Thursday, December 31, 2020

A year ends...........

       The ending of a calendar year leads me to think that I should write something profound. Profundity doesn't lend itself to command, alas. Fredrik Backman, famous for his book A Man Called Ove, writes in a preface to his novella AND EVERY MORNING THE WAY HOME GETS LONGER, "It's about fear and love, and how they seem to go hand in hand most of the time. Most of all, it's about time. While we still have it."  

     Fear, love and time...now there's triumvirate that could be profound. How do we manage our fear and time and how do we keep love alive?  Backman again "His grandpa is next to him and is incredibly old, of course, so old now that people have given up and no longer nag him to start acting like an adult. So old that it's too late to grow up. It's not so bad either, that age." P. 1.  Ahh yes, perhaps I'm now old enough that I don't need to grow up. 😊  

     Eight decades are part of my memory bank and 2020 certainly ranks among the most interesting years of my experience. While so many have suffered so much, I've skated by, among the most fortunate. In his book Garner's Quotations, Dwight Garner has this "This is the life I've always wanted---social distancing without social disapproval."  P. 11, Tom Stoppard, on the coronavirus, in The Spectator.  On the same page of  Quotations, "It's up to you to break the old circuits." Helene Cixous, The Laugh of the Medusa.

    Perhaps I won't be breaking any circuits but I am looking forward to 2021, thinking about love, fear, time and new ideas. "Social distancing without social disapproval...." 😁

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Al

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Stuff Accumulates!

     Parkinson's law is the adage that "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion". It is sometimes applied to the growth of bureaucracy in an organization.

Author: C. Northcote Parkinson
     A worthy compliment to this adage would be "Stuff expands to fill all available space."  Perhaps it should also say "and then some" witness all the storage rental spaces that abound! Buy a large house and soon it is full. When Joanne and I were downsizing for our move into a condo we were given sage advice. "Examine an un-needed object, recall the memories connected to the object, then decided 'do we need the object to retain the memories' if the answer is 'no' dispose of the object." Full disclosure requires that I confess that possession of The Little House allowed us to cheat a bit on disposal. 
    Yes, indeed stuff abounds as attested by this poem.
The Things
by Donald Hall

When I walk in my house I see pictures,
bought long ago, framed and hanging
— de Kooning, Arp, Laurencin, Henry Moore —
that I've cherished and stared at for years,
yet my eyes keep returning to the masters
of the trivial — a white stone perfectly round,
tiny lead models of baseball players, a cowbell,
a broken great-grandmother's rocker,
a dead dog's toy — valueless, unforgettable
detritus that my children will throw away
as I did my mother's souvenirs of trips
with my dead father. Kodaks of kittens,
and bundles of cards from her mother Kate.

Takk for alt
Al

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Taunted!

      Trygve, back in The Little House, was agitating to go hunting. Snow began falling between 6 and 7 a.m., but it was light, fluffy with only a 12 mph wind. So, off we went. Hunting was in a winter wonderland and the snow accumulation made walking a bit more challenging. We circled a medium sized slough, with me walking alongside and Trygve running through the cattails. It was one of the few times we didn't seen even one hen pheasant.  We didn't mind because it was a fine walk in the fresh air. Reading the tracks of animals in the snow is always fun.

    Driving out to the slough, as we drove along the east perimeter of Sinai, a rooster pheasant was standing on the road. Likely he was headed toward the grain elevator to find waste grain on the ground. His presence taunted me. "Go have a non-productive walk by the slough, but here I am."  It's gratifying to see pheasants, even when they are taunting, seeing, which happens more often when there is snow on the ground.   Trygve was grateful for the outing.

    I am well!

Takk for alt,

Al



                                                    The Little House, winter version.

     

Monday, December 28, 2020

Evidence!

        It took about fifteen minutes to shovel my way into The Little House. It was good driving conditions on clear roads with no traffic jams, not even in Sinai! 😁 A trip to the post office revealed a full mailbox. There were 19 Christmas letters waiting for me. I've already hung 22 pictures and received many other Christmas cards! Frequently I write about how blessed I am. All this Christmas mail is EVIDENCE of manifold blessing...YES, YES, YES!

       Trygve gets more attention in Minneapolis but he seems happy to be here. The freezer is now full again and we're settling in. Yes, I'm blessed!

Takk for alt,

Al

Sunday, December 27, 2020

Thailand news.

 

Government no match for Thai demonstrators online

Author: James Ockey, University of Canterbury

Thailand’s government has been unable to subdue anti-government demonstrations despite major investments in cyber warfare capabilities. As student protestors continue to expand their reach and influence on social media, the Prayuth Chan-o-cha government faces an increasingly difficult choice between concession and suppression.

Mobile phone shows picture of hand of Thai man in army uniform giving the salute of anti-government protesters taken in Bangkok, Thailand, 2 December 2020 (Photo: Reuters/Matthew Tostevin).

Frustrated with the limits placed on democracy and perceived collusion between the military and the monarchy, Thai students have organised months of sustained protests in Bangkok. The current wave of demonstrations is the result of years of organising efforts that began during the five years of martial law and military rule from 2014–19. While turnout was small and protests quickly repressed during that time, organisers of these events often reported tens of thousands of followers on social media. In-person demonstrations represented only the tip of a much larger iceberg of resistance.

The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the military junta led by Prayuth, was aware of these undercurrents and developed an online battle plan. After seizing power in 2014, the NCPO tasked the army to lead newly-established cyber divisions in each branch of the Royal Thai Armed Forces. Cyber operations underwent major upgrades two years later with the intent to protect the monarchy and suppress insurgency in Thailand’s south. The junta also encouraged citizens to report on the social media activities of fellow citizens, in an attempt to expand its surveillance reach. By the time protests emerged in 2020, junta was ready to go on the attack.

