1965: Events and Inventions

February 18, 1965. The Gambia becomes independent from the United Kingdom.

March 20, 1965. The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 begins. This conflict becomes known as the Second Kashmir War fought by India and Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir, the first having been fought in 1947.

March 31, 1965. U.S. President Lyndon Johnson sends 3500 Marines to protect the South Vietnamese air base at Da Nang from attacks by the communist Vietcong.

April 24-28, 1965. Civil war breaks out in the Dominican Republic. President Lyndon B. Johnson sends U.S. troops to the Caribbean nation “for the stated purpose of protecting U.S. citizens and preventing an alleged Communist takeover of the country”, thus thwarting the possibility of “another Cuba”.

April 29, 1965. Australian government announces it will send troops to Vietnam.

July 28, 1965. U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces his order to increase the number of United States troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000, and to more than double the number of men drafted per month – from 17,000 to 35,000.

August 9, 1965. Singapore is expelled from the Federation of Malaysia, which recognizes Singapore as a sovereign nation. Lee Kuan Yew announces Singapore’s independence and assumes the position of Prime Minister of the new island nation.

October, 1965. An attempted communist coup fails in Indonesia. In response to the attempted government takeover, the Indonesian army sweeps through the countryside and are aided by locals in killing suspected communists. The number of people killed across Indonesia is anywhere from 78,000 to one million. President Sukarno remains in power, but the events of 1965 lead to his downfall in 1967.

November 11, 1965. The (white) Rhodesian Government, led by Prime Minister Ian Smith, severs its links with the British Crown. Mr. Smith makes the Unilateral Declaration of Independence. His address to the people of Rhodesia says he has taken the action, “so that dignity and freedom of all may be assured.” Over four million black Rhodesians will have no power in the new government.

December 30, 1965. Ferdinand Marcos is inaugurated as president of the Philippines.

Cost of Living in 1965
Average Cost of new house $13,600.00
Average Income per year $6,450.00
Gasoline per Gallon 31 cents
Average Cost of a new car $2,650.00
Loaf of bread 21 cents

The Hour Before Dawn by Penelope Wilcock

Feb16

Last night I took another trip to the abbey of St. Alcuin, and I encountered tragedy, sin, horror, and of course, grace.

This fifth book in the series about a community of monks in a fourteenth century abbey begins with atrocity. The new abbot of St. Alcuin Abbey, Father John, recieves word that his mother and sister have been the victims of assault, violence, and gang rape by villagers who think they might be witches. Father John can barely assimilate the news that his mother is dead, and his defenseless sister has taken refuge with the Poor Clares in their convent nearby.

The book is about healing: Father John’s sister Madeleine is a healer, before she becomes the wounded sister in need of healing herself. Father John himself has been the infirmarian at St. Alcuin’s before he became abbot. Now, he, too, needs healing. And the new character, Father William de Bulmer, former prior of an Augustinian monastery who entered this series in the previous book, The Hardest Thing To Do, comes into his own. It is Father William who is the sturdy prop that Father leans upon in his suffering and grief.

I like William de Bulmer so much. He is a hard man, without much concept of grace or mercy, except that which he has received from the monks at St. Alcuin’s Abbey. He doesn’t pretend to understand either or to change when change comes hard for him. What he does do is respond to the love and grace that he has been given with loyalty and stalwart support. William reminds me of a friend of mine. She’s a deeply committed, highly intelligent Christian homeschool mother of 10+ children, but all the fluffy emotional stuff that goes along with that role just isn’t there. Not that she doesn’t have or express emotions, but when you ask my friend a question, you get a straight answer—no evasions, no emotional baggage, not much tact. I like that, but it does rather jolt some people’s equilibrium.

I also like the idea presented in the book that William’s response to the anguish Father John is experiencing is silent listening, for the most part. And this listening response is the most helpful thing to bring healing to Father John’s heart. William doesn’t have any answers for the question of why bad things happen to good people, so he doesn’t give any. He speaks when necessary, but mostly he listens and tries to guide Father John to avoid despair. I try too hard to find answers for all the questions people have when they are mourning and dealing with pain.

I highly recommend the Hawk and the Dove trilogy and this new series, set after the events in the first three books of St. Alcuin’s Abbey. Ms. Wilcock, who is an ordained Methodist minister and the mother of five children. She blogs at Kindred of the Quiet Way.

Fifteen Year Old Boy Reads Books!

