05/12/21  Emperor’s Birthday  (Timely Words 0900)

In the United States of America, the birthdays of certain important historical figures are celebrated as public holidays, including those of Martin Luther King, Jr. on January 19, Abraham Lincoln on February 12, George Washington on February 22 and Jesus on December 25.  There are no holidays to celebrate the birthdays of living persons, but in Japan, December 23 is a national holiday to celebrate the birthday of the present emperor.  It was on that day in 1933 that the entire country rejoiced at the news that the wife of Emperor Hirohito had given birth to their first male child, who was destined to succeed his father on the throne.  In present-day Japan, it is not only the Western calendar that is used to designate the year, for a new era begins when a new emperor begins his reign.  “Showa,” the era of Emperor Hirohito, lasted from 1926 to 1988.  Emperor Akihito began his reign in 1989, when he was 56 years old.  The present era name is “Heisei,” and this year, 2005 according to the Gregorian calendar, is the 17th year of Heisei in Japan.  Until the end of the war, the emperor was considered divine, but following Japan’s surrender, the Emperor confessed that he was simply a human being.  According to the present Constitution, the Emperor is “the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people, deriving his position from the will of the people with whom resides sovereign power.”  The postwar education of the present Emperor included being tutored by an American lady who was a Quaker and he broke with tradition when he chose a commoner to be his wife, a girl he had met on a tennis court.  We wish him a happy 72nd birthday.

05/12/24  Mary/Marry/Merry  (Timely Words 0901)

“Merry Christmas” is a common greeting during this Christmas season, when the birth of Jesus is being celebrated.  Many people will repeat this greeting and celebrate in various ways without thinking of the reason for the season, but for those who are interested, the stories related to Jesus’ birth are found in the first two chapters of the New Testament Gospels of Matthew and Luke.  In these stories, the name of Jesus’ mother, Mary, frequently appears and her name has become one of the most popular girls’ names in English-speaking countries.  In both Gospels, it is noted that Mary had become pregnant before she was married because the child she gave birth to was the Son of God and did not have a human father.  While thinking about this, I was reminded of the irregularity of English spelling and pronunciation.  Considering my own pronunciations of the words “Mary,” “marry” and “merry,” I concluded that, for me, their pronunciations were identical.  Others also replied that they pronounced them the same, even though dictionaries indicate a slight difference in the pronunciation of the vowel.  Some English teachers are very concerned about correct pronunciation, and correct pronunciation should be emphasized.  However, communication is more important than perfect pronunciation and communication is possible even with poor pronunciation.  We should remember this when we read the New Testament Gospels also, including Jesus’ parables.  What is being communicated by the stories is more important than the details of the stories themselves.  During this Christmas season, I suggest that you read the Christmas stories and consider the message that is being communicated.  Merry Christmas!

05/12/28  Texas  (Timely Words 0902)

The name of the large tract of land that became the 28th state of the United States of America 160 years ago, on December 29, 1845, is derived from a Native American word meaning “friend.”  For the next 114 years, Texas was the largest state in the Union, until Alaska, with an area more than twice that of Texas, became the 49th state in 1959.  The population of Texas, however, which ranks second after California, is more than 3 times that of Alaska; it did not become a state until 11 years after its independence from Mexico, 6 months after its annexation by the U.S.A.  The size of Texas can be imagined by considering that the distance from the city of Beaumont in the east to the city of El Paso in the west is greater than that between New York and Chicago.  The Rio Grande River forms the boundary between Texas and Mexico for 1610 kilometers.  Many Texan towns along the border have a colorful Mexican flavor; some are bilingual and in some areas, persons of Mexican descent make up as much as 80% of the population.  Pine trees provide lumber; cotton plantations, rice fields, citrus fruits and vegetables are also important, but the main source of income comes from large, rich oil fields. One anonymous visitor depicted Texas as “a state where everything either sticks, stinks or stings.”  Can you think of possible specific examples of what he may have had in mind?  The motto of Texas is “Friendship” and its nickname is “Lone Star State.”  I do not know how or why it got this nickname, but at this time of year, the term “lone star” reminds me of the story in the first part of the second chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew, the star that led the Magi to Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus.

06/01/01  Old and New  (Timely Words 0903)

Even when we can understand words in a foreign language and correctly define them, we must remember that their precise meaning is related to the context in which they are used.  The meaning of such words as “cold” and “hot,” “big” and “small,” “long” and “short,” “young” and “old,” “old” and “new” vary according to their context.  For most readers of this message, this is the time when an “old year” has ended and a “new year” has begun, but when years begin and end depends on the calendar used in a particular culture or tradition.  For Muslims, Jews, Hindus and traditional Chinese, years begin at different times.  In the Gregorian calendar, used by most countries in the world today where English is the main language, the first month of the 12-month year is called January, derived from the name of the Roman god, Janus, the god of beginnings.  Janus was said to have two faces by which he could see in opposite directions at the same time, thus he could view both the past and the future.  In the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 7, verse 8, it is written that “the end of a matter is better than its beginning,” but this also depends on the particular situation and context.  Looking back over the past year, there is much that may make us sad, about which we can complain, but there is also much for which we can be thankful—depending on our outlook, or faith.  There may be a hidden good purpose even in sad events which we do not understand until later, but I hope and pray that this “new year” will be a very merry, happy and meaningful year for you and that these messages will help to make it so.

06/01/04  Epiphany  (Timely Words 0904)

As a common noun, “epiphany” denotes “a sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of something,” but as a proper noun with the first letter capitalized, it denotes a Christian festival held on January 6.  On this Epiphany, the manifestation of Christ’s divinity by 1) the visit of Magi from the east who came to worship him soon after his birth (Matthew 2:1-12), 2) the voice from heaven that was heard following his baptism (Matthew 3:13-17) and 3) his first miracle of turning water into wine (John 2:1-11) are remembered.  As a matter of fact, both December 25 and January 6 are Christian utilizations of pagan festivals related to the sun, and January 6 was first celebrated as the date of Jesus’ birth.  Now, however, it is considered the end of the twelve days of Christmas. In Eastern Orthodox churches, Jesus’ baptism is emphasized on Epiphany, but in Western churches, both Roman Catholic and Protestant, it is the visit of the Magi from the east that is emphasized.  According to the story in the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, Gentile Magi, also called “Wise Men,” from the east saw a star, which they considered a special sign of the one who had been born king of the Jews and they had come to worship him.  There is no mention of how many there were, but because they presented three gifts, it has been presumed that there were three men.  It also seems certain that the baby Jesus was no longer in the manger where the shepherds came to see him, as implied in later Christmas stories, pictures and dramas.  Their gifts of gold, frankincense (used as incense) and myrrh (used in embalming) have been considered symbols of royalty, divinity and death.

06/01/07  Serendipity  (Timely Words 0905)

One of the advantages of living in a retirement community with other elderly residents is that we are able to understand and sympathize with one another’s physical or mental problems as we get older.  When we sit together around a table at mealtimes in the dining hall, our conversations are very interesting for residents here have served in many different countries in many different kinds of activities.  As we talk, we often hesitate because a particular word or name or place does not immediately come to mind.  Since most residents here have the same problem, there is no need to apologize, but recently, speaking about this situation, I came to a deeper understanding of the meaning of “serendipity.”  This word, meaning “making fortunate and unexpected discoveries by accident,” was coined by an English author, Horace Walpole, from the title of a Persian fairy tale, “The Three Princes of Serendip.” Serendip was an old name for Sri Lanka and in this story, the heroes "discovered, quite unexpectedly, great and wonderful good in the most unlikely of situations, places and people."  My “accidental discovery” came as I was talking to a resident about his service in the country of Costa Rica, from which he and his wife recently came directly to our community.  In the course of our conversation, I spoke of my poor memory and mentioned that I could not remember to whom I had lent a copy of one of my books, which I needed to make preparations for a coming talk.  The lady I thought I might have lent it to denied that it was so, but his surprising response was, “Maybe I am the one you lent it to,” and. sure enough, he was right and he returned the book to me.  That was a good example of “serendipity.”

06/01/11  Dogs  (Timely Words 0906)

In an old lunar calendar which has been observed in both China and Japan, there are twelve zodiacal signs.  Every year is related to one of those signs and the sign for this year of 2006 is the Dog.  According to paper place mats used in Chinese restaurants, a person born in a year of the Dog is loyal, honest, generous and works well with others, but may also be selfish, stubborn and critical.  There are a number of English expressions related to dogs.  A “dog in the manger” denotes one who prevents others from enjoying what he himself has no use for.  It comes from a fable in which a dog prevented an ox from eating hay he did not want himself.  “Dog days” are the hot, sultry days in the middle of summer.  To “lead a dog’s life” means to be unhappy and never left in peace, but to “put on the dog” means to make a display of elegance, wealth or culture.  To “let sleeping dogs lie” is good advice, cautioning us not to stir up trouble by making unnecessary changes.  When my wife and I attended language school in Tokyo many years ago, we often passed Shibuya station in front of which was the statue of a faithful dog which had continued to come regularly to that station to meet its master even after the master had died.  It was to remind passers-by of the importance of loyalty.  In the New Testament, dogs were not highly regarded and in his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructed his disciples not to give dogs what is sacred or to pigs what is valuable (Matthew 7:6).  Animals cannot discern what is sacred or valuable and will corrupt or reject them, so we should be discerning regarding with whom we share sacred or valuable things.

06/01/14  A King’s Birthday  (Timely Words 0907)

In the United States of America, there are ten federal holidays set by law.  Five of them are not set according to dates, but are observed on certain Mondays to create three-day weekends for federal employees.  One such holiday, on the third Monday of January, which was first officially observed in 1986, is in honor of a King.  In this case, however, the King was not of royal lineage.  Rather, this King was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15,1929, the son of a Baptist minister. Martin Luther King, Jr., also became a Baptist minister and was the pastor of a church in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955 when 50,000 Afro-American residents protested segregation rules by a bus boycott that lasted for over a year and received the support of many conscientious citizens around the country.  This 27-year-old pastor became the leader of the protest and was arrested, but he continually emphasized peaceful civil disobedience and exhorted his followers, even “if we are arrested every day, don’t ever let anyone pull you so low as to hate them.”  Until his assassination, on April 4, 1968, Rev. King continued to encourage others, both by word and example, to reject violent revenge and seek to peacefully implement his dream of a nation in which all people are respected regardless of color or creed which he emphasized in the meaningful and effective speech he gave to an audience of more than 200,000 people who gathered near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963.   This holiday on the third Monday of January was created by the U. S. Congress “to reflect on the principles of racial equality and non-violent social change” that Martin Luther King, Jr. sought to realize.

06/01/18  Yawning  (Timely Words 0908)

There are two kinds of “inspiration.”  One kind is often used by religious people to denote a divine influence.  True prophets and effective preachers are “inspired” by God to proclaim his word.  Among doctors and nurses, however, “inspiration’ may simply denote breathing or inhaling air.  That is its meaning in the dictionary’s definition of “yawning”: “To open the mouth wide with a deep inspiration.”  Recently a news article reported the results of university professors’ studies on yawning.  Why do people yawn?  When do they yawn?  What kind of people yawn most?  According to that article, yawning is an ancient, primitive act.  Some animals also yawn and humans may yawn even before they are born, opening their mouths wide while still in the womb.  For some people, yawning may be contagious; if they see someone yawn, they also yawn in response.  It seems that people who are very compassionate tend to yawn when they see another person yawn.  The basic yawn lasts about six seconds.  While men and women yawn equally often, men are significantly less likely to cover their mouths when they do so.  The physical root of yawning remains a mystery, but it is not because one needs oxygen and one cannot yawn on command.  Although yawning is done involuntarily, it is usually the result of fatigue, drowsiness or boredom.  Thus, preachers and lecturers are not happy to see many people yawn during their sermons or lectures.  Among some species of animals, yawning could be a way of showing off big scary teeth and staking a position of authority.  Finally, I hope that reading these messages does not cause you to yawn.

06/01/21  Holocaust  (Timely Words 0909)

In the traditions of certain religions, animals are killed and burned as sacrificial offerings to God.  This was the custom of the ancient Jewish religion and rules concerning “burnt offerings” are found in the first chapters of the Old Testament book of Leviticus.  The word “holocaust,” derived from Latin words meaning “whole burnt,” denotes a sacrificial offering that is consumed entirely by flames.  When spelled with a capital H, however, it refers to the persecution and massive slaughter of European Jews by the Nazis during World War II.  After Adolf Hitler was elected leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party in 1933, the racial superiority of the Germanic, or Aryan, race was emphasized; Negroes and Jews were relegated to the bottom of the racial ladder.   The citizenship of German Jews was cancelled.  Anti-Jewish rampages destroyed synagogues and Jewish-run businesses.  Jews were required to wear a yellow star to identify them and were prohibited from using public transportation.  Some Jews were placed on trucks or vans and asphyxiated with auto exhaust on the way to mass grave sites.  Special gas chambers were created where Jews could be killed and cremated in secret.  As many as four million Jews were killed in such camps and an estimated six million Jews died in various German offensives during the war.  After the war ended, the enormity of this Holocaust became known.  It is difficult to imagine how such a genocide could be carried out by a civilized nation, but today also, some citizens of some countries simply follow the orders of their superiors without thinking seriously of the moral implications. The memory of the Holocaust was influential in the decision to create the state of Israel in 1948.

06/01/24  Animal Groups  (Timely Words 0910)

All languages have their particular, or peculiar, characteristics.  In Japanese, any group of animals may be included in the term “mure” (even though the Chinese character for this term includes the character for “sheep”).  In English, the term used for the particular group varies according to the kind of animals involved, and some of the words, or their homonyms, are often used with very different meanings.  For example, a “school” is not only a place where people study.  It may also denote a group of fish.  A “pack” is not only a bundle that may be carried on one’s back.  It may also denote a group of dogs or wolves.  And, along with the high opinion one may have regarding one’s self, “pride” may also denote a group of lions.  It is not only a group of criminals or unruly people who are called a “gang.”  This term is also used for a group of buffalo or elk.  And “sloth” is not only related to laziness.  It may denote a group of bears.  “Flock” is used for a group of sheep or goats and “herd” may be used for cows, elephants or geese.  The term used for groups of insects, such as ants, bees and wasps is “swarm.”  And the term for the enclosure in which animals are kept may also vary according to the animals kept there.  A “warren” may denote either a group of rabbits or the enclosure where rabbits are kept, and the enclosure where sheep are kept may be called a “fold.”  In the New Testament Gospel of John, chapter 10, verses 1 and 16, the same Greek word denoting the enclosure where sheep are kept has been translated “fold,” “sheepfold,” “pen” and “sheep pen.”  Which word is used in the Bible translation you have?

06/01/29  “Jeen”  (Timely Words 0911)

In Japanese, there are many different words that have the same pronunciation.  The meaning of such words becomes clear when the Chinese characters used in them are known.  English also has many homonyms, many of which have the same spelling even though the meanings are different.  Today’s message focuses on words/names pronounced  “jeen.”  Looking up the word spelled g-e-n-e in my dictionary, I find the definition too difficult to understand, but it denotes the basic unit by which characteristics are transmitted from one generation to another in animals/plants. Clothes made of “jean” (derived from Genoa), a “heavy, strong, twilled cotton” are called jeans.  In the past, jeans were considered work clothes, but many young people today consider blue jeans fashionable and some older folk are wearing them also.  And there are names of both women and men which are pronounced “jeen.”  Checking the currrent directory of the 530 residents in this retirement community, I found one male resident whose name is Gene (the shortened form of Eugene, derived from Greek words meaning “well-born”) and seven female residents named Jean plus two more whose names are pronounced the same but are spelled J-e-a-n-n-e.  (Jean[ne] is derived from the feminine Latin form of John, which comes from Hebrew and Greek names in the Bible meaning “Yahweh [God] has been gracious.”)  Other feminine residents’ names related to Jean are Joan (5), Jane (4), June (3), Jan (2) and Joann (1).  In Japan, the meaning of the Chinese characters used in names is seriously considered by parents before giving the name to their children, and for some, even the number of strokes in the Chinese characters is a matter of concern.