Demonstrations began in January 2020 after the pro-reform Future Forward Party was banned by the courts. Future Forward ran on an anti-military, pro-democracy platform and was heavily engaged with supporters on social media, appealing to young voters. Following the party’s dissolution, students demanded the resignation of Prayuth, constitutional reforms, dissolution of parliament and new elections. When the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted these protests, organisers moved them online. The movement grew through social media, and demonstrators returned to the streets in July adding a demand for monarchy reform.

The initial government response was measured. Leading figures issued warnings to the demonstrators, labelling their demands inappropriate and excessive. The government then tried to undermine the movement by arresting some of its leaders, but these intimidation efforts failed. Courts quickly granted bail and organisers returned to the demonstrations.

The regime also moved the fight online. The army cyber warfare unit, and later a twitter account linked to a volunteer programme backed by the military and the palace, promoted pro-military and pro-monarchy sentiment online, while amplifying anti-demonstrator social media content, increasing tensions amid rising violence.

In an attempt to ease these tensions, Thailand’s parliament has sought to reach a compromise. Debates on constitutional reform were accelerated, and a proposed reconciliation commission, which would seek to create national harmony, is slowly coming to fruition. But there is little incentive for appointed politicians in the senate to agree to curtail their own power. Further, the virtual organisation and dispersed leadership of the student movement makes any negotiation problematic. Legislative processes are slow moving and have failed to keep up with the disparate and evolving demands of protestors.

What remains is concession or suppression. In principle, the government could concede to some of the demands of demonstrators by dissolving parliament, holding new elections or convincing Prayuth to resign — a move supported by some prominent political figures. But the junta leader-cum-prime minister clung to power through five years of military rule and carefully engineered his 2019 election victory. While Thai demonstrators have overthrown governments and removed prime ministers in the past — most recently in 1992 — it was only after harsh, violent suppression failed.

Should Prayuth resort to such tactics, he will likely encounter greater resistance. Despite rising violence, public opinion has largely been with the students, and a harsh crackdown would seemingly prove the students right in their assessment of the political situation. In addition, it is unclear who would lead a crackdown. While Prayuth heads the government, he no longer leads the military. Army Commander General Narongpan Jitkaewthae is loyal to the throne, not the prime minister, and King Vajiralongkorn himself commands some 5000 troops based in Bangkok. Neither Prayuth nor the King would willingly take the blame for a harsh crackdown on student protestors.

Demonstrators have the edge for now. Despite investments in cyber warfare, Thailand’s armed forces are unable to keep up with protesters’ social media reach and appeal. Both small and large-scale demonstrations are proving sustainable, conventional police tactics are not. The longer unrest continues, the more government leaders will face increasing pressure to resolve the crisis through either concession or suppression.

James Ockey is Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Canterbury.

Third Day Christmas!

       Evy and Sella came over for the afternoon. Evy and Aunt Lisa baked cookies, many of which will go to The Little House with me. 😁 Evy is a very skilled baker.  Lars also sent a loaf of his sourdough bread with me. While Evy and Lisa were baking Sella did origami while I watched, not my skill. 😄 Then Sella and I played games. 

      Tonight we all gathered at Lars' and ordered pizza from my favorite place. Part of the motivation for the pizza was to give the pizza place business during the lockdown for COVID. (Do you know what pizza is called in Thailand? Pizza! 😊) Now you can speak a little Thai!

     So went another delightful day with the family.  Snow today and predicted Tuesday but it looks as if tomorrow, as I drive to South Dakota, will be snow free! Perhaps with the vaccines arrival family times will not be so rare.

    I remain grateful for all my blessings!

Takk for alt,

Al

Saturday, December 26, 2020

2nd Day Christmas!

      Handy man I'm not but we got the vacuum hung, on the second try 😋, five pictures hung, and a drain un-clogged.   Perhaps I'm earning my keep? Mostly, basking in the opportunity to be with family. That has become a rare treat during the COVID pandemic. Blessings counted and not taken for granted. So much for which to be grateful. I have more direct human contact in this partial week than in the previous months. 

Takk for alt,

Al

     

Friday, December 25, 2020

CHRISTMAS DAY!

     It's been a wonderful day with my family...so blessed! Here's an appropriate Christmas blessing:

The novelist Oren Arnold had the following Christmas gift suggestions: "To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect."

    How much better our world would be if  adults set out to always be a good example for children! Wishing you all the best this Christmas Day!

Takk for alt

Al

Thursday, December 24, 2020

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

        Christmas is made more special by having children in the family. My decision to drive on Tuesday rather than Wednesday turned out to be wise. Venturing out a bit yesterday in the blizzard reminded me of why I've been travelling to Thailand regularly during winter time. Lisa is hard at work cooking dinner for the family. Though I help where I can my domestic skills are quite limited. Outdoors is a winter wonderland gladdening those who hoped for a white Christmas. In this time of COVID it's a special blessing to be able to be with family. I am blessed fortunate and grateful.

     Here's wishing for you the best possible holiday.

Takk for alt,

Al


Joanne would be pleased with Lisa's beautiful table.

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Norwegian pastry!

        Arising this morning I thought "I wonder what's happening in Sinai?"  A quick check of weather revealed snow, 19 degrees and 34 mph wind. Certainly affirmed my decision to drive yesterday. The high temperature on my drive yesterday was 57.

