Manly Sentiments from Generations Past

Do men still think this way?

Happiness by Carl Sandburg

I asked the professors who teach the meaning of life to tell
    me what is happiness.
And I went to famous executives who boss the work of
    thousands of men.
They all shook their heads and gave me a smile as though
    I was trying to fool with them.
And then one Sunday afternoon I wandered out along
    the Desplaines river
And I saw a crowd of Hungarians under the trees with
    their women and children and a keg of beer and an
    accordion.

Slovak Day, June 9, 2013

Woman at Prayer - 8, Wisdom

Eighth in a series from the booklet "A Woman at Prayer" by the Rev. Conleth Overman.

WHO MAKES THE RULES? 

There is great wisdom in knowing how a thing works best. 

One might say that God's rules for us are the "Directions" that come with the human appliance. Wise housewives are scrupulous in observing the set of directions which come with the new washing machine. They know from past experience that wrong use of a deli­cate machine results in repair bills and inconvenience.  Now, since God has been good enough to set down the directions we must observe for the use of the human machine, is it not wise to observe them?

The manufacturer is trying to help the purchaser with the directions he includes in the package with the appliance.  And God is being kind to us when He makes the rules for us.  The human being is so complicated, so delicately adjusted, so intricately related to other beings, that only the wisdom of God Himself is adequate to make rules for us.   It is sheer madness to make our own.

There is nothing that gets us into more trouble than our attempt to make our own rules.  Eve attempted to make rules for her­self and look what happened to her.  God had made the rule she was to observe in regard to the fruit of the Tree of Life.  But she knew better and thus opened the Pandora Box of Original Sin.

What motivates women to make their own rules is their unwillingness to face reality.  It takes humility and great good will to say:  "This is what God wants, and this I will do."   There is in each of us a fatal attraction to do our own will.  Was it not Queen Elizabeth, the illegitimate daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, who said:  "Rather to rule in hell than to serve in heaven"?

And trouble, trouble, trouble is the result of making our own rules.  The ideas we have in our own heads do not change what is outside us.  A person may decide to abolish the law of gravity.  But the law of gravity does not thereby cease to exist, even for that individual.  Behold her climbing out on the ledge of a 20-story window; behold her muttering with determination,  "I refuse to be bound by the law of gravity;" and now behold her smashed to jelly on the pavement below.  And what happens in the physical order from making our own rules in defiance of God's rules, hap­pens as well in the moral order.

Why is it that we grow hostile to God for giving us the rules we must follow?  We ought to be eternally grateful that He thought enough of us to set the pattern for us.  It is easy to lead a useful, contented, happy life on earth if we tailor ourselves to God's ideas for us.  God is our Heavenly Father; God knows what will hurt us, and what is best for us both in time and in eternity.  Fortun­ately  for us God has revealed His Will for us and continues to guide us safely in the vital teaching of His word and of the Church.  How foolish to resist the restraining Hand of God and to jump off the deep end!

Much of our success in being women lies in accepting God's Will for us.  Humility to dis­trust our own will  and obedience to do what God wants of us are the two great feminine needs.  With all our heart the question in our title must be answered: "God makes the rules!"

Remembering Citizen Soldiers

There is a famous Roman General, Cincinnatus, who was asked to serve by the Senate while he was plowing in his fields.  He agreed to take charge of the army and country for as long as he was needed and walked away leaving his plow standing in field.  He was very successful in war and was honored and acclaimed by all the people.  They wanted him to remain as dictator.  But, he was a man of his word, and left the adulation and walked back to his plow where it stood and began right there his old way of life.

He was the ideal of the founding fathers of our country.  Many of the Revolutionary War soldiers were given frontier land for serving.  They named a new city in the  frontier after themselves:  Cincinnati.

Here are the Cincinnati from our family: 

Pre-World War I:

Edward Schuster :  Captain in the U.S. Calvary.   Just prior to WWI he was a riding instructor in Melrose Park.  Edward was my Grandfather Schuster's brother.

World War I - Army:

Edward Schuster:  He entered the war with the rank of Captain.  He was sent to France and was in trench warfare where he was a victim of mustard gas.  He returned home sick and "shell shock".  His father bought a farm in Wheatfield, Indiana, for him hoping quiet and clean air would help his recovery.  Must have done the job, because he ended up living  to 1970.

