John the Baptist

One of the more intriguing characters in the Gospels, to me anyway, is John the Baptist.  This past advent three of the four Gospel readings involved John, and due to the cycle, all readings were from Matthew.  Having read some articles about the Gospel readings, and listened to homilies, one common thread exists about John the Baptist, as one person said, "John is not one you would invite over for dinner."

Birth location of John the Baptist
St John the Baptist Church, Ein Karem

One may not want him as a dinner guest, but people still seem mesmerized by him.  In way of background we know that John was born to Zechariah, and Elizabeth, both of whom can trace their lineage to Aaron.  We also know that Zechariah was a priest at the temple, so I would say he was a man of decent position within the Jewish community.  When I visited the Holy Land over six years ago, I recall hearing that John's parents had two dwellings in/near Ein Karem, a dwelling in the valley, their normal residence, and a summer place in the hills.  Each was probably more like a cave.  By the measures of the time, given two homes, even if mainly like a cave, the family was not likely destitute by standards of the time.  Mary went to visit Elizabeth when she heard about Elizabeth being pregnant; this occurred at Elizabeth's summer home in the hills.  Elizabeth, who is a relative of the Virgin Mary conceives a child even though she is thought to be barren, and that child is John, who was born about six months before Christ.  Zechariah, who as the head of the family would get to choose the name, decided not to follow convention and name the child after himself or a grandparent, but named him John. John would be the one to provide the face to the old testament as being the voice in the wilderness to proclaim the coming of Jesus.

Statute at Church of the Visitation
Mary visiting Elizabeth

The Church of the Visitation is on the site where John's parents had their summer home, and is also the place where John and Elizabeth hid to protect John from Herod's massacre of the innocents (it is this slaughter that sent the Holy Family into Egypt in order to spare the life of Jesus).  The church contains the stone that covered the cave in which they lived.  John the Baptist is believed to have been born at the family's valley home which is today the site of St John the Baptist Church.

Stone that covered opening of cave in which John and
Elizabeth stayed during the Massacre of the Innocents
Church of the Visitation

Of course, not much is known about John in the intervening years from birth to his mission of baptizing persons in the Jordan, River, including Jesus.  It is thought John lived for a time at Qumran, best known as the site of the Dead Sea Scrolls.  At Qumran,  which is not far from the Dead Sea, there lived an off-brand highly ascetic Jewish sect known as Essenes. They were known for being meticulous in their observance of Jewish law, perhaps more so than the Pharisees.  Pliny notes that the sect numbered about 4,000 total persons.  Having visited the Qumran site in 2013, information at the site tends to the theory that John had, for at least a while, been part of that sect.  The site has a ritual bath for Jewish persons and it is thought some men would come from Jerusalem to Qumran and partake in some of the Essene rituals including the ritual bath. Although this may not be true since the Essene, in some accounts, were not part of normal everyday life of the time and lived in small communities independent of the larger cultural and religious dynamic.  With a ritual bath, the person was "cleansed", so they had strict rules to follow, which Jesus finds rather uncharitable in the story of the Good Samaritan.  If John had been part of the sect, his lifestyle in the scriptures would be understandable.

John the Baptist Spring, Baptismal site of Jesus
Jordan

As I was pondering what I had heard and read about John it occurred to me what did John's parents think of his behavior?  Lucky, he was an only child so no brother or sister needed to explain the weird brother in the family.  Can you imagine this conversation: "What is your brother up to?  Oh, he is living in the desert.  "Living in the desert, what does he eat?"  "Oh, he eats locusts and honey."  He was not from a poor family, and his father was of position in the community, as a priest of the temple, yet he is running around the desert in camel skins and leather for a belt (the gospel accounts make it seem that leather for a belt is a bad thing, when many belts today, particularly good ones, are made of leather); not only that but he ate honey and locusts for his main diet.  Many commentators refer to John as just plain strange.  Fr. Eric Hollis has a thoughtful account of why he thinks people are attracted to John, and what was special about John, which you find here.  It is an interesting read with a good message for all in today's world. 

Part of Dead Sea Scroll at Qumran

Excavation of Essene Community at Qumran

We know that Elizabeth was barren, which seems to be due to her advanced age, so she and Zechariah may not have been living at the time of John's preaching in the desert, at least at the time coterminous with the few years of Jesus's public ministry.  Therefore, they may not have been aware of his bizarre antics and behavior. Would there not have been a more acceptable lifestyle to proclaim the arrival of Jesus' ministry?  Yet, living simply may have been John's way of presaging the Gospel's option for the poor.  After all, Jesus was not a king or lord, or a high ranking government or religious official, but a man from a run of the mill household.  (Although there would have been skepticism over the what the perceived relationship between Jesus'  mother and stepfather.)  John lived a spartan life style in keeping with the gospel that Jesus would preach.  Here was a man descended from Jewish privilege who chose a different path, not for notoriety for himself, but to announce and have preparation for the word spread by Jesus.

