I remember where I was...

when 9/11 occurred. I was living in Columbia, MO where I was attending Graduate School at the University of Missouri-Columbia. It was a Tuesday morning and I had only one class later that day, my Latin epigraphy class. I woke up around 8:00 am. My clock/alarm was always funky. I could never quite get it tuned to an exact station so when I woke up that morning, I woke up to just a bunch of static noise. Occasionally, I could hear something intelligible. It was set to the local news/talk station so sometimes I did hear a report or something, but nothing really that I could understand. I walked into my living area of my Columbia apartment and turned on the TV. I just had to have some noise on that wasn't just random noise. The first image I saw was one of the the twin towers, in flames. At this point, just watching what was going on and trying to make sense of news flashing on the ticker as well as the reporter trying to give all this information at once, I saw a plane, like a black shadow hit the second tower. Before this, there was still the belief that this was just a serious accident of a plane horribly off course. But when I saw the second plane hit the second building, I knew that this was an attack.

I've always taught my students that geography is destiny. To prove this, I have taught them that the reason the United States has become such a power in the world is due to its geographic isolation because of the two ponds separating us from Europe and Asia. The United States has been attacked on its soil only three times in its history: 1) War of 1812 2) Pearl Harbor and 3) 9/11. Speaking academically, that's something incredible. But dispassionate academics must sometime give way to human suffering.

I tried to go through the rest of my day as if everything was OK. On the shuttle over to campus, the driver had the radio set to the talk station where all these reports were being speedily read over the air. Politicians were interviewed. I remember even hearing a statement from the Taliban that they insisted they were not responsible for what had happened which basically told me that they were lying.

I went to my epigraphy class and all of us sitting in the seminar room were just sitting. We didn't say anything, we didn't do anything. We just sat there. Dr. Trout walked into the room and he could clearly see that we were bothered by the events of the day and I know he was, too. He said we could go through the day's assignments as if nothing had changed, though clearly things had or we could discuss it. We opted to discuss things at first. I found out that no one had immediate family that had been killed in the event, but, at the same time, many reports were still very preliminary and needed follow-up. But we then went on to read some inscriptions--I don't even remember what they were of.

The next day I was to teach my myth class at 8:00 in the morning. I had everything laid out that I was going to talk about. That day's subject was Artemis (I remember that clearly for some reason). As I went in, I could see the look of despair, shock, anger in their faces. I told them that we could go through with the lesson as I had planned it, as if nothing had changed, though things have, or we could talk about it. They opted to talk about it. Reactions and statements ranged from fearful to anger. I had even one student say to me that if he had been on a plane he would have single-handedly taken out the terrorists. I decided not to address his bravado, though clearly a few students rolled their eyes at his suggestion.

The events on that Tuesday became all any of us could talk about for that week. Media wasn't talking about anything else Editorials screamed suggestions. But one thing was clear--Terrorism had come to America and we were now living in a post 9/11 world. It was the day everything changed.

To the victims of this horror, all of them, +Memory eternal.

Interesting discovery

A skull that rewrites the history of man

The conventional view of human evolution and how early man colonised the world has been thrown into doubt by a series of stunning palaeontological discoveries suggesting that Africa was not the sole cradle of humankind. Scientists have found a handful of ancient human skulls at an archaeological site two hours from the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, that suggest a Eurasian chapter in the long evolutionary story of man.


The skulls, jawbones and fragments of limb bones suggest that our ancient human ancestors migrated out of Africa far earlier than previously thought and spent a long evolutionary interlude in Eurasia – before moving back into Africa to complete the story of man.

Experts believe fossilised bones unearthed at the medieval village of Dmanisi in the foothills of the Caucuses, and dated to about 1.8 million years ago, are the oldest indisputable remains of humans discovered outside of Africa.

I find this particularly fascinating. Considering Georgia's close proximity to the Tigris and Euphrates, the two rivers that make up Mesopotamia and the fertile crescent, and which are also mentioned in Genesis as the rivers which border the Garden of Eden, could this perhaps maybe lend some creedence that the Genesis account does have some factual information in it and that Eden perhaps is not a myth and that man, at least a certain population of man, inhabited the area? It's not necessary to reconcile Genesis and scientific inquiry because the two, I believe, are not in conflict as many people will say. I'm curious to see if more discoveries are to come.

