"God has given wine to gladden the hearts of people." Psalm 104
Good 3rd Wednesday of the month Morning to each and all of you! THIS is the (GNR) Good News RoundUp, a DAILY feature of DailyKos, and those of us who are regulars here are regular because we know this is a fine place to come regularly to get some regular balance. With the news out there wearing, annoying, dismaying, infuriating and here and there worrisome, you need a place like this as counterweight, balance, and to put something else into your Libra scales of equanimity (!)
Now, among all of you are coming by, a good number of you are coming by from your “No Kings” weekend. It was a GREAT weekend for democracy, for, in the words of the late Senator Paul Wellstone here in Minnesota, millions of Americans like you went public to “Stand Up! Keep fighting!” Thank you, thank you for what you did, what you said, what you dared. Here’s hoping today’s Round Up will feel like Thank You, feel like Americans of the past would have reason to be gratified at what so many of you did and are doing. Thank you, thank you!
The powers that be here at the GNR allow me, your host WineRev, one turn a month in the control room. So below you will find various reassuring, upbeat, and even wry moments with various links for your mental balance and emotional relaxation. Also, as is my custom, there are highlights, lowlights and sidelights from some of the June 18ths from years ago so you might get a different and longer perspective on how humans have coped, as well as a few items that will help you win Bar Bets on Trivia Night at your favorite watering hole.
AND…..DON’T YOU MISS IT! When you get to the bottom you get to the best part: YOU….and your comments, and links, and recs, and snide-ry, and chuckles and expansions and corrections and extensions. The Diary here is just the Launch; all your input helps the Round Up reach escape velocity, so drop a line there.
Good News in Society and Politics
>>>>>>>>>>>One of the more annoying features of the current public landscape to me professionally (back in 1984 the Lutherans ordained me to their clergy roster) is the rise (or is it oozing?) of so-called “Christian Nationalism.” This is the idea that even GOD (of the True and Right religion) wants your country to be the greatest, and that you can do no wrong since God is on your side. The loudest exponents of this crapola on the religious media are the guys (and they are almost ALWAYS guys) who are middle aged, with a surgically enhanced smile on the TV screen that lets you see their 3rd molars. They are nearly always the “pastor/reverend/apostle(!)” of a congregation somewhere in the US that has no title of a denomination on it you’ve ever heard of, (but a huge parking lot and a “media ministry”) and is some Super-Glued concoction of words like holy, first, salvation, ministry, revival, restored, blessed, and evangelical. The guys are invariably married to a stunning (surgically enhanced) woman and usually have up to a half-dozen children. AND…..all of these smiling faces are overwhelmingly, blindingly….WHITE.
The rise in the 18th century of the idea of “separation of church and state” was the result of noting in history just how badly a combination of these 2 had worked. The state/nation /ruler/political power would approve of a certain religion, be blessed by it, and go after all the other religions in the country or outside the country with the power of the state. OR, it would go the other way, where a religion would approve of a certain political leader or faction, bless him/it, and then order (on pain of defying God) to do certain things both inside and outside the country.
THIS LINK connects to a thoughtful essay (both written or in video) that runs down some of the low points of “xtian nationalism” starting in the 4th century (!) and for the next 1000 years (sub-title could be “How to start your Own Dark Ages.”) Informative and worth a ponder. Ends up being something of a 21st Century version of WWII’s newsreels “Why We Fight.” Forewarned is forearmed.
>>>>>>>» The above piece was from the “religion” side of things. Of course here at DailyKos we know this is an openly political website, and one that walks down the Left side of the street. Now there are flavors of Left Side politics as well, and one that has a fair history is “social democracy.” There are elements and policies within the US Democratic Party that embrace these ideas. Overseas there are political parties that have had decades (on and off, via free elections) of implementing these ideas wholesale (e.g. Scandinavia since the 1920s). HERE IS A THOUGHTFUL ESSAY FROM a European social democrat TO other social democrats, and it lends itself to looking over their shoulders and see what we can pick up.
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Now all of you Sign-Making, Singing, Cheering “No Kings” marchers and supporters know that last weekend’s effort (in over 1800 locations!) may well be seen in coming months and years as a turning point, even historic. The “No Kings” Anti-fascist Carnival might just take its place one day near the calendar to these other moments from June 18ths in Politics and in Society:
William Penn, all around Good Egg…..