      Lisa, with her niece, Evy, had made krumkake!  Lisa inherited Joanne's krumkake iron. It's certainly sweet to see such traditions continue.. Today Lars invited us to his house to eat kransakake that he and Evy had baked. 18 rings, decorated with Norwegian flags. In Norway it's more of a wedding than a Christmas tradition. Joanne and I had kransakake at our wedding reception as did Lars and Melissa at theirs. 

      All those dreaming of white Christmas got their wish! In the midst of the blizzard today I thought, "Now know why I've been going to Thailand every winter. 😁 Ah, well, I've known cold and snow before and it will not hurt me now.

Takk for alt,

Al


Evy with her kransakake.

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Minneapolis

    With snow and 50mph winds predicted for tomorrow, Trygve and I drove to Lisa's this afternoon. 57 degrees today and 0 predicted for tomorrow night. It was an easy trip with a beautiful sunset viewed in the rear view mirror. Another blessing is that I have good night vision...if I could hear as well as I see...

   All's well with Al and Trygve!  I'll write more tomorrow, Lilla Jule Aften!

Takk for alt,

Al

Monday, December 21, 2020

Winter Arrives!

      Today winter arrives and the planets are lining up. Looks like a clear sky so I'll drive out of town to avoid the light pollution from Sinai's dozen or so street lights to view the planets. Weather whiplash, with 50 degrees predicted for tomorrow and minus 2 tomorrow night, 30 mph wind today. Psychologically helpful to think of increasing daylight though it isn't noticeable for some time.

     When I took Trygve out last night after dark there were fireflies in the yard. What??? This is December there are no fireflies in December!! Dismissing the apparition I went back inside. Later when I went outside again there were fireflies, or so I thought. How can this be, even if it is 30 degrees? Closer inspection revealed that a Christmas display in a yard down the street was sending moving beams of light giving the appearance of fireflies. 😊  What will they think of next?    

       Christmas approaches!  Have you finished shopping,  baking, decorating?

Takk for alt,

Al


Sunday, December 20, 2020

News From Thailand

 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights is expressing alarm at the growing repression and clampdown on freedom of expression and assembly in Thailand.

In recent weeks, Thai authorities have charged at least 35 protesters, including a 16-year-old student, with defaming the country’s royal family.  A spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ravina Shamdasani, said the juvenile’s arrest is particularly alarming.

She said the young boy was arrested on so-called lese majeste charges after participating in a fashion show mocking the royal family’s fashion style. Lese majeste is a provision of Thailand’s criminal code, that carries sentences of between three and 15 years’ imprisonment for defaming, insulting or threatening the country’s royal family.

Shamdasani said the fashion show was part of a student rally organized as part of mass protests that have been going on for the past four months. Protesters are calling for an overhaul of the government and military as well as reform of the monarchy.

Shamdasani said the students and young boy were just exercising their right of free expression.

“So, to use law, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment for this quote-unquote offense does not fit in with Thailand’s obligations under the International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights with regards to the right of freedom of expression,” she said.

"It's beginning to look a lot like...October?"

     Sitting at my table looking out the window, what do I see?  Brown grass, fallen leaves and bare trees. Both the hackberry and the catalpa trees have long ago given up their foliage and the big catalpa leaves are blown against the chain link fence. My pond across the street is a sheet of ice ideal for skating, which I don't do. The egret fled long ago. 100 acres of snow geese were feeding in a harvested corn filed near town. Lake Sinai looks frozen over, but snow? Only a stray drift in a fence row from the October snows. Mourning doves and blue jays, that have refused to migrate, easily find food. Fox squirrels tantalize Trygve by frolicking outside his window. Run as he did, Trygve couldn't scare up even a hen pheasant today. No deer bounded away either. Snowmobilers may grouse about the lack of snow but not me. Certainly not the conditions I remember as Advent is about to give way to Christmas. 

    It's interesting and a bit surprising how cocooning suits me. The internet connects me to the wider world. A telephone brings people into my cocoon.  An endless supply of good books to read. COVID 19, has brought untold grief and suffering to so many, while, I am about the most fortunate person. What can I be but grateful? and I am!

Takk for alt

Al


An inside view of The Little House with unidentified feet.

Saturday, December 19, 2020

Outstanding book!

     Julie Kip-Williams was born blind in Vietnam about the time the war ended. Her family was allowed to leave the country because they are ethnically Chinese and Vietnamese authorities wanted them out. They made their escape on overcrowded boat to Hong Kong and then to America. In America the cataracts on her eyes were surgically removed giving her 20/300 vision in one eye and 20/400 in the other...legally blind. In spite of this she graduated from Harvard Law School, travelled the world alone, married and birthed two daughters.

    At age 36 she was diagnosed with stage 4, metastatic, colon cancer. Shortly after diagnosis in 2013, she began writing a diary/memoir which she continued until shortly before her death in 2018. One of her motivations was to leave a written record of her life for her young daughters. She wrote this about the purpose of the book.

    "To the degree that my book speaks truth about not just the cancer experience but the human experience in general, I want people to be able to find themselves in the writing. And in so doing, I want them to realize that they never have been and never will be alone in their suffering....I want them to find within the rich, twisted, and convoluted details of my life truth and wisdom that will bolster and comfort them through their joys and sorrows, laughter and tears."  P. 307 The Unwinding of the Miracle: A MEMOIR OF LIFE, DEATH AND EVERYTHING THAT COMES AFTER,  Julie Yip-Williams

    Yip-Williams decided from first diagnosis to be honest, and she is brutally so about her struggles, doubts, fears and grief. This amazing woman takes us through the reality of her will to live, treatments, trials and decisions. She steadfastly refused to allow herself denial.