Some shameless self-promotion

I've started to do a little freelance writing. It's not something I would say that I am great at, but I do like to do it. Anyway, I've started writing for theexaminer.com which has articles on pretty much every subject you can imagine. Well, I completed my first article for the examiner and you can read it here. it deals with the farmers market going on at St. Mary Orthodox Church in Omaha. Comments are very welcome. Thanks.

Secrets to Success

In this economy, everyone is looking for any kind of advantage so that they may be propelled to the top and start raking it in. Patience is being sacrifice. Watching TV this evening, I stumbled upon a way that may allow you to become successful.

First, a question. What do the following people--Chef Ramsey, Simon Cowell, Anne Robinson, and Piers Morgan--have in common?

a) They're British
b) They're TV personalities on American shows
c) They're incredibly bitter, angry, self-deprecating, loathing, controlling people
d) All the above

And the answer is, of course, "d." All of them are extraordinarily mean, love being in control, hate stupidity or talent-less people (nothing inherently wrong with that)and all have that stuck-up droning British accent that conveys nothing else except the fact that they are better than you in every way possible, not least becuase they hail from Britannia and sing "God save the Queen" at every opportunity they get. OK, that's a stretch. But, let's be honest, with the exception of the Weakest Link, the game show that Anne Robinson hosted and is no longer on the air, all of these shows are currently successful and draw huge ratings.

But do you honestly believe people tune in to American Idol because these young "singers" actually have talent? Or watch America's Got Talent because they are so in need of seeing the person who can shoot milk out of his nose or pop his eyes out of the socket? Or watch Hell's Kitchen for the latest recipes to try at home? Of course not! No! We watch them because we want to see the stuck-up, angry man from across the pond, in his proud British accent blow up and be extraordinarily hateful to stupid Americans!

So, perhaps, if you want to get ahead in this turbulent time, pass yourself off as British! Hey, if Madonna can do it, maybe you can, too and get a TV reality-show deal out of it. It's just a thought!

Let's just smile and be happy. After all, Obama is President

The cheeriness of the far left in these desperate economic ties doesn't surprise or amaze me. On the one hand, they claim sympathy for those who are out of work and struggling and at the same time they can do nothing but fawn when it comes to the President and his policies, which, obviously, do not work and will not work. The midterm elections next year should prove that, though I'm no fan of Republicans being in charge of Congress because they have done, during their tenure, exactly what they blame Obama and the Democrats for. Such, though, is the problem with the left, rather than actually come up solutions to problems, especially market solutions which are known to work, they simply go out to the major media outlets and go on for hours about how much they care and sympathize. Their intentions are good, but then they go ahead and do everything not to solve the problem.

Consider the forecasts of the OMB (Office of Management and Budget) of further economic stagnation and contraction. According to them we will hit 10.2% unemployment next year and run deficits in excess of $1.5 trillion. Of course, the reason for this further deepening of the recession will be blamed on the previous administration. Now, I will grant that, economically, the last administration did its part. But, once you throw facts into the matrix, the leftist arguments bear no teeth. Again, their arguments are built around sympathy and caring--emotions, not facts! During global recessions and depressions, the world has reacted far more negatively to the fallouts than the United States. In many ways we are buttressed to prevent long term stagnation and negative growth that the Europeans, for instance, are not. Also, one should note that in this current global recession, other major economic powers such as France and Germany, in Europe and Japan, in Asia have pulled themselves out and are showing positive growth (a 1.3% expansion in France and Germany--nothing great, but it's a start) while here in the U.S. our economy contracted by the same percentage points. So, why the difference?

