“Today you are you!
That is truer than true!
There is no one alive who is you-er than you!”
Dr. Seuss
(James, aka the Sheriff, turns 1 / Julie Cook/ 2020)
Not the birthday celebration we had exactly wanted nor planned–
but joyous none the less…
more to follow later my dear grandson…
“God gave us the gift of life;
it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.”
Voltaire
Childish egocentrism is, in its essence,
an inability to differentiate between the ego and the social environment.
Jean Piaget
(Huff Post)
As long as people believe in absurdities they will continue to commit
atrocities.
Voltaire
Here are two different images from two different years but each image offers the same
feelings of rude pettiness…
So I don’t think frustration is a strong enough word to describe how I felt last night when watching
the President’s State of the Union Speech—what with the Speaker of the House,
who was perched directly behind the President, displaying visibly blatant disdain
for the President of the United States.
She sat behind him and proceeded to mock him, shaking her head, and babbling under her breath
throughout most of the speech and finally, in a nationally observed crescendo of disrespect,
ripped up her copy of the speech that she was handed by the President just prior
to his delivery.
Just like a child throwing a temper tantrum.
A professional adult acting exceedingly unprofessional.
And so what of…
Decorum?
Respect?
Professionalism?
Such public displays of childish behavior offered by our legislators are not what I want
my grandchildren to think appropriate or accepted.
“Pelosi’s act dishonored the institution and destroyed even the pretense of
civility and decorum in the House.
If this is the Speaker’s “drop the mike” moment,
it is a disgrace that should never be celebrated or repeated.
In a single act, she obliterated decades of tradition.”
Jonathan Turley
Over the past week, watching on and off some of the Impeachment hearings, I obviously
grew frustrated with the entire farce and waste of tax payer’s money.
That would be me and you and our money.
I grew tired of listening to the likes of Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler
rambling on and on while simply saying the same things over and over…
Our bipartisan divide has grown into such a deep, wide and empty void with the average
American sitting perched on the precipice.
Do not we the people not desperately want a bridge?
I should think that Americans want their Nation to work…
which means we have got to learn how to work together.
In 60 years of living…I have witnessed the typical, and often contentious, tit for tat
within our political parties…
There has been resentment, the blocking of bills, lies, and innuendos,
but throughout it all, in the end, most politicians have eventually understood that
there must be a compromise…there must be a give and take…
the reaching across the proverbial aisle in order to get things done for the betterment
of the Nation.
Yet the current thread of hate, disdain and the refusal to reach across party lines
have each become more and more assinine.
And so it was, in all of this frustration, there was a small story at the end of last week
that stopped me in the tracks of my tirade.
Jerry Nadler announced that he would not be present in this week’s wrap up of the
Impeachment hearings.
‘Thank the Lord’ I thought…. but it was the reason he gave for his absence which brought
me back to the essence of our humanness.
Jerry Nadler’s wife was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the end of the year.
And so I will assume that treatments are not going as they should as he announced that he needed
go home to be with his wife and family as they pondered their next steps.
The rabid dog who has been nipping at the heels of the President,
even before he won the election, is also a husband whose wife is battling cancer.
My heart went out to him, his wife and family.
I added them to my prayers.
Lifting them up to God’s special care during this difficult time.
Did Mr. Nadler stand to applaud Rush Limbaugh when he was spotlighted during the
State of the Union speech as he too is now battling cancer… stage 4 lung cancer.
The President awarded Mr. Limbaugh the Medal of Freedom Award.
I don’t know if Mr. Nadler stood to recognize a fellow human being who is now
also struggling.
But isn’t that the true heart of the matter here…our humanness?
That which makes us all more alike than different?
So I will echo what I wrote a few weeks back…
“It is so easy for me to fuss and cuss the idiocy taking place from both sides of the aisle
as these people, this body of governmental leadership, has put the running of our Nation’s
business on permanent hold as they wage a petty battle among themselves.
