mermaidcamp

mermaidcamp

Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water

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Samhain/All Saints

October 31, 2013 — 1 Comment

The Celtic holiday Samhain is still celebrated by some on October 31. The city of Dublin is embracing the ancient holiday in new ways.  Poetry is a way to create connection with the future and also with the past.  Some poems and songs survive from anonymous authors, while ancient Greeks are preserved in drama, ode and epic.  Translation is a tricky thing, especially when translating Pagan rituals to Catholic practices.  My ancestors, the O’Byrnes, came from County Meathe where Samhain was and is celebrated.  I hope someday to visit Dublin to see these Irish in action with their ancient tradition.

Since I am in Tucson, with a strong and popular All Souls’ Day party I plan to add poetry this year by attending the reading on Friday night at the U of A Poetry Center by our new poet laureate.  He is from the border, our own very specific and special place. This border has been directly responsible for plenty of death, and plenty of opportunity.  In a spiritual sense our border has never been real, but artificial, setting a trap, catching little prey.  It makes crime irresistible to the desperate. It works to incentivize illegal behavior. If the dead are visiting this week they will have no trouble crossing the border, even though they may have died trying.  I look forward to the experience.

Tethys, Water Goddess

October 29, 2013 — 2 Comments

Tethys was a titan, which means an original goddess, before Zeus and the Olympians took over the pantheon.  Her sisters were Nyx and Gaia, who ruled darkness and the earth. She was Mother of the Sea, ruling clouds, springs, rivers, and streams.  Her children were called Oceanids.  Water is the emotional element;  Tides, currents and undertows closely resemble human emotional forces.  The energy or wave of an emotion passes through the body as well as the life of the person involved.  Tethys is known as the goddess of nursing, and if you think of feeding the earth with clean water, her services are needed more than ever today. To get in touch with Tethys realize that flow and currents can be ridden, but it is folly to fight against them.  Emotional problems are the same; Denial or repression will not end them, but can make the ride much rougher. You can not change the waves, but you can learn to surf.

Sir Archibald Tyneman Regent Douglas

October 26, 2013 — 6 Comments

My 19th great grandfather died in battle defending Scotland against the English..Think bloody brutal….think crusaders…think crazy people…..

Battle of Halidon Hill

Battle of Halidon Hill

Although Robert the Bruce’s reign in Scotland resulted in recognition of Scotland as a separate nation by Edward III in 1328, further wars with England were soon to follow. The deep animosity between England and Scotland that hardened after the wars of Independence, led to intermittent warfare for much of the next three hundred years. Scotland was handicapped in that, sometimes when a strong king was needed, they ended up have a weak king or a minor on the throne. This power vacuum at the top, helped to create an environment where the more noble families of Scotland vied for the power. The Earls of Douglas (the Black Douglases), the Earls of Angus (the Red Douglases), the Hamiltons and the Lennox Stewarts, were all related to the Scottish crown by marriage and battled for the power behind the throne. On Bruce’s death in 1329, he was succeeded by his 5 year old son, David II. England lost little time in taking advantage of the presence of a minor on the Scottish throne. Edward III provided encouragement and active support to Edward Balliol, the son of John Balliol, for claiming the throne. In 1332, Edward Balliol invaded Scotland with a mainly English force and was crowned King at Scone, after routing a much larger Scots army under Donald, Earl of Mar as Guardian, at Dupplin Moor near Perth. The disastrous defeat was due to incompetency of Mar, the use of long bows and their devastating effect by the English, and a guide with local knowledge, provided by a Murray of Tullibardine. The following year, 1333, saw the Scots suffer an even more disastrous defeat at Halidon Hill, near Berwick. In an effort to end the siege of the town of Berwick by the English, Sir Archibald Douglas, who had succeeded Mar as Guardian, ignored reasonable battle tactics. They advanced across a bog, against a strongly held position on Halidon Hill, under heavy fire from the English archers with their deadly longbows. They suffered enormous casualties and failed to even reach the English. Douglas, and most of the other leading Scots nobles and fighting men were left dead on the field. In 1334, Balliol acknowledged Edward III’s overlordship and ceded the southern half of Scotland, from East Lothian to Dumfries, to England, an act which was to mean over a hundred years of warfare before they were recovered. This resulted in the Lochmaben Castle being given to the English. It also affected Thomas Carruthers, 1st Laird of Mouswald. For his earlier support of Robert the Bruce, Thomas Carruthers had received in about 1320, a charter for all the lands of “Musfald et de Appiltretwayt cum pertinenciis”. This Thomas also received in the same year, a charter of half of all the lands, with pertinents, which belonged to “Robert de Applingdene in valle Anandie”, due to his marriage to one of Robert de Applynden’s daughters, Joan. These lands formed the kernel of what was to become just 4 generations later, the 1st Carruthers Barony – Mouswald, which is located just a few miles south of Dumfries. With Edward Balliol ceding the land of Dumfries to Edward III, Thomas Carruthers accepted an office under Edward III of England and relocated there, leaving his Mouswald land to his next oldest brother, William, now 2nd Lord Mouswald. Thomas is assumed to be the founder of the Carruthers family in England, where the family appeared at an early date in Cumberland, Northumberland, Durham, and Yorkshire.

