A Grand Equinoctial (!) Wednesday Greeting to each and all of you. (Yes, the scientific, the astronomical, and the picky will note the Autumnal Equinox here in 2025 is actually on Monday, September 22nd and you have already noted today is only the 17th.) OTOH the 17th this month IS the 3rd Wednesday, and that’s my turn to run amok in the Good News Round Up Control Room. Since its as close as I can get to the Equinox, please feel free to use some mirrors and clever lighting tricks to make this Ersatz Equinox a virtual equivalent of the “Day with an Equal Night”.
Good News in Science, Tech and Engineering
Those observers of the skies and keepers of time devices were the ones who figured out ages ago that “Hey, the day lights get longer for months, and then shorter….and there’s 2 balancing day/nights in there.” Fortunately, the observers and keepers (you know, scientists, engineers and technos) branched off into other physical, chemical, biological and mechanical fields that have proved themselves VERY useful and helpful right down to today. And we THANK YOU!
From the Black Hole family album…….and look at those swirling days and nights equinox-ing against each other….
>>>>>>>>>>>Some of them are still gazing at the stars, looking upon the light arriving from eons past to twinkle our telescopes. And they are still finding….Stuff…..like how we GOT all this stuff…..like, you know, the universe itself. THIS EAST TO READ but mind-bending story notes some astronomers may have discovered the Mother of all Black Holes….not in terms of size, but of Age. The thought is this particular Abyss of Abysses was formed in mere seconds after seconds were invented after the Big Bang, so all other Black Holes are merely her children (once “Her”s were created…..and children’s children…..). A lot of this star-stuff goes over my head (:-)) but the scientists are intrigued…..
>>>>>>>>» Oh, and just to keep us humble, in this matter of the Universe being EVERYTHING that ever has been, is, and/or will be (you know, just one ‘verse’ to Uni we all exist in)…..well, maybe not so fast. THIS CHIN RUBBING STORY reports that another batch of scientists are fairly excited about our “One-and-Only-Verse” of the “Universe” persuasion may actually be JUST one…….of more than One. The idea is parallel universes may have peeked in our window and we saw them…..or vice-versa.
>>>>>>>» Some of you may recall geography classes (when there WERE such classes…..using a lot of maps.) For those of us growing up in the United States, the country’s southern coast on the Gulf of Mexico was washed by a larger body of water called the Caribbean Sea. Now the Caribes were a tribe/nation of native peoples who lived among the various Islands in that Sea, and the Europeans who came sailing along in 1492 and afterwards encountered them often enough in various places that they named all the water after them.
Some washed-ashore sargassum on a beach by daylight…..and still there at night…...
However there was a second contender for what to call that water: the Sargasso Sea. Sargassum is a kind of sea weed that grows in warm waters without that many strong currents. The Europeans in their galleons saw these waters coated with miles of this stuff, and in the days of sailing ships, made them afraid that it was thick enough to catch their ships and hold them…..until they ran out of water and food.
Well the sargassum is still out there, but engine-powered ships can push through the stuff. Now comes a sneaky-smart STORY HERE that Mexico and other islands and nations that border on her Gulf have an idea to harvest the sargassum and covert it into biogas for energy and construction material. Another of those wonderful, out-of-the-box thinking from those brainy people. YAY!
1683 Delft, Netherlands Dutch scientist Antoine van Leeuwenhoek, using a microscope he invented, on this day is the first to report the existence of “little beasties”, the first direct proof of bacteria. A huge breakthrough, setting the ground for medical science to move to becoming a science.
1976 Palmdale, California NASA proudly unveils its “Space Shuttle”, NASA’s first reusable space vehicle, capable of achieving orbit, carrying passengers and freight, and landing like a glider on its return to earth. Other names were floated, but tremendous public pressure convinces NASA to christen her the Enterprise. Thousands of “Trekkies” were in attendance and aside from the ship itself, the celebrities of the day were all the major (and minor) members of the original cast of ‘Star Trek.’
Most of the gang in very cool 70s double knits….with flared pant cuffs!
