A few weeks ago, I decided to take a cruise down main street in the auld Beetle.  I journeyed down main street giving people the peace sign in reply to their thumbs up.  I parked at the end of South Main and made my way up the road towards bricked area of city centre.  I spotted a man sitting on a bench that looked like he could use some company, so I enquired, “Pardon me, sir, would you mind if I sit for a spell?”

He nodded and I sat down beside him and bathed in the spring sunbeams.  The man looked a little out of place amongst the myriad of striplings ambling up and down the pavement.  He was a white headed bearded chap wearing dress slacks, a tweed sport coat, and gleaming Sunday shoes.  There was a silver Star of David glistening on his left lapel. 

The gentleman turned as if to enquire about something.  “Was that you in that old Beetle that came past here a few minutes ago?” 

“Yes, sir.”  I answered with great delight, hoping to start a conversation.

“I had one back in the 50’s, when I lived in England”, he stated with an overwhelming smile.

“Was it a split window, Beetle?”  I asked with excitement.

“Yes, it was a split window, Beetle.  You must know your VW’s.”

“I’m surprised, sir, if you don’t mind me saying so.  I didn’t figure that many Jewish people would have anything to do with a car made in Germany, at least back then.”

“Well, they were very economical at the time, and besides, we invented the things”, he answered with a mild smirk overtaking his countenance.

I smiled and said, They are still economical and very good cars, at least the older one’s are”.

I hesitated for a moment pondering whether to ask the question that I really wanted to ask.  He was elderly and theoretically could have survived the holocaust.

“Sir, if you don’t mind me asking…”

“I know the question you are going to ask and the answer is, yes.”

“Were you in Germany at the time?”

He stroked his beard for a bit, and said, “I was 8 years-old, when my father lost his job at Heidelberg University.  Well, he was kicked out by the Nazi’s.  It was 1939 and Hitler and all of his cronies were mercilessly expelling Jews from Germany.  My father had just enough money hidden away to move all of us to England.  I lost a lot of friends and family during those horrific years.  I think that everyone who really wants to know how insidious the Nazi’s were, should visit Aushwitz.  It is one thing to read books or watch a documentary, but it is a whole other ball game to see it.   How does the saying go?  “”Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.”””

I almost put my hand up as if answering a question in class, and enunciated, “Edmund Burke is the original orator of that phrase, I think, but it has been rehashed so many times by so many people”.

“Ah right, an Irishman, I believe”, he said whilst stroking his beard and poking at some trash with his cane.

I scratched my head, and said, “I never have understood it, sir.  I have a wee bit of German as well as Jewish blood running through my veins.  I don’t guess…”

Laughingly, he enquired, “You, Jewish ancestors?  I’d take you for being Irish or English.”

“I am mostly Irish, but my mothers, mothers, fathers, mothers, mothers, fathers, fathers, fathers, fathers, father came over from Israel a long time ago.  His grandson, Michael Israel, started the first synagogue in North Carolina.  He and his father, Solomon, fought in the Revolutionary War.  Actually the Germans come in on the same side of the family.  I am proud of all of my ancestors, for if it were not for them, I wouldn’t be here.”

The gentleman leaned back with arched frosty eyebrows and a smile.  “You must be a historian, knowing all of that about your family?” 

“No one in my family seems to care, so I have taken it upon myself to do the research and take the time needed to learn all that I can about all of my ancestors.  Though, I do love history.”

“That’s very admirable of you, son.  We need more people like you in the world”, he said whilst adjusting his hat.

“So, tell me more about yourself, sir”

With a great laugh, he responded, “That would take ages, and as you can see, I’m not getting any younger”.

“Where did you grow up in England?”

“We moved around a lot.  My father worked in Reading and London.  London was a great place to be in the 60’s, even for a Jew.”

“When did you move to the states?”  I earnestly enquired.

“Well, I got a job with a great firm in New York, so we moved there in the early 70’s.  My wife had family in Queens, so it wasn’t a hard choice.  We moved to Upstate New York about 15 years ago to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life.”

“What brings you to the upstate of South Carolina, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“We came down for the wedding of a friends granddaughter, but we are also considering moving down here.”

“Ah, that’s grand.”

“Are you sure you’re not from the UK?”  He asked with a mild grin.

“No, I just have some kind friends in Ireland and the UK.  And, I’ve visited a few times.”

