What Would Jimmy Do?

A lot of people are afraid of a lot of things, but one of the more interesting fears or phobias is Ompalophobia — the fear of belly buttons. I’m not making this up. This would seem to be a particularly bad phobia to have since people suffering from Omphalophobia are terrified of belly buttons — sometimes those of others, but usually their own. How do you get away from your own belly button?

Belly buttons are kind of interesting — we all have them and they are located on the belly but they don’t do anything if you push them. Why are they called a button? Turns out that the belly button also goes by the term “navel.” The Romans call the belly button the umbilcus. The Greeks called it the omphalos. So if you add the greek word tome that means cutting, you get omphalotomy. That word means “cutting of the umbilical cord.” So maybe we use the term belly button because it’s a euphemistic title that sounds more attractive than the remains of your umbilical cord cut at birth.

Your belly button is your very first scar. It’s scar tissue left over from the cutting of the umbilical cord when you were born. All mammals have belly buttons. However, in some dogs and cats, they’re a little hard to see because they’ve healed well and they are covered with hair.

One of the most interesting questions about belly buttons and one that I’ve pondered about for a number of years is — Did Adam and Eve have belly buttons? I’ve often wondered about this. I’m not a big reader of the Bible but I’m pretty sure that in Genesis it says that God formed man (Adam) from the dust of the ground and later caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and while he was sleeping, took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh. Then with the rib, God made a woman (Eve.) OK — if Adam was made from dust and Eve was made from Adams rib, then neither one came from human parents. If they didn’t come from a mother, there would be no umbilical cord and therefore, no belly button (?)

From what I’ve read, theologians disagree on the existence of belly buttons for Adam and Eve. Painters over the years have also been divided on the subject — some have taken the easy way out and covered the belly button area with a strategically placed fig leaf or tree branch or an arm or something else. But some painted the pair without navels — some painted them with navels. It’s interesting that when Michelangelo painted Adam on the roof of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican he gave him a belly button.

One story I ran across during my extensive research for this blog occurred in 1944 in, where else, Congress. The US House Military Committee (chaired by Congressman Durham of North Carolina) refused to authorize a 30-page booklet, Races of Man, that was to be handed out to American soldiers fighting in World War II. The booklet had an illustration that showed Adam and Eve each with a belly button. The subcommittee ruled that showing Adam’s and Eve’s belly buttons would be “misleading to gullible American soldiers.”

There’s an old phrase that you don’t hear as much any more, contemplating one’s belly button. Literally it means to think about your belly button. But figuratively it is often used to refer to people who are thinking about relatively unimportant things or engaged in thinking about subjects that another person considers to be trivial. (Like maybe the subject of this blog….)

There’s an old joke that goes something like this… A boy was born with a golden screw in his navel. He couldn’t remove it no matter how hard he tried. It caused him a lot of embarrassment over the years and finally, after he grew up, he traveled to Tibet because he heard that there was a wise man there that might be able to help him. After climbing up a mountain, the wise man told him to sit down. He began to unscrew the golden screw and turned the screw for many hours. Finally — the screw came off. Very excited, the man stood up, and his butt fell off.

I suppose all stories (and even blogs) should have a moral and I guess the moral here is that we can contemplate our belly buttons as much as we want, but some things should just be left alone. Sometimes if we act, or speak, or write when we shouldn’t bad things can happen….
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At one of our last winter golf sessions, one player indicated that he had a hard time understanding the Bible and religion in general. One of the things that I’ve concluded is that religion is one of those things that you believe in or don’t. You absolutely cannot make logical sense of it. You either have faith or you don’t.

Some things can be “proven” to be true, or not true, but sometimes factual data just isn’t available. But even when we don’t have facts to prove something, we often still tend to believe. We’ve all heard the saying, don’t confuse me with the facts, my mind is already made up.

So there are some things, even today, with all our advanced technology and knowledge we just don’t know. Ghosts — some people claim to have seen ghosts and offer that up as proof they exist, but others argue that any sighting of a ghost can be explained away by lighting tricks or some other logical explanation. Aliens — a lot of people have seen UFOs and we’ve all heard the conspiracy theories that the government is hiding alien bodies, but so far as I know there is no verifiable proof that other lifeforms exist from somewhere in space. Lots of people claim to have been taken aboard alien spacecrafts, so you won’t convince them, but as yet it’s not a scientifically proven fact.

The Bible is certainly one thing can’t be proven, but most people believe the stories about people who lived for hundreds of years and completed fantastic feats because they are part of the Bible. There is no proof that these writings are a true reflection of a higher power, but most people do their best to abide by the rules and morals outlined in Bible.

And then of course there’s God. The biggest leap of faith that anyone takes is believing that a higher power exists and guides our lives. By definition, God cannot be proven through empirical evidence, but the idea of God is something that most people believe.

All through life you can choose to believe or not believe lots of things. Some people choose to believe everything they hear on Fox News — others don’t. But I’ve come to the conclusion that there are some things you should believe in because those things are worth believing in. It really doesn’t matter if something is or isn’t true.

So everyone should believe in something. Winfried has a sign in his office that says, “I believe I’ll have another drink….” Sounds good to me.
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Today, in 1863, West Virginia became the 35th State.

