The Dallas Bach Society’s annual performance of Handel’s Messiah has been a Christmas tradition over twenty years. These performances have always been enjoyable and a high point of the season for this writer and family.

A friend once asked me if the Messiah lyrics were an English translation, knowing that Handel was a German, born in Halle, Saxony, and had been the court musician for the Elector of Hannover. They were not.

The English lyrics of Messiah were taken by the librettist Charles Jennens from the King James Version of the Bible. He took most of the selections from the Old Testament; others were from Gospels, St. Paul’s epistles, and Revelation. Jennens had compiled two other Biblical oratorios for Handel, Saul and Israel in Egypt, selections of which are often included in compilations or “greatest hits” albums. Handel wrote the music for Messiah in less than a month, a super feat. Jennens was for some reason disappointed in the result, but given the work’s surviving the test of time, whatever his objections, they were rather misplaced.

There have been several revisions of Messiah, some made by Handel, and later by Mozart and other composers. These edits were not substantive, at least not for the untrained ear, including mine. Some appear to be longer and there have been differences of the size of the chorus. In some, contra-tenors (and in the 18th Century perhaps castrati) sing the alto parts. The version Dallas Bach Society’s Artistic Director and conductor James Richman chose for this 2024 performance was the April 1742 manuscript for the work’s premier in Dublin.

The remarkable feature of Messiah, apart from Handel’s magnificent music, was Jennens’ lyrical selections from the Bible. Of all the numerous versions of the Christian Bible, few have the literary quality and grandeur of the King James Version. Some have maintained that it is the greatest prose ever written in the English language. King James I commissioned a group of 54 scholars, termed ”divines”, to create an Authorized Version in English. These men spent seven years pouring over previous texts and translations including Tyndale’s, Coverdale’s, the Geneva Bible, and others, before the work was printed in 1611. These men were contemporaries of William Shakespeare, who made his own significant contribution to the development of modern English.

It is interesting that the King James Version was made by a committee, belying conventional wisdom.

There is debate over the accuracy and faithfulness to the Greek and Hebrew texts, mainly by those who use the Bible as a textbook to validate their own beliefs — but no matter. King James Version’s significance and value are in the beautiful and inspiring language contained throughout the book. A brief rendition of a passage used by Jennens exemplifies this:

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned.

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

The phrasing and cadence of this language is, as expressed in the last verse, Wonderful. The beauty of the work of God’s Secretaries, as Adam Nicolson’s 2003 book was titled, coupled with the music of George Frederic Handel, is certainly an inspiration to Christians of all denominations, especially at Christmas, but it has considerable value to those of the purely secular mind as well.

Note: There was a story that the Elector-Prince George of Hannover was annoyed when Handel abruptly resigned as court musician in 1710 and took up residence in Britain. Handel became concerned when the Elector became George I, King of Great Britain that the new king would express his previous annoyance. Not to worry, George was glad to have Handel again and forgave any offense he had taken.

A Wonderful and Merry Christmas to all.

___

References:

Nicolson, Adam, God’s Secretaries, The Making of the King James Bible, HarperCollins Publishers, 2003.

Bucholz, Robert & Key, Newton, Early Modern England 1485 – 1714, Blackwell Publishers, 2004.

Of interest might be a book just published Every Valley by Charles King. it was reviewed by Barton Swain in the December 21, 2024 Wall Street Journal. Swain reports it to be the story of Handel, Jennens, and creation of Messiah. I have not read this book as of today.

It’s funny how some things seem to converge during a time. Last month I received a request from the World War II Museum in New Orleans for a donation. I had previously become a charter member, so it informed me that a could add honorees for service in the War to an on line plaque (see below). As it happened, at home we have been watching a British TV series Foyle’s War a mystery drama about a detective and his cases in Hastings during the war. This past week, I noticed and article by Larry P. Arnn, President of Hillsdale College, commemorating the 150th birthday of Winston Churchill on this past November 30. This prompted me to re-publish a blog post.

Two years ago I wrote and posted an essay on the occasion of Churchill’s birthday. Here is an updated version of “He Saved Us All”

In The American Heritage History of World War II (first published in 1966), C. L. Sulzberger, New York Times columnist (and member of the family that owns that newspaper) wrote this.

