Book Club:  Imagination Method #8

Despite the two dimensional nature of this popular story-book character, Flat Stanley seems to be able to enjoy an adventurous and happy life.

He has lots of friends whom he visits via snail mail ;-)

Does this protaganist stimulate the imaginations of his readers or insulate them from the wonders of the world?

How does reading literature replete with personalities large and small contribute to the healthy development of the human mind?

That is the big question being answered by Professor Anthony Esolen in his ever insightful indictment of modern educational and parenting styles, Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child.

Albeit with books more high-brow than the Flat Stanley series.

Ten weeks into Cindy's Online Book Club discussion we readers are well-versed in Esolen's methodology of comparing and contrasting old-fashioned values with new-fangled ones, hoping to be encouraged by his vision.

Method #8 essay, Level Distinctions between Man and Woman or Spay and Geld, is no different.  Esolen quotes poetry (Milton and Frost), reminisces about his own childhood/schooling (catholic/parochial), and cites historical examples (Michaelangelo and guilds) to undergird his position for maintaining distinctions, especially between boys and girls.

In French, that would be vive la difference!

Paraphrased in English, I'd say that Esolen is in favor of discrimination.

Which is a good thing.

How does that translate into your schooling and everyday living?




Bonus Link:  Read my review of The Norton Book of Friendship

Book Club:  Imagination Method #7

Basically, I couldnt agree more with Anthony Esolen in this chapter, Reduce All Talk of Love to Narcissism and S*x or Insert Tab A into Slot B.

While I dont have any poetry or book selections to bolster the position,

I do think the following quote from our second president is noteworthy, even crucial to effective parenting;

and it applies to the third section of this week's book club assignment, Brave New Family.


In his autobiography, John Adams stated that the strength of a nation rests to a large extent on the morality of its women.  He said that men are likely to be lax in morals and women must set the moral tone of society*:

From all that I had read of History of Government, of human life and manners, I had drawn this Conclusion, that the manners of Women were the most infallible Barometer, to ascertain the degree of Morality and Virtue in a Nation.

All that I have since read and all the observations I have made in different Nations, have confirmed me in this opinion.

The Manners of Women, are the surest Criterion by which to determine whether a Republican Government is practicable, in a Nation or not.

The Jews, the Greeks, the Romans, the Swiss, the Dutch, all lost their public Spirit, their Republican Principles and habits, and their Republican Forms of Government, when they lost the Modesty and Domestic Virtues of their Women.

The foundations of national Morality must be laid in private Families.

In vain are Schools Academies and universities instituted, if loose Principles and licentious habits are impressed upon Children in their earliest years.

The Mothers are the earliest and most important Instructors of youth....

The Vices and Examples of the Parents cannot be concealed from the Children.

How is it possible that Children can have any just Sense of the sacred Obligations of Morality or Religion if, from their earliest Infancy, they learn that their Mothers live in habitual Infidelity to their fathers, and their fathers in as constant Infidelity to their Mothers.

So, fellow book clubbers, this is the reason that we should care whether our young people retain a sense of modesty (or regard for dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress), such as they might feel in the presence of something mysterious or holy. (Esolen pg, 177)

It's called *decorum*

Added later ~
I did think of a book that relates to this chapter.... in an imaginative sort of way  ;-)
Here's the link to If Everybody Did.


*John Adams
as quoted in Christianity and the Constitution
by John Eidsmoe
Baker Book House, 1987, p. 272,
which source is Diary and Autobiography of John Adams
ed. L.H.Butterfield, Belknap/Harvard, 1962, IV:123



Imagination & Art:Neun Gute Helden

Nine statues grace the old city hall building (south side-link see last paragraph) in Cologne, Germany and stand tall in their contribution to the development of the ideal hero.  Sculpted in the 13th century these valiants are the earliest known representations of a group of champions who best personified the ideals of chivalry as described by Jacques de Longuyon in the French epic poem, Vows of the Peacock.

Worthies (link to poem) is the label assigned to these select historical, scriptural, mythological or semi-legendary characters  who were identified in the Middle Ages to represent all facets of the perfectly chivalrous warrior.

The study of the life of each would thus form a good education for the aspiring young man because as a team they exemplified all the moral virtues and courage necessary for soldiership.

This artwork ties directly into my current book club selection, How to Destroy The Imagination of Your Child, where the author Anthony Esolen supplies the reader with a host of books, novels, epics, tales, and narratives which, if read, will inform (NOT destroy)  the imagination and prepare it for a life of service.

Allow me to introduce the Worthies who compose a triad of triads true to medieval symmetry ~

Hector
Alexander the Great
Julius Caesar


Joshua
David
Judas Maccabeus


King Arthur
Charlemagne
Godfrey of Bouillon

The first triad is pagan;  the second represents Old Testament Jews, and the third Christian princes.

May the literature inspired by these personages act as refreshing gargoyles spilling stimulating springs of ideas into the hearts and minds of our up-and-coming generation of heroes.

And thanks to Cindy for hostessing this fun online book club and for having the insight to choose such a worthy volume.

Bonus Link ~

Read about Millais' Boyhood of Raleigh

Book Club: Imagination Method #6

Unstoppable

Am I reviewing Method 6 in Anthony Esolen's Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child (book club link)

or

Am I promoting the new movie which demonstrates heroism in action?

Does the titular adjective refer to an overactive imagination which capitalizes on flippancy, sarcasm, and derision?

Or the paradoxical resolution of the movie's name?

