What Would Jimmy Do?

The 19th hole, after our “golfing” outings, usually provides for some interesting conversations/disagreements and sometimes enlightening sessions about all sorts of topics. A couple of times we’ve talked about deception practices used by the military. 

One that almost everyone in the group knew about was the (fictitious) First U.S. Army Group (FUSAG) built up around General George S. Patton in England to mislead the Germans into believing the main Allied invasion of France would take place at the Pas de Calais rather than the beaches of Normandy. An entire fake army group under George Patton was set up, complete with fake airplanes, tanks and cannons. 

So the use of decoy airfields and other “make-believe” facilities during World War II is a reality — not a “legend” as one of our group insisted. During the war, both sides tried to fool each other — there is no doubt that the Germans built wooden airplanes and sometimes complete airfields to keep the allies away from their “real” airfields. They also painted bomb damage on existing airfields to make them look unusable and spare them from further bombing. 

A famous story that has never been completely verified — or — disproved, goes like this….
After Germany occupied Holland, they build an “airfield,” constructed with meticulous care and made almost entirely of wood. There were wood hangers, oil tanks, gun emplacements, trucks, and aircraft. Apparently, the Germans took so long to build their wooden decoy that Allied photo experts had more than enough time to observe and report it. Shortly after the “airfield” was finished, a British RAF plane crossed the English Channel, came in low, circled the field once, and dropped a large wooden bomb.

I first heard the story in a training course when I was in my mid-twenties. It’s never been proven or dis-proven. There’s been a lot of discussion and reasons given as to why it could have happened and why it isn’t likely that it did. One thing is true — high grade inflatable dummy aircraft are still deemed effective today and are being deployed to fool the enemy… this despite today’s excellent quality of satellite reconnaissance photography. I’d be a little more skeptical if I hadn’t been involved in a few projects that are more far-fetched, and funnier, than this one. But no matter what you believe, it’s still a great story.
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A number of years ago, we attended the wedding of a lady that worked in Claire’s office. Unlike most weddings, I was very excited to attend this one, because Claire told me that the lady was a witch (for real) and members of her coven would be at the wedding. 

Needless to say, I was disappointed in the wedding… I would have been ok with a regular boring wedding, but I figured the reception afterwards would at the very least produce some witchcraft like black magic or spells or rituals of some kind — but no, it was pretty much just a regular reception. 
I guess my idea of witches has never been the same since that day. 

Witches got a lot press the last few years — mostly in the form of the “spoiled child” cries of “witch hunt” from our former President. I even read a story recently about a Christian group that was praying to protect Trump from witches.

But if for some reason you may be thinking about becoming a witch, there are a few things you should know about witchcraft before you get too far down that road.

Witchcraft is a pagan religion. Pagan religions worship multiple deities rather than a single god. Paganism is one of the oldest religions and includes all religions that are not Christian, Muslim or Jewish. That means Paganism includes Hindu, buddhist, Taoist, Confucian and American Indian religions as well as all other nature-oriented religions. I found one article that indicated that Paganism accounts for 50 percent of all religions. 

Wicca is a (pagan) religion —popularized by the so-called Father of Wicca, Gerald Gardner, in the mid-1900s. Witches are normally thought of as women, but many Wiccans are men and worship both a god and goddess. 

The word “witch” is a combination of two Old English terms: wicce (“wise one”) and Wicca (“healer”.) In ancient times, witches were admired and respected for their wisdom and ability to heal with herbs. But in the early 1300s, witchcraft was declared heresy — by the Catholic Church. That resulted in a widespread fear of witches and led to the witch hunts that took place between the late 15th and 18th centuries. 

In 2011 a British census found that 11,766 people identified themselves as Wiccan and 1.276 described themselves as practicing witchcraft.

In the late 1960s, a number of women’s activist groups named themselves using the acronym WITCH. There were many variations of the acronym, such as “Women Inspired to Tell their Collective History” and “Women Incensed at Telephone Company Harassment.” These “witches” used their platform to fight for women’s rights. 