      She died in her home in Brooklyn New York with family and friends by her side on March 19, 2018, her husband Joshua Williams tells us in the Epilogue. One month and six days later Joanne died in her home surrounded by her family. Naturally reading this awakened my grief over Joanne's death. Yet, for the wisdom, insight and opportunity to travel the journey with Yip-Williams it was well worth it.

Takk for alt

Al


One of my favorite pictures...see the Christmas pictures on the window.

Friday, December 18, 2020

Who needs snow?

      The Northeast received a huge snowfall but here it's brown grass and blowing leaves. That's fine with me. I've discovered how to prepare for Christmas without snow. Everyday during Advent, Grace University Lutheran offers an Advent Devotional online. It features a different family each day who invite us into their home digitally. After introducing the family there's an Advent Devotional. Yesterday featured a family with 4 children, backyard chickens and a beautiful tame rabbit. 😊 Because, this is Advent, Christmas comes later.

    Everyday brings more Christmas cards, letters and pictures. That provides opportunity to reflect on the relationships, memories and gifts of family and friends. The gallery of saint's pictures continues to grow and I pause and reflect as I pass those pictures. Living my hermit's life in the land of grief I'm grateful not to be forgotten. These greetings are more Christmas preparation.

    On one of my trips back to the Minneapolis condo I retrieved many of my compact discs, including a stack of Christmas music. They are an eclectic mix that doesn't include "I saw grandma kissing Santa Claus."  Music has that ability to touch deep cords of memory and meaning. Christmas music playing in the background signals...Advent! Christmas is coming!  Life is good!

Takk for alt,

Al

Thursday, December 17, 2020

Love my Christmas mail!

      From my friend, Torleiv, in Norway his Christmas letter, which he sends in both Norwegian and English, begins with this paragraph. (English version 😐)

     "This year has been very special for many of us because of the Corona pandemic. We have been looking for new ways for contact with relatives, friends and colleagues. The situation has stimulated our attention and attentiveness. Our personal interests have to give way for care of the fellowship. Strangely enough distance has become a sign of loving one's neighbor."

    Torleiv is absolutely correct "distance has become a sign of loving one's neighbor."  When the pandemic was first settling in I, and others, were thinking "we should respond, do something" and then realized that the best thing we could do was stay home...that "distance..(was)...a sign of loving one's neighbor."  Apparently this is a very difficult lesson given the restlessness about rules related to COVID prevention.

      She was a young girl living through the Spanish Flu Epidemic a hundred years ago. In her Christmas letter, Tilly, age 107, writes "I had a COVID test in the last half of November that turned up positive. So, guess what happened? I was sent to another part of the nursing home and quarantined in my room. As of the writing of this, I am expecting to be back in my own room the 1st few days of December. Once again Merry Christmas and, hopefully, a better new year in 2021."

    Do you suppose Tilly will set a record for being the oldest person to survive COVID? What a woman! You go Tilly!  Tilly's picture is up on my door, near the picture of Torleiv and his wife Brit Maria, and all the others who have sent pictures..."a cloud of witnesses" that warms me!

Takk for alt,

Al 

PS As much as I treasure Christmas mail I'll not be sending any this year. This blog and some phone calls will need to suffice.

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Advent

         "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"...not.  Brown grass, no snow, leaves blowing about, no Christmas decorations, Advent neither, in The Little House. Christmas shopping complete, all done online, never entering a store. No Christmas baking. Just over a week until Christmas eve. As a boy it took forever for Christmas to come and now it seems to arrive again in a couple of weeks. My condo's not decorated either but it's occupied by family in Minneapolis for medical attention.

        Now I will bring out the Christmas music on CDs to make it feel more like Christmas. The six in my immediate family are being extremely careful so we can be together a few days at Christmas. This is feasible becasue the 3 working adults work from home and the students study at home. More of my good fortune.

Here's a bit of  poetry for the season!

  Rowan Williams

Advent Calendar

He will come like last leaf’s fall.

One night when the November wind
has flayed the trees to bone, and earth
wakes choking on the mould,
the soft shroud’s folding.

He will come like frost.
One morning when the shrinking earth
opens on mist, to find itself
arrested in the net
of alien, sword-set beauty.

He will come like dark.
One evening when the bursting red
December sun draws up the sheet
and penny-masks its eye to yield
the star-snowed fields of sky.

He will come, will come,
will come like crying in the night,
like blood, like breaking,
as the earth writhes to toss him free.
He will come like child.


Takk for alt,

Al


Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Scottish?

 So a “skiff” of snow is a light flurry or cover of snow, but you can also have “skiffs,” light showers, of rain, or even a “skiff” of light wind. ... The noun “skiff” is drawn from the Scots verb “to skiff,” meaning “to move lightly and quickly, barely touching the surface”   

     Because I remembered my mother commenting on a "skiff of snow" I thought it might be Norwegian. Nope...it turns out to be Scottish. Maybe the Scots got it from the Vikings. 😁 Well, no matter the origin of the word, we got a skiff of snow today. It's light, fluffy as a feather and most noticeable on the little pond across the road where it adds interest to the ice.

     October brought us 12" (?) of snow but other than a few drifts in the fence lines that snow is long gone. This lack of snow brings back memories of a snow free winter in North Dakota. Without snow cover for insulation many underground pipes froze. Bergstroms got water from Pearsons via a pipe buried six feet deep. The pipe froze that winter. Bergstroms left a tap open and the pipe finally thawed on the 28th of June so the water flowed again. While we lack snow cover we've not had the cold temperatures that would drive the frost deep into the ground...yet, at least. The night before last the temperature was 5 degrees Fahrenheit which is coldest yet this fall. We'll see if the old saw "When the days begin to lengthen, the cold begins to strengthen" holds true this year. We're just a week away from the first day of winter.

