(Have printed hundreds of copies of this poem over the years for persons...not sure of the author's name, but I like it!)
"When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, when the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high, And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest, if you must--but don't quit!
Life is queer with its twists and turns, As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about When you might have won had you stuck it out;
Don't give up, though the pace seems slow--You might succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than It seems to a faint and faltering person,
Often the struggler has given up When you might have captured the victor's cup.
And you learned too late, when the night slipped down,
How close you were to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out--The silver tint of the clouds of doubt--
And you never can tell how close you are, It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--It's when things seem worse that you mustn't quit!"
(Shared in the squire's way blog!)
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
116- A "PLUTO PLATTER" IS A.......?
A "Pluto Platter" is a....? (Frisbee)
The Hula Hoop was not invented in Hawai'i, America...it was originally created in 1958 in what country, as a large ring for exercising....? (Australia)
Remember the original name for Bugs Bunny? (Happy Bunny)
And what, by the way, was our first President's middle name?....George _____ Washington? (He had NO middle name!...the middle name custom generally was used as more males in America had the same first and last name withhin the same family...exception, early, was John Quincy Adams)
Mortiner Mouse...you discovered earlier that this was Walt Disney's first choice for Mickey. He noticed a tiny mouse, before becoming famous, out in the garage area, and watched it for a time, and that private moment became history. But Mortimer was his choice of names! His wife said "NO" and lobbied for the Mickster! Mortimer Mouse? FYI: Walt really wasn't the bestest of artists, but he was exceptional at-----you can figure that out!!! Can you say I-M-A-G-I-N-A-T-I-O-N? As the late Rev. Fred Rogers would have said, "I knew you could...."
(A "social commentary' on the things that we like and love!) Oh, what is one, of many, purpose for creating the 'squire's way' blog? The more one jostles the mind about with thinking, the more one keeps it active. And the more active our minds are, the sharper they are honed. And the longer the mind wards off that old age stuff, the more exciting our lives become! As an old farmer sitting out on a farmhouse porch drinking a Mason jar of homemade iced tea with a sprig of fresh mint from his springhouse after working all day pulling weeds in his veggie garden and milking sixteen cows by hand and chasing a bull out of his neighbor's swampy field would say, "Inch by inch...everything's a cinch!"
The Hula Hoop was not invented in Hawai'i, America...it was originally created in 1958 in what country, as a large ring for exercising....? (Australia)
Remember the original name for Bugs Bunny? (Happy Bunny)
And what, by the way, was our first President's middle name?....George _____ Washington? (He had NO middle name!...the middle name custom generally was used as more males in America had the same first and last name withhin the same family...exception, early, was John Quincy Adams)
Mortiner Mouse...you discovered earlier that this was Walt Disney's first choice for Mickey. He noticed a tiny mouse, before becoming famous, out in the garage area, and watched it for a time, and that private moment became history. But Mortimer was his choice of names! His wife said "NO" and lobbied for the Mickster! Mortimer Mouse? FYI: Walt really wasn't the bestest of artists, but he was exceptional at-----you can figure that out!!! Can you say I-M-A-G-I-N-A-T-I-O-N? As the late Rev. Fred Rogers would have said, "I knew you could...."
(A "social commentary' on the things that we like and love!) Oh, what is one, of many, purpose for creating the 'squire's way' blog? The more one jostles the mind about with thinking, the more one keeps it active. And the more active our minds are, the sharper they are honed. And the longer the mind wards off that old age stuff, the more exciting our lives become! As an old farmer sitting out on a farmhouse porch drinking a Mason jar of homemade iced tea with a sprig of fresh mint from his springhouse after working all day pulling weeds in his veggie garden and milking sixteen cows by hand and chasing a bull out of his neighbor's swampy field would say, "Inch by inch...everything's a cinch!"
115- SO...WHAT IS LOVE?...#6...
Last November, Patrick Moberg, then 21, from Brooklyn, saw the girl of his dreams on a Manhattan subway. But he lost her in the crowd of subway users. The Web designer created a website with a sketch of the girl of his dreams and a seach to find her took off. By the way, his website was http://www.nygirlofmydreams.com/. (The site is still up).
The search only took him 2 days to find her. Hundreds had joined in the "search". Camille Hayton was the mysterious brunette...from Melbourne, Australia! She was an intern at a magazine also living in Brooklyn. One of her friends recognized the sketch of the then 22-year old.
They appeared on TV and dated for about two months out of the public's view.
However, to her it didn't work out after that brief dating period. She is now single again, taking acting lessons, working in two vintage clothing shops and as a waitresss, like so many have done over the years 'waiting' for a break. She did have a waitress roll in "As The World Turns" and a tiny bit part in "Sex And The City."
He refused, now, to comment further on their brief relationship.
