The Aristrocrat and the Bad Little Girl

When I was a little girl, I loved reading a series of books written by a woman who was born in 1799 to a noble Russian family and was said to be descended from Genghis Khan. Her name is Rostopchine Comtesse de Segur.

She received an aristocratic education and spoke five languages including French. (Russian nobles found it fashionable to have French governesses for their children.) Exiled from Russia during the Napoleonic Wars, she married into the French family of the Count Eugene de Segur.

 

The Count

 

The Countess had eight children and many grandchildren to whom she frequently told morality-based stories that she made up on the spot. At age 58, encouraged by her family, the Countess began to put her beloved storytelling into storybooks for the wider world.

From an early book cover

 

She started by writing about simplistic characters representing good and evil. (“prince disguised as pauper” type of tales.) But her characters escaped from those restrictions and acquired a life of their own. I loved her stories about a donkey named Cadichon who was ill- treated by his family, rebelled and grew wise in the process. Other stories were about General Dourakine (Dourak means “imbecile” in Russian).

 

 

The Model Girls

Then her fans requested stories about “model little girls” to serve as role models for aristocratic girls. So she created “Les petites filles modeles,” Camille and Madeleine. She also invented their foil in what became her most famous work, “Les Malheurs de Sophie.” Sophie was to be the negative role model who fell into one scrape after another.

 

But the readers had little interest in Camille and Madeleine, and perversely the misbehaving Sophie became a great literary favorite.

Didn’t the Countess know that misadventures are always more fun than exemplary lives? I doubt that any of the children who read her became little “Goody Two Shoes.”

 

 

Oh boy, how I loved that rebellious little girl.

Powers of the Book

TV News is different these days. It looks like we are watching a team in a single studio but in most cases, the anchors and reporters have separated themselves and are speaking to us from their own homes.

 

Books confer authority

 

It’s interesting to get a glimpse of the rooms they are in, the art on their walls, or even of a cat or dog on the sofa. On the PBS Newshour as Judy Woodruff, Mark Shields and David Brooks discuss the events of the day, I see a curious thing: they have all chosen to populate their rooms with books in order to add credibility to their comments and legitimacy to their prognostications.

This visual element of books is often used as a ploy by those who want to persuade us. In advertisements, there, in the background, is the shelf with the books. Sometimes the room is full of books, sometimes it is only two or three sickly worn paperbacks sharing shelf space with other bric-a-brac. The important thing is that books are present.

Why do we accord such respect to books?

 

 

I think it is because they allow us to look at the world from a different window from the one we habitually use. This different widow reveals insights and feelings which we often share but also shows us different landscapes which we had never seen before.

Mario Vargas Llosa wrote: “We would be worse than we are without the good books we have read, more conformist, not as restless, more submissive, and the critical spirit, the engine of progress, would not even exist; reading is a protest against the insufficiencies of life,
a way of traveling without leaving home”.

Another way to measure the importance and power of books is through the people who would destroy them.

In 213 BC, Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang ordered the burning of books of poetry and history because he felt threatened by the ideas they represented. The library in ancient Alexandria was burned many times. After the invention of printing, it became more difficult to eradicate books when they were present in many copies.

John Milton said in 1644: “Who kills a man kills a reasonable creature but who destroys a good book kills reason itself”. And Heine wrote, “Where one burns books, one will soon burn people.”

In 1933 university students across Germany burned 25,ooo books including authors such as Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud and Ernest Hemingway.

As long as there have been books, there have been men who burned them. As recently as 2012, in Timbuktu priceless manuscripts were being burned. People risked their lives to protect them and smuggled out 350,ooo of them. In China Mao Zedong ordered books burned if they did not conform to party propaganda.