     The fact that I write an entire blog about this is indicative of the quiet life I lead. I've been trying to read a biography of Alexander Hamilton but I'm wearied by all the squabbles and nasty infighting. Jefferson, Madison and Monroe, nor Adams, come off very well in this telling. But, I am comfortable, content and grateful for much, not least my current situation. 

Takk for alt,

Al


Monday, December 14, 2020

In the words of others....

     J.M., sent me this quote from Martin Luther which seems to speak to our situation today. People claim "personal freedom" when asked to wear masks. Would those persons claim "personal freedom" to yell "FIRE" in a crowded theater when there is none?  As Luther's quote implies, masks are what we wear for the sake of the other. The fact that it also helps us when we wear it is just a bonus.

In 1527, as the Bubonic Plague entered Wittenberg, the German Reformer Martin Luther not only urged his congregation to care for the sick, but also criticized those who disdained precautions in order “to prove how independent they are.” In contrast to behavior he described as “tempting God,” Luther vowed, “I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine, and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance infect and pollute others, and so cause their death as a result of my negligence"

    Yesterday I wrote in my blog about honesty. Then this quote from Berdyaev appeared in today's Minneapolis StarTribune... note he died in 1948.

 

Takk for alt,

Al



Fashion attire without adult supervision.

Sunday, December 13, 2020

To tell the truth........

      There were things they didn't talk about. Could that be lying through omission? It doesn't seem like that to me. On some occasions they were mistaken. No one can be correct 100% of the time. No where in my recollection of my parents can I think of an instance in which they lied. Truth, integrity, veracity was the core of their way of life. What a gift such being was to me and my siblings as we grew to adulthood. I remember my Dad saying "Be sure your sins will find you out."

     Lies are a form of evil that take on a life of their own.  Like the old saw "Have you stopped beating your wife?"  Either a "no" or a "yes" convicts. Lies can not easily be refuted. It often falls to the falsely accused to prove or disprove that which can not easily be shown. Many years ago in an exercise with a group we were asked to write our mission statement. I wrote "Better living through honesty."  Of course, I wish I could say that I've always been faithful to that sentiment. Yet, I think it has been a worthy goal, no matter how I may have failed.

     May we let our "yes" be yes and our "no" be no. Let us trust those who at least strive for honesty.

Takk for alt,

Al

          Think about my childhood brought to mind the building in which I was schooled for 8 years,

Saturday, December 12, 2020

To whom it may concern...

      Some readers have wondered how arrange for my blog posts to automatically show up on their computers. Caring Bridge would send them a notice when I posted but blogspot doesn't as far as I know. If you'd like my blog to appear automatically Google Alerts is a way to accomplish that. When you search for Google Alerts this is what you will find.

How to set up Google Alerts

  1. Go to google.com/alerts.
  2. Enter a search term to track.  ( www.negstad.blogspot.com)
  3. Select “Show options” (below the search box). ...
  4. Choose a source for your alerts: web; blogs; news; etc. ...   (perhaps your email)
  5. Choose a language and region.
  6. Choose how many results you want to see: “all results,” or “only the best results.”

    If you do this you'll easily access my wit and wisdom, or drivel, whichever. 😁 There probably are other ways to accomplish this, too. Google Alerts keeps me informed about Thailand.

     Know that I am content, at peace and grateful!

Takk for alt,

Al

Friday, December 11, 2020

Ya, then

      Having finished The Twilight of The Gods: War in The Western Pacific, 1944-1945, I have now read all of Ian W. Toll's, Pacific Trilogy. That's a cumulative 2240 pages, but who is counting?  Someone asked "How do you remember all you read?"  I said "I'm not taking a test!" 😉 What I remember, I remember and the rest I appreciated as I read.

    Toll does more than recite the story of the battles. His books set the context of the times in both America and Japan. He includes copious quotations from both American and Japanese participants in the events being described.  The prose and construction of the narrative makes for interest and compelling reading. While I knew the broad outlines of the events of the war and contemporary conditions these pages filled in the details. To hear war experiences described by participants from both sides of the conflict makes the situations come alive. With those reports in the words of those who were there it becomes much more than a dry report of events.

     This is certainly recommended reading, especially for those interested in history. The context that Toll adds to the situations described provide a valuable history lesson in themselves. The final volume was just published this year.

Takk for alt,

Al

                                                        Yes, I'm social distanced.



Thursday, December 10, 2020

More memories....

        As I finish reading Ian Toll's Pacific War Trilogy, memories of my military experiences in Asia, 1961-62, keep surfacing. For much of the first half of 1962 our battalion was aboard the USS Princeton, LPH 5, a helicopter carrier. We sailed around the South Pacific ready to make an amphibious landing should hostilities breakout.  In Subic Bay, The Philippines, we were ashore for some weeks. 

        When we left San Diego, CA., for Okinawa we travelled on an old liberty ship, the USS Pickaway. It's top speed was 13 knots so it took us 28 days, though we did stop a few days in Hawaii. When we returned from Asia to Long Beach, CA., aboard The Princeton, it only took two weeks, becasue the carrier was much faster. The Pickaway was crowded with 300 sailors and 1200 Marines, an entire Marine battalion.  The Pickaway was 300 feet long and The Princeton over 900.