“Don’t let the world define you, you define the world.”

“Sir, if has been a pleasure meeting you, if you and your family need any assistance while in town, please give me a call”, I stated whilst giving him my card.

About that time, a crowd of ladies came out of the hotel that is situated directly in city centre.  One of them was an elderly lady making her way towards us.  He gathered up his belongings as the lady got closer. 

“My name is Jefferson Davis, sir.  You all have a safe trip”, I said.

The man turned back around, shook my hand, and said, “My name is Hiram, Hiram Israel.”

I stood there in shock with a half grin on my face as they walked towards the line of restaurants further up main street.  It just proves that you never know who you are going to meet on the street.  I could tell by the tone of his voice that he didn’t want to talk about the Holocaust, or Shoah.  According to him, it’s been 72 years since he left Germany, but it still shakes him to the bone.  I’m just a mere Gentile, but I will not ever forget what happened so many decades ago.  There is no, nor will there ever be, any reason for killing so many people.  The German people put their hopes and dreams in one man and one party.  That was their ultimate downfall.  Few people could predict in 1925 how power would turn Hitler and his cabinet into a bunch of malign despots.

That should be a lesson heeded by the young of today.  Idolise no man.  Aspire to accomplish what other men have accomplished, but never idolise another man for you will surely see him faulter and sink into an abyss of diffidence.  Have faith in yourselves and God, if you so choose.  Even Jesus says in John 10:34, “Ye are gods”.

Define the world, people.  Make it a better place for us all to live in.  Even the most finite ripples in a pond traverse its entire surface.

Chag Sameach Pesach

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Forty years ago today man landed and walked on the moon.  What an amazing triumph that was for humanity.  It’s hard to believe that it has been that long and even harder to believe that we’ve not been back since December of ‘72.  I was still in diapers when Cernan and Schmitt of Apollo 17 launched off the desolate lunar landscape for the last time.

We learned a great deal in low earth orbit, but it is time that we return to that bright lunar orb hanging so precariously in the night sky.  I hear people ask why we should bother going back.  I usually answer with a question.  When you gaze up at the moon on a clear night, do you not wonder in amazement.  Do you wish you could wander across its craters in the blistering heat of the day cycle?  Mind you, you’d be dead within a millisecond without a space suit not to mention the boiling temps of day and the frigidness of night.   

The moon was and is a stepping stone.  We need to start leaping across the giant pond that is the cosmos.  We are resilient and smart little feckers.  If we work together, we can widen our scope and really shake up the place. 

Anyone have any memories they would like to share? 

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I had to go shoe shopping today.  I hate shopping for shoes!  It’s a royal pain because I have one foot longer than the other.  So, I have to buy shoes that are snug for one foot and tight on the other.  It all works out in the end. 

After scribing a few pieces of corner moulding this morning, I headed down to the local shoe shop.  I was looking for hiking boots.  It took me a while to find some that I was happy with.  So, a man in his mid twenties came over and asked if he could be of any help.

“Can I help you, sir?”

“No, thank you.”

“You’ve been back here for a while, so I just wanted to make sure that you didn’t need any help”, he said whilst sorting the inventory of shoe boxes.

“Ah well, you can just call me Oedipus”, I laughingly announced.

“Edipuss?”

“Oedipus, the king.  A play written by Sophocles.  Anyway, Oedipus means swollen foot.”

“Huh?”

“I have one foot bigger than they other”, I muttered, as the young  man looked even more perplexed.

“Oh…….Cool!”

Anyhow, I talked to him about college.  He said that he’d think about going back to school.  I told him that with education comes freedom to go where one wishes to go and accomplish what one wants to accomplish. 

I had to read Oedipus the King in 8th grade, I believe.  At college, I did an in-depth paper on Oedipus.  I don’t understand why any kid over the age of 10 doesn’t know about Sophocles. 

Now, I’m trampling around in a steel toed size 10(EU44) boot!  Don’t mess with Davis. 

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The ol’ turkey seems to bring out the worst and best in people.  All of it in one afternoon. 

There was enough muttering, whispering, yelling, arguing, and laughing going around yesterday to last a lifetime. 

I got up early yesterday and went to my grandmothers house to get everything in order.  I am the official chairman of orderliness.  I bring order to chaos.  I bring peace to the warring tribes of my family by reciting a few words that I usually come up with at the last moment.