06/01/31  F. D. R.  (Timely Words 0912)

George Washington became the first president of the United States of America in 1789.  In the 217 years since then, 40 different men have served as president, four of whom have the same surname as a previous president; two of these, including the present president, were sons of previous presidents.  One was a distant cousin of another and the initials, F. D. R., were often used to identify him, the only president who served more than two terms, who died in April 1945, three months after beginning his fourth term as president and four months before the end of the 2nd World War.  Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the fifth cousin of Theodore Roosevelt, was born on January 30, 1882.  From his youth, he was interested in politics and was elected to the New York State Senate in 1910.  His political future seemed to have been ruined by the poliomyelitis attack he experienced when he was 32 years old, but he was determined to regain his health and followed a strenuous exercise program.  He made use of a wheelchair, braces and canes in his two successful campaigns to become governor of New York and all four campaigns for the presidency.  His personal experience and optimistic attitude were important as he formulated and enacted a New Deal to lead the nation through the Great Depression followed by his energetic leadership during the Second World War, which he hoped would result in a “world founded upon four essential human freedoms”—freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear.  In the state of Kentucky, January 30 is a holiday to commemorate the birthday of F. D. R. and an annual ceremony is held on that day at his graveside in Hyde Park, New York.

06/02/02  C.B.O.  (Timely Words 0913)

Today’s message is somewhat irregular because it is quite personal.  If such a message is objectionable, I apologize, but while composing the previous message on F.D.R., I was reminded of a personal experience related to the initials of my name, which I decided to share with readers of this homepage.  When I was a high school student in my hometown, north of Chicago, Illinois, C.B.O. (for Clark Benjamin Offner) was the nickname that some people used for me.  The university I attended was west of Chicago in the state of Iowa and it was during my second year in that university that I was attracted to a girl student whose hometown was also in Illinois just west of Chicago.  During the summer vacation, I returned to my hometown and worked as a laborer for a construction company.  My girlfriend became a waitress in the restaurant at a Christian conference center east of Chicago, in the state of Indiana.  In order to give her the impression that I was a well-known and important person, I suggested that she write a letter addressed to “C.B.O., Zion, Illinois” and see what happened.  At that time, my hometown had a population of about 12,000 and I had worked in the town post office during the Christmas/New Year vacation the previous year.  A close friend of mine, who later married my sister and became the mayor of the town, was still working in the post office at that time, so I was quite confident that the letter would get to me with that simple address.  It did and my girlfriend was impressed and eventually became my wife and has been enriching my life for the past 57 years.

06/02/05  “Name Divination”  (Timely Words 0914)

Pardon me for writing another message about a personal experience, but the final sentence in message #912 reminded me of it.  While in Japan, I tried to conform as much as possible to Japanese customs.  I made use of a personal seal for signing documents, withdrawing money from bank accounts, etc.  My seal included the Chinese characters I had chosen to represent my name in the normal Japanese order: Ou-funa (big ship) Kura-ku (storeroom nine) Bi (beautiful).  Some people believe that one’s fortune can be recognized by professional diviners who count the number of strokes in the Chinese characters in names, so when I learned that a “name diviner” would be at a supermarket not far from my house and would examine names without charge, I went to see him. 6nbsp;At first, I asked whether he could evaluate the regular Japanese “katakana” form of my name, but he replied that it was only Chinese characters that he could evaluate.  Then, I asked about the four characters in my name, without the middle initial.  The result was not good, but I noticed that his stroke-counting seemed irregular and I asked about that.  His reply was that when numbers are included (the number 9 in my case), it is not the number of strokes in the character (2 strokes in the number 9), but the number itself that is counted.  The result was that, with or without the “bi” (beautiful, 9 strokes), the name was unlucky.  This tradition is called “seimei-handan” in Japanese, which Japanese-English dictionaries translate as “onomancy.”  I have not been able to find this word in any English dictionary, but its Greek roots meaning “name divination” are clear.

06/02/09  National Foundation Day  (Timely Words 0915)

In the United States of America, the 4th of July is the major holiday celebrating the historic beginning of this nation.  On that day in 1776, the Continental Congress, representing the independent colonies that had been established in North America, formally approved the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain.  In Japan, the 11th day of February is celebrated as National Foundation Day (“Kenkoku Kinen no Hi”), after considerable hesitation and controversy regarding whether or not such a day should be celebrated, what it should be named and the date of the celebration.  Before the end of the war, February 11 had been celebrated as “Kigensetsu” to commemorate the enthronement of Jinmu, Japan’s first emperor, in 660 B.C.E. After the war, that holiday was eliminated for various reasons, including doubts regarding the reign and date of enthronement of the first emperor and whether or not Jinmu was a historical figure. Eight times over the years, bills to add this day to the legal holidays were defeated in the Japanese Diet, but it was finally approved in 1966.  Although teachers continue to find it difficult to explain the reason for the date of this holiday, the history of the nation is recalled, love for it and hope for its healthy future is emphasized. At times, we must make difficult decisions regarding priorities in our use of time and celebrations.  Does the schedule of school or company take precedence over family?  Must one’s religious activities be subordinated to that of other organizations?  What comes first in life is a basic problem, but Christians remember Jesus’ words, “Seek first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33).

06/02/12  Race Relations Sunday  (Timely Words 0916)

February, the name of this 2nd month of the year is derived from a Latin word meaning “feast of purification.”  In ancient Rome, ceremonies of religious purification were held at that time of year.  In the U. S. A., the birthday of Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809) is observed in many states.  It was during his administration, as a result of his influence, that a Civil War occurred.  As a result of that war, all slaves were freed and, legally, all citizens were granted equal rights, regardless of their race.  Unfortunately, racial prejudice and discrimination continue to be evident in American society today and the Sunday nearest February 12 is observed in many churches as Race Relations Sunday, or Brotherhood Sunday.  On February 12, 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was founded.  The aim of the “N-double A-C P” (N.A.A.C.P.) is to eliminate racial discrimination and segregation.  This organization was the result of a conference called by a white woman, Mary W. Ovington, and supported by many white Northerners, to discuss ways to achieve political and social equality following the lynching of two blacks in Springfield, Illinois, the long-time home city of Abraham Lincoln.  The NAACP, which advocates non-violent protests against racial discrimination, is an influential factor today in the struggle for racial equality.  In some churches, a “feast of purification,” ceremony would be meaningful on Race Relations Sunday causing members to reflect on the actual situation in their churches, where there should be no discrimination, whether “Greek or Jew, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free” for, according to Colossians 3:11, “Christ is all and in all.”

06/02/18  Bald Eagles  (Timely Words 0917)

A couple of characteristics of the residents of this retirement community are quite obvious when we gather together in general meetings.  There are many women (and men) who have white hair and many men who have no hair because they are bald.  Whiteness and baldness are indications of getting older.  A recent newspaper article about the American Bald Eagle being taken off of the endangered species list caught my attention and stimulated this message.  There are two things about this bird that you should know.  First, it is on the official seal of the United States of America and is considered a symbol of this nation.  Second, although it is called a “bald eagle,” it is not really bald.  It is the short, white feathers on the top of its head that give that impression, so even though it has white feathers and looks bald, it may not be so old.  The seal chosen by a committee chosen by the Continental Congress was approved by the Congress in 1782.  The eagle is considered a symbol of victory.  It does not fear storms but soars above them.  The eagle on the official seal has both an olive branch and arrows in its talons, representing a desire for peace and a willingness to fight to achieve it.  There are two well-known figurative references to eagles in the Old Testament, which, like certain other Biblical expressions, are not to be taken literally.  In Exodus 19:3, God told Moses that he had carried the Israelites “on eagles’ wings” when he delivered them from Egypt, and in Isaiah 40:31, it is written that “those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

06/02/20  Washington Monument  (Timely Words 0918)

A “monument” is “a structure erected as a memorial” and “monumental” signifies something “impressively large, sturdy and enduring.”  Both definitions fit the tall, white marble obelisk which is a famous landmark in Washington, D. C.  This “district,” the capital city of the United States of America, is one of over 10 cities, over 30 counties and one state that bear the name of the first president.  The 170-meter-tall monument is set on a knoll, mirrored in a reflecting pool and ringed by 50 state flags.  The monument is approximately 5 square meters at its base and about 3 square meters at the top.  From the observation room near the top, which can be reached by an electric elevator in 70 seconds from the base, the Capitol can be seen on the east, the White House on the north, the Jefferson Memorial on the south and the Lincoln Memorial on the west.  When my wife and I and our three children went up that monument in 1970, we chose to walk down the 898 steps to the ground.  The idea of a monument in honor of George Washington was first proposed to Congress within a week of Washington’s death in 1799, but the cornerstone was not laid until 1848.  With delays caused by a lack of funds, the Civil War and other reasons, the dedication of the monument did not take place until February 22, 1885, the 132nd anniversary of Washington’s birth.  Now, the 3rd Monday of February is a federal holiday to commemorate his birth.  Regarding monuments, the English essayist, William Hazlitt, has written: “They only deserve a monument who do not need one; that is, who have raised themselves in the minds and memories of men.”

06/02/23  Madame Butterfly  (Timely Words 0919)

At the present time in the United States of America, the word “madam” is not often used among common people.  In the past, it was probably used often when speaking to or introducing a highly respected lady.  If an “e” is added to the word, the accent is usually changed from the first syllable to the last syllable.  Madame Butterfly is the title of a famous opera written a century ago by an Italian composer about a pretty, young Japanese geisha who made the mistake of agreeing to marry an officer in the American Navy.  Last week, my wife and I joined a group of other residents in this retirement community to attend a performance of this opera at the Symphony Hall in the city of Jacksonville.  For two-and-a-half hours, we were very impressed with the singing, acting, costumes and stage setting, all of which we considered outstanding.  Although we had often heard about this opera, this was the first time we were able to see and hear it.  We were thankful that the meaning of the Italian lyrics was projected in English on a screen above the stage.  I was interested to learn that the word for “butterfly,” which is transliterated as “chocho” in English becomes “ciocio” in Italian and that, according to my dictionary, only one “cho” is really needed.  Because the story in the opera points up both differences in outlook and certain common underlying emotions in eastern and western cultures, it was especially interesting to us.  The sad ending stimulated serious reflection on values and priorities which may be viewed differently depending on one’s culture and education, but also reflect a common human element.

06/02/27  Leap Year  (Timely Words 0920)

According to the story of the creation of the world in the first chapter of the book of Genesis, God created two great lights in the sky, the larger one to govern the day and the smaller one to govern the night.  Human beings created calendars in which time is divided into years and months as well as days.  Such calendars are related to the movements of the sun and the moon, but there has always been a problem regarding how to combine the solar calendar with the lunar calendar and to keep them in conformity with the seasons.  According to astronomers, it takes 365 days, five hours, 48 minutes and a little over 45 seconds for the earth to complete an orbit around the sun and approximately 29 1/2  days for the moon to orbit the earth.  In the old Julian calendar (adopted in 45 B.C.E. during the reign of Julius Caesar), an extra day was added to the month of February in those years whose numbers are divisible by 4.  Such years are known as “leap years.”  “Leap” means to jump over.  In ordinary years, days move forward only one day, but in leap years, in the months following February, they leap ahead two days.  Thus, if March 1 falls on a Tuesday one year, it will fall on a Wednesday the following year.  In a “leap year,” however, it will leap over Wednesday and fall on a Thursday.  According to the Gregorian calendar (instituted by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, and used in most countries around the world today), in the case of centenary years (whose numbers end with two zeros), only those years that are divisible by 400 become leap years.  This year, 2006, is not a leap year, so February has its normal 28 days.

06/03/01  Shakespeare/Playwright  (Timely Words 0921)

One of the significant characteristics of this Christian retirement community is the amazing breadth and depth of talents and expertise of its residents who have served in various capacities in many countries around the world.  This is obvious both in the personal conversations we have with those residents who happen to sit at the same table in the Dining Hall and in the lectures we hear in more formal settings.  At the meetings of the Symposium on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday afternoons of a month, one of the residents delivers a lecture, sharing the result of his/her research on a pertinent theme.  At a recent Symposium, the lecturer was a retired professor of English Literature, who specialized in Shakespeare’s dramas.  William Shakespeare is considered the greatest playwright.  (When many people hear this word, they think it is spelled p-l-a-y-w-r-i-t-e because it denotes the “writer” of a play.  However, “wright,” spelled w-r-i-g-h-t, signifies “a person who constructs something.”  Thus, even as a “shipwright” is a carpenter employed in the construction of ships, a “playwright” is a person who writes plays.)  In case you have difficulty remembering how to spell the name of this great playwright, you need not feel bad.  It is said that that name has been spelled over forty different ways.  The theme of the Symposium lecture was “King Lear,” a tragedy written in 1605.  We were introduced to the various characters in this drama, each with a different character, and to the overall plot, but I consider the following quotation a good one to remember: “Have more than thou showest, Speak less than thou knowest, Lend less than thou owest.”

06/03/04  Seasons  (Timely Words 0922)

In some tropical areas of the world, the seasons of the year are divided into dry and rainy seasons, but in most temperate areas, four seasons are usually recognized: spring, summer, autumn and winter.  These seasons are divided by the natural movements related to the earth and the sun: equinoxes (when the day and night are about equal) and solstices (when the sun seems to stand still and the days lengthen or shorten).  Equinoxes occur in the middle of March and September; solstices occur in the middle of June and December.  In old Japanese tradition, following the Chinese tradition, a year was divided into 24 seasons.  These seasons are now not synchronized with the present calendar, but in some agricultural regions, they are still recognized.  According to that old, 24 seasonal calendar, spring begins (risshun) the first part of February followed by a season of “rain water” (usui), when water from snow becomes water from rain.  The third season, which begins about the 6th of March, called keichitsu (literally referring to the “opening” of what was “hidden” or “concealed”), is considered the season when insects come out of hibernation and again become active.  We usually consider “hibernation” (the dormant state of some living creatures during winter) to be limited to mammals, but alert people will recognize the appearance of insects they have not seen for some time at this time of year. In this retirement community in northeastern Florida, I have seen a number of wasps recently.  Please note, that I wrote “wasp” in small letters.  When written in capital letters, WASP denotes the White Anglo-Saxon Protestants that used to be the dominant class in the United States of America.

06/03/09  Forty Days of Lent  (Timely Words 0923)

The French poet, novelist and politician, Victor Hugo, wrote: “Forty is the old age of youth; fifty is the youth of old age.”  About one century later, Walter Pitkin, an American writer, wrote a book entitled Life Begins at Forty, which stimulated considerable attention and that title has become a common cliché for many persons in their forties.  In the Bible, the number 40 is used so often in so many different settings that many readers or commentators consider it a special number with a special symbolic meaning.  Moses was on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights (Exodus 24:18).  The Israelites wandered for 40 years in the desert (Deuteronomy 2:7).  Elijah, the prophet, traveled 40 days and 40 nights to Horeb, the mountain of God (I Kings 19:8).  The rain of the great flood fell for 40 days with another 40 days passing before Noah opened the ark (Genesis 7:12; 8:6).  The city of Nineveh had 40 days to repent (Jonah 3:4).  Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights in the desert (Matthew 4:2) and appeared to his disciples for a period of 40 days after his resurrection (Acts 1:3).  More than 40 men were involved in a plot to kill the Apostle Paul before he was taken to Rome (Acts 23:13).  In the Christian Church calendar, the 40 weekdays before Easter Sunday, called Lent, are a time of quiet meditation, self-examination and penitence.  For some Christians, it is a time of fasting and abstinence as they consider the meaning of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.  This year, the season of Lent began on March 1st.  “Lent” is the old English word for “spring,” for at this season of the year, the days “lengthen.”

06/03/12  12, 13 and Superstition  (Timely Words 0924)

The previous message was related to the number 40.  Today’s message is related to the numbers 12 and 13.  Some people in the West consider 12 a perfect number.  There are 12 months in a year, 12 hours in a day, 12 inches in a foot and, in old English currency, there were 12 pence in a shilling.  There are also 12 tribes of Israel in the Old Testament, 12 disciples of Jesus in the New Testament and 12 signs in the Zodiac.  There is even a separate word (“dozen”) for 12.  Some superstitious people consider 13 an unlucky number.  There are various reasons for this, one of which is because it follows the “perfect” number 12.  A more relevant reason, however, is because there were 13 men present at the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples.  During that supper, Jesus predicted that one of his disciples would betray him and that is what happened (according to the Gospel of John, chapter 13, verses 2, 21-30 and chapter 18, verses 1-12).  “Superstition” denotes a belief that is based on ignorance or irrationality.  There are many kinds of superstitions that have been handed down from generation to generation without a reasonable basis.  How to distinguish superstition from a reasonable faith, however, depends on the viewpoint or presuppositions of the viewer.  What some people consider superstition, others would consider common sense or, simply, tradition.  A healthy faith is not expressed in how one views numbers or in performing certain rituals but in one’s basic attitude toward others, one’s priorities and one’s activities in daily life.