1682 In a modest little gathering on the bank of the Delaware River, William Penn founds Philadelphia. (From the Greek city noted in Revelation; “philios” love, in the familial sense (Greek has 4 different words for love) and “adelphos” brother, so “City of Brotherly Love.”)
1815 Waterloo, Belgium (now THERE is a place name!) Having escaped from the Mediterranean island of Elba, Napoleon Bonaparte makes a triumphant return to France. He rallies his followers because the rest of Europe thought they were done with him. British forces under the Duke of Wellington, with timely reinforcements from Prussian general Blucher, engage in a three-day battle that causes 90,000 casualties and the defeat of Napoleon, a watershed event in recent European history. The Peace Treaties of 1815 settle many European nation-state boundaries for the next 99 years. How “No Kings/No Emperor” can you get?
Often still called a bearskin “CAP”
Waterloo Fun Facts (WFF) :
(WFF) #1 While ultimately a European watershed event, the battle did take 3 days and there were doubts about the outcome on both sides. Winning General Wellington later admitted, “It was a damned close-run thing.”
(WFF) #2 The French elite troops (Imperial Guard) wore tall bearskins on their heads to appear more intimidating. Afterwards Great Britain adopted the same towering bearskins for their soldiers in ceremonial duties, at royal residencies, and at the Tower of London, making for striking photographs.
The Blucher Toe…..so saddle up!
(WFF) #3 Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blucher (who’s wife would of course carry the title of FRAU Blucher…..**Cue: urgent neighing of frightened horses….***) was a good horseman. To make mounting and dismounting smoother and quicker and to make the cavalry troops look better at inspection, he had his bootmaker design a boot toe without a top seam or welt. To this day such a toe in a man’s shoe is called a “Blucher Toe.”
(WFF) #4 As the battle opened Field Marshal Blucher (**Neighhhh……!**) assembled his 7000 men and made a short speech from the saddle to his troops. Not unusual as battle opens; often been done to inspire them, give them courage, remind them who/what they are fighting for, etc. and these troops were professionals who had heard this sort of thing before. But then……Blucher (**neighhh….!**) announced that he was pregnant and that he was about to give birth to an elephant. He was immediately (but gently) taken into protective custody under armed guard and missed the battle. (His troops fought well without him and burst onto the field at a crucial moment that led straight to Napoleon’s defeat.)
(WFF) #5 In many languages, to ‘meet your Waterloo’ became a catchphrase for final defeat, all the way down to ABBA….. (who set it to a fine harmony, (“WineRev, South Philly High!”) and you could sing along to it, and also dance to it, so I gave it a 94…..)
An eyewitness pencil sketch of the moment of
the crime of VOTING…..by a WOMAN!
1873 Canandaigua, New York That Susan B. Anthony woman is at it again! Just last fall she walked into a polling place and tried to cast a vote in the Presidential Election! Talk about voter fraud! Who does she think she is? On this day she appeared in court, pled guilty, and was fined $100. (Today, over $2000.) So there! Except the fine was never paid…….and the march for the Vote for women took another public step forward...
1948 New York City. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights this day adopted its International Declaration of Human Rights. An aspirational document, and often ignored or breached, but here the whole world says this is how humans ought to treat each other among nation-states. Used as the basis for the Declaration of the Martian Colonies, the first interstellar Compact on the voyage to Alpha Centuri, and will serve as a key document in the establishment of the United Federation of Planets…..
In the spring of 2024 I started adding profiles of America’s First Ladies to my monthly stint as GNR director, one or two at a time. Many of you have enjoyed these, so today is no exception! There are 2 profiles this month, including the first First Lady in these profiles to carry the * by her title.
There have been several women who have “functioned” as a First Lady (usually in a formal hostess capacity) in the White House but were not married to the President. (For instance, Thomas Jefferson’s wife, Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson, bore him several children before she died in 1782, 18 years before Jefferson became President. In the White House, his oldest daughter (also) Martha (usually “Patsy”) performed many of the hostess duties. Then too, James Buchanan was a bachelor his whole life, so in the White House his niece, Harriet Lane, filled on on the social side.)
So please, I introduce you first to Frances Clara Folsom, who became First Lady during Grover Cleveland’s first term. Then, later in today’s Round Up, let me tell you a bit about Rose Elizabeth Cleveland, a First Lady* who was a White House figure for 2 years (and Grover’s kid sister as well.)
