjoying the variety of barrier islands on the coast or simply enjoying the pleasures of your own patio and yard. Regardless you'll have plenty of sunshine and warmth in which to cerebrate the world of work.

For about thirty of the 55 years of our dual career my wife and I were accustomed to working on weekends and most holidays. We worked so that other workers and their families could enjoy their day experiencing some of the most significant natural and cultural resources in the nation. We considered it an honor to have done so but at the same time came to appreciate the opportunity to share and celebrate these special days with family and friends. In sharing the stories with my children in the quiet of the evening after events of the day ended I often focused on memories of Labor Day picnics.

Those picnics were day-long affairs held in Burlington, West Virginia, by the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company to honor their employees and families on the workers' holiday. The company had been the major employer in my hometown for over three generations. By 1960 the community and company were indeed a family and this day was their reunion. Still, racial segregation  was a common practice that divided the day into two nearby picnics, one for whites, the other for blacks who made up a very small portion of the work force. Newspaper accounts over the years reaffirm the separate and unequal treatment.  

With four to five thousand white workers and their families in attendance it was a big event featuring plenty of food and beverages in addition to carnival rides, dancing, bingo and board games, swimming, model train rides, pony rides, softball, foot races and similar activities, real airplane rides at $2 a ride, and a playground filled with wonderfully dangerous equipment including the greasy pig, flying boats, two merry-go-rounds - one a center-pivot - and a very tall and fast sliding board. None of that thrilling playground equipment could begin to approach today's safety standards. And if the activities of the day weren't enough, sundown signaled it was time for a free movie under the stars at the drive-in theater next door.

OTR at the Burlington campground in 1949 . . .

. . . and 1959. . . 

. . .and 1970

Although many of the playmates on those days ended up working at the mill others  went on to college, military service or opportunities and adventures that took them away from small town life. In the long run I think those who left made the right decision. In the summer of 2018 the mill closed abruptly putting almost 700 workers out of jobs that had supplied their families with good union wages and benefits for generations. Today, the mill sits idle after several changes in ownership and a slow, decades-long decline in both the talented workforce and demand for the coated paper it produced. It was a story heard often in the region as one industry after another declined or disappeared entirely. It is a story we hear today in many industrial regions in the United States.

The mill's Labor Day picnics at Burlington ended in the 1960's and it's been almost fifty years since I spent that holiday weekend there. Still, I feel a strong affinity for the place, the big event, and those - including lots of extended family - living among the magnificent ridges and valleys in the shadow of the Allegheny Front. Although they are surely challenged by the mill closing their work ethic and sense of community will insure their survival through these hard time. They've done it before.

We know the notable labor history of these valleys in the last century helped bring the nation through two world wars and into the limelight as the greatest economic engine on the planet. We may be left only with the memories of the holiday at Burlington and elsewhere but we cannot forget the labor, ambitions, and achievements that made the celebration possible. That's why we wish all workers, especially those in the valleys of Georges Creek, New Creek, Patterson Creek and the Potomac River, a happy Labor Day. I think the American Dream has a good future in store for all of them. There will be bumps in the road to better employment but those challenges simply make the good times more enjoyable. After all, it's widely known that mountains cannot stand without valleys.

Happy Labor Day, Americans, wherever you are.

Why Climate Change Is Way Beyond Fossil Fuel And Potentially Our Ability To Manage It

For the past two months or so some serious solar flares have washed our planet. The series of solar storms emitting these strong flares from the surface of the sun has rotated from view and no longer pose a threat to Earth. On the other hand as we approach 2025 and the peak of the current sunspot cycle we could soon be washed in an abundance of electromagnetic energy. Although a very, very minimal threat to life thanks to our ozone layer these storms could be a serious threat to a society that relies on electricity.

Solar flares are a frequent occurrence and scientists have measured their strength for a century. The last flare to seriously impact the world's electrical systems and components was in 1972. That event degraded satellite performance, blocked radio frequencies, disrupted electrical grids, produced high current surges in telephone lines, detonated magnetic sea mines, and produced auroras so bright they cast shadows. To say the least it was a dramatic happening.

In February 2022 Elon Musk's SpaceX program launched another series of Starlink telecommunications satellites. Before they could be moved to their final orbit the headwinds of a strong solar flare doomed them to a degrading orbit and an eventual fiery end in our atmosphere. It's only the latest consequence of our experience with solar winds.

On September 1-2, 1859, the high technology of the day had a similar experience that heliophyisicists call the Carrington Event. It was named after British astronomer Richard Carrington who with fellow astronomer Richard Hodgson first documented a solar flare in detail. We can only imagine the impact of that event given our reliance on electricity today. 

The Carrington Event literally "turned on the lights." Our friends at spaceweather.com wrote this about the event:

...a billion-ton coronal mass ejection (CME) slammed into Earth's magnetic field. Campers in the Rocky Mountains woke up in the middle of the night, thinking that the glow they saw was sunrise. No, it was the Northern Lights. People in Cuba read their morning paper by the red illumination of aurora borealis. Earth was peppered by particles so energetic, they altered the chemistry of polar ice.

 

Orange dots mark sighting of auroras on the morning of September 2, 1859

The geomagnetic storm that day was so powerful that telegraph keys sparked and caught fire. Even with power lost in the lines, the storm electrified them to the point that messages could still be sent. Given our dependence on technology today, such storms pose a significant threat. Here's more from NASA's Science News page:

...a huge solar flare on August 4, 1972, knocked out long-distance telephone communication across Illinois. That event, in fact, caused AT&T to redesign its power system for transatlantic cables. A similar flare on March 13, 1989, provoked geomagnetic storms that disrupted electric power transmission from the Hydro Québec generating station in Canada, blacking out most of the province and plunging 6 million people into darkness for 9 hours; aurora-induced power surges even melted power transformers in New Jersey. In December 2005, X-rays from another solar storm disrupted satellite-to-ground communications and Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation signals for about 10 minutes.

Read more about past CME events in this link on the spaceweather.com page.

There is one certainty and that is the more our knowledge expands the more we understand how little we really know. Perhaps it is time to pay as much attention to coronal mass ejections and solar flares as we do to climate change. Both could pose significant world-wide threats. Both deserve more study. 

And for the philosophers among us there's always the challenge of pondering what we don't know about what we don't know. 

Enough for now. I'll let you explore the very new issue of near earth objects (NEO) on you own for now and leave my comments for another day.