Daylight Saving Time
Spring and Fall
Rein/Reign/Rain
Railroad
Following Instructions
Ushers/Greeters
Cardinals/Popes
A Visit to a Zoo
Daylight Saving Time
05/04/04
The amount of daylight on a particular day of the year at a particular latitude is fixed. However, the hours of sunrise and sunset vary from day to day. During the spring and summer months, the sun rises earlier and sets later so there are more hours of daylight than in the fall and winter. In order to make more efficient use of the longer hours of daylight, clocks and watches in most areas of the United States of America are advanced one hour between the first Sunday of April and the last Sunday of October. This time change, which conserves electric power while providing more useable hours of daylight for activities in the late afternoon or evening, was first observed during the First World War. It was introduced again during the Second World War and later adopted as a fuel-saving measure during the energy crisis of the winter of 1973-74. Benjamin Franklin, when serving as the U.S. minister to France, wrote an article recommending the earlier opening and closing of shops to save the cost of lighting. Now, 200 years later, his recommendation is being followed. Not only the U.S.A. but also most areas of Canada and countries in the European Union as well as Russia observe the time change. Following the Pacific War, while Japan was under U. S. Occupation, daylight saving time was introduced there also, but it was unpopular in that country where nature and tradition are highly respected. Daylight saving time has been compared to an old Indian who cut off his blanket at one end and sewed it on to the other end to make it longer. During this season, we should reflect on how we make use of the limited time we have (Ephesians 5:15-16). (843)
Spring and Fall
05/04/06
As noted in the previous message, daylight saving time in the U. S. A. begins on the first Sunday of April and ends on the last Sunday of October. Thus, residents must adjust their clocks and watches on those days. But some people find it difficult to remember whether they should turn their clocks ahead one hour or back one hour. So the saying, "Spring ahead, Fall back,"was created to help them remember in which direction to move the hour hand on clocks and watches. In this statement, both "spring"and "fall"have a couple of different meanings. In fact, in the dictionary I usually use, there are 6 different definitions given for "spring"as an intransitive verb, 6 as a transitive verb and 16 as a noun. And there are 25 different definitions given for "fall"as a verb and 18 as a noun. In this saying, the word "spring"implies both the season of the year that precedes summer and a quick move forward. And the word "fall" signifies both autumn and a downward drop. Remembering this word, we turn our clocks an hour ahead in the spring and an hour back in the fall. A natural fountain or flow of water may also be called a "spring" and, in the New Testament Gospel of John, chapter 4, verse 14, Jesus referred to the spiritual refreshment he gives to believers as "a spring of water welling up to eternal life." To "fall"may mean to fail, but in the Old Testament book of Psalms, chapter 145, verse 14, we read the encouraging word that "The Lord upholds all those who fall." A healthy faith engenders new life and stimulates hope for the future. (844)
Rein/Reign/Rain
05/04/10
The spelling and pronunciation of many English words is very irregular. For example, there are three homophones beginning with "r," ending with "n" with the vowel sound between them pronounced the same as the letter "a." If that single letter were inserted between the two consonants, however, another word would be created with a different pronunciation. When spelled r-e-i-n, the word denotes a long, narrow leather strap attached to the bridle of a horse and used by a rider to control the horse. When spelled r-e-i-g-n, the word denotes the exercise of sovereign power or the term during which a sovereign rules. But the most commonly used word, spelled r-a-i-n, denotes the drops of water that fall from the sky. Rain is very important for both the life and beauty of the earth. According to the English essayist and poet, Samuel Johnson, "rain is good for vegetables, and for the animals who eat those vegetables, and for the animals who eat those animals." Different areas of the world have rainy seasons at different times of the year. "April showers bring May flowers" is a common saying here, but in Japan, the rainy season is in June, considered a month for weddings and graduation ceremonies in the U. S. A. Both my wife and I graduated from high school and university and were married in June. This year, we have been invited to participate in the 40th anniversary celebration of the Nagoya International School in Japan, which we helped establish and served in various capacities and which our children and grandchildren attend(ed), so we plan to spend the month of June in Japan and hope the rainy season there will be a mild one. (845)
Railroad
05/04/13
The common meaning of "railroad" is "a road laid with parallel steel rails along which cars carrying passengers or freight are drawn by locomotives." At first, horses pulled the freight cars, but, later, steam-powered engines were used. The first railroad in the United States of America was constructed in the state of Massachusetts in 1826 and a transcontinental railroad, from the east coast to the west coast, was completed in 1869. In colloquial American English, "railroad" is sometimes used as a verb, meaning "to rush through quickly, especially so quickly as to prevent careful consideration." It was this kind of "railroad" that came to my mind as I considered how to explain my first election to the Board of Directors of the Nagoya International School at its 40th anniversary celebration which my wife and I plan to attend in Nagoya in June. Plans for the establishment of this international school were made in 1963, a year we were on furlough from our missionary work in Japan. When we returned to Nagoya with our three children at the end of August in 1964, we helped clean up and prepare the dilapidated building which would be used for that school during its first year. All members of the newly established Board of Directors had already been elected, but certain influential Directors decided that I should also be on the Board. Since the president of the P.T.A. also serves on the Board, they decided that I should be elected president and that plan was realized at the first P.T.A. meeting. Consequently, I sometimes say that I was "railroaded" to become P.T.A. president and a member of the Board of Directors. (846)
Following Instructions
