Underdog Day

It’s also officially Underdog Day, which got me thinking about why we love those that take on Herculean tasks, against what appear to be insurmountable odds.  Why when we look at an epic battle before us, do we so often root for the ones expected to lose?

Why do we love the underdog?

There are so many reasons we love the underdog.  They provide hope that we too can overcome incredible odds when we find ourselves facing them.  We imbue qualities of purity in purpose or rightness of cause to those that take on more than they can chew, and over and over see those individuals getting squashed under the dull, heavy machinery of progress, greed or ego.  We believe we’ve seen it so many times in our lives, that when the machinery is jammed up by someone loudly fighting back, we stop and stare, our fingers crossed.

Famous underdogs

Our history and mythology is littered with the successful upsets of the underdog.  Nelson Mandela. Mohandes Ghandi. Moses. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Cesar Chavez. David. Rocky Balboa. Cinderella. Clarence Darrow. Jesse Ventura. King Arthur. Joe Namath. James “Buster” Douglas. Horatio Alger. Pope Leo III. The Ugly Duckling. We love the underdog so much, that it has become commonplace for the leaders of any great struggle to diligently work hard to obtain the label.

We relate to the underdog

The Maccabees did not obtain the label of underdog because of their victory.  They hold that nomenclature only because we have agreed with claims that they were just that.  As Americans, we can relate to standing firm against a tidal wave of conformity, as our very Nation sprang from a need to break free of colonial conformity and unfairness.

The importance of the term

To this day, the media is played by both sides of the Palestinian-Israel struggle in an ongoing dispute to hold the moral high-ground of “the Underdog,” each eagerly pulling reporters down damaged alleyways, to review the aftermath of the latest atrocities endured.   More than winning any skirmish on the ground, the victory to be seen as the underdog is a sure method toward capturing the hearts and minds of the greater world.

Do we really just hate the “Overdog?”

We don’t really seem to love the underdog so much as we hate the group or individual they are facing off against.  It typically has a lot to do with perception about fairness.  How often do we sit down to a football game during a season when we cared little about the teams?  We sit down to enjoy, and see on one side a powerhouse team, lauded for victory after victory by the announcers, with an angelic two-legged pigskin launcher, tons of adoring fans, wheelbarrows of money on fire to keep the players warm, and blanketed in a brand new stadium that smells of caramel lattes.  We then turn our eye to the other team, astroturf still wedged in their facemasks from the last game, every other digit wrapped in bandage tape, huddled on old benches in the cold between two solemn Catholic priests busily shaking holy water at them and praying fervently.

Stop laughing, I know I am stretching it a bit.  I mean, who brings wheelbarrows to an NFL game?  The thing is, we never rooted for either team, and never gave a damn during the season who was winning or losing games.  But all things being equal, if we allow ourselves to perceive that one team has an unfair advantage over the other, we will automatically choose the underdog, hoping that a universal force of justice will prevail.

The strength of the underdog

The victory we commemorate each and every year in Hanukkah is a victory celebrated far beyond the Jewish faith.  The overthrow of the Hellenists allowed the survival of traditional Judaism, and events that led to the birth of Christianity and Islam. The Maccabees’ popular struggle led to other uprisings, and the eventual downfall of World domination by the Greeks.

Want to win any battle in life?  After choosing a righteous cause, you’ll need two things – persistence and the label of underdog.  It doesn’t matter how often you are kicked down in the pursuit of your dreams.  If you keep getting up day after day and fighting the good fight, if you allow others to see the purity of your purpose and the odds you are working against, little by little you will gain a following.  It doesn’t matter if they never knew your name before; if they don’t like who you are battling against, you have their support. People will laud your efforts, pat you on the back, slip you support when nobody is looking, and define themselves publicly through their relationships with you.  They will applaud and remember you, win or lose.

As we celebrate the day of those that stand against the greater world, I wish you a Happy Hanukkah.  Please have a peaceful evening, and use this time to re-dedicate yourselves to the good fight…

Did we even need a Bill of Rights?

So, why do we even need a Bill of Rights?  Didn’t we have a Constitution signed just a few years before 1791? Well, even when the Constitution was being written, there were a number of divisions with regard to whether or not it should explicitly list what our rights were.  To keep everyone in line, a proper listing of rights was left out of our founding document, in part to cobble together enough signatures on it.

The Cons

Alexander Hamilton stated a concern that by listing our rights, we were actually limiting them.  What happened to those rights that someone failed to list?  Were they now lost?  Did we only have those rights that were in the document?  Hamilton’s argument was that what was being created was typical in a relationship between royalty and their subjects.  In those situations, a Bill of Rights was often abused by those that held the power to define them.  Hamilton wanted an approach more like that of Britain’s Common Law, which drew from Natural Law, or the belief that we had rights inherent to our very presence in the World, and those rights were equal in stature to all others alive today.

The Pros

On the other side of the argument was Thomas Jefferson, who stated “Half a loaf is better than no bread.  If we cannot secure all of our rights, let us secure what we can.”  Jefferson and others were deeply concerned that a strong, emerging centralized government would work quickly to limit and/or remove the rights of all Americans.  Jefferson viewed the then-strong Presidency as possibly becoming akin to a Kingship.  Those rights secured now were less likely to be taken from us later…

Covering rights not documented

After much debate and subsequent modification, the Bill of Rights was brought forth, providing ten proposed Amendments to our Constitution, each one securing and defining the limits to our fundamental rights.  To appease those that agreed with Hamilton, the 9th Amendment stated “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”  Basically, if it’s not in our founding documents, it’s still a right unless stated otherwise.

Facebook and Social Media rights

On Dec. 9th of this year, Facebook changed its privacy settings for all of its users.  Founder Mark Zuckerberg posted a message on Facebook letting us all know that he would be opening up his private page for all to see and comment on.  That was nice of him.  The second thing he authorized, however, caused quite a stir.  Facebook, according to Zuckerberg, would also be opening up our status updates and photo albums for all to see too, unless we logged in, went back into our privacy settings, and reset them.

As I type this, millions of Facebook users with protected content who have not been informed, or have not logged into Facebook for awhile, may be sharing their content with everybody.  Hope all of those busy politicians, supermodels, actors, police officers, military members and so forth have the time and remember their logins…

A not-so-public change (and not addressed in Mr. Zuckerberg’s letter at all) was a privacy setting related to Google and other search engines farming your public content.  If your content is public, search engines can farm your content as of 2007.  But apparently, a new check box disallowing this sort of behavior has made its appearance in your privacy settings, but defaulted to allow it.  Yes, that’s right.  The ability for Google to deliver your content to everyone well outside of your friends network was kept defaulted to “Yeah, I’m okay with that.”  To remove this, you’ll have to go into your Privacy Settings and click on the Search icon.  Then click to uncheck the Allow box.

After logging in and changing your settings, you will find far greater granularity in defining who gets to see what content, but it was a heck of a way to introduce these new settings….

So what’s next?

As social media continues to grow in popularity, and advertisers begin to smack their chops over peeking at what we say to each other, you will likely begin to see what you say being offered up to mass marketers.  Some of the handing over will be done very publicly, and you will have to make a choice about what to do with your privacy settings.  But I do worry about what might get shared without my knowing, as yet another check box makes its emergence under dark of night, with a setting allowing for what I say to you to be whispered far and wide…

So while I am still scaring you, I have devised a simple Bill of Rights for the citizen living within the borders of Social Media.  Read them and let me know how they should be modified.  Adopt them if you’d like and use them when determining whether or not you are going to create another account somewhere online.  Copy and send them to your social media website provider and ask if they comply with them, and how.  Retweet or share them as far and wide as you’d like…

The Social Media Citizen’s Bill of Rights

First Right - We have a right to social media sites that are not configured in a way to favor one religious viewpoint, sexual orientation, gender or race over another.  We are to be allowed equal access in the ability to share our lives and exchange our viewpoints.

