Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Yes, I Can Vote To Elect A Mormon As President!
At the top I profess faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior having a personal commitment to Him having received influence from Christian parents and Bible-believing churches. We were taught that the denominational label was not the issue but our relationship to God the Father.
From there I would go on to say that I'm related to, a friend of, and/or acquainted with a number of Mormon people having grown up in Southern California which had a growing LDS and RLDS population going back to the 1800s. From history I understand that their founder, Joseph Smith, Jr., believed that all the Protestant churches in his New York region had become corrupted and that he was chosen as a prophet to restore the one true Church which would rightly honor Jesus Christ and conduct itself as He had intended.
Now I mean to do no one any harm with that summary. I do not know the mind or the heart of Joseph Smith or his successor Brigham Young. If the LDS church today still maintains that it is the "one true Church" of Jesus Christ then it is one of the matters of their traditions, beliefs, and practices with which I disagree.
But we Americans have points in common as well as our differences. As a teenager I became a very small-scale political activist helping to walk precincts and make telephone contacts on behalf of candidates and issues that I supported. A number of us who took an active part in "Conservative" and Republican political matters came from a number of religious traditions including Jewish, Roman Catholic, Mormon, "Mainline" Protestant, and Evangelical/Orthodox/Fundamental. We were taking part in the process most likely because we had guidance from our religious/spiritual upbringing that God is real and that He has determined right from wrong and that government should NOT violate the founding precepts of our Republic which came from Jewish and Christian belief and teaching.
We Americans of a Traditionalist/"Conservative" bent still hold a variety of religious views which matter to us even if we don't all agree on every point and distinctive. How deeply Governor Mitt Romney and his family are involved with the LDS is for them to decide. Similarly, President Obama's spiritual beliefs are his own responsibility whether he honestly acknowledges Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior or he benefits from being prepared with acceptable Evangelical buzz-words and phrases which make him sound like a Bible-believer at a given moment. But when it comes to the governing of this Constitutionally-defined Republic I prefer someone with real-world business and governing experience and whose religious views follow Smith and Young and who will adhere to the Constitution rather than someone deeply influenced by Frank Marshall Davis and Saul Alinsky with their commitment to a remaking of the United States on a progressivist socialist fantasy model.
In other words, yes I do support Governor Mitt Romney for President in 2012.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
A Little From The Barcus/Richards Family Story
My Grandparents, John Eli Barcus and Pearl Richards Barcus met and married in Burbank, California and raised three sons and a daughter there from the mid-1920s until they divorced during World War II.
Our "Gram" was born Pearl Richards, either in Kansas or in New Mexico as I try to remember the story, but her father, Charles Richards, took his family to California eventually and landed work in the Warner Brothers First National Studios in Burbank where he became Chief Timekeeper and his employment there was probably attributable to his being a Mason. So he and my Great-grandmother Richards, whose maiden name was Martin (I cannot recall her first name but I remember meeting two sisters of hers, Maude and Trixie), raised our grandmother Pearl and her two brothers Chuck and Frank as the Hollywood cinema industry and the town called Burbank were growing along with the rest of the nation.
Our Grandfather, John Eli Barcus, whom we nicknamed 'Pop' (although he would have preferred Grandpa) was born in St. Joseph, Illinois in 1901 the third child and first son of Charles Barcus and Elizabeth Fiock Barcus, on the farm that I believe they were taking over from her parents who were of German descent and apparently spoke German at home so that Elizabeth Fiock was unfamiliar with English until she began school (her mother's maiden name was Denhart and there were numerous Barcus-Fiock-Denhart Family Reunions over the years so we definitely have a German connection). I believe there were fourteen Barcus children total who lived beyond early childhood. They worked hard on the family farm and I think most of them went on to build their own farms. But our Grandfather John and his cousin Howard Denhart decided they would go to California (perhaps around 1919) and so they loaded up a Model 'T' Ford and drove West with the city of Long Beach their intended destination, and either their money ran out or the Ford needed repair and they found themselves in Burbank.
