CHASING DREARY MORNINGS

The day begins with drizzles and than it rains steadily.  We drive out to a small french restaurant for coffee.  We sit at a table with five people people next to us.  There are two adults and three children.

One of the adults tells us the youngest,  a boy, is two.  He is playing with a computer device that appears to be a cell phone and laughs when he sees something on its screen.  I am intrigued with the child's dexterity and humor.

This very small encounter with the ability of a child to use technology gives me hope for the future as does the musical "Bon Jour!" we were greeted with when we entered the restaurant.

FIVE GENERATIONS OF WOODWORKING

Every once in a while I attend the public meetings of the St. Louis Woodworkers Guild where the work of their members is often shown. One meeting  recently featured the work of Grant Black*.  He shared his techniques for bending,  shaping and finishing wood for the Traditional Chair he makes.  He attributed his skill as being inherited from five generations of his family.

He spoke of  the men and women in his family who had inspired him, including his mother who still
helps him by weaving material for the chair seats which he displays.  He showed pictures of
his ancestors from the  late 1800s.  Some of the chairs built by his family are on display in The Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C., and some are in the homes of two former American Presidents and a Governor.

Grant Black has earned his Ph.D in economics from Georgia State University.   He works on wood with some hand tools inherited from his ancestors. Yet, he works with power tools as well. He is part of a growing number of people who have found that professional interests and skills learned over the years are still compatible with the technology of today.

As he told his story I was reminded that so much of who we are today is shaped by those ancestors who came before us.

* The link to see the Traditional
Chairs Grant has created is:
hrrp://www.SLWG.ORG/newsletters/SLWG_2017_ll.pdf

The St. Louis Woodworkers Guild
News Letter September 2017 Issue

STEPHEN HAWKING AND STUDENTS

On November 16, newspapers in this country reported the death of Stephen Hawking, scholar, author, physicist. On that same day students around the world walked out of their classrooms protesting the lack of governmental action about gun control.

The two events were not connected but do illustrate how confusing is the time in which we live.
Hawking's thinking reflected a perspective of life not always shared by his peers.  Yet, in the face of skepticism and ridicule he continued to proceed and advanced the thinking of others.

The courage students have and are showing in their protests reminds me of the quality with which Hawking advanced his own thinking beyond his time.

Yes students belong in the classroom, but it is also time for elected representatives to use governmental  law and regulation that provide the gun control to stop the carnage.

It is time for all of us to support and elect representatives who will provide those laws and regulations.

DOES FEAR CLOUD REALITY?

Clouds blocked our vision of the huge beautiful moon.

The night was cold but invigorating.  Though we could not see the moon, we knew it was there but it was of little help in navigating the unfamiliar road.

We wound around curves and had to drive through road construction that was poorly lit.  Through it all   there was no moon and little light yet there was no turning back.

For me that evening's ride was like a metaphor for my feelings about what is happening to our country.

We know and understand the opportunity that so many of us and our ancestors have had and enjoy.

Yet we are reluctant to offer these opportunities to others. Why?

We know that guns kill people.  But we are reluctant to give up weapons, once used for sustenance and protection in wide-open isolated homes and communities are now used to gun down people.  Why?

We are told the best protection we can have is with a doctrine that tells us we need not think for ourselves.  Why?

We have always respected and safe guarded individual religious beliefs and non believers alike. Now we are told that societies must make personal choices  which are contrary to what we believe.  Why?

We are told we represent one kind of ism or another because we question public policy.  Why?

We plead for civil, respectful dialogue on domestic, national and international issues.  Now we are told
that sensitive, complex issues which affect us are off limits.  Why?

Like my trip on an unfamiliar road from which there was no turning back, my experience that night
reminds me of the dilemma we face today.   Should we turn back in fear of what lies ahead or go forward?  Is it fear that clouds our ability to recognize reality?

The answer dear reader is yours to make.

FEBRUARY SKYWATCH

On this next to last day of February the moon rises high overhead

While elsewhere it hides behind clouds with rain, sleet  and ice

A mild breeze turns our attention away from gloom

Toward buds about to bloom and birds eager to sing for us

 As we call upon our determination to plan for the future with hope.

ANOTHER ENTREPRENEUR?

Recently on a trip to the state of Florida, I discovered the latest entrepreneurship on a coast teeming with tall palm trees.

We were going South, passing old railroad tracks that once hauled crates of oranges, coconuts and  pineapples proudly marked as being from"Sunny Florida", now carrying construction material like cranes and bricks.

As we traveled, huge billboards standing as high as the cranes we passed advertised local and national products, services and candidates who were running in elections past and current.  All these messages and the billboards  obliterated views of the Floridian flora and fauna.

When suddenly, a huge, black billboard loomed above us.  It advertised a company and appeared to be a truck stop. High on the billboard too were the words, "BARBER ON PREMISE."

I have seen "Showers " advertised at other trucks stops but "BARBER" was a first for me and I thought it was a great idea for drivers who make long hauls.

Be that as it may, it softened what might have been a long rant on my part against billboards
in general and on my trip to the sunny South in particular.

CIVIL RIGHTS AND RACISM

Less than a week ago the long-time nationally-known Civil Rights Activist Frankie Freeman died. She was 101 years old and worked all her life to achieve social,  legal and judicial equality for all people.  I was struck by the difference between the work Freeman leaves behind and the current furor over our President.

Charles M. Blow in today's New York Times describes our President as being "Racist Period."  Webster's dictionary defines "racism" as a belief that racial differences produce an inherent and  superiority of a particular race.

This country has a long history of nurturing people's dreams and opportunities. When justice is denied  to some of us it is incumbent on all of us to recognize it  and to work toward securing a fairer society.

When our President bullies and degrades others he reveals his own intolerance  for all of us and belittles all who have fought and worked to secure America's place in the world.