Becoming Bernard

With the arrival of Christmas last week Monday, so too were we at the front end of a rather long stretch of unseasonably cold weather.  Most days the high temperatures have struggled to be in the single digits.  During the Christmas season we often use the garage for storage.  No doubt that this time the garage is sufficiently cold, to the point that items have froze.  Lucky for me the beer is in the basement.  What I realized is that this year, unlike past year,s I now have a tendency to put on a coat to go to the garage. This made me think of my Dad, who my mother referred to by his middle name Bernard.  I realized I am becoming Bernard.

The cold garage has frozen some left over wine, along with soup my spouse made with turkey carcass left over from Christmas dinner.  There are trips to the garage to get cookies, now frozen, and to dispense with garbage and recyclables.  My Dad would seldom go to the garage in cold weather without a coat and/or a hat.  This even tough the garage where I grew up is insulated, so it does not get as cold as fast as the garage where I currently reside but is not insulated.  It is not like he could not stand the cold.  As a young adult during WWII he went through the Battle of the Bulge, where he spent a few days hiding in a culvert for many days after being fired upon by German troops  who had gathered for the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge; he grew up farming in the cold of the Midwest; and while he almost always wore a hat, rarely did he wear one covering his ears.  As a young child, I would often see him wearing a fedora, and not the kind with drop down ear coverings.  He often would comment to us that he went bald from having to wear a hat to keep his head warm during the cold winter on the European continent for 1944-1945.

As he would grab a coat to either put on or fling over his shoulders as he would prepare to venture into the garage or make a quick trip outside, we were there to snicker.  Of course comments were made, too.  No one was above the ability to be picked on by the kids in our family, neither Dad, or Mom.  Although the youngest was the one who may have most been above being picked on.

As I have been on vacation for the past week, I find myself becoming like Bernard.  I have found myself putting on a coat and hat to make the trip to the mail box when up to this year I would just run out without over clothes. I also have found myself putting on a coat to make a trip to the garage to gather cookies, or for some other reason.  So, I wonder was it turning 60, or the fact that for some reason I find myself unable to run as fast as I did last year?  Or, maybe I would rather take the time to be comfortable on the ventures rather than get chilled.

The chill is hard to get over sometimes, particularly when you think the house is 67 degrees when it turns out it was actually a few degrees lower.  A little trial on Thursday and Friday using varied thermometers in the house shows a two to three degree temperature differential from the thermostat reading to that on the gauges less than three feet away.  Going for my daily walk, I decided this year for the first time, to wear long johns for my legs. My Dad would be happy to see this, as he would often comment to us children to put on our long underwear, which we seldom did.  After all, how many children actually take the suggestion of their parents?

However, it goes beyond winter and coats, hats and long underwear.  I also am very near sighted, and remove my glasses to read small print or look at things up close.  I found it rather trying to work on the speaker wires to our receiver last week.  Add dark conditions, the inability to pull the receiver all the way out and my eye sight and you have a perfect storm.  I am not the only one I see doing this. One engineer at work uses his I phone camera as a magnifying glass.

Wearing the long underwear came at the suggestion of my wife.  Of course, I have been walking much of this week at sunrise, the coldest part of the day.  While cold, I hoped to avoid the which I find more bothersome than temperatures.  Showing the affect of wind, I would rather put up with a minus five degree temperature, than a temperature in the teens, with a wind that produces a wind chill of minus five.  So, yes perhaps the cold weather is starting to affect me more than in past years. With a windchill warning until noon yesterday, I waited until early afternoon to take my walk, and it actually fairly pleasant with the sun.

While my Dad was younger than I currently am when he would put on his coat and hat to venture into the garage or a quick trip outside, he is probably smiling that I have some sense, regardless of how long it took to arrive.  Parents are not always wrong. 

Happy New Year, and stay warm.  Cold weather predicted to at least next weekend.

Fourth is not last but the Middle

A few weeks ago I wrote a post on the first Sunday of Advent, titled, "First Sunday", which you can find here.  We are now to the fourth, and last Sunday of Advent.  All of the other Sunday's of Advent had a full week in which to ponder meaning and significance.  However, the fourth Sunday seldom has that opportunity. This year it really does not even exist.  The fourth Sunday of Advent is like a middle child.

Shepherds' Field Church, Beit Sahour, Palestine

I know all about being a middle child.  As families have gotten smaller, the middle child experience is going the way of the dodo bird, or having a nice snow cover for Christmas.  That is true of this Fourth Sunday, which also happens to be Christmas Eve.  American penchant for hurrying things has us always moving things to be earlier and earlier.  Many Americans celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve and not Christmas Day.  Celebrations seem to begin earlier on Christmas Day, too.  It was not too long ago at my work that we only got off 1/2 day as a holiday on Christmas Eve, but that has changed to all day.  Of course, we as a nation may be more mobile, and a full day allows persons to travel.  Christmas Day is one of the days of highest attendance at movie theaters.  It is not just the secular.  I recall years ago the first mass for Christmas Eve was Midnight Mass, but that has changed.  First it was 10:00 pm, and gradually moved to our local church has its first mass being at 4 pm.  Few parishes still have a midnight mass.  When I was young I recall midnight mass being so crowded that the aisles were full of people standing.  With mass beginning at 4:00 pm, the Fourth Sunday of Advent will come to a close, with not even a candle lighted for the evening dinner.

Cave excavation and chapel at Shepherd field

What this all means is that the Fourth Sunday of Advent is really second fiddle to Christmas Eve.  I can fully appreciate the need to accommodate celebrations with different parts of a family.  That gets me to the middle child.  They (we) are the ones (at least me) that not only wore hand-me-downs, but also hand-me-ups.  Between older and younger siblings, they are the ones that are caught in the middle.  Let me put it this way, middle children are the Rodney Dangerfield's of the family.  Can that be a good thing?  Yes, I think it tends to help shape us and perhaps make us more resilient.  Although resiliency can be earned in other ways.

Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem

Being a middle child is about the opposite of being the Third Sunday of Advent.  That Sunday even has its own different colored candle, which is said to give special recognition with it having a special name as Gaudete Sunday.  This gives hope to us middle children.  The purpose of advent, adapted from the Latin adventus (coming or visit), is to prepare for the coming of Christ.  By now most, but the best procrastinators, have purchased and wrapped gifts.  The houses have likely been decorated for a few weeks.  I will do some preparing tomorrow, helping decorate church for the Christmas season, which last 12 days.  By Tuesday, when I take my daily walk I am sure, as in the past, I will see some Christmas trees having been placed outside.  The American idea of moving fast and faster means little contemplation of the true meaning of Christmas.

Recognized location of the birthplace of Jesus Christ
Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem

Each person has different events and even if we experience the same events, there would be different interpretations.  That is the way it is with Advent, and with Christmas.  We each will interpret  and get out of it what we want, or really what we put into it.   The Fourth Sunday of Advent is still here, for a few hours, and while it may be in name only, what follows is the main event, the joy of Christmas, where, as Linus said to Charlie Brown,  that a Savior was born this day in the city of David.  Christmas is about many things, but it is about giving; after all, God so loved the world that he gave his only son.  While Jesus was not a middle child, I think he can find the humor in being one, and how that can relate to something like the Fourth Sunday of Advent.
Merry Christmas!

Photos by author, April 2013

Celebrate

For some reason it seemed shocking to me when a co-worker mentioned on Wednesday morning, the day before my 60th birthday, that I had spent more than one-half my life working for Fitchburg. While I know that fact, I wondered why I was taken aback at its mention. I think it was the pure nature of the statement in which I recognized some level of my life moving on. Or, it could have been related to the fact that two evening meetings on Tuesday kept me at work on Tuesday from 6:45 am to 11:45 pm. Having started work the next day, Wednesday, at 6:45 am, I think a tired mind and body may interpret things differently than a rested one.

Wednesday, December 20, was my last day at work for the year, and while my goal this year of not having lost any vacation time was not met, I was closer than in any past year. When I arrived at work early that morning, I saw a Happy Birthday sign hanging over my office door. I then realized that is the reason a staff member, Susan, who assists with Plan Commission meetings was engaged in talking to a citizen at 11:45 at night rather than packing up and leaving to get home. She wanted to hang the sign up. As I entered the office card was on my desk, congratulating me on my 60th birthday. Fittingly the card said: 60? That's not Old ... That's Retro. Which is Very Cool by the Way." It was my coworkers way of picking on me being so behind the times that I am ahead of the times. Retro is cool. They especially like my flip phone. Yet it gets better, as I was coming back from the copy room I saw one of our city clerk staff dropping treats off at our floor. Having had a long night, I forgot about bringing treats in for my birthday, so thinking it was treats for Christmas, I jokingly said, “Ruth, thanks for bringing in treats for my birthday." It was only later when more appeared that I was told that this was in fact for my birthday. Ruth brought in cheese cake bars, and gingersnaps, Susan, who was up late at the meeting with me last night had a husband who made brownies for her to bring in, and Anna, the city forester, brought in chocolate beet cake with homemade whipped cream. They thought 60 is an age to recognize, and decided to celebrate this event.

It turns out Susan was only being nice to the citizen when as she was leaving the meeting room she noted to him how he had stuck around for the whole meeting. She did not think she would be engaged in a fifteen minute conversation, as who would not want to get home at that time of night. Later in the morning the director of the Senior Center and the social worker brought up their packer of information they give out to senior citizens. The social worker even included her business card which is, they said, the size of a cell phone. In pulling out my flip phone to show how much larger the business card is than my phone, they had a laugh at my plain simple phone. They had a good laugh. The business card is large to fit the large print for senior eyes.

As I celebrate my 60th birthday tomorrow, I was appreciative that persons thought my birthday was significant enough to celebrate. It was a nice end to the work year, for a community that I have worked for over half my life.

Depart

Many years ago my Uncle was having a conversation with my Dad about Dad's military service during WWII.  Dad never talked much about his military service, and I only recall my Uncle getting a few pieces of information.  However, there was one thing my Dad said that day struck me such that I recall it to this day.  When my Uncle asked why he did not pursue a career in the military my Dad responded, that he liked the work he had done, but did not like army life.  My Dad was in the Counter Intelligence Corps, and I have written previous blog posts, particularly one dealing with Battle of Bulge, which began on Dec. 16, 1944.  However, this post is not about my Dad or the Battle of the Bulge, it is about a few, now former co-workers. 

Last Thursday evening I was at a going away party for the city's Transportation Engineer who I had the privilege of working with for many years.  As I departed the party, and was driving home, I realized I had to come up with a topic for this week's blogpost.  Something she (the Transportation Engineer) said that evening, made me think of the remark my Dad had given to my Uncle years ago.  She commented how well she liked her work (and many of those with whom she worked),  yet,  she found it necessary to leave the employment of the city. She left, but not because of the work. 

Unfortunately, this was the second going away party in the span of a week. One week earlier was the going away party for the Director of Public Works/City Engineer.  While his tenure was not near as long as that of the Transportation Engineer, he was knowledgeable and was a good fit.   Add to this, an Environmental Engineer who departed in late January, and you have the departure of three engineers in less than one year.  That is quite a number when the total of employed professional engineers is only five.  Add to that the departure of an Engineering Technician in October, and you have four staff in one department that have taken on employment opportunities elsewhere. The sad part is that they were all dedicated and more than capable workers in their fields.  Also, since the end of October, the City Attorney, who I had the pleasure of working with for about 15 years, retired, as did the Police Chief (who began as a patrolman about 40 years ago.  One can discern the turnover in key positions.  During the City Attorney's retirement get-together for cake in the Community Center, a  co-worker noted that I need to stay more than eight years to break the Police Chief's record.  I jokingly noted that the job would probably kill me before I reached that age.  I then suggested that they could store my corpse with my desk chair in the freezer at the Senior Center and wheel me out during the week. She replied that they could push me down to meetings, but then noted that I "would not say anything... but its not like they listen to you anyway."   It is not like the three engineers who departed this year left for retirement--all are generation Xer's and moved on to other positions.  I suspect the push factor was likely greater than any pull factor. Events transpired to provide them a desire to leave.  I know it was a difficult choice for the Transportation Engineer, and probably the other two. Employees want to feel valued and know that they are making a difference.

