Good Gift!

    MJV, who is one of the readiest persons I know, sent me a great book (thanks MJV!) and kindly included her notes. In her notes she writes "Teresa was enjoying this book, so she ordered it for me. What a gem. Just what I needed after recent 'Dark Literature' reads. This is a book that had its genesis in grief, but it's not grief obsessed like some current fiction:..."  I, too was ready for such a book. Have either of you guessed the book yet?

   All The Beauty In The World: The Metropolitan Museum Of Art And Me, Patrick Bringley, is the book. After the death of his 26 year old brother, Bringley, steps out of the rat race of work at The New Yorker. He does this by taking a job as a guard at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he works for ten years. This work gives him the space he needs to grieve as he contemplates the Museum's treasured art. When he leaves this work it's because family life, he and his wife have two young children, and the wider world beckons. But the book provides a loving look at the inner workings of the institution and its collections plus profound reflections on the art. Modern technology came to my aid. As he described various items of art, I Googled them to see that which he was describing. 

   Bringley is transparent about his personal life and occasionally drops pearls of wisdom about grief.  Here are a couple of examples. "Grief is among other things a loss of rhythm. You lose someone, it puts a hole in your life, and for a time you huddle down in that hole. In coming to the Met, I saw an opportunity to conflate my hole with a grand cathedral, to linger in a place that seemed untouched by the rhythms of the everyday."  P. 102  Or, "Strangely I think I am grieving for the end of my acute grief. The loss that made a hole at the center of my life is less on my mind than the sundry concerns that have filled the hole in. And I suppose that is right and natural, but its hard to accept." P. 142  Both of these observations ring true of my experience but I had not thought of grief like that. 

   Yes, I recommend it!

Takk for alt,

Al   

   

Should call grandpa too!

 

Happy National Pancake Day!

     In honor of National Pancake Day the OFH offered a complimentary pancake breakfast is the dining room, Served buffet style, as Ed guessed, it was an 'all you can eat' event because few inmates came. After getting my cakes I sat down at table for six next to the lone woman seated. The table soon filled with four more, three of whom were previously unknown to me. One of the women had only been here two days.

    The woman who was first at the table had a fascinating story about lived for seventeen years in a remote area of Liberia. Her husband was a medical doctor at a hospital there. They were there at the time of the revolution and escaped with their lives but nothing else.

    There are many interesting persons here. Next door to my apartment is a retired philosophy professor from St. Thomas University. A regular participant in the veteran's group was a NASA scientist. Next door to me, on the other side, are Greg and Sally. He was a drama teacher in the University of Wisconsin System and she was a church secretary in an ELCA congregation.

Takk for alt,

Al

For many years I volunteered at Noble Academy, a Hmong charter school. Often I accompanied school trips and this photo was taken at Valley Fair. The students were always well behaved and I got to ride the roller coasters.

"See you next year."

      Every year the the VA Medical System tells me it is time to visit a primary care physician. Today was the day. The medical insurance through my retirement plan is very good. Consequently I have a non-VA primary care doctor too. She is excellent. So why go to the VA?

    It's a backup if I need it. The VA provides me with glasses and hearing aids so I'm in the system. It's true that I am one of the fortunates that have such medical coverage. I am grateful!

   Last year I commented to the physician that every year I see a different doctor. "Oh," she said "You'll see me next year, I'm not going anywhere." She's gone so I saw a different physician.😀 He said "you must have good genes." I replied, "Yes, I selected my parents carefully."  His final comment was "See you next year."  

Takk for alt,

Al

       Today's random photo is off the Sibelius memorial in Helsinki, Finland.

A Poet's Comment

     Today, at coffee with poet and author, I recommended a novel that also contained poetry. When I said "I didn't understand the poetry" the poet replied "you're not supposed to." He went on to explain that if you understand the poetry you're then in a position to critique it. If you don't understand then you have no basis for criticism. That's an interesting concept that goes far to explain much of my experience with poetry.