Alas, the Brooklyn to Manhattan subway romance story ended. Love stories don't always end the way both parties expected, no matter how much at least one tries...sorry. Oh, how could an author have changed this tale? An author has the power to make the outcome come out the way they so desire...what POWER over "real" life that be!
The search only took him 2 days to find her. Hundreds had joined in the "search". Camille Hayton was the mysterious brunette...from Melbourne, Australia! She was an intern at a magazine also living in Brooklyn. One of her friends recognized the sketch of the then 22-year old.
They appeared on TV and dated for about two months out of the public's view.
However, to her it didn't work out after that brief dating period. She is now single again, taking acting lessons, working in two vintage clothing shops and as a waitresss, like so many have done over the years 'waiting' for a break. She did have a waitress roll in "As The World Turns" and a tiny bit part in "Sex And The City."
He refused, now, to comment further on their brief relationship.
Alas, the Brooklyn to Manhattan subway romance story ended. Love stories don't always end the way both parties expected, no matter how much at least one tries...sorry. Oh, how could an author have changed this tale? An author has the power to make the outcome come out the way they so desire...what POWER over "real" life that be!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
114- BEIGNETS...WHERE WOULD YOU GO TO FIND THEM?.....
Try the Big Easy...New Orleans...N'awlins!
Down by the Mississippi River, in the French Quarter, is a simple looking restaurant named La Monde. Beignets are small square, no holes, doughnuts that have been dusted, while HOT, with powdered sugar. Your order is always served HOT from the fryer and in a little batch....with HOT coffee.
One of my neat adventures was to visit the Big Easy for a week, once, and I fell in like with the city, way before that hurricane. Adventures included staying in an old hotel in the French Quarter...going out early to explore and take slides of a lone cleaning man washing down the old streets before everyone else wakes up...going down the Missis'p on a steamer paddeboard...exporing the bayous and plantation homes...riding streetcars every day...going to the Audubon Zoo...Garden District...old cemeteries...and an old dusty, narrow shop that sold billions of voodoo stuff. And made sure to go out late (around midnight) to enjoy and listen to "The New Orleans Preservation Band", composed of musicians who come together AFTER playing at clubs. One, the piano player on an old-fashioned upright piano, was fascinating, with white and black keys plunked by an eightysomething charmer of a lady!
One of my seven collegians in The Serpentine Bond! is from New Orleans, and you'll meet her in the novel...the readers across the world, when it is published, will get to know someone who is special, like the other six, with a neat name---RAIN!
"Laissez le Bon temp rouler"---"Let the good times roll!"
Down by the Mississippi River, in the French Quarter, is a simple looking restaurant named La Monde. Beignets are small square, no holes, doughnuts that have been dusted, while HOT, with powdered sugar. Your order is always served HOT from the fryer and in a little batch....with HOT coffee.
One of my neat adventures was to visit the Big Easy for a week, once, and I fell in like with the city, way before that hurricane. Adventures included staying in an old hotel in the French Quarter...going out early to explore and take slides of a lone cleaning man washing down the old streets before everyone else wakes up...going down the Missis'p on a steamer paddeboard...exporing the bayous and plantation homes...riding streetcars every day...going to the Audubon Zoo...Garden District...old cemeteries...and an old dusty, narrow shop that sold billions of voodoo stuff. And made sure to go out late (around midnight) to enjoy and listen to "The New Orleans Preservation Band", composed of musicians who come together AFTER playing at clubs. One, the piano player on an old-fashioned upright piano, was fascinating, with white and black keys plunked by an eightysomething charmer of a lady!
One of my seven collegians in The Serpentine Bond! is from New Orleans, and you'll meet her in the novel...the readers across the world, when it is published, will get to know someone who is special, like the other six, with a neat name---RAIN!
"Laissez le Bon temp rouler"---"Let the good times roll!"
113- 'SUNDOG'...EVER OBSERVED ONE?.....
Otay, it's a small halo or raindow near the horizon and the parhelic circle, which happens to be at the neight of the sun and parallel to the horizon. In everyday language, it's caused by the sun's rays reflecting off atmospheric ice crystals. Hey, it's the fault of crystals of ice up there in the sky!
Now you know...I sure didn't until shared with a friend from West-by-gosh-Virginia...thanks. I'll begin to look for them.
Now you know...I sure didn't until shared with a friend from West-by-gosh-Virginia...thanks. I'll begin to look for them.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
112- FIREFLIES!...LIGHTNING BUGS!...GLOWWORMS!.....
This creative artist and author "sees", in early summer at night, a magical, mystery tour, or world, of tiny flashing lights scattered throughout the fields and trees and yards around where I live. For me, that is my reality. You can make the experience anything you want...or not.
As a kid, I must admit to chasing the flashers and capturing them in a glass jar...with a lid. An epiphany came to me, as it often did for other things, that NO animal or crittter or miniature 'flashlight' should and would be enclosed in such a manner ever again! Fireflies are free...also butterflies, too.
