little you know what
it is this day, and after
this day, forever
Adapted from this passage in poem, Song of the Banner at Daybreak, as published in The complete writings of Walt Whitman by Walt Whitman (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, 1902).
Little you know what it is this day, and after this day, forever,
It is to gain nothing, but risk and defy every thing,
Forward to stand in front of wars — and O, such wars! — what have you to do with them?
With passions of demons, slaughter, premature death?
sun and softness and …
beaten hardness of the earth
song of all sun-stars
Adapted from:
Sun Song
by Langston Hughes
Sun and softness,
Sun and the beaten hardness of the earth,
Sun and the song of all the sun-stars
Gathered together —
Dark ones of Africa,
I bring you my songs
To sing on the Georgia roads.
As published in The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes by Langston Hughes (New York, Knopf, 1994).
My grand daughter called last night.
She had an assignment in class to interview someone who was alive on 9/11/2001.
She had 11 questions to ask; where was I, what was I doing, how did it change my day?
I worked in the TV News business so I was watching TV at work when the 2nd plane hit.
I spent the rest of the day working to provide coverage online of what was going on in New York and in Washington and the rest of the world.
The last question my grand daughter asked was how has life changed since 9/11?
Less safe.
Less trusting.
Less.
Driving to work this morning, the interview and 9/11 was on my mind.
It struck me that as I drove over the bridges to an island on the coast, that 24 years ago at this very minute, the sun was rising out of the Atlantic Ocean.
People were getting up, starting their day, safe and sound.
The events of the day were already in motion.
Coming up over the curve of the earth like a wall of clouds on the horizon at sunrise.
In the next 24 hours the tide would come in and out two times.
And the sun would be coming up again.
The tide and the sun the same with the softness of the sun and the beaten hardness of the earth.
But the world would be different place.
It would be less.
Sunrise on 9/11
—in the manner of Langston Hughes
The sky broke open,
not with fire,
but with gold.
September’s hush,
a whisper low,
before the sirens told.
Steel and sun,
stood side by side,
in morning’s proud parade—
no hint yet of the ash to come,
no shadow on the blade.
O Harlem,
O Brooklyn streets,
O sleeping Bronx and Queens—
the city stirred with coffee dreams,
and soft machines.
Children laughed.
Mothers prayed.
Builders raised the day.
Dreamers climbed their towered hopes
the American way.
But somewhere deep,
in silence coiled,
a storm prepared to rise—
and blue turned black,
and joy cracked loud
against the stinging skies.
Yet still, that sun,
it rose again—
above the smoke and cries.
And still it burns
in every soul
that dares to hope and rise.
Let morning break—
not just with light,
but with a voice that sings:
“We lived. We wept.
We stood. We fight—
for better, braver things.”
There! John Bull can read
my name without spectacles …
lessons from legends
It will be remembered that a reward was offered for the head of John Hancock. When he signed the Declaration of Independence he did it was a bold hand, in a conspicuous manner, and rose from his seat, pointing to it, and said, “There, John Bull can read my name without spectacles, he may double his reward, and I put his at defiance.”
So Mr. Michael Hancock of the National Archives History Office writes in the blog post, John Hancock and His Signature, from the National Archives Blog, Pieces of History.
Sure sure who knows if Mr. Hancock really said it or if he did say it, was anyone around to hear him say it.
But that isn’t my point.
As for the story, I agree with the line, When the legend becomes fact, print the legend because it goes with my point.
Mr. Hancock signed in such a way, for whatever reason, to be remembered and with a flourish.
And we can learn a lesson from that.
Not sure when I first heard the story about Mr. Hancock but it is easy to say that in school in the United States, I was never taught anything about the history of the Declaration of Independence that the story about Mr. Hancock, his signature and King George and his glasses wasn’t told.
Also back when I was in high school, we were asked to sign up for something and the kid in line ahead of me scribbled his name and the teacher looked at it and said something about having a signature that showed you were proud of your name and who were.
Ever since that day I have worked to have a bold, clear signature on the few documents of importance I have ever had to sign.
Not sure why but signatures and signing things and who signed what are much on my mind today.
Kind of goes with that old line of don’t sign a check your butt can’t cash.
Just be careful what you sign.
Checks.
Contracts.
Birthday Cards.
there is no native
American criminal class
except for Congress
“It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.”
From Pudd’nhead Wilson’s New Calendar, in Following the Equator by Mark Twain (Harper & Brothers Publishers, New York, 1897).
I am reminded of the old joke … if Pro is the opposite of Con, what is the opposite of Progress?
wrong, nonsensical
entrenched ideas among
accepted beliefs
Scientific truth is very difficult to discover.
There are two reasons for this.
The first is that nature is, with all its complexity, very obscure.
Secondly, there is the number of wrong, nonsensical yet deeply entrenched ideas that exist among currently accepted beliefs.
For example, even after the centuries long belief in the usefulness of drawing blood as a therapeutic measure had been found to be groundless, belief of almost as long duration sprang up in the healing virtues of castor oil.
When I was a boy, almost every complaint from fever to gastroenteritis was treated with castor oil. Measles, scarlet fever, mumps and the flu — all were treated indiscriminately with the same specific.
Two short generations have passed and today castor oil is hardly ever seen and the health of children and adults alike is not a whit the worse.
From the book, Butter side up!, or, The delights of science by Magnus Pyke, J. Murray, London, 1976.
1976!!
According to Wikipedia … Magnus Alfred Pyke OBE FRSE FRIC (29 December 1908 – 19 October 1992) was an English nutritional scientist, governmental scientific adviser, writer and presenter. He worked for the UK Ministry of Food, the post-war Allied Commission for Austria, and different food manufacturers. He wrote prolifically and became famous as a TV and radio personality, and was featured on Thomas Dolby’s 1982 synth-pop hit, “She Blinded Me with Science”.
No Haiku For You 