And for what?
Vindictiveness?
And so looking at the Bible sitting on that table, I got to thinking that I actually had
an opportunity. I could either fuss, cuss and lament about our Governmental leadership,
or lack thereof, or I could do something much more important—
I could pray”.
https://cookiecrumbstoliveby.wordpress.com/2020/01/22/waiting-rooms-and-prayer/
And so I will pray.
I ask if you might wish to join me.
Almighty God, who hast given us this good land for our
heritage: We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove
ourselves a people mindful of thy favor and glad to do thy will.
Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and
pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion;
from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend
our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes
brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue
with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in thy Name we entrust
the authority of government, that there may be justice and
peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we
may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth.
In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness,
and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail;
all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Book of Common Prayer
Great ambition is the passion of a great character.
Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts.
All depends on the principles which direct them.
Napoleon Bonaparte
(one of only a handful of Napoleon’s hats that remains / Le Proccope Restrauant /
Julie Cook / Paris, France / 2018)
Well, after a week of here and there babysitting, I’ve finally, however painfully
and reluctantly, returned The Mayor back home to Atlanta.
She was returned home in one piece albeit with her nagging cold still intact.
And so slowly I am now literally picking up the pieces while working on regaining
my thinking brain.
So on Saturday our local news offered the latest breaking state news that has me more
than simply thinking…
But before I get to that story, let me offer up a tiny precursor…
a tiny tale that reminds me of this particular current news situation of ours.
The hat in the image above is but one of a handful of the remaining famous bicorne hats
worn by France’s most famous leader, Napoleon Bonaparte (Marie Antoinette aside).
The last known hat of only 19 that remain, went to auction earlier this year.
It was a hat that was supposedly recovered from the battlefield at Waterloo and
fetched a whopping $325,000 at auction.
History offers us the small tidbit that, whereas most military leaders of the day
wore their hats with points facing forward and back, Napoleon,
on the other hand, preferred wearing his hats sideways.
This allowed Napoleon to be readily identified when on the battlefield.
A rather bold stance given the fact that many military leaders preferred blending in so
as not to be easily “picked off” by the enemy…
because what’s an army without its leader?
But given Napoleon’s ego, it is no surprise that he would prefer to be noticed
rather than not.
And I must confess, I have always had an affinity for France’s most famous,
or perhaps more accurately, infamous little general…
And so since I’ve previously written about that attraction before it should come as no
surprise of the level of excitement I experienced when recently given the opportunity
of seeing one of his earliest bicorne hats up close and personal.
On our recent visit to Paris, we opted to enjoy an evening’s meal at Le Procope, Paris’
oldest consecutively operating restaurant.
Le Procope has been serving discerning pallets since 1686.
They also boast having one of the most synonymous items associated with one of Paris’
most well-known individuals.
One of Napoleon’s earliest bicorne hats.
The story goes that Napoleon would often frequent Le Procope.
But so did Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Rousseau, Robespierre, Marat,
and George Sand to name just a few
But the story goes that as a young soldier, Napoleon would come to eat and in typical
fashion, brood night after night…running up quite the tab.
As payment for his escalating bill, Napoleon paid with what he had…that being his hat.
He informed the proprietors that one day his hat would be world famous because he would,
in turn, become famous.
And obviously, the proprietor took him at his word and accepted the hat.
And so now the oldest restaurant in Paris boasts owning one of the earliest hats
worn by what many consider to be France’s greatest and most brilliant tacticians and
military leaders.
Well, that is how they feel now as we all know that France has had an up and down,
love-hate relationship with her dearest yet height challenged leader.
I say all of this because as an up and coming soldier, Napoleon was like any young
soldier, woefully strapped for cash.
Acknowledging that he needed to pay his debt, he did so by giving what he had, his hat…
coupled with the guarantee that the hat would indeed suffice as payment as it would
certainly, cover his expenses given that his future was on track for fame…
And so this not so modest offering has indeed become quite rare and somewhat priceless
while in the end, Napoleon’s guarantee had come to fruition and then some.
