Iron Hill Trail

Nice wide path, lots of gravel, beautiful scenery around Lake Allatoona.  Highly recommended!

Rusty Bucket Trail

Right vs Left-Brained

I am not surprised at my results.


Perhaps some of my readers will take the quiz and let me know which side of their brain *dominates*

Which Side of your Brain Do You Use? Your Result: Left Side   The left side of the brain processes information in a linear manner. It processes from part to whole. It takes pieces, lines them up, and arranges them in a logical order; then it draws conclusions. You look at the details not the big picture. You use logic not imagination. The left brained person is a list maker. You would enjoy making master schedules and and daily planning. Learning things in sequence is easy for you. You are probability a good speller. Left-brained people memorize vocabulary words or math formulas better. You also use logic. When you read and listen, you look for the pieces so that you can draw logical conclusions. The left side of the brain deals with things the way they are-with reality. When left brain students are affected by the environment, they usually adjust to it. Left brain people want to know the rules and follow them. So basically you are smart! Congratulations!
Right Side	 
Which Side of your Brain Do You Use? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Father's Day Menu

Freshly Caught Wild Georgia Shrimp
(purchased at Harry's - Whole Foods)
(boiled for 3 mins in seasoned water, drained then chilled)
Louis Sauce (homemade)
Pesto Pasta (fettucini)
Grilled Summer Squash
 'n Sweet Peppers
Rosemary French Baguette (Harry's)

Pinot Grigio (Italian everyday)
Sweet Tea for DH



Harry's Fresh Fruit Tart w/whipped cream 
(strawberries, blueberries, blackberries)

Pine Log Creek Trail

WHAT HIKERS HAVE TO LEARN

Take time to get the pebble out of your shoe.
Anywhere you stop you’ll get a new perspective.
It’s not a race.
You won’t flunk if you don’t reach the top.
Slow steps are more restful than sitting and starting.
You need fewer words on a mountain.
Never underestimate water.
The uses of the bandana have never been fully catalogued.
Bring light reading–you can get a lot of poems per ounce.
Most wild creatures aren’t after you.
Some are.
Urban is another language.
On a mountain gorp is better than gourmet
Stamina is a higher gift than speed
Obstacles are an occasion for creativity
You can take different journeys on the same path.

by Marilyn Chandler McEntyre

Despite the weatherman's predictions for oppressive heat (high 92) today, a good friend and I sent out EARLY for a morning hike.  We have actually tromped through these woods before.


But each time is new and interesting.


Three hours later, five and one half miles were behind us, and we're looking forward to the next jaunt.

The Roots of American Order Book Club
Chapter XI - Declaration and Constitution

Still reading along with Cindy's online book club and enjoying Kirk's perspective on American Order, I have today neither witty summary nor succinct acrostic for my friends.


However, I do have some links to share.


Here's the one for Hillsdale College's online course on the U.S. Constitution.  I think Brandy of Afterthoughts knows about it.  Every Hillsdale graduate must take a course similar to this one.  As of Saturday, May 12th, we (graduates ourselves) will have graduated four daughters from Hillsdale College.


Here's a review of Dr Larry Arnn's, Hillsdale College President, newest book, The Founders' Key.


Here's a You Tube version of a lecture by the same title.  DD#4 sang with the Chamber Choir for this event.


While we know that the chapter is an essay about two historical documents, I hear the double entendre in the title.  I'm referring to another meaning for *constitution* - that is, the physical character of the body, as to strength and health, etc.


And for *declaration* - something that is announced, avowed, or proclaimed.


What exactly constitutes Americans?


What are we declaring?


For some, it is a far cry from what was intended originally.


For others, we have a duty to uphold (rebuild) our foundations.


So, I *read* 


and thereby *lead*.




PS  One more link for those of you who may not have figured me out yet  ;-)
One of my previous employers wrote a book about the U.S. Constitution.  Here's a link to my most recent reference to it.


PPS  Something to think about ~ While Dr Kirk taught serminar-type classes on a regular basis at Hillsdale College (and other institutions), he never sought tenure at any institution, preferring to earn his living *independently* (no strings attached).

Salutary Neglect

Spring fever hit me hard this year.

That means, I'm a little behind on my reading.

The neglect has been salutary.