There is certainly enough dynamite in the film to blow mountains of heaped-up conformity and dullness sky-high.

Yet in Esolen's essay Pottering the Puny he eschews modern media and points us to the victories found in an host of ancient and historical literary superheroes, all of whom capture the imagination but not all of whom spring from Biblical standards.

The professor's methodologies provide significant insight into the proper application of these stories into our daily lives and the lives of our students,  making them more suitable than modern day versions.

And that is good, but not all.

Booker T. Washington (1856-1915), American educator, author, orator, and political leader provides an alternate definition of hero.

On the battlefield, when surrounded and cheered by pomp, excitement, and admiration of devoted comrades, and inspired by strains of martial music and the hope of future reward, it is comparatively easy to be a hero, to do heroic deeds.


But to uphold honor in ordinary circumstances, to be a hero in common life, that is a genuine achievement meriting our highest admiration.

Now those words epitomize heroism and capture faith-in-action for me.

Doing everything as unto the Lord (Col 3:23) and being a part of that gathering of the saints (Matt 23:31)  leave every other notion in the dust.  For is hero a Biblical term?

Does my favor for Booker T's summary mean I've fallen prey to the post-modernists who putate heroic equality?

Does upholding honor in ordinary circumstances trump a one-time, fortuitous rescue?

Frank and Will (main characters in the movie) were real, the situation plausible.

So, what is the difference?

It is admirable to have heroes and read about them, but your life is not doomed if you do not.  It is more necessary to know how to size men up and wield a proper weapon.  Thankfully, Esolen uses one example who is all about presenting the gospel (pg 144) and another which points to The Type, Our Savior, Jesus Christ. (pg 147)

The apostle John shares the secret to being heroic in I John 2: 14 (emphasis mine)

I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known Him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

Esolen understands this and calls us to arms (link to 2008 merecomments).

The holy catholic church, as the Body of Christ, is as always the first defender and last bastion of truth, goodness, and beauty in the God's world. Having preserved the Gospel of Christ in its fullness through the vagaries and degradations of countless heresies, the Church is now facing, quite possibly, the most significant and far-reaching heresy since the Arian controversies - the widespread rejection of revealed Truth and apostolic authority by the majority of the world's population as well as millions of the so-called "faithful."

The gross libertinism of the elite; the vague gnosticism and casual self-indulgence of the many, the willful indifference to the carnage of the innocent. It is the same old story.


So let us gird up our loins, welcome any allies who will join us in the rejection of evil, and armed with the assurance of ultimate victory, meet the enemy with the weapons of truth, courage, fidelity and love.


Thanks be to God for the joy of battle and the endurance of the church militant.


Onward, Christian Soldier!

That's why I'm keep writing about this book and relating it to my ordinary life.


But I do wonder if Unstoppable would make it into Esolen's Netflix queue?

Fashion on Fridays

Temperatures have been gradually climbing this week, now boasting 70 degrees on this Winter Day.

Hence my thoughts turn to the Pantone color palette which I will use to help organize the closet/wardrobe for this coming Spring and Summer.

Today I know better than to dress like it's going to be warm outside.  The fact that the temperature may reach 70 degrees this weekend really only means that the mercury hits that number for one second at three o'clock in the afternoon and then starts dropping again.

So, dont be fooled.

Bring along the coat and scarf as you plan to get outside for that long overdue walk.

Where are you going?

Here I am on Tobler Creek Trail at Andalusia Farm in Milledgeville, GA.  More trails pictures at this link.

What are you wearing?

Still enjoying my favorite color, Turquoise (aka Peapod), which won the 2010 Pantone Color of the Year.

The turtleneck is lavender.

The plaid scarf (barely seen) is purple, pink, and lavender.





Tomorrow I hope to make it down to the Atlanta Botanical Garden for their orchid exhibition.  Lots of walking there, especially the Canopy Path!


Warning ~  Before you act on my Fashion Advice....

Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware) - Saddle Oxfords have been some of my favorite shoes, like Flannery O'Connor's whose artwork I'm highlighting this week in my Fine Art Friday post here.

Doggone this Golden Slipper Contest!  Now we have to wear saddle oxfords.



Published (2010) in The Cartoons of Flannery O'Connor at Georgia College.

One by One

Book Club Moderator and Virtue-Ordering Mother-Extraordinaire, Cindy asserted yesterday that poetic knowledge trumps the educational trick and better prepares the student for life.

While I dont believe Cindy thinks that math/science should be ignored in the curriculum, I do want to challenge all of us to remember that the poetic exists in those realms as well.

As we read through Anthony Esolen's methodologies (link to Mirus review) for reviving our own imaginations (the only way to keep from destroying those of our children) allow me set before you the advice of one who wielding his weapon did do battle with the times and can help us sharpen our own swords.

Meet the Sage of Mecosta ~ Russell Amos Kirk.

In his autobiography, The Sword of the Imagination, Dr Kirk explains that there is not one sword of imagination, but five!  The historical, political, moral, poetic, and prophetic.

If I may borrow from Gleaves Whitney's ISI book review,

• Leaders need the historical imagination to understand what humankind has been.
• They need the political imagination to know what humankind can do in community.
• They need the moral imagination to discern what the human person ought to be.
• They need the poetic imagination to perceive how human beings can best use their creative energies.
• They need the prophetic imagination to divine what human beings will be, given the choices they make.

Cindy's blog name Ordo Amoris (ordering of affections) is a throwback to Augustine's definition of virtue, whick Kirk addresses as well.