“We are privileged to be gathered together in this place to give thanks to the fruitful bounty of our labour.  Also, to treasure our families and friends here today and those that are away yet so close to our hearts. 

And, let us never forget the ancestors that came before us.  Those that fought and died for our freedoms, and those that suffered because of their religious beliefs or nationality.

And finally, everyone in this family should recognise how special this day is, for most of you, being of European and Cherokee descent, can greatly understand both sides of the story and the importance of this day.

Now, dig in!”

While chowing down on turkey, dressing, gravy, candied yams, green bean casserole, potato salad (me Mum’s specialty) and cranberry sauce, I got into a wee bit of a spat with my cousin.  She weaved, wobbled, and pecked at me like a turkey, as I stood and smiled.  I don’t remember what it was about, so I don’t reckon it was too important.  Something about my sister, I presume.

In the middle of eating, I got called down to my sisters to repair a phone line.  To say I was irritated would be an understatement.  At every family event, I am badgered with technical questions.  They usually want to know what kind of TV to buy or what the best mobile on the market is at that time. 

I shouldn’t be insulted by such questions, but I am.  Mind you, I kindly answer their questions.  But, I know a heck of a lot more about a myriad of other subjects than they would every give me credit for.  It is an insult to my intelligence to think that information technology is the only thing buzzing around in my head. 

After repairing her phone line, I went back to the festivities and ate entirely too much.  When I got ready to leave, my little niece and her mother came over to say goodbye.  She said she wanted to be just like me.  Can you imagine such a thing?  I asked her why, and she said it was because I was really…wheelly smart and go places. 

A ten year old looking up to me?  Well, that makes it all worthwhile.

Everybody that had argued through the afternoon conciliated and the three dozen chocolate oatmeal cookies I made were gone!

Happy belated Thanksgiving my ‘merkan comrades.  

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That wondrously kind Vanilla has bestowed an Art award upon me.  I am honoured and quite blushed that she’d include me in this award, especially since I’ve been so quiet on the blogosphere lately.  I can only hope that future post will enhance this fête.  It is the little things that people do for one another that gives me hope.  Thank you, Vanilla.

So, here’s the blurb:

Art Prize and Award
"This prize has arisen from the daily visits that I dedicate to many blogs which nourish me and enrich me with creativity. In them I see dedication, creativity, care, comradeship, but mainly, ART, much art. I want to share this prize with all those bloggers that entertain me day to day and to share this prize with those who enrich me every day. Doubtlessly, there are many and it will be hard to pick just a few, the people I will name today deserve this prize, as do the very long serious list of bloggers I also enjoy to read, but I will name the first 10 and will leave the rest of the work to all the bloggers that visit other’s blogs and are nourished by them."

The standard rules apply for this award.  I will pass it on to five of you and expect you to do the same.  If you are not on my list, please do not be insulted.  I might have just forgot ’bout you or somethin’.  Have you ever heard of an absent minded lensman?  Well, that’s me in a nutshell. 

Iced Coffee

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Here’s a lovely meme for the lot of you.  This one has been around the blogosphere for a while, but it is fun and easy.  This one consist of taking passages out of a book on a certain page.  It is quite hilarious as to what you’ll find.  I may have cheated a wee bit, but it is really close to what it is supposed to be. 

The rules are:
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

"She aroused them, and soon the assembly ground and seats were filled with curious men, a throng who peered and saw the master mind of war, Laërtes son.  Athena now poured out her grace upon him, head and shoulders, height and mass – a splendor awesome to the eyes of the Phaiákians; she put him in a fettle to win the day, mastering every trial they set to test him.  When all the crowd sat marshalled, quieted, Alkínoös addressed the full assembly."

Most of you can probably tell from whence this passage came, but I will tell those of you that have never read it.  Shame on you!    Tis "The Odyssey", by Homer and translated by, Robert Fitzgerald.  Whenever I need advice about life, I dig deep into the works of Homer and Sophocles.  We can learn so much from the past.  At times, I think they knew more about the intricacies in life than we do. 

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Happy Thanksgiving to all of you Americans out there on the internets (Bush’s word for internet, idiot).  May you all be blessed with a full tummy, a good football game to watch, a fluffy couch to recline on, and sleep.    Oh America, how I love you.

