QUARANTINE BLOG # 107

July 15, 2020

Well, I goofed!  The opening piece which you will read in a minute or so was supposed to be yesterday’s opening.  I’m not sure how I did it, but I did.  So for the next three paragraphs, pretend that it is yesterday, July 14.  Thank you.

Happy Bastille Day!  Prise de la Bastille, or Storming the Bastille, July 14, 1789, was the flashpoint of the French Revolution.  It is celebrated in France as “National Day.”  The Bastille was a political prison, and a hated symbol of royal authority.  The day it was stormed there were only seven prisoners in the cells: one was imprisoned at the request of his family because of mental instability, one had tried to assassinate Louis XV thirty years earlier, one was a homosexual, and four were forgers.

The garrison consisted of 82 invalides, veteran soldiers no longer suitable for service in the field.  They were reinforced with 32 regular troops.  The official list of the conquerors of the Bastille has 954 names.  The attack began at 1:30 in the afternoon and Marquis de Launay, Governor of the Bastille, ordered a cease fire at 5 p.m.  He offered terms which were refused, but realizing he could not hold out, opened the prison gates 30 minutes later.  Ninety-eight attackers and one defender died in the actual fighting.

King Louis XVI learned of the storming the next morning through the Duke of La Rochefoucauld.  “Is it a revolt?” the king asked. The duke replied: “No sire, it’s not a revolt; it’s a revolution.”  On Monday, January 21, 1793, Louis XVI was beheaded by guillotine.

👉 Recent rumors about Carnival Cruise Line suggest that Carnival Fantasy and Carnival Inspiration could be the first to be sold, and possibly scrapped.  Both ships are currently docked in Brion Wharf in Willemstad, Curacao, and apparently heavy equipment is being unloaded.  Industry experts say this is often a sign that a ship will be scrapped and possibly sold off.

Carnival Fantasy is the oldest ship in the fleet, and parent company Carnival Corp has already announced that a total of 13 cruise ships across its nine brands will be disposed of.  The Fantasy was based out of the Port of Mobile in Alabama where your favorite blogger and his bride have embarked for two cruises on her and were booked for a third to sail September 13.

👉  Canadian and U.S. officials have agreed, despite lobbying by some U.S. members of Congress, to keep the border between the two countries closed to non-essential travel until August 21.  The ban on discretionary travel was first introduced in March and has been extended each month since.  The latest extension was set to expire on July 21.  The agreement exempts the flow of trade and commerce, as well as temporary foreign workers and vital health-care workers such as nurses who live and work on opposite sides of the border.  Tourists and cross-border visits remain prohibited.  The Public Health Agency of Canada is adding on-site employees at 36 high-traffic points of entry to bolster screening for COVID-19.

👉  Admiral Brett Giroir of the White House coronavirus task force said yesterday that health officials don’t lie to the public.  Giroir commented after President Donald Trump retweeted a post by Chuck Woolery, once the host of TV’s Wheel of Fortune and Love Connection.  Woolery tweeted: “The most outrageous lies are the ones about Covid 19.  Everyone is lying.  The CDC, Media, Democrats, our Doctors, not all but most, that we are told to trust.  I think it’s all about the election and keeping the economy from coming back, which is about the election.”  Woolery offered no evidence for his charges.

👉  Back to Calvin and Hobbes.

One of the strips in yesterday’s blog featured Calvin’s satiric attack on academic writing whose purpose our six year old hero said is to “inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning and inhibit clarity.”  Another of Bill Watterson’s satirical targets was science and the Big Bang Theory as not being appreciative of the wonders behind it (remember, if you click on a picture, it will open up larger and in a new window – at least it does with the Chrome browser).

Calvin’s term for the Big Bang, “The Horrendous Space Kablooie,” was popular for a time among scientists and was often shortened to “the HSK.”  The term has also been referred to in print media and in college courses.

Bill Watterson never gave Calvin’s parents names because they only serve as counterpoints to Calvin’s attitude and view of the world.  Calvin’s father is a patent attorney, as was Watterson’s father.  He enjoys bike rides and camping trips, sometimes in extreme weather and insists that these activities ‘build character.’  Watterson drew criticism from readers because several times Calvin’s father reminded his wife that he at first wanted a dachshund instead of a son.  Before Calvin’s birth, his mother worked a stressful job filled with aggravation, which Calvin’s father claims is the reason she was better prepared to stay at home and raise Calvin.  She is frequently the one forced to curb Calvin’s destructive tendencies.  In one Sunday strip, she allows Calvin to smoke a cigarette in order to teach him how unpleasant smoking can be.

Warning!  Rabbit hole ahead!  That strip reminds me of a true story, recorded in The Annals of 117 Shenandoah Avenue.  When I was growing up, Dad was a smoker (he quit in 1980 and never smoked again).  One night after going to bed I decided I wanted to try smoking, and since the bedrooms were upstairs and Mom and Dad were downstairs, it seemed sure I would not get caught.

Peeking downstairs to be sure I would not be observed, I shook a cigarette out of the pack on Dad’s night stand and fired it up.  The first half was good, but by the time I reached the end, my head was hurting and my stomach was rolling.

I went downstairs and told Dad I had an earache (who knows where that came from).  Dad applied a common remedy in those days – he had me lay down on his lap while he blew warm cigarette smoke into my ear.  Well, those fumes curling around my face caused me greater  distress and led to my confession.  I was sent back to bed with the admonition to sleep on my stomach and all would be well.  Calvin learned his lesson right away.  It took me a while longer.

Tomorrow, Calvin’s alter-egos and cardboard boxes.

👉  “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8 New King James Version).

For many this favorite beatitude seems unapproachable because who is pure in heart?  Heaven is far beyond our outstretched  hands.  The word “pure” occurs 28 times in the New Testament.  It is translated as “white” linen, “clear” glass, “unalloyed” gold.  I know my heart, and it is none of those things.  How can my heart change so it is pure?

Let’s go back to the beginning of this list we started a few days ago.

Blessed are the poor in spirit.  Purity of heart is not received by those who earn it, but by those who admit they don’t deserve it.

Blessed are those who mourn.  Purity of heart comes to those who are sincerely sorry for their sin, and know the blessedness of leaving their rebellion.

Blessed are the meek.  Purity of heart comes to those who are willing to be used by God, and are as surprised He can use them as they were they He would save them.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.  Purity of heart comes to those who realize that salvation comes not from their own work, but from God’s grace.

Blessed are the merciful.  Purity of heart comes to those who know they have been given so much that they are willing to share that blessedness with others.

And what is meant by “they shall see God?”  The Old Testament tells us that no man shall see God and live, and the New Testament says that “no one has ever seen God.”  The promise is shall see.  Today there are glimpses, promises of a coming day.  Meanwhile we see our present world with new eyes, so we know that the hatreds of our time are not all there is.

John the Revelator wrote, “I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look, God’s home is now among His people!  He will live with them, and they will be His people.  God himself will be with them.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.  All these things are gone forever’” (Revelation 21:3-4 New Living Translation).

Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God!

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