(Base information for these profiles drawn from the National First Ladies Museum of Canton, Ohio)
Meet a First Lady
Frances Clara Folsom, born July 21, 1864 in Buffalo, NY. Frances’ father Oscar was a lawyer and well-to-do, so she had benefit of a good starting education. At age 9 her father was killed in a carriage accident. The widow Emma Folsom (and Frances, now an only child after the early death of a younger sister) inherited a substantial estate, whose executor was Oscar’s friend and law partner, Grover Cleveland. The inheritance amounted to $250,000 (today, about $6.5 million) so both mother and daughter were more than comfortable. (While Cleveland was a frequent visitor to the Folsoms in the coming years, his career was also gearing up: District Attorney and then Sheriff of Erie County, NY (Buffalo). Later he became mayor of Buffalo, and still later, governor of New York…..which gave him a national profile.)
The Folsoms moved to Medina, NY where Emma Folsom’s family lived. Frances had an excellent secondary education. Her proficiency in Latin and German let her ace the entrance exams to be admitted to Wells College in Aurora, NY, one of the early women’s liberal arts schools. Her classes there included botany, astronomy, logic, and she took a special liking to political science. She was also on the Debate Team and the theater club, and developed a life-long interest in photography.
The summer before her final year at Wells, Frances and her mother were invited by long-time, old friend Grover Cleveland to visit him in the White House. While there, Grover, the 48 year-old family friend, proposed. The widow Folsom was miffed——she thought Grover should have proposed to her—— but managed to come around to the pairing. The engagement was kept secret but Cleveland arranged and paid for both mother and fiancee to tour Europe….for 6 months. He had 3 goals in mind: so that Frances would understand a more formal society and their public manners; so both of them could visit many historical sites; and so mother and daughter could buy a trousseau (been years since I got to use this word) of a good deal of clothing for all the formal occasions Frances would soon face.
The first formal occasion was The Wedding: June 2, 1886 in the White House Blue Room. The US Marine Band, conducted by John Phillip Sousa, provided the music for the 40 guests in attendance at the only Presidential wedding to happen in the White House. At age 21, Frances was (and still is) the youngest First Lady ever. Anticipating a new and young First Lady would pique great public interest (and she did) Cleveland also purchased a 27-acre working farm in Georgetown with a handsome mansion so that after their honeymoon the couple could live there more or less privately. (The Washington social season was typically November-December, and February to April in those years, which were the times the Clevelands actually lived in the White House.)
First Lady Frances Cleveland
The public was indeed enthralled with Frances and her every appearance, word and deed. The WCTU (Women’s Christian Temperance Union) grumbled she re-introduced hard liquor into the White House, but approved that at formal dinners she turned her wine glass upside down and drank sparkling water. When 2 reporters noted, in separate stories, that it sure looked like the First Lady was NOT wearing a high-fashion bustle in public, and preferred to wear summer blouses that bared both neck and shoulders, the WCTU nearly fainted a) that these reporters actually looked at a lady “that way” and “that part” of her physical person….. and then published about it, and b) because of the “evil influence” such rampant skin would have on young women’s fashion (and it did.) Meanwhile, the American Bustle Manufacturers industry crumbled and died.
Frances was happy to pose for photographs, but quite soon her image appeared on all sorts of commercial products (since this was legal at the time): ceramic tiles, “Spark’s Liver Pills”, decks of playing cards, sheet music, cigar boxes (!), women’s perfumes. Fake photos showed her shopping in certain stores, buying a certain brand piano, and smiling at a new sewing machine with a prominent logo. This all caused such an uproar there was even an attempt in Congress to prohibit use of any woman’s image for commercial purposes without written permission. (The Robber Baron Congress did not even let the bill out of committee.)
Her popularity led to bushels of letters to her from all walks of life, to the point that Frances hired college friend Minnie Alexander to be her social secretary (not a public post, so the Clevelands paid this first-ever non-family person in the role from their own pocket), and develop various pre-printed form letters to be sent out in reply. Her popularity bounded up again when she started a weekly White House public reception for women, and set this on Saturdays. The Presidential Staff (and also ladies who considered themselves trained in spotting other ladies) were shocked and mortified that shop girls, government clerks, teachers, house maids and nurses showed up on their half-day off to shake hands and sip lemonade with Mrs. Cleveland. She publicly supported local orphanages for girls, and she heartily encouraged young women trying to break into professional music. (She personally sponsored one of these to study in Berlin, who became the 1st American musician ever to win the Mendelssohn Prize.)