Here's the link to what others have to say about Chapter IX of Russell Kirk's The Roots of American Order.




This past Saturday DH and I tromped through some north Georgia woods which look much like they did during the early days of the colonies, at least according to the guidebook.

We covered 9.7 miles in 4 hours 25 minutes in the wilderness of this last of the Thirteen Colonies.

We Georgians love our General Oglethorpe whom Dr. Kirk considered an American gentleman ~

Christian soldier and friend to the unfortunate, admired by Samuel Johnson, conspicuous in London clubs, founder of the fortress-town of Savannah, full of fortitude and ability until he died at the age of ninety.

We Georgians can also claim bragging rights to the New World's Christianity in the Wesley Brothers:  John and Charles - planting seeds that erupted in the Great Awakening.

However, I am more of a Jonathan Edwards/George Whitefield kind of gal, if you know what I mean.

During this era, Americans demonstrated that they knew what to do, when and how.

They acted rightly.... even when no one was looking.

Now that's the root and order of true character.

The Roots of American Order Book Club

Chapter VIII - The Constitution of the Church and State

O = 

R = 



D  = 

E = 

R =  

Dear Cindy,


I am not ready for this week's book club *meeting* on Tuesday (4/10), and am posting this Lancaster/York bouquet with a request for a week's Spring Break.


Love, Dana

Easter Collect

O God, who for our redemption didst give thine only-begotten Son to the death of the Cross,

and by his glorious resurrection hast delivered us from the power of our enemy;

Grant us so to die daily from sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection;

through the same thy Son Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Poetry Month 2012

Someday I hope to create my own poetry anthology.  In the meantime, every April I try and highlight a few that I encountered throughout the  year.  

Here's the link to the ones for 2012...

at Hiddenart (Xanga).

The Roots of American Order Book Club
Chapter VII - The Reformers' Drum


If you have never read this book and think you dont have the time, please reconsider.  We're making it easier for you.  Read Cindy's applications as well as others.  Here's the link to our roundtable discussion.

Origins =  Humanism gained ground.  The primary representative of this new-found religion was a count, one Pico della Mirandola, who borrowed philosophical tenets from Plato, Christianity, and sorcery,  He wrote The Dignity of Man, a manifesto declaring man's god-like capabilities.  This philosophy found expression in churchmen like Erasmus in The Netherlands and Thomas More in England.  Five centuries later America's poet Ralph Waldo Emerson would echo Mirandola's sentiments. 





Reformers = Kirk diplomatically explains that both Protestants (Luther's 95 Theses) and Catholics (Council of Trent) reacted to the excesses of the Renaissance culture which exalted man's egoism (humanism).  Renaissance concupiscence, power politics, and pagan worldview contrasted with the Reformation's Christian morality, principles of justice and freedom, and Biblical worldview.  What started as debates among theologians became a forever breach in Christendom.



Divine Comedy  = makes me think of the Lord, our God, laughing as in Psalm 2 at all this earthly turmoil.  In fact, Kirk wants us to recognize Dante Alighieri, a most imaginative poet.  That Divine Comedy joined scholastic philosophy and medieval imagery synthesizing knowledge and belief.  I have never read this great poem, but aim to acquire not only John Ciardi's translation but also Anthony Esolen's.

Ecclesiastical Eruptions = Knotty questions starting with Mirandola's 900, spurred by Luther's Bondage of the Will, and systematized by Calvin's Institutes effected the break from The Pope, most notably in King Henry VIII's boldness and the establishment of The Church of England.  This seems to be the beginning of today's myriad of Christian denominations.

Renegade Churchmen = Kirk gives us Richard Hooker and John Knox, both fascinating minds who fathered national churches, The Church of England and the Church of Scotland, respectively.  Hooker, more moderate, was the proponent of "via media" (a throwback to Aristole's "golden mean") which characteristic is very English to us Americans.  Knox, a more forceful personality, preached incessantly against the wickedness of the Church (Kingly) Establishment in favor of Biblical Authority.  

Ever interested in history, I am truly appreciating Dr. Kirk's even-handed survey. It so explains me, as I was reared Anglican (I love, love, the Book of  Common Prayer) and became Presbyterian (The Westminster Confession of Faith answered more questions than The 39 Articles) at age twenty.  Our family roots are Scotch-Irish.  We've been Americans since the War for Independence.   


