'Thinking Hurts' - John Dos Passos

From a 54 year old interview with a 73 year old thinker, an excerpt.

"Interviewer: Incidentally, what is your opinion of the students of the New Left? 

'Dos Passos: Many of them seem to be going through something rather like a tantrum. An odd paranoia sweeping the country, I don't know exactly why . . . a mass hysteria . . . a combination of the St. Vitus's dance of medieval times and the Children's Crusade . . ." "

~~ John Dos Passos, "The Art of Fiction",  The Paris Review, Issue 46, Spring 1969

'St. Vitus's dance of medieval times' is a reference to the saint who was known to have relieved people suffering from neurological disorders including loss of emotional stability and voluntary motor control. Outbreaks of dancing and mania and other delirious behavior struck Europe during the Middle Ages. The symptoms of those afflicted with such disorders during medieval times mimicked the movements of a bizarre dance, thus the linkage to Vitus and his dance.

The Children's Crusade consisted of sincere children taking vows with the intention of marching to Jerusalem during the summer of 1212 to convert the Muslims who held the city at that time. Their efforts failed, they never reached the Holy Land, many of them were sold as slaves, some returned home, some died along the way. Passionate and full of sincerity, they followed foolish leaders to a disastrous end. Bitter failure.

If you live long enough you learn that history does indeed repeat itself. There are human behaviors which are predictable in particular circumstances. Political forces incite gullible young people - and older people who should know better - into the mass hysteria and paranoia Dos Passos references. Irrationality takes hold because emotions rule the day rather than critical thinking. 

Dos Passos' observations could have been penned today. 

"Tantrum." 

"Odd paranoia sweeping the country." 

"Mass hysteria."

Ring a bell?

Read the news. The author's description fits a certain slice of American life today.

And we adults in the room, like Dos Passos 54 years ago, scratch our heads in bewilderment at the uncalled for hysteria and paranoia sweeping our country, the unrestrained emotionalism. "People must be prodded into thinking. They resist. Thinking hurts." (John Dos Passos)

We are witnessing a certain madness that our logical healthy minds cannot categorize because it is, well, madness. Attempting to rationalize what we witness against what we know to be true is futile. 

We must trust our senses here, our minds, knowledge, and lived experience.

Beyond this, what are we to do?

Observe. Educate ourselves. Fortify our families. Protect our children. Preserve and model our spiritual beliefs and standards. Communicate with each other. Vote for sanity.

Pray. First and last, pray.

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." ~~ Ephesians 6:13

Uncle Vincent - Almond Blossoms

Vincent Van Gogh's 'Almond Blossom' oil on canvas, 1890

In the South of France almond trees bloom as early as February and, like many early bloomers, were a signal that spring was on the way. For Van Gogh, almond blossoms represented awakening and hope. 

This painting celebrates the birth of Vincent's nephew and namesake Vincent Willem Van Gogh, the son of Theo, his brother, and Theo's wife Jo.

Vincent wrote to his mother of the birth of little Vincent saying: How glad I was when the news came . . . I should have greatly preferred him to call the boy after Father, of whom I have been thinking so much these days, instead of after me; but seeing it has now been done, I started right away to make a picture for him, to hang in their bedroom, big branches of white almond blossom against a blue sky.

A tender soul, our Vincent Van Gogh. Uncle Vincent to his namesake. 

Beautiful.

 

Happy Valentine's Day

A simple man, is my husband. 

Simply kind.

Simply gentle.

Simply in love with me.

For over 43 years.

A steady, unwavering, strong love.

Appreciation for this love of ours grows as we get older. Time has a way of clarifying things.

When younger couples shower each other with dozens of roses and boxes of chocolate and glittery jewelry - all things we used to give - we give each other ourselves, our knowing of each other, the fluff removed and the treasure exposed.

We give each other our hearts, full of seasoned love, full-bodied and a little fruity like a good red wine.

He gave me a vase full of pretty pastel pink carnations because they are my favorite merry and light balance to the heaviness of winter.

He gave me four See's chocolates - my favorite flavors because he knows them - instead of an entire box because that would be too much, less special, less knowing.

He gave me a card in a red envelope that I will open when he comes home.

He gave me his heart that has God in the center, and me around the edges where I want to be, floating in there with our children and grandchildren in joy and love.

These gestures of his, these knowing gifts of kind thoughtfulness, these mean the world to me.

The world.

La Chandeleur - Of Candlelight, Coins, and Crêpes

February 2nd is celebrated as La Chandeleur in France, Belgium, and French-speaking Switzerland. Also known as Candlemas, this Catholic holiday marks forty days past Christmas in its commemoration of the presentation of Jesus at the Temple, based on Luke 2:22-40. In the Torah it is written that a mother cannot visit the Temple until forty days past the birth of a son and sixty past the birth of a daughter. Hence, the timing of la Chandeleur.

Not to be confused with Shrove Tuesday aka Pancake Tuesday on February 21st, la Chandeleur is also known as Crêpe Day. Besides marking Christ's presentation at the Temple, this celebration also marks the hope of Spring. Crêpes, with their round shape and golden color, remind people of the sun's return after the darkness of winter, or crêpes can remind of gold coins and prosperity. (Superstition promises that if you hold a gold coin - a gold louis - in one hand while flipping a crêpe in the pan with the other, you will have good luck and prosperity all year.) 

A summer visit to Sarlat, France last year afforded me the opportunity to indulge in freshly made street vendor crêpes neatly folded into quarters, sprinkled with sugar, and served on tiny paper plates [see photo below]. My husband and I meandered to a sturdy ancient bench in a lovely gravel-pathed park colored with late-summer flowers and shrubs which surrounded war memorials etched with the names of those who died for freedom's sake. A pensive - and delicious - moment, for sure. 

Some traditional Chandeleur rhymes include:

     À la Chandeleur, l'hiver se meurt, ou prend vigueur.

     At Candlemas, winter dies or gains strength.

     À la Chandeleur, le jour croît d'une heure.

     At Candlemas, the day increases by an hour.

     Rosée à chandeleur, l'hiver à sa dernière heure.

     Dew on the Candlemas, winter in its last hour.

     Si le ciel n'est ni clair ni beau, nous aurons plus de vin que d'eau.

     If the sky is neither clear nor beautiful, we will have more wine than water.

     Chandeleur à ta porte, c'est la fin des feuilles mortes.

     Candlemas at your door, is the end of dead leaves.

My husband and I will celebrate la Chandeleur today because it snuck past us on the 2nd. Candles will be lit for illumination during our evening. Luke 2 will be read. Crêpes will be enjoyed in the glow of waxy candles as we contemplate our love and gratitude for Jesus our Saviour and for Joseph, Mary, Simeon, and Anna, all servants of the Most High God.

Spring approaches! Soon we shall welcome longer, warmer days and new growth bursting from soil. May you have spiritual prosperity all the days of your life, health and happiness, too.

Joyeuse Chandeleur!