This ordering or prioritizing (my word) shows itself in different civilizations which Kirk traced in his book, Roots of American Order.  We Americans have been privileged to inherit the ordering of the soul from the Hebrews, the ordering of the minds from the ancient Greeks, the ordering of polity from the Romans, the ordering of law from the English, and last but most important, the ordering of LOVE from Christ (Christians).

Now with that background, let's be on our mission of redeeming the time with our young (potential) leaders.

What are yours reading today?




Photo Credit: Julie Robison
Family Heirloom Sword
situated above the mantel at
Piety Hill, Mecosta, MI
home of Russell and Annette Kirk

Dr John Willson (seated before the fireplace in above photo) is giving a short lecture about this knight errant to Hillsdale College students who made a pilgrimmage Kirk's ancestral home last Spring.

Today, however, here's a link to what you should be reading: Dr Willson's exhortation for recovery, Was There a Founding?,at e-zine, Imaginative Conservative.

Book Club:  Imagination #5 Discussion Questions


In our family "Our hero" is always followed by "Harold Ramorez." Why?

Who is Harold Ramorez?
Is he related to Epaminondas?

What is your favorite heroic epic?

Eneas Africanus by Harry Stillwell Edwards

Have you memorized this poem yet?

No

Why not?

Per Plato, my memory has been destroyed and my mind is weak.
Plus I have two copies (one hardback, one paperback) and it's available to you to read online.


In competition with Sir Walter's lofty lines,
I propose Randolph of Roanoke by John Greenleaf Whittier ~

All parties feared him: each in turn
Beheld its schemes disjointed,
As right or left his fatal glance
And spectral finger pointed.
Sworn foe of Cant, he smote it down
With trenchant wit unsparing,
And, mocking, rent with ruthless hand
The robe Pretence was wearing.

Too honest or too proud to feign
A love he never cherished,
Beyond Virginia’s border line
His patriotism perished.
While others hailed in distant skies
Our eagle’s dusky pinion,
He only saw the mountain bird
Stoop o’er his Old Dominion!


What do Yeats, Walter Scott and Flannery O'Connor have in common?

Piety of Place  ~

I'm on a mission to find out why Mary Flannery named her place *Andalusia.*
This link to the farm website states that the O'Connors called it *Sorrel Farms* until they realized the original owners/family had named it *Andalusia.*


In A Good Man is Hard to Find did you feel badly about what happened to the grandmother?

Frankly, I was totally taken aback by the story, having never wanted to read it again.   But after perusing some of O'Connor's non-fiction, now I understand that she was purposefully trying to shock the reader.  I still question her approach (I am still turned off by her characters) and turn to Mark Twain's advice for comfort ~

Truth is stranger than Fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possiblities.  Truth is not.


Even though a lot of people from Florence, Italy are apparently in Hell, why do we still desire to visit that city?

Because Tony Esolen is lead guide for the tour.

How does this chapter relate to what is currently happening in Egypt?

If I stretch my imagination, I'll guess that some Egyptians are acting on feelings of patriotism.   But I'm rather suspicious of the situation and like to read alternative news sources.  One article suggests that a MLK comic inspired some.  Another suggests that the uprising started after a young girl's speech.


Questions inspired by the imagination of book club moderator and writer extraordinaire, Cindy.

Join the discussion!

Book Club:  Imagination Method #5

How-to books can be annoying oversimplifications for negotiating life, but not Anthony Esolen's Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child.

Chapter after chapter he guides us through a wide variety of literature and shows us how it applies to every day lives.

Continuous critical and damaging remarks on persons, places, and things have altered not only the literal landscapes of our country, but also the literary places of our imaginations.

Esolen is heroic in his efforts to help us remember, recognize, and realize.

With copious examples from literature, Esolen directs the focus of  parents to four areas:  the gathering of communities (holidays), honoring our elders (heroes), loving the land (terra firma), and remembering history (genealogy).

Frankly, when I was reading some of these epics and stories in high school and college, I struggled just to grasp the surface meanings.  It was in French that I read portions of La Chanson de Roland, in Latin that I read the Aeneid.  I thought Flannery O'Connor was weird (kinda still do) and that poets are difficult to understand (some still are).

This past Saturday I took a field trip with DD#3, one of her college friends, and one of my nephews.  We three visited Andalusia Farm (Mary Flannery's homestead) in Milledgeville, GA, walking all over the property, visiting O'Connor's grave, and attending mass at her family church (Sacred Heart).

First, we set the tone by eating together (link to Blue Willow).

Thankfully, imaginations can be revived.

Book Club:  Imagination Method #4

It destroys memory
and weakens the mind,
relieving it of the work
that makes it strong.

It is an inhuman thing.

What is it?



Just like Plato lamented the use of the stylus during his lifetime, Anthony Esolen makes a valiant case against exposing ourselves to the synthetic light emanating from the GNAC, whether it be an LED or a neon billboard.

Sound bites, cliches, spin, or propaganda, Esolen gives us example after example of how truth has been corrupted and reading literature will keep you from falling for everything (from decay).

Just like I admired the dust jacket for Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child, this week I spent time studying the bibliography and index.  Those two sections distinguish this book, making it more useful.  But in order for our charges to be able to read and comprehend the recommended novels, we teachers must lay a solid groundwork early on in our children's schooling.

There are lots of ways to build that foundation.

Those basics never change.

But there is a host of skills that parents alone must demonstrate.

