A severe thunderstorm...

Hello all,

It's been a long time since I've posted. I could blame it on golf but I do that during the day and generally blog at night. The frank truth is that I promised blog topics that would not be depressing to my audience -- and I think therein lies the choice of demurring rather than letting you all know what I've been upset about. It seems like this summer there has been a lot of stuff that has been both annoying and irritating to me. Chalk it up to "old codgerism" or maybe the oppressive heat. That said, my golf game has been rewarding and lucrative.

Yet all of a sudden, after weeks of temperatures in the mid to high 80's and low 90's, on Tuesday afternoon, July 17, we finally had a humdinger of a thunderstorm that broke the daily routine. Our inground pool, for instance, suddenly gained two inches of water in less that half an hour. Since my wife was off in Cornwall, Canada with her best bud getting her hair done, I had the afternoon to piddle around with tasks that wouldn't require the expenditure of too much energy while it was 92 in the shade. I also think that it's nice and somewhat unique that my wife travels to Canada for an event that takes me 15 minutes just outside the village, costs $10, and fills up my reservoir of gossip. For her it costs considerably more and requires a passport...

Meanwhile, as the storm clouds gathered, I came into our house (with central air) and turned my rocking chair around facing toward Potsdam so the entertainment event of MY afternoon could be observed firsthand.

It basically got blacker and blacker. Usually, summer thunderstorms head down the river towards Montreal. This one, according to the National Weather Service, and on-line at 2:45 p.m., showed a humdinger with several cells on the way. Basically, everything around Potsdam was red with yellow borders. It was bearing down on our little village at a rate of 84 mph per hour with tornado warnings, large hail and dangerous lightening. And I HATE lightening. I put the car into the garage since the damage of golf ball-sized hail that might inflict on sheet metal and glass would ruin my whole day.

Well, as expected, the storm descended with fury. The curious thing for me was watching a light gray pair of clouds moving across the horizon directly over Potsdam (I live just south of the village). What struck me was their speed. And then suddenly they dipped downward. All of the trees in my immediate surrounding area began shaking violently. The two clouds, now directly over Potsdam, simply merged into a blinding rainstorm. There were constant sheets of heavy rain, but only one or two blasts of lightening and no hail in our neigborhood. I was thankful. It was a rousing storm to watch.

Then suddenly, reality struck me. I had forgotten to put down the reed shades on our screened-in Adirondack porch. I ran and opened the door, only to discover, thankfully, that the antique furniture was still dry there -- in spite of the heavy winds. Storms here usually descend upon us from the west, but Tuesday afternoon it was a ringer from the north/northwest -- unique. When I flipped the electrical switch my big discovery was that my house had no power.

Okay, so I thought it was just another summer thunderstorm. No big deal! Boy did I have THAT wrong! My wife returned home (from the north/northeast) about half an hour later and was flabbergasted. It had taken her a half hour to drop off her friend and drive two and a half miles to our home. Road blocks everywhere; major tree limbs across many of the main streets.

In fifteen minutes Potsdam had been turned into a shambles. My "go to" hardware store had it's roof blown off. It was sitting in the middle of the Raquette River. Sergi's, my favorite restaurant, was without its roof. It had flown onto the local liquor store, trapping the employee on duty. What a horrible punishment. By the time he was "rescued," I assume he was drunk as a skunk. There was not a single fatality in this entire event. Remarkable!

The storm path (which was not deemed a tornado or a microburst), simply traveled in a straight line at destructive speed. Most of Potsdam is alligned in such a way that the trees that came down were on a parallel line with sidewalks and homes. That is, except for my friend Ted Prahl, owner of Ted's Treads, a high end bike store. I figure that a direct hit by a mature maple cost him probably 50 to 100 bicycles profit. As I walked around the village today, I walked past Ted's house. He saw me and came out, reporting that removal of the tree on the top of his houseand in his yard had already cost him $2300. And his Victorian mansard roofed home built in 1880 had taken a direct hit.

