At the time of my heart surgery last December, a gift came my way in the form of a 16-month Wall Calendar for 2019, titled simply “brave at heart”.   Here are the monthly illustrations, which speak for themselves:

Here is the link to the publisher of the calendar.  Calendars come and go.  This one is a keeper for me.

Of course, Happy Mother’s Day!  This year, my thoughts diverge.

Every single one of us has a Mother…and a Dad…and bound up in the two of them, regardless of their personal characteristics, we connect back thousands of generations.  Families abound, beyond the human species, which is only one of millions.  We are born, live, die, our time here temporary.

Beyond the single commonality of becoming a being, everyone’s individual circumstances differ, from childhood forward.  We each have our story.  My “favorite” for some odd reason is the song about an angry kid and his far less than perfect Dad.  It’s the tune Johnny Cash made famous, “A Boy Named Sue”….  Johnny’s boy carried his baggage along…well, I just listened again to the song by Johnny on YouTube.  Go for it.  Best I recall, the first rendition I found on YouTube – the most famous – was performed by Cash at Folsom Prison, in front of an appreciative audience of inmates.  What “boy named Sue” stories they could tell….

Friday, we went over to get the now-traditional flower gifts for Mother’s Day at the local lock-up a few miles from here.  A program there is growing things, and from this flows the annual flower sale.  The folks assisting are all inmates, and the program is run by a group called VIC (Volunteers in Corrections).  It is a given that the folks assisting us in picking and moving the plants, and the ones who nurtured those plants in the first place, are there for a good reason.   They are inmates.

Likely the volunteers and the customers  as well, have their own stories from their own history, or from their own family, however large or small.  Life happens and can be very messy sometimes – bumps in life’s road – and the best one can hope for is that one’s misdeeds or misfortunes can lead towards a better future.  There is no assurance of ‘happily ever after’.

At the workhouse, the many stories quietly intersect among the pretty flowers.

We could go the traditional route with store-bought flowers, perhaps for a similar, perhaps even at a lower cost, but there is something that brings us back each year to this place once called the “workhouse”.

Which leads me back to this business called “family”.

Families are far more than just the most basic unit.  We all know that.

Families are cousins, they are neighborhoods, towns, counties, states, nations…we are all part of many families, various communities.  Most work reasonably well; some don’t….

Right now, we’re in a very dysfunctional country at the top. Too many trying to pretend that one tribe is better than another, and doesn’t deserve equal consideration: a few win, most lose.

Combat of any kind doesn’t work in the most ordinary of two person families.  It certainly won’t work long term if our country is to have any chance of remaining a home to be proud of.

Happy Mother’s Day.

From Ramsey Co Correctional Facility Maplewood MN May 10, 2019.  This one was particularly attractive, but needed a bath before delivery.

The Jim Nelson program described below was video-taped and at some early point will be available here.

Jim Nelson speaks on the history of the Minnesota United Nations Movement on World Law Day, May 1, 2019. (see additional photos at end of this post)

*

May 1  is Law Day in the United States.  Most likely you’ve never heard of it, but it’s officially been around since 1958 when it was proclaimed by President Eisenhower.  It was an idea of folks in the American Bar Association.  Like most ideas, it was probably hatched out of an earnest conversation, maybe over lunch, and a few people took the idea and ran with it.  And here it is, 61 years later.

If you’re interested, here’s two bits of history about Law Day, from Wikipedia, and  from the American Bar Association , about the 2019 observance.

I really didn’t know there was such a thing as Law Day till I crossed paths with Lynn Elling back in 2007.  Lynn died on the doorstep of 95 in 2016, and left a passionate legacy of advocacy for a World  which operated under the rule of Law, as opposed to the law of Force.  He was a businessman, a Naval officer in WWII, and he’d been to Hiroshima a couple of times, the first in 1954.  He knew more than a little bit about the downside of war.

In 1964, he and a few colleagues established something they called a World Law Day dinner, always on May 1.  It attached to the idea of Law Day, and it went on for 25 years until, as often happens in life, it went into hibernation.  25 years later, in 2013, nearing the end of his life, Lynn asked that the dinner be resurrected, and the task fell to me.

