HUMAN UNDERSTANDING, COMPASSION, RESPECT

WHAT REALLY "MATTERS" IN LIFE TODAY: Of course "All lives matter!", but countless shared posts on Facebook to that affect do not deserve the accompanying request for an "amen". It demeans and minimizes the cause "Black Lives Matter" which draws attention to the undeniable systemic discrimination and abuse suffered by the Black race, primarily African Americans who run afoul of police and the justice system. Black Lives Matter deserves the support, respect and compassionate understanding of all right thinking individuals.  Clearly, history shows that black lives have not always mattered and sadly they will continue to not matter as long as attitudes in general across North America do not change accordingly and substantially. For hundreds of years, ours has not been an all-inclusive society...and that, my friends, is just not right. We cannot undo history, but we can learn from it and somehow further learn to live humanely as brothers and sisters, all the while making allowances for each other along the way and until such time as human rights for all are fully and mutually accepted and acted upon. Downtrodden and disrespected for generations, Black people today deserve to know that their lives do matter, as has been the case for the rest of us. That's the point...I hope you get it!

Black Live Matter, not because they are special or different; but because they are just like the rest of we humans -- and should be treated as such.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE CONTROVERSIAL BLM ORGANIZATION: 

While current anti-police protests have adopted the slogan "Back Lives Matter", I feel it pertinent to take a look at the organization under that same name.

Founded: 2015
Mission to foster connections between black people and their allies in the fight against anti-black racism, spark dialogue among black people, and encourage social action and engagement.

About the Organization: 
Black Lives Matter works to affirm the lives of all black people, including those who have been marginalized by earlier black liberation movements — LGBTQ people, the disabled, the undocumented, people with conviction records, women, and others. The organization got its start in July 2013, when workers-rights activist Alicia Garza reacted to the news of George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the killing of Trayvon Martin by posting a statement on Facebook: “Black people. I love you. I love us. Our lives matter.” Her friend and fellow California activist Patrisse Cullors added a hashtag, and, with the help of New York-based immigration activist Opal Tometi, the #BlackLivesMatter movement was born. With the help of volunteer cultural workers, artists, designers, and others, the movement became an online forum for efforts to roll back racist policies, practices, and social structures that negatively affect Black lives.

Even though some tactics and training of recruits are questionable, there is nothing wrong with the original intent of the organization. It's all about a segment of society advocating for constitutional rights afforded to most of the rest of us.

The following article states the situation far better than I ever could.
https://thefederalist.com/2020/06/23/the-two-very-different-meanings-of-black-lives-matter/?fbclid=IwAR3jPjeiuyBQOseq2Dz8A9JOG2GKnKqCtxo8qiha4PJp_d1ur_0_o7TZcyY.

KNOW WHAT I DON'T KNOW?...A LOT!

Funny thing but this morning I had to concede that the more I learn, the more I realize what I don't know! Innocently, or ignorantly, I thought that I had arrived at a rather telling stage of life and the self-confession brought with it a degree of concession and relief.

Come to find out, I am not the first to arrive at that conclusion and I'm in pretty good company too. Similar admissions have been attributed to Socrates and Albert Einstein.

Even more shockingly Donald Trump, in one of his notorious (and convoluted) Twitters a few years ago, wrote "The more you know, the more you realize how much you don't know." Then he had to go and ruin it all by adding "...How can you possibly discover anything if you already know everything?"

But seriously, all this has led me to recognition of the wisdom paradox which tells us that the more we’re exposed to thoughts, points of view, new situations, cultures, ideas, and facts, the more we appreciate just how ignorant we are and that the ways to see the world are virtually infinite.

Don’t worry. There’s a payoff to that growing feeling of cluelessness.

There’s power hidden in it. That power rests in the lack of assumptions:

Learning is a result of listening, which in turn leads to even better listening and attentiveness to the other person. In other words, to learn from the child, we must have empathy, and empathy grows as we learn. We stop assuming there’s an easy answer.

-- We ask more questions.
-- We listen more intently to fully appreciate and understand a point of view.
-- We realize that anyone and everyone can be a teacher.
-- We tend to dismiss comparisons among individuals as irrelevant or at least of little use.
-- We’re comfortable exploring a fuzzy topic, knowing full well we might never get to the bottom of it.

And so, I will continue to accept my incompetence, my deficiencies, my ineptitude, knowing full well that, with every book I read, speech I hear, conversation I engage in, religion that I study, exposure to my own ignorance (even incomprehension) grows. The Catch 22, maybe even a blessing in disguise, is the fact that I tend to forget much of what I learn anymore, and the same applies to worrying about what I don't know.

