Bald Eagles
Seven
July/Julius Caesar
Florida Ceded to the U. S. A.
Drivers’ Licenses/Tall People
St. James the Greater
Transatlantic Cable
Drivers Licenses

Bald Eagles
07/07/02

It was 231 years ago, on July 4, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, that the Continental Congress, representing the 13 British colonies on the eastern coast of North America, adopted the Declaration of Independence. On that same day, the Congress appointed a committee to suggest a pattern for a seal of the United States of America. After many delays, the seal was finally adopted in 1872. It shows an American bald eagle with a ribbon in its mouth on which is written the Latin words “E pluribus unum,” which mean “One out of many.” Actually, the bald eagle is not bald, but the white feathers on its head over its dark body gives that impression. In one talon, the eagle holds arrows representing war, but in the other talon is an olive branch of peace. Although bald eagles have been considered scavengers and dangerous predators, they were hunted for their feathers and there was concern that they would not survive in the country that chose them as its symbol. In 1940, Congress passed a law that made killing a bald eagle illegal. After DDT, the insecticide used to control mosquitoes was banned in 1972, however, the eagle population increased and is now back to normal. Government biologists have counted nearly 10,000 mating pairs of bald eagles, including at least one pair in each of the 48 contiguous states. Eagles are also considered symbols of strength and in the Old Testament book of Isaiah, chapter 40, verse 31, it is written: “those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (1072)

Seven
07/07/07

On this 7th day of the 7th month of the 7th year of this century, I am reminded of the special significance this odd number has in Western thought. I am also reminded of the talk I gave as the representative of the group of new residents of this retirement community that entered in 1999. The welcome celebration was held on November 19 of that year and this is a quotation from my talk. “From one perspective, today is a special, unique, auspicious day. In English, ‘odd’ means ‘strange.’ Most people are not happy to be called ‘odd,’ but in the Orient, ‘odd numbers’ are lucky numbers. Festival days in Japan are held on 1/1, 3/3, 5/5. 7/7, 9/9, and a 7-5-3 celebration is held on 11/15. Today, November 19th, is the only date in this century, in this millennium, and, possibly, in world history that consists only of the first and last odd digits in 8 places (4 of each) in the date: 11/19/1999.” According to the creation story in the beginning of the Old Testament, the world was created in 7 days and, consequently, there are 7 days in a week in the calendar used in most of the Western world. The names of the days of the week in many languages are derived from what were considered the 7 planets. All the oceans of the world are included in the 7 seas and the 7th heaven is considered the highest point in the universe, a state of great joy and satisfaction. From ancient times, attention has been attracted to the 7 hills of Rome and the 7 wonders of the world. In the Bible, 7 is a special number and in its final book, the apocalyptic book of Revelation, we find 7 candlesticks, 7 stars, 7 churches of Asia, 7 trumpets, 7 spirits, 7 horns, 7 vials, 7 plagues, a 7-headed monster and a lamb with 7 eyes. (1073)

July/Julius Caesar
07/07/11

This seventh month of the year in the Gregorian calendar is called “July.” Do you know why? In the ancient Roman calendar, it was originally the fifth month, named “Quintilis,” derived from the Latin word for five, but when two extra months were added at the beginning of the year, it became the seventh month. In 44 B.C., the year that the Roman statesman, military leader and writer, Julius Caesar, died, the name of that month in which he had been born, was changed to “July” by the Roman senate to honor him; an extra day was added to that month so it would not have fewer days than other months. Seventeen years later, in 27 B.C., the name of the following month was changed to August, in honor of Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman Empire. The term “Caesarean section,” signifying “a surgical incision through abdominal wall and uterus, performed to extract a fetus” is rooted in “the belief that Julius Caesar was delivered by this operation.” Although he never officially became “emperor,” he became a powerful dictator and was responsible for the “Julian calendar,” introduced in Rome in 46 B.C., which was eventually replaced by the Gregorian calendar. In English, the first syllable in “Caesar” is pronounced “see,” but in Japanese and German, it is pronounced “kai,” the root of “kaiser” and “czar.” At the beginning of chapter 2 in the Gospel according to Luke, we read that Jesus was born during the reign of Caesar Augustus and in the middle of chapter 19, when Jesus was asked whether it was right to pay taxes to Caesar, he pointed to a coin which could be used for that purpose, on which was the portrait of Caesar. His answer was “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” The Bible teaches that human beings were made in the image of God, and should give themselves to their Creator and heavenly Father. (1074)

Florida Ceded to the U. S. A.
07/07/15

The English words spelled s-e-e-d and c-e-d-e are both pronounced the same, which means they are “homonyms.” “Seed” may be either a noun, signifying the small beginning of a large plant, or a verb, denoting the sowing of seeds. In the 13th chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew, are a number of parables of Jesus related to seeds and the importance of the soil in which they are sown. “Cede” is a verb, signifying the official surrender of a possession. The state of Florida, where my wife and I are now living, is a peninsula in the southeastern area of the United States of America. Its name, derived from the Spanish word for “flowers,” was chosen by the Spanish adventurer and explorer, Juan Ponce de Leon. It is also known as the “Sunshine State” and we do have many sunny days during the year, but this year many hurricanes are also predicted. After Ponce de Leon’s arrival in 1513, Frenchmen also came and established settlements. Eventually, certain areas of the territory now known as Florida, including the long western area called the “Panhandle,” was claimed by Spain, France, Britain and the United States. In 1819, Spain abandoned its claim to West Florida and ceded East Florida to the United States in return for $5 million, which the United States agreed to pay. A treaty approved by the Spanish government and the U. S. Senate was finally formalized 186 years ago this week, on July 17, 1821. The following year, when Florida was organized as a territory with its present boundaries, General Andrew Jackson became its first governor. In 1829, Andrew Jackson was elected as the 7th president of the United States and in 1845, Florida became the 27th state of the U. S. A. (1075)

