Philadelphia 1787

It was perhaps the the single most important gathering the nation has ever seen.  On this date in 1787 55 men gathered to form a new government, recognizing the failures of the Articles of Confederation, over the course of four months they would debate and form the basis of a government that has lasted for the time since. George Washington chaired the Constitutional convention.  The average age of the delegates was 42 with four of the most influential delegates——Alexander Hamilton, Edmund Randolph, Gouvernor Morris, and James Madison— in their thirties.  Funny, the way they are pictured with their white wigs, one thinks of many of them as much older.  Young brains at work.  Over half were college graduates, and of those nine were from Princeton and six from British Universities. Even more significant was the continental political experience of the Framers: 8 signed the Declaration of Independence, 25 served in the Continental Congress, 15 helped draft the new State Constitutions between 1776 and 1780, and 40 served in the Confederation Congress between 1783 and 1787.

Dedicating the winter of 1787 to the study of confederacies through out history, James Madison would propose a bi-cameral legislature each with representation proportionate to the population.  The two houses would in turn elect the chief executive officer, and judiciary, and have the ability to veto state legislatures.  This proposal was very similar to the British parliamentary model and of course was derided by small states as giving too much power to the large.

William Patterson proposed a plan similar to the congress in the Articles of Confederation, but with certain taxation authority, regulation of trade, and set up a militia.  Attempting to rectify some of the faults of the original Articles of Confederation, it evened out the power among the states regardless of population.

Alexander Hamilton put forth a third plan even more similar to the British model than Madison's.  The miracle of 1787 occurred when the Connecticut representatives put forth the plan we see today--two houses of the legislature, with the upper house made up of equal numbers from each state, the Senate, and the lower based on population.  This would become the basis of the US Constitution which would become effective in 1789.  The constitution has been amended, and of course courts over time have had varying interpretations.  Nonetheless, it has survived, as imperfect as it may be, proving the old adage that democracy is a terrible form of government until you consider the alternatives.  In this case, hats off to the republic.  

Saggy

A couple weeks ago, on a Saturday, I pulled into a gas station to fill the petro tank of the vehicle I was driving.  In pulling up to the pump, there was an older model vehicle next to me, and both of its occupants, probably mid-twenties in terms of age, were out of the vehicle and appeared headed into the building.  I took little notice as I got out and put my back to them to make the fuel selection and fill the tank.  My spouse, however, took notice as they passed in front of her view, and she noticed that their pants were not just below the waist, but well below the waist and even, below their, let me keep it simple, their butts.  Saggy pants has been common, but the level at which these two were wearing their pants, takes it to new lows (pun intended).  While this has been too common of a sight for more than ten years, it raises the issue of how much longer will this go on, or has it passed from fad to commonplace, and is now part of our culture? 

Now that my children are both in college, I am no longer regularly at high school sporting events or at locations frequented by the demographic that tends to wear their pants at such a low level.  As we pulled out of the gas station, we both talked about the occurrence of wearing of pants so low that you have difficulty walking, or should I say, you waddle, and if this was hipster related.  NowMASH).  While no one would mistake me for being a savant on current cultural trends, even I knew they were trying to be hip.  I am sure I have nieces and nephews, not to mention my own children, that may take umbrage at this stereotype, yet that is what came to mind.  Now, to verify whether or not my stereotype is relevant, I did what any hipster would do.  When I got home, I pulled out my I-Pad (a truly connected, hip individual would have pulled out their smart phone, but I proudly claim to be neither), and looked it up on a site any hip person would turn—urban dictionary. 

Saggy pants at a residence of college students. (photo from Facebook)

 I say hipster, because they both had winter stocking hats on during one of the few nice springs days we have had this spring, one with a little bill (not unlike the type Radar O’Reilly wore in the TV series,

Sagging, at urban dictionary is said to have been present in prisons to indicate either the availability of a person, or that one has already been claimed.  Although Andy Dufresne, in the movie Shawshank Redemption had to put up with the “three sisters” no one in the movie wore their pants that way.  Although, that was some generations ago.  Yet, there is disagreement on the origin of saggy pants, and some say it has no relation to prison culture, and began with rap artists.  Still others say it did begin in prison, but more due to the ill-fitting clothing issued to prisoners who for obvious reasons are not allowed to have belts, and hence their pants would fall below their waist.  Others say that the low riding pants is a statement countering the Steve Urkel culture of nerd’s wearing pants high. 

Illustration of various levels of saggy pants.  (Google images)

Whether it was rebellion, the prison system, or rap, men’s styling website, Cladwell, a commentator on male fashion, makes the following comment:  “Looking ridiculous (though inevitable) is not the only risk of sagging pants, it is linked to erectile dysfunction, hip problems, and lower back issues. These issues stem from consistently wearing pants well below the buttocks, so low that one must change the way he walks.’ But hey, I’m sure the ladies you’re attracting with your sweet look won’t mind, right?” 

Anyway, I am not sure if it is a fad.  For example, Bikhchadndani et al writing in the Journal “Political Economy” (1992) defines fad as being “seemingly drastic swings in mass behavior without obvious external stimuli.”  Quite obvious to this statement that is that only a Dismal Scientist can likely come up with such a definition. Really, “without obvious external stimuli”?  I do respect economists, although my respect for that profession is only surpassed by those in the legal profession, as economists may be one of the few professions that actually make lawyers look good.  But having an economist look into fads is probably a good thing, and likely a result of the work accomplished by the recently departed economist, and Nobel Prize winner, Gary Becker. 

