Views and Reviews

There's More to Yogurt Than Meets the Eye

Couple May Set World Record for Marital Longevity

Tulsa Oklahoma's KOTV recently reported, that a Green County couple celebrated their 80th wedding anniversary on July 18th, 2007.

America was a different place in 1927. The best film of the year, "Wings" was awarded the first ever Oscar. Calvin Coolidge was President. America suffered it's worst flood in history, the Great Mississippi Flood. It was also the year that Roy and Bertha Adams were married, on July 18th, 1927. Since then, they have seen the presidency change hands no less than 13 times, lived through the Dust Bowl (talk about a climate event) the Great Depression, WWII, 911, and seen many fads and trends come and go. 

The couple celebrated their marital milestone at a family gathering which included five generations. They have 5 children, 16 grand children, 22 great grandchildren and 27 great-great grandchildren. They are both 101 years of age and attribute their marital longevity to keeping a cool temperament and rarely arguing. The couple is now on the verge of setting a new world record. According to the Guiness Book, the record for the longest marriage, is 80 years and 15 days.

Imagine, if you will, sharing a lifetime, with the same person. Even attaining the age of 101 is amazing in and of itself. The article made no mention of any "secrets" attributable to living to be over 100. But I suspect, without the stress of arguments, having the same interests and just plain being friends, while having 4 generations look to them as a pillar of the family, has been a contributing factor. Mr. Adams was a barber until he retired in the eighties, with his wife alongside, the whole time, raising a family, gardening, attending church, and leading by example. Congratulations,to Roy and Bertha.

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

"By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flag to April's breeze unfurled; Here once the embattled farmers stood; And fired the shot heard round the world." Ralph Waldo Emerson

The American Revolution was fought on American soil, culminating in the ouster of the British and the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, which was unanimously approved and signed July 4, 1776. This finalized the secession from British rule. The drafting committee of five, consisted of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston, Roger Sherman and Thomas Jefferson.

Since that time, Americans have been called upon to engage in 10 major conflicts and many others. As always,there are many casualties, but none can come close to the Civil War, with
600,000 casualties. We are currently engaged in another conflict and again, many are paying the ultimate price so that we may continue to enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Our country has grown, from the original 13 colonies, to 48 continental states, plus Hawaii and Alaska. I often wonder what the founding fathers would think if they were able to see how our government and our way of life have changed. What would they think of these campaigns with moral issues on political planks, politicians contortions to avoid saying anything of substance, no real debates, nothing to clue the voters in on what they are REALLY getting.

Since 1776, there have been many thwarted attempts to assassinate the president, actual attempts and 4 assassinations. Starting with George Washington, the first thwarted attempt, was a plot by the Mayor and the Governor of New York, and also involved a body guard. The body guard was found guilty of treason and hanged, in view of 20,000 spectators. The next attempt was on Andrew Jackson who was confronted on a street corner, and had a pistol pointed directly at him, but the pistol misfired twice. As a result of the incident, the vice president, Martin Van Buren, regularly carried 2 pistols while residing over the senate.

Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln, both had attempts made on their lives, of course, later on Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed at the age of 56. Attempts or thwarted attempts were made on Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Sr. and Bill Clinton. Also assassinated, were 20th president James Garfield, 25th president William McKinley, and 35th president John Kennedy at age 46.

It has allegedly been stated that,a president receives at least one death threat a month.
These are not taken lightly, and it is a felony to make a threat even in jest.

 
In light of all this history, it is hard to imagine why anyone would even want this job, let alone spend millions upon millions to get it. George Washington didn't even want the job when first asked, but the nation needed a strong leader for their new democracy. 231 years later, we need the same thing, but it's much more difficult to find that kind of honesty, passion, eloquence, integrity and strength to lead.

Things have changed a lot since 1776. We've been through a lot, including an unprecedented attack on American soil in 2001, on the bitterly ironic date of 9/11. One of the outcomes of that attack, was the creation of another government agency, Homeland Security. Who knew we needed it? Weren't we supposed to already have it?

In spite of everything we are here to celebrate the anniversary of the beginning of a democracy that has evolved into what some might call a coporatocracy or plutocracy but in our heart of hearts we long for the democracy envisioned in 1776.

"We hold these truths to be self evident,that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their creator, with certain inalienable rights.
That AMONG these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just power from the consent of the governed."

World's Largest Poll to Pick the New 7 Wonders of the World

It's been 2000 years, since the original 7 ancient wonders of the world were named by Greek scholars and only one remains to this day, the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.They are one of 21 remaining candidates out of an original 177 in worldwide polling,where, according to Yahoo news, 60 million votes have been cast so far. There remains but eight days until the winners will be revealed to the world at a ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal on July 7 2007, so there is still time to vote. It is anticipated that the contest will garner many more millions of votes in the final days to count down. Online votes may be cast at new7wondersdotcom.

The list of candidate sites include: Taj Mahal (India), Acropolis (Greece), Alhambra (Spain), Angkor Wat (Cambodia), Chichen Itza (Mexico), Christ Redeemer (Brazil), Colosseum (Italy), Easter Isand statues (Chile), Eiffel Tower (France), Great Wall of China, Hagia Sophia (Turkey), Kyomizu Temple (Japan), Kremlin (Russia), Machu Picchu (Peru), Neuschwanstein Castle (Germany), Petra (Jordan), Pyramids of Giza (Egypt), Statue of Liberty (US), Stonehenge (England), Sydney Opera House (Australia) and Timbuktu (Mali).

The original 7 included, The Pyramids of Giza, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, The Statue of Zeus(Jupiter) at Olympia, The Temple of Artemis(Diana) at Ephesus, The Mausoleum( source of modern usage) at Halicarnassus, The Colossus of Rhodes and The Pharaoh's Lighthouse of Alexandria.

The competition was organized by a Swiss-Canadian film maker, Bernard Weber and later was joined by United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization.Weber decided to organize the international competition in 1999 to choose successors to the ancient wonders. To support the competition, Weber founded the New7Wonders Foundation in Zurich, Switzerland, in 2001. When UNESCO offered its assistance as an adviser, Weber promised to give half the proceeds from merchandising sales to restoring and preserving the sites, and in 2000 the first votes were cast.

• Previous Posts:

• There's More to Yogurt Than Meets the Eye
• Couple May Set World Record for Marital Longevity
• Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness
• World's Largest Poll to Pick the New 7 Wonders of the World
• Cherish Your Graduation Day Memories

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