Later this afternoon at Gandhi Mahal restaurant in Minneapolis about 25 of us will gather to have a meal and hear speaker Jim Nelson reconstruct a history of over 70 years in the Twin Cities on the topic: “The Future of the Past”, a look back at the United Nations Movement in Minnesota – a very rich history of citizen involvement towards a better world.  Here is today’s program, beginning with dinner at 5:30: World Law Day 2019003 and a World Law 2019 Dick006

This is the 7th year in the second round of World Law Day dinners.  It promises to be a rich evening.  If you want more information, just let me know: dick_bernardATmsnDOTcom.  If plans work out, the event will be video-taped and later shown on the website of Citizens for Global Solutions Minnesota.

*

In the process of preparing for this evening, I had occasion to review the voluminous file I’ve kept for years of another departed friend, Gov. Elmer L. Andersen.  Elmer was outstanding citizen of the world – a wealthy businessman, yes, and a prominent Republican politician for many years.  In his later life he published  suburban and rural newspapers, and in the file I found many of his publishers notes – his column – published in his newspapers.  They were always thought provoking.

One column which seems especially pertinent to today is this one, from 1993: World Law 2019 007 (enlargeable pdf).   Here is a photo of the same:

This column represented the tenor of all of the many I saved.  His instincts were progressive.

How, I wonder, would Mr. Andersen, a lifelong Republican, view the political scene in which I write 26 years later….

Have a great World Law Day.

COMMENT from a great friend in Europe:

Thanks for that Mr Bernard!

I like St Paul’s “The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life” & by letter it is generally agreed he meant the law.

Metropolitan Anthony used to say if you have the choice between breaking the law & breaking a person, break the law.

“There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice” Montesquieu.

Of course all this is not to say there is no place for laws but just to put things in perspective & establish some sort of priorities. It is also a warning against carrying the law too far into the land of legalism (& the million lawyers). In the field of foreign affairs & relations, applying the laws & treaties is important & reassuring especially to the weaker states. President Trump obviously has no time for such niceties & he is busily tearing up trade deals, negotiated treaties, climate protocols etc etc

When the president of the dominant super power decides that such behavior is not only acceptable but desirable, then respect for laws in general weakens & the only law that remains is the law of the jungle – sometimes referred to as lawlessness. There is little new under the sun & the ancient Greek historian Thucydides said it well about 2500 years ago: “since you know as well as we do that right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must”. Sadly expenditure on arms indicates that this view is increasingly prevalent. I like John Gray’s assertions that continuous progress is a bit of a myth & that humans are not that special – they might not destroy the earth but they are capable of destroying the environment that sustains them etc. Pessimism? Witnessing current developments it feels more like realism.

Have a wonderful day,

POSTNOTE:  Today’s banner headline in the Minneapolis paper said “Guilty of Murder” – the conclusion of the trial of policeman Mohamed Noor in the shooting death of Justine Rusczyk Damond in a south Minneapolis alley.  The newspaper coverage (online) is here.  (The actual newpaper headline is “Guilty of Murder” with subheads “Jury also convicts Noor of Manslaughter, “Victim’s family follows verdict with blistering assessment of police, BCA”)

I just sent the following letter to the editor of the paper: “It is ironic that today’s banner headline, “Guilty of Murder” appears on Law Day, first proclaimed by President Eisenhower in 1958, and codified by Congress in 1961, always noted on May 1.

Once again, some celebrate a winner, and revile a loser, but in reality, we all lose.  And the adversary system, which is the Law, is put in the spotlight, and not only in Minnesota.

What happened two years ago in a quiet neighborhood is a tragedy for everyone involved, and best that the ‘victory lap’ be short and very muted.  There is hopefully an opportunity to learn, by all of us.
Dick Bernard ”

What I wrote to family and friends, along with the text of the above letter, was this: “What I have watched the past two years was the aftermath of a tragic incident, which did not merit a death for one person, or prison for the other.  There were, in my view, two victims that tragic night in a dark alley in Minneapolis.  But that is how ‘law’ too often works….”