Today, more than one million Americans identify as Wiccans — a religion whose practitioners often identify as “witches,” and  claim to be a nature-based, peaceful, spiritual practice that has nothing to do with Satanism. According to some things that I’ve read, being a witch has become more mainstream, and in some circles, fashionable. 

So it turns out that you can’t become a witch by being mean, wearing black or riding a broomstick — it just doesn’t work that way.
Wicca, one of the major religions practicing witchcraft, is about the mind, body, and spirit, along with a code of ethics and a few principles that some witches share. Respect the earth, live in harmony with the seasons, find your own purpose, and create your own path. Poof! You’re a witch.
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After I first met Claire and we were going out, she often used a term that I wasn’t familiar with and really didn’t know what it meant. I hadn’t thought about it for a long time and a few days ago she used it again — the first time I remember her saying it in many years. The term or phrase is “How ‘bout them apples?” 

“How ‘bout them apples?” is an idiom — seems like I’ve talked about idioms quite a bit over the course of writing this blog, but I find them interesting because they’re often used in American lingo. And — they don’t make any sense to non-English speaking people…. the words or sentence can’t be taken literally — you can’t deduce the meaning from the words alone.

My extensive research on this particular idiom revealed a couple of things:
1. The phrase is often used as a way to mock or tease someone after gaining some kind of victory over them. It’s similar to the expression “stick that in your pipe and smoke it!”
2. The saying is also used after someone receives surprising information.
I think the latter is the way Claire uses it. 

The phrase became kind of famous in the 1997 movie Good Will Hunting. The movie stars Matt Damon who plays the character Will Hunting, a mathematical genius working as a school janitor. At one point in the movie he gets into a verbal fight with a rival who was trying to impress a girl. After the exchange, Will Hunting gets the girl’s phone number, and then later, in order to taunt his rival over the argument he walks up to him and initiates the following conversation:
Hunting: “Do you like apples?”
Rival: “Yeah.”
Hunting pulls out a piece of paper with the girl’s number written on it and shows it to him.
Hunting: “Well, I got her number. How do you like them apples?”

Of course, the idiom didn’t come from this movie. The popular belief is that it originated during World War I. During the period 1915 to 1917, the United Kingdom’s Royal Ordinance Factory created a 1 inch medium trench mortar. The bomb was a sphere attached to a 22-inch bomb shaft and resembled a candy apple — it was given the name “toffee apple.” The bomb was used by Allied troops, and when firing these mortars at the enemy lines, they would taunt with “How do you like them apples?” 

Some credence is landed to the theory in the 1959 movie Rio Bravo. One of the film’s characters fired a mortar at the enemy, exclaiming “How do you like them apples/“

Like most of these things, no one is quite sure of the origin — I found one source that claims the expression dates back to at least the year 1895, claiming it appeared in the Bryan, Texas newspaper The Eagle, September 26, 1895: “Bryan is the best cotton market in this section of the state and has received more cotton than any other town in this section. How do you like them apples?”

So now I know that the phrase wasn’t original with Claire — how ‘bout them apples? 
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Our family knows that it would probably be fairly easy to fill volumes of books with “Bobbie stories.” Bobbie the Nun is probably one of the most unique characters you’ll ever meet. 
While we were driving in heavy traffic a few days ago, I thought about a typical Bobbie story….

Every time we took Bobbie anywhere she always began the trip with a quick “destination prayer.” Actually I don’t know if that’s what it was called, but she always said a quick prayer that we got to our destination safely. And she always ended the prayer with…. “and please protect us from all the crazies.”
Finally, one day I said to Bobbie, “Gee, Bobbie, calling people crazies doesn’t seem like a very christian thing to do.”
After that, she always ended the prayer with “…. and please protect us from all the irresponsible drivers.”
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Today is the first day of October — the 274th day of 2021 and the 39th Friday of 2021.
If people still kept calendars (Like my grandparents did) you’d be able to use this year’s calendar again in 2027…. all the days/dates will be the same.