So my wife and I wandered around the village with my camera in hand. The devastation is past, but it was severe. It did travel, however, in a straight line nearly all the way to Vermont.

Later, I walked my back forty. Nothing serious. My chainsaw will make quick clean-up of minimal damage. The line of disaster was roughly along the shore of the Raquette River, of which I am on the opposite side.

In retrospect, and in light of global warning, in which I believe, Potsdam took a heavy hit. It was not Joplin, Missouri, however, and, certainly, it was NOT Hurricane Irene last fall. Today, Governor Cuomo declared Potsdam and St. Lawrence County a disaster area to expedite repairs. And the insurance adjustors have hit town. It's amazing how quickly private contractors, insurance folks and electrical grid personel appear on the scene. Their restoration efforts are laudable; their costs incredible.

One never knows how lucky he is to be spared a major disaster. If the oak in the back yard had come down, it would have simply crushed my home, and the cost of destruction would have exceeded $200,000 or more, factoring in insurance. As is was, I went out into my yard and picked up a few downed branches. I also waiked the north forty, and an hour of chainsaw work will easily clean up the downed branches and limbs.

I have decided that it's all serendipity. My heart goes out to the Colorado fire victims and the unbelieveable distruction that occurred in the south this past spring. There but for the grace of God...

And then today, the horrible news from Aurora, Colorado blazed across our screens. I was reminded again of the movie "Schindler's List," Using Auscwitz inmates for target practice. It's all so senseless and random. Meanwhile, Potsdam will carry on.

And Potsdam's little disturbance was minimal by comparison. In the greater scheme of things, random violence by nature and random violence by humans are simply hard to compare...

Carry on,

Paul in Potsdam, NY
http://www2.potsdam.edu/loucksap
http://loucksap.smugmug.com
http://madstop68.blogspot.com

Making sense of current American politics

First let me say that I'm opposed to deciphering American politics via the vehicle of psychological analysis. In short, it is what is is... Yet a few days ago, Mitt Romney declared it was he who had convinced Barack Obama to bail out the auto industry (and to spend several billion dollars of taxpayer money to do so). Yet the evidence shows that Mr. Romney was, in fact, more prone to let Chrysler, General Motors and Ford wilt on the vine, so to speak. If they survived that would be a good thing; if not, such is life. At this point in time I am convinced Mr. Romney tailors his wisdom and pronouncements to an audience that at any given particular moment in time appears to agree with him or already be in synch with him. Yet this is not what I mean when I speak of analysis. Some folks are simply pathologically prone to utter what they think their audience wants to hear...

As a golfer I know what it means to wet one's finger and hold it high in the air. The fickle finger of fate quickly shows which direction the wind is blowing. On the other hand, to be certain, sometimes I stoop and yank a tiny patch of grass and let it flutter away in the wind. I think this is a pro forma policy for our next presumed Republican candidate for POTUS. It doesn't make me all that happy. Yet Mr. Obama, in spite of all his charismatic qualities and gifted rhetoric, seems still (after nearly a term in office), to act like an amateur in a rough game played best by hard-edged professionals. In short, I am conflicted. Regardless, at the same time I already know that Mr. Obama will be my preferred choice this fall.

I say this mostly on the basis of a political cartoon I saw recently. It was the one that finds Mitt in bed with his wife wearing a tuxedo. He says cooing over the pillow: "It just feels so much more comfortable to finally be out of those blue jeans tonight..."

Whatever happened to truth and integrity?

I have this recurring nightmare. It doesn't deal with Mr. Romney or Mr. Obama. It focuses on John Boehner, Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell. They are in charge of our destiny in this horrible dream. The struggle is between Congress and the Executive Branch, and without any help from the Supreme Court. Try as hard as I can to reverse this scenario, my nearly five year old grandson ends up with marginality in his adult life. Accordingly, he chooses to remain a child...

