Interlude

Wild Flowers (May 24, 2014)

The End of the War (?)

After about six weeks of effort, I finished the book, The War That Made America. This has been a major influence on me. It opened my eyes to the cycle of history as well of the ignorance of the masses (including me). To do justice to the effect this book has had on me would require a detailed essay (but as you know I don't really even have time for this blog entry). I probably doesn't make any difference one way or another because no one pays any attention to me anyway.

The Warriors

If you read my previous blog entry (see the link above), you may recall that the book is about the French and Indian War. A portion of my interest involves the controversy about the mascot of the Cleveland Indians, Chief Wahoo. In addition, last year there was a similar issue regarding the mascot of his high school sports teams, The Warriors (the school principal arbitrarily decided to ban the logo as demeaning, etc.).

The book deals with the treatment of the Indians (i.e., Native Americans), the French, the British, Colonial Americans, and more.  The story involves many broken promises, betrayal, religion, violence, greed, power, death, struggle, and hope. In other words, the same kinds of things we face today.

I selected some sentences from the Prologue and the Epilogue which I think summarize key concepts:

The French and Indian War (aka, The Seven Years War) overthrew what had been a stable balance of power in both Europe and North America and helped to foster a secessionist rebellion in Britain's North American colonies.

In bringing to an end the French empire in North America, the French and Indian War undermined, and ultimately destroyed, the ability of native peoples to resist the expansion of Anglo-American settlement. The war's violence and brutality, moreover, encouraged whites to hate Indians with undiscriminating fury.

The widespread Indian hating that the French and Indian War engendered would be reinforced by the War of Independence and contribute to the formation of American cultural identity, sanctioning the removal or annihilation of native peoples as necessary to the advance of civilization.

The French and Indian War is a story in which imperial ambitions produced unpredictable, violent results; in which victory breeds unanticipated disaster for the victor; in which the evidently benign growth of a population of peaceable farmers leads to the wholesale destruction of native peoples.

Just the other day, I heard talk of the appeal of possibly ongoing reparation payments to the relatives of former African-American slaves...as if cash payments could rewrite history and right all wrongs. I guess that is a modern American idea: throw money.

Relatedly (to this book), the media is reporting this weekend of a catastrophic failure of a western-backed government in Iraq. Trillions of dollars and thousands of lives (millions if collateral damage is included) have apparently been needlessly wasted in our invasion of Iraq. "Victory breeds unanticipated disaster for the victor."

...to grasp the story of the great transformation that the French and Indian War began is above all to understand it as a cautionary tale: one that demonstrates the unpredictability and irony that always attend the pursuit of power, reminding us that even the most complete victories can sow the seeds of reversal and defeat for victors too dazzled by success to remember that they are, in fact, only human.

I highly recommend that you read this book or a similar one about the founding of our country.

Links:

http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-war-that-made-america.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_and_Indian_War

written Sunday 15 June 2014

Celebrate WH Days

Overhead view. June 7, 2014 (edited from WH News)

Everything happens at once ... So much to choose from this weekend. Today, we could pick from Wings & Wheels, National Trails Day, or West Hartford Days. We've previously enjoyed each of them. Why do they all have to be on the same day this year?

Richard had been looking forward to West Hartford Days, so we went to that. He had watched the ride company set up the rides during the week before. He has enjoyed watching amusement park ride construction and takedown since he was a little tyke.

I met him and Lynn at ~1:45 p.m. there on a beautiful sunny afternoon. The picture above only shows the back half of the event site. On the other side of the town hall were rows of booths for the arts & crafts vendors.

We ran into several people we know, including my friend Gary and his wife. (I worked with Gary in Clevo!). We also ran into one of my neighbors. Richard found some friends from school and rode some rides with them.

Lots of good food available. Richard was glad that one of his favorites was there: a Thai restaurant from New Haven selling garlic chicken on a stick. It was good. I got a lobster roll (with butter) for only $8. And there is the treat of Stewart Key Lime soda (in a glass bottle).

I miss that there is no longer a library book sale. But Richard says I have too many books already (and he's right).

I'm sure just one more quarter will trigger a big win.

Richard got some free rides because the amusement ride company recognized him from hanging out for so many years. He and I rode the ferris wheel, tilt-a-whirl, and sizzler. We dropped a couple bucks in the quarter game but didn't win anything. This is a fun game to watch but very dangerous to play (see picture at right).

I didn't put on sun screen and came away with a red neck. We browsed the arts & crafts booths and saw some interesting things but nothing we could afford.