05/04/15
It was during the American Civil War that both sides of the conflict decided to tax personal incomes as a means of raising much needed revenues, but that income tax was only temporary. In 1913, when the 16th amendment to the Constitution was passed, Congress was officially given the right to collect taxes on income. In the U. S. A., April 15th is the deadline for filing federal income tax returns, so people who had income last year have been busy filling out the required documents. Instructions regarding how to fill out the tax forms are provided, but when various sources of income, including interest from stocks and bonds, pension funds, etc. as well as wages need to be reported, many people find it difficult to understand and follow the instructions and request specialists to prepare their returns. Many of us older folk find it difficult to understand various kinds of instructions because of the advances in technology. In regard to computers, for example, and the amazing "internet" to which they give us access, even when we are given instructions to follow, it is often difficult for us to do so. Cicero, the Roman orator and philosopher who lived in the first century before Christ, wrote: "the wise are instructed by reason; ordinary minds, by experience; the stupid, by necessity; and brutes, by instinct." Instructions are needed in all areas of life, especially in the moral area. Where such instructions are to be found and how to understand and follow them is a problem. According to the classical translation of the New Testament, scripture, inspired by God is profitable for "instruction in righteousness" (II Timothy 3:16). (847)
Ushers/Greeters
05/04/20
In some theaters, auditoriums, courtrooms or legislative chambers, there are attendants, who meet people at the entrance and may escort them to a seat. Such a person is called an gusher,h which is rooted in a Latin word meaning gentrance.h When a meeting place is crowded, it is helpful to have an usher usher a latecomer to a vacant seat. The gGentleman Usher of the Black Rod,h who carries a black wand surmounted by a gold lion, is the title of the officer responsible for maintaining order in the British House of Lords. Large churches that have rows of wooden benches with backs, called gpews,h usually have ushers that greet people at the entrance, called the gnarthex.h If there are church bulletins, which include announcements and an order of worship for the day, the ushers give them to those who enter. At the interdenominational church in our retirement community, designated ushers for each month greet those who enter by any of the three entrances, give them a bulletin and circulate the offering plates at the proper time. During this month of April, my wife and I are serving as ushers. We also served as the ggreetersh at a meeting of the Symposium Club this month. At meetings of this club, a lecture is given by one of the members on the special research he or she has done related to a certain subject. At such meetings, ggreetersh simply greet, or welcome, the people who attend. The common American method of greeting or welcoming guests is to shake hands with them or hug them, but my wife and I sometimes follow the Japanese custom of bowing to them as well to remind them of our years of service in that country. (848)
Cardinals/Popes
05/04/24
One meaning of "cardinal" is a dark red color. There is also a North American bird having that color that is called a "cardinal." My wife and I frequently see this kind of cardinal through our dining room window as it picks at the birdseed we have put in a container that hangs from a pole. A professional baseball team in the United States of America also bears that name as do a group of men in the Roman Catholic Church who wear red robes and who elect the official head of that church who is called the "pope," meaning "papa." Many years ago, an amusing article appeared in a Japanese newspaper about a conversation between a Japanese student and a Roman Catholic priest while the "St. Louis Cardinals" baseball team was playing in Japan and the church officials called "Cardinals" were meeting in Rome to select a pope. They had very different concepts in mind as they used that word, as well as such words as "St. Louis" and "Red Sox," "winning" and "losing," "following the rules" and the number of their "supporters" in Japan. Recently, the "College of Cardinals" met in Rome to elect the successor to Pope John Paul II, who passed away after serving in that office for 26 years. Because of the number of members of the Roman Catholic Church around the world and the great influence exerted by its leader, the character and outlook of the man chosen to hold that position is of worldwide interest. To take the place of the deceased pope who came from Poland, the 115 Cardinals chose a German bishop to take his place. The new pope has chosen to be called "Benedict," the 16th pope to have that name. There have also been 16 popes called "Gregory" and "John" is the only name that has been used by more popes, a total of 23. (849)
A Visit to a Zoo
05.04/28
There are a number of English words beginning with z-o-o which are related to animals, including "zoology," the biological science of animals, "zoography," the biological description of animals, "zoogeography," the biological study of the geographic distribution of animals, and "zoolatry," the worship of animals. A "zoo" is a place where many different kinds of animals from many different parts of the world are kept for people to see. In many zoos, the animals are confined to cages, but in the Jacksonville Zoo, which is located about one hour away from the retirement community where my wife and I live, it is not so. Rather, most of the animals are able to roam freely in large areas that resemble their native lands and it is the human visitors to the zoo that must stay within the fenced-in walkways that have been prepared. Recently we went to that zoo by bus along with 30 other residents of this community. After entering the zoo, we did not stay together as a group but were able to visit the areas where the animals we wanted to see were living and return to the entrance after two hours. Walking around the zoo, we saw large elephants and rhinoceros, tall giraffes and hefty gorillas, lions and leopards, zebras and llamas, kangaroos and crocodiles, large and small birds of many different colors and shapes, reptiles and fish and many animals whose names we had never read or heard before. We were amazed at the great variety of living things in the world and we find it difficult to believe or imagine that such variety, beauty and uniqueness developed by chance, apart from a purposeful Creator and Designer. (850)