Words Twice a Week 9.19
If you are more into listening than reading, Words Twice a Week is available, along with other good stuff, as a podcast from St Paul’s Episcopal Church. Click here.
Today -
+ Washington’s farewell address was published as an open letter to American citizens. “In 6,086 words his address seeks to encourage the nation to respect and maintain the Constitution, warning that a party system — not yet the governmental standard operating procedure — would reduce the nation to infighting. (Really?) He urged Americans to relinquish their personal or geographical interests for the good of the national interest, warning that "designing men" would try to distract them from their larger common views by highlighting their smaller, local differences. "You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heartburnings which spring from these misrepresentations; they tend to render alien to each other those who ought to be bound together by fraternal affection," he wrote. (Think so?) (from Garison Keillor’s Writer’s Almanac, italics mine)
Also today
+ In 1819, John Keats wrote To Autumn. He died a couple of years later, after having written only 54 poems. He felt 1819 was a loss, but it was the year he wrote most of his greatest poetry.
Some days from the church year -
Sept 20 John Coleridge Patteson He was an Anglican Bishop, and a missionary to the South Sea Islands. He learned 23 of the islands more than 1,000 languages. He worked against the slave trade, which was illegal but “blackbirders” still procured laborers by deception and force. He was killed on Sept 20, 1871, though it is not sure if he was mistaken for a “blackbirder” (he would recruit young men to leave and study in Western settings), or if he upset the “blackbirders”, or if he just ran afoul of local customs.
Sept 21 Saint Matthew, Matthew the Apostle, Matthew the Evangelist It’s not completely clear if all these persons were one and the same. He might have been Levi, the tax collector. Whoever wrote “his” gospel, we are grateful for it! He is the patron saint of accountants; Salerno, Italy; bankers; tax collectors; perfumers(?); civil servants.
Sept 23 Thecla Ok – she was an early virgin martyr. Her story is pretty remarkable, including the following - “She was sentenced to be eaten by wild beasts, but was again saved by a series of miracles, when the female beasts (lionesses in particular) protected her against her male aggressors.”
Sept 24 Anna Alexander – she was the first African-American deaconess in the Episcopal Church. She served in the Diocese of Georgia.
Sept 25 Lancelot Andrewes He was a bishop and scholar during the riegns of elizabeth I and James I. He oversaw the production of the King James Version of the Bible. Ok – masculine language, obscure words, and all the rest – it still has some of the most moving passages in the English language!
And some days from the earth/world calendar -
Sept 20
+ Jean Sibelius died in 1957. We know him for Finlandia, to which we sing This is My Song, and Be Still My Soul.
+ Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes”. I watched it. Cecile B DeMille would have been proud.
+ George RR Martin was born in 1948 to write (and did he ever finish?) A Song of Fire and Ice (The Game of Thrones). I read the first book, skipped the rest. He killed off the characters I liked. Time Magazine called him “the American Tolkien”.
+ George W Bush declared the War on Terror in 2001 – how has that worked out? Well, it’s a much more complicated issue than that flippant comment suggests.
Sept 21
+ JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit was published in 1937. A good book, but a three part movie? Come on.
+ Sir Allen Lane was born in 1902. He founded Penguin Books. “The legend goes that on a train journey back from visiting Agatha Christie in 1934, Lane found himself on an Exeter station platform with nothing available worth reading. He conceived of paperback editions of literature of proven quality which would be cheap enough to be sold from a vending machine; the first was set up outside Henderson's in Charing Cross Road and dubbed the "Penguincubator".
+ The “Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Clause” letter and response were printed in the New York Sun in 1897. Why the heck was she worried about Santa Clause in September?
Sept 23
+ The Phantom of the Opera began as a newspaper serial in 1909.
+ Now – do you believe this – Nintendo, creator of Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Pokémon, Kirby, Metroid, Fire Emblem, Animal Crossing, Splatoon, Star Fox, Xenoblade Chronicles, and Super Smash Bros, was founded in 1889. What? That’s right, they made handmade “hanafuda” playing cards.
Sept 24
+ Integration of Little Rock High School. On the morning of September 23, 1957, the nine Black high school students faced an angry mob of over 1,000 Whites in front of Central High School who were protesting the integration project. As the students were escorted inside by the Little Rock police, violence escalated, and they were removed from the school. The next day, Eisenhower ordered the 1,200-man 327th Airborne Battle Group of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to escort the nine students into the school. By the same order, he federalized the entire 10,000-man Arkansas National Guard, in order to remove them from the control of Governor Faubus. As Melba Pattillo Beals, one of the nine students, wrote in her diary, "After three full days inside Central [High School], I know that integration is a much bigger word than I thought." - Wikipedia We’ve been there. There is a really good National Historical Site Interpretive Center.
Sept 25
+ William Faulkner was born in 1897, known for his short stories and long sentences!
+ Sequoia National Park was founded in 1890. It included 5 of the largest 10 trees in the world, which are now being wrapped in protective foil to protect them from the fire. Check here for current updates.
+ Sandra Day O’Connor was sworn in as first female Supreme Court Justice in 1981. RBG was the first woman to Lie in State in 2020.
Sept 26
+ Shays’ Rebellion in 1786, the first internal armed conflict (in the US). Hopefully Jan 6 is the last.
+ TS Eliot was born in 1889. He was a poet and an editor. Apparently someone said most editors are failed writers. He replied, “Yes, so are most writers.” He wrote The Waste Land, The Hollow Men, Ash Wednesday, Murder in the Cathedral, and The Cocktail Party, among others.
+ George Gershwin was born in 1898.
+ And, aren’t you glad you made it all the way to the end – this is apparently National Pancake Day! (Wait a minute – I thought that was back in February?) This day was originally called Lumberjack day and was founded by bloggers Marianne Ways and Colleen Venable. It later gained popularity after a bakery, Junior's Cheesecake, adopted it. Although it shares the same name, it is not to be confused with the other Pancake Day, which is celebrated before Ash Wednesday. National Pancake Day is celebrated annually on September 26th. Here’s more than you want to know about it. Note 62% of Americans prefer maple syrup on ‘em. So darn, Jane Brody has a recipe for something like Davy Crockett Pancakes that looked really good, but the book is at camp. I’ll try to update on Wednesday, when I come back.
Ok - Wednesday update - it's not Davy Crockett Pancakes, it's gingerbread pancakes as served at Fess Parker's (ie, "Davy Crockett") restaurant in California. Here's the recipe -
Meanwhile, here is her recipe for a hearty pancake mix. The Frugal Gourmet suggests adding 3-4 Tbs of peanut butter and a little warm water to the batter. Sounds good to me! Or blueberries. I was never big on chocolate chips. You?
That’s what I got for now…..
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