It has taken a while for me to process everything that has happened in the past couple of weeks. And truthfully, I am still processing it.
Never, in my life, would I have predicted that the discussion to get rid of the Confederate flag once and for all would begin in Charleston, South Carolina.
The same place where the Civil War began, all those years ago.
Continue reading “Charleston, the Confederate flag, and the Civil War”
As a historian, and as someone who grew up in the South, I can’t help but shake my head at how a generation after the tumult of the 1950s and 1960s, we as a society are still struggling with virtually all of the issues that Dr. King fought against. Don’t get me wrong, we have come a long way, even in my lifetime, but that progress still doesn’t mean that we live in a “post-racial” society.
Part of the problem with doing family history is that there is so much missing. Kelly and I both had relatives serving in the U.S. Navy in World War Two, and on a wide range of different ships. Kelly had a grandfather that served on the USS Massachusetts (BB-59) during the war, and I had a grandfather that eventually served on the USS Cutlass (SS-478). Interestingly enough, both of these vessels are well-documented, and even more fascinating, both of them still exist.
So like I was saying in my earlier post, I managed to get a pretty-much full tour of the Fletcher-class destroyer USS Cassin Young last Saturday. I took a lot of pictures.
As many of you already know, I am a lover of history. Maritime history is especially one of my favorite sub-fields of history, and I love to see historic ships or reproductions of historic ships at any opportunity. I am lucky enough to live in a state (and a region) that has many.
So I went to the old Navy Yard in Charlestown on Saturday, since my back was feeling a bit better and I was feeling up to doing some walking around. And I am so very glad I did, because for the first time ever I got to take a tour of the inside of the USS Cassin Young, one of the museum ships kept there by the National Park Service.
Perhaps, now that things are finally starting to calm down somewhat (and I am getting some sleep), I can get back to posting regularly on here. It has been an eventful week.
First, a hearty congratulations to my nephew Will, who earned his Eagle Scout rank this week. He worked hard for it, and deserves a lot of credit for being a pretty disciplined young man. He was also fortunate to get a lot of support from friends and family, especially his mom (my sister Liz) and his dad (my brother-in-law Dan). He’ll be off for college next year. Eeek, I am old.
Continue reading “So much going on this past week. Oh, and Happy Halloween!”
It is difficult to overstate the importance of water for life. It’s one of the reasons why so many human cities and human civilizations sprung up in places next to rivers or lakes where fresh water was plentiful. And in many places the bringing in of fresh water is one of the first public utilities to appear. Even here in Boston, a public water system was available by the end of the 18th century.
So how is it that in the 21st century, we have so many places, not just in the developing world but right here in the United States, that are struggling just to provide potable water for their population?
Continue reading “When suburban uniformity and reality collide”
So here’s a story about something that happened to us a while ago when the U.S. played Portugal in the World Cup.
Continue reading “The World Cup, Dinner and Wardrobe Choices”
Kelly and I decided to take a quick road trip down to the South Coast to New Bedford so we could catch the Charles W. Morgan before she left. It also gave us the chance to stop in at New Bedford Antiques at the Cove, one of our favorite antique malls anywhere and definitely one of our favorite places on the South Coast.
Two gorgeous old historic ships are in the news this week. Both of them were built here in Massachusetts (although more than 40 years apart), both of them are among the last surviving examples of classic American wooden shipbuilding, and both of them are ships I have visited more than once over the years. One is the oldest vessel in the United States Navy, and the other is the last surviving wooden whaling ship in the world.
The Books are Taking Over... 