Beloved Husband - Beloved Wife

Beloved: Dearly loved; a much loved person. Darling, dear, precious, cherished, treasured, prized, highly regarded, esteemed, worshiped, revered.

Husband: A married man; a male partner in a marriage. The man a woman is married to. A male spouse. Also means to conserve, use resources economically.

Wife: A married woman; the female partner in a marriage. The woman a man is married to. A female spouse.

The (2000) DVD cover the movie,
"Logan's Run" (1976).

"Wake Up." These are the first words spoken in the movie, Logan's Run. The character Logan 6 is trying to attract the attention of his newborn son replacement.

A post about "Logan's Run" seems appropriate for Valentine's Day because of its portrayal of marriage and life as counter culture to a dystopian society which emphasizes youth, pleasure, and materialism.

I don't remember when I first saw "Logan's Run." If I didn't see it in the theater when it was released, I must have seen it soon after on Cable or video cassette.  It had a strong impact on me at the time because of its critical view of institutional religion. However, when viewing it again the other night after a long hiatus, I realized it also is very pro-life, marriage, and love.

In the movie, everyone has to die at 30 in order to maintain ecological balance. Civilization is locked inside a covered dome, cut-off from the natural world. The two main character's, Logan and Jessica, end up outside the dome to search for a nirvana called "sanctuary", a place where one can live beyond 30. Typically, at first there is tension between the woman and man. But as a result of their journey together and sharing hardships, they fall in love.

  

Ankh

An important image in the film is the ankh, an ancient Egyptian symbol of life. When I first saw the movie, I thought it was a Christian cross or crucifix. Coptic Christians apparently did adopt this symbol as their cross. In the movie, the female character, Jessica, appropriately wears an ankh (obviously symbolizing her potential fertility). It is the key (literally) to the future of the couple.

A key aspect to the couple's relationship is when the woman accepts the man as well as the idea of marriage and raising children and living together for the rest of their lives. Marriage and children are coupled together.

As the couple stumbles through the outside world, they come across a cemetery. An old man (God?) explains that the terms they see on the tombstones, Beloved Wife”and Beloved Husband actually meant that a woman and a man loved each other, married each other, committed to live with each other for the rest of their lives, and had children together and raised them.

Later, Logan and Jessica marry, repeating words they saw on the tombstones. "So people stayed together for this feeling of love. They would live and raise children and be remembered," says Jessica, repeating what she has learned from the old man. "I think I'd like that, Logan, don't you?"
"Beloved husband," she tells him.
"Beloved wife," he responds.

There is so much more to this movie that is relevant to today. I highly recommend it. Sure, the special effects are antiquated and cheesy (surprisingly they won an academy award) but the themes are deep and worth pondering. Love, Marriage, Children, Future. Its a brave new world.

Happy Valentine's Day! Treasure your beloved. "To infinity and beyond!"

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Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan%27s_Run_(film)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankh
http://altreligion.about.com/od/symbols/p/Ankh.htm
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POSTSCRIPT:

There is a series of insightful essays available at:

http://www.transparencynow.com/logan/logtable1.htm

The series is divided into five parts:

1. The Story.
2. Logan's Run as a Critique of Society: Sex, Power, Illusion.
3. Logan's Run as a Disguised Account of Personal Development: Family, Mind, Birth.
4. Logan's Run as Myth: Adam, Christ, Rome.
5. The Meaning of Logan's Run: Society's Power Brokers as Infantilizing Pseudo Parents.

You can read them consecutively (as I did) or individually in any order. Access via the link above. I highly recommend these essays. They were very provocative and have stimulated pondering about my maturation process and life ahead (as well as the past).
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Written Saturday 13 February 2016.
Postscript added Saturday 20 February 2016

Book: Rediscover Jesus

Front cover.

This is the book Father Hattie sent to me. I promised to read it during Lent. It is conveniently divided into 40 "chapters" so a chapter can be read each day during Lent. Most "chapters" are short: 2-4 pages or so. The entire book is 187 pages plus a few end pages at the back.

The back cover says:

"Rediscover Jesus is a profound invitation to seek deeply personal answers to our deeply personal questions. Each page seems to effortlessly reach deep into our lives, providing spiritual wisdom and practical insights that help us get to know both Jesus and ourselves in a new way."

I am not going to link to the author's website because I despise hucksters who sell Jesus.