And fireflies out and about during a mid summer's night can also be...be romantic! Remember ROMANCE?
As a kid, I must admit to chasing the flashers and capturing them in a glass jar...with a lid. An epiphany came to me, as it often did for other things, that NO animal or crittter or miniature 'flashlight' should and would be enclosed in such a manner ever again! Fireflies are free...also butterflies, too.
And fireflies out and about during a mid summer's night can also be...be romantic! Remember ROMANCE?
111- SO...WHAT IS LOVE?...#5.....
This squire's view will take on a different approach...LOVE is the stimulating mental and visual thrill of LEARNING for the pure sake of learning on an individual basis! I love learning!....
Where and when did one's wires cross, as a child, for a person to declare that learning was boring...that History was boring?...that life was boring?
"I don't have to learn this!"..."Who cares about my family's past?"..."Gasoline is $3.00 a gallon, makes me mad as fire, and that's all I care about, not what happened and where do we go from here!"..."Weekends are boring!"..."Summer is boring as heck!"
Learning is the pure personal, internalizating 'citement of wanting to know and understand more about as much of life and yourself and the World around you as possible, and as far as you want and care to explore with your natural abilities.
This Philosophy major contines to nudge for entering the neat world of adventures to enlighten. I met a fellow Rec Center exerciser this evening whom I had admired for some time for her intense exercising workout. I finally asked and discovered Linda's secret---some years ago she had been told that she had little time left to live and wanted to squeeze in as much as possible running!...that, by the way, was 20 years ago.
If you really want do something, just maybe you'll make time to do it!
When I hear someone "claim" that life is boring, that a weekend is boring, that History is boring, that your parents or lover or partner is boring? Just maybe, also, you are standing on a soapbox and declaring to the entire World that YOU are not smart enough to freaking UNBORE yourself...how about that?...that YOU are responsible for MAKING your own life at least a bit better! Remember...next time someone tells you to "have a good day"? Change it to "I'll MAKE a good day, thank you!" YOU are in charge.
SO...WHAT IS LOVE? Love is the inner quest to learn!
WISDOM.....and how does WISDOM enter this pic? One who reaches WISDOM in learning begins to understand "what is true, right or lasting...insight...common sense...and good judgment!" Notice that I said "begins"....
Where and when did one's wires cross, as a child, for a person to declare that learning was boring...that History was boring?...that life was boring?
"I don't have to learn this!"..."Who cares about my family's past?"..."Gasoline is $3.00 a gallon, makes me mad as fire, and that's all I care about, not what happened and where do we go from here!"..."Weekends are boring!"..."Summer is boring as heck!"
Learning is the pure personal, internalizating 'citement of wanting to know and understand more about as much of life and yourself and the World around you as possible, and as far as you want and care to explore with your natural abilities.
This Philosophy major contines to nudge for entering the neat world of adventures to enlighten. I met a fellow Rec Center exerciser this evening whom I had admired for some time for her intense exercising workout. I finally asked and discovered Linda's secret---some years ago she had been told that she had little time left to live and wanted to squeeze in as much as possible running!...that, by the way, was 20 years ago.
If you really want do something, just maybe you'll make time to do it!
When I hear someone "claim" that life is boring, that a weekend is boring, that History is boring, that your parents or lover or partner is boring? Just maybe, also, you are standing on a soapbox and declaring to the entire World that YOU are not smart enough to freaking UNBORE yourself...how about that?...that YOU are responsible for MAKING your own life at least a bit better! Remember...next time someone tells you to "have a good day"? Change it to "I'll MAKE a good day, thank you!" YOU are in charge.
SO...WHAT IS LOVE? Love is the inner quest to learn!
WISDOM.....and how does WISDOM enter this pic? One who reaches WISDOM in learning begins to understand "what is true, right or lasting...insight...common sense...and good judgment!" Notice that I said "begins"....
110- SNOW!----------------------------------
Yes, this native Virginian predicts, uh, S-N-O-W for my little town of Williamsburg, the Colonial Capital, this winter!
Signs have been coming up like sweet corn in the spring, like the neat smell of mint wafting about in an old country spring. The "wooly bullies" are growing heavy whiskers, and the face in the full moon last night had "love handles" on both sides.
The official Almanac of West-By-Gosh-Virginia for 1917 predicted that their next-door-neighbor, Virginia, in the winter of 2008, would see more than one of those wimpy dustings. And it's been three or four years, too, since the last snowfall! Yep, the Colonial Capital of Virginia gets a good traipsing-around-in-S-N-O-W every three or four years! Still haven't 'ciphered' whether it will come early in November, like it does sometimes, or around Christmas, but more likely between January and February of '09!!! So, get your ear muffs, gloves and boots ready.....
Yes, all of this predicting comes courtesy of pure scientific knowledge.....I think.