Sylvester Schuster: He was inducted into the army during the war and was waiting to be shipped from Norfolk, Virginia, when Armistice was declared. After the war he went back to work for Western Electric as an electrical engineer. Sylvester was Edward's younger brother and my grandfather.

Frank Rozanski: I found on his grave-marker that he was a machine-gunner in the famous 1st Illinois Division of the U.S. Army - the first to be sent to France.  He survived, but tragically died in an accident a few years after the war.  Frank was my Grandmother Schuster's brother.

World War II - Navy:

Donn, Bob, and Vernon Gros

Bob Gros:  Seaman First Class Signal Man, he did his basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station.  Then he went to Farragut, Idaho, for training in the Naval Armed Guard and to code school. From there he went to Treasure Island in San Francisco where he was shipped out.  The Naval Armed Guard was a group of about 20 men who were assigned to a Merchant Marine or Liberty Ship that carried cargo or troops.  His carried oil and airplane parts.  They had at least one 5 inch gun, but were really sitting ducks.

Bob was at the Battle for Leyte Gulf where he witnessed the Kamikazes and was part of the Invasion of the Philippines.  He was in New Guinea, but I don't think that there was action there then.  When the war ended, Bob was aboard ship out in the Pacific and had a choice to go to Japan to be part of the occupation or to go home.  He chose home.  Before the war he had a job as tool and die maker.  While on board ship, he learned carpentry to pass the time and it became his trade for the rest of his life. Bob was my Dad.

Vernon Gros:  Bob Gros' older brother.  He served stateside. Vern was the head of purchasing for the jewelry department at Montgomery Ward.

Donn (Adolph) Gros:  Bob Gros' younger brother.  He also served stateside. Donn had a varied career after the war - from resort owner to a concrete business.

Rudy Kaiser:  A mechanic, Rudy served both stateside and aboard ship.  After the war, Rudy worked as a machinist at Chicago Screw Company.  He was married to Bertha Nemcek, my mother-in-law's sister.

James Schuster:  Towards the end of the war when Jim graduated High School, he joined the Navy.  As far as I know he served Stateside. Afterwards he worked for the Elgin watch company and later as a financial officer for a corporation.  He met his wife Shirley at Elgin and they grew a large family - nine children!   Jim was my mother's brother.

World War II - Army:

Edward Nemcek:  "Jungle-Fighter" was the designation that was given to the men who fought in New Guinea.  Unfortunately, if these men survived, they were plagued for the rest of their lives with malaria.  This was the case for Ed.  He worked as a printer after the war, both for large printing houses and later for his own small firm.  Edward was the brother of my mother-in-law.

Donald Ricker:  Another man who fought in the jungles of New Guinea.  He too, had malaria that complicated surgery for a hip replacement.  It never healed and he passed away.  "Rick" worked as a finish carpenter and was married to my mother's sister Georgette.

Frank Sensendorf:  I believe that he was a weather man and was stationed first in the Aleutian Islands and later in Panama.  He too, contracted malaria in Panama.  We lived with him and my Aunt Ruth for a while after the war and I witnessed how sick he was.  Frank worked the rest of his life for Wyeth Laboratories.

Billy, Uncle Syl & Joanne

World War II - Air Force:

Syl Nemcek:  17 years old, he graduated from high school one day and reported for duty the next.  Syl became a tail-gunner for B-27 (24?)  Liberator bombers (259th Squadron) and participated in bombing raids over Tokyo. He miraculously lived to tell the tale - only 1 in 4 tail-gunners made it.  After the war he worked for Eastman Kodak until he retired.  He took part in many reunions with the 380th Bomb Group.  Syl was another of my mother-in-law's brothers.

A little WWII Patriot

Whenever Memorial Day comes around, I have remembrances that can't be easily talked about or be explained.  The flags, the ceremonies, the playing of Taps connects me to my childhood and to many people who are no longer alive.  Having been an infant and small child during World War II, I don't have many direct memories - just impressions.  But I have very vivid memories of the immediate aftermath and the struggle for normalcy in the years that followed.