The Transportation Engineer was the only person from work with whom I was friends with on the social media site Facebook. Now, there will be none.  The two of us developed a strong professional relationship especially over the past few years, through joint efforts on a few key projects: an update to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, an intra-city transit study, and more recently the working to get a Ride Share program started. She is more than an engineer, she is a great, friendly, expressive and community-minded person.  If one person embodies the season of autumn it is her.  We would have fun together musing about her favorite season.  She wore clothes for the season.  She appreciated my comments about her Lumberjack outfit. (I was equal opportunity on my comments, referring to the Public Works Director, who liked black, as Johnny Cash.)  Fittingly, she wore this outfit on Thursday, her last day of work with the city. I appreciated her counsel and input on varied planning decisions, and learned a great deal about transportation, particularly regarding bicycle lanes and pedestrians. She valued all modes of transportation equally.  She was not the typical transportation engineer.

This past Monday it felt odd to walk by the empty office of the Public Works Director/City Engineer.  Tomorrow it will be even more strange to walk not only by that empty office, but Ms. Lumberjack's former work station right outside the door to that office.  I am not sure how many realize what has been lost, and why.  The US Army struggled 73 year ago to find its footing to thwart the last gasp German offensive, and so will those of us affected by the loss of not only good, decent co-workers, but friends, need to regain our footing. I wish them the very best as they pursue their new positions.   Thursday evening as I bade farewell and best wishes, she commented that she reads my blog posts. I hope she stuck through this one. There will be no other Lumberjack as a transportation engineer.  

The Desert

When we hear the term desert I am sure images of sand and sand dunes probably come to mind. There is, however, a variety of deserts. Many years ago a then town Board Chair for the Town of Delton referred to pine plantations as pine deserts. The implication is that mono-culture is not very good. There is something to be said for bio-diversity. To the eye a desert is barren, and our thoughts turn to its lack of life and the difficulty of survival not only due to heat and sun, but little water. Most of us can relate to this image of a desert. But, deserts contain more than meets the eye, or our first impression.  This is the case with John the Baptist.

Burial place of the head of John the Baptist

John is present in the Gospel reading of this second Sunday of Advent, December 10, 2017. Here is a man clothed in camel’s hair, with the reading noting the detail of him wearing a leather belt. This scripture passage lists locusts and wild honey as his main diet. If one were to think of a modern day American version, it is likely the guy that lives in a van down by the river. To get an image of John the Baptist, beyond his clothes and diet, think how a person would look after having spent a great deal of time in the desert.  His skin would b e wrinkled and leathery from the desert winds and sun. His hair and beard would have been long and unkempt, and probably full of sand.  He is not the man one would tend to think highly of, at least from first impressions. He ws an eccentric that one would try and avoid.

Rock on which the first temptation of Christ occurred

Jesus undertook a two day walk from Jerusalem to the Jordan River, and it is in that river where he was baptized by John the Baptist. John was likely a member of the Essene group, a group of strict observing Jews who lived in Qumran, where the Dead Sea scrolls were found.  The Judaean desert lay east of Jerusalem and Bethlehem and extends to the Dead Sea.  Jesus spent a great deal of time in this desert. His parable of the Good Samaritan takes place on the path between Jerusalem and Jericho. After his baptism by John in the Jordan River, he fasted for forty days and nights in the desert of Judea.  During this time, the devil tempted Christ on a mountain just outside Jericho. I traveled through this desert in April 2013.

Place of Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist
Jordan

As I traveled through the desert, my mind turned to the time of Christ and I imagined what lie would be like in such an environment.  But, more recently I wondered how each of us has our own desert, at some point in our life.  This desert can be doubt, vanity, hubris, or a prejudice that blinds our mind and action to better things. These thoughts or prejudices can leave us barren. We form first impressions--and these may well guide us, but they could also misinform us. We put up our guard to avoid the true situation. Last week while in Bangladesh, Pope Francis made note that “The presence of God today is also called Rohingya.” It does not matter if it is a refugee, a poor soul seeking help in the food pantry. Yet, there is the spiritually poor, those souls who regardless of wealth, who go about their lives with little intent on engaging Jesus Christ.  Or, to use a more common term the "poor in spirit.”

Excavation of Essene Settlement at Qumran

The Judaean desert in some respects has changed from over 2000 years ago, but in others it is probably very similar. Its nearby communities have spread further into its sands, the Bedouins have generators and antennas, and paved roads have replaced trodden camel paths. Yet, the wind still blows the sand, and wind erodes the rock. The desert can be a positive, to turn thoughts to what is really important, not unlike what the desert hermits and monks have done for centuries.  Can we see it as a metaphor for ourselves, particularly during those times when our hearts, and minds look to prejudice, hubris, or first impressions?  When that occurs, it is a time to reflect on John the Baptist and his preaching on the arrival of Christ. If we think, and act, and do service for others we find that underlying life in our deserts will provide vital diversity to who we actually are.

Jericho Monastery of the Temptation of Christ

Photos by author in April 2013

First Sunday

Today is the first Sunday of Advent.  Advent has four Sundays.  The fourth and last Sunday of Advent this year is Christmas Eve.  Many persons celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve, which for all intents and purposes can render the last Sunday of Advent meaningless.  The idea of Advent is to take time for prayer and reflection in celebrating the birthday of Jesus Christ.  Fr. Eric Hollis, OSB after writing about how differently Advent can be viewed, and practiced, followed that discussion with this sentence:  “But for the lucky ones Advent will be a time of renewal that reminds us of an inner transcendence that we all share.”   

Advent Wreath

It is ever increasing that Christmas is no longer a Christian holiday in much of the West.  It has become, like Easter,  more a secular than a religious holiday.  The old saying used to be that Church parking lots were full only on Christmas and Easter, but in some denominations that is no longer the case.  As the national overall numbers and percentage of Nones (those with no religion) increase  so too will the religious nature of the holiday continue to decrease.  For example, today while driving in to and from Madison for some Christmas shopping, the radio station had Christmas music playing, but I heard not one song with even a hint of a religious theme.  The effects of are harried Christmas can also be seen in the comics, as two photos from today's Sunday newspaper attest.  As secularization continues to occur at some point the religious nature of this day will be recalled only through old texts and old hymns.  No longer recognized for its original intent, it will have a new meaning of a day devoted to the consumer culture.  Christians may be back to worshiping in what will be a modern day version of a catacomb.  Yet,  Christmas is actually going full circle; after all long before Christmas there were pagan celebrations. 