Grover Cleveland lost his bid for re-election in 1888, and the Clevelands moved to New York City. When he was (non-consecutively) re-elected in 1892, they returned to Washington (again to a private residence for privacy) with a toddler daughter. Two more girls were born in the next 4 years, and Frances’ profile shifted to a celebration of motherhood, with enormous interest in the children. Coupled with the the Panic of 1893 and subsequent unemployment, strikes and desperation, this attention turned worrisome as Cleveland began receiving death threats against both him and his family. These became so concerning that the Secret Service extended their protection to both the First Lady & First Family (never before considered necessary.)
After this 2nd term ended (1897) the Clevelands retired to Princeton, New Jersey, where they had 2 more children, both boys. Sadly, in 1904, their oldest, Rose (14) died of diphtheria, leaving Frances shattered and depressed for many months. As she was finally recovering from this loss, Grover died, leaving her a widow (age 47) with 4 children. Frances and the children spent several months in Europe on an extended excursion. As the children became adults and left home, Frances, who had kept up a strong connection to her alma mater of Wells College, married the college president, Thomas Preston, early in 1913. First Lady Nellie Taft invited the newlyweds to the White House for a gala celebration.
In the mid-1920s, Frances Cleveland Preston became national President of The Camp Fire Girls for 14 years. She worked for pacifist causes in the 1920s and 1930s, but then reluctantly supported the US war effort in World War II. Passed away in 1947 (83) and is buried in Princeton next to Grover.
Good News in Science and Engineering
>>>>>>» We are celebrating and cheering on the rise of solar and wind power, and the rising sales worldwide of electric vehicles. There is also fuel-cell technology being applied to larger vehicles like trucks, busses and locomotives to clean up that mode of transportation. The last field of transport that is quite reliant on fossil fuels is aviation. Given the specs of jet engines and their requirements of thrust levels, it has been that only OPEC-friendly fuels can be used…..until now.
But now comes GRATIFYING NEWS from China. The Chinese aviation authority (rather parallel to our FAA) has issued a certificate of airworthiness to a new flying fuel…...made from used cooking oil! Whoa! Might be soon that air passengers will bring jars of used Mazola with them to airport check-in to get a price break on their next flight……. (“Fly the friendly skies of “Canola”…..)
>>>>>>» Another fuel that has been around for, oh, several BILLION years, is hydrogen. It works…..after all it has been powering our own Sun for a good 4 billion years and counting. Now there have been uses over the years but the Big Breakthrough always seems a bit out of reach for “powering the world of the future.”
The easiest way to get hydrogen has been to put a couple electrodes in water and run an electric current through them. The electricity splits the water molecules into its oxygen and hydrogen components. The sticky issue to do that at scale has been the electrodes and how/ what to coat them with so they last. The coatings that work best have been costly and fairly rare. BUT NOW COMES WORD from South Korea that a much cheaper way has been invented, so the “Hydrogen Future” is visibly closer. YAY!
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Of course those brainy scientists and brilliant engineering tinkerers have been recording and researching and discovering and inventing all sorts of things for centuries, and a few of them happened on a June 18th:
Very few 12th Century (!) scientific moments, but here’s what it looked like, according to the Astronomical Tonsured Team…...
1178 Canterbury, England It may be cloudy a lot in England, but once in a while there are clear skies. On this night, soon after sunset, 5 monks report seeing an explosion on the Moon. (To see that with the naked eye has to mean a major something……) As they still say in England, “the Continent was fogged in” and no one else recorded this. Modern astronomers have advanced the idea this is the proposed time of origin of lunar crater Giordano Bruno, so that the monks might have witnessed an asteroid impact. See what happens just watching stuff and writing it down?
Richardson baby carriage: basket reversible;
woven, affordable design; optional sun shade
1899 Baltimore, MD W. H. Richardson, an African-American inventor, patents a baby carriage that set features for all succeeding styles. A special joint allowed the bassinet to either face forward or back toward the pusher. Leaf springs smoothed out rough spots by acting as shock absorbers. All 4 wheels pivot individually, allowing high maneuverability. If you’ve been on perambulatory duty, tip your hat to Mr. Richardson…..
1948 New York City. Columbia Records unveils its new idea for sound, a long-playing record that turns at 33 1/3 rpm (45 minutes/record instead of the 78rpm 8 minute max.) Serious music lovers began building collections to play at this speed on their 1950’s ‘High Fidelity’ machines (Hi-Fi!)