He and I (and his dad) play a game called "Pennies for Paul." For fun, we literally look for pocket change in parking lots. I seed the area around my automobile. Unfortunately, those quarters will not pay for his college education -- as though a college education might have any clout by the time Paul Anthony reaches 21. Maybe this smart as a whip youngster ought to become a plumber or an electrician instead. I ask myself (as a retired college administrator)... is the Ivy League really worth the expenditure?

And frankly, I am concerned about his critical thinking skills and moral development. That said, I trust his parents both implicitly and explicitly. They genuinely care, and will make the best choices available to them when those critical moments arrive. So far so good! Paul is showered with love and affection, and his parents provide him with every opportunity available. Yet I still wonder if a scholarship to BC and a career with the Bruins might be more valuable than becoming a banker after a liberal arts education.

I am a doting granddad and I worry, perhaps unnecessarily. Mitt Romney may become our next president, but I still shudder at the thought -- not for myself mind you.

Stay calm and carry on...

Paul in Potsdam

Complexities of Life at Middleton Place

Toward the end of our stay on Hilton Head Island this spring, my wife decided she'd like to see more of Charleston, SC. We'd been there once before and both of us had thoroughly enjoyed the earlier visit. The only problem with Charleston is that it needs to be savored in small doses. There is no good way to rush around trying to see everything within a short time frame. I would have been more pleased if we could have simply gone up to Charleston and explored for a week. Since that, however, was not a feasible plan this year, we decided to focus on one of Charleston's greatest gems -- the restored rice plantation named Middleton Place.

We essentially spent the better part of a day at Middleton Place. For me, the visit was a sumptuous immersion into the great beauty of one of America's oldest and most spectacular gardens. Yet it was also equally part of a personal, on-going education into Southern culture, most notably increasing my understanding of the complexities of the immense differences between north and south, developing a better sense of plantation culture, and glimpsing briefly the reality of the terrible destruction brought about by the Civil War.

Middleton Place was no small undertaking. For instance, in the antebellum period records show that water buffalo from Constantinople were imported as draft animals. These water buffalo were well-suited to the deep muck in which rice is grown. Likewise, the Middleton family had a deep and abiding interest in formal gardens. In 1786, Andre Michaux, a French botanist, was invited to spend time there. He cultivated the first camellias ever grown in an American garden.

Three of the plants, now above 15 feet in height, survive to this day. A later Middleton also introduced the Asiatic azalea and a crape myrtle (one of the oldest specimens of its kind in America), to the grounds. The pièce de résistance, however, is South Carolina's oldest live oak tree with a trunk more than 10 feet in diameter. In pre-Revolution times, Greenhouses and the terraces above the Ashley River were filled with exotic plants and trees. And today, on the far bank above Rice Mill Pond, more than 30,000 azaleas bloom every spring. Up to this time I have always been impressed with "Amen Corner" at Augusta National, but in comparison (and with all due respect) that's merely a small part of a golf course decorated with some flowering shrubs.

In all, the restored grounds presently consist of 65 carefully tended acres dating back to the 1740's. They are considered to be the oldest landscaped gardens in America, having been built according to the grand design of the Palace of Versailles;

featuring swans, allees, sundials, statues, sculpted terraces, parterres and reflection pools -- all integrated into an elegant design of symmetry and balance. So what we have here is a full-fledged restored rice plantation as well as a large, fully landscaped estate. It took many black slaves to maintain these interrelated endeavors in the early days before Emancipation.

As for the owners, the Middleton family began establishing their plantation in the 1730's. John Middleton's son-in-law Henry Middleton continued construction on the main house, implemented the gardens in earnest, represented South Carolina at the First Continental Congress and became that body's first president. His son, Arthur Middleton, was born at Middleton Place, rose in politics and was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. After the birth of the nation, Arthur Middleton's progeny oversaw the transition of Middleton Place from an attractive country residence to a large, economically-successful rice plantation. Then came the war. In 1860 William Middleton became the first South Carolinian to sign his state's Ordinance of Secession. The attack on Fort Sumter a few miles away and a year later sparked the great conflagration.