06/03/15  Green/St. Patrick’s Day  (Timely Words 0925)

An emerald is a bright-green, transparent precious stone and the island west of England has been called the “Emerald Isle” because of its bright green vegetation.  It is also known as Eire or Ireland.  The patron saint of Ireland is St. Patrick, whose feast day is March 17.  Every year on this day, people of Irish lineage, along with friends and neighbors they have influenced, include something green in their clothing or decorations.  On St. Patrick’s Day, the biggest annual parade in New York City is held as over 100,000 people walk along Fifth Avenue in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.  There are many terms in English that begin with “green.”  A “greenhorn” is an inexperienced person.  A “greenhouse” is a glass-enclosed structure used for cultivating plants that require controlled temperature and humidity.  A person who seems to have a knack for making plants grow well may be said to have a “green thumb,” and the person who has been given permission to proceed may be said to have been given a “green light.”  The paper currency used in the United States of America may be called “greenbacks,” but a person who is jealous may be said to be  “green-eyed.”  In the old English saying that “the moon is made of green cheese,” “green” does not refer to the color but to cheese that is new and has not had time to age properly in the earliest days of cheese making. Such new cheese often resembled the moon in shape and coloring.  One of the most well-known passages in the Bible is the 23rd Psalm, which begins with the words “The Lord is my shepherd” and includes the statement that “He makes me lie down in green pastures.”

06/03/19  Vernal Equinox Day  (Timely Words 0926)

In our home, we have a number of picture calendars hanging on the walls of different rooms.  Some calendars were sent from Japan and others were made in the U. S. A.  Consequently, the red-letter days signifying holidays and the data written on certain dates is different, depending on the calendar.  For example, on the March 2006 calendars from Japan, March 21st is a red-letter holiday called “Shunbun no Hi,” meaning “Vernal Equinox Day” or “First Day of Spring.”  On American calendars, however, March 20th, is a black-letter day, on which it is written “Spring Begins,” “First Day of Spring” or “Vernal Equinox.”  March 21 is a national holiday in Japan, marking the beginning of Spring, but the equinox, when the lengths of day and night are equal, may occur on the 20th or the 21st.  In Japanese tradition, the equinox is the middle of a week when departed ancestors are remembered by various customs and rituals because on that day, the sun seems to set directly in the west (the direction of the heavenly paradise according to Buddhist belief).  That week is called “Higan” (“yonder shore” where departed spirits reside in contrast to “Shigan,” “this shore,” the land of the living).  A Japanese calendar indicates that March 18 is the beginning of “Higan.”  This week, family graves will be visited, vegetables, fruits, noodles and other non-animal kinds of food will be offered at the family altar before which a Buddhist priest will chant a sutra.  From my perspective (faith), however, if departed spirits are really aware of the actions of those still living, they will find greater satisfaction and enjoyment in seeing loving, merciful, honest, helpful, ethical behavior in daily life than in periodic rituals.

06/03/22  Patrick Henry  (Timely Words 0927)

During my years of service in Japan, I tried to follow Japanese customs insofar as I was able—one of which was to write my name in the normal Japanese order of surname followed by given name rather than the reverse order common among Westerners.  This often caused confusion, since my given name, Clark, was the surname of a famous educator from the U. S. A. who had taught in Japan a century before.  Consequently, many people thought that Clark was my surname.  There are a number of names of Americans that can be used both as surnames and given names.  One well-known example is that of Patrick Henry, who gave a speech in the Colony of Virginia 231 years ago, on March 23, 1775, the final words of which have become one of the most memorable phrases in American history.  Patrick Henry had little formal education, had failed twice as a storekeeper and once as a farmer before becoming a lawyer, but his courtroom oratory as a trial lawyer soon won him a wide reputation and an impressive practice in Virginia.  At the age of 29, he was elected to the Virginia legislature and became a delegate to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia.  His speech as a member of the provincial assembly of Virginia was given less than one month before the war with Great Britain began.  It was in support of the proposition he had introduced to have a militia organized for the defense of the colony in case a war with Great Britain should occur.  It ended with these words, the final ten of which have become famous: “Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?  Forbid it, Almighty God!  I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.”

06/03/26  Maryland  (Timely Words 0928)

Three months ago, during the Christmas season, I composed a message entitled “Mary/Marry/Merry” and this message could be entitled “Merry Maryland.”  Maryland is the name of one of the United States of America, one of the original 13 colonies, the 7th state to enter the Union.  March 25th is a legal holiday in that state, commemorating the arrival of its first colonists in 1634.  Lord Baltimore, who had been appointed proprietor over the colony by the king, named this colony after Henrietta Maria, the Roman Catholic queen consort of the Protestant King, Charles I.  Lord Baltimore, a leader in the colonization of America, had received a grant of part of Newfoundland, now a province on the eastern coast of Canada, but the climate of a southern colony was more attractive to him.  As a convert to the Roman Catholic Church, he envisioned Maryland as a refuge for his coreligionists who suffered much in Anglican England.   His son, the second Lord Baltimore, recruited some 200 men and women who sailed from England.  A month after their arrival in the “new world,” they held a thanksgiving service on March 25, 1634, erected a cross and established the town of St. Mary’s as the capital of the colony.  Since the number of Protestant residents outnumbered the Roman Catholics, however, Lord Baltimore persuaded the Protestant governor and the legislature to pass an “act concerning religion,” which granted religious liberty to all who affirmed a belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ, a limited but significant step forward in 1649.  The city of Baltimore is now the largest city in the state and the present capital, Annapolis, meaning “City of Anna,” was named in honor of Princess Anne.

06/03/29  College of Cardinals  (Timely Words 0929)

The word “college,” derived from a Latin word meaning “association,” is used in a number of different ways.  It is most commonly used for a school of higher learning that grants a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts or science or both.  It may denote a particular division within a university or a technical or professional school; but it may also designate simply an assembly of persons having a common purpose or common duties, such as a “college of surgeons.”  It is used in a very special sense, however, in the Roman Catholic Church for a body of priests, bishops or archbishops who have been chosen by the pope and whose authority is surpassed only by the pope, whose title is derived from “papa,” or “father.”  The College of Cardinals is the body that elects the pope and also serves as a council with which the pope may confer as needed.  “Cardinal” may also denote a red color and the distinguishing characteristic of the Roman Catholic cardinals is the red cap and gown that they wear.  A recent news article focused on the ceremony in which the pope welcomed fifteen new cardinals into this College.  For centuries, the maximum number of cardinals was set at 70, but now, there are 193, including the newcomers.  Only those under the age of 80, however, are eligible to vote.  Of the 120 who meet this condition, 60 are from Europe, 20 from Latin America, 16 from North America, 13 from Asia, 9 from Africa and two from Oceania.  Thus, it is obvious that while the Western influence continues to be strong, other areas of the world are recognized by this part of the Christian Church, which is reported to have one billion members.

06/04/01  April Birthdays  (Timely Words 0930)

April, the name of the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar, probably is derived from a Latin word meaning “to open.”  It is the time of year when the buds of trees and flowers blossom, or open.  In Japan, it is the beginning of a new school year.  In Europe and America, the first day of April is recognized as April Fools’ Day, when practical jokes are played on relatives and friends.  My father’s birthday was on April 2nd and he was thankful he was not born a day earlier.  A man who was one of my childhood friends, however, who became the husband of my younger sister and the mayor of my hometown, was born on the first day of April, so every year, his birthday is celebrated on April Fools’ Day.  Others who have birthdays this month include four men who served as president of the United States. Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd president, wrote the Declaration of Independence, beginning with these words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” James Monroe, the 5th president, issued the “Monroe Doctrine,” which opposed the influence of European countries in the affairs of the Western hemisphere.  James Buchanan, the 15th president’s ineffective attempts to mediate the conflict between slaveholders and abolitionists paved the way for the election of Abraham Lincoln.  Ulysses Grant, the 18th president, was an effective general of the Union forces during the Civil War and followed the successor of Abraham Lincoln to the White House.

06/04/04  National Flags  (Timely Words 0931)

The first national flag for the United States of America was approved by the Continental Congress in 1777.  It consisted of 13 alternate red and white horizontal stripes and a blue rectangle with 13 white stars in a circle in the upper corner symbolizing the 13 original colonies.  Following the admission of two more states, two additional stripes and stars were added, but on April 4, 1818, after five more states had joined the Union, President James Monroe signed a congressional bill providing that the flag be redesigned.  As a result, the number of stripes were reduced to the original 13 and the number of stars were increased to 20.  Since then, another star was added for every new state.  The last year the flag was changed was 1959, when Alaska and Hawaii became states.  The 49 stars were arranged in 7 rows of 7 stars each, with alternate rows indented, and the present flag has 5 rows of 6 stars each and 4 rows of 5 stars each, for a total of 50 stars.  The national flag of Japan (or “Nippon,” meaning “origin of the sun”) consists of a red disc in the center of a white background.  The diameter of the disc should equal three-fifths of the vertical measurement of the flag.  This symbol of the sun was originally adopted by the Tokugawa government in 1854 to be used on flags for Japan’s ships, to distinguish them from foreign ships, but it was not until August 1999 that this flag was officially designated as the national flag of Japan in the National Flag and Anthem Law that also designated “Kimigayo” (“your [long] life”) as the national anthem.  It is well for citizens to consider the meaning of their national flags and anthems.

06/04/08  Greenland  (Timely Words 0932)

Looking at a world map, it is interesting to imagine the reasons for the names given to certain units we see there.  For example, a number of different colors are found in names of bodies of water, including the Black Sea, the Yellow Sea and the Red Sea.  Can you imagine why?  The Red Sea evidently was so named because of the reddish algae that appear in it at certain times of the year and I presume that there is a connection between the color of the water and the names of the other seas also.  I do not know the reasons for the names of countries that end in “land,” such as Ireland, England, Finland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Poland, Thailand and New Zealand,  but there is an obvious reason for the name of the island in the North Atlantic Ocean called Iceland.  In the case of the world’s largest island, called Greenland, however, this is not so.  Located north of Canada and, geologically, a part of North America, on most of the island called Greenland (over 2,600 kilometers long and about 1,300 kilometers wide), there is very little greenery to be seen.  Over 80 percent of the island is covered by an icecap, which in some places is over 4,000 meters thick.  The estimated population of Greenland is 57,000, which gives it a density of less than one person per square mile, compared to 80 persons in the U. S. A. and 870 persons in Japan.  This island, a territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, was discovered around 982 by a Norseman named Eric the Red and the reason he named it “Greenland” was in order to make it seem attractive to potential settlers. Today also, there are reasons why certain names are chosen for people, places or products and we should consider the reasons for the names or nicknames we are called.

06/04/11  Last Supper Tableau  (Timely Words 0933)

For people who eat their main meal, or “dinner,” at noontime, the light evening meal is called “supper.”  If we “dine’ at noontime, we “sup” in the evening.  Since we do not know the future, we cannot predict when we will partake of our “last supper,” but when this term is written with capital letters, it denotes the last supper that Jesus ate with his disciples.  In the Christian Church calendar, this week before Easter, beginning with “Palm Sunday,” is called “Holy Week” and special events that occurred during that week in Jesus’ life are remembered.  On Thursday of Holy Week, our attention is focused on Jesus’ last supper with his twelve disciples (recorded in the Gospel according to Mark, chapter 14, verses 22-25).  The traditional name for this day is “Maundy Thursday.”  “Maundy” is derived from the Latin word for “commandment,” the first word of an antiphon previously sung on that day during the ritual of the washing of the feet, which Jesus commanded according to chapter 13 of the Gospel according to John.   It was at that “Last Supper” that Jesus took bread and wine, representing his body and blood, and shared them with his disciples.  This is the origin of the central ritual of the Christian Church, whether called Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist. The famous painting of this Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci is the basis of the tableau, which will be presented at the Maundy Thursday meeting at the church in this retirement community.  Some residents with beards were invited to participate and will be gowned in appropriate robes.  I will be seated next to Jesus, representing St. James.

06/04/14  Crucifixion and Resurrection  (Timely Words 0934)

Friday of this “Holy Week” is the day Christians commemorate the execution of Jesus on a cross, which has become a symbol of Christianity.  Then, on Easter Sunday, they celebrate his resurrection, the token of new life.  Because of the cruel and repulsive image of the cross, Christians at first hesitated to depict the suffering of Jesus on the cross.  The German poet, Johann Goethe, called “the dismal cross of Calvary, the most repulsive thing under the sun.”  And D. T. Suzuki, a prominent Zen Buddhist wrote: “Whenever I see a crucified figure of Christ, I cannot help thinking of the gap that lies deep between Christianity and Buddhism.” These quotations come from the book, On Being a Christian, by a Roman Catholic theologian, Hans Kung.  “To no one—not to Jew, Greek or Roman—would it have occurred to link a positive, religious meaning with this outlaw’s gibbet.  The cross of Jesus was bound to strike an educated Greek as barbaric folly, a Roman citizen as sheer disgrace and a devout Jew as God’s curse.  And it is this infamous stake which now appears in a completely different light.  What was inconceivable for anyone at that time is achieved by faith in the still living Crucified: the sign of disgrace appears as a sign of victory.  This disgraceful death of slaves and rebels can now be understood as a salvific death of redemption and liberation.”  “The offense, the sheer scandal, was turned into an amazing experience of salvation, the way of the cross into a possible way of life.” The significance of the cross followed by the resurrection is the basic element of the Christian faith.

06/04/20  Easter Sunrise Service  (Timely Words 0935)

In the springtime, as daylight hours lengthen in the northern hemisphere, there are a number of festive activities, or festivities, for people to enjoy.  The most important festival in the Christian Church is Easter, when the resurrection of Christ is celebrated.  In one sense, however, Christians celebrate Christ’s resurrection every week when they gather to worship on Sunday, for it was to remember his resurrection that the holy day of rest was changed from the seventh day in Jewish tradition to the first day for Christians. The concluding chapters of each of the four Gospels note that it was on “the first day of the week” that Jesus’ followers came to his tomb and found it empty. Over two hundred years later, a church council, following complicated deliberations related to the adjustment required to harmonize the Jewish lunar calendar and the Christian solar calendar, decided on the date to celebrate the resurrection. As a result, Easter is observed on the first Sunday following the full moon that occurs on or next after March 21.  This year, that day was April 16.  In many communities around the world, a sunrise service is held outdoors on Easter Sunday for members of all churches to attend.  It was “very early, just after sunrise” (Mark 16:2), “at dawn” (Matthew 28:1), that Jesus’ tomb was visited and sunrise symbolizes a new beginning, which is implied in the resurrection story.  While in Japan, our church was one of four churches in the area that gathered together on Easter Sunday in a public park at 6:30 a.m.  On the first day of this week, we attended the sunrise service in our retirement community that began at 7 o’clock.

06/04/24  Oklahoma  (Timely Words 0936)

At the present time, one of the main issues highlighted in newspapers, on radio and television, and in the political arena in this country is related to  “immigration” and “immigrants.”  The focus is on the large number of Hispanics (speakers of Spanish or Portuguese) who have crossed the boundary with Mexico illegally and are now living and working in the U. S. A.  But if we honestly look back on American history, we must recognize that the problem of “immigration” is as old as the country itself and is related to the most shameful acts in our nation’s history.  It was our European ancestors who were the original “immigrants,” who mistreated the native people in this land and forced them to relocate.  Native American tribes in the southeast were forced to move to the “barren wilderness” west of the Mississippi River.  Part of this area became known as “Oklahoma,” from the Choctaw language, meaning “red people.”  In the harsh winter months of 1838-1839, some 17,000 Native Americans were forced to move about 1600 kilometers on foot to the Indian Territory now called Oklahoma.  About one-fourth of the Native Americans died on the way.  On April 22, 1889, the territory was opened up for “white” settlers and a frantic rush to gain land occurred.  Now, April 22nd is a legal holiday in the state of Oklahoma called Oklahoma Day and parades, speeches and numerous ceremonies are held in various parts of the state.  Oklahoma became the 46th state in 1907.  After that, only four states have entered the Union: New Mexico and Arizona in 1912 and Alaska and Hawaii in 1959.  As we look back on our history, whether national, cultural, religious or personal, we should learn from it and improve.