In addition to the food and arts and crafts, there were community services booths (e.g., churches, social service agencies, music, arts, zoo, banks, etc.). They give out free pens and junk like that (one year I got a fly swatter). They also had a band stand. The Saturday schedule was dominated by school choirs. Richard got to see his alma mater perform and say hello to a few folks.

When the "Celebration" closed at 6 p.m. I barely had time to walk home. Then I picked up some food from our favorite pizza place, Angelina's Pizza and deliver to Lynn's apartment where we watched the NHL Stanley Cup championship (Game #2) between the NY Rangers and the LA Kings. I didn't stay for the whole game (being in the sun all day really sucks the energy out of ya). The Kings won in the 2nd Overtime period.

Links:
http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2013/06/wings-wheels-sunday.html
http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2011/06/national-trails-day.html
http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2011/06/celebrate-west-hartford-day.html
http://biggestpizzainct.com/

written Sunday 15 June 2014

Strawberries and Cream (Not)

Letter received June 4, 2014 via email  from Father Hattie.

Above is a letter I recently received from Fr. Hattie. I took the liberty of using software to give the paper a bluish-green tinge to hearken back to the days of his airmail special stationary.

As you may recall, Father literally uses a manual typewriter to compose his letters. The typewritten letter is then scanned and saved as a jpeg file (i.e., picture/image). As you can see from image above, the impressions of the typewritten letters vary in intensity, hence distortion and blurring resulted when I tried to "enhance" the image to make it more readable.

Below is my transcription of the letter (for your convenience). I have taken the liberty to "clarify" some of the words that are not clear in the typewritten original. If I goofed, I apologize.

You can reach Father via email at: EHattie@Ymail.com. I think you couldn't go wrong in corresponding with him.

See my "Father Hattie" page for more contact info, including where to send a donation for the orphans at Nsumbi Orphanage in Uganda (Africa).
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Dear Rick:                     Peace of the Risen Lord!

     Before the loving & joyful Easter Season begins to slowly ooze away, I just have to thank you most sincerely for your latest and kind & very generous Gift of $xx.xx for my kids because it will help the Sisters a lot to take care of the orphans, and taking care of so many is not [a] bowl of strawberries and cream. You're great!

    Last night about midnight, another of our Jesuits went to the Lord. He came here just about 2 months ago & had been sick for just about a week, so he went quickly. A 'mistake' I made sometime ago was to push his wheelchair from the 5th Floor to his room on the 4th & that 'cooked his goose'...after that he wouldn't allow anyone to push him except me. On several occasions, when others offered to push him some[where], he would say, 'No, go get Father, for he is the only one who is able to push me properly.' So, you see what I mean when I say that I got 'stuck'. When he came here, his mind was quite clear, but he quickly became like a child. He was a brilliant guy with a PhD from Oxford, England and knew 6 Biblical languages, but here no one would have suspected it. While he was dying, he often became quite agitated, but all I had to say was, 'Don't worry. I'm here with you', and he would drift off to sleep again. R.I.P. We never know the day or the hour.

    Toward the end of July, I'll be taking off for Canton to celebrate my 92nd Birthday & that will mean a crowd. My sister had [7?] kids & now the grandkids & great-grandkids number about 40. I told her that she must use name tags this year because I don't know most of their names. Wish me luck. I'm lucky in this that, at 92 I am one of the healthiest in the Community. I walk about 2-1/2 miles each day and do 20 minutes on the standered [stationary?] bicycle. Many in their late 70s are suffering from dementia & are in wheelchairs....Please give my regards & love to your wonderful Mom when you talk to her. She, too, is a great gal.

    Be sure that you have a super-special remembrance in my daily Mass & prayers as I ask the good Lord to fill you to the brim & flowing over with His & Her choicest gifts, Graces, & blessings. Keep smiling (there is too little in the world, and things could be far worse) & spreading His & Her peace, love & joy all over W. Hartford. Till next time,

Tons of love & gratitude,

Fr. Gene, SJ
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Notes:

The fellow priest that died is apparently Fr. Frank (Francis) T. Gignac, SJ. His obituary was published on the Jesuit website. Worth check out...very interesting. Father Hattie's description of him is spot on.

Fr. Hattie's birthday is July 18th. A brief biography can be found in my entry from his 90th birthday. He would probably appreciate receiving a birthday card and note of cheer from you.

Links:

http://www.jesuits-chgdet.org/news-detail?TN=NEWS-20140604105947
http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2013/08/father-hattie.html

Written Saturday 28 June 2014