   The coffee shop has a daily trivial question that stumped me. "What is a baby rabbit called? The answer is not 'bunny' as I guessed. 😀 The correct answer is 'kit'. The poet said 'leveret' but that's a baby hare. Two learnings on the same day. But there was a grammatical error in the internet article about baby hares/ It said..."they are left alone in the day, laying in place." No they are lying in place.

Takk for alt,

Al

Missing Joanne

      Among the Lutheran schools of higher education, particularly those with Scandinavian roots, choral music is very important. St. Olaf College is perhaps the pinnacle but Luther College and Concordia, Moorhead, MN are not far behind. Joanne was steeped in that tradition which was enhanced by her student days at Concordia. The late F. Melius Christensen, 1871-1955, established the genre` as choral conductor at St. Olaf. Joanne took choral conducting from his son  the late Paul J. Christiansen at Concordia where he was choral conductor. 

    After I retired and Joanne and I were looking for a new church home we visited Grace University Lutheran. The choir sang that day under the direction of Steve Self, who was also organist and taught organ at Bethel University. Experiencing the music that day Joanne said "We're joining Grace" and we did.

   Steve Self moved to a different church and Chad Winterfieldt, cantor at Gustavus College who holds a PHD in organ became Grace' new organist and choir director. After 34 years as choral conductor at Concordia Rene' Clausen retired and joined Grace University Lutheran. Today he conducted Grace' choir in an F. Melius Christiansen' arranged number. Joanne who, faithfully and joyfully, sang in that choir would have been thrilled to sing with Clausen. 

  Just another one of the ways she's missed.

Takk for alt,

Al

"René Clausen (born 1953) is an American composer, conductor emeritus of The Concordia Choir, and professor of music at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. His works are widely performed by high school and church choirs while his more technically demanding pieces have been performed and recorded by college and professional choirs. Among his many accolades, his recent recording, "Life & Breath: Choral Works by René Clausen," received three Grammy Awards at the 55th Grammy Awards in 2013.^[1][2]

Clausen is a frequent guest conductor, guest composer and lecturer, both nationally and internationally. He has conducted All-State choirs in more than 15 states. Prior to his appointment as conductor of The Concordia Choir, Clausen was director of choral activities at West Texas State University, Canyon, Texas, and assistant professor of choral music at Wichita State University. He also served as senior editor of Mark Foster Music Company and as interim conductor of the National Lutheran Choir of Minneapolis.

Dr. René Clausen announced that he will retire following the 2019-20 academic year, concluding his service as professor of music and conductor of The Concordia Choir.^{[3] " Wikipedia} 

Ya then

 

Good choice!

     Reading Norwegian author Jon Fosse's books re-ignited an interest in the Norwegian writer, the late Knut Hamsun's, (died in 1952), writings. After sharing Pan with M and, after a good discussion of it with her, next on the list was Growth Of The Soil, for which Hamsun won the Nobel in 1920. It was a good choice.

    Bashevis Singer, the Yiddish writer called Hamsun "...the father of the modern school of literature in his every aspect--his subjective-ness, his fragmentariness, his use of flashbacks, his lyricism....The whole modern school of  fiction in the twentieth century stems from Hamsun."  Sadly Hamsun's mistaken embrace of National Socialism during WWII sullied his reputation. Yet. he was a pioneering writer.

   Growth of the Soil is the story of Isak, a homesteader in northern Norway who successfully fashions a large farm out of a clearing in the forest. The book is a paean to nature over culture, a common theme in Hamsun's writings. Geissler, the former sheriff who plays a large, enigmatic role in the story, is speaking to Sivert, the son who will succeed Isak. "Let's take you people at Sellanra: {Isak's farm} you look every day at the blue mountains, they're not invented things, they're old mountains, rooted deep in the past; but they are your companions. There you are, living together with heaven and earth, at one with them, at one with the wide horizon and the rootedness. You have no need of a sword in your hand, you walk through life barehanded and bareheaded in the midst of a great kindness. Look there is nature, it belongs to you and yours! Man and nature do not bombard each other, they are agreed; they do not compete or run a race against something, they go together. You Sellanra folks live and have your being in the midst of all this." P. 318 

    This is the essence of Hamsun's view of nature against which culture cannot repeat. The well told story of Growth Of The Soil is the interplay between the two. One of Isak's sons is of nature and the other of culture, one takes up the farm the other emigrates to America. 