Dead Sea
Looking to Jordan from Palestine

The second thought I had, if he were to come to dinner what type of meal would you make for him to eat?  Locusts would not be my food of choice, and I am sure my wife, the farm girl, would not know how to prepare them, much less have live or dead ones in the house.  I doubt she could find a recipe on Pinterest.  Jesus partook in banquets (think the wedding banquet at Cana), so I think that John may not have minded some better food, say squash, grapes, and perhaps some lamb.  And of course, he would probably enjoy wine.  Locusts and honey were likely that which was most available in the desert.  To be safe one would not invite John to dinner, but to live on the edge there may be few more colorful characters in the gospels than John in which to have a dinner conversation.

Possible location where John the Baptist's head is buried, perhaps
one of other locations in the world

In having baptized Jesus, John set himself apart.  Doubtless, his gift to draw attentive listeners was probably ordained from God, but nonetheless he needed to develop a personality during his formative years to allow that gift to shine.  His life would come to abrupt end when he was beheaded, by order of Herod Antipas.  Poor John, not only was he beheaded, but his head is thought to be separated, that is different locations, from his other body parts.  I don't think one could ever say that John compromised his values.

Photos by author from 2013

Giraffes

Towering over what is known as the Big Five, and all other mammals in the vast plains of Africa, is the giraffe.  But, their numbers are in near precipitous decline in most parts of Africa.  Two months ago, my wife and I had the opportunity to travel to Tanzania to view many animals in their native habitat; it was an amazing experience.  One of the things that drew me to an African safari was to see the large land animals in their natural setting as many are decreasing at remarkable rates.  It was not until we got back that I had a chance to read the October 2019 issue of National Geographic, which on its cover featured a photo of the last male White Rhino on the planet, but had an article on giraffes to know that their numbers are also in decline.

Masai Giraffe, Tarangerie National Park

Giraffe populations may not be as dire as that of the Rhino, but education and action is needed to avoid that problem.  To show the problem with poaching, Sudan, as the Rhino was named, was under  24/7 armed protective custody.  Sudan was 45 years, at his death in 2018 at a conservancy in Kenyna, but 90 to 100 years in comparable rhino age, was put to sleep due to a variety of ailments.  He was old for a rhino.  He is survived by his daughter and granddaughter.  He was found in a zoo in the Czech Republic, which was a good thing because he was protected.  He was eventually moved to an African conservancy.  The fate of the rhinos and elephants is generally well understood I was surprised to read in the same issue that giraffes may well face the same fate.

Those giraffes, tall and stately whose Ossicones on the top of the head provide a sharp contrast to the length of their legs and neck,  that we saw roaming the Serengeti and Tarangerie Tanzanian National Parks are also threatened. Giraffes are only found in Africa, and up until very recently it was thought they were all in one species.  That, however, has turned out not to be the case, there exist four main species of giraffes, with two of those having subspecies.  In some respects, there are seven species, if each subspecies is taken as a species.  All live south of the Sahara.  Threats to giraffes are similar to that of the other large African mammals--habitat fragmentation, deforestation, war and poaching.  While giraffes are very tall and have long legs, they cannot jump, so fences that are installed severely reduce their habitat.

Acacia Tree branch with places (brown balls) for ants to nest
to prevent giraffes from eating vegetation

As we look at a giraffe I think we all see a very tall animal which, with its long neck, can reach the acacia tree leaves, even though surrounded by many thorns.  Their long tongues, up to 20" in length are particularly agile to reach around the thorns of the acacia.  Interestingly, as acacia trees age and grow taller once the canopy is out of reach of the giraffe, they start to lose their thorns.  The magnificence of nature and its adaptability

The tongue is just one part of the unique anatomy of the giraffe.  Due to its size, both height and weight the giraffe has unique organs and structures.  For example, the left ventricle of the heart has thicker and more muscular walls to pump blood to the head and then around the body.  Sticking with the circulatory system, arteries above the heart are not only more muscular to pump blood against gravity, and the veins contain valves which close when the head is lowered to prevent backflow of blood.  Per National Geographic, a network of "elastic vessels expands when the head is lowered to prevent blood from flooding the brain, and constricts when the head is raised , to prevent quick depletion."

Reaching for food

The structural system also has unique features, such as a joint at the base of the skull to allow the head to be in a near vertical position.  Their seven neck vertebrae contain ball and socket connections, similar to the human shoulder, which allow their nose to reach their lower backs.  Because the neck is so long, a strong, and powerful elastic ligament in the neck reduces the muscle effort required to hold the head up.  Their leg bones thicken, by narrowing the marrow cavity, as they age to hold the massive body on such narrow legs. Their skin acts like compression leggings to aid circulation and help regulate blood pressure.  The Masai Giraffes which we saw in Tanzania will have a height of 19 feet, and a male may weigh up to 4275 pounds. Given their proportions of a mature giraffe, I could probably walk under its belly without my head touching it, and if not me, I know my mother-in-law could.