Signs have been coming up like sweet corn in the spring, like the neat smell of mint wafting about in an old country spring. The "wooly bullies" are growing heavy whiskers, and the face in the full moon last night had "love handles" on both sides.
The official Almanac of West-By-Gosh-Virginia for 1917 predicted that their next-door-neighbor, Virginia, in the winter of 2008, would see more than one of those wimpy dustings. And it's been three or four years, too, since the last snowfall! Yep, the Colonial Capital of Virginia gets a good traipsing-around-in-S-N-O-W every three or four years! Still haven't 'ciphered' whether it will come early in November, like it does sometimes, or around Christmas, but more likely between January and February of '09!!! So, get your ear muffs, gloves and boots ready.....
Yes, all of this predicting comes courtesy of pure scientific knowledge.....I think.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
109- TRAVELING....EXPANDING YOUR BOUNDARIES!....
Even if you only bike or walk down the street to the local university campus, you're expanding your own boundaries by "traveling"...go for it!
I often "travel", locally, around the campus of the second oldest collge/university in our America, with Nikons and a bike. There are at least "three" campuses. The "ancient campus" is around the beautiful Wren Yard...and Wren Building and is visited by thousands of parents and visitors each year along with Colonial Williamsburg. And the old and younger "campuses" extend out along and past the unique Sunken Garden. My absolute fave area on campus is the Crim Dell. You'll have to travel there to understand one of the most scenic spots listed in America in the midst of higher education studies.
Exploring the William and Mary Woods, and over ten (10) miles of wooded trails, is an adventure unto itself!
The University of Virginia Lawn, also, C-Ville, around the Academic Village, is another top favorite adventure for a travel day. Jefferson designed the Rotunda and his Village way back in the early 1800s. At that time in young America's history, our General Assembly had a goal to expand the higher education schools to the western area of Virginia. Three towns were in the running: Lexington, Staunton and Charlottesville. Hmmm, where did Jefferson live? He was the governor at the time. BUT, traveling a relatively short distance to C-Ville from my home, is worth exploring the historic campus behind what we affectionately call The Corner!
I often "travel", locally, around the campus of the second oldest collge/university in our America, with Nikons and a bike. There are at least "three" campuses. The "ancient campus" is around the beautiful Wren Yard...and Wren Building and is visited by thousands of parents and visitors each year along with Colonial Williamsburg. And the old and younger "campuses" extend out along and past the unique Sunken Garden. My absolute fave area on campus is the Crim Dell. You'll have to travel there to understand one of the most scenic spots listed in America in the midst of higher education studies.
Exploring the William and Mary Woods, and over ten (10) miles of wooded trails, is an adventure unto itself!
The University of Virginia Lawn, also, C-Ville, around the Academic Village, is another top favorite adventure for a travel day. Jefferson designed the Rotunda and his Village way back in the early 1800s. At that time in young America's history, our General Assembly had a goal to expand the higher education schools to the western area of Virginia. Three towns were in the running: Lexington, Staunton and Charlottesville. Hmmm, where did Jefferson live? He was the governor at the time. BUT, traveling a relatively short distance to C-Ville from my home, is worth exploring the historic campus behind what we affectionately call The Corner!
Monday, October 13, 2008
108- HAVE A SPECIAL (LUCKY) NUMBER?.....
Most people do, and it's perfectly OK 'cause YOU said it was!
I certainly have one.......seven...7.
I certainly have one.......seven...7.
107- BORED BOARD GAMES?...DO "ADULTS" PLAY THEM ANYMORE?....
Remember how much fun all of you had, as kids, playing those board games that definitely were NOT boring? Do you? So, when was the last time you played 'Twister'?...'Candy Land'?...'Taboo'?...Mustard's 'Clue'?
What's happened to us that those neat, fun days and evenings have slipped away from our 'tight' schedules? This blog is a 'social commentary,' and board games once upon a time were important to you, to us. You just might turn over a new page for your schedule, now, and hold a board game revival at your home or a friend's.
'Parcheesi'...'Scattergories'...'Stratego'...'Pictionary'...'Connect Four'...can you say 'Operation' and 'Chutes and Ladders'? 'Scrabble'...'Mousetrap'...'Life'...'Yahtzee'...'Risk'...
Uno'?
Maybe 'Monopoly' or 'Trivial Pursuit'...even 'Scrabble'?
Can anyone name all of the "weapons" from 'Clue'? Better yet, who actually has ALL those original pieces?...ALL of the original 'Operation' pieces?
What's happened to us that those neat, fun days and evenings have slipped away from our 'tight' schedules? This blog is a 'social commentary,' and board games once upon a time were important to you, to us. You just might turn over a new page for your schedule, now, and hold a board game revival at your home or a friend's.