“Remember him, for he saved all of you: pudgy and not very large but somehow massive and indomitable; baby faced, with snub-nosed, square chin, rheumy eyes on occasion given to tears: a thwarted actor’s taste for clothes that would have looked ridiculous on a less splendid man… .He fancied painting, at which he was good, writing at which he was excellent, and oratory, at which he was magnificent….

“This was the man, bloodied at Omdurman [an 1898 battle in Sudan] and Cuba, among the Pathans and Boers, long before most of those he led were even born, who guided Britain to victory in World War II — and, one might add, who was the guiding spirit for the whole free world. For had Britain succumbed, as it had ever logical reason to do so in 1940, probably no successful coalition could have been formed.”

Sulzberger, of course, was lauding Winston Churchill, who was born on this day 148 years ago. Churchill took over as prime minister of Great Britain when Hitler’s Germany had run roughshod over all the opposition on the European continent and was threatening that island nation. In spite of a fierce air war, in which the Royal Air Force, inspired by Churchill’s indomitable spirit, managed to shoot down and destroy more than five times the number of warplanes it lost to Herman Goering’s Luftwaffe and effectively won the Battle of Britain. After it became clear that an amphibious invasion was not going to work, Hitler turned to terror bombing of England cities and what became known as the Blitz. Throughout all of this, and for the next four years, Churchill remained steadfast and defiant. His grit led Britain and its empire, along with American allies, to total victory over the Nazi state.

In hindsight, and most historians appear to agree, had Great Britain made peace with Hitler in 1940 when it seemed prudent to do so, Nazi Germany would have won, as it almost did anyway.

On November 30 of this year, sixty years after his death, it is appropriate to commemorate Winston Churchill. He was the man of the 20th century. Where Hitler attempted to destroy Western Civilization, Churchill saved it.

Note: Churchill was Prime Minister from May 1940 until July 1945. After Germany surrendered in May 1945, he called an election, but his party was defeated. He again became PM in 1951 and was Queen Elizabeth’s first (of 17) Prime Minister when she succeeded to the throne the next year upon the death of her father King George VI.

Note: Churchill was Prime Minister from May 1940 until July 1945. After Germany surrendered in May 1945, he called an election, but his party was defeated. He again became PM in 1951 and was Queen Elizabeth’s first (of 17) Prime Minister when she succeeded to the throne the next year upon the death of her father King George VI.

See

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/shows-honorees-data?Account_Number=007-436-826

Arnn’s essay:

https://newcriterion.com/article/one-hundred-fifty-years-of-churchill/?

National and world events today are characterized as Dire Times by many in the various media (mostly anti-social, despite being characterized otherwise) and perhaps even from pulpits and street corners.

Sixty-one years ago today, a Friday as it is again this year, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated — murdered — in Dallas, Texas. I have written previously about where I was and what I was doing and how the news of President Kennedy’s death affected me. Those who might be interested can read that 2020 post.

Sixty-plus-one years ago, and onward for a while, many regarded November 22, 1963 as a day of wrath and doom. At times, especially in the 1960s, it seemed to some of us that we were on the eve of destruction — recall the eponymous Barry McGuire song. Doom was imminent.

It was not, as it turned out, the eve of destruction at all.
In retrospect, the next half century reminds me of the Antrobus family in Thornton Wilder’s play The Skin of Our Teeth: humankind bungling onward, but incrementally upward. There is no way to know whether the nation, or the world, would have been better off, worse off, or about the same if Lee Harvey Oswald had not fired the shots, or if he had missed. We almost had a similar event last July. But contra-factual historical speculation is a fool’s errand.

Dies Irae is Latin for Day of Wrath. These are the first words of a recitation in the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass and other Christian denominations’ liturgy, recited or sung in the sequence preceding the proclamation of the Gospel. Vatican II in the 1960s eliminated its use in the Catholic liturgy as too reminiscent of Medieval negative theology. Its use in other denominations has lately not been obvious. It may have been used and sung in Latin at Kennedy’s funeral. Perhaps its most recognizable musical renditions today are in Mozart’s Requiem and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique – the latter containing the ominous tolling of a funeral bell.