    After 30+ years rereading this masterpiece was a delight.

Takk for alt,

Al

Older people...

     When I moved to the OFH two years ago I was the average age of inmates. Today who knows! Tonight our Friday night dinner group celebrated Mary's 88th birthday with a cake baked by my granddaughter, Evy. A good time was had by all. Check this picture below.

 Dick, to my right is 99, Mary the 88 year old birthday celebrant is next, then Michele the youngest at 80, Virginia in the striped blouse is 93 and Mona Mae in pink is 100. It's a fun group but we only finished three of the wine bottles. 

Takk for alt,

Al

We were the last to leave the dining room.

One of those days...

      This is one of those days without an original thought. A grain elevator employee in South Dakota, with whom I was in a phone conversation reported that farmers were buying small grain seed. They thought they might be planting oats and wheat in mid-March which is very early this far north. There isn't a lot of those crops in the area. Some use wheat as a rotation with corn and soybeans. Farmers with livestock like oats straw for animal bedding.

    Likely there will be something more brilliant about which to write tomorrow!

Takk for alt,

Al

 I'm beginning to think about a return to the prairie.

Ya then

 

"It's fixed"

      Joanne's TV came along to the OFH in the move from the downtown condo. Cable TV is part of the rental package for the apartment. Watching basketball is often a backdrop to reading a book. The power switch on the remote was working sporadically. After breakfast this morning I left a service request at the maintenance dept. of the OFH.

    There are two full time maintenance persons. Bill is the lead and middle-aged. Chis, his assistant is twenty-something. Guessing that Chris would get this job proved correct when he came after lunch. With remote in hand he quickly flipped through a number of screens. This took about five minutes, then he handed me the remote and said "It's fixed."  

   It reminded me of the experience of a farmer near Sinai. His large, four wheel drive, tractor wasn't working. It's impossible to tow these behemoths into a shop for repair becasue they are so large. He called for repair and the technician came from Omaha,  NE, 240 miles away. The repairman parked his van next to the tractor. He worked in the back of the van for two hours and then emerged. He said "It's fixed."

Takk for alt,

Al

Sheds

           When you think of sheds what comes to mind? Perhaps an outbuilding on a farmstead. The caller, identified as from 605 the South Dakota area code, had a request. "When the snow's gone may I do shed hunting on your land?"  Does he want to find a building? If so he's out of luck becasue all those sheds are gone. Nope, he was seeking permission to search for antlers the deer have shed. 

       That's one entrance to my property that I'm happy to grant. A few years ago a shed antler pierced the large, rear tire on my tractor. Perhaps this hunter will pick up a shed that otherwise would flatten a tire. Why does he want them? Sheds are a collectors item. There are several in my shop that I've found in the field. 

Takk for alt,

Al

           The Little House picture in a year where there was snow.

Tutorial!

 "Pan was the Greek god of shepherds, hunters, and the wilds of nature. He was said to be the son of Hermes. His mother was a nature spirit, or nymph, whose exact name was a subject of disagreement. Pan was born with the legs of a goat and horns on his head, symbolizing his wild nature." Internet

    Knut Hamsun's Pan, like many novels can be read as an interesting story, which it is. 30+ years ago that's how I read it in spite of a picture of Pan, the Greek god, on the book's cover. (See below) Today M gave me a tutorial on the book in the context of the mythology of the Greek god, Pan. The book begins with a rhapsodic description of nature in which the protagonist finds himself. All is well until he leaves the forest for human culture. There he becomes an amoral bumbling idiot. Pan is the only Greek god who dies presaging the fate of Glahn, the main character. Pan, like Glahn, was a womanizer. 

    Perhaps I should read the book again??? But????

