NEW YEAR GREETINGS

AS WE TURN THE CALENDAR

WE CHRONICLE LAST YEAR'S EVENTS

NOW MAY WE MOVE INTO THE NEW YEAR

VIGOROUSLY MEETING INDIVIDUAL CHALLENGES

WHILE RECOGNIZING WE ALL SHARE THE SAME PLANET.

BRANDING AND TODAY'S CHILDREN

She is a beautiful child.  Long hair pulled back in a pony tail tied with a

big bow. She saw me and did a quick twirl holding out her skirt as she spun.

I asked her how old are you?  Six she answered with poise.


She wore a fancy dress,  bright white shoes with a small heel and white stockings.

I asked what was she doing up so early  and where was she going? 

She tells me, "to have my picture taken."


I tell her how beautiful I think she looks.  She points to her outfit.

With pride she points to her dress, to her shoes, to her stockings

and tells me the brand name for each.  


When she left,   I wondered.


When we, or children are so absorbed with keeping up with "brands" or

commercials  do we discourage curiosity or the enjoyment of each other?

SKYWATCH: NOVEMBER 16

November 16 began warm and balmy

We caught glimpses of deep blue sky

between billowing clouds

But not for long.  Mother Nature took charge

pulling back to real November behavior

and we were surprised by her agility.

THANKSGIVING 2017

We come together grateful for our bounty

Sharing with family and friends dishes in rituals of story telling and songs

Some from one generation to the next 

All hopeful for the future 

Even as we remember those not here.

NOVEMBER 11 SKYWATCH

Armistice/Veterans' Day begins cold with sun in a clear sky

 Crisp, colorful leafs break underfoot

 Friends greet us as they feed an outdoor fire with wood

Demonstrating nature's bounty

Reminding us of the meaning of this holiday.

"BEHOLD A CHILD"

"Behold a child"  about the Lost Children of Tuam, Ireland, appeared in the New York Times( October 26. ) It is a  Special Report by Dan Barry.

It was for me an inspiration about the power of one individual's inquisitiveness and perseverance to right a wrong.

The article vividly describes what happened to unwed women, their children  society and institutions which tried to deal with starvation, ignorance and
and political upheaval in Ireland in the 1920s.

There is a video Online which can be viewed at nytimes.com/tuam-video

By way of a personal note, I thought of colleagues who worked, and still do to
try to shut down institutions that forget the human quality of people they serve.

ON HALLOWEEN

Sometime when the moon is high in the sky

And the October day becomes one in November

When frost kisses the pumpkin

Reasonable people may behave unreasonably

for which they may be forgiven.

MOTHER NATURE'S ROLE: OCTOBER SKYWATCH

 The exciting discovery of what we are able to see and hear when two stars collide is a testament to scientific research and progress.

Yet, Mother Nature's role in the Universe is often overlooked or under appreciated by people, we who are most affected by her whims and actions.

So, yesterday without knowing what was happening in the Universe, I wrote:

"Tonight's reflection during my walk

Mother Nature seems more like herself

She gives us air that is crisp and smells like October

She chases haze and mist and gives us a clear sky

We realize the power of her beauty and enjoy her presence."

PAUL McCARTNEY'S STANDING STONE

More than the monthly calendar, Paul McCartney's symphonic poem
"Standing Stone" ends the summer season for me.

As I listen to it I am reminded of the lovely sounds of the summer seas with breezes soon to become threatening wind as nature prepares us and all creatures
for the change of season.

Paul McCartney's poem, written in 1997 with the London Symphony Orchestra, still speaks of human feelings that are moving and inspirational.

SEPTEMBER EASES INTO OCTOBER

The month of September eases into October taking with it horrific natural and man made events.

Even so we begin this season of harvest in thoughtful anticipation for the future as we come together,  people to people to help each other.



Days grow shorter.

We recall  history and memories joyful and painful to help light the way.

We sing the soulful melodies of our ancestors mixed with strong, impatient sounds of our young.

Suddenly, the piercing sounds of fear, suspicion and change interrupt our reverie.

For the moment we forget that we are human with the ability to think and overcome destructive forces.

So it is with all people, young and old, friend and foe in this country and elsewhere as autumn arrives .

EQUINOX

PLANETS  ALIGN AT THE EQUATOR FOR THE EQUINOX

ALL  HUMAN-KIND AND CREATURES LARGE AND SMALL REACT IN AWE

 SOMETIMES IN CONFUSION AND BEWILDERMENT

THE LAND SHIFTS WITH ENVIRONMENTAL EXTREMES

YET, THOSE WHO REPRESENT US DENY REALITY

AS WE LONG FOR THE BEAUTY OF AUTUMN.