Earth Rotation around Sun

No one on earth really knows the actual date of Christ’s birth.  Early Christians tied their celebrations to past Roman events, and in this situation placed Christmas near the Winter Solstice.  First celebrated on December 25 in the fourth century (336 AD) under the reign of Constantine, the first Christian Emperor of the Roman Empire, the purpose was to tie the holiday to common pre-Christian festival times.  The festival of Saturnalia, in honor of Saturn the god of agriculture, would be a one month long Roman celebration in the month of December.  Also during a similar time was a Roman festival to honor children.  As an aside, I once recall my youngest sibling asking our Mom why their is no Children's Day...to which she replied "Everyday is children's day." The Romans must have thought otherwise.  Christmas would become permanently celebrated on December 25 by action of Pope Julius I.  Yet, other celebrations were not uncommon in the far reaches of Europe at this approaching time of year.  This time of year, with short days in the northern hemisphere, meant that the harvest was in.  In addition, and more importantly, y Christmas, beer fermentation (or mead) would have been completed.  But, in Roman times t made sense for the growing Christian community to tie itself to such festivals and cultural occurrences.  Christians were part of a larger whole, and this allowed a more even assimilation.  No drastic break from long standing cultural traditions.  

Advent Calendar

Advent is a time of anticipation for the birth of Christ.  Romans looked forward to Saturnalia, a pagan but not dissimilar experience.  Such anticipation is meant to heighten the appreciation of the coming event, and to add even more joy to celebration of what recognized as the day of Christ’s birth.  Without an increased awareness does the celebration have as much meaning?  The unusual gives meaning to an occasion.  If the day was like any other than it really is not special.  Advent is meant to make Christmas special.  But, the consumer and secular nature of western culture  gives a different level of preparation.  We are engrossed in decorating, parties, baking, and shopping.  Now, this is not to say to avoid all things festive, but rather to do so in appropriate moderation.  But, yet, the stress that relates to the western preparation for Christmas is really the best reason to recognize the true purpose of Advent.  

WI State Journal, 3 Dec. 2017

Let me finish by borrowing a writing of Fr. J Kirby, who, on this date wrote about what he calls zombie Christmas.  To him the zombie Christmas is a found in the wider activities occurring in our wider culture.  The victims, he says have become detached and apathetic to the realities of Christmas.  His proposed remedy is one many secularists and the None may well find disconcerting,, let me quote him:  

The answer is simple and can be found in precisely what is in jeopardy, namely, the Nativity of Jesus Christ and the higher spiritual sentiments that are given through it. By reinvesting our attention and energy into the things of God and the elevation of our souls, we will find a resuscitation within us and retrieve again the life-giving joy of human existence and of this holiday season.

That is one reason why advent is important--to connect us to something beyond ourselves. The joy, hope and love associated with the birth of Christ 2000 years ago need not be relegated to hymns and old books. We simply need to resurrect its meaning in our minds and in our souls.

WI State Journal, Dec 3, 2017, notice the eyes in the second to last frame

 Images from Google, unless otherwise noted

New Goes so Far

A couple months ago, Apple introduced it I-phone X, not 10, but X.   Far be it for a person with a flip phone to make comments about a smart phone, but bear with me.  When the I-phone X came out there were articles about how it really was not all that much different from earlier versions of the phone, and people should not waste their hard earned money.  More recently I saw that the I-phone X was selling quite well.  Although on Monday, November 13, 2017 a news report noted that the I-phone 7 was the bestselling I-phone in the 3^rd quarter of the year.  The X was not introduced until later in September. Thus, it seems that people want the newest which is often thought of as the best version.  In the computing world one only needs to look at Microsoft’s Vista operating system to realize newer is not better.   Is the I-phone X that much better than number 7?  Or, for that matter, a Samsung, a Moto, or any of the other similar devices?

I Phone

Devices such as the I-pad are now ubiquitous in American Households, and so is the I-phone in American pockets.  Pope Francis recently commented about the number of cell phones being used while he is celebrating mass, and he suggested that people turn more to Jesus and God, than use their cell phone.  In 2013 I visited the Church of the Nativity, and there were many persons, particularly Asians, who were taking photos using an I-pad.  It was not the photo taking that was annoying, but rather the jockeying  for position by people concentrating on and what is in its camera view rather than the people they bumped.  And, let's face it, a 9+" I-Pad is much larger than a point and shoot camera.  Yet, the whole photo thing is understandable.  People wish to post a photo of  events on social media showing that they were part of something larger; something that may someday viewed as historic.  At the birth place of Christ, all wanted a photo to commemorate the event.  People are said to be social animals and this practice certainly plays to that argument.

Average Commute Times in the United States

Yet, the paradox of the social nature of people is the way we choose to live and transport ourselves.  The American dream still consists of a single family home, often in the country, with your own nice Toyota.  This is as American as apple pie and Toyota (the latter is really not very American, but shows how the country has changed). Varied technology and car companies are working on the self-driving car.  Our quest for privacy in the outer regions of exurbia has taken us from where a drive was leisurely, to now where it is a chore.  My dad had only but travel a few blocks to work (often walking).  Today many commutes are 30 minutes or more, with the average, nation wide, being almost 26 minutes.  Years ago my mom and dad would go for a leisurely ride during a Sunday afternoon, most likely to get away from my older and younger siblings.  John Nolen Drive in Madison came about in part due to a leisure drive association.  So did many of the Parkways in New York City.  John Nolen can now be a frantic drive, particularly during commuting times and UW football games. 

Self Driving Car Prototype

Self-driving cares may reduce stress, but will they reduce traffic?  It will take years for all persons to drive an autonomous vehicle, and so there will still be humans driving on the road for quite some time.  People are not like storm troopers who can be tuned to one cadence with a meticulously planned spacing.  Some say the self-driving car will allow a person to be dropped off at work, and then the car can travel home to avoid needing to park in an expensive downtown location. (But, perhaps the expense of downtown parking will decrease as demand shrivels.).  It can then retrieve the person later in the day.  This adds two more trips to the road system.  They could also lead to more exurban sprawl as persons decide they can work in the vehicle while they get driven to their place of employment.  The paradox is that while people are social animals they also seek privacy.  Another paradox is that as more people move to exurbia and the pastoral lands, the land becomes more developed, ruining the reason why they move there in the first place.  It seems a not too often occurrence that we degrade that which we value. 

