Megiddo at the Crossroads of History

911, Academy for Spiritual Formation, Apocalypse, art, Astrology, Faith, Healing, hope, Imagination, inspiration, Israel, Megiddo, Painting, pandemic, purpose, Spirituality, vision

On a visit to the Holy Land, I walked in the ruins of Tell Megiddo and also climbed the hills above the Jezerell valley. From this vantage point, I could imagine the great battles of nations warring to conquer land and control trading routes. Megiddo lies at the crossroads and therefore in the crosshairs of international politics, both in ancient and current times.

The plains of Megiddo, the breadbasket of Israel, also were known as a great battleground in ancient times. Egypt came more than once to fight the kings of Israel and Judah. The world’s earliest recorded battle occurred here between Syrian princes and Pharaoh Thutmosis III (ca. 1469 BC). Judah’s king Josiah was fatally wounded when he confronted another pharaoh, Neco II, near Megiddo ca. 609 BC (2 Kings 23:29-30). Although Megiddo is only mentioned in the Old Testament, the New Testament refers to it once in Revelation 16:16 as Harmagedon (mountain of Megiddo), the final site of the battle between the forces of good and evil at the end times of the age. Of course, scholars have different interpretations of when these “end times” are at hand.

The final book of the Greek New Testament is ΑΠΟΚΑΛΥΨΙΣ ΙΩΑΝΝΟΥ, or the Apocalypse of John. The word apocalypse means “disclosure of truth, instruction, or reveal, disclose, uncover.” It especially refers to Jewish and Christian writings of 200 BCE to 150 CE, which are marked by pseudonymity, symbolic imagery, and the expectation of an imminent cosmic cataclysm in which God destroys the ruling powers of evil and raises the righteous to life in a messianic kingdom.

Chariot Sculpture at Megiddo Battlefield

I remember a presenter on an Academy for Spiritual Formation retreat saying she had difficulty saying the prayers in the psalter, for the psalms of lament meant nothing to her, since she had no griefs to bear. Her spiritual adviser reminded her, “We pray these prayers for others, not just for ourselves alone.” As an artist of faith, I sense the needs of the world: it’s longings, fears, hopes, and dreams. I don’t always paint “art for art’s sake.” Certainly the conflict our beloved United Methodist Church has been experiencing lately factored into this “end times vision,” for too many on both sides of this dispute have resorted to calling the other “evil.”

I felt called to paint the landscape of Megiddo in these recent weeks. Beginning in mid August, I was working on several paintings using Google map views of the landscape around the ancient site, with inspiration from my personal photos from my visit several years ago. I struggled over it, with the colors changing from bright to earthen tones. I left it alone for a time, to look at it and take time to live with it. Doing this allows me to see if I got too interested in noodling about making different colors, rather than considering the whole area as one unit. It didn’t take long before I came to the conclusion I didn’t have unity in my work. I had no overarching focus. My life has been like this for a while, with multiple distractions.

In our broken and fallen world, I find people today are in a rush to run to the extremes. Cooler heads don’t always prevail. The moment disorder rears its ugly head, folks run around like Chicken Little screaming, “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” They might as well scream, “The end times are here!” I’m reminded of the Y2K hysteria with everyone panicking about filling up their cars for fear the gas pumps wouldn’t work, getting cash in case the credit cards wouldn’t swipe, and buying generators for fear the grid would crash (computers not able to recognize all those zeros). As I recall, my antique VCR kept recording on schedule, and the local Walmart took back loads of panic purchases in January.

The latest outbreak of hostilities in Israel and the Gaza Strip have added to the apocalyptic atmosphere and thinking of those who are given to extremes of thought. America has sent two of its eleven aircraft carriers into the Mediterranean Sea as a deterrent to all the other nations to rethink their plans to join the fighting now going on. For the apocalyptic thinkers, this is a sign of “It’s going down!” For those of us who have calmer heads, we realize the United States is the only one of six countries with more than two of these floating armed cities. Every other country has a single one only.

General Eisenhower (R) confers with French generals French 1st Army Corps Headquarters November 25, 1944 Ranking allied leaders look over a situation map outside of French 1st Army Corps Headquarters.

It’s been the habit of American presidents and their advisers in the gamut of crises since World War II to move aircraft carriers around as a “Geopolitical Chess Piece” to demonstrate American concern, resolve, or outright anger. Because carriers are operate on the high seas where permission to move is not needed from other countries, and because they carry their own fuel, weapons, and maintenance, they’re ready on arrival at the scene of a crisis to deliver power. Moreover, since modern U.S. carriers are large and imposing, and have been unchallenged on the seas, they “show the flag” to great effect. They provide excellent “visuals.” In fact, if one carrier doesn’t do the job, sending a second with several attendant ships along is a sign of “we mean business.”

Since this is a habit, and not a novel occurrence, it’s not the sign of the end times. As the gospel of Mark records in 13:7-8:

“When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.”

Benjamin West: Death on a Pale Horse, oil on canvas, 1817, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Will these carriers be used for their traditional purpose—a floating airfield—and will our military aircraft and service personnel actually join in the actual combat operations in the MidEast? That seems unlikely, given the Just War principle taught in American War Colleges. The moral concept of Just War begins with a good reason to go to war. A reasonable cause is to right a wrong, recover stolen property, or self defense. Not liking someone isn’t a good reason to go to war.

The just war must be fought proportionately to the harm that was done to the aggrieved. Today, if someone were to insult you or cut you off in traffic, honking your horn is acceptable, but shooting a pistol isn’t. That’s a disproportionate reaction to the harm, or an unjustified assault. Responding in anger usually leads to regret, but our emotions often get the best of us.

I remember my first year in the classroom. I was making a grand total of $8,250 a year—the extra $250 was for my master’s degree—and the school wanted to know if I wanted this pittance in 10 or 12 checks. “Oh, make it ten! I’ll figure out summer some how.” The first day of class in 1982, I had well over fifty students in the high school sign up for art because the former teacher had taught elementary lessons to the older students: she had fifty ways to draw turkeys. I brought the principal in: “This isn’t going to work. Let’s get half of them in another class.” He was good with that.

This was a country school. Most of the kids would marry right after graduation. Many of the seniors already had jobs, so young art teachers weren’t high on their respect list. I was fortunate to have taught in an inner city school back in the Northeast where the boys play ice hockey. Like an aircraft carrier sent to the Mediterranean Sea, sometimes I’d have to throw my short body into the middle of two factions who were about to throw punches. These boys were usually over six feet tall, so there was no likelihood I’d ever get hit, but just my presence would cause them to reconsider and pull their punches.

Just because we send war ships to the Mediterranean doesn’t mean we want to wage war. We Americans have a track record of showing up to keep wars from breaking out all over. World leaders know how our military is trained and the rules by which we engage in conflicts. This is why as a person of faith, each of us has to search our hearts to discern how we respond in times of conflict, whether that’s a war or just a disagreement with our neighbors.

In addition to a just cause, we must have the right intentions, the possibility of success, and enter a conflict only as a last resort. Those who follow the Just War Principles aren’t “trigger happy,” but are inclined to gather community support, decide their limits ahead of time, seek to resolve the conflict in other ways first, and if that fails, then enter the fray. The USA didn’t enter WWII until the 1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, even though the war in Europe had been going on since September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. Up to that time we were supporting Great Britain with armaments.

Theologically speaking, scholars are of two minds: the end times are already here or the end times have yet to come.

1. The end times are already here—Scholars who believe this understand Matthew 24:6-8 as an ongoing event, which began with the ascension of Christ:

“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs.”

For some, the tribulation will happen beforehand (pretribulation), while others believe this suffering will occur after the return of Jesus (post tribulation). I remember as the year 2000 approached, many of the faithful were excited about the camera facing the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, since this was the place from which he ascended, therefore it would be the place from which he would return. Daystar Ministries setup the camera so “everyone could see it firsthand.”

We humans tend to think our Gods are small, even if we ascribe to them “infinite powers.” We don’t realize the power of an almighty who can interrupt and reveal all of the past to be nothing but dust and introduce a new age with his appearance. No one will need a computer or video screen to view the in-breaking return of the messiah. Everyone around the world will hear the thunderclap at one moment in time, and the flash of lightning accompanying his appearance will brighten even the darkest night. This day will be overwhelmingly bright. Most of us will hide our eyes so we won’t be blinded by the brilliance of a thousand suns.

The Jesus Cam will most likely melt when Christ does return, but his return wasn’t on the first day of 2000. That wasn’t the millennium anyway, but a year early for the math challenged hopeful. It was also the year 1420 for the Muslims and 5760 for the Jews, so who’s counting matters anyway, since numbers aren’t what God depends on, nor the stars (astrology).

2. The end times are yet to come—While pandemics, stock market crashes, and rumors of war may all sound apocalyptic, the Temple at Jerusalem has yet to be rebuilt. Complicating this task is the Dome of the Rock, a major Islamic holy site built on the same location. A Pew Research Center study in 2010 found most Americans believed war, terrorism and environmental catastrophes were at least probable by the year 2050. Nearly six-in-ten (58%) saw another world war as definite or probable; 53% said the same about the prospect for a major terrorist attack on the United States involving nuclear weapons. An even higher percentage (72%) anticipated the world would face a major energy crisis in the next 40 years. This fits with the theme of “apocalypse as the collapse of environment or society.”

Other characteristics of the apocalypse include:

1. Literal battle between physical armies under supernatural leadership—These are battles of extremists, who are convinced they have a holy calling to fight. The Crusades were fought as “Christ’s army against the infidel.” Their purpose was to restore the Christian holy sites in the Middle East and resanctify them for holy Christian worship. This mentality doesn’t respect the humanity of the enemy. The war may have a just purpose, but not be fought with just means: eradication of the enemy is unjust.

2. Holy wars against non-believers—This is an unjust war, fought with unjust purposes, with excessive force, and seeks to exterminate the enemy, who are reduced to non-persons because they don’t share the same belief system. When opposing sides can’t recognize the common humanity of one another and rage rules decisions, the lust for blood feeds upon itself. Shakespeare said it best when Marc Anthony came upon the body of the just assassinated Julius Caesar in Act 3, scene 1:

And Caesar’s spirit, ranging for revenge,

With Ate by his side come hot from hell,

Shall in these confines with a monarch’s voice

Cry “Havoc!” and let slip the dogs of war,

That this foul deed shall smell above the earth

With carrion men, groaning for burial.

My final reworking of Megiddo includes streaks of rockets in the dark night sky and swirls of chaos which churn the world’s peoples, just as Ate, the Roman personification of recklessness and folly incites the passions of Caesar’s bereaved followers. We don’t know when Christ will return, no matter how many may prophesy or calculate the date. As Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 24:36,

“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

This present darkness is only momentary, for if we’re in the end times, we also have a promise we can hold on to in Matthew 28:20—

***“Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”***

Joy and Peace,

Cornelia

Armageddon / Harmagedon – CDAMM

https://www.cdamm.org/articles/armageddon

Aircraft Carriers by Country 2023 – Wisevoter

Aircraft Carriers by Country

Public Sees a Future Full of Promise and Peril | Pew Research Center

Public Sees a Future Full of Promise and Peril

Robert C Rubel: The Future of Air Carriers

https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1551&context=nwc-review

Rubel, Robert C. (2011) “The Future of The Future of Aircraft Carriers,” Naval War College Review: Vol. 64 : No. 4 , Article 4. Available at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol64/iss4/4

Case Study: Just War Doctrine

https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=122406

Messiahcam at Y2K

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/jan/01/jamesmeek

‘Cry ‘Havoc!’ And Let Slip The Dogs Of War’: Speech & Analysis

https://nosweatshakespeare.com/quotes/famous/cry-havoc-let-slip-dogs-war/

Brookdale Community College Eisenhower Collection

https://www.brookdalecc.edu/center-for-world-war-ii-studies/the-meserlin-gallery/witnessing-history/

Left to right, French 5-star General De Lattre De Tassigny, commander 1st French Army; U.S. Lieutenant General Omar Bradley, commander, 12th Army Group; French 4-star General Marie Emile Bethouart, commander 1st French Army Corps; U.S. Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers, commander, 6th Army Group; and General Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander.

The Persistence of Effort

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I was reading an article in the New York Times the other day. In “How I Learned to Love Finishing Last,” the author wrote about her slow pace as a runner. As one who regularly finishes last in my age group in the annual Spa 5K Walk each November, I’m optimistic one day I might get old enough to be in a nonagenarian age group all on my own. Perhaps if I’m 90 and still doing a 5K, they’ll give me a ribbon just for participating! “The last will be first and the first will be last,” especially if there’s only one of us in the race!

“When we compare ourselves to others,” said Dr. Justin Ross, a clinical psychologist in Denver who specializes in athlete mental health and performance, “we set ourselves up to suffer. Instead, the real psychological benefits come from enjoying what your body can do.”

