Appreciating the world of art, design, and handmade craft -plus all things creative, lovely and inspiring! Sharing my travels, my experiences, my fancies ... My Paisley World!
As a fan of vintage illustrations, I thought it would be fun to gather several of them to depict the traditional Thanksgiving Day turkey dinner. From stuffing the bird, to roasting, serving, and carving it, these images invite you to a classic Thanksgiving meal with warmth and a bit of humor, as well!
Groundhog Day is on the second of February. Why February 2? It falls midway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. The very first Groundhog Day was on February 2,1887. Germans who settled in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania first began looking to the groundhog to predict the weather and determine the length of winter. Groundhogs are also known as woodchucks - as in, How much wood could one chuck?
After hibernating all winter, a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil emerges from his burrow. If he sees his shadow, 6 more weeks of cold weather are in store for us.
However, if he doesn't see his shadow, spring weather will arrive early. The event is emceed by an Inner Circle of top hat-donned officials. As far as accuracy is concerned, Phil has only nailed his prediction 40% of the time.
Punxsutawney, with a population of just under 6,000,
attracts tens of thousands of folks each year for the brouhaha. Punxsutawney is the Delaware Indian word for "town of the sandflies." (Oh, dear.)
On this day for remembering the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., in order to honor his memory and appreciate his work, I'm featuring the wisdom of Robert F. Kennedy. After only just hearing the shocking news of King's assassination, he took on the responsibility of informing a crowd of people in Indianapolis. He spoke from the heart, without the use of a speechwriter. His compassion calmed the crowd and diffused their anger. 63 days later, Kennedy was killed. Listen to this poignant speech by Robert F. Kennedy, often referred to as one of his best.
Here is a written transcript of Kennedy's speech, courtesy of jfklibrary.org:
I have bad news for you, for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world, and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and killed tonight.
Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice for his fellow human beings, and he died because of that effort.
In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it is perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in. For those of you who are black--considering the evidence there evidently is that there were white people who were responsible--you can be filled with bitterness, with hatred, and a desire for revenge. We can move in that direction as a country, in great polarization--black people amongst black, white people amongst white, filled with hatred toward one another.
Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and to replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand with compassion and love.
For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and distrust at the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I can only say that I feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man. But we have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to go beyond these rather difficult times.
My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He wrote: "In our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."
What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black.
So I shall ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King, that's true, but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love--a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke.
We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times; we've had difficult times in the past; we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; it is not the end of disorder.
But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings who abide in our land.
Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.
Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.
Recognizing, appreciating and honoring the men and women of the US military who died in the line of duty to protect and defend our beloved country and the freedoms we enjoy.
