February/Leap Year
“American _______”
“Japan(ese)________”
The Morikami
Safari
“Lame Duck”

February/Leap Year
08/02/05

In the ancient Roman calendar, there were only ten months in a year. That is the reason the last four months in the present Gregorian calendar have names beginning with prefixes related to Latin words for 7 (sept), 8 (oct), 9 (nov) and 10 (dec). About 700 years before the Christian era, two additional months were added and placed at the beginning of the year, without changing the names of the other months. The name of the first month was derived from the two-faced Roman god, Janus, the god of all beginnings. The second month was named “February,” derived from a Latin word meaning “feast of purification” because such a feast was held at that time of year, before the beginning of spring. In 46 B.C.E., Julius Caesar, instituted a revised calendar, known as the Julian or Old Style calendar. In order to keep the seasons of the year aligned with the twelve months, related to the moon, and the 365 days, related to the sun, some years require an extra day. Seven months have 31 days and four have 30, but when an extra day is needed (every four years), it is added to the 28 days of February. Years in which February has 29 days are called “leap years” for in those years, the months following February “leap” ahead an extra day. In an ordinary year, a certain day of the month will fall on the next day of the week that it fell on the previous year, but in a leap year, it leaps over that day to the next. Since this year (2008) is a “leap year,” the first day of March, which was a Thursday last year, will “leap over” Friday and be on Saturday this year. During this “leap year,” let us remember Jesus’ words to his disciples in Luke 6:23: “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy.” (1123)

“American _______”
08/02/06

When composing these messages, I often make use of a dictionary. I do not have an unabridged dictionary, but I do have two dictionaries I have been using for many years. The older one, Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language, was printed in 1957. The later one, The American Heritage Dictionary, was printed in 1985. Fortunately, there are more recently published dictionaries, including unabridged ones, in a nearby library, which I can make use of. I find it interesting, at times, to compare my two dictionaries, related to both the words included and their definitions. For example, in the older dictionary, there are nine common two-word terms beginning with “American:” “American aloe” (a plant), “Beauty” (a rose), “cheese” (mild Cheddar cheese), “eagle” (a bald eagle), “dialects” (regional varieties of spoken American English), “English” (English as spoken and written in the United States), “Indian” (of an aboriginal race of North America), “leopard” (jaguar) and “plan” (a system of hotel operation in which the price charged to guests covers room, service and meals). In the more recent dictionary, there are seven such words: “American Beauty,” “cheese,” “dream” (an American ideal of social equality and material success), “eagle,” “elk” (a large North American deer), “English” and “Indian.” Of course, there are more recently created words, related to computers and modern technology, for example, that are not found in either of these dictionaries. I was reminded again as I compared these two dictionaries how words and their particular meanings change over the years. We should remember that words written at a certain time under particular circumstances should be understood and interpreted with that particular time and situation in mind. (1124)

“Japan(ese)________"
08/02/10

This message is a continuation of the previous one, but considering two-word terms beginning with “Japan” or “Japanese” in place of “American.” In my older dictionary, there are two two-word terms beginning with “Japan” and four beginning with “Japanese.” Those beginning with “Japan” are: “Japan clover” (cloverlike plant of the bean family) and “current” (warm current in the Pacific, flowing east of Formosa and northeast past Japan). Those beginning with “Japanese” are: “Japanese beetle” (green-and-brown beetle, originally from Japan, which eats leaves, fruit and grasses, and is damaging to crops), “ivy” (a woody vine of China and Japan, bearing three-lobed leaves), “persimmon” (Asiatic tree of the ebony family, bearing large, soft, edible, red or orange-colored fruit) and “quince” (spiny shrub with large pink or red flowers and hard, fragrant, greenish-yellow fruit). In the later dictionary “Japan clover” and “Japan Current” (with capital C) are included, along with “Japan wax” (pale-yellow solid wax obtained from berries of certain plants and used in soaps, food packaging, and as a substitute for beeswax). In that dictionary, the ten two-word terms beginning with “Japanese” are: “Japanese andromeda” (shrub, native to Japan, having small, white flowers), “beetle,” “cedar” (evergreen tree, native to Japan, having short, inward-curving needles, soft, durable, fragrant wood), “iris” (plant, native to Asia, having large, flat flowers), “ivy,” “leaf” (Chinese evergreen), “maple” (shrub or small tree, native to eastern Asia, having decorative, deeply lobed, reddish foliage), “quince,” “river fever” (scrub typhus [=acute infectious disease common in Asia, transmitted by a mite and characterized by sudden fever, painful swelling of lymphatic glands, skin lesions, skin rash]) and “spurge” (Pachysandra [=plant native to Japan, having evergreen leaves and inconspicuous white flowers]). (1125)

