January
Ground-hog Day
Fiction
Dodo
February
Khaki Camouflage
St. Valentine's Day
Shakespeare
Vacuum
Birthdays
Bible
Library
January
02/02/01
Time flies! We are already at the end of the first month of the year and the beginning of the second month, according to the Gregorian calendar. In Japanese, when the Chinese characters denoting "light" and "shade" are connected, the meaning is "time", indicating that time is made up of both light and darkness. As we consider our own personal history or the history of our nation, we recognize that times of both light and darkness are included. The Japanese equivalent of the English expression, "Time flies", is more specific for it adds the words "like an arrow", which implies that it will not return. So it is, that because "time flies like an arrow", while learning from the past and planning for the future, we should make good use of the present time that is given to us. January, the name of this first month of the year, is derived from the name of the ancient Roman deity, Janus, who is pictured as having two faces, one facing forward and the other looking back. Janus was the deity of beginnings, including the spatial beginnings such as gates and doors. He also presided over such temporal beginnings as the first hour of the day, the first day of the month and the first month of the year. The word "janitor" is derived from "Janus", for a janitor was originally a doorman who looked in both directions as people came in and went out. As this first month comes to an end, it is a good time for us to reflect upon our lives, to ask what have we accomplished so far in this new year and what are our goals for the rest of the year? Remember, time is flying like an arrow and we must make good use of it while we can. (384)
Ground-hog Day
02/02/03
A common rodent in North America is a ground hog, or woodchuck. In English, some combination words are joined together to become a single word; others have a hyphen between them and some remain as two separate words. In fact, all reference books are not identical in this matter, but in the dictionary I usually use, there are two separate words in "ground hog". The first word of "ground-hog day", however, has a hyphen in it and "woodchuck" is a single word. Very strange! The second day of February is known as "ground-hog day" in the United States of America and a weather forecast for the next six weeks is made on the basis of whether that day is sunny or cloudy. On that day, it is said that ground hogs come out of their winter quarters and if it is sunny, they will see their shadows, become frightened and return to their holes. In that case, it is said that we will have six more weeks of winter weather. But if it is cloudy on that day, they will not return to their homes to sleep and winter will soon give way to spring. In the traditional Japanese calendar, the third day of the second month is the "season divider" day marking the end of winter and the beginning of spring. On that day, many homes follow an old custom that came from China. In order to rid the house of evil influences and to welcome a better future, roasted soybeans are thrown in each room in the house while calling out: "Fortune in! Demons out!" It was thought that throwing soybeans would scare away the demons, but now it is generally recognized that something more powerful is needed to rid the home and society of evil influences. (386)
Fiction
02/02/06
In this Penney Retirement Community, there are a variety of activities in which residents may participate--activities which are both meaningful and invigorating. Some involve physical exercise; others stimulate mental effort. The "Penney Writers" attracts those who enjoy writing. Each member is encouraged to write something to share at meetings; sometimes, a particular topic is suggested. After reading one's composition, comments, criticism or suggestions from other members of the group are welcome. At the last meeting, we shared memories of the house in which we lived in our childhood. At the next meeting, we are to write a "fictional" story. "Fiction" is a literary work based on the imagination of the writer. Although it may include some factual elements, it is not literally true. It was the English poet, Lord Byron, who wrote: "'Tis strange--but true; for truth is always strange; Stranger than fiction." And an American clergyman, Tyron Edwards, has written that "Fiction is not falsehood . . . . It is rather the fanciful and dramatic grouping of real traits around imaginary scenes or characters. It may give false views of men or things, or it may, in the hands of a master, more truthfully portray life than sober history itself." In fact, fiction may be more instructive than real history. According to Eleanor Roosevelt, "The reason that fiction is more interesting than any other form of literature to those of us who really like to study people, is that in fiction the author can really tell the truth without hurting anyone and without humiliating himself too much." (388)
Dodo
02/02/08
This message begins with another example of the irregularity of English pronunciation. When the two letters "d" and "o" are placed together and used as a verb, they are pronounced "doo", the same as the word spelled d-u-e, but when used to denote the first and last notes of the musical scale, they are pronounced "dou", as the words spelled d-o-e or d-o-u-g-h. So how should we pronounce the word spelled d-o-d-o? This word is derived from a Portuguese word meaning "stupid" and, as a slang term, may denote a stupid person, a simpleton, or a person whose dress, lifestyle and ideas are entirely out-of-date. But it originally signified a certain kind of bird found on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. This bird resembled a turkey with its hooked bill, short neck and legs and very small wings that were useless for flying. The female dodo laid only one egg each year, which Dutch colonists and animals found to be palatable, so, in the year 1681, the dodo became extinct and the expression "as dead as the dodo" means "long since dead, forgotten and finished with, a thing of the past." Will Cuppy, an American critic and humorist on the staff of the New York Herald Tribune, wrote: "The Dodo never had a chance. He seems to have been invented for the sole purpose of becoming extinct and that was all he was good for." Nevertheless, there are a couple of men in the Old Testament who bore the name of Dodo. One of them was the grandfather of Tola, one of the judges of Israel (Judges 10:1). And one of King David's "mighty men" was the "son of Dodo from Bethlehem" (II Samuel 23:24). (379)