Anyway, I'm trying to keep an open mind. You see (you know), I don't believe in an historical Jesus. However, I would like a savior. I also believe in God. I just don't comprehend Jesus as an historical incarnation of God. Doesn't make sense to me, doesn't add up.

So at the end of Lent, we will see how well this books does at getting me to "rediscover Jesus."

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Links:

http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2016/02/a-gift-book.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent

http://www.alternet.org/belief/5-reasons-suspect-jesus-never-existed

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Written Saturday 20 February 2016.

Winter Social

Invitation postcard.

On Fat Tuesday (February 9, 2016) I attended the Cedar Hill Cemetery Foundation Winter Social at the Asylum Hill Congregational Church. The connection between Cedar Hill Cemetery and AHCC is the late Rev. Joseph Twichell, the first pastor of AHCC and friend of writer Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain).

Pew marker for Mark Twain.

The social began (appropriately) in the Twichell Room with wine and cheese and various finger foods. As soon as I walked in, I recognized a couple that I (thought) knew. They recognized me too but for a while we could not place the connection. After running through a variety of activities and groups, we discovered it was through the roller hockey that our sons played. I don't think they ever played on the same team but I often saw the same parents each week in the stands sitting along side us or coming and going. I miss those days. Anyway, it's a small world.

Twichell Room at AHCC

After some short speeches (really), we took a "tour" of the church. Actually, this was just an excuse to go into the church and up into the choir loft to see and hear a demonstration of their fabulous pipe organ by organist, Susan Carroll. I wish I would've wrote down what she played for us (rather obscure stuff). The link above include a video clip of the previous organist playing Bach. Pretty impressive.

Sitting in the choir loft for the organ demonstration.
Note the pipes behind us (the top of my head is at the extreme top left).

View of the choir loft and organ (at right, behind organist).

During the tour, I learned that until 1818 the Congregationalist Church was the official state church of the state of Connecticut. All Connecticut residents were required to attend church and/or pay taxes to support the Congregational faith. Anyone belonging to another Christian sect had to provide documentation signed by their church officer indicating attendance and financial support of their separate church in order to avoid paying taxes to the Congregationalists. This resulted in Thomas Jefferson's famous letter regarding the separation between church and state.

I also learned that the architect of the AHCC was Patrick Keely. He designed many of the Catholic Churches in New England during the 1800s.

I am looking forward to the upcoming season of tours and walks through Cedar Hill Cemetery.
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Links:
https://www.ahcc.org
http://historicbuildingsct.com/?p=20
http://cedarhillfoundation.org/notable-residents/joseph-hopkins-twichell
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Twain
http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2013/06/finally.html
https://www.ahcc.org/music-arts/sanctuary-organ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6fgRfrTb78
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptists_in_the_history_of_separation_of_church_and_state#cite_note-Jeff_Reply-6
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Keely
http://www.cedarhillcemetery.org
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Written Saturday 20 February 2016.

42nd Street

Poster for the 1933 movie, "42nd Street"

They don't make 'em like this anymore.

The other evening I decided I wanted to watch something different. So in looking over my DVD collection, I picked this one out from my Busby Berkeley box set.

Cover of the DVD Box Set
"The Busby Berkeley Collection"

I started with the first disc, 42nd Street, featuring Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Ginger Rogers, and others.

Cover of DVD (2006) for
"42nd Street."

I'm not going to summarize the story of the movie's plot because you can follow the link to Wikipedia or look elsewhere online.

The movie really pepped me up and got me hummin'. Oh, how I love this. I was not bored watching this movie. The energy is fantastic and the songs are great (if you like songs). This movie is essentially a series of clips of fabulous Busby Berkeley dance routines to the songs:

• You're Getting to be a Habit with Me.
• It Must Be June.
• Shuffle Off to Buffalo.
• Young and Healthy.
• and the grand finale, Forty-Second Street.

The movie is full of sex but nothing explicit. Dick Powell practically jumps off the screen with energy as he sings (most especially in "Young and Healthy"). Ruby Keeler is wide-eyed and beautifully innocent.

There is also an urgency portrayed in this film. Life is now, quick, grab it before it passes you by. Life is do or die. One of my favorite scenes is when the show's director played by Warner Baxter asks Ruby Keeler if she has ever been kissed. When she replies in the negative, he hesitates only for a brief fraction of second before urgently kissing her intensely. This results in a startled and pleased Ruby Keeler able to say her lines with the right amount of feeling.