Howard Denhart eventually returned to the Midwest but John E. Barcus took a job with Standard Oil and married a smart strikingly-gorgeous blue-eyed brunette named Pearl Richards. Their first son, John Charles Barcus, was born November 30, 1926. There were ups and downs of course including John E. losing his job. But the Burbank City Manager at that time, Mr. McCambridge, was a friend of the Richards family and hired the young man who would remain a Burbank employee from before the onset of the Depression until his retirement at age 70. Their children were John Charles, Donald Earl, James, and Mary ("Mary Ann" until she was old enough to keep it to Mary). After they divorced both our grandparents remarried and Grandpa John "Pop" had a daughter, Linda Jean, with his second wife Marjorie.
Further notes on our Richards family connections:
Our "Gram" was born Pearl Richards, either in Kansas or in New Mexico as I try to remember the story, but her father, Charles Richards, took his family to California eventually and landed work in the Warner Brothers First National Studios in Burbank where he became Chief Timekeeper and his employment there was probably attributable to his being a Mason. So he and my Great-grandmother Richards, whose maiden name was Martin (I cannot recall her first name but I remember meeting two sisters of hers, Maude and Trixie), raised our grandmother Pearl and her two brothers Chuck and Frank as the Hollywood cinema industry and the town called Burbank were growing along with the rest of the nation.
Our Grandfather, John Eli Barcus, whom we nicknamed 'Pop' (although he would have preferred Grandpa) was born in St. Joseph, Illinois in 1901 the third child and first son of Charles Barcus and Elizabeth Fiock Barcus, on the farm that I believe they were taking over from her parents who were of German descent and apparently spoke German at home so that Elizabeth Fiock was unfamiliar with English until she began school (her mother's maiden name was Denhart and there were numerous Barcus-Fiock-Denhart Family Reunions over the years so we definitely have a German connection). I believe there were fourteen Barcus children total who lived beyond early childhood. They worked hard on the family farm and I think most of them went on to build their own farms. But our Grandfather John and his cousin Howard Denhart decided they would go to California (perhaps around 1919) and so they loaded up a Model 'T' Ford and drove West with the city of Long Beach their intended destination, and either their money ran out or the Ford needed repair and they found themselves in Burbank.
Howard Denhart eventually returned to the Midwest but John E. Barcus took a job with Standard Oil and married a smart strikingly-gorgeous blue-eyed brunette named Pearl Richards. Their first son, John Charles Barcus, was born November 30, 1926. There were ups and downs of course including John E. losing his job. But the Burbank City Manager at that time, Mr. McCambridge, was a friend of the Richards family and hired the young man who would remain a Burbank employee from before the onset of the Depression until his retirement at age 70. Their children were John Charles, Donald Earl, James, and Mary ("Mary Ann" until she was old enough to keep it to Mary). After they divorced both our grandparents remarried and Grandpa John "Pop" had a daughter, Linda Jean, with his second wife Marjorie.