Marching to that different drum,  it's gonna be hard to uproot me.




Added later ~ 
In honor of National Poetry Month, here is a Link to a 16th century poet who marched to a different drum and made a difference:  Marguerite de Navarre

The Roots of American Order
 Chapter VII Favorite Quote

Rather, colonial America generally shared the Reformers' detestation of Renaissance notions and ways.

The early Renaissance they rejected as the blending of a resurrection of licentious paganism with a corrupted Catholicism.  page 228

What commenced as a debate about theological questions and church discipline soon made an open breach in Christendom; and there followed a century and a half of devastation, the Wars of Religion, Catholic against Protestant, and one Protestant sect against another.

In the name of the Son of Man, the Redeemer, zealots took the sword against other Christians, illustrating practically the Christian dogma that all men are sinners.

Yet out of that long agony of religious fanaticism (mingled with national political rivalries, class warfare, and ruthless private ambitions) emerged the religious pluralism and toleration of the United States.  page 232


Illustration Information ~
Portrait of Leo X
by Raphael
Oil on Wood, 61 in x 47 in

The Roots of American Order Book Club

 Chapter VI - The Light of the Middle Ages 


Reading along with Cindy and others, I hope our conversation informs and inspires.  


Here's my *orderly* synopsis ~


Origins = 

Gallia est divisa in tres partes: Normans, Anglo-Saxons, and Franks.  Toss seafaring Norse/Vikings into the mix and we can all trace our roots.  These folks conquered the island, if you will, and established a town.


Situated on a large navigable river, London became The Center not only for the administration of Roman authority in faraway Britannia, but also for the development of commerce:  a "nation of shopkeepers" spawning sailors, soldiers, lawgivers, and poets.



Rule of Law = The law, which is no respecter of persons, stands supreme.  This legality cannot be overstated.  The rule was hard-won, but it illuminated the Dark Ages. The Roman Corpus Juris, the English De Legibus Angliae, and Sir William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England are featured in this section.  Coupled with the development and refinement of common law, The Reign continues today, albeit encumbered.  Those who ignore the law harm society and themselves.  Sometime those who stand up for the law get hurt.

Declarations  = Documents like the Magna Carta and lesser writs addressing parliaments, impeachment, electors, contracts, and taxation gave birth to what is now known as representative government.  More Latin here - Quod omnes tangit ab omnibus approbetur - wise words with current application.  I hate to give Hollywood any credit for teaching history, but I have to mention the most recent Robin Hood movie (2010).  I really liked it because it dramatically drove home the plight of the people who sparked the signing of the Magna Carta.   Feudalism framed the vast canvas of this era.

Education = two English universities and three Scottish ones established during this period exist to this day.  Kirk's alma mater, St Andrew, boasts a small foundation writ large in America.  Providentially, I encountered Kirk at my alma mater, Hillsdale College.  The medieval university was an independent corporation unlike our modern ones whose hands are tied to government funding and whose policies promote diversity. Nowadays American institutions of higher learning do not resemble their origins.


Religious Crusaders = our squire-author is knight-errant himself in the fullest, most complimentary sense of both terms: a scholar and a gentleman engaged in adventure and tragedy (disappointment) whose object was to rescue his country and faith from invaders within and without.  Heroes from this era inspired American leaders like Sir Walter Raleigh, Captain John Smith, President George Washington, and General Robert E Lee.  These stories make interesting biographies.


We are at the halfway point, having read six of the twelve chapters.  Here's a link to our schedule.


Hope you will join the conversation (link).

The Roots of American Order Book Club

 Chapter V - The Genius of Christianity

Nothing drove home the message of this chapter more than viewing  Passages  (link to website) this past weekend. 


Passages (link to newspaper review) is an exhibition honoring the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible and is considered a 'tour de force' of the most-banned, most-debated, best-selling book of all time.

That's why I went twice and hope to go again.


Preserving the written revelation of God to man through human scribes is an arduous journey, as narrated by Kirk in this chapter and as demonstrated by  The Green Family of Hobby Lobby fame.


It's encouraging to see such concrete testimony to one of the roots of American order.