The first stanza in an English translation of the hymn is “Day of wrath and doom impending, David’s word with Sibyl’s blending, Heaven and earth in ashes ending!”

But the Dies Irae is a long poem and has been abbreviated for musical compositions and for liturgical use. If you look at the whole poem, you see that its finale is not as pessimistic and negative as critics allege. I end this essay with the final stanza and include it here especially for the soul of President John F. Kennedy: “Lord, all-pitying, Jesus blest, Grant them thine eternal rest. Amen.”

Today, November 4 is the eve of the election. An article written by one David A. Graham published today in the Atlantic asks “How Is It This Close? Graham echoes a rhetorical question made by Michelle Obama at a recent rally for Kamala Harris to the effect that at least half of the nation’s population are nincompoops. Graham goes on to presenting a list of supposed vices and character flaws of Donald Trump with undisguised wonder how any one other than a mentally retarded or just stupid, depraved human being could possibly vote for Trump. He follows-up with a much shorter, and rather vague, list of Harris’s supposed virtues.

Whether Ms. Obama actually used the word nincompoop in describing Trump voters, it sums up the sentiment she and her ilk have toward the Clinton “basket of deplorables” and the Biden “garbage” who descend to consider voting for Trump. That is the contempt that is shown by the supposed elites for those who do not share their world view, which includes most Americans who are not Ivy Leaguers (or their equivalent — including Harris) is driving a good of part of the middle to vote for Trump. Who likes to be held in contempt?

An article in the Economist, a British publication widely read in English-speaking places, opined that the class divide in the U.S. today is not wealth, race and ethnicity, or rural vs. urban. It is education, and by that he means possessing a college degree. Well, today the value of a college degree, particularly with the de-emphasis on traditional liberal arts in favor “gender and ethnic studies,” sociology, which means, of course, “social justice,” can be suspect. Furthermore, the denigration by the professoriat of American and most of Western history. That includes casting important historical characters like Christopher Columbus, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson as villains alienates many Americans. Unofficially, and sometimes officially in the context of huge business organizations, the banning so-called ill-defined hate-speech, words, and demanding approved use of use of gender pronouns exposes those who do not publicly accept, non-conformists to fear social shunning. Even some of the hard sciences degrees can be infected by left-wing ideology. One recent study indicates that fewer than fifteen percent of college and university professors lean to the political right, or even the center. Many use their position to expound their political values, and students conform out of fear of bad grades. And many public corporations’ pusillanimous CEOs and boards conform for fear that their stock price will go down for a point of two. The rank and file employees conform out of fear for their jobs.

Education does not, by itself equate with intelligence or real world value sentiments. Many of the most skilled tradesmen and other workers are highly intelligent and productive, but never attended college.

There may be good, or less bad, news. Whichever the way the election tomorrow goes, it is going piss off half the country. But it’s not going to be Armageddon or the Apocalypse. At least I hope not.

The United States of America’s election day is little more than a week away. I believe it is important to tell my acquaintances, friends, family, and other readers how I intend to vote and why.

Donald Trump was not my choice to be the Republican nominee, but “Around here, baby, I’ve learned you get what you can get.” (Note 1)

Trump is the only choice who will protect what I will vote for. So the electors I will vote for are his.

• I’m voting for free market capitalism. Obviously, some regulation of commerce, the exchange of goods and services is necessary. But legislation and rules that masquerade as commercial regulation, particularly by the federal government, can hamstring free enterprise, particularly for small businesses and start-ups. As far as being “authoritarian,” Obama, with his “pen and phone,” and Biden, with his attempts to cancel student debts, ban petroleum production, and mandate electric cars, have been far more authoritarian. Trump’s use of executive orders have been to eliminate or restrict rampant non-legislative rule-making.

• I’m voting for the U.S. to have energy independence. The availability and cost of energy is the principal driver of inflation. Yes, yes, I know the climate may be changing – I am not a denier. But I know history. The earth’s climate has changed many times — without human assistance. Banning fossil fuels, which is the only source of energy that is dense, portable, abundant, and safe is a major part of the left-wing agenda that the other candidate has espoused, no matter what she says on the campaign trail. Anyway, try coercing China and India, whose carbon output is massive compared to the United States, into cutting their fossil fuel use. Won’t happen.

