Here is part two from last week’s letters, mainly recounting life as a sailor. In the meantime of course there is constant “gibing” by the Tin Can sailors of us Battleship Sailors. We were of course to them “gedunk” sailors. In other words, war or no war we had our own Barber shops, laundry, tailor [...]
I wish to dispel claims about two opposing trends on American Idol, along with making my own claim for one trend that the evidence seems to support. Every year Ryan Seacrest maintains that the talent is better than ever. Meanwhile, there is growing “scuttlebut” on the Internet that the talent pool has peaked and is [...]
This long letter will be split into two parts. The first describes two hazardous jobs at sea. Remember those cartoons where someone’s foot gets caught in a chain as the anchor drops? Well, that turns out to be no laughing matter in real life. August 17, 1963 Mr. Harold Lufkin, V.P. Newton Mfg. Co. Newton, [...]
Well, this house is not directly across the street, but while growing up that house belonged to an elderly man, Dick Whalen, that I had little interest in. The house shown here belonged to an elderly couple, the Sylvernales, that had a granddaughter my age who would come to visit them. Anna O’Brien was a [...]
Continue reading about Sense of Place – The House Across the Street
World peace is possible, but civilization gets in the way. For a long time we have been misinformed that human nature is a problem and civilization an answer to that problem. In reality there are serious problems caused specifically by civilizations, such as paternalism and anonymity, which require ordinary people to remedy. A better understanding [...]
“I present a guide for restoring social balance, along with a hope for world peace. For a long time paternal authorities such as governments, corporations and religious leaders have told us that human nature is a problem and civilization an answer to that problem. This misinformation causes imbalance in our lives and the world. There [...]
Pop seems to have a self-deprecating yet comfortable attitude towards his class status. That reminds me, I’m probably retitling this web site “Restoring Balance” sometime in the near future, moving away from an emphasis on class. A new edition of Systems out of Balance will do the same. For now, here’s Pop. July 2, 1963 [...]
This is the one and only corner house on Emerson Street (the other three corners are empty lots), on the opposite end of the street from where I live. It was also the home of Jane Dolan, the only person in the neighborhood who graduated from high school in the same class as me. As [...]
Continue reading about Sense of Place – The Corner House on Emerson Street
The next installment for my next book, Restoring Balance. Here are the previous installments. Curiosity spurred humans to explore new environments, leading them to migrate from Africa to all over the globe. Yet this same curiosity of mind would not have amounted to much without the flexibility of our bodies and the natural right to [...]
Continue reading about Restoring Balance – Natural Rights – Flexibility
Pop writes about the icebox of Connecticut and his distaste for FDR. St. Patrick’s Day In the “mornin” [1963] Mr. Harold Lufkin, V.P. Newton Mfg. Co. Newton, Iowa. Dear Mr. Lufkin: Thanks for your nice letter and before I forget I will send you Pete’s address, it’s—Mr. Pete Sinclair, 719 Grand, Laramie, Wyoming. Don’t know [...]
Continue reading about Pop’s Letters – St. Patrick’s Day – 1963