Since WWII there have been others who have served and are serving today.  My cousin David Malmberg served in Vietnam;  my niece's husband, Dave Hoeks was in the Air Force and served with the Stragetic Air Command and in the First Gulf War.  Since they are still alive, I will let them tell their own stories!  As to those serving today as we celebrate Memorial Day, we ask God's protection and blessing.

Woman at Prayer - 7, "Happiness"

Seventh in a series of articles from the booklet A Woman at Prayer by Rev. Conlith Overman, (1962)

ON PEACE OF MIND

There is a pearl of great price to be had.

Sermon on the Mount by Carl Bloch

Two eminent scholars in a book* make  much of the unhappiness of contemporary women. " Never before in the history of the world" say the writers, has there been more unhappiness among women. And this, they go on to state in an age when women's rights, freedom, the fem­inine suffrage have won the day. 

We shall not quarrel with these eminent schol­ars nor question their statistics, nor object to their solution of the problem. We mention the book to point up the fact that there are unhappy women  in the world today. 

What can be done about unhappiness?  Well, first we can understand whence comes unhappi­ness. In every case we find that the unhappy person is the victim of wrong emphasis. The person assigns too great a value to some one factor of human living; or undervalues some other factor that ought to be highly regarded. 

We can say that the unhappy person is out of touch with reality. She lives in a dream world, and the dreams turn out to be all nightmares. 

By way of illustration, suppose that a person feels that it is absolutely essential always to have her own way.  That is what she lives for.   She will not, as she boasts, play second fiddle to anybody. Can you imagine a more unhappy per­son?  To have one's way always is to want to be God; and that is impossible. 

We have said that unhappiness is the product of placing the wrong emphasis.  We can enum­erate several possibilities for this wrong em­phasis:  Material possessions,  power over our fel­lowmen, unlimited pleasures, worldly success, peace at the expense of principle.  Anybody who places too high a value on the items in this list   is courting unhappiness. 

Our Savior came into this world to show us the way to happiness, both in this life and in the life to come.  And thus at the beginning of his public ministry he gave us His 'formula for happiness.'  This formula is found in the fifth chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel. It is com­monly known as the Eight Beatitudes. 

Instead of the colorless word "blessed," the original Greek text uses "makairos" which means happy.   So Christ actually said: "Happy are the poor of spirit ... Happy are the meek ... Happy are they that mourn . . . Happy are they who hunger and thirst after justice . . . Happy are the merciful ... Happy are the clean of heart... Happy are the peacemakers ... Happy are they who suffer persecution for justice' sake . . ." 

The Beatitudes are Christian points of empha­sis.  If we stress in our lives what Christ men­tions in the Beatitudes we will enjoy happiness.  There will be no confusion of mind for us.  We will know with the greater certitude of Faith what is best for us. 

*  There may have only been one book in 1960, but since then there have been thousands and after all the uproar of the feminist movement since then, nobody seems any happier.

Woman at Prayer - 6, "Self-deception"

ON FOOLING YOURSELF

The fool is the enemy principally of himself

The most dangerous kind of deception is self­-deception. At first sight it might seem impossible to fool oneself; but it is actually very easy. That's why the philosophers of Greece taught that the first step toward wisdom is know oneself; that's why the Saints of Christendom teach that humil­ity is the foundation of sanctity.

People are self-deceived because they want to be deceived. It is a bit painful to be stripped of our illusions and to face the truth. It seems more satisfactory to live in a world of haze and unreality. But it only seems more satisfactory; actually self-deception is a very great personal misfortune. Would you say that a person who does not feel the cold because of a slowly creeping paralysis is fortunate because he does not feel the cold?

There are several ways in which self-deception operates. Great quantities of people deceive them­selves by making religion a luxury. They pray in order to feel good; they go to church so that they may have the satisfaction of appearing pious; they give to charity so that they may have that "fine inner glow". Instead of being truly religious, they are rotten selfish.

Then there are the people who use religion for their own ends. They want to be big fish in their own little pond, so they jump into religious ac­tivity. They get to be head of sodalities and organizations. They work like Trojans; Ulysses cleaning the Aegean stables would seem to be resting compared to them; and their activity does more harm than good. They are hypocrites. They are promoting themselves and claiming credit for being servants of God.