A few weeks back I wrote a post about life in ‘the middle’—
as in our nation’s recent proclivity for being pretty much split down the middle given
our voting persuasions.
There are no clear-cut winners anymore because it’s now a matter of an almost equal tug of war
with an opponent’s toe barely crossing the line when suddenly the other opponent, who’s still
pulling, is proclaimed the victor…
So with more near miss victors than ever before…
a wealth of those having won by only a toe’s length or the proverbial skin of the teeth,
the losing side has taken to the ugliness of temper tantrums.
The problem in all of this is the growing numbers of near-miss victors and their equally
determined tug of war partners unwilling to surrender—despite their toe having crossed
the line.
It just seems there are simply no real clear cut winners any more—no full out right bodies
that come flying over the line after being jerked over by the formidable foe—
rather it’s come down to a constant stream of photo finishes.
Take for instance the recent race for Governor here in Georgia.
The numbers told us that the Republican Brian Kemp won.
The numbers were simply not there for his Democratic opponent Stacey Abrams.
Although the numbers were indeed close.
Brian Kemp is a what many consider to be a typical good ol’ boy, Southern politician
while Abrams is a single black woman who was poised to be the first black woman
to hold such a prestigious office here in the deep south…
putting her on the edge for making monumental history.
Lots of unspoken thoughts and opinions are now floating and flying around about both of
these tug of war opponents and their collective sides.
So in typical ‘in the middle’ mindset of this nation…Abrams whose toe was pulled slightly
over the line…obviously over the line…refused to let go of the rope despite
the arms raised of the victor Kemp.
Two weeks have now passed despite Kemp claiming the victory in the wee hours of the vote counting,
as Abrams has now dug in and refused to give up her end of the rope.
Mathematically it has been clear that it would be impossible for her to call for a re-count
let alone a runoff.
So finally yesterday, two weeks after the fact, Abrams emerges to make a statement.
She announces that Kemp will be governer but that she will not concede…
in fact, she will file a lawsuit over Georgia’s voting irregularities…
Irregularities for a state that proudly boasts that its voting practices have been on point
for the past oh so many years.
On the one hand, we have someone admitting their opponent has won the prize while they in turn
refuse to admit that they have lost.
A refusal to concede while skirting around the obvious.
A win and a loss…no tie.
No longer do we as a public witness any level of magnanimity between opponents.
There is no graciousness between opponents let alone between one party to another.
No sense of decorum.
No extending of the hand from the vanquished to the victor noting a race well run…
Rather there is refusal.
There is denial.
There are claims of foul play.
There is the stomping of the tantrum’s foot.
No more is there a “may the best man, or woman, win” mentality.
No longer are there lessons of fair play or the lessons of how to win or lose graciously
being offered for our youth.
No examples of taking the high road.
No living with the numbers…
Rather its a matter of refusing to acknowledge defeat.
No more selflessly throwing one’s support behind the victor in order to work together
for the betterment of “the people”…for the sake of both sides of voters.
This current sort of mentality and poor sportsmanship leaves me, a voter, resentful of the
tantrum makers.
It makes me angry.
I am discovering very quickly that I have no tolerance for obstructionists.
Those who are the stalematers, the momentum breakers, the saboteurs of our own successes.
Those who wish to stop the good of the entire nation for the good of themselves.
And so I think of Napoleon.
But not so much for reasons one would assume.
Yes, he was a man who was small in stature but huge in ego.
A man who even I admit hated the notion of losing.
His was a life of battle and conquest with the ultimate goal being his own rising to the top.
Not the most magnanimous of mindsets.
Humility was not a word ever used to describe Napoleon.
No self-deprecating in his corner of the world.
