Tag Archives: history

Seasons

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HeartBeats

Getting old(ish) is not easy. At least not for me.

I can’t believe that one tiny leap to save a dish from falling off the counter will throw my back out. Or that my eyes without glasses see hazy green lumps where trees used to stand. Or that my kids know far more about the entertainment world than I ever did. And don’t even get me started on technological advancements. Magic. That pretty much covers it in my book.

Yes. I said book. Paper pages bound together with a thick cover. Book.

So I understood the other day when my ninety-year-old neighbor shrugged and said: “Whatever” to every social, political, or cultural question I put her way.

When I mentioned that it looks like an early winter, she just smiled.

Then it hit me. She’s seen ninety winters…springs…summers…and autumns too. Good heavens! This woman has seen the end of WWI, the Depression, the entire expanse of WWII, the rise of the sixties, the civil rights movement, the space age, the computer age… You get it.

I guess a little perspective gave me a bit more patience. I realized that she has survived cancer, her husband’s death, and the loss of much of her immediate family, and many friends. No, she doesn’t give her opinion about a lot of things. I suspect she is too wise for that. She knows what I can’t see yet. The other side of history reveals the blunders of people who jump to conclusions…and judgments.

So…I saw a glorious red and gold maple leaf fall from a tree today. Maybe autumn will come early. Maybe it’ll be right on time. I don’t need to decide. It’ll come when it comes, and then I’ll know.

But I’ll still have to wear my glasses.

 

Novels by A. K. Frailey

Science Fiction

Last of Her Kind  http://amzn.to/2y1HJvg

Newearth: Justine Awakens http://amzn.to/2pq0vWN

Historical Fiction

Melchior—Vengeance Is Mine http://amzn.to/2taeW2r

Historical Fiction & Science Fiction Blend

OldEarth ARAM Encounter https://amzn.to/2KLhlsN

OldEarth Ishtar Encounter https://amzn.to/2OAkDQF

OldEarth Neb Encounter (In production)

OldEarth Georgios Encounter (In production)

Children’s Book

The Adventures of Tally-Ho http://amzn.to/2sLfcI5

Inspirational Non-Fiction

The Road Goes Ever On—A Christian Journey Through The Lord of the Rings http://amzn.to/2lWBd00

A Deeply Disturbed Ocean

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Sir Winston Churchill British Prime Minist

Occasionally there are electric moments while reading the words of another person when you realize that though that person may have lived years before, you share something—a deep abiding interest, a concern, an insight, a hope, or a fear.

So I discovered such a moment recently while reading about the life of Winston Churchill. He was a man who appeared to have failed, much like his father before him, but in the end, he triumphed, and he brought the world with him in that triumph. His words before that triumph planted the seeds of his future success. It was in his heart and soul to believe that right was right, truth existed, and that we must not lose our way in this world. Here are some of his words which struck me forcibly this week. They echo loudly into our world today.

“We are a race doubtful of its mission and no longer confident about its principles, infirm of purpose, drifting to and fro with the tides and currents of a deeply disturbed ocean. The compass has been damaged. The charts are out of date. The crew have to take it in turns to be Captain, and every captain before every movement of the helm has to take a ballot not only of the crew but of an ever-increasing number of passengers…” (Mr. Churchill by Philip Guedalla p.242)

“Laws, just or unjust, may govern men’s actions. Tyrannies may restrain or regulate their words. The machinery of propaganda may pack their minds with falsehoods. But the soul of man thus held in trance or frozen in a long night can be awakened by a spark coming from God knows where. People in bondage need not despair.” (Churchill in Memoriam New York Times p.154)

In our times—trying as they may be—let us remember that we never walk alone.  The question for us to ponder has never been—Is God with me? But rather—Am I with God?

We shall be known by our fruit.

