Joyous Anniversary

from me to my Beloved Beautiful Better Half!

Thank you, Sweet Thing, for eighteen rollicking years.  

May I have a few more years with you?

We know not what the future holds, but we know Who walks with us into the future.
I love you, Grace JoAnn

 

November 11

Armistice declared on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the Year of Our Lord, 1918 to effect the cessation of hostilities in the "war to end all wars". (How has that worked out?)

Anyway, the war, now known as WWI, officially ended the following June upon the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.

In 1919, November 11 was declared by President Wilson to be "Armistice Day". It was made a legal holiday by an Act of Congress in 1938. In 1954, the day was declared by an Act of Congress and a Proclamation by President Eisenhower to be "Veterans Day" in honor of all who served in the Armed Forces, since the 'war to end all wars' had failed miserably to accomplish the goal of ending all wars.

The Uniform Holiday Act of 1968 attempted to dump Veterans Day into the "Monday" federal holiday program, and Veterans Day was celebrated on October 25, 1971. It quickly became apparent that the American people would not stand still for this confusing slight to a much respected and honored holiday. Thus, in 1975, President Ford signed an Act of Congress into law which returned the celebration of our Service People to November 11, and since 1978 it has been so observed.

To all who served our country in the Armed Forces, thank you, thank you. Were it not for your sacrifices, we would be enslaved and impoverished. You stood up for us when we needed you.

¶unctuation Marks

I wanted  to use the pilcrow in a  response to a blogpost.  But my keyboard seems to  lack this  device, or I  don't know how to  access  it.  Google  to the  rescue "paragraph symbol" and instantly the little dickens appeared before my eyes.  Copy and paste, problem solved.

I have used the same technique  on other occasions  when in need of a symbol  or  even  a phrase in the alphabet of an alien language.  Quick and easy.

You may have referred to the pilcrow as paraph, or alinea, or simply the paragraph mark.*  It's  all  good.  Full disclosure: pilcrow is a new  term to me  as well.

A day in  which  one learns  nothing is a wasted  day.  You are welcome.

*Some refer to the symbol as "a blind P" but I tend to be more careful in  my use of language.

Happy Seventeenth Anniversary to  my Beloved Beautiful Better Half!

Happy Anniversary, BB!

Fifteen years ago today, BBBH and I stood in front of Pastor Herring, a great cloud of witnesses behind us.  We said. "I do," and the rest is history.  Fifteen years of adventures, togetherness, travels, pleasures, and pains.  Together.

And that makes it all good.  Have we both been deliriously happy, sitting firmly on Cloud Nine during every waking moment?  Be serious.  Do we have joy in sharing our lives with each other?  Yes.  Okay, speaking for myself, yet I believe we both participate in that joy.









I write hundreds of words nearly every week, yet this is a summary of all I have to say:  I love you, JoAnn.

Fourteenth Anniversary

 As it was, fourteen years ago today.














And still smiling today.

The ornamentation atop the wedding cake.  The little figurine was painted by Beloved Beautiful Better Half herself.  Note the reality with which she endowed the item, she the cute little blond, I the white-haired older man.

Welcome, 2014!

"What are your New Year resolutions?" asked Beloved Beautiful .



"I'm not making any this year," I replied.



Silence. No response. Nothing. Nada. Nil. Zip. I turned a bit to look toward her. She wore a quizzical, nay, even puzzled look on her face. "What?" I said.



"Nothing," she replied. "I'm just trying to grasp the concept of being satisfied with that level of performance."

 



Happy New Year, Everyone!

Historical Note

The State of Israel, established May 14, 1948.

In Conclusion...

...of another calendar year, I thought to list some of my personal favorites among the articles on "String Too Short to Tie" during 2011. There is no particular ranking in terms of my preferences. It is simply a dozen I particularly like. Obviously, I must have liked all of them or I would not have posted them in the first place!