 

 

Books pose a threat to some but procure delight and happiness to others. In addition to their contents they are a great artifact in and of themselves. The book is one of the most capable, easy, accessible, never-breaks- down technologies ever invented. You can read it anywhere, indoors or out. It does not need to be plugged into anything and so is always available. You can pick it up anytime or put it away. You can sit in the sun with it. You can go back and reread something that struck you. You can skip pages of boring material. If you can’t afford to buy one, you can borrow it from the library. As long as there are books in a library you will never be bored.

Books preserve the ideas and knowledge of all time, for all time.

 

 

 

Lost In Space

It’s a good time to get away so I’ve been thinking about outer space.

When Christina Koch was five, she knew she wanted to be an astronaut. She became an electrical engineer and in October of last year, she and Jessica Meir, a marine biologist who scuba dives to study Emperor Penguins, made history by completing the first ever all-female spacewalk. They worked together for just over seven hours replacing a faulty battery charge/discharge unit.

Fifteen women have done space walks so far. It took awhile to get more women into space because of a lack of spacesuits that fit them properly. Spacesuits were designed in the 1970’s and all the original astronauts were men (and tall at that). And recently a NASA administrator has said there are “physical” reasons that make it difficult for women to perform spacewalks. I seriously doubt that and I’m not alone.

Here’s a quote from Christina that moved me. “I may not be the first woman to walk on the moon, but I think I will know the first woman who walks on the moon.”

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Planet Earth is an oasis floating in the immense void of space and it is the only place that provides sustenance for humans. We can “walk” in space, but we cannot eat, drink breathe or sleep there.
We take our daily sensory inputs for granted until they are absent. The Big Void is not our natural living milieu. I learned that space suits are actually miniature spaceships for one person.

 

The flag just stands there like an unmoving sentinel. It has been planted in the vast nothingness of the moon’s surface and no wind ever ventures there.

Because there’s no air up there, the flag (original cost $4.95) was fitted with telescoping rods to hold it horizontally. They made the rods, they got them to the moon, but the lubricant on them was wrong so they couldn’t extend. So the flag looks like it is fluttering.

There are 6 other US flags on the moon, all intentionally designed so they will look the same as that first flag.

Part of the inscription at the base of the first flag reads:
”We came in peace for all mankind.”

Song of the Foolish Old Man….

Editors note: Simone’s talents continue to blossom. She has now given us a modern Sea Shanty.  The blog staff was so taken with this that they immediately provided some music which  you will find linked below.  (there is, at best, a tenuous connection between the words and the music)
For I have a song to be sung O
Sing me your song O
It is the song of a foolish old man
Who’s sporting a fake orange tan and is doing everything  that he can
To sink his country in the sand
To the sound of his own band.
I have a song to be sung O’
Sing me your song O
It’s the song of a growing revolt
Against this very foolish old dolt
And everyone has now heard our call
For we’ll vote him out  of his seat this fall.

New Zealand has nearly eliminated Covid-19….Here’s Who Led That Success

 

Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand

I think I have found the perfect anti-Trump! She is his opposite in every imaginable way. Her name is Jacinda Ardern and she is New Zealand’s Prime Minister. Maybe being at the bottom of the world map allows a clear view of what is happening in the world above.

Breaking news from The Lancet, May 9th:   “New Zealand has recorded its first day of no new cases of Covid-19”

Donald Trump is mean-spirited. Jacinda Ardern radiates empathy. His language is incoherent gibberish. She is clear-headed and articulate. She let the science lead and has built public trust. Her initial aim, which was controversial, was not to control the virus, but rather to eliminate it.

In late March, about one month after the country’s first reported case, Ardern imposed a strict national lockdown. At the time, New Zealand had only 102 cases and no deaths. The nationwide effort included extensive testing and contact tracing focused on problem areas. Now, with only 1500 recorded cases, they are slowly opening up. New Non-stop flights from Los Angeles to Christchurch start on October 20th.

Jacinda is the mother of a little girl whom she treats firmly and lovingly and her approach to governing is much the same: compassionate but effective.

Trumps’s main concern is “How is this virus affecting my image?”  Ardren is trying to find ways to stop its spread. Trump believes nothing has changed in the world whereas Arden knows that nothing will ever be the same again.