• I’m voting for the First Amendment, that includes freedom for free exercise of religious beliefs, together with freedom of speech and expression. This includes the right to speak opinion and not be censored — by government or public utilities that have (express or implied) government franchises (e.g., social media).

• I’m voting to preserve Second Amendment rights for honest citizens to defend their life and their property.

• I’m voting for the future Supreme Court Justice(s) to protect the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and for the appointment of lower court Federal Judges to do the same. Many members of Congress see their primary function as getting re-elected to their good-paying and prestigious job that they have abrogated the hard choices to administrative agencies that they create. Those agencies have become an oligarchy that is the real threat America’s democratic republic. There are finally sufficient Justices who are reining in that oligarchy. I note that there is consternation among many citizens that the overruling of Roe v. Wade was an abrogation of women’s rights. Regardless of one’s position on the subject of abortion, is should be decided by the people of each state, not by five (or more) lawyers who wear black robes

• I’m voting for the continued growth of retirement funds (401K & IRAs) and the stock markets on which they depend. Those are under threat by some prominent leftists with their promotion of a so-called “wealth tax” to tax unrealized capital gains. Such a tax would cause the collapse of the markets, and destroy the retirement funds, not to mention incentives for investment in enterprise.

• I am voting to maintain the viability and strength of the federal system. Our union is that of states, not provinces. The complaint that, for example, the votes of people in Wyoming count more than the votes of those in California with many time the population is untrue. At the state level, which is where it counts for everyday life, the citizens of the states have equal say with each other. There was a recent cartoon in the daily newspaper when in the first panel the character asked “What is the purpose of the electoral College?” The second panel’s character replied “To protect us from democracy.”(Note 2) Now, I am sure that the sense that the cartoonist wished to convey was not complimentary. “Democracy” has become a sacred-cow shibboleth. But the answer was correct. Democracy, in the sense of 51% majority rule (known as plebiscitary democracy) can be as oppressive and tyrannical, especially to the other 49%, as a monarchy, dictatorship, or oligarchy. The Electoral College serves to mitigate the possibility of ill effects of a pure 51% rule. (Note 3)

• I’m voting for the police to be respected to ensure law & order without which there is no liberty. Full disclosure: I am a former police officer. “Protect and Serve” is the motto seen on police cars and other media. The best way to further that duty is to take lawbreakers off the street. To further that duty prosecutors must do their job and prosecute according to law. Mitigation of social problems is a job for legislatures, primarily at the state level, and the people at large, not social engineering by the executive branch, federal or state

• I’m voting for secure borders and legal immigration, and to stanch human trafficking and drug smuggling. On day one of the current Administration, Biden opened the floodgates. Trump would in good measure close them; his opponent, if elected, will not.

• I’m voting for our staunchest ally in the Middle East, Israel, and its right to exist and defend itself, as its leaders determine. Moral support, intelligence, and supply of necessary materiel to Israel is essential. Please note that I am not advocating direct military action other than defensive air and naval support like the Iron Dome and repelling attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

• I’m voting for international peace for strength. Trump may be unpredictable in foreign affairs, but that can be a strength. If nothing else, he has had a career being a successful maker. His opponent would have not credibility with Putin, Xi, or Kim. Certainly not with the Ayatollah. A contemporary article by a former Congressman (Republican) from Texas laments that the United States has not yet elected a women for President. Well, that might be a concern to some, but his comparisons are inapposite. Trump’s opponent is certainly no “Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher, Golda Meir, Indira Gandhi, or Angela Merkel. (Note 4)

• Finally, I’m also voting for my Republican candidate for Senate and House of Representatives who will limit the possible harm. If anyone stomach to vote for Trump because of his personality, he or she must vote for the Representative and Senatorial candidate who will oppose the elimination of the Senate’s super-majority rule, the packing of the Supreme Court and other federal courts, and the executive’s attempt to rule by a pen and a phone.

Note 1 — Apologies to Bruce Springsteen, who is for the other candidate. His song is “Tougher than the Rest” in the Tunnel of Love album (1987). Covered by Emmylou Harris (1990) and others.