Now back to fads.  Saggy pants have not become ubiquitous to other demographic groups, although as these young men age at what age do they discontinue the practice?  At what age, does it no longer look cool to wear pants below the waist?  Since the trend has been present for some time now perhaps it is no longer a fad, but a cultural practice, although it is not as short-lived as the leisure suit craze, or going back even further, the Nehru jacket phase.    The Rubik cube was short-lived, but some inventions, like the wash machine, have lived on.  Sometimes inventions, trends or traits may appear to be a fad, but become common and part of our daily living.  When the I-Pad debuted, people scoffed, and joked about the name; I was among those who joked and scoffed, but now I own one.  This gets us back to economists, where Margo Bergman at the University of Houston, in an undated professional article found on-line, quotes a sociological study that says a fad should be homogenous, novel and odd; but, also it should be sudden, rapidly spread, quickly accepted, and short-lived.  Being a good economist, Ms. Bergman even developed equations to explain human behavior in regard to fads.

(Google images)

 Unfortunately, the era of saggy pants has not been short-lived as many of us would like.  Going back to when my boys were in high school, my wife and I were at an athletic banquet when the conversation quickly turned to the trend of sagging pants.  One parent suggested that the best way to put an end to the trend is for adults to wear their pants like that, and in so doing wearing saggy pants would no longer be seen as cool, or hip but quite the opposite. Of course, for a parent to do that they have to risk the negative effects of the pant wearing noted by Cladwell, and I think few adult men would like to take the risk of the negative effects, particularly the first one noted.  There is also the option my wife noted, make them wear tighty whities.    

Westward Ho

It was on this date 210 years ago, on May 14, 1804, that the Corps of Discovery departed for the Pacific Ocean. One could think of this group as an early 1800's version of the astronauts of the 1960's. The deportation did not occur at St Louis, MO, as often told, but rather from the eastern shore of the Mississippi River from Camp Dubois near present day Wood River, IL.  So our friendly Illinois brethren to the south can claim to not only be the home state of two US Presidents, but was also the winter camp and starting point of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  The Corps of Discovery was a special unit of the US Army, and was led by Captain Meriwether Lewis, and Second Lieutenant William Clark.  Lewis tried, but was unsuccessful in gaining a promotion for the co-leader of the expedition, but nonetheless he referred to his partner as Captain Clark, as did the men who would embark on this groundbreaking journey.  Clark would comment about the lack of promotion by simply saying: “I do not think myself very well treated.”  One wonders why the Commander-in-chief did not simply grant the promotion.  Of course, the name Corps of Discovery would seem to indicate the area into which they would journey was the moon, that is uninhabited, but as we know, and as they did too, much of the area was well visited, if not occupied, by native tribes.  The western ethic of discovery and domination was well in place at that time in history. 

 

Captain Lewis and Second Lieutenant Clark

While Lewis was traipsing around St Louis, for various reasons, Clark would oversee the provisions of the boat and canoes.  Soldiers were joined for part of the expedition by French voyagers, who were among a group of men who had a long history of peaceful living among Native Americans and who themselves had well-traveled the upper reaches of the Mississippi.   The stated purpose of the journey was mainly to explore, document, and provide opinion on the exploitation of resources.  Yes, it was termed exploitation of resources, and even today fracking in the plains of North Dakota is allowing further exploitation, or to use the euphemism preferred by the government—“recovery” of natural resources.  It was on July 4, 1803 that President Jefferson announced the US purchase of the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon.  This was not just New Orleans, but it was the country drained west of the great Mississippi River, including the Missouri River drainage basin.  Lacking detailed maps, watersheds were a logical boundary.  The manifest destiny of the nation was now beginning.  It would almost double the size of the nation, adding 825,000 square miles of territory, all at the bargain price of $15 million dollars. 

Replica cut away of keel boat (Lewis and Clark Museum in IL)

Lewis made the trip from the Corp's winter camp to St. Louis a number of times.  He was in St Louis in February and March in an attempt to get approval to move prior to the formal transfer of the Upper Mississippi to the US.  The French well knew that Lewis was wanting to find the long-hoped for water route to the Pacific, and would put him off until after the formal transfer which occurred on March 9, 1804.  But, as anxious as he was to depart before the early March transfer, they were not ready to leave.  It was still necessary to secure some provisions and of course they had to pack.  The gathered men were anxious to depart and a day in April was set, but Lewis still thought the need for more provisions, and so went on a journey in attempt to acquire more of what he thought was necessary for the journey.  Lewis was also in St Louis to arrange journey of an Indian Chief, Osage, to see the great white father (yes, they used that term too), Thomas Jefferson.  In the meantime, Clark was having the men pack, test the boat, re-pack and repeat until he arrived at boats sufficiently balanced to allow more ease of travel upstream.  On May 13 Clark would send a message to Lewis that all was ready to depart, the boat and the pirogues were loaded.  Twenty-two privates would be needed to row the boat, but also on-board would be three sergeants.  One canoe would be paddled by six, with a Corporal in tow, another canoe was to be rowed by eight French voyagers. 

Route of the Corps of Discovery

Even though Jefferson had provided authorization on that July 4 day in 1803 for Lewis, as noted by historian Stephen Ambrose “to draw on any agency of the US government anywhere in the world anything he wanted for an exploring expedition to the Pacific Ocean” Clark would comment that they had sufficient stores “as we thought ourselves autherised (sic) to precure (sic).”  Even though the President gave about as open check book as one could obtain, Clark still felt compelled to spend wisely, a notion seemingly lost on the Defense Department of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. 