Feb15

Almost-15 year old Karate Kid, who quit reading, except for school assignments, when he was about twelve, speed-read his way through the series of books he got for Christmas: Andrew Klavan’s Homelanders series. Then, he read The Client by John Grisham, a book I strategically placed near his bed for him to discover.

Today, he asked me to recommend an Agatha Christie mystery! I think he’s going to read either Ordeal by Innocence or Murder on the Orient Express. So, assuming he doesn’t spend the rest of the spring reading through the novels of Dame Agatha, what do I suggest, or give as a birthday gift, or leave lying around, next?

1964: Events and Inventions

Feb14

February 5, 1964. The government of India declares the province of Kashmir in northern India to be a part of india without holding a vote for the people of Kashmir to declare their wishes in the matter. Pakistan protests Indian control of Kashmir.

March 31, 1964. The military overthrows Brazilian President Joao Goulart in a coup, starting 21 years of military dictatorship in Brazil.

April 26, 1964. The nations of Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form Tanzania.

June, 1964. South African lawyer Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life imprisonment for sabotage and plotting to overthrow the government. Mandela is the leader of the banned political group, the African National Congress (ANC), a group fighting against the apartheid laws in South Africa.

July 6, 1964. Malawi declares its independence from the United Kingdom.

July 31, 1964. U.S. satellite Ranger 7 sends back to earth the first close-up photographs of the moon.

August 5, 1964. Aircraft from carriers USS Ticonderoga and USS Constellation bomb North Vietnam in retaliation for strikes against U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin.

October 1, 1964. The new Shinkansen high-speed passenger rail service opens in Japan, between the cities of Tokyo and Osaka.

October 14-15, 1964. Nikita Khrushchev is deposed as leader of the Soviet Union; Leonid Brezhnev and Alexei Kosygin assume power.

November 3, 1964. The Bolivian government of President Victor Paz Estenssoro is overthrown by a military rebellion led by General Alfredo Ovando Candia, commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

1961: Books and Literature

Feb13

The National Book Award goes to The Waters of Kronos by Conrad Richter.
Some other nominees were:
John Knowles for A Separate Peace
Harper Lee for To Kill a Mockingbird
Wright Morris for Ceremony in Lone Tree
Flannery O’Connor for The Violent Bear It Away
John Updike for Rabbit, Run
Interesting choice with that sort of line-up.

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee wins the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Ivo Andric wins the Nobel Prize for Literature. (Who’s he?)

Published in 1961:
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. I’m not a Dahl fan, but this one and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are still quite popular.
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein. I read some Heinlein when I was a teenager, including this one, I think, but I don’t remember much about it. I do know that Heinlein’s book is the origin of the term “grok” that became somewhat popular in the 60’s and 70’s, In Stranger in a Strange Land, “grok” literally means “to drink” and figuratively means “to comprehend”, “to love”, and “to be one with”. “I grok you” means “I get it” or “I’m with you.”
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Set during World II, the title also introduced a new term to popular parlance: “catch-22”. The catch-22 is explained to be how any pilot requesting a psych evaluation hoping to be found not sane enough to fly, and thereby escape dangerous missions, would thereby demonstrate his sanity. If you’re sane enough not to want to fly combat missions, the army air corps says you’re sane enough to fly them.
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. We read Phantom Tollbooth aloud last year in school. I highly recommend it.
The Moviegoer by Walker Percy. Eldest Daughter really appreciates Walker Percy. I’m not there yet. I just don’t grok him.
The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone. On the other hand, I think Irving Stone is underestimated as a writer. I remember liking this one, a biographical novel of Michaelangelo, and Lust for Life, about da Vinci. Stone also wrote one of my favorite nonfiction history books, Men To Match My Mountains, about the opening and settlement of the far western United States.
Mila 18 by Leon Uris. Wonderfully compelling novel about the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II.

1963: Events and Inventions

Feb13

January 14, 1963. George C. Wallace becomes governor of Alabama. In his inaugural speech, he defiantly proclaims “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever!”

April 7, 1963. Yugoslavia is proclaimed to be a socialist republic, and Josip Broz Tito is named President for Life.

May 15, 1963. NASA launches astronaut Gordon Cooper on Mercury 9, the last mission for the Mercury program. Cooper lands in the Pacific after 22 orbits of the earth in his Mercury capsule.

