Monday, February 23, 2015

A cold Sunday of reality in this World of sadness and tears...Let us Pray for the ones they call the Children of today!

Sometimes I wonder what is wrong with people today.  I think some have never had real hardship in their lives.  Can we have compassion for animals but not for other people?

This weeks news headlines set off a whole flood of feelings I did not want to let into my mind right now.  I have been following some Italian news because of my 500 year ago cousin and the 150th Anniversary of the Italian Red Cross, when I can across an article on the plight of Libyan refugees trying escape in rafts and boats  across the Mediterranean to the various posts on the European side.

A policy of trying to pick them up and saving them from drowning has been called foolish…”that it is encouraging them to try it”.  In other words if they pick them up and save them from drowning they are causing this problem to escalate.  So we as humans should let them drown?  The reality is they should not have to take such extreme methods to save themselves and especially their children from starvation and war.

On line, via the web, the global warming people are screaming about climate change causing these extremes in weather…while the disbelievers are screaming back that this is all hype and just a way for some to make more money… Some say that we need more oil…OIL?  They say that we have given too many subsidies to “green energy” a source that has produced little energy? 

Mean while people in our own country are freezing and we are cutting programs to our own poor, disabled, or elderly and don’t recognize the marginalized poor that have lost their homes that have become “our boat people” living in tents and shelters?

We are a crazy lot….”War”, greed and religion, has wrought all of this…”Men fighting with GUNS and hatred”.

I guess we have forgotten too soon the price of WWI and WWII.  Herbert Hoover was the man in charge of the rescue of millions of starving people after and during both conflicts.  He had an unbelievable job considering the food had to be brought in because war had devastated the land and infrastructure…not to mention the men and animals lost! Countries unable to feed themselves.

Not good thoughts…

I am stuck here in old Eaton this year trying to save and find homes for a few cats…”dump offs”…I can’t stand to see an animal ill, injured, starving or hurt. I try to help everyone I can and …for the life of me… I can't understand why men go to war for power or religion…and how anyone could condone just letting people drown while they are just trying to save themselves and their children. 

In America we are raging against immigrants…but in reality we are raging against ourselves… as almost all of us except the “First Natives” were brought here for a better life or for religious freedom by our forefathers and mother’s.  So on this Sunday in the blog...I pray for all the “children” of the world….”The ones we call the Children of Today!”


With that thought I whipped out my guitar and sang this old Gordon Lightfoot tune...listen to the words…understand the meaning!


Sunday, February 15, 2015

Valentines Day surprises, the weather and an armchair trip to Florence, Italy!

Emma Messere Elena Branca
What a year so far…Mother Nature has been throwing all kinds of terrible things at us from snow, sleet, wind, blizzards and record breaking cold.  For Valentine’s Day I am stuck here in Eaton staring outside and sitting by the woodstove trying to keep it chuck full of wood. 

For Valentine’s Day getting a card was as far from my mind as possible…who in the world would send me a Valentine?  Then came a knock on the door…the mailman???

He handed me some mail, one piece I had to sign for… my curiosity was peeked.

One was a card from Rascal my cat….I opened it and sure enough it was signed Rascal and it even read as if Rascal had picked it out…”You do a lot to keep me happy and healthy and in return,  all I do is sleep, shed, and complain about the food! So since it is Valentine’s Day, I want you to know---I’M WORTH IT!”  I immediately suspected Sarah Curtis…

The second piece of mail was a donation to “Rascal’s Find homes for the Cats”  fund I have been working on…from Florida…Thank You Bob Sherburne!

The third was from Italy…my 500 year ago cousin Emma…(a genealogist said we were related 500 years back) I tore it open and to my surprise it was a book on Florence where she had gone for a special seminar and celebration of not only World War I, but of the Italian Red Cross.  It was research she and a friend, Elena Branca, had been doing on the woman doctors who served in that war…some research that I had tried to help them with.

The book titled “Americans in Florence” is a complete guide to the city and the places associated with Americans past and present…a great “History Book”  filled with information that proved to be a most interesting read on this 35 below zero weekend.

The book is “cock-full”  of information on the famous Americans from James Fenimore Cooper, the Browning’s, Henry James, Mark Twain and anybody who was anybody… describing where they stayed, what they thought about this fabulous city, a city that was indeed “The Birthplace of the Renaissance”.