Drawing of botanical sample brought back by the expedition

One would think that they would have left at first light, they left about four in the afternoon from Camp Dubois and would travel about four miles upstream before setting up camp for the night.  As they made way up the Missouri, the boat would be unpacked and packed again trying to  find that critical and suitable balance between river flow and the craft's ability to navigate the spring river waters.  Over a more than two year period the group would make way for the eventual settlement of the territory, document botanical and zoological collections, and describe the geography.  They would not find a connecting water route between the two major basins of the nation, although a reader of this blog will have recently read that one such route, albeit a freak of geography, does exist (although not a boat navigable route).  They would make contact with over two dozen groups of indigenous residents, who would help them survive the over two year trek to the Pacific Ocean and back.  The journey would see its share of trials and tribulations, but was considered a success.  Although given what would happen to the indigenous populations over the course of time, one cannot help think of the events in the 1986 movie The Mission, and that perhaps the indigenous population would have been better off not being "discovered."

Note:  All images from Google Images

Sportsmanship

It was a Sunday evening 46 years ago, May 8, 1966, at a small parochial school in Sun Prairie, WI that a little known young man earned the Christian Sportsmanship award.  He was the fourth child, of my parents. He received the award at Sacred Hearts School, from Fr. John Hebl.  Showing the parochial nature of Madison at the time, a news article, on the event would appear in the Wisconsin State Journal on May 10.  Merriam-Webster's online dictionary defines Sportsmanship this way:  "conduct (as fairness, respect for one's opponent, and graciousness in winning or losing) becoming to one participating in a sport."  However, I am sure we all have our own version of what the value of Sportsmanship means.  We each have a different sense of it in action.  Sometimes I wonder if this value has taken a back seat to the  pursuits of other less desired values. For example, back-in-my-day (as one of my sons claims I intimate way too often) it was not considered good sportsmanship to run up a score in a game, yet today we see it as a rather normal occurrence--at all levels, high school, college and professional.  As the NFL draft proceeds tonight, we will likely see some young men carry themselves with dignity and grace, while others will become upset or distraught at not being selected at a level they felt commensurate with their abilities.  Each level of emotion will have in some way been instilled in them over the course of their lives.

Wisconsin State Journal article from 10 May 1966 (Newspaper Archives)

What strikes me as I write this, is that the values we form early in life often carry us through.  One excellent example is of the man who on this date, 46 years later, is in the hospital going through a medical treatment.  He is now coming near the end of his fourth year with a diagnosis of stage four cancer, but yet he has not let this long battle deflate him, or leave him pessimistic.  Rather he has forged ahead with an new zeal, investing himself in a new path, and creating new opportunities, such as the Triumph Fund to support cancer research at the Medical College of Wisconsin.  Perhaps this is a better definition of sportsmanship, or in other words being a good sport, for the game of life does not always go ones way.  We each experience moments of intense grace, and joy, but also moments of heartbreak and despair.  It is how we deal with the latter two that form our character.  We can complain and become melancholic or we can rise and meet the challenge.

Human emotions are very powerful.  They draw people to hate and violence, one example being Boko Haram, the Islamic extremist group in Nigeria who have kidnapped nearly 300 young Christian girls and intend, if not already have, sell them into slavery.  All because they were being educated.  But, they also can draw people to good.  Think of the aid workers who ventured to Afghanistan to assist in hospitals.  Of course some of them met an untimely death due to the emotion at the other end of the spectrum.  Some groups do not wish to abide by the Golden Rule.

Sunflowers (Google Images)

Related to the Golden Rule is that oft quoted scripture verse that there is no greater love than to lay down one's life for another.  Fortunately, few ever have to make that decision if we define it literally.  But, perhaps the true intent means to think of others before ourselves.  That is a true expression of love. This brings us back full circle to the man in the hospital bed this evening.  Not only does he not let himself despair over cancer, and is fighting it on all fronts, but tonight he sent an email asking for prayers for a friend who is in the same hospital, and also fighting cancer. His values have led him to fight, his values have led him to think of others. That is a true Sportsman. Forty-six years later that little "Runt" of a boy has grown, but continues to display true Christian Sportsmanship. Forty-six years ago his parents looked with a sense of pride as he received his award, and today with their gaze from heaven afar they look to him with pride as well.

Accidental Geography

Traveling north to Superior along Highway 53 one can catch a sign that you are crossing part of the Continental Divide, which is you have moved from one drainage basin to another--on a continental scale. In this case, water on one side runs to the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico, while water on the other side runs into the Lake Superior, and ultimately the Atlantic Ocean.  Of course, there is also THE Continental Divide which splits the nation between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean watersheds.  Each watershed is made up of a number of smaller watersheds.  For example, part of Sun Prairie is in the Koshkonong Creek watershed, which is part of the Rock River watershed, and eventually to the Mississippi River watershed, which empties into the Gulf of Mexico.  A lonely drop from Sun Prairie co-mingles with water from the far reaches of the large Mississippi River watershed.  The Mississippi River watershed is the fourth largest in the world.

  

Major Watersheds in North America

Major streams are denoted on the Wisconsin State Highway map.  Following each stream you can see its point of confluence with another stream, and its farthest reach; using basic knowledge you will be able to ascertain the general direction of stream flow and into which basin the water flows—Mississippi River, Lake Michigan-Green Bay, or Lake Superior.  One of my earliest lessons in a physical geography course was looking at a topographic map and delineating watersheds.  Often, two different watersheds have navigable waters that come near each other.  The City of Portage, WI is so named as it is short walk between two different rivers serving two different watersheds.  To the north-easterly side of Portage is the Fox River which eventually enters Green Bay, after a journey through such great  and well-known communities as Berlin, and Omro.  The remaining area around Portage is the Wisconsin River, and part of its watershed, which flows to the Mississippi River.  The first European settler to arrive at this location and discern its unique nature, as being between two different watersheds, was Jesuit explorer Fr. Jacques Marquette and his traveling companion Louis Joliet.  In 1673 they had found the route they were searching for—a  primarily water route to the Mississippi River. It only required a short portage between the Fox and the Wisconsin.