Portrait of Yayoi Kusama in costume in front of pumpkin painting, photo: Noriko Takasugi

Suffering physically isn’t what art class is about, although we may suffer indignities to our egos, but this shouldn’t hold us back from doing our art works. The case of the Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama is evidence even hallucinations of voices and images can’t keep an artist from creating. If our daily efforts don’t measure up to what we imagined in our mind, it’s merely because our inner eye sees better than our hands can execute our vision. Sometimes our eye forgets what it once learned, for we haven’t used our skill of looking in a while. A runner doesn’t leap off the couch and immediately run a marathon or even a 5K. The smart athlete takes the time to train progressively for the distance beforehand. Also, they get new shoes.

Kroger Run: Two ghost pumpkins and a small pie pumpkin

Sometimes the coach has slept over the summer also. Just as students in school need a time to relearn last year’s lessons, as a coach in art class I sometimes forget the lessons, which are second nature to me because they’ve been inculcated by multiple teachers since I was eight years old, aren’t as ingrained to my own students. I also forget I’m always observing everything around me: cloud patterns, changing colors on trees, sunlight dappling on tree branches, shadows on the ground, and reflections in windows. I think about these patterns rather than about what I need to do next or next week. My calendar will remind me of these things in due time. I’ll be wrapping this up soon so I can work on my monthly Rabbit blog.

A National Institute on Aging study found five healthy lifestyle factors — physical activity, not smoking, not drinking heavily, following the Mediterranean-style diet, and engaging in mentally stimulating activities — can have important benefits. People who engaged in four or five of these behaviors had a 60% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s compared to those who only followed one or none. People who followed two or three of the activities had a 37% lower risk. This is your free wellness plan from Dr. Cornie, who has no medical degree, but did stay in a Holiday Inn once.

Debunking the Myth of the Split Brain Theory

Although we commonly think art is a “right brained” activity, in 2013 a group of researchers at the University of Utah discovered people actually use both sides of their brains equally. Back in the 1970’s when I was seeking employment after graduate school, the “Art is a right brain myth” ruled the creative work world. I once suggested I’d be a good candidate for a museum position because I understood both the artistic and the logical mind. I was not hired. Intuitive understanding of the brain a half century ahead of time doesn’t exactly open the doors to a fancy job.

As I recall, I got a checker’s job in a grocery store and ended up counting the teller trays and preparing the bank deposits for that store. The good news is creating works of art is a multi-process activity, one that depends on several brain regions and on redundancy of art-related functional representation rather than on a single cerebral hemisphere, region or pathway. This means even when we lose our ability to form words (typically a left hemisphere activity) our ability to create art still exists. We can still express our inner feelings and thoughts. This is good news for the aging and those who love them.

Yayoi Kusama – *Pumpkin*, 2014, installation view, Donum Estate, California, photo: Robert Berg

One one the great sadnesses in my ministry is being with young people who desperately want to have their old one’s memories recorded, but waited too late to ask them or were too busy with their own lives to sit and listen to these stories of the olden days. Once their old person has a stroke and loses the ability to form words, the opportunity has passed. Those stories will be locked in their minds due to aphasia, and no one or no amount of time will pull them out. We always tell young parents their babies need to be enjoyed while they’re still young, but we should also tell families to get the stories of their elders while they still can. “Strike while the iron is still hot” will take on a new meaning one day.

Gail and I were the only ones in class today. Lauralei showed up to gift us chocolate cake and keep us company. Tim and Mike were out of town. Gail and I both repainted old canvases. I showed some of the unusual ways pumpkins have been decorated by various artists, but none of them sparked any interest. We got down to work by covering our old canvas with a base of titanium white paint. Then I located all three of the pumpkins with circles and drew a baseline for the object on which they sat. I didn’t look over at Gail’s work for a while, but then I noticed she’d almost completely finished one pumpkin without roughing in the shapes of the others.

“Did you plan on finishing that one pumpkin before drawing the other two?” I asked.

Gail gave me a “needs more caffeine” stare.

“That’s what I thought. Maybe next time draw in the rough shapes so you get everything located in space relevant to each other.”

We kept on painting until clean up time. I often say “I’ve slept since then.” It’s my all purpose excuse for forgetfulness or just plain airheadedness. Sometimes I have my mind on other things and I’m not focused on what’s in front of me. I forget about the wisdom of Brother Lawrence, who said “many do not advance in the Christian progress because they stick in penances and particular exercises while they neglect the love of God which is the end. This appeared plainly by their works and was the reason why we see so little solid virtue.” He also said, “there needed neither art nor science for going to God, but only a heart resolutely determined to apply itself to nothing but Him and to love Him only.”

We know Brother Lawrence from the classic text, The Practice of the Presence of God. Although it dates from the late 17^th century, his lessons on living life in joy in the present moment, all for the love of God are invaluable for us modern folks who tend to live for our 15 minutes of personal fame, social media clicks, or self interest. We aren’t used to the monastic life today, or to the discipline of that lifestyle. We live in a Burger King world, in which each individual gets his or her own way to every extent possible. Unfortunately, the Christian lifestyle is one of discipline, but not harsh punishment:

“Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” ~~ Hebrews 12:11

In art class we focus on the disciplines, just as the guild artists taught the apprentices back in the day. These disciplines are not only for safety, for some of our art tools are dangerous, but also some of our techniques are proven to yield better results than others. This is why carpenters measure twice and cut once. They also cut on the outside of the line, rather than the inside. They can shave down a piece easier than adding to it. Murphy’s Law recognizes this: “A wire cut to length will be too short.”

Zen Tangle drawing of pumpkins: exercise in texture

Art class has no mysteries, but we can forget the “secret gnostic knowledge passed down by word of mouth” from our previous classes. I often use the excuse “I’ve slept since then.” Another good excuse is “My mind has gone to Pluto.” I share these with you all, for they’ve always worked for me. Of course it helps to be a natural blonde. Then again, I’m very organized, but I’m also very active, so sometimes my calendar gets overwhelmed, and I pull out the “OOPS! Card.” Even in retirement I’m still creating and sharing my faith through art and writing. It’s my way of exercising those brain cells to keep them from dying off. We old folks can still learn new things, even if it takes longer. This is what we call the persistence of effort. Those who keep using their skills won’t be losing those skills.

The same goes for learning a new skill. It’s all a matter of repetition. We can’t get frustrated if we don’t get it on the first try. We won’t be a good role model for the young if we have that attitude. We need to lower our expectations. I used to think I couldn’t knit, but only crochet. After my mom, who was a stellar knitter passed on, a friend taught me to knit in an afternoon! Where this sudden bilateral coordination came from I have no idea, but it was so welcome. Perhaps I needed to be in the right frame of mind, or I wanted to be able to carry on my mom’s memory, but I was definitely receptive to her teaching.

Letter to Theo Van Gogh, September 18, 1888

It’s never too late to learn and we’re never too old to start learning. Art isn’t just good for the brain, but it’s good for the soul. Art is our attempt to represent truth, beauty, and nature in media that can be accessible to others. By doing this, we bear witness to the creation and the Creator. We only need give our best efforts, and let God’s Spirit guide our growth.

Joy, peace, and perseverance,

Cornelia

We have pumpkins galore on the autumn altar.

How I Learned to Love Finishing Last

How the Aging Brain Affects Thinking | National Institute on Aging

https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/how-aging-brain-affects-thinking

The creative-right vs analytical-left brain myth: debunked! – Dr Sarah McKay https://drsarahmckay.com/left-brain-right-brain-myth/

Art and brain: insights from neuropsychology, biology and evolution – PMC

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2815940/

The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Practice of the Presence of God, by Brother of the Resurrection Lawrence (free ebook)

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/5657/pg5657.html

REMEMBERING SEPTEMBER 11th

9/1/11, 911, Altars, art, Attitudes, Christmas, Easter, Faith, Forgiveness, grief, Healing, hope, Icons, inspiration, Ministry, Painting, renewal, Spirituality

Looking up at the night sky, I think of the Eskimo Proverb which says, “ Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in Heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.” The fatal September 2001 event at 7:14 am CDT impressed its significance on the nation to such a great extent that 93% of American adults 30 years old or greater can tell you exactly where they were when they first heard about the attacks. Only 42% of those 25 and younger can do the same.

NGC 3603: From Beginning To End
Credit: Wolfgang Brandner (JPL/IPAC), Eva K. Grebel (U. Wash.), You-Hua Chu (UIUC), NASA

I remember my church was fuller than for Easter or Christmas on the Sunday after the devastation of the Twin Towers, the collapse of the Pentagon, and the crash of the airplane in which the terrorists had hoped to hit the White House. Only those brave passengers of Flight 93 stood between the terrorists achieving a psychological victory and their ultimate ignoble demise. As I recall, people were eager to hear “What is the Christian Response to Violence?” If they hoped to hear the one and only response, as the THE implies in the sermon title, the air was let out of their balloons.

A photo taken on September 11, 2001 by the New York City Police Department as the North Tower collapses, engulfing lower Manhattan in smoke and ash.

Of course, Christians across the centuries have had three major responses to violence. The first is “turning the other cheek” or nonviolence. We see this in the Biblical witness, for Jesus admonishes his followers in Matthew 5:38-42—

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.”

Il Tintoretto: Christ before Pilate, Museum Scuola di San Rocco, Venice

Jesus himself practiced a non-violence response to violence when he appeared before Pilate after his arrest. Pilate questioned Jesus in Matthew 27:11-14—

Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You say so.” But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer. Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?” But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

Unknown German artist: Aquamanile in the Form of a Mounted Knight, Copper alloy, ca. 1250, used to pour water over hands at the altar or at dinner table, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

The opposite of non-violence is the Crusade mindset. In this response, the infidel is “othered” to the point of inhumanity. Because the unbelievers don’t share the same god, purging them from the living is a good deed, worthy of merit for salvation or for forgiveness of past sins. As you can imagine, this makes people who believe in other gods “less than human,” so what we modern people would consider war crimes would be easy to commit for a person in Crusade mentality. We still hear vestiges of this dualist mindset in the vocabulary of people who talk about “weaponizing government” or those who feel the need to “hit the ground running.” If we’re always in “attack mode” at work, we need to question how we think about others if we believe we’re in a hostile environment or in enemy territory.

If the Christian has both a head and a heart, both of which are being conformed to the love, mercy, and justice of God, then we must have a middle way between passive nonviolence and crusade extremism. This golden mean is the Just War Theory. It’s taught in all our military academies and has its beginnings in Christian theology. The saints Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas developed the primary ideas:

Make war only for a just cause
Be sure your intentions are right
Only legitimate authority can make war
Use just proportionally in the war, nothing to excess
Go to war as a last resort
During war only attack military targets, not civilians
Following unjust orders isn’t a legal defense for unjust actions
Punish war crimes, compensate victims
Peace treaties must be fair and just to all, even the warmongers

Psalter Saint Louis et Blanche de Castile, MS 1186, BnF, folio 11b

Those of us who struggle with conflict—if we have a family, we have conflict or if we live in a community, we have conflict—yes, I’m starting to meddle now. You knew I’d get around to it. After all, God the Father had Adam and Eve, and God tossed those two kids out of the House. They had everything, and still wouldn’t follow the one rule (Don’t eat from that one tree). Just one rule. How hard could that be? It was downhill from there.

I always take comfort, knowing God had troublesome children. It means perfect parents can still have conflict at home. This gives hope to us less than perfect folks. The Bible reminds us always how God still loves the human race and hasn’t give up on us, so we don’t give up on those we have fusses with. We don’t roll over and play dead, yet we don’t set out on a crusade against unruly kids or others with whom we have conflicts. As Micah 7:18 reminds us about God’s Compassion and Steadfast Love:

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of your possession? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in showing clemency.

Maybe we should look at the just war thoughts and modify our attitudes and behaviors. We can come to a peace, even if others cannot. As Jesus says in Matthew 5:9—

“Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.”

Joy and Peace,

Cornelia

Two Decades Later, the Enduring Legacy of 9/11 | Pew Research Center

Two Decades Later, the Enduring Legacy of 9/11

Just War Theory – The Ethics Centre Ethics Explainer
https://ethics.org.au/ethics-explainer-just-war/

Rabbit! Rabbit!

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September marks the return to order and organization, since the summer for most of us meant a relaxation of rules and schedules. “Vacay mode” of late mornings, pajama days, and snack meals are now a fading figment of our fevered frenzies. I remember these days all too well. My little girl threw a conniption fit one morning as I hurriedly dressed her so we wouldn’t be late for her pre-k class and my teaching assignment at the same school. We dashed out of the house, I locked her in the car seat, and flew to my workplace. I delivered her to the precare room and made a beeline for my art shack.

Later on at lunch, her teacher informed me I’d brought my fussy child to school without panties. Oops! Luckily, all the children were required to have a spare change of clothes “just in case of emergency.” Saved by those who are more organized than most. My art classroom always had the paint organized by rainbow colors, the scissors numbered, and shelves labeled. The moral of this annecdote is, “Innanimate objects are easy to organize; people not so much.” Murphy’s Law also comes to mind: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong,” and Murphy’s First Corrollary: “It will cause the most damage possible.”