The Morikami
08/02/16

One hundred years ago, a Japanese graduate of New York University returned to Japan and invited a number of bachelors to join him in his plan to establish a Japanese farming colony in the southern part of Florida in the United States of America. The settlement, “The Yamato Colony,” eventually included Japanese women and families and had its own post office and railway station. One of the young men involved in this project was George Morikami, who remained in the colony during wars and economic crises, even after the others had left. He continued to grow and sell fruit and vegetables to a growing South Florida population, after losing $250,000 in the Florida bust in 1925. A few years before his death in 1976 at the age of 90, he gave 200 acres (80 hectares) of land to the Palm Beach County, in which he had lived for most of his life. On this land, there has now been established “The Morikami, Museum and Japanese Gardens.” The museum, built with Japanese architecture, features more than 5000 Japanese art objects and artifacts, a 225-seat theater, an authentic tea house with viewing gallery, library and classrooms and includes many exhibitions. It is the largest U. S. museum devoted to the living culture of Japan. The tea ceremony, Japanese art and language are taught to those who are interested. Surrounding the museum are expansive Japanese gardens with strolling paths, resting areas, tropical bonsai collections, small lakes and waterfalls. It is said to be one of the largest and best Japanese-style gardens outside of Japan. Recently, my wife and I joined 11 other community residents to make the 6-hour trip by cars to The Morikami. We were deeply impressed with all we saw there. (1126)

Safari
08/02/21

On our recent trip by car to the southern area of this long southeastern state, following our visit to the Morikami, noted in the previous message, we visited another very interesting place in the city of West Palm Beach in Palm Beach County. It is called the Lion Country Safari. The English word, “safari,” denotes “a journey or hunting expedition, especially in eastern Africa.” Although rooted in the African language of Swahili, it is derived from an Arabic verb meaning to travel. The Lion Country Safari is spread over 300 acres of land, divided into seven sections in which over 800 wild animals from around the world roam freely. They include giraffes, elephants, zebras, lions, chimpanzees, rhinoceroses, alligators, tortoises, flamingos, ostriches and pelicans. Usually, it is only in zoos that we can see such animals, kept in cages or very small open areas. There are some wire fences in this safari that separate certain areas, but visitors are permitted to drive their cars for over four miles through this wildlife preserve. They are cautioned to drive very slowly and to keep the car windows closed. Convertibles are not permitted to enter the safari grounds. Although we could stop along the way, and even touch some of the animals, feeding them is forbidden. At certain times and locations, talks are given by certified individuals regarding the history and characteristics of certain animals that are nearby. This closer look at some of the marvelous animals in various parts of the world stimulates many questions regarding how the world and the living creatures in it developed into their present state. Was this the result of meaningless chance or was there some meaningful purpose behind and under the movements? (1127)

“Lame Duck”
08/02/26

There is a pond next to the nursing home in this retirement community. When walking around the pond, we often see ducks along the shore or in the water. I have never seen a lame duck there or anywhere else, but I can imagine how difficult it would be for a duck to have an injured or broken leg. In the United States of America, the Tuesday after the first Monday of November (November 11, this year) is General Election Day. On that day, Senators will be elected to 6-year terms; Representatives and a President will be elected to 4-year terms. Until 1933, congressmen and presidents who failed to get reelected in the November election remained in office until March, but the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, states that their terms end in January. This amendment is sometimes called the “Lame Duck Amendment,” because the period during which these government leaders remained in office was shortened and their influence was lessened. An old hunter's maxim was “Never waste powder on a dead duck.” Although the candidates who were not reelected are not “dead,” they are considered “lame” and the term, “lame duck” is now used to designate an elected officeholder “continuing in office during the period between failure to win an election and the inauguration of a successor.” The Constitution prescribes 4-year terms for presidents, but does not proscribe reelections. From the first president to the 32nd, however, no president served more than two terms. Seven years after Franklin Roosevelt was elected to a 4th term in 1944, the 22nd Amendment was passed, limiting presidents to two terms, so the present President Bush has been a “lame duck” president since the 2004 election. (1128)