All four species of giraffe have different spots.  The unique color pattern of the spots is thought to contain sweat glands and more blood vessels to release heat from the body.   Spots on animals, as we learned on safari, may becoming darker due to climate change. Masai Giraffes  have the darkest spots of the four specie groups.

Thorns on a young acacia tree branch

Of the four species only the Southern Giraffe has had a growing population such that hunting of the animal is allowed in some circumstances. The Masai giraffe population has fallen to 35,000 from over 110,000, the once most populous of the four species, just thirty years ago.  Two of the three subspecies of the Northern Giraffe are the most threatened mainly due to being in the war torn countries of west Africa, think also Islamic extremists who terrorize populations.

Add caption

Man's seeming indifference to the beautiful animals of Africa results in a loss not just to the local country, the continent, but the whole world.  We saw many giraffes on our trek at two of the three parks visited.  Giraffes are not present in the Ngorongoro crater, due to the steep descent of the ridge leading from the top of the crater ridge to the crater floor.  They are present in the conservation area which extends out beyond the crater ridge and floor.  As I looked at the giraffe on our trip, I viewed them as rather common, and I certainly did not think of any particular specifics to the anatomy to allow this tall animal to function.  The wonders of nature and its ability to adapt never cease. I will no longer view the giraffe as rather common as I now recognize the perils they face.

Masai Giraffe near Silale Swamp

Main Source:  "Girafffes" by Joshua Foer, in National Geographic October 2019.
Photos by Author, October 2019

On a very windy day, the dust is blowing over
the Serengeti Plain

Images by author, October 2019

Bulge

Today is the 75th anniversary of the start of the Battle of the Bulge.   For historians and those in the European theater of WWII the term bulge has a different connotation than one's efforts to tone their physique after an increase in food consumption, particularly as a result of Christmas celebrations.  The Battle of the Bulge, as opposed to the battle of the bulge, refers to the last ditch effort by Adolph Hitler to divide the Allied lines and get a negotiated, rather than unconditional surrender.  The battle started on 16 December 1944 and would end in January 1945.  Much has been written, and movies made, about this famous World War II battle.  For the Germans battle preparation, and alignment did not happen overnight, and one has to credit to the German high command and troops at the front for keeping preparation efforts a secret.  This allowed the Germans to amass over a quarter million troops in and near the Ardennes Forest of Germany. Before, and after the Battle of the Bulge, there was the longest US battle on German soil, and also the longest in US History, the Battle for Hurtgen Forest, near the Belgium-German border.  The Hurtgen Forest battle would last from 19 September 1944 to 10 February 1945.  A key US division during this battle was the 83rd "Thunderbolt" Division.  The Thunderbolt division was, at the time, part of the Allied First Army under control of Lt General Courtney Hodges.  They were charged with taking control of this 50 sq mi forest area in order to provide another way into the heart of Germany.  During this battle, Hodges would take Aachen, Germany.  Aachen is the town made famous by Charlemagne.  But, Hodges' focus was the Hurtgen Forest, and  it is here that he concentrated his effort in order to protect his southern flank.  It was also in and near this forest that German troops were gathering for the famous counter offensive.

CIC Agent Roy Hovel

One person with the 83rd division, was Roy Bernard Hovel, a special agent in the Counter Intelligence Corps, with the rank of Technical Sargent.  Special agent Hovel, who passed away in 2003, was one of two CIC agents in Luxembourg for about three days, to testify at a trial of spy prisoners they had apprehended.  During this visit he was able to spend time with a lady friend and her parents.  This lady friend would assist with interpretation while he he undertook Army business.  When he was about to depart for his unit at the conclusion of the trial, Jean Mayer, a friend of Roy's (also the father of his lady friend) and the warden at the Luxembourg Grund Prison, questioned him about what he had heard about German activity in the area of his planned route of travel.  

Entry Gate to Luxembourg Grund Prison

Let us pick up a few words in a letter Roy Bernard wrote to his parents, dated December 19, 1945, headlined simply, "Somewhere in Germany".  The letter begins with a simple phrase:  "I am sorry that I have delayed in writing to you for so long, but a lot has happened since my last letter a week ago."  He would go on to say that the prior night was the first time he had to read their letters from 7 Nov  up to "Daddy's letter of Dec 5th."  It is at a later point in the letter, that he provides a little more information. Recall that his letters are read by censors, and while this letter does not have any information cut, others did, so there will be no direct reference to specific events. The third paragraph reads in part: "I have had a lot of experiences within the past week, including to both extremes the best and the worst living in my experience overseas, if not my life." 