In the “No Pants Scandal,” of four decades ago, only my pride was injured. I’m not as organized or as perfect as I thought I was. This brings me to a little chat on appearances vs. our true selves. Our “false self” wants to appear organized, on top of things, spiritual, magnanimous, and virtuous. We’d like to be “perfect” in thought and deed. Yet the more we try to attain perfection or to act perfectly, the more likely dark, hateful, or mean thoughts arise from the depths of our hearts. We see this is our dualist world view, which divides our world into pure evil or pure good. The book of Proverbs reminds us, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (16:18). It’s always better to admit, as I did, “I didn’t have a great morning and she wasn’t cooperative. I’m surprised we got here at all.”

Speaking about regular and organized, our earth is about to have another equinox on September 23, 2023, at 1:50 am CDT. The Fall Equinox happens yearly on or around September 22^nd. The date of the fall equinox is variable because the 365 day Gregorian calendar doesn’t match up perfectly with the position of Earth in its orbit around the sun. When we add the leap year, the equinox date also changes. While the September equinox usually occurs on September 22 or 23, it can very rarely fall on September 21 or September 24. A September 21 equinox has not happened for several millennia. However, in the 21st century, it will happen twice—in 2092 and 2096. The last September 24 equinox occurred in 1931, the next one will take place in 2303. This rabbit won’t be around for any of these rare events, so don’t send me an invite.

The September 29 full moon occurs at 4:57 AM CDT. It’s called the Harvest Moon in some years, or the Hunter’s Moon in other years. Technically, the Harvest Moon, which is the Anglo-Saxon name, is the Full Moon closest to the September equinox on September 22/23. The Harvest Moon is the only Full Moon name determined by the equinox rather than a month. Most years, it’s in September, but around every three years, it falls in October. We also know this September full moon as the Corn Moon from the Native American tribes harvesting their corn in this time. Other names for this month’s full moon are Celtic and Old English names: Wine Moon, Song Moon, and Barley Moon.

Just as summer’s laissez-faire moments will give away to school and work routines, so the onset of autumn and the fall equinox herald another change. You might not yet recognize it over the insistent hum of your air conditioning system or feel it due to the heat waves rising from the black asphalt of your company’s parking lot, but autumn is just around the corner.

Don’t look at your utility bill just yet, and don’t pack your bags for Texas. I talked to my brother down there who has his AC set to “stun”—he said when the bill comes, “It will stun him a second time.” Texas doesn’t belong to the national energy grid, but to ERCOT, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. It’s not connected to the two major electrical systems of the lower 48 states, but has its own grid to avoid federal regulation. When Thomas Edison started the first electric power plant in Manhattan in 1882, he set off a gold rush of independent power companies. During WWI, they began to unite and even more joined after WWII.

Texas takes seriously its “Don’t mess with Texas” rhetoric. Only on rare, catastrophic instances has it briefly joined either the American or Mexican utility grids. While Texas is a large state with rich energy resources, the USA is larger. When extreme weather events happen, energy costs rise. Rates can vary wildly as a result. The economic lesson is ERCOT is Dollar Store trying to outbid the Walmart of the national grids who can share energy with those in need.

Thomas Nast: The Lightening Speed of Honesty, 1877

Speaking of nations, on September 7, 1813, the United States got its nickname: Uncle Sam. Samuel Wilson from New York, a meat supplier to the US Army, stamped his barrels with US for United States. The soldiers began calling their rations “Uncle Sam’s,” a name the local newspaper noted, which began to spread and soon became the personification of the federal government. Thomas Nast (1840-1902) popularized the image of Uncle Sam. In Nast’s evolving works, Uncle Sam acquired the white beard and the stars-and-stripes suit we associate with the character today. The satirical cartoon of yesteryear’s dithering Congress is apropos of our modern chambers, which can’t seem to come a reasonable compromise to get the people’s business done by funding our country’s basic needs.

Over a century before Uncle Sam, Columbia was an idealized feminine figure that personified the new nation of America. She was created in 1697 when Chief Justice Samuel Sewall of the Massachusetts Bay Colony wrote a poem that suggested the American colonies be called Columbina, a feminized version of Christopher Columbus’ last name. Over 70 years later, the name evolved further when former slave, Phillis Wheatley, wrote an ode to George Washington invoking Columbia in 1775. Born around 1753, Phillis Wheatley was the first black poet in America to publish a book. She was listed among the enslaved persons at Mount Vernon. You can read her amazing poem here:

His Excellency General Washington by Phillis Wheatley— https://poets.org/poem/his-excellency-general-washington

Over time, the image of Columbia became a symbol for American ideals during wars, such as the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and World War I, as well as the subject of political cartoons and literary works. With her liberty cap and patriotic shield, Columbia stood as the spirit of the country. We even see her name, image, and likeness in modern industry in the Columbia Broadcasting System or CBS, as well as in the seat of our national government, the District of Columbia.

Uncle Sam also has honored workers on Labor Day, which we celebrate on September 4^th. Many rabbit families treat this three day weekend as the last hurrah of summer. Let’s remember those essential workers who serve and protect the rest of us while we barbecue in our backyards and national parks. The first Labor Day “parade” in 1882 was a strike. Workers marched en masse from New York City Hall to Union Square to protest terrible working conditions during the Industrial Revolution. Workers, including children as young as five years old, labored in unsafe factories, farms, mills and mines for 12 hours or more per day, seven days a week, often without breaks, fresh air or even clean water.

Credits: NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies

This map shows global temperature anomalies for July 2023 according to the GISTEMP analysis by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Temperature anomalies reflect how July 2023 compared to the average July temperature from 1951-1980.

Only 5 States Provide Heat Relief Laws for Workers. Arkansas doesn’t protect workers from dangerous heat inside or outside.

Today, 141 years later, during the hottest July since 1880, some states are passing laws to prevent workers from getting “special treatment due to the heat” such as extra breaks for cooling or water. Currently only five states have protections for workers in these extreme conditions. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 1992 and 2019, extreme heat killed more than 900 workers and sickened tens of thousands more. Those numbers, however, are likely an undercount due to the lack of reporting by negligent employers or by workers who are worried about retaliation or deportation. In addition to the physical implications, time off from a job due to illness can lead to missed wages or the loss of a job altogether.

Bain photograph: LC-USZ62-49516: Four women strikers from Ladies Tailors union on picket line during the “Uprising of the 20,000,” garment workers strike, New York City, 1910 February, glass negative photo, Library of Congress.

As a rabbit who once endured a few days in an unairconditioned art shack at the beginning of school and then fainted from heat exposure, I have a heart for all workers in extreme circumstances. I made sure to take care of my people, since my bosses didn’t care about me. It’s never right to treat others poorly just because you were wronged.

Reading The Constitution Online is also an Option

In late September, we celebrate Constitution Week (Sept. 17-23). The Declaration of Independence, written in 1776, was a list of grievances against the king of England and intended to justify separation from British rule. The Constitution was written and signed in 1787. It was a charter of government ratified by the states, and continues to be the supreme law of the land. All members of the armed services and Congress take a vow to defend the constitution, as do the President and Vice President of our country.

We rabbits will all need to brush up on our civics lessons in the days to come, for the upcoming presidential candidates may be affected by their lack of appreciation for the constitution and the consequences as a result. As I always told my students, “Attitudes drive Behavior and Behavior leads to Consequences. You can choose the good or the negative. It’s all up to you. Try for a good attitude every day.”

The 14^th Amendment, section 3, passed after the Civil War, or the last great insurrection by the southern secessionist states, forbids holding office in the US government by former office holders who then participate in insurrection or rebellion. This constitutional provision is currently being tested in the courts. September is back to school for all us rabbits. The last time I remember a civics lesson was the seventh grade in Mrs. Tampke’s class, but “ex post facto” might have been “non sequitur,” as I was passing notes rather than paying attention.

Mr. Flopsy’s Rabid Rabbit Pirate won’t be Messed with.

We rabbits can only take so much seriousnes in our short lives until we need a break. Thank you September 19^th: International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Everyone can ARRGG their way MATIES through a Tuesday, and if Monday is a pain, who says we rabbits can’t Pirate on that day too? After all, pirates rob and steal, lawless vagabonds that they are. Let’s just take over the good ship Monday and drink our strong Pirate Coffee with vigor and daring.

National Bluebird of Happiness Day is September 24^th. I love these little blue glass figurines. Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz sings, “If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh, why can’t I?” Bluebirds uplift the heart into joy when we see them in nature. The blue glass iconic sculptures, made in Arkansas by the Ward family, have sold over 9 million birds, large and small. They’re no longer made due to concerns about climate change because the glass production process requires large amounts of natural gas and electricity. I treasure the blue bird in my possession and greet it daily. You might find one in a secondhand store.

God Please Keep My Children Safe, by Grayson Perry, 2005

Love Note Day is September 26, so I suggest you write a sweet letter to your beloved. This might be a spouse, significant other, parent, mentor, or even your own self. Share some affirmations to those who mean something to you. Don’t stop at one note of love, but make a whole symphony of blessings. In our world today, folks don’t hear many positive messages. You can help balance the scales for your recipients.

If the Sears Catalog were still a thing, we bunnies would be wishing

September 30, the last day of this month marks 92 days left in 2023. Where has this year gone?! Don’t ask this rabbit. I’ve already bought a couple of little Christmas gifts for my bunny friends. I’m never this organized. This means I’ll likely lose or misplace these items in the 86 days before Christmas Day. Then again, this is also enough time for this rabbit to find these packages once again! Live with optimism! Expect the best and work for it.

May the Blue Bird of Happiness bring you

Joy and Peace,

Cornelia

The September Equinox

https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/september-equinox.html

Traditional Full Moon Names

https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/full-moon-names.html

Why does Texas have its own power grid? | The Texas Tribune
https://www.texastribune.org/2011/02/08/texplainer-why-does-texas-have-its-own-power-grid/

How The United States Got its Nickname

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/united-states-nicknamed-uncle-sam

The lightning speed of honesty [Uncle Sam seated on snail “45th Congress” carrying Army and Navy payroll and money, with Resumption Act (of honesty) in his pocket] / Th Nast.
https://loc.getarchive.net/media/the-lightning-speed-of-honesty-uncle-sam-seated-on-snail-45th-congress-carrying

Database of Mount Vernon’s Enslaved Community · George Washington’s Mount Vernon
https://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/slavery/slavery-database/

Heat Stress Is Killing Workers. States Can Protect Them.

https://www.nrdc.org/stories/heat-stress-killing-workers-states-can-protect-them

Short Summary—The Character to Lead: Republicans’ Fork in the Road Between Trump and the Constitution’s Eligibility Requirements for President

https://www.justsecurity.org/87750/the-character-to-lead-republicans-fork-in-the-road-between-trump-and-the-constitutions-eligibility-requirements-for-president/

Deep Dive— The Sweep and Force of Section Three. 172 U. PA. L. REV. (forthcoming 2024). William Baude & Michael Stokes Paulsen. https://deliverypdf.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=791101027092090122082025003064104018105084007031052035109090080088105005086003018089043050055106031007050097096000078089031112025019027055033023110008092018116067055086024100075002015088106075126126082029114024094102088002003074126075030067104090009&EXT=pdf&INDEX=TRUE

U.S. Senate: The Senate’s First Act—the Oath Act and 1862 Ironclad Oath
https://www.senate.gov/legislative/landmark-legislation/oath-act.htm

Arkansas Bluebird of Happiness – Encyclopedia of Arkansas. https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/arkansas-bluebird-of-happiness-3822/

Rabbit! Rabbit!

art, Astrology, autumnal equinox, brain plasticity, change, cognitive decline, coronavirus, cosmology, Creativity, Family, Great American Eclipse, greek myths, Helios, nature, Painting, pandemic, photography, rabbits, Reflection, The Lord of The Rings, trees, vision

Welcome to August!

In the long summer evenings, after an extended car trip, and way beyond the too many times I’d asked my mother and daddy rabbits, “Are we there yet?” I would get their firm reminders I wasn’t to bother them any more, for they too were hot, tired, and daddy had to pay attention to the road. In the gathering darkness, I’d rest my blonde curls on the door near the open window. We had God air conditioning back then. We rolled down the window glass of our old Pontiac and drove as fast as the road would allow.

I’d watch the darkening shadows as the landscape passed by this opening, noticing how the kudzu vines changed the trees into strange and monstrous shapes in the growing gloom, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of these apparitions. I was certain if I did, they’d begin to make their way toward our family car. I think I was at the age of magical thinking, for I believed I could keep these haints at bay by my will alone.

The soft flup flup of rubber tires half melting on the overheated concrete road, combined with my brother rabbits’ body heat in the seat beside me, and the enforced silence of our parents who’d had a long day with their hyperactive bunny brood finally had an effect on my eyelids. Try as I might, I would fall asleep at my watch, only to be awakened by my daddy’s sing song voice as he tickled my toes:

“This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home.
This little piggy ate roast beef, and this little piggy had none!
And this little piggy cried wee-wee-wee all the way home!”

I’d rub my eyes as he picked me up to carry me into the house and into my bedroom. On the way, I’d always say,

“I see the moon, and the moon sees me,
God bless the moon, and God bless me!”

