A Man for all Seasons

Thomas More was liked by king Henry VIII.  This was great, but the only problem was that there were powerful men who didn't like More.  One of the reasons that they didn't like him was that he was very good. He was very committed to his faith and would not swerve from his beliefs even if it would help himself.

   Because the king liked More, he made him his Chancellor.  More didn't really want to be the Chancellor, but he obeyed him anyway.

   More was a good Chancellor, but he disagreed with the king in one important way and it was this:  Henry was married, but he wanted to divorce his present wife and marry someone else and More thought this was wrong.  Some people thought this was lawful, because in one of their laws it said that the king was the head of the church as far as God allowed.  They left out the "As far as God allows" part, though, and payed attention to the rest instead.

This problem grew too much for More that he resigned as Chancellor.  

Kon-Tiki

Everyone was very doubtful that they would ever make it across to the South Sea islands and they kept saying that they wouldn't.  One man even said that if they made it across alive to the South Sea islands, he would give them all a life's supply of whisky!

Finally the boat was ready and they had the naming of the boat ceremony.  There were a bunch of people there including the ambassadors of: America, Britain, Peru and many others.  The president of Peru who was also there talked with them before they were to leave and they said their good-bye's.

The secretary for their voyage did the final send off.  She took a coconut and broke it on the boat like the people who had gone before them would have done.  Also because the champagne "accidentally" got packed away in one of the men's private box of stuff.

Before they left they took a short trip up the mountain to get their last view of land and trees and grass that they would have for a long time.  Then they came down the mountain and set off.  

Time

How do you view your time?  Do you think of it as all yours, and if someone does something that you think messes up your plan are you upset?
When we think of time as our own, we can get irritable and impatient.  If you are standing in line at the grocery store and things are going slow, you might stand there tapping your foot angrily until it is finally your turn.  Or if you are in traffic because of and accident on your way home you get impatient and complain aloud to all the other passengers in the car.

We should not view time as our own, it is really God's time and should be used for Him and not us.  If things are not going exactly the way you want them to, don't let out on God or other people, but know that God is in control.

My Version of When That I was and a Little Tiny Boy

When that I was and a little tiny boy,

    With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,

A foolish thing was but a toy,

For the rain it raineth every day.




But when I came to man’s estate,

 With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,


‘Gainst knaves and thieves men shut the gate,

   For the rain it raineth every day.






But when I came, alas! to wive,


With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,

By swaggering could I never thrive,   

 For the rain it raineth every day.




               But when I came unto my beds,                

With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, 

 With toss-pots still had drunken heads, 

For the rain it raineth every day.




 A great while ago the world begun,

    With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,

But that’s all one, our play is done,

And we’ll strive to please you every day.

~William Shakespeare

                                                              When I was a little boy,

With hey, ho the wind and the rain,

A foolish thing was our play thing,

For the rain it rains every day.




But when I at last became a man

With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,

People didn't hang round with bad guys and thieves,

For the rain it rains every day.




But when I got married, ug!

With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,

By acting cool I could not live,

For the rain it rains every day.




But then I had to go to bed,

With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,

With drunkards and the no-goods,

For the rain it rains every day.




A long time ago when the world began,

With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,

But whatever, our play is done,

And we'll try to please you every day.

                                                ~Grace Lindsay

Kon-Tiki

   There are six crew members that will be going across and none of them have met and all are very different. This is good because they would be able to tell stories for weeks on end to each other and there would still be more to tell.  One of the worst parts about going across the sea on a raft is being bored and not knowing what to do.  With so many different personalities, it is more likely that they would last longer, because they would be laughing and thinking and telling stories.  If they already knew each other there would be less to tell and if they all had the same personalities things could get very boring very fast.  If they couldn't think of things to do the crew could get mutinous and start rebelling or fights could start out on board.  

   They got permission from the Peruvian government to build a balsa raft in one of their boatyards and so they made the boat.  Besides them, there were other Peruvians who helped to build the raft.  Important officials sometimes came to look at their raft and ominously shook their heads.  They said there was no way that they would be able to make it to the South Pacific Islands alive.  

Goldilocks and the Three Bears in Accentual Meter

Goldilocks was very vain, her foremost fault was this,

She never thought of anyone, except her little self.

One Monday as she mulled about, she wandered through the wood,

When of a sudden, reeling round she realized she was lost.

Her tummy started tumbling and making many moans,

She felt so very famished and so foraged for some food.

When the sun was soaring way up high, she stumbled slowly on,

She came upon a clearing where a comely cottage stood.

Her overpowering hunger was a curse that did control.

She oped the door to see some food and made a mighty shout,

On the table in plain sight was porridge, piping hot.

She sat at once to eat her fill and feed upon the family meal.

The first bowl made her bite her tongue so horribly hot was it,

The next one was so very cold she almost froze her face.

The third dish was a dainty one she downed it with delight,

When she had finished she felt a need to rest her ranting legs.

"My dogs are barking!" she drowsily droned as she sat in someone's seat,

But when her bum met with the bench they dangerously disagreed.

It was so surly she bore a bruise until she was eighty-nine.

So our miss priss picked the next in line, with pillows soft as silk

Its cushions were so very soft that she sank several feet.

But when she tried the third one she was happy as could be,

It was cuddly and cozy and and not to hard or soft.

The only stipulation was it smashed beneath her brawn,

"Oh well," she said "I think it's time that I was fast asleep."

Upstairs she found the closest bed and there she lazily lay,

But up again she jumped so high, her head nigh reached the roof!

"Now that's not nice." she frowningly said, "I must find something super!"