Novels by A. K. Frailey

Science Fiction

Last of Her Kind  http://amzn.to/2y1HJvg

Newearth: Justine Awakens http://amzn.to/2pq0vWN

Historical Fiction

Melchior—Vengeance Is Mine http://amzn.to/2taeW2r

Historical Fiction & Science Fiction Blend

OldEarth ARAM Encounter https://amzn.to/2KLhlsN

OldEarth Ishtar Encounter https://amzn.to/2OAkDQF

OldEarth Neb Encounter (In production)

OldEarth Georgios Encounter (In production)

Children’s Book

The Adventures of Tally-Ho http://amzn.to/2sLfcI5

Inspirational Non-Fiction

The Road Goes Ever On—A Christian Journey Through The Lord of the Rings http://amzn.to/2lWBd00

On His Toes – Life in Hollywood in the Early Days

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On His Toes by Irving McDonaldRecently I discovered that my grandfather had written a book and that it was still available on Amazon, so I went ahead and I ordered it. After previewing a few pages, I went ahead and read it to the family.  What an amazing joy it has been!  It is a great story entitled On His Toes written by Irving T. McDonald (who was my mother’s father) and it is all about a young man who goes to work for one of the first movie production companies of his day.

When I realized that this book was published by Dodd, Mead, and Company in 1921, it hit me that this was a first of its kind. The description of the production studios, the property rooms and all the things they used, the demanding but skilled abilities of the director and the actors, the plot involving this young guy trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life and his falling in love with the movie-making business, it sure makes for a great read.

I always knew that my grandfather was a talented man. He was a radio broadcaster for many years, and he worked in various teaching positions throughout his life, but surprisingly, I knew little about him personally.  Reading this book has really helped me to get to know the man behind the name a bit better.

I suppose it is an all too familiar a reality nowadays that we don’t really know the very people who made our lives possible. I recently read my grandmother’s memoirs (which is where I learned about my grandfather’s book) and I discovered that Grandfather almost died during a flu epidemic, but for the kindness of a landlady and the generosity of a doctor, he would have died. My grandfather later married and had six children, one who was my mother.  She grew up and married and had six children, one who was me, and I am now the mother of eight children.  None of us would exist but for the kindness of those two strangers and my grandfather’s strength of spirit, which enabled him to overcome the dangers of his environment and situation.

As I live and work in my little world, I think about all the people who have made my life possible, and I wonder about their lives and how our lives are intertwined even though we may never meet. I wonder about the people who made the car I am driving in, who designed it and who sold it to us.  I wonder about the people who made the roads I drive across and what their lives must have been like as they toiled away on hot summer days bridging rivers and forging through rock across our part of the nation.  I wonder about the doctor who brought me into the world, and I wonder about all my relatives who have passed away, giving me the opportunity to live, to share their home, on earth. I carry their genes in my body, they are the blood of my blood, yet I know little more than their names.

Yet, as I read my grandfather’s book, I came to realize that those who have gone before are not really gone, they are just someplace not within my present sight. And then I realize that I am the forerunner of all those who will come after me, and I feel amazed at the thought. I am only granted a small portion of time before I too must move on.  And I wonder who will remember me, and I wonder what will they wonder about…

Novels by A. K. Frailey

Science Fiction

Last of Her Kind  http://amzn.to/2y1HJvg

Newearth: Justine Awakens http://amzn.to/2pq0vWN

Historical Fiction

Melchior—Vengeance Is Mine http://amzn.to/2taeW2r

Historical Fiction & Science Fiction Blend

OldEarth ARAM Encounter https://amzn.to/2KLhlsN

OldEarth Ishtar Encounter https://amzn.to/2OAkDQF

OldEarth Neb Encounter (In production)

OldEarth Georgios Encounter (In production)

Children’s Book

The Adventures of Tally-Ho http://amzn.to/2sLfcI5

Inspirational Non-Fiction

The Road Goes Ever On—A Christian Journey Through The Lord of the Rings http://amzn.to/2lWBd00