Second Right - We have a right to social media sites that do not prohibit or limit our freedom of speech or ability to share multimedia information openly (or privately) with others.  In order to protect us from material we deem offensive, social media sites shall provide the ability for us to limit, hide or block another user’s content.  Social media sites are to ensure they do not create features that ultimately circumvent the limiting of viewing of our content.

Third Right - We have a right to social media sites that allow any news or governmental source to share and disseminate multimedia information to us in an equally fair and timely manner, without censorship or the provision of favor to any particular viewpoint or bias.

Fourth Right -We have a right to social media sites that list, in an accessible location, the rules of how we are to use the site, as well as how the operators of the site shall address violations of these rules.  Social media sites shall provide an easy-to-use method for us to petition the site in order to redress grievances or rule violations.

Fifth Right - We have a right to social media sites that provide to its users the ability to protect the privacy of their content, and to limit its viewing by others to the maximum extent possible. With this regard, our right to set, maintain and adjust the personal privacy settings for our multimedia content, shall not be infringed.  Changes to any of our personal privacy settings shall not occur without timely public announcement and our express individual permission.  All design modifications should endeavor to default in such a way as to leave in place existing privacy settings.

Sixth Right - We have a right to social media sites that will never enter into agreements with private or governmental entities in a manner which circumvents our personal privacy settings, without our express permission (except via legal means in pursuit of criminal justice.)  Legal circumventing of our content shall not be performed without a warrant showing  probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and shall describe in detail the content to be searched.

Spread these rights far and wide, to let people know they can ask that the natural laws of social media allow us to expect certain unalienable rights to privacy and protection from its providers, simply by creating an account and showing up in the virtual world, too!

-Steve Woods

Amidst the hustle bustle of the Holiday season, whether shopping for Hanukkah or Christmas (or like me – both,) finding the time to primp and prepare your hair, your face, your home and your family for the arrival of relatives, loved ones and mortal enemies, where do we find time for yourselves?

Today begins what is known as the Halcyon Days, a period starting one week before the Winter Solstice and ending one week after.  Mythology ties this period to both an agreed settling down of Nature’s forces itself and, during a time when we were so much more tied to Mother Earth, of ourselves.

The origin of the term

In ancient Greek Mythology, Aeolus was god of the winds, worshiped and feared by sailors for rough seas or withheld gusts.  His daughter was the beautiful Alcyone, who fell in love with a mortal, a seafaring king by the name of Ceyx.  During a particularly rough sea passage, Ceyx’s ship sunk, dragging him under to the depths.  Distraught, Alcyone (or Halcyone) dove in after him and disappeared.

Because of the love that Halcyone showed for Ceyx, the gods were touched, and decided to transform the two of them into birds, so they could always be together in flight, safely above the rough seas.  Aeolus agreed to maintain the seas calm for a two-week period each year, enabling Halcyone and Ceyx to nest on the water and lay eggs.  The myth is tied to the Kingfisher bird, from the Greek Hals (the Sea) and Kuo (Brood on,) although the bird actually breeds in the Spring, and nests near the water, not on it.

What Halcyon Days means today

To this day, the myth of the two airborne lovers persists with sailors, who know the end of December as the Halcyon Days, tied to a period of calmer seas and good fishing.  In modern times, the term Halcyon Days is used to describe the “good old days,” or times in the past when the going was good, or easier for us.

Of course we can relax a bit when the Holiday season is over, and we are surrounded by opened boxes and dirty plates.  Everyone has finally gone back home, and we can finally quit sucking in our gut and wipe all that makeup off.  We can get that great outfit drycleaned and hung back up, and contemplate how to lose those extra pounds.  But what about now?  How do we find a way to calm the tumultuous currents we are experiencing now, before the guests arrive?

10 relaxation techniques

From WebMD, I found 10 practical methods of relaxing, and will paraphrase them here, along with some of my own advice…

1. Meditate - Any form of repetitive, calming exercise can be considered a form of meditation.  This would include taking short (or long) strolls, or swimming laps in a pool.  You could draw or paint, knit or bake.  Just find something you know in the past has made your inner storms calm down.
2. Picture Yourself Relaxed - Find the most comfy pajamas you have, and put them on.  Your favorite perfume or cologne? Yes.  A scented candle? Even better.  Lie down or relax on a comfy couch, and imagine yourself somewhere relaxing.  If you can purchase a CD with sounds from that environment, Mazel Tov.  Imagine yourself there as strongly as you can, and let your mind wander for a bit.
3. Breathe Deeply – When we are under a lot of stress, our bodies react as though we are under physical duress, shortening breaths and preparing us for that instinctive Fight or Flight response.  Take a big ol’ deep breath, using as much of your body as you can.  Breathe in deeply and let it all out slowly.  Relax your core muscle group and repeat the breathing exercise at least 10 times, feeling the tension melt away with each breath.
4. Look Around You – This can be done in conjunction with meditating or breathing.  Simply open up your mind and stop thinking about what you are worried about.  Focus on things around you.  If you are walking, this is the part where you actually notice the roses before you smell them.  Look all around, and think about what you are seeing right now.
5. Drink Hot Tea - Caffeine is a stimulant. Duh.  If you are trying to relax, stop drinking it and move over to decaf.  How about a nice herbal tea, like chamomile, or black tea, which has cortisol in it, a stress-reliever.  Practice a bit of the previous steps while enjoying your tea…
6. Show Some Love - Find a loved one or a pet and snuggle up.  Studies have shown that sharing physical contact with others in a social environment lowers both blood pressure and stress hormones.
7. Self-Massage – Try rubbing your back, your neck, your shoulders.  Or better yet, get one of those Shiatzu massaging pillows and lie down with it.  Close your eyes and practice #2 (above.)
8. Take a Time-Out – Whenever things are getting really bad, take some time to go somewhere and relax.  In the mall? Go get a pretzel (I know, they have lots of calories…) or put the bags you have so far in the trunk and walk around outside the mall for awhile.
9. Try a Musical Detour – Turn on soft, relaxing music while you are busy.  Research shows that 30 minutes of classical music has the same calming effect as 10 mg of Valium.
10. Take an Attitude Break - Instead of closing your eyes, keep ‘em open while working and think about pleasant things, such as obtaining something you are working towards, when you met your spouse, or a previous vacation.

As a goddess, Alcyone could not control what her mortal lover Ceyx did.  He had to be who he was, and I am sure it was stressful for Alcyone to see him being tossed about on the ocean.  We can’t control everything going on around us, but we can control how we deal with it.  So go find some candles and soft music, put on the PJs and get the massager.  You are worth it, you know…

While plunging headfirst into your Holiday preparations, try adding in some of these techniques, and see if your mental load lightens a bit, and some of that Holiday cheer comes back into your life, to carry you aloft.  Let me know which techniques worked the best for you, and what you did to improve on them.

Happy Holidays, and may you find calm seas upon which to hatch new ideas…

Steve

Hanukkah begins at sundown tonight, by Jewish tradition when you can see three stars in the sky tonight.  I have always loved the Jewish tradition that the days begin at night, when it is dark enough to see the twinkling and mysterious lights in the Heavens.  The tradition of nightfall beginning a new day comes from the book of Genesis.