Note 2 — “B.C.” by Mastroianni & Hart; https://www.gocomics.com/bc/2024/10/12

Note 3 — See David Lowenstein, “What Democracy is Not,” Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, p. 57 (Winter 2024); also, Tara Ross, Enlightened Democracy — the Case for the Electoral College (2004, 2012).

Note 4 — Alan Steelman, “Will Nov. 5 be the next step for American women?” The Dallas Morning News, Sunday, October 27, 2024, Section P, pg. 1. I would also include in the comparison Giorgia Meloni, the rising star Italian Prime Minister who has already shown her mettle. Steelman could have also included Nikki Haley, who will surely be in the arena in 2028.

Today, September 17 is celebrated as Constitution Day, commemorating the signing and publication of the United States Constitution in 1787. It went into effect when the ninth state, New Hampshire, ratified it on June 21, 1788. Although there have been twenty-seven amendments (the first 10, usually referred to as the Bill of Rights, were proposed by the First Congress and ratified in1792) for the 234 years of existence it remains the basic structure of our government.

Currently we hear quite a bit about threats to “our democracy” mostly from the political left. That is mostly overblown rhetoric. The Constitution does limit majoritarian governance — rule by 51% — but does so to produce an enlightened democracy that prevents the tyranny of the majority and the abridgment of minority rights.

The Constitution has not been without controversy. Two that have periodically appeared in recent years are: (1) the existence of the membership of the Senate where each State, regardless of population has two Senators; and (2) the Electoral College that actually casts the vote electing the President that can result in the election of a President by a candidate who receives fewer popular votes nationwide than an opponent. A third criticism, not discussed in this essay, is the Supreme Court that can void a law enacted by elected representatives as contrary to the Constitution. Those that oppose such measures argue that they stifle democracy. There are even more criticisms that are not addressed in this essay.

Senate Membership. We must recall that the states of the federal Union are just that: states, not provinces or mere subdivisions of the nation. The sovereignty of the people of each state is preserved thereby. The national government established by the Constitution has enumerated powers; the states retain such powers as are inherent in sovereignty. The people of less populous states have a bulwark against a national popular majority that could impose legislation that would not address state and local concerns or be detrimental to those concerns.

Electoral College. A similar argument exists as to why Electoral College is necessary. Should not the President be elected directly by the people? The concern the Founders had with a national referendum was a bare majority of voters nationwide electing the President would have no reference to how each state votes. As stated above, the states are not provinces. Each is sovereign in its own realm, exercising the powers not delegated to Congress and the President. Those branches of the government could then feel free to ignore state concerns. As few as six small states could show a majority for one candidate and be outvoted by one large industrial state. Also, the Constitution provides that the states choose the means by which electors are chosen and, if an at-large election would be imposed, ballot contests would have to be administered by the federal executive, and would be lengthy and cumbersome. Furthermore, a national popular election would encourage multiple candidates where a plurality could elect a candidate with only minority support. The means of remedying such a situation would have to be a national run-off. That could result in a President that only a minority voted for. It is true that the Electoral College system has elected candidates that did not receive popular majorities, but those elections have been close.

This essay will conclude with an observation about separation of governmental powers. Countries that have what is known as parliamentary democracy have the executive chosen by a majority of the legislature and dependent upon its confidence, whether that body is called a House of Commons, National Assembly or Bundestag. The judiciary in such system is likewise beholden to the legislature. In most European nations that has generally worked, at least since World War II. That is most likely because of those nations demographic homogeneity. That appears to be changing, and the result is uncertain. What is certain is that the USA was founded on the theory of government based on factions that were tamed by written principles and consensus, as well as strict separation of powers, not by the whims or ephemeral majorities. This was described in the Federalist Papers written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, especially Madison’s Federalist #10. The late former Vice-President and Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey, no conservative or otherwise of the political right, once remarked that a government that can do more for you is one that can do more to you.

Happy Constitution Day!