Sir Archibald Tyneman Regent Douglas:

The younger son of Sir William “le Hardi” Douglas, the Governor of the castle at Berwick-upon-Tweed, and his wife, Eleanor de Lovaine. Douglas was also half-brother of “the Good” Sir James Douglas, King Robert the Bruce’s deputy.

Douglas is first heard of in 1320 when he received a charter of land at Morebattle in Roxburghshire and Kirkandrews in Dumfriesshire  from King Robert. In 1324, he was recorded as being granted the lands of Rattray and Crimond in Buchan and the lands of Conveth, Kincardineshire, already being possession of Cavers in Roxburghshire, Drumlanrig and Terregles in Dumfriesshire, and the lands of West Calder in Midlothian. By the time of his death, he was also in possession of Liddesdale.

History then keeps quiet about Douglas except whilst serving under his older brother, James, in the 1327 campaign in Weardale, where his foragers “auoint curry apoi tot levesche de Doresme”– overran nearly all the Bishopric of Durham. (Scalacronica)

Following the death of King Robert I and his brother’s crusade with the dead king’s heart, Douglas once again becomes of note. He was made guardian of the kingdom since he was “the principal adviser in…the confounding of the king” as much as he was heir to his brothers influence after Murray’s capture. Archibald’s success in local raids though, did not prepare him for full scale conflict.

During the Second War of Scottish Independence, Edward Baliol, son of King John of Scotland, had invaded Scotland with the backing of Edward III of England, inflicting a defeat on the Scots at the Battle of Dupplin Moor. Douglas served under the dubious leadership of Patrick V, Earl of Dunbar leader of the second army that aimed to crush the smaller Balliol force. Following the rout of the Earl of Mar’s force Dunbar did not engage the disinherited but retreated allowing Edward Balliol to be crowned at Scone. Following this battle, and as a sweetener to the English, Edward Baliol agreed to cede the county, town and castle of Berwick to England in perpetuity. However Douglas led a Bruce loyalist defeat on Balliol at theBattle of Annan, forcing him to flee back to England.
Battle of Halidon Hill

Edward III himself came north to command his army, and laid siege to Berwick. However, a temporary truce was declared with the stipulation that if not relieved within a set time, Sir Alexander Seton, the governor, would deliver the castle to the English. Douglas raised an army to relieve the beleaguered defenders of Berwick. As a feint to draw the English away he invaded Northumberland, but was forced to return to Berwick when the English refused to be lured. On 19 July, Edward’s army took positions at the summit of Halidon Hill, a summit some mile and a half north of the town with commanding views of the surrounding country. Douglas’ numerically superior force was compelled to attack up the slope and were slaughtered by the English archers, a prelude, perhaps, to the battles of Crécy and Agincourt. The English won the field with little loss of life, however by the close of the fight, countless Scots common soldiery, five Scots Earls and the Guardian Douglas lay dead. The following day Berwick capitulated.

