Memories. A high school classmate has written two fictional, boyhood remembrances centered around our home town of Meadville, in northwestern PA: Summers Run and Return to Summers Run, by James Cotton. It is very interesting to follow young Claude Kinkade as he meanders through childhood in and around the hometown area. Jim's narrative stirs memories of a least one story I have heard about.
This memory involved a story (related by my now deceased Aunt Virginia) of two middle aged lady retirees who decided to open a B&B in Jamestown, PA, a small town near Meadville. In remodeling the small mansion, originally built and owned by a local doctor, they found a long forgotten room hidden above the entryway portico. Upon examination, the local historical society was able to confirm town lore: the good doctor had, indeed, been a part of the "Underground Railroad," sheltering runaway slaves in this hidden room as they journeyed north, crossing Lake Erie and on into Canada.
Good riddance? The hugely unpopular 113th Congress has passed some half-hearted bandaid measures attempting to deal with several major problems and hastily adjourned for its five-week summer money-raising recess. Will Rogers, the beloved early 20th century essayist, sage, and observer of the "passing scene," avowed that an out-of-town Congress was a good thing: it was less likely to damage the Republic. Amen!
Tunnels. This very old method of warfare continues to bedevil the Middle East. In an op-ed piece in the Washington Post, Professor Gerard DeGroot notes some of tunneling's history. For example,
....[I]n 256 A.D., Sassanian armies, unable to breach the Roman fortress at Dura-Europos in modern-day Syria, dug a tunnel underneath the walls. The Romans, alerted to the threat, dug a counter-mine toward the Sassanian tunnel. The Sassanians responded by packing their tunnel with a noxious mixture of sulfur and pitch that produced sulfur dioxide gas, the first known instance of chemical warfare. The Romans were asphyxiated, and the fortress eventually fell.
Today, Hamas has dug many tunnels into Israel from Gaza in order to "pop up" and carry on the conflict in any number of ways. A very scary prospect for the Israelis and one more reason for yet another protracted Israeli military action.
Racism. This article from the Daily Beast makes repeated reference to a "white majority" status, something that may soon be a thing of the past in certain areas in America. My other reading suggests this is one of the driving forces (read "fears") motivating some Americans.
"The War to End All Wars" or "The Great War" No matter the euphemism by which it is being remembered, various heads of state/government have marked the 100th anniversary of the beginning of WW I. The appropriate speeches have been made and ceremonies held throughout western Europe. No matter whether the world stumbled -- or was drawn irretrievably -- into this conflict, WW I can be seen today as moot or a vitally important learning point, or both.
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