                       

PREPARING FOR A BIG EVENT: SHORT STORY

Sometime life hands us something unexpected.  How well we handle the situation often depends upon a number of different circumstances.

Sometime the change can be in the place we live.  Some time it can  be because of economic or political times or because of new relationships.

How well we are prepared to deal with change could  depend upon the honesty
of information available to us  and how accessible that information is to everyone.

Here in Missouri and across the nation the information about the great Solar Eclipse which crossed the
 path of so many people was an example of how well we as people will respond with excitement and enthusiasm when given reasonable, accessible information.

I first learn ed of the great Solar Eclipse of 2017 when a friend mentioned it in 2015.  Since that
time and now, information about planetary movement has flowed across the country from national organizations like NASA, Astronomical and Sun Dial organizations as well as task forces and regional exhibits manned by  thousands of volunteer citizens, teachers and students, business and professional people, men women and children,

Hours were spent planning scientific experiments, distributing free safety glasses and providing training and loan of telescopes to public libraries and schools.

The information and constructive activity spurred much needed interest in education, science and
technology uniting people in disparate regions and neighborhoods often unfamiliar to each other.

My short story begins in Perryville, MO , two days before the Total Solar Eclipse of 2017.

The city is about 90 miles southwest of St. Louis.  Its government services are housed in a
decorative building below a tall bell tower and steeple in the center of the town square.

It was there that  a team of people came together three days before the great Solar Eclipse of 2017 to unveil a Sun Dial mounted on a pedestal made from limestone from a local quarry and polished
to a lovely rose color.  On the Sundial were plaques which named the people who had
created and facilitated the sundial which now records each hours' movement.

In front of the audience of excited town people, was a tented platform for the dignitaries.  Among them were members of the local newspaper, video and radio press, elected and appointed members of the County Commission and Town, and the quarry from which the stone for the pedestal was selected.

The square for the ceremony was surrounded by vendors with food, refreshments, carts with souvenirs for sale, balloons, people in costumes, out of town visitors, children, teens and elderly people with canes all surrounding the tented platforms. Local and state police officers were there.

Each of the dignitaries offered welcoming remarks as did the designer and sculptor of the Sun Dial.

Unknown to those in attendance were the hours of planning, work and creative thinking that went into the event.  Much of it done in the spirit of respect, harmony and the willingness to work and listen to
"others," sometime missing when we talk or work with  each other.

All of this was recalled by me as I watched  the Total Solar Eclipse of 2017 when the moon overtook the sun. I wondered at our human ability to feel awe and to put in place our humility
as a nation sharing this planet with "others."

Yes, IT IS A BIG EVENT!

On August 21 at 10:20 (P.D.T) a threatening band of blackness will come to Salem Oregon.  It will  be approximately 70 miles wide and travel at great speeds across the country. It will travel from

large cities to small towns creating great wonderment as the SUN vanishes from the sky.

The "blackness" or the moment of totality as it is called by scientists and other planetary watchers will be created by the Total Solar Eclipse of 2017. *

In addition to the State of Oregon it will pass over national and historic places in the State of Wyoming
before it heads on to Alliance, Nebraska where it goes toward Carbondale, ILL, hovers over the
Appalachian Trail in North Carolina and heads for Columbia and Charleston, S.C. where at approx.
2:30 (P.M. E.D.T.) the Totality of the Great Total Solar Eclipse will head to the Atlantic Ocean.

This event has created an atmosphere of great anticipation. Some of it a rare opportunity for all of us
young and some abled some disabled in our homes, or in centers or in jail, or on street corners as some of it hovers over state and national offices, some over land and water some often in dispute.

It will cross over schools, highways and bridges, some in need of major repair others equipped with
the latest technology.  Over religious and secular buildings some in gated gardens others boarded up.

It will cover roadways, from rural roads to six-lane highways, some being repaired others in need of repair.  It will keep pace with railways and in some cases overtake others.

Visitors from foreign lands other states and cities will come  seeking information and help from home owners, local and state police departments, hospitals and medical treatment.

Prepared or not, like the child's hide and seek game, The Total Solar Eclipse will be here in less than two weeks time.  In spite of the efforts of those in the scientific community, philosophers,
astronomers, engineers to  lay volunteers, there are still people not sure about how to view the
Eclipse safely nor how to understand the significance of all we are about to see.