'Parcheesi'...'Scattergories'...'Stratego'...'Pictionary'...'Connect Four'...can you say 'Operation' and 'Chutes and Ladders'? 'Scrabble'...'Mousetrap'...'Life'...'Yahtzee'...'Risk'...
Uno'?
Maybe 'Monopoly' or 'Trivial Pursuit'...even 'Scrabble'?
Can anyone name all of the "weapons" from 'Clue'? Better yet, who actually has ALL those original pieces?...ALL of the original 'Operation' pieces?
106- WHY------------------?
WHY this blog? The most important reason involves my Socratic philosophical studies with enlightening the thinking mind to explore far beyond what's for supper...what shoes to wear in the morning or how to jog one's potential questioning abilities. Tired of people who languish in their own self-importance?....me, me, me? Of hearing 'gripers' around you?
My honest purpose is to bring up a myriad of topics to ponder...and there have to be billions and billions more to go, according to Dr. Carl Sagan. And a neat thought? If you don't like this blog approach, don't read it! Thanks to the people who do apprecaite it and have e-mailed to share that they like waking up early to the squire's view, and especially disagreeing or adding to in their mind or remembering 'stuff' in their lives....YEAH!...squire
My honest purpose is to bring up a myriad of topics to ponder...and there have to be billions and billions more to go, according to Dr. Carl Sagan. And a neat thought? If you don't like this blog approach, don't read it! Thanks to the people who do apprecaite it and have e-mailed to share that they like waking up early to the squire's view, and especially disagreeing or adding to in their mind or remembering 'stuff' in their lives....YEAH!...squire
Sunday, October 12, 2008
105- THE FACE IN THE MOON...IS IT A REAL PERSON?.....
This late afternoon, Sunday, October 12th, the sky over my town was clear with nary a cloud out and about. And I could see a distinct face, quite visible, on our Earth's moon high in the clear sky. I know it was a person's face because this artist and philosopher imagined it! Enough people believe that there has to be more to life than just seeing our moon as a mass of "stuff"...or anything for that matter.
I believe that the breeze that refreshes my face on a hot, humid day of walking the College of William and Mary Woods' trails exists, even though I cannot see it.
The year was 1969...Neil Armstrong...ring a bell?
I believe that the breeze that refreshes my face on a hot, humid day of walking the College of William and Mary Woods' trails exists, even though I cannot see it.
The year was 1969...Neil Armstrong...ring a bell?
Saturday, October 11, 2008
104- "THE INDEPENDENCE HURRICANE of 1775!".....
Now, it's time for a bit of history mystery. A "savage" hurricane swept over our area of Virginia in 1775...look carefully at that date! That was during our American Revolutionary War.
August 29th thru September 2nd. This 1775 hurricane, during our Revolutionary War hit South Carolina and eventually swept up along the coast to Nova Scotia, killing an estimate 4,170, mostly fishermen and sailors. Our Chincoteague Island was hit hard, including Norfolk's waterfront warehouse district. There, all was destroyed.
That same waterfront area was redeveloped into the now 'Waterside' in recent years.
Scores of ships, over twenty in the Virginia harbor alone, knocked against each other with extensive damage, including the York River and Hampton. One gun ship, the H.M.S. Mercury, was pushed ashore and shipwrecked. Local citizens went aboard, captured the British crew, took the supplies meant use for use against the young Americans, and set the ship on fire. As a result, the British blockaded Hampton Roads for three months.
In the Virginia Gazette: "Every day last week it rained more or less, sometimes continued chief part of night; but on Saturday it never ceased pouring down, and towards noon the wind began to rise, which increased soon afterwards to a mere hurricane, it blowing most furiously from the N.. till near 10 o'clock at night. Infinite damage has been done to the crops of corn and tobacco, much wheat spoiled in barns, a great number of trees blown down, and almost every mill-dam in the country given way...."
As a result, American patriot armies, under Major Ethan Allen, attacked Montreal (British Gen. Guy Carleton) and Allen was defeated and captured. A plot to kidnap King George III was hatched but never completed. BUT, our U.S. Continental Congress ordered the establishment of our Continental army. All of this increased activity was a sign of a desire to defeat the British. More revolutionaries marched on South Carolina ending all major support for the Loyalists cause there.
In November, our U.S. Marine Corps was created in Philly. On November, 10th another battle took place at Quebec...our revolutionaires won that 2nd battle. In December, more revolutionaires used the captured Fort Ticonderoga British artillary to advance on their sweep to Cambridge.
That's enough for a thumbnail sketch to show what happened after that "Independence Hurricane" of 1775. Remember, hurricane names weren't listed until way off in the 20th Century. Remember, also, that people in 1775 had no inkling that a hurricane was approaching....
August 29th thru September 2nd. This 1775 hurricane, during our Revolutionary War hit South Carolina and eventually swept up along the coast to Nova Scotia, killing an estimate 4,170, mostly fishermen and sailors. Our Chincoteague Island was hit hard, including Norfolk's waterfront warehouse district. There, all was destroyed.