General Location of the Niagara Escarpment

Physical geography is formed by actions of climate and weather, and various geological forces, such as volcanoes, earthquakes, folding or faulting.  Much of Wisconsin was subject to various glacial activities over 10,000 years ago.  But, not all of Wisconsin was affected by the large ice sheets, with the last ice sheet being known as the Wisconsin Glacier.  We have the driftless region which occupies southwestern Wisconsin.  We know this by simply looking at the terrain of the glacial area which lacks the ridges and valleys of the driftless region.  Often hills in the glacial region are related more to glacial features such as moraines, kames, drumlins, eskers and kettles.  Glacial valleys are U shaped, stream valleys are V shaped.  The glacier formed a unique topography.  One of the largest drumlin fields in the world is between Sun Prairie and Beaver Dam.  Holy Hill, in Washington County, is a unique feature as it is a kame located on the pre-glacial Niagara escarpment.  This is the same escarpment that forms the eastern edge of Lake Winnebago, arcs north to form the land area between Green Bay and Lake Michigan (Door peninsula)  and continues an arc north and then south east to Lake Ontario, and Niagara Falls. 

Holy Hill, Hubertus, WI 

The world, however, is made up of unique natural features, of which Holy Hill is only one, and while significant to Wisconsin, would be an afterthought within the nation.  One unique feature is an accident of geography.  It is a stream that would be a politician’s dream.  The head waters of this stream is a small lake in  northwest Wyoming, and when that water outfalls into a small creek, a drop does not know if it is bound for the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, or the Pacific Ocean.  This creek is in the Teton Wilderness and is known, quite appropriately as Two Ocean Creek.  Discovery, at least as far as European settlers go, was in 1835 by Osborne Russell.  Not recorded (as far as I know), but quite likely, is that tribes indigenous to the area knew of its unique nature.  Its headwaters is not unique, a small lake forming the headwaters of a stream is rather common.  Two Ocean Creek becomes unique as it heads southerly and reaches an area known as Two Ocean Pass, which became a National Natural Landmark in 1965.  This small creek divides at a specific location known as Parting of the Waters, which one anal observer noted is .4 miles northwest of the low point of Two Ocean Pass.  You can likely guess from the name what happens.  A freak of nature, a gift from God, the intractability of forces that form our landscape, or an accident of geography, this stream splits into two streams, which itself is not unusual, but what is unique is that water in one stream is in the Pacific basin, and water in the other is in the Atlantic basin.  The two creeks formed by the split are known as Pacific Creek and Atlantic Creek.  There is a hole, so to speak, in the Continental Divide and as water splashes against a not so easily discernable ridge of the Continental Divide the way the splash droplets end will tell if the drop of water will be going to the Pacific or Atlantic. It is said that the water in Two Ocean Creek is more or less equally distributed between these two major watersheds. 

Estimated Two Ocean Creek Watershed, Wyoming

When we hear about the Continental Divide, we usually think of the tops of mountain ranges with a discernable split, and a discernable water travel pattern.  But, nature and geography always have a gift in store for us.  A drop of rain that falls in the Two Ocean Creek drainage basin has an equal chance of being swum in by the great whales of the northwest or by the sharks of the Gulf of Mexico.  Or a less ignoble, but just as important, is that the drop may be evaporated, form as part of cloud and eventually fall back to earth as rain.  But in between is a journey that defines not only importance of the water cycle to life on earth, but also recounts a journey that represents the history of the nation. 

Split of Two Ocean Creek into Atlantic Creek and Pacific Creek

Atlantic Creek will travel 3,488 miles becoming part of the Yellowstone, Missouri, and Mississippi Rivers, and end up in the Gulf of Mexico, which is part of the Atlantic.  Pacific Creek will feed into the Snake and Columbia Rivers before entering the Pacific Ocean.  Water actually covers the Continental Divide at Parting of the Waters, such that a fish could swim between the two the world’s major water bodies.  In fact, it is thought that this pass allowed the Yellowstone cutthroat trout to migrate from the Snake River (Pacific basin) to the Yellowstone River (Atlantic basin).  It was 110 years ago this coming month that the Lewis and Clark expedition began their exploration of territory gained from the Louisiana Purchase, and into the Oregon territory to the Pacific.  One goal was to find a water route to the Pacific.  They never found it, but if they had been in Wyoming, perhaps they would have.

Natural beauty is present in the earth, whether it is an unnamed creek that starts from a spring, the Wisconsin River, Holy Hill, or the magnificence of the Niagara Falls, and little recognized Two Ocean Creek.  Although this comes a week past earth day, we should think of every day as earth day, and be respectful of the natural resources and beauty provided for wise use and enjoyment. 