      In addition to the helicopters aboard there were several Piper Cub Airplanes, little two seaters. They were used for flying reconnaissance. Landing them on the carrier was tricky. The ship would sail into the wind moving at about 30 knots. If there were a headwind the air over the flight deck would be approximately 50 mph. enough to keep the little Cubs aloft. When landing the pilot would hover just above the deck, at a signal he'd cut off his engine, sailors would grab the plane to keep it from flipping over backwards.

       It was  April 1962 when the Princeton delivered Marine Corps advisors and helicopters to Soc Trang in the Mekong Delta area of the Republic of South Viet Nam.  I remember watching the helicopters fly off, though we were too far at sea to see land. That was as close as I got to Viet Nam while in the Marines. Those were the first Marine helicopters in Viet Nam and they relieved an Army squadron.

Takk for alt,

Al

                                                                   The USS Pickaway.


The USS PRINCETON (LPH-5), an Essex-class aircraft carrier, was commissioned on 18 NOV 1945, too late for action in world War II. At first with the Atlantic Fleet and then with the Pacific, PRINCETON steam on post-war deployments and then was decommissioned on 20 JUN 1948 and placed in reserve. Twenty six month later, in August 1959, PRINCE was recommissioned and off Korea by December. She made three combat deployments to Korean waters. In the 1950s she was successively classified as CV-37 - CVA-37 - CVS-37 and then LPH-5, a helicopter landing platform ship in March 1959. She first appeared in Vietnam in 1962, and returned for combat deployments through the 1960s. As her twilight approached, PRINCETON recovered Apollo 10 in 1969. USS PRINCETON served her country as LPH-5 for for more than 10 years until decommissioned on 30 JAN 1970.

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Memories...

        Reading of the Battle of Okinawa, as I blogged yesterday, brought back many memories of the year spent in in Asia, 1961-62, while in the Marines. We were first housed at Camp Sukiran, pictured  yesterday. From there we went to cold weather training in Japan, for the months of November and December. We were housed in tents on the base of Mt. Fuji, which explains how I have hundreds of Mt. Fuji pictures. Mt. Fuji with little snow, with more snow, in morning light, mid-day sun, evening light....you get the idea. 😁 Gotemba was the nearest town.

     When we completed cold weather training and went back to Okinawa we settled at the newly opened Camp Hansen, in central Okinawa at the city of Kin.  The camp is named for Private Dale M. Hansen, who won the Medal Of Honor for bravery during the battle. After his heroics he was killed  by sniper fire. This is the base we called home even while we spent months at sea as the 'ready landing battalion.' One of my memories of this new camp was frequent blood poisoning. It seemed as if every scratch would lead to a case of blood poisoning.  

    We occupied the Camp in January 1962, but it wasn't completed until 1965. The picture below shows it after completion. It's much larger than it was when I was there.

Takk for alt,

Al


Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Time flies.

     That caption reminds me of the old pun "'My how fun the time is when having flies', said the frog." While my days don't vary very much, what I do today is very much what I will do tomorrow, the days do not drag. Boredom is not a problem...'so many good books' and now time to read many of them.

    In the third, and final, volume of Ian Toll's Pacific War Trilogy, I've just read the story of the Battle of Okinawa. When our Marine unit first arrived on Okinawa in 1961 our first base, Camp Sukiran, an Army facility, was where the American invasion force landed. Many of the geographical features mentioned in the story of the battle are places I visited. Buckner Bay, I learned, received it's name from the American general who died in the fight, the highest ranking American Officer killed in the Pacific. 

    From this perspective I have regrets that I didn't do more study and exploring while I was there. One of the sergeants in our company said that he fought there. Why didn't I pursue the conversation with him to learn all I could.  Probably truth in the old saying "youth is wasted on the young."

Takk for alt,

Al



                                                                   Camp Sukiran barracks.

Monday, December 7, 2020

Small Delights!

        Trygve and I continue our practice of  pheasant hunting one field a day. Without Joanne to cook the occasional bird we bring home I've been giving them to neighbors, who are happy to receive them. Josh, who lives next door, is no pleased to get some that last evening he brought me a complete meal; pheasant, scalped potatoes and green beans...enough for two meals!  It is a reciprocal delight.

     It's been weeks since I drove my car. It reclines peacefully in the shop while I use the truck. Today as we returned from our daily walk in the field  I started it to keep the battery charged. A semi-truck stopped  as I was getting back into my truck. Fuzzy Torgrude, who lives a few blocks away, got out and walked over to me. "My pick-up is parked over by the elevator and on the dash is an old picture of your garage. Help yourself to it" he said.  So I did...see below. The garage was built by Fred Felberg in 1907, as Sinai was being developed. My uncle, Henry Negstad, Fred's brother-in-law, wired the garage for electricity. None of the men pictured are recognizable to me. I will post it on the Facebook site 'You know you're from Sinai if...' and see if someone else may be able to provide identification.

   The garage was used as a automotive repair shop until the cost to heat it drove it out of business. That's when I bought it.  At one time there were two Caterpillar diesel engines in the back room that drove an electric generator to provide electricity to the town. I think it was a 32 volt system and it operated from 6:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. The concrete pads on which the engines were mounted are still in place.

Takk for alt,

Al

                       My garage is in the background. I think the roadster belongs to Fred Felberg.


Sunday, December 6, 2020

Pearls of wisdom!

'"How long have you been together?"'  "'Since I was nineteen."'  "Julia thought about the question for a long time finally asking: " '"How do you do it?"' "Anna-Lena replied without thinking at all:" "'You love each other until you can't live without each other. And even if you stop loving each other for a little while, you cant...you can't live without each other.'"   P.  175

       This is one of the little pearls of wisdom in his delightful, thoughtful, funny, novel Anxious People, by Fredrik Backman. Like his previous novel, A Man Called Ove, People is peopled with delightful characters so true to life I found myself thinking "I know him/her!"  Perhaps this is particularly true if one has Scandinavian heritage. 

