December 17: Hearing Patterns

First flight of the Kitty Hawk

One of the things about watching movies or TV shows multiple times is that certain phrases stick: they come back to you, triggered by odd connections your brain makes between the quotation and current experience. So today, looking through the list of events, I found three that provoked such echoes: In 1790, Spanish officials were… Continue reading December 17: Hearing Patterns

November 22: Aftermath

The eternal flame at the JFK grave site, Arlington National Cemetary

Sixty years after the event, I can tell you exactly what I was doing during my school lunch break on November 22, 1963: I was sitting on a bench, reading Madeleine L’Engle’s The Moon by Night, and waiting for my turn at handball. The handball court was at the far end of the playground, so… Continue reading November 22: Aftermath

November 21: The Mayflower Compact

Signing the Mayflower Compact, Bas relief memorial, Provincetown, MA.

On Nov 21, 1620, realizing that they had landed far north of their intended goal, which was the Colony of Virginia with its established connection to the British Crown, forty-one of the Mayflower’s 101 passengers signed the following agreement: IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our… Continue reading November 21: The Mayflower Compact