Bluster

This is a good word to describe the speeches we are hearing from North Korea these days. That country's leaders are making loud but ineffective threats against South Korea, the United States, and other countries. The USA wisely takes these threats seriously, although we well know that any act of war from North Korea would result in retaliation, which could virtually obliterate that country's future. There are some critics who believe that we should just ignore the bluster emanating from Pyongyang. The threat of war by the North Koreans, they insist, has no teeth. Even Kim Jong Un, the youthful leader of that country, they aver, would not be so foolish as to start a war of anything other than one of words. On the other hand, I would stress that we should not forget the lessons of history. WWI started because of the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir presumptive to succeed the Austro-Hungarian Emperor. What began as an act of defiance by Serbia soon grew into a war involving many major powers, and resulting in millions of battlefield deaths.. It seems to me that any relatively minor incident, such as an hour's shelling of a South Korean city, could be the spark that would light a fuse leading to a far wider conflict. The United States would likely be caught up, in support of its South Korean ally. In turn, this could force China to enter the fray. Soon, we might be involved in the kind of nuclear war of which we have thankfully been free since 1945. I do not think we should, in turn, engage in 'sabre rattling', but I do think that our government is doing the right thing by showing the world that it is ready to respond to North Korea's threats

Tradesman's Entrance

The house in which I was born had four doors leading outside. There was the "front door", the main entrance. There was a side door, which lead out to an enclosed courtyard, which we would use for al fresco meals when the weather was warm enough. There was a "backdoor" which lead from the scullery into the kitchen garden. And then there was another side door, the "tradesman's entrance". This would be where deliveries from grocer, green grocer, baker, fish monger, coal merchant, etc, came into the house near the servants' quarters. In those days, to have changed the name to "tradespersons' entrance" would have been redundant. Until WWII brought some changes, women did not make deliveries to the houses in our town. About a hundred years ago, when my mother was still young, she observed a loaf of bread fall onto the road from a baker's cart. The deliveryman saw her watching, gave her a broad grin, and said to her "What the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve over", as he replaced the loaf on his cart.

The Four Seasons

This has nothing to do with Vivaldi's wonderful composition. I have been thinking of the weather and other "seasonal" matters. I am writing this after spending some time in Colorado. The weather was spring-like when we arrived in mid-February, with the day's high a pleasant 60 degrees Fahrenheit. During the ensuing three weeks, we enjoyed three snowfalls. In the Bay Area, snow is rare,and when it does occur, it usually merely sprinkles a little snow on Mount Tamalpais and other nearby peaks... In California, we don't make much of seasons, other than the "rainy season", which usually begins in late November and continues through April or May. It seldom rains between June 1 and mid-November. What we do experience everywhere is the variation in the length of night and day. A few years ago, we extended the period of "daylight saving time", which now begins in mid-March. I do enjoy the longer daylight hours in the evening, but I dislike having to get up in the dark again, since I usually do this at about 6:15 am, more than an hour before daylight at the start of this period. I heard someone say that we should have daylight saving throughout the year, which did occur during wartime in Britain. In those years, we had "Double Summer Time" during the summer months. One could say all we need to do is the train people to get up an hour earlier, but I think that we all realize that this simply wouldn't work!

Francis

Although I'm an Episcopalian, not a Roman Catholic, I am certainly interested in what takes place at the Vatican. Habemus Papam, and he has chosen to be known as "Pope Francis". (I have seen him described as "Francis I", but this is incorrect. Only when a second pope chooses that name will it be appropriate to describe recently elected pope as "Francis I".) It is refreshing to have a pope who seems to be more concerned with the poor than with protecting the church's priests. We shall see what develops, and it is interesting that he is the first Jesuit to be elected pope. That Order is widely considered to be the most liberal of the many RC Orders. However, Pope Francis is definitely one of the more conservative Jesuits; if he were not, he would not have been elected. Once elected, a pope has considerable independence and it may well be that Francis will provide a more balanced Curia and (eventually) College of Cardinals. For an alternative view of the pope, please check out: http://www.monbiot.com/2013/03/18/cardinal-sins/ What I do not expect to see in what remains of my lifetime is a complete liberalization of thinking at the Vatican. I believe that American observers' hope that women will be able to become priests is very unlikely. There already are a number of priests who have been married, although they are expected to remain celibate. Some of those are former Anglicans, who have become members of the so-called "Ordinariates". I believe that some widowers have also been ordained to the priesthood. In my eyes, it has always seemed strange that men expected to counsel married couples have supposedly had no sexual experience. (It is an open secret that many heterosexual and gay priests have had varying degrees of such experience, but that has not been in accordance with official doctrine.) My guess is that the rule of celibacy is more likely to be relaxed at some future date than will be the opening of women to the priesthood.