I’ve learned to finally understand this level of awareness because it means that, just as a good thriller novel can, the curiosity that results will always make a dummy like me want to turn the page and come back for more.  

And, besides, it kind of feels good not having to pretend to know everything in a world of experts on everything imaginable...It removes a lot of  the pressure!

GOD'S FIRST APPEARANCE ON EARTH

What I learned today from the Israel Institute of Biblical Studies: In the midst of the void and darkness, before God says "Let there be light" (Gen. 1:3), we encounter an entity – Ruah Elohim. Now, Elohim is the Hebrew name for God, but who or what is that Ruah? And what role does it play in the creation of the world? “… a wind from God swept over the face of the waters” (Gen. 1:2). The Hebrew words, Ruah Elohim, describe God's presence at the beginning of Genesis. In Hebrew, ruah means both wind and spirit. How do we know which meaning is referred to in this important verse? The answer is actually in the verb that follows. The verb merahefet occurs only once more in the Torah, expressing the utmost care, love and affection of a mother eagle that flutters (merahefet) over her young and bears them upon her wings (Deut. 32:11). A Hebrew reading of the Bible makes everything clear: A wind cannot express tender love, care and affection! A wind blows dispassionately and indifferently – while the Spirit of God caringly and lovingly flutters over His creation. This loving, passionate hovering that we see in Deut., in Genesis (a wind) can only refer to God’s Spirit! Up to now, I had never thought of it that way. When reading the Bible you really need your thinking cap on...and not just skim over the words and parts interpretive in nature that you do not understand. Seek answers to your questions!

TIME FOR CHURCHES TO STAND UP AND BE NOTICED

We are in the midst of a global pandemic, world-wide uprising over racial discrimination and man's inhumanity to man at historic proportions -- one calling for individual distancing and isolation and the other for mass demonstrations by the thousands in the public square. Talk about an ironic contradiction of purposes that only complicate an already compromised world.

Governments have proven to be ill-prepared and ill-equipped to deal with crisis of this nature and degree and are struggling to play catch-up, let alone find solutions. It is by no means a pretty picture. The resultant costs are astronomical, both monetarily and in terms of public good will and faith in mankind.

My question, in view of all that is happening, is: "where are our churches?"

I'll tell you where our churches are, or aren't...At the community level they have been forced to close down completely because of COVID-19 with all of its mandated restrictions, reduced to conducting less-than-perfect Sunday worship services on line and for the most part putting mission and outreach programs on hold. Personally, I never thought that I would see the day...Did you? Church premises sitting vacant, completely void of people, empty hulls sitting on valuable real estate.

My real concern, however, is where are our national church bodies in all of this. What is happening with the World Council of Churches. In the eyes of a nation, have they become irrelevant? Maybe its the fault of the media in not asking for comments from church leaders during this difficult period, but I look for a more vocal response from our churches, promoting conciliation and compassion, easing public unrest and generally being present.

Certainly, relief wings of religious organisations have been dispatching disinfection supplies, powered air-purifying respirators, face shields, gloves, coronavirus nucleic acid detection reagents, ventilators, patient monitors, syringe pumps, infusion pumps, and food to affected areas. Some churches have offered free COVID-19 testing to the public. Adherents of many religions have gathered together to pray for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic, for those affected by it, as well as for wisdom for physicians and scientists to combat the disease.

All very well and good...churches tend to be low key and not particularly publicity conscious, to their peril.

Right now, our conversations and our action on the subject of racism should begin with police accountability, how black people like George Floyd are perceived by society, and how their lives are affected by that perception. We need to maintain that focus and stay on that topic to work out specifically how we will tackle that problem.

Surely I am not alone in looking to church leaders today to take a more active role in public affairs and the promotion of faith in times of trouble and unrest and being solidly behind all movements to that end. It's all about standing up and being noticed.

I could get more religious in this post, but I fear it would get in the way of my thesis.

Hell, we all matter...and churches are there to remind us of that fact!

THE VOICES OF FAIRY LAKE...

...as sung(?) by me

Fairy Lake in Southampton, today. The spraying water fountain in the distance is approximately where Samuel Matheson heard voices singing on the ice in the winter of 1905.

My fascination with folklore is no secret. I even initiated a series on some of my favorite Canadian folklore legend stories earlier this year on Wrights Lane, but here is one about as close to home as you can get...Would you believe, from Fairy Lake, just beyond my back yard in Southampton.

It was in the winter of 1905 that Samuel Matheson, an Ice Harvester, was on his way home from the famed Walker House, on a dark and blustery night. He was well fortified against the cold, as he trudged along the shore of Fairy Lake, making his way home.