Nothing better than a cursory examination of the current state of affairs in the great USofA (link to Land of Opportunity) and watching our current leaders talk like they are living in Camelot (link to prayer b'fast analysis) proves that we are already stultified.

Please don't tell me that you dont know what I'm talking about.



Bonus Link:  (Creative Writing by Yours Truly)

O Muse! the causes and the crimes relate;*

Once upon a time early in his reporting career Verity Jones of WGNC-TV covered the trial of Sheriff Miles Upright when the US DOJ indicted him on felony charges.

And despite the fact that ten years had passed since that final on-camera interview with the defendent, Verity continued to ponder the entire situation especially the lawman's parting comments.

What did he mean when he looked straight into the television camera and said ~

Read your Shakespeare!

Sipping his cognac in the Men's Grille at the country club, Verity was alone with his thoughts.

Read your Shakespeare!

The words haunted him.

He could recall the plot of Romeo and Juliette from high school English class and could still recite a few lines from Hamlet's *To Be or Not To Be* soliloquy.  Did it count for something that last year he'd taken his wife to the Shakespeare Tavern for dinner?

But actually sitting down alone in a peaceful and quiet place, handling a book, opening the volume, turning the pages, and reading all the lines of just one of the bard's plays?

That he'd never done.

Verity regretted never following up directly with Upright to ask exactly what he'd meant by that exhortation:  three simple words... spoken clearly and directly into the young reporter's microphone when leaving the courthouse after the sentencing.

Verity continued to be confused about the way the case play out.  Justice seemed overshadowed by politics.  The sheriff had a wide reputation for doing what was right and honorable.  Somehow the fraud investigation had backfired.

How did Upright get caught in all this intrigue?

It didnt make sense.  The sheriff was not easily fooled.

Just last week at the sheriff's funeral, citizens and family alike lauded his charisma and character.   He knew when to be silent and how to be patient.  He thought before he acted.  He protected the community.

Read your Shakespeare!

The evocative effects of the cognac were wearing off and Verity finished brooding.

On the way home he stopped at the bookstore.

It was past time to soldier up.








*Virgil, in Book I of the Aeneid:

O Muse! the causes and the crimes relate;
What goddess was provok'd, and whence her hate;
For what offense the Queen of Heav'n began
To persecute so brave, so just a man; [...]

(John Dryden translation, 1697)






Bonus Link:  Who's Afraid?

Link added 7/9/2105 *Best Business Book*

Book Club:  Imagination #3 Discussion Questions

Cindy, book club hostess, continues to deliver shocks to our synapses even while suffering with a fever.  This blogger is dedicated to discipleship, even when she declines your invitation. 

We're reading Anthony Esolen's Ten Ways to Destroy Your Child's Imagination.

Has God made the human spirit resilient enough to overcome the dangers of modernity?

Yes ;-)

Sociologically, though, we do see patterns, knowing how God does give us the ability to overcome how should we approach the schooling norms of our age?

Set your eyes on a vision, make a plan, execute maneuvers, re-evaluate annually, repeat.

Is it still possible to succeed without traditional schooling?

Yes, read the example of Mr Mission Possible.
 (google it)

Why do we worry about it so much?

Mistrust.  And worry is entertaining.

Is going to a science museum similar to going to Chuck E Cheeses?

I dont think so, espcially if you go to The Creation Museum in Petersburg, KY
http://creationmuseum.org/

Besides I hate Chuck E Cheeses.  The gorilla scared me!







What projects have your children done on their own?

In addition to the dreaded annual science project, one spear-headed an a capella singing group at her high school.  I will post others as they come to mind.

What did you do as a child along these lines?

Aside from the normal school project, I had a thriving babysitting business as teenager.  Then I worked summers as a lifeguard (in additional to a part-time retail clerk).  I taught group swimming lessons at our neighborhood pool.

Does a one-legged duck swim in circles?
 
Only if the sky is blue.





Either than or she's making fun of us  ;-)

Book Club: Imagination Method #3

Scott's Antique Market is the type of place that comes to mind while reading Anthony Esolen describing the merits of junkyard schooling in his new book, Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, February 4, 5, and 6 are the next dates.


Take advantage of Scott's cultural experience here in Georgia.



One man's trash is another's treasure.


There are lots of positive outcomes from this type of parenting.

Georgia boasts a writer who grew up in a junkyard:  Janisse Ray.

Texas claims a junkyard millionaire:  Ron Sturgeon.

But the best advice I've read for helping one's child select a way of life (a career) is from a lady who is 113 years old today.  She wrote a book in 1971.

Here's a link to my short review of Leila Denmark's book, Every Child Should Have a Chance.

There is a common thread in the lives of these three successful individuals, besides lots of reading, a hobby, and elbow grease (hard work).  Esolen highlights it in this third method of his tongue-in-cheek parenting manifesto:  How to Destroy Your Child's Imagination  or Keep Children Away from Machines and Machinists.

Janisse, Ron, and Leila all spent time around adults and in places where children supposedly weren't allowed.

When Ron was only 17 years old his father died and his stepmother kicked him out of the house.  In a 1992 INC Magazine article, he gives advice:  "Read, read, and read some more!"

Janisse's dad, Franklin Ray, was a fatherly conundrum, depriving his children of such luxuries as television and inspiring them to preserve nature while junking up the landscape with old cars and blown-up tires.

Leila Denmark followed her curious intellect.  As a child she did not know that a woman could become a doctor, but she knew she loved to see things live.