Furthermore, there is an associated speaker series  which may provide me the opportunity to hear culture-maker Andy Crouch on May 1st. 


Now for my acrostic ~ 


Origins = Jesus, The Incarnate God, is The Genius, if I can be so presumptious as to call Him such.  We (bookclubbers) all know He is incomparable, but Kirk relates how others came to know Him.  I always like reading about that, making this section particularly enjoyable.


Rebirth = Reordering the soul through the power of the Gospel created new beings with a fresh outlook on life.  It affected how they saw themselves and how they related to others in their society.  Because Kirk had explained previously how lack of order in citizens' souls contributes to the downfalls of civilizations, it was inspiring to read how the tap root of Christianity was planted; and to recognize how difficult it will be to uproot it.


Dogma  = confident Christian creed. Two were established during the time period:  the Nicene and the Apostles'.  Practically speaking, these helped codify the faith and cohere the followers.  Crucial!


Experience = eternal life - the promise of this immortality was the most appealing concept or powerful attraction for espousing the teachings of Christ.  Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, a product of old school, ancient philosophy and Roman high virtue wrote extensively.  His influential works, Confessions and City of God, excoriated the dilemma of how to live with one another and with the State.



Resurrection = Rome began to flourish again, to transcend the circumstances of time, mainly due to Christianity.  Church leaders (bishops/popes) came to this city eternalized by the martyrdoms of disciples Peter and Paul.  The classical world had a habit of referring to this city for direction.  Pope Gregory preached and pastored at the end of this time period.  Also known as Gregory the Great, his efforts built the bridge that allowed Christian patrimony to cross over, spreading faith and culture... all the way to America.


Reflecting on Kirk's efforts to preserve the roots of American order creates clearer vision for me.


I wonder if Scott Green has read Kirk.


Or Kirk Cameron?


Cameron's new film, Monumental, (movie link) scheduled for release next Tuesday, March 27th, appears to be another concrete testimony to American order.


Supporting these two cultural endeavors translates into watering our thirsty roots.


Let's do it!

The Roots of American Order:Chapter V
Favorite Quote 


In light of the current political climate, that is, a presidential election year, I read and re-read the final paragraph of The Genius of Christianity, because it gives me hope.

Christianity prescribes no especial form of politics.  The Church has co-existed with monarchies, autocracies, aristocracies, oligarchies, republics, democracies, and even some of the 20th century totalist regimes.  Yet if Christian belief be general among a people, then any political domination is affected by Christian teachings about the moral order.  That moral order works upon the political order.  Christian concepts of justice, charity, community, and duty may transform a society without any abrupt alteration of governmental framework.  The worth of the person, the equality of all men before the judgment-seat of God, the limitations upon all earthly authority - such convictions as these would shape the American Republic.

Like author Eric Metaxas recently gave President Obama copies of two of his books, Bonhoeffer and Amazing Grace (about Wilberforce), and like Russell Kirk supplied reading material to several presidents and presidential candidates,  I want to give to Mrs. Obama, Mrs. Romney, Mrs. Gringrich, Mrs. Santorum, and Mrs. Paul copies of The Roots of American Order.


Think I would be wasting my time and money?

The Roots of American Order Book Club

Chapter IV - Virtue and Power: The Roman Tension


This week's book club topic coincides with the Ides of March and I am entertained by that fact.  In celebration, I shall re-watch a recent film so named.*  As a former congressional staffer/campaigner, I can not only relate to the drama but also testify to its plausibility.

But first my acrostic of the assignment.

Origins = Etruscan kings whose subjects modeled high virtue, thereby conquering nations on 3 continents and establishing Pax Romana.

Republic = Cicero's famous writings that informed American Founders on juridical doctrine as they sought to write our American Constitution.  It was their required reading.


Divine mission was idealized by several Roman writers, especially Virgil whose key concepts of labor, pietas, and fatum sought to make Roman culture an ideal.  I struggled to read the Aeneid in high school Latin class, but my *sieve got wet.*


Exemplar = emperors, rulers and politicians who were examples, archetypes, of heroic leadership, especially Stoic Marcus Aurelius, a reforming conservative very familiar to our Founders.  The lists of suggested readings by chapter plus the footnotes and end notes alone make The Roots of American Order an invaluable resource.  Who knew Anthony Trollope wrote about Cicero?