June 3, 1963. The Army of the Republic of Vietnam pours chemicals on the heads of Buddhist protestors. The United States threatens to cut off aid to Ngo Dinh Diem’s government in South Vietnam. Dinh Diem’s forces continue to persecute Buddhists, vandalizing Buddhist pagodas and arresting Buddhist priests.

June 16, 1963. Vostok 6 carries Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space.

August 8, 1963. The Great Train Robbery of 1963 takes place in Buckinghamshire, England. 2.6 million pounds in used banknotes is stolen from the Glasgow-to-London mail train. Although several of the thieves are eventually caught, the bulk of the money is never recovered.

August 28, 1963. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his I Have A Dream speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to an audience of at least 250,000 protestors.

November 2-6, 1963. South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem is assassinated following a military coup. Coup leader General Duong Van Minh takes over as leader of South Vietnam.

November 14, 1963. A volcanic eruption on the ocean floor near Iceland creates a new island, Surtsey.

November 22, 1963. President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas by lone gunman Lee Harvey Oswald. Also on this day, author and Christian apologist C.S. Lewis dies at his home, the Kilns in England, and the author of Brave New World, Aldous Huxley. dies in hospital, also in England. This coincidence was the inspiration for Peter Kreeft’s book Between Heaven and Hell: A Dialog Somewhere Beyond Death with John F. Kennedy, C. S. Lewis, & Aldous Huxley.

December 12, 1963. Kenya becomes independent from British rule, with Jomo Kenyatta as prime minister.

Children’s nonfiction for 1963: We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March by Cynthia Levinson. Reviewed at Ms. Yingling Reads.

Twelve Portions of the Bible to Study in 2012

Feb13

1. I’m involved in a Beth Moore Bible study at church: David, a Man After God’s Own Heart. So, we’re studying in First and Second Samuel. We’re going to be discussing the rather distressing story of Amnon, Tamar, and Absalom at Bible study on Wednesday, and I’m hoping to gain some insight into the parenting and letting go of adult children, although I can assure you that if I had a son like Amnon, I would be completely devastated and paralyzed for life. The story, if you want to read it, is in II Samuel 13-15.

2. Also at church, my pastor is preaching through the book of Revelation. So, I’m studying that, even though it’s my least favorite part of the Bible.

3. At our Women’s Retreat in April we’ll be doing a topical study on loving and living the law of the Lord, the Word of God. I’m looking forward to that study.

4. I’ll be reading through the New Testament during Lent, perhaps using this plan. I plan to read from the new paraphrase/translation, The Voice, from Thomas Nelson Publishers, to see what I think of it as I read.

5. After Easter, I want to do a study of the books of Judges and of Acts, to compare and see what I might need to be doing to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in times like these. I think we’re living in Judges and in Acts, both at the same time, but I need to do some study to flesh that analogy out.

6. I hope to spend the summer in one of the major prophets, probably either Isaiah or Jeremiah.

7. Beginning in August, I will probably listen to Beth Moore’s study of the gospels, Jesus, the One and Only.

8. Z-baby and I are doing this 2012 Bible Reading Challenge, courtesy of Redeemed Reader. At least, we’re trying. We’re still only on Week 1.

9. On August 5, 2012 my pastor will begin a fall series in 1st Peter. So, that would be a good place to be concentrating.

10. I would like to memorize a psalm this year, but I haven’t decided which one.

11. I’d also be interested in memorizing some portion of the Sermon on the Mount, maybe in the fall along with my study of the life of Christ.

12. Finally, I want to go over the Old Testament prophecies that speak to the coming of Jesus as Messiah and Lord during Advent with my urchins.

Too ambitious? Not enough? I may not do all of the above, but I know enough about myself to know that if I don’t have some sort of plans and a variety of ideas, I will do nothing at all.

Africa Is Not a Country by Margy Burns Knight and Mark Melnicove

Feb13

“Africa is not a country—it is a vast continent made up of 53 nations. . . From the tiny island nations of Comoros, Syechelles, and Sao Tome and Principe, to its largest country (Sudan), Africa is the only continent with land in all four hemispheres.”

Z-baby (age 10) read this book, and commented as she read:

“You mean Africa is bigger than the United States?”

“It says Africa is almost as wide as it is tall. No way!”

“Here’s what I don’t understand: why is it when they talk about Africa on the radio they always talk about the children? Something’s always happening to the children?”

“Pula is the name of the money in Botswana and it also means rain.”

