Security and risk managers always talk about plane crashes and the fear we should have about flying. Doing a little searching, I stumbled across a poem by Steve Wilson on The Catholic National Weekly that perhaps raises as many questions as it answers:
…trees. A handbag. Sunglasses.
A crystal vase. An Italian shoe beside
the road. The villagers remember
with calm faces. And of the days to follow,
that burgeoned winter-white, hesitant,
detached—what do they think?
They resign themselves like a scarf
to the will of the chill and ragged air.
5 a.m., outside Bucharest, Romania, 1995
Resign themselves to the will of the air? Touching imagery to mourn the tragic loss of life, but it hardly fits the definition of giant jets using forced air and thousands of gallons of fuel, as well as ultra-light carbon and aluminum construction, to fight the elements and boldly embrace science and challenge the laws of gravity.
Interesting bit of history is provided by the National Lancers on what Paul Revere was really up to on his ride:
Contrary to popular belief, Paul Revere did not set out on the night of April 18th, 1775 to alert the countryside to the impending British march. His specific goal was to ride to Lexington to warn two prominent Colonial leaders, Samuel Adams and John Hancock, that their lives might be in danger. Having departed Boston by boat across the Back Bay, and narrowly averting notice by the H.M.S Somerset anchored there; he procured a strong, quick Yankee horse and rode west toward Lexington.
They go on to describe his capture by soldiers and how he told them that people were taking up arms, which led a heavily armed group of British soldiers to search for munitions in Lexington and eventually fire their guns into “fleeing crowds”.
Father can you hear me?
How have I let you down?
I curse the day that I was born…
And all the sorrow in this world…
Let me take you to the hurting ground
Where all good men are trampled down
Just to settle a bet that could not be won
Between a prideful father and his son
Will you guide me now, for I can’t see
A reason for the suffering and this long misery
What if every living soul could be upright and strong
Well, then I do imagine…
There will be Sorrow
Yeah there will be Sorrow
And there will be Sorrow, no more
When all soldiers lay their weapons down
Or when all kings and all queens relinquish their crowns
Or when the only true messiah rescues us from ourselves
It’s easy to imagine…
There will be Sorrow
Yeah there will be Sorrow
And there will be Sorrow, no more
I had a bit of a hiatus from the blog this weekend. My first vacation in a while. Shame, really, as I have about a dozen stories to post now, all of which I expect should show up sometime this week. Meanwhile, someone was kind enough to send me a link to some real eye-candy advertisements posted on Dark Roasted Blend that exemplify the paradigm shift of flyingpenguin. For example:
Very cool. I had to look twice to find the car in the second ad. I wish more advertising had this kind of balance.
