QUARANTINE BLOG # 133

August 10, 2020

On August 10, 1945, just a day after the bombing of Nagasaki, Japan agreed to the Potsdam Conference terms of unconditional surrender.  In response, President Harry S. Truman ordered a halt to atomic bombing.

Emperor Hirohito, having remained aloof from the daily decisions of prosecuting the war, rubber-stamping the decisions of his War Council, including the decision to bomb Pearl Harbor, finally felt compelled to do more.  Two members of the Council appealed to the emperor saying, “It seems obvious that the nation is no longer able to wage war, and its ability to defend its own shores is doubtful.”

The War Council had been split over the surrender terms; half the members wanted assurances that the emperor would maintain his hereditary and traditional role in a postwar Japan before surrender could be considered.  But in light of the bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, Nagasaki on August 9, and the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, as well as the emperor’s own request that the Council “bear the unbearable,” it was agreed: Japan would surrender.

👉  In 1829, James Smithson died in Italy, leaving behind a will with a peculiar footnote.  In the event that his only nephew died without any heirs, Smithson decreed that the whole of his estate would go to “the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”  Smithson’s bequest was curious because he had never visited America.

Six years after his death, his nephew died without children, and on July 1, 1836, the U.S. Congress authorized acceptance of Smithson’s gift of 11 boxes containing a total of 104,960 gold sovereigns, 8 shillings, and 7 pence, as well as Smithson’s mineral collection, library, scientific notes, and personal effects.  After the gold was melted down, it amounted to a fortune worth well over $500,000.  On August 10, 1846, a congressional act establishing the Smithsonian Institution was signed into law by President James K. Polk.

Today, the Smithsonian is composed of several museums and galleries including the recently opened National Museum of African American History and Culture.  The National Museum of American History houses the original Star-Spangled Banner and other artifacts of U.S. history.  The National Air and Space Museum has the distinction of being the most visited museum in the world, exhibiting such marvels of aviation and space history as the Wright brothers’ plane and Freedom 7, the space capsule that took the first American into space.

👉  There are so many holidays throughout the year that people celebrate by doing things that take effort.  Running, swimming, taking down Christmas trees, and yelling “fudge” at cobras.  Can’t there just be a day to be lazy and do nothing?  Yep.  Today is National Lazy Day.  Sit back, relax, and enjoy!  If you need a few ideas on how to be lazy today, maybe some of these will help.  Take a lot of naps.  Lay in a hammock, on the couch, or never leave your bed.  Don’t prepare any food today.  Order a pizza or something else to be delivered to your house.  Drink some ice-cold beverages.  Shirk whatever responsibilities you have for your job, forgo any chores you should be completing, and do whatever you think is fun instead.  You are welcome!

👉  In 1947, Jerome Robbins approached Leonard Bernstein and Arthur Laurents about collaborating on a contemporary musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.  He proposed that the plot focus on the conflict between an Irish Catholic family and a Jewish family living on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, during the Easter–Passover  season.  The girl has survived the Holocaust and emigrated from Israel.  The conflict was to be centered around anti-Semitism of the Catholic “Jets”  towards the Jewish “Emeralds.”  Laurents wrote a first draft he called East Side Story, but not liking the result, the piece was shelved.

In 1955 work began on West Side Story with Steven Sondheim as the lyricist, Leonard Bernstein writing the music, and Arthur Laurents writing the book.  Jerome Robbins did the choreography.  The story is set in the Upper West Side neighborhood in New York City in the mid 1950s, a multiracial, blue-collar neighborhood.  The musical explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds.  The members of the Sharks, from Puerto Rico, are taunted by the Jets, a white gang.  The young protagonist, Tony, a former member of the Jets and best friend of the gang’s leader, Riff, falls in love with Maria, the sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks.  And if you haven’t seen it, no spoilers here.

The original 1957 Broadway production ran for 732 performances before going on tour.  The production was nominated for six Tony Awards including Best Musical in 1957, but the award for Best Musical went to Meredith Willson’s The Music Man.  

The first time I saw WSS was the 1961 film version in Denver Colorado.  It was July of 1962.  I had gone on a youth convocation with two other members of Loch Lynn Evangelical United Brethren Church to Estes Park.  We stayed in Denver the night before we headed back to Maryland, and went to see the movie.  Walking out of the theater after seeing a great film, we danced down the street jumping and snapping our fingers.  Hey, I was 15 – it’s cool to jump and snap when you are that age!  Also, you can.

The best stage production I’ve seen was here in Augusta at the Imperial Theater.  Radio Station Sunny 105 was giving away two tickets to caller # 17.  The date was February 17 (the tickets were mine before I dialed the number).  DJ Don MacNeil answered and said, “You’re caller 17!”  I said, “I know!  It’s my birthday!”  The production was very minimalist.  The entire set was one large cube that was turned in various angles to change scenes – think of a non-violent Borg cube.

Check out some of my favorite moments from the movie.

Opening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxoC5Oyf_ss (sorry for the commercial)

America https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhSKk-cvblc
(another commercial here, too -- sorry)

Gee Officer Krupke! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7TT4jnnWys

Tonight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7xTvb-FAhQ




A new film version was scheduled to be released in December 2020.

👉  Today’s close is from Joyce Meyers.

Whatever you’re facing right now, God wants you to know that you’re never alone.  Satan will try to convince you that you’re all alone and that no one understands how you feel, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.  Not only is God always with you, but many other believers know how you feel, have gone through what you’re going through, and they understand what you’re experiencing.

If you’re battling loneliness and pain right now, look to Jesus for His strength.  Know that He’s with you every moment, and He will move you forward.  He has the ability to turn your mourning into joy, and He wants to comfort you.  Trust God with all your heart.  Rest in God’s love, knowing that He’s always with you.

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