In 1965 Roy Hovel wrote a letter to a person who was looking to write a book on the CIC.  This letter, which provides additional detail to that week, is summarized as follows:  In the very early morning of Dec 16, 1944 Roy and agent Turner were departing Luxembourg City, but due to early time of day had not been in contact with any commanders regarding recent activity. They left early in the morning as they had to drive without lights.  All was quiet on this front as they took the road north of Luxembourg City, which was the one closest to the eastern border.  But the quiet of the morning was about to turn.   Hovel and his partner were about 14 miles outside of Luxembourg City on the way back to their post in Germany east of Aachen, when a tracer bullet went, as he says, "between my eyes and the windshield of the jeep."  As other bullets hit the jeep he was driving, he jumped into the ditch on the left side of the country road, and his partner to the right ditch.  Over the course of the day the two agents were able to make their way to the bottom of a hill and eventually made contact with a reconnoitering Army Captain who took them to his division's intelligence division. This was probably the 101st Airborne.  Here they reported what they had encountered.  This location happened to be in the center of activity--Bastogne.  Just before, he thinks it was about a half hour, before Bastogne was surrounded by the Germans, Roy and his CIC partner were able to get out of Bastogne and rejoin their own division.  I also believe that, since they were taken to the division HQ, they were at the now infamous cafe in Bastogne.  It was from the Bastogne Cafe that the US Commander received a German request that they surrender, to which would be the famous reply "Nuts".

Former Convent Church, and by 1944 was part of the prison

It is possible that Jean Mayer, as warden at the prison, had heard rumors about German activity in the outskirts of the Luxembourg City.   The Allied Army, as we know, was in the dark about German movements;  but at least Roy Hovel, as he left Luxembourg before dawn, knew to keep his eyes open.  He and his partner would later learn that this was start the Battle of the Bulge.   The Thunderbolt Division would be relocated to fight in the Bulge, engaging in the battle just after Christmas.

Cafe in Bastogne

The 19 Dec. 1944 letter raises the question as to what best and worst parts of his time that week had been.  The best part of his time was likely his time with his lady friend Berty.  In the letter he wonders if he may not be falling in love with Berty, who he had met while the 83rd was stationed in Luxembourg.  What American man, or any man, would not think the company of a women was a respite from the fog of war?  The worst was likely the German ambush and his means of transportation arguably being the first US materiel destroyed in the Battle of Bulge.  His quick reaction kept him from being the first human statistic. Anita Hovel, a sister to Roy, would recount that he and his partner were able to gather and enjoy some treats his lady friend Berty and her parents had sent along as they made their way back to allied lines. 

Mayer family temporary home in Dommeldingen, suburb of Luxembourg City.
The family was required to live here during the occupation until 14 Nov 1944

The letters he received from Rudy, Ida and Anita are, as far as I know, lost to history.  His letters home were kept by his parents.  Reading the copies of the letters he wrote home you get a sense of a desire for information, but to be home.   Many of his letters begin with him wondering when his parents or sister would have last written.  Near its conclusion, one can sense the solitary nature of another Christmas away from home.  He writes: "The days are going fast these days and soon Christmas will be here.  I suppose it will be one of the loneliest ones I spent, but it couldn't be worse than last year as over here you know you cannot be on leave for it and so one not too disturbed over that, although I wish I could spend it with you."   He would have spent Christmas 1943 in the US, but unable to obtain leave to spend the holiday with his family.

CIC Agent Hovel

As to whether he was falling in love with Berty, he concludes that portion by saying time will tell.  Of course, he did not marry Berty.  He would come back to the United States, marry Mary Jeanne Sweeney, and together they would produce a family of ten.

As 2019 starts to wrap up, perhaps we need to think of Christmas in a slightly different way than we have in the past.  While Christmas cookies may give us a bulge to which we need to battle, they provided a small level of comfort food for a man making his way back to his unit during the true Battle of the Bulge.

 Most all of this blog was posted earlier, Dec, 2013

76 Trombones

My wife and I recently watched the 1962 released movie  "The Music Man."  If a reader has not seen the movie or play, the songs may be familiar, particularly 76 Trombones which is the most prominent.  The Broadway play and the movie take place in a fictional Iowa city called River City in the early part of the 20th century, specifically 1912.  First performed on Broadway in 1957, being placed in 1912 would recall to those who in 1957 were about age 60 or greater an era of a past, simpler time: before two world wars, the atom bomb, the cold war and the iron curtain of communism.  The play, music and lyrics were all by Meredith Wilson who hailed from Mason City, Iowa.  Mason City is located in north central Iowa and is but five miles from where my father was born in 1918 on the Hovel family farm southeast of Manly.  "The Music Man" will see a revival on Broadway next year, with Hugh Jackman as Professor Harold Hill.