“It told about this girl who sold milk, and she carried it on her head.”

I thought this book, consisting of several brief stories of children in various African countries and colorful illustrations depicting the children’s lives, was a good introduction to the continent of Africa and the idea that it is a vast place with many different nations and cultures. Z-baby learned some things, but she was not terribly impressed with the book or its content.

Unit study and curriculum uses for Africa Is Not a Country: Africa, world geography, Black History Month, cultural geography.

Nonfiction Monday is being celebrated today at the blog Wrapped in Foil.

1962: Events and Inventions

Feb12

January 9, 1962. Cuba and the Soviet Union sign a trade pact.

January 13, 1962. Albania allies itself with the People’s Republic of China.

February, 1962. President imposes an embargo on the importation of Cuban goods into the United States.

February 20, 1962. Astronaut John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the earth. Either the movie, The Right Stuff, or Tom Wolfe’s 1979 novel from which the movie was adapted would be a good introduction to the early years of the U.S. space program.

March 1, 1962. The S. S. Kresge Company opens its first K-mart discount store in Garden City, Michigan.

July 1, 1962. Rwanda and Burundi in south central Africa separate into two countries and gain independence from Belgium. In Rwanda, Rwandan Hutu attack the Tutsi and massacre them by the thousands. Many Rwandan Tutsi escape to Burundi and Uganda.

July 3, 1962. The French president Charles de Gaulle “solemnly recognizes” the independence of Algeria. After 132 years of French rule, Algeria is an independent nation.

October, 1962. Amnesty International, an organization set up to investigate human rights abuses around the world, is formed.

October 15-28, 1962. Cuban Missile Crisis. President John F. Kennedy receives information that the Soviet is constructing missile sites in Cuba to house missiles aimed at the United States. Kennedy imposes a naval quaratine around Cuba to prevent the delivery and deployment of Soviet missiles. Khrushchev demands the removal of U.S. missiles in Turkey in exchange for Soviet missiles in Cuba. THe U.S. agrees to guarantee no invasion of Cuba if the Soviets will remove the missiles. Crisis averted.

December, 1962. The U.S. space probe Mariner II sends back the first close-up pictures of the planet Venus.

The Devil in Pew Number Seven by Rebecca Nichols Alonzo

Feb10

I am in a quandary. I don’t want to discourage anyone form reading this memoir, a true story that carries a wonderful message about the necessity of forgiveness, even in the direst of circumstances.

However, to be honest, the book could have been edited down to about half or three-fourths of its almost 300 pages and not have lost a thing. If you’re a good skimmer, you’ll really appreciate this story of a pastor and his family terrorized and very nearly destroyed by a man who acts like the devil incarnate. In 1969, Robert Nichols moved with his family to Sellerstown, North Carolina to serve as pastor of the Free Welcome Holiness Church. As the name of the church indicated, the Nichols family was welcomed by the community, except for one man, Mr. Horry James Watts, who lived across the street from the parsonage and occupied pew number seven in the Free Welcome Church every Sunday morning. The violence and harrassment began with threatening phone calls and escalated until . . . No spoilers here.

The amazing thing about the story is the ending. Could you forgive a man who threatened to make you family leave the community where you lived “crawling or walking, dead or alive?” The sction near the end of the book on forgiveness is worth the price of the book because the author speaks from hard-earned experience.

“If I allow myself to go down the pathway of rage and retaliation, several things happen, and none of them are good. Here are my top four:
My sins will not be forgiven by God if I refuse to forgive those who have sinned against me.
I miss an opportunity to show God’s love to an unforgiving world.
I’m the one who remains in jail when I withhold God’s grace by failing to forgive.
If I have trouble forgiving, it might be because I’m actually angry at God, not at the person who wronged me.”

So, I’m recommending this book with the caveat that you’re not to expect deathless prose, just a riveting and inspiring story of nitty-gritty forgiveness and even joy in very difficult circumstances.

Semicolon

Books we must have though we lack bread.

1965: Events and Inventions

The Hour Before Dawn by Penelope Wilcock

Fifteen Year Old Boy Reads Books!

1964: Events and Inventions

1961: Books and Literature

1963: Events and Inventions

Twelve Portions of the Bible to Study in 2012

Africa Is Not a Country by Margy Burns Knight and Mark Melnicove

1962: Events and Inventions

The Devil in Pew Number Seven by Rebecca Nichols Alonzo