Povey Prattle

no blog entry today

S ome christian fundamentalist /right-wing/america first/american exceptionalists  often assert that "separation of church and state" are not in our constitution. They are right if we are looking for the explicit words   "separation of church and state". But what is not explicit is certainly  implicit in our foundational documents.  See for instance: 1. From Article Six of the Constitution    but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States. 2. From The First Amendment to the Constitution Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;  I think that Article Six and the First Amendment make two things clear. First:  Persons of any, many, or no religions may hold public office and trust in the United States. Second: The United States Congress is not allowed to endorse any religion, not is it a...

I ranted a bit the other day on the media "frenzy of speculation" as Hurricane Irene moved up the eastern coast of the United States. What I failed to note is that the popular media thought the story was "over" once Irene had crossed New York City, and had been "downgraded"  to a "tropical storm". That under-rated "tropical storm" still packed a punch, especially in parts of western Massachusetts (my old stomping ground); in parts of upstate New York;  and especially in Vermont. It was not only the media.  "John Q Public"  (a.k.a.  Michael Povey) also  had  a bit of amnesia about his friends in Vermont.  But two days ago I began to worry about my dear friend and colleague the Revd. Diane Root and her (equally dear to me) partner Margaret Campbell, who live in Killington, Vermont. Their 'phone was dead for a couple of days, but I was able to reach them today.  They are safe and sound. Fortunately they had stocke...

I've just read "My life as an author and editor" by H.L. Mencken  (edited by Jonathan Yardley and published in  1993 by Alfred A Knopf Inc). Mencken knew a thing or two about what he called "The American Language".  So I took note when he used the word "buncombe" in contexts where you or I might use "bunkum" . Here, from Wikipedia, is an  explanation of  the word buncombe; a word which emerged in common parlance as bunkum. "In 1820,   Felix Walker , who represented   Buncombe County, North Carolina , in the U.S. House of Representatives, rose to address the   question of admitting Missouri as a free or slave state . This was his first attempt to speak on this subject after nearly a month of solid debate and right before the vote was to be called. Allegedly, to the exasperation of his colleagues, Walker insisted on delivering a long and wearisome "speech for Buncombe".  He was shouted down by his colleagues. His persis...

Three unconnected stories Immigrants Some Poles are moving into our neighborhood. Shop Lifting I walk at least 4 miles each day with my dog.  As a result, I wear through the soles of shoes in four to six months.  So  I  went to my local Target Store this afternoon to but some new sneakers/trainers. As I browsed I saw a pair of size 9 trainers/sneakers on the Target shelf.  I noticed that they were fairly dirty. After a few seconds I "got it".  Some man had been in the store.  Then he had  left his old and grimy sneakers on the shelf, and walked out with a brand new pair. I called an "Associate" to point out this "crime", but she was less than enthusiastic about  what I had found.  I suppose that my "find" was not rare.  It seems to be that many stores "write off" such shop-lifting as a matter of course. Of course we are all paying that little bit more to cover shop-lifting losses such as this. Use of...

It was ten years ago today that our Mum passed from this life. She was born in Lowestoft, Suffolk (U.K.) on May 7th 1913, and died in Severn Beach, Bristol , U.K. on August 29th 2001. She was called Evelyn Maud Finch until she married our Dad, when she became Evelyn Maud Povey.  After Dad's death she re-married and became Evelyn Maud Woolcock. But we all called her "Mum", (and teased her by calling her Maud). Mum gave birth to ten children, one of whom, our sister Sylvia, died soon after birth.  The nine of us who grew up remember our Mum as a classy woman. We respect and admire the amazing way in which she raised nine children -  it was an exhausting business.  We are so grateful for her life, love and example.  We do not grieve for she was ready to die. But of course we still miss her and think of her often. This photo' was taken a matter of weeks before her death.

Hurricanes can be very dangerous.  Hurricanes can be deadly. The combination of extremely high winds and severe rainfall with widespread flooding, (and with the possible “spawning” of tornadoes) can cause great damage to beaches, woods, roads, houses and commercial buildings.  Those conditions can be deadly to both man and beast.    The case in point is Hurricane Katrina (2005).  At least 1836 people died as a result of that storm, and there was an estimated $81 billion worth of property damage.    No one has every estimated the damage to hopes, to dreams, to ambitions, or to family and community life after Katrina. That damage was greater than we could imagine, and six years on, it is far from being repaired.    I do not minimise the possibly catastrophic effects of any hurricane.   But it’s also true to say that Hurricanes “have a mind of their own”.    1. They can form, un-form, and re-form. 2. They can “come in like a lion ...