Ed Hovel (Sr). His four children, all boys, would
play a musical instrument in the Hovel Brothers Band
Photo from family archives

To Mason City it is no secret that the idyllic River City is a take off of Mason City.  Prior to "Field of Dreams" Iowa had "The Music Man" to cling to.   Iowa does not have a lot to cling to. (At the time of the Field of Dreams movie there was a saying for Iowa that went IOWA: I Owe the World and Apology.) Mason City, which sits on the banks of the Winnebago River, hosted the premier showing of movie version of the musical "The Music Man" in 1962 during the annual North Iowa Band festival. The festival apparently emphasizes marching bands. Whether or not the combined bands had 76 trombones with 110 coronets close behind, I have not discovered.  It is said that Meredith Wilson based the musical on varied individuals he knew growing up in Mason City.  Wilson would often go back to Mason City for the band festival.  With some characters in the musical based on those in real life Mason City, I do not think that I even want to imagine the women of Mason City, including Mrs. Shinn, doing their Grecian Urn imitation in the park. Wilson, who was born in 1902 was 16 years older than my Dad, but he would be much closer in age to some of my father's cousins, who were born only a few years after Wilson.  Wilson attend high school in Mason City and also played in the high school band.

One of the main characters in the musical is Tommy, the leader of the local "gang," who, by chance,  is smitten with the daughter of the Mayor. Ye Gods!  Tommy would be of high school age and is referred to, by the Mayor, as belonging to that "Lithuanian family south of town."  Tommy was intended to be the drum major for Harold Hill's mythical band.  At least Mayor Shinn was not referring to a Bohemian family north of town, which could well have referred to some of the young Hovel family members.  The area southeast of Manly in Lincoln Township in which the Hovel family farmed has many Bohemian names: Hovel, Reindl, Cerny, Wise, and Yesek, to name but a few.  I suppose some of the boys in that area may well have had some of Tommy's traits.  Some of these other Bohemian families would have a child marry a Hovel.  Mason City may have produced Meredith Wilson, but the farm fields of Manly would produce the Hovel Brother's Band.

Ponderosa Gang, c 1993
Ed and Leo Hovel played in this band
Undated News Article from relative of the author

The Hovel Brothers band, comprised of sons of Ed (my grandfather's brother) and his wife Rose (Wise), began with the musical talents of their parents.  Little is known about Martin and Amelia (Ed and Rudy's parent)s playing instruments, but two of their three sons, Edward and my grandfather Rudy are known to have played.  To quote from "Manly Memories 1877-1977" by Marjorie Cutler:

The Hovel families were always interested in music.  Ed Hovel, Sr. was a fiddler in his younger days, playing barn dances and house parties along with his brother, Rudy, who played guitar.  Ed Jr., Reuben and Leo, sons of Ed Hovel [cousins of my Dad], all played in the school and town bands at concerts in Plymouth and Manly.  Art Hovel, also a son of the Ed Hovels' played drums with the group for a while.  

In 1932, three years after my Grandfather and grandmother with my Dad and Aunt moved to a farm just north of Sun Prairie, WI,  three sons of Rudy's brother Ed, those being Ed, Jr., Reuben, and Leo would form the Hovel brothers band and they would be known by that name until 1941 when World War II would intervene, and send all or some off to war. Arthur played in the band for awhile, but is not known to have been with the initial group.   After the war, Reuben and Leo played with the Scandinavians until 1985 when the two of them formed the Ponderosa Band, which was later renamed the Ponderosa Gang.  In what is probably 1993, the band was still active and per an undated news article (probably 1993) obtained from a relative:

The Ponderosa Gang will be playing at Manly's Railroad/Ag Day Celebration and will be drawing a large crowd of folks who enjoy dancing to their music, just as they have provided for the last 61 years.  

As Leo Hovel commented in a separate news article on his plowing of gardens and small farm plots he notes that "I've played a lot of polkas at wedding dances."  The polka was not only popular in Wisconsin, but also in north central Iowa.  I am not sure how much longer Leo played in his band.  In the late 1970's I took my grandfather to visit relatives in Manly.  I recall meeting Leo, Reuben and Arthur.  Unfortunately, as a teenager, family history was not any where near on my mind, so I never delved into conversations about the life in Manly.  As an aside, Leo married his wife Dorothy in 1946, but before marriage she taught elementary school in various Iowa small towns including Ottumwa, Iowa, the hometown of Walter "Radar" O'Reilly, from the long running television show MASH, a fictional Iowa hero.

Sons of Edward Hovel (Jr) their parents and grandparents
Photo from family archives

Until I read Manly Memories, I had not known my grandfather played the guitar, and always thought his main instrument was the fiddle.  My brother has a fiddle that once belonged to our Grandfather.  Perhaps Grandpa took up fiddling, learning it from his brother Ed Hovel, Sr.  It is nice to know that my grandfather learned and played guitar.  His great grandsons Mark and Andrew, therefore, have some distant pedigree in the guitar.  Reuben's daughter, Marcie, majored in music at Clarke College, specializing in piano, organ and guitar.  She would, by 1977, have accompanied the Clarke-Loras College singers on two European tours. Rudy may not have played the piano, but his great grandson Joe plays the piano.  Both Andrew and Joe were in the high school band, and played baritone and tuba, respectively.  Some of my siblings dabbled in a variety of instruments, but my brother Greg is the only one who stuck with music and is still engaged, playing the piano.  I am not aware of my Dad having played an instrument, and I have no musical talent, so the music gene must have skipped some generations.  If I were to play an instrument I have no doubt that the sound would even be worse than the River City band as they start to play Minute in G in the school gym near the end of the movie.  Although, the parents of those boys in the RIver City band, even with the terrible sound of Minute in G were proud their sons.  This is noted by parents proudly calling out the name of their child, such as "That's my Davy!";  I would be treated on the opposite end of the spectrum.