First Lady Profile
A continuing series of profiles of the often-unknown
women in American History who stood by their Presidential men
In these days of Presidential (Mis) Rule, we are reminded from time to time of the existence of the person acting as our current First Lady. (She is also referred to as our “Third Lady” from the marital particulars of her husband.) That husband is showing increasing health issues in public (let alone what’s going on in private.)
So it is oddly fitting that this month’s First Lady Profile raises up Edith Wilson. Woodrow Wilson’s first wife, Ellen, was an artistic soul and mother to their three daughters. She got to see 2 of them married (one in the White House) before she succumbed to kidney disease in August of 1914. The following year, December 1915, Woodrow the widower re-marries in a quiet, house wedding to the owner of the house, a widow, Edith Galt.
Edith Bolling Galt Wilson
Edith Bolling was born in 1872 in Wytheville, Virginia as the 7th of 11 children. She had heritage; looking at both sides of her family, Edith was related to the Harrison family (as in President William Henry, and the coming (1888) grandson, Benjamin). Further back, she had connections to Thomas Jefferson and Martha Washington, and was a direct descendant of Powhatan Princess Pocahontas from the English settling in Virginia in the early 1600s.
Father was a judge, but a local, even itinerant one, so his pay was so-so. Given the size of the family they were often living on top of each other above a storefront, or the children were sent to live months at a time with various hard-scrabble relatives in Southwestern Virginia.
The young Edith Bolling, future wife of a jeweler….
Despite all the brothers and sisters, the relocations and economic pinches, Edith managed a decent education in her early years, good enough to get her admitted first to Martha Washington College for 2 terms, and then a Richmond, Virginia “ladies finishing school”. In these places Edith showed a lively mind in the sciences, became fluent in 4 different languages, studied bookkeeping and got to experiment with High Tech: she had a class in “typewriting.”
Finishing in the early 1890s in Richmond, she was courted for 4 years by Norman Galt, the latest generation in his family to own and manage a noted Washington DC jewelry store. They wed in 1896, she at 23, he at 34. They had one child together, who sadly died soon after childbirth. In 1908 Galt himself died (at age 46), leaving a stately (and paid for) Washington mansion and a thriving business to his 35-year-old widow. She quickly realized her own limitations and hired a manager to run the business, (which worked out well), so she could explore being well-off for the first time in her life. She bought a car…..and learned to drive it. Each year she took 2 or 3 trips to Europe, both to see the sights and also buying fine clothing that she had longed for.
Woodrow Wilson was elected President in 1912. In 1914 his wife Ellen (the artist: HER PROFILE FROM DECEMBER AT THIS LINK) died of kidney disease that August. While 2 of Wilson’s daughters had recently married, the oldest, Margaret, stayed in the White House to serve as a substitute First Lady for the next several months.
By March of 1915 Woodrow, coming out of 6 months of mourning, began to take in occasional social events around town. At one of these he was introduced to Edith B. Galt, and they soon hit it off with each other. There were a number of letters between them each week (!) until, in June, Woodrow proposed. This was all kept low-key, and their wedding was a small one, in Edith’s house with about 40 attending, in December of 1915. After a honeymoon in Hot Springs, Virginia, Edith arrived in the White House as Woodrow Wilson’s Second First Lady.
Within weeks they settled into a routine of the President working from an upstairs, private office (where Edith could see him at any time, and usually did), only using the Oval Office for public or ceremonial moments (and even there, Edith was present, often the only woman in the room, at the presentation of ambassadors, or, say, a conversation with the Speaker of the House.) She was quite a confidante and advisor to Wilson, although this was generally kept from public knowledge.
As 1916 was an Election year, Wilson (who was an enthusiastic campaigner) was on the campaign trail often (and Edith went with him, often, since the President’s “new wife” caused great curiosity) so that she did very little of the typical First Lady social hostess role. The election was a close one, with Wilson finally bringing home a squeaker victory on the slogan, “He kept us out of War.” But by the time the March 4 Inauguration for his 2nd term came around, it was clear American neutrality was ending, and in April Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war. (There were wide cries of “betrayal” and “liar” because of this about face, and although necessary, Wilson took this hard.)