       Long marriages are filled with ups and downs. To Joanne I was fond of saying "40 years of married bliss, not bad out of 45." 😀  The good days far outnumbered the bad, but, there were days which were anything but blissful. Even some of those less blissful days provide meaningful memories now. Why? Because they were markers of engagement indicating a deep level of connection.

     People is a great book for an anxious time, like now in a pandemic.

Takk for alt,

Al

Saturday, December 5, 2020

No Comment.

THE WHITE HOUSE

WASHINGTON

Jan 20,1993

Dear Bill,

     When I walked in this office just now I felt the same wonder and respect that I felt four years ago. I know that you will feel that, too.  

     I wish you great happiness here. I never felt the loneliness some Presidents have described.

     There will be very tough times, made even more difficult by criticism you may think is not fair. I'm not a very good one to give advice; but just don't let the criticism discourage you or push you off course.

     You will be our President when you read this note. I wish you well. I wish your family well.

      Your success now is our country's success. I am rooting for you.

                      Good Luck-

                                           George

     This is the letter that George H.W. Bush left in the office for Bill Clinton, who had just defeated him for the presidency. (Reprinted from the December 2, 2020, Christian Century, P. 3.

Takk for alt,

Al


                                                               Fields of grass.

Friday, December 4, 2020

What is strength?

Hollow again

(Quercus agrifolia)

Look at this trunk, burnt hollow,

keyholed from side to side.

Yet, in spite of a few dead limbs,

a crown of leaves pushes against

the patient sky. So we might 

flourish, in spite of ourselves,

evacuated of fortitude. Paul

said it: in weakness, strength;

in death life. I don't know how.

But most days, a long resilience

of xylem and phloem.

Of chlorophyll. Ex nihilo.    Paul Willis, in 12/2/2020 Christian Century p. 27.

    "Evacuated of fortitude"  reminds me of the old saying "much of life is just showing up." Perhaps that the word for this time in the pandemic. "evacuated of fortitude" we persevere by showing up..."don't just do something, wait there."

     Perhaps of all people in this weird time I am most blessed; safe, comfortable, eyes for sustained reading, adequate financial resources, good health, family, friends, a faithful companion dog.... Yes, I'm grateful!

Takk for alt,

Al

PS Noticing the comment on yesterday's blog post I see I'm not the only one that notices the use of "lay" and "lie". 😁

Thursday, December 3, 2020

Mistakes are made!

      Perhaps arising out of my deep personal insecurities I find delight in discovering small errors in the books I'm reading  An example in the book about the murders as Gitchie Manitou a murder weapon, a shotgun, was described as a "Wesson Field." There is no such shotgun. There are Smith & Wessons, but I don't know if they make shotguns. The murder weapon was almost certainly a "Western Field." Apparently neither the authors nor the editor were hunters. 

    This all came to mind last night as I was reading the third of Ian Toll's Pacific War Trilogy.  Toll was giving background information on a navy commander. Toll wrote that this man grew up in Minot, South Dakota!  Now, everyone knows that Minot, the Magic City, is, and always has been, in North Dakota. 😛Though, I am often asked by acquaintances in Minnesota if I go to South or North Dakota. Then they'll say "I was in South Dakota once, Fargo." Which everyone also knows is in North Dakota.

    But, this didn't start out about geography but about me. Yes, it's all about me and why finding textual errors gives me such delight.  Likely it's just a pathetic attempt to feel superior due to a weak ego. But, that Pacific War Trilogy is such an important book someone should have caught the error.........

    That's my story and I'm sticking with it and don't even get me started on the common misuse of the words 'lay' and 'lie'. If you need any help on this matter just ask!

Takk for alt,

Al


Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Winter Darkness!

       Relatives in Norway light candles when the long winter dark comes. Perhaps that's where Joanne got her love of candles. In one of the closets in the condo there are shelves filled with candles that she left behind. In the condo I, too, would light candles. There aren't many candles here in The Little House so I make do with electric lights...many LEDs which I light with less guilt. Tonight there is a low overcast sky so dark came particularly early.  In three weeks as "the days begin to lengthen the cold begins to strengthen." Seasonal Affective Disorder is not a problem for me but I do look forward to more daylight. 

     Climate change has given a warm autumn but I'm ready to brave the cold as much as it is not be preferred state. Our early snow is almost all gone except for some drifts that the wind piled. With quiet nights many of the ponds are now frozen. In the last two day's hunting treks I've seen more deer than pheasants.  Huge flocks of snow geese are looking for kernels in harvested corn fields. They rest at night in the safety of Lake Sinai which has yet to freeze. A couple of mourning doves have refused to migrate and yesterday the lighted on the ice of my frozen pond. Muskrats have built their winter houses and can often been seen sitting on the ice. Winter is edging slowly in making me think of Frost's poem.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.   
His house is in the village though;   
He will not see me stopping here   
To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

My little horse must think it queer   
To stop without a farmhouse near   
Between the woods and frozen lake   
The darkest evening of the year.   

He gives his harness bells a shake   
To ask if there is some mistake.   
The only other sound’s the sweep   
Of easy wind and downy flake.   

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,   
But I have promises to keep,   
And miles to go before I sleep,  
And miles to go before I sleep.

Takk  for alt,
Al

Tuesday, December 1, 2020

Triggers!