Leo Hovel, c 1994
From undated news article on Leo Hovel
from relative of author

I have long thought it would be neat to hear and see a band arrayed as identified in 76 Trombones. Not just for the gleam of the morning sun on the instruments, but to figure out what rows and rows of the finest virtuosos, and over a thousand reeds would look like.  That would be one large marching band, probably bigger than the 600 combined OSU and WI band members who played the National Anthem before the 2019 Big Ten Championship game.  Harold Hill found redemption with the Marianne the Librarian and when Tommy leads the boys in a out of tune Minute in G., all is forgiven by the towns folk.  But, then the mythical band leaves the school the sound from the version of 76 Trombones is worth hearing. Charlie Cowell, the anvil salesman who tries to out Harold Hill and his swindle tactics is left dropping his bag of anvils.  If he had traveled five miles north he may have found a buyer for an anvil in Ed and Rudy's oldest brother Joseph, who may have been need of an anvil as a farmer-blacksmith.

Rudy Hovel's Fiddle
Photo by G.P. Hovel

The Hovel Brother's Band was not near the notoriety of Meredith Wilson and the scores he produced, including his work "The Music Man", but I have to think to the residents of the Manly, Iowa area they were just fine, and proud of this local band.  After all, just after the Hovel Brothers Band was first formed in 1932 they played at the wedding of Glenn and Opal (Nunni) Reindl, and the Hovel boys, in bands by different names, again played at their 25th and 50th wedding anniversary parties.  After Opal passed away, Glenn remarried and the band played for his second wedding. In other words they had staying power.  Staying power for the small farm community of Manly in the lush farmland made out of the prairies of north central Iowa.  The Hovel brothers played for many years, perhaps near as many years as the number of trombones-- 76 --in "The Music Man" 

Oh Christmas Tree

Many in the U.S. set up a Christmas Tree.   After all, it is around the decorated tree that a family will  open gifts, and gather for conversation. It is the centerpiece of a Christmas celebration.  My wife and I have always had a real Christmas Tree, and for most years we have cut our own at a Tree Farm.  Last week we watched the television show "Shark Tank" which provides part of the 1% the ability to earn even more money.  In that episode, a person who grew up in Wisconsin developed an artificial Christmas Tree that requires very little assembly and comes fully decorated.  Oh Christmas tree, how difficult you can be to set up.

1992 Looking for Christmas Tree

I am not sure why, but it seems the past few, perhaps several, years we have struggled more and more to get the tree to stay in the stand properly.  I have a few theories, which I may expound on later, but we had trouble again this year.  We thought we had it all in good order, when  in putting on the last strand of lights the tree began to tip.  Before we began setting up the tree my wife said, "Perhaps we should get a new tree stand," but the miser in me thought we should be able to use the one we had.  With the tree tipping we tried several times to right the tree but were unsuccessful.   With the difficult trial this year, combined with those in the past few years, my wife noted that the fake tree on Shark Tank, even though it sells for about $200, was looking pretty good.  I gave in and we made a trip to the hardware store to purchase a new tree stand.  The wife was right, we should have done so earlier.  We took the almost 8' tree, lights and all, out of the stand and got it in the new stand, and a few adjustments and the tree was standing pretty straight.  The stand we purchased, was still plastic, but it had five pins to hold against the tree rather than four.  However, it also had a metal piece with spikes that can help hold the trunk in place, something our old plastic stand did not contain, and the five stabilizing prongs had a nut with one end serrated to go against and grab the trunk.  Without the spike in the old stand, I think the tree had the ability to move slightly and then even more. Years ago we had purchased the now old stand because it had great water capacity, and even a side reservoir that worked by a siphon. Beyond the stand, and our capabilities, part of the problem may also be the tree.

Preparing to cut 2014 tree
Same tree farm as in 1992

The tree we selected is somewhat off kilter itself, with more branches and heavier on one side than the other.  We have also had the issue where the trunk is crooked, and hence a problem with getting the tree aligned.  This year it may not be perfect, but we have learned to sometimes leave well enough alone. Fiddle with the tree too much and you may get it to the point where you have done more harm than good.  We noticed that they make stands that cost up to $100.  Black and Decker has a stand for about $60 that has devices into which you plunge the tree down into the stand that will grip the tree, almost like a the gear that locks in place.  As I was awake laying in bed the next morning, I wondered if plastic stands lose some of their shape over time and hence do not hold trees as well as they do for the first several years.  Is there an imperceptible fatigue in the plastic that affects the positioning and holding of the tree, or is it simply us?  