Actually these testimonials just undergird my thinking that imaginations can not be destroyed, only stunted or perverted, but prayerfully captured for the Lord.  It may be difficult to envision something this far in the future for your young children.  But rest assured that events and experiences that happen today affect and build on their futures. 

It's all a matter of perspective.

How you see things.

How your child sees things.

Actuallly it's a little exciting to me.  That is, I feel expectant when I ponder how current life happenings will play out in my future.

When I'm not sure about my eyes and ears though, I re-read I Corinthians 2.

And I avail myself of the fine exposition of Scripture as it relates to child-rearing, especially Elder Tim Price's new series at my church.

Who or what encourages you as you rear your family?





Scott Antique Market - photo borrowed from Google Images

Photo at beginning is also borrowed from Google Images and is not representative of the booths at Scott Antique Market here in Georgia. I just wanted to highlight the lady's obvious character and personality.

Sparking the Imagination

Book club hostess, Cindy, of Dominion Family Fame, rightly is focusing on literature which fuels the imagination and is giving us the opportunity to make suggestions, submit a list.

There are several books on my shelf which address this topic, like Gladys Hunt's Honey for a Child's Heart, Elizabeth Wilson's Books Children Love, or Elizabeth McCalllum's The Book Tree.

Last year's book club selection, Norm's and Nobility's final chapter outlined an high school curriculum that Cindy still wants to discuss.

But here I share some upper-level suggestions, because

1)  there are already many good choices listed for preschoolers and elementary-aged children; and


2)  where there is no vision, the people will perish.  That is to say what you hope for your children may not happen, if you have trouble with expectations.

So, I reveal Dr. Kirk's list from his book Decadence and Renewal (Chapter 3 entitled Perishing for Want of Imagery) since many may not have immediate access to this book, but may have highschoolers on the premises.

In this case, Kirk states that these students between the ages of thirteen and eighteen ought to be treated as young adults (notice the non-use of the term *teenagers*- link to lecture on that issue) and actually or potentially capable of serious thought.

These books are calculated to wake the imagination and challenge the reason.  None ought to be too difficult for most young people to apprehend well enough -- provided that they are functionally literate.

Nineth-Grade Level

Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progess
Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
Hawthorne's The House of Seven Gables or The Marble Faun
Stevenson's Kidnapped
Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes or Dandelion Wine
Scott's Rob Roy or Old Mortality
Poems selected with an eye to the marvellous and the mysterious from Spenser, Burns, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Shelley, Tennyson, Whittier, Longfellow, Chesterton, Kipling, Masefield, Yeats, Frost

Tenth-Grade Level

Defoe's Robinson Crusoe
Shakespeare's Macbeth or Julius Caesar
Parkman's The Oregon Trail or The Conspiracy of Pontiac
Twain's Huckleberry Finn or Life on the Mississippi
Franklin's Autobiography
Thackeray's The Virginians or Henry Esmond
Melville's Typee or Omoo or Whitejacket
Selected poetry of a biographical or historical cast.

Eleventh-Grade Level

Milton's Paradise Lost
Swift's Gulliver's Travels
Dickens' Great Expectations or David Copperfield
Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral
Orwell's Animal Farm
Shakespeare's As You Like It or The Merchant of Venice
Selected poems of a speculative cast

Twelfth-Grade Level

KJV Epistles of Paul
Johnson's Rasselas
M Aurelius' Meditations (Long's Translation)
Burke's Speech on Conciliation with the American Colonies
Lewis's The Screwtape Letters or The Great Divorce
Marlowe's Doctor Faustus
Santayana's The Last Puritan
Joseph Conrad short stories
Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Selected poems of Frost, Robinson, Masters, Eliot, Santayana, Chesterton and other 20th century poets

Well, there is no doubt that I have my own work cut out for me, as I have not read many of these.

That may account for my lack of imagination.

Which is why I'm reading a book about it with a bunch of people I dont know in real life.

I'm throwing a spark on that pile of dry wood in my head, hoping to light a fire that will keep me warm until the end of my days.

Top Ten:  Parenting Books

1)   The Bible
2)   The Example (my parents-book yet to be published )
3)   Withhold Not Correction by Bruce Ray
4)   Six-Point Plan for Raising Happy, Healthy Children  by John Rosemond
5)   The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer
6)   Every Child Should Have a Chance by Leila Denmark
7)   Teach Them Diligently by Lou Priolo
8)   Ten Ways to Destroy Your Child's Imagination by Anthony Esolen
9)   It Takes Backbone to Raise Terrific Kids by Carol Demar
10) The Strong-Willed Child by James Dobson

Bookclub: Imagination Method #2

Idyllic is one way of describing the child's life being promoted by Anthony Esolen in his parenting manual, Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child. 


By juxtaposing a variety of typical childhood experiences, the author demonstrates a superior method for rearing our charges and developing their imaginations, those valuable vaults of images, sensations, and concepts.

As I read through the details of uninterrupted play, spontaneous neighborhood baseball games, and nightime river exploration, I wanted to think that I could point to similar experiences.  I wanted to believe that my children could recall such times as well.

Unfortunately, we all know that growing up is not usually that charming.

I also found myself relating to Tormentaria, that planet populated with specimens ready and awaiting to be molded by The Visionaries, because more often my schedule resembled the structured over the looser one.

Unfortunately, I keep feeling a void in Esolen's premise, which I suspect he addresses in Method 10, the Transcendence.  Why does he wait so long to bring up this vital aspect?