Further notes on our Richards family connections:
Our Gram Pearl told me she remembered her Great-grandmother Fulton using the expression, "I hate that worse than the Devil hates holy water," which seems like it would be a traditional saying among Irish Catholics, and either the Richardses or the Martins were relatives of the same Mr. Fulton who invented the steamboat Clermont in the 1800s; Bob Richards, the Olympic athlete whose picture was on Wheaties boxes during the 1950s was a cousin or a nephew to our great-grandfather Charles Richards. A minister, Bob Richards wrote The Heart of A Champion and spoke at least once to the Father/Son Banquet at John Muir Junior High in Burbank (before any of us attended).We Barcus/Richards grandchildren started showing up in 1949 after our grandparents divorced but it's good to see that they have been succeeded by great-grandchildren and even great-great-grandchildren so far.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Washington School Days, 1954--1961 Burbank
With fifteen or sixteen elementary schools covering the sixteen square miles of Burbank it might seem as if half were named "Joaquin Miller" yet there were Henry Mingay, Emerson, Roosevelt, Edison, Franklin, Jefferson, Stevenson, Lincoln,.. And among the oldest still in use or recently still open you have George Washington sitting on the north side of the Golden State Freeway at Lincoln Street east of Buena Vista along Winona Avenue. The freeway and storm system took out the old location of the child daycare facility close to San Fernando Road but the old two-story building remained as in the days when our dad and his brothers and sister attended from about 1931 onward when at least six of us from the following generation began school. Mrs. (or was it Miss?) Jeanne Atkinson splitting sessions in the kindergarten classroom with Mrs. Weber(?); Miss Mildred Boyd's retirement began in June 1956 after teaching at least a second generation how to read (First Grade for me); Ophelia ("Bunny") Seapy working on our Second Grade reading and arithmetic skills plus meteorology and the fine art of making sugar cookies; Miss Nongard (later Mrs. Landrum) introducing Burbank history as well as having us learn some elements of journalism as we published The Room 8 Review in Third Grade; Mrs. Crawford in Fourth Grade carrying us along with California history and industries and sharing her experience teaching double-sessions in Burbank's suddenly-overcrowded schools during The War; Mrs. McElduff serving an excellent extended tour as substitute teacher with us in Fifth Grade until Mrs. Young could return in the second quarter after her initial battle with cancer to give her high levels of energy, intelligence, and professionalism as she would for just a few years more; and Mr. Louis Cramer staying on year after year to help Sixth Graders transition towards junior high school and bringing his perspective from growing up in Southern California, attending UCLA and USC, and serving out WWII as a US Navy officer.. Others will have to give you their recollections of Mrs. Montgomery, Mrs. Openshaw, Mrs. White, Mrs. Overton, Mrs. Roth, Miss Gilberg, and others who were part of the Washington faculty (some names and spellings may be incorrect).
Physical underdevelopment was no advantage to boys in those days especially when the competition included Darryl Smestad, Robert Grossman (an extreme sports player before the term was developed as demonstrated in at least two broken arms), Robert Saia and others who would be picked for teams well ahead of your own lack of speed, strength, and coordination. There were a few friends and acquaintances whose names I should recall better than has been the case lately: Dick Reed whose grandfather--as City Manager--hired my grandfather before the Depression reached into many towns and families; Dean Ortiz and I were in the same Indian Guides tribe with our fathers and we were similar in heritage having moms from Oklahoma and family names originating in the Basque Country. And both Reed and Ortiz were better friends to me than I was in return. From Fourth Grade through Sixth Mark Pollock was a Washington classmate also and even though I gave him a hard time later if you got to know Mark back then and his concern that no harm be done to people it would not surprise you to learn about his pursuit of consumer advocacy. Charlene Gualtney, Donna Campbell, Sharon Harris, Lynda Carlin, John Whitt, Mark Campbell, Richard Pearson, Mike Hickman, Steve Newgard, Phil Anderegg, Ron Smedley, and many more names and faces come to mind however incompletely; my apologies for leaving a great many out of this short narrative.
Physical underdevelopment was no advantage to boys in those days especially when the competition included Darryl Smestad, Robert Grossman (an extreme sports player before the term was developed as demonstrated in at least two broken arms), Robert Saia and others who would be picked for teams well ahead of your own lack of speed, strength, and coordination. There were a few friends and acquaintances whose names I should recall better than has been the case lately: Dick Reed whose grandfather--as City Manager--hired my grandfather before the Depression reached into many towns and families; Dean Ortiz and I were in the same Indian Guides tribe with our fathers and we were similar in heritage having moms from Oklahoma and family names originating in the Basque Country. And both Reed and Ortiz were better friends to me than I was in return. From Fourth Grade through Sixth Mark Pollock was a Washington classmate also and even though I gave him a hard time later if you got to know Mark back then and his concern that no harm be done to people it would not surprise you to learn about his pursuit of consumer advocacy. Charlene Gualtney, Donna Campbell, Sharon Harris, Lynda Carlin, John Whitt, Mark Campbell, Richard Pearson, Mike Hickman, Steve Newgard, Phil Anderegg, Ron Smedley, and many more names and faces come to mind however incompletely; my apologies for leaving a great many out of this short narrative.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
You May Be Severely Middle-Aged IF...