Self Driving Car technology

Social media is replacing face to face contact.  As technology with self-driving cars and even robotics increase will we see a day when little human contact occurs.   There is even talk of robots replacing human partners.  My wife would probably say a robot would be more talkative than I.  It probably also would not touch her cheek with a cold aluminum finger.  My cold human hand, just cannot be replaced.  Technology has changed the way we interact and communicate, and the way we work.  Will it continue to drive market demand to the point that humans really don’t know what they got themselves into?

Discovery

It was on this date two hundred and twelve years ago, November 19, 1805, that Thomas Jefferson’s Corps of Discovery reached the Pacific Ocean. This event being a a year and one-half after they departed Camp DuBois on the east shore of Mississippi near St. Louis. Better known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the journey had varied purposes. One was to find a route to the Pacific, another was to study the plants, animals and geography, a third was to open trade with the Indians, and fourth was the geo-political—claim the land prior to either the British or the French making claim to the western territory. The expedition was largely forgotten until the early 20th century, but their expedition of discovery was not unlike others that occurred over the world from a Euro-centric point of view.

Route of the Corps of Discvoery

Up until the conclusion of WWII there was the saying the sun never set on the British Empire, and it is only the Anglo bias inherent in the nation that the thinking and claims rose that the British were less exacting of native populations than other nations, particularly those in southern Europe. Much our historical works are taken for granted and portray the British as rather regal in their dealings, while the others are more the devil. What is actually known is that some countries, particularly the French tended to better blend in with native cultures, where the British liked to impose their culture. Think of Toussaint Charbonneau, a Frenchman and trapper who was married to Sacagawea, and assisted the Corps of Discovery. Or, think of the French Jesuits who left a much lighter foot print on the landscape than many of the Protestant brethren during times of Anglo expansion. Many like to claim that capitalism began with Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation, and while capitalism has brought a high standard of living, it has also brought a whole host of environmental problems and inequality.

Lewis and Clark

Today, it seems that most all European discoveries are claimed as bias, and hurtful to the native populations. Take Columbus. Once hailed as the founder of the continent, he is now denigrated, and much of this denigration comes from persons who themselves have no Native American blood in their genes. Columbus did not find the new world, but he brought about the social and political consequences. However, if it had not been Columbus it would have been someone else, as Europeans knew the seas and were taking advantage of ship technology and expanding knowledge of trade winds. Columbus had appealed to varied royalty to fund his expedition. These royalty, being somewhat enlightened leaders, would pass his request off to their counselors. They quickly realized that Columbus’ math was way off. Contrary to the fable taught for years, they did not think the world flat. The idea that the world was flat, according to Thomas Cahill, was a 19th century anti-Catholic construct (Fake News) by Jean Antoine Letronne, and furthered by Washington Irving.  What Columbus did find was that Ferdinand and Isabella were willing to take a risk, but knowing that his math did not work. It is the taking of risk that has led to adventure and advancement. Being static the world would resolve into some type of entropy of slow degradation.

Aztalan State Park, Pre-Columbian Settlement
near Lake Mills, WI

But, that does not mean that all change is good. Lewis and Clark may have left a light footprint, but what the United States did following the Corps of Discovery expedition to tribe after tribe is just as horrendous as what Columbus did, if not more so, since the world should have become more humane  in the 19th century compared to what it had been the 15th. This would have particularly been teh case had the English been so much more humane than other nations while establishing an empire.  Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of the nation, the primary writer of the Declaration of Independence, third President, and a man hailed as having begun the Democratic party, was himself a slave owner. Yet, he was considered “enlightened.” Jefferson, with the Lewis and Clark Expedition, was looking to spread the nation’s influence and expand its geography, much like what Ferdinand and Isabella were looking to accomplish with the Columbus expedition. Motive had not really changed over the centuries. Territorial expansion almost seemed (seems?) to be part of human DNA. The United States is still obtaining riches from its western lands. Think natural gas, oil, wheat from the Dakotas. Lumber and fish from Oregon and Washington. All though this, the nation made and broke treaties. They also broke the Native American culture. Some of the remaining reservations in the west are some of the poorest areas in the nation. Think of the Red River Reservation, the Lakota Sioux in South Dakota.

Recreated stockade at Aztalan State Park

The affect to Native American culture from western culture is not only the fault of many explorers and varied empires.  It is easy to sit in a family room or coffee shop in present day United States and criticize those that came before us, even though mores and thinking were different from our own.  It gets to the common idea of whether or not is right to judge a past culture based on present day values.  If present day moral values are to judge past actions, then certainly many pre-Columbian settlements and tribes should also be judged for their slavery to others, and their human sacrifice.  In the end no one culture is perfect and how we view a past culture is also determined by our biases.

It was also on this date, only 58 years after Lewis and Clark reached the Pacific Ocean, that Abraham Lincoln delivered perhaps the most famous address in American history--the Gettysburg Address.

Surname

Time changes and alters us, our landscape, how we use words, the meaning of words, and how we spell.  Do we, today, also tend to place more emphasis on a name than in times past?   The spelling of my surname has changed, and records indicate that my great grandfather and his brothers did not choose a consistent spelling of the last name.  Many years ago, prior to the industrial revolution, most persons were farmers, followed by craftspeople, and shop keepers.  For many, their last name may represent an ancestor's occupation--Smith became short for blacksmith, as an example.  Given the common nature of the last name Smith, there must have been a great number of blacksmiths.  Surnames started becoming more common in 14th and 15th centuries, although the Romans seemed to always have two or three names (think Gaius Julius Caesar).   This post is about the Hovel surname.  A September 26, 2017 post on this blog discussed the pronunciation and presence of the V in the name.