I mean how do the boys in the baseball game know about forgiveness?

Or how do the river boys know to make a compact or the importance of sealing it with blood?

Or as in my case, how did we girls know how to structure our families when we played house?

We didnt just *make.them.up*

Some committee informed us.

It's called the Trinity.

That awesome threesome who authored the penultimate parenting how-to volume.

Make sure that downspout (gargoyle) is pouring out life-giving water over your child's head day in and day out.


Like Deuteronomy 6:7 ~


Impress them (commands, decress, laws) on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.


AND
2 Corinthians 10:5 (three translations)

casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ; (American Standard Version)

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (New International Version)

We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, (New American Standard)


As well as these wise words from a modern-day Godly ruler, Abraham Kuyper ~

"Oh, no single piece of our mental world is to be hermetically sealed off from the rest, and there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: 'Mine!'"

Read more about it at our online bookclub.




Bonus Bits ~

Consider reading the chapter entitled Creativity in George Roche's excellent book, Education in America.  His information adds substance to Esolen's and is available free online.

Funny, pertinent story about committees at this link.




Photo Credit:
Gargoyle by Ed O'Keefe

Artwork Credit:
Stamp issued by gov't
of Liberia

Oaths, Ethics, and Sanctity of Life

On this the 38th anniversary of Roe v Wade, allow me to relate a story showing how God gave opportunity for witness in an unlikely setting.

Standing firm in one's convictions is never an easy thing to do, especially if you dont know what you believe.

Thankfully, the Lord shined His Face upon me at an early age, informing my heart and mind of not only His Love, but also His Law.

In addition, God gave me a husband who knows and serves Him, too.

That means we know what we believe by reading Scripture with the illuminating power of the Holy Spirit.

But if you're not sure where to stand on this issue, we recommend R. C. Sproul's book, Abortion: A Rational Look at an Emotional Issue, recently re-printed and distributed to every member of Congress.

Now for the story.

Early in medical school (1982), DH was in class when the professor interrupted his lecture to poll his students.  This was a little unusual, but it must have related to the topic.

The question concerned abortion ~

In the first scenario, the professor asked, "In general, would you as a medical doctor perform an abortion?"  And if so, he directed, move from your seat to a seat on the other side of the room.

A fair number of students moved.

In the second scenario, the professor queried, in the case of rape, would you perform the abortion?

A few more students moved to the other side of the room.

In the third scenario, the situation became more dire as the life of the mother is in danger:  would you perform an abortion?

The final few students moved to the other side of the room, leaving my husband seated alone.

He stood firm, upholding the Hippocratic Oath, not bowing to situational ethics, and demonstrating in a remarkable way the sanctity of life.


Sounds like a *Martin Luther* moment, dont ya think?

I was very proud of him when he told me that story over dinner that evening.

I still am.


PS  Here's a link to KSJ's talk recently delivered at a medical conference.  Take a listen and be informed about the ever-changing landscape of healthcare.

Book Club: Imagination Method #1

In contrast to the coal mines and dump yards where author Esolen grew up and developed his imagination, I was reared on a river and battleground (where the Yankees made their way into Atlanta).

Flooding finally destroyed the family homestead but not the sights, sounds, and symbols that fed the thoughts of mine.

Yards large enough for kickball or tag football, streets quiet and steep enough for bike-riding, woods replete with an assortment of flora and fauna, the Chattahoochee River (yes, we played in it), and Confederate bunkers (Johnny Reb to the core)  comprised our idyllic neighborhood.

Keeping children indoors was an impossibility.

Yet, sometimes we had to stay inside in order to be safe or finish our homework :-)

If I'd known that Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child was a parenting manual (unlike his Ironies of Faith), I don't think I'd have signed up for discussion (link to online bookclub).  But now that I'm here, let me say that I'm adding this how-to volume to my list of Top Five, despite the overwhelming number of literary references that I havent read completely.

Fortunately, my children are *grown* and it's easier for me to see the big picture.  That is, how the frustrating schools days and seemingly disorganized academic years do provide children with the ability to form the mental images, sensations, and concepts that comprise their imaginations.

It is the fundamental facility through which we make sense of the world.

It can be trained in a variety of ways.  See my homeschooling or leisure links.

So, be encouraged.

You are not drowning in the flood waters of the nasty river named *21st century American culture.*

This you will know when you read this fine article entitled, The Romance of Domesticity, by Professor Nathan Schlueter.  He pulls it all together for us ~

What is required is a truly realist imagination, one that captures and reveals the extraordinary quality of ordinary life.  Such an imagination would restore the “chest,” the locus of the imagination, to its rightful place as the mediator and integrating principle of intellect and appetite, soul and body, in the human person.

Book Club: Imagination's Air

Everyone has one (imagination)   and everyone's needs a continual supply (air).

That's my premise.  And I'm sticking to it.






At least for the purpose of this online book club discussion.

Our dear professor is trying to make the case otherwise and I'm not convinced.  In fact, I'm usually supicious of an educator who talks more about the method(s) of teaching than the actual subject itself.


I mean discussing methodology gives those with NO ideas something to do, right?

Furthermore, I'm agreeing that a parent has to work harder to destroy a child's imagination and spend more money to deprive him/her of the outdoors.

It's been said before.

In John Rosemond's book Six-Point Plan for Raising Happy, Healthy Children the author maintains that the job of a parent is all about *helping our children get OUT of our lives.*  It boils down to identifying the difference between needs and wants; and as that process unfolds (over the course of 20 years), so does a child's capacity for initiative, resourcefulness, creativity, self-sufficiency, achievement, and the like.

