American Idle

Established after the Civil War as Decoration Day, the term Memorial Day took precedence after World War II. Memorial Day heralds summertime, and the leisure is easy.  Before the 19th century, the concept of leisure existed only for the upper classes.

From the Latin licere meaning to be permitted, leisure is a relatively new concept. Since the mid-19th century, the time Americans' spend at work has declined. The paradigm of work, eat, sleep, work, eat, sleep etc.  was broken. Man's imagination endeavored to occupy these ancillary hours.

Technology developed gadgets to fill our leisure time. Electricity brought the light bulb, radio and then the golden calf of inactivity - television. TV, cell phones, DVDs, video games, personal computers, face book, twitter have mutated our idle time into a false idol. Sociologists call these new diversions transcendental vegetation. Simple joys like reading and walking have become vestigial

Celebrate this Memorial Day with a walk or bike ride. Jump rope, twirl a hula-hoop, shoot marbles, play jacks or hopscotch. Think of it as Luddite kitsch - as ever BB

"They talk of the dignity of work. Bosh! The dignity is in leisure." - Herman Melville

Triple Crown's 2nd Jewel

Excitement builds here in Baltimore as the third Saturday in May approaches and with it the Preakness Stakes. Being an aficionado of the Sport of Kings, I will share some interesting facts about this illustrious equine event.

The first Preakness Stakes was run in 1873 at Pimlico Race Course. It is named for the colt, Preakness, who won the first race held at Old Hilltop in 1870. The inaugural Kentucky Derby did not occur until two years after the first Preakness. Curiously, 2009 was the 135th  Kentucky Derby, but the 134th Preakness. This discrepancy arises because no Preakness occurred in 1891, 92 or 93. Neither is the oldest thoroughbred contest in the United States. That renowned race is the Travers Stakes held in Saratoga Springs, NY.

The Preakness has not always been held in Baltimore. In 1890, it was run in the Bronx. Coney Island hosted the race from 1894 to 1908. It returned to Pimlico in 1909 where it has stayed. Regretfully, the 2010 home of the Preakness is uncertain.

My favorite arcana about the Preakness concerns the flowers that drape the winning horse. Each Triple Crown Race has its flower. The Kentucky Derby is the Run for the Roses. White carnations grace the winner of the Belmont Stakes. Being the state flower of Maryland, the Black-Eyed Susan represents the Preakness. That poses one problem. This flower blooms between late June and early July. However, the race occurs in May. The solution - a florist paints the center of daisies black. Presto - Black-Eyed Susans! - as ever BB

"Horse sense is the thing a horse has that keeps it from betting on people." - W.C. Fields

Ear-ie

“'But I don’t want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked.

'Oh, you can’t help that,' said the Cat. 'We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.'
'How do you know I’m mad?' said Alice.
'You must be,” said the Cat. 'or you wouldn’t have come here.'” - Lewis Carroll from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

December 23, 1888 - a chilly night in Arles in the south of France, two friends argue. One wants to return to Paris to paint. The other pleads with  his friend to remain and pursue their muse together. Being passionate men, the argument grows violent and continues out on the street. What happened next is a matter of conjecture.

The artists were Paul Gauguin and Vincent Van Gogh. The commonly held story is Gauguin departed. In a distraught rage, Van Gogh sliced off part of his ear, wrapped it and delivered it to a brothel. Returning to his house, he fell asleep. Hours later Van Gogh, close to death from loss of blood, was roused by the police . 

Two German historians now surmise that a fight ensued in which Gauguin struck with his epee severing Van Gogh's ear. Gauguin, a known fencer, cut a bella figura wearing the sword by his side. In letters to his brother, Theo, and to Gauguin, Vincent mentions a "pact of silence." Gauguin wrote to a friend that he could never speak ill of Van Gogh, "a man with sealed lips." The secrecy was to protect Gauguin from prosecution. The historians also cite the word "ictus" written on an early sketch of Van Gogh's bandaged ear self-portrait. Ictus is a Latin fencing term which means cut or stab.

We may never know the actual story. Gauguin and Van Gogh never saw each other after that fateful night. In 1890, Van Gogh shot himself while painting in a field. In 1903, Gauguin died in Tahiti of syphilis, alcoholism and a dissipated life. - as ever BB

"Art will remain the most astonishing activity of mankind born out of struggle between wisdom and madness, between dream and reality in our mind." - Magdalena Abakanowicz

May Day

Welcome the month of May! Embraced by the workers of the world as International Labor Day, the 1st of May's repute began in ancient times.  The half-way point between the vernal equinox and the summer solstice, the Celts called it Beltane. The Germanic tribes called it Walpurgis Night.

After months cooped up inside, the clement weather precipitated raucous celebrations including dancing around the May Pole and crowning a May Queen. As Christianity replaced polytheist religions, folk traditions morphed into Christian ceremonies. The month of May was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. She became "Queen of the May" revered by novenas and recitation of the rosary.

In May, 1886, America's nascent labor movement demonstrated at Haymarket Square in Chicago. Police were sent to quell the mob. A bomb was thrown, shots fired, deaths occurred. The movement adopted May 1st as a day to honor organized labor. Appropriated by socialists, the Soviet Union used this day to display it's power and might. In France it became an annual day of protest. 

Of trivial note, the distress signal, "May Day" has nothing to do with the 1st of May. It is the anglicized version of venez m'aider - French for "Come help me!" 

No matter what your religious, or political predilection, enjoy the day. Warmer weather with its hint of summer beckons all to festoon a pole with flowers and dance like a dervish. - as ever BB

"Be like a flower and turn your face to the sun." - Kahlil Gibran