Seeking Solomon

Seeking Solomon, I sense the presence of a stranger.  At first there is a certain uneasiness,  a sense of staring into a mirror, except this calm gaze that reflects my search for him also reflects his search for God.   I see he seeks discernment, and I sense more than a little bit of Rama here.  Solomon’s search for God leads him into my secret place.   I show him my  bells, candles, songs and incense, but he looks for people.   

“Why is this a sanctuary and not a temple?” he asks.“Where is the celebration?”   

“Why would you build a home for Him who needs no home?” I ask Solomon.

  “The temple is not a home for Him, but rather a Being that He and we have made together ... ”  He replies without words, “See, we have formed this holy place of dust from the ground and breathed into it the breath of life and made it a living being.  It is not a dwelling place for either God or man, but a place where God and man may meet, exchange their gifts, and celebrate each other’s presence."

  I am surprised at the earth element I sense in Solomon.  He enjoys Earthly Life. He enjoys being alive and being in a body.   

“What is wisdom, Solomon?” I ask .   

He silently replies:  “I don’t know what you mean by wisdom, but I know the tone of love and how to listen to the hearts of men (and other things), and I can compare the tones I send and those I receive.   You can do that, too!”  

“But how, Solomon?”  

“When a greeting is presented to you, meet it with ‘joy,’ and notice the mingling of the two:  is there harmony or turbulence? If your ‘joy’ is real, it will test the greeting and feelings offered you.  Or, if nothing is discernible from a being, send it peace or love and compare the tone you send with that which returns:  do those tones embrace or do they fight, or do they dissipate one another?   You can do that.” He starts to leave.

“And what if there is turbulence, Solomon?  How do I know my tone is true?”   
      “Your heart will know when it sings with God.” He moves farther away.

“Are there other temples, Solomon, in other places?”  

“There is only one temple” Solomon replies, again speaking without words, “no matter where you find it.”  And he smiles as he disappears.  

“Solomon!  Solomon!”  I call,  “Tell me, are there  other temples on other planets, in other worlds; other prophets with other tones for other beings?” 

      And in the silence, I hear him smile:  “How many songs can you sing with one note?”



© John Womack, 2014 All Rights Reserved

Happy Hollidays - reposted

Have a Merry Happy.

Season’s Greetings to all! And if you still reckon these seasons according to traditional ways, then Merry Christmas! Also - Happy New Year, Happy Hanukkah, may your Yule Log burn brightly, may St. Nicholas have undue compassion upon you, may you even have a Festive Saturnalia (if you - or perhaps some of your acquaintances- [or relatives] consider you to be pre-Christian), just - not TOO festive; and if you are Buddhist, you might just want to sit quietly, and think about it - or maybe think about something else - or maybe even nothing at all.

The word "merry" has gone through quite an evolution. Originally, back around 600 B.C. it simply meant "short", then due to some mischief of a derived factitative verb, it came to mean "to shorten", and from there evolved into a usage describing "pleasing", "pleasant", "enjoyable", "agreeable", "delightful" and THEN, around 1600, "mirth" crept in, and "merry" began to go giddy. Now, if you're "Merry", then you've probably gone a little bit too far. (All of the preceding is an elaborate corruption of the Oxford English Dictionary.)

But to get back to serious matters, If Christ was actually born according to the details related in the New Testament, when shepherds had brought their sheep back in the hills after the winter was over, then that birth really must have taken place some where around the middle of April. Astrologically, one author places it on April 17, 6 BC. (Michael Molnar, The Star of Bethlehem: The Legacy of the Magi. Rutgers University Press, 1999. ISBN 08135-270-5) Dr. Molnar bases his concept on belief that the Maji were not astronomers (there weren’t any back then) but they were astrologers. And if you will read his book he points out a “fantastic combination” of astrological signs around April 17, 6 B.C. I have corrensponded with Dr. Molner and pointed out to him that there is a corresponding assertion in a book on Gnani Yoga written by Yogi Ramacharaka in 1906. Dr. Molner said he was not aware of that.

Then there is Santa Claus. Our modern model has evolved over many centuries. Perhaps the oldest male deity in European history is a cagy guy known as the Horned God. Images of him date back to prehistoric cave drawings in Lascaux, France. He appeared as Pan Pangenitor to the ancient Greeks, and as Cernunnos to the Celts, and as numerous other horned or antlered fertility deities across Europe. On the eve of the Winter's Solstice, he was believed to impregnate the cold, dead Earth Mother, so that she may resurrect and give birth to new, green life in the spring.

The celebration of the Solstice was officially forbidden by the Christian Church, but continued on among peasants and even wealthy nobles. Finally, some 350 years after the supposed event, Pope Julius I acquiesced and created the holiday we now know as "Christmas", substituting the birth of Jesus for the veneration of the Pangenitor in an attempt to transform that quite substantial pagan holiday into a Christian one. Still, the figure of the Horned God survived into the character we today know as "Santa Claus," the "Old Man of the North," the ancient, furry, man in red who is borne aloft by a team of horned bucks and "delivers the goods" to the entire planet in one magical night.