Blog: Cane, part three

My musician friend, Tom Rozum, has a song Walking Stick, about a dandy, for whom such an item is an essential part of his appearance on the street. He sings "I'd be lost without my cane". My late father made use of a "stick" in his later years. Now it's my turn to need the support of a cane. Kaiser gave me one of their thick standard metal canes, with a hard rubber handle. I still use that, notably when I am taken to church on Sundays. My neighbor, Joan McQuarrie, gives me the "friendly arm" I need for stability. Then Barbara bought two tall matching canes, like ski poles without any prongs. She also bought two walkers and a metal cane with four-pronges Next, in Colorado, she bought a metal cane with a four-pronged base, which I mainly use to walk to and from a car there. She also bought a simple walker, which I use all the time, walking several times a day from the East side of the house (kitchen, pantry, "mud room", utility room,"half bathroom", dining room. office), to the center (living room0, and on to the West side (hot tub room, dressing area, bathroom, and our bedroom). Back in Berkeley, she bought two more canes with a four-pronged base. I bought a "Hurrycane" for myself. If I haven't forgotten anything, that totals eight canes and three walkers, a consequence of not wanting to dispose of one of our homes. None of the "canes" makes use of what I call a real cane.

Blog--Cane--part two

There are many types of cane plants. Probably one of the most common is "bamboo". As a child, I recognized similar plants in the family garden. When I first visited the Far East, I was amazed at the use of canes for scaffolding and other construction purposes. It is very inexpensive, surprisingly strong, and widespread. One particular use I remember was for making structures, called "fishing stakes". I came across these when in charge of a small tug without a working compass, searchlight, or adequate chart. These were light structures in the channel between Malaysia and Sumatra, which we were navigating overnight. On each side of the channel were fishing stakes of bamboo, which we fortunately avoided hitting on a moonless night. Have you ever chewed sugar cane? I have, although nowadays I avoid more sugar than the limited amount in my diet. Blackberries and raspberries, etc. grow on a different type of cane. Then there is the cane used in furniture. It's a very versatile.family of plants, but when we speak of canes, we mostly visualize the thin flexible type, such as those used in corporal punishment. Then there is another use of canes--more about this next week.

Membership cards

Apologies for missing last week's blog. Here is an extra to make up for it: A slew of "2013 Membership cards" has been arriving lately, with start-of-the-year solicitations. Originally, the idea was to renew membership first, and then receive a card when the dues had been paid. Then someone realized that sending the card with the renewal requests would not only save labor and postage, but also act as a nudge to the recipient to respond with payment of "dues". It didn't take me long to realize that these cards should find no place in my wallet. Some tell you that there'll be (say) a 10% discount on merchandise available at some gathering or at a bricks-and-mortar store. Most of them have no use whatsoever. So these "membership cards" in our household are promptly recycled. There are other ways in which "good causes" separate money from supporters, actual or potential. There are raffles. When I enter I note the "Dear Friend" (only a minor turn-off), and I realize that I'm really just supporting our beleaguered Postal Service. Although it is clearly stated that making a contribution will not affect one's chances of winning, there's the wording on the back where one notes whether one is enclosing a donation or not. I suggest that most folk believe that if there's no mark to show that a gift is enclosed, the envelope wiill not be opened. Then there are those unsolicited labels. The idea is that if you don't send some payment, you'll feel "guilty". Then there are those ghastly photos of children needing extensive facial reconstruction. These techniques, heart-rending or even subtle, are in use for one reason only---they work...