06/04/28  Green(ery) Day  (Timely Words 0937)

We have a number of different calendars in our house.  On most of them, Sunday, the first day of the week, is a red-letter day, a holiday when most schools, government offices and businesses are closed.  On some of our calendars, however, Saturday, April 29th, is a red-letter day, signifying a national holiday in Japan.  Although it is a red-letter day, it is called “Green Day,” or “Greenery Day.”  It was on that day in 1901 that the longest reigning emperor of Japan was born.  Following the death of his father in 1926,  Hirohito became emperor and reigned until his death in 1989.  While he was alive, his birthday was a national holiday, and the government decided to continue the holiday following his death.  It is now called “Midori no Hi” in keeping with Emperor Hirohito’s interest in greenery and emphasizing the preservation of Japan’s greenery.  In a previous message (#946), I noted a number of terms that begin with the word “green,” including “greenhouse,” “green thumb,” “green light,” “greenback” and “green-eyed.”  There are still other words beginning with “green,” including plants (“green bean,” “green dragon,” “green heart”), insects (“greenfly”), animals (“green snake,” “green monkey,” “green turtle”) and birds (“green finch”).  A “greenhorn,” however, is an inexperienced or immature person and “green tea” is the tea commonly served in Japan which my wife and I enjoyed and which we miss on social occasions in this country.  Considering the future of the world, it is advisable to preserve as much of the greenery as we are able.

06/05/01  Messages: Old and New  (Timely Words 0938)

On January 1, 1979, I began transmitting daily messages from the telephone in our church in the Japanese city of Takahama.  Called “Kyou no messe-ji” (“Today’s Message”), these Bible-based messages continued until May 31, 1998.  In December 1994, a book entitled “Kokoro no Sanpomichi” (“Pathway for the Heart”), which included a message chosen by church members for every day of the year, was published by Kirisuto Shinbunsha.  On September 1, 1980, I began transmitting a daily message in English called “Daily Word” from our home in Nagoya.  Eventually taken over by NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone), which put it on the Internet, that service continued until February 28, 1999.  Following my return to the United States, in response to the entreaty of former “Daily Word” listeners, I began a similar service called “Timely Words” in September of that year to which new messages were added three times a week. For over a year, a special committee has been actively involved in making a permanent repository for these messages, which now has been made available to all who are interested.  The address is: www.biwa.ne.jp/%7Esyobo/index3.html.  There, my “Daily Word” messages from 93/03/01 (#4100) to 99/02/28 (#6290) can be viewed according to date, number or title.  Past and present “Timely Words” messages are also available on that site.  Comments as well as corrections may be made by writiing in the Guestbook or by mail to the staff or to me.  Also, I request those readers who desire to hear “voiced messages” to please notify the staff or me.

06/05/04  June Plans  (Timely Words 0939)

According to one theory, the names of the months of May and June are derived from Latin words for “elders” and “youths,” but months cannot be limited to certain age groups.  In Japan, this first week in May is considered a “golden week” because of the numerous special days it includes: Greenery Day on April 29, May Day on May 1, Constitution Memorial Day on May 3 and Children’s Day on May 5.  When a school year begins and ends depends upon the country and the particular school involved.  In the United States of America, school years have traditionally begun in September and ended in June, and although some schools have altered their schedules, June continues to be the month when most graduation ceremonies are held.  The Nagoya International School in Japan, which is accredited by an American Association of Schools and Colleges, follows the American schedule and will hold its graduation ceremony on the afternoon of Sunday, June 4th this year.  Since a granddaughter of ours is in the graduating class, my wife and I are planning to attend that ceremony.  Last year, we attended the graduation ceremony as guests of the school, which was celebrating its 40th anniversary, but this year we will attend as grandparents.  While we are in the area, we plan to visit churches and other organizations that we have been related to.  We look forward to meeting former listeners to the “Daily Word” telephone messages on Saturday afternoon, June 10th at the Josei Kaikan in Nagoya.

06/05/07  Names of Months  (Timely Words 0940)

In the calendars now used in most countries in the world, a year is divided into twelve months, each of which has a separate name.  It is easy to remember the names of the months in modern Japanese because they are composed simply of a number plus the Japanese word for “month.”  Thus, the Japanese name for May is “go-gatsu,” or “5th month,” and for June is “roku-gatsu,” or “6th month.”  In traditional Japanese, however, each month had a name related to natural or cultural characteristics of that time of year.  The traditional name for the 5th month (satsuki) may be derived from words meaning “planting month” and the name for the 6th month (minazuki) may be rooted in words meaning “planting ended month.”  The English names of months also have interesting theories regarding their derivations.  One theory related to the names of May and June was noted in the previous message, but another theory is that the names of both of these months were derived from the names of a couple of mythological goddesses. Maia was the wife of Zeus the mother of Hermes, or Mercury, and Juno was the wife of Jupiter and the guardian of all women.  Whichever theory is correct, at the present time, both May and June are considered feminine names.  Checking over the list of residents in this retirement community, I find that of the 337 women residing here, there are three named June and one named Mae.  Japanese names are much more meaningful than English names, but all of us demonstrate the significance of our names in the way we live.

06/05/12  Florence Nightingale  (Timely Words 0941)

The meaning of Japanese names is usually very clear and often the reason for giving a child that name may be explained.  In Western languages, however, the meaning of names and the reason for them is often very unclear, but Florence Nightingale is an exception.  “Nightingale,” meaning “night singing,” is the name of a beautiful bird that sings at night and “Florence,” derived from “flower,” is the name of the Italian city where Florence Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820.  Resisting the pressure of her upper-class British parents, she felt called  by God to attend to the needs of suffering people.  At that time, hospitals were shabby, patients were neglected and nursing was considered a disreputable calling.  With deep resolve, Florence aimed to improve the conditions of hospitals and to make nursing an honorable occupation for women.  Appointed by the British Secretary of War to oversee the treatment of wounded soldiers in the Crimean Peninsula during the Crimean War, she led a team of nurses to establish a new type of hospital there that changed the general concept of hospitals and nursing from that time on.  Florence Nightingale’s name has become a stimulating ideal of the nursing profession.  In 1910, she became the first woman to receive the British Order of Merit and many hospitals in the United States of America are celebrating National Hospital Week this week “to focus attention on the work that hospitals are performing.”  Florence Nightingale has provided us all with a good example of what a dedicated woman with a strong resolve can accomplish.

06/05/15  Flower Festivals  (Timely Words 0942)

In 1912, the city of Tokyo made a gift of 3000 cherry trees to the city of Washington, D.C.  Since 1927, a National Cherry Blossom Festival, emphasizing the friendship between the U. S. A. and Japan, has been held for six days when the cherry blossoms are in bloom.  Also in 1927, a high school biology teacher in Holland, Michigan suggested that tulips be planted to beautify the city, which had been settled by a group of Dutch settlers in 1847.  (“Holland” is often used for the entire country of the Netherlands, but actually it is the name of only a part of it.)  The year after the suggestion was made, 100,000 tulip bulbs were planted with the enthusiastic support of city residents.  More tulips were planted the following year and since then a Tulip Time Festival has been held annually which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors.  The festival lasts for four days beginning on the Wednesday nearest May 15.  On that Wednesday, the mayor and town council examine the streets, find them dirty and order them scrubbed.  Then hundreds of residents in Dutch costumes appear with brushes, brooms and water.  Following the scrubbing, a parade begins, which includes bands and floats.  A highlight of the festival is the performance by hundreds of girl dancers who have practiced Dutch folk dances under the direction of their high school gym teachers, and on Saturday morning, a Tulip Time Baton Twirling Contest is held to select a national champion from among contestants who have come from many other states.  Let us be thankful for pretty flowers and consider how and why they developed.

06/05/18  Mayflowers  (Timely Words 0943)

There are a number of flowers that bloom in this month of May that may be called “mayflowers,” but the particular flowers so denoted are different in England and the United States of America.   As a proper noun, however, “Mayflower” has a special significance in those two countries, for that was the name of the boat that brought the Pilgrims from England to New England in 1620.  This group of 102 Englishmen and English women were opposed to the ecclesiastical supremacy of the king and wished to establish a separate church.  The Mayflower left Plymouth, England on September 16 and arrived on the coast of Massachusetts on December 26, in the midst of an extremely cold winter, during which half of the passengers died.  Before their arrival, while still on the ship, the “Mayflower Compact,” which provided for a temporary government to frame just and equal laws for the general good of the new Plymouth Colony by the will of the majority, was agreed upon.  This compact established an important example and precedent for subsequent American governments.  But religious and political independence was not the only concept brought to the “New World” from England.  According to an American author, James Grover Thurber, “Humor is the other side of tragedy.  Humor is a serious thing.  I like to think of it as one of our greatest and earliest natural resources which must be preserved at all costs.  It came over on the Mayflower and we should have it, all of it.”  A sense of humor helps us view people and things in a healthy perspective.

06/05/21  Lindbergh’s Flight to Paris  (Timely Words 0944)

The names of a number of well-known cities end with a term that originally denoted a fortified or walled city, but some of them are spelled differently.  St. Petersburg is a city in Russia, Salzburg is in Austria and Johannesburg is in South Africa.  Pittsburgh is in the American state of Pennsylvania, of which Harrisburg is the capital and Wittenberg is in Germany.  Lindbergh, however, is not the name of a city.  It is the family name of a famous aviator, the first person to fly alone over the Atlantic Ocean.  Charles Lindbergh, born in Detroit, Michigan in 1902, became interested in flying while in university and became an airmail pilot in 1926.  When a French-American philanthropist offered a prize for a nonstop flight to Paris, Lindbergh supervised the construction of a custom-designed monoplane, which he flew from San Diego to New York via St. Louis in a record-breaking 21 hours and 20 minutes.  On May 20, 1927, 79 years ago this week, Charles Lindbergh flew the 5,808 kilometers from New York to Paris nonstop in 331/2 hours and won a $25,000 prize offered for the first successful  flight of that kind.  This handsome and quiet American caught the imagination of millions of people around the world, but in a French city, he escaped being mobbed by wildly cheering crowds when they mistakenly carried off someone else.  Later, Charles Lindbergh wrote these meaningful words: “Now at the first half-century of engine-driven flight, we are confronted with the stark fact that the historical significance of aircraft has been primarily military and destructive.”

06/05/22  Trips  (Timely Words 0945)

Depending on both its meaning and context, the word “trip” may have either a very enjoyable or very painful implication.  A number of residents in this retirement community have had to go to a hospital for surgery after tripping and breaking some bones.  Others have many joyful stories to tell of the trips they have taken to many different parts of the world.  My wife and I are scheduled to begin a trip to Japan next week, the fourth such trip since we “retired” in 1999.  Previous trips were related to church or school activities, but the primary purpose of this trip is to attend the graduation ceremony of our granddaughter at the Nagoya International School on Sunday afternoon, June 4th.  We attended the graduation ceremony of her elder sister here in Florida two years ago.  We are planning to bring back our 8-year-old grandson to spend a couple of weeks with us until his parents and sister arrive.  On Saturday afternoon, June 10th, there will be a meeting of former listeners to my “Daily Word” telephone service at the Nagoya Josei Kaikan.  On the following two Sunday mornings, I am scheduled to preach at the Kirisuto Kodo Kyokai churches I served in the cities of Takahama and Kariya.  My wife and I are looking forward to meeting old friends we have not seen for a long time.  Readers of this message are invited to attend any of these meetings.  While we are on this trip, we will try not to trip, but I will recall the words of a Greek philosopher over 2000 years ago: “Better to trip with the feet than with the tongue.

06/05/24  Fences and Walls  (Timely Words 0946)

Having lived most of my life in Japan, I am very conscious of differences between the traditions, customs and viewpoints of people of different cultures.  Whether to emphasize the differences or to seek to amalgamate them into a unified whole depends on the aims and natural inclinations of those involved.  Some years ago, a poem by Robert Frost, an American poet, deeply impressed me and I have often quoted it on various occasions. Entitled “Mending a Wall,” it includes these words as its theme: “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, that wants it down.”  The poem, however, includes another perspective, affirming that “Good fences make good neighbours.”  I thought of this poem as I entered East Berlin with my family when a great wall separated East and West Germany.  As Israel has moved to grant more authority to the Arabs, it has also erected fences or walls to make it more difficult to slip across the border between the two countries.  And one of the major problems facing the government of the United States of America at the present time is how to better control the illegal entrance of immigrants who cross the border from Mexico. There are plans to erect a fence or wall along the border between the two countries and how the candidates for Congress in the national election to be held this fall respond to such plans will affect the result.  Although fences and walls are needed in certain situations and some politicians and religionists emphasize irreconcilable differences, personally, I believe it is better to recognize the basic unity of all human beings.

06/05/28  Alligators and Crocodiles  (Timely Words 0947)

While preparing to move from Japan to Florida, some people informed us that from that time on we would be experiencing hurricanes instead of typhoons.  Now, we are preparing for the hurricane season, which begins on June 1st.  But there is another peculiar danger for certain Florida residents and visitors beside the weather.  People who swim in the ocean off the coast of Florida must be careful that there are no sharks in the area.  These large fish sometimes attack swimmers and wound them with their sharp teeth.  Recent newspaper articles indicate that it is not only these large fish that can be dangerous.  In certain areas, large reptiles must also be avoided.  The only times I have seen alligators or crocodiles have been in a zoo or in the Alligator Farm in the nearby city of St. Augustine.  Crocodiles are usually longer than alligators, between 4 and 6 meters long.  Alligators have broader, blunter snouts, which give their heads a triangular appearance.  Also, the lower fourth tooth of the crocodile protrudes when the mouth is closed, but this is not so for alligators.  So far this year, three women have been killed by alligators and certain beaches have been closed for a period.  According to the wildlife commission, from 2001 until 2005, there have been 57 gator attacks in the state, seven of which were fatal.  Although there is a swimming pool in our community, at the present time my wife and I do not go swimming—either there or in the ocean, but that may change when we bring back with us our 8-year-old grandson from Japan.

06/06/02  Concert on the Green  (Timely Words 0948)

In certain previous messages, I noted words or expressions related to the word “green.”  For the past 17 years, a “Concert on the Green” has been presented in this Clay County in the state of Florida.  A “concert” is a musical performance given by singers or instrumentalists, but where do you suppose the “Concert on the Green” is presented?  One meaning of “green,” which I did not mention previously, is that special grassy area around the holes on a golf course into which golfers try to hit their golf balls.  The “Concert on the Green” is held annually on the last Sunday evening of May on a beautiful golf course not far from our retirement community.  At this concert, the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra performs outdoors under a large tent.  Local artists, including recent winners of music contests and scholarships by high school students, also play before the orchestra begins.  Those in attendance may sit on the ground or on folding chairs and just before the orchestra begins playing, their attention is directed skyward to skydivers who jump from an airplane and maneuver their colorful parachutes to a landing right in front of the orchestra.  My wife and I have attended this Concert on the Green regularly, but this year was the first year it began to rain before the concert began.  Despite the light rain, which did not continue for long, the concert was delightful as usual.  This coming weekend, we hope to see and hear the outstanding Japanese violinist who recently played with the Jacksonville Orchestra (who I talked with afterward) who will play with the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra at the Aichi Geijutsu Gekijo on Friday and Saturday.

06/06/04  Patients and Patience  (Timely Words 0949)

Recently, the following quotation appeared in our retirement community’s monthly publication: “I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”  Not long after that was published, a member of our community said to me, “Our community needs more “payshuns.”  As my response, I said, “Please spell that word so I can understand the meaning.”  When spelled p-a-t-i-e-n-t-s, it denotes people who are receiving medical treatment from doctors or nurses.  When spelled p-a-t-i-e-n-c-e, it means the quality of remaining calm, even if we must wait a long time.  I thought of this distinction last week on our way from Penney Farms, Florida to Nagoya, Japan.  Looking over our flight schedule, I calculated that we spent about 17 hours in the air (2.5 hours from Jacksonville to Detroit, 13 hours from Detroit to Tokyo, 1.5 hours from Tokyo to Nagoya) and 8 hours waiting in airports.  Leaving our home at 5:30 a.m., we arrived in Nagoya about 25 hours later, pondering whether we had enough “patience” left to avoid becoming “patients.”  Fortunately, we were met at the Nagoya International Airport by our son, his wife and two children, so we went out to eat.  On Saturday, we attended the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra Concert and talked with the outstanding violin soloist I had met in Jacksonville previously, following a Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra concert.  On the subway, we were surprised to see the announcement that a certain subway car was reserved for women until 9 o’clock in the morning.  As a result, women are able to avoid the problems related to the overcrowded cars at that time of day.