This month’s name comes from the Latin octo, “eight,” because this was the eighth month of the early Roman calendar. When the Romans converted to a 12-month calendar, the name October stuck despite the fact that it’s now the 10th month.
October’s full moon, known as the Hunter;s Moon, will be visible on Wednesday, October 20. 

With the autumnal equinox in late September, foliage season has officially begun. Leaves change colors mainly due light, or the lack of it — not autumn’s chilly weather. Traditionally, trees with a lot of direct sunlight will produce red leaves, while other trees may turn yellow, orange, or grown.

The 12th of October in 1492 was a bit day for America — in case you don’t remember, that was the day Christopher Columbus arrived.
In German and Dutch, October is called “October,” in Italian it’s “Ottobre,” in Turkish it’s “Oketopa.” and Koreans call it “Siweol.”
People born in October are thought to be very smart and are usually high achievers.

October and January always start on the same day of the week in ordinary years — in leap years, October doesn’t start on the same day of the week as any other month. October and February also always end on the same week day.
The Statue of Liberty arrived in the United States, from France, in October of 1886.
More Presidents of the United States were born in October than any other month.

To us in the Northern Hemisphere, October is a fall month, but in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s a spring month. For those in the Southern Hemisphere, October is the same as April is for us.

So it’s a busy month coming up — even before Ten-Ten Day and Halloween. We better get started — Happy October.
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In a normal year, Oktoberfest would be winding down just about now, but even with the 2021 Oktoberfest cancelled, we’ve still got today — National Drink Beer Day. 

Beer continues to be the world’s most popular adult beverage. I think most beers fall into either the lager or ale categories — I personally prefer the lagers. New breweries are opening around here, and most places, all the time. The so-called “craft beer” industry just seems to keep growing. The beer connoisseurs today drink something drastically different from their grandfather’s beers.

Historians point to beer as a ceremonial drink over 5,000 years ago because papyrus scrolls have been discovered documenting early beer recipes. But the Mesopotamians may have actually been the first to develop beer over 10,000 years ago…. before recorded history.

Today, in some European cities like Prague, ordering beer in a restaurant is cheaper than ordering water. I’ve read that upon arrival in the new world, brewing beer was one of the first things on the Pilgrims’ to-do list.

So, today — National Drink Beer Day — drink responsibly, but have a good time. My friend, Winfried, used to say, “everybody should believe in something — I believe I’ll have another beer.” 
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Today, September 28 is Confucius’s birthday. Historians believe he was born in 551 BC and was 73 years old when he died in 479. Confucius is China’s most famous philosopher and is a popular Chinese figure today. He was a philosopher whose teachings remain influential today as the basis of Confucianism, one of the oldest and largest religions in China and around the world.

His name “Confucius” is a Latin derivation from “Kong Fuzi.” his Chinese Name. He was born in the district of Zou, now known as the Qufu City in China. Every year in his hometown of Qufu City, there is the Qufu International Confucius Culture Festival. The celebration includes a worshiping ceremony and performances at both the Temple of Confucius and the Cemetery of Confucius — performances consist of ancient music and dancing.

In imperial China, in order to be an official scholar, people had to learn the Confucian classic texts called the Five Classics. According t tradition, the Five Classics were penned by Confucius. Modern scholars, however, doubt that any of the material can really be ascribed to Confucius himself.

The 6 arts that Confucius taught in school were Archery, Arithmetic, Calligraphy, Charioteering, Music and Ritual. 
Aside from being a scholar, Confucius was also an educator and a politician.
China understood ‘Confucianism’ as a philosophical-political movement.
The People’s Republic of China’s Cultural revolution repressed Confucianism in China after the 1900s, saying that it hindered modernization in the country.

I think last year I had indicated I wasn’t sure why September 28 was chosen to celebrate Confucius Day… the date is, according to historians, Confucius’s birthday. The day is also observed as Teacher’s Day in China and Taiwan. In Chinese history, Confucius symbolizes the philosophy of educating all without discrimination. He never refused a student because of their class, requiring only that his students possess a desire to learn.
Seems like pretty good reason to have day named in his honor to me….
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Today is National Crush a Can Day. The day was created to help educate people about the benefits of recycling. A couple of guys I play golf with always crush their beer cans before tossing them — they seem to enjoy the routine, So today not only gives you the opportunity to crush, squeeze and bend cans into small shapes, it’s also a chance to share can compression fun with others. Proponents of this day suggest that crushing cans is a fantastic stress buster, but can crushing is also a great way to get more cans into a smaller space at recycling facilities….

