Although I believe you can never resolve the past by rummaging through it, I do believe that if you have the courage to remember and the strength to be objective you can learn from your own past. The great lesson I've learned is there are times to be silent and even perhaps passive and times when you must emphatically say no.
When I was 12, on December 24th, 1956 my father came to wake me and get me started on mopping the halls of our 5 story apartment building. It was one of my jobs. We were working as superintendents to build enough money so we could own our own home.
I couldn't get out of bed. Every time I moved I felt a sharp pain in my side. I told my Dad I was sick. He figured I shirking my duty and pushed me to get to work. I did. The tenants saw I was in pain and went and told my parents who took me to the MD. I had appendicitis, and the MD. said they got to it just before a rupture. The recovery was a long time spent in bed until April because the incision wouldn't heal. It then became an issue that I might be a Hemophiliac.
Roles abruptly changed. My father became a supplicant, concerned about my needs. Every night when he came home he came first to see me. He brought me dinner and asked how I was and what I would like for dessert. I would ask for an ice cream sundae or a brownie from Moskowitz's bakery and I got it. I was 13 and went from a rail skinny kid to extra large.
To this day as the New Year approaches, I plan again to go on a diet.
Food is a connection to the most important person in my life and the food is not fruit and vegetables. I want to and most probably have to forgive my father but at the same time, I want to hold on to that change in our roles: me on top, getting what I want without putting in the work.
Way past time for the No. Want to get to work and mop up, get clean.
So, a resolution to get fit, for the New Year.
Friday, December 30, 2016
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
The Economist
From their Holiday Double issue is this story titled: "Brentry".
I find it is another attempt by the media to understand and in that way explain Brexit. The Economist uses history. Specifically the Norman Conquest, exactly 950 years ago it was: " the single greatest political change England has ever seen." It was a horrifyingly bloody and transformative time, and the results of that invasion continue until today. The Anglo-Saxon system of government and its economy was destroyed and replaced by the 'continental' system. The Economist names that transformation 'Brentry': the British entry to the continent's way of governance, business, and ecclesiastics. The lands of 4,000 English Lords passed over to 200 Norman and French Barons. By 1073 there were only 2 English Bishops. English Cathedrals, Abbeys, and Castles were destroyed. Despite the damage, the invasion helped the English economy. For example, English wool became very popular on the continent; the destruction resulted in massive infrastructure spending. Before the invasion there were about 60 fairs and markets, within 30 years there were 350. Most probably spurred on by the increase in the standard of living from 1.70 pounds to 3.30 pounds. Slaves were freed and slavery outlawed. The population grew from 2.25 million in 1100 to 6 million in 1300.
The conquest was more brutal and longer lasting in the North. The people in the North did not consider themselves British. They were more aligned with the Scots and Scandinavians. They continued to resist the Normans and suffered for it. In 1086 the South was 4 times as wealthy as the North and York had lost half its population. Although the North had never been economically affluent its wealth suffered even more after the invasion and they never recovered.
Here, the writer leaps to the present day to connect the voting for Brexit with the counties of the North that suffered during the Norman Invasion. He mentions that the surnames of students at Oxbridge Universities are today Norman in origin.
The real thrust of the piece is the fact that England needs the continent. Brentry brings wealth, political stability, and order. While Brexit is the exact opposite.
I would add: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." {George Santayana].
In another article in The Economist: "City of the Century" I was reminded of another lesson from history.
Tomorrow, then.
I find it is another attempt by the media to understand and in that way explain Brexit. The Economist uses history. Specifically the Norman Conquest, exactly 950 years ago it was: " the single greatest political change England has ever seen." It was a horrifyingly bloody and transformative time, and the results of that invasion continue until today. The Anglo-Saxon system of government and its economy was destroyed and replaced by the 'continental' system. The Economist names that transformation 'Brentry': the British entry to the continent's way of governance, business, and ecclesiastics. The lands of 4,000 English Lords passed over to 200 Norman and French Barons. By 1073 there were only 2 English Bishops. English Cathedrals, Abbeys, and Castles were destroyed. Despite the damage, the invasion helped the English economy. For example, English wool became very popular on the continent; the destruction resulted in massive infrastructure spending. Before the invasion there were about 60 fairs and markets, within 30 years there were 350. Most probably spurred on by the increase in the standard of living from 1.70 pounds to 3.30 pounds. Slaves were freed and slavery outlawed. The population grew from 2.25 million in 1100 to 6 million in 1300.