Ruins =  reminders, beautiful and stately as they are, that failings in the order of the commonwealth coupled with certain deficiences in the inner order of the soul spell disintegration.  Kirk gives specifics in this final section that eerily correlate to current times.  May we not be doomed to repeat history.


Bonus photo is of my nephew and his beautiful wife who are stationed in Italy and had the chance to visit Rome.  

I'll bet those ruins are speaking loudly to this US Army soldier.


and


I wonder if he's read any of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations?





Perhaps watching Charlton Heston in Julius Caesar would be more fitting (instructive). 



Added Later:  I ended up watching the 1953 version with Marlon Brando.


And here's the link to our moderator's synopsis of The Roman Tension.




*warning-bad language

The Roots of American Order:Chapter IV
Favorite Quote 

Mankind can endure anything but boredom. 

Kirk's comment (pg 132) is very telling.


We all, especially mothers, should take note, and make sure to teach the fate of bores.


Bored, boring, bores, boredom ~ 


Here's a link to some of my *boring* thoughts.


Here's what Emily Post has to say about being bored.

There is no reason why you should be bored when you can be otherwise.

But if you find yourself sitting in the hedgerow with nothing but weeds,

there is no reason for shutting your eyes and seeing nothing,

instead of finding what beauty you may in the weeds. 

Last but not least, here's a link to Kirk's The Architecture of Servitude and Boredom from his book Redeeming the Time. 


It behooves us to understand the enemy called *Boredom*

The Roots of American Order Book Club


Chapter III - The Glory and The Ruin:The Greek World

Origins = Hellenes who at the height of their power had conquered and ruled much of the known world.  Not exactly Hollywood Elite, but establishes my theme.


Regimented = militaristic city/states (polis) requiring big budgets to maintain.  *Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous* comes to mind.


Deities = disorderly, raucous characters who really saved no one from any thing.  The residents of Mount Olympus could have staged a long-running soap opera/reality show.


Experience = cautionary tale:  American Founders learned *What Not to Wear* from the Greeks, like class conflict, internecine violence, private/public arrogance, imperial vainglory.


Recovery = litany of poet/philosophers all proposing better ways, all failing to save Greek culture/society/civilization.  Think of the credits at the end of a movie.  There really are too many to list, but I love pronouncing their names.


Of the five sections within Chapter III, I think the final one (Aristotle and Political Forms) might be the most instructive for us today because Kirk succinctly describes the Greeks' attempts at various forms of government, comparing and contrasting  their virtuous forms with their degenerate deviations.  


Whereas religious convictions undergird a society at the most fundamental level,  they play out differently when administered (manifested) by the civil authority, be it monarchy, oligarchy,  or democracy.  The Greeks never got the religion thing *right*.


"The Greek idea of political and social balance, as the Americans found it expressed by Aristotle and Polybius and Plutarch, was incorporated directly into the American Constitutions,"  says Kirk.


Unfortunately, we (inheritors of said document) are now way.out.of.balance.

On this Super Tuesday, I hope those exercising their right to vote have read some Russell Kirk.

His insight will help all of us understand the consequences of today's primaries.


Read how fellow book-clubbers are applying Kirk's advice.

The Roots of American Order:Chapter III
Favorite Quote 

I'm still trying to decide which/what Greek trait to emulate most often.

In the meantime, my favorite quote comes from the section entitled The Cave and the Dust-Storm.

The wisdom and virtue necessary

 for contending successfully 

against a sea of troubles

 rarely are found united in one man.

Book club hostess Cindy's favorite topic seems to be  *moderation* aka The Golden Mean.  Dont miss reading her commentary.




Illustration ~
Alexander fighting Persian king Darius III. 

From Alexander Mosaic

Museo Archeologico Nazionale

Pompeii, Naples

Order/Membership

This word *order* implies membership:  an order is something that one belongs to.

All American citizens are born into this American order, or else are formally naturalized into it.

Active participation in this order is both a right and an obligation, and whether this order improves or decays must depend upon the quality of that participation.

Russell Kirk
In God's Own Good Time:
Reflections Upon American Order
The Intercollegiate Review, Spring 1973