Perhaps this is a generational gift in my family, for when my own dear bunny child was small, we repeated these same scenes until she was too heavy for me to carry. The moon blessing dates from 1784 and the little piggy rhyme is even older: 1728.

That latter date is when horses and carriages were banned from Boston Common. Since I went to school in Boston, I can attest no horses, carriages, or cows are now on the grounds of the Common, which is now a 50 acre public park. The Common dates from 1634, when William Blaxton sold the remainder of his land to the Puritans, receiving six shillings or more from each shareholder to purchase the land for this public land. This was the site of the Boston Massacre, in which five people died. One good thing about going to school in an historic community, everywhere you went, you weren’t far from history.

When I think of history, I think not only of the stories we pass down to the next generation, but also of the stories we weave for ourselves. How do we remember our childhood or our families of origin? This is a generational gift of privilege, for those who lost their families when they were young may not have memories to weave together. Refugees from wars and violence might not want to recall traumatic experiences. Yet Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, is remembered as “My ancestor was a wandering Arameam” (Deut 26:5).

Some of us choose to write about our better days, for they outnumber our bad days. Everyone has imperfections, but each of us rabbits are still going on to perfection with the help of the good God above. Perhaps when we see the beauty of the full bright moon against a dark, clear night, our heart leaps inside and says,

“I see the moon, and the moon sees me,
God bless the moon, and God bless me!”

For some of us rabbits, nature brings us closer to God than anything else. The majesty of the summer thunderclouds rising in the heated air, and giving way to either refreshing rain or flashing floods, reminds us once again of the powers of God unleashed in God’s creation. The rainbow after the storm is the promise once again of that covenant made so long ago: the earth will never be destroyed by floods again. In the rainbow, in the light of all the colors, we hear God’s promise of love and care for God’s creation and God’s creatures.

I’m looking at a full super moon tonight, July 3, but August will have TWO super moons. Looking ahead to September 29, we’ll have our FOURTH super moon in a row. The moon on the 31st of August will be a blue moon. This is the second full moon in the same month. We won’t have another blue moon until May, 2026. This is why things that don’t happen often are called “once in a blue moon” events.

Once upon a time, we were agrarian people who eked out a subsistence living on the land. The persistence of The Old Farmer’s Almanac and other ancient weather wisdom lore is proof you can take the bunny out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the bunny. Yet as our alphabetical generations accumulate beyond the boomers, like Lucy on the Honeymooners, we often “got some explaining to do” to make ourselves understood.

We can count the “Dog Days of Summer” among the sayings folks don’t understand today. The term has nothing to do with the four legged creatures known as our best friends, but instead, it’s an astronomical term. The name comes from Sirius, the Dog Star, which rises before dawn. We find it on a vertical line below the three stars of Orion’s Belt. Sirius was named from the Greek Seirios, which means ‘glowing’ or ‘scorcher.’ This is an apt description of the warmest days from mid July to mid August.

Aratus, a Greek 3rd BCE poet wrote in his astronomical poem Phaenomena, (p. 328 ff, trans. Mair):

“A star that keenest of all blazes with a searing flame and him men call Seirios (Sirius). When he rises with Helios (the Sun), no longer do the trees deceive him by the feeble freshness of their leaves. For easily with his keen glance he pierces their ranks, and to some he gives strength but of others he blights the bark utterly. Of him too at his setting are we aware.”

These Dog Days of Summer in the ancient Mediterranean were marked not only by heat, but also by drought and pistelence. This year, with an El Niño weather pattern, wild fires, floods, and extreme heat have settled on the area due to a heat dome, which the European meteorologists have named Cerebus, after the three-headed dog guardian to Hades. The ruins on the Acropolis now close from noon to late afternoon to prevent heat illness.

Although the ancient Greeks and Romans believed Sirius was the reason for summer’s intense heat, we know now that star is too far away to affect our weather. What does affect our weather today is the result of human activities. Back in the Eemian period, around 116,000 to 129,000 years ago, the earth’s axis was tilted more towards the sun than now. This caused our northern polar region to be warmer and grow trees, which kept snow from accumulating. As a result, the earth’s temperature was 2 degrees C hotter than preindustrial levels, while today’s temperatures average 1 degree C warmer.

Today, we have evidence of geographic drift caused by climate change in our crops. Areas once known for coffee or wheat are shrinking, moving further north or to higher altitudes. We also see shrinking polar ice sheets, which cause ocean levels to rise. More water, combined with more heat leads to more intense storms. We also have rivers of wind, aka the jet stream, which lock in the heat domes. These can persist for days, while the rest of the earth gets flooding and storms.

Not a Watermelon Chart: Similar to the National Weather Service’s heat index chart, this chart translates combinations of air temperature and relative humidity into critical environmental limits, above which core body temperature rises. The border between the yellow and red areas represents the average critical environmental limit for young men and women at minimal activity.

Extreme heat is the number-one weather-related cause of death in the U.S., and it kills more people most years than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined. Despite the fact that extreme heat has been the number one cause of weather-related deaths in the United States over the last three decades, the federal government has repeatedly declined to declare extreme heat a federal disaster. The US government has never issued a federal disaster declaration for an extreme heat event in the three times it’s been requested, even as heat domes and long, uninterrupted stretches of 100-plus degree days have claimed lives in cities and states across the country in recent years.

The 10 hottest years on record have occurred since 2010 and the month of June alone in the USA has broken over 1,000 high temperature records. The combination of El Niño, a warming ocean current, and climate change is the cause. The excessive heat in the oceans are causing coral diebacks, which have negative implications for future hurricane shore losses, since coral reefs break the incoming waves.

We bunnies can blame the Stafford Act for this. Natural disasters in the USA are handled by FEMA—Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, PL 100-707, was signed into law November 23, 1988 when Congress amended the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, PL 93-288. Named for the Vermont senator who was instrumental in its passage, this is one of the 100 laws a President can use to declare a national emergency or disaster. Former President Trump used it to declare the COVID pandemic an emergency. It’s this Stafford Act that defines “Emergency.”

According to Congressional laws, a disaster emergency is “any occasion or instance for which, in the determination of the President, Federal assistance is needed to supplement state and local efforts and capabilities to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in any part of the United States in a Major Disaster.

The act defines “major disaster” as any natural catastrophe (including any hurricane, tornado, storm, high water, winddriven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, or drought), or, regardless of cause, any fire, flood, or explosion, in any part of the USA, which in the determination of the President, causes damage of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant major disaster assistance under this chapter to supplement the efforts and available resources of states, local governments, and disaster relief organizations in alleviating the damage, loss, hardship, or suffering caused thereby.

Fires of Mordor have nothing on Phoenix Heat

To get heat relief, it will require an Act of Congress. In plain speak, we’ll see snowfall before heat relief legislation becomes law in today’s divided and polarized congressional body. In the last century, we bunnies weren’t thinking about climate change, extreme weather events, or even naming our winter storms. Perhaps next summer we’ll begin naming our extended heat waves and treat them with the same seriousness as we give to hurricanes and blizzards.

In the meantime, this bunny has set her AC to cool and is keeping the ice bin filled and the tea jar full. I’m feeling the siren call of the school supply aisle, so I’ll find a cool morning in mid August to go buy ink pens, notebooks, and some postynotes. A bunny who keeps learning will always stay young. Building new pathways for the neurons is like cleaning out the clutter in our brain box.

Write now, Edit later. The stories are more important than the form.

I always recommend picking up a new skill or renewing an old one, for not only do creative activities give us an opportunity to focus on something other than how hot it is, but also we can enjoy our progress as we continue to work. If you’ve ever wanted to write about your family history, begin now, for the day will come for all of us when we won’t remember the ones we love. This bunny hopes you have bunnies who love you and honor you for who you’ve always been, even if you become the “one who comes to kiss me every afternoon at 4 o’clock.”

I’ll probably go buy my journal supplies on August 24th, and sit in my favorite coffee shop for a bit to drink in memory of Pluto, who was worthy enough to be a planet for my generation,but has been demoted to a dwarf planet because it hasn’t cleared its neighborhood of other objects.

I look forward to cooler breezes, falling leaves, and Pumpkin Spice lattes. See you in September!

Joy, peace, and iced tea,

Cornelia

The Project Gutenberg eBook of Gammer Gurton’s Garland, or, The Nursery Parnassus, by Joseph Ritson.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/34601/34601-h/34601-h.htm

Teaching Early Math to Children—This Little Piggy
https://www-tc.pbs.org/parents/earlymath/pdf/LittlePiggy.pdf

Origin of This Little Piggy
https://www.rhymes.org.uk/this_little_piggy.htm

Boston Common Master Plan
https://www.bostoncommonmasterplan.com/history

Super Moons, Blue Moons
https://www.fullmoonphase.com/

What is a blue moon and when will the next one occur? | Royal Observatory Greenwich https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/what-blue-moon-how-often-does-it-occur

SIRIUS (Seirios) – Greek God of Dog-Star https://www.theoi.com/Titan/AsterSeirios.html

THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER: European heat wave takes toll on tourists – Travel Industry Today
https://travelindustrytoday.com/the-dog-days-of-summer-european-heat-wave-takes-toll-on-tourists/

42 U.S. Code § 5122 – Definitions | U.S. Code | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute FEMA STAFFORD ACT
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/5122
https://www.fema.gov/disaster/stafford-act

Extreme Heat Is Deadlier Than Hurricanes, Floods and Tornadoes Combined – Scientific American
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/extreme-heat-is-deadlier-than-hurricanes-floods-and-tornadoes-combined/

From Japan to Louisiana to Rome, Here Are Ten Heat Records Earth Has Broken Since June | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ten-heat-records-earth-has-broken-since-june-180982562/

Rabbit! Rabbit!

art, butterflies, Family, Fathers Day, greek myths, Helios, holidays, inspiration, Memorial Day, Ovid, Phaeton, rabbits, renewal, summer solstice, summer vacation

Welcome to June 2023

Since we’re now past Memorial Day, the unofficial beginning of summer has arrived. Yet the summer solstice, which is astronomical summer won’t be here until Wednesday, June 21, 2023 at 9:57 AM CDT. Weathercasters use this alternative meteorological definition: “seasons begin on the first day of the months that include the equinoxes and solstice.” Since June 1 is National Go Barefoot Day, we rabbits, who never wear shoes on either our lucky foot or our three other feet, can rejoice and celebrate with our human friends as we share the delights of bare-footing across the park lawn.

Summer is the season of picnics, patios, porches, and other alfresco dining activities. I remember mayonnaise sandwiches, butter and sugar sandwiches, plus the always delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Mama stirred the jelly into the peanut butter so it didn’t dribble out as it melted in our hot Southern summers.

June has International Picnic Day on June 18, but we rabbits don’t need a special day to have a feast in a field. In fact, we eat outside every single day. We are picnic aficionados. I’m not sure if June has an exceptional amount of national food days, for I haven’t paid attention lately due to my loss of vision from cataracts. Now that I’ve had surgery on both eyes, I’m just amazed at what all I’ve been missing!

June has 46—boy howdy—special days celebrating foods. We rabbits would have to eat at least 1.5+ of the following daily, all the while remembering the admonition of Eat Flexitarian Day: eat more fruit, whole grains, and vegetables, but eat less meat and fish. The Flexitarian Diet is second only to the Mediterranean Diet for overall ranking because it’s simple, healthy, and a straight forward way of eating. Some foods to incorporate and celebrate are Fresh Fruit and Vegetables, Cucumber, Lemon, and Mango.

Okazaki Shrine, Kyoto dedicated to Rabbits

I like to organize, a trait that used to drive my dear old rabbit mother crazy. I’d put all the drinking glasses of the same size together on the same shelf, while she’d put them up willy nilly, even though they wouldn’t all fit on one shelf if all of them were clean. This is just another example of mother rabbits being realistic, since they know their thirsty rabbit kits will dirty up another glass before the dishwashing is done. I also like to arrange my paint palette in rainbow order, but don’t talk to me about my desk. It’s a mess. At least my spices are in alphabetical order.

June’s menu celebrates World Milk Day. An ice cold glass of milk will go well with any of these National Day Foods: Donuts, Hazelnut Cake, Chocolate Macaroons, Applesauce Cake, German Chocolate Cake, Peanut Butter Cookies, Apple Strudel, Chocolate Eclairs, Fudge, and Cherry Tarts.

Or maybe you’d rather have your sweet treat with some form of ice cream. June celebrates the National Days of Rocky Road and Chocolate Ice Cream, not to mention Ice Cream Cake Day. You can swill your ice cream in a soft drink on Ice Cream Soda Day or enjoy a Black Cow Day: root beer and vanilla ice cream float. Of course if you’re a rabbit who wants your ice cream straight up, but sipped, National Vanilla Milkshake Day was meant for you.

National Iced Tea Day is June 10, but down south, every day is Iced Tea Day. June also covers the menu with national days for eggs, cheese, and veggie burgers. You can make a whole meal out of the national days of corn on the cob, catfish, and onion rings. Please make sure to observe Eat Your Vegetables Day, with Herbs and Spices, and try a Meal Prep Day while you’re at it.

