Saturday, May 25, 2013

Memmorial Day

The Origins of Memorial Day

Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of former Union soldiers and sailors - the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) - established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared it should be May 30. The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The cemetery already held the remains of 20,000 Union dead and several hundred Confederate dead.

Presided over by Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant and other Washington officials, the Memorial Day ceremonies centered around the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington mansion, once the home of Gen. Robert E. Lee. After speeches, children from the Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphan Home and members of the GAR made their way through the cemetery, strewing flowers on both Union and Confederate graves, reciting prayers and singing hymns.
Local Observances Claim To Be First
Local springtime tributes to the Civil War dead already had been held in various places. One of the first occurred in Columbus, Miss., April 25, 1866, when a group of women visited a cemetery to decorate the graves of Confederate soldiers who had fallen in battle at Shiloh. Nearby were the graves of Union soldiers, neglected because they were the enemy. Disturbed at the sight of the bare graves, the women placed some of their flowers on those graves, as well.

Today cities in the North and the South claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day in 1866. Both Macon and Columbus, Ga., claim the title, as well as Richmond, Va. The village of Boalsburg, Pa., claims it began there two years earlier. A stone in a Carbondale, Ill., cemetery carries the statement that the first Decoration Day ceremony took place there on April 29, 1866. Carbondale was the wartime home of Gen. Logan. Approximately 25 places have been named in connection with the origin of Memorial Day, many of them in the South where most of the war dead were buried.
Official Birthplace Declared
In 1966, Congress and President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, N.Y., the "birthplace" of Memorial Day. There a ceremony on May 5, 1866, was reported to have honored local soldiers and sailors who had fought in the Civil War. Businesses closed and residents flew flags at half-mast. Supporters of Waterloo's claim say earlier observances in other places were either informal, not community-wide or one-time events.

By the end of the 19th century, Memorial Day ceremonies were being held on May 30 throughout the nation. State legislatures passed proclamations designating the day. The Army and Navy adopted regulations for proper observance at their facilities. It was not until after World War I, however, that the day was expanded to honor those who have died in all American wars. In 1971 Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by an act of Congress, and designated as the last Monday in May.
Some States Have Confederate Observances
Many Southern states also have their own days for honoring the Confederate dead. Mississippi celebrates Confederate Memorial Day the last Monday of April, Alabama on the fourth Monday of April, and Georgia on April 26. North and South Carolina observe it May 10, Louisiana on June 3 and Tennessee calls that date Confederate Decoration Day. Texas celebrates Confederate Heroes Day January 19 and Virginia calls the last Monday in May Confederate Memorial Day.

Gen. Logan's order for his posts to decorate graves in 1868 "with the choicest flowers of springtime" urged: "We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. ... Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic."

The crowd attending the first Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery was approximately the same size as those that attend recent observances, about 5,000 people. Then, as now, small American flags were placed on each grave - a tradition followed at many national cemeteries today. In recent years, the custom has grown in many families to decorate the graves of all departed loved ones.

The origins of special services to honor those who die in war can be found in antiquity. The Athenian leader Pericles offered a tribute to the fallen heroes of the Peloponnesian War over 24 centuries ago that could be applied today to the 1.1 million Americans who have died in the nation's wars: "Not only are they commemorated by columns and inscriptions, but there dwells also an unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of men."

Monday, May 20, 2013

Insemnari pe un iPhone. Sfantul Constantin si Elena

Aceasta zi reprezinta nu numai o simpla ceremonie religioasa.
Trebuie luate in consideratie incercarile de consolidare a unei blocade din Bisantion si pana la Roma, de zid impotriva invaziilor pagane.
Biserica catolica si ortodocsa celebreaza mentorii liberalizarii crestinismului.
Satele si mai ales oierii se bucura de sosirea verii.
Semnificatia numelui Helena se traduce prin “torta” sau “faclie”. Nu intamplator simbolul focului se asociaza verii, arderii si purificarii.
Se implinesc zece ani de la trecerea in nefiinta a matusii mele Tanti Leana. Era sora mai mica a mamei. Ne-a parasit pe neasteptate. Desi foarte tanara vorbea putin, ii placea sa asculte si evita cearta. Plecata dintr-un sat cu povarnisuri noroioase unde abia auzeai trenul a urmat scoli la Sibiu de una singura, fara sprijin si protectii. A ajuns asistenta sefa a unei sectii de neuropsihiatrie. Toti o iubeau !
Acum cand picturialele ocupa spatiul si timpul cu dive imbuibate, siliconate uitam de femeile adevarate de altadata in bluze tesute in borangic si coborate din modelul Reginei Maria, mame, sotii si mai tarziu bunici bucurandu-se de familiile din jurul lor.
As propune un exercitiu simplu de inchidere a pleoapelor pentru cateva clipe si sa gasim o fiinta asemuita tortei si vredniciei din viata noastra a fiecaruia dintre noi. Sunt sigur ca gasim mereu o mama, sora ori chiar vecina ale carei vieti sa se coleze peste ceea ce numim eroina stinsa in anonimat, in destinul puritatii.
Lumea o ia razna! Si uitam sa ne amintim de femeile de ieri pedepsite sa munceasca in schimburi in fabrici, sa faca naveta ori sa indure praful C.A.P-urilor de la sapa pana la recolta din toamna.
Desigur pentru imbuibatii de astazi navalind cu autoturismele peste trecerile de pietoni ori desantandu-se prin cluburile de noapte randurile mele le par patetism ieftin. Tara lor reprezinta mosia dobandita de cele mai multe ori prin smenozeli, prin te miri ce stratageme. Romania lor devine o republica bananiera cu grupuri de interese si multi saraci. Nu cer o intoarcere la un cadru idilic-pasunist. Putin bun-simt, un moment dedicat celor in suferinta, in nevoi ar fi un inceput.
In urma cu ani o reportera a murit la datorie in judetul Buzau. I-am dedicat un poem. Nu stiu cati altii isi amintesc de ea, de tragedia de la Mihailesti,
Repet transcrierea acestuia cu speranta ca tanara e intr-un loc cu multa lumina si cu multa dreptate, numit paradis:

Elena si cuvantul urcand la ceruri

                                                Se dedica reporterei Elena, surioara apusa intr o zi de mai 

  Undeva la un pont mai potrivnic decit tristetea lui Ovidiu Publius ma intreba umbra dinspre adancuri si furtuni
unde imi e zambetul.
Nu e cantec,
nu e soare si nici adiere si nici somn peste lume,
nu e rana mai deschisa inspre zori la ocean
decat copil singur la parinti,
,
Surioara si zeita intru cuvint , credinta.
Nu e dimineata,
mi as da jumatatea din zi sau noapte
sa fim alaturi, asa cum fratii dioscuri se reunesc uitand
Moartea si Viata,
in fratie.
E luna mai – ploaia aduce florile in covor imparatasei Elena
vestindu–i ziua.
E luna lui mai si seara intrebam la iesirea din sat:
- E departe raiul ?
Nimeni nu mi raspunde si salcamii isi pleaca floarea
sub mii de gene
si lacrimi.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Colonizarea Romaniei

Nu fac parte din grupul de sustinatori orbiti de ideea ca suntem buricul pamantului. Ma nemultumeste insa rautatea, poate arogarea superioritatii in cazul artei.
Nu sunt expert in noile curente muzicale si nici in Bucataria Eurovision.
Se pare ca pe toate planurile se incearca o apasare cu bocancul pe capul celui si asa e la apa.
De la scandalurile cu carnea de cal, de la emisiunile franceze la adresa romanilor, de la impunerea neutilizarii bicarbonatului de sodiu in mici, de la ofensa adusa lui Cristian Mungiu ca e cersetor si pana la reducerea tarii intr-un tinut al Curtii de la Bruxelles exersam supunerea, subordonarea.
Lipsa de demnitate coborata din tribunele politicienilor si injectarea poporului roman cu aceasta este rezultatul parcurgerii celor 23 ani de dupa caderea comunismului.
Ma incumet sa o cred pe cuvant pe Angela Gheorghiu al carei talent si notorietate sunt garantie. Va reproduc  un pasaj din cuvintele ei adresate romanului prezent, si pare-se, nedreptatit la Eurovison:

"ITI MULTUMESC CA MI-AI DEMONSTRAT CA SI IN CONDITIILE CELOR MAI MARI EMOTII SI CONDITII DE MAXIM STRES AI FOST SI ESTI LA CEA MAI MARE INALTIME CAT DE MULT SELF CONTROL AI. STIU CA TE ASTEAPTA MOMENTE DE MARI SATISFACTII DAR SI ENORM DE MULTA MUNCA.
ACEST CONCURS ATAT DE CONTROVERSAT SI INJUST PRIN JURIZARE, STIM DEJA CU TOTII CA IN ACEL CONTEXT DE ASEARA, DACA AI FI REPREZENTAT O ALTA TARA, FARA A O NUMI, PENTRU A EVITA VREO POLEMICA, AI FI FOST JURIZAT ALTFEL.
CA PROFESIONIST IMI PERMIT SA SPUN CU SIGURANTA CA -NU TALENTUL- A PRIMAT ASEARA, DIMPOTRIVA. MAI SUNT SI EDITII CA ACESTEA... DAR A FOST DOAR UN PASAJ SI O EXPERIENTA PERSONALA PE CARE AI DORIT SA O SIMTI.
BRAVO BRAVISSMO CEZAR!!!! PRIMUL EVENIMENT SI CEL MAI APROPIAT, CONCERTUL DIN 25 MAI. THE SHOW AND LIFE MUST GO ON!!!"


Happy Thanksgiving Day!

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