References:
Catherine Drinker Bowen, Miracle at Philadelphia (1966)
Clinton Rossiter (Ed.) The Federalist PapersTara Ross, Enlightened Democracy: The Case for the Electoral College (2004).
Forrest McDonald, Novus Ordo Seclorum: The Intellectual Origins of the Constitution (1985)
Forrest McDonald, We the People: The Economic Origins of the Constitution (1958 (Third printing 2003)
Garry Wills, Explaining America: The Federalist (1981, 2993)
Numerous resources at the non-partisan National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, PA See https://constitutioncenter.org/
and
The Federalist Society
https://fedsoc.org/

The National Constitution Center has sponsored debates here in Dallas on several occasions.

Here is from a letter to the Washington Post: . It has: prevented the formation of a fragile multiparty system; demanded that parties develop wide national reaches in policy and geography; precluded small minority parties from acquiring power beyond their measure; and eliminated the risk of small factions from becoming kingmakers.

This is and updated version of an essay published on a past Independence Day. Current events being what they are, it seems apropos for today.

It seems there is a never ending screech of politicians, pundits , academics and the usual fanatics proclaiming that America has never been so divided as it is today. Truth is, our nation has always been divided in matters of society, culture, economics and politics. The union of the Thirteen Colonies came about because of a common purpose and common foe. Even so, many colonials were not in favor of leaving the British Empire. When independence was confirmed after a war that lasted seven years, quite a few loyalists were so distressed that they emigrated, many to Canada. And it was not clear that the former colonies would unite — they almost did not.

But for the most part, Americans have always shown a united front toward foreign enemies, particularly those who open the hostilities and who were a threat to United States interests. Post independence, the obvious exceptions were the War of 1812 and Vietnam, both of which were widely unpopular. The Iraq war is unpopular in retrospect, but was unopposed for the major action, except for a minuscule fringe. (World Wars I & II had their fringe opponents, too.) Nothing kept Americans more united in purpose than the 40 year Cold War with the Soviet Union. Of course, the prospect of nuclear annihilation in 30 minutes focuses the mind wonderfully.

At home, the division has always been palpable. The Constitutional purpose to ensure domestic tranquility has been imperfect at best. But public policy disagreements, which occasionally erupt into physical altercations, have served as a dialectic: thesis versus antithesis, therefore synthesis. Perhaps the most fundamental tension is individual freedom versus security. Nearly everything else is a corollary. Direct conflict has nearly always produced a compromise that is more on the liberty interest. The result has been innovation and its unparalleled material success.

Walt Disney’s animated film Fantasia was released to theaters 84 years ago in 1940. It is still popular as an amazing accomplishment in animation of a feature-length movie. It features a number of animated presentations, each accompanied by music of classical composers: Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Bach, Schubert, Dukas, Ponchielli, and Mussorgsky. It is probably most famous for Mickey Mouse’s portrayal of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice to the eponymous composition of Paul Dukas. The most dramatic and scariest episode is the penultimate one that depicts the massive satanic prince Chernabog opening from the pinnacle of the mountain and his hobgoblins, ghosts, and witch followers rising from the depths of the earth and cemeteries to frolic in the night on the Bald Mountain (Lysa Hora) in Ukraine.

The tone poem Night on Bald Mountain, composed by the Russian Modest Mussorgsky, is a favorite for Hallowe’en, the eve of All Saints Day. The saints — or “hallows” — are collectively observed by Christians and celebrated on November 1 each year. Many interpret the eve as symbolically representing as the frolic of the witches, devils, ghosts, and their master Satan. At the coda, the Angelus Bell signals the dawn and the triumph of the saints. Chernabog folds back into the mountain, the demons are cast into hell, the ghosts go back to their graves. A procession of monks with torches walk toward an old cathedral to the strains of Schubert’s Ave Maria.

While that is one way of looking at Mussorgsky’s composition and Disney’s use of it, the night the composer had in mind was not Hallowe’en, but rather the eve of the feast of John the Baptist, today, June 23. The Gospel of Luke in Chapter One relates that John was born six months before Jesus. Traditionally, Jesus’ nativity occurred around the time of the winter solstice. Thus John’s birth would have coincided with the summer solstice by the calendar then used, June 24. Thus, June 23 is Saint John’s Eve when Satan and his minions and ghosts fly and dance about the mountain. Their frolic ends when the bell at dawn announces the birthday of John the Messiah’s harbinger.