No one believes recycling is not a good idea, just not everyone does it. Too bad, because there’s lots of benefits….
If you laid all the aluminum cans recycled in 2010 end to end, they could circle the earth 169 times.
In America, 105,800 cans are recycled every minute
Recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy it would have taken to process the same amount from a virgin source
Your television can run 3 hours from the energy saved by recycling one can
Aluminum cans are worth about a penny each
The aluminum industry pays more than $1 billion annually for recycled cans

Aluminum can are the second most recycled material after steel in the United States. However, we still throw out more than 1 million tons of aluminum each year. Unlike some recyclables, aluminum can be recycled over and over.

So — recycling aluminum cans saves a considerable amount of energy, reduces carbon dioxide emissions as well as reducing the amount of waste headed into landfills. Crush that can!
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I’ve heard pretty much my whole life that there’s no such thing as a dumb question. I remember in grade school one of my teachers always telling us that the only dumb question is the one that goes unasked. 

When I hear someone say that, my initial reaction is that that’s absolutely false — there are dumb questions, and people are out there asking them on a regular basis. The world is full of stupid people and they say stupid things. Now here’s the disclaimer — like just about everything on this blog, this is just from my perspective, my opinion. But here’s the thing — no one person (not even me) gets to be the judge and jury about stupid or dumb questions. What may be a dumb question to me could be fascinating or interesting to someone else. 

I have to admit that some seemingly dumb questions may be asked deliberately just for the purpose of testing someone’s reaction or opinion on the subject of discussion. And I have to admit that sometimes when a stupid question is asked, the person asking it may seem stupid at first but in the end, they’re learning something new. 

Carl Sagan once wrote that there are monotonous questions, naive questions, tedious questions and ill-phrased questions, but every question is a cry to understand the world. That sounds kind of nice — a little like Mark Twain’s quote, “He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.”

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve tried to become more tolerant of dumb questions, among other things. But I haven’t been very successful… I’ve come so far as to admit that there may not be such a thing as a dumb question, but there is such a thing as a dumb person asking a question.
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Well, I guess I can maybe chalk it up to age, but i don’t seem to be a able to keep track of things like I used to. I completely let something slip by a couple of days ago that I usually remind you of every year — kind of my way of doing public service stuff.

Tuesday of this week (September 21st) marked the Moon Festival — it’s also referred to as the Mid-Autumn Festival, but I like Moon Festival better.

No matter what you call it, it’s celebrated on month 8, day 15 of the Chinese Lunar Calendar, and it always falls in September or October (usually sometime between September 6 and October 6.) According to the Chinese lunar calendar, the 8th month is the second month of autumn. The four seasons each have three (about 30-day) months on the traditional calendars, so day 15 of month 8 is “the middle of autumn.”

On the 15th of each lunar calendar month, the moon is at its roundest and brightest, symbolizing togetherness and reunion in Chinese culture. Families get together to express their family love by eating dinner together, appreciating the moon, and eating mooncakes. The harvest moon is traditionally believed to be the brightest of the year. 

Month 8, day 15 is also traditionally the time rice is supposed to mature and be harvested, so people celebrate the harvest and worship their gods to show their gratitude. 

The Mid-Autumn Festival is also celebrated in many other Asian countries besides China — especially those with larger populations of Chinese descent, like Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines and South Korea. The festival date in those countries is the same as in China, except in South Korea. In South Korea, the Mid-Autumn Festival is called Chuseok, and is more like Thanksgiving. It is celebrated one day before China’s Mid-Autumn Festival and is one of South Korea’s biggest holidays.

I’m sorry that we missed the Moon Festival this year, but Tuesday night we did spend some time gazing at the full Harvest Moon…..
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