Since America is a great melting pot of many peoples, we have many food cultures. June celebrates several culinary traditions:
Egg Roll Day, Falafel Day, Tapas Day, Sushi Day, Smoothie Day, and Food Truck Day. Get your passport stamped as you leave the cafeteria and please don’t remove your shoes on the way to the dessert counter.

For dessert there’s nothing like seasonal foods. Enjoy National Strawberry Shortcake and Strawberry Parfait Days, or my all time, any time, National Chocolate Pudding Day, or try a new Candy during June or Frozen Yogurt. For a milder taste, go with National Tapioca Day. You also can try the famous Japanese Bubble Tea drink, which has sweet tapioca bubbles as an ingredient. This isn’t like regular iced tea, for the resistant starch of the tapioca bubbles needs time to digest. You don’t want to be famous for “X-ray of stomach shows mass of 100 undigested boba balls.” (Google it!)

How To Make Tapioca Pearls At Home – Experiences

Listen to this rabbit so you don’t have to double up on National Prune Day for a reason, but enjoy then for their sweetness, fiber, antioxidants and minerals. Mostly they keep you “regular as clockwork,” with no straining or efforts. This is a good thing if you’ve overindulged on Detroit-Style Pizza Day or under hydrated on National Martini and Olive Days.

But enough of foods! This rabbit hasn’t eaten this much since well, Memorial Day weekend! My family always took any and every gathering as an excuse to feast. I don’t know if it was because my rabbit mom and dad survived the Great Depression or because the generations of my extended family were all Methodists, but if food was available, we were there. And we brought a covered dish if we were traveling to somewhere else. Folks brought food to us when we hosted, but that was how life was when I was a young rabbit. Sharing was our caring.

My dad was a master chef, as long as he stood over the back yard grill. He had charcoal briquettes and lighter fluid down to a science. Never ever did he squirt fluid onto the hot coals—that was asking for his own burnt flesh. Mr. Safety was his other name. He wielded the fork in his right hand and an empty ketchup bottle filled with water in his left hand. If the grease drippings flared up, the repurposed water bottle went into action with a well focused stream to knock it down. He never hit it so hard the fire went out.

Dad even cooked on Father’s Day, because he was The Grill Master. Even when the family bought a gas grill for my birthday, I kid you not, daddy was thrilled because he’d be able to cook for his favorite girl rabbit when I came home from college. Fathers show their love in many different ways. We children can’t design how our fathers show love or order their behaviors. Dads aren’t Burger King hamburgers with cheese, no salt, and no tomatoes. We can’t have them our way.

My dad certainly had a way of cheering me up when I was sure my world was falling apart when I was young. “Cheer up, it could be worse,” he’d say.

“Yeah? How much worse?” I was given to catastrophic thinking as a young rabbit. Everything was a “hair on fire” moment. (In hindsight, most of these weren’t even singed eyebrow moments.)

“Put a bit of this in your mouth,” he said, handing me a bite of his chewing tobacco.

I put it in my mouth and began to chew. As my saliva mixed with the cut tobacco, a bitter taste flooded my mouth. My face twisted every which way possible without leaving my skull.

“Oh, whatever you do, don’t swallow the juice!” He admonished.
“You do this for fun?” I asked.
He laughed, “There are always worse things in life you’ve yet to experience. You can spit it out in the cup now if you want.”

Oh, and spit now I did want. I’m certain nothing is worse than a mouthful of acrid tobacco juice. If I can take that, I can take anything. But I don’t have to endure punishment willingly. I can choose not to suffer. I share this gnostic wisdom, known only to a few, and passed down by word and mouth, literally. I don’t recommend you try it for yourself.

The school of hard knocks is an expensive degree. My daddy had many words of wisdom, not all of which I heeded. “Always have a job before you leave the job you’re in,” is the one I never paid attention to until I became an itinerant minister. Then sometimes I was sent away before I was ready to leave, and sometimes I stayed when people were ready to see me go. Such is life in the Methodist appointment system.

One of my “fathers in the faith” reminded me and others, “You will meet the same people on your way up in ministry as you will on your way down. Consider this as you take your leave of one place and go to another. Don’t forget from where you came. You’ll go back there one day.”

I thought about this one day when one of my church members told me the two largest attendance days were the first and last Sundays of every pastor their church had. When I asked why, he replied, “Because folks first come to see if the preaching is any good and then come to hear how terrible they’ve been.”

Perhaps others continued that pattern after me, but I saw no reason to continue it. Every rabbit, even the most wayward or recalcitrant, will grow gradually in three years. If I couldn’t see evidence of spiritual growth and changes of heart in their lives, I wasn’t worth my salt. I left them in tears, reminding them of who they were and what they had become. I also spoke of the power that would be with them always as they continued their upward path to greater things yet to come.

Attic Black Figure Ware Attributed to the Phrynos Painter:
Kylix, Little Master Lip, Early Archaic Period, ca. 555 – 550 B.C., British Museum, London.

Since ancient times, fathers have always given their children sage advice. Even the Greek gods of myth and time, before the age of philosophers and kings, believed in fathers as the source of wisdom. Athena, the goddess of wisdom, sprang full grown from the head of Zeus, the King of all the gods on Mount Olympus. Perhaps the Greeks were onto something, for wisdom is acquired by those who survive their rash youthful learning experiences.

Some father figures would keep their children from all harm by never allowing a child take appropriate, age level risks and not preparing them gradually for these rites of passage. We don’t throw a new born child into the deep end of a pool and expect them to swim. Instead, we bathe them, wade them, let them kick as we pull them around the shallow end of the pool, and finally we get their faces underwater to blow bubbles so they can learn to breathe correctly. Finally we’ll teach them how to use their arms in coordination with their feet and breathing so they can travel across the pool.

If we let them on a motorized vehicle, a child is safer on a sanctioned go cart track than on a neighborhood street. This is because he or she would be racing in smaller horse powered carts, with age similar racers. As a wise parent, you’d have to decide if your child has the maturity, focus, and discipline to handle not only her own car, but to be aware of his position relative to other carts on the track. Also, does your child have his emotions under control and is she willing to learn from her mistakes?

Greek mythology has an instructive story of Helios, the sun god, who couldn’t say no to his son Phaeton’s request to drive the sun carriage drawn by the fiery steeds. In Ovid, Metamorphoses 1. 750 ff, Helios instructs his son:

“Keep to this route; my wheeltracks there show plain. Press not too low nor strain your course to high; too high, you’ll burn heaven’s palaces; too low, the earth; the safest course lies in between. And neither rightwards towards the twisting Anguis (Snake) nor leftwards swerve to where the Ara (Altar) lies. Hold in the midst! To fortune I resign the rest to guide with wiser wit than yours. See, dewy Nox (Night) [Nyx] upon the Hesperian shore even while I speak has reached her goal. No more may we delay; our duty calls; the day dawns bright, all shadows fled. Come take the reins!

Or take, if yet your stubborn heart will change, my counsel, not my chariot, while you may, while still on firm foundations here you stand before you mount between my chariot wheels, so ignorant, so foolish!–and let me give the world light that you may safely see.”

As in all Greek myths, this didn’t end well for Phaeton, for he couldn’t control the high spirited steeds. As the chariot ricocheted too near the earth, scorching it, and too high in the sky, burning the stars, Zeus blasted the boy with a thunderbolt to save the earth from harm and placed him among the stars in the constellation The Charioteer. His body fell to earth into the river Po. Once again it’s a reminder the middle path is safest and best.

Canadian soldiers on D-Day read message on their plane

As we polish off the last of the leftovers from Memorial Day, we celebrate D-Day, which commemorates June 6, 1944, the day the Allies invaded Normandy from England during World War II. Every military order has had a day and hour designation since 1918, but this battle on the five French beaches was so large and so difficult to organize, it’s the one we know as “D-Day.” Not only was there a need for a long day, a day near a full moon to guide ships/airborne troops, and strong tides for an amphibious assault, but the Allies had to coordinate politically and militarily to get everyone on board. Eisenhower’s personal notes give us an inkling of the troubles of this endeavor (link below). To date it remains the largest amphibious invasion in history and marked the beginning of the end of World War II. It also marked the end of the Nazi regime led by Hitler, which was responsible for the death of over 6 million Jews.

Two roses and two U.S. flags on Omaha Beach in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, Normandy, on June 5, 2019.

As a small rabbit, who’s startled at any sharp noise and frightened by even the shadows of passing clouds, since it might be a hungry predator, the thoughts of wars set me to trembling, trembling, trembling, like the lyrics of the old slave spiritual, “Steal Away:”

“Green trees are bending, poor sinners stand trembling; The trumpet sounds it in my soul, I ain’t got long to stay here.”

Yet appeasing tyrants never ends well, as Winston Churchill noted: “Each one hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough, the crocodile will eat him last. All of them hope that the storm will pass before their turn comes to be devoured. But I fear greatly that the storm will not pass. It will rage and it will roar ever more loudly, ever more widely.”

Speaking of storms, the Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, and we can expect the first named storm to form in mid to late June. We rabbits who enjoy a beach vacation always need to keep a weather eye out. Not only do we need to be aware of the intense sun, especially for our baby rabbits, but if the city officials issue evacuation orders for extreme weather, we ought to leave, even if we give up vacation days. While we’re at the beach, or the lake or poolside this summer, we can read or listen to books. June is audiobook appreciation month, but books with pages are more likely better suited to beaches, since high heat and small grains of sands can adversely affect expensive cellphones, tablets, and readers.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia

Another way we can pass our summer and stretch our minds is to try new experiences. June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month. If we only exercise the same brain paths, but fail to build new ones, our brains become “clogged up.” This is rabbit speak for what doctors call Tau protein tangles. Dementia seldom only causes Alzheimer’s-related changes in the brain. Any number of vascular issues—problems that affect blood vessels, such as beta-amyloid deposits in brain arteries, atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), and mini-strokes—may also be at play. Vascular problems may lead to reduced blood flow and oxygen to the brain, as well as a breakdown of the blood-brain barrier, which usually protects the brain from harmful agents while allowing in glucose and other necessary factors.

My dad, a brilliant doctor, had Alzheimer’s disease in his later life. While he remembered all of his medical training, he knew none of his family in his later years. He also confused my large poster of Captain Picard I had taped on the parsonage back door with an actual person. I kept “Picard” there as a reminder to MAKE IT SO, but daddy thought I had a strange balding man standing in my laundry room.

Make it so—said the strange man in my laundry room

In someone with Alzheimer’s, a faulty blood-brain barrier prevents glucose (energy) from reaching the brain and prevents the clearing away of toxic beta-amyloid and tau proteins. This results in inflammation, which adds to vascular problems in the brain. Because it appears that Alzheimer’s is both a cause and consequence of vascular problems in the brain, researchers are seeking interventions to disrupt this complicated and destructive cycle. All the more reason for us to eat more plants, less fried foods, more complex carbohydrates, and fewer animal fats.

Baked chicken, roasted veggies and corn on the cob

June is also Professional Wellness Month and National Men’s Health Month. America workers tend to get about 11 days of paid vacation and 6 paid holidays per year, but more than half of these reported not using all their days off. Even those energizer bunnies who have unlimited paid time off tend to take only 10 days of vacation, and nearly half of them work at some point in time during their vacation.

When I went on vacation, I told my church secretary to call me if the church burned down or someone died. They should be able to handle most anything else. Most of what I was going to do from some distant location was encourage them and help arrange a substitute if I couldn’t get back in time. God may be available all the time, but small rabbits and vulnerable humans must rest and restore their energies to be ready for the next excitement that’s sure to come.

If you haven’t yet planned your summer vacation, you’re in luck. June is Great Outdoors Month and National Camping Month. You can take your rabbit family to the Oceans or to the Rivers, or you can visit a Zoo and an Aquarium. It’s also Women’s Golf Month, but you can take the rest of the rabbit family with you and have a good time on the links. If you want to stick closer to home, remember June is a fine time to enjoy the exercise in the dirt. It’s Perennial Gardening Month and National Rose Month. Do a service for your garden during National Pollinators Month. Plant basil and dill alongside your tomato plants to discourage hornworms. The scents also attract pollinators like butterflies and other beneficial insects.

On a personal note, I’m looking forward to a summer full of crisp lettuce and tomato sandwiches on toasted whole wheat bread with avocado slices. In fact, that sounds so good, I may have to have one now, since I don’t have time to make a hazelnut cake. Here’s to books, beaches, and the bronzed bodies of summer.