The Mountaineer State adopted the current state flag in 1929. The state flag displays the West Virginia Coat of Arms (as seen in the State Seal of West Virginia) centered on a white field. The date of admission to the union, June 20, 1863, is etched on a stone and the state motto “Montani Semper Liben” (Mountaineers are always free) is printed on a ribbon below the farmer and the miner. A red ribbon floats above the coat of arms with the words “State of West Virginia.” Wreathed rhododendron, the state flower, is arranged below the coat of arms.
Happy Birthday West Virginia!!
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Rednecks — that’s what I remember “them” being called where I grew up in Oklahoma. In Cleveland, where Claire grew up, “they” were called hillbillies. So what’s the difference in a hillbilly and a redneck? That’s one of those things that I was pondering the other day, for no apparent reason — I just got to wondering. I have noticed a lot of people wearing camouflage and John Deere hats lately and most of them seem out-of-place dressed like that. It seems like it’s becoming “cool” to dress like a redneck (or hillbilly) even if you’re not one.

I haven’t run across any “official” definitions of either a redneck or a hillbilly — I’m guessing it’s mostly geographical. Often times, people may be talking about the same person and use a different term, just depending on where they live or where they grew up.

My extensive research into the origin of both terms turned out to be kind of interesting. The origin of the hillbilly moniker comes from Ulster. Ulster-Scottish (usually referred to, incorrectly, as “Scots-Irish” settled in the hill-country of Appalachia. Much of their music dealt with William, Prince of Orange, who defeated the Catholic King James II of the Stuart family at the Battle of the Boyne, Ireland in 1690. Supporters of King William were known as Orangemen and Billy Boys and their North American counterparts were soon referred to as hill-billies.

Two theories about the term redneck caught my eye. One theory traces the term redneck to wealthy southern plantation owners who thought they needed to justify their own supremacy by degrading poor, uneducated white people. They coined the term redneck to belittle white field laborers who could be identified by the bright red sunburns on their necks. The other theory is that during the West Virginia miners strikes of the 1920s, the miners concentrated their effort to become organized, adopting a uniform that featured a red bandanna worn around the neck. The miners nicknamed themselves rednecks as a point of solidarity.

So various groups and individuals have always been tagged with some name — but I recon it don’t matter so much what you call people as it does how you treat them….
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Today we’re celebrating the love of my life’s 29th birthday for the 40th time.

Happy, Happy Birthday, Menoi!!
Love you lots!!!
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I’ve mentioned several times here the discussions a few of us have after playing golf, or just sitting around having a couple of beers. It’s occurred to me that some of the best times, and discussions, happen when a story is involved. Actually, that’s almost always the case — when we’re visiting or out to dinner with friends, or just about anytime we’re in a group of people, some of the most entertaining and memorable times involve stories.

I guess probably no one knows when the first story was actually told but I’m sure it was long before any recorded history. The first printed story was the epic of Gilgamesh (a legendary king of the Sumerian city state of Uruk that ruled sometime during the first half of the 3rd millennium B.C.) The story was carved on stone pillars and spread from Mesopotamia to other parts of Europe and Asia around 700 B.C.

Storytellers aren’t just the people that read and tell stories to kids at the public library — we’re all storytellers; some of us are better than others, but we’re all storytellers. Stories have a unique ability to cut through clutter and confusion and bring clarity to a situation. Stories are things we can identify with and remind us of our hopes, ambitions, dreams and values. We should never underestimate the importance of stories — they play a crucial role in ours lives, and in our society. I read once that humans are the only animals that create and tell stories. That should seem fairly obvious, but stories introduce us to what we are and what we are capable of being. And stories can literally sometimes change our lives.

All the great leaders have been good storytellers — almost all great speeches contain a story. Rarely do we go to church that the sermon or homily doesn’t contain a story. If fact, almost three quarters of the gospels are stories or parables. History is nothing but a series of stories. All stories serve a purpose even if it’s just to relay a message. If you’re trying to make a point, a story illustrates it better than a set of facts.

With the advancement of technology, traditional storytelling is declining, but storytelling will never die out. Mothers and fathers will always tell bedtime stories to their children and stories will continue to be an important part of our culture. Admittedly, a lot of storytelling is being taken over by videos, the Internet, books, radio and other technical media but people will always tell stories. Some say that after nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world. There is a Hopi American Indian proverb that says, “Those who tell the stories rule the world.”
So — what’s your story?
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The Apple Watch seems to be selling pretty well. Kelly and Chris have them and I’ve seen a few on people’s wrists lately. I haven’t worn a watch since I retired — before then I had quite a collection of watches — not sure why, I just always seemed to like watches. I bought Claire a watch for Christmas every year for a long, long time…. Since I always have my phone with me, I just don’t see the point in wearing a watch anymore. Not sure why….

When small portable clocks, called watches, first appeared in public they immediately caught on. Before watches, all mechanical clocks were big and sat on a table or hung on a wall. They were slow to manufacture, expensive, and not very accurate. It was during the 16th century that engineers and manufacturers finally were able to create devices on such a small scale that people could carry them with them. The first models were still too big and heavy to carry in a pocket or wear on the wrist. The first portable watches were worn as neck pendants.