Well, that’s just food for thought. But - may we all have a Happy Christmas Day, A Merry New Year’s Eve, and a Fantastic Year to Come!

John.

December 7, 1941

Sunday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky.  We had been to church, returned, eaten a lazy lunch, probably fried chicken, green beans and mashed potatoes with gravy, and were in the living room listening to the classical music of Paul Whiteman.  Dad was in his stuffed chair reading the newspaper, Mother was in her rocking chair, the one I still have in my living room today, she was crocheting, and my sister, Eunice, who was 13 years old was reading a Nancy Drew book.  I was 7 years old and lying on the carpet coloring a book with crayons, lying beside my 10-month old puppy, a Scottish Terrier named Freddy.  

Suddenly the music stopped and an announcer broke in with “Ladies and gentlemen we interrupt this broadcast to bring you a special news bulletin . . .”  Then he proceeded to say something about Japanese airplanes and Hawaii. Then the music resumed.  My dad sat forward in his chair, his newspaper crumpled in his hands staring into another world.  My mother had ceased her crocheting and her eyes were closed and her face was slightly bowed.  She was praying.  I got up and walked to my dad and asked what had happened and he said something about “war”.  I asked him what “war” was. The music stopped again and again the voice interrupted with more news about Hawaii.  My dad said “Hush, listen . . .” 

The By Joe Church

Down where the muddy By Joe flows

Around a slimy bend or two,

where great white birds float low over water 

beneath dark limbs which cross overhead 

and unseen things splash quietly away.  

An old church stands here like it always has.

It was made on the fifth day of creation. 

God made it Himself and He said it was good!

But now it’s just part of the old By Joe.

And the stained glass window 

is still on the wrong side of the church! 

It still lights up in the setting of the sun

and the goings down of the moon.

Once it was happy, squirming with joy all over the place,

People were screaming and stomping and shouting

“Hally Lullyia!”  There was music, loud and clanging,

tambourines and jellybeans!  And people were saved, 

and saved and saved again and again – 

All for the glory of God!

Oh, those were the days!  Yes!  

But now they are gone. 

The old steeple still rises out of the earth, 

and climbs up through the tops of the trees, 

and it’s crowned tonight by the grateful moon 

which sits there in glory, gilding the cross.

John Womack

Make Your Vote Really Count – Vote Twice! Here’s How:

Note:  This only applies to voters who will be voting in Catawba County, NC.  but if you live elsewhere, you can probably pull this off there too.

First, go to your computer.  Enter www.ncsbe.gov/  Then on the left column enter “view my sample ballot”.  Next, fill in the data, and click on “search”.  Then click on your “Full Name”, and then check on the line for “11/4/2014 General” and see what your ballot number is (mine is “GO10 - yours could be from GO01 to GO14).  Click on your “ballot type” (which is blue and underlined) and your ballot will appear.  You can print it out if you want – mine was 7 pages. 

Now, you vote the first time.  Over the next day or two.  Even while consuming coffee, tea or beer or wine.  Sit down and reflect.  There are a few long choices (some with over 100 words - and up to 15 “ands” and several “ors”).  You can think about some of these for a day or two, even pick up the phone or ask questions on Facebook or Twitter or Whatever. 

There may be some positions you have never heard of and a lot of names you have never heard of.  But now you have time to think about all this, even get with your friends and ask questions, get a conversation going, get a dialog, man – talk about your problems.

Finally, you vote the second time.  This time in your polling place.  You are ready!  AND you can make this vote REALLY represent you, AND you will move through the voting process quicker than anyone else who has not already voted for the “first time”.

Western Carolina Peace Initiative

A Presentation by John Womack

A speech delivered at the 

 Western Carolina Peace Initiative

 Western Carolina University

 February 28, 2003

 by John Womack

Photo courtesy of Thomas Rain Crow

Friends, I salute you for standing out here in this cold rain and making an important commitment for democracy and world peace. Today we seem poised at a great turning point in world history and we watch together in awe as great energies sweep across our country and the world. Problems seem to create more problems and we all know that something has to be done, yet many Americans are uneasy with a constant focus on war as the solution to any of those problems. Quite literally, issues of heaven and hell are being secretly decided in Washington, D.C., and the people of the world have not been consulted, and have not been listened to. Well, this is our response!

 First, congratulations on the name you have chosen: the Western Carolina Peace Initiative. I applaud your important emphasis on "peace" rather than war. If someone is antiwar, they are tied to a war, and on some level they need a war so they can continue. But if you work for peace then you have a different objective, a different focus, and will build and serve a different agenda. In some ways it is too bad the Vietnam antiwar movement dispersed, but they were not able turn their great momentum into a force for peace. The message we learn from their victory and subsequent dispersal is that a lack of a war is not necessarily Peace. But those antiwar people of a previous generation did their job well and they prepared the ground for those who would follow them. 