Drivers’ Licenses/Tall People
07/07/19

Although my Japanese Driver’s License has now expired, I still have it in my desk drawer. Looking at it and comparing it with my Florida Driver’s License, I find that the Florida license has two items that are not included in the Japanese license. One is “SEX” and the other is “HGT” (the abbreviation of “height”). In a future message, I will explain the problem my wife had when she renewed her Florida State License last year related to the first item, but in this message, I will focus on the second item. I presume it is included in American licenses to help identify the driver. The “5-11” which follows the “HGT:” on my license signifies that my height is 5 feet 11 inches (about 180 centimeters). According to Aristotle, the Greek philosopher in the 4th century B.C., “Personal beauty requires that one should be tall; little people may have charm and elegance,” but not beauty. In the West, there may be a preference for tall people (not only for basketball players), but a recent newspaper article stated “Americans are no longer Earth’s tallest people; Europeans outgrew us.” Holland is now “considered the tallest country in the world, in which the typical man measures 6 feet, a good 2 inches more than his average American counterpart.” I recall that in crowded trains in Japan, I was usually able to look over the heads of the others, but this article stated, “young adults in Japan and other prosperous Asian countries now stand nearly as tall as Americans do.” It was also noted that “the same things that make you tall—a nutritious diet, good prenatal care and a healthy childhood—also benefit you in other ways.” However, our inner, spiritual health and strength is more important for a meaningful life than our outward, physical appearance. (1076)

St. James the Greater
07/07/24

In the New Testament, the word “saint” is used for all Christian believers (Acts 9:13, 32; Romans 1:7; 15:25, 26, 31; 16:15, etc.). Now, as a general term, it may be used to denote any extremely virtuous person, but in a more specific sense it denotes a person who has been officially recognized and canonized by the Papacy in the Roman Catholic Church, which also decides on a special feast day on which the saint is to be remembered. July 25 is the feast day of St. James the Greater. In the first five books in the New Testament (4 Gospels and the Acts), there are three different men named James, which is derived from the name Jacob. That was the name of one of Jesus’ brothers (Mark 6:3) and of two of his apostles (Mark 3:13-19). James, the son of Zebedee and brother of John, was a fisherman and one of the first disciples called by Jesus (Mark 1:19-20). He became one of the three most favored ones (Mark 5:37; 9:2; 14:33) and the first one to be killed for his faith (Acts 12:2). He has been called James the Greater to distinguish him from the other apostle named James (the son of Alphaeus), who is called James the Minor. The head of the Church in Jerusalem in the apostolic age was probably James, the brother of Jesus, who is considered the writer of the New Testament Letter of James, even though it begins with these words: “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” St. James the Greater has become the patron saint of Spain. According to Spanish tradition, James traveled and preached in Spain before he was martyred in Jerusalem. (1077)

Transatlantic Cable
07/07/27

In 1492, when Christopher Columbus sailed west from Europe, hoping to arrive in Asia, it took about six weeks for him to reach the “new world” of the American continent. Names given to cities, states or areas reflect the sense of “newness” that colonists from European countries experienced when they settled there. The northeastern area of the United States of America, called New England, includes the states of New York, New Jersey and New Hampshire and the cities of New City and New London. The easternmost provinces of Canada also are Nova Scotia (the Latin term for “New Scotland”) and Newfoundland, which has a different pronunciation than the three words it includes. Newfoundland is the easternmost point of North America, so when the dream of connecting Europe and North America by an underwater cable through which telegraphic messages could be sent instantaneously was pursued, it was only natural that Newfoundland was chosen as the western limit of the cable. Ships carrying the cable were sent from Valentia, Ireland and Newfoundland. Because the cable broke, pulled apart or was not properly insulated, the first four attempts to lay a cable on the ocean floor were not successful, but 141 years ago this week, on July 27, 1866, Cyrus Field, the 47-year-old practical idealist who had been the stimulant of the project over the years, was able to hook up the cable lines in Newfoundland and messages were received from Ireland. A new method of communication across the Atlantic Ocean was achieved and the world seemed to get smaller as instantaneous communication, both horizontal (between places on earth) and vertical (between earth and heaven) became possible. (1078)

Drivers Licenses
07/07/31

In a recent message, I noted the difference in the drivers’ licenses issued by the state of Florida and the country of Japan. On the Florida license, there are two items not included on the Japanese license—one related to the sex and the other related to the height of the driver. Today’s message is related to an experience my wife had when she renewed her Florida “Driver License.” In the letter she received from the state office informing her that it was time to renew her license, she was surprised to read what seemed to her to be an inducement to join the armed forces. As she read it, she wondered if they knew how old she was. Looking carefully at her “Driver License,” she was surprised to discover that the license she had been using for the past six years and which she often presented for her identification had an “M” for “Male” under the term “Sex,” rather than an “F” for “Female.” The color photograph of her face on the license is clearly that of a pretty lady and neither she nor anyone else who had looked at the license over the past six years noticed that she was listed as a male. When she went to have her license renewed, she informed the clerk of the mistake and was told that about an hour earlier an angry man had complained about being listed as a female on his license. As her new license was being prepared, she was talking to the photographer, when suddenly he stopped talking, for he suddenly realized that he had not changed the letter on the new license, so another photograph had to be taken. Although it is customary to destroy expired licenses, I requested that I be given her old license to provide evidence of the validity of the story I would tell people. In response, her old license was cut in half and the relevant half was given to me. In a subsequent message, I will tell of the experience our daughter had in getting her driver’s license in Japan. (1079)