Note:  All images courtesy of Google Images

Upon this Rock

On this date in 1506, which was the first Sunday after Easter, a crowd gathered at the edge of a deep excavation.  As a procession of Cardinals, dignitaries, and Pope Julius II arrived, the crowd split to allow those esteemed members of the community to get closer to the excavation.  After blessing the site, Julius, dressed in a papal regalia of which Benedict XVI would be proud, made his way down 25 feet to the base of the hole, needing to use several ladders within  the terraced pit.  He took with him holy water and an urn of medallions.  As he climbed down, the crowd above moved ever closer to the edge causing part of the edge to fall, making Julius wonder whether he would be buried alive.  Gasps from the crowd were probably more of whether God was going to strike back at the desecration Julius had unleashed.  Julius survived.  He first laid, below the location of the stone, the urn holding a dozen commemorative medals, which had his likeness on one side, and a drawing of the proposed building on the other.  Julius would then place the first stone-- a block of marble--over the location of the urn.   This was the first stone of a new Basilica.  It would be the first stone in what would become the first of four main piers to support the proposed dome of a new Basilica.  Julius’ proposed structure would replace the hallowed building first constructed on this site by Emperor Constantine beginning in 320, and completed about 30 years later.  Combining the vagaries of the human condition, with the fortunes of history, the new basilica would take over four times as long to complete its primary construction as did the first Basilica.  The construction of the second St. Peter’s Basilica is a metaphor for the man for whom it is named, the human condition, and the Church of Rome.  Each of the three would see splendor and scandal, genius and failure, triumph and tragedy.  Today, Good Friday, perhaps more than any other one day of the year best reflects the dichotomy present in each of the three.

Cut away view of old St. Peter's (Source:  U. of Pittsburgh, on-line))

St. Peter was an interesting choice, by Jesus Christ, to be the first mortal leader of men to run what would become an institution sprawled to the ends of the earth.   “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.”  Peter, like most fisherman of the time, was likely gruff, rather short with others, and was irresolute in character, and would often speak without thinking.  He lacked the courage of Thomas, and the enduring poetry of John.  But he made up for this with zeal, and enthusiasm.  In other words, he was human—like us.

Foundation of Simon Peter's home in Caphernum (April 2013)

Julius II was, in some respects, like Peter, he was brash, iron-willed, impatient, and at the time of his pontificate he was in the twilight of his life.  Unlike Peter, but like other Renaissance Popes, his private life was not what one would expect from the leader of the Catholic Church.  Although not rising to the licentiousness of Alexander VI, Julius nonetheless had fathered three illegitimate daughters, not all perhaps before taking Holy Orders.  Julius was the nephew of Pope Sixtus IV, and would become a Cardinal at age 16.  The word nepotism is derived from the Italian word for nephew.  Julius would be the new Caesar.  He would undo the work already underway to strengthen and expand the Basilica Constantine had constructed 1200 years earlier.  The original Basilica saw the coronation of kings, the consecration of 184 popes and contained the remains of a large number of saints and martyrs.  The excavation for the first stone was not on virgin soil, and if Julius cared to examine the cross section of the pit as he descended he could have seen over a millennia of history displayed within the soil horizon.  To the faithful it was a scandal to destroy a church so old, so Roman, so very much a part of its history.  But Julius would set in place the beginnings of a building that would be impossible to replicate today.  The objections he heard instead of giving pause, would drive him forward.

Footprints of Caligula's Circus, Old St Peter's (dark line)
and new St. Peter's (light gray) (Source: Columbia University on-line)

Yet, Julius was a generous and discriminating patron to artists, scholars and musicians.  Without him, there would be no Sistine Chapel ceiling, and much of the art that drives thousands to Rome would not be present.  Yet, for this second building he turned to a middle-aged man who had no great buildings to his name, but Donato Bramante did have one building, the Tempietto, which was still under construction, but had graceful proportions, and a beauty so grand, and without a superfluous detail that nothing like it had been constructed since the times of the Roman Empire.  Bramante is the least known of the four giants of the Renaissance.  He was a rival of Michelangelo, a friend of Leonardo, and a mentor to Raphael.  All but Leonardo would have a hand in this grand undertaking.  Bramante would study the techniques of the Romans, measure their buildings, discern the lost techniques, and study the one book remaining from the fall of the empire that dealt with Roman architecture.  In 1505 Julius accepted the Greek cross design for the new Basilica.  He would unite the Roman Basilica and the Roman temple designs to set forth the new Christian Basilica.  His plan was one-third the size of what St. Peter’s is today, but it was still of grand size, building on the Roman ego of more is better.  His plan was a testament to the Renaissance with its proportionality, its color, its discernment.  Knowing that he would not see the end of the construction, Bramante began work on the piers which would hold the dome.  The dome was envisioned as the signature piece of the structure.  The building would expand out, not unlike what the twelve Apostles had done to spread the word of the son of a carpenter from a small outpost in the Roman Empire.

View of the Baldicchino by Bernini (Nov. 1990)

Simon, who was to be renamed Peter, by Jesus, was a fisherman living in Capernum, in an octagonal shaped house near the temple, with his wife, children, and his mother-in-law.  Simon was following John the Baptist, and would be introduced to Jesus by his brother Andrew.  Peter was rash, and bold and would act without thinking, but was also easily altered by external influences and did not deal well with difficulty.  Peter was one of three apostles to view the transfiguration of Christ. In a test of his faith, Peter was the one Christ called to walk out on the water.  In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus would take Peter, James and John with him while he went to pray, ask them to remain awake, but they would fall asleep.  Jesus would rebuke them, and end the rebuke with the famous words that describe humanity to this day, “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  Two additional times he would go to pray only to return and see them sleeping.