Edith Bolling Galt Wilson…..as First Lady
Edith turned to her role as a Wartime First Lady to encourage the public to support the war. She volunteered weekly at a Red Cross canteen for departing doughboys. She ordered the White House staff to observe “Meatless Mondays” and “Wheat-less Wednesdays” as well as certain days each week NOT using gasoline at the White House. All of these were made very publicly, giving the press a different view of the new Mrs. Wilson.
After the Armistice in November, 1918, Wilson twice went to Europe, and Edith went with him both times. The first time was to visit the US troops on duty there, and the second in the summer of 1919 to sign the Treaty of Versailles. This Treaty included Wilson’s pet idea of a League of Nations to avoid such an international cataclysm again, but as a Treaty it needed to be ratified by the US Senate. He came home and went barnstorming across America to generate public pressure on the Senate for ratification.
All this travel strained Wilson’s health, and in October, 1919 in the White House he suffered a significant stroke. Edith quickly became his gatekeeper and unofficial guardian---denying access to the President by anyone not medically necessary, up to and including Wilson’s three grown daughters, as well as Vice President Marshall. Instead, she announced the President was exhausted and needed an extended rest. It soon became known that she required all memos, letters and questions to the President pass through her. (In this capacity a number of historians have half-seriously called her America’s First Woman President, at least functionally.)
Vice President Marshall and the Cabinet sent such letters and questions frequently. In reply they received Edith’s nearly indecipherable hand-written missives, which she claimed were her hurried, verbatim notes of what Wilson told her-----and which she (almost alone) could make out his words. In early 1920 as Wilson slowly recovered she carefully arranged for limited contacts with these leaders as well as certain Senators wrangling over the Treaty. The battle in the Senate boiled down to a 1 plank sticking point, with the Senators urging a compromise to get the rest of things through. According to Wilson----through Edith----the leadership was told to not compromise, but to go all-or-nothing. The Treaty failed.
After Wilson left the White House in 1921 Edith cared for him the next 3 years until he died. She protected his legacy via control of access to all his Presidential papers. She was in turns politically visible among the Democrats and the public, mentioned rather seriously as a Vice-Presidential nominee in 1928. She stayed in touch with her successors as First Lady, and published a memoir in 1938. (Historians later found several and serious flaws in this in later years.) She also had full script control over a 1944 bio-pic movie of Wilson. Her last public appearance was at the 1961 Inauguration of President John Kennedy. She died at home at the end of 1961 at age 89.
Good News in Society & Politics
Sometimes Good News comes with a glare, a stare, even a curl of the lip…...and especially with the right words said in the right tone at the right target. The National Guard is currently NOT going to Chicago, or anywhere else in Illinois. This is because of the Good News delivered by Illinois Governor Pritzker to anyone who happened to be listening:
Illinois Gov. Pritzker vows to pursue Trump officials who participate in an illegal National Guard deployment to Chicago:
"If you hurt my people, nothing will stop me - not time or political circumstance - from making sure that you face justice under our constitutional rule of law."
And…...voila…...the illegally hijacked National Guard looks like they are going to Memphis….because JB Pritzker took the measure of the Donald-ites……
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>>>>>>>>>>And now, how about ANOTHER State? The state of California wants to tell off the ICE thugs nose-to-nose, literally. The LEGISLATURE OF CALIFORNIA has considered, amended, debated, passed and now SENT TO THE GOVERNOR for signature: a bill, soon to be law, that will make WEARING MASKS by Law Enforcement (with some careful exceptions) illegal. It is sad this is even necessary, but since it IS necessary, let Justice be Done unto the Masked Ones.
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Pope Leo XIV
>>>>>>» Shifting to another plane for the impact on Society and Politics of MONEY, here comes another Chicago guy telling it like it is. And this guy’s message goes a LOT wider than Chicago (his hometown) or Illinois or California. Pope Leo XIV….THE Pope…..sat down for the first media presser of his Papacy. HE CONDEMNED the incomprehensible GREED of the global 1%, the pay packages that surpass the GNP of several small countries…..combined. Now you and I know in the marrow of our bones and in the graces of our souls that such greed is psychologically psychotic, and spiritually self-defenestrating. But the Pope has a platform and a much bigger megaphone, and this ordained Lutheran stands up and cheers loudly for this Papal declaration.