One story that I found most interesting was the story of the Ponte Santa Trinita Bridge over the Arno after WWII.  The retreating Germans blew up the bridge just before the Allied Forces liberated Florence.  To the great honor of the citizens of the town, who sought to rebuild it exactly as it once was, and with the donations of wealthy American’s like Samuel Kress, and collectors like Peggy Guggenheim,  it was rebuilt using the original plans and using the original material.  To accomplish this… the stone quarry where the original stone came from was actually reopened. 

The statues and artifacts were repaired and replace on the bridge.  One interesting story is that the head of one of the “Seasons” statues was not found and many believed an American GI took it.  The President of the Parker Pen Company offered a $3,000 reward to find it using its advertising outlets. 

Parker put out a WANTED poster stating - Age; 350 years, Size; 20 inches; Color; marble white; Weight; about 120 lbs with a previously damaged nose!  This produced nothing, it wasn’t until years later it was discovered after the dredging of the Arno,  where it had rested all along! 

Great book…I think Emma is trying to lure me into visiting Italy….  No Emma, but you should come visit me here in boring old Eaton, New York…but a word to the wise…not in the winter!!


The book is available on line ISBN 88-09-03157-1 at Barnes and Noble I bet…and worth it if you or someone you know is going to Florence … It is complete as a guide with walking tours, where to eat, galleries, what  to see…everything!


Wednesday, February 11, 2015

"50 Shades of Gray", Earl Grey tea that is!

With all this chatter about “50 Shades of Gray” I amused myself over a cup of tea last night thinking about the variety I was drinking…Earl Grey.  It is one of my friend Cathy Nagle's favorites, although that might have something to do with the fact that her maiden name was Earl. 

So I thought I would “history quest” Earl Grey Tea… and to my surprise it was fascinating.

 
The Earl in Earl Grey Tea is the 2nd Earl Grey whose name was Charles.  Charles actually became the Prime Minister of England and it is during his administration that slavery was abolished in the UK. Charles and his family early on were seated at Howick Hall in Northumbrian, he being known as Viscount Howick.  The thing he is most remembered for however... is Earl Grey Tea.

Tons of stories float around on how he became synonymous with the tea, one account being that he saved a Chinese Mandarins son from drowning and was presented with the tea recipe…though this story has been discounted, it is as good as any.

The tea gets its unique citrusy taste from an orange variety called Bergamot that comes from Italy and the Mediterranean area.   Oil is extracted from the fruits rind and infused into a black tea (once Chinese now from many places).  One legend has it that the tea was specifically blended to cover the taste of the water in  Northumberland, home of Howlick Hall…an area whose water is heavy in lime.

Jacksons of Piccadilly claimed the original Earl Grey tea, although many companies including Twinning’s have made it. Off shoots of the original tea that add Lavender is called Lavender Lady and an extra citrus variety is called Citrus Lady Grey.

All in all... it is still one of the most popular teas made, it is even used as an infusion in cakes, scones, and other bake goods.  Its modern notoriety coming from Star Trek: the Next Generation as Captain Pickard’s favorite. Health food stores note it is high in antioxidants and its citrus base is good for tons of stuff…well, if they say so.  However... it is noted that for people who take certain drugs its chemical make up acts like grapefruit juice…if you drink more than a liter or two at once. So I guess most of us are safe…huh.

However for a cold winter’s night there is nothing like a cup of hot Earl Grey Tea…adding one of those Earl Grey cupcakes would be a great addition don’t you think.





Sunday, February 8, 2015

Sunday, a hero cat named Faith and a new Facebook page!

Faith a Hero
So its Sunday Blog time again…on a cold and snowy morning in Eaton.  I have been working on a Facebook page in my efforts to find homes for some strays that have been dropped at my door.  

So this morning when I settled into my usual position on the sofa trying to think of something “blog-able” to write about…one of the cats that I have not named showed up.  So I took that as an inspirational sign and decided to search for the perfect name for her. 

I humorously thought of “Old Possum’s Books of Cats” and the theory that cats have the name we give them… and they have their own “cat” name, and  I wondered what hers would be.

The cat I was naming was a stoic as well as a great mother cat.  She was also interested in what was going on all of the time.  She would often come forward and listen intently to what I told her. She was attentive and even watched another mother’s kittens.  So...I googled… cat names.  One search brought up a story on a cat named Faith! She was called "the famous cat of London"…hmmmm… So I was once again off on another  “history quest”.

