QUARANTINE BLOG # 110

July 18, 2020


Today I bring you a coronavirus-free blog with many prayers and fond wishes that will someday – sooner rather than later – be the story of our world.

👉  An unopened Super Mario Bros. video game released in 1985 for Nintendo’s NES console broke the world record for the most ever paid for any video game, according to Dallas-based Heritage Auctions.  A bidder, who wished to remain anonymous, snapped up the game for $114,000.  The previous record was set in early 2019 when an unopened copy of the same game sold for $100,150.  A copy Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! sold for $50,400.  The session ended with $699,648 in bids, against a pre-auction estimate of $428,000.

👉  Holland America Line has sold four of its vessels to undisclosed buyers. MS Maasdam and sister ship MS Veendam will be leaving the fleet in August 2020 and have been sold as a pair.  MS Amsterdam and MS Rotterdam have also been sold in a pair to another unknown buyer and they will leave the fleet in fall 2020. The good news is that the ships won’t be scrapped and are expected to still sail in the future under their new owners.

Stein Kruse, chief executive officer of Holland America Group and Carnival UK, said, “It’s always difficult to see any ship leave the fleet, especially those that have a long and storied history with our company.”

Bonnie and I have done two transatlantic sailings on the Veendam, back and forth between Fort Lauderdale and Civitavecchia, Italy.  Great ship.  Great cruise line.  Our all-time favorite line!

👉   In anticipation of watching some Pirates Baseball tonight, I give you a baseball story from the past, and one that has modern implications.

The 1899 Cleveland Spiders authored the worst record in baseball history (20-134).  The Spiders went 11-101 on the road, lost 24 straight games at one point and 40 of their final 41.  They finished the season at 20-134.  They played so many road games because they drew such paltry attendance in Cleveland – as few as 70 spectators at one game – and they lost less money playing away from home (an 1890 game against the Pittsburgh Alleghenies drew 17 fans, only six of whom paid).  So the owners changed the schedule accordingly.  While losing all those road games, the Spiders were outscored 960-377.

For most of the 1890s, the Cleveland Spiders were one of the National League’s best teams.  From 1892 to 1898, the Spiders’ .582 winning percentage ranked third in the league behind Boston (forerunners of the Braves) and the Baltimore Orioles.  They never finished first but three times played in a post season series called the Temple Cup (before there was a World Series) which pitted the first-place team against the second-place team.  The Spiders won in 1895 beating the Orioles.

In 1899, the Spiders’ owners, Frank and Stanley Robison, bought the St. Louis Browns, changing their name to the Perfectos, and they kept the Spiders as well.  Believing the Perfectos would draw greater attendance in more densely populated St. Louis, the Robisons transferred most of the Cleveland stars, including future Baseball Hall of Famer Cy Young to St. Louis (career record as a pitcher: 511-315).  1899 was the Spiders last season.

The name “Spiders” is being suggested should the 21st century Cleveland baseball club wish to change its nickname name.

👉  When I started this blog back in March, one of the early features was about free college courses.  I have found a new one that you might be interested in.  This one is from Harvard https://online-learning.harvard.edu/ catalog/free and includes “Introduction to Computer Science,” an introduction to the intellectual enterprises of computer science and the art of programming, “Religious Literacy: Traditions and Scriptures,” learn how to better understand the rich and complex ways that religions function in historic and contemporary contexts, “American Government: Constitutional Foundations,” learn how early American politics informed the U.S. Constitution and why its promise of liberty and equality has yet to be fully realized, “Pyramids of Giza: Ancient Egyptian Art and Archaeology,” explore the archaeology, history, art, and hieroglyphs surrounding the famous Egyptian Pyramids at Giza. Learn about Old Kingdom pharaohs and elites, tombs, temples, the Sphinx, and how new technology is unlocking their secrets, and “Handel’s Messiah and Baroque Oratorio,” discover Handel’s Messiah in this installment of First Nights, which will explore five masterpieces of western music.

Classes in Art & Design, Business, Computer Science, Data Science, Education & Teaching, Humanities, Mathematics, Programming, Science, and Social Studies last from 3 to 13 weeks.

👉   Here are a couple of panels from our “People Have More Fun Than Anybody Department.”

👉  And a couple from the Way Back Machine.  The first is Boy Scout Sunday at the Loch Lynn (Maryland) Evangelical United Brethren Church, circa 1963.  Most readers of this blog can pick out at least one.  People closely associated with 233 Woodland Drive are challenged to find four.

This postcard is captioned “Light Snowfall in Oakland, Md.”  The driver of the car, somewhere on Route 219 north of Oakland, is my Granddad, Orville Carlton Bittinger, Skinny Granny’s Dad.  We know that because he identified himself, and his license plate.

👉  Remarks about young people.

“The young people of today are utterly dissolute and disorderly.”

“The youth are rebellious, pleasure-seeking, and irresponsible.”

“Children now love luxury.  They have bad manners, contempt for authority.  They show disrespect for elders, and love chatter.”

The first quote is by Martin Luther, the second by Plato, the third by Socrates.  Surprised?

A 6,000 year old Egyptian tomb bears this inscription: “We live in a decadent age.   Young people no longer respect their parents.  They are rude and impatient.  They inhabit taverns and have no self-control.”

The next time you think the “modern generation” is going from bad to worse, remember that God always has a rich handful of teenage heroes ready to change the world.  In Bible times, we read of Joseph the dreamer, Daniel in Babylon, David the giant-killer, and a teenaged virgin named Mary.

As a teenager, Charles Spurgeon preached to great crowds, but when they referred to his youthfulness, he replied, “Never mind my age.  Think of the Lord Jesus Christ and His preciousness.”

“My Jesus, I Love Thee,” was written by William Ralph Featherston at age sixteen. Sixteen!

Featherston was born July 23, 1846, in Montreal.  He died in the same city twenty-six years later.  His family attended the Wesleyan Methodist Church, and it seems likely that William wrote this hymn as a poem celebrating his conversion to Christ.

Little else is known about the origin of the hymn or its author, but it’s enough just to know that God can change the world through anyone – regardless of age – who will say, “My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine. For Thee, all the follies of sin I resign.”

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