It is often in our lives that our biggest, most meaningful changes occur when after the darkest of times, when it looks like all is lost.  So much we thought was permanent can be taken from us, over time or immediately, leaving us feeling helpless and beat down.  It’s also easy to find ourselves lying under the burden of problems we have brought upon ourselves through procrastination or bad habits.  During these times we pray for a little light in the distance, so we can begin our lives anew…

About Judea and Israel

Since its inception, the faith of the people of Judea has gone through changes.  A geographical trading hub and militarily strategic flash point, the land of Judea (now Israel) has maintained a cultural environment conducive to its peoples coming into contact with a variety of foreign concepts.  This contact has bred change among the Jewish faith, and in reply, from time to time, angry conservative back-lashes.  Because of this, Judaism has both expanded and contracted over time.

The Story of Hanukkah

The story of Hanukkah occurs 2,200 years ago, during a time when Judea was ruled by the Greeks, who were forcibly impressing their beliefs and culture on its subjugated peoples through a process known as Hellenizing .   Many progressive Jews, after examining Greek philosophy and culture, willingly moved to Hellenize their evolving faith.  To the more traditional practitioners of Judaism, this was entirely unacceptable.  Among the rank of the religiously disgruntled was Mattathias, a priest living in the small town of Modiin with his five sons.

The Greek ruler Antiochus IV, having been warned that the religious issues in Judea were getting close to all-out civil unrest (and possible war,) decided that what Judea needed was an even heavier dose of Hellenism.  Issuing decree after decree, Antiochus began to incrementally whittle away at a variety of basic Jewish practices, including the study of the Torah.  Unrest grew worse over the next two years, as Mattathias’ small band of resistance moved to the surrounding mountains to coordinate attacks on the Greeks.  With each new outrage against their faith, the resisters began receiving greater support from the Jewish population, both conservative and liberal.   By the time of our story, only the most liberal of the Jews still supported the Greeks, pushing for even more reforms of the faith.

Judah Maccabee (The Hammer)

During one particular attack, Mattathias and his sons were ambushed by Greek forces, and the elder was killed.  The survivors regrouped under Mattathias’ son Jacob, who by this time had shown himself to be an able tactician and warrior, earning himself the nickname HaMakabi (the Hammer.)  Thinking the resistance to Hellenism had been quelled, Antiochus ordered an altar to Zeus be erected in the Temple.  To HaMakabi and his followers, (we know them as the Maccabees,) still recovering from their wounds, this was the last straw.  Something would have to be done to remove the Hellenists once and for all…

Three long hard years of fighting later, in 165 BCE, the Maccabees reclaimed the Temple in Jerusalem, removing everything that had been placed in it by Antiochus and the Greeks.  The Temple was then cleaned up and prepared to be re-dedicated to the Jewish service of their God.  Among the items cleaned up and saved from the debris of battle was a special lamp which burned an eternal flame.  This lamp had previously been dutifully maintained by the Temple priests before they were turned out, the lamp’s light having been extinguished years earlier by the Greeks.

The Eternal Light

Scripture called for the lamp to burn oil that had never touched by anyone but a Temple priest.  Finding oil containers in the Temple that had not been opened and used by the Greek soldiers proved difficult; however one small untouched urn was found, with only a single day’s supply of oil left in it.  The Maccabees decided that more important than awaiting more oil was the relighting of the eternal symbol of God’s love and kindness to the Jewish people.  The lamp was lit, among humble celebration (It was, after all, the Temple, and in the Holy of Holies.)  And as we all know from having heard the story of Hanukkah, the eternal flame miraculously burned for not one, but eight days.

Judah Maccabee instituted on the eighth day a new Holiday to commemorate the Hanukkah (or dedication) of the Temple, and the miracle of the eternal flame.

You Can Be a Hanukkah Story, Too…

The story of Hanukkah is a story about overcoming great odds, of reclaiming those things that are truly important, of re-centering.  It is a story of re-dedication.  So how can we use this 8-day holiday to rededicate ourselves to re-centering our own lives?  How do we go about determining what outside forces have taken over our inner spirit, and expel them?

The 9-candle menorah (known as a Hanukkiah) symbolizes the miracle of the eight days, with each candle lit one by one using the central candle, to mark each day of the Hanukkah festival. How about for each day, we all think about a way to refocus and center our energies, to ultimately relight our inner flame?  Here are eight great ways to do so…

1. On the 1st day, clean up your work area, whether it is an office room in your home, or your desk at work.  Put in a pile scraps of paper with phone numbers and tasks.  Throw out wrappers and unneeded paperwork.  File away everything that you finished.  Use file folders and labels to get better organized. Then stop, relax, and think about the possibilities for productivity.  Should you run to the store and purchase dividers, cups, trays and whatnot? New office supplies makes just about anyone feel good…
2. On the 2nd day, figure out how to use technology to get better organized.  Consider creating a Google Calendar and put in the little projects you need to get done, or use Outlook’s tools to help.  Use Excel, Word or Google Docs to write down the big projects and break them down into little tasks, so things don’t look so daunting.  Calendar the little pieces for completion, bit by bit.
3. On the 3rd day, begin figuring out how you can take better care of your health, without putting a crimp on your pocketbook or free time.  Can you afford a Wii Fit system to enjoy in the mornings or evening?  Can you visit websites that will show you how to eat more healthily? Can you throw out some of the junk snacks and replace them with healthier alternatives? How about replacing water for those sugary sweet sodas, and putting nuts in the candy bowl at work?  Look into it!
4. On the 4th day, begin looking around your home and see what you have failed to accomplish.  Using technology or a simple paper list, write down all of your unfinished home projects.  Now number them, with the least desirable projects first.  Start the first one.  Now.
5. On the 5th day, evaluate how you let interruptions creep into your life, especially when you are supposed to be relaxing.  Do you let your cell phone or home phone control you?  Do you constantly check emails?  Can you get away from Twitter or Facebook for an afternoon?  If not, then you have let something else control your life.  Think about taking some relaxing time on the weekends to simply stop it all.  Turn off everything that can communicate with or talk at you. Read a book, or go for a walk.  Go see a movie or eat a meal somewhere. But without interruptions.  When you are done, feel free to dive into social media, or turn on the phone again, but while you can, enjoy that tiny vacation…
6. On the 6th day, figure out ways to separate what is you do for a living from what it is you do for play.  Build those boundaries between office life and home life.  Make your home your own personal Holy of Holies, the untouchable place. Let the phone take messages.  Don’t check work email. Figure out ways to make your work stay there, so you can play and relax more at home.  Your heart will thank you later…
7. On the 7th day, figure out how to slow down the pace of that out of control thing you call your life.  How do you learn to prioritize what is needed to be done, so you can bit off smaller pieces each and every day?  Does everything need to get done now?  Do you stress things too much and need to find relaxation techniques?
8. On the 8th day, figure out how to say no to others.  Are you involved in too many things? Are you stretched too thin?  Can you give up some of what you are already giving time to, so you can focus on your own happiness too?  Sometimes saying no once in awhile does more for your friendships and career than saying yes too often…

Becoming a Light Unto the World Around You…

One of the traditions surrounding Hanukkah is after lighting the Hannukiah one places it outside, not inside.  This is so everyone passing by can see and be reminded of the miracle.  By working on quelling the outside influences in our lives, we can better grasp the lives we want to lead, and pull ourselves out of the darkness.  We can use the 8 techniques above to not only light the “house within,” but also in our greater happiness light the “house without.”  People will see the twinkling of a happier you, and remark on the miraculous, lasting changes they see…

Just in Case…

By the way, if you were looking for Hanukkah recipes and other traditions, and feel a bit let down… Here you go… Sheesh.