Seems Faith was a stray that was found and taken in by the rector of St. Augustine & St. Faith’s Episcopal Church in London about 1936.  The cat loved the Rector, Father Henry Ross, and would attend every service sitting at his feet when he preached or sit next to him when he sat in a pew. It was said that she attended every service at the church. Named Faith, she became like the mascot of the church throughout the horrible times in London...times of fire and bombing brought on by the War with Germany.

In September of 1940, she gave birth to just one kitten that was named “Panda” because of its black and white colorings.  All the church members celebrated Panda's arrival.... in his honor the churches choir sang “All Things Bright and Beautiful” at the Sunday service. 

The “Battle of London” was on and for some reason Faith insisted on taking herself and her kitten Panda to the basement of the church.  Father Ross tried to dissuade her... but she continually removed the kitten from her basket and would take it to the basement area.  So after a number of attempts back and forth, he finally gave up and moved her basket to the cold dark basement area she chose.

A few days later on the night of September 9th, the German bombing of London struck St. Augustine’s rendering it a mass of rubble.  The following morning the air raid and civil workers asked the Rector if any people were in the church at the time…no…but he remembered Faith and went into the burning rubble, down to the basement where Faith was found meowing for help, laying over the top of her baby…Panda.  It is said that just a short time later,  just after her rescue, the entire building collapsed into the basement where the cat had hidden.

Faith’s story spread everywhere, even to the United States... to become part of the inspirational testament to the steadfastness of the Londoners and all who heroically survived the fire and bombing.  Faith became a star and symbol of Londoners heroics!

For her act of sheltering her kitten and her savvy she was awarded the Dickens Medal in Silver in London, and a medal from the Greenwich Village Humane Society of New York…and so in her honor I named the stray cat “Faith”.

My cat named Faith!


Great Sunday story don’t you think?  Here is a link to my new cat Facebook page...https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rascals-Help-the-Stray-Cats/362984687233739


The Battle of Britain and bombing of London

Monday, February 2, 2015

A giant of a man, a Quaker, and humanitarian...one of my favorites - William Pryor Letchworth!

This past week I was supposed give a lecture on one of my favorite people…William Pryor Letchworth.  I’m not going to spoil that here as it is rescheduled for the last Monday in March in Solvay at the Library.  But I am going to touch on a subject that is dear to my heart in the dog eat dog…money, money, society that we currently live in.  Retirement means going to Florida, getting a summer place and a wintering place, travel, looking to a warm wonderful time for those with money.  But William Letchworth set up an example that I think we all should follow if we are able to.

Letchworth was a Quaker who as a boy wanted to runaway from home because he had read some biographies of successful men who made themselves rich after running away from home…a childhood fantasy.  So his father got him a job at 15 with a company in Auburn, NY and he worked until he was 50 years old…day and night…weekends too...and became rich.

He decided he was rich enough and needed a summer place to invite his influential friends to…which started him on a crash collision with history.  He followed his retirement by saving much history...(Indian artifacts) until he decided to do something for society…something to help people.  This career took him to new heights...he became the head of Charities for New York State and worked endlessly (without pay) to remove the children from the poorhouses and insane asylums where orphans were often placed.  He succeeded…and then he became the champion of epileptics.  In his run in charity and welfare work he was head of the board for 11 of 25 years.

He wrote the most important book on a subject that up until that time had little information of a medical nature, epilepsy… traveling at his own expense to Europe to learn more. For his book on the subject and was awarded an honorary college degree for this book… although he only had a Common School education.

He and fellow supporters eventually won New York State’s attention and received about $200,000 to find a suitable place to house epileptics; a place to train them for future life, a place to learn about the disease, and a place care for them.  This place called Craig’s Colony for Epileptics served New York State for many years and helped to bring an understanding of the disease, which, up until then many thought was mental illness, to the front.

All this with the money he made before he retired…

Most of us know he donated his land and home to New York State as a Park…but few realize he stated out ready to donate it as an orphanage, another of his pet projects. 


The park has served many purposes though the years including becoming a CCC Camp…but in essence when we visit it we should look at it not as a park... but as a monument to a man who retired to become GREAT!