Now, it is our job. Understand this: we are not trying to overthrow our own government – or any government for that matter. The only "regime changes" we seek are those that take place through peaceful and legal procedures. What we are saying by gathering here today and tomorrow, and all those other tomorrows yet to come, is this:  War Doesn't Work! War is no longer a legitimate way to solve problems! Our message becomes simply this: We Must Find Another Way!

Let's be fair about it, we are not rejecting war out of hand. We are not faulting war on some theoretical concept, but on absolute empirical proof. We have tried war; we have tried and tried and tried again – all of us are guilty, every nation – Americans have tried especially hard to make war work. We gave it our best shot – and it still didn't work. We have fought everybody in the whole world: the British, the French, Germans, Russians, the Spanish, Mexicans, Chinese, Iraqis, Iranians, Koreans; we've fought Japan, Italy, Panama, the Philippines, Cuba, our own Native Americans, the black slaves and Asian coolies we imported to do our dirty work for us, and we've fought each other too. Forgive me, did I forget Vietnam? No, I will never forget Vietnam. I served three combat tours over there and it is a part of me still today and will be for the rest of my life. By the way, it didn't work either.

 The war we face today in Iraq is not a preemptive war. That occurs when two belligerent nations face each other with armed troops and one of them strikes first because they think the other is about to do the same. That is how a large number of wars do start. This war in Iraq is not a preemptive war, it is an elective war by a powerful military force against one too weak to resist; it is a "war" of opportunity that is being promoted by some in our administration as a great "adventure," our president has even called it a "crusade." It is not a war we "need" to fight, it is a war our president wants to fight. It is a war of domination and imperial conquest. We have inspectors present on the ground in Iraq currently disarming the country we are preparing to attack. It is a cowardly assault on a nation that poses no real threat to us. It will not be a war with Iraq, it will be a war in Iraq. We hear about "shock and awe," a "tactic" that will scare the Iraqis into peace. The real message though, will not be for Iraq, but for the rest of the world. Last time that happened, it was called "blitzkrieg." That one scared the rest of the world so badly everybody united together to fight Germany, and six years later Germany had lost 3.5 million troops and 3.8 million civilians; their ports, autobahns, and railroads were gone. Many of their great institutions of commerce, education and religion were destroyed and their survivors were totally at the mercy of the four nations who had taken their country away from the German people. Blitzkrieg was bad; Shock and Awe could be worse. Our leaders speak of "collateral damage" and sadly shake their heads, they appear to worry for a moment about all those children who will be "left behind," then they brighten up and go forward, possibly now thinking about the "collateral profit" that will fall to them and their families from this war; important people these American rulers are, associated with international giants of corporate and imperial enterprises whose brand names are as familiar as family to those who give orders from the Oval Office.

 Today, the world confronts another despicable dictator, one not unlike Hitler and those many other despots who will always haunt history. This time his name is Saddam Hussein. The difference today is that the U.N. is here. We, the people of the United Nations of the World have Iraq surrounded, and our inspectors are at work in his country destroying his weapons. Charges may be brought against Hussein, he may be indicted and tried as a war criminal either in person or in abstentia. It is said that he is "evil," and the charges against him are awful, so give him his days in court! Want to impress the rest of the world? How about that for real Shock and Awe? And how's that for sending the right message to the right people! And think for a moment how it could have been if the League of Nations had been there, on the ground, destroying German weapons in the 1930's. Think of the difference that might have made. Perhaps we could have gotten rid of Hitler and prevented the Second World War! Perhaps such a disarmament could have saved 64,000,000 people from being killed in the hatred which followed. The League of Nations was ineffective though, because of the United States. Even though the League was created largely by U.S. efforts, our senate refused to ratify the treaty because of political reasons, and the League functioned under that great disability until it was terminated in 1946 to make way for the United Nations.

 Perhaps the most important aspect of our opportunities today is that such options have never existed before. Not that every nation is ready to lay down its arms, we are far from that, but at this moment the great military and political powers of the world could unite into a great force for peace that might include France, Germany, Great Britain, the United States, Spain, Russia, China?, Japan, South Korea and others too. Many issues would remain to be resolved, many fights would continue to flare, but if the UN worked for peace using the resources of those nations just named, it's influence would be immense. That is the prize for which we work today, and that prize is slipping out of our grasp, not because of Saddam Hussein, but because of the United States! Our president now stands alone as the most powerful man who has ever walked the face of the earth, and he sometimes seems intent on using the power which belongs to the American people for the secret purpose of a very narrow right-wing group of extremely wealthy people.