The solstices have religious and cultural, as well as scientific, significance. Almost all faiths have attached important events to each. For Christians, Jesus was born at that time. The Druids in ancient Britain probably erected Stonehenge as an instrument to ascertain the solstices for their worship purposes. Timing of the summer solstice has been observed since the Neolithic era, with many ancient monuments in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas aligned with sunrise or sunset on the summer solstice. The term “Midsummer” refers to the time around the summer solstice. Notwithstanding astronomical observations, Northern European cultures have considered it to be June 23 – 24.

The astronomical summer solstice arrived early this year on June 20. I’ll leave the answer as to why to meteorologists and astronomers. Depending on the calendars used, the dates when the sun reaches perpendicularity with the highest and the lowest latitudes observed in the earth’s hemispheres have been the 20th– 25th of June and December respectively. Popularly they are called the longest and shortest days of the year and the beginning of the winter and summer season.

The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens today (June 16) hosted a close up “glove encounter” show of several species of hawks and owls. Included was a red-tailed hawk and several owls. Here are some close-up photos I took of two birds held by their handlers.

These raptors were rescued and rehabilitated. Neither could be released to the wild because of their limited flying ability. the owl rescued as a baby and is now 11 years old. It weighs 130 grams (4.6 oz.).

There are plenty of re-tailed hawks around White Rock Lake and the adjoining parks and trails, as well as surrounding neighborhoods. We’ve heard screech owls early in the morning before sunrise, but this is the first time to see one up close. They are surprisingly small.

If you find injured raptor?

Call Black Prairie Raptor Center or text 469-964-9696

The Blackland Prairie Raptor Center treats sick, injured, and orphaned birds of prey 365 days per year. https://bpraptorcenter.org

The Wall Street Journal, America’s second largest daily newspaper by circulation, had a promotional slogan in the past “Only Busy Men Have Time to Read The Wall Street Journal” in an effort to increase readership, particularly among professionals and those striving to get ahead in business.

For much of its 134 years in publication, the Journal concentrated almost solely on business and financial news and commentary. In recent decades the Journal while still featuring the same content, has become a general news source that includes entertainment, book reviews, and lifestyle features. Since September 2010, the Journal has published in its Saturday edition that, along with its daily news, opinions, business, and financial items, offers comprehensive ‘Review” and “Off Duty” sections not directly related to commerce and finance.

“How a Swan Stays White in Muddy Waters” by Helen Czerski, and “Maybe That Spoiled Kid is Cool After All” by Ben Zimmer were featured in the Journal’s most recent Review section (6/8/2024). Czerski described the swan’s method of grooming in detail. The description includes that these birds have a preen gland that secretes a “superhydrophobic” oily mixture that repels water and causes the dirt to just slide off its feathers. For me, anyway, that gives a whole new meaning to the term “preen” or “preening” that I have generally understood is a verb to describe meticulous or fussy grooming or pretentious posturing. The author doesn’t mention how black swans cope. One wonders; black often shows up dirt better than white.

Zimmer writes a regular Saturday column on words. His latest in the aforementioned edition is the etymology of “brat” — often applied to an unruly or obnoxious child. That meaning appears to come from a Scottish word for a mischievous child or a similar French word for a hunting hound. The Eighteenth Century lexicographer Samuel Johnson included both the pejorative meaning and a more neutral one, as in “military brat.” Zimmer mentioned a group of Hollywood film celebrities who have been dubbed the “Brat Pack” from their association in teen exploitation movies. The “Rat Pack” of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, et al with a”B” added. Another use was in Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind, Scarlett O’Hara’s father referred to the illegitimate child of a poor neighbor girl and his foreman as a “brat” but I’ve never seen or heard it used in that context anywhere else. “Brat,” as short for bratwurst, is my favorite use.

In reference to words and their use, there are numerous that are overused in contemporary parlance that might be a subject for a later post. Most are adjectives. I’ll mention one that has been banned from my vocabulary: the “a” word. It might be appropriate for an extreme quality for an event or something, but occasions are rare and its use has debased the meaning. There are plenty of synonyms to select from.