...IF you can't decide if your (natural) hair color is gray or white.
...IF your grandnieces or grandnephews just started preschool.
...IF the President of the United States is more than ten years your junior.
...IF your baby brother turns fifty next year.
...IF you are working out just what your grandchildren should call you so not to conflict with their other grandparents.
...IF two or more of your former high school students are grandparents.
...IF you not only remember when the Berlin Wall came down, you remember when it was built.
...IF you're convinced that age 70 is not old.
Copyright © 2010 Kent J. Barcus All Rights Reserved
...IF your grandnieces or grandnephews just started preschool.
...IF the President of the United States is more than ten years your junior.
...IF your baby brother turns fifty next year.
...IF you are working out just what your grandchildren should call you so not to conflict with their other grandparents.
...IF two or more of your former high school students are grandparents.
...IF you not only remember when the Berlin Wall came down, you remember when it was built.
...IF you're convinced that age 70 is not old.
Copyright © 2010 Kent J. Barcus All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
YOU DON'T SAY! or was it, What You Should Not Have Said?
As many connections as Burbankers had to entertainment, not to mention the presence of Warner Bros., Disney, and Channel 4 in town, perhaps many of us got in front of or near a camera at least once. I got on once and even got bleeped before it was over.
If you recall the daytime program "You Don't Say!" starring Tom Kennedy on NBC you may remember that two celebrities would be featured weekly, each paired with a contestant to play a game where you passed clues to your partner by giving a leading statement of one or more sentences with the very last word missing. There were rules such that you couldn't use a proper name or a word that was a direct part or descriptive of the name or the object you were going after. Even if you did not complete Seventh Grade with honors you probably could figure it out. But then being under the color television studio lights and in front of a live audience might be intimidating...
Spring of 1969 "Fritzie" at work mentioned that her daughter had been on the program and had done quite well--and maybe I should try out. Not a super-complex process: Call in for studio audience tickets and attend a taping; When the audience host announces that contestant applications are available you pick one up, fill it out, send it in, tada!
O.K., you let them call you and schedule you for a group tryout where an Associate Producer conducts a mock run of the show to give all the applicants who showed up opportunity to be "on stage" to observe how you might work out in studio. When called to the front I had to get my partner to say the name of a well-known place, person, or thing. Unfortunately I did not know anything about Rossano Brazzi or how to pronounce his name. The first clue that came to mind was either "bra" or "brassiere" and I flubbed it and the other team won on the second clue. Yet there was something redeemable and I was invited back a few days or weeks later and put in line for a possible taping once we got through a course of coaching and practice required for all or most contestants.
When it looks promising for your glorious but brief period on the set you begin to wonder who the celebrities will be. You know that one is male, the other female, and they probably are well known from theater, movies, television, or the recording industry. Most of the women contestants probably hope to be paired with a popular heart-throb of the day while men look for some lady star definitely qualifying as a "Babe." If practical, you should just hope for someone smart enough to know the rules and willing to help you win. When I was a contestant-in-waiting two of the stars taping in successive weeks were comic musician Mr. Allan Sherman ("Camp Granada") and actor Bob Crane ("Hogan's Heroes"). Mr. Sherman was described by contestants who worked with him as a gentleman and he was good at the game. Bob Crane was likable as could be but I had heard that he did terribly on television game shows; he lived up to that reputation. My regrets to the two women celebs who also were on during those tapings but I can't remember everything although I am sure they did a great job. On the other hand, Bob Crane was messing up so bad that an Executive Producer came in to lecture us non-celeb contestants that "these stars aren't dumb," which we would have believed except that we'd seen and heard Bob Crane's showtime actions by way of the studio monitors. All the same people liked him and I guess he had a heart-melting smile. Women would have fought for the chance to appear with him.