Archibald was succeeded by his son, William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas.

Sir Archibald Douglas married Beatrice Lindsay, daughter of Sir Alexander Lindsay of Crawford, an ancestor of the Earls of Crawford. They had three children.

  • John Douglas (d.b. 1342 in the retinue of David II of Scotland in France)
  • William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas
  • Eleanor Douglas married five times
  1. Alexander, Earl of Carrick, natural son of Edward Bruce, King of Ireland (k. 1333, Battle of Halidon Hill)
  2. Sir James de Sandilands, ancestor of the Lords of Torphichen (d.b. 1358)
  3. Sir William Tours of Dalry (d.b. 1368)
  4. Sir Duncan Wallace of Sundrum (d.b. 1376)
  5. Sir Patrick Hepburn of Hailes, ancestor of the Earls of Bothwell

Sir Archibald Tyneman Regent Douglas (1289 – 1333)

is my 19th great grandfather
Baroness Catherine Douglas (1320 – 1360)
daughter of Sir Archibald Tyneman Regent Douglas
John de Vaux Barnbarroch (1365 – 1384)
son of Baroness Catherine Douglas
John De Vaux (1402 – 1456)
son of John de Vaux Barnbarroch
Isabella Vaus (1451 – 1510)
daughter of John De Vaux
Marion Accarson (1478 – 1538)
daughter of Isabella Vaus
Catherine Gordon (1497 – 1537)
daughter of Marion Accarson
Lady Elizabeth Ashton (1524 – 1588)
daughter of Catherine Gordon
Capt Roger Dudley (1535 – 1585)
son of Lady Elizabeth Ashton
Gov Thomas Dudley (1576 – 1653)
son of Capt Roger Dudley
Anne Dudley (1612 – 1672)
daughter of Gov Thomas Dudley
John Bradstreet (1652 – 1718)
son of Anne Dudley
Mercy Bradstreet (1689 – 1725)
daughter of John Bradstreet
Caleb Hazen (1720 – 1777)
son of Mercy Bradstreet
Mercy Hazen (1747 – 1819)
daughter of Caleb Hazen
Martha Mead (1784 – 1860)
daughter of Mercy Hazen
Abner Morse (1808 – 1838)
son of Martha Mead
Daniel Rowland Morse (1838 – 1910)
son of Abner Morse
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
son of Daniel Rowland Morse
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Jason A Morse
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse

Nathaniel Warren of Plymouth Colony

October 25, 2013 — 2 Comments

Richard landing with Pilgrims

Richard landing with Pilgrims

Nathaniel Warren was born in 1624 in Plymouth Colony.  His father, Richard, came alone on the Mayflower to America, then sent later for his family:
We know that the Mayflower passenger’s first three children were named Mary, Ann, and Sarah (in that birth order).Very little is known about Richard Warren’s life in America.  He came alone on the Mayflower in 1620, leaving behind his wife and five daughters.  They came to him on the ship Anne in 1623, and Richard and Elizabeth subsequently had sons Nathaniel and Joseph at Plymouth.
Nathaniel Warren (1624 – 1667)
is my 12th great grandfather
daughter of Nathaniel Warren
daughter of Sarah Warren
son of Elizabeth Blackwell
daughter of Thomas Baynard
daughter of Deborah Baynard
daughter of Mary Horney
son of Esther Harris
daughter of John H Wright
daughter of Mary Wright
daughter of Emiline P Nicholls
daughter of Harriet Peterson
daughter of Sarah Helena Byrne
son of Olga Fern Scott
I am  the daughter of Richard Arden Morse
When he was 41 years old he was given the responsibility of negotiating with my 11th great uncle Metacom to purchase land from the Wampanoag tribe.
Plymouth Colony Land Purchase:

  • Oct. 1665, John Cooke and his Brother-In-Law Nathaniel Warren, were appointed by Plymouth Colony to “treat with Philip the Sagamore about the sale of such lands as are to be sold by him, and to purchase them in the behalf of the country.” Philip the Sagamore, sometimes called Metacom, was the son or grandson of Massasoit, and leader of the Wampanoag Indians. He would later be dubbed “King Philip” during the Wampanoag’s war he led against the English in 1676.