Very simply. The governments of France, Germany and Japan are center-right governments who know very damn well that you don't spend yourself out of a tight fix. They avoided all the stimulus packages, the cap-and-trade bills and the overhaul of healthcare that are being considered or have passed here. These three things have sent shockwaves in the market and into businesses, big and and large in the states because they will do nothing but increase the cost of doing business. And the left wonders why there are protests and revolts against such policies. But, they say, we care, we feel your pain. You should love us because we care. There is an old adage that to help someone heal from pain, you leave them alone. Maybe the left should take that into consideration. But they won't because in order for them to show they care, they need someone to care about. So, they need people in destitute conditions, in poverty, in depression so that they can continue their love fest for the down-trodden.

In the Soviet Union, the glorious revolution was supposed to ensure equality for all. The government officials and military high ups always identified with their plight with the people and sympathized, but did they have to stand in line for bread and other necessities? Of course not. By virtue of their position (and their careing) the higher echelon of society got to shop at stores that were stocked full of all manners of items, even non-essentials which was impossible to obtain for the regular joe to get. A little side note, my brother's friend's dad, Mr. Jarvis, went over to the Soviet Union many years ago for his work (can't remember what it was) and he was just giving out pens from his company to ordinary people in the street. Most of these people didn't have pens in their own homes. A house without a pen! You've got to be kidding! No, Mr. Jarvis found that these people were trading for them because having such a simple item (which you can get here for so cheaply) was not possible. A soldier gave his soviet belt buckle, a very expensive item, to Mr. Jarvis in exchange.

Here in this country, we are told how much the government, particularly the left cares about those of us who are not doing well. And, of course, that's easy for people like Kennedy, Markey, Obama, Pelosi, Reid, Waxman, Hoyer and others to say because they will never have to endure this plight considering how wealthy they have made themselves (Well, Kennedy inherited his from his bootlegging father, Joseph, during prohibition days, but we can't talk about that!). They need us impoverished and destitute so that way they can show they care and their intentions are good. Solutions to that would mean that they would lose them. Their whole modus operandi for winning elections is showing they care for the unfortunate. Once people are no longer that unfortunate, they don't need elected representatives whose intentions only are good.

So, let's be glad because Obama is president and because he cares. Let's support him no matter what because though his policies will do absolutely NOTHING to get us out of this, it's more important that he cares and his intentions are good. Let us always remember that the road to hell is paved with those good intentions.

Obituary for my grandmother

My grandmother, Myrtle Palo, reposed last week at the age of 87. See my previous post about my own reflections of her. You can read the here obituary here as it appeared in the Star Beacon.

Memory eternal, Grandma. We miss you and love you.

+Memory eternal to Myrtle Palo

Last night at 10 pm, PDT, my grandmother, Myrtle Palo reposed. She was 87 years old and just had a birthday a week and a half prior.

This has been a difficult year for me. It seemed like only yesterday that I heard the news that my grandfather, Christian, had fallen asleep. I went to his funeral and carried his casket which was then lowered into the earth whence he came. Now, I've lost my grandmother, my dad's mom.

I must confess that I wasn't as close with my grandmother as I was with my mom's side of the family. I don't know why such was the case, but I suppose a lot of it had to do with the fact that my grandmother lived in California which wasn't exactly the easiest place to drive with three kids nor the cheapest to fly. But what I do know about my grandmother is that she was full of life. She loved travelling and she liked gambling. In short, she liked to have fun. I know that she was not particularly happy this past year with all the medical problems she was having which prevented her from doing what she loved to do most.

My phone conversations with her, which were limited mainly to birthdays and holidays, were always pleasant and she always wanted to know what was going on with me. There was no doubt that she cared; I wonder if I cared as much. And, if such were the case, I don't have any further opportunities to make it up. And I suppose I will have to carry the guilt of not having done enough for awhile. Maybe I can use that as a springboard to really cultivate the relationship I have with my only remaining grandparent, my Oma, Magdalena.

Nevertheless, on birthdays, on Thanksgiving and on Christmas, there will be more absence without hearing her voice. Memory eternal!

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord and let light perpetual shine upon her. A hymn befits thee in Sion and a hymn shall be repaid to thee in Jerusalem. Hear my prayer, O God: All flesh shall come unto Thee.