Saddened

Because of the death of my father early Monday morning I will not write this week.

Autumn

It is quite a fall season with the weather still so mild and comfortable and busy lives in between sleeping and waking. On Monday the wife and I drove over to Lisbon again to see my parents in the home. Dad has suffered some strokes that have caused the loss of coherent speech and the use of one side of his body. He wants to talk but gets frustrated with his illness. Hospice now comes in to see him often and brings their reassurance and comforting. I am 68 years old and have been fortunate to have him all that time. It has been very appreciated that a few good friends and relatives have visited the folks.

An event scheduled on the other end of the emotional index takes place this next Saturday when our older son marries his lady. I still remember clearly the day he was born and how I laid down on the car’s foot feed to back out of a slippery, snowy driveway. That was 34 years ago. The younger son married some years ago and already has two little kids to show for it. Just like my parents did, Mary and I entered the world of grandparents and have relished it.

Among other things I am a member of the Tanka Society of America, a poet group that specializes in writing the short verse form of tanka with a characteristic five line format. The editors of their journal Ribbons have seen fit to publish some of my work and the following will be submitted to them for consideration:

this daylily
blooms once and dies
but then
another bud opens
my sons, their sons …

It is a simple form, usually using a simple statement to point out a stronger element and uses few capitals or marks of punctuation. For its surface simplicity much can be said with it. It expresses my feelings at the present time.

Looking for the Truth

There are three truths: my truth, your truth, and the truth. - Chinese Proverb


For those who know me best it is probably well understood that I am a “Blue Dog Democrat,” which is to say a conservative one. All sorts of descriptions float around, maybe saying I’m a bit left of center fits best. Whatever, when I’m reading or listening to media I go for quiet, well-reasoned dialogues where issues are intelligently discussed in a friendly setting. I appreciate the MSNBC program “Morning Joe” because it features just such discussions. Joe Scarborough is a Republican and one of his regular appearing sidekicks is Pat Buchanan, avowedly conservative. But other guests balance the discussions and the level of repartee is usually pleasant.

I recently heard Jon Meacham, editor of the Newsweek magazine, say on "Morning Joe" that we presently have an entire class of media people who depend on conflict for their livelihood, not conflict resolution. If they make their living from throwing poisoned darts will they ever go away? I don‘t think so. Names of the culprits come easy, but I don’t want to credit their existence by naming them.

While on my recent trip to the northeast , I missed the Eric Sevareid Symposium held in Bismarck, although I kept up with it as best as I could on the internet. Two of Sevareid’s proteges, Dan Rather and Bob Schieffer, attended as featured speakers. A quote I picked up from Schieffer stood out loud and clear; he talked of people’s “journalism of validation. They will listen only to those who agree with their point of view.”

It’s only occasionally that people take hard-hitting criticism good-naturedly. Zgigniew Brzesinski, Jimmy Carter’s national security advisor, appeared on Morning Joe. Scarborough thought he could discuss world events on a par with him when he said something about the Israel-Palestine crisis. Brzesinski shot back, “You know, you have such a stunningly superficial knowledge of what went on that it’s almost embarrassing to listen to you.” Wearing a sheepish grin, Joe acted as if he had no hard feelings about being put in his place and has had Brzesinski back for commentary since that time. That’s the kind of behavior I enjoy seeing.

This blog appears each Wednesday morning (usually).

Travelin' - Last Comments

Someone named Will Kommen said “If you look like your passport photo, you’re too ill to travel.” . . . Diane asked about the several different marks of punctuation, and one answer was ellipsis. If you don’t know what that is look at these three dots . . . We learned several people checked for bedbugs in our motels and found none
. . . I ate ice cream made from Jersey cows, delicious . . . Our suitcases got heavier, but then rocks from the seashore weigh a lot . . . Plymouth Rock is disappointingly small . . . The volume of water flowing over Niagara Falls boggles the mind . . . You gotta admire the bravery of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence . . . Our guide in Vermont lamented how he missed the last public appearance of Robert Frost . . . The naked lady cowboy in Times Square wore a couple skimpy items behind that guitar . . . Thomas Jefferson possessed a fertile mind
. . . NYC 30,000 Yellow cab drivers drove a lot of Ford Escape Hybrids . . . A pit bull near Grant’s Tomb acted like he would have attacked me, but luckily his handler held him with what looked like a log chain . . . The foliage on Gettysburg has surely been nourished by the thousands of men slain there . . . The solemnity of the ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier takes your breath away . . . Robert E. Lee’s house near Arlington Cemetery isn’t worth the effort of stepping inside . . . 15,000 people work in the Empire State Building . . . Registered thoroughbred horses wear a tattoo on the inside of the upper lip . . . The runoff from heavy rain caused someone to lose his pumpkin crop; we saw them floating against a dam . . . The worst joke told: what do you get crossing a menopausal woman with a GPS, a bitch who will find you . . . We bought “Blue Smoke” salsa for Brandon’s bachelor dinner party
. . . People entering a restaurant when they saw our bus pull in, rushed to get ahead of us . . . Diane told us how fast the eighteen days would pass by and then likened it to a roll of toilet paper nearly used up - a metaphor for life? . . . I felt ignorant when one waitress told me she was from Eritrea and I could only say I’ve forgotten my geography, where is that? - Near Ethiopia and Sudan . . . The city of New York is huge and it still works somewhat sensibly . . . Our neighbors are so good to look after our house and yard while we were away . . . The list must end. It was a great trip! My favorite poem, Ithaka, was written by the Greek poet Constantine Cavafy. It begins: “When you set out for Ithaka/ ask that your way be long,/ full of adventure, full of instruction.” With that I say farewell to the journey.