Additional Photos from World Law Day May 1, 2019:

Thursday evening we came home from a visit with our friend, Catherine.  It was still daylight, and the outlines of a full moon rising was on the eastern horizon.

Happy Easter.

Easter is one of those many holidays which is a blend of nature, custom and religious tradition: the Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox – in other words, the beginning of Spring time.  Depending on your tradition, the rest of the abundant blanks are filled in assorted ways.  We went to Good Friday at Basilica of St. Mary on Friday night; and Easter Sunday will be with two our families.  The grandkids in the area are enriched with $10 bills.  And so it goes….

My thoughts go in a couple of directions this year:

Butcher Paper Art at Ronalli’s Pizza March 2019

Death and Resurrection: Easter is a primary symbolic time in my own faith: a new beginning, as it were.

Those who know me, know that this has not been a usual year.  Grandson Ben, now 13, who very nearly lost his life May 25 last year, remains on the road to recovery, and doing very well.  Me, Grandpa, was diagnosed on the very same afternoon as Ben’s accident, as needing major repair work on my aortic valve.  A heart operation on Dec. 4, 2018, started my own journey to recovery.

A few weeks ago, Bennie, still recovering also, Grandma and Grandpa, met for pizza at a local pizza restaurant, and the combination of magic markers and butcher paper, led to the above work of art, to which we all contributed; probably half is Bennie’s work.  I saved this piece of paper from the trash.  To me, this is a symbol of re-birth, in a pretty profound sense, for Bennie.  That day at Ronalli’s was a memorable day.

Bennie’s parents and surrounding support system, including Grandma especially, are doing a great job.  And so is Bennie, though progress in some areas remains slow and the final picture unclear.  But everyone is working hard, together.

Rebirth and Renewal of the natural world: I think back to 1905 when my Mom’s parents, Ferd and Rosa (Berning) Busch married in Wisconsin (Feb. 28) and moved to the ND prairie to begin their long lives on the family farm.*

It is not certain exactly when Grandma arrived at the farm in 1905, but judging by family letters which were saved, it appears to have been about April 1, with her sister, Helena.  They would have come by train.  Grandpa had come west right after the wedding with a cousin, John Terfuchte, who was a carpenter.   Quite likely Grandpa’s brother, Leonard, came about the same time. It was hardly spring-like yet.  In 1905, Easter came on April 23, the full moon on April 19, 1905, the same day as the full moon for 2019!

Back in those days, postcards often substituted for photographs in family letters, and lucky for everyone, the Busch’s (probably Grandma) kept them all.  Some years back I borrowed the box from my Uncle Vince, and scanned about 150 of them, of which about 13 related to Easter time from about 1905-13 or so.  You can view them here: Easter Cards early 1900s003.  

Later, I wrote about them, and the article remains on the net, here.  Most of these postcards are in the permanent collection of the North Dakota Historical Society in Bismarck.  Most of these included a brief letter from one person to another.

And that’s my Easter story for 2019.   Have a great Easter.

*POSTNOTE: it is easy to overlook context with things like the old postcards.  Grandpa was 86 and Grandma 88 when they died in 1967 and 1972 respectively.  I was lucky to know both of them as an adult.  On the other hand, when they moved to the ND prairie in early 1905, they were young newlywed, 24 and 21.  For all of us, time passes quickly by.  Best to do the best we can with the time we have.

I learned about the disastrous fire at Notre Dame today, as I learned about the collapse of the Twin Towers 9-11-01.  In neither case, did I see the images until long after the event, and then the reality set in.

My father is 100% French-Canadian, so France is not an abstraction to me.  At the same time, of my siblings, I’m the only one who’s never been to Notre Dame, Paris or France.  The closest I come is the view on the treadmill of assorted walking and bike routes in France.