The conquest was more brutal and longer lasting in the North. The people in the North did not consider themselves British. They were more aligned with the Scots and Scandinavians. They continued to resist the Normans and suffered for it. In 1086 the South was 4 times as wealthy as the North and York had lost half its population. Although the North had never been economically affluent its wealth suffered even more after the invasion and they never recovered.
Here, the writer leaps to the present day to connect the voting for Brexit with the counties of the North that suffered during the Norman Invasion. He mentions that the surnames of students at Oxbridge Universities are today Norman in origin.
The real thrust of the piece is the fact that England needs the continent. Brentry brings wealth, political stability, and order. While Brexit is the exact opposite.
I would add: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." {George Santayana].
 |
| From the Bayeux Tapestry |
In another article in The Economist: "City of the Century" I was reminded of another lesson from history.
Tomorrow, then.
Sunday, December 25, 2016
Merry Christmas
The middle of winter has always been a time of celebration.
In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule from 12/21 to the end of January. Yule was the Germanic Tribes name for the winter solstice when the days grew longer. The Norse fathers and sons would bring home logs that they set on fire and these yule logs would burn for 12 days. During that time there would be a lot of feasting on food and drink. It's the time of year that cattle would be slaughtered so they wouldn't have to be fed during the winter when grazing wasn't possible. This questions the fact that Christians chose 12/25 for their birth of Christ. The bible says shepherds were herding their sheep at the time of Christ's birth. Not something you would do in December.
In Rome, the winter celebration was called Saturnalia after Saturn, god of agriculture. It was party time. The word saturnalian has come to mean a time of merrymaking. The Romans also celebrated the birth of Mithra, god of the sun, on December 25th.
In early Christianity, Christmas was not celebrated at all. The major holiday was Easter. It was in the 4th century that Pope Julius I created Christmas and designated 12/25 as the day of celebration. The Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches celebrate The Epiphany on 1/7, the day the Magi visited Christ as their 'Feast of the Lights'.
In America, when Cromwell and the puritans outlawed Christmas it was banned in Boston from 1659 to 1681. It was in the 19th Century that America reinstituted Christmas as a family holiday. It was Washington Irving's stories: "The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, gent." that had a lot to do with it. They were fictionalized stories of families celebrating Christmas. In 1843 Charles Dickens added to the tradition with his book: "A Christmas Carol".
A part of Christmas since Germany in the 18th Century has been lights. Lights on trees and lights on the home. Here are some of the lights in New York City's 5th Ave. today:
In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule from 12/21 to the end of January. Yule was the Germanic Tribes name for the winter solstice when the days grew longer. The Norse fathers and sons would bring home logs that they set on fire and these yule logs would burn for 12 days. During that time there would be a lot of feasting on food and drink. It's the time of year that cattle would be slaughtered so they wouldn't have to be fed during the winter when grazing wasn't possible. This questions the fact that Christians chose 12/25 for their birth of Christ. The bible says shepherds were herding their sheep at the time of Christ's birth. Not something you would do in December.
In Rome, the winter celebration was called Saturnalia after Saturn, god of agriculture. It was party time. The word saturnalian has come to mean a time of merrymaking. The Romans also celebrated the birth of Mithra, god of the sun, on December 25th.
In early Christianity, Christmas was not celebrated at all. The major holiday was Easter. It was in the 4th century that Pope Julius I created Christmas and designated 12/25 as the day of celebration. The Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches celebrate The Epiphany on 1/7, the day the Magi visited Christ as their 'Feast of the Lights'.
In America, when Cromwell and the puritans outlawed Christmas it was banned in Boston from 1659 to 1681. It was in the 19th Century that America reinstituted Christmas as a family holiday. It was Washington Irving's stories: "The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, gent." that had a lot to do with it. They were fictionalized stories of families celebrating Christmas. In 1843 Charles Dickens added to the tradition with his book: "A Christmas Carol".
A part of Christmas since Germany in the 18th Century has been lights. Lights on trees and lights on the home. Here are some of the lights in New York City's 5th Ave. today:
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