Joy and peace,

CORNELIA

June Holidays and Observances 2023: Full Calender
https://www.today.com/life/holidays/june-holidays-and-observances-rcna76138

2023 NCAHM Official Book List – CaribbeanReads
https://www.caribbeanreads.com/2023-ncahm-book-list/

When is the first day of summer? Summer solstice dates explained.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/04/07/when-is-first-day-summer/11556538002/

Season Definition: When Do They Start?
https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/aboutseasons.html

What Is the Flexitarian Diet? – Cleveland Clinic
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-is-the-flexitarian-diet/

NATIONAL BLACK COW DAY – June 10, 2023 – National Today
https://nationaltoday.com/national-black-cow-day/

How To Make Tapioca Pearls At Home – Experiences
https://experiences.japancrate.com/blogs/news/how-to-make-tapioca-pearls-at-home

Creamy Coleslaw with Prunes (Ready in 5 Minutes!) – Ignite Nutrition
https://ignitenutrition.ca/blog/unlock-the-power-of-prunes/

Should I Let My Kid Drive a Go-Kart? – Our Definitive Guide | Utah Motorsports Campus
https://www.utahmotorsportscampus.com/should-i-let-my-kid-drive-a-go-kart-our-definitive-guide/

PHAETHON – Son of the Sun-God of Greek Mythology
https://www.theoi.com/Titan/Phaethon.html

Unknown Artist: Fall of Phaeton, Greek marble Roman sarcophagus, Ca. 150-170 AD., Height: 62 cm; length 220 cm.,
Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi.

Eisenhower Library: Conditions in Normandy
https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/research/online-documents/d-day/1944-06-03-conditions-in-normandy.pdf

Steal Away Lyrics
https://www.cusd80.com/cms/lib6/AZ01001175/Centricity/Domain/1509/Steal%20Away%20Steal%20Away%20song%20lyrics.pdf

An Appeaser Is One Who Feeds a Crocodile, Hoping It Will Eat Him Last – Quote Investigator®
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/04/18/crocodile/

Tropical Cyclone Climatology
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/climo/

What Happens to the Brain in Alzheimer’s Disease? | National Institute on Aging
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/what-happens-brain-alzheimers-disease

Average PTO In USA & Other PTO Statistics (2023) – Forbes Advisor
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/pto-statistics/

10 Tips for Building a Pollinator Garden | The Old Farmer’s Almanac
https://www.almanac.com/building-pollinator-garden

Rabbit! Rabbit! Welcome to May!

art, beauty, Civil War, inspiration, King Charles of England Coronation, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Memorial Day, Mother’s Day, Painting

If April showers bring May flowers, your bunny buddy now lives in a blooming greenhouse. Yes, record rainfall and stupendous snowfall are causing even the deserts to bloom. For years, the long-term drought in California has caused a lack of wildflowers. With the recent floods and deep snow in the mountains, the full extent of this year’s super bloom in California won’t be clear until peak bloom hits places like Lassen Volcanic National Park in the northern part of the state. Peak bloom is expected there in June or July, after all the snow there has thawed.

However, the second week of May is National Wildflower Week. The wildflowers growing by the side of public roads and in national parks are protected. Don’t pick wildflowers or their seed heads there. On private property, ask permission before picking them. Obtain seeds from reliable sources that cultivated the flowers for their seeds. When choosing flowering plants that aren’t wild or naturalized in your area, mimic their growing conditions. You may have to supplement rainfall with occasional watering and/or fertilizing. While we’ve had a good rain this year, xeriscaping or planting your lawn with wildflowers or local plants is a great way to save on water. It won’t look like a manicured carpet, however. Maybe your flowerbeds can get wider each year until the carpet is gone.

I visited the Lassen Volcanic National Park last October when I journeyed out west to visit the grand rabbits. While I could have flown over all this great land we call America, I decided to travel by car. We have too many beautiful natural treasures which we protect and conserve in our national parks. Also, after several years of confinement due to the pandemic, I had some pent up travelling in my blood. The park is 166 square miles large and contains the world’s largest plug volcano, which was first active 27,000 years ago. It last erupted in 1917 when the park was set aside.

DeLee: Great Dixie Fire, mixed media and acrylic paint

This is also the site of the great 2021 Dixie Fire, which started on July 13, and burned for 104 days. Five California counties and 963,276 acres burned. Why would anyone outside of the immediate area care about this? The forests in Lassen Volcanic National Park can store almost as much carbon as 600,000 Americans emit in one year. Unfortunately, park forests are dying from a combination of threats: increased drought, wildfire, and pathogens like beetles and blister rust. Lassen Volcanic Park rangers are working to protect vulnerable tree species through monitoring, research, and management actions whenever necessary and appropriate.

As a rabbit of faith, I live on this earth, and as long as I live here, I’m called to care for it, to do no harm to it, and to heal it where it’s hurting. This is the same calling I have for our fellow creatures, for the same God created us all and cares for us all equally. I love the wildflowers so much, I even stop on the roadside to take a selfie among them. The Highway Patrol in Liberty, North Carolina doesn’t take kindly to strangers taking selfies among their precious poppies. I was “checked out” and asked to “move along.” Perhaps they’re not used to rabbits with cameras? I do seem to attract the attention of the local law whenever I’m out photographing.

Other weekly celebrations we rabbits can enjoy in May are:

Week One—Be Kind to Animals Week and Nurse’s Week
Week Three—National Bike Week and National Police Week
Week Four—Emergency Medical Services Week

Some celebrations get the entire month of May. Among them are:

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Older Americans and Foster Care Month
Gifts from the Garden and National Salad Month
Lupus Awareness and National Blood Pressure Month
National Barbecue and National Hamburger Month
Date Your Mate and National Photograph Month
National Bike Month

May 3–World Press Freedom Day Rabbit Writer

In 1993, the UN General Assembly proclaimed May 3rd each year to be World Press Freedom Day. This is a UN Sponsored annual event. A free press is a bedrock necessity for democracy to thrive. When ruling powers control the messages which the rabbit population gets to hear, we rabbits only hear one side of the story. This discourages freedoms of thought and expression of opinion. While democracy sometimes seems messy, the voices of the majority will ultimately prevail. Yet the voices of the marginalized must be recognized and respected, for their rights can’t be curtailed to please the majority. A free press brings both voices to light.

May 4–The National Day of Prayer always happens on the first Thursday of May. This year it coincides with “May the Fourth Be with You” day. Each of these celebrations speaks to the deep need within the rabbit heart for a connection to a power greater than ourselves. At some point in time, each one of us will realize our ego self is really a false self or mask of bravado and competence. When we cast off this mask, we might feel naked toward the world, but God or the Force can finally fill our emptiness. Most rabbits will never take off this false mask, however, for being naked in God’s or the Force’s presence is unimaginable to us.

“Rabbit Handstand” wood sculpture by Teresita Gonzalez

May 5–Cinco de Mayo is always on May 5th. I was playing cards with some rabbit friends the other night. One has a grand baby born on Cinco de Mayo. “What day is Cinco de Mayo?” he asked. “It’s always May 5th, silly.”

“Why is that?” All the card players answered, “Because Cinco de Mayo is a date, like Christmas is a date, when something important happened.”

This is a group of white rabbits, as you may have gathered, but some of us have spent time in Hispanic communities. The Mexican army defeated the French army at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. This single military battle signified the defeat of a European colonial power, a victory for the Mexican people, and is the root of Cinco de Mayo. Mexican Independence Day is September 15th. We can celebrate along with our brother and sister rabbits by sharing Mexican food and drink, enjoying music, and dancing. And what rabbit doesn’t love the excuse for a party?

St. Edward crown for May 6–Coronation of King Charles of England has over $4.5B worth of jewels in it.

While we American rabbits cast off our colonial bonds back in the 18th century, some of us have never lost our fascination with the royal family and their sagas. Plus we’re always up for a celebration if it means drink and cake. After the death of Queen Elizabeth, her son Charles became King of England. His official coronation ceremony will be smaller in many respects than Elizabeth’s: only 2,000 guests rather than 8,000 and business or military attire will be worn, but no tiaras or ermines allowed.

Since 1066, Westminster Abbey has been the site for regal coronations , beginning with William the Conqueror on Christmas Day. The St. Edwards Crown weighs in at 5 pounds, so the new monarch will live out the saying, “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” (Shakespeare, Henry IV. Part II, 1597). While the Crown Jewels are considered priceless, a 2019 study found in total, the coronation crown would cost $4, 519, 719. That would buy a bunch of carrots and then some!

Coronation chair with the Stone of Scone

The Stone of Destiny (also known as the Stone of Scone) is an ancient sandstone block weighing 336 pounds, which was used for centuries in the coronation of Scottish kings before being seized in 1296 by King Edward I, who had it built into a throne at Westminster Abbey. There it lay until Christmas Day 1950, when, in an audacious caper, four Scottish nationalist students tried to steal it and take it back north of the border. Eventually, in 1996, the stone was returned to Scotland. Now, top-secret and high-security preparations are being made to take it back down to Westminster Abbey for the coronation.

King Bugs Bunny wears Ermine and a Crown

If the rabbit ears on your Telly are angled just right, and your alarm clock goes off in time, you can watch special coverage from Saturday, May 6, from 5 to 10 a.m. ET on your local ABC station. If you have a BBC streaming service, they’ll definitely carry the public events, including the concert on the day after. This will be a public holiday in Great Britain, of course. Both Apple and Spotify have official playlists (link below).

Secretariat Wins Triple Crown, Jockey Ron Turcotte Looks Back at 31 Length Victory in 1973 Belmont Stakes

After the early morning British crowd, if you’ve swilled enough caffeine and nibbled enough scones (the pastry kind, not the stones) you can chill with a mint julep and the Kentucky Horse Royalty congregating at the Derby’s 149th Run for the Roses. This year, of the twenty horses lined up for the opening bell, eight have a pedigree traced to the Triple Crown winner of 50 years ago, Secretariat. No horse has ever matched his magnificence or personality. To watch him pull away from the pack and leave them in his dust was a wonder to behold. He’d be waiting for those stragglers in the winner’s circle when they finally crossed the finish line, and be looking at their sweating, huffing hulks, as if he were thinking, “What took you guys so long?” One of a kind, Secretariat won the 1973 Derby, coming from last to first, and five decades later, he’s still the Derby record holder at 1:59 2/5.

If you attend in person, the dress code is “Business Casual:” Jackets and blazers, vests, shirts with collars, sweaters, dresses, pantsuits, slacks and capri pants are appropriate. Hats are expected. If watching from your rabbit den, anything goes. Coverage is on NBC from 12 noon to 7:30 pm ET. The race itself goes off at 6:57 pm ET. That’s a lot of mint juleps, so pace your imbibing or you’ll miss the actual race itself.

On May 8, 1908 the US Senate voted against Mother’s Day! WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? Afterall, at that time, only men could vote and all the holidays honored men. Maybe those senators realized what side their bread was buttered on. A day to honor the Grandpaws might have passed with votes to spare. The women behind this cause weren’t to be denied. Even before the ratification of the 19th ammendment giving them the right to vote in August of 1920, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as a perpetual memorial day of honor to mothers everywhere.

We rabbits today can’t even imagine any of our elected officials treating us as less than our brothers before the law, disrespecting the 14th Amendment of our Constitution:

“No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

Today some of our legislators seem to live in a distant century, having traveled there with the cartoon Sherman in Mr. Peabody’s WABAC (way-back) machine. I sometimes wish this way-back machine had enough power to transport its passengers back to the earliest days of creation. Maybe having a front row seat and hearing God’s voice in God’s act of creating the first human beings would work a mighty change in their hearts and minds:

So God created humankind in his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
~~ Genesis 1:27

May 25–Carry a Towel Day. If you are at loss to understand this holiday, please read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Understanding The Galaxy. When the earth is moments away from demolition by aliens so they can construct an intergalactic highway, Ford Perfect saves young Arthur Dent. Together they travel across space and time to find the meaning of the universe and return to save earth. If you aren’t into this holiday, the good news is it’s also National Wine Day. Splurge on a fine vintage, invite a friend or two over to share the conversation and discuss the meaning of life.

Memorial Day Celebration rooted in memories of our Civil War

Memorial Day will be celebrated on Monday, May 29, for the 3 day federal and state holiday. The banks will also close. Some of my Southern rabbit cousins still refuse to recognize Monday as Memorial, because “It ought to be on the 31st, like it was in granddaddy’s day.” I note they still attend the family picnics and shoot off firecrackers over the weekend. They are old bunnies and have gotten somewhat crotchety as the years have put a kink in their hop. I find myself getting older also, but I keep reminding myself each new day is a blessing and an opportunity for growth. I try to keep learning new things so my brain will keep adjusting to new challenges.

As the calendar passes from May to June, the weather will beckon us to spend more time outdoors, so let’s remember these words written in 1848 from the Rev. Charles Kingsley, also known as Parson Lott:

Attributed to Henry Peacham: Tinted drawing of Book 2, Emblem X: Cum severitate lenitas (Severity with Mercy), British Library, London.

“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful. Beauty is God’s hand-writing—a way-side sacrament; welcome it in every fair face, every fair sky, every fair flower, and thank for it Him, the fountain of all loveliness, and drink it in, simply and earnestly, with all your eyes; it is a charmed draught, a cup of blessing.”

Or as the ancient manuscript illuminator wrote, Cum severitate lenitas (Even in harshness, there is mercy.).