    M also provided helpful analysis on Jon Fosse's The Splendor.  This little 87 page book I'll probably buy because I read M's copy. Any book in which a mysterious voice in reply to the query "who are you" says "I am who I am" has significant depth.  Characters are barefoot though it's cold out because, maybe, they are on holy ground. 

   What a blessing to be surrounded by deep thinkers!

Takk for alt,

Al

                                        

We may wonder...

 

Reading

    Last week I read so much I've taken a little break. Two funerals yesterday didn't leave much time either. The next book had been chosen and there will be time for reading in the days ahead. The life of leisure in the OFH is conducive to reading time. A discussion of Hamsun's Pan, with M is scheduled tomorrow. It's the first Hamsun she'd read so the discussion will be interesting.

Takk for alt,

Al

Today's random photo is Joanne with Rollie and Sherry Martinson in Helsinki. Note the cast on Joanne's arm.

Two funerals

    This morning was the funeral, at Central Lutheran, Minneapolis, for Ione Evangeline  Agrimson Hanson, March 28, 1946-January 11, 2024. She was the wife of Mark, mother of six, and my sister-in-law. Rest in peace good and faithful servant.

   This afternoon was  the funeral, at Christ Church Lutheran, for Pastor Paul Flogstad Rogers, November 13, 1942-February 1, 2024. He was the husband of Camille and father of three, and my college classmate. Rest in peace good and faithful servant.

Takk for alt,

Al

True

 

Neighbor

     It's nice to think of him as a neighbor. Iowa City is not all that far away, 240 miles. It's not as if he were in China, Paris or Oslo. The 'him' in this blog is author Kaveh Akbar. the 35 year old Iranian American author of Martyr!  Yes, this novel,  it's good or really 'excellent.' 

   Novels need  a plot twist and the twist in this book is WOW!  Certainly didn't see that coming but it solidifies the entire story. The writing is filled with exceptional insights that seem too profound for such a youth...there I show my age. Here's an example of such profundity.

   "WHAT DISTINGUISHES GRACE FROM EVERYTHING ELSE? GRACE IS unearned. If you moved through the world in such a way as to feel you've earned cosmic compensation, then what you've earned is something more like justice, like propriety. Not grace. Justice is just. There's an inescapable transactional quality: perform x good, receive y reward. Grace doesn't work that way. It begins with the reward. Goodness never enters the equation."  P 279

   Another example: "Everyone in America seemed to be afraid and hurting and angry, starving for a fight they could win. And more than that even, they seemed certain that their natural state was to be happy, contented, and rich. The genesis of everyone's pain had to be external, such was their certainty."  P 209  Think white supremacy and politics today.

    The shooting down of an Iranian civilian airplane by the USS Vincennes on July 3,1988 plays a major role in the book. American governmental response in effect "accidents happen." No apology and no compensation. Akbar gives a glimpse of Iranian perception.   

   This is a good one!

Takk for alt.

Al

                             USS Vincennes

  

Winter Wonderland

    Awakened to seven inches of snow. No need to pick up a shovel. It was like a March snowstorm without the wind. The sun is now high enough in the sky to melt it quickly. While I was resident on the childhood farm snow removal was down with shovels. It helped that there were four of us. The snowfall was pretty viewed from the fourth floor.

Takk for alt,

Al

                          An old picture of The  Little House.

Reading a book today...

       It began with a New York Times article that Lars shared about Norwegian author Jon Fosse. Passing this article to MKV she gave me Fosse's book Septology for Christmas. Showing the book to M, who lives here in the building, she began reading him. Fosse is in the subjective, introspective tradition of Norwegian Author, the late Knut Hamsun. Hamsun was a pioneer in the subjective stream of consciousness novel. Hamsun received the Noble Prize for Growth of the Soil in 1920 as Fosse got the Noble in 2023 for Septology.

   Though she is very widely read M was not familiar with Hamsun. To bring her up to speed I lent her Hamsun's Pan, published in1894. She was much taken with the book and scheduled a lunch with me to discuss it. Yikes! It's been 33 years since I read it. To correct that fault I reread it today...it's only 188 pages, and nothing like the length of Septology.