The plot is not entirely decadent. There is a side story about a couple who are on the verge of splitting up due to the woman's success. But after an accident, she realizes that her love for her male partner is more important than her career. Everyone ends up with the right partner.

Of course, due to its age, 42nd Street is in Black & White. A colorized version was once available on VHS (video tape) but has never been officially released on DVD or Blu-Ray.

The movie "42nd Street" is a blessing for anyone who appreciates classic musicals and fantastic dance routines.

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Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busby_Berkeley
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/42nd_Street_(film)
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Written Saturday 13 February 2016

Downtown in Snow

Monday February 8th, 2016
Downtown Hartford, CT

Snow. It comes as part of Winter. It seems like nowadays snow can bring most everything to a halt. It wasn't always that way. When I was a kid, it seemed like school was never called off due to snow. Instead, we just kept going. When we got there, we got there and nobody batted an eye, because it was winter and snow can mess things up. If you were diligent, you allocated more time for travel and left earlier so that you arrived early and on time.

One of the benefits of today's technology is the ability to edit pictures, especially the pictures we shoot using cheap cell phone cameras. I really like the photo above because it reminds me of the kind of 1950s record album covers for jazz and classical. The City at night. 

"I'm so blue..." and so is my city. The shot above was taken right after I left the office and was trudging several blocks to my car. The frosty winter air is invigorating you know, especially after you've been in the artificial atmosphere of the indoor office most of the day. It snowed today and I took a couple of quick shots to try to capture the atmosphere of downtown Hartford at night in winter, calm and cool.

Main Street looking south (Gold Bldg at right)

Main Street looking North (Old State House to the right).

Central Row looking East at Phoenix (Boat) Bldg.
{This is a less processed edit than the one above.}

Old State House (East side).

Old State House looking West (777 Bldg behind).

Phoenix (Boat) Bldg at left; Plaza Bldg at right (with umbrella logo).

Travelers Tower.
(This reminds me of an old fashioned tinted post card).

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Written Saturday 20 February 2016.

A Gift Book

Letter from Fr. Hattie received via email on February 2, 2016.

I am always pleased to receive a letter from Fr. Hattie. His letter received via email on February 2nd (see image above and transcription below) had the added mysterious blessing that he had sent me a book (although it had not yet arrived).

In case you have a difficult time deciphering the manual typewritten letter (above), below is my transcription. I have slightly tweaked the image above by adding a hint of blue/green in order to suggest the Aerogram stationary that Father used during his time in Africa. Please let me know if you identify any heir_hers (note: I think this is one of my best) in my transcription below.

My Fr. Hattie page contains a list of his letters to me over the past few years PLUS information on how to contact Father AND how to donate to support his "kids" (orphans) in Uganda.

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My dear Rick:  Peace of Christ!

     As you know, I sent you a Book "Rediscovering Christ" that I found very interesting & enlightening & very easy to understand. Please don't bother to return it. You can lend it to those who may enjoy reading it & profit much from it. For Christmas, my sister gave a copy to everyone of her 8 kids & innumerable grandkids, many of whom no longer go to any Church. Maybe you can bring back some of your friends who never go to Church. At least, it's worth the try. Sometimes, when we priests try to talk people into returning to Church, they listen, but it goes in one ear and out {the} other because they think that we have a vested interest and our just doing our job. Try it once or twice and see.

     Still no info about returning to Africa before May, but I'm still hoping against hope.

     Also, not a single word from or about my adopted son, but I'm still hoping & praying. I leave my SKYPE button {on} 24 hours a day just in case he happens to call in the middle of the night. Prayers, please. I just wonder if he has been kidnapped & killed. A Sister is searching for him for me and I have just sent her a few more hints. Something has 'to give'.

    I really enjoy all the TV items* and the info that you send.

    Be sure that ALL of you are in my daily Mass and prayers.

    Most important of all, MANY thanks for the generous & kind gift of $$ for my 1000 kids, quite a large brood.

Fr. Gene, SJ                               

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* I am mystified by the reference to "TV items."
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Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerogram
http://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Dec2005/Feature1.asp
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Postscript:

The book arrived and I am reading it for Lent this year. See my beginning post.
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Link:
http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2016/02/book-rediscover-jesus.html
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Written Saturday 6 February 2016.
Added Postscript Saturday February 20, 2016.