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DailyKos is a political website, so society and politics appear everywhere everyday here. But various societies have had their politics, and thrashed things out for a long time. On some of the prior September 17ths, we have some reports from long ago: (and, since we are still on THIS SIDE of the Equinox, a little more light than dark….)
First edition title page…….
1691 Boston Back in the 1630s the Massachusetts Bay Colony was granted a charter as its root document for self-government. In their noisy, town-meeting sort of way, they had hammered out living together in a democratic way. In 1688 King James II had revoked the original charter, declared Massachusetts a Royal Colony, and appointed Edmund Andros as royal governor. (Andros had been a royal governor in the Bahamas; one of the islands there is named for him.) Andros ruled the way James wanted him to rule, you know, RULE! In 1689 James had been ruled right out of England (the Glorious Revolution that brought in William and Mary from Holland.)
In Boston the local folk had taken heart at this and taken Andros captive and “ruled him” ….right into the local jail. (The jailing happened on April 18th; 86 years later to the day the word went out that “The British are coming” to Lexington & Concord…...a well-starred day for Massachusetts to lead the way AGAIN. The rising against Andros was recounted by Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “The Gray Champion” in his collection of “Twice-Told Tales.”)
Today, September 17th, the dust settles and the British Crown grants Massachusetts a new charter, re-affirming their earlier pattern of self-rule.
1787 Philadelphia On this day, after several months debate (presided over by George Washington) Congress adopts James Madison’s draft of a Constitution. The Convention was originally called (in the face of Daniel Shays’ armed rebellion) to revise and strengthen the Articles of Confederation. This Convention revised it alright……by wholesale substitution. Sent to the states for ratification (and, unlike the Articles of Confederation, unanimous agreement was NOT required; if 9 of the 13 ratified, it would go into effect. Already a change; the Confederation had required unanimity.) The day is called “Constitution Day” in various places, and later, “I am an American Day.”
Yes…...We…….ARE……….and we lift our Light against their darkness...
…….In 1952 Congress sets aside these and declares this to be “Citizenship Day.” And so, on this 17th day of September of the signing of the Constitution, my friends, my fellow Americans, you and I, we the people, are Citizens of this Good Republic. In the words of Benjamin Franklin, asked by a Philadelphia woman after the Constitutional convention went public, “Well, what have you given us?” replied, “A Republic, madam, if you can keep it.” We Gnusies here at the Great Orange Prairie of Kos, do hereby pledge to carry on Mr. Franklin’s challenge!
1861 Fortress Monroe, Virginia This impressive stone fort at the tip of the Virginia Peninsula has stayed in Union hands, despite the rest of Virginia joining the Confederacy back in April. Back on June 3rd, 3 runaway slaves had appeared at the gates and been taken in. Their owner, a Virginia militia officer, showed up a few days later demanding restoration of “his property.” Union Fort Commander Benjamin Butler (A real S.O.B. in many ways…..BUT he was OUR S.O.B.!) had declared since that “property” was being used in armed
Mary Peake…...teacher, bring the Light of Knowledge to drive out the Darkness of Ignorance….
rebellion against the United States, the property was “contraband of war”, subject to capture or seizure, and would NOT be returned until the rebellion ended…..if then. It was an early, odd step toward Emancipation and freedom, and Lincoln backed up Butler. Word spread on the plantation grapevine that Union soldiers were a place of escape. Escaping and runaway slaves came to Fortress Monroe by the hundreds (to the fury of their owners.)
Now on this day, freedom takes another step forward. A black woman from the North, Mary Peake, rings a big hand bell and calls to order the first day of school for the free folk. ABC and 123 will make freedom ring. Mary Peake knows it, and the runaways know it too. (Mary Peake’s school lived on and eventually becomes Hampton University.)