Rocket Launch T+ The culmination of an experiment in space exploration by two very young scientists.
Cookson the Third A tribute to our little pet on his departure from life.
For God So Loved Outline of an excellent sermon by Pastor Mark.
Snake! A rambling, or is it a slithering, tale springing from someone's mention of snake.
Indiana Fall in Black and White Pictorial tribute to Autumn in Indiana.
Everybody Ought to Go to Sunday School An account of a Sunday morning during my childhood.
A Long Trek From childhood to... Journeys of three people's lives.
Freedom My take of FDR's "Four Freedoms" speech.
Ordinary Heroes Neighbors in the Hometown whose daily lives are heroic.
Jacob Bids for the Prize The first in a series on the life of Jacob as recorded in Genesis 26 - 31.
Euphemistically Speaking A rant about the use of euphemisms for "old age."
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo A bit of American history, facts and speculation. This article was the most frequently "hit" for the year 2011.
And finally, this one was not one of my favorites, and yet it was the second-most often hit this year: My Plate.

November 22, 1963

November 22, 1963. The very thought of the date evokes a string of memories surrounding the assassination of a young and very popular United States President, John F. Kennedy (Profiles in Courage).

It is of some interest that on the very same day two other personages of considerable fame and influence passed from this mortal coil. These men were Aldous Huxley (Brave New World, Point Counterpoint) and C.S. Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia, Mere Christianity).

John F. "Jack" Kennedy 1917 - 1963 Writer, Politician, President, Died too young

Aldous L. Huxley 1894 - 1963 Novelist, Philosopher, Essayist, Dramatist, Poet

Clive S. "Jack" Lewis 1898 - 1963 Novelist, Philosopher, Christian apologist, Professor

11th Hour, 11th Day, 11th Month

In previous years I have written about Armistice Day, and Veterans' Day. The important thing today is to remember that our past is filled with heroes who made our present possible. Remember them, honor them, particularly those who in service to their country defended our freedoms, many of them giving their all.

At 11:00 A.M. I will be on the courthouse square, along with as many of my fellow citizens who will brave the elements for a brief ceremony honoring those who served in the Armed Forces. The local high school will have a contingent from the band to provide patriotic mu

sic. It does my heart good to see that the next generation is learning about their past, and it ge

nerates hope within me that our future will be bright!

Update: We assembled on the courthouse lawn.

The Tipton High School band plays.

Judge Jack Richter honors Veterans.

Riflemen, 21-gun salute.

Sixty and Counting Down

November First. There are exactly sixty days left in 2011, and in those sixty days will be crammed:

Daylight "savings" time is over. Rejoice! 11-6

Municipal and off-year elections. Be sure to vote. Politics is local. 11-8

Veterans' Day: Remember those who served. I plan to be on the courthouse square at 11:00 A.M 11-11

Thanksgiving. Don't forget to praise and thank the Lord for blessings everyday, but celebrate on this Thursday. 11-24

Black Friday: For those of you who care, and aren't smart enough to stay in bed, well, the stores will be open way too early. 11-25

Pearl Harbor Day: It is important to remember our history. 12-7

Advent: Pay attention to the reason we celebrate Christmas.

Winter: The official calendar beginning of winter, no matter what weather we've had so far. 12-22

Christmas: Many people's favorite holiday. For some, as a celebration of Jesus's birth; for some the getting-and-giving of gifts; for some, just the "getting." And yes, for some a time to put on the "Grinch suit" and rain on everyone's parade. Christmas: you have to love it; something for everyone. 12-25

Boxing Day 12-26

New Year's Eve: Closing out another year, a year we hope has been joyous and satisfying, even if difficulties have been encountered along the way. Be thankful for your blessings, and be careful how you celebrate. 12-31

It's going to be an exciting sixty days!
(Print out and enter your own special days and celebrations, stick on refrigerator.)

Another Trip Around the Sun

Isn't she adorable?! I have so much pleasure in thumbing through the albums we have built over the dozen years we've been together. I could post dozens that are just as cute, but these will be representative.

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!

Oh, all right. She's seventy-something.

New Year

5772

Flag Day

This is the first Official Flag of the United States of America, June 14, 1777.

This is that Flag that was displayed during all twelve of my elhi years.

Alaska was the 49th state and this became the official flag. It was displayed during my first year of teaching. in 1959.

Our current flag became official on July 4, 1960. The 50th star represents Hawaii.

There have been 27 official flags of the United States during the last 234 years.

You may view them at this site.

May the Red, White and Blue forever fly o'er the Land of the Free!

