tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911334903016795718.post2356038215383594305..comments2023-07-06T10:55:44.311+02:00Comments on Attempted Essays: 1987 - A Very Good Year?Francis Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00422476000328664994noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911334903016795718.post-15195615608763145932012-06-12T16:41:59.698+02:002012-06-12T16:41:59.698+02:00Very amusing. We have so much in common. (I am Iri...Very amusing. We have so much in common. (I am Irish, same surname,strong Sligo connections, strong Heidelberg connections, huge USA connections , same age and so forth)<br /><br />Mind you I do not agree with the business of Irishmen having more in common with Germans than Americans. I guess I have lived in the US since my very early twenties so I am unable to get my head around that one. Mind you two of my sisters married Germans and one of them is still living in the Heidelberg area; the other sister pulled the proverbial plug and moved back to Ireland.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911334903016795718.post-15967005802971482052012-05-31T18:21:47.456+02:002012-05-31T18:21:47.456+02:00RE: Music. In 1987, for medical reason (bad heart)...RE: Music. In 1987, for medical reason (bad heart), I was on the treadmill everyday, and (to stave off the boredom) I was listening to the Nine Symphonies of Beethoven, conducted by Von Karajan, and then by Leonard Bernstein. In my youth, I had been trained to analyse different interpretations of the same classical work. It's a fascinating exercise. I could not have made a better choice than those two men. As was (still often is) my habit, when an artist moves me immensely, I wrote a short Merci note to them. I'm glad I did. Herbert died in 1989, and Leonard in 1990. I doubt that the gentlemen really needed my thank you. But I very much needed to say it.<br /><br />I'll be 83 in September. Life is getting short. Before I go, let me thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your eloquent, enriching, deeply honest posts. You help me to rethink my past and, often, lead me to other paths, never yet explored. You're quite a guy, Francis. Merci de tout coeur!Claudehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06775039539331403794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911334903016795718.post-29892338775092298262012-05-31T05:23:52.072+02:002012-05-31T05:23:52.072+02:00Way back, facing my own life, I wrote:
I fear
th...Way back, facing my own life, I wrote:<br /> <br /><i>I fear<br />the one-island-man<br />the poverty of his silence<br />the dryness of his words<br />the dimness of his candle<br />the coldness of his room<br />the emptiness of his land.</i><br /><br />Looking at this deadly picture, I had no other choice than to jump into chaos, confusion, passion, involving every fiber of my soul and body. The result was life, tough, rough, hard to inhale and exhale, but LIFE as opposed to nothingness.<br /><br />Francis, maybe it would have been easier to stay put into what had become, for you, a sterile nest. But who would you be today? Alleluia! You said yes to love. And you blossomed into a compassionate, tender man and father, in spite of the pain which followed. <br /><br />In 1987, with other books, I was studying the fascinating, "What is History?" by E.H.Carr. I've been quoting the last three lines ever since: "I shall look out on a world in tumult and a world in travail, and shall answer in the well-worn words of a great scientist:<i>And yet - it moves.</i>"<br /><br />Let's keep going, dear Francis. As always, my best wishes to you, and yours.Claudehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06775039539331403794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911334903016795718.post-91531131190530706262012-05-30T15:19:46.889+02:002012-05-30T15:19:46.889+02:00Made for yet another highly interesting read, my f...Made for yet another highly interesting read, my friend! I just wanted to stop by and drop my EC (because sitting in my office and working more or less) but I got caught up in your intro, middle part and ending. You have that thing to blend the personal with the general in such an alluring way that will always make me stop doing what I'm meant (and paid) to do in order to read on.<br />And wow, 87! Such a long way back, ain't it? I was (ouch!) 15, for God's sake! Never cared much for Whitney but yes, double-yes and triple-yes for U2 and especially THAT album! My alltime favourite "Running to stand still" and its lines "cry without weeping / Talk without speaking / Scream without raising your voice" are still haunting me.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430687233562149810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911334903016795718.post-46009935166195535712012-05-28T03:34:19.023+02:002012-05-28T03:34:19.023+02:00It's amazing how American service/wo/men abroa...It's amazing how American service/wo/men abroad end up living in a bubble of their own culture. I wonder if the Romans did the same thing as they spread their empire across western Europe and beyond?<br /><br />Your personal history of 1987 was as fascinating and enjoyable to read as I've come to expect from you. Life is always full of surprises.susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747450215034568033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911334903016795718.post-78165348050987476332012-05-27T16:37:14.031+02:002012-05-27T16:37:14.031+02:00I so focused on myself and my own intense experien...I so focused on myself and my own intense experiences from 1987 that I forgot to add that since I've started to read your essays and otherwise have gotten to know you a bit more, I've been amazed by your grasp of American culture (such as it is), society and politics. <br /><br />It was interesting to find out in part, why that is by reading about your work experience in this essay.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17296223961815248113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911334903016795718.post-91300922695575358382012-05-27T03:07:45.530+02:002012-05-27T03:07:45.530+02:00I was pregnant for Meredith for most of 1987, givi...I was pregnant for Meredith for most of 1987, giving birth to her on 26 August; a Wednesday. It was what turned out to be the first of two medically dramatic pregnancies and deliveries. I gave birth to Ursula only sixteen months later. <br /><br />My parents unexpectedly threw in the towel on everything American and moved back to Portugal in October of that year. I don’t doubt that on a subconscious level, I wanted to become pregnant so they would be more tempted to stay.<br /><br /><br />We had tuned out both television and radio for most of the 80’s, I read voraciously and we relied on C.R.’s vinyl jazz collection, cooking experiments, and lots of new friends for entertainment. There was also a smattering of Frank Zappa and I think Boy George had a hit. :-)<br /><br />It was an eventful year and both a wonderful and a very frightening one. Yet, it was a very good year. Yes.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17296223961815248113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911334903016795718.post-3769495793759313632012-05-27T02:04:43.515+02:002012-05-27T02:04:43.515+02:00What a huge year for you. So many changes. Perhaps...What a huge year for you. So many changes. Perhaps if we boiled down your life, this was your most or one of your most significant years, too.<br /><br />I especially enjoyed your observations about working the U.S. Government.<br /><br />Funny thing about the music you mentioned. U2 was touring Europe while I was attending school in France. I didn't get to see them, but some of my classmates went to see them in Montpelier and brought me back a t-shirt I have kept to this day.<br /><br />In November of that year, about a month after MathMan and I began our lifelong one night stand, we went to see U2 in Indianapolis. Of course we wanted to see U2, but the big attraction for us was getting to see the opening band. The Bodeans. We'd met at a Bodeans concert on October 1st where we both attended university.<br /><br />I'm so glad you took this idea and made it your own.lisahgoldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11158660223296807317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911334903016795718.post-26843673895725588472012-05-27T00:06:43.458+02:002012-05-27T00:06:43.458+02:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17296223961815248113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911334903016795718.post-8243869725139752422012-05-26T19:39:15.797+02:002012-05-26T19:39:15.797+02:00It was a rather dull year for me. Back in London a...It was a rather dull year for me. Back in London after a year in Dover, working at Heathrow airport.<br /><br />It amazed me that US forces could live a likfe with virtualy no contact with Europeans. My aunt married a US serviceman who retired after a tour at Lakenheath in Suffolk. They lived in Mildenhall but he worked at the US junior High School. I spent a lot of time going to the Comissary and the PX stores with my uncle. It was as if a bit of the US was transplated onto UK shoresjams o donnellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17315325008175184363noreply@blogger.com