Povey Prattle

OUT WITH THE OLD IN WITH THE NEW

Did you see the photo’ of Presidents George Herbert Walker Bush, George Walker Bush, William Jefferson Clinton, James Earl Carter – with President elect Barack Hussein Obama at the White House? Did you notice that the two Bush’s, Clinton and Obama were shoulder to shoulder - but that Carter was off to one side? I believe that this says something about Jimmy Carter. I received a Christmas card from friends in Boston, MA, with a terrific photo’ of Mum and Dad and their two sets of twins. The older twins are boys. The younger twins are a boy and a girl. Each family member was looking directly at the camera, except for the younger twin boy. He looked off into the distance. Jimmy Carter and this young boy. Holding themselves aloof from the others. Standing apart from the crowd. I understand. Those of us with strong but fragile egos always hold ourselves apart from the crowd. Our egos are strong. We are able to take risks; to go out on a limb; to act from the impulses of our hearts more ...

UN: 257 Palestinian children killed in Gaza Tiny bodies lying side by side wrapped in white burial shrouds. The cherubic face of a dead preschooler sticking up from the rubble of her home. A man cradling a wounded boy in a chaotic emergency room after Israel shelled a U.N. school. Children, who make up more than half of crowded Gaza's 1.4 million people, are the most defenseless victims of the war between Israel and Hamas. The Israeli army has unleashed unprecedented force in its campaign against Hamas militants, who have been taking cover among civilians . A photo of 4-year-old Kaukab Al Dayah, just her bloodied head sticking out from the rubble of her home, covered many front pages in the Arab world Wednesday. "This is Israel," read the headline in the Egyptian daily Al-Masry Al-Youm. The preschooler was killed early Tuesday when an F-16 attacked her family's four-story home in Gaza City. Four adults also died. As many as 257 children have been killed and 1,080 woun...

American Broadcaster and Author, Tom Brokaw, called them “The Greatest Generation”. These were the men and women who were born in the 1920’s in the midst of the great depression. Their upbringing was hardscrabble. When the time came for the western democracies to face down the evils of Naz-ism in Europe and expansionism (by Japan) in Asia, they rushed to enlist, or cheerfully responded when they were drafted. They fought with courage and honour in “The Good War”. Those who “made it” returned home to raise families, and they sacrificed yet again so that their children could “have it better”, and get educated. I have known many of the folks of the “Greatest Generation”. I think of the John and Doris Allen, with Art and Elizabeth Harrington in Pittsfield, MA; and of Ken and Mary Holmes in Cambridge, MA. Chuck and Alice McClintock were also amongst these great folks. Chuck served in WWII, and returned to Pittsfield to work for “the G.E.” (General Electric), and with Alice to raise three ...

I drove 50 miles today, averaging 22 mph at 19 mpg. The first trip was to take my guest, who had overslept, to his courses at Sarasota County Technical Institute. Secondly I went down to St. Boniface Church on Siesta Key for the weekly Tuesday morning Eucharist, and study group for Priests. Then I took my car to the auto-dealer for an oil change and tire (tyre) rotation. Fourthly I drove out to All Angels Church on Longboat Key for their annual Epiphany concert and “pot-love” supper. Four errands which I could have made by ‘bus, but which would have taken much longer. I am glad to be able to own and drive a car, and to engage in these four journeys. ‘Twas not always so. Fifty years ago, folks of my generation in the U.K. and in the U.S.A rarely ventured more than four miles from our homes, and those trips were most always by bike, ‘bus, or foot. We attended neighbourhood schools and churches. We shopped in neighbourhood stores. We lived in a very small world. In my case, the bi...

Nothing serious today! I have been out to a wonderful 12th Night Party at the home of Muriel Quinn, an Englishwoman (from Lancashire) who worships at St. Boniface Church. There were about 14 guests, some of whom are English, or have English connections. We had great food, including British Bangers, Cornish Pasties and Christmas pudding. We also did “turns”, with cello and piano music, vocal solos, limericks, and Muriel’s wonderful rendition of the Stanley Holloway monologue “Albert and the Lion”. It was a terrifically silly Anglo/American event. We each knew how to invest in the Bank of Memories.

Saturdays: See this wonderful piece from my friend Elizabeth Kaeton http://telling-secrets.blogspot.com/2009/01/in-praise-of-saturdays.html Sundays: I celebrated the Eucharist for the children at St. Boniface today. What joy! One of the few things I miss in retirement is the presence of children in my life. So I was tackled pink to be with these youngsters, and to share the hold bread and wine with them. Soon afterwards I went to have lunch with Barbara and Kay. We were joined by my dear friends Ron and Charlotte Thompson, and Ben Morse. Kay and Barbara provided an old fashioned Sunday lunch, with roasted pork, potatoes and carrots. We lingered at the table for 2 ½ hours, enjoying the food; each other; and lively conversations. This Sunday was good! Outrage I am outraged at the Israeli offensive against the Palestinians of Gaza. Without going through all the old and tired arguments, I raise the issue of proportionality. Even if Hamas and the Gaza strip Palestinians are as bad as Israel...