1862 Antietam Creek, Maryland Having squandered his chance days ago of catching Robert E Lee’s Army piecemeal, Union General McClellan finally has his army in place, and orders a general assault on all points, beginning the Battle of Antietam at dawn. Instead, at dawn the north ends of the respective lines engage for a nasty two hours and then quit, followed by about 3 hours in the respective centers, and finally by about four hours at the south ends of the two lines. At one point Rebel General Longstreet dismounts to help operate a cannon in action against the Yankees. Outnumbered 2-1 with no reserves or hope of escape, Lee fights to a draw. The next day nothing happens, and the day after that, Lee withdraws south toward Virginia. McClellan, with 20,000 fresh troops in reserve who have done no fighting, lets him go.
It IS the first time the Army of the Potomac held a battlefield and got to bury the dead of their enemies. Lincoln counts it as a victory, letting him issue a Preliminary Proclamation of Emancipation of Slaves, warning the states in rebellion they have 100 days to return to the Union under their old terms. No one takes him up on it, and January 1, he becomes the Great Emancipator.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called
the children of God”
1978 Camp David, Maryland After several days of talks, writing, and general hospitality, on this day US President Carter beams his trademark smile as Menachem Begin of Israel and Anwar Sadat of Egypt sign the Camp David Agreements. Israel promised to withdraw gradually from Sinai and to establish some form of autonomous Palestinian territory on the West Bank. As noble an effort as the world has seen in the last 100 years to bring peace to that part of the globe….
Good News in Music, Arts, Literature…..and Fun
North Yorkshire Moors Railway at a station….patrolled by cats….
>>>>>>>» It is truly noted that one difference between Americans and the British is that Americans consider 200 years to be a LONG time, while the British consider 200 miles to be a long distance. Well as an American can you believe 180 years? Wow (with an American accent!) That goes back to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, including moving from point A to point B faster than a horse could run ……...by TRAIN! One of those 180 year old train lines is the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. (North Yorkshire is the setting for the books and the films and TV series in “All Creatures Great and Small.”)
The NYMR nowadays runs for tourists and train enthusiasts with antique locomotives, carriages and excursions. To that end they have lovingly restored various period rail stations. Since people (a lot of them tourists both British and foreign) in these rural stops are constantly going in and out through the doors, all sorts of 4-legged field rodents are also coming in for food or shelter. The NYMR has had cats on patrol to discourage the varmints, and lately had a station mouser pass away from old age. They went to find a replacement …..and IN THE ROUGH UNDERGROWTH near the station, came across 3 kittens! The Railway adopted them, hired them and trained them…….and the varmints stay wide away, while the 2-legged walkers think they are cuter than a kitten’s whisker.
Wheels on the road…..
rather SMALL wheels,
but wheels!
>>>>>>» Last week the History Corner noted Alice Wells, a young woman who learned to ride a bicycle early in the 20th century. She was a good writer and was sent on a sponsored “around the world on a bicycle” stunt. She sent in stories regularly and was welcomed home with a city parade in Chicago and again in New York City.
Now, in the spirit of Alice Wells there comes in our day 29-year-old Brooke Johnson. She has recently gone coast to coast across the US, from Santa Monica, California to Virginia Beach, VA…..the first woman to do so…...ON A SKATEBOARD! She said she was inspired by her late stepfather to try everything and anything, and she carried some of his ashes in a necklace during her 119 days on the trip.
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Hey, our ancestors and forebears (even our fivebears) also had their moments of inspiration for the eye and the ear, as well as reasons for chuckling. September 17ths of years gone by have collected a nice set of these for your Wednesday here in 2025.
Emperor Norton I….who made
Light of many things
1859 San Francisco Despite today’s 1787 entry, California, having only been a state for 9 years, dramatically populated and settled on the other coast with a different ocean…. well, they sometimes have a different view on things. Joshua Abraham Norton, a London-born drifter, Gold Rush arrival, failed rice merchant, on this day loudly proclaims himself “His Imperial Majesty Emperor Norton I, Emperor of North America, and Protector of Mexico.” His self-proclamation was wryly printed in the San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin and taken in good humor for years. He called on the various states to assemble representatives in San Francisco to straighten out or re-write the Constitution, calling for the abolition of Congress on grounds every member was hopelessly corrupt. (You know, there are days when ‘the Emperor’ got things right……..)