06/06/07  A Sunday in Japan  (Timely Words 0950)

The two-storey house my wife and I are staying in here in Japan was built by our younger son while he taught fulltime at various universities.  We are using the room of his elder daughter who is now studying at the International University of Art and Design in Miami, Florida.  His 8-year-old son is an avid soccer player, who not only plays soccer at school, but is a member of a local community soccer team as well.  Early on the Sunday morning after we arrived, we watched him play and score a couple of points for his team on a soccer field near his home, after which we attended the worship service at a nearby church.  It was after lunch that we went to the Nagoya International School to attend the Graduation Ceremony, which was the main reason for our visit.  Our granddaughter was one of 18 graduates from seven different countries at the 39th Commencement of this school that my wife and I helped establish and which we and our children and grandchildren have been related to over the years.  As usual, the Nagoya City Fire Bureau Band played the national anthems of each of these countries whose national flags were displayed along with the flags of other countries represented in the student body.  Speeches were given by the class valedictorian and salutatorian and by a special speaker chosen by the class.  Although half of the graduates have Japanese citizenship, our granddaughter was the only one who wore a Japanese kimono under her graduation robe.  Following the ceremony, a festive reception was held at which light food and drinks were available as we met and talked with friends and teachers.

06/06/11  Art Forms  (Timely Words 0951)

Some very short English words have very long explanations or definitions.  One example is the word “art.”  In classical English, this was a form of the verb “be,” so it is often found in the King James Version of the Bible, following the noun “thou,” meaning “you.”  Even today, in some churches, classical English forms are used in prayers to God to indicate deep respect, so we may hear or read such sentences as: “Thou art the Lord.”  In modern English, the word may include many different kinds of activities or areas of interest.  Drawings, paintings and sculptures are considered works of art.  There is an Art Studio in our retirement community and many residents began creating works of art after their retirement.  Such works of art are displayed in various places in the community.  My wife has been attending classes in a little-known Japanese art form called “paintex,” in which colorful silk powder is carefully brushed onto the oil colors used for painting flowers on a special large white square card called “shikishi,” which is also made of silk.  She will be taking back both many tubes of silk powder and silk “shikishi” (which are not available in the U.S.A.) for members of the Paintex Class.  Music and drama are other forms of art, which we enjoy in our community.  The time we have spent in Japan makes clear to us the differences in art forms depending on the culture in which they are produced.  There are obvious differences in the music, drama and paintings produced in Japan and in the west and we consider Japanese children to have more artistic ability from an early age than children in the west.

06/06/14  Fellowship and Food  (Timely Words 0952)

This is the fourth time my wife and I have returned to Japan following our retirement in 1999.  Each visit had a particular purpose which was achieved, but along with the special aim of the visits, we always enjoy such secondary attractions as fellowship and food.  Last Saturday, the fellowship was with the 19 men and women who used to be regular listeners to my “Daily Word” telephone messages and attended the quarterly meetings of listeners.  Each one gave a short speech in English, telling of personal experiences since our last meeting.  Messages were also read from others who could not attend.  (Incidentally, for those who are interested, over 2000 “Daily Word” messages are now available at: www.biwa.ne.jp/~syobo/index3.html.)  On Sunday morning, my wife and I went to the town of Takahama to attend the church we established over 40 years ago.  Following the worship service, at which I preached in Japanese, we enjoyed talking and eating with those who attended.  Then, we went to the home of one of the members and continued to reminisce about the old times with a smaller group of members after which we went together to a traditional Japanese restaurant to enjoy a meal including many different types of crab meat.  On Monday evening, we went out with our son and family and his wife’s parents to a different kind of traditional Japanese restaurant and enjoyed different kinds of food, including raw fish.  At each of these restaurants, we took off our shoes, sat on the floor and were served exotic food in numerous fanciful dishes and having a separate heating device with a flame to heat the food for each one.  We have been enjoying both the fellowship and the food.

06/06/17  Immigration Problems  (Timely Words 0953)

Over the past fifty years, my wife and I have traveled in about fifty countries in all five continents.  Usually we have had very few problems in crossing international borders.  On two occasions, however, we encountered unexpected problems, one of which occurred when we entered Japan on our present visit.  According to our flight schedule, we entered the country at Tokyo and there we needed to board a different flight of the same airline a couple of hours later to fly to Nagoya.  Since we entered the country in Tokyo, we followed the crowd through the immigration procedures at that airport.  When we were about to board the plane for Nagoya, we were told that we should have waited to go through immigration at Nagoya and that the new stamps in our passports were mistaken, so we had to wait at the immigration offices at both airports for the corrections to be made.  On a previous visit to Japan, we stopped in Thailand to visit our daughter who is an editor there.  We went with her across the border into Burma for a couple of hours to shop and look around.  A few days later, when we were going through immigration procedures before boarding the plane for Tokyo, we were informed that our passports did not have a reentry stamp on them so we were in the country illegally.  The plane was ready to depart and was awaiting the two of us to board, but our passports were taken from us and we requested the airplane to wait a bit longer.  Finally, our passports were returned with a statement written in Thai, which made it possible for us to leave without spending the night in jail, so we, the flight attendants and the passengers were very happy.  (The next message will be related to ticket problems we experienced this time in Japan.)

06/06/22  Ticket Problems  (Timely Words 0954)

On our present visit to Japan, we do not have a car at our disposal, which is probably beneficial since, at our ages, it would be difficult to suddenly adjust to Japanese driving customs and rules.  In fact, we have found it a bit difficult to adjust to Japanese customs even when making use of public transportation.  On three occasions, we encountered “ticket problems.”  The first was related to boarding a bus.  The bus arrived at the bus stop before we did, but we signaled the driver and he waited until we ran to get on.  In Japanese busses, one boards at a side door and takes a ticket from an automatic dispenser at that door.  When my wife boarded, she was out of breath and thankful to have been able to board but neglected to take her ticket.  We had to explain this to the driver, who graciously made the necessary correction.  The second time was when we were going through the automatic wicket into a subway station.  When my wife went through, she inserted her ticket into the wicket but neglected to take it out after passing through.  I immediately followed her, but something happened to my ticket since hers had not been removed, so a subway attendant was called and tried various methods to find the “lost” tickets in the machine.  One was not found, but a new ticket was granted so we were permitted to enter.  Tickets for subways and trains are purchased at machines into which money is inserted.  When going to the city of Kariya, however, I purchased tickets to “Kariya,” but the correct station, “Kariya City,” was one station further.  So at that station, the automatic wicket did not permit us to go through until we had made an interphone call, checked another machine and found out that we owed more money.  After inserting that amount, we were able to exit.

06/06/25  Back Home  (Timely Words 0955)

It was early in the morning of Tuesday, May 30, that my wife and I were driven to the Jacksonville Airport by a friend to board an airplane for our flight to Detroit and then on to Tokyo and Nagoya.  There were no serious problems on those flights and we arrived as scheduled.  After a very enjoyable three weeks, during which we were deeply impressed with the number of stairs we climbed and descended in train and subway stations, which provided us with more exercise than we really needed.  We thoroughly enjoyed attending the graduation ceremony of our granddaughter, meeting old friends, including the readers of these messages, and serving at the churches and school that we helped to establish.  Early on the morning of Friday, June 23, our son drove us to the bus stop in Nagoya where we boarded a bus for the International Airport.  With us was our 8-year-old grandson we were taking to spend a couple of weeks in our retirement community until the arrival of his mother and sister.  However, at the airport, we failed to wait in the lobby to meet anyone who had discovered our unadvertised departure time and had come to see us off.  The 12-hour flight from Nagoya to Detroit was tiring and the 3-hour wait at Detroit was expected, but it was at Atlanta Airport that the frustration began when we rushed to board the 6:30 p.m. plane for Jacksonville.  We were told that, due to a mechanical problem, the flight might be delayed, but all passengers boarded for the takeoff.  Because the problem could not be immediately fixed, we had to disembark and wait in the airport for a replacement.  We were finally able to board one three hours later.  Fortunately, the man who had come to the Jacksonville Airport to meet us was awaiting our arrival and took us and our luggage to our home about midnight—28 hours after we had left our son’s home in Nagoya.

06/06/28  Reasons for Obesity  (Timely Words 0956)

During my recent three-week visit to Japan, there are a number of lasting impressions of the Japanese people I saw along the street, in churches, stores and restaurants, as well as on subways and trains.  I was amazed at the number of people of all ages who were making use of a cell phone with a hinged top to make or receive calls, view pictures or play games.  Since both our granddaughter, who just graduated from high school, and our 8-year-old grandson, who we brought back with us, have natural red hair like their father, I was surprised to see many young people who have dyed their black hair to make it more colorful.  Another impression is related to the physique of Japanese in comparison to that of Americans.  Although the bodies of Japanese in general continue to be shorter and more slender than Americans, from my perspective, they are getting taller and heavier than before, but I am glad that I saw very few Japanese who would be considered obese.  It is not surprising that the number of foreign sumo wrestlers continues to increase.  A recent article on the front page of the local newspaper in our area, entitled “Fat fact or fiction?  New views on obesity,” began with the question: “Why are so many people fat?”  According to the research conducted by the Obesity Society, it is not only diet and exercise that are important factors.  Included in the “Top Ten” list of alternative explanations are inadequate sleep, pleasant temperatures resulting from the use of air conditioners and heating devices and certain medicines that cause weight gain.  We should remember that “good health” involves not only a sound body but a sound mind and spirit as well that concentrates on what is wholesome.

06/07/01  Julius Caesar  (Timely Words 0957)

The calendar now being used in English-speaking countries is commonly called the Gregorian calendar, since it was promulgated by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582.  This new calendar eventually replaced the older calendar, known as the Julian calendar since it was instituted by Julius Caesar in 45 B.C.  In the ancient Roman calendar, the names of months were originally related to numbers, but the name of the seventh month was changed to honor Julius Caesar, who was born in that month and “July” is the name of the seventh month in the Gregorian calendar also.  “Caesar,” a Latin word meaning “hairy one” was the family name of Julius, who became a dictatorial military and political leader of Rome.  Although this word was used as the title of the emperor for subsequent Roman rulers, was transliterated into “kaiser” in German and “czar” in Russian, and may be used to signify an autocrat or dictator in English today, Julius Caesar himself never officially became an “emperor.”  His grandnephew, Caesar Augustus, became the first emperor of Rome and the name of the eighth month was changed to “August” in his honor.  When the name of the seventh month was changed to July, another day was added to that month, which now has 31 days also.  According to the 2nd chapter of the Gospel according to Luke, it was a result of a decree of Caesar Augustus that Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem and later, when asked whether the Jews should pay taxes to Caesar, Jesus noted that the coins his questioners were using bore Caesar’s portrait and instructed them to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (20:25).

06/07/04  Declaration of Independence  (Timely Words 0958)

Political independence was not the aim of the original colonists from Great Britain who crossed the ocean to experience a new kind of life in a “new world.”  It was after unjustified taxes were unilaterally imposed on them that they began to rebel and seek independence and on July 4, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was approved by representatives of the 12 colonies.  That Declaration begins with these meaningful words: “When in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and Nature‘s God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.  We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness—That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government . . . .”  At the heart of this document is the declaration that each person has certain unalienable rights and that governments derive their powers from the consent of the governed.  In an age when kings were thought to rule by divine right, this was truly a revolutionary philosophy.

06/07/08  Penney, Penny, Pence and Pennies  (Timely Words 0959)

My wife and I are now living in the Penney Retirement Community in Penney Farms, Florida.  Many people misspell the name “Penney” because they think of a coin rather than the philanthropist, J. C. Penney, who founded the community and whose name is also on many major department stores around the country.  In British English, the plural of penny is “pence” and in the old British currency, a “shilling” was divided into 12 pence, but in the present system, 100 pence equals a British “pound.”  In the United States of America, the basic unit is the dollar, which is made up of 100 cents or pennies.  A recent news article reported that it now costs more than one cent to produce a penny.  The monetary value of a penny is so low that many people simply throw them away, but others consider this small copper coin with the profile of Abraham Lincoln an important historic symbol.  Since the coin has such little value and costs so much to produce, some citizens think it should be eliminated, but a group named Americans for Common Cents reflects the results of a poll that indicated that two-thirds of Americans want to keep the penny coin.  Over the past decades, various metals have been used to produce pennies, including copper, bronze and zinc. &nbasp;In 1943, when copper was desperately needed for the World War II effort, even steel was used.  In chapter 20 of the Gospel According to Matthew, Jesus told a story about the wages a landowner paid his workers for a day’s work.  In that story, a Greek coin, a denarius, was translated as “penny” in the classical English version of the Bible (commonly called the “King James Version”).

06/07/11  Football/Soccer  (Timely Words 0960)

Many different kinds of balls are used in a variety of sports: baseballs, basketballs, volleyballs, footballs, tennis balls, golf balls, etc.  In my American English dictionary, “football” has three definitions.  The first describes what is commonly called “American football,” played with an oval-shaped ball with two pointed ends.  The second is “rugby football,” which originated in Rugby, England and is played with a similar-shaped ball.  The third is “soccer,” played with a round ball, which is usually kicked or maneuvered with the feet or the head.  This word was derived from a shortened and altered form of “association football.”  Soccer has not been a very popular sport in the United States of America and it was while I was in Japan that I found out that, outside the U. S. A., “football” usually means “soccer.”  American interest in soccer has increased, however, during the recent, popular World Cup tournament in Germany.  This tournament has been held every four years since 1930; winning the “World Cup” has become one of the most aggressively pursued prizes in sports.  This trophy has been won by only seven countries, all of which are located in Europe or South America.  This year, millions of viewers around the world saw Italy beat France in an overtime period.  Since our 8-year-old grandson, who is now living with us, is an avid soccer player and fan, we also have been watching games on television, both in Japan and at home.  In I Corinthians 9:24-25, it is written: “in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize.  Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”

06/07/14  “America”  (Timely Words 0961)

Readers of these “Timely Words” messages have probably noticed that when I refer to the country in which I was born and raised and of which I continue to be a fairly loyal citizen, I use the more formal, longer name, “United States of America.”  The reason is to avoid the arrogant implication that the term “America” signifies only “my country,” one of over 20 countries in North, Central and South America and, consequently, that “American” denotes something or someone related to that particular country.  According to the English language dictionary I usually use (The American Heritage Dictionary, published in 1982), “American” may relate to: 1) the U. S. A., 2) North or South America (the Western Hemisphere), or 3) the Indians inhabiting America.  “ Indians,” the name that has been used for centuries for Native Americans, is rooted in the mistaken assumption of Christopher Columbus, in 1492, that he had reached the Indies of Asia, his anticipated goal, when he docked his ship on an island in the Caribbean Sea.  Some years later, the name “America” was applied to these newly discovered continents by a German mapmaker and geographer after reading the accounts of another Italian navigator, Amerigo Vespucci, who had arrived in this land after Columbus and called it Mundus Novus—the “New World.”  “America” was also used to mean the British colonies in North America, but the Declaration of Independence, written in 1787, was approved by “the representatives of the United States of America.”  Having lived for many yearsoutside of my homeland, I see events from a different perspective than many ofmy peers.

06/07/18  “American English”  (Timely Words 0962)

English was the native language of most of the colonists who came from the “old world” in Europe to the “new world” in the Western Hemisphere.  However, as these English-speaking colonists came into contact with people who spoke Dutch, French, Spanish, or Native American languages, their pronunciation, grammar and meanings of words were sometimes affected, so certain differences developed between the traditional English of their homeland and of the new world.  New words were introduced and some old words that had become obsolete in England continued to be used.  Samuel Johnson, the English author and lexicographer who published his Dictionary of the English Language in 1756, used the term “American dialect” as an insult, but in 1789, the American author and lexicographer, Noah Webster, wrote: “The reasons for American English being different than English English are simple :  As an independent nation, our honor requires us to have a system of our own, in language as well as government.”  Of course, in the “new world” also, over the years, dialectical differences developed related to geographic areas (northeast, south or west) and we may often recognize from what area a person comes by listening to the pronunciation and colloquial expressions he/she uses.  At the present time, English has become a kind of international language, but there are not only differences between British English and American English.  There are differences between Canadian and Australian and American English as well.  We must recognize, however, that true communication does not depend on language alone.  We are communicating by our attitudes and actions, which sometimes “speak louder than words.”

