This post speaks for itself. I am pasting the contents of email messages sent and replied to by my lifelong friend. The linked article is dated August 8, 2022:
(message)
Hi Sam,
I get a daily “This Day in History” email each morning that highlights what happened in the past in several areas of interest. Today’s edition included an article entitled “The term “global warming” appears for the first time.” I remember visiting you during the spring or summer of ’76 when you were a county building inspector. We went to a job site together during which time you showed me an article about global warming and told me it was going to be a big issue in the coming years. Very visionary!
I’d like to publish a post about this on Wut Javia, and wonder if you mind. I can do it without using your name if you prefer. Also, if you visit the site, be sure to sign up to receive email notifications when I post.
(Reply)
Hi Keith, I think it was the summer of 1976 when I was a building inspector for Polk County. You have a good memory! I’m fine with you using my name. The concept of global warming was a highly doubted idea back then. I remember requiring home builders to put insulation in their walls and attics to approve their building permits and I got a lot of pushback from builders because they did not want to spend a few hundred extra dollars for including the insulation. Short sited!
I began writing this post over a week ago and have read it and tweaked it many times since, trying to decide if I even have the courage and self-confidence to post it. As you can see, I decided to do just that; post the following:
Walking is my current hobby and form of exercise. Previously, I rode a bicycle, then a two-wheel recumbent, then a three-wheel (trike) recumbent. I loved riding for 20 to 40 miles on North Iowa county roads enjoying the views and contemplating life. Sometimes those rides turned into treks of 60 to 80 miles.
Moving to the Iowa City area brought significant riding challenges due to aging joints attempting to scale high rolling hills. So I gave that up. Now I walk, typically four to six miles almost every day. I can stand the heat better than the cold and don’t mind light rain. Walking pace is much slower than riding and somehow gives me more occasion to contemplate what’s going on in my life.Or maybe it’s just this time in life that prompts these contemplations.
Whether I have enough courage and self-confidence to write about subjects that affect family and friends, and how they affect me, is an overriding theme of my thoughts these days. Every time I broach a subject in my mind I think about sharing it here in the public domain, open to interpretation and condemnation. Of course I don’t worry about any praise I might garner from my musings, only about exposing something personal about myself, a loved one, or a friend.
I am reminded of one of my earliest songs, Chameleon, written about myself about 15 years ago. Its verses describe one who changes personality to fit one’s surrounding personal environment. The words are as true today as when I wrote them. Basically I view myself as trying to be all things to all people. I want to be liked. I want to belong. I know, these are common desires, but it took me many youthful and adult years to find myself because I was always trying to be someone I thought others would want me to be. I suppose almost everyone experiences similar struggles.
Even now I find myself testing my thoughts and actions attempting to not “ruffle any feathers.” Thus politics are not allowed. Nor can I share challenges I encounter with family, nor open up about some of my past, present, and probable future. I find it ironic that I started this blog just for those reasons but seem to be relegated to sharing benign experiences such as with corn and storms, afraid of any repercussions.
So for now, I am writing about struggling with what to write. Will I ever be able to share my deeper thoughts and fears? Will you want to read about them, possibly relating to them in your own life? Or should I continue slogging (blogging) along with the, albeit sometimes interesting, general day-to-day experiences that are ultimately of little value other than entertainment?
Not that entertainment writing is bad. It just does not meet my vision for sharing through this site. I do get to share my music and some of my experiencestraveling . But I would like to stimulate my readers with deeper contemplations. Maybe I can still accomplish my goals through the music and other stories. If so, I’d better get to it!
And that’s what I’ll do; hopefully soon and hopefully often. Hopefully you will not only enjoy, but benefit from the experience.
Though I am not religious (as I once was) and I have mixed thoughts and feelings about God and Faith, I still receive a bible reading every day from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Today’s verses are Psalm 133 from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the bible.
Many years ago I put music to the King James Version of the same psalm. I did change one word to be more inclusive and reflective of my perspective of the psalm’s true meaning. Though the words are a bit different, there is no mistaking the message. Unfortunately our country is living a much different reality. I’m guessing that just reading the words brings up contrasting euphemisms for the current state of our society in the USA. I’ll leave that to you.
Here is the NRSV version:
1How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! 2It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. 3It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD ordained his blessing, life forevermore.
Regardless of your sociopolitical proclivities, I think we can agree that our lives would be better if we could recognize and accept our differences and live together united in our core humanity.
“With Justice —Peace. Without it —Our smashed windows”
Yesterday I received an email from Penzey’s, a spice house chain based in Milwaukee WI. I’ve been buying spices from them in store in Des Moines, but most recently online due to the pandemic. I’m on their newsletter list for that reason. The message speaks for itself, so I’m posting it here in its entirety .
“Of course if I wanted to toss rocks where there is community-supported racism I could start right here in the Milwaukee area and stop in Madison on my way up to Saint Paul and then across the river to our Hennepin Ave store in Minneapolis where, last I heard, at least one door and one of the big windows have already been smashed. The reality is, this is America where community-supported racism is eating away at every community across the country.
“I received a couple emails yesterday from customers upset that we should be victims of the unrest when we actually try to do more than most to make a difference. And it’s right there on google if you type in Penzeys Hennepin to make sure you are spelling Hennepin correctly and then click the News tab. The first story up is “A list of the buildings damaged, looted in Minneapolis and St. Paul.” But then if you scroll a touch, the fourth story down actually is “Penzeys Spices takes a strong stand against racism and Trump” from November 22, 2016. If only protesters googled.