    His prepared his will in 1661 to resolve disputes over his father’s estate.

From the book “Mayflower Families Through Five Generations” Richard Warren, Volume Eighteen Part 1 – Third Edition by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants 2004
On June 11 1653 Jane Collyare (Collier) on behalf of her grandchild Sara, the wife of Nathaniel Warren. Elizabeth Warren and Nathaniel Warren agreed to let the court resolve their differences over certain lands of Mr. richard Warren deceased.
Nathaniel Warren became a Freeman 3 June 1657. On 1 June 1658 he was a Deputy from Plymouth, a position he frequently held.
On 15 oct 1661 Nathaniell Warren “aged thirty seaven yeares or thereabouts” made a deposition. NOTE: spelling in the ( )’s are exactly the way it was written back in 1661.
The will of Nathaniel Warren Sr. of Plymouth, dated 29 June 1667, codicil dated 16 July 1667, names wife Sarah; dau. Hope who is lame; other children (not named); the codicil mentions mother Elizabeth Warren; brother Joseph Warren; sisters Mary Bartlett, Sr., Ann Little, Sarah Cooke, Elizabeth Church and Abigail Snow. The inventory was taken 21 Oct 1667, sworn by widow Sarah Warren who was granted administration 30 Oct 1667.
On 9 Jan. 1689/90, Sarah Warren sold land in Plymouth to her son James Warren. On 9 Jan. 1689/90, the other heirs of Nathaniel Warren consented to the sale, they were: Richard Warren; Nathaniel Warren; Jabiz Warren; Elizabeth Green; Sarah Blackwell; Thomas Gibbs and wife Alice; Jonathan Delano and wife Mercy Delano.
On 19 Sept. 1694 Jabiz Warren of Plymouth, yeoman, sold to John Gibbs land in Middleboro which was bought by his father Nathaniel Warren.

Sir John Tyndale, Knight of the Order of the Bath

October 22, 2013 — 7 Comments

Order of the Bath

Order of the Bath

SIR JOHN TYNDALL KT., the only son of Sir ‘William by Mary Mondeford, was ten years old when his father died, and was then already contracted to marry one of the daughters of Humphrey Coningsby, Serjeant-at-Law (afterwards a Knight and a Judge of the King’s Bench), to whom his wardship and marriage had been sold by his father.
He married accordingly Amphillis Coningsby, who died before him on 18th Jan. 1532-3, leaving nine children. A gray marble slab in the chancel of Hockwold Church bears the effigies in brass of a lady and nine children, with this inscription:
Qui~quis ens qin transieris sta. perlege, plora,
Sum quod ens, fuciainque quod es, pro me piecor ora
Obitus Amfelicie Tendall decimo octavo die Mensis Januar. A I). MccccoXXXi j”

Sir John Tyndall was one of the Knights of the Bath created on 31st May 1533 at the coronation of Queen Anne Boleyn, (30) and married secondly in 1534 Lady Winifred Fermor, the widow of Sir Henry Fermor Kt., of’ East Barsham in Norfolk. Their marriage settlement is dated 14th Dec. 26l ien. VII I. (1534), whereby Sir John charged the manor of Scales hail in Hockwold with the payment. of 421. per annum by way of jointure to Dame Winifred) She was the daughter of Thomas Cawse, an Alderman of Norwich,and was thrice married, for her first husband was Henry- Dynne Esq. of Heydon in Norfolk. She had no issue by her third husband, whom she outlived.