A few stores, cafes and saloons issued “currency” with his image on it and honored it as currency when he would use it in their establishments (since he attracted crowds everywhere he went, he was good for business.) He gave speeches and is actually the first citizen recorded as calling for a bridge or tunnel to connect San Francisco to Oakland across the bay. His funeral in 1880 drew 10,000 people who lined the city streets for two full miles.
1873 Columbus, Ohio (Speaking of learning and Universities, like Mary Peake at Fortress Monroe, Virginia…..) Three years after its formal founding, on this day the first 19 students attend opening classes at the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The next year, in 1874, the first woman is admitted. The first graduation in 1878 graduates 6 men. Graduate schools were added in the 1880s and a law school in 1891. In 1900 became the Ohio State University. Got clobbered by Michigan in football for years but finally started beating THAT TEAM from Ann Arbor. Meanwhile, they also put together “The Best Damned Band in the Land” ……and all became right with the world. So write-eth your WineRev, Class of ’75! (That’s me in the stands on the right side, red jacket….HI!)
Signature entrance by that Best Damned Band…….8 steps to five yards…...the 1930’s “Script Ohio” (to a French marching tune) and Holy Sousaphones!
1880 Paris Birth of Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht, composer, conductor. Son of a professional violinist and a prodigy, he was admitted to the Paris Conservatory at age 7! He was expelled at age 16 when he was caught playing the violin publicly….in a café….for money. Gained experience conducting in theatre companies and landed a full-time job at it at age 28. In 1913 was named conductor of the new Theatre des Champs-Elysees (talk about a classy address on your business card!). Conducted several premieres of works by his friend Debussey. In 1933 was asked to form a national radio orchestra as its conductor. During the Nazi Occupation in 1943 he was planning a broadcast of Debussey on the 25th anniversary of his friend’s death. Vichy President Laval ordered him to conduct a concert of German works instead, and Inghelbrecht refused. Laval fired him (but did not have him arrested.) Was rehired for the French Radio Orchestra in 1947. Wrote about 60 pieces: some light-hearted operas and ballets, several forms of orchestral work, and a half dozen chamber pieces.
Not often you get to hear a Quintet…..with HARP!
1972 Across America. After a quirky novel got made into an off-beat movie, on this evening CBS premieres the first episode of M*A*S*H, starring Alan Alda, Loretta Swit and Wayne Rogers. Ran for 11 seasons, 256 episodes. The 2-hour finale was the most watched television program ever at the time (out-drawing even the Super Bowl.) (Charles Emerson Winchester III became my lifelong ally (if he’d have me) as a fellow non-morning person. Faced with a daybreak ruckus in the tent, BJ and Hawkeye try to get him up. He responds from his Pharaoh’s resting pose: “A Winchester only recognizes one 5 o’clock each day and this one is NOT IT!”)
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On a personal note, last month I was pleased to announce the release of my first book in 16 years: “Like Well-Aged Wine.” It is my first try at a Romance----wrapped around an Adventure….OR an Adventure wrapped around a Romance.
(When I was setting up “keywords” and “genres” one of these I checked the box for was “Romance-Later in Life.” When I drilled down to these and took a look at the first 2 dozen titles, I was tickled to discover the OLDEST, later-in-life character in these titles was…..52. Both my characters are mid-70s…..and yet still believe in hope and romance…..)
IF YOU'D LIKE TO TAKE A LOOK (even just to discover my non-screen, real name), or even mention something to someone “Later in Life”, I would be grateful. Both in print and in pixels as a Kindle e-book…..
“You have saved the Good Wine until now…..”
Quite the Wednesday already, and now comes the Best Part: YOU! Yes, you have read down this far. YOU have had thoughts, reactions, comments, ideas, questions, replies, clarifications, edits. I hope you’ve had a few smiles along the way. But now…...take a sip of your drink, a bite of your screen-side food goodies, and use the InterActive Power of the InterNet to InterPlay, InterFlex, InterPret, InterJect your POVs, and raise InterFaith prayers, all to InterCommunicate to the InterEsted who are here! Take it away down below!!
May all your News be Good, comforting and inspiring.
Shalom.