But Esolen comes highly recommended and his style is charming, so I keep reading How to Destroy.

While I may not have been the most imaginative child in my neighborhood nor the most imaginative adult in my circle of friends, I'm not buying into the idea that our culture is being destroyed by the lack of imagination.

There is always a chance to re-oxygenate and enliven the synapses.

Opportunities abound!

So, as I mentioned earlier, I believe we all have this imagination of which Esolen speaks....obviously in varying stages and degrees....

and our duty as stewards of this God-given talent is to:

1)remember,

2)recognize, and

3)realize, that it is there.

It's all about attitude and/or perspective.

Here's one example ~ When I was a very young mother, a friend (another very young mother) complimented my child's routine and lamented that hers had none.  After a quick thank-you reply, I pointed out that indeed her baby did have a schedule.  Perhaps she justed couldnt see it.  And to consider sitting back and watching. By sheer observation I promised her she would find it.

The same is true of one's imagination.

Now make sure yours is working.

Anthony Esolen's Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child will confirm that yours is properly informed.

Book Club: Imagination's Exordium

Capitalizing on Cindy's use of the very fine word exordium as she synopsizes the first 26 pages of Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child, I call to your attention its etymology.

Or is that too dull?

Is it too taxing to insist that one recall or retrieve from the recesses of memory some vestige of language or grammar skills that might afford opportunity to understand that the author herein is laying groundwork for his treatise.

No!

May it never be!

But I will admit, Latin lover than I am, that I looked it up in the dictionary (online! wicked internet option!!) to make sure that I knew what I was talking about ;-)

Weaving back and forth with literary threads, Professor Esolen snared my attention in this first strike against the educational system like I was a unobservant guest at a cocktail party where an unknown (yet important) individual was dropping extremely important names, mentioning powerful and influential people.

My ears perked up.

It behooves me to know these characters, not like a list of Facebook friends, but really and truly be acquainted: to remember, recognize, and realize.  It will save me some embarrassing moments and add to my overall ability to apply book knowledge to every day living.  That's wisdom.  Something to which I aspire.

So, take heart, I tell myself.

Read on.

Trust the professor's parting words ~

A fact may not be much, by itself, but it points toward what is true,

and even the humblest truth may in time lead a mind

 to contemplate the beautiful and the good.

Book Club:Imagination

Knowing that it's not fair to judge a book by its cover, I am going to examine carefully this one gracing Anthony Esolen's newest publication.

At first glance, I see a charming youngster sitting on a crescent moon and looking down..... on the world, I suppose.

The gargoyle surfaces only after I'm enchanted by the prospect of sweet dreams of childhood.

I'm beginning to feel some tension.

So, I step back from opening the book and reading the table of contents.

I choose to learn more about the little boy.

Victor Charles Anderson (1882 - 1937) painted him and this rendition may have been the cover of a Life Magazine, but I cant find the year.

There were thousands of reprints made by Campbell Prints years ago with a wonderful Burges Johnson poem on the back.  Here's a link to the two verses.

Currently Laughing Elephant seems seems to own the rights to the image and has been selling it for use in the greeting card industry and as glicee prints.

Unfortunately, my eyes keep checking on that monster above the child's head.

Gargoyles have a reputation for scaring off and protecting from evil or harmful spirits.  In fact, many are useful downspouts directing water away from buildings. 

Be aware then that the jacket art is a combination of two separate and distinct images.  Kevin van der Leek is the graphic designer who pulled that out of his creative (read non-destroyed) imagination.

That totally piques my curiosity.

What is the relationship between the child and the gargoyle?

Stay tuned!

Because this intriguing book is the subject of our next book club, which starts soon.

Where Dreams Are Made

Dreams are made in the moon, my dear,

On her shining hillsides steep;

Pleasant and dreadful and gay and queer,
 
They're piled in a silver heap.

And many fairies with buzzing wings

Are busy with hammers and wheels and things,

Making the dreams that Night-time brings
   



To all little boys asleep.


And if a boy has been good till night,
     When snug in his bed he lies
The fairies come with a moonbeam bright
     And slide him up to the skies.
And there he sails as the Moon-king's guest,
And choses the dreams he likes best;
Then they slide him back to his nurs'ry nest
     And leave him rubbin his eyes.







by Burges Johnson (1877 - ??)
Youngsters:  Collected Poems of Childhood

Cornbread

How I love thee, let me count the ways ~

In the above photo, there are three pans, one 8", one 7", and one 5".   While we were only 7 at the table, we plan for leftover cornbread.

In seasoned cast iron skillets, add several tablespoons of safflower oil to each.  Place in cold ovens, turning it on for 425 degrees.  While skillets and ovens are preheating, prepare the batter.

In a large mixing bowl, add and whisk together ~

2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup safflower oil

Then add the following dry ingredients, stirring with a strong wooden spoon ~

3 1/2 cups white cornmeal
1/2 cups coarsely ground grits
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking SODA
1 1/2 tsp baking POWDER (optional)

Then add more buttermilk, close to a full quart. Stir to achieve a smoothness similar to cake batter.  Be careful not to overwork the batter.

Now check the ovens.  By this time, it should be good and preheated.  You will know for sure, if the oil in the skillets is smoking.

Remove the pans from the ovens.

Divide batter into pans.  It should sizzle and sound like frying as you pour batter into hot oil

Return pans to ovens.

