The Truth of Thanksgiving
giving thanks should not be shut up in a single day
While most Americans sort of believe the picturesque story of a convivial feast between the 51 or so surviving Pilgrims and around 90 Native Americans, perhaps from the Wampanoag Nation, the truth is far more complicated and perhaps a good deal murkier.
The Pilgrims had hardly explored the shores of Cape Cod for four days before they had robbed the graves of my ancestors and stolen their corn and beans. ~ Wamsutta Frank James, Wampanoag activist
Today, especially today, we can understand that within months of the disease ravaged Pilgrims winter 1620 arrival in North America, the native population was decimated by European illnesses. In addition there is strong evidence that the Puritans set the pattern for white settlers in America by seizing Native Lands, killing and enslaving the indigenous populations. Perhaps you could check out the Pequot Massacre of 1637.
As it goes, if there was ever a Thanksgiving Feast at all there is no evidence that the Wampanoags were there, or were even invited.
Being very religious people, it is more likely that the Pilgrims were celebrating a delayed Michaelmas, a harvest festival honouring the archangel Michael, who is a symbol of good triumphing over evil. Back then Michaelmas Day was October 10th. It gets more complex than that because in the protracted switch from the Juilan to Gregorian calendar from 10 to 18 days were removed from the year. That happened in 1752 in the USA. So, only God, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Sarah Josepha Hale, and the Wampanoag peoples know when Thanksgiving happened, if it’s not just a popular myth or a political invention.
Personally I believe that any feast, festival, or religious observance at this time of year is directly related to the autumn equinox, when our ancient ancestors would bemoan / celebrate that the day and night were of exactly equal length. From then on the days would get shorter, the nights longer, the weather colder, and winter would soon come howling in.
At least our English festival at this time of year, Guy Fawkes Night, is based on hard historical fact.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
Stonehenge is just a calendar
Songs on Saturday ~ I put a spell on you
you say ‘witch’ like it’s a bad thing…..
Some very sexually confident women are as close to being a witch, an enchantress, as most men are ever likely to meet. It tends to make for a very one-sided relationship. I should know, I’ve been exactly where Annie Lennox is singing about. After a while it stops being fun.
If you fall in love with a witch you are in for an interesting, tortured time.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
for all a man knows
a which may be lying right next to him
Feminine Strength
out of the strong came forth sweetness
Unless you are English or a bible scholar you may be unfamiliar with the above quotation, which is derived from the story of Samson and the Lion and a woman from Timnah. It’s a narrative and an allegory. Psychologically, the interesting thing is the difference between masculine and feminine strength.
Typically, masculine strength is brute force and aggression that can be measured in foot-pounds, whereas feminine strength is far more elusive and mysterious. In the biblical story the lion is an expression of male energy and sexual potency. The sweet honey is an expression of female patience, sensitivity, and complexity. Without both the story has no point at all. So, some strong warrior guy goes out and kills a lion ~ that happens all the time in the bible. That story would have little point to it.
However, if you add the feminine sweetness, and throw in the woman from Timnah for good measure, then what we have is an allegory which seeks to illustrate that unbridled strength and aggression without control is both pointless and dangerous. An out of control bulldozer isn’t anything anyone wants to have to deal with.
Many men fail to grasp that point. A lot of guys think that what it takes to be a real man is the ability to sink copious quantities of beer and then beat down on the little guy. Or drink copious quantities of beer, drive home from the pub, and treat his wife / girlfriend like a piece of meat. That type of guy tends to be unsuccessful, or an alcoholic, or a workshy petty criminal ~ or all three.
More successful men realise that feminine qualities like; acceptance, diplomacy, patience, perseverance, understanding, and the ability to communicate effectively are just as important, (if not more important), than qualities such as physical courage and endurance. Some men eschew these feminine strengths as being beneath them, or unmanly, or associated with the rainbow community. Reality says that a hell of a lot of men just find things like diplomacy, understanding, and talking, far too difficult for them to cope with.
I had to learn the feminine strengths and skills as part of my career in International Finance ~ if I wanted to make more money than my trophy wife could spend. More recently, I learned those feminine strengths courtesy of a self-confessed black widow.
Really strong men control their masculine qualities with the feminine qualities they are willing to learn and use.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
out of the eater, something to eat
out of the strong, something sweet
Music ~ Lorena McKennitt
music can free your soul from the dungeon of your mind
Quite a few of my friends aren’t doing so well right now. If it comes to that, neither England nor America are doing well ~ both our nations are in the doldrums and suffering deeply. Perhaps this healing music from Lorena McKennitt can sooth all our troubled souls and hurting bodies.