Travelin' - Home, the Second Part

Philadelphia loomed in our sights next. I wish I could say the sight of the Liberty Bell brought goose bumps to my flesh, but I would lie. It sets, or hangs low, in a special building dedicated to it, and people herd past the bell quite thickly, so much so that it is hard to take posed pictures while acting like we had rung it before the crack appeared. A dimly lit room contains original copies of the Declaration and other documents nesting beneath glass under the watchful glare of a Park Ranger. After the Revolution, Philadelphia was the seat of temporary government so it does bear a lot of historical importance and I cannot make light of it, even though the modern city crowds up against all the significant buildings.

New York City, a foreboding place to a secluded prairie dweller, became the next destination. With our capable bus driver, though, the streets and neighborhoods of that giant metropolis flowed by. A step-on guide named Serge, a Bosnian having lived in the city some 30 years, guided our exploration. So now I can say I’ve seen place names such as Wall Street, the Empire State Building, the rising of the new World Trade Center, SoHo, Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, Harlem, Chinatown, Central Park, Greenwich Village, etc., etc. A harbor tour took us beneath the Statue of Liberty, something which is an impressive sight.

I can’t dwell on such places for long. (This isn’t a book.) Leaving the city during the rush hour became thrilling. Jeff, the bus driver, could not be intimidated by New York bus drivers who kept trying to edge him out for position in the crowded streets. After a second night’s stay in the dumpy New Jersey motel we headed to Boston. Boston, filled with such history as the Old North Church, Paul Revere, Faneuil Hall, the Freedom Trail, JFK’s library and museum , followed our NYC visit.

And so the days passed by with more destinations visited such as Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower, Plimouth (spelling here is correct) Plantation, the Flume, Quechee Gorge, Calvin Coolidge Museum, Niagara Falls, the Cranberry Museum, plus whatever else I’ve already forgotten. One more part to his rambling travelogue will appear soon.

Travelin' - Home

Travelin’ - Home

After traveling on a tour bus through twenty states we arrived home at the end of eighteen days. Fifty-seven people we were on another very satisfying trip with the North Dakota Farmers Union under the able direction of Jeff Willer and his trip escort Diane Peltz. Mary and I realized after our first trip with Farmers Union some years back that no one else can do it better and after about nine trips with them we still feel the same way. This particular tour was a repeat for us; we wanted to return to the early history settings of this country that we had visited previously.

The first notable stop came on day 3 at the Kentucky Keeneland horse track where we watched an annual thoroughbred horse sale where an $815 million sale took place last year. International money comes to this event, and the day before a horse sold to an Arabian sheik for $4.5 million . It was on this racetrack the movie “Seabiscuit” was filmed and after leaving we drove to a retired horse farm and saw the horse that played Seabiscuit in the race scenes.

Day 4 found the bus rolling along the Midland Trail in mountainous country; it stopped at the little town of Amsted to let us off and tour the salsa manufacturing plant that an enterprising lady has established and grown to a sizable business. We had discovered that operation six years ago when we stopped there for refreshments at the next door convenience store. One of the group wandered past the door and came back to tell Jeff and an impromptu tour took place. Later in the afternoon Monticello, Jefferson’s personally designed home, rounded out the day.

From here on days begin to run and blur together. Colonial Williamsburg, home of the Continental Congress, featured buildings restored to their original condition. At Mount Vernon it can easily be seen George Washington chose the location of his mansion well when you sit on the porch and view the panorama of the Potomac River flowing past.

We toured the United States Capitol under the watchful gaze of many armed guards, but an informed guide showed and told us much of the lore and facts associated with the building. To do justice to a visit to this city one should spend a week. There are so many things to see: the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier; memorials to veterans of the Viet Nam war, the Korean War, World War II, and Iwo Jima; the memorials dedicated to Lincoln, Jefferson, Washington, FDR, et al; big eats at the NDFU sponsored restaurants - Farmers & Fishers and Founding Farmers (both excellent); the sprawling Smithsonian Institution with its collection of several buildings each dedicated to a theme.

As I write it is late on the night that we arrived home, and I am tired. My thoughts run to my father who has suffered a couple of strokes while I was gone so we are making plans to drive to Lisbon tomorrow. I will write more in a couple of days.

travelin' - V

Benton Harbor, Mich

The end is in sight one more night after this one. The trip has gone well, but this computer has sticky keys so I will save my energy. Niagara Falls yesterday. Very nice.

Travelin' - IV

On the shore, Massachusetts

The wind is blowing hard this morning, hard rain expected for Boston this pm where we will be. Mary and I ate lobster last night, no big deal, I'll order shrimp next time. New York was a good time. Our guide, Serge, took us up one street and down another for most of the day so we saw a lot of the city plus a boat cruise past and underneath the Statue of Liberty.