Hauling 2014 tree

We have also noticed that tree trunks seem to be smaller.  For 29 years we have been installing the same height tree in the house--about eight feet, but of course a few times we have cut 3 feet or more off to get that height, and at other times it is a foot.  most often it has been about two feet cut off.  This year we cut less than a foot off the bottom to get the height.  Anyway, the trunks seem less wide, such that it became standard practice for the past several years in using the now old plastic stand to use small hunks of wood to fill the gap between the pins and the tree trunk.  The new stand did not require use of the wood hunks. I wonder if all of the precipitation, even though in wet years the annual ring should be wider, the branches grow out much more than usual. 

Narrow 2015 tree

We tend not to prefer well-sheared trees, as we desire more of a natural appearance.  Most any tree you will find at a tree farm has had some shearing, so finding one that fits our criteria can be difficult.  This year I think we got that.  As I write this, I look at the tree and think it is tilting, so even though I know that the top 20% or so of the tree is bent giving it a slight tilt, I still walk over to eye the trunk for being perpendicular.  We also tend to wide trees.  Those that are wider than they are tall,  I call Hovel trees. This year, our tree misses the Hovel tree cut as it measures to just under 7 feet wide.  We also like to buy a balsam fir, but more and more tree farms in the area are only growing fraser fir and the natural hybrid of fraser and balsam--the Canaan fir (originally found in the mountains of West Virginia).  The tree farm which we used this and the past couple years has some balsam, but not many, and generally mixed in with the other varieties.

2013 tree

This year as we were driving to the tree farm, my wife noted to me that there was not going to be long walks through the various sections of the tree lot to select a tree.  I have a habit of wanting to investigate much of the available selection of trees that meet our criteria.  One problem is telling the balsam from the Canaan.  I think I have the Balsam-- Fraser differences down, but have I less knowledge of a Canaan.  Last year I think we picked a Canaan.  Since, the order came from the boss to limit how much we walked to find a tree we limited our search to part of one field.  What we generally conclude is that regardless of what is picked, once a tree is decorated many of the less favorable aspects of the tree go away.  In is not unlike the Linus tree in the Peanuts Christmas special.

2019 decorated tree

Christmas trees, are not unlike us.  Each has its good traits, and yes, less desirable traits, or flaws.  Each is unique.  Each is different.  The varied nature of trees is good to meet the varied tastes that each of us have.  As we look to celebrate Christmas I think we may recall the trials some will have in decorating for the holiday season, but the difficulty of such decorating probably comes no where near  the trials a young woman giving birth in a manger had over 2000 years ago.

Inhumane

Stone Town, on the island of Zanzibar, is a unique cultural and human experience.  It is also a United Nations Cultural Heritage site.  It is a maze of alleys, spice markets, people, and traffic congestion that informs the stated cosmopolitan nature of the island.  Zanzibar is a mix of African, Arab and Indian cultures.   However, there is little diversity in terms of religion as it is 95% Muslim.  A man in our safari group, who is now a US citizen but hails from India, noted the similarities between food in India and that in Africa and on Zanzibar.  Yet, this island was also home to the last open slave market in the world.  Slavery shows the brutality of human to human, in other words how inhumane one can be to another.

Anglican Church, Whipping Post is in front of Altar
(behind person in blue shirt in center front of photo)

In addition to the above description, in the 19th century Stone Town was also teeming with slaves--both those on the trading block and those who were serving as slaves. Today, a good part of the the native population  may well be a mix of varied ethnic groups, although most are probably heavy in the Arab-Islamic heritage.   While on Zanzibar we had the opportunity to visit the former slave market on which today sits an Anglican Church.  In fact, you could say that much of what one sees in Stone Town today, which dates from about 1835 or later, is a result of man's inhumanity to man--the slave trade.  The slave trade was efficiently and brutally executed by the Muslim rulers of the island.

Slave holding pen, the lower area is where the human waste would go

Zanzibar has been settled for over 20,000 years.  Civilization is often trade based, and  trade has created settlements.  That is the case with Zanzibar which became a trading hub between the Arabian Peninsula, the Indian subcontinent and Africa.  Its tropical climate led to the establishment of spice plantations, some of which still exist today.  As difficult as seafaring was, it was probably easier and more efficient than crossing deserts, and tropical forests.  Many of the Zanzibars original settlers were from Yemen and other far east Arabian countries.  It came under Portuguese rule for two hundred years ending in 1698 when it came under the control of the Sultan of Oman.  At this point, the Portuguese were expelled and with the Muslim rulers the slave and ivory trade would thrive.  A forced land distribution required all fertile land to come under the ownership of the Sultan.  In 1840 the Sultan of Oman moved his palace to Stone Town. His palace is still there today, but not open to the public. Slavery was the most profitable occupation on Zanzibar.  The Sultan encouraged the slave trade as he made money off each exchange.  Money is powerful.  Interestingly, the exhibit we saw noted that "Slavery had always been a component of traditional East African society."  I was not aware that slavery was endemic in the African culture.  Perhaps slaves in East Africa became slaves in the harems of the Sultans of Persia.