View of St. Peter's Basilica from across the Tiber (Nov. 1990)

The construction of the basilica would span over 150 years and 22 pontificates.  Julius’ banker would suggest the use of indulgences to pay for the construction of the endeavor.  Julius would not discard the advice, but not put it in practice right away either.  To the Roman mind the use of an indulgence to pay for a building project was not new, and was accepted practice.  The church would pay a steep price for this method of financing construction which hit its peak under Leo X, a de Medici pope, who along with relative Clement VII, would desire more for his family than for the church.  It was during Leo’s reign that a little known Augustinian Monk in Germany would post his 95 thesis on the door of German church.  The practice of paying for an indulgence was apparently not highly thought of in the Teutonic north.  Raphael, the Bramante protégé, would succeed his mentor under Leo X.  Unfortunately, Raphael was a brilliant artist, but had a short life and was not quite the man up to managing a large project.  Perhaps under a different pontiff the results would have been different.  A pontiff like Julius would likely have dealt with the matter of coming reformation quickly, but the party boy Leo put it off, and the church would pay a steep price.  One wonders if Julius would pursue the goal of this grand endeavor if he had known the pain and price the church would pay.  Julius should have known that not all pontiffs would be able to face difficulties in the way he had done so.  The de Medici Popes would go down in history for their level of incompetence. 

Interior of part of the Dome (Nov. 1990)

The second of the two successive de Medici Popes was Clement VII.  A man with a history of vacillation, Clement essentially was self- imprisoned during the 1527 sack of Rome in Castel St. Angelo.  Much of Rome, and her citizens were destroyed during the sack by mutinous troops of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.  A portion of the group who did the sack followed the new brought teachings of Martin Luther.  Of course, adventures of this kind often gather the bandits, non-contents, not unlike the Syria civil war being fought today, so the sack was by a mixed group each with their own purpose.  It was the pillage, rape, and destruction of a proud city.  While not the first sack, as Rome was sacked during the fall of the Roman Empire, it had repercussions beyond Rome itself.  With Clement imprisoned, he could not well attend to the situation brewing in England with Henry VIII, as Clement did not wish to further offend the Emperor by granting Henry a divorce from his Aunt, Catherine of Aragon.    Although, given Clement, it may have had the same outcome.   The event would also mark the end of the Renaissance in a city, when considered with Florence, was synonymous with the Renaissance.  The population would fall from 55,000 before the sack to about 10,000, with perhaps up to 12,000 of the lost souls having been murdered during the pillage. 

Mosaic of St. Mark.  To indicate proportion, the pen in his hand (look below the letter A) is
5' 2" long, or the height of my spouse.  The letters above are over 6.5' in height. (Nov. 1990)

Peter would awake that fateful night in the Garden of Gethsemane to Jesus being faced by Judas and soldiers who had come to claim him.  Showing his bravado, Peter would desire to defend Jesus, but would back off due to words of Jesus.  Jesus likely saved Peter from a greater humiliation of having been cut down by the sword of a centurion.  While Peter was considered to be a stout, strongly built man for the time, his sword skills were likely little match for a Roman soldier or the police of the chief priests.  Peter would take flight from the scene, but his eyes would meet those of Jesus later, just before dawn.  

Statutes on St. Peter's Basilica (Nov. 1990)

Following the de Medici popes, Paul Farnese would take the see of Peter, and the name Paul III, and the church would see a new dawn.  Paul, too had a mistress and would father four children, but unlike other Popes of the time, had there is no record of sexual activity during his reign as pontiff.  Paul realized the need for moral men and that the old ways of business in Rome were no longer acceptable.  Paul would convene the Council of Trent which would set in motion the Counter Reformation, and regain at least some moral authority.  His trump card for countering the Reformation, however, was that of the second of two architects he would appoint.   The first architect, he appointed would be Sangallo, who raised the floor which required alterations to alcoves Bramante had placed within them, and he strengthened Bramante’s already large piers. While Sangallo was at work on the Basilica, it would take all of Paul’s wily negotiating skills to bring forth the man, to fresco the Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel.  Paul would turn to this man to be chief architect when Sangallo had passed.  This artist was a man who was unkempt, engrossed in his work, felt slighted by the actions of Bramante and the young Raphael, but yet who cared for his soul to take on the commission of continuing work on the project conceived by the Pontiff for whom he had painted the Sistine Chapel.  At an age when most men have been well retired, Michelangelo would answer the call of Paul III.  Paul gave him free reign and he used it to not only put his imprint on the building, but to reign in the graft and corruption that had become so rampant in the project. He not only managed the project with an iron will, but he brought his genius to bear.  Up to this point no architect had quite figured out how Bramante had intended to build the dome, but this genius of the Renaissance figured a way, and started construction on the drum.  Bramante set in motion the width of the dome by the dimensions of the piers, but Michelangelo would take that to a new level with his drum. 

However, the dome would not be completed by Michelangelo, but by one of his workers, who would succeed him as chief architect.  The first modern urban planner of Rome, Pope SIxtus V, would not only see to it that Rome rose from the ashes of the sack, but he would appointment of della Porta would continue the efforts of Michelangelo.  For the next 50 years, no Pope would wish to depart from the gifts of the greatest artist of the Renaissance.  Bramante’s piers had taken seven years (not including the two times they were strengthened), and the master had taken 17 to complete the drum, and here the lowly della Porta was given 30 months to complete signature piece of the one of the greatest buildings constructed by man.  Della Porta would do it in under 22 months, which would belie the engineering feat that it was.  He would alter Michelangelo’s design to make it more practical to construct, but also construct a double dome as envisioned by his mentor.  The outer dome would be more appealing in height and magnificence from the outside, but the lower inner dome would best recognize the required proportionality so important to the beauty of the age.  It was May 1590 when the last stone for the cupola was blessed and a week later Sixtus V would proclaim the vaulting of the cupola complete.  This was the symbol of a city rising from the ashes and rebuilding itself.  The dome rises 438 feet, and has a 138 foot diameter.  It is three times the height of the Roman Pantheon, 100’ higher than the Duomo in Florence.  Every ornamentation would have to be large to be seen and more importantly proportioned to the dome. 

