Povey Prattle

Memorial Day is not about Veterans.  They have their own day, It is not about Active Military.  They have their own day. It is about the tragic toll of human deaths in times of conflict. See this  (via my friend Mark D) and please overlook the error in  punctuation. Older Americans will know that Memorial Day has its origin in what was called Decoration Day  see: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/civil-war-dead-honored-on-decoration-day All of us should give pause on Monday to remember that our American Wars (whether or not they were wise or necessary) carry with them a dreadful toll of human deaths, and the burden of grief carried by widows (and in modern days widowers or partners) ,orphans, parents, siblings, uncles,aunts, cousins etc. For some perspective please see this: http://www.civilwar.org/education/civil-war-casualties.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/

Nobody likes me  Ev'rybody hates me Guess I'll go eat worms Long, thin, slimy ones Short, fat, juicy ones Itsy, bitsy, fuzzy, wuzzy worms..   (American Summer Camp Song) It's a song I'll never have to sing.  Indeed I am overwhelmed and grateful for the terrific outpouring of greetings for my 72nd birthday.  I was privileged to get more than 120 Facebook greetings, plus some nice e-mails  and real birthday cards.  It's all a bit humbling. Facebook friends will know that I note their birthdays by saying "Happy Tomday", or  "Happy Janeday".  That's because I love my own birthday anniversaries -  the one day in the year in which I am not bashful about having a "me day"!  So it is, as in the examples above, my friends are entitled to a Tomday or a Janeday, and I to a Michaelday. This year I was fortunate enough to be with dear friends for three Michaelday  celebrations. Wednesday evening saw me at the home of the ev...

Just in time for  my birthday I got a miserable snuffy, coughy, sneezey, runny-nosy cold. Every man I asked has agreed with my assertion that a head cold is much worse than child-birth. I haven't asked any women. This dire ailment has not gotten in the way of my birthday celebrations.They have been splendid. More about that tomorrow!

I was in my local supermarket yesterday when I overheard a clerk/cashier say to a customer "have an awesome day ". I was glad not to be in that line, for I would have been tempted to say " thanks all the same, but I can only absorb two, or maybe three awesome days each year". That response, realistic or cynical,  (you decide which), would have arisen from my sense of a truly awesome human being Alexander Van Humboldt 1769-1859. Van Humboldt was a naturalist, a botanist,an explorer, a painter, a scientist, an observer of the natural world, and a man of letters (and that's just to scratch the surface!).  The case can be made that he was the first modern environmentalist.   He was acquainted with the great and the good - Goethe, Schiller, Darwin, Brunel, President Jefferson, Simon Bolivar etc (to name but a few). I am learning about Von Humboldt in what I believe to be a superb book "The Invention of Nature - Alexander Van Humboldt's New W...

I have been trying to contact a good friend whose truth, love and honesty have enriched my life, Due to her change of e-mail address and the failure of her 'phone to recognise my 'phone number, we have been out of touch for a few months. But "voila", I got through to her by 'phone this evening. We had one of those deep and caring 'phone conversations which sustain and bless our lives. She is Dr. Grace Jones .  We met each other back in 1984 when we both lived in Pittsfield, MA.  She has taught me so much. God willing we shall see each other in December 2016  when I plan to take a trip to Massachusetts I thank God for old friendships, especially those which have "held me accountable", Dr. Grace Jones is high in my pantheon of such friends.