 Yet, the force that confronts the United States president is more powerful than he. That force is the people of the United Nations of the World who are forming together as one nonpolitical body, not going over the heads of our own governments, or discarding our governments, but working together with each other to fulfill the higher purposes for which each of our governments were instituted. We are calling our elected officials to an accountability for their actions, not seeking perfection or infallibility, but honesty, integrity, and devotion to our common ideals. We are affirming that Peace is a right of all people, and that none can have Peace unless all have Peace. We don't have to slide back down that gory slope into the pit of war again! Peace is possible today, but people have to make it happen. Our president says "We gave peace a chance . . ." then he pauses, raising his eyebrows and clenching his fist, the glare in his eyes implying that peace didn't work. But Mr. Bush, Peace is more than just a game of chance, it needs a home, a place to grow, somewhere it can be cared for, watered, fed and cultivated. It needs to be protected and cherished and it needs to be shared. Too many times people work hard for war, spend money for war, train young men and women for war, are always ready to fight, and then will give peace just "a chance." While wars are caused, peace is left to happen by accident. If we are ever to have real peace it will have to be wanted, prepared for, paid for, trained for and we will need specialists who can become experts in the arts and sciences of peace. Impossible? Not really. What if we did create a Department of Peace in our national government? Just started it off and gave it a place to grow, supported it and shared it? We might find a miracle there someday, instead of just more consequences. How do we get such a radical thing started? It really begins at home, right here at Western Carolina University, in Sylva, Dillsboro, Cullowhee, Franklin and the other small towns of our great southern mountains. Peace is not like a game of chance at all, it's more like planting a garden, or raising a child. Peace must be caused to happen.

 Peace will not be handed to us by our government. In order to achieve Peace, we must want it enough to work for it, plan for it, and strive for it. We may have to seize that right in the same manner as the Suffragettes did in the 1920s, as Ghandi did in the 1950s and the Civil Rights workers in the 1960s. There are people who profit from war. They are rich and they possess much power and have influence in the highest levels of all governments, but they always have to work on hidden agendas and invoke false issues like patriotism, nationalism, glory, and emotional appeals to base instincts - all of which are aimed at the common fears of people. They try to divide people into groups and pit them against each other. Increasingly, we members of the world community realize that those unimportant divisions of mankind are neither significant nor dangerous. We must make our government leaders understand that war is no longer acceptable. Only then can we experience the joys and cares of Peace. 

Peace will not be a state of endless bliss; it is always a balance between different forces. It will be messy.  It will require hard work and will be frustrating more often than it will be fulfilling. Only when war is no longer a valid or legally accepted way of solving problems will all nations be willing to engage in the vexatious, frustrating, and often confusing balancing act of making Peace happen, and treat Peace as if it were really important. But the prize of Peace is a double prize. The first prize is that Peace will give us all those things for which we fight wars, and which war, by its very nature, also prevents us from obtaining. The second prize is the absence of war. Remember this: War kills, it is not a game like Mr. Rumsfeld sardonically implies, it kills; the people it kills don't come back, except maybe as ghosts – they don't raise their children or work for a better world. Almost every single person killed in war is innocent of any significant crime or error. Our president says that getting rid of Saddam Hussein is worth any cost, Does he mean that to include up to 100,000 Iraqis - some 99,992, of whom, presumedly are innocent souls? Maybe they don't "count" in some fundamentally apocalyptic way since they are Islamic, not Christian? Mr. President, you haven't explained that very well. Those who suffer most in any war are always the children. Children get killed in combat, they get injured by falling things, they get run over and run down, they become sick and there is no medical help available. One might shout out "No child left behind!" for a campaign boast, but in war that is a savage joke. Children get lost all the time and they are always left behind. Some die of hunger, some from lack of care, or a broken heart, some are actually scared to death. Many who do survive are raised by those ghosts who haunt such places, and they grow through childhood quickly and become terrorists with enough hatred in their souls to give their life to kill anything.

Finally, we are the first people in history to know that we live on a planet that is dying. We need to spend some time with our lovely planet and care for it with love in its days of its last, great sickness. Perhaps if we can end wars and find ways to live together, we can share not only Peace but even find ways to heal our planet together.

 Friends, I salute you! Your work is important and your cause is the most noble in all of history! 

 Namaste.

John Womack.

Reflections on a Recent Hickory Tragedy

As August came to an end this year, so did the lives of two families here in Hickory.  Only one person was killed but many lives were tragically changed in a vehicle accident involving two 17-year old boys.  The police have determined the boys were driving at high speed, well above the speed limit, both apparently intoxicated with alcohol, neither supposedly wearing seat belts, and both drinking from open containers.  The car hit a curb, spun out of control, turned over several times and one of the boys was killed.

The accident brings thoughts to my own mind of a movie, ironically named "Begin Again",  that I recently saw in the Footcandle Film Society, also in Hickory.  The "hidden message" of that movie was that Real Men, can Smoke cigarettes, shout profanity constantly, Drive fast and Drink.  And they can do ALL of these things at the same time.  And all the good people love them.  Men like this become hypnotic beings!

