Down and out semi poet who is down and out in the Low Country of South Carolina after living in Atlanta which is not to be confused with the south, the old south or the new south. Atlanta was a global metropolis with all the pluses and minuses that comes with that. The low country, low because it is low, 8 feet above sea level, is not Podunk but once you get to Podunk, turn left. I try to chronicle a small part of all that through my daily haiku for you.
never understand how nation suffered themselves to be cast so low
If we study the history of Rome and Carthage, we can understand what happened and why.
It is not difficult to understand and form an intelligent view about the three Punic Wars; but if mortal catastrophe should overtake the British nation and the British Empire, historians a thousand years hence will still be baffled by the mystery of our affairs.
They will never understand how it was that a victorious nation, with everything in hand, suffered themselves to be brought low and to cast away all that they had gained by measureless sacrifice and absolute victory.
Winston Churchill on March 24, 1938 in a speech delivered in the House of Commons.
Looking back at this era … the Trump Age … the Lost Age … the time when a victorious nation, with everything in hand, suffered themselves to be brought low and to cast away all that they had gained by measureless sacrifice and absolute victory, it will be hard to understand.
Yet, that is what I am hoping for.
That we yet arrive at an time where we look back … and wonder … something went wrong here.
Lets hope its more of bump than a stumble and not a full face plant.
rejoicing always praying continually give thanks in all things
Based on: Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (New International Version)
The reverse side of the penny was no more attractive than the front.
This was not the way to work off the gloom that threatened to engulf him.
Over there was Venus, shining out in the evening sky.
This sea air was stimulating, refreshing, delightful.
Surely this was a better world than his drained nervous condition allowed him to believe.
From Hornblower and the Hotspur by C. S. Forester, New York, Bantam Books, 1963
Surely this was a better world than his drained nervous condition allowed him to believe.
there was a star danced and under that was he born … Happy Birthday El!
Adapted from the line: “There was a star danced, and under that was I born.” from Much Ado About Nothing (Act 2, Scene 1) by William Shakespeare.
Ellington Hoffman at The Lincoln Theater, Columbus, Ohio, 2024
Back in 2001 we got a call that there was another baby for us.
Lots of decisions had to made, not least of which was a new name and I got to work.
Our last son to date had been born in 1997, the 50th anniversary year of the Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
That baby was supposed to be a girl so my wife didn’t care about a boys name and agreed that in the event the baby was boy, which wasn’t supposed to, we would go with that for a name.
When a boy showed up, my wife called from the hospital and said, “Well … Jackie Robinson Hoffman is here.”
With that in mind, I thought I would be really cool to name the next boy after the last black major league player before the rules were changed.
Had to go back to 1889 to find Moses Fleetwood Walker and what a great name it was.
That Mr. Walker had also played baseball for the University of Michigan was also a point in the names favor and I offered up Moses Fleetwood Walker Hoffman.
To be safe, I decided I better come up with a second name and by chance I had just watched Jazz, a 10 episode document on the history of Jazz by Ken Burns.
Now those who have read this blog know that me and Mr. Burns do not get along but I do appreciate some things he did along the way though I question the body of his work.
To that point I will say that I feel that fate rewarded Mr. Burns by having him produce the bulk of his work in 4×3 format in the era JUST BEFORE HD 16×9 TVs were available but I digress.
I have always liked music of all kinds and by chance I had come across the music of Edward Kennedy Ellington, AKA Duke, at an early age and loved it.
Watching the Ken Burns series, I made sure to catch the episode about Duke Ellington and I was pleased that Mr. Burns did himself proud by finishing the episode with the words …
Edward Kennedy Ellington … considered by many …the greatest of all American composers, died on May 24, 1974.
Did you catch it?
Read it out loud and see if you notice anything almost perfect about that sentence.
Did you catch it?
So Duke Ellington was on my mind when we heard about the new baby and it came to me that Ellington would make a fine first name.
For a middle name, I thought that using my Father-in-Law’s first name would round out the very fine name of Ellington Bernard Hoffman.
That his initials would be E. B. and a homage to E.B. White was also a point in the names favor.
But how to decide?
We called in the other six kids and explained the situation and I gave them the two names and explained about the names and then, we let them vote.
I think the vote was 4-2 and you know how it turned out.
After 24 years, I cannot imagine any other name.
To close, Duke Ellington was once asked how he got his start and he replied:
My story is a very simple story. You know, it’s like, once upon a time, a very pretty lady and a very handsome gentleman met, fell in love and got married. And God blessed them with this wonderful baby boy. And they held him in the palm of their hand, and nurtured him and spoiled him until he was about seven, eight years old. And then he put, they put his feet on the ground, and the minute they put his feet on the ground, he ran out the front door, out across the front lawn, out across the street. Anyway, the minute he got on the other side of the street, somebody said, “Hey Edward , up this way.” And the, the boy was me incidentally. And he got to the next corner, and somebody says, “Hey Edward , right. Go up there and turn left. You can’t miss it.” And it’s been going on there ever since. That’s the story, that’s my biography.
Hey Ellington, up this way, go up!
Go up and turn left.
You can’t miss it and I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Richard Myers II, a district judge and Trump appointee, agreed with Riggs and said that Griffin was essentially trying to change the rules of the election after election day.
“This case concerns whether the federal constitution permits a state to alter the rules of an election after the fact and apply those changes retroactively to only a select group of voters, and in so doing treat those voters differently than other similarly situated individuals. This case is also about whether a state may redefine its class of eligible voters but offer no process to those who may have been misclassified as ineligible,” Myers wrote in his opinion. “To this court, the answer to each of those questions is ‘no.’”
we are such stuff as dreams are made on, little life is rounded with sleep
The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, The solemn temples, the great globe itself, Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, And like this insubstantial pageant faded, Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life Is rounded with a sleep.
Tempest (Act IV, Scene 1) by William Shakespeare.
Or for further thoughts on a new born grand daughter …
But among the reeds and rushes A baby girl was found Her eyes as clear as centuries Her silky hair was brown
Never been lonely Never been lied to Never had to scuffle in fear Nothing denied to Born at the instant The church bells chime And the whole world whispering Born at the right time
From Born at the Right Time by Paul Simon.
For myself, a teeny, tiny little girl, less than a few days old, hadn’t known her for more than a few hours … and I cannot imagine a life without her being in it.
No Haiku For You 