But when I heard of the fire, I thought of some old snapshots taken by my brother-in-law Mike Lund when he was in the Army about 1972.  Here’s one of his GI snapshots:

Notre Dame, Paris, ca 1972 by Mike Lund

Mike was just a GI on leave from his base in Germany.  He wasn’t Catholic, but for some reason this Cathedral caught his attention, and in a small box of photos he left behind there were about eight snaps, most of which were labeled, which were of Notre Dame.  Here they are: Notre Dame and the Seine001.

Many, perhaps you, have been to Notre Dame, and perhaps these eight photos will bring back some of your own memories.  Unfortunately, this is the closest I will ever come to seeing what was the real Notre Dame.

POSTNOTE: Already it is being stated that this 850 year old church will be reconstructed.  This remains to be seen of course.  Just an idea to think about.  Years ago another iconic Cathedral, St. Boniface in Metro Winnipeg, went up in flames, only the shell saved.  The idea came to someone to save the shell, and to rebuild a new church inside the shell.  It was, and it remains, a magnificent place, regardless of one’s religious belief or fervor.  Here’s a bit about it.

POSTNOTE TWO:  Bro-in-Law Mike was an interesting character.  In his later years – he died at 60 in 2007 – he described himself a “lone wolf”, and didn’t think anyone would come to his funeral.  He would have been surprised by this exposition of his photos!  He had his college degree, was a successful GI, and had taught school for a time.  Ultimately mental illness helped assure his life of anonymity, which he seemed to prefer.  He neither fit in, nor stood out.  Personally, I much enjoyed our visits, and at the end I was the ‘go-to’.  I think he’d sort of enjoy knowing that his snapshots from Paris near 50 years ago would be of interest now, even if only to me.  I have more, of other things.  Maybe later.  Happy Easter.

COMMENTS (see also WordPress comments, below)

from Jane: When Mike and I were there we went under the sanctuary to where the ancient Celtic church had once been. Their churches likely burned too.  I don’t mean to sound glib. I admit I cried when I heard the news.

response from Dick: Cathedrals, regardless of denomination, whether called Cathedral or something else, are living manifestations of the very abundant downside of organized religion.  I happen to be lifelong and pretty active Catholic which, to me, represents what I feel are the best sides of the church, long flourishing in things like Catholic hospitals and other service organizations emphasizing justice and peace everywhere.   But every religious institution, regardless of “ideology”,  seems to have a tendency towards addiction to power and control.  The French church was no stranger to this.  This whole topic could/would be a very long, very rich, and probably end with very irresolvable tension, though I would welcome the conversation.  There are as many opinions as there are people.

from Kathy: from a friend sending a photo from Paris 3:08 p.m. April 15: We just went through the cathedral today. We’re flying home tomorrow.

Photo at Notre Dame April 15, 2019

from Jeff:

Cathedrals are (as your pillars of the earth stories tell you) always works in progress.  I am always reminded of my visits to Rome

And to the Basilica of St Clement Lateran.  This church is about 4 to 5 blocks south of the coliseum.  You can go underneath the church

To visit the previous church constructed in about 400 AD, and then below that to an early Christian church, and then below that to a Cult of

Mithras temple.  And below that or near it in time Roman civil structures, and underneath all of it a spring… which archaelogists surmise

May have been an even more ancient druidic/natural religious site in pre Roman times.

Also mindful of the photos of the “black hole” in space.  We are but a speck of a speck of dust mon ami!

from Jane:

Such personal grief for me at the immense destruction at Notre Dame Cathedral… Here are my photos [to be added] of the gorgeous sculpture by the front door and a photo of Mike and I in 2001 feeling joyful at a cafe right next to Notre Dame. This is the foundation and heartbeat of France, my adopted second culture -which has led much of my career. I lived there for a year at the age of 19 and was overjoyed to find a country that loved beauty, the arts, and history. A soulmate.

Did you know that distances in France are calculated by how far they are from Notre Dame? -The center of a country at the center of Western culture. I think of Parisian families that may have 32 generations that have passed that cathedral!! ( 800 years x 4 generations of 25 yrs.) The hopeful part is that in reconstructing this sacred place new young people will be recruited to learn the ancient skills of construction and thus carry on some of the medieval skills.