There are two stories about the first Thanksgiving worth mentioning.  There’s the traditional, Pilgrims were about peace and love story, and there is the Indians story, which presents the Pilgrims as savages.  Make up you own mind, but I’m going to side with the Native Americans.I’m not implying that the Pilgrims were evil, but I will say that they used their advanced technology as an advantage.     Eh…Well, don’t we all use our technology and intellect to our advantage. 

That’s enough for now, I’m  going to go weep over my truck. 

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Being the gentleman that I am, this is a
hard subject area for me, but I like treading in dangerous waters. All thanks and credit goes to Skint, for
tagging me with this task. I have four
sisters, so it should not be that difficult of a task, yet I am a guy with a
lot of moxie, so I guess I’ll have to tone it down a bit.   Anyhow, here are my top five things that Feminism has done for me.

1. My mother instilled in me from day one the
   importance of liberty and happiness for men and women, and that neither should
   be treated differently, because of his or her gender. Because of that, I treat women with more
   respect than the average Joe.

2. The Pill! The birth control pill has brought freedom to men and women, myself
   included. Eh…Well, this is dangerous
   territory, but there might be one or two little Jefferson’s
   running loose on the world, if there was no birth control. Shewww (Wiping Brow)

3. Feminism has made women independent, and I
   like that about a woman. Of course, it
   is grand to be needed, but it gets tiring after a while. The woman…ahem…I’m dating is fiercely
   independent, and she’s got a lot of spunk because of it. God, I love a woman with spunk. Nothing to me is better than a woman that
   knows what she wants, and knows how to get it. No, I didn’t mean anything derogatory by that statement.
   

4. Feminism is great and all, but there are
   some negatives. For instance, a man cannot
   discuss strong things in front of a woman that holds the same position as
   him. In other words, a man cannot
   discuss another woman amongst a co-worker that is a woman, without some
   reaction from said woman. Women watch
   out for one another, as I think they should.
   

5. Feminism and Affirmative Action: First, let may say that feminism and
   affirmative action is needed at times, but it does have drawbacks. For instance, in America, if you have six people
   applying for a job with the same references and degrees, and three of them are
   female and the other three are male. This
   is how it is supposed to go, according to affirmative action: African-American female, African-American
   male, Hispanic/Native American female, Hispanic/Native American male, Caucasian
   female, and Caucasian male. When you get
   to the Caucasian male, there is no chance of being hired. Now, affirmative action rarely works that
   well, but that is the sequence in which it is supposed to work.

Please don’t be offended by what you have
read, for I was only making light of a very touchy subject. I’m tagging Playaz Ball (Only becuase I’m curius to see what those gents will say about the subject), and Wayne Ordinary American (Wayne always has some kind of zany remark.). 

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Who was Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle?  Well, have ya ever heard of Sherlock Holmes.  Hello, wake up people, there is a whole world waiting for you.   Sir Doyle wrote the Sherlock Holmes novels, as well as the Professor Challenger stories.  If you want the low down on Sir Doyle, go check out Sherlock Holmes Online.  To be honest, I wouldn’t have remembered it being his birthday, if Google hadn’t reminded me.

Cipher : The Hound of Baskervilles

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On May 20th 1889 the infamous Adolf Hitler was born.  Although, we are all human beings, Hitler proved to be more deviant than any other man in the 19th century.  I ponder sometimes how the world would be today, if he took over the world, like he wanted to do.  He was an evil man that hated Jewish people, which really bothers me.  It has been rumored for years that he was part Jewish.  If you are going to hate one race, why not hate them all?

Strangely, the towns of Nuremberg and Stuttgart in Germany were taken on this day in 1945, which was the end of Hitler.  His 2000 year reign, that he so callously professed, came to an end.  Personally, I think he knew the end was near.  How could he not?

What’s your say on the momentous events in History?

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This clip shows Winston cigarettes being advertised on the Flinstones.  How screwed up do you have to be, to advertise tobacco to kids?  This advertisement was normal for its time, which is sad.  I smoke every once and a while, but only on certain occasions.  I would never recommend anybody start smoking.  I smoked a pack and a half for four years, before I finally stopped cold turkey.  What’s your say on tobacco advertisement?

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Exactly 100 years ago, the great poet, playwright, and novelist Samuel Beckett, was born in Dublin, Ireland.  He wrote such great works like, Krapp’s Last Tape, and  Waiting for Godot.  Wikipedia has a full page containing everthing from his early years to his death.  Are you a fan of Beckett?

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