President Obama’s day began by meeting with the 5 member panel that selected him for the award, then he and Michelle Obama met Norway’s royal family.  From there, they travelled to the Nobel Awards ceremony, where President Obama, in humility, received his Nobel medallion, a diploma and a check for $1.4 million dollars.

We’ve all heard the controversy regarding the prize being given to a man who it seemed to have barely taken office.  I suppose it would make President Obama’s detractors even more angry to know that the formal nomination of Obama occurred a month before he was even elected into office.

The prize has nothing to do with attaining the Presidency, or any public office. It had nothing to do with the duties of a U.S. Senator.  The prize was awarded for peaceful “rhetoric,” in ideals embodied in the many speeches Obama gave, in ideals he often promulgated in many forms, for the very energy he brought to so many people who listened to his views on international relations.

Did Barack Obama deserve the Nobel Peace Prize? What did it mean for him to receive it? Let’s take a look…

When wealthy industrialist Alfred Nobel passed away in 1896, his will called for an annual prize in 5 areas:  Chemistry, Physics, Medicine, Literature, Peace and Economics.  Each individual prize had differing requirements for awarding.  The Peace Prize, according to the dictates of Alfred Nobel’s will, was to be awarded to individual(s) who “shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”  So in essence it went to someone who worked hard to bring together leaders of nations otherwise at conflict, toward reducing their perceived need for dangerous war machines, and increasing their positive acceptance of peaceful rhetoric.

Unlike the other Nobel prizes, which are awarded to major accomplishments in a specific area of science, literature or finance, the Peace Prize has historically been given not only to individuals who have under their belts any number of successful peace accords, but also to persons who were working toward peace or in the resolution of conflicts.  And unlike the tendency toward retrospect in other Nobel prizes, the Peace Prize has historically been awarded much more often to individuals working with more immediate circumstances.  In other words, you could get an award simply for working on something now, and even if you were still in the process of achieving a greater peace.

President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize of 2009 for creating what the Nobel Peace Prize committee called “a new climate in International politics.” Through his speeches and calls to action, Obama embraced the use of agencies such as the United Nations in a new form of international diplomacy, where “dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts.”

The selection committee went on to say that Obama “captured the world’s attention and (has) given its people hope for a better future.”  Adding additional weight to the value of Obama’s accomplishments, the committee unanimously stated that since its inception, the Nobel Committee” has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world’s leading spokesman.”

The Nobel Peace Prize committee knew what it was doing, producing a burden for President Obama, quietly forcing him to prove to the World that he can and will follow through with the very rhetoric that got him the prize.  They chose a dynamic personality who has the popular support of much of the free World behind him, all expecting great things from this new, young leader.  A man with a singular legacy to create, as the first African-American President.  A man who has emerged in the shadow of John F.Kennedy with a beautiful family, brilliant wife, and indomitable fortitude.  If he can follow through on his rhetoric, the World stands to see a glimmer toward the fruition of Alfred Nobel’s dream.

During his acceptance speech, Obama stated that the Nobel Peace Prize “speaks to our highest aspirations — that for all the cruelty and hardship of our world, we are not mere prisoners of fate. Our actions matter, and can bend history in the direction of justice.” Given the requirements as stated by Alfred Nobel himself, and given the unique position that our new President finds himself in, Barack Obama just may indeed deserve the Nobel Peace Prize.  I believe he is poised to bend history in favor of kindness and fairness, to direct the avenues of our government toward Justice.  I believe he asked for, and can carry this burden.  I wish to reiterate my support in helping him.

The Attack on Pearl Harbor

On this day in 1941, Japan launched Operation Z, to attack an idle American Pacific fleet and render it incapable of coming to the aid of our allies in Europe and Asia. Two devastating waves of airborne attacks decimated 8 battleships, 3 cruisers, 3 destroyers, 1 mine layer, almost 190 planes, and killed or wounded over 3,600 men and women. To many in the Navy, it would seem that the war in the Pacific was over just as it was beginning…

The Sunday morning destruction was particular painful for Americans, because it caught us embarrassingly off-guard. Thousands of sailors were at home or in town, sleeping off the effects of a good Saturday night. Many men bear to this day the pain of not being there to help their comrades as they battled off over 350 airplanes filled with bombs and bullets, because they were not there to help get the ships underway and out of harm’s way.

BB-36, The U.S.S. Nevada

Only one battleship did indeed get underway in the thick of battle, and only through the heroic efforts of the skeleton crew of men onboard. The Nevada, BB-36, the oldest battleship in Pearl Harbor that day, was almost immediately hit by a plane-dropped torpedo while tethered to the pier. An enormous hole was torn into her port side, and she began to take on water.

Over the course of a half an hour later (a fraction of the time typically taken to get a boiler room to the point of issuing steam to the propellors,) Machinist Mate Donald Kirby Ross took it upon himself to get the engine room running, almost single-handedly. Running between the numerous stations, he was overcome by smoke inhalation twice, resuscitated and continued on, staying there until ordered away. The Nevada cast off her lines and steamed out into the channel surrounding Ford Island. Another hero that day was Chief Boatswain Edwin Joseph Hill, who led a band of men off the ship to the pier, where they single-handedly threw off the enormously heavy rope lines for the great ship. Tired and dodging bullets, Boatswain Hill then lept into the waters and swam for the now-free ship.

SSBN-733, The U.S.S. Nevada

It was my first patrol, and we had been out to sea roughly 3 weeks, when I was told that I was chosen to be in charge of sound-powered phone communications topside for my very first port call, in Oahu, Island. I was given some brief information as to my duties, and I took them very seriously. Pass along all communications heard to those in charge topside. Repeat everything back so the people in the Control Room would know I understood. Report all lines coming on or being cast off, and anything out of the ordinary.

As a newbie onboard the Ohio Class ballistic missile submarine Nevada, I had read the history of our namesake, BB-36. To me it was a proud and storied history, and I thought about the horrible attacks on Dec. 7th, 1941, as we slowly began to pull into the channels near Pearl Harbor. I was told that most ships pulled into the very accessible ports of Pearl Harbor itself, but because of the security concerns with carrying 24 nuclear missiles, we would be separated, tied off on Ford Island.

We passed a few gentle bends, as men scurried topside putting up railings, coiling lines, shouting to each other catcalls about how they planned to spend their days off at Waikiki. I kept a careful eye on all of them. It was a cool, bright morning, and seeing for the first time the lush greenery of Oahu caused what felt like a literal ear-to-ear smile. And then the words came across from the Control Room, into my ears…. “Prepare to render honors.”

“Prepare to render honors,” I replied confusedly into the phone, and then shouted this out for all to hear. The Lieutenant in charge topside shouted it back to me in reply to make sure I knew he had heard, then he called to everyone to stop what they were doing, line up on the starboard side of the submarine, and stand ready to render honors. I was told to remain where I was, and keep an eye on the proceedings….

The Miracles and Tragedies of BB-36

As BB-36 began to moved out into the channel, the Nevada drew a lot of attention from the Japanese planes, who dive-bombed her, blowing open her forward end and causing fires throughout the giant ship. Water was coming in all over the old ship, as bulkheads creased open under the unusual stresses around them. The few sailors onboard the Nevada fought heroically against the fires as explosions rocked the ship. Among those that perished when the forecastle deck was destroyed was Boatswain Hill (right,) killed while trying to discharge the Nevada’s anchors.

