QUARANTINE BLOG # 584

November 4, 2021

For the next several issues of QB we are going to take a look at state nicknames.  No attempt will be made to do all 50, just the ones that strike my fancy – like the states where I have lived: the Old Line State, the Keystone State, the Volunteer State, the Mountain State, the Constitution State, the Palmetto State, and the Peach State – and a few that I have visited like the Last Frontier, the First State, and the Aloha State – and some that are just plain confusing like the Sooner State and the Hoosier State.  If your favorite is not in that list, put a request in the comments below, or send me an email.

First up, the state where I was born, Maryland, the Old Line State.

When Cecil Calvert, the 2nd Lord Baltimore, was granted a royal charter by King Charles I, the original boundary between the colony he would name Maryland (in honor of the king’s wife, Henrietta Maria, or possibly in honor of Mary, the mother of Jesus – no one is sure) the boundary between Maryland and its neighbor to the north, Pennsylvania, was confusing.  Set at the 40th Parallel, Marylanders thought it was further north, near Philadelphia, and Pennsylvanians thought it was further south, near Alexandria, Virginia.  Maryland was correct, but there was actually a shooting war in the 1730s over the issue, so to solve the matter, two surveyors, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon were hired to put the matter to rest.  

A second idea about the origin of Maryland’s nickname comes from the Revolutionary War.  According to tradition, George Washington bestowed his high esteem upon the Maryland Line, Maryland’s troop regiment, after viewing their heroic stand at the Battle of Long Island, August 27, 1776.  Given the order to defend the American withdrawal from Long Island, the Maryland Line saved the Continental Army from annihilation in the first major battle of the war. 

“Good God, what brave fellows I must this day lose,” Washington remarked as he witnessed the Marylanders repeatedly charge, effectively holding back the British advance.  Later, Washington described their efforts as an “hour more precious to American liberty than any other.”

Another Maryland nickname is the “Free State.”  There are two possible origins for this sobriquet.  The first is from the Civil War when Maryland’s constitution abolished slavery.  The second comes from Prohibition when the Baltimore Sun editorialized that Maryland should withdraw from the Union rather than prohibit the sale of liquor.

Next up, the Keystone State.

👉  A “Blackout” and an “Ooo You’re Gold” that deal with age and aging:

👉  Pearls Before Swine and the rise of social media:

👉  Our supplier of amusing signs, anecdotes, pictures, and other jocularity has discovered a new source.  As I read them this morning I laughed so hard I woke Bonnie up.  Here is the first from the new collection:

👉  My young padawans and I love Parker Brothers “Monopoly” game (my token is always the race car).  The bride of my youth hates it (well, there is one version she tolerates, but she won’t quickly admit to it).  We have the original, Monopoly Mega (a long-play version), a Minions version, at least 2 and maybe 3 Star Wars versions, plus a Mandalorian version, Monopoly Empire (the one Bonnie tolerates), Monopoly Electronic Banking, and Monopoly Jackpot.  We do not have the original 1935 version.  Based on a 1903 game called “The Landlord’s Game,” a 1935 edition sold at auction for $146,000.  If we have one of those “we're in the money.”

Monopoly tip: if you are every playing with Luke do not let him get all of the railroads, do not trade with him no matter how much he sweetens the pot.  If you do, you will lose.  Period.  I know from experience (and it is a lesson I tell you, but am slow myself to learn).

Side note: If you'd like to see an updated version of "We're in the Money," click here.

👉  “Bridge Over Troubled Water” was composed by Paul Simon in early 1969.  The song came to him quickly, so much so that he asked himself: “Where did that come from?  It doesn’t seem like me.”  It was the last song recorded for their fifth and final album.  Simon told his partner, Art Garfunkel, that Garfunkel should sing it alone, though Simon does add harmony on the final verse.  The line “sail on silver girl,” in the last verse, was written for Paul’s wife, after she noticed her first silver-grey hairs.  It is not a reference to drug culture, as some have speculated.

“Bridge over Troubled Water” became one of the most performed songs of the 20th century, with over 50 artists, among them Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, and Johnny Cash covering the song.

Elvis recorded it in Nashville on June 5, 1970, and it was released on the 1970 album “That’s the Way It Is.”   He included it in his set list for his next engagement in Las Vegas.  During that summer season in Vegas, Paul Simon attended one of the shows, and, after seeing Elvis perform the song, he was reported to have said, “That's it, we might as well all give up now.”  Presley continued to use this song throughout his live performances, including his final live appearance in Indianapolis on June 26, 1977.

👉  Today’s close is from Morning by Morning, by Charles Spurgeon.  Read the old English slowly and enjoy this message from the “Prince of Preachers.”

“And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias.  And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.  And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth” (Acts 9:10-11).

Prayers are instantly noticed in heaven.  The moment Saul began to pray the Lord heard him.  Here is comfort for the distressed but praying soul.  Oftentimes a poor broken-hearted one bends his knee, but can only utter his wailing in the language of sighs and tears; yet that groan has made all the harps of heaven thrill with music; that tear has been caught by God and treasured in heaven. 

“Thou puttest my tears into thy bottle” (Psalm 56:8) implies that they are caught as they flow.  The suppliant, whose fears prevent his words, will be well understood by the Most High.  He may only look up with misty eye; but tears are the diamonds of heaven; sighs are a part of the music of Jehovah’s court, and are numbered with “the sublimest strains that reach the majesty on high.” 

Think not that your prayer, however weak or trembling, will be unregarded.  Jacob’s ladder is lofty, but our prayers shall lean upon the Angel of the Covenant and so climb its starry rounds.  God regards not the triumph and pride of man; but wherever there is a heart big with sorrow, or a lip quivering with agony, or a deep groan, or a penitential sigh, the heart of Jehovah is open.  He marks it down in the registry of His memory.  He puts our prayers, like rose leaves, between the pages of His book of remembrance, and when the volume is opened at last, there shall be a precious fragrance springing up therefrom.

“Faith asks no signal from the skies,

To show that prayers accepted rise,

Our Priest is in His holy place,

And answers from the throne of grace.”

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