QUARANTINE BLOG # 185

October 1, 2020

I have prepared an index of the Quarantine Blog http://davidsisler.com/QB_index.pdf.  There are 292 stories from QB 1 through QB 184.  I only very rarely listed items from “This Day in History.”  If there was a piece you’d like to check out again, the list is alphabetized for easy use.  The index will be updated regularly.  Enjoy.

👉  California, the leader of the Left Coast, has passed some crazy laws, many of which make me shake my head and reexpress my joy that I live in Georgia.  Well, this week they got one right.  California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new law into effect, AB 2655 – being called “The Kobe Bryant Act of 2020” – which prohibits first responders from taking photographs of deceased individuals “outside of job duties.”  The Los Angeles Times reported that LA County sheriff’s deputies circulated photos of the accident site and the victims in the aftermath of the incident.  Eight sheriff’s deputies snapped  cell-phone photos of the dead children, parents, and coaches.  The Sheriff’s Department would later admit, there was no investigative purpose for deputies to take pictures at the crash site.

👉  Speaking of disasters, I missed the presidential-rolling-in-the-mud-name-calling-rudeness telecast which masqueraded  as a debate.  I’m not calling any names, but their initials are: T-R-U-M-P, B-I-D-E-N, and W-A-L-L-A-C-E.  At least that’s what  reports from folks who actually watched, and reading snippets from AP News, Fox News, Yahoo News, the New York Post, and the Washington Times tell me.  I apologize for not fact checking.

👉  Today is National Homemade Cookies Day.  Pick your favorite recipe and head for the kitchen.  Try these tips to make the cookies even better.  Most cookie recipes have butter or a fat component – the butter should be soft, cool, and almost room temperature.  Cream the butter and sugar together to create a smooth, fluffy mixture, so the sugar isn’t grainy.  Beat in each egg separately.  Line metal baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats to prevent the cookies from spreading too far.  Or, use a baking stone to have evenly baked cookies every time.  If you live within easy driving distance of 233 Woodland Drive, bring by a sample.

👉  On October 1, 1890, an act of Congress created Yosemite National Park.  Environmental trailblazer John Muir campaigned for the congressional action, which was signed into law by President Benjamin Harrison.

First Nation Americans were the main residents of the Yosemite Valley until the 1849 gold rush brought thousands of outsiders to the region.  Tourists and damage to Yosemite Valley’s ecosystem followed.  In 1864, to ward off further commercial exploitation, conservationists convinced President Abraham Lincoln to declare Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias a public trust of California.  This marked the first time the U.S. government protected land for public enjoyment and it laid the foundation for the establishment of the national and state park systems.  Yellowstone became America’s first national park in 1872.

👉  A couple of entries from our “Where Did That Come From Department.”

“Flying by the Seat of Your Pants.”  This is used to describe our reactions and decisions when we strays into uncharted territory.  The term dates back to the time when airplane pilots did not have the benefit of the many dials and buzzers familiar to the pilots of today.  They had to rely on the immediate feedback they felt through the plane’s fuselage, and the point of greatest contact with the plane could be found housed in the pilot’s pants.

“Get on a Soapbox.”  The soapbox that people mount when they “get on a soapbox” is actually a box that used to hold shipments of soap in the late 1800s. Would-be motivators of crowds would use them to stand on as makeshift podiums to make proclamations, speeches, or sales pitches. The soap box then became a metaphor for spontaneous speech making or getting on a roll about a favorite topic.

“Saved by the Bell.”   This expression means a last minute reprieve.  It comes from a time when many expressed a fear of being buried alive.  String was tied to the deceased’s wrist and passed through the coffin lid, through a pipe to the surface of the ground and tied to a bell.  Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night – hence “the graveyard shift” – and listen in case the recently buried was not really dead and was ringing the bell.  Holding a wake can also be thrown in the mix as it comes from a similar fear of being buried alive and is a party held to make sure the corpse didn’t “wake” up.

👉  The NFL has postponed the Tennessee Titans’ home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers scheduled for Sunday in the wake of a rash of positive Titans COVID-19 tests – 4 players and 5 team personnel.  The game is being held back “to allow additional time for further daily COVID-19 testing and to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day personnel,” league officials said.  The rescheduled contest will be played on either Monday or Tuesday.  The postponement marks the first NFL regular-season schedule change stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

👉  A blog reader sent me this clip from 1953 in which Mark R. Sullivan, president and director of the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company, predicted the appearance of the cellphone.

Well, in 1968, a science fiction television show produced this communication device.

And then in 1991, Motorola (the name comes from “motor” as in the device which powers the automobile, hence a reference to the car and mobility, and “ola” from “Victrola,” an ancient device to play music) produced this real-life communication device.

And there you go.

👉  THE SUBSTITUTE

In sports, it’s a common concept, easily understood. The substitute.

This is the game that will determine which team makes it to the playoffs and which team says, “Wait until next year.”  The quarterback has a championship ring, but today his passes are falling short.  When the offense takes the field late in the fourth quarter, a substitute, a backup settles under center and takes the snap.  As the final gun sounds, the rookie is scrambling. A desperation pass! Touchdown!  A new hero!

On the battlefield, it’s a common concept, easily understood.  The substitute.

At 12:55 a.m. on Wednesday, February 3, 1943, the S.S. Dorchester was caught in the sights of a U-Boat.  One torpedo struck deep below the waterline.  Before dawn could penetrate the darkness, 604 men, two-thirds of the ship’s complement, were dead.

Among the dead were George Fox, a former Methodist circuit riding preacher; David Goode, a rabbi from York, Pennsylvania; Clark Poling, a Yale Divinity School graduate and a pastor from Schenectady, New York; and John Washington, a Catholic priest serving a parish in Arlington, New Jersey.  When war was declared, all four volunteered for the Corps of Chaplains.

That February night, as their ship was sinking, they helped their comrades abandon ship.  They opened storage lockers and passed out life jackets.  As the Dorchester slipped under the frigid waters of the Atlantic, the four chaplains linked their arms together, prayed with the men still on board the ship, and died because four of the life jackets they had given away, were the four they had been wearing.

Matthew, the former tax collector, recorded another substitute: “Then Pontius Pilate released Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.

The prophet Isaiah said, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

And now the concept of a substitute changes.  One man, God the Son, died for all, and if we accept Him we will share in His eternal life.  The substitute.  Yours and mine.

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