06/07/21  “Noh”  (Timely Words 0963)

In English, “no,” the opposite of “yes,” signifies refusal, denial or disagreement.  In Japanese, it may be a simple particle that serves as a kind of preposition and in my Japanese-English dictionary, there are 11 different definitions of this term.  When the vowel is elongated, there are ten different Chinese characters in my Japanese dictionary it may represent, one of whose basic meaning is “ability” or “talent”.  This is also the character used for a classical Japanese drama, including music and dancing, performed in a highly stylized manner by elaborately dressed actors on an almost bare stage.  All the actors are male, but those taking the parts of females hide their own faces behind wooden masks, as does the main character of the drama.  Instrumental music is provided by three drums and a flute.  There is also a chorus, which frequently sings lines appropriate for the main character while he dances or mimes the actions.  Noh dramas move very slowly, are virtually plotless and tragic in mood.  A script of a few hundred lines may be stretched into an hour-long stage play.  It is common for an actor to speak lines that seem meant for another actor or to finish up another actor’s speech; and an actor may speak of himself in the third person.  The effect of these devices is to objectify and universalize what otherwise is a highly emotional and personalized experience.  Noh dramas have been performed since the 14th century.  My wife and I have attended a few performances but understood very little.  When viewing such dramas (as when reading the Bible), the situation at the time of the writing, the nature of the writing and the aim of the writer must be considered in order to understand the meaning.

06/07/24  Commonwealth of Puerto Rico  (Timely Words 0964)

A nation or state governed by the people may be called a “commonwealth.”  A group of states related to Great Britain has been called the Commonwealth of Nations, but there are some “commonwealths” within the United States of America also.  It is the official title of the states of Kentucky, Virginia, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.  Puerto Rico, one of the islands between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, is also a commonwealth on U. S. A. territory.  July 25th is a national holiday in that “rich port,” celebrating its founding as a commonwealth and its adoption of a new constitution on July 25, 1952.  The island had been ceded to the U. S. A. by Spain in 1898, following the Spanish-American War, but according to its present constitution, Puerto Rico is a self-governing commonwealth voluntarily associated with the United States.  Puerto Ricans have U. S. citizenship, but are exempt from federal taxes and do not take part in U. S. presidential elections.  They have the same three branches of government (executive, legislative and judicial) as the national government and also elect a resident commissioner who is sent, with a voice but no vote, to the U. S. Congress in Washington.  This unique arrangement between Puerto Rico and the U. S. A. is permanent as long as it is agreeable to both parties.  It can be changed by mutual consent and there continue to be different views among Puerto Ricans regarding whether the present status should be continued, whether they should become the 51st state or whether they should become independent.  Like all moral and political problems, both positive and negative factors must be considered to reach a wise decision for the benefit of all.

06/07/28  Irregular Pronunciations  (Timely Words 0965)

Every language has its own, peculiar pronunciations of its written script, but English seems to be particularly peculiar in this area.  I remember years ago being told that “fish” could be spelled g-h-o-t-i by using the pronunciations of those letters in the following words: “rough,” “women” and “nation.”  Recently, while teaching a class about the Biblical understanding of “love,” I explained that, in Japanese, “love” is pronounced “ai.”  Then, I noted the various words in English that have the same pronunciation but different spellings and meanings.  The first word that came to mind was the pronoun denoting the speaker, which is composed of only one letter—a capital I.  Many people tend to use this word too much as they speak about themselves and their accomplishments.  A second word, spelled e-y-e, signifies the organ of vision.  This is an amazing part of the body which naturally adjusts itself in relation to distance, brightness and color.  How different our lives become if our eyes do not function properly.  A third word, spelled a-y-e, denotes an affirmative vote.  Political parties in the House of Representatives or Senate are always hoping to get a majority of the ayes to pass certain legislative proposals.  Finally, I also noted how the same pronunciation is found at the beginning of the following two words that end in s-l-e.  An “aisle” is a passageway between rows of seats in a church or auditorium and an “isle” is simply another word for “island,” particularly a small one.  It is very strange that the same pronunciation can be indicated by such different letters.  In Japanese, on the other hand, there are many different pronunciations of the same Chinese character.

06/07/31  St. Augustine  (Timely Words 0966)

The oldest continually occupied European settlement in North America is the city of St. Augustine, located on the east coast of the state of Florida, less than an hour’s drive from our community.  My wife and I have visited that city a number of times for various reasons and recently, we took our grandson, granddaughter and daughter-in-law who have been visiting us from Japan to that city.  The city is named after a famous person in the history of the Christian Church whose influence continues to be recognized in both Protestant and Roman Catholic churches even today.  Augustine was born in the year 354 in what is now the north African country of Algeria.  His mother was a Christian, but as a young adult he rejected the moral and doctrinal teaching of the church until he was influenced by the character and writings of Ambrose, the bishop of Rome, and made his decision to become a Christian.  In his Confessions, his most famous writing, he describes the dissolute life he lived before and the great change that took place as a result of his conversion.  Later, Augustine became a priest and a bishop and influenced the people of his day and later with his writings, which included more than one hundred books.  He lived a monastic life and from his writings evolved rules that continue to be followed by many monks and nuns today.  In his writings, including the famous The City of God,which presented a Christian view of history, he refuted many heresies that threatened the church and many theologians consider him the founder of theology.  He emphasized charity, or love, as the foundation for perfection and taught that people having true love could do as they willed.

06/08/03  To Miami  (Timely Words 0967)

At the recent meeting of former listeners to the “Daily Word” telephone messages in Nagoya, one of those present noted that in earlier messages, I told stories about events related to my personal life or family experiences.  He suggested that I include such stories in these “Timely Words” messages also.  This message and some of those following will be in keeping with his suggestion and I would be interested in receiving the reaction of readers to such messages.  I am now sitting in an Amtrak train station in the city of Palatka, Florida, about an hour’ s drive from our home.  I arrived here with my wife, our daughter, who is visiting us from Thailand, and our daughter-in-law along with her daughter and son, who are visiting us from Japan.  We have tickets for the train that was scheduled to depart from this station at 10:54 a.m.  It is now 3:20 p.m. and the train has still not arrived.  We had called a toll-free number a number of times earlier to check on its expected arrival time and were repeatedly informed that it would be 3 or 4 hours late, so we arrived at this station about 3 hours after the scheduled arrival time.  After waiting here for over an hour, the train has still not arrived.  We are on our way to Miami, where we expect to meet our son from Japan who will join us in celebrating the 21st birthday of his elder daughter, our eldest grandchild, who attends the Miami International University of Art and Design.    I am now on the train, which left the Palatka Station about 3:50 p.m.  We have just passed through Orlando, the city famous for its Disney World and other attractions.  After boarding the train with our many pieces of luggage and sitting in two different sections, we and the other passengers were served box lunches as a kind of apology for the problems the train’s delay had caused.

06/08/07  Miami  (Timely Words 0968)

While riding in the Amtrak train to Miami, I asked a conductor why the train was so late.  He replied that a fire broke out while going through a tunnel in New York City.  Firefighters were called; people were evacuated; the fire was extinguished and a car was replaced.  Also, because the train tracks are not owned by Amtrak but by a freight company, at times, Amtrak must alter its schedule to conform to the freight company’s convenience.  We arrived in Miami shortly before midnight, about 5 hours later than scheduled.  Fortunately, our granddaughter met us at the station.  Her apartment required considerable adjustment to provide sleeping accommodations for the six of us, but no one slept on the floor, as many people do in Japan.  The following day, our son arrived from Japan, so her entire family from Japan plus her aunt from Thailand and her grandparents from Florida were here to celebrate her 21st birthday.  The celebration included a special Japanese meal at the “Benihana” restaurant where she works on days when she has no classes and when the school is on vacation.  The next day, we took a boat trip around the port of Biscayne. To get to the port, we boarded an elevated train called a “Metro.”  Now, there is no charge for these city trains, but we went through wickets and passed by the small rooms where tickets used to be sold to get to the train.  At the port, there are countless shops selling a great variety of items that attract many customers.  While in this shopping area, I was happy to find a public telephone from which I was able to call the toll-free number of my bank, press the numbers of my debit card account and hear the amount in my account, which I will remember when using my debit card.

06/08/09  From Miami  (Timely Words 0969)

The day before my wife and I and our daughter from Thailand left Miami to return to our home in the Penney Retirement Community, about 600 kilometers north, we enjoyed a visit to the Miami Seaquarium. You have probably never heard or read of a “seaquarium.”  You will not find that word in a dictionary for it is a word especially coined for this particular place.  There are a number of words that begin with “aqua,” the Latin word for “water,” and an “aquarium” is a place for the public exhibition of aquatic animals.  The peculiar name of this particular exhibition is a combination of “sea” and “aquarium.”  At this “seaquarium,” we were amazed to see many aquatic animals, including a large and small whale, manatees, dolphins, sharks, sea lions and many kinds of smaller fish.  As we sat around a large pool of water, the whales and dolphins did some spectacular performances: jumping high out of the water and carrying a trainer on their back, their stomach or on the tip of their nose.  On the day of our departure, we were driven to the Miami Airport, which is very large and has many gates, for Miami is a very popular place.  We found the right gate and boarded the airplane, which left at the scheduled time and arrived in Jacksonville a little early.  As a result, the couple that had come to meet us did not find us until after I had claimed our suitcase. While going up the escalator with my laptop computer hanging from my shoulder and carrying a heavy briefcase, the suitcase fell back and I fell with it, so the escalator was stopped until my belongings and I were rearranged.  I am thankful that my back was not broken or dislocated as a result.  We were happy to be taken from the airport to our home following a very enjoyable time with our family in Miami.

06/08/12  Iron(y)  (Timely Words 0970)

Recently, as I saw my wife ironing some clothes with her electric iron, I thought about the meaning of the words “iron” and “irony” and again marveled at the great variety of English words, the wide diversity of their meanings and the amazing irregularity of their pronunciations.  It may be a bit ironic to consider something made of iron as weak and temporary.  Iron is a basic metal that has been utilized by human beings from ancient times.  In the first book of the Bible, the name of a man who forged tools out of iron is noted (Genesis 4:22), and in the last book of the Bible there is a vision of one who will rule the nations “with a rod of iron” (Revelation 19:22).  “Iron Age” denotes the period when iron-edged tools, implements and weapons began to be used.  Nowadays, a housewife may use one kind of “iron” to press clothes while her husband uses another kind of “iron” to hit his golf ball.  We are happy that the “iron curtain” that separated the communist countries of the East from the democratic countries of the West has now been removed.  When a “y” or an “i-c”is added to “iron,” however, not only the meaning but the pronunciation of the letters also changes.  “Irony” denotes “a method of humorous or sarcastic expression in which the intended meaning of the words used is the direct opposite of their usual sense.”  For example, “the speaker was using irony when he said that the stupid plan was ‘very clever’.”  And to greet a person arriving late for an appointment with the words “My, you’re early,“ would be considered ironical.  During my stay in Japan, I sometimes considered the traditional morning greeting in Japanese, which literally means “it is early” or “you are early” to be ironical also.

06/08/16  Hometown Family Reunion  (Timely Words 0971)

My hometown, in which I and all of my five siblings were born and raised, is located north of Chicago, just south of the state line that separates the states of Wisconsin and Illinois.  My parents both died when they were seventy years old, but now all six of their children are older than that.  Three of their children have three children each and the other three have four children each.  At the present time, there are 30 great grandchildren, all of whom were invited to a family reunion in our hometown the middle of August.  One of my younger sisters still lives in that town and her husband, one of my childhood friends, has served as the town’s mayor.  It was their house, with its large lawn that served as the basic meeting place, although we also met in a room of the town’s Senior Center.  Eight years ago, we held a similar reunion, but this year the number increased due to a couple of marriages and some births.  All 6 children attended plus 17 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren from six countries (U.S.A., Japan, Thailand, Netherlands, Central African Republic, Canada), eight states (Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, New Mexico) and Washington, D.C. for a total of 55, including spouses.  We had a very enjoyable time meeting relatives, talking, eating and playing games together.  Some of the group went down to Lake Michigan to go swimming in the cool water.  While we were together, we were reminded of the firm faith and fine example our parents provided for us.  Although the family produced by my wife and me came from the most distant places, it was the only complete family that attended.  The day after the reunion, our family members went together to the city of Chicago and visited certain famous places there.

06/08/19  Insects  (Timely Words 0972)

There are many different kinds of insects, most of which are not welcomed by human beings.  Certain areas of the world seem to attract certain types of insects.  In our home in Florida, we have seen many of the same kinds of insects we saw in Japan, including mosquitoes, flies, spiders, cockroaches and ants.  A particular kind of ant that builds conspicuous mounds in our yard is called a “fire ant.”  Before I was warned to keep away from them, I stepped on a mound and received many painful stings on my leg.  While clipping bushes in the community cemetery, I have often encountered the large, artistic webs of spiders which were composed to ensnare an insect rather than a human being.  Fortunately, we have not seen many cockroaches or mosquitoes around our house, but in the Dining Room, we often see a few flies that continue to bother us while we eat, flying from one table to another.  During our recent family reunion in northern Illinois, we were molested by a certain kind of fly that I had not seen before in my hometown or elsewhere.  It was smaller than a normal fly, but was able to bite like a mosquito.  These flies seemed attracted to the white socks I wore with my tennis shoes and repeatedly irritated me by biting my legs through those socks, but they did not leave red spots which are left by mosquito bites.  The word “bug” may be used to denote any kind of insect, but it has other meanings as well.  It may refer to a mechanical or electrical defect.  A “bug” may be the cause of a power outage.  A small hidden device used for eavesdropping may also be called a “bug.”  People with open minds may learn even from bugs or insects. In Proverbs 6:6, it is written: “Go to the ant . . . consider its ways and be wise.”

06/08/22  Women Suffrage  (Timely Words 0973)

The word “suffrage” has two very different meanings.  It means both “a short intercessory prayer” and “he right or privilege of voting”  In the U. S. A., women did not officially receive the right to vote until the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on August 26, 1920, 86 years ago this week.  That amendment was not simply the result of a suffrage.  Many women had been actively working for many years to eliminate their suffering because of discrimination against them.  The amendment simply states that “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Though the country was supposedly originally founded on democratic principles, obviously white, male citizens were in charge and given special consideration.  Within a few years following the Civil War, constitutional amendments were passed that prohibited slavery and the denial of rights to citizens “on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude”, but according to judicial interpretations, such rights were limited to male citizens and the approval of this 19th Amendment was the result of 72 years of organized effort on the part of many women citizens, including Susan B. Anthony, a key figure in this effort who was arrested for registering and seeking to vote in a New York election in 1872.  In some areas, August 26th is celebrated as Women’s Equality Day.  In the ideal fellowship of Jesus’ followers, there is no discrimination of any kind.  According to Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

06/08/26  Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.  (Timely Words 0974)

How do parents decide on the names of their children?  That depends on many factors, including cultural and family traditions.  In my family, the middle name of my elder brother is the same as our father’s name and my middle name is the same as one of our father’s brothers.  We gave our elder son my name for his middle name and our second son was given the name of my brother for his middle name.  In some families, a son is given the same name as his father, with the designation “Junior” following it.  Many Americans will think of a famous judge on the Supreme Court when they read or hear the name Oliver Wendell Holmes, but the man who served on that court for 30 years was a “Junior,” having the same name as his father, who was an author, poet, lecturer, physician and ardent conversationalist.  Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. was born on August 29, 1809, in Cambridge, Massachusetts; his mother was the daughter of Oliver Wendell.  At Harvard, his classmates elected him class poet.  Probably his most famous poem was “Old Ironsides,” a tribute to the American frigate USS Constitution, which had won a decisive victory in its encounter with a British frigate during the War of 1812.  Although he became a doctor, he found greater satisfaction in teaching and writing—both poetry and prose.  Not only was he a regular contributor to the Atlantic Monthly, he gave the magazine its name.  He wrote novels as wellas medical compositions and was a crusader against quackery.  Popular articles he wrote for the Atlantic Monthly were collected into books, in one of which, entitled The Professor at the Breakfast Table, we find the following statement: “A moment’s insight is sometimes worth a life’s experience.”

06/08/29  Timely Changes  (Timely Words 0975)

Twenty-six years ago, on September 1,1980, in Japan, I began the “Daily Word” telephone service in English to provide informative, interesting, meaningful messages by a native speaker that people studying English could listen to at anytime of day or night.  Seven years ago, on September 1, 1999, following my return to the United States of America, in response to the request of “Daily Word” listeners, I began this ”Timely Words“ webpage.  The number at the beginning of this message indicates the number of ”Timely Words“ messages that have been transmitted.  Two years ago, I considered closing this webpage at the end of August 2004, as I was approaching 77 years of age, but the pleas of readers in Japan persuaded me to continue—even at a more relaxed pace.  Now, the sustained effort of earnest volunteers has resulted in a new webpage and repository of former messages of both “Daily Word” and ”Timely Words“.  Since I have continued to compose 3 or 4 messages a week and it now requires more time for me to compose a message, I have decided that the beginning of the 26th (7th) year is a good time to institute a change.  Therefore, from September 1, 2006, I do not promise to add 3 or 4 messages a week.  Rather, I will compose a message only when I feel like it and have the time.  Also, the length and content of the messages may vary.  In fact, it is possible (though unlikely) that sometimes I will compose more than 4 messages in one week, but I will escape from the pressure, and readers may spend more time reading the old messages, which are now available.  Readers comments are welcome.