We have been been preparing as if to go to war.  What if we took an advantage of the sense of community and listen to the quiet while trying to understand the strange rustling of the wind as  animals
and birds seem to take flight?

What if we simply felt renewed in spirit and realized how connected all things are to each of us and
how precious is life everywhere?

                                       ________________________________

*For more information go to:

    GreatAmericanEclipse.com
       

SOMETHING PROFOUND IS HAPPENING!

Recently, our conversation with strangers has changed.  We  are asking the same questions of each other.  We are all seeking factual information. We are looking for and listening for factual replies.

We are asking how will we be affected?  What will we do? Where will we go?  Will we be safe?
When will it happen?

From Salem Oregon on the West Coast to Idaho Falls Indiana, to Casper Wyoming to Lincoln, Nebraska, to Kansas City Kansas, to St. Louis Missouri, to Nashville Tennessee, to Charleston
South Carolina on the East Coast, in less than three months from now, a great migration of people
will move across this country.

There will be no walls nor boundaries nor political threats to stop the influx of people.  Neither
language nor religious doctrine or organizational ideology will stop the influx of scientific information.

Neither social, educational nor economic status nor color nor life style will stop the migration
of people from the very young to the very old.

In large cities to small towns and isolated hamlets, from impoverished neighborhoods to fortified gated estates to country farms and in schools and universities, people have been planning and working together to safely view and record the Total Solar Eclipse on August 21, 2017 which will cover a large area of the United States.

Events atmospheric conferences, and philosophical poetry and prose are planned.  NASA,* The Astronomical and Sundial Societies are conducting expositions and sending speakers along with
special safety viewing glasses to inspire and educate people where ever they may be.  The United States Postal Service  has issued a first-of-its kind Forever Stamp on which users can make their
own eclipse using the pressure of their thumb.

Public expositions to introduce the public to the local events sober and entertaining are planned. Some were already  conducted.  Here in St Louis one such event The St. Louis Eclipse Expo was already held.  It was attended  by nearly 5,000 people who were eager for more information. Special telescopic telescopes to simple designs for making home-made safe-Eclipse viewing boxes were displayed.

In 1894, the American writer and editor of the posthumously published works of Emily Dickinson, Mary Loomis Todd wrote of her experience of seeing "The Total Eclipses of the Sun  of 1870" which crossed Sicily.  In it she says, "The spectacle is one which, though the man of science may prosaically state the facts, perhaps only the poet could render the impression."

                       ________________________________________

*NASA's website

SKYWATCH* JUNE 2017

SKYWATCH* JUNE 2017


ONE NIGHT DURING THE HEAT OF JUNE

A COOLING BREEZE CAME IN

THE TREES IN THE GARDEN SWAYED

AND WHISPERED RELIEF, AS DID WE

SITTING UNDER WELCOMING BRANCHES.


           _____________________________


*Every once in a while, we sum up the month's weather
and planetary movement. We do so believing weather
could be the unifying force for all regions of our
Country if not the world

MUSIC: CALMING PEOPLE THROUGH DURESS?

One evening, late in April a friend and I went out to listen to three unusual musicians. The weather that night was a part of the storm system that had created havoc around the world. The rain never seemed to end creating flooding in rivers and streams.

Even so, the small out of the way place we were in was crowded with people.

The three musicians and their instruments  were an unusual combination. There was an Irish piper
playing unilleann pipes, a guitarist and one playing bass.  All three were well known and played jazz country-western and blue grass favorites.

Before the evening was over, four other musicians who had been in the audience were acknowledged and joined in for a real jam session.

As I sat there that night, and the rain and flooding continued I remembered that so much of history records that music has often been a way of providing hope even in the most turbulent time as it did that night.

WHAT IS JOY?

In April I described a small book which was written and  self published by me  called JOY.

At the time I explained that I had published only 20 copies which I sent to friends, family and former colleagues.

The book was a compilation of stories I sent my grandchildren more than 20 years ago when they were very young.

There was considerable interest by readers who asked for copies.
I believe they too understand that we adults and society have much to learn from children.

I promised to send an outline of the book along with a listing of the stories I developed.

My grandchildren are now adults taking on their own  responsibilities as contributing members to our society and this world.

The book came about because of the interest and support given me by  Felice Barsky Silverman of Ardmore, Pennsylvania who read every story I wrote and encouraged me to publish them.

A friend here in St. Louis, Missouri helped me gather together old, yellowed copies and created the book's design and title.

The final product was and is a simple story of values and imagination.