1980 London, UK The Imperial College computer department generates 2 random numbers of 13 digits each: 7,686,369,774,870
Mrs. Shakutala Devi
and 2,465,099,745,779. Then, on the spot, in a stunning example of the capabilities of the human mind, Mrs. Shakuntala Devi, 50, of Bangalore, India mentally multiplies the 2 numbers together and 28 seconds later announces the correct answer of 18,947,668,177,995,426,462,773,730. (Is it almost 19 Hept-tillions or 19 Sept-tillions? Greek or Latin?) It earned her an entry in the Guinness Book of Records (as it should!)
1983 Cape Canaveral, Florida Aboard space shuttle Challenger, astronaut Sally K. Ride becomes America's first woman in space.
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Meet a First Lady*
(As promised earlier, may I make another introduction?)
Rose Elizabeth Cleveland, born June 13, 1846 in Buffalo, New York 9 years after older brother Grover. “Libbie” (as her family always called her for her entire life) had a good education and quite the academic mind. She was on the faculty of Hamilton College (Clinton, NY; named for Alexander H.) in the days after the Civil War as a professor of Classics and Literature.
Rose Elizabeth Cleveland, Kid Sister and First Lady*
In 1884, when brother Grover was elected President he asked “Libbie” (age 38) to move into the White House as his official hostess. Libbie agreed, but had decidedly mixed feelings of the public expectations and limits put upon her as a fill-in First Lady. She was miffed that in her position she was not to be seen shopping in town, nor dining anywhere in Washington except at the White House. When tongues wagged about her going to the theater regularly, Libbie publicly noted both First Ladies Julia Grant and Lucy Hayes had attended too, so why couldn’t she? She thoroughly enjoyed these outings and her repeated appearances as a string of Gilbert & Sullivan shows debuted in America made the team as much an audience favorite in the US as they were in the UK.
Receiving lines at official functions bored her to tears; she admitted later she had only survived by mentally conjugating Greek and Latin verbs as she received bows and curtsies. In between such functions she used her quiet times in the White House to pursue writing. In 1885 she published a first book, “George Eliot’s Poetry”. This went through 12 editions (!) and over the next few years generated $25,000 in royalties (today, about $820,000). In 1886, just ahead of The Wedding, she published an academic work, “You & I; Moral, Intellectual and Social Culture” at 545 pages (!) (….which did not generate many royalties…..)
Released from “my confinement” at the White House in mid-1886, Rose moved to Chicago, where she became editor of a literary magazine for 3 years. Between this salary and rising royalties from her book, she became independently wealthy, and spent years asserting that independence. She moved to Utica, New York, where she bought her own house (very rare for a single woman) and in the next few years also bought 2 lots in Naples, Florida and built a cottage there for winters.
In Naples, Rose (now in her mid-40s) met 30-year-old Evangeline Simpson, whose husband had died young and left her wealthy. The pair became friends…..and then more than friends, living together in the Naples cottage, and when apart, writing….um…..unmistakeable letters about their relationship. In one, Rose wrote, ”I tremble at the thought of you. I dare not think of your arms." Simpson wrote back to "my Clevy, my Viking, my Everything."
Evangeline Simpson…...and Rose Cleveland…..
This intense relationship rolled until Evangeline took a conventional turn. In late 1894 she (age 34) met and married Benjamin Whipple, who was the Episcopal Bishop of Minnesota….and age 74 (NOT a typo.) Rose was badly hurt, but accepted Evangeline’s decision and the two had almost no contact…..until 1901, when Bishop Whipple died. Rose and Evangeline reconnected, first by an increasing flow of letters. (Sample lines: “your long, rapturous embraces and warm, enfolding arms appease my hunger and quiet my breast—-and carry us both in one to the summit of joy, the end of search, the goal of love.”) In another year or so they reconnected in person.
They traveled together several times for long stays in Europe, and finally in 1910 they moved for good into a house in Bagni di Lucca, in Tuscany northeast of Pisa. (The town is noted for its Roman (!) hot springs, and starting in the 1100s became the first and most famous spa in Europe, a reputation that lasted into the early 20th century, with visitors unending (and who still show up in steady numbers.) The Spanish flu at the end of World War I in 1918 struck down Rose, and at her request, she was buried in Bagni di Lucca. Evangeline lived on in Tuscany until 1930. In her will she stipulated she wanted to be buried next to Rose, and she was.