Sir John Tyndall died on 1st Oct. 1539 at the age of 53, seised of the following manors and estates, which were valued at 223l 10s. per annum beyond all reprises (32)

Norfolk, The manor of Hickling, value per annum
The manor and advowson of Pudding-Norton
The manor of Redenhall in Harlston . The manors of Ilsington and Clenchwarton with the advowson of Clenchwarton .
Cambridgeshire, The manor of Haslingfield
Northants, The manor of Helpston ~
Norfolk Lands called Bainys, Lands lying in Colston . The manor of Mondeford, Scale, and Stewkeys, with East Lexham and
the advowson of Hockwold

(Research of Mark W Gardner, “Gardner’s Roots, RootsWeb.com)

John Tyndale (1486 – 1539)
is my 11th great grandfather
daughter of John Tyndale
son of Margaret Tyndale
son of Thomas Taylor
son of Thomas Taylor
son of James Taylor
son of John Taylor
son of John Taylor
son of John Taylor
son of John Nimrod Taylor
son of John Samuel Taylor
son of William Ellison Taylor
daughter of George Harvey Taylor
I am the daughter of Ruby Lee Taylor
He was a knight in the Order of the Bath.  I think that is very funny because I am especially crazy about taking baths and water in general.

In the Middle Ages, knighthood was often conferred with elaborate ceremonies. These usually involved the knight-to-be taking a bath (possibly symbolic of spiritual purification), during which he was instructed in the duties of knighthood by more senior knights. He was then put to bed to dry. Clothed in a special robe, he was led with music to the chapel where he spent the night in a vigil. At dawn, he made confession and attended Mass, then retired to his bed to sleep until it was fully daylight. He was then brought before the King, who, after instructing two senior knights to buckle the spurs to the knight-elect’s heels, fastened a belt around his waist, then struck him on the neck (with either a hand or a sword), thus making him a knight. It was this “accolade” which was the essential act in creating a knight, and a simpler ceremony developed, conferring knighthood merely by striking or touching the knight-to-be on the shoulder with a sword, or “dubbing” him, as is still done today. In the early medieval period, the difference seems to have been that the full ceremonies were used for men from more prominent families.

From the coronation of Henry IV in 1399, the full ceremonies were restricted to major royal occasions such as coronations, investitures of the Prince of Wales or royal Dukes, and royal weddings. Knights so created became known as Knights of the Bath. Knights Bachelor continued to be created with the simpler form of ceremony. The last occasion on which Knights of the Bath were created was the coronation of Charles II in 1661.

From at least 1625, and possibly from the reign of James I, Knights of the Bath were using the motto Tria iuncta in uno (Latin for “Three joined in one”), and wearing as a badge three crowns within a plain gold oval. These were both subsequently adopted by the Order of the Bath; a similar design of badge is still worn by members of the Civil Division. Their symbolism, however, is not entirely clear. The ‘three joined in one’ may be a reference to the kingdoms of England, Scotland and either France or Ireland, which were held (or claimed in the case of France) by British monarchs. This would correspond to the three crowns in the badge. Another explanation of the motto is that it refers to the Holy Trinity. Nicolas quotes a source (although he is sceptical of it) who claims prior to James I, the motto was Tria numina iuncta in uno, (three powers/gods joined in one), but from the reign of James I the word numina was dropped and the motto understood to mean Tria [regna] iuncta in uno (three kingdoms joined in one).

coat of arms Tyndale

coat of arms Tyndale

Osteopathy

October 22, 2013 — 5 Comments

While visiting in California I had an osteopathic adjustment at Celina’s office.  I am accustomed to all the best in body work all the time, so I appreciate the careful and professional way she addressed my issues.  The only doctor I ever trusted was Dr. Robert Fulford.  He practiced only manipulative medicine, as Celina does.  Today in the US most DOs (osteopathic physicians) do not use manipulative medicine, but have followed the MDs into pimping for big pharma.  I asked Dr. Fulford when he was my doctor what is wrong with most medical practices that they make patients wait and treat them with no respect.  I always remember his answer.  He said “It is their training.” This is true more than ever.