The opportunity for non-celebrity fame came the week that Miss Vera Miles and Mr. Jack Albertson were the stars. Both were pleasant and enjoyable film, television, and theater veterans who treated us contestants very well although I think Miss Miles eventually wondered how she could get teamed with one of the densest contestants in TV's short history. So now let my confession begin.
During a game round in which Miss Miles and I were paired she opened with a clue statement that pretty much went:
"You take an ocean cruise and while you're on deck the seas get rough and the boat begins to rock. You get this queasy feeling in your stomach so you go over to the rail and you -------"
And I dutifully and knowledgeably answered, "heave!"
She shakes her head and subtly waves her hands for no.
A little startled I come back with "vomit."
Vera Miles indicates no once again.
I try, "throw up." Of course that's two words, not one, but we're running out of time and once again the very classy but disbelieving Miss Miles is signaling no. And perhaps a touch frantically.
Now, it's not like I don't know what the action is that Miss Miles has described, but there's a particular term that she knows and she probably expects anyone with an IQ greater than his waist size (30 in those days) to recognize. I would expect that in other circumstances but not with the clock counting down on us.
Fast as possible I gave Miss Miles every one-word and single-hyphenated expression that came to mind including up-chuck and puke (which actually had to be bleeped for some cultural reason, I guess). Still, no. I honestly felt I had let this lady down as the signal sounded and the opportunity and the win went to the other team, which suffered no vocabulary deficit like mine. And then it hit me...
Was it a Seventh Grade Talent Show we had at John Muir Junior High during the 61-62 school year? I see Don Ray or another classmate walking across the stage carrying a pail while someone calls out, "Where are you going with that bucket?" To which the answer is, "I'm going to watch Wyatt Earp (urp, urp, urp)!" Funny. Hilarious. And memorable to somebody but apparently not to me at the time I really needed to remember it. And so I let down the co-star of "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."
After a busy career that she continued into 1995 Vera Miles got out of performing and I understand she maintains her privacy. But if anyone has contact with that very beautiful lady from Boise City, Oklahoma please convey my apology because she gave the very best and sharpest clue of that week only to see it evaporate in the slow memory of a college student from Burbank, California.
And I'd really like for you to see the actual show, but NBC saw fit to re-use all or most of its color video tapes. You'll have to trust me. And just one more thing if you don't mind: I went to IMBd.com for the rundown of her career and filmography and, so help me, the "You Don't Say!" appearance is not there. Her "Password" appearances are, but not a hint to verify the story I've told. I've had a close relative accuse me in the past of making stuff up. (Actually I'm certain now that I did not make Don Ray up.) Who knows but an old fascination with the entertainment industry left me in a condition of being little more than an animated studio prop. All the same: Miss Miles, my apology to you remains.
If you recall the daytime program "You Don't Say!" starring Tom Kennedy on NBC you may remember that two celebrities would be featured weekly, each paired with a contestant to play a game where you passed clues to your partner by giving a leading statement of one or more sentences with the very last word missing. There were rules such that you couldn't use a proper name or a word that was a direct part or descriptive of the name or the object you were going after. Even if you did not complete Seventh Grade with honors you probably could figure it out. But then being under the color television studio lights and in front of a live audience might be intimidating...
Spring of 1969 "Fritzie" at work mentioned that her daughter had been on the program and had done quite well--and maybe I should try out. Not a super-complex process: Call in for studio audience tickets and attend a taping; When the audience host announces that contestant applications are available you pick one up, fill it out, send it in, tada!