Simon Hawel marriage record, 1703
Source:  https://digi.ceskearchivy.cz  Lhenice, book 1 image 103

Hovel in English refers to a small shanty, or dirty house.  There are Hovels from England, and their last name may hearken back to a prior residence in their homeland. However, my surname is an Americanized version of the Czech surname Havel.  As in Vaclav Havel.  In old-country records, however, it is often spelled with a "W" in place of the "V";  the W apparently being due to Germanic influence.  In 1526 the Kingdom of Bohemia came under the rule of the Hapsburg Empire, which later became the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  German is a key language for that Empire, and hence even though some historic Bohemian records are in Czech (other languages used are Latin and German), the W is influenced by the German language.  Use of W in lieu of V is also applied to the spelling of the name of a village.  Like English names, Czech last names may relate to occupation, or social status.  For example the surname, Dvorak, as in the composer Antonin, means a free person who owns land.  The Havel surname for Czech's has a more elegant meaning than the English name Hovel.  The Havel name recognizes St. Gall, who was one of the companions of St. Columbanus (both of Irish descent) who re-educated the continent of Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire.

Martin Hawel (Hovel) baptismal record
Source:  https://digi.ceskearchivy.cz,  Netolice book 31, image 25

The earliest record that I have located to date for my ancestors is the sacramental marriage record dating from 1703 for my 6th great grandfather Simon Hawel from Ratiborova Lhotka.  Simon married Elizabetha Pesek (perhaps a small v symbol above the S) probably from from Vrbice (Wrbice in the record).  All of the Czech records I have located consistently use Hawel as spelling of the last name.  My great great grandfather Josef migrated to the US in 1868 with his wife and eight surviving children. Having located copies of baptismal records for all of Josef's offspring but for the youngest, Wenzel (his baptismal certificate will not be available on-line until probably after 2049), they all use Hawel.  This continues the spelling as it was generations earlier.  The passenger log on the immigrant ship, uses this surname.   Of the children who arrived with Josef and Anna Hawel on US soil on a mid-July day in 1868 four were male and four were female.  The four females would all marry and take the name of their spouse. For the four males, the last name would be a different story.

Joseph Hawel Declaration for Citizenship
source:  UW-Whitewater archives

Let us take a look at the historical record, and see what it provides relative to the spelling of the last name.  When Josef, the patriarch of the family passed away in 1882 he was buried at Oakwood Bohemian Cemetery near Plymouth, Iowa; Josef may have been one of the first burials in that cemetery as it was created that year. While  his, and his wife's, tombstone use the last name of  Hawel, his Declaration of Citizenship in 1869 has his name, and his signature reading Havel.(Although it appears he was unsure of how to spell the name in English as he overwrote a "b" as the middle letter with a "v".)  His son John was one of the founding members of the Bohemian Cemetery Association.  John Hovel, the eldest child, had varied records. John would die in a tragic accident in June 1905.   A story on the Bohemian Cemetery (1982) provides "...Hovel (Havel)" leading me to think the name in the record is Havel, but the article provides the more common accepted spelling meaning it is the same as Havel in the original record.  News articles on his death, as well as his grave maker in the Bohemian Cemetery use Havel.  John's wife, Margaret is buried in Osage, IA under the name Hovel.  I have not located an obituary of the oldest daughter Anna, who died in 1910 so I cannot track what name may have been provided as a maiden name.

"Baltimore" Ship Manifest
Source:  Wisconsin Historical Society

Martin, my great grandfather, saw Habel used in his 1877 Wisconsin marriage license (probably as written by the county clerk), but used Hovel in his will (1919),  and on his tombstone (1928).  A 1915 Iowa census record uses Havel.  Yet, more importantly, a prayer book (written in German) he once owned has his signature as "Martin Hovel."  Of course it is unknown when he signed the book.  Interestingly, his Son John would, at the urging of his wife, who thought the name too short, add a second L.  John's sister Marie Hovel would die at a relatively young age in 1896.  Her grave marker Identifies her as Mary Hawel, spouse of Anton Hofmeister.  She too is buried in the Bohemian Cemetery.  A brother of Martin, Joseph D Havel would use the Havel spelling.  This spelling of the last name was in his death record, and in news articles on his death.  That spelling is also prevalent in ads for one of his business ventures.  JD had two sons and a daughter. His oldest son is (so far, anyway) lost to history.  The other, Rufus, died near age 90, but had no children.   He used the last name of his father, as one would expect--Havel.  Rose Kachel, the only Hovel child to remain in Wisconsin, would have the original Hawel spelling appear in her obituary.  Katherine Popp, the second youngest would be the one family member to outlive all her siblings.  Her May 1944 obituary identifies her as a Hovel.

Martin and Amelia Hovel main grave monument
Source:  Iowa grave records 

The youngest child of Josef and Anna, Wenzel, who was nine months old upon his arrival on the shores of Baltimore, died in the first month of January 1944.  His death certificate would use the original version of the last name--Hawel (Germanic version of Czech).  He would, however, use a first name of Howard, rather than his baptized name Wenzel.  He deferred from use of his given name, which definitely sounds Bohemian, for a more common English name, Howard.  But, he chose to keep the original surname--Hawel, rather than an Americanized version--Hovel, or even Havel.  Wenzel had a large family, but all daughters, so his surname did not pass to a future generation.

Rudolph Hovel WWI Draft Card
Source: Familysearch

It seems that perhaps after the death of Joseph, the common accepted spelling for the John Hovel side, and the Martin Hovel side was to use Hovel (with John J adding another L), and not Havel.  However, whether or not Joseph D's horrendous act in March 1907 led to the name change I do not know.  It may simply have been a desire to Americanize the name during a time of continued anti-Catholic bias in the nation.  On my mother's paternal side, the Mc in McSweeney was dropped as the family arrived in the United States in order, according to family lore, to mitigate the Irish nature of the name.  Father Joseph Reiner would convince my mother's mother's family to drop the Ei, as in Eireiner, for simply Reiner.  What mother could say no to her Jesuit priest son?  She was so proud of her son, that it is said, she would refer to him as Father Reiner?