That same waterfront area was redeveloped into the now 'Waterside' in recent years.
Scores of ships, over twenty in the Virginia harbor alone, knocked against each other with extensive damage, including the York River and Hampton. One gun ship, the H.M.S. Mercury, was pushed ashore and shipwrecked. Local citizens went aboard, captured the British crew, took the supplies meant use for use against the young Americans, and set the ship on fire. As a result, the British blockaded Hampton Roads for three months.
In the Virginia Gazette: "Every day last week it rained more or less, sometimes continued chief part of night; but on Saturday it never ceased pouring down, and towards noon the wind began to rise, which increased soon afterwards to a mere hurricane, it blowing most furiously from the N.. till near 10 o'clock at night. Infinite damage has been done to the crops of corn and tobacco, much wheat spoiled in barns, a great number of trees blown down, and almost every mill-dam in the country given way...."
As a result, American patriot armies, under Major Ethan Allen, attacked Montreal (British Gen. Guy Carleton) and Allen was defeated and captured. A plot to kidnap King George III was hatched but never completed. BUT, our U.S. Continental Congress ordered the establishment of our Continental army. All of this increased activity was a sign of a desire to defeat the British. More revolutionaries marched on South Carolina ending all major support for the Loyalists cause there.
In November, our U.S. Marine Corps was created in Philly. On November, 10th another battle took place at Quebec...our revolutionaires won that 2nd battle. In December, more revolutionaires used the captured Fort Ticonderoga British artillary to advance on their sweep to Cambridge.
That's enough for a thumbnail sketch to show what happened after that "Independence Hurricane" of 1775. Remember, hurricane names weren't listed until way off in the 20th Century. Remember, also, that people in 1775 had no inkling that a hurricane was approaching....
Friday, October 10, 2008
103- The GREAT PUMPKIN, My Believers, IS COMING!...DO YOU BELIEVE?...
First, you'll need to go back to 'Peanuts' some time ago to refresh your memory on the characters' story of The Great Pumpkin.
Linus, the most intelligent but gullible member of the Peanuts crew, had a vision that was confused with Santa Claus and how Christmas was being commercialized with Halloween! While all of the other kids went their merry way of trick-or-treating, Linus would spend his time, sincerely, in the pumpkin patch. He was hoping, year after year, for the arrival of THE Great Pumpkin, who, by the way, was supposed to be bringing Halloween presents.
For decades, though, intelligent Linus, never outgrew his mistaken notion about the Great Pumpkin! He believed!
And, he would spend considerable time going door to door trying to persuade non-believers to become believers in the GP. Once, Sally Brown did believe, and another time Marcie did, calling the GP the "Great Squash" by mistake...
However, NO Great Pumpkin ever appeared.
Linus never once wavered in his belief. At times, with a slight bit of self-doubt, he would lament by declaring that "I'm doomed! One quick slip like that would cause the Great Pumpkin to pass by!"
Wait, I do know that one year Charlie Brown woke up sleeping Linus in the pumpkin patch to tell him that he had heard a GP sighting "by the Freeman in New Jersey" broadcast over the radio. Was Chuck telling Linus the truth or just trying to encourage him to continue on with his fantasy thoughts?
Think that you're too 'adult' to even think about Linus, or that 'stuff' like 'Peanuts' and the Great Pumpkin are simply a "fig-newton of one's imagaination"? I send a "rasberry" through the Internet! Remember....IMAGINATION is what keeps the "kid" inside some of us, like my hero Walt Disney, to create some of the world's bestest characters and tales! Can you imagine if Disney had not observed that little mouse for some time before creating? And, what if his wife had not persuaded him from using his first choice of Mortimer? Oh, remember Washington Irving's Ichabod Crane and the 'headless horseman'? This guy, for years, would get a 'punkin', carefully cut a circle on the top for a lid, pull off, reach down inside, YUCK, and scoop out every seed, with, uh, goo, and wash them carefully with running water. Next, lay the seeds on a cookie sheet and, with low oven heat, dry them. Lastly, take 20 or so small envelopes and place a handful in the envelope with a kid's handwriting style on a note, seal up with the seeds and place them into some support staff boxes! I figured that they, and they did, enjoy the attention more!
So, what did the note say?...that it was from the GREAT PUMPKIN and that if they 'believed', just maybe GP would come see them with treats...the next day?...candy treats were placed into the same box!...hmmm, is that toooo childish for YOU, now, as an adult?
I, squire, rest my case!
Linus, the most intelligent but gullible member of the Peanuts crew, had a vision that was confused with Santa Claus and how Christmas was being commercialized with Halloween! While all of the other kids went their merry way of trick-or-treating, Linus would spend his time, sincerely, in the pumpkin patch. He was hoping, year after year, for the arrival of THE Great Pumpkin, who, by the way, was supposed to be bringing Halloween presents.