Good News in Arts, Music, Literature and Fun
>>>>>>>» The Barfday Parade over the weekend featured lots of Army troops walking, semi-marching, riding, past the reviewing stand of the Bone-Spur-in-Chief. BUT you know? The Army has dealt with all sorts off opponents for 250 years. SOOooooo…...while the Draft-Dodger-Dictator-Wannabe wanted rhythmic, cadenced, even jack-booted marching past him, the Army didn’t give it to him: nearly all the units coming by were at the “route step” (for walking on uneven ground or crossing footbridges) rather than at “march step.”
And then…….through the speakers/outdoor amplifiers along the route, music was piped in. Some military tunes and marches, of course, and also, since it was a long-ish parade, some other, more contemporary stuff. Oh, nothing Top 10 here in 2025, but from the Pouting Peach Pit’s lifetime.
Only the instrumental version of “Fortunate Son” from Credence Clearwater Revival, but it looked like the Slagging went right over Donnie’s Fake Hair.
Lyrics:
Some folks are born made to wave the flag Chorus: It ain't me, it ain't me Hoo, they're red, white and blue I ain't no senator's son, son
And when the band plays "Hail to the chief" It ain't me, it ain't me
Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord I ain't no fortunate one, no
Some folks are born silver spoon in hand Chorus: It ain't me, it ain't me
Lord, don't they help themselves, Lord? I ain't no millionaire's son, no, no
But when the taxman come to the door It ain't me, it ain't me
Lord, the house lookin' like a rummage sale I ain't no fortunate one, no
Yeah---some folks inherit star-spangled eyes Chorus: It ain't me, it ain't me
Hoo, they send you down to war, Lord I ain't no military son, son,
And when you ask 'em, "How much should we give?" It ain't me, it ain't me
Hoo, they only answer, "More, more, more, more" I ain't no fortunate one, one
And, how it sounded back in ‘69…..on the Ed Sullivan Show (!)
>>>>>>>>>>» Now this section ends in “& Fun” and many times has included sports. One of the famous moments in 20th century history, where sports met culture and met American ideals was in 1947. WWII veteran Jackie Robinson was called up from the minors (Montreal) to play with the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball’s color line in America’s favorite sport.
Yes, it was controversial. Yes, there was opposition, some of it led by white players who are this day in the Hall of Fame. BUT, there was also support from a notable quarter: US ARMY veterans. Like in the closing episode of “Band of Brothers” (that SUPERB mini-series), where the GIs are playing baseball in a meadow near the Alps, there were various baseball moments and games all along after the US got into World War II. It was R&R, and it was good for morale, reminding everyone of home…..and peace.
And peace and home included those who had served in the 442nd “Rainbow Division” Japanese Americans, the most decorated unit in US military history. It included the 99th Air Corps fliers, the “Tuskegee Airmen”, who got so good at protecting US bombers the crews would ask specifically for the “Red Tails” as fighter escorts over bombing runs. And in the Army, it included some of the guys who were so American they could pitch, could catch, could hit and could run the bases with the best of them, and color didn’t matter.
Well in May, 1945 the fighting ended in Europe. All the troops went on occupation duty and yearned to go home. And they played baseball, again, for the R&R, and for fun, and for the love of the game, and for the reminder of Home. I WAS AMAZED TO COME ACROSS THIS STORY of a 1945 “World Series” game played by the GIs…...in Germany. In Nuremburg Stadium (where Hitler had held his biggest, baddest rallies.) By INTEGRATED TEAMS of GIs…...and in front of 50,000 raucous GIs in the stands, cheering, booing and feeling Home was closer. “And if they could play that good in uniform, well, then talent is talent”-— so thought all sorts of discharged veterans starting in 1945. So, for 1947 and Robinson, well, there was a well of support from a very influential bunch of civilians, all across the country…….
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Life can’t be serious or political all the time, not in a free society. And on June 18ths of yesteryear, there were moments and events and people who healed the heart and refreshed the soul with their work and deeds and thoughts.
1717 Deutschbrod, Bohemia (now Czechia) Birth of Johann Wenzel Anton Stamitz, composer, violinist. Trained in Prague (and is much beloved by the Czechs) but spent much of his life in Mannheim, Germany as a court musician. 58 symphonies (all in the Haydn, 4-movement form, which Stamitz helped make the standard) several ‘trios for orchestra’ and a number of concertos, including among the first ever written for the oboe and for the clarinet. Father of 2 fine composers in their own right. Amazingly productive for a tragically short life of only 39 years.