                                        STORIES ONCE ENJOYED

TREES: EMMA AND HOBEN BECOME ENVIRONMENTALLY AWARE.

THE SLIDING BOARD; EMMA BECOMES ATHLETIC.

HOBEN'S GAME: HOBEN INVENTS HIS VANISHING GAME.

I'M PROUD OF ME! EMMA DISCOVERS HER OWN SELF ESTEEM.

WHAT DO GROWNUPS DO?  EMMA AND HOBEN AND COUSINS RACHEL AND JASON
DISCUSS GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES.

BUGGY MORNING: HOBEN LEARNS ABOUT OVERCOMING FEAR ON A MORNING
WALK WITH HIS PARENTS ,

TAY-O THE KITTY:  EMMA TELLS HER CAT WHAT TO DO TO OVERCOME WHINING.

THE RED WAGON: EMMA TAKES A TRIP.

THE TURTLE: EMMA AND HOBEN LEARN ABOUT PRIVACY ON A WALK WITH THEIR PARENTS.

IT'S ME! EMMA INTRODUCES HERSELF TO THE WORLD.

RED HAT, BLUE HAT, NO HAT AT ALL EMMA AND HOBEN WANT TO  MAKE SOME
PERSONAL COSMETIC CHANGES.

                                                      * * * * * *

"JOY" THROUGH GRANDCHILDREN'S EYES*

Late in the dreary month of March, I came across a very old file.  It held 12 stories I had written to my two small grandchildren when they and  I lived far from each other.  

The stories reminded me how much children, grandchildren and family can teach everyone even when we live in tumultuous times with noise levels blurring thinking and common sense.

Yet, we need to move forward finding ways  toward improvement and leaving self recrimination behind us.

But how to do this when often as a writer I have sounded more political than poetic, or when a good rant often stirs the hearts of my readers?

So was born the idea for my self-published book called "Joy."

With the help of a close friend, I took the stories I had written more than twenty years ago gathered them together and self published "Joy." The small book deals with things my grandchildren, Emma and Hoben experienced and did when they were very young children.

The stories have now provided me and them with the opportunity to share memories and laughter as we look to the future and our growth as people.

Perhaps, the next time when we speak of what we want for our children and grandchildren we need to first understand what the world means to them in terms of language and values they can understand.

                         ________________________________________


*Even though only twenty copies of "Joy" was published, I am in the process of writing a summary for readers who heard about it and requested  a copy.

EULOGY TO ARNOLD*

Within the past year, I received news of the deaths of three of my first cousins.  One was a man named Arnold Rosenberg.  His Life and his legacy is recounted by his younger brother in the following Eulogy to Arnold*.

I believe it is a vivid and timely account of how much family and our country meant and means to all of us as well as those who are no longer here.

*With permission of Stanley Rosenberg
Eulogy to Arnold at Stanley Rosenberg <philly-fatz@hotmail.com

PERRYVILLE MISSOURI RESPONDS TO TORNADO*

We heard the news first thing in the morning. A tornado had touched down in Perryville, Missouri, a quaint, town about 90 miles South of St. Louis.

The tornado tore through a path 15-miles long and one-half to three-quarters of a mile wide as it roared toward the Mississippi River. In its wake 115 mph winds destroyed a small subdivision of homes, leveling some, creating major damage to others and injuring people who did not take shelter.

A friend called a colleague in Perryville to ask if we could help. We were asked  to bring some supplies even though we had been advised to stay away from the area.

We were detoured around the exact area of touch down and directed to go to a staging area where we found the temporary office for volunteers and first-responders.  As we drove in, I noticed a number of women and children from neighboring communities carrying food dishes and other items.

The experience allowed us the privilege of supporting people from regions other than our own.

Most impressive was the well organized effort by volunteers as they recovered from what surely must have been a night of horror as they worked and walked into the following day's sunshine.


*The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Report and overview of the destruction
can be found at: Ken Bell, kbelle@postdispatch.com
March 2, 2017 edition.

FEBRUARY SKYWATCH*

VENUS DARLING OF THE SKY

ENTERTAINED US JUST A FEW DAYS AGO

DANCING CLOSE TO THE MOON IN CLEAR SKIES

HIDES NOW, AS DO WE BEFORE THE WINDS OF MARCH

RETREATING UNTIL SPRING COMES TO STAY.





*Every once in  while we sum up the month's weather
and planetary movement. We do so believing weather
could be the unifying force for all regions of our country
if not the world.