Throughout its life to that point, Middleton Place and the Middleton family had owned hundreds of slaves. Most were treated well, and occasionally a few were even set free. During the Revolutionary War period many left with the British who resettled them in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. They became known as Black Loyalists. Others joined Hessian regiments. Still others escaped to Indian lands. At the outbreak of the Civil War, the re-established plantation experienced many new runaways while some joined Company G of the 34th U.S. Color Guard. The plantation began to decline in the absence of its owners.

On 17 February 1865 the City of Charleston fell to the Union Army. On 23 February while exploring the Ashley River Road, a medical officer, Dr. H.O. Marcy, attached to the 34th, came upon Middleton Place. From his diary it is quoted:

"All here was in confusion -- the slaves had heard the news from their friends and they were making ready to leave... The colored people flocked around me and gave various demonstrations of joy... All wanted to shake hands. One of them, Isaac, a very intelligent man, said he had been placed in charge of a party to go up country but had contrived to get away and had returned home to Middleton." [Marcy]

At the same time at Middleton Place was a detachment of the 56th New York Volunteers (New York's Newburgh area) who dined on  several of the water buffalo and then proceeded to burn the property.

The following day Marcy was ordered by his commanding officer to return to the plantation and,

"... do what I can to repair the damage done yesterday.  The colored people were robbed indiscriminately. My first object was to get them together and advise them to leave. There was a schooner and several flats still docked at the bend in the river. All determined to leave. I advised them to float down to Charleston. All of the principal buildings are a mass of ruins. Accompanied by Isaac I rode down to Horse Savannah (neighboring plantation). Here I found another 150 slaves. After a talk, they too were ready to leave for town." [Marcy]

Yet some of the slaves cooperated with the 56th in the burning of Middleton Place. Others loyal to the Middletons helped save some of their belongings, including a Benjamin West family portrait and the Wood Nymph statue. Their mission accomplished, the 56th then moved on to Charleston.

The great plantation, now in ruins, sat idle for more than 50 years. According to Wikipedia: "The restoration of Middleton Place largely began in 1916 with the efforts of Middleton descendant John Julius Pringle Smith (1887–1969) and his wife Heningham, both of whom would spend several decades meticulously rebuilding the plantation's gardens. In the early 1970s, approximately 110 acres (45 ha) of the 7,000-acre (2,800 ha) plantation— including the south flanker, the gardens, and several outbuildings— were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. During the same period the Middleton descendants transferred ownership of the historic district to the non-profit Middleton Place Foundation, which presently maintains the site."

Millions have been spent in the restoration, and millions more were spent to keep the north side of the Ashley River bordered by a broad stretch of trees, and to prevent the incursion of modern North Charleston onto the scene. The Foundation has succeeded in both endeavors. It seems to me that the high price of admission -- not even from a preservationist point of view -- is well worth the cost. One is able to drop back in time 150 years for a truly legitimate experience. It would seem that had it not been destroyed and still remained original, Middleton Place would, most likely, have been assigned World Heritage Site status.

So here we are again, examining my infatuation with American wealth and the subjugation of inordinate numbers of human beings for the benefit of a few. The comparison, of course, is a bit like visiting Newport. Its great mansions are now largely in the hands of foundations too. The preservation of Bellevue Avenue is not terribly different from the restoration of Middleton Place, and ironically, simply there for my viewing and the price of admission. And both my aesthetic and historical bents can be satisfied once again. That said, the human toll remains to be rationalized...

Stay calm and carry on,

Paul in Potsdam

http://www2.potsdam.edu/loucksap
http://loucksap.smugmug.com
http://madstop68.blogspot.com

Twittering at Honey Horn

I'm not much of a birder. But that's not to say I don't love birds. I just have one of those minds that can't aurally distinguish a vireo from a flycatcher. Sure, I can distinguish the mournful call of a loon and the grating rasp of a bluejay. Yet the finer points of successful birding depend upon a sharp ear and a gifted mind. Oh, oh -- gradually you are finding out the truth about me...