I experienced loads of negligence while taking care of my parents’ medical issues in their last years.  I was shocked by heavier abuse when I volunteered for the VA and saw how the Vets are treated.  I have stayed away from all drugs because I think they are the cause and not the cure for most of the folks who are on them.  I don’t want to have to go to a doctor who believes drugs are the answer.  After the treatment I was inspired to find a real osteopath in Tucson.  Lucky for me Teresa Cisler, DO is still in practice here and was trained by Dr. Fulford himself.  The goddess of healing provided a cancellation in her schedule so that I may go next Monday to enroll as her patient.  Normally she is in such high demand that it takes months to get on the books for time with her.  I am so pleased to follow up here at home on the work that Celina began.  The treatment and analysis she did with me was pleasurable at the time, but most important is the healing that continues.  She was trained in Canada where the osteopaths are still doing osteopathy. In California her work is classified as body work.  The reason she stands out as more knowledgeable and professional than most body workers? Is is her training.  Sensitivity is developed in the hand to feel pulses, heat, and the tiniest differences in tissues under the skin.  By looking at your alignment and gait, then feeling the systems at work she is able to determine what your body needs the most.  The focus is on the client, 100%, a rare and very effective strategy for a healer.  It worked very well for me.

Celina Trevino

Celina Trevino

Mistress Bradstreet, Puritan Poet

October 20, 2013 — 6 Comments

My 9th great grandmother was the first woman poet to be published in America:

Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672) is one of the most important figures in the history of American Literature. She is considered by many to be the first American poet, and her first collection of poems, “The Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up in America, By a Gentlewoman of Those Parts”, doesn’t contain any of her best known poems, it was the first book written by a woman to be published in the United States. Mrs. Bradstreet’s work also serves as a document of the struggles of a Puritan wife against the hardships of New England colonial life, and in some way is a testament to plight of the women of the age. Anne’s life was a constant struggle, from her difficult adaptation to the rigors of the new land, to her constant battle with illness.
It is clear to see that Anne’s faith was exemplary, and so was her love for children and her husband, Governor Simon Bradstreet. Anne’s poems were written mainly during the long periods of loneliness while Simon was away on political errands. Anne, who was a well educated woman, also spent much time with her children, reading to them and teaching them as her father had taught her when she was young. While it is rather easy for us to view Puritan ideology in a bad light because of it’s attitude towards women and strict moral code, her indifference to material wealth, her humility and her spirituality, regardless of religion, made her into a positive, inspirational role model for any of us.
Another one of Anne’s most important qualities was her strong intuition, although only subtly hinted at in her work, probably for fear of reprisal from the deeply religious Puritan community, one cannot help but feel her constant fascination with the human mind, and spirit, and inner guidance.
Her style is deceptively simple, yet speaks of a woman of high intelligence and ideals who was very much in love, and had unconditional faith. While it was difficult for women to air their views in the 17th Century, Anne Bradstreet did so with ease, as her rich vocabulary and polyvalent knowledge brought a lyrical, yet logical quality to her work which made it pleasant for anyone to read.

Anne Dudley Bradstreet was protected by her father and husband at a time when women were not supposed to think, let alone write poetry.  She wrote history as she lived it as an Englishwoman in New England.  I visited the University of Arizona Poetry Center this week to see the word shrine for the dead.  I was very happy to also find a big blue book by Anne Bradstreet on the shelves.  I enjoyed the wonderful space and visited with my ancestor by reading her works for about an hour.  I had seen some of the work before, but since I was thinking of ancestry I really enjoyed the note she wrote to her son Simon (brother of my own ancestor).  There is a copy preserved in her own hand, which I love to see.  It gives me some intuition into her soul’s journey.  Being a Pilgrim was not easy, but if your father and husband were governors you had some obvious advantages.