Fearing that the Nevada would be sunk right in the middle of the channel, causing a permanent blockage to future ships needing to get through, the Nevada’s captain ordered the ship run aground. The ship was steered and steamed as quickly as possible, tugs joining in on the effort, pushing the Nevada slowly toward the shore. The U.S.S. Nevada wound up slammed into the shoreline of Hospital Point, incredibly damaged for her efforts, but at least now rendered unsinkable. Doctors and nurses furiously working on the hundreds of wounded arriving at the small hospital there were shocked to see and feel the enormous ship ground just beyond the backyard of the operating rooms….

Rendering Honors

As we passed Hospital Point, I was told that the designated ship’s Boatswain would blow a series of whistle calls, and what to do during them. As we approached Hospital Point, I heard “Attention to Starboard,” and passed this on. One whistle blast pierced the air, and everyone topside stood at attention. I turned from where I was and did so as well.

A single blast sounded out again, and we all saluted the little hospital, still standing to this day, on the rough shoreline. That is when I saw the little, old woman, a red knit shawl wrapped around her thin body, staring at the submarine as it passed by.

She was by a memorial set in the back behind the little, old hospital. She stood quietly and attentively, hands together in front of her, facing us while the winds carried her blonde-gray hair across her gaze.

It was at this point, staring at that woman, who must’ve been filled with so many memories of that fateful day, that I could hear the water as it slid past the submarine; a slow, hushed whisper of water welcoming us home. There was such an incredible silence at that moment, as I and the woman rendered honors to each other, sharing an eternal bond….

The Fate of BB-36

The U.S.S. Nevada was towed to Puget Sound, Washington, where it was fully repaired and upgraded for the full-on war effort soon after Pearl Harbor’s smoke cleared. She served as a convoy vessel in the Atlantic, and provided bomb coverage for the invasions on Normandy, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Following World War II, she was anchored off of the Bikini Atoll for Atomic bomb testing, improbably surviving two indirect blasts. The U.S.S. Nevada was ultimately sunk during gunfire practice in 1948.

The Woman at Hospital Point

Three whistle blasts broke me free from my gaze at the woman, as we lowered our salutes and got back to our duties topside. We pulled in to Ford Island, were tugged over to the pier and tied up the lines. I was excited to leave the Nevada and see Waikiki too, but would have to wait a day, as I would have to stand watch that evening.

After going below and dressing for in-port, I was told by our Chief that the woman standing by the hospital was a surviving widow of one of the men that had served onboard BB-36, and had been invited to see our submarine pass by. I felt a rush of pride at that moment, for us having taken the time to render honors at that site, at that time, and to have her see the respect we have for her husband’s service. Nothing could replace the man she loved, could assuage the pain of the loss, but it is through shared memory that we can at least provide some sense of reason.

In Remembrance of My Father

My father, Raymond James Woods, succumbed to Lymphoma on this day in 1998, his body too weak to take the effects of his chemotherapy any longer. Four hours after he passed, his father-in-law died from a massive stroke in response to the incredible anguish he saw his daughter and family going through. Two waves of losses, two devastating tragedies.

Just five months earlier, I had finished my Navy enlistment, and had returned home to the San Joaquin Valley to be around my family. I had looked forward to spending time fishing with my father and recounting all of my Navy stories. When he informed me of the rapid pace of his illness, and that he would not be around for much longer, it broke me deep inside.

My father was buried with full military honors, and I cried openly, my body wracked with sobs with each shot of the salute. It was difficult to let him go, to feel my father being wrenched from me, leaving me with memories. But his loss has taught me to value the memory of others, to render honor to those that sacrificed so much to everyone else, even to strangers. To remember and honor men and women like Kirby Ross and Edwin Hill, and my father, who served in Vietnam and Korea.

I will never forget the woman on Hospital Point, and the stillness of the water, of her soul. In her eyes I see my own gaze, looking at a life of service, of loss, of acceptance and fond remembrance. I hope that I lead a life that prompts, from time to time, a few still moments in fond memory…

The story of Husayn Ali

Takur, near Tehran, Iran, where Husayn Ali was born

Husayn Ali was born on November 12, 1817 in Tehran, Iran, to the home of an aristocrat, a government minister, who could trace his own ancestry deep into ancient Iranian nobility. Raised in wealth, Husayn did not receive a regular public education, instead learning to ride horses, write calligraphy, handle a sword, and the recitation of romantic poetry.

In Husayn’s culture it was believed that precocious children likely would not survive into adulthood, so his family was quite concerned over him. He more than made up for his outspokenness in intelligence and wisdom beyond his years. Despite his inexperience, even learned Muslims could be found consulting with him regarding intricate religious matters; not because Husayn knew the answer already, but because he had a mind for figuring these complex issues out.

The puppet show

We are only puppets, our strings are being pulled by unknown forces. ~ George Buchner

What strings pull us around our lives?

Husayn once wrote that as a child, he was brought to watch a puppet show, one of the popular forms of public entertainment at the time. As often happened, the puppeteer had crafted this performance to make a public statement, the story being about the political motives and greed of a corrupt king’s court. Husayn was both bothered and intrigued by the performance; however, what happened after the little curtain was drawn and the other children were leaving played an important part in shaping Husayn’s mind and future. Husayn noted the puppeteer stepping out from behind the curtain and leaving the premises with a big box under his arm.

Curious and unafraid, Husayn asked the man what was in the box. “All this lavish display and these elaborate devices,” the man replied, “the king, the princes, and the ministers, their pomp and glory, their might and power, everything you saw, are now contained within this box.” The concept that all of the tapestries of life, those material items struggled toward, that we all-too-often witness the lives of others being destroyed over, could be rendered lifeless and carried away. All could be lost at the very gates of death, at the end of our live’s performance, as we too are boxed and buried. As these thoughts coalesced in little Husayn’s mind, he suddenly viewed all of our lifelong material struggles as nothing more important than children’s playthings, mere past-times, we playing the role of puppets to unknown masters.

What drives our lives?

We are no longer puppets being manipulated by outside powerful forces: we become the powerful force ourselves. ~ Leo Buscaglia

It's not a bad goal to have...

A desire to have a strong, loving and committed relationship with our significant other. A need to see success in our children’s lives, to know they will be secure in their futures. The ability to retire in relative comfort, with a roof over our heads and not a worry about money. A desire to attain notoriety in our field of endeavor, to be seen as contributing. A wish to be loved by others, whether in a small office or on the big screen. A brand new Mustang convertible is always good. There are millions of hopes and dreams we all have, sharing more than a handful of them with most. Sometimes these dreams are directly in competition with someone else’s. Where did these hopes, desires, and dreams come from? Who pulls our strings?

When Husayn’s father passed away, the very desirable and financially secure ministerial position he held was offered to Husayn, who turned it down to pursue a life of charitable work, wishing to put to good use his belief that the pursuit of wealth and title were nothing compared to the care of others. He worked diligently to improve the lives of the many poor in the surrounding community, earning him reverence and the title of “Father of the Poor.”

Who pulls our strings?

Men are not great or small because of their material possessions. They are great or small because of what they are. ~ James Cash Penney

Wait! Don't run off just yet!

Before you hit the Close Window button on your browser, I’m not on a soapbox today. There’s nothing wrong with buying a lot of cool things and keeping them. I’m staring at twin 27″ screens, when I could’ve done this sort of work on a simple 15″ one. There’s a whisper quiet brandy new PC under my desk, running Windows 7. My shiny (but not so new) iPhone is always within arm’s length. I own way too many weird ties and an assortment of coffee cups. But bear with me for a bit…

We have to work to survive, so we work. For most of us, it means the job you did not dream of as a child, because the income was nice, the benefits pretty decent, we had a family that prefers food on the table, and there’s a decent retirement plan on the horizon. We’re busy after work driving our children to appointments, baking something for fundraisers, getting our garages ready for the next yard sale, and trying to keep ahead of the impending Christmas shopping rush. Basically treading water, right?