Donald Trump wants to reopen the US economy in the next few weeks and is not worried that this reopening might lead to more Covid-19 deaths. But the situation is far beyond his control. In New Zealand, effective and early testing and tracing have brought the virus to a “near zero” status which can now be controlled with continuing testing and contact tracing.

Donald Trump’s strategy might be his undoing as more people see him as the selfish, self-centered self-promoter that he is.

 

Butter Days

Paris, 1945. Waiting for a bakery to open during a period of rationing

Just after the Second World War, my husband David and I lived in France. Food was scare and a system of rationing was put in place. People had ration cards and distribution of various items was announced periodically as well as which cards entitled to us to particular foods.

The days when we got butter were particularly appreciated. It was also great to get chocolate because sweets were rare. On the other hand vegetables and fruit were grown locally and were readily available.

We could and did exchange one food for another by bartering. I remember trading milk and getting rice instead. Of course as is always the case, you could obtain almost anything on the black market at exorbitant prices.

Despite that somewhat challenging bit of history, I have to say today’s situation is unprecedented. I’m 98 years-old and I don’t think I have ever used that word except as a synonym for unusual.

But what is happening now has really never been seen before in my lifetime. When have we ever been required to separate from friends at the very moment when an embrace or a hug is needed as never before?

And why, I wonder, has French President Emmanuel Macron decided it is time to reopen schools and other institutions on May 11th? I question the wisdom of this. It is hard to keep children from playing and touching each other and spreading the infection.

Still, the world is slowly restarting. In Austria and Denmark, schools and universities are reopening. Germany is slowly returning to normal. Italy is reopening its bookstores. In Spain, construction work restarts. In the USA, there are spotty reopenings and a lot of fear.

So we have two contradictory forces at work; the wish to return to normalcy as soon as possible and the high risk of spreading the infection.

I tell myself to be patient. I tell myself that things will be good again. But, oh, waiting is so hard when you don’t really know how much more waiting is in store.

Midland Michigan, December 2019. The BlitzCreek Robotics team, as a money-maker, built the world’s largest toilet paper pyramid. (27,434 rolls). In January they sold the rolls and made a nice profit for their club. They should have waited a few months.

 

 

 

HARRY AND MEGHAN UPDATE

Editor’s Note: We’re happy to share a guest post from Simone’s daughter, Dina Cramer

In 1956 an American actress named Grace Kelly went to Europe and married a prince, Prince Ranier of Monaco, thus becoming Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco.  She gave up a highly successful acting career after her marriage although she was still offered acting roles and was tempted to accept.  But in the end the palace pressured her to resist going back to acting, and she acceded to the pressure.  She devoted her life to royal duties and to raising her three children. 

 

Grace Kelly

Another American actress, albeit less famous than Grace Kelly, Meghan Markle, has taken an opposite tack.  She too married a European Prince. When we last looked in on the adventures of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry of Great Britain, also known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, they were in the process of engineering their exit from Great Britain. 

A year and a half into their marriage they informed the Queen and the world that they were setting up a new life in North America.  The Queen, who seemed to be presented with a fait accompli, let them go without a fuss. But when they announced that they wanted to represent the Queen from their base abroad, she denied this request, saying they could not be half in and half out of the royal family.

So why did they leave?  In England the Duchess, who is half-black, faced racist comments from individuals, a vicious tabloid press, and a relentless social media. She was also criticized for being an American, divorced, and older than the Prince. The couple compounded their troubles by keeping secret the birth location of their baby, the christening details, and the identity of the godparents.  The British public was not pleased, especially after having just spent over $3 million to renovate their house.

But why did Harry so readily agree to abandon his country and family?  We know that the Prince was deeply traumatized by his mother Diana’s death when he was only twelve, and that he blames the press for that death.  He was then brought up by a succession of nannies when not in boarding school.  He was left bereft in a family and a culture that believes in a stiff upper lip.  He admits that he couldn’t deal with any of it until his late twenties and today has a great interest in causes dealing with mental health.  

LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 07: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex

Harry, who is both a Prince and a Duke, was the second son in his family. His mother produced two sons, known as “an heir and a spare.”  Harry’s older brother, William, was the heir to the throne.  Since his brother already has three children, Harry is only sixth in line to the throne.  

His flight reminds me of younger sons of landed nobility, in earlier days, who couldn’t inherit because of primogeniture.  The whole estate would go to the first-born male.  Thus the younger brothers would have to find a role for themselves if they didn’t want to live in their older brother’s shadow, perhaps managing the estate. There was a tradition of leaving the country by moving to the colonies or joining the military.  Then they could potter about the family tea plantations or ride around with their regiment.  

Nonetheless the flight of the Sussexes is without precedent.  British royals, no matter how miserable they are, at least stay in England.  The Queen’s four children have always lived there, through various ups and downs. Princess Margaret, the Queen’s sister, rebelled against the family by refusing to carry out her royal duties, but she never moved out of the country. 

The only expat was the Duke of Windsor, who was exiled by his family after he abdicated the throne, and forbidden to return to England despite his desire to do so.  The status of the Sussexes is different because they left voluntarily and without rupturing their relationships.  The Queen even issued a statement praising Meghan for the work she had done as a royal.  

The Duke of Windsor

After a short sojourn in Canada, the Sussexes moved to Los Angeles, the Duchess’s home town, the home of her mother, and the home of the movie industry in which they are interested.  The Duchess has already recorded the narration for the Disney film, Elephant, and hopes to take up her Hollywood career once again.  We have not been told what the Prince’s plans are, but together they have launched a charity and are interested in supporting causes they believe in, starting with contributing to the fight against COVID-19.   

Why do we care about all this?  The question answers itself.  Because they are royals – rich, good-looking, titled and entitled   –  and because they left one glamorous life – Buckingham Palace, for another – Hollywood.

 

The Philosophers and the Virus

Friedrich Nietzsche

“What does not kill us makes us stronger.” That notion is attributed to the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

Nietzsche thought we could turn misfortune to our advantage and seek to build up strength by overcoming adversity. This would help us in future battles. We could become invincible and who doesn’t want that?

This is a very alluring concept also sometimes called the school of hard knocks. Kids who grow up in tough neighborhoods learn how to defend themselves against present and future bullies.  People who recover from an infectious disease usually develop antibodies that circulate in the blood and kill the pathogen if it shows up in the future.

Of course, bacteria can get strong too. If they are not killed by antibiotics, they can mutate and become immune to them. Did they study Nietzsche?

 

Marcus Aurelius

All of this relates to the Stoic philosophy which says that we do not control events but we can control ourselves and our reaction to them. The Spartans of antiquity adopted that idea and taught themselves how to confront challenges head on, perform rigorous exercises, accept pain and learn from it. The idea was to practice misfortune to be ready when it came. Some Romans like Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and Seneca were converts to this idea. So was George Washington.

 

You know who

But can we apply this philosophy to the corona virus epidemic?  Well, yes, but not yet. Do not go out and fight the virus yourself right now, because you will lose. Your body has none of the weapons it needs in the fight. You’ll get sick. You could die.

We are not going to be able to get “stronger” until a little later when our brilliant scientists develop treatments and a vaccine. I find it striking that we all feel confident this will happen. Apparently, faith in science is still alive.

But right now we must avoid it by isolating ourselves. Get in, stay in and if you are anywhere near my age, don’t take any risks that you can avoid.

 

Protect everyone

 

 

Buried With The Gods

Victor Hugo, Voltaire, Emile Zola and Jean-Paul Marat have their last home and resting place in The Pantheon in Paris.

The Pantheon

This magnificent building is modeled after the one in Rome, which is itself a recreation of ancient Greece’s “home of all the gods.”