Until June, I leave you with joy, peace, and rainbows,

Cornelia

King Charles Coronation Playlist https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a43399168/king-charles-coronation-playlist-spotify/

More May Holidays
https://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/may.htm

Dixie Fire Statistics
https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2021/7/13/dixie-fire/

Lassen Volcano National Park
https://www.nps.gov/lavo/learn/nature/climate-change.htm

Westminster Abbey Stone of Scone
https://www.westminster-abbey.org/about-the-abbey/history/the-coronation-chair

A Coronation F.A.Q.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/style/king-charles-coronation.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

2023 Kentucky Derby
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/horses/kentucky-derby/2023/04/27/secretariat-descendants-2023-kentucky-derby-field-at-churchill-downs/69992169007/

Beauty is God’s Handwriting
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/05/21/beauty/

How Much is the British Coronation Crown Worth? https://britishheritage.com/history/edwards-coronation-crown-worth

Rabbit! Rabbit!

arkansas, art, chocolate, Easter, Faith, Food, Garden of Gethsemane, Good Friday, holidays, Holy Thursday, john wesley, Love, Painting, photography, rabbits, Salvador Dali, Spirituality, Spring Equinox, United Methodist Church

Welcome to April 2023

April Fool! Caught you! Were you the prankster or the pranked? Even an institution as stuffy as the British Broadcasting Corporation isn’t above pranking the public on the first day of April. If a fool and his money are soon parted, then whatever the BBC was selling, they were having a jolly good time in their advertising department. You can watch their mini documentary on Flying Penguins below:

When I was at Perkins Seminary, we editors of the weekly newsletter had a tradition of an April Surprise. This followed the practice of the former Babylonian Schismatic, which was an alternative, satirical student newsletter published occasionally between 1981 and 1988.

One year, when I was coeditor, it was more of an April Debacle. My partner in crime and I were sure the beach ball bouncing off the usual chapel steeple logo would be enough to clue our community into the prank. However, we failed to realize how little sleep our fellow students actually got during school weeks, how seriously they took the printed word, and worst of all, that our newsletter also went to bishops’ widows in faraway places. This last was what got us into the real trouble.

Our faux reports of Perkins losing its accreditation due to shenanigans of prior graduates, who were in the news at the time, had graduate students storming the dean’s office. Even worse, the bishop’s widows were calling him to inquire what kind of school he was overseeing. The fact schools can only lose accreditation for their own failures (and not the trespasses of former students or faculty) never crossed anyone’s mind in the ensuing uproar. So of course, we criminals wrote handwritten letters of apology to the widows and printed retractions in the next newsletter for the students. I now understand why my mother said I sometimes take things too seriously. Still, I’ve have found others who make me look like a giggle queen.

Speaking of giggles, although the historical roots of April Fool’s Day are shrouded in mystery, the British, who are mostly known for their dry wit and stiff upper lip, seem to enjoy this holiday to excess. Especially at the BBC, which back in 1957, produced a fascinating prank documentary on the Swiss Artisanal Spaghetti Industry. They showed a Swiss family harvesting ripe spaghetti strands from their spaghetti bushes. At the time because of rationing, spaghetti wasn’t widely available. After 1956 in the British Isles, Italian companies opened spaghetti factories and Italian immigrants opened restaurants. The British developed a taste for this food. As a result, some British families were so enthusiastic, they wanted to purchase their own spaghetti bushes for a home garden. Others were unhappy to be pranked. This may be one of the first times the medium of television was used to stage an April Fool’s Day hoax.

Moveable Feasts: Passover and Easter

Israel was an ancient agricultural culture and followed a lunar calendar, so sighting the full moon was important. Passover is always pegged to the Hebrew calendar, which is based on the lunar cycle. It starts in the middle of the month of Nisan, when the moon is full, typically falling in March or April of the modern Gregorian calendar. As a result, Passover typically begins very close to Easter. Easter Sunday is always the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox. However, due to the shorter Hebrew calendar, sometimes it gets a leap month to keep it in tune with the seasons. In 2024, when the leap month plays a part, we’ll have an early Easter on March 21st, but Passover won’t start until April 22nd.

These religious holidays are forever entertwined because of the historical events of the Last Supper, which we assume was a ritual meal or Seder, and the crucifixion on a Friday, which required Christ’s body to be taken down from the cross due to the beginning of Passover at sunset.The Last Supper took place on a Thursday night, even though the actual Passover didn’t begin until Friday night.

Dali: The Sacrament of the Last Supper, 1955, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington D. C.

As Wesley’s Notes on The New Testament observe, “Jesus took the bread—the bread or cake, which the master of the family used to divide among them, after they had eaten the passover. The custom our Lord now transferred to a nobler use. This bread is, that is, signifies or represents my body, according to the style of the sacred writers.”

We know this because Jesus was arrested in Gesthemane after this meal and then taken to the Roman Governor Pilate on Friday morning, the day of Preparation for the Passover. John 18:28 reminds us how the temple priests “…took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate’s headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover.”

Early Handdrawn Valentine, 1814, writing in an unending circle

The Jews in the first century kept faithfulness according to laws of separation and purity, so they kept away from unbelievers on holy days. This was the biblical practice of the time. Early Christians continued this practice until Paul began his outreach to the Greek and Roman citizens of the world. When in the later gospel of John (14:15) Christ says, “if ye love me, keep my commandments, Wesley’s commentary understands this to mean: “Immediately after faith he exhorts to love and good works.” This is why we United Methodists practice an open table at Holy Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, for all who love the Lord and desire to be in love and fellowship with their neighbors are welcome at his table. We don’t exclude anyone, for God includes all people into the circle of God’s love.

Since Easter Sunday is always the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox, this makes Easter a “moveable feast.” Unlike a picnic, for which we tote our fixings from our kitchen to a park or to the countryside, or unlike a house to house “progressive dinner,” Easter is called “moveable” because it’s not on a fixed date like Christmas or New Year’s Day.

Baked Ham with Canned Pineapple Rings and Cloves

My family’s Easter feast always centered about a baked ham, often covered with canned pineapple rings and studded with cloves. We were a modern American 1950-60’s family and Betty Crocker reigned in my mother’s kitchen. Just this week I saw a tv advertisement of a family feast with this very same baked ham. I suppose when the economy gets dicey, people pull out old familiar recipes from the great-great-grandmother’s kitchen. Since I have a new great-grandchild on the way, and a knitting project started, I can safely say, this isn’t an April Fool’s joke. I’ve seen the sonogram images!

2012-2022 Top Ten Cities for Extreme Weather Warnings issued by National Weather Service

“April showers bring May flowers” is an ancient rhyme. Unfortunately, these showers also bring pollens of every kind, since trees and flowers both acquire crowns of glory. The Old Farmer’s’ Almanac notes while November has a bit more rain in store for Arkansas than April usually brings, this month’s warmer weather favors conditions for flowers to bloom and trees to bud. While we might tire of the storms and the havoc they wrack upon the populace, we’re always thankful if they only cause damage to property and don’t take human lives.

Across North America, the pollen season has lengthened by 20 days since 1990. Pollen concentrations have also increased by 21 percent over the past three decades. This means some of us have been doctoring ourselves or visiting the RD—real doctor—since February. The stubbornest of us waited until almost April because we were convinced we could heal ourselves. If you still have no energy and are grumpy to boot after a month, you too need a RD. Better living through chemistry with put a perk back into your bunny hop.

Speaking of the weather, I have seen many years now of Easter sunrise services, and even more later noontime Easter feasts. One thing ties them all together: no matter how cute my spring outfit is, no one ever sees it because I’m always wearing a raincoat or a winter coat over it. My guess is rain and cool weather will come and our egg hunts will likely be inside. As long as there’s a dark chocolate Easter rabbit for my personal gratification, I’ll be happy. I discovered last year’s version stored in the cabinet, so I’d better make some chocolate chip cookies soon.

There’s plenty of silly or merchandising holidays in April, but you can read about them at the link below my name. Until May, I remain your April Fool…

Joy, peace, and chocolate rabbits for everyone,

Cornelia

April Daily Holidays, National, International. Holiday Insights.
https://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/april.htm

Why Easter and Passover are observed on different dates each year
https://www.azcentral.com/story/travel/arizona/2018/03/28/why-easter-and-passover-have-different-dates-each-year/466341002/

The worst cities in the U.S. for allergies
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/03/16/allergy-season-pollen-count-climate/

BBC Flying Penguin Documentary April Fool Prank
https://youtu.be/9dfWzp7rYR4

BBC 1957 Spaghetti Documentary April Fool Prank
https://youtu.be/8scpGwbvxvI

BBC ON THIS DAY | 1 | 1957: BBC fools the nation
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/1/newsid_2819000/2819261.stm

No spuds please, we’re British
https://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,3604,371547,00.html

Is April Really The Month of Showers? – Farmers’ Almanac
https://www.farmersalmanac.com/april-showers-bring-may-flowers-34814

Where the Most Weather Warnings Are Issued in the U.S. | Weather Underground
https://www.wunderground.com/article/safety/thunderstorms/news/2022-03-18-most-national-weather-service-warnings-us

Rabbit! Rabbit!

arkansas, art, Astrology, Civil War, cosmology, elections, Faith, Forgiveness, haiku, inspiration, Lost Cause, Painting, Pi Day, rabbits, renewal, sleep, Spirituality, Spring Equinox, St. Patrick’s Day

Welcome to March 2023

This rabbit was shivering during the last week of February.

March is here and the wild hares of the rabbit clan have come to visit. I’m shivering on a cold, dreary, and rainy day, but I’m about to have a cup of steaming hot tea and put dinner on the stove. While I waited for the water to boil, I visited the open AI project out of curiosity. My old daddy used to say, “curiosity killed the cat,” but I think he was trying to keep me safe by not poking my nose into some dangerous places. Without curiosity, we never learn anything new or stretch our horizons. We’d live a sad, constricted life if we always stayed inside the lines and never pushed the boundaries.

The chat bot took my name and combined it with that of Cornelia Adele Strong Fassett, who painted the Florida Case Before the Electoral Commission, to describe the importance of “Cornelia DeLee, artist.” Also according to the chatbot, I am long dead, so I must be communicating from “yonder.” Fassett’s painting was about the contested presidential election of 1876.

The Florida Case before the Electoral Commission
Oil on canvas, by Cornelia Adele Fassett
This painting now hangs on the third floor of the Capitol.

In January, 1877, when the Electoral College met, 20 votes were contested, but neither side would concede the election. Congress passed a law empowering the Electoral Commission at the end of January. Ten days of deliberations passed before the 20 votes passed to the Republican candidate, an act which the Democrats protested until they received assurances federal soldiers would leave the Southern states. With Reconstruction at an end, Congress declared Rutherford B. Hayes the new President of the United States on March 2, only two days before his term began.

The Civil War and the Reconstruction years have marked our nation with an ongoing trauma, which has passed from generation to generation. At some point in time, we’ll have to heal, for continually pouring salt into that old wound will keep it festering and it won’t ever heal. Then we’ll pass it down to another generation once more. However, if scripture has any truth to teach us, humankind continues to reenact the sins of our ancestors, even when we know their stories and have the God given gifts of redemption from these shackles of death and shame. But now this rabbit is preaching, and some would say, “meddling once again.”

Update: Heather Cox Richardson, a noted writer of American history, reminds us once again how Southerners rewrite our history to make us more heroic and powerful. The Federal Army didn’t leave the south right away, but stayed in some states for awhile. See the note below.

I’ll change the subject. I’m not much on poetry, but I thought I’d ask ChatGPT to write a “Poem in Praise of March.” After all, World Poetry Day is March 21, so I thought I’d give the ChatAI a run for its money (it’s free right now, while in training stage). The Artificial Intelligence project was delighted to instantly produce the following example:

March, the month of windswept skies,
A time when winter softly dies.
The earth awakens from her sleep,
As days grow long and nights grow deep.

The snows of winter start to thaw,
And nature’s beauty starts to draw
A tapestry of green and gold,
As springtime’s treasures now unfold.

The birds return with joyful sound,
Their melodies now all around.
The trees bud out, the flowers bloom,
And life returns to end the gloom.

March, the month of change and hope,
A time to cast off winter’s scope.
The promise of new life and growth,
As nature’s beauty takes its oath.

So let us praise this month of light,
For all the wonders it brings to sight.
And may we cherish every day,
As we welcome spring in every way.

I was so amazed the Artificial Intelligence ChatBot could spit this out so quickly, I typed in, “Thank you.”

AI Enhanced Image by Jos Avery: Erik’s Escape

It immediately answered, “You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed the poem. If you have any other questions or requests, feel free to ask!” I quickly closed the application before it became sentient and asked for my hand in marriage or social security number and tried to enroll me in a monthly cryptocurrency investment program. Yikes!

Speaking of poetry, even the folks at Bloomberg News are writing haikus about global food shortages:

Onion shortage looms.
Prices rise, nutrition wanes,
Governments take aim.