Yesterday afternoon, my wife cajoled me into attending the monthly meeting of the Hilton Head Island Birding Society. If that's not what it is officially called, please forgive me. It was held at the Coastal Discovery Museum, AKA as the Honey Horn. The Honey Horn is a wonderful museum on oyster alley -- just before one leaves Hilton Head Island for the mainland. It's a nice place and offers significant insight into the history of the island. I love the grounds and the architecture of the museum itself. And the exhibits are absorbing. Currently, one can immerse herself in the Gullah culture.

One of the things that I've grown to appreciate about Hilton Head Island is its vibrance. There are lots of retirees here, but that doesn't mean they resign themselves to big-wheel walker strolls on the beach. Hilton Head Island is alive with energetic people who refuse to grow old and exercise enough to embarrass me.

Upon arriving at the Coastal Discovery Museum or the Honey Horn, at it is known locally, for a talk by the Savannah, GA maven of birding, Diana Churchill, [http://www.dianachurchillbirds.com/Diana_Churchill_About.html]. we had to walk a good five hundred yards to the lecture venue because of this Saturday's wine-tasting festival. I immediately decided I was a day early and $80 short of a good time at a sold-out venue.

At any rate, we arrived early enough to catch a seat. Not long afterwards, Ms. Churchill began passing out toy birds with squeezable personal bird calls. My wife and I received a painted bunting, which, of course, I did not know very much about since I'm from northern NY. The woman on my right quickly pointed out my fallibility, and patronizingly filled in my Southern gaps.

Finally, the show began. Scheduled to begin at 3 p.m., after announcements and introductions, we got rolling at 3:35. I was already about to head out for an early cocktail hour (another insidious draw to Hilton Head's cultural norms).

Diana Churchill, once she got started, was a thrill. Down to earth and with an admirable sense of humor, she did her schtick. She was delightful. Ms. Churchill possesses the gift of birding, the acuity to aurally identify impossible warbler distinctions, etc. Eventually, we arrived at the question and answer period. The first question dealt with identifying miniature ibises. I finally settled the question by noting that they were probably pygmy ibises. Hiss, hiss from my right...

Mature bird watchers on Hilton Head Island are like Seinfeld's "Soup Nazi." The room was filled with them. And on my right, there she was, the female reincarnation of Joseph Goebbels. Speaker Diana Churchill covered every question with uninhibited honesty. When one woman asked how to tell the difference between a male and female Great Blue Heron, Diana pondered the question momentarily and then noted that it would probably be the male who was on top. This in liberal South Carolina. I applauded.

I had a fun time; my wife enjoyed it too. Yet I have to admit -- I didn't learn too much new. I have what is called a tin ear.

Regardless, I will not give up. If one perseveres, eventually the synapses connect. I have faith.

Stay calm and carry on...

Paul in Hilton Head, SC
http://www2.potsdam.edu/loucksap
http://loucksap.smugmug.com
http://madstop68.blogspot.com

Infatuation with Wealth

Through historical inquiry, coupled with steadfast genealogical digging, I recently started searching a new family line in my paternal record. I noted once again, and not too far back in chronological time, that my great grandmother's maiden name was Schermerhorn. In my hometown, Jamestown, NY, this is no big deal. Schermerhorns abound there. I simply figured that one day I'd get around to it.

What I did not realize was that the Schermerhorn line, quickly and easily traceable on-line, goes back many generations in America -- in fact -- all the way to the Dutch Colony of New Amsterdam and before. I did some investigating and discovered that my own Schermerhorn roots were not all that distant from Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor. For me there is considerable irony here, and the revelation of this connection brings me to what may spark the next blog or so.

Just so you know where I'm headed, let me begin with Caroline Webster Schermerhorn and her List of Four Hundred: "Caroline Webster (Schermerhorn) Astor was the self crowned queen of New York (and Newport) Society, who set herself the task, to regulate society and keep the new rich of the Gilded Age out. Assisted by social arbiter Ward McAllister, she started in the winter season of 1872-73 to build up her list of socially prominent New Yorkers, therefore designating twenty five patriarchs, who would define society, by inviting to each ball of the season, four ladies and five gentlemen. [Equilibrium would obviously require the opposite.] In addition to the thereby convened 250 people, an undefined number of visiting guests, prominent people from other cities, and debutantes would be invited directly by Mrs Astor."  <http://www.raken.com/american_wealth/OTHER/newsletter/chronicle111103.asp>.