  Critical analysis of books is not my forte, I go for "I liked" or "I didn't like it. MJV (I have two reading friends, unrelated and one is MJV and the other MKV.) on the other hand does sophisticated descriptions of books that are dissertation level, complete with attached reviews. So, about all I remembered from reading Pan 33 years ago was that I liked it. I still do!

Takk for alt,

Al 

Mardi Gras

     The Valentine's Party was a great Mardi Gras event with tomorrow Ash Wednesday. When was Ash Wednesday last on Valentine's? 2018 and it will happen again in 2029. The food was superb the tables beautifully decorated and the service great. When four forks great the guest it's clear something special is coming and it did not disappoint. The food service director is both a great chef and also knows how to present a banquet...he's also a great guy.

    After the meal there was a live concert in the multi-purpose room. That was available to all without reservations. Mostly I stayed awake! 

Takk for alt,

Al

PS Joanne served as the first Director of Student Activities at Augustana College, now University. Augustana at that time had a modest Christmas Vesper Service. It was Joanne's idea that a meal should follow the vespers. Augustan's food service director was reluctant but finally agreed. He said "Okay, I'll take care of the food."  He served hot dogs!😞

Valentine Party

      Tomorrow is the OFH Valentine's Party. Registration is limited to 60, though the dining room will hold more. Persons living here in assisted living are on meal plan that provides dinner in the dining room each day. That's why party attendance is limited to 60.

     Thinking that going to a Valentine's Party alone would be no fun I didn't register at first. Then my Friday dinner group told me to sign up. By that time I was far down the waiting list. Yesterday I was informed that there had been sufficient cancelations so I may attend. 

    Jim, the food service's director is a fine chef.  Italian Stuffed Flank Steak is the entrée with appetizer, salad and Tiramisu for desert. Seating will be with five Friday night dinner friends. 

   It's a hard life here but someone needs to do it! 😀  Note the time for old folks!

Takk for alt,

Al

Ya ya

 Headline in Washington Post

Flying is a nightmare. But it could be fixed.

Ya then

 

Is football moral?

     Choosing to blog on this subject on this day is deliberate. The conviction that football is immoral could be argued from many perspectives such as the massive allocation of resources. To make the case let's focus on one aspect. The gist of my argument is that the hope of fame and fortune seduces young men to risk limb and even life in its pursuit. A good friend argues that "they choose to do it." That seems specious to me as the hope of glory and fortune coupled with dishonest manipulation does not give a clear picture of the true cost.

    A few may reap fabulous financial rewards while the vast majority do not while sustaining life long injuries. There was a recent article in the Washington Post about the number of Heisman Trophy winners dying with CTE, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Had they known their fate would they have still played?  There's no way to know. During the professional football season the Minneapolis Tribune dedicates a full column to Injury Report.

   The lure of fame and fortune is very seductive. Impressionable young men dream of making it big. A few do, but they too pay a price with their bodies and too often their minds. It's heartening that at the elementary school and high school level football is waning. It can't happen too soon.

Takk for alt,

Al

An Alternative

     A few blogs back it was suggested that readers take up Jon Fosse's Septology. Apparently its length has intimidated some. MKV is reading it while wondering if she's smart enough for the task. She is. There's an alternative for someone who wants to read Fosse but not tackle Septology.

  That alternative is novella, 74 pages long, called The Shining. Reading it I wondered if I was smart enough to read it. This is some of what Betsy Read says about it in the Guardian. 

"A Shining can be read in many ways: as a realistic monologue; as a fable; as a Christian-inflected allegory; as a nightmare painstakingly recounted the next morning, the horror of the experience still pulsing under the words, though somewhat mitigated by the small daily miracle of daylight. I think the great splendour of Fosse’s fiction is that it so deeply rejects any singular interpretation; as one reads, the story does not sound a clear singular note, but rather becomes a chord with all the many possible interpretations ringing out at once. This refusal to succumb to the solitary, the stark, the simple, the binary – to insist that complicated things like death and God retain their immense mysteries and contradictions – seems, in this increasingly partisan world of ours, a quietly powerful moral stance."