February
02/02/11
This second month of the year has been given different names by different peoples related to their particular views or traditions at this time of year. The name given to this month by Emperor Charlemagne was related to the shedding of horns by stags. The name used in the French Republican calendar meant "Rain-month" while for the Dutch, it was "Vegetation-Month". For Anglo-Saxons, it was the month of "Kale (or Cabbage) Sprout" and in the traditional Japanese calendar it was the month of "more clothes", probably in reference to the growth of vegetation. The present English name of "February" is derived from a Latin word for the feast of purification which was observed in ancient Rome in preparation for the new year which originally began in March. In Japanese tradition, purity is important and many Japanese rituals aim at purification. In the Old Testament also, there are various commandments related to purification. According to the 12th chapter of Leviticus, a woman is unclean for a period after giving birth to a child and must follow certain rules to be purified. The purification of Jesus' mother, Mary, is noted in Luke 2:22 and in some Christian churches, the Feast of the Purification of Mary is observed this month. In modern life, the need for purity is recognized in relation to food and living conditions, but the need for our hearts and minds to be purified is of even greater importance. Spiritual cleansing that comes from the Holy Spirit is required. The Christian belief related to spiritual purification is found in the First Letter of John, chapter 1, verses 5-9. (387)
Khaki Camouflage
02/02/13
Some people like to stand out in a crowd and be recognized. For that reason they may wear colorful clothes or special ornaments that attract the attention of others. On the other hand, some people try to blend in with the crowd and be inconspicuous, avoiding any attention-attracting elements. During battles in which airplanes fly overhead seeking to identify the location of enemy fighters, troops on the ground avoid calling attention to themselves through camouflage. This is a means of concealing oneself by blending in with the natural surroundings, following the example of the lizard, known as a chameleon, which changes its color to blend in with its environment. Scientific camouflage was particularly developed by the French during the First World War to hide military objectives and industrial plants and was increasingly used by army troops to harmonize their uniforms, helmets and equipment with the colors of leaves and brush. In fact, the "mud-colored" khaki uniforms now used by many armed forces was originally a camouflage for troops in dusty surroundings, first used in 1847. "Khaki", derived from a Persian word meaning "dust", may denote either a color (light olive or yellowish brown) or a sturdy cloth of that color and is now the color of the uniforms worn by Boy Scouts also. Japanese tradition emphasizes blending in with the group while the American tradition encourages individuals to stand out. Harmonizing with one's surroundings and utilizing one's individual talents are both important, but an underlying spirit of humility and love should characterize them both. (381)
St. Valentine's Day
02/02/15
In the Roman Catholic Church tradition, there are over 6,500 persons who have been designated "saints" and are, consequently, considered worthy of veneration. Each of these "saints" has been allotted a certain day of the year as his or her feast day; the 14th day of February has been designated "St. Valentine's Day." In response to the question "Who was St. Valentine?" a clear and decisive answer cannot be given. There are at least two Saint Valentines who share February 14th as their feast day. One of them is described as a priest of Rome and another was the bishop of Interamna, located north of Rome. Both of these men were executed for their faith, becoming martyrs, in the second half of the third century. The custom of expressing love to one's sweetheart on this day may be related to the old belief in Europe that birds began to mate on February 14th. Or it may be an attempt to Christianize an ancient Roman feast that was observed around that time. It was in the 17th century that the custom of sending a greeting or a gift, called a "valentine", to one's sweetheart developed. Nowadays in the West, it is customary for men to give a valentine to a girlfriend or to his wife, but in present-day Japan, chocolate makers have influenced public opinion so that it is the lady who is expected to give a gift to one or more men--including her superiors, to whom she feels obligated. It is hoped that recipients will return the favor by giving some white chocolates to the giver one month later, on "White Day", March 14th. Such customs should stimulate us to consider what is the real meaning of "love". (390)
Shakespeare
02/02/17
One of the clubs in this retirement community is the Drama Readers Club. At club meetings, famous dramas are read and members are assigned particular parts to read. At a recent meeting of the Literary Club, scenes from five of Shakespeare's dramas were presented by 24 readers. The dramas from which the scenes were taken were: Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Merchant of Venice and Taming of the Shrew. A reference book states that "Family Records show 44 different spellings of the surname [Shakespeare]." William Shakespeare is considered "the greatest playwright who ever lived" and his influence is evident in the classical English translation of the Bible, known as the Authorized Version, or the King James Version. Whether it was a purposeful recognition of Shakespeare's influence or simply chance, it is interesting to note that in the Authorized Version of the well-known 46th Psalm, the 46th word from the beginning is "shake" and the 46th word from the end is "spear". This is how that Psalm begins and ends: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof." "He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge." (389)
Vacuum
02/02/21