A BOY NAMED JACK

As the month of March got underway the cold winds were blowing when an elderly lady walked into the coffee shop were I sat.  She was pushing a stroller with a small child in it.  The child's eyes caught my attention.

I later learned the child's name was Jack.  He was wearing a colorful turban-like head cover. The woman pushing him was his grandmother, she told me the child's name was Jack and he was two years old.

Jack  had just had surgery to have a small plate implanted in his skull to help him regain his ability to hear.  Jack was born without the ability to hear.

There are medical terms about the surgery Jack had as there are scientific ones about
the technology which is now a part of Jack.  The small colorful head piece he wore covered a tiny switch which controlled volume on two hearing aids which he wears, not always with enthusiasm.

Later, a friend knowledgeable about the medical procedure told me it may have been the cochlear implant,

What intrigued  me most about Jack was his eagerness to take in all about him and his grandmother's attention to him.  His smile was infectious.

There was little time for all of us to talk but I did learn that Jack and his family were part of a  government medical health research program that now incorporates technology.

With all the misinformation, with all the flaws we may or may not have about existing government health programs, for me Jack represented a good reason to look to dedicated public servants and research to help show us the way to the future.

SAW MAN, MILK MAN, EGG MAN, MILLINER

Recently, I toured the W.D. Quinn Saw Company with a friend who needed  a special blade for a wood working project.

The Company is unusual  in that it was founded by the "saw man" who  came to the United States from Europe in 1903.  It is still maintained and  run by the family and heirs  of the original "saw man."

Through the years the business has known good and some times hard times.  It has become one
of the few saw companies remaining that has survived the original hand-operations of its founder.
It is now automated. and serves customers throughout the globe.

The plant is housed in a small, modest shack-like building in an industrial section of St. Louis, Missouri. Our tour was conducted by the Company's President who took pride in the seven generations of family  members who have built the company and still incorporate the standards
for product excellence and service of its founder.

The company sharpens blades of  all sizes from very small ones to very large.  The blades can cut through wood, plastic, steel and aluminum.  They are used in making furniture, airplanes and car frames. Sharpening is largely accomplished by automation using robotic arms and small microphones and lasers to adjust the sharpening materials and to warn of malfunction when necessary.

The experience left me with a profound understanding of what the immigration debate is all about.
It reminded me of so many people who came to this country more than a century ago for the opportunities this country offered and still offers people of different beliefs and abilities.

It reminded me too of the men and women who brought skills and experience  to this country to start anew and like the "saw man" or the "milk and egg man" or the "milliner" who once traveled from place to place by horse, now could led all of us toward the future through automation.

If you are at all interested in seeing where the future is leading us go to the W.D. Saw Co.  at www.quinnsaw.com

HOW HIGH DOES THE EAGLE FLY?

On a cold, bleak day in early January, I was invited by a friend to go to Clarksville, Mo. considered the "Eagle Watching Capital of the Midwest."  We took a road known as the Little
Dixie Highway which runs along the Mississippi.*

As we watched for eagles, we passed the River's rich bottom land, now converted into well kept farms, with a large sign proclaiming, "This is a Flood Plane.  IT WILL FLOOD when the river does!"

Though I spotted a falcon perched high on a tree branch, unfortunately, we were either too early or late in the day to see the eagles. We did see the locks that catch debris, and ice before the river carries them into St. Louis.

We strolled through Clarksville as though it were a summer day. We visited a few shops that were opened.  We found a restaurant and bar which was opened. We went inside. A few men were at the bar who appeared less than friendly to strangers.

I was intrigued by other people and children who were there. I wondered how much did they know about the creatures, the environment, the climate and the laws and regulations protecting them, their communities and the state of Missouri. It would not have surprised me that people who live such independent, isolated lives thought a weapon is a necessity.                              

The merchants whose shops we did visit were friendly and lived in Clarksville the year around. They appeared anxious to talk with us about some of the interesting things they had for sale.

During our most recent national election, I thought a lot about the people of Clarksville and the Eagles and how well they seem to be able overcome the harshness of their environment while working toward their survival.

Maybe as citizens we  need to overcome our fear of each other and learn to work together toward the future as do the people and Eagles of Clarksville.

*More Information:
 clarksvillemo,org/eagledays

JANUARY PLANET*

Earlier this week the planet closed out the day much too warm for January

Promising tomorrow will be more in keeping with the calendar.

While offering a preview of the next act

Behind props of snow and ice and rain

Spring awaits its cue.



*Every once in a while, we will sum up the weather here
and planetary movement in the sky believing that weather
 may be the unifying force in all regions of our country.