For decades, though, intelligent Linus, never outgrew his mistaken notion about the Great Pumpkin! He believed!
And, he would spend considerable time going door to door trying to persuade non-believers to become believers in the GP. Once, Sally Brown did believe, and another time Marcie did, calling the GP the "Great Squash" by mistake...
However, NO Great Pumpkin ever appeared.
Linus never once wavered in his belief. At times, with a slight bit of self-doubt, he would lament by declaring that "I'm doomed! One quick slip like that would cause the Great Pumpkin to pass by!"
Wait, I do know that one year Charlie Brown woke up sleeping Linus in the pumpkin patch to tell him that he had heard a GP sighting "by the Freeman in New Jersey" broadcast over the radio. Was Chuck telling Linus the truth or just trying to encourage him to continue on with his fantasy thoughts?
Think that you're too 'adult' to even think about Linus, or that 'stuff' like 'Peanuts' and the Great Pumpkin are simply a "fig-newton of one's imagaination"? I send a "rasberry" through the Internet! Remember....IMAGINATION is what keeps the "kid" inside some of us, like my hero Walt Disney, to create some of the world's bestest characters and tales! Can you imagine if Disney had not observed that little mouse for some time before creating? And, what if his wife had not persuaded him from using his first choice of Mortimer? Oh, remember Washington Irving's Ichabod Crane and the 'headless horseman'? This guy, for years, would get a 'punkin', carefully cut a circle on the top for a lid, pull off, reach down inside, YUCK, and scoop out every seed, with, uh, goo, and wash them carefully with running water. Next, lay the seeds on a cookie sheet and, with low oven heat, dry them. Lastly, take 20 or so small envelopes and place a handful in the envelope with a kid's handwriting style on a note, seal up with the seeds and place them into some support staff boxes! I figured that they, and they did, enjoy the attention more!
So, what did the note say?...that it was from the GREAT PUMPKIN and that if they 'believed', just maybe GP would come see them with treats...the next day?...candy treats were placed into the same box!...hmmm, is that toooo childish for YOU, now, as an adult?
I, squire, rest my case!
102- "SQUIRE'S LAW" EXISTS!...'MURPHY'S LAW' HAS EVAPORATED...
Remember that ancient Murphy's Law that created lots of negative garbage 'that anything that can possibly go wrong, will go wrong?'
Well...there's a NEW 'Squire's Law' in our American society that makes it quite clear that the odds of anything you plan WILL probably go right, 'causing you to take control of and not wait for the negative to simply happen!
Well...there's a NEW 'Squire's Law' in our American society that makes it quite clear that the odds of anything you plan WILL probably go right, 'causing you to take control of and not wait for the negative to simply happen!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
101- CUPOLAS!.....A REVIVAL OF CUPOLAS!!....
Seven cheers for cupolas! This historian is in like with the small architectural and often ornamental dome structures on top, usually in the middle, of buildings.
Colonial architecture was and still is a good source for cupolas. Living in the "Colonial Capital of Virginia" (Williamsburg, Va.), some fine examples can be observed when one looks up. The restored Colonial Capitol building and the Governor's Palace are excellent examples. My local town and county now have at least 216 cupolas!
And, when I travel out and about my native State, searching, researching and photographing any structure that is OLD, like old-fashioned diners, standing train depots, farms, farmhouses, abandoned farmhouses, lighthouses, swinging bridges, iron bridges, mills, schools, BARNS, I see more and more cupolas coming back in vogue!
My own College of William and Mary has seven impressive cupolas around the campus. Barrett Hall's cupola magnificently stands out and tall as one drives along our Jamestown Road.
Now you know what a cupola is, so, next time you visit our world famous TOWN, look up...don't forget your camera....
NEWS FLASH: William and Mary's lastest cupola WAS hoisted atop the new 'Business Building' this Friday morning, October 10th, between about 11:17am and 11:45am...seven cheers plus 7 more!
Colonial architecture was and still is a good source for cupolas. Living in the "Colonial Capital of Virginia" (Williamsburg, Va.), some fine examples can be observed when one looks up. The restored Colonial Capitol building and the Governor's Palace are excellent examples. My local town and county now have at least 216 cupolas!
And, when I travel out and about my native State, searching, researching and photographing any structure that is OLD, like old-fashioned diners, standing train depots, farms, farmhouses, abandoned farmhouses, lighthouses, swinging bridges, iron bridges, mills, schools, BARNS, I see more and more cupolas coming back in vogue!
My own College of William and Mary has seven impressive cupolas around the campus. Barrett Hall's cupola magnificently stands out and tall as one drives along our Jamestown Road.
Now you know what a cupola is, so, next time you visit our world famous TOWN, look up...don't forget your camera....