I can't help but wonder if either of those two boys saw "Begin Again", and realize in the same thought that it really doesn't matter because those concepts are perhaps being woven into the fabric of many of our young men by other stories and perhaps songs, and now have become part of the process of achieving Manhood.

I ended that comment  by writing:  " . . . we don’t know what . . . else we could possibly do.  And I really don’t either.  That’s why I am writing this.  Can anybody help?

Anybody got some good ideas?" 

http://thecelebration.blogspot.com/2014/08/hidden-messages-buried-in-new-movies.html  

Celebrating the Big Eight-Oh

Up and celebrate with birthday cards – sweet cards, barely readable cards, sober cards, cards promoting the beauty, joys and "advantages" of advanced age, and hilariously funny cards.  

Then quickly, off to one of Hickory’s great greenways to walk the dogs,  accessing it  through the part known as Winkler Park.  Incredibly, our doggies had never been here before, and they had a super blast with all the ducks quacking, and waddling their tails and swimming along.  Nice day at 74° with a clear blue sky and a gentle breeze sweetly blowing.  

Afterwards, change clothes and on to Bistro 127.  I had a Croque Monsieur, JoAnn had Quesadillas. We shared Sweet potato fries with a brilliant cheesy, spicy dip, and we each had a different craft beer.  Mine from a new brewery just opened up in Granite Falls, "Hoppalachia" which was really good – I rated it a 555A, and hers was a "Trail Marker" brewed in Lenoir and it garnered a rating of 553. 

Later home to open packages.  Presents – Wow, presents galore. Then the evening was spent in writing and answering telephone calls.

Hidden Messages Buried in New Movies.

The Footcandle Film Society in Hickory, NC, meets monthly and sometimes more often than that.  We usually view a film, after a brief introduction,  then remain in the theater and discuss the film, the performances of the actors, the story that was told – or that which we perceived – and delve into an amazing amount of facts and stories concerning some of the actions we have just seen and discuss some of the meanings and purposes of the film.

We just saw, August 13th and 14th,  the movie “Begin Again”.  And in the discussion afterward we discussed what we had seen and the meanings that some of the viewers had seen and how they interpreted those actions and events.  BUT  – there were at least three issues that I saw VIVIDLY presented in the movie but were not discussed, and I did not bring them up myself because I have in the past and they have been dismissed without response and the group moves on to the next item.  

The first point is the smoking of cigarettes by many of the lead characters.  These actors indicate that smoking cigarettes is something they can either do or not do; there is no apparent problem with addiction, even though cigarette smoking is one of the most addictive practices available to our young people.  This tells our youth, teenagers especially, the following four messages:  1) smoking is not addictive.  2)  smoking is fun.  3) smoking accentuates the high points in life.  4)  The most capable and most accomplished people in the world celebrate their great achievements with a smoke.  All four of these messages are wrong, and all four are necessary for the great tobacco corporations to continue to infect our young people with addiction so those companies can continue to increase their profits, even though those profits cause diseases and early death in our young people.

Second point is the irresponsible drinking of alcohol.  I drink, and many of my friends drink, but not like the waste-away- constantly-swirling-down of beer, wine, mixed drinks AND straight whiskey, all by the same person, and in succession.  And then driving a car recklessly after heavy drinking,  and then drinking while driving.  So, we who are watching all this in the Footcandle Film Society know better; but again, what message does this send to our young people who are just becoming introduced to alcohol?  It clearly is something like this: “If you’re really a MAN, you can do it!”.  AND – if you really need to, you can snap out of the alcohol-effect instantly.  

Third point.  Language.  Am I saying don’t cuss?  No.  Hell, no! But my contention is with the use of certain words, especially the well known “F-word” which carries a lot of shock value with it.  I am a writer, and I don’t use that type of language in my writing (not saying I never will) because I see my challenge as a writer being to arouse emotion in my readers through artistic means.  Likewise, an actor will want to develop and direct emotions in his or her viewers by the skill he or she has as an actor, not just by shouting obscenities.  This movie shortcuts those skills. 

SO, the movie we saw earlier this week told us all that the truly talented, most capable and best loved people, those real “shakers and movers” of the world, ALL drink like a fish (without any serious effect), constantly shout and scream obscenities, and celebrate their magnificent achievements with wonderful tasting and spiritually uplifting cigarettes!  And we erudite, knowledgable, and mostly senior citizens SAW the movie and apparently bought those concept too, because we did not discuss them during the critique and we don’t know what on earth else we could possibly do.  And I really don’t either.  That’s why I am writing this.  Can anybody help?

Anybody got some good ideas? 

The End of Twitter?

A friend wrote me about the "coming death of Twitter".  He does use email and he does use the telephone but refuses to try Facebook or Twitter, and often emails me about "Problems"  Facebook and Twitter are encountering, their "growing uselessness" and "accelerating decline in usage".  This is my answer to him.