When I was a child, my brothers and I amused ourselves by lining up dominoes in artful patterns all morning long. After lunch and before our required afternoon nap, we’d touch the first domino in line, and have a wicked joy of watching our entire morning’s work fall one after another. A food shortage (or a toilet paper shortage) happens much the same way in our global economy. Onion prices are still soaring across the globe and fuelling inflation, so countries like Morocco, Turkey and Kazakhstan have taken action and secured supplies.

Close to 40kg of smuggled produce was discovered in the luggage of Philippine Airlines crew members on Friday.
(photo credit: PHILIPPINE CUSTOMS OFFICE VIA WALLA NEWS)

Because onion prices are going up due to scarce supply, the price of other fruits and vegetables (such as carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, and apples) also are rising and hampering their availability across the globe, according to the United Nations and the World Bank. In fact, prices have increased so much that onions briefly cost more than meat in the Philippines, and some flight attendants were caught smuggling them out of the Middle East.

This didn’t end well for either the attendants or the produce, since the food was sent out for destruction (it’s illegal to import food, except through proper customs) and the personnel got reprimands and retraining. Word to the wise: hoarding onions isn’t a good idea, since whole, raw onions will last two to three months when stored in a cool, dry place (between 45 and 55 degrees F). Places that provide these conditions may include your cellar, pantry, unheated basement, or garage. Usually, at room temperature, onions last only 2 to 3 weeks. Over the long term, the frugal shopper will buy some scarce items at a higher prices and other items at lower cost when the product is in season and at a surplus. The average price over a year will even out.

Former President Carter signing First Women’s History Week Proclamation

March is Women’s History Month. In February 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring the Week of March 8th, 1980 as National Women’s History Week. In 1987, Congress passed Public Law 100-9, designating March as “Women’s History Month.” Every president since then has recognized the gifts, graces, and achievements of America’s women by presidential proclamation. Other important women’s days in March we recognize are International Women’s Day (March 8), Harriet Tubman Day and National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (March 10).

The Jewish celebration of Purim begins on March 6 at sundown and ends on the 7th at sundown. The festival recalls Queen Esther’s faithfulness to God and God’s saving providence for God’s marginalized people. We should always remember God’s grace is wider than ours, even if the faithful seemed to be “assimilating to the current culture.”

Daylight Savings Time begins March 12, with all of us rabbits settling our clocks forward one hour before we go to bed the night before. If you have difficulty remembering which direction, there’s a motto for this event: “Spring forward, and Fall back.” No one falls forward and springs back—silly rabbits maybe, but not the smart rabbits, who have the good sense to “Spring forward, and Fall back.”

National Pi Day March 14— Not all pies are square

The Ides of March 15 were bad luck for Julius Caesar, but originally the Ides of March once signified the new year, which meant celebrations and rejoicing. Two years before his death at an assassin’s hand, Caesar himself had changed the Roman calendar so the Romans celebrated the new year in January. Some people really don’t like change at all. Plus they don’t like military dictatorships.

People celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17 all over the world, whether they’re Irish or not. While the San Antonio River runs green downtown, Hot Springs National Park will have its First Ever 20th Annual World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade on the 98 foot long Bridge Street, which is the world’s shortest street in everyday operational use.

Map of Hot Springs St. Patrick’s Day Festivities

Spring Equinox on March 20 can’t come soon enough for this rabbit. Just knowing the light will become stronger with each passing day is a medicine for my spirits. So what if the pollen follows soon after? Eventually, that too will be history and we bunnies will find something else to fuss about. After all, nothing is certain except for change. None of us can stop the circuit of the stars in the heavens above or cease the changing seasons.

We can adjust to these great cycles of change, just as we can grow in love for one another and learn to forgive both ourselves (for our falling short of perfection) and others for harming ourselves. If we rabbits wait till the last moment for our death bed reconciliations, we may not have the time or opportunity to make amends with the ones from whom we’ve estranged ourselves.

If you think you’ll be foolish doing this, I suggest you desensitize yourself and celebrate International Talk Like William Shatner Day on March 22. I asked ChatGPT for a haiku in the voice of William Shatner. On the third try, I got something I thought resembled his breathless cadence and broken phrase delivery. I could almost hear him emphatically delivering the words GO and MUST!

Breathless stars above,
Silent darkness, vast and deep,
Boldly go, we must.

Ramadan starts during the evening of March 23 and lasts until sundown on Thursday, April 20. Muslims commemorate the gift of the Koran to Muhammad by fasting if physically able, declaring their faith, prayers, charity, and pilgrimage..

BRITON RIVIÈRE, UNA AND LION, NINETEENTH CENTURY

Remember, if March comes in as a lamb, it will go out as a lion, or so the ancient weather proverb goes. The saying may have its origin in the stars, for at this time of year, Leo is the rising sign; by April, it’s Aries. (“Kid” or “ram” doesn’t have quite the same ring as “lamb,” though.) Also, this is the season Jesus arrives as the sacrificial lamb, but will return as the Lion of Judah. Both mean, weather-wise, a false spring.

The Beast with Two Horns like a Lamb by Albrecht Dürer We don’t want March to enter or exit in this Apocalyptic vision.

To sum up, as I finish up this note on the last day of February, the high today will be near 80F and I’ll most likely turn my air conditioner back on before March comes to visit. Looking ahead to March, the Weather Channel outlook has only three days in the 70’s for my location, so Mr. Air Conditioner won’t get much of a work out. I only see one night in the 30’s, so even Mr. Heater will get light workouts in March. As one wag put it on their restaurant sign:

That was February; I don’t think think we’ll see 80’s in March

Until next month, I hope you have onions and potatoes in abundance, and you enjoy green eggs and ham, or green beer, or green tea.

Joy, Peace, and welcome to Springtime,

Cornelia

NOTE from Heather Cox Richardson, Letters from an American, March 2, 2023—this corrects my research.

What did not happen in 1877, either before or after the inauguration, was the removal of troops from the South.

That legend came from a rewriting of the history of Reconstruction in 1890 by fourteen southern congressmen. In their book Why the Solid South? Or Reconstruction and Its Results, they argued that Black voting after the Civil War had allowed Black people to “dominate” white southerners and virtually bankrupt the region and that virtuous white southerners had pushed them from the ballot box and “redeemed” the South. Contemporaries had identified the end of Reconstruction as 1870, with the readmission of Georgia to the United States. But Why the Solid South identified the end of Reconstruction as the end of Republican rule in each state.

In 1906, former steel baron James Ford Rhodes gave a date to that process. In his famous seven-volume history of the United States, he said that in April 1877, Hayes had ended Reconstruction by returning all the southern states to “home rule.” In his era, that was a political term referring to the return of power in the southern states to Democrats, but over time that phrase got tangled up with what did happen in April 1877.

During the chaos after the election, President U.S. Grant had ordered troops to protect the Republican governors in the Louisiana and South Carolina statehouses. When he took office, Hayes told Republican governors in South Carolina and Louisiana that he could no longer let federal troops protect their possession of their statehouses when their Democratic rivals had won the popular vote.

Under orders from Hayes, the troops guarding those statehouses marched away from their posts around the statehouses and back to their home stations in April 1877. They did not leave the states, although a number of troops would be deployed from southern bases later that year both to fight wars against Indigenous Americans in the West and to put down the 1877 Great Railroad Strike. That mobilization cut even further the few troops in the region: in 1876, the Department of the South had only about 1,586 men including officers. Nonetheless, southerners fought bitter congressional battles to get the few remaining troops out of the South in 1878–1879, and they lost.

The troops did not leave the U.S. South in 1877 as part of a deal to end Reconstruction.

It matters that we misremember that history. Generations of Americans have accepted the racist southern lawmakers’ version of our past by honoring the date they claimed to have “redeemed” the South. The reality of Reconstruction was not one in which Black voters bankrupted the region by taking tax dollars from white taxpayers to fund roads and schools and white voters stepped in to save things; it was the story of an attempt to establish racial equality and the undermining of that attempt with the establishment of a one-party state that benefited a few white men at the expense of everyone else.

Clarence C. Clendenen, “President Hayes’ ‘Withdrawal’ of the Troops: An Enduring Myth,” The South Carolina Historical Magazine 70 (October 1969): 240-250.

Cornelia Adele Fassett | History of American Women
https://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2015/08/cornelia-adele-fassett.html

ChatGPT: Optimizing Language Models for Dialogue
https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/

“Shortage of Onions Threatens a New Chapter in Global Food Crisis” by Bloomberg News

Onion shortage could trigger a global food crisis. Here’s what’s happening – India Today
https://www.indiatoday.in/business/story/onion-shortage-global-food-crisis-whats-happening-across-the-world-2339214-2023-02-24

Gnomologia: adagies and proverbs; wise sentences and witty sayings, ancient and modern, foreign and British : Fuller, Thomas, 1654-1734, comp :
Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
https://archive.org/details/gnomologiaadagi00conggoog

Here’s How Long Onions Last if You Store Them Properly
https://www.allrecipes.com/article/how-to-store-onions/

March Holidays and Observances 2023: Full Calendar
https://www.today.com/life/holidays/march-holidays-and-observances-rcna64226

Viral “Photographer” Reveals His Images Were AI-Generated
https://hyperallergic.com/803915/viral-photographer-reveals-his-images-were-ai-generated/

Radical Love

art, Attitudes, Faith, Forgiveness, Healing, holidays, Holy Spirit, hope, inspiration, Love, Martin Luther Ling, Ministry, Reflection, silkscreen, Spirituality, Uncategorized, Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is all about love. Television advertisements push candies, dipped gold “eternal” roses, gaudy jewelry—a price for every pocketbook—and the dating apps have been in full swing since the new year.

“Everybody needs somebody to love,” the old song goes. The Blues Brothers sing this oldie before their mad escape from the Illinois Law Enforcement Community. Solomon Burkes treats it with his indigenous soul blues from his lived experience and The Rolling Stones give it their percussive upbeat treatment. Wilson Picket has a good cover, but I don’t recommend the explicit version of Rod Wave’s Sneaky Links. Fitz and the Tantrums was interesting. My “old person “ is probably showing about the edges here.

We all can love our friends or sweethearts, especially in mid February. After all, February is “for lovers.” The bigger question is, How do we love our enemies? Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in his book, A Gift of Love, writes:

“First, we must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. (The one) who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. It is impossible even to begin the act of loving one’s enemies without the prior acceptance of the necessity, over and over again, of forgiving those who inflict evil and injury upon us.”

Well, how can I forgive the person who hurt me, my child, my family, my tribe, or my community? We all want that person to come crawling to us and ask for forgiveness, but that’s not how radical love works. We want the wrong doer to show remorse and ask us for mercy and forgiveness. This puts them in a subordinate position and us in a position of power. But that’s not how radical love works. Radical love initiates forgiveness, even if the wrongdoer never shows contrition.

Dr. King goes on to say:

“It is also necessary to realize that the forgiving act must always be initiated by the person who has been wronged, the victim of some great hurt, the recipient of some tortuous injustice, the absorber of some terrible act of oppression.”

Sir Terry Frost: Sun Tree, 2003, Silkscreen on Paper with 9 collage elements. Frost was a prisoner of war in WWII with Adrian Heath, who taught him to paint. They were both imprisoned in Stalag 383, in Germany.

Why must the wronged take on the indignity of offering forgiveness to unrepentant wrongdoers? In this act, we become most like Christ on the cross, who in his final moments, forgave not only the thief who asked for forgiveness, but also all those who crucified him, who had no intention of repenting. Our problem is we enjoy being like the risen Christ, the one with the “name above all names,” but most of us don’t want to “pick up our cross and follow” Jesus, especially if it leads to an ignominious death on that very cross.

Sir Terry Frost: Blue Love Tree, 2003, Silkscreen on Paper

As Dr. King wrote,

“The wrongdoer may request forgiveness. He may come to himself, and, like the prodigal son, move up some dusty road, his heart palpitating with the desire for forgiveness. But only the injured neighbor, the loving father back home, can really pour out the warm waters of forgiveness.”

The injured one, whose heart has been broken and wounded by someone else’s words or deeds, is the only one who can heal the broken rift between them. This is why the deepest lovers of Christ are most often the wounded ones who’ve been healed by God’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness. The woman with the alabaster jar of ointment anointed Jesus’ feet in the house of the Pharisee, but the host had failed at the minimum hospitality for his guest, so Jesus reminded him (Luke 7:47):

“Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”

Mending Broken Hearts, silkscreen, artist unknown

If we would be healers in our broken and fragmented world, we need to first address our own woundedness. Each of us has a hidden pain or suffering, for this is the human condition. If we give this to God, our healing makes us into vessels where our cracks are filled with precious gold. We can offer more love, more forgiveness, and more hope to people who have been sitting in darkness and despair. People are waiting for joy and love to flow out in abundance from God’s heart into our hearts and into their world. Then we can be the light in the darkness for them, the holy fire that lights the embers of hope in their hearts, not just on St. Valentine’s Day, but every day.

Joy, Peace, and Love,

Cornelia

Excerpt from A Gift of Love | Penguin Random House Canada
By Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Chapter 5, Loving Your Enemies

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/212014/a-gift-of-love-by-martin-luther-king-jr/9780807000632/excerpt

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