Maderno's Facade from the Square, notice how little of the Dome
 is visible due to the extension to form a Latin Cross (Nov. 1990)

As the church entered its next century, the Counter Reformation was well at work, the Pope was becoming a model of a Christian life.  Paul V, Camillo Borghese, was prudent, practical and a model of decorum.  It would be Paul V who would be the first to alter the design of Bramante-Michelangelo-della Porta.  He would claim the Greek cross to Byzantine, and would demand a Latin cross, in part due to the need to accommodate large crowds within the building, and that the building should be at least as large as was the first basilica.  This was yet another scandal, changing from the design of Michelangelo.  Like Julius II, Paul V forged ahead.  160 years earlier the experts had said Constantine’s church would fall, but the last mass in this once grand building was celebrated in 1608, and in that year the final parts of the first great basilica were brought down to the earth.  Carlo Maderno would earn the rite to extend the nave, and he did it so well that when inside you cannot tell what was Michelangelo’s and what was Maderno’s.  Little seen is that he adjusted the nave to be on center with the obelisk that was relocated from Caligula’s (also known as Nero's) circus by Sixtus V (moving this granite edifice is considered one of the great engineering marvels).  Yet, Maderno is criticized to this day.  Some claim his facade is too narrow for its height (I see the main problem as his front being too high blocking a view of much of the dome while in the plaza), too heavy in the attic, too cramped in detail; of course, how dare he alter the Michelangelo plan.  His addition gives us the 60,000 person capacity building which awes us today.  It is huge, but its proportion is so well accomplished that it does not seem overly huge.

Bernini's Colonnade from roof of St. Peter's (Nov. 1990)

The second Basilica was consecrated on November 18, 1626, 1300 years to the day after Pope Sylvester I dedicated the first St. Peter’s.  While the building was enclosed, a great Baroque artist would give the building its soul.  He would cover the altar with the large bronze Baldacchino.  Author R. Scotti writes: “Without the Baldacchino, St. Peter’s would be a fantasia of soaring space, mosaics, gilt, colored stone, columns, niches, statutes, chapels and sepulchers.  Amid the sensory overload, the papal altar—the single element that gives meaning to the vast undertaking—would be lost.”  It is at the altar where the wheat and wine are turned into body and blood.  Bernini would be run out of town when a bell tower he was constructing would falter, but he would be back under Alexander the VII, who was quite unlike his prior namesake.  An interesting aspect, is that he was the grandnephew of the banker who had recommended the sale of indulgences to finance construction. Together the two, Bernini and Alexander VII, would complete the Basilica.  Perhaps their most impressive undertaking is the colonnade and the plaza we so recognize today.  This colonnade represents the arms of the church reaching out to gather the many.  The additions by Bernini bring emotion into play, and emotions are the essence of us earth-born.  It is what makes us human.

Colonnade as viewed from disc in the square, where all four columns perfectly
line behind the other, with only the front visible (Nov. 1990)

The greatest religious building on earth is named for the man who had claimed undying loyalty to Jesus, and in fact would die for him, but within a few hours of that proclamation, on the first Good Friday, he would deny knowing Jesus, not once, but three times! Within a span of hours Peter, the Rock, had changed his opinion, he had succumb to concern of his own life.  Peter recognized his frailty.  When he was to be crucified by Nero in Rome, at Nero's (Also known as Caligula's) Circus, he asked to be crucified upside down.  Christ did not choose a perfect man to lead his church.  It is over his grave that the magnificent St. Peter's sits.

Bronze Statue of St. Peter, notice the wear on his feet

Up close photo of feet, worn by the touch of many hands.
A tactical expression of devotion this man. (Photos from Wikipedia)

The Popes who built St. Peter’s Basilica were not perfect men, but were flawed, were human.  The Church is much more than a building, it is a collection of ideas and more importantly the elemental natures of forgiveness, and salvation.  As Drew Christianson, SJ has written about this holy week:  “So, this week if you would draw near to Jesus in his suffering and death, take on the mind of the one who humbled himself and assumed our human vulnerability and mortality (Phil 2:5-7).  ‘Go to the edges,’ as Pope Francis likes to say, draw close to the poor, the uneducated, the sick and impaired, the intellectually challenged, the frail elderly, especially those suffering dementia, and serve them. For that is where Christ himself would be. That is where Christ wants us to be.”  

Steps on which Peter denied Christ,
Jerusalem next to Chief Priest Caiaphas' Residence (April 2013)

Great architecture does not go to the edge.  Neither does a great building of stone .  But, architecture and stone do inspire us.  They make us want to be better, to use the gifts provided by our creator, and in it we see the power of the human spirit.  For some, like Bramante, Michelangelo, Raphael, della Porta, Bernini and even Maderno, it involves using mind and hands to turn a collection of stones into something grand, for others their gifts involve somethings different, but for all it should involve acts of mercy.  The vulnerabilities, foibles, and frailties that we have are offset by the splendor, sublime and surprising that we can undertake.  No one building more than St. Peter’s Basilica, no one man more than St. Peter, and no one day more than Good Friday represent this on-going dichotomy of being human.  Without Good Friday, there would have been no Easter Sunday.

Have a Blessed Easter!