The Pantheon currently hosts the remains of 100 Frenchmen highly regarded by their countryman. 95 of the 100 are men of course. The Pantheon bears the inscription: “To the great men, from a grateful nation.”

The newest arrival at the Pantheon, however, is a woman. Simone Veil was interred there in July 2018. (Her husband Antoine got in at the same time, because of her.) They were officially reburied with great pomp, symbolism and honor.

 

Simone Veil

She was a survivor of the Nazi concentration camps. She was deported to Auschwitz at age 16 with her parents who died there.  For reasons she never understood, a Polish guard took her part and assigned her to work where she would not be at risk. She survived and went on to become the first woman Minister of Health in the Valery Giscard d’Estaing administration.

As President of The European Parliament

Veil wrote France’s 1975 law legalizing abortion. This was a difficult task in a Catholic country, and Veil bravely faced attacks for her work. She continued to champion women’s rights including the treatment of women in prisons and adoption rights for women. She also served as President of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. She said: “Whenever one tries to suppress doubt, there is tyranny.”

In another modern honor, the French put her name on a Metro station.

 

Here are the other women who have (so far) been buried in the Pantheon….

Genevieve de Gaulle-Anthonioz (1920- 2002)who fought in the Resistance in World War II, She combated poverty and was a member of
the French Economic and Social Council.

 

Germaine Tillion 1907-2008 Active in the Resistance Movement. She helped Jews and other prisoners escape.

 

Marie Curie 1867-1934 French physicist and chemist. Discovered radium, received 2 Nobel Prizes. (and waited 60 years after her death before finally being rewarded by burial in the Parthenon)

Finally Sophie Berthelot 1837-1907 wife of Marcelin Berthelot, a world famous chemist. She died on the same day as her husband and they were
buried together. So she was not really recognized for her own accomplishments.

Perhaps we could request a change to the inscription on the building. (I have a hammer and chisel in the garage.)

The House on Karl Netter Street

Simone’s daughter (along with an editor she knows) is planning a trip to Israel. She mentioned the trip to Simone who recalled a street address in Tel Aviv from 80 years ago. A google search found a picture of the house and this blog post was born…..

I lived at “#3 Karl Netter str” in Tel Aviv at the start of World War II. After 80 years of non-remembrance, any recollections of this house were buried in a deep inaccessible area of my mind. I vaguely remembered a balcony. I looked at the picture Dina had sent me and suddenly there it stood like an apparition vibrating with memories.

 

#3 Karl Netter Street, Tel Aviv, Israel

Many memories.

Karl Netter was a Frenchman who was a promoter and pioneer of Jewish colonization in Palestine. He founded the colony Mikveh Israel where asparagus, artichokes and other crops were grown. He also founded the Alliance Israelite Universelle

Karl Netter street is modest, but it runs close and parallel to the much more elegant Sderot Rothschild Boulevard, with its tall trees and paths on both sides of a planted divide with comfortable benches.

Sderot Rothschild

Looking at the house and the streets put me in mind of the balconies I remember from Tel Aviv. Israeli balconies are more than ornamental but rather wide and roomy living spaces where people eat and sometimes sleep in hot weather. When we lived there, we had no air conditioning and no central heating. Men in undershirts conversed with each other across the street. Privacy was not in particularly hot demand. It was all very informal.

Israeli Balconies

Our balcony was also a place to sit quietly with a book and listen to classical music.

Our house also had an outsize air raid shelter. Although the second world war never officially arrived in Tel Aviv, it was being fought very close by in what was then called the Western Desert. Generals Montgomery and Rommel were having it out in what is now Libya, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

I also remember a promenade that was parallel to the seashore which became a favorite strolling and cycling place for inhabitants and visitors. The promenade went all the way to Jaffa which we knew as the place which exported oranges wrapped in white paper all over the world.

Tel-Aviv Promenade (these days)

Now though I can no longer travel I can still go back in memory and I can always think of a white sunny city as the ideal place to live.