O.K., you let them call you and schedule you for a group tryout where an Associate Producer conducts a mock run of the show to give all the applicants who showed up opportunity to be "on stage" to observe how you might work out in studio. When called to the front I had to get my partner to say the name of a well-known place, person, or thing. Unfortunately I did not know anything about Rossano Brazzi or how to pronounce his name. The first clue that came to mind was either "bra" or "brassiere" and I flubbed it and the other team won on the second clue. Yet there was something redeemable and I was invited back a few days or weeks later and put in line for a possible taping once we got through a course of coaching and practice required for all or most contestants.
When it looks promising for your glorious but brief period on the set you begin to wonder who the celebrities will be. You know that one is male, the other female, and they probably are well known from theater, movies, television, or the recording industry. Most of the women contestants probably hope to be paired with a popular heart-throb of the day while men look for some lady star definitely qualifying as a "Babe." If practical, you should just hope for someone smart enough to know the rules and willing to help you win. When I was a contestant-in-waiting two of the stars taping in successive weeks were comic musician Mr. Allan Sherman ("Camp Granada") and actor Bob Crane ("Hogan's Heroes"). Mr. Sherman was described by contestants who worked with him as a gentleman and he was good at the game. Bob Crane was likable as could be but I had heard that he did terribly on television game shows; he lived up to that reputation. My regrets to the two women celebs who also were on during those tapings but I can't remember everything although I am sure they did a great job. On the other hand, Bob Crane was messing up so bad that an Executive Producer came in to lecture us non-celeb contestants that "these stars aren't dumb," which we would have believed except that we'd seen and heard Bob Crane's showtime actions by way of the studio monitors. All the same people liked him and I guess he had a heart-melting smile. Women would have fought for the chance to appear with him.
The opportunity for non-celebrity fame came the week that Miss Vera Miles and Mr. Jack Albertson were the stars. Both were pleasant and enjoyable film, television, and theater veterans who treated us contestants very well although I think Miss Miles eventually wondered how she could get teamed with one of the densest contestants in TV's short history. So now let my confession begin.
During a game round in which Miss Miles and I were paired she opened with a clue statement that pretty much went:
"You take an ocean cruise and while you're on deck the seas get rough and the boat begins to rock. You get this queasy feeling in your stomach so you go over to the rail and you -------"
And I dutifully and knowledgeably answered, "heave!"
She shakes her head and subtly waves her hands for no.
A little startled I come back with "vomit."
Vera Miles indicates no once again.
I try, "throw up." Of course that's two words, not one, but we're running out of time and once again the very classy but disbelieving Miss Miles is signaling no. And perhaps a touch frantically.
Now, it's not like I don't know what the action is that Miss Miles has described, but there's a particular term that she knows and she probably expects anyone with an IQ greater than his waist size (30 in those days) to recognize. I would expect that in other circumstances but not with the clock counting down on us.
Fast as possible I gave Miss Miles every one-word and single-hyphenated expression that came to mind including up-chuck and puke (which actually had to be bleeped for some cultural reason, I guess). Still, no. I honestly felt I had let this lady down as the signal sounded and the opportunity and the win went to the other team, which suffered no vocabulary deficit like mine. And then it hit me...
Was it a Seventh Grade Talent Show we had at John Muir Junior High during the 61-62 school year? I see Don Ray or another classmate walking across the stage carrying a pail while someone calls out, "Where are you going with that bucket?" To which the answer is, "I'm going to watch Wyatt Earp (urp, urp, urp)!" Funny. Hilarious. And memorable to somebody but apparently not to me at the time I really needed to remember it. And so I let down the co-star of "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."
After a busy career that she continued into 1995 Vera Miles got out of performing and I understand she maintains her privacy. But if anyone has contact with that very beautiful lady from Boise City, Oklahoma please convey my apology because she gave the very best and sharpest clue of that week only to see it evaporate in the slow memory of a college student from Burbank, California.