It’s a difficult economy right now, and I’m starting to look at the Christmas list with a bit of tredipation. I likely won’t be spending quite as much as last year, and am feeling a twinge of guilt about it. But you know what? I’m starting to ask myself why I feel bad about it. Do I have to spend every cent I have in the malls purchasing more of those trinkets to eventually store in the boxes in my garage, or for my kids to toss in the closet with the ghosts of Christmas past? Are the unknown forces that drove my father and his father going to drive me too, or will I take a new path in life?

The dangers of stepping through unknown Gates

The World is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Downtown Tehran, early 1900s

In 1844, a young man by the name of Siyyid Alí-Muhammad changed Husayn’s life forever. Siyyid referred to himself as the Báb, which meant “the Gate” in Arabic, and proclaimed that all faiths served a single God, and therefore must come together in unison. Siyyid made sure everyone understood that he wasn’t that person, but that he would soon come. What the Báb taught rocked Iran’s nobility and faithful, and his renown spread quickly, with Husayn becoming one his most ardent supporters. To the clerics, supported by and controlling the government, it would appear a movement was afoot, and fears slowly grew that they might someday lose power…

Four years after Siyyid introduced his new philosophy, Husayn found himself a captive of the government, being tortured for his support of the Báb, as his captors repeatedly beat the soles of his feet with long wooden rods. It was only the start of many such episodes in his life, as he was either chased to or sent to a variety of prison locations, ending up over 2,800 km from his place of birth.

What will be the legacy to my children?

It’s a bit daunting, the concept of figuring out what drives my life. But I don’t want to be known affectionately in the future by my children as the guy that once got them the Wii Mario Cart game. I want to be known as the guy who taught them how to freely say “I’m sorry,” upon discovering they wronged someone. I’d much rather be remembered as the man that taught them loving acceptance of the wonderful variations of humanity around them, than the guy who brought home a piping hot cheese pizza every Friday night. That said, I also want to enjoy a nice pizza and beat their cheerful little butts on the Wii once in awhile.

It’s a balancing act, isn’t it? To be a good parent, to remember to teach the lasting life skills in a patient manner, while still providing the many material objects that my kids (and I have to admit that I) drool over in the store. I have to build the Gate through which they’ll cross from idealistic, angst-filled teens to loving and decent adults. And I have to help them walk that sometimes tortuous path.

Cutting the Strings

My desire to exit the game is greater than my desire to remain in it. I have searched my heart through and through and feel comfortable with this decision. ~ Barry Sanders

Prison in Akka, Israel. Husayn's cell in upper right corner.

In 1850 the Báb was killed, along with a number of his most ardent supporters by government forces and the powerful clerics. Although Husayn was spared execution, he was sent off to a prisons in Tehran, Adrianople, Istanbul and Akka, each place progressively worse. And in each of these fetid, smelly, dark places he received revelations, divine images telling him things he had difficulty understanding or accepting.

According to the visions, Husayn was the chosen one spoken of by the Báb. A year after arriving in Baghdad, Husayn took leave from his family and followers, and went up into the nearby mountains of Sulaymaniyyih for 2 years, to consider in solitude how to accept this mantle, and what he must do. When he returned, he began writing a number of religious books, and with renewed vigor the Bábi community rapidly embraced him as a leader.

Ten years later, in 1853, Husayn officially proclaimed himself to be the Bahá’u'lláh, the chosen one that the Bab referred to, the promised one he believed was to be found in all scriptures, who had now come to unite the faiths in brotherhood. And he was once again sent off to prisons in faraway lands.

I have some cutting to do...

I’m not going to be around forever. Duh. To be a better parent to my children, I have to intensify my focus on them, to listen to the voices in my head that tell me to take the time and teach, to slow myself and them down, to offer both toys and wisdom. I have to cut some of the strings in my life, too. I have to cut the string that says I have to spend all of my hard-earned money each month. Or the big ol’ credit card stringie. I have to cut the string that says I have to always get that new, shiny thing even though the old thing still works. The watch every football game string (that’s a painful one…) Oh, there are a variety of other invisible strings pulling me around, and I will have to take some time examining (and cutting) some of them too… But I know my kids and fiancée are worth it…

Staying out of the box

In 1867 Bahá’u'lláh penned letters to all of the leaders of the great nations including Emperor Napoleon III, Queen Victoria, Kaiser Wilhelm I, Tsar Alexander II, Emperor Franz Joseph, Pope Pius IX, Sultan Abdul-Aziz, and the Iranian ruler, Nasiri’d-Din Shah, telling them that he was a messenger of God, and exhorting them all to join God’s plan in putting down their arms and working together in peace and unity.

Even more than being a good parent to my children, I want to be a good citizen of the World. I want to understand, to embrace the varieties of existence around me. I believe as long as I keep my eyes (and mind) wide open, I just might be able to stay outside of that little box for awhile…

Bahá’u'lláh and the Bahá’í Faith

And suddenly, like light in darkness, the real truth broke in upon me; the simple fact of Man, which I had forgotten, which had lain deep buried and out of sight; the idea of community, of unity. ~ Ernst Toller

As a result of angry response to his letters to World leaders, Bahá’u'lláh was finally exiled to the prison city of Akka, Israel, to join the murderers, theives and political prisoners sent there by the Ottomans. It was believed that Bahá’u'lláh and his followers would die there, and that the new faith would soon crumble without his continued presence.

Within months of arriving under harsh treatment, Bahá’u'lláh and his follower’s treated the sick and suffering in silence, an act which led authorities in Akka to lower restrictions against them, including finally allowing visitors, who travelled hundreds of miles to see their religious leader. During this time, Bahá’u'lláh began laying out the essentials of the Bahá’í faith as it is known today, creating a roadmap of how the World could come together. After having accomplished so much in sharing the message he had received, after having lived as an exemplar of spiritual philanthropy, Bahá’u'lláh died peacefully in 1892.

We can all live together, regardless of faith...

In case you were wondering, I’m not a member of the Bahá’í faith. I am a very liberal Jew in the Reformist tradition, reaching out to and learning from the words embodied in a variety of faiths. I can see many merits in the Bahá’í philosophy of unity and caring for each other, and have noted these same exhortations in a variety of religions. I can see the value of Bahá’u'lláh’s desire to see all of us control our own destinies, ignoring those that tell us to live meaningless lives in pursuit of things that tarnish with time, and erasing the many boundaries that have been constructed to separate us from one another.

In celebration of the birth of the founder of their faith, Bahá’í houses of worship and national centers near you are holding special programs, artistic performances tonight, as well as offering to the public food and refreshments, kindness and fellowship. If you are up to it, feel free to step through a new Gate and join them. You just might find out a way to stay out of that box too…

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Fourth Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu

As the story goes, John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, was playing cards one night in 1782 with other muckety-mucks, something he did quite often. Getting hungry but not wanting to stop and eat a proper meal (hence interrupting what was a very good game,) Montagu asked his valet that some sliced meat be brought to him, stuck between two slices of bread so he wouldn’t get his fingers greasy. The other players, noting the request, stated aloud “I’ll have the same as Sandwich!” This story was first noted in 1770, and has had a lot of runtime since, although never proven to be true. But I love unproven stories… National Sandwich Day is celebrated today, in honor of Montagu’s birth on Nov. 3rd, 1718.