As Matheson passed he saw and heard something very unusual in the middle of the ice-covered lake. It was a bonfire, and around it he heard "Fairies and Goblins" singing this tune:

Round and Round the happy Chorus
Round and Round the Fairy’s ring
Round and Round til sleep comes o’er us
Then to beds, in bands we’ll wing. 

The next day, sadly, as his trusted horses Clumpy Dumpy and Old Mick towed his ice harvesting wagon across the lake, just at the spot where the bonfire had been seen the night before, the ice cracked and the whole team went under. With luck some neighbourly wood cutters managed to pull Sam free of the ice and cold water, but they could not save Clumpy Dumpy and Old Mick, who were lost to the depths of the lake.

While I do not frequent the Walker House which to this day remains a downtown landmark; believe it or not, on some late winter evenings when I walk my dog on a nature trail that now surrounds Fairy Lake, I swear that I too hear voices out on the ice and jovially singing "Round and round the happy chorus..." I have been known to join in with the Fairies and Goblins when I hope no one is listening "...round and round the fairies ring...", but that's my secret.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just for the interest of readers, the average depth of Fairy Lake has been measured to be about 1.7m, but the silt and soft loam can be measured to reach 3.5m in depth before a solid bottom is found. The basin of Fairy Lake was a former Channel of the Saugeen River during the end of the last Ice Age, when melt waters flowed over the surface of Bruce County into what was then Glacial Lake Algonquin.

In an 1857 survey map of the area, a body of water called Small Lake was drawn. This same year a sawmill operated from the outflow of the creek downstream of what was to be re-named Little Lake (and subsequently Fairy Lake). A tanning factory operated by Issac Bowman and Henry Zinkman gained permission to take water from the east bank of the lake in 1880 to use in the production of leather hides.

My home on Grey Street North and adjoining four southerly properties, now sit on the site of the tanning factory which burned to the ground at the turn of the 20th century.

Today. Fairy Lake is located right in the community's core, offering a pleasant respite from a bustling tourist community in the middle of summer. A frothy fountain splashes in the centre of the lake while a nature trail wraps itself around its perimeter.

Swans, ducks and geese can be fed, the corn available at the dispensing machines along the lake's edge. On sunny days, snapping turtles congregate on their favourite log to soak up some sunshine, often finding their way into my backyard to lay eggs. Huge carp can be spotted swimming just beneath the water's surface.

The Fairy Lake pavilion, constructed by a team of high school students, plays host to popular Sunday evening band concerts in the summer months. An observation deck at the opposite side of the lake was added by the same students a year ago.

I am indeed a neighboring benefactor...."Round and round til sleep comes o're me."

A Tanning Factory and sawmill were first located on the eastern bank of Fairy Lake in the late 1800s. *Note: the blue ink mark to the left of this circa 1890 photo indicates where my home at 62 Grey Street North is now located. The area is known to old Southamptonians as Tannery Hill.

The exact same view of Fairy Lake as above, only a good 140 years later. Now a natural paradise. My home is on the hill, hidden by the trees to the left-centre of the photo.

WALPOLE ISLAND'S ED PINNANCE PLAYED MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL IN 1903 WITH PHILADELPHIA

I thought that I knew a lot about the select few players from my old Lambton-Kent district stomping grounds who actually made the grade in Major League Baseball. Well, as it turns out, I did not know about Ed Pinnance.

Nicknamed “Peanuts,” the Walpole Island product was one of the first four Indigenous athletes to play professional baseball in Majors (MLB). Pinnance played for the Philadelphia Athletics during the 1903 season. In his first appearance, the right handed pitcher suited up for the Athletics against the Washington Senators.

Ed "Peanuts" Pinnance

At the time, he was only 22-years-old. He played seven innings for the Philadelphia Athletics, striking out two batters, and finishing with a 2.57 ERA. He earned a save in his lone decision, and allowed only five hits in the seven innings he pitched.

Prior to his stint in the Major Leagues, Pinnance survived Shingwauk Indian Residential School in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Following this, he went to the Michigan Agricultural College, which later became Michigan State University, playing for the MAC baseball team.

Pinnance played his first professional baseball games for the Lawyers in Mount Clements, Michigan. He later played for Nashua and New Lebanon in the New England League. It was while he was playing in New Lebanon that he received the call to play for the Philadelphia Athletics, who are now the modern day Oakland A’s.

Later in his career, he played professional for Portland in the Pacific Coast League, Amsterdam and Troy in the New York State League, Bay City in the Southern Michigan League and Davenport in the III League.