   So there you have it, an opportunity to read Fosse in about an hour. Reflecting on it will continue.

Takk for alt,

Al

Got busy...

    Got busy and neglected to blog...more tomorrow.

Takk for alt,

Al

Finally!

     It was copyrighted in 1927 and just now I read it? It was about time. Sue gave it to me on the October trip in Greece. What is "it" you ask? Willa Cather's Death Comes For the Archbishop. It is good! Some say her best book.

  It's set in New Mexico, mostly with a little in Arizona and Colorado. Set just after the Mexican-American War 1846-48. Just after the United States has stolen Texas and Colorado and Arizona from Mexico. This historical novel follows two French missionaries Jean-Baptiste Lamy, 1814-1888, who becomes the Archbishop and his Vicar, Joseph Projectus Machebeuf. It is largely sympathetic to their effort to restore the church founded by the Spanish.

   Much of the delight of reading it comes from Cather's lyric descriptions of this arid land. Think Catherine O'Keefe with words instead of paint. While taking a novelist's liberties with the story it is largely historical. It recounts the tragic 'trail of tears' of the Navajos and affirms Native American's values about the land.

   I'm so glad I read it.  Likely you've both read it so this will be a review.

Takk for alt,

Al

Memory

      Memory is such a funny, random experience. Sitting in my recliner in the OFH I can see the bus stop across the street. It's a busy stop with people taking and alighting from the bus regularly. The afternoon/evening chef at the OFH commutes by bus. He times his departure from the kitchen in time to catch a particular bus. The stop is on a busy street; West 7th Street which is also MN 5. 

   Looking at the bus stop brought back memories of riding the bus in California. For a year and half I was stationed at Camp Pendleton in southern California. My cousin, Marjorie (Negstad) Dahl lived with her family, Jasper, Carol and Betty, in Lakewood, CA., which is between Long Beach and Los Angles. Marjorie's father and my uncle, Sam Negstad, lived with his wife Josie, in nearby Bellflower. Many weekends while stationed at Camp Pendleton I spent with these relatives.

   To get from the base to their home I travelled by bus, actually three buses. The first bus took me from my barracks, which were inland several miles, to Oceanside. At Oceanside I rode a bus up Coast Highway 101 to Long Beach. Then I transferred to a city bus to get to my relatives.

   Here's the funny part about memory. I have clear memories of the bus ride. What I can't remember is how I initially figured out the route. Nothing in my boyhood on the farm prepared me for navigating bus schedules. 

   Those family connections were a treasured part of that time in the Marines. The Marine Corp also allowed me to visit another cousin who was missionary in Japan. That's a story for another time.

Takk for alt,

Al

   This is what Camp Pendleton looked like from our barracks.

Chauvinist

      A couple in the OFH sponsored, what Joanne would call a "friend raiser", for Lutheran Social Service (LSS) of Minnesota today. It was held in the club room. Sitting at a table I naively said "Now we'll find out who is Lutherans."  Marilyn, seated on my right replied "I'm Jewish." Diana and Gayle on my left both said "I'm Catholic."  How chauvinist of me! It reminded me of a story from Joanne's days as president of LSS of South Dakota/

   LSSSD annually held a banquet during the legislative session for Lutheran legislators. Included in this banquet was Stan Adelstein, who is Jewish. His inclusion was because he was serving on the LSS Board of Directors. At each place setting at the banquet was placed a gift box. As the guests opened their gifts they discovered Black Hill's Gold Crosses. Stan opened his box with trepidation fearing finding a cross. When he opened the box he discovered a Black Hill's Gold Star Of David!

   Stan has never forgotten that gift. Later, while I was Pastor at St. James Lutheran, Crystal, MN., he spoke at a Sunday service. Included in his remarks was the significance of that gift.

Takk for alt,

Al

Bird dog!