These Australian players are having a great deal of fun with Stamitz….
1864 may have been a tough year for America, but in San Fran, this newspaper ad let you know just where to shop
1852 San Francisco The Gold Rush is petering out, but this city is still growing and people (like Levi Strauss) are finding ways to make money without digging for it. On this day, at the corner of Washington and Kearny Streets, an Italian immigrant who spent several years seeking his fortune in Peru before coming here, opens up shop. Domingo Ghirardelli starts selling chocolate and other candies the way his family used to make them. They still do…..
1913 Virginia, Minnesota This gritty mining town on Minnesota’s Iron Range has attracted strong backs and brave hearts to go into the mines from many places, including immigrants. Despite the state’s Scandinavian structure, the last 20 years or so has seen an influx of Southern Europeans, including Italians. On this day Mrs. Mondovi gives birth to
Zinfandel and dark chocolate…..mmmmm!
a son, Roberto. When the little guy was 8 the whole family said goodbye to the iron mines and the Minnesota winters and moved to Lodi, California. They took up planting grapes in a vineyard. Robert Mondovi grew up and took over the business later, learned to crush the grapes, bottle them, and sell them under the name of Woodbridge. (Ghirardelli’s chocolates washed down with Mondovi’s wine under a California sun…… (Sigh) no wonder people moved there…..)
1942 Liverpool, England Birth of James Paul McCartney, singer and songwriter His father missed the birth because he was helping put out a fire from a German bombing raid. Mom was a midwife. Paul showed an early interest in music, trying the trumpet (like dad) and sang in a boys’ choir. At the cinema during a newsreel, he noticed that American “Slim Whitman” fingered his guitar neck with his right hand, so left-handed Paul sold his trumpet, bought a guitar and re-strung it so he could play it like Whitman. At age 15 heard John Lennon and his band play. Talked with them and got invited to join: Paul, Lennon, George Harrison and drummer Pete Best. Called themselves The Beatles and went to Hamburg, Germany for a concert tour in 1960. And then…….
Oh yes, they were SO young…..and could they sing, play, compose…...cheers!
1967 Monterey, California Among California’s chocolates and wines, the Monterey Pop Festival is winding up a three-day blast. Janis Joplin sang on stage, and so did Otis Redding. That jammin’ man on guitar, Jimi Hendrix, laid down a raft of memorable licks and riffs. To wrap things up, there were two finishing acts. Pete Townshend and The Who went second-to-last, and made themselves memorable by smashing their guitars, drum set and several microphones to show they were finished. The techies cleared away the debris and got things working fast, so that Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead could close out the Festival. Yeah, that was a hell of a line-up….58 years ago……man……
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A cat….a cushion…..a glass of wine…..ahhh…..
Alright friends and neighbors! I hope this will hold you and get you through your Wednesday! And NOW…….NOW comes the best part of the diary: YOU! Just ahead, its YOUR TURN! Give a rec. Make a comment. Click on a link. Correct me. Expand on something. Digress….and digress on someone else’s digression off of an earlier digression. Cheer. Chuckle. Drop in a piece of breaking Good News, or bring forth (or bring fifth, or bring sixty-first) a gem you have come across that counts as Good News. Thank you for reading, and for being here. Cheers!
May all your News be Good, comforting and inspiring.
Shalom.
![Colorful sketch of a wildebeest by Starhawk, a side view of a happy, dynamic gnu dancing on one hind leg. A classic heraldric pose of a beast in rampant position. Image bears a hand-written title, "Happy Dance,". The lettering is joyful. Image created by Starhawk of Daily Kos. Uploaded 03-07-2021. Presented as a gift to all members of the Good News Roundup team. Tags Good News Roundups Gnus Gnusies Newsies gnhap](https://cdn.prod.dailykos.com/images/924811/story_image/GnuHappyDance.jpg?1615144457 "Colorful sketch of a wildebeest by Starhawk, a side view of a happy, dynamic gnu dancing on one hind leg. A classic heraldric pose of a beast in rampant position. Image bears a hand-written title, "Happy Dance,". The lettering is joyful. Image created by Starhawk of Daily Kos. Uploaded 03-07-2021. Presented as a gift to all members of the Good News Roundup team. Tags Good News Roundups Gnus Gnusies Newsies gnhap")