     Denizens of  the land of grief know that unexpected triggers can unleash a flood of grief. The scent of Jurgen's Hand Lotion always make me think of my mother. As she planned her funeral service, Joanne also planned our wedding service. In 1964 it wasn't common for wedding services to be planned as a worship service but that's how Joanne arranged it. She included a litany and we were blessed by the presence of the Augustan College (now University) choir who sang "Now Thank We All Our God."  Roger Hatlestad played Frist Lutheran's great pipe organ, or, was Merle Pflueger the organist? Joanne's not here to ask. 😞 "Love Divine All Loves Excelling" was the processional hymn...and there's the trigger.

   Sunday mornings I like to play CDs of traditional Lutheran hymns sung by college choirs. Sunday the CD I played included "Love Divine All Love's Excelling." Yup! Grief time! Now, having lived in the land of grief for over two and a half years, there are fewer triggers but they still pop up. Then the presence of absence is real again. 

Takk for alt,

Al

Monday, November 30, 2020

Content

      Pre-COVID at this time of year I would be teaching at Noble Academy, which brought me great satisfaction. With that commitment my time at The Little House was more limited. Those years and hours with the students brought me much joy and I miss them. Realistically my time there was winding down because of my hearing loss. The Hmong students are very soft spoken and even with my good hearing aids I struggled to understand them. Seriously facing this handicap it was clear that I would soon have to give it up. 

     Life in The Little House has settled into a comfortable routine. Trygve and I walk one field each day on the pretext of pheasant hunting.  Occasionally we get one but that matters little. The joy is in the walk and made more pleasurable by seeing pheasants, which we have with one exception. That exception was when we were on public land.  Hunting hours begin at ten a.m. so we usually start about then. We're back in the house about noon. The afternoon and evening are for reading and telephone chats. The hearing aids that the V.A. provided sync with my phone so the sound transmits directly to my aids. Consequently, phone conversations are easy for me to hear...as are podcasts, etc., accessed by phone. It is very difficult for me to understand persons speaking when they are masked because I can't read their lips.

    Solitude is not oppressive for me and my need for human contact is met by phone, email and snail mail. This current lifestyle finds me very content and profoundly grateful.

Takk for alt,

Al


                                         Five Hmong and one African student(s).

Sunday, November 29, 2020

Pandora's Box...which was actually a jar in mythology.

       So, Pandora opens the jar and evil is released into the world but left behind in the jar is hope. All the hate that's been released politically in the united United States, like Pandora's evil, takes on a life of its own. Hatred begets violence which spawns more violence and hatred. The floor of my machine shop is concrete. My tractors are all antique so when they are parked in the shop they drip oil on the floor. From time to time I also spill oil. Using some crushed absorbent from a bag I scatter the adsorbent material on the spilled oil and soak it up. Then I am able to sweep up the oil soaked absorbent and dispose of it. Though the spill is gone the stain remains. For me this serves as a metaphor for solving the problem of hatred and violence. It must be absorbed, as is spilled oil, however that does not mean that no effects remain. But returning violence with violence or hatred with hatred only intensifies the evil.

     That is the challenge for us as we move into the future. How can we be the absorbers of  hatred and violence?  "You have heard it said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." But I say do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek turn the other also... Mt. 5:33-34 NRSV

Takk for alt,

Al

"Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon." Susan Ertz

Saturday, November 28, 2020

Death Abounds!

   As we aged I once remarked to Joanne "We know more people who are dead than are living." That's a feature of long life. American COVID deaths exceed two hundred and sixty five thousand, more than the 2010 population of Buffalo, NY. Almost certainly that's a significant undercount. Why are we so blase' about this catastrophe? Compare the reaction to COVID  deaths with the reaction to the deaths at the attack on the World Trade Center. Is it becasue we lack a Walter Cronkite to give us the news? News has become fractured, distorted, propagandized so people don't know what to believe.

    Close to my home in The Little House three persons of my childhood recently died. Yesterday I blogged about Duane Engelsgaard. On the same day he died his older sister, Mildred, also died. About the same time Curtis Halvorson died. Curtis' family were also pioneers here and, like the Engelsgaards, were a large presence in my formative years. I even rented an apartment in Sioux Falls, from Victor and Emma Halvorson, Curtis' parents, my first year out of the Marines and back at Augustana College.

    The COVID deaths, as well as the death of the three Sinai expats, brought to mind John Donne's poem.

Takk for alt,

Al

For Whom the Bell Tolls
by
John Donne



 

No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.


 

Friday, November 27, 2020

Unique

      Many years ago the Engelsgaard's lived next to the Negstads.  Erik Englesgaard and my Dad, Albert, were good friends as were Grandma Negstad and Grandma Englesgaard. In fact when Grandma Negstad had diphtheria Grandma Englesgaard cared for her. In 1939 Erik died leaving his wife, Julia, to care for six children and her mother-in-law. Three of those children were in Sinai High School with me. Those children were loved and well cared for even as they lacked for financial resources.

     Recently Duane, the second to the youngest, died at his home in California. Our paths parted after high school and I only saw him a few times since he graduated in 1955. His obituary revealed a long and fruitful life professionally, personally and as an active volunteer. Likely, Duane is the only graduate of Sinai High to get his bachelor's degree at The University of Guam, with honors no less! For five years he worked on Guam for AT&T.  My cousin's husband, Jasper Dahl, was a Navy barber on Guam during WW II and he, too, was a graduate of Sinai High.

     Duane's death reminds me of John Donne's For Whom The Bell Tolls and Robert Frost, see below. Rest in peace Duane!  Duane Englesgaard February 6, 1937 to November 14, 2020.

The Road Not Taken 

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Takk for alt,

Al