Well, I don't see the same problems you do.  I Text and Tweet and Facebook and e-Mail and Blog and Message and Face Time and Linkedin and Telephone and Cell phone.  I even Mail things still, sometimes.  (and the cell phone can involve talking, tweeting and texting too - all [more or less] at the same time.)  I even still read newspapers, magazines and books!  Personally, I think this is great.  And I often encounter different "friends" in each media.  I enjoy communicating with people in Greece, Great Britain, Germany, India and Japan – not constantly, but occasionally.  I have found "friends" in all the various social media that range from foreign countries, all over the United States, and include people I met years ago in different roles of life, even three whom I went to high school with – and met them 64 years ago.   In a way this choice of social media reminds me of the game of golf.  I quit golf 48 years ago - my handicap was 5 (which is great).  I quit because my third child was born and I was stuck in recurring assignments to Vietnam.  The golf bag I played with had 14 clubs (max allowed) and each one served a different purpose.  My assortment was pretty standard except I did not carry a Brassie, but carried two 5-irons instead, one right-handed and the other left-handed – that left-handed one was for a bad lie up against a tree or other structure that required a penalty drop.  I practiced with the left-handed 5-iron and could make a mean get-away of 50 to 170 yards.  Which of my Social Media corresponds to my left-handed 5 iron?  Probably all of them!  But I try to seek in my own way, a degree of literacy in these new opportunities.

Hickory Crawdads. July 25, 2014

2014.0725Fr1900.  Hickory Crawdads are playing baseball tonight in L P Frans  stadium.  And we are there! We have great seats.  Right behind home plate, six rows up, sitting in the shade and with a cool wind blowing.

The game developed slowly as evening shadows drifted across the field, accompanied to the sound of “clicks” of the bat against ball, the “pops” of glove and baseball, and responses from the crowd.

 Sadly, the game slowly slips away as the sun slips toward the horizon. Faux joy is  strummed from the crowd by Crawdad Himself, the public address announcer, and cheer leaders striving to create magic on an evening that has relentlessly turned warm, sad and dark.

The game came down the the bottom of the eighth inning when Hickory loaded the bases with only one out and then the Crawdads were blown away by their fourth double play, and you can’t win games that way.

After the game was over, a cow was brought on to the field, right on up to home plate.   Someone who was going to Kiss the Cow to raise money for the Catawba Valley Habitat for Humanity. Important witnesses were brought out to witness and solemnize the occasion, including Hickory Mayor Rudy Wright.  Then an announcement was made that an additional $5,000 would be made available if ALL the witnesses Kissed the Cow.  It was not good.  The poor cow was blown away by at least two of the kissers, but I must give HiZzoner credit since he upset the poor creature less than most of the other Cow Kissers did, amazing since no pork appeared to have been involved. 

The evening’s activities were brought to an end with an amazing display of fireworks, which apparently takes place every Friday at L P  Frans Stadium when the Hickory Crawdads are playing there.

Folkmoot 2014 in Hickory

One of the best I’ve seen.  It had a rough start with problems getting the audio system hooked up.  It was almost an hour late beginning and that’s probably why about a quarter of the audience left at the intermission.  Too bad.  They missed a real treat.  

The highlight of the first half was the Hoop Dance by one of the Hawaiian group.   It was mesmerizing.  A glance around the audience showed breathless participation with people holding a hand to their open mouth, others tapping or quietly clapping in rhythm to the drum beat.  And then it got better.  And then it got better yet. 

The second half began with dances by the Romania group.  They were quiet (by comparison) and decorous. But their presentations reminded me of one of the great values served by Folkmoot, and that is the preservation of the costumes, dances, traditions and sometimes even the language of national units as world cultures continue to change.

The next group in the second half was the Turkish contingent.  The dances performed by some of the men dancers were wild, free, and soaring.  There was some “sailing” through the air, spinning around the stage on the knees,  great turning whirls that tightened into oblivion.  Then they treated us to the 

 Dancing Bellies, all this with the women dancers shrieking.  Then the Bellies came down into the audience!  

The show concluded with Hawaii.  Dances presenting the Hula Hands were followed by Tahitian Swaying Hips, and THEN came the flaming Fire Torch display featuring thrown flaming torches, some fire-eating, then wild dancing to throbbing drumbeat music with whirling, twirling batons with fire from each end.  It concluded with the audience learning to sing one of the old, great goodies from the islands.  

TEDxHickory, 2014

First of all, the moderator for this edition, Alan Jackson, was a great improvement over the 2013 performance.  Alan moderated; he didn’t put on a different show from what was already going on. 

LOT’s of volunteers.  Good.  Great job.  Impressive.

The theme for the presentation was “Curate and Elevate”.  Not a good beginning. It tells people that they really don’t need to attend this “thing” because it is all going to be either over their heads or beside the point.  Those words don’t REALLY mean anything –  not even to your average sharpie.  It’s a head-scratching, yawn-begetting-page-turner.