Bake 25 minutes or until top becomes golden brown.

Traditional Fare

New Year's Day Menu

Collard Greens
w/pepper sauce

Roast Pork

Baked Sweet Potato

Black-eyed Peas
w/Chow Chow

Cornbread


Then dessert ~

(more) Cornbread, butter, and lots of sorghum syrup!



This year one dinner guest enjoyed sorghum for the first time.


Is there any sorghum at your house?

True Grit

Proverbs 28:1 are the opening lines to the recent re-make of this John Wayne movie.

The wicked flee though no one pursues,
but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

Actually the Coen Brothers left off the second line, but I'm including it because it's just as important.

Before heading to the local theater and forking over too much money, we watched the 1969 film on DVD at home.  While the younger crowd thought the first was *cheesy*, I loved it and looked forward to seeing how Hollywood would *update* it.

In short, well done!

I give five stars to both versions and have added Mattie Ross to my top-five list of cinematic heroines.

Talk about true grit.

Mattie's character surpasses Rooster on many levels, modeling admirable traits ~

1)  Family loyalty, i.e. honor thy father (and mother)
2)  Negotiation skills, par excellance
3)  Educated, manners and diction
4)  Determination, appropriately channeled  and
5)  Maturity, beyond her years but not misguided




Overall, I preferred Hailee Steinfeld's interpreation and presentation of Mattie.

What do you think?




PS Do you own the book on which the film is based?

Happy 30th Anniversary






A good relationship has a pattern like a dance and is built on some of the same rules.

The partners do not need to hold on tightly, because they move confidently in the same pattern, intricate but gay and swift and free, like a country dance of Mozart's.

To touch heavily would be to arrest the pattern and freeze the movement, to check the endlessly changing beauty of its unfolding.

There is no place here for the possessive clutch, the clinging arm, the heavy hand; only the barest touch in passing. Now arm in arm, now face to face, now back to back -- it does not matter which. Because they know they are partners moving to the same rhythm, creating a pattern together, and being invisibly nourished by it.


Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Gift from the Sea

Photo compliments of mmcarthystudio aka DD#2

Beet Salad

Now that Grandma is no longer with us :-(  I'm in the business of fixing this traditional family recipe.

It's one of those dishes that graced the holiday (celebratory) tables next to the omnipresent black olives and ubiquitous pickles.

She never wrote out a recipe.

So, here's my stab at actual measurements.

4 cans chilled beets, well drained and finely chopped
4 stalks celery, very finely diced
5 Tbs mayonnaise
small amount of finely grated onion
salt and pepper, to taste


Chill for several hours before serving.


Sounds pretty simple.  But I'm telling you,

it just doesnt taste the same as when she prepared it.


We miss you, Grandma!

Santa Claus

Red-suited men sporting long white beards are everywhere:

 in stores,

 on TV,

at parties.

There is no one who doesnt recognize these fellows.






As a youngster, I was afraid of him.  As I got older, I figured him out, but kept the information to myself.  Later, when I had my own children, we gave them gifts from Santa Claus on Christmas morning, but never took them to visit him or sit in his lap.

Now I continue to believe in the gift of giving .

So, I embrace the symbol and prefer to be positive about *him*.

Any one who says *there's no such thing as Santa Claus* looses credibility.

Clearly, he exists.

One of my favorite poets explains ~

Nicholas, Bishop of Myra's See,

Was holy a saint

As a saint could be;

Saved not a bit

Of his worldly wealth

And loved to commit

Good deeds by stealth.

Was there a poor man,

Wanting a roof?

Nicholas sheltered him weatherproof.

Who lacked a morsel

Had but to ask it

And at his doorsill

Was Nicholas' basket.

0, many a basket did he carry.

Penniless girls

Whom none would marry

Used to discover to their delight,

Into their windows

Tossed at night

(When the moon was old

And the dark was showry),

Bags of gold

Enough for a dowry.

People, I read,

Grew slightly lyrical,

Calling each deed

He did, a miracle.

Told how he calmed the sea for sailors

And rescued children

From awful jailors

Who, drawing lots

For the foul design,

Liked pickling tots

In pickle brine.

Nicholas, circa

Fourth cent. A.D.,

Died in the odor of sanctity.

But fortune changes,

Blessings pass,

And look what's happened to Nicholas.

He who had feared

The world's applause,

Now, with a beard,

Is Santa Claus.

A multiplied elf, he struts and poses,

Ringing up sales

In putty noses;

With Comet and Cupid

His constant partners,

Telling tall tales to kindergart'ners,

His halo fickle as

Wind and wave.

While dizzily Nicholas

Spins in his grave.

"Origin of Species"
 from TIMES THREE
 by Phyllis McGinley

Fashion Friday

Not your typical Christmas green, I'm having fun with teal and turquoise this Fall/Winter.

The puffy vest is new (onsale), but the blouse is not ~ one of those items re-discovered when sorting through my closet. That's the basis of my fashion posts - giving new life to an old item and thereby adding a punch to my style.

One holiday season, I dressed my four daughters in pink and white.  Again, not your typical Christmas colors.  But it proved fortuitous by making it easy to spot them in a crowd.  That was the year we went to the Festival of Trees at the World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta..... if any of you four are reading ;-)

So, now that the holidays are upon us and many have decorated homes, tell me....

Do you dress differently in December?





Bonus FAF (Fine Art Friday)
Still Life after Harnett
Pencil on Reeves Paper
by DD#1