And I'd really like for you to see the actual show, but NBC saw fit to re-use all or most of its color video tapes. You'll have to trust me. And just one more thing if you don't mind: I went to IMBd.com for the rundown of her career and filmography and, so help me, the "You Don't Say!" appearance is not there. Her "Password" appearances are, but not a hint to verify the story I've told. I've had a close relative accuse me in the past of making stuff up. (Actually I'm certain now that I did not make Don Ray up.) Who knows but an old fascination with the entertainment industry left me in a condition of being little more than an animated studio prop. All the same: Miss Miles, my apology to you remains.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
For The Grandchildren of John and Leota Kelley Barcus, part 1
All right, I've wanted to put into writing some family history which is part of your background as it comes through Grandpa and Grandma Barcus. This Part 1 is the start and I will try to give a reasonable explanation maybe with a touch of humor here and there.
The name "Barcus" comes, as far as I've been able to learn, from Basque Country in Acquitaine Province, France. In French the village name is Barcus but in Euskera, the local language, it is Barkoxe in Herria Euskal, or the land of the Euskal people as they call it, but the Spanish called them Los Vascos while the French and British called them the Basques. Basque country today is divided between Spain and France in the Pyrenees Mountains and it has its own language and culture with at least several local dialects of the Euskal, or Basque, language. Generally the government of Spain has attempted to be more accommodating towards the Vascos, or Basques, within its national borders while the French have, perhaps, shown more indifference toward anything which is not distinctly French in culture and language. I encourage you to do your own further reading on this topic. It turned out that friends of mine, Dean Ortiz and Pat Nolan, were of Basque descent. If anyone by the name of Barcus or Barkoxe still lives in that region in France I can't say. The village of Barkoxe is known for the Chilo Hotel and that's about all I have discovered about it other than the great French annual bicycle race has often been routed through that area.
The name "Barcus" comes, as far as I've been able to learn, from Basque Country in Acquitaine Province, France. In French the village name is Barcus but in Euskera, the local language, it is Barkoxe in Herria Euskal, or the land of the Euskal people as they call it, but the Spanish called them Los Vascos while the French and British called them the Basques. Basque country today is divided between Spain and France in the Pyrenees Mountains and it has its own language and culture with at least several local dialects of the Euskal, or Basque, language. Generally the government of Spain has attempted to be more accommodating towards the Vascos, or Basques, within its national borders while the French have, perhaps, shown more indifference toward anything which is not distinctly French in culture and language. I encourage you to do your own further reading on this topic. It turned out that friends of mine, Dean Ortiz and Pat Nolan, were of Basque descent. If anyone by the name of Barcus or Barkoxe still lives in that region in France I can't say. The village of Barkoxe is known for the Chilo Hotel and that's about all I have discovered about it other than the great French annual bicycle race has often been routed through that area.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Some Forty Years Beyond High School
As many of us have now aged beyond the point where we had observed our grandparents to be "really old people" it follows that we've taken the initiative in the grandest democratic tradition to redefine Old Age as somewhere beyond the ionosphere or otherwise outside the place in time where most will really care.
What really deserves care? That which carries forward beyond a given person's earthly life: matters of wisdom, questions as to the Judgment, considerations as to reality that exceeds a material existence.
Finding a variety of opinions here in the Bay Area and elsewhere in California about truth, spirituality, and the nature of God we have more than enough distraction from the love God has for us, the opportunity to be reconciled to Him through the completed sacrifice achieved by Jesus Christ, and His abiding presence for those who will trust Him.
What really deserves care? That which carries forward beyond a given person's earthly life: matters of wisdom, questions as to the Judgment, considerations as to reality that exceeds a material existence.
Finding a variety of opinions here in the Bay Area and elsewhere in California about truth, spirituality, and the nature of God we have more than enough distraction from the love God has for us, the opportunity to be reconciled to Him through the completed sacrifice achieved by Jesus Christ, and His abiding presence for those who will trust Him.
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