Caroline "Lina" Webster Schermerhorn

Other resources show that Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor (September 22, 1830 – October 30, 1908) was perhaps the most prominent American socialite of the last quarter of the 19th century. Famous for being referred to later in life as "The Mrs. Astor" or simply "Mrs. Astor", she was the wife of real estate heir William Backhouse Astor Jr. Four years after her death her son John Jacob Astor IV was the richest man on the RMS Titanic and perished in the disaster of that ship. A very short biography of "Lina" Schermerhorn can be found at <http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma01/davis/newport/biographies/csastor.html>.

I care little about any of this other than having a historical curiosity attached to my connections with Mrs. Astor, and to remind me of how divergent life histories can be within the same family. Aside from her penultimate role in America's Gilded Age, Mrs. Astor represents, from my point of view, very nearly the antithesis of the great egalitarian society envisioned by several of our forefathers. She gave new meaning to elitism and snobbery, and was certainly unrepresentative of the ideals of the so-called American dream -- that dream, of course, being the ability to rise to positions of wealth and power on the basis of one's own intellectual gifts, physical abilities or simply through diligence and hard work.

It is my opinion that the popular PBS Masterpiece Classic Downton Abbey, set in the first quarter of the 20th century, and in another country, sheds considerable light into how much society had already changed during that time, and only 25 years after Mrs. Astor ruled in America. I think we love Downton Abbey because it combines our fascination with the power elite of that day with a rapidly changing strata of social and cultural roles. WWI accelerated it surely, but what we fell in love with were the characters who recognized the change underway and largely embraced it. So in one sense we had the opposites of an established elite and a rising middle class, all of whom, in a pinch of time, moved all of us into a new era. Yet despite the dawn of that new era, most folks continued to maintain a certain sense of awe for established wealth, position and celebrity. And they still continued to draw the same distinction between old and new money.

I remember well my literature teachers in college who always emphasized that in its development important literature focused on or revolved around the lives of royalty by necessity. They were the more interesting subjects, and when they broke absolute moral codes of behavior the common man or groundlings applauded. Then that very same audience could also say: "I told you so!" And it was us mere mortals who provided the comic relief or cathartic release from their excesses or follies.

And now we have flashed forward to the age of pop culture where achievement may be old, new, instant, outrageous, or whatever grabs our attention on-line or on television or in news print at the time. We have Lady GaGa, Madonna, Jeremy Lin, Tiger Woods, Eli Manning, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Meryl Streep, David Letterman, Michael Bloomberg, Donald Trump -- and they are just for starters. Wasn't it Andy Warhol who declared that everyone now has his/her 15 minutes of fame? And then there's Paris Hilton, and Dick Cheney, and Rush Limbaugh. It goes on and on. We have new ways of discerning fame and/or notoriety. That's good, but sometimes it's built upon a foundation of pompous, over-stuffed egos or extraordinary shallow material.

Frankly, although it dates me terribly, I still long for that anti-hero or the Common man -- those Willie Lomans and Santiagos created by the likes of Arthur Miller and Ernest Hemingway.

And can you imagine making a list of The Four Hundred today? Creating such a list (and given my distorted frame of mind) would drive me crazy!) It would seem quite safe, however, and given our directionless compass, to concentrate on the new royalty, which still seems to have much to do with the divine right of kings  -- "Deo et mon droit" (God and my right). No, that's probably too difficult. Probably easier to look at the Forbes list: <http://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/>. Not much seems to change... Please continue shopping at Wal*Mart.

Carry on,

Paul in Hilton Head, SC

http://www2.potsdam.edu/loucksap

http://loucksap.smugmug.com

http://madstop68.blogspot.com