Note:  Unless otherwise noted, all photos by the author

Houston, we have a Spinoff

It was on this date, April 11, in 1970 that one of the most famous space flights in American history occurred.  Apollo 13, was launched from Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center.  Departing at the seemingly unlucky time of 13:13 CST (Mission Control time) the flight is known more for not being the third manned mission to land on the moon, but for its getting back to earth following an in-space explosion in the Service Module which occurred on April 13 (CST).  The Apollo 13 mission, popularized less by the book Lost Moon by former Milwaukee, Wisconsin resident and Apollo 13 Commander James Lovell, than by its spinoff movie—titled “Apollo 13”  starring Tom Hanks, and produced by the person who played the former Mayberry RFD character Opie, and Richie Cunningham in “Happy Days.”  Perhaps part of the attraction is that the flight did not have its share of luck, and to those who like to think in terms of fate, saw the number 13 as proving its worth.  However, in the end they were lucky.  They got back to earth safely, which was due not only the attention of the three souls in-flight, but to the improvisations and ability to work under pressure of the men on earth.

 

Signed copy of Lost Moon

 The landing to the moon was aborted following the explosion in the Service Module’s oxygen tanks.  This would have a rippling affect for the rest of their journey.  The fuel cell technology which combined hydrogen and oxygen to power the ship also produced the water supply that was to be used by the crew.  The crew would use the Lunar Module as a lifeboat, even though that module provided water for only two men for two days, not three men for four.  The battery power in the Command Module was all that would be available. The CM was shut down to preserve its battery power for re-entry.  Oxygen would not be a problem due to the amount available for pressurization for landing on the moon.  Besides water, which was strictly rationed, two other main issues were power and carbon monoxide build-up.  The LM took a different shape and size scrubber than what was in the CM, requiring an improvisation on earth.  Most all systems had to be powered down to preserve power.  This led to the abort computer on the LM being used to help the course around the moon and back to earth, rather than the primary LM computer.

Launch Pad at Cape Canaveral.  Photo from Oct. 1996

While it is fitting to recall a significant event in American history, the technology used at the time was in some respects very rudimentary, but in many others it has led to improved life on earth.  Particularly rudimentary was the computer technology, which at the time was in its infancy, and while it had the most complex hardware on earth at the time, such hardware would be rather laughable to those growing up but one generation between. For example, Intel’s highly recognized 8086 processor developed in 1979, only nine years after Apollo 13, was used in the 1981 IBM XT computer which had 4x the processing power, and much greater speed than the on-board Apollo guidance computers.   The Apollo Guidance Computer ran at a speed of 40KHz (.0004 GHz).  By comparison, the laptop on which this is being typed, runs at a speed of 3 GHz .  Using some of the most powerful computers of the day, five IBM 360/75 mainframe computers, each of which were 250x faster than the guidance computer, running all day to perform calculations for lift-off, orbit and system monitoring.  To show the computing power of today, it has been calculated that one Google search, yes, just one, will use more computing power than the Apollo missions did on the ground and in-flight.  I do not mean one Apollo mission, but all the Apollo missions which put Neil Armstrong and 11 other astronauts on the moon, and returned them safely to earth, and of course, the Apollo 13 mission.  As one commentator put it, one USB memory stick has more power than the guidance computer.  In the “Apollo 13” movie, Jim Lovell’s mother tells her granddaughters to not worry, because “if a washing machine could fly, my Jimmy could land it.”  A statement with some irony since some say that a washing machine today uses more computing power than that found in the CM.  I find it rather remarkable what they were able to achieve with a technology in its infancy.  But, what they lacked in hardware they made up in software innovations that allowed multiple operations to run at the same time.  Software development of the Apollo era, as basic as it was, was rather ingenious.  It would form the platforms for much of the software we see today. 

Spacesuit, Oct. 1996 photo

The spinoff did not end at computer technology, the microchips, and integrated circuits that arose due to the program.  Some technologies people associate with NASA, such as Tang, were not NASA inventions. Some NASA popularized, such as Velcro.  Other technologies NASA took and improved—battery operated tools, as an example.  But, there were inventions.  NASA invented the first adjustable smoke detector with sensitivity levels to prevent false alarms.  Likewise, moon boot material has altered athletic footware, when Al Gross, a NASA program engineer, used his expertise from the space program to improve athletic shoes, through use of material and design. Fire resistant materials, used for a more fire-resistant spacesuits, which advanced following the horrible 1967 fire in what is now termed Apollo 1, now give us better fire-fighting wear.   But, it also structural fabric, such as Houston’s Reliant Stadium roof.  We also see Quartz crystals used in clocks to keep more accurate time due to NASA.  Swimmers using the speed suits of today rely on NASA technology developed to reduce drag.

Command Module 

 Some innovations we see in the medical field.  One example would be programmable pacemakers.  Another is the ability to remove waste from dialysis fluid, using “sorbent” dialysis which gives the patient more freedom during treatment and uses less energy, was developed from NASA technology.  And, where would the medical world be today without CAT scans, MRI’s radiography and microscopy used to look in to the depth of the human body and detect what was undetectable?   These came about from a NASA technology to detect imperfections in space components.  But, it also goes to more simple instruments in common use, such as the digital ear thermometer. 

 

James Lovell book signing, Oct. 1996

There are many other technologies assisted by or directly from NASA and the program to land a man on the moon.  While Apollo 13 had some bad luck, it also had innovations on earth from which we still reap a benefit.  In this case, bad luck was overcome by improvisation and ingenuity on the part of humans in on earth and in-flight.  A bad incident is not necessarily a bad outcome, as they often can be used to produce a resilience that was not before known.  But, here is a thought to ponder: it took me about five Google searches to find information for this one blog post, and thus I used five times the amount of computing power used for the WHOLE Apollo program.  I am not sure if that is symbolic of how far we have come, or how much they were able to accomplish with so little.  I tend toward the latter.