Recently, I climbed up the step ladder I had put under the panel that covers the opening to our attic where we store things we do not use very often. After removing the panel, I entered the attic, changed a few things around and added a couple of boxes. In the process, I attracted some particles of the insulation found there and brought some back down to the room below. Consequently, although I do not make use of it as often as I should, I used our vacuum cleaner to clean up the little mess I had made. While doing so, I thought of the meaning of the word "vacuum" and the various ways it has been used. Derived from a Latin word meaning "empty", it denotes a space empty of matter. There are a number of terms that include the word "vacuum", including vacuum cleaner, vacuum bottle, vacuum pump and vacuum tube. As a verb, "vacuum" means to use a vacuum cleaner and that day I vacuumed the whole house. There is an old saying which has been widely accepted that "Nature abhors a vacuum" and the Dutch philosopher, Spinoza, quoted it in his "Ethics", but the Italian scientists, Galileo and Torricelli, showed that it was not so. The American story writer, Tennessee Williams, has written that "A vacuum is . . . a lot better than some of the stuff nature replaces it with." Bible commentators may also make use of the traditional saying when explaining the words of Jesus in Luke 11: 24-26 in which he makes clear that even if evil thoughts and desires are discarded from our hearts and minds, unless they are replaced with good alternatives, our final condition may be yet worse than before. (385)
Birthdays
02/02/22
The third Monday of February is a holiday in the United States of America. Called Presidents' Day, it honors two of the most famous and highly respected presidents, whose birthdays occur in the middle of this month. Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, served during the Civil War and is remembered for his short but meaningful Gettysburg Address. In the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. C., there is a large statue of this president sitting in an armchair. His birthday is February 12th. The country's first president was George Washington and there is a 170-meter tall monument in his honor in Washington. President Washington's birthday is now observed on February 22nd (which is also the birthday of our daughter-in-law) but for the first 19 years of his life, it was celebrated on February 11th. It was after the British parliament replaced the Julian calendar with the Gregorian calendar in 1752, that his birthday was changed. I also have had a change in the date of my birthday. Until I applied for Social Security when I became 65 years old, the 16th day of a certain month was my birthday and that is the date that appeared on all official and unofficial documents. When I submitted my application form for Social Security, however, I was told that, according to their files, my birthday is the 11th day of that month. I presume that sometime in the past, someone did not make a full rounded circle in the number 6 and it was mistaken for a 1 and was entered into the computer files as an 11 instead of a 16. Now I must remember to use that mistaken date of birth when writing on Social Security documents. (391)
Bible
02/02/24
The word "paper" is derived from "papyrus", a tall grasslike plant, or reed, that grows in water, from which the Egyptians manufactured a material for writing on. Papyrus was exported to Greece, where there were many writers, from the Phoenician city of Byblos. The Greeks then coined the word "biblos" from the name of that city to signify a "book". The diminutive of "biblos" is "biblion", literally meaning "little book" and the plural of "biblion" is "biblia". This is the root of the English word "bible". As a common noun, "bible" signifies a book considered authoritative in its field. When capitalized, however, this word denotes the sacred book of Christianity which is composed of 66 "little books", 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. The Greek word "biblia" is used in the last verse of the Gospel of John, where it is written that if all the things that Jesus did were written down, the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." Daniel Webster, a well-known American lawyer, statesman and orator stated: "I have read the Bible through many times, and now make it a practice to read it through once every year. It is a book of all others for lawyers, as well as divines; and I pity the man who cannot find in it a rich supply of thought and rules for conduct." The English philosopher, John Locke, wrote: "The Bible is one of the greatest blessings bestowed by God on the children of men. It has God for its author; salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture for its matter. It is all pure, all sincere, nothing too much, nothing wanting." (393)
Library
02/02/27
Before the invention of paper, the inner bark of certain trees provided the material on which writing could be done. In Latin, this was called "liber", which came to mean "book" and it is from this word that the place where books are kept is called a "library". The largest library in the world is the Library of Congress, in Washington, D. C., which has over 55 million items on every conceivable subject in many different languages on bookshelves that have a total length of about 435 kilometers. It has been said that "a library is a place where someone can find what he wants to know if he can find someone who knows the place where it is." Now that many libraries have computers, the search for a particular book, a particular author or a particular subject has become much easier. Many residents in this Penney Retirement Community are retired ministers or missionaries who have a continuing interest in books and the knowledge that is derived from them. Many of them have small libraries of their own in their individual residences, but there are two libraries operated by the Residents Association. One is located in a section of an apartment building, across the hall from the bank. The other is in a room adjacent to the lecture room in the church. The librarians and their staff are all volunteers serving under the direction of a Library Committee, whose chairperson is elected by the Residents Association. At the annual meeting of the Association early this month, I was chosen to serve in that capacity for this year. (392)