After his baseball career, Pinnance returned home to live and farm on Walpole and Squirrel Island reserves in the mouth of the St. Clair River on Lake St. Clair. He passed away in 1944.

Only three other Indigenous athletes had competed in Major League Baseball, including Louis Sockalexis (1897), Bill Phyle (1898), and Chief Bender (1903), up to Pinnance's brief appearance with the Athletics. In all, only 47 full blood Indians have played in the major leagues since 1897, including the great all-American athlete Jim Thorpe who is a legend unto himself.

Growing up, my favorite Indigenous player in MLB was Allie “Superchief” Reynolds who pitched for the Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees from 1942-1954.

A SMALL STEP FOR MAN...

....AND WHOPPER FOR MR. GORSKY

I was on the receiving end the other day of an amusing email sharing a hilariously creative account, supposedly exposing the story behind a mysterious name uttered by astronaut Neil Armstrong following his historic walk on the moon. The story has made the rounds on line for a number of years, but I share it on Wrights Lane today just in case it has eluded your inbox. Look for a not-too-surprising reveal at the end.

ON JULY 20, 1969, AS COMMANDER OF THE APOLLO 11 LUNAR MODULE, NEIL ARMSTRONG WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO SET FOOT ON THE MOON.

HIS FIRST WORDS AFTER STEPPING ON THE MOON, "THAT'S ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN, ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND," WERE TELEVISED TO EARTH AND HEARD BY MILLIONS. BUT, JUST BEFORE HE RE-ENTERED THE LANDER, ARMSTRONG MADE THE ENIGMATIC REMARK "GOOD LUCK, MR. GORSKY."

MANY PEOPLE AT NASA THOUGHT IT WAS A CASUAL REMARK CONCERNING SOME RIVAL SOVIET COSMONAUT. HOWEVER, UPON CHECKING, THERE WAS NO "GORSKY" IN EITHER THE RUSSIAN OR AMERICAN SPACE PROGRAMS.

OVER THE YEARS, ARMSTRONG WAS QUESTIONED FREQUENTLY AS TO WHAT THE 'GOOD LUCK, MR. GORSKY' STATEMENT MEANT, BUT HE ALWAYS JUST SMILED.

ON JULY 5, 1995, IN TAMPA BAY, FLORIDA, WHILE ANSWERING QUESTIONS FOLLOWING A SPEECH, A REPORTER BROUGHT UP THE 26-YEAR-OLD QUESTION ABOUT MR.GORSKY AND THIS TIME HE FINALLY RESPONDED BECAUSE HIS MR. GORSKY HAD JUST DIED, SO NEIL ARMSTRONG FELT HE COULD NOW ANSWER THE QUESTION.

HERE IS THE ANSWER TO "WHO WAS MR. GORSKY?":

IN 1938, WHEN HE WAS A KID IN A SMALL MID-WESTERN TOWN YOUNG NEIL WAS PLAYING BASEBALL WITH A FRIEND IN THE BACKYARD. HIS FRIEND HIT THE BALL, WHICH LANDED IN HIS NEIGHBOR'S YARD NEAR THE BEDROOM WINDOW OF A MR. AND MRS. GORSKY.

AS HE LEANED DOWN TO PICK UP THE BALL, AN AMUSED ARMSTRONG HEARD MRS. GORSKY SHOUTING AT MR. GORSKY, "SEX! YOU WANT SEX?! YOU'LL GET SEX WHEN THE KID NEXT DOOR WALKS ON THE MOON!"

LOL!!!

In truth, this priceless whopper of a tall tale accompanied by a claim of authenticity, never really happened as can be easily verified by checking the official lunar landing transcript on NASA's Apollo 11 site (audio and video clips are included).

Sometimes attributed to stand-up comedian Buddy Hackett, "Good Luck, Mr. Gorsky" clearly was created as a joke, evolving into an urban legend over time through sheer repetition as a true story. The sex referred to is often "oral". In spite of the ease with which this revisionist history of the Apollo moon landing and moonwalk is debunked, it will doubtless be with us for decades to come.
A related urban legend popular among Muslims claims that Armstrong heard a voice say "Allahu akbar" ("God is great") the moment he stepped on the moon and was inspired to convert to Islam. This, as well, never happened.

Following Neil Armstrong's death, major media outlets including NBC News and CBS News listed the Mr. Gorsky tale as a myth or urban legend, ascribing it to comedian Hackett from an appearance on "The Tonight Show." NBC News also says that the U.S. State Department enabled Armstrong to try to correct the story with journalists. However, as with many stories, it lives on via the Internet.