Finally, there are those who tacitly adopt the principle that the end justifies the means. These people look so long at the reason that they have for doing something that they overlook the fact that the action is sinful. For instance, a woman who won't talk to her husband because he won't agree to buy a new house* may completely exonerate herself of any fault in her lack of duty to her spouse. "He's mean," she says over and over again until she has convinced herself that what she is doing is all right.

And in everyone of these cases of self-decep­tion the individual is hurting himself. The religion -is-a-luxury people grow lukewarm and frequently fall away from their fervor and even from their faith itself as soon as they feel that spiritual practices are burdensome; the self-promoters by ­religious-activity people become uncooperative and even enemies of the organization as soon as they can't have their own little way any longer; the it's-all-right-because-I'm-hurt people bring sorrow into the lives of everybody including their own.
Self-deception doesn't pay.  It is much better to be free of illusions. The suffering we do in facing the truth is much less than the pain and anguish that smashes us like the delayed action of a block buster. Therefore, we suggest two things: First, be unselfish; second, purify your intention constantly.

 Be unselfish. This is important because self-­deception is the product of selfishness. Think of God; love Him and work for Him in all your activities. It doesn't matter who does the work, or who gets the glory as long as the work gets done. You won't lose out ever by being unselfish.

Purify your intention constantly. Unworthy motives have a way of infiltrating our actions if we are not constantly alert. Even works that have been begun with a pure intention of glorifying God can be spoiled by a lowering of aim.

There is no better way of preparing for heaven than in striving not to deceive ourselves on earth.

*The original example was 'a new hat'.  I had to update that one!  In this day, we have much bigger aspirations.  "We've come a long way, Baby!"

How to Eat Like a Hobbit

You won't believe this, but I came across an article on How to Eat Like a Hobbit. What a fun idea!   It begins like this:

Wild strawberries by my woods

If there is one area of life most people can change in order to return to the Shire, in a metaphorical if not literal sense, it’s their eating habits. You can live in a 20-story high-rise in Manhattan or Paris and still adopt a Hobbit lifestyle when it comes to eating. That’s because Hobbits are different from most of the enslaved subjects of Mordor not only in what they eat… but also in how and why they eat it. Hobbits, along with most of the free peoples of Middle-earth, eat pure, naturally-grown, mostly wild foods from their own gardens or nearby fields: lush berries, fresh bread, cheese, cold meats, mushrooms (lots of those!), wine and beer. They eat frequently, usually in groups and often accompanied by poetry readings and songs. Hobbits are not vegetarians but they have a varied diet of whole, local foods, including Nimcelen, the hobbit version of potato salad; Soroname, a warm soup filled with pasta, meat, tomatoes, beans and onions; and Lembas, Elvish waybread. They drink wine and, when they can get it, such invigorating liquors as Ent-draughts and Miruvor, the life-giving and energizing elixir of the Elves. Food has a spiritual as well as a biological purpose for them.

It's a long article and gets a little political, but towards the end there is a section on practical suggestions that are interesting.  Just click here to read more.

Backwards day in the Shire -
 the moon was out before sunset

Tonight I ate like a Hobbit.  I made a pot of Leek and Barley soup that was mild (bland?), but pretty good.  This was the first time I remember using a leek so I looked up a tutorial on how to clean them.  They are notorious for being very dirty because of the way they grow, but once you know the trick, it isn't too bad of a job.

3 Tablespoons olive oil          1/3 cup parsley, minced
1 cup barley                           Salt to taste
1 carrot finely grated               7 cups water
2 leeks, sliced                         1 boullion cube (opt)
1 bay leaf                                chopped mushrooms (opt)

1. Heat oil and add barley, stir 1 minute.  Immediately add carrots, leeks, bay leaf,  parsley, salt and water.
2. Cook over low to medium heat for 40 to 45 minutes - until barley is tender.  Add more water if needed.
3.  Add optional ingredients during the last 20 minutes of cooking time.

After dinner, it was such a lovely evening, I decided to go for a stroll out  in the Shire. On the path along the woods  I found wild strawberries that were blossoming.  If  I go out every morning when the flowers are done and check for ripe berries, I might be able to get a few.  Usually the critters get there first, but I'm going to give it a try.

Golden sunset over the Shire-
 probably means rain tomorrow