The first watch that I owned was a Mickey Mouse watch — I was about 6 or 7 years old. And I think the watch cost about 6 or 7 dollars. My watch was made by Ingersoll. The Ingersoll company was owned and run by the Ingersoll brothers, Robert and Charles. The company was established in 1893 and was the first to mass produce wrist and pocket watches. Before Robert and Charles came along, watches required a lot more handcrafting and were relatively expensive. Ingersoll managed to produce fairly high quality watches at the reasonable price of $1.00. The “Dollar Watch,” often referred to as the “Yankee” was a hit and lots of people that thought they’d never own a watch jumped on board. In 1933, Ingersoll and the Walt Disney Company teamed up to produce the first “character” watch — a Mickey Mouse Watch. On May 22, 1933, an application for a U.S. patent was submitted and the first watches went into production. In the first couple of years more than 2.5 million Mickey Mouse watches had been sold. In 1957 the 25 millionth watch was presented to Walt Disney himself. In 1971, after 38 years, the partnership came to an end between Mickey Mouse and what had by then become the Ingersoll/Timex company.

Over the years, a lot of these blog entries have been about time — all kinds of time. Check the archives if you don’t believe me. Time is one of those things we never seem to have enough of and everything depends on it. Sometimes it seems to move too slow, but more often, it moves too fast. We should all use our time wisely — all that really belongs to us is time; even if you have nothing else,  you have time…..
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As of yesterday, I understand the family has a new graduate. Kylee Grady is our newest high school graduate and soon to become an official Mountaineer.

Congratulations to Kylee — go out and make this world a better place. Just remember, life’s not like a TV remote — you have to get up and change it yourself. I’m betting you will.

Your favorite uncle is very proud of you….
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A day or so ago when we were playing golf, someone that played with us for a while last year was mentioned. A couple of people said that they thought the reason he wasn’t playing (with us) this year was because he wasn’t “compatible” with the way we played…. that led to a discussion of compatibility. We all agreed that we were fortunate that each of us seemed to be compatible with our wives, since most of us have been married in excess of 40 years. During the discussion I mentioned that I knew that Claire and I would be compatible because I checked the Chinese Compatibility Chart. This is no joke — there is a chart that lists how compatible people are using the Chinese Year in which they were born (e.g., year of the dog, rat, monkey, tiger, etc.) The compatibility chart can be found on the Internet if you’re interested. Anyhow, I was born in the year of the Tiger and Claire was born in the year of the Dog. Here’s the exact words as to how we should do together:

“The Tiger and the Dog generally share a kind, affable connection that is fun and satisfying for both! Both Signs are noble and protective of those they hold dear, so if the relationship between these two is close and emotional, they are able to make one another feel quite secure. For the Tiger, this is an important balance – this Sign tends to run from restrictive relationships but with the Dog, the Tiger won’t just feel protected, it will feel that its needs and interests (such as individuality and independence) are being protected as well. The Tiger will be happy to return the favor, and the Dog will be happy to receive it – this Sign is sometimes a bit pessimistic and has trouble trusting others but it will find it easy to trust the noble, warm-hearted and courageous Tiger.
As lovers these two know how to make room for one another’s individual personalities, which is of especial importance to the Tiger. This Sign insists on its freedom to be happy, which can be a difficult requirement to have met in an intimate relationship. The Dog, however, is a bit moody and often needs alone time itself. Both of these Signs follow their own heats, but their hearts are noble and true, making it very easy to respect one another and their choices in life.
As business partners these two are capable of creating a strong company or product. The Tiger’s fearless, inventive mind combines well with the Dog’s loyalty and trustworthiness. The Dog is also something of a radical thinker and can add spice and dimension to the Tiger’s innovative ideas. Whether they’re business associates, lovers, friends or family members, these two are likely to get along famously. Their only trouble spot might result from the Tiger’s occasional flakiness, a quality the Dog has trouble  handling in others, but any upsets are sure to be dealt with quickly and completely.
The Tiger and the Dog share a compatibility of nine, on a scale of one to ten.”

So there you have it — never question Buddha.
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Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America. The observance we now call Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War and a desire to honor our dead. It was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. His General Order No. 11 stated, “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land.” The date was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.

Memorial Day originally honored only those lost while fighting in the Civil War. But during World War I the United States found itself embroiled in another major conflict, and the holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars.

For years Memorial Day was observed on May 30, but in 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May. The change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday.

Some Memorial Day rituals are still observed. The American flag should be hung at half-staff until noon on Memorial Day, then raised to the top of the staff. Since 2000, all Americans are encouraged to pause for a National Moment of Remembrance at 3 p.m. local time to voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence….

Benjamin Harrison said, “I have never been able to think of the day as one of mourning; I have never quite been able to feel that half-masted flags were appropriate on Decoration Day. I have rather felt that the flag should be at the peak, because those whose dying we commemorate rejoiced in seeing it where their valor place it. We honor them in a joyous, thankful, triumphant commemoration of what they did.

However you choose to honor our heroes — Happy Memorial Day.
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