NEWS FLASH: William and Mary's lastest cupola WAS hoisted atop the new 'Business Building' this Friday morning, October 10th, between about 11:17am and 11:45am...seven cheers plus 7 more!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
100- GREEN, YES, GREEN M&Ms...THEIR COLLEGIATE MEANING?.....
College, university students way back in the last half of our 20th Century came up with the bright idea of giving GREEN M&Ms a special meaning! When you see anyone pouring out a bag of M&Ms into a bowl and checking for the GREEN ones, popping them into their mouths, you'll know that they know...what?
If U R interested in knowing the answer?...scroll down to the bottom of #96 to uncover the answer to this sociological phenomenon that has spread across America.
If U R interested in knowing the answer?...scroll down to the bottom of #96 to uncover the answer to this sociological phenomenon that has spread across America.
99- GOOD MORNING, WORLD...I CAN SEE AMERICA FROM MY WINDOW?....
I will not explain this one, this time....use your own intelligence and creative ENERGY to SEE what YOU want to see.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
98- OLD CEMETERIES...AND POSITIVE THOUGHTS FOR OUR SOCIETY!....
Walking through one of America's old, very old cemeteries, is like strolling through a unique history lesson, and the customs that we have of burying our deceased are time-honored and deserve learning their lessons from the past. The spirits of our past linger, and the energies experienced while visiting are awaiting with their lessons, according to many.
Take your time and browse, examine, many of the stones and their inscriptions. Often, in my native Virginia, there are noticeably different sections. In our Tidewater, relatives discovered that it was best to place a 'table' on top to curb the deceased from 'coming back' to the surface because of the water table and sand. And our Civil War...honored sections were often set aside, with a Confederate area for the known brought home and the unknown within a mound. At the far back, the 'Yankee' unknown were laid to rest also in a mound. Relatives often came from above the Mason-Dixon Line searching for their kin, and, if known, taken back for a proper burial.
But, by examing the stone inscriptions, lessons can be uncovered.
Macchu Picchu! Centuries had passed before 'modern' archeologists discovered the magnificent civilization high in Peru's Andes Mountains. And secrets continue to seep out about the intelligence and advanced abilities of the thinkers within this group. For centuries, also, earthquakes had caused havoc in Peru and neighboring regions but not the Macchu Picchu 'city'. Today, after meticuously clearing and cleaning the 'ruins', they discovered the remarkable stonework, with no mortar. Stones of all sizes were cut to fit EXACTLY with another...and not even a piece of paper could fit between any stone. Remember the earthquakes that caused havoc in those mountains nearby? The ingenuity of the architects, engineers, had to have been astounding!
And, once again, go back to my original premise that old cemeteries and places like Maccu Picchu are full of spirits of the past and linger with energy...waiting for us to discover their secrets.
Some like to go into another direction by using the term 'haunted'...that denotes a negative connotation. I prefer the term positive energies and history, still highly prevalent within the confines of a...cemetery...Macchu Picchu...Gettsyburg...old farmhouse...ancient farm barn! Don't forget ghost towns out West. Was fortunate, on my trip to study American government in Montana once, to explore a ghost town. I could sense a powerful energy....
Take your time and browse, examine, many of the stones and their inscriptions. Often, in my native Virginia, there are noticeably different sections. In our Tidewater, relatives discovered that it was best to place a 'table' on top to curb the deceased from 'coming back' to the surface because of the water table and sand. And our Civil War...honored sections were often set aside, with a Confederate area for the known brought home and the unknown within a mound. At the far back, the 'Yankee' unknown were laid to rest also in a mound. Relatives often came from above the Mason-Dixon Line searching for their kin, and, if known, taken back for a proper burial.
But, by examing the stone inscriptions, lessons can be uncovered.
Macchu Picchu! Centuries had passed before 'modern' archeologists discovered the magnificent civilization high in Peru's Andes Mountains. And secrets continue to seep out about the intelligence and advanced abilities of the thinkers within this group. For centuries, also, earthquakes had caused havoc in Peru and neighboring regions but not the Macchu Picchu 'city'. Today, after meticuously clearing and cleaning the 'ruins', they discovered the remarkable stonework, with no mortar. Stones of all sizes were cut to fit EXACTLY with another...and not even a piece of paper could fit between any stone. Remember the earthquakes that caused havoc in those mountains nearby? The ingenuity of the architects, engineers, had to have been astounding!
And, once again, go back to my original premise that old cemeteries and places like Maccu Picchu are full of spirits of the past and linger with energy...waiting for us to discover their secrets.
Some like to go into another direction by using the term 'haunted'...that denotes a negative connotation. I prefer the term positive energies and history, still highly prevalent within the confines of a...cemetery...Macchu Picchu...Gettsyburg...old farmhouse...ancient farm barn! Don't forget ghost towns out West. Was fortunate, on my trip to study American government in Montana once, to explore a ghost town. I could sense a powerful energy....
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