Repetitious behavior:  If the presenters constantly call for a show of hands, that process runs aground after the first 3 or 4 do it.  Also, tying the subject of the presentation into a moving personal story can be  impressive once, coincidence twice, “what’s going on here?” third, “Fourth?  What time is it getting to be now?

The constantly moving reel of other shows on the wall to the right of the audience is simply a distraction.  You keep thinking it is going to play a part in the presentation at some point.  But it never does.   An artist might call it a weed, or a distraction.   Doesn’t contribute to the story or subject.  It is a junkie.  Seems to be telling the audience “SOME of these presentations in the past have had some really good spots!”

Lunch.  Chicken or hummus.  Hmmmm.  Imaginative?  In 2013 interesting sandwiches were presented by Hatch Restaurant.  I don’t know who prepared these, and they were OK, but the Hatch presentation was imaginative.  

Best part of these shows is the networking during breaks.  Did not know about the after show snacks and had already scheduled other things.

Watched the Self-Driving Cars with much disbelief, then came to see how it could work.  After it was all over, I was disappointed I couldn't app-up one to go home in.  It seemed to make SO much sense!  Yet, the idea that Nobody would be able to drive a car after about 2027 seems strange to me.  OK perhaps if you live in a big city, but what about the rancher driving across Kansas?  

By the way, I have volunteered to speak at all three of the TEDxHickory events and have not even been  asked to present any of my concepts.  I can definitely understand not being selected, but when my offer receives NO response at all, when nobody on the selection staff even knows what I think is so important to share with other people, then I begin to pick up the smell of books cooking.  I wonder how many others have experienced the same thing and wonder if it is all a game of pretension and preselections. 

So – if you are just looking for a good show on a Saturday, and maybe even how to make Hickory a better town in which to live, then TEDxHickory might be an option.  If you are seriously trying to make a difference in the world, and find other people who are of like-minded nature, then well, maybe you might want to confine your participation to the break periods and look beyond.  

Hickory's Symphony

 The Western Piedmont Symphony, Hickory's own professional symphony, presented its spring performance downtown at Union Square on April 27, 2014

The show consisted of 18 different songs played before an enthusiastic crowd.  I don’t do crowd estimates but I asked a number of people what they thought and got answers ranging from 500 to 800.

Most of the songs were lively and were clearly designed to blow the last vestiges of winter and its long, cold, pollen-filled spring mess out of the city.

A lot of people brought their own lawn chairs, a large number also brought picnic food and the local restaurants were also serving food.  Wine and craft beers were available and it all added up to a festive occasion.  Audience members “conducted” along with the maestro, kicked back, swayed, sashayed and even danced.  

Reynolda House in Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem is about an hour and ten minutes north of Hickory, and the Reynolda House is right off the interstate when you get there.  The price of admission is $14 each, but if you are members of the Hickory Museum of Art, and have your membership card with you, admission is free.  

We spent about four hours touring the house on Thursday, April 21 of this year.  We watched a short video about the history of the house and then explored the place under the guidance of an hand controlled audio tour guide.  Places of interest inside the large house are marked with a number on the wall.  You press that same  number on your audio device and listen to a description and explanation of that area.  

We enjoyed the Aeolian Organ and marveled at its 2,500 small pipes.  Unfortunately, photography is not permitted inside the house.   There was a lot of art work throughout the house and adjoining areas including an art studio with original art work from Norman Rockwell and Georgia O’Keeffe.  There were many more artists work present in clouding Morris Hirschfield and Grandma Moses.  Oddly, photography IS permitted in the art museum.  

Lots of places to eat.  Snacks, entrees, gelato and ice cream, wine and beer including local craft brews.  We ate at the Village Tavern and enjoyed our meal.  We

asked to share both the meal and the small salad.  The salads were delicious, and we not only shared the meal, and enjoyed it very much, but we had MOST of it still left over.  

The Reynolda House was not only fun and good food but also educational.  We were amazed to find out that people used Sleeping Porches even in cold weather!  Wow!  Why?  Well, you can go there and find out why.  Also why this enormous house was – and still is – called a “bungalow”. 

Buddhist Flower Festival 2014 at Peace Pagoda.

 Great Smoky Mountain Peace Pagoda, Newport, Tennessee, USA, 2014.0419Sa.  We drove over in rain and arrived in rain.  We parked on a road in the forest and were driven to the top where the temple is by a Buddhist angel named Christian in her 4-wheel drive Subaru.

Greeted warmly by Utsumi and Denise.  Beautiful temple, Buddhist service, then payed tribute to Lord Buddha on his birthday by pouring three ladles of sweet tea over a statute of him standing with one finger of his left hand pointed toward earth and a finger of his right hand pointed toward heaven.  

Everybody who attended brought food which was spread out on a table as a magnificent, organic, vegetarian and delicious buffet.  Some of the produce was grown in the Peace Pagoda garden right under the deck on the south side of the mountain.