06/09/01  “You” and “Him”  (Timely Words 0976)

I must confess that one reason I have continued writing these messages over the past 26 years is that I enjoyed doing it when I had the time.  I have learned much as I prepared them and have been stimulated to think further about many topics.  For example, after writing just a month ago about the different spellings and meanings of words pronounced “ai” (“I,” “eye,” “aye”), I realized that there was a similar situation related to words pronounced “you.”  U, of course, is the 21st letter of the modern English alphabet and, in some dictionaries, the term “IOU” is found.  It is the simplified version of the statement “I owe you” and signifies recognition of a debt that must be paid.  Another word pronounced the same as “you” is spelled e-w-e and designates a female sheep.  The opposite of “ewe” is “ram.”  Many Japanese speakers of English find it difficult to distinguish a “ram” from a “lamb,” which means a young sheep.  After noting the irregular spellings of words with the same pronunciations as “I” and “you,” I realized that the word “him,” the objective case of “he,” also has a homonym, spelled “hymn.”  A “hymn” is a religious song of praise or thanksgiving.  Hymns are regularly sung in Christian Churches and a basic characteristic of a lively, healthy church is the joyful hymns that are sung there.  In the New Testament Letter to the Ephesians, chapter 5, verse 19, it is written that “psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” should not only be sung to the Lord, but be reflected in the lives of believers as well.

06/09/07  Meaning of X  (Timely Words 0977)

In the United States of America, the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November is Election Day.  On that day, citizens cast their votes for candidates who won places on the ballots as a result of the primary elections which were held earlier.  As I voted in the Primary Election at the Penney Farms Town Hall on Tuesday, I was reminded of the different meanings the symbol or letter “X” may have.  X is the 24th letter in the English alphabet, but in mathematics, it is the sign of multiplication and in algebra, and it also stands for an unknown quantity.  In Roman numerals, X is the symbol for 10 and some letter writers use x’s to symbolize kisses.  Because it is the same shape as the first Greek letter in “Christ”, an X is sometimes used as a substitute for that word, as in the term “Xmas”.  In the voting booth, I realized that we are no longer required to put an “X” in the square next to the name of the candidate we are voting for.  Now, we merely connect the head and tail of an arrow pointing to our choice.  Until a few years ago, however, an “X” on a ballot indicated the approval of the voter, which is the opposite of the meaning of an “X” in Japanese tradition.  In Japan, “X” is a symbol indicating disapproval, opposition or rejection.  The symbol for approval, favor or acceptance is a circle.  As an “outsider” living in Japan, I noticed that Japanese and Westerners drew circles differently.  Although both draw them in the same direction—from left to right, Westerners start at the top and Japanese start at the bottom and I wondered why.  According to tradition, Jesus’ disciple, Andrew, suffered martyrdom on a cross in the shape of an X, which is now called St. Andrew’s cross.

06/09/11  9/11: Mahatma Gandhi’s Legacy  (Timely Words 0978)

When the numerical date “9/11” is mentioned these days, people immediately think of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001.  However, there is another anniversary of a meaningful event of a very different kind that occurred one hundred years ago on September 11, 1906, which should also be remembered.  On that day in the South African city of Johannesburg, a nonviolent, resistance movement to oppose injustice, oppression and discrimination was initiated by an Indian lawyer, Mohandas Gandhi.  Gandhi had studied law in England but experienced hostile discrimination as a lawyer in South Africa.  Influenced by the teaching of both the Christian Bible and the Hindu Bhagavad-Gita, Gandhi, who was given the name “Mahatma,” meaning “Great Soul,” by his admirers, sought to call attention to and oppose unjust laws in nonviolent ways.  Since that time, there have been many civil disobedience campaigns, resulting in the arrest and incarceration of many conscientious, normally law-abiding citizens.  Gandhi called war an “unmitigated evil” and emphasized that non-violence is not simply an attitude that one manifests to attract publicity.  It is “not a garment to be put on and off at will,” he said.  “Its seat is in the heart, and it must be an inseparable part of our very being.“  Following his return to India, Gandhi continued his efforts to improve the social situation by renovating rural educational systems, promoting cottage industries like spinning and advocating civil liberties for the “untouchable” classes.  Gandhi’s life ended in 1948, when a Hindu fanatic shot him when he was on his way to an evening prayer session.  An estimated 2 million people attended his funeral.

06/09/15  Post Office and Beauty Salon  (Timely Words 0979)

The Penney Retirement Community in which my wife and I have resided since our retirement is a very quiet place.  A state highway is the border of one side of the community, but the traffic on that road is not so great.  There are no gasoline stations, churches or stores along that part of the highway.  To go shopping, residents must go to neighboring towns, some 5-10 miles away.  Although some people would consider this very inconvenient, we are very happy to live in a place characterized by quietness and natural beauty.  In the community itself, there is only one building that has commercial implications.  In one half of that building is the town post office.  Since there is no delivery service, every resident has a post office box into which mail is inserted daily.  Residents must go to the post office regularly to get their mail.  The other half of the building is used as a beauty salon, called the Pamper Room.  There, two qualified women cut the hair of those women and men who have made appointments.  They also wash, curl and set the hair of those who request it.  Both my wife and I regularly go to both the post office and the Pamper Room.  We are thankful that there is a salon, where people are made to look more beautiful, but no saloon, where people drink alcoholic beverages and get drunk, in this area.  Our country and the world at large would be a much better place if there were more salons and fewer saloons.  We should not only be concerned about our external beauty, however, but about our internal beauty as well.  It is for this reason that places for worship, meditation and moral instruction are important.

06/09/19  Ombudsman  (Timely Words 0980)

One of the active groups in this retirement community is the Swim and Health Club.  Not only do members enjoy swimming and exercising in the large swimming pool, they also hold monthly meetings to which all residents are invited.  At such meetings, outside speakers come to speak on a theme that is of interest to all people our age.  Recently, the speaker informed us about his work as a volunteer ombudsman.  Like many words in modern English, this is a word from a foreign country that has been Anglicized.  In Scandinavian countries, an “ombudsman” is an official appointed by the legislature whose duty is to protect the rights of citizens against infringement by the government.  Sweden has had one since 1809, Denmark since 1955 and Norway since 1962.  In this American state of Florida, there are now hundreds of volunteer ombudsmen in 17 designated areas, each of which has an official ombudsman.  Many volunteer ombudsmen specialize in seeking to solve problems or investigate complaints or charges that elderly residents of nursing homes, assisted living units and retirement communities have against officials or managers they believe have acted in illegal or unfair ways.  An ombudsman can even help cut through the layers of bureaucratic red tape to bring a speedy solution to such complaints as an unfair traffic fine or unjustified increase in real estate taxes.  We are thankful that there are such helpers available in a democratic society.  Also, in the beginning of the 2nd chapter of the First Letter of John in the New Testament, we find this soothing statement: “if any one does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

06/09/23  Near/Middle/Far East  (Timely Words 0981)

The four directions in the English language are: north, south, east and west.  Using the first letters of those words, we may make the word “news.”  Much of the “news” these days is centered on events occurring in what, in “western” countries, are called the “near east” or the “middle east.” As I often mention in my talks about Japan, it is natural for us to look at the world from our particular viewpoint, with our homeland at the center.  On maps with Japan at the center, the U.S.A. is in the far east, but in maps with the U.S.A. in the center, Japan is in the far west.  It is on world maps with Europe at the center of the world that Japan and China are in the “far east;” countries on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea are in the “near east” and countries in between are in the “middle east,” but the exact lines of demarcation are unclear, so whether certain countries are included or excluded depends on the speaker/writer and the context.  Within the U.S.A. itself, the meanings of such words as “west,” “far west,” and “mid west,” have changed as the European invaders/settlers moved further to the west.  Over the years, “west” has changed its meaning from “west of the Appalachian Mountains” to “west of the Mississippi River,” to “west of the Rocky Mountains.”  It is interesting to see how such words have been translated into Japanese.  The words for “near east” and “middle east” are literal translations, but although there is not an “east pole” similar to the “north pole” and “south pole,” the Japanese term for “far east” is literally “pole east.”  In closing, I recall the first lines of Rudyard Kipling’s The Ballad of East and West: “Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat.”

06/09/27  Rosh Hashanah  (Timely Words 0982)

Time measurements such as the year, the month and the day are based on natural cycles.  A year is the time required for the earth to complete one revolution around the sun.  A month is the time required for the moon to make one revolution around the earth and a day is the time required for the earth to complete one turn upon its axis.  According to the Gregorian Calendar, the most popular calendar used in these United States of America, we are now in the final days of the 9th month of the year 2006.  However, there are many people who make use of other calendars, related to their religions or cultures.  According to the Jewish Calendar, these final days of the 9th month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar are the first days of a New Year.  Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which fell on September 23 this year, is the first of 10 Penitential Days that end with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  For pious Jews, the New Year begins with meditation, self-examination and prayers of repentance.  It is the custom in some Jewish homes to include in the holiday meal bread or apples dipped in honey to symbolize the hope for a sweet new year.  Actually, the day observed as the beginning of a new year is an arbitrary choice, unrelated to natural phenomena.  Thus the “new years” recognized by Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus or Chinese are all different.  Nevertheless, I believe that all human beings have a “faith” of some kind (even those who call themselves “atheists”) that influences both their dailyattitudes and actions and their view of the future.  Those with a healthy faith in an almighty God of love can always look forward to a sweet and happy future.

06/10/01  Law Day  (Timely Words 0983)

In the traditional Japanese calendar, this tenth month of the year is called “Kannazuki”, which literally means “No Kami Month”. (Unfortunately, “kami” was the Chinese/Japanese word chosen to translate the English word “god”, whether spelled with a capital G or a small g, although the meanings of “kami”, “God” and “god”are very different.)  According to Japanese tradition, this was the month when the “kami” of all the local shrines gathered together for an annual meeting at the Izumo Shrine in Shimane Prefecture, so during that month the other shrines throughout the country were “godless”.  In 1960, the Japanese government declared that October 1st would be designated “Law Day” (Ho-no-Hi), a day to encourage respect for law and for the protection of human rights.  The Chinese/Japanese character for “law” is composed of two parts meaning “water”and “leave”.  The origin of this character is related to the banks or dikes erected around a body of water to keep it from overflowing and “leaving”.  Thus the water was kept within limits (which was not the case when the hurricane Katrina hit the American city of New Orleans last year).  All societies have rules or laws that are expected to be obeyed, with some form of punishment administered to the lawbreakers.  The Bible teaches that all human beings have disobeyed the moral law and are “sinners”who deserve an appropriate punishment, but there is “good news”for those who humbly recognize and confess their sins and seek God’s forgiveness.  (See I John 1:5-10)

06/10/07  Family Tree  (Timely Words 0984)

The usual meaning of ‘tree” is a tall, woody plant that has roots in the ground and branches in the air, but it may also denote a diagram showing a family lineage.  I recently received a request from our granddaughter in New Mexico for information about her ancestors that she needed for a school assignment.  To reply, I reviewed my family tree and reflected on the meaning of certain words related to family relationships.  My ancestors came from Germany to this ‘new world”about 1850, but I was surprised to find that there were already a couple of Barbara Offners before my wife became one.  Then I considered the reason for the use of prefixes “grand” and “great” in relation to relatives.  Grandparents and grandchildren, great-grandparents and great-grandchildren are all included in family trees along with great/grand uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces and cousins.  Both “grand” and “great” usually signify something higher, broader or more important than the ordinary and were originally used as polite terms for elderly and highly respected people.  When prefixed to the terms for relatives, “grand” denotes one generation older or younger and “great” denotes yet another generation older or younger.  Thus, my granddaughter is the daughter of my son and my great-grandfather is my father’s grandfather. The word for a grandparent is found only once in the Bible. It is in Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy, chapter 1, verse 5, where he wrote: “I remember the sincere faith you have, the kind of faith that your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice also had.  I am sure that you have it also.”  It is true that the faith of parents is often reflected in the lives of their descendants.  I wonder what kind of faith we are transmitting to our children and grandchildren.

06/10/14  A Week  (Timely Words 0985)

Most modern calendars are divided into years, months, weeks and days.  Years, months and days are natural divisions.  A year is the period of time it takes for the earth to make a revolution around the sun.  A month is the time it takes the moon to make a revolution around the earth.  And a day is the period during which the earth completes one rotation on its axis.  A week, however, is not related to natural movements and there are various theories regarding why it now consists of seven days.  In some ancient cultures, there was a different division of days within a month, but the seven-day week now recognized in most calendars seems to be rooted in the biblical account of the creation of the world in seven days found in the first chapter of the book of Genesis.  “Day,” however, does not always signify a 24-hour period. It may simply denote “a period of time.”  Now is the “day” to consider the meaning of ancient stories in relation to the “day” in which they were written.  There are various ways of interpreting this ancient story, in which a “day” is not related to the turning of the earth on its axis.  In fact, it was not until the fourth “day” that the sun was created as one of the ‘two great lights” in the sky.  This creation story ends at the beginning of the second chapter of Genesis with the explanation that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day, which was designated a holy day.  In the Ten Commandments, written in Exodus, chapter 20, Jews were commanded to observe the seventh day as a day for rest and worship.  Today also, Jews observe Saturday as their holy day, while Christians observe Sunday and Muslims observe Friday.  It is also interesting to consider the meanings of the names of the seven days of the week, which will be noted in the next message.

06/10/18  Days of the Week  (Timely Words 0986)

According to my English dictionary, a “week” is a “seven-day calendar period, especially one starting with Sunday and continuing through Saturday.”  A “weekday” is “1) Any day of the week except Sunday.  2) Any day exclusive of the days of the weekend” and a “weekend” is ‘the end of the week, especially the period from Friday evening through Sunday evening.”  The names of the days of the week in English and other languages are related to the Latin names they were given in the Roman Empire, which reflected the concept that there were seven celestial bodies revolving around the earth: the sun, the moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn.  The names of the days of the week, both in English and other languages, were related to the names of these celestial bodies, which were also related to Roman gods.  The first day of the week is Sun day, followed by Moon day.  Next is the day of Mars, the god of war, which was identified with the Norse god, Tiw, so we have Tiw’s day.  The Norse god called Odin, or Woden, became identified with Mercury, and so we have Woden’s day.  Thor, the Norse god of thunder, was identified with the Roman god, Jupiter, which resulted in Thor’s day.  Frigg is the Scandinavian name for the wife of Odin and was associated with Venus, so we have Frigg’s day and the week ends on Saturn’s day.  Japanese names for the days of the week include characters related to these celestial bodies: sun, moon, fire, water, wood, gold and Saturn.  Since Jesus was crucified on Friday, some people consider it an unlucky day (especially Friday, the 13th, for that was the number present at Jesus’ last supper with his disciples), but since he rose from the dead on the first day of the week, Sunday is the day for worship and celebration of new life for Christians.

06/10/22  Cruise  (Timely Words 0987)

“Crew,” spelled c-r-e-w, denotes a group of people working together, especially to manage a ship.  The plural of this term is pronounced “kroos.”  Another word with the same pronunciation, spelled c-r-u-i-s-e, denotes “a sea voyage for pleasure.”  Although my wife and I have traveled from North America to Japan by ship (both on a freighter and on a passenger ship), until this month, we had never enjoyed a cruise although we had heard many stories from residents of this retirement community who had.  Some time ago, we decided to join over forty other residents to take a 5-day cruise this month from the port of Jacksonville, Florida to Key West, Florida and then on to Nassau, capital of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.  We thought the fare was very reasonable and felt the need for a time of relaxation after a very busy summer (in Japan, Florida and Illinois).  Over six years ago, when we left Japan, I brought with me books in both Japanese and English that I planned to read during my retirement but which I have been unable to read because we have become so busy.  So I looked forward to doing some quiet reading during the cruise.  Taken to the ship on our community bus, we were surprised to see its size: 223 meters long, 56 meters high with 12 decks and able to transport over 2000 passengers.  Permission had been granted to our group to meet daily in a meeting room to have a Bible study on the Old Testament book of Jonah, which our cruise leader thought would be an appropriate book.  We were all directed to comfortable rooms.  Although our room had no window through which to view the ocean or land, beautiful views could be seen from the upper decks to which we ascended either by stairs or elevators.  At a grill, certain kinds of food were available at any time, but we were served during certain hours at designated dining rooms.  (More reminiscences in future messages.)