Please listen peacefully, and know that someone cares deeply about you.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
the ocean is mystical
I hope it will soothe your soul
Random Jottings ~ Vampyres
loving a vampire usually ends quite badly
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never kiss a vampire in the pale moonlight
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when vampires go flying and bats are seen
the moon laughs and whispers
’tis near Halloween
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she told me it was love at first bite
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vampires embrace the moonlight shadows
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‘I have a bloodthirsty mind, and you’re on it Darling’
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loving a vampire ~ a short life full of draining incidents
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every good vampyre deserves a chance to bite a virgin’s neck
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she’s the only vampire I know who takes her phone into her coffin
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
oral sex with a vampire is interesting
Scenes on Sunday ~ Red Skies
red sky at night, sailors delight
red sky in the morning, sailor take warning
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
the skies speak in a thousand colours
lost love’s journey’s ending
the heart’s darkest wilderness is not a place of this Earth
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I have journeyed far
through Xanadu, Samarkand, Shangri-la, and Elsinore
I traveled not for love alone
but to fulfill my quest, meet my fate, and free my soul
my heart torn apart by ardour
I wandered by the mountains of the moon’s raging river
in darkest passion’s burning fervour
I could take the pain and stand the rain as should warrior
a warrior proud, steadfast, alone forever
I wouldst take you far to Shangri-la, a land of never never
so join me, my princess most proud and fair
be my Lady, my Goddess, Queen of Camelot and Elsinore
to be together, as it ’twere long ago and before
lost love’s journey’s ending, together now and forevermore
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
darkness cannot drive out darkness
only the dawn’s early light can do that
Songs on Saturday ~ Sting
a lost man, in a lost world, on an endless quest for faith and truth
This song is for a friend of mine, who oft gives me the faith and strength to carry on when all seems lost. When I’m down and troubled she lends a helping hand, she helps me to get up again, and strive once more to be a really great guy, living a very cool life.
A bit of Shakespeare, some Thomas Malory, and a reference to Alfred, Lord Tennyson in the video accompanying this song. Who knew that Sting was educated and well-read?
King Canute’s real name was Cnut. What a great T-shirt logo, if you were brave enough.
Please listen as you look to see if you have any great literature on your Kindle.
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
knighthood’s dauntless deed
beauty’s matchless eye
Food on Friday ~ Rosehips
rose hips are the fruit of the flower of love
no matter what they say, rose hips are indeed a fruit
High summer presses its heat and humidity down on us, and yet in England the hedgerows are already beginning to ripen with wild harvest. One of the hedgerow’s natural bounties is the false fruit of the dog rose, (rosa canina), more commonly known in England as rose hips.
You can do a lot of stuff with rose hips, from making syrups and jams, to my preferred use which is to make a tincture of rose hips and rosemary in apple cider vinegar. As well as sweetening and adding taste to the cider vinegar. the rose hips also add diuretic, lithontriptic, and mild laxative qualities to your brew. As for rosemary, this stuff is almost a cure-all. I just add an odd number of fresh sprigs to the bottle, (for good fortune it must be an odd number.)
The finished product, (ready in about 6 weeks and will keep for a year or a lot longer), is a great basis for a salad dressing. Diluted in water it is also a first class tonic and as part of a whole-body cleanse. There may be no truth whatsoever in the persistent rumour that this concoction is a very potent female aphrodisiac. However, it is well known to be a cure for practically whatever that ails you.
You can also make a true tincture of rose hips using medicinal alcohol, (or vodka). For those of us with a real taste for booze, just make a rose hip brandy or vodka. I have even heard of rose hip gin, and although I’ve never tasted it, I have it on very good authority, from a very close friend, that this booze is the bomb.
The dog rose is an important plant to the herbalist, because the leaves, petals, and hips all have their uses. In a hedgerow, the plant may reach six feet or more in height, its flowers can be anything from white to a delicate pink, and if will guard its bounty with some particularly persistent thorns. (You can also use the hips, leaves, and petals of the cultivated rose, but I would look for a rose variety that’s as close to the wild rose as possible.)
Some say that you must be very careful when picking fruits, berries, and salad leaves from the wild ~ the uninitiated may pick themselves a deadly poison. And that everything belongs to somebody, so be discreet. All I know is that the mixture of rose hips, rosemary, and organic apple cider vinegar is as near to a sorcerer’s brew as anything I know.
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jackcollier7@talktalk.net
a rose by any other name is still as sweet
even if it’s a dog
Random Jottings ~ Mad Scientists
and so he created a woman, who got angry when her batteries ran down
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he was smart, but he could never get a girl
so he made one
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every mad scientist dreams of playing God
the really crazy ones believe they are God
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keep you arms in the time machine at all times
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‘that’s strange perfume…..’ he said
‘that’s not perfume, it’s formaldehyde…..’ she answered
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they had solved the theory of everything
and after a few bottles of booze they thought it was a good idea to build a time machine
things went downhill after that
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jack collier
jackcollier7@talktalk.net
she must be a scientist
she’s wearing a white coat