The question of his true motives and his real concern being either for France and her people or
simply for himself…well…only history can help us pick that apart…
And yet here in this tale of an obscure little black and oddly shaped hat,
we learn of a would be great man acknowledging his being in a bit of a tight spot.
We hear the acknowledgment that even those
with great expectations of self can still recognize and even own up to stumbling
while being, in the end, at somewhat of a loss.
In this case, the loss of enough cash to pay one’s bill.
Living fast, loose and large and not being able to afford to do so.
Just like so many in our society today.
And yet we know Napoleon did not run out on his debt…something he easily could have done.
Yet there was the matter of honor and of principles.
Honor and principles that many of us lack today while preferring to live loose and large…
We assume that someone else, such as the government, should come to the rescue
and excuse or even pay for such wanton living.
But here, an otherwise self-centered egotist owns up to owing…
and pays his bill with the only thing he really owns at the time, he pays with a hat.
A hat along with a promise…
All while a gracious proprietor, who at the time, probably rolled
his eyes as he’d heard his fair share of grandiose dreams from one dreamer too many,
in turn, graciously accepted this pitiful payment none the less.
A simple act of give and take.
As we learn that a truthful acknowledgment, albeit hard truths, actually give way to a glimpse
of humility.
And there must always remain humility if there is to be any sense of hope in our society.
So when even just a hair of that toe crosses the line, admitting we’ve been defeated is not only
the right thing to do, it is the only thing.
Fair and square losses…
losses with no amount of whining, fussing and cussing, challenging, foot stomping
or threats of lawsuits can turn a loss into a win…
and if it could, in the end, would the win by hook and crook be worth the cost of our
humanity?
I worry that our society has lost all hope for the glimmer of her principles, those being
foremost graciousness and humility.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.
Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but
each of you to the interests of the others.
Philippians 2:3-4
“One day everything will be well,
that is our hope.
Everything’s fine today,
that is our illusion”
Voltaire
(Edward Collier’s Letter Rack / 1698 / Oil on Canvas /Art Gallery of South Australia)
There are good days…
Days such as Christmas when things like Snoopy and Woodstock flannel sheets,
along with a handmade Georgia Tech teddy bear is all it takes to make
one happy and content.
(dad and his grandson on Christmas day / Julie Cook / 2016)
There are bad days…
Days when the weight and heaviness of reality is coupled by the
frustratingly helplessness of a losing battle of body …
(dad on a bad day / Julie Cook / 2016)
And yet the turning of the calendar page always brings renewed hopefulness.
A new year,
a new day,
a new month,
a new hope…
The hospice nurse told us yesterday that things with Dad are status quo…
could be worse, could be better, and yet he’s holding his own–so far this day…
On another day, perhaps tomorrow, something else may come our way, something different…
but as for today, we will take “status quo”
Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”
But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
I call out to the LORD, and he answers me from his holy mountain.
I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.
I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.
Psalm 3:2-6
Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.
Voltaire
(the changing glimpse of beyond before the storm / Julie Cook / 2015)
It’s all beyond us really. . .
As in elsewhere
As in bigger, greater, grander
As in far away and much more than ourselves.
What of this place, Beyond?
That which is beyond the trees,
The clouds,
The sky. . .
What is this that is Beyond?
Is it what is there and simply not here?
That which is further rather than closer
That which is big not small?
Those whose sights remain small and inward
may never know the vast richness of Beyond.
Those whose heads are fixed ever downward,
Whose worlds are stationary and static,
Will not know Beyond
Beyond is more. . .
There is endlessness in Beyond
Humankind is not endless, we rather, are finite
As in consisting of a beginning and an ending
As in small and limited
For even our time is limited, as well as unknown
What of this Beyond?
Where does it start?
Where does it end?
One must look upward,
Outward,
Forward. . .
For Beyond is certainly in front, not behind
Beyond is not beneath nor under
Beyond is beyond touch,
Reach
Comprehension
Beyond is not of this time,
Your time or mine.
It goes much further than time
Much further than past or present
It is actually closer to future.