History of the Sandwich

The sandwich is the original mashup. The concept of putting meat and bread together in one form or another has been around for a very long time. In the 1st Century Rabbi Hillel enjoyed a thick mixture of nuts, apples, spice and wine between layers of unleavened matzot bread. This was eaten alongside the traditional bitter herbs to commemorate Passover, and to this day is called the “Hillel Sandwich.”

Dining in the Middle Ages

In the 6th Century, tavern-goers in the Middle Ages would eat meat with sauces on large, thick slices of stale bread, open-faced sandwiches known as Trenchers. The hard bread sopped up the sauces and softened to an edible state, at which point it was either eaten, tossed to dogs, or given to beggars. In Northern European countries, softer versions of bread were layered with butters and carefully sliced meats, likely an early predecessor to the English version of the modern sandwich.

What was a sandwich called before it got its current name? Up to the 16th Century, the combination of bread and meat was called, well, bread and meat. I suppose it wasn’t imaginative, but it did the job…

The Sandwich Arrives in America

Elizabeth Leslie

How did the sandwich make its way to America? In 1840 Englishwoman Elizabeth Leslie wrote a cookbook called Directions for Cookery wherein she introduced a recipe for a ham sandwich. Really? A recipe? For a ham sandwich? Elizabeth suggested the sandwich as a main dish. That must’ve been one heck of a sandwich. Ham was typically used in American sandwiches, as it was much easier to come across than beef, which was more prevalent in England.

During the Industrial Revolution, as bread-making and meat preserving became more prevalent, sandwiches became the oft-chosen lunch option for workers, as it was quick, easy and relatively inexpensive. The early versions typically included some form of sliced vegetable, meat, and even cheese. On July 7, 1928 the Chillicothe Baking Company began marketing pre-sliced wrapped bread loaves, and the sandwich positively took off…. (Note: The Wonder Bread Company is oft-credited as inventing sliced bread first, in 1930. Not true – they are the first to market it nationally.)

Army C Rations

During the Temperance movement, barkeeps worked hard to keep customers coming despite the growing ban on alcohol, offering free sandwiches with drinks, thus furthering its popularity. As workers commuted greater distances to work, train stations began selling sandwiches to weary travelers, who scooped them up rather than consider making dinner so late in the early evening.

In World War II, soldiers would put together the canned or otherwise packaged peanut butter, jellies and bread they found in their C Rations and invented the PB&J. Returning home from war, the soldiers shared their favorite sandwich with their growing children, and a perennial American favorite was born.

What is Legally a Sandwich?

Not legally a sandwich...

Believe it or not, in 2006 the Superior Court of Boston, Massachusetts had to rule what a sandwich is. A shopping mall had lured a sandwich shop as a vendor, with the provision that the mall management would not allow another “sandwich shop” to set up a storefront in the mall. Along came a burrito stand, and the sandwich shop challenged their right to set up shop. A judge had to determine what the legal definition of a “sandwich” was, and after much thought, ruled that a sandwich is composed of at least two slices of bread, Because no burritos (or tacos, chimichangas, wraps or pitas) may claim this title, the sandwich shop owner lost his challenge.

Sandwiches Around the World

Regional variations on the sandwich (legal definition aside) include the Vietnamese Bahn Mi, Chilean Barros, Pakistan’s Bun Kebab, Germany’s Butterbrot, English Chip Butty, Uruguayan Chivito, New York Hero, Philadelphia Cheesesteak, Greek Gyro, Chinese Shaobing Youtiao and more. Seems there is no shortage of the idea to combine bread with something good. Breads are either sliced, wrapped, or covered in a dough and boiled, fried or baked along with their fillings. In many cultures, much as it is in American, the sandwich and its many variations are the staple luncheon fare.

The incredible but inedible Dagwoo

The Impossible and Improbable Dagwood

Hey, you can’t write something about the history of the sandwich without including the Dagwood, a concoction created by Chic Young and featured in Blondie, his comic strip. The original mention of the Dagwood included beef tongue, onion, mustard, sardine, beans and horseradish. Yum. You know, beans as a sandwich additive are certainly under-represented.

Over the years, more and more was added to the Dagwood, reaching epic proportions. If life truly is like a sandwich, and the more we add the better it gets, then the Dagwood reminds us of the joys received in biting off more than we can chew…

The Clemmie Gill School of Science and Conservation

SCICON, the Science and Conservation camp nestled in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range since 1950, provides to local students an immersion course in nature conservancy, far from city life and amenities.  Prior to leaving for SCICON, all technology is eschewed by the 6th grade students, a fact that with each passing year brings ever-louder groans, as they sadly set aside the cell phone, PSP, Nintendo DS and iPod at home.

For 5 days under beautiful, open skies, students are led by interns on long hikes, where they learn about predator/prey relationships, nature’s fire cycle, area flora and fauna, recycling, composting, and man’s relationship to nature.  Fireside chats and performances draw laughter almost nightly, as children drew nearer to each other, drawing comfort in each other, away from the hungry mosquitoes.  And there are songs, always songs to be sung…

A Life of Connections, a Life of Distancing

My life is spent connected.  I am online all day as a function of my job, and after homework is complete, my children have spent many an hour chasing after avatars in Disney’s ToonTown while I look up a recipe for dinner.  Into the late evenings, my fiancée and I like to find out what our connections are up to on FaceBook, and I connect as much as I can on Twitter, play more than I would like to admit, and blog away.  Am I too nestled, too comfortable?  Just how near do I draw to others, when I’m in my online world?

Born in 1889, 61-year-old Irvy Elster lived in the hills above SCICON in a cabin of his own construction, by a flagpole upon which he was known to fly a pair of ragged, red long underwear, likely to help him locate his home after long days in his many hand-dug quartz mines.  Irvy was a hermit, speaking to nobody for months on end, except when he came into town to sell his quartz and purchase supplies.  I am sure his rare visits caused quite a stir, as townsfolk gawked and mothers pushed their gaping children along.  And I am also sure that Irvy wanted nothing more than to get back home again when done shopping, to his familiar places…

Becoming Social Hermits?

I have always been fearful that the Internet would stifle my social life, that my online relationships would be shallow and short-lived.  I was basically concerned that with all of this connectivity from home and my propensity to shyness, I might wind up an Internet hermit.  Would I peel myself from the keyboard only to scramble for short jaunts to the grocery store, throwing together a hodgepodge of bare necessities and snack foods, thrumming my fingers on the shopping cart as I waited in the too-long line?  Would I forget to actually go places and meet people in person?  Would I develop social ineptitude to such a depth that I too would be gawked at when about town?  Would it bother me if anyone got too close?

SCICON was built far enough away from the rest of us to mentally remove the students attending from civilization, so they could focus on the beauty of nature all around.  It was this desire for remoteness that brought it so close to Irvy Elster’s cabin, and into his life.  For so many decades Irvy had been used to being alone, just as he had wanted it.  He knew how to handle the foxes, the bears, the mountain lions, even cold and snowy winters.  Life had been rough; nobody knew how Irvy had lost his leg, but everyone was aware that the wooden replacement was hand-carved and self-installed.  It was considered best to leave him alone, and Irvy had no problem helping to propagate that belief.

Walking Away From Familiarity

After arriving upon SCICON, Irvy wandered its outskirts, around the new cabins, staring suspiciously at the wooden bridges placed over streams and rough-hewn dining hall.  But what pulled Irvy in from the invisible boundary separating his world from theirs was the children.  Hundreds of bright, smiling faces, listening carefully as interns and teachers spoke reverently of the forest, animals, flowers, skies and stars.  Children were told to be careful among the fragile, newly-emerging saplings, to pick up and examine the scat and attempt to name the animal that had deposited it, to identify tracks on the ground, to classify the flowering plants all around.  This was not a world encroaching on his own; no, this was his world slowly, surely, finding its way into the hearts of these young ones.