Martin and Amelia Hovel
Source:  Michael J. Hovel

The surname is our identifier.  Yet, the surname did not come from an occupation as did many others, but was in recognition of St Gall.  The question is why did a family or family members choose a last name to recognize St. Gall?  To that I do not have an answer.  Who we are is in our personality.  Personality is formed by environment, and partially by the genes we inherited, a collection of genes that goes back much longer than the 1703 marriage record of Simon Hawel to Elizabeth Pesek.  This brief post is a look into our past.  The last name was stable in its spelling for many generations, but within about 40 years of after arrival in the United States even brothers could not agree on which spelling to retain for the surname.  History is full of unique stories, and this is but another story in the history of the Hovel (Havel, Hawel) family.

Fall

Today, November 5, is the halfway point of astronomical fall.  Astronomical fall is the time from the Autumnal Equinox to the day before the Winter Solstice.  Meteorological fall consists of the months of September, October, and November.  As we sit 45 days into the fall season we have celebrated All Hallows Eve (Halloween), All Saints Day, and All Souls Day and we look forward to the Thanksgiving feast, which this year falls on November 23.

Holy Hill, October 20, 2017

Fall is the time of year when temperatures begin to cool (or fall), when leaves turn colors and give a short but beautiful display before they fall.  It is a time of harvesting the last fruits and vegetables.  Fall, however, is a word which often has negative connotations.  Using Merriam Webster dictionary on-line let me provide just a few:

1.       To descend freely by the force of gravity

2.       To become lower in degree or level

3.       To leave an erect position suddenly and  unintentionally.

2015 photo of Autumn Purple Ash in my front yard

I know many persons for whom fall is their favorite season.  Perhaps we should use autumn as the descriptor since it lacks much of the negative connotation of fall.  This year it seems that we skipped the best parts of fall, those sunny days with high temperatures in the 50’s to lower 60’s.  Sweatshirt and football weather.  We went from highs in the 70’s to highs in the 30’s or 40’s.  Such is the variation of a transitional season in the Midwest. The long-range forecast in the Madison, WI area for the week have lows as cold as 23 degrees, and after today the highest temperature is to be about 43 degrees.  As of today, normal temperatures are 51/33.  We are now paying for a warm early fall.

2015 pile of raked leaves

Yet, besides the normal temperatures and colors of leaves we see other positive attributes, and the reasons why many seem to view it as their favorite season:  there is hot apple cider, pumpkin pie, Thanksgiving, pumpkin spice which seems in almost everything now-a-days, flannel sheets and down comforters, pumpkin pie, wool and flannel clothing.  Oh, and there is also, in order to mention a third time--pumpkin pie. One does not live if they do not like homemade pumpkin pie, especially one with my wife's homemade crust.  Fall includes a decrease in daylight hours.  However, given the position of Madison, WI in the northern latitudes our day light hours will remain at 9 hours from Dec 19 through Dec 27.  Fall also provides some rare treats.  For example, one may be lucky to encounter a few nice cool, clear, crisp mornings as the sun peaks over the horizon providing a morning to raise your spirits and brighten your outlook for the day.  Fall is also a time of final chores.  It involves cleaning up flower and garden beds, putting away flower pots, raking leaves, mulching flower beds, unhooking hoses, and cleaning leaves out of the gutters. 

Early fall produce

A couple weeks ago it was a nice warm fall day and I left work early to complete some yard work.  It was a busy few hours before my spouse arrived home.  When she arrived home she asked what I had done.  I started the list: I picked up leaves in the front and side of the house, mowed the lawn, cleaned out the front gutters, worked in the garden, and repaired the raised vegetable bed.  I was hoping her attention would be elsewhere and she would miss one item in the list, but I was wrong.  The item in the list that quickly caught her attention caused her to get become quite upset and mad for doing one particular chore.  “You got up on the roof to clean the gutters?” was her question to which I said, “Well, yes.”  To say I got the third degree from the onslaught verbal barrage would be an understatement.  Yes, she was madder than when I put my cold hands on her warm face.  Her verbal barrage was multi-faceted.  It pulled at the heart strings—“Don’t you care about how I would feel to come home and find you dead or severely injured from falling off the roof!” It was logical: “What would you do if you had fallen off the roof and were severely injured?” Yet, it also contained threats, such as: “How would you feel if I went up on the roof?” I take it she does not want me on the roof.

Corn Maze, another benefit of fall

A week later, was our 27^th wedding anniversary, and to celebrate we went to see a movie, our first movie in a theater since watching “Concussion.”  The movie, “Only the Brave” followed the Granite Mountain Hotshots from a local trainee crew to a certified Hotshot crew, and concluded with the Yarnell, AZ fire in which 19 of the 20 members perished.  (The one who survived was a lookout watching the fire movement and tracing weather patterns one-half mile away from where the main crew was located.)  At the end of the movie the relatives and loved ones of the crew are gathered in the local school.  Details were not being released to the assembled family members pending arrival of grief counselors.  Word had spread of one survivor, but at this point no one knew who it was.  The one survivor, going against advice of the leader of a federal hot shot crew, decided to go to the school.  As he walked into the school the hopes of family members of nineteen other men disappeared.  Those family members had one string of hope, against all odds, that their husband, father, son or brother would be the one to be alive.  In the instant they saw the surviving crew member their hope was instantly replaced by cries and anguish for the loss of  man they would no longer embrace.  Not quite the way to find out about the death of your husband, father, brother or son.  While, as my wife knows, my middle name is “Careful”, accidents do occur. Such as falling off a roof.    

Lapham Peak Unit of Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest
October 20, 2017

Hopefully fall will not entail the third of the three above definitions, for anyone at anytime. Autumn can bring a series of different events and experiences.  It brings recognition of those who have gone before us (All Saints Day and All Souls Day), we give thanks for blessings bestowed through the unique American holiday--Thanksgiving;  yet, as the days continue to shorten we look forward to the future.   As we make our way through fall before the end of the season I may once again be on the roof to make on final cleaning of the front gutters before winter sets in, but this time I should make sure my wife is home.

 Photos by author

Football Party

On my way home from work one day last week I was listening to a sports talk radio show based in Madison, WI.  Saying that the host of the show, Mike Heller, and his sidekick Jon Arias are homers when it comes to Badger sports would be an understatement.  On this particular day, they were bemoaning the lack of student attendance at University of Wisconsin football games.  They wondered why the students arrive late and leave early.  Now, as a warning, and this may seem sexist but so be it: Mothers of Badger students this blog post may contain graphic descriptions and information, and you are urged to proceed with caution.  In other words, your sweet little child may not be so innocent.