06/10/28  Key West  (Timely Words 0988)

There are different meanings of “key.”  It may denote a musical tone or an implement used to open something that is locked, but the “Florida Keys” is a chain of islands off southern Florida.  In this case, “key” is derived from a Spanish word for “island”and the westernmost island in the Florida Keys is Key West, which is also the name of the seaport on that island.  A 200-kilometer highway connects these islands with the Florida coast and Key West, the southernmost city in the continental United States of America, was the first stop on our cruise from Jacksonville.  We arrived there about 38 hours after boarding the ship and cruising down the Atlantic Ocean.  We spent the morning and early afternoon taking a trolley ride around the city and looking at the numerous shops, markets and places of interest.  Although meals in the dining rooms and grill aboard the ship were included in our tickets, we stopped at a small restaurant to enjoy a piece of the delicious Key Lime Pie, made from fruit grown in this area.  Then, we returned to the ship to continue our seaborne journey.  Our cabin was similar to a small hotel room and located on the seventh deck.  Dining rooms, the grill and meeting rooms were two or three decks above ours, so we either used stairways or elevators to go there.  The kind of key we used to open the door of our room was not metallic, but plastic with holes in certain places.  When it was inserted into a slot in the door, the door could be opened.  There are many different kinds of keys and in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 11, verse 52, Jesus criticized the religious leaders of his day, saying “you have taken away the key to knowledge.  You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”  Religious teachers should seriously consider these words today also.

06/10/31  Nassau  (Timely Words 0989)

An archipelago is a large group of islands.  Looking at a world map, we may see many archipelagos, and it is often difficult to discern their boundaries, especially when smaller archipelagos are included in larger ones.  For example, the West Indies between North and South America, include the archipelagos of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles, which includes the archipelagos of the Leeward Islands and the Windward Islands.  The city of Nassau, the capital of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, which includes about 700 islands, was the second stop on our recent cruise.  Although it is not located on the largest island, its population of over 170,000 is over half the population of the Commonwealth.  In Nassau, we also did some sightseeing and “window shopping” even though we did not need to look through windows to see the articles which were on sale along the streets.  For us, the most impressive sight in Nassau was the huge aquarium which served as a spectacular wall around the lower floors of the Atlantis Resort, in which there are over 50,000 fish representing over 200 different species.  Viewing the great variety of aquatic animals (from large stingrays to tiny goldfish), we were again reminded of the wonderful beauty, variety and complexity of our universe.  Our boat left the Nassau port late at night and we spent the next day cruising north to Jacksonville.  Every morning during the cruise, the passengers from our retirement community gathered in a meeting room for an hour to consider the Old Testament book of Jonah and its significance for us in our day.  We arrived back home five days after leaving and my only disappointment was that I did not get as much of Endo Shusaku’s novel, Umi to Dokuyaku (Sea and Poison) read as I had hoped.

06/11/05  Moss  (Timely Words 0990)

Many English words are derived from Latin.  The word “campus,” for example, in Latin, means “field,” but in English, it normally denotes “the grounds of a school, college or university.”  In the Penney Retirement Community, where my wife and I live, this is the term used for the grounds of this community.  There are many large trees around the houses on this campus.  On some trees, we see gray, threadlike stems in long clusters hanging from the branches.  These air plants, which are common in the tropics, are called “Spanish moss.”  “Moss” is derived from a Latin word for “bog,” and moss plants are usually found in moist surroundings.  Actually, “Spanish moss” is not really a kind of “moss.”  It is an epiphyte, which grows not on the ground but on another plant.  It is not a parasite, however, which relies on the other plant for food, but only for physical support.  One of the famous Buddhist temples in Kyoto, Japan, is popularly known as the “Moss Temple” because of the many species of beautiful moss that surround it.  During our years of missionary service in Japan, we were surprised to discover that “Moss” was also the surname of a missionary there who had a Japanese wife.  In fact, the two daughters of that couple attended the same college in the United States as our daughter, so they knew each other there also.  After we retired and entered this retirement community in Penney Farms, Florida, we were surprised to find that the sister of that missionary, who had served as a medical missionary in Korea, was also a resident here, with her husband who was from Croatia, so when her brother and his wife come to visit, we see them also.  It is interesting that in the proverb, “A rolling stone gathers no moss,” “moss” can have either a positive or negative implication.

06/11/09  Spanish & Irish  (Timely Words 0991)

While preparing the previous message on “Spanish moss,” I was also surprised at the number of terms in the dictionary that begin with “Spanish.”  They include other plants named “Spanish bayonet,” “Spanish cedar” and “Spanish needles.”  There is also “a large, mild-flavored kind of onion, often eaten raw,” called “Spanish onion,” “a bright-green beetle,” which when finely ground, is “used in medicine as a blistering agent,” called “Spanish fly,” and an edible sea fish called “Spanish mackerel.”  I was more surprised to find another kind of moss named “Irish moss.”  “Irish,” of course, ordinarily signifies something related to “Ireland, its people, their language, or culture,” but “Irish moss” is “a seaweed dried and bleached for use as a medicine, a thickening agent for food, etc.”  In my dictionary, there are also three different kinds of dogs, called “Irish setter,” “Irish terrier” and “Irish wolfhound” and a particular kind of stew, consisting of “meat, potatoes, carrots, onions and other vegetables cooked with a small amount of water,” called “Irish stew.”  And the common white potato has also been called an “Irish potato,” although it was originally grown in South America.  This kind of potato was extensively grown in Ireland and the Irish Potato Famine of 1846 resulted in thousands of Irishmen and Irishwomen leaving their homeland and emigrating to the United States of America.  By 1860, there were over 1 1/2 million Irish immigrants in America, the largest foreign-born group then in the country.  Because Irishmen were considered to be a bit feisty, the term “Irish” can also mean “fieriness of temper or passion; high spirit.”  American English has been greatly influenced by the languages and characteristics of immigrants.

06/11/13  Scotch & Irish  (Timely Words 0992)

There are other European countries or people whose national names are found in a dictionary as the first word of a compound term beside “Spanish” and “Irish,” which were considered in previous messages.  They include Scotch, French, Dutch and German, and they often do not have complimentary meanings.  Today’s message focuses on the word “scotch.”  When spelled with a capital S, this word can denote “the people, language or culture of Scotland,” or “frugal” and “stingy,” which were considered a characteristic of Scottish people. Nowadays, however, it is considered preferable to use such terms as “Scotchman,” “Scotsman” and “Scot,” when referring to the people of Scotland.  “Scotch” may also mean “Scotch whisky,” which is “a whisky distilled in Scotland from malted barley.”  A “Scotch verdict” is “a verdict permissible in certain criminal cases indicating only that guilt is not proven.”  “Scotch deerhound” and “Scotch terrier” are two different kinds of dogs.  “Scotch tape” is “a thin, paperlike adhesive tape” and “Scotch broth” is “mutton broth thickened with barley.”  “Scotch woodcock” is “a savory dish consisting of scrambled eggs on toast with anchovies or anchovy paste.”  “Scot-free” is an adjective meaning “free from obligation, punishment or penalty.”  Finally, the term “Scotch-Irish” does not denote persons of half Scotch, half Irish descent.  The true Scotch-Irish were originally Lowland Scots Presbyterians (small farmers, cottagers, and mainly weavers) who had been settled by the English in the turbulent Northern Ireland counties to replace the rebellious Irish in the 17th century.  As the result of crop failures and other problems, almost half of the Scotch-Irish flocked to the American colonies so that by 1776 one out of every seven colonists was Scotch-Irish.

06/11/17  English Spelling  (Timely Words 0993)

Since I have often pointed out the many irregularities in English spelling and pronunciation in these messages, I was especially interested in a short article that appeared this week on the editorial page of the only newspaper that is delivered daily to residents in this area.  In the article, it was written that “the bulk of the children pass through the government schools without learning to read and spell correctly.”  It also makes the amazing statement that “there are 42 sounds in the English language, and they are spelled more than 400 different ways.”  It noted a number of examples of the problem, including the following list of words in which the “long e” sound is spelled nine different ways: “feet, key, deceit, field, people, ravine, amoeba, these, team.”  After noting the strange fact that “they, say and weigh” rhyme, despite their different spelling, it asks why “comb, tomb and bomb” do not rhyme even though their spelling is the same.  Despite the irregularities of spelling and pronunciation in English, there are only 26 letters in its alphabet.  Students of Japanese face a very different problem.  In the Japanese written language, there are thousands of different Chinese characters, each one of which has at least two different pronunciations and some have over a dozen.  Beside the Chinese ideographs, there are also two different syllaberies of over fifty symbols each, but their pronunciations do not change.  Learning to read, write and speak a foreign language may be difficult and it is easier to learn a language when we are young, but true communication, is not limited to written or spoken words.  Our actions and attitudes are more accurate communicators of what is in our hearts and minds.

06/11/22  Biggest City  (Timely Words 0994)

There are five English words of three letters beginning with “b”, ending with “g” and having a different vowel in the middle.  Here is one example of an attempt to use all five of them in a short statement.  “If I saw a big bug on a bag in a bog, I might beg for a stick.”  If I asked you to name the biggest city in the United States of America, what would be your answer?  Of course, that depends on the meaning of “big.”  According to my dictionary, the first definition of “big” is: “Of considerable size, number, quantity, magnitude, or extent; large.”  If “big” refers to the number of residents in the city, the biggest city by far is New York, New York with a population of over 8 million, followed by Los Angeles, California and Chicago, Illinois. If “big” refers to land area, however, the biggest city is Juneau, the capital of Alaska, which covers over 8000 square kilometers, almost 10 times larger than New York and six times larger than Los Angeles.  But the largest city in the contiguous 48 states is the city in northeastern Florida not far from Penney Farms, where my wife and I reside.  The city of Jacksonville with a population of over 735,000 has almost 25 times the number of residents of Juneau, but its land area of 2178 square kilometers is about one-fourth of that of Juneau.  As is the case with many words, the meaning of the word depends on its context.  Depending on the context, “big” may have either a positive or negative implication.  It is better for a bigwig to be bighearted than to have a big mouth.  Whether we are speaking of people or other things, content is more important than size.

06/11/25  Measurement Systems  (Timely Words 0995)

When my wife and I arrived in Japan 55 years ago, we were faced with the need to make many adjustments in order to effectively communicate with Japanese people.  Along with differences in language and customs, we recognized measurement systems that were different than ours.  Along with the very logical, decimal metric system, which was legalized in the United States of America in 1866, was adopted as the official system of weights and measures in Japan in 1924 and is now used in most countries throughout the world, there was a traditional Japanese system which was more confusing—as is the system still used today in the United States.  When buying bread or other foodstuffs, we used such terms as kin (0.6 kilograms) and momme (3.7 grams).  Shaku (0.3 meters) and tsubo (3.3 square meters) were used for measurements of length and area.  Such measurements are no longer generally used today, but in the U. S. A., on the other hand, the traditional British systems of measurement are still in general use.  According to that system, length is measured in terms of feet, yards and miles.  There are 12 inches in a foot, 3 feet in a yard and 5280 feet in a mile.  Liquid measurements include ounces, pints, quarts and gallons.  There are 16 ounces in a pint, 2 pints in a quart and 4 quarts in a gallon.  In regard to weight, there are 16 ounces in a pound and 2000 pounds in a ton. A pound is also a monetary unit in Great Britain.  A foot was originally related to the length of a human foot (actually, the foot of the English King John) and a mile was originally a thousand paces.  Translators of the Bible and other ancient writings must find it difficult to choose how to translate words related to units of measurement or monetary value (Matthew 6:27; 10:29; 22:19; John 21:8, etc.).

06/11/29  Wars  (Timely Words 0996)

Violent confrontations, conflicts, wars between tribes, nations, races, families or individuals have been a part of human history from the beginning.  They are usually manifestations of the proud, self-centered, oppressive character of human beings.  According to Jesus’ words in Mark 13:7, “wars and rumors of wars” will continue to occur in the future.  It was because of the present war in Iraq, that the political situation in the U. S. A. has changed and a recent newspaper article noted that that war has become one of the longest wars in the history of this country.  It has lasted for three years and eight months, longer than World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the War of 1812, the U.S.-Mexican War and the Spanish-American War.  Only the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and the Vietnam War lasted longer.  As we consider the reasons for and results of destructive wars, the following quotations of two former army generals who had led men into battles are meaningful.  William Sherman, who served during the Civil War, said, “war is hell.  I am tired and sick of war.  Its glory is all moonshine.  It is only those who have never fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation.”  Dwight Eisenhower, who served during World War II said, “After my experience, I have come to hate war.  War settles nothing.”  But an Old Testament prophet envisioned a future age when nations “shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4).  Those who believe that such a time will come should work zealously to bring it to pass.

06/12/03  Immigration  (Timely Words 0997)

There are certain kinds of birds, animals and fish that migrate at certain seasons of the year or as the result of particular circumstances.  “Migrate,” derived from a Latin word meaning “move” or “depart,” denotes the departure from one region or country to settle in another and forms the core of the words “emigrate” and “immigrate.”  To “emigrate” is “to leave one country or region to settle in another,” and to “immigrate” is “to enter and settle in a country or region to which one is not native.”  Immigration and problems related to immigrants are among the controversial topics in the U. S. A. today and were influential in attracting or repelling voters in the recent national election.  A basic problem is related to the number of illegal immigrants who sneak or are transported across the long southern border with Mexico and are illegally employed at low wages to perform menial jobs.  Many of these Hispanics do not speak English, live in poverty and are the objects of discrimination.  At a recent lecture, in which the relation of immigration and discrimination was emphasized, I realized I was ignorant of the factors that provoked the Mexican War, as the result of which the U. S. A. gained two-fifths of Mexico’s territory and increased its own territory by about one-third.  After checking history books, I was again embarrassed to read about and reflect upon the “Manifest Destiny” concept that has stimulated and justified much of this country’s policies related to other nations over the years and, unfortunately, continues to be a problem even today.

06/12/07  “Manifest Destiny”  (Timely Words 0998)

I was surprised to find the term “Manifest Destiny” in my English dictionary.  The 2nd definition given in that dictionary is “A policy of imperialistic expansion defended as necessary or benevolent.”  This term was first used in a political magazine article in 1845 related to the annexation of Texas by the United States of America.  The editor, John L. O’Sullivan, supported the annexation affirming that it is “Our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.”  Overspreading the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific with a democratic government was a popular view of Americans at that time, but just ten years later an editorial in another magazine affirmed that “it is our manifest destiny to lead and rule all nations.”  Although it is probably natural for us to look at the world from our personal perspective and to consider our viewpoint the correct one which we would like others to recognize, we must recognize the differences of traditions, cultures and beliefs that must also be respected.  Probably all strong nations have, under certain conditions, tried to impose their belief or customs upon weaker ones and may have considered themselves divinely appointed to do so.  However, from my perspective as an American Christian, I am embarrassed to read about certain policies of my country’s leaders—both in the past and the present, for I believe that any people or nation that is chosen, or “destined,” by God to rule over others should do so by example rather than by force.  As God’s chosen people, we are called to serve rather than to dominate, to consider the needs of others rather than only our own. 

06/12/11  “Yankee”  (Timely Words 0999)

As a verb, “yank” means to pull or extract suddenly.  People who are upset or in a hurry may yank things out of boxes, drawers or pockets, but they should be careful not to cause damage or further confusion as a result of their yanks and yanking.  Do you think there is a connection between a “yank” and a “Yankee?”  When spelled with a capital Y, “Yank” is a shortened form of “Yankee,” but the meaning of “Yankee” depends on the speaker and the context in which it is used.  The three definitions in my dictionary are: 1) A native or inhabitant of New England.  2) A native or inhabitant of a Northern state.  3) A native or inhabitant of the United States.  Although there are various theories regarding the origin of this word, it is probably rooted in a disparaging term for a Hollander among early American colonists.  He was called “Jan Kaas,” for “John cheese.”  Over the years, not only did the pronunciation change but the meaning of the term changed also, depending on the speaker.  It was used by Dutchmen for New Englanders, by the British for any colonist, by Southern Confederates for Northern Unionists during the Civil War and by many in foreign countries to refer to anyone from the U.S.A.  Nowadays, it may also refer to a member of the professional baseball team based in New York.  If you hear a loud announcement “Here come the Yankees,” before a group of men coming down the road, whether you smile or frown, applaud, turn your back or fearfully run away depends on the kind of “Yankees” they are and your perception of them.  So it is with all groups, whether social, racial, cultural or religious.  Our attitude toward others is often the result of our prejudices, which have often been formed by the influence of others or of our own limited experience.