Luther at the Imperial Diet

Nearly three and a half years had passed since Martin Luther affixed his "95 Theses" on the church door at Wittenburg. Now he was commanded to appear before the Imperial Diet which convened at Worms. The 21 year-old Emperor Charles gauranteed safe passage to Luther for his journey. He began his trip to Worms on 2 April 1521 and arrived there on the 16th. He was asked point blank to recant his writings. He asked for a 24 hour recess in which to ponder and formulate his reply. This was granted and on the following day, at the closing of the proceedings, Dr. Ecken again asked, "Plain and simple, are you prepared to recant?"

Luther then replied: Your Imperial Majesty and Your Lordships demand a simple answer. Here it is, plain and unvarnished. Unless I am convicted [convinced] of error by the testimony of Scripture or (since I put no trust in the unsupported authority of Pope or councils, since it is plain that they have often erred and often contradicted themselves) by manifest reasoning, I stand convicted [convinced] by the Scriptures to which I have appealed, and my conscience is taken captive by God's word, I cannot and will not recant anything, for to act against our conscience is neither safe for us, nor open to us.

On this I take my stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.

References:

Luther http://www.luther.de/en/worms.html

Kansas State University Personal Web Pages http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~lyman/english233/Luther-Diet_of_Worms.htm

String Too Short to Tie http://vanilla-ststt.blogspot.com/2009/10/it-is-said-that-october-31-1517-was-day.html

Anarchy and Tyranny

" There is a natural and necessary progression, from the extreme of anarchy to the extreme of tyranny' and arbitrary power is most easily established, on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness."

George Washington, February 22, 1732 - December 14, 1799

I Walk the Line Aisle

Yes, I remembered. Today is our wedding anniversary, Dear. It was eleven years ago that we met at the altar and said our vows.

We are still together. Interesting? To say the least. Humdrum existence? Not by the wildest stretch of the imagination. Tempestuous? I am not telling.

You have loved me when I wasn't all that lovable; though perhaps I've not been so "obstreperous" (your word) as you claim from time to time. Am I hard-headed and set in my ways? Are you? Am I going to be in such deep weeds over this post that I won't see daylight for a week? Nah. Your sense of humor and mine intersect on occasion. Then, too, they don't always.

Do I love your you still? Indubitably. You have fed me, entertained me, kept my hair trimmed and neat. And you frequently remind me that I am "not wearing that." You have loved me in a million ways.

And to think, some of our friends said it "would never last." Silly folk.
Wanna go for another eleven? Okay, one day at a time.




I Love You, JoAnn.
Remembering the Tenth Anniversary.

Celebrating Cookie Again!

January Second (okay, it's a day late) and time to note the progress of the family pet as he chalks up another year. He's still here. Two years ago, we celebrated his seventeenth birthday. Last year, we simply noted "another birthday."

The situation is this. We had calculated that he was seventeen in 2009, though we had no documentation. Subsequent to the celebratory notice, we found some papers, and have concluded that in fact his birthyear was 1993. Thus a revision in the "age." He is a much younger dog than we thought, and thus we conclude that he is now a mere eighteen! Not bad for a member of the canine tribe.

He is still pretty much as described in last year's post, though perhaps a step slower. And he sleeps more.

Happy Birthday, Cookson!

Remember and Honor

Fifty-five years ago today, this girl became my bride.
She is the mother of my children, Ann, Ivy, Delbert, and Ken.

Frieda Imogene Leamon Lacy "Jeanie"
17 February 1928 - 11 September 1980 RIP

Indiana Day

I am calling December 11 "Indiana Day," for it was on December 11, 1816 that Indiana became the 19th member of the Union known as the United States of America.

Indiana was carved from the Northwest Territory and became Indiana Territory in 1800. Indiana has the smallest land area of any continental state west of the Appalachian Mountains.

We Hoosiers are over six million strong. We are diverse, yet proud. We are principled, yet resilient. We are darned cold in the winter, but sweltering hot in the summer. From Lake Michigan to the Ohio River, from the Indiana/Ohio border to the Wabash River and the Illinois boundary, you will find farm fields, modern cities, plains, moraine, hills, lakes, rivers and valleys.

Visit us. You will find our little corner of the world a most pleasant place. Productive, friendly people will welcome you.

If you are a history buff or a geography guru you can easily find a wealth of interesting information on the 'net thingy or at your local library.