Market aisle

It is said that about 40,000 to 50,000 human beings a year  were taken to Zanzibar from East Africa for sale in the slave market. The quarry of humans were packed into boats called dhows for the journey to the island. Upon arrival they were marched naked through the streets to the slave holding pens and the market, while guarded by slaves loyal to the Sultan.  When on the island every part of their body was inspected and graded. They would typically spend about two days on the island. Of this number about a third would go to work on the island's plantation and others back to the continent as laborers.  The remainder, bout 25%,  would go to coastal settlements on the Arabia and the Indian Ocean. About 30% of the male slaves on the island plantations died every year, due to the harsh conditions. One American diplomat referred to the Oman Arab rulers of Zanzibar as promoting a culture of violence. Brute force and cruelty were prized as virtues.

Spices at Market

The slave trade on Zanzibar was shut down by the British in 1873, although it continued to flourish illegally until 1909.   The exhibit says the following about the British involvement in ending slavery in Zanzibar:  "The movement of the abolition of slavery in the Indian Ocean was led, ironically, by Britain--the very nation that initiated the Atlantic slave trading system 250 years before.  Britain dominated the slave trade from the mid 16th century for 200 years."  The British empire established and profited handsomely for over 200 years from the slave trade.  While we know the US would abolish slavery as a result of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil War, the Brits banned it in England and many of their "sun never sets"colonies in 1834.  By comparison the Spanish banned slavery in Spain and their colonies in 1811, although Cuba would disobey the decree.  The Anglican church that sits part of the slave market has the former whipping post of the market located in front of  its altar.

Alley in Stone Town

The Roman Catholic Church would reestablish itself in Zanzibar in 1860, and at that time they teamed with the Spiritins, a group who had worked to abolish slavery in other parts of the world.  Together they purchased slaves and resettled them in free communities.  The Quakers and other religious groups were also involved in tampering the Zanzibar slave trade.  

Detail of wood door opening
notice the chain

Stone Town is along the west shore of the island, toward the continent, about the center as the island stretches lengthwise north to south.   Zanzibar was home to the island's most notorious slave trader, plantation owner, and ivory purveyor and seller, a man who worked for several Sultans, and was Governor of a territory in the Congo, the man was known as Tippu Tip.  Tippu Tip, made journeys into the heart of Africa to obtain ivory.  I suspect he also obtained men, women and children for the slave market during these journeys.  This one man owned over 10,000 slaves! Of those humans traded, the most expensive price paid was not for the strong young men, but rather for the beautiful young, healthy girls who would become part of a harem of the Muslim-Arab owners.  Children, while in demand, did not bring as high a price simply because there was such a good supply.  Those who worked at menial labor and households brought the lower prices.  Categorization of slaves was done by what work they would perform.  

Catholic Priest who gave us a tour
of  St. Joseph Cathedral

Many of the homes in Stone Town have decorative hand carved wood doors that acted as a calling card for the owner.  Yet, the carvings told a story of the man of the house and his family.  On some there is a chain carved into the door to indicate either, or both, a slave owner or a slave trader.  The home is which Freddie Mercury was born in Stone Town does not have a decorative carved entry.  The home is now a hotel.

Sultan's Palace

The British loved to rape their colonies for resources and in 1890 gained more control of the island, although the Sultan was allowed to remain and provide some level of rule, so it was almost a joint government.  However, on August 27, 1896 the Anglo--Zanzibar war was begun by the Sultan to regain control of the island, but the war ended in favor of the British in a span of 38 to 45 minutes, depending upon the account. At the conclusion of the war the Sultan was expelled and full rule by the British would occur.   In December 1963, the United Kingdom turned Zanzibar over to control by the Sultan as a constitutional monarchy.   The British love their monarchies.  However, a revolution, led by a Ugandan overthrew the monarchy in January the following year.  The revolution would lead to the massacre of about 5,000 to 12,000 Zanzibar-ans of Arab descent.  The revolution also broke the hold of the Arab/Asian ruling class.  In 1964 Zanzibar merged with Tanganyika, and is now Tanzania.  While one country, going into Zanzibar from Dar Es Salaam, one would have thought all the paper work and interview upon arrival that you were going into another country.  My goodness it is easier to get into Illinois from Wisconsin, even with all the tollways.

Stone Town Harbor

Due to the slave trade Zanzibar has a unique place in the history of the world, at least according to the UN.  A sad commentary that such a trade would lead to a place sufficiently unique to be considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but that is how history works.  The slave trade continued for a long time, and remained even after being banned because, as the exhibit noted:  "all classes of society benefited from the slave trade." Africans, Europeans, Arabs and Asians all were involved in the Sultan approved trade of humans. The sad thing is that human bondage continues in the world.  The sex slaves at present time are today's version of the 18th to 19th century of the young women in the slave markets of Zanzibar sold to the Arab for his harem. 

Images by author, October 2019