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Monthly Archives: November 2020

Sunday morning coffee

29 Sunday Nov 2020

Posted by Keith Muchowski in Bob Dylan

≈ 2 Comments

I hope everyone’s Thanksgiving weekend has been restful. It has not been the holiday many of us might have liked but it’s the one we get, and for that I am thankful. I must say I have not done much other than relax these past several days, though I did work half a morning this past Friday. Life has been so stressful on so many fronts recently that it’s been good to have a bit of a respite. There has been lots of jazz and Bob Dylan on the turntable as well, which is always a plus.

I was telling someone last night: there’s Bob and then there is everyone else. Essentially I rediscovered him over these past nine months of the shutdown. At least for me Dylan has been the ideal voice for the current moment. The trick with Dylan is to not take it too seriously and understand how witty, playful, and just plain funny the guy is. I think he takes the minute parsing of his life and lyrics with more than a little bemusement, and probably contempt and derision as well. And yet within all that he’s working on about 3-4 different levels. This is not bread and circuses.

It is a glorious Sunday morning here in New York City. Under normal circumstances we likely would have gone to a museum or something today. Maybe next year. Instead I will use the day productively to gear up for the remainder of the semester, clean the house, and get in a walk at Green-Wood. Whatever you do, make the most of the remainder of the weekend and these waning autumn days.

Happy Thanksgiving

26 Thursday Nov 2020

Posted by Keith Muchowski in ACW

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Thanksgiving in camp sketched Thursday 28th 1861 by Alfred R. Waud

I wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a happy holiday. If one feels that this year’s is not a “real” Thanksgiving because of everything going on in our world right now, it might be helpful to keep in mind that this is a centuries-old tradition and that we have observed the occasion through wars, depressions, health crises, and other calamities before. In the image above we see a Thanksgiving camp scene drawn by Alfred R. Waud in November 1861, just when it was dawning on Americans that the “ninety day war” many had anticipated that previous spring was going to take longer to resolve. As these men settled into winter quarters, they did not know what the future held either.

Remember the spirit of the holiday. If able, reach out on this day to others who you think might need a special boost. Making someone else’s day a little brighter will do the same for yours as well. Be safe and be careful. Enjoy your Thanksgiving.

(image/Library of Congress)

Remembering Lincoln at Gettysburg

19 Thursday Nov 2020

Posted by Keith Muchowski in Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg

≈ Comments Off on Remembering Lincoln at Gettysburg

Today is the 157th anniversary of President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. It is one of our goals to visit for Remembrance Day sometime in the not too distance future. Usually when we go it is in early summer during the campaign anniversary. I imagine Gettysburg has an entirely different feel in late autumn. In challenging times it is helpful to reflect on difficult moments of the past. Today, a week before Thanksgiving, is a good time to do just that.

(image/1887 advertisement from “The Battle-field Of Gettysburg” published by the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad Company)

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