Glimpses Into the Past

Although most people are probably halfway done with their Christmas shopping by now,  I still have Easter candy lying around I'm still stuck in Thanksgiving mode and don't seem to be in any hurry to shift gears.

In fact, I'm stuck in reverse.

After spending two days preparing for Thanksgiving and another two days sleeping doing dishes and cleaning up, I didn't have time to read last Thursday's Gazette Journal until yesterday.

One of my favorite columns is Glimpses Into the Past:

100 Years Ago
Thursday, November 24, 1910
from the Mathews Journal
"Editorial:  In olden days our puritan forefathers were wont to regard Thanksgiving as almost a holy day.  They rested and feasted and returned humble and sincere thanks to God for his manifold blessings. 

We wonder if in this Twentieth Century, when progress is the motto; when accumulation of wealth is the only ambition; and when mechanisms and machinery, invented by the genius of man, have supplanted the old time methods of doing things, we appreciate and are sufficiently thankful for the many advantages and multiple blessings we enjoy.

It would seem that even in this age of turmoil the people could spare one day to return thanks as did their forebears in simple and earnest fashion.  Then Thanksgiving Day would be more than a mere holiday and the people would have, in a slight degree only, discharged the debt they owe to the Allwise Creative Power that has guarded their foot steps safely through the years and rendered it possible for them to enjoy the privileges of this enlightened age."

The references to the "mechanisms and machinery invented by the genius of man" make me wonder what the author might say to all the i-have-this and the  you-tube-that.

He'd probably say, along with my son, "Chesapeake Bay Woman, get with the program. Can you give us one good reason why you don't have an i-anything yet?"

Speaking for CBW, she'd say, "Fear of change.  I don't know."

Speaking of the clash between past and present--and we may have been, however briefly---this weekend I spent a lot of time dawdling lounging in front of the TV with my children.

One night, I forced them to watch the Wizard of Oz, after it dawned on me that they hadn't seen a non-3-D or computer-animated movie since ancient history in recent history.  So while I ooooed and aaahhed at the costumes and the music and the colors and the hooked noses and the flying monkeys, they pretended to watch while doing who knows what on their i-gadgets.

Whether they were paying close attention or not, they absorbed the most important parts of the lesson I was trying to teach which may not may loosely correlate to the spirit of that  past and present editorial above, as follows:

1. It's important to slow down.
2. Focus on what you have, not what you don't have.
3. Savor the small things.
4. Appreciate the past.
5. Marvel at the ingenuity and creativity of others.
6. Revel in the present without worrying so much about the fact that it's less than a month until Christmas and you've done absolutely, positively nothing except boil the carcass of your Thanksgiving turkey to make soup, which as we know has nothing to do with preparing for Christmas and everything to do with merely preparing last night's dinner.
7. Make a note to call an electrician so you can put up your artificial tree, since all the electrical sockets in the family room--except, thankfully, the one hooked up to the TV where you force your children to watch movies from the year 1939--are not working, and in order to have a properly functioning Christmas tree one theoretically needs a properly functioning electrical source for the lights.
8. And one wonders why one doesn't have an i-anything, when one can barely get electricity/current to her house.

My justification for avoiding the 21st century Christmas shopping or decorating over the extended weekend is now over.

The End.

p.s. Have a great week, and thanks for letting me gripe  ramble vent.

Mathews

" 'Nobody goes through Mathews to get anywhere" is a common saying.  It refers, of course, to the unique geography.  With few exceptions, roads that start in or enter this peninsular county end at the water.

Over the years, the distinction of Mathews as the 'end of the line' has added to its singular quality. Because it is not along the beaten path, people have sought the county out for its special charms.  Mathews has become a haven for retirees, looking for a slower pace in a quiet waterfront setting.

Mathews is a land rich in history that predates the formation of the county in 1791.  In 1776Lord Dunmore, the last royal governor of Virginia, put out to sea after losing the Battle of Gwynns Island. The rivers and inlets of Mathews County served as a base for the Confederate Coast Guard during the Civil War.

But what attracts most people to Mathews--those who move in and the natives who stay--are its picturesque waterways in a hometown atmosphere and its friendly residents.  Some things still haven't changed after 200 years." - From the April 25, 1991, Bicentennial Collector's Edition of the Gloucester-Mathews Gazette Journal.

"Indeed some things haven't changed much after 200 years, and that's a very good thing.  But if there's any way we can get a good Thai or Vietnamese restaurant in town, that would be one change I'd ardently support. Thank you." - CBW