      This morning Kaia and I were returning from out daily walk to the park at about 7:00. Kaia was walking calmly by my side on the leash in spite of the springer that had emerged from the OFH in front of us and was rudely barking. Perhaps about fifteen feet from the OFH door Kaia plunged toward the foundation plantings. What did she see or smell? A bit of investigation revealed a northern bob white quail (see picture below).

     During my Iowa years while hunting pheasants we'd occasionally flush coveys of quail. But, in the heart of St. Paul, Minnesota, and all alone, it seemed seriously out of place. Puzzled I told the story of seeing it at the OFH Veteran's coffee this morning. Nic explained that sometime ago, perhaps a year, a neighbor had released number of the birds in the neighborhood. While walking Nic had heard the quail calling to each other. At least one has survived.

   The OFH lies below a bluff the crest of which holds woods that run for a significant distance, perhaps a mile. A few blocks down from the OFH is the Mississippi River the banks of which are heavily forested. With such cover deer coyotes, fox and turkeys are commonly seen.

Takk for alt,

Al

Bob White

Progress?

     This morning one of the readers of this blog, Nancy, told me she's ordered Jon Fosse's Septology. The other reader said she's not ready to read it. That's progress in my missionary endeavor to increase readership...50% of my readers!😀 

    In the shopping heart of the Highland Park neighborhood of St Paul, where the OFH is located, is a Half Price Bookstore. Yesterday's research showed they had no copies of either Hamsun or Fosse. There was one copy of Roy Jacobsen's The Unseen, the first of four books in his 'Ingrid series'. 

   In two relocations, first from the Golden Valley House to downtown and then from there to the OFH, much stuff was shed. Frequently I've remarked that I don't miss any of it. Now a caveat. Most of Knut Hamsun's books were on my shelf. Since learning the Fosse received the Noble Prize re-reading Hamsun's The Growth Of The Soil, for which he received the Nobel, appeals. If I had it I'd add it to the stack of books that await reading. I see that Goodreads has it on Kindle for $2.99. With my recent end to a subscription to Parnassus First Edition Book Club I think I will afford it.

Takk for alt,

Al

A Learning

     Reading history books, and also biographies, is always a reminder of how little I know. On a vacation past in the Finger Lakes Region of N.Y.,  Lisa visited the Oneida Community. She brought back a book for me. That book is both biography and history. Reading it revealed how little I knew about this community, though from my childhood, I was familiar with Oneida animal traps. Oneida tableware was also in my consciousness.

    Pierrepont B. Noyes, 1870-1959,  was born and grew up in the community. His book My Father's House: An Oneida Boyhood tells that story. Pierrepont, known as Pip, was a son of the founder (John Humphrey Noyes 1811-1886) of the utopian community, though his mother was not the founder's wife. In the community there was no marriage as that was seen as too exclusive. Attempts were made to practice eugenic selection in procreation.

   Pip was 10 when the commune gave way to a joint-stock corporation. This perfectionist Christian community seemingly worked well for the first generation of joiners. With the second generation the commune collapsed both from internal dissention and outside pressures. Moving to a joint-stock corporation was well thought out and was relatively smooth.  

   As an adult Pip had an illustrious career even serving as the "coal czar' of occupied Germany after WWI.  His memories of life in the commune are largely positive giving a mostly favorable account. The transition from the protected community to the 'outside' was not easy but the leaders wisely assisted in the change. 

   It's a bit of interesting history that I'm glad I read.

Takk for alt,

Al

  

The Oneida Mansion House, in which the community of 300 persons lived.  It's now a National Historic Landmark and history museum. 

I quit!

     Yes, I quit smoking! It was in 1963 when the Surgeon General's Report on the serious health effects of smoking was released. Happy to have that behind me and it was before we were married. That's not the quit referred to in the title of this blog.

    For something over a year I subscribed to Ann Patchett's Parnassus First Edition Book Club. Every month subscribers receive a first edition book selected by Ann. What prompted this quitting? Three factors coalesced in making the decision.