Talked to  Utsumi briefly about my book and particularly the question of where did the gods come from.  He had ideas that will be present in that book soon to be seen. 

Later we walked through the emerging skeleton of the Peace Pagoda-to-be.  It’s going to be big.

Then a ride down the mountain side by Denise in her 4-wheel drive Subaru, and on to our car, then two and a half hours back home where our doggies were patiently waiting on a cool rainy day.  Our pet-sitter, Pat, had come to let them outside to romp and stomp.  When we arrived home later, they were waiting for us in ecstatic Buddhist nature.

Scottish Heritage Games.

An hour's drive out of Hickory will take you to Rural Hill, the North Carolina Center of Scottish Heritage, just outside of Huntersville, NC, to see and take part in the Scottish Festival & Loch Norman Highland Games.  We went on April 17 and enjoyed  the 2014 event.

We heard lots of good music, and very different music, saw lots of tartans and Scottish clothing for sale,  witnessed Border Collie's at work, and saw Scottish athletic exercises. The great march of the clans circled a huge parade field in front of the stands.  The march alone took 25 minutes to complete.  I didn’t count the clans but they were 25 minutes worth.  

Lots of kiosks with lots of Scottish stuff for sale,  best part were the people behind the tables.  We talked with perhaps 20 or so, and found them to be VERY knowledgable of the items they were selling .  There was a lot of research-on-the-spot as large collections of Tartans and books of clans were available, and very knowledgable people were present to help you locate some of your Scottish ancestors.

Many of the people who staffed the kiosks were from other places in the United States – many were obviously from Scotland, and they spend much of their summers traveling from show to show across the country.  LOTS of Scottish brogue!  Drumming, piping, and the constant skreering of bagpipes.

This is a yearly event, just a little over an hour from Hickory.  Get your fill of Scottish food.  There is “Scottish Bar-B-Q”, lots of Haggis and plenty of Shepherd’s Pie.  You can get Scotch Eggs, Meat Bridies, and Pies, and Homemade Shortbread. You can even try the old North Carolina pork barbecue, but this one is  cooked over a Peat Fire!   Yo ho, me laddies!

http://ruralhillscottishfestivals.net

Hickory's Footcandle Film Society and Tim's Vermeer

The movie for April, 2014, which we saw last night, was “Tim’s Vermeer”   http://youtu.be/CS_HUWs9c8c   It is a hard movie to describe but it apparently amazed everybody who was in the Carolina Theater.  Not at all your ordinary movie.  No, this was a wedding of modern technology, ancient art and a lot of very high level detective work spanning hundreds of years.

After the movie, the Footcandle Film Society always continues with a discussion of the presentation just concluded.  The discussion is led by Alan Jackson and Chris Frye.  This movie generated a lot of comments about the perceived gap between technology and art.  Does this “gap” showing signs of narrowing or does it appear to be widening?  Certainly, this movie indicated a coming reunion – or did it?  Opinions varied considerably about answers to that question,  but there was general agreement about what the movie had depicted and what that meant for the future of both art and science.

Hickory Community Theatre "Lying in the Winter"

King Henry (Honsaker) and Alais (Meredith Potter)

The art of the actor dominated the stage in the Fireman’s Kitchen in the Hickory Community Theatre Saturday night as Rage, Cunning, Naiveté, Stupidity, Remorse, Lying and other personifications of human depravity ruled, fought and consumed each other in increasingly rapid succession.

Those of us sitting in the audience, who try daily to remember a few important things in our lives (like our grocery lists) watch in amazement as these incredible beings strut about on stage, shouting loudly an endless series of words that are far longer than any of our grocery lists ever could be.  We mortals, sitting in the audience, might assume they just made these words up.  But the other actors on stage react to them and carry on with a stream of their own.  How can they possibly do this?  Again, the art of the actor amazes.  I am not even sure I remember the title of the play.  Was it actually "The Lion in Winter"?  Not really sure.  

But – If I EVER saw anyone walking about the streets of Hickory looking like the actor (Joshua Propst) who was playing Richard, I would immediately take cover.  When I thought I safely could, I would call the police and told them there was a mad man stalking the town.  And tell them not to come alone.

Christopher Honsaker, who played King Henry, got so worked up a couple of times that I thought he was going to act out a heart attack and have a staged collapse.  But he didn’t.  Then later, he went WAY beyond that first effort but still didn’t collapse.  Then he did it again! Better than before – his face was bright red, veins leaped out on his neck and across his face and I remember thinking that if he had a real heart attack and died on stage he would receive a standing  ovation.  I would have leaped to my feet and applauded! I would have been sorry later, of course, but wow.

Now it is over.  We all survived.  Even Henry, even Richard,  and EVEN Eleanor – who clearly did not deserve to live – (played by Carys Bowen) made it through to the end and are probably studying for their next new role.  Hope they play nicer people next time.  But then -– that probably wouldn’t require as much art.