Beyond is beyond what is known
Beyond is beyond this place,
this space,
this dimension
Beyond is. . .simply. . .
Beyond
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9
“If it pains you to discover that a Nice Man can be a crumbum, Tom, it’s life you’ve got to object to, not Percy in particular.”
― Ellery Queen
Give me liberty or Give me Death
Patrick Henry
I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.
Voltaire
(a two headed Roman “Janus” coin)
Responsibility as defined by Merriam Webster:
: the state of being the person who caused something to happen
: a duty or task that you are required or expected to do
: something that you should do because it is morally right, legally required, etc.
Moral obligations as defined by USlegal.com:
Moral obligation is an obligation arising out of considerations of right and wrong. It is an
obligation arising from ethical motives, or a mere conscientious duty, unconnected with any legal
obligation, perfect or imperfect, or with the receipt of benefit by the promisor of a material or
pecuniary nature. Moral obligation springs from a sense of justice and equity that an honorable
person would have, and not from a mere sense of doing benevolence or charity.
Freedom as defined by Oxford dictionary:
The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or
restraint
Rites + freedoms + liberties = responsibility.
Freedom to:
defame
blaspheme
belittle
mock
desecrate
offend. . .
The freedom to be satirical, to be outspoken, to ruffle feathers. . .
To irritate
To heal
To soften
To entertain
To insult
To defend
To inflame
To incite
To quell
To antagonize
To redeem
To be mean
To be kind. . .
The freedom to be thoughtful
To be thoughtless. . .
The freedom to draw, to write, to sing, to dance, to paint, to soar. . .
The freedom to be expressive regardless of what others may think or feel.
Will you inspire or will you be despised?
Will you be a bridge or will you be destructive?
The freedom to be honorable towards others.
The freedom to believe.
The freedom to turn away.
The responsibility to honor and defend life
Or
The freedom to take life
The freedom to dishonor.
The responsibility to respect.
What is your responsibility?
The freedom and responsibility to defend Freedom
Yet what then is the responsibility of freedom?
“All of Creation is made by the Holy Trinity acting in communion as an outpouring of Love and Grace.”
Excerpt for January newsletter from St Isaac’s Orthodox Skete.
God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.
Voltaire
Today Dad turns 86.
The picture above is of a birthday 82 years ago when dad turned 4.
His mother, my grandmother, Nany, was also born on March the 10th—She was 32 when dad was born providing, most likely, her most memorable birthday gift. Dad was 7 years younger than his big brother, my Uncle Paul who we lost several years ago when he was almost 90, making Dad the baby of the family—with my grandmother doing just that, pampering, babying and sheltering Dad throughout much of his young life.
Nany would turn 118 today—it’s most difficult for me to wrap my brain around the fact that she’s been gone from my life now for so long. She was the formidable one of the family although she stood at just a tad over 5 feet. I’ve written a couple posts referencing her, but she deserves her own story, of which I’ve promised myself to write. She died two years after I was married, the same year mother died. That year, that dreadful year of 1986, Dad lost the two most important women in his life, each within just months of one another. Mother died of cancer at age 53. Nany died from the complications of a stroke at age 88. That left Dad and I, picking up the pieces, all while forging ahead as best we knew how.
I suppose we’re still picking up pieces, he and I—it’s just that the pieces are a bit different these days. . .
Here’s Dad in a piecemeal football uniform, alongside my uncle, his older brother. After breaking a finger, Nany nixed the football, making him quit. Throughout the remainder of his life, he was never the athlete—however, he loves watching, to this day, his beloved alma-mater, The Georgia Tech Yellow jackets, playing football.
So Dad, today is all for you!
Here is to hoping you truly enjoy your day. . .
We love you–
Julie, Gregory, Brenton and Abby
“It is not known precisely where angels dwell whether in the air, the void, or the planets. It has not been God’s pleasure that we should be informed of their abode.”
Voltaire
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