Camp Randall Stadium, looking toward student section in north end zone
They would not take the photo if the student section was not full, so the photo
was not taken in the first quarter.

What brought their complaint to the airwaves was the UW game against Maryland.  It was a beautiful and warm mid-fall day in the southern part of Wisconsin, and it was also the annual  homecoming game.  Mike Heller was complaining about the lack of student attendance at the game.  Maryland is a poor to middling team, and its season will best be remembered for defeating the Texas Longhorns.  The UW student section is well known for its graphic chants, not only to opposing teams, but one student section to the another.  (Warning, the following contains graphic language!)  For example, one section yells "Eat Shit!", and the other yells back: "Fuck You!"  (Moms, you were warned.)  I have attended a few UW football games, and quite frankly, I could not pick out what they were saying.  However, this chant made the news in Madison several years ago (I think it was 2011) when, a high school football recruit was attending a UW game with his parents, probably up in one of the boxes for the coddled, up and coming football players.  This women knew exactly what the student sections were saying she did not like it.  Neither did the powers that be in the athletic department and administration--after all they did not want to lose a coddled prized recruit.  Perhaps the UW likes it when the students are present only for part of the game.

Bucky Badger

They have also been known to taunt opposing teams and states.  To Minnesota they would yell: "Safety School!" To Ohio State they would yell "Overrated!"  All in the aspects of good sportsmanship.  I am sure there are worse chants that have been had, but I have not attended many Badger games, and if they were present they escape my memory.

The Badger game against Maryland had an 11:00 am start, and to show the naivete of Mike Heller he and his sidekick were wondering if the early start time affected the lack of early attendance. What I realized is that Mike Heller needed some statistics, so I did a poll of my five nieces/nephews who had or are at the UW, and my son who attended the school.  I explained the reason for the poll, and offered the following:What most closely approximates your and your Significant Others opinions or reason for arriving late, and leaving early for Badger football games:

1. There is beer to drink at pre and post game parties
2. Nobody that is cool would arrive early, ie everybody arrives late
3. Don't want to fight all the "old" people who are trying to get in the stadium
4. There is studying to be done
5. If the Badgers played somebody tough it may be a different story, ie lack of quality opponent
6. The game does not matter until Jump around
7. Who goes to the game to watch football, (it's a party)

Interestingly, among those that responded there was unanimity on the top choice, and it was not #4.  And all these years I thought they found it hard for them to pull themselves out of Helen C. White Library, and once they did they could not wait to get back to the library.  The top reason was item #1. They also were unanimous on a second choice, and that being #5.  The Badgers are well known nationwide for having a soft schedule.  Their division in the Big Ten conference (West division)  until this weekend only had themselves with a winning division record.  But, the likes of the homers, such as Mike Heller are awaiting the arrival of Michigan later in the season.  Michigan, however, is tied with Rutgers (nobody's power house) for fourth place in the eastern division standings.   I have yet to hear from the youngest niece who is currently a freshman at the UW; the others all have a bachelor degree from what is termed the flagship school of the state university system.  I would have to agree with my young relations on why students are late, and leave early.  Given my limited experience with Badger games, the drinking culture is strong at the UW.

 Most of my attendance at Badger games has been due to the gracious nature of my sister, who with her husband has season tickets, but a few times she let me use her ticket.  With at least one, if not two or four Hovel's as undergraduates at the UW at the same time, my brother-in-law always knew who had the party.  For a few years it was at my nephew Christopher and his roommates in the backyard of their rented house.  Beer pong was prevalent.  My best memory is of Christopher drinking two beers at the same time, not once but twice, and right after the other. Four beers in the matter of a couple minutes.  It probably took longer for him to pour the beer into his large mug than for him to drink the two beers.  (Yes, Lisa, your son.) Oh yes, the beer flows, this is Wisconsin, after all.

The last game I attended was in 2014 when on a cold November day the UW played the Nebraska Cornhuskers.  I really have to feel sorry for Nebraska, what else does the state have going for it than Cornhusker football?  Although, the character Penny on "The Big Bang Theory" hails from Nebraska.  Melvin Gordon, a UW tail back, set a nation record for rushing yards in one game that day (408 yards).  His title did not last long as the next week it was broken.  The pre-game party we attended that cold day, was at my nephew Peter Nicks (and his roommates) rented house,  The house was just across the street from the Camp Randall's north end zone.  With a strong police presence on the street, one has to give Madison police credit for their non-obtrusive presence.  They could well have been busy that day, as tap beer was sold, and it was not Bud, or Miller, but a keg of a Wisconsin craft beer. Breaking liquor laws there was a price per glass, although I guess they would say donation.  Yes, the beer was flowing on that cold November day, and the police presence on the street, as next to the stadium, was great, but not intrusive.  So, Peter was able to get by with a back yard full of students, but for two 50 something white men.  I also recall the smell of pot wafting out of the home.  I have never used pot, but got to know its smell while in college;  a student across the hall regularly smoked the weed.  While at the parties, Rick and I were always welcomed.  I always wondered what the Aunt's would think. 

As post college age adults head to the game, students head to party

What is interesting, is that in the 2015-2016 school year the UW was ranked as the top party school in the nation and the Hovel family proudly had two undergraduate seniors that term.  The following year, with no Hovel undergraduates the UW fell to fifth place as a party school. Not second, not third, but fifth!  Was it pure coincidence?  I think we in the Hovel family tend to think of it as cause and effect.  The question is whether the current Hovel undergraduate will help raise the party school ranking to where it was a couple years ago.  The UW, however, does rank first in beer consumption.

Mike Heller was taking calls about ways to solve the problem of late arrival and early leaving. One suggested tying ability to get tickets the following year to arrival to be recorded when the ticket is scanned.  The UW's famous Jump Around is at the end of the third quarter, and after that with a blow out in progress the students find better things to do--like drink beer.  If the UW were to play some heavy weight, like Ohio State, I think they would arrive earlier.  And, if it were an exciting game as it was several years ago when  the UW beat #2 OSU, the students would stick around and charge the field.  Beer (and football) is part of the Wisconsin culture, and the arrival times, along with pre-game parties, will be hard to change.


Images from Google