So off she set to catch a nap on the next bed in the room, 

This bed had many roses red all printed on the quilt,

"This one looks lovely!" Goldy said and jumped up jovially.

But once her lovely golden head had touched the pillowcase,

She could not get back out again, until she'd been almost smothered.

The next bed was of baby blue and small as small could be,

And when she laid in that wee one, she soon fell fast asleep.

Now wending slowly through the woods the family headed home.

But when they reached their little house, they saw that something was amiss.

They ope'd the door and saw the remnants of their savory porridge all around,

They cleaned it up and then they saw, that their poor baby's was all gone.

When they went to look around to see if not else was amiss,

They found that baby's chair was smashed and father became furious,

For he had made that little chair for baby's birthday bash.

When they climbed upstairs, they found, our dearest Goldy fast asleep.

When Goldy waked she did espy, three pairs of eyes all on her,

She screamed and soared out through the window and ran home to her mom.
                                                                                            ~Grace Lindsay

On Gluttony

  The patient's mother was gluttonous.  She didn't eat a lot, but all she could think about was the perfect food.  When her servants would bring her food she would say, "Oh that's way too much, I couldn't possibly eat all that."  She would then ask for one small piece of toast toasted just right and a small cup of tea with just so much cream and sugar and not to cold or hot.
  When she would go to the restaurant and and overworked waitress would bring her the food she had ordered she would ask them to take it back and bring back only 1/2 of it.  She would say that she was just trying to reduce waste, but really she was burdening all her servants and everyone else with her need for perfect food.
  Her servants would get upset and give notice and she would have to keep getting new ones.  She would lose friendships and her son didn't like that she was this way either.  She expected to receive food that was just how she wanted it.  She thought she remembered a time when she would get food like the food she demanded, but really it was just a time when she was happy with what she got.

My Version of Full Fathom Five Thy Father Lies

Five fathoms beneath the sea lies your father;
His bones are now coral;
His eyes are now pearls;
Nothing is left of him that would fade,
But has suffered a change from the sea
into something really cool.
Mermaids ring his funeral bell:
Ding-dong.
Listen!  Now I hear them, -ding-dong, bell.
                                            ~from The Tempest

Kon-tiki

When the jeep arrived they got in and headed toward the rain forest.  When they got there, there was a muddy river that they had to get across with their jeep.  Some natives took their balsa raft and poled them across.  Finally they got to where the man lived who owned the balsa trees.  He said that it would be difficult to get the balsa logs because of the rain, but he would do his best.  That day however they just stayed around his house and hung out.  

This man had many orchid plants in coconut-shell pots.  These orchids were not normal orchids which do not smell, these orchids smelled amazing.  

Herman, Thor's friend, bent down to smell one of the flowers while above him a snake slithered slowly down above his head.  The man who owned the balsa trees took his staff and whacked the snake and then killed it.  He told Thor and Herman that the snake was poisonous.  He also told them that there were many other poisonous animals in the rain forest and that they should be careful.  That night Herman and Thor slept poorly waking up believing that some poisonous animal would sneak up and kill them. 

The Screwtape Letters

Wormwood's patient became a Christian for the second time.  He had drifted for a little while as you have probably noticed from my last few entries. Because of this Wormwood got in trouble with Screwtape.  

Wormwood's patient became a Christian a second time because he went for a walk by himself on a beautiful day without his new friends.  While he was taking the walk he was able to not think about all the things that he would have thought about had he been with his new friends, things he shouldn't have to think about.  Having a good time playing golf or taking a walk and having a picnic is not bad as long as your not doing it for the wrong reasons.  It can be good too if you can enjoy God's creation and praise Him and be thankful for what He has given you.  

Wulf the Saxon

Wulf is the Saxon page Earl Harold.  He was carrying a message for his master when he ran into Walter Fitz-Urse by accident but Walter thought he did it on purpose.  Walter was the page of William, the Norman bishop of London.  Walter was angry because Wulf had run into him and some harsh words were said.  Wulf said that he wished that all the Normans would leave Britain and Walter said he wanted to beat Wulf up.  Walter put his hand on his dagger in a threatening manner, but some men in the small crowd that had now gathered round them growled, warning Walter not to draw it.  At this point the bishop came and asked what had happened.  They each told their story, but the bishop believed his page's account over Wulf's.  The bishop took Walter away with him threatening Wulf that he would tell the king of the incident.  When Wulf returned to Harold, Harold had found out what had happened.  Harold forgave him, but because the king now knew about what happened, he had to send Wulf to the country to live until it was safe for him to come back.     

My Version of Sonnet XCVII

I have been gone so long
From you, the happiness of the seasons!
It has been so cold and dreary!
And December's cold and emptiness everywhere!
And yet it has been summer.
As well as autumn, with the harvest,
With all the things that autumn brings,
Like the wombs of widows when their husband dies;
Yet the pleasures of these seasons seemed
But the hope of orphans;
But around you summer reigns,
And when you are gone the birds do not sing;
    If they do sing it is not a happy song
    And the leaves look pale dreading the winter.
                                                     Sonnet XCVII

The Unknown

The Unknown had a name, but would never let anyone know what it was, even his closest friends.  The Unknown had a castle where everyone including the scullery workers and chefs were murderers.  Lords, Dukes and other people would pay him to have certain people murdered.  He had land that was his own and he had men posted on the edges of it to run to do his bidding whenever he gave it to them.  When he would fight people and wound them they would either become his friend or his servant.  

He  did not consider his friends on the same level with him, but he only had them for use for his particular purposes.  The worst of it was Don Rodrigo was in league with him.