It is a wonderment of synchronicity to find my ancestor’s work preserved at the Poetry Center very near my home where I can go visit and read her any time.

Fear, Blame, Revenge, Repeat

October 16, 2013 — 1 Comment

skull and crossbones

skull and crossbones

The human condition known as revenge is ancient and well documented.  The Greek goddess Nemesis represents retribution.  She lives in the underworld with Hecate.  She feels no remorse and hesitates at nothing to deal out vengeance when it is required.  She is a neutral spirit with a balanced approach.  She has the task of taking happiness from the undeserving while bringing more joy to those who earn it.  She is pictured with a balance scale, doing  calculations.  She is concerned with issues of money.  Her name is related to the word number, and the word economy.  She is not vengeful,  but is an accountant from the underworld.

The collective as well as your personal consciousness about wealth, money and right livelihood are the province of Nemesis.  She keeps the accounts in balance.  Abundance and prosperity follow the laws of nature.  Knowledge as well as belief influence the outcome of all your earthly investments.  Spiritual integrity in work and business ethics are measured against one’s degree of avarice and destructive behavior.  Can you find ways that your beliefs about receiving limit you now?  Can you think of ways to budget a more secure financial future for yourself through awareness?  Some Americans call her “Death and Taxes”, to say she is hard to avoid.  She is impossible to avoid, and she is counting all the time.  She will deliver what is due from the wheel of karma because that is her job.

Fabulous Feds

October 9, 2013 — 3 Comments

Just when I thought the Federal government had no redeeming qualities I was proven wrong.  My friends and I had the privilege of touring one of the classiest buildings the US taxpayer owns, the US Court of Appeals of the 9th Circuit in San Francisco.  We were invited by my friend, appellate commissioner Peter Shaw , who has worked in the building for many years.  We knew we would see one of the oldest buildings in the city, but none of us was prepared for how cool it actually is.  When it was built it also served as the main post office, so some of the teller windows and details that belonged to the post office era have been included in the design today.  We met very gracious people who were  distinguished and personable to us. The courtrooms are  ornate and full of fine stone carving, wooden furniture, and mosaics.  The metal throughout the building is beautifully formed. Many of the lighting fixtures are brass, shined to perfection.  We truly loved the feeling of being treated to the luxury of the surroundings without being involved in a court case.  The big thrill of the day was dressing in Peter’s robe and sitting for photos on the bench, flanked by the babes of justice.  He had done this before so he knew how popular this would be.  We felt like the luckiest taxpayers in the country.  The commissioner is more than an esteemed member of the court.  He has a pride and sense of history that he was able to convey to us as we examined the evidence he presented.  We all felt much better about our government, if only for an afternoon.  I will always remember this opportunity to peek into the distinguished and artful world of jurisprudence.

Avenger Archetype

October 5, 2013 — 3 Comments

The Avenger character is a masked marvel. Crusades for righteousness and fairness are the territory of this archetype.  Comic book characters and super heroes use the avenger character  to tell stories about balancing the scales of justice .  The obvious shadow attribute the avenger can possess is the willingness to use violence to defend a cause.  Frequently we see the misguided avenger on the loose; That is called the loose cannon because the lack of control is too obvious.  They may be warriors or politicians, but their primary motive is to represent causes for the sake of others.  They are aggressive.

Religious zealots in history  have often convinced others to seek revenge or fight a holy war.  Terrorism and family feuds are examples of avengers gone bad.  When nations or political factions  square off to avenge some perceived wrong this is the archetype in control.  When the Republicans and the Democrats cut off all their noses to spite all their faces they are doing it because they believe they are finding vengeance.  They tell the taxpayers they are fighting for us, but they are isolated in their own cartoon, unaware of the roles they play in our big drama.  They fight because they feel entitled, and because we have allowed them to become so extreme.  Their capes and masks must be recalled.

avenger card

avenger card