Uncle & Aunt Love

A month or two ago, we were thrilled to hear that "Plug-In 2011," an electric car-based conference, would be bringing Steve and Abby to town in July! John's younger brother and our sister-in-law hadn't seen our home here, and we were thrilled to see them.

While they were here, of course, we were excited to make the usual round of local food and shopping stops, and thanks to Abby's keen interest in history, we finally visited the local sites of historical importance for the first time!


It was hot! But it was also good . . . I didn't realize what we'd been missing, and now there are some more places that we need to bring my side of the family when they come to visit next!

We got to test out the stroller's ability to handle rough terrain (definitely not its purpose!).
We also saw some beautiful things. One evening, we even had the privilege of visiting Plug-In 2011, and seeing what Steve's company has been busy working on in recent months. Their project certainly stood out from the crowd in creativity and promise.


Thank you so much for visiting us, Uncle Steve and Aunt Abby!

Cave Ides Martium?

 Oh, yes

In March, July, October, May
The Ides fall on the fifteenth day,
The Nones the seventh, and all besides
Have two days less for Nones and Ides.

I'm finding that this post is filled with a lot of uncertainties.  First of all, the certain things:
1.  Today is the second holiday of holiday week, the Ides of March!
2.  It was on the Ides of March in 44 B.C. that Julius Caesar was assassinated by Brutus, Cassius, and other members of the Senate.
3.  Yes, as the little poem above states, all the months have Ides and, though lesser-known, Nones!  The Ides of March are just the most famous.
4.  Latin is awesome.  :-)

So, uncertainties abounding . . . firstly, I'm not even sure if the Latin in this post title is correct.  :-\  Secondly, I am positive that I remember hearing that Caesar was NOT assassinated on the Senate steps as is widely believed.  We were in Rome on our honeymoon and I was sure that I heard such a thing.  John can't support me on this, but I typically have the more detailed memory, anyway.

The tour guide whom, I testify, told us that Julius Caesar was not murdered on the Senate steps.  Interestingly, he was from Glasgow.

Why Caesar was stabbed is a bit clearer than whether it was right that he was stabbed.  He had acted as dictator for Rome, leading them in tremendous military victories.  "Dictator" in its original sense did not have all the wretched connotations it has today.  It was meant to be a position taken by a single strong leader to help the Roman Republic through a difficult time.  And it was meant to be temporary.  Certainly Caesar had been an able dictator, but when was pronounced/pronounced himself dictator for life, members of the senate took matters into their own hands.  But, we know how much people look up to a single, strong leader who has helped them through a difficult time.  The result was not a peaceful return to rule by representation, but a breakout of civil war, leading ultimately to the establishment of rule by emperor.  Take that, Brutus.

Anyway, I have fond memories of observing the Ides of March in conjunction with Latin class in high school.  Magistra Sadlon, our teacher, offered 10 bonus points for wearing a black armband to every class and 50 points for wearing a black toga!  She herself wore a handsome black suit/skirt and a pin with the proper rendering of "Cave Ides Martium," whatever it is.  I don't have pictures of those days, but I do recall, senior year, gliding through the halls in my makeshift black toga, grimly celebrating/mourning the death of Julius Caesar.  I was never quite sure which it was supposed to be.  ;-)

The Pantheon in Rome.  Was it here?

Veteran's Day

John told me this morning that it was at eleven o'clock in the morning on the eleventh day of the eleventh month that World War I effectively ended.  I should have known that already, but at least I was glad to hear it today. 

When I think of our veterans, though, I immediately think of my favorite World War II veteran, Grandpa Smith.  He fought in Italy back when you didn't get to go home until the war was finished.  He didn't talk about it very often, but we learned a bit more about some of his experiences fighting "Jerry" when Heidi interviewed him for a history project in high school.  And though he wasn't much of a student as a youngn person, my Grandpa had a lot of common sense. 

His job was to drive a truck, and I remember him telling a story about when he picked up a passenger once.  He happened to be driving a load of dynamite (or something explosive!) covered with a canvas tarp.  Well, his passenger was smoking and tossed his cigarette out the window.  It ignited the tarp and Grandpa flew out back and flung it off his truck bed onto the road . . . thankfully, he knew how to tie quick-release knots, probably from all his farming knowledge.  Grandpa was so mad at the passenger's carelessness that he threw him out!  It was kind of a funny story to hear, and one of the milder of his war memories, I am sure.  When I think about it seriously, though, I am thankful.  If it hadn't been for his common sense, neither my mother, nor any of her siblings, nor any of us grandchildren would be here. 

For those of you who don't know, Grandpa is in heaven now. 

It was also on Veteran's Day last year that Mom and I found the dress.  As a teacher, I had the day off school, and we set out in the morning to visit the dress shops in Saratoga.  The first glimpse into the white-carpeted showroom(?) of Something Bleu nearly took my breath away.   Rows of delicate dresses with exquisite lace detailing hung freely about the room, instead of under plastic covers.  A soft spoken lady led us on our European tour, and as I described my ideal dress to her, I was surprised to find more than one waiting to be tried on.  Yes, many of those dresses were really expensive, but we ended up getting a pretty good deal on mine.  I loved it. 

(photos taken by Rachel Tribunella)