“But as much some days I vehemently oppose racism, every day I benefit from the privilege white skin gifts me. If sweeping up some glass and replacing a couple windows is a piece of everybody realizing the costs of racism-fueled police violence towards minorities is no longer affordable, then so be it. And yes, here is where I point out one more time, voting for a presidential candidate whose own party labeled a “textbook” racist well before the election is indeed a racist act. And no, the fact that 63 million Americans did this does not make it any less racist. If this was you, make amends and move on. It’s not that hard.
“But as much as the Republican Party of late has given up on subtle racism and gone all in, the lack of awareness for just how deeply racism and privilege are intertwined runs the entire length of America’s political spectrum. Can anyone say college loan forgiveness? It’s like someone looked at the idea of reparations for slavery and said yes let’s do that, but let’s find a way that all the money goes to white people instead. And I’m not saying the idea is without merit, but seriously, how can you float it without in the very same breath acknowledging all those who our country’s racism blocked from accessing that opportunity? We all need to do better. A lot better.
“But enough complaining, and how about a positive idea instead. After an email from us a couple years back in support of Black Lives Matter in Saint Louis, I ended up in an exchange of emails with a retired police officer from the area. At first he was taking the, if you support them then you hate us approach. I started out with, this denial of racism in our communities and on the force really isn’t doing you any favors. The best cops are always the ones with their finger on the pulse and who live and breathe the street. Saying racism isn’t a thing can’t help but raise questions of corruption and at the very least looks clueless which isn’t a good look for a detective.
“Ultimately I pitched the idea of doing a full 180 and becoming the true heroes in America’s fight against racism. It’s not really that far of a stretch. Imagine the voice-over of the recruitment ad: “We live on the front lines where America’s racism meets reality and we are looking for help. Everybody talks about fighting racism, but we’re the ones actually doing it. Want to help? Do what it takes to earn yourself a badge and come join us. It won’t be easy, but you will be in the very place where making a difference matters most.”
“In the end he wasn’t quite ready to embrace my pitch, but we did part on much better terms than we began. And of course mine is an experience of white privilege, but the vast majority of those on the force I’ve interacted with over the years have been good eggs. Still the willingness to tolerate bad eggs is at the heart of so many of these problems. It’s got to end. Smartphones are everywhere and that’s a very good thing.
“And Justice Seasoning. A big part of “Penzeys Spices takes a strong stand against racism and Trump” lives in this blend and it really is a good one. After our Wednesday email, our first to most of our customers in seven weeks, I received many thousands of emails in return and a lot of them held questions that the best response to was, just buy the Justice Seasoning it’s probably our best blend and it has no salt as well because it just doesn’t need it. Plus, as you can see from the poster below with the text from the label, it really does start: With Justice —Peace. Until Justice once again lives in the White House, the Senate, and most importantly in the Supreme Court there can be no peace. 11.3.20 Vote Justice.
“And if you don’t mind waiting 2-2 1/2 weeks for delivery shop now at penzeys.com. Yes, the huge surge in online orders brought on by the coronavirus has us a bit behind, but with our new system we are gaining every day. And the sweet thing about having a couple of weeks worth of orders in the house is that for scheduling grinding, blending and packaging we don’t have to guess what we will need two weeks from now, we already know. Ordering now helps, and all orders ship in the order received and aren’t charged until shipped.
“If you live close to one of our stores you can save a whole bunch of time by placing an order for touchless pickup through your local store. Just click here to get started. It only takes a couple days at most.
“And if you own a store somewhere can I give you some advice? In the late ’70s the MPD (Milwaukee Police Department) had the Beare brothers, both detectives, both really good Cooks, and both customers of my parents’ store at a time when our neighborhood was becoming a little bit more out of control. At one point one of them took me aside and explained how it was my job to keep our windows from being broken.
“The good news was, that as much as we all like to think there is some intention behind broken windows, the truth is the vast majority of the time how it happens is pretty simple and without much in the way of premeditation at all. It boiled down to this. If you see a nice rock about the size of your hand or slightly smaller, as a human you will most naturally pick it up. Once in hand you will look for something to do with it, and if you see anything that could be a target, such as a store window, you will let loose with the rock. Therefore dispose of hand-sized rocks 2-300 feet from your store and keep any target-like posters out of your window.
“If you are from the Milwaukee area and have a tip for us possibly finding a Beare brother recipe please send it our way at editor@penzeys.com. Thanks!
“Thanks for reading, thanks for your support, and most importantly of all thanks for caring enough to cook. You really do heal the world,
50 years ago today armed Army National Guard members opened fire on students at Kent State University in Ohio. Thousands of student protesters were gathered to protest the Viet Nam war and the recent invasion of Cambodia ordered by the Nixon administration. Four students were killed and another nine injured during the 13 seconds of shooting.
This New York Times opinion piece offers reasonable perspective and context for both sides of the incident. Regardless, Kent State was a turning point in the politics of the Viet Nam war, the anti-war movement, and the general mistrust of our national and state governments by the youth of the day. Like too many other incidents during the 60’s and early 70’s, many of my generation remember where they were when they heard about “The Kent State Massacre.”
Contemplating its effect on me then and now, I find myself predicting that when this happens again, it won’t be the National Guard or any national military group who opens fire on unarmed protesters. It will be white nationalist and supremacist counter-protesters, bolstered by some of our political leaders, who will take care of the dirty work for them – and with even less provocation.
“Ohio” Song by Neil YoungStephen Stills tells the story that when Neil heard about the shootings, he went off into the woods and returned about an hour later with the song. They immediately gathered to record it for an immediate single release.