Irvy carefully let his presence be known, and the children grew to love his presence.  He visited SCICON often, eating with the children in the dining hall, loudly regaling them with stories of his time in the hills above.  He shared his knowledge of the plant life, the habits of both the smaller, skittish animals and larger, dangerous predators.  He led the children on hikes to his cabin and mines, letting them pick quartz from them.  In short, Irvy Elster became a fixture of SCICON.

Irvy passed away in 1965, and was buried in the neighboring Springville cemetery.  To this day, the favorite trail in SCICON is the Sky Trail, a 2 1/2 mile hike into the wilderness above SCICON, to what is now known as the Hermit’s Cabin, and to the nearby quartz mines, where children search for wayward pieces of loose quartz and ponder on the once-lonely life of the man who moved away from what he knew, joining in with the happy voices of the world around him…

Social Media as the Less-Walked Path

Today has two holidays that weave together so well… It is both the Anniversary of the Internet, and Hermit Day.  What I have discovered about Social Media is quite the opposite of what I feared, but only because I wanted it so, and steadily worked toward it.  Social Media and the Internet in general has become, to me, a method to share who I am, and to learn from so many others.  Each and every day I mine the steady stream of news, blog posts, e-zine articles, and daily lives of hundreds of others.  I revel in the very personal photos shared with all, the thrown-together poetry of child-rearing and broken hearts, the one-liners and pleas from all sides to join in another cause.

In Social Media there is a mountain of love to climb and build one’s home upon, and the laughing voices carry from all directions.  After taking the time to scout out and understand what was going on, I am so happy that I left my worries behind, and joined in the fun.  Oh, I have so many stories to tell, too…

It was a cool morning on board the U. S. S. Madonna, the quiet of the day broken by the revving tug engines straining the mooring ropes, pulling the gray ship into the dirty, crowded piers of Ellis Island.  On this day, March 14,1911, my great-grandfather, 40-year-old Manuel Bettencourt, stared up at the Statue of Liberty, like so many before him.  Manual was ready to step off the sea-worthy home he had spent the previous two long months aboard, on his great journey that had begun on the Island of Pico, Portugal.

The Statue of Liberty

Today is Statue of Liberty Day, the 113th anniversary of our Nation’s ultimate icon of freedom and acceptance, of transition from a nation of relatively homogeneous settlers to a home for immigrants far and wide, whose journey under Lady Liberty’s great shadow welcomed over twelve million of them into our melting pot.

Sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was commissioned by the French and American governments to create a statue to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  America was to create the sturdy foundation, and France would make and deliver the statue.  Lotteries, concerts, and art exhibits were among the methods used to fund the work.  Prize-founder Joseph Pulitzer used his newspaper The World to extol the virtues of donating to the cause.

The statue was completed in July of 1884 and delivered to American soil in June of the next year on board the French Frigate Isere.  The pedestal, however, wasn’t finished until April of 1886.   To transport the enormous copper statue, it was cut apart in 350 pieces and shipped in 214 crates, carefully lifted piece by piece and reassembled on its new foundation over a span of four months.  In 1956, the island where Lady Liberty resides was renamed Liberty Island.  In May of 1982, a daunting 6-year, $87 Million restoration of the statue and foundation began.  Following the horrific events of 9/11, concerns regarding terrorism closed the extended arm and crown of the statue until earlier this year.

Ellis Island and America’s Journey to the Face of Liberty

Next door, only half a mile from Lady Liberty’s visage, sits the small 27-acre Ellis Island of New Jersey.  Three Million visitors stop through Ellis Island each year to take pictures, stare across the water at Liberty, and think about their roots. It is believed that 40% of all Americans can trace their lineage through Ellis Island’s immigration station.  On this day let us ponder a bit on the difficult journey so many of our ancestors took to this great land.

Why Did People Make the Journey?

Immigrants made the decision to come to America for a variety of reasons, including famines, disease, civil unrest or wars, natural disasters, or to simply join family members already there.  From the Potato Famine to the Jewish Pogroms of Eastern Europe, as many came to American fleeing nightmares as those that pursued dreams.  Stories of family members becoming wealthy through hard work or obtaining religious freedoms sang to them like the muses calling to Odysseus.

How Often Was Separation From Family Involved?

Most families immigrating to America lacked sufficient funds for the entire family to make the journey.  In these cases, quite often the father and oldest sons came over and worked at whatever jobs they could, scrimping and saving enough for the mother and rest of the family to join them.  Often it took long years to bring families back together again, and no small number of marriages did not survive the ordeal, as men fell under the spell of America’s often more liberal ways…

What Was Considered a Carry-On in Those Days?

Due to space considerations on the ship (and often for profitability’s sake,) the amount you could carry onboard a ship largely depended on how much you paid.  Those with First- or Second-Class fares typically had a storage location for crates of possessions, as well as in their rooms.  Steerage passengers (the majority of all who made the journey) typically stored what they could rolled up in bundles under their tiny bunks, or shoved in corners, carefully watched by family members or new-found friends.

Were There Physical Requirements to Make the Journey?

Because it was a requirement that shipping companies pay the return voyage for all passengers who were turned down at Ellis Island, many had their own doctors inspect closely for diseases or other conditions that would disqualify them in America.  Most shipping companies required the hair of boys to be close-cropped and girls to undergo fine-tooth combing to prevent the spread of lice.

Despite precautions, over 2% of all passengers were returned to their country of origin for either health reasons or due to lack of finances to adequately begin their lives in America.

Where Did People Sleep and Eat During the Journey?

First- and Second-Class fare holders had their own rooms and beds to enjoy during the long journey, and a dining area for their meals, with a comfort and culinary level commensurate with the amount paid.  Steerage passengers slept in three-high suspended cots, seasick for weeks as they bobbed about in rough waters.  They ate on the floors in the same cramped compartments in which they slept.  Food served tended to be slightly warm soup, near-rotten boiled potatoes and mottled beef.

How Did People Keep Themselves Occupied?

If the ship stewards allowed it, the children of steerage customers would play topside in the open air, simple games like dominoes, cards, marbles, and other diversions taken from back home and altered for a shipboard environment.  Some people, unwilling to simply lie down for the entire journey, helped the sailors care for the ship, scrubbing and mopping surfaces and repairing damage.

How Dangerous Was the Voyage?

Although death from other than natural causes was relatively rare during the journey, it happened.  Untreated illness, food poisoning, falling into open spaces (or overboard) were examples of hazards if one was not careful or unlucky.

What Happened When You Arrived at Ellis Island?

After arriving at the Hudson or East River piers of New York City, steerage passengers gathering up all personal items, and were shuttled by barge to Ellis Island to be documented, inspected by doctors, and finally sent on their way.  For many, it was the ultimate in “sink or swim.”  First- and Second-Class citizens were cursorily inspected on the ship and sent off into New York without further question, as it was assumed that they were unlikely to become a financial ward of the state.

Back to My Beginnings

As the tugs cast off lines and chugged away from the Madonna, Manuel Bettencourt didn’t know what future lay ahead of him, how successful he might be.  Perhaps he turned and stared at Lady Liberty and said a prayer.  Perhaps he kept looking straight ahead with purpose, and began his journey.

Manuel was lucky in that he travelled with others from his community, including neighbors, brothers and cousins.  (Listed in the original ship’s registry, above.) They worked together to protect each other in the bustling culture of New York.  A farmer by trade, and desiring to join family far west, Manuel and his group began looking for ways to cross our land of opportunity, to the rich, fertile farmland of California.  That’s another story…