    First and foremost there were too many selections which didn't appeal to me. Paying for hardcover books that weren't appealing didn't seem economically wise. These first edition books were signed by the author. Perhaps at age 30 collecting first edition signed copies would appeal. Now that I'm approaching the age of Methuselah there is no desire for collecting anything except my social security check.

   This put pressure on MJV who remains a subscriber. She can tell me when a selection is of such value I should find it and read it. We don't always agree on books, she refuses to read Septology, but that's a minor flaw. Her reading erudition is fine.

Takk for alt

Al

Trouble Ahead

        Tom and Sue spent two weeks volunteering at "my" Thai school. Recently we had a 90 minute zoom call where they reported on their experience. They had a wonderful experience and once we were able to connect via What's App for some live conversation.

      Thailand has draconian lese-majeste laws make it illegal to criticize anything royal. In the last election the party that won largest majority has been blocked from leadership by the army. Now the court is ready to rule that the party must disband because it want to revise the lese-majeste laws. With this thwarting of the popular will pressure will build. By blocking reform via democratic voting it likely means that change will only come by revolution. There's trouble ahead.

Takk for alt,

Al

     BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday that the progressive Move Forward party must cease advocating amending the law on royal defamation — a decision that leaves the party vulnerable to being dissolved.

The court’s nine judges deemed it unconstitutional to advocate a change in Article 112 in the country’s Criminal Code — also known as lese-majeste law — which protects the royal institution from criticism by imposing severe penalties on those found to violate it, including up to 15 years in jail per offense.

Critics say the law is often wielded as a tool to quash political dissent. Student-led pro-democracy protests beginning in 2020 openly criticized the monarchy, previously a taboo subject, leading to vigorous prosecutions under the law.

Since those protests, more than 260 people have been charged with the offense, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.

The Move Forward party came in first in the 2023 general election, campaigning heavily on making an effort to amend Article 112, along with other democratic reforms. The win suggested Thai voters were ready for change after nearly a decade of military-controlled government.

But the military-installed Senate effectively blocked the party from power when they refused to approve then-party leader Pita Limjaroenrat as prime minister. Senators said they opposed Pita because of his intention to seek reforms to the monarchy.

In July, Teerayut Suwankesorn, a lawyer associated with royalist politics, petitioned the court to block Pita and the Move Forward party from seeking to change the law. He argued the election campaign proposal to amend the law on royal defamation violated a constitutional clause against seeking to overthrow the system of constitutional monarchy.

“The court unanimously voted that the act of the two accused exercised the rights and freedom to try to overthrow Democratic System under His patronage … and order to cease all opinions including speech, writing, publishing, advertising to amend 112,” read the court’s ruling.

Both the party and its critics say the decision paves the way for follow-up legal action that could see the party dissolved.

Move Forward supporters believe the conservative royalist establishment seeks to eliminate the party as a political force through rulings by courts and state agencies such as the Election Commission, which are staunch defenders of the status quo.

But agitation for a more liberal atmosphere surrounding discussion of the subject has grown since the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 2016.

Speaking at a news conference Wednesday after the court’s ruling, Pita was asked if it marked an end to efforts to reform the harsh lese majeste law.

“It’s an opportunity lost, that we can use the parliament to find different views and an opportunity to find the consensus building for such an important and critical and fragile issue, that parliament would be the best place to do it, and we lost that opportunity today,” he responded.

“What’s my message to the voters?” he said. “We’ve tried our best and we have a very true intention of finding the proportionality of law between the protection of the monarchy and the proportionality of freedom of speech in the modern Thailand, so we’ve tried our best.”

Pita had been suspended from the legislature pending the court’s ruling on whether he violated the election law by owning shares in a media company. He was the executor of his father’s estate which included stock in a company that is the inactive operator of a defunct independent television station. Thailand’s Constitutional Court ruled Jan. 24 that Pita did not violate the law and can retain his seat in Parliament.

Pita has stepped down as party leader after his suspension so that a party colleague could become leader of the parliamentary opposition.

Earlier Wednesday, the Bangkok South Criminal Court convicted a prominent political activist of defaming the country’s monarchy and sentenced her to a two-year suspended jail term under Article 112.