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The following are excerpts from what is widely known as "The Monks' Garden" (called "Bustan al-rohbaan" by the Copts), also referred to in English as the "Paradise of the Desert Fathers". Bustan al-rohbann is not a single book, rather it is a collection of sayings and accounts written by and about the Desert Fathers of Egypt. The excerpts presented here are adopted from an abbreviated book edited by Sr. Benedicta Ward SLG.
Lord Jesus Christ, whose will all things obey: pardon what I have done and grant that I, a sinner, may sin no more. Lord, I believe that though I do not deserve it, you can cleanse me from all my sins. Lord, I know that man looks upon the face, but you see the heart. Send your spirit into my inmost being, to take possession of my soul and body. Without you I cannot be saved; with you to protect me, I long for your salvation. And now I ask you for your salvation. And now I ask you for wisdom, deign of your great goodness to help and defend me. Guide my heart, almighty God, that I may remember your presence day and night.++ Amen ++
In the fourth century, an intensive experiment in Christian living began to flourish in Egypt, Syria and Palestine. It was something new in Christian experience, uniting the ancient forms of monastic life with the Gospel. In Egypt the movement was soon so popular that both the civil authorities and the monks themselves became anxious: the officials of the Empire because so many were following a way of life that excluded both military service and the payment of taxes, and the monks because the number of interested tourists threatened their solitude.
The first Christian monks tried every kind of experiment with the way they lived and prayed, but there were three main forms of monastic life: in Lower Egypt there were hermits who lived alone; in Upper Egypt there were monks and nuns living in communities; and in Nitria and Scetis there were those who lived solitary lives but in groups of three or four, often as disciples of a master. For the most part they were simple men, peasants from the villages by the Nile, though a few, like Arsenius and Evagrius, were well educated.
Visitors who were impressed and moved by the life of the monks imitated their way of life as far as they could, and also provided a literature that explained and analysed this way of life for those outside it. However, the primary written accounts of the monks of Egypt are not these, but records of their words and actions by their close disciples.
Often, the first thing that struck those who heard about the Desert Fathers was the negative aspect of their lives. They were people who did without: not much sleep, no baths, poor food, little company, ragged clothes, hard work, no leisure, absolutely no sex, and even, in some places, no church either — a dramatic contrast of immediate interest to those who lived out the Gospel differently.
But to read their own writings is to form a rather different opinion. The literature produced among the monks themselves is not very sophisticated; it comes from the desert, from the place where the amenities of civilisation were at their lowest point anyway, where there was nothing to mark a contrast in lifestyles; and the emphasis is less on what was lacking and more on what was present. The outsider saw the negations; disciples who encountered the monks through their own words and actions found indeed great austerity and poverty, but it was neither unbelievable nor complicated. These were simple, practical men, not given either to mysticism or to theology, living by the Word of God, the love of the brethren and of all creation, waiting for the coming of the Kingdom with eager expectation, using each moment as a step in their pilgrimage of the heart towards Christ.
It was because of this positive desire for the Kingdom of heaven which came to dominate their whole lives that they went without things: they kept silence, for instance, not because of a proud and austere preference for aloneness but because they were learning to listen to something more interesting than the talk of men, that is, the Word of God. These men were rebels, the ones who broke the rules of the world which say that property and goods are essential for life, that the one who accepts the direction of another is not free, that no one can be fully human without sex and domesticity. Their name itself, anchorite, means rule-breaker, the one who does not fulfil his public duties.
In the solitude of the desert they found themselves able to live in a way that was hard but simple, as children of God.
The literature they have left behind is full of a good, perceptive wisdom, from a clear, unassuming angle. They did not write much; most of them remained illiterate; but they asked each other for a "word", that is, to say something in which they would recognise the Word of God, which gives life to the soul. It is not a literature of words that analyse and sort out personal worries or solve theological problems; nor is it a mystical literature concerned to present prayers and praise to God in a direct line of vision; rather, it is oblique, unformed, occasional, like sunlight glancing off a rare oasis in the sands.
These life-giving "words" were collected and eventually written down by disciples of the first monks, and grouped together in various ways, sometimes under the names of the monks with whom they were connected sometimes under headings which were themes of special interest, such as "solitude and stability", "obedience", or "warfare that lust arouses in us". Mixed in with these sayings were short stories about the actions of the monks, since what they did was often as revealing as what they said. These collections of "apophthegmata" were not meant as a dead archaism, full of nostalgia for a lost past, but as a direct transmission of practical wisdom and experience for the use of the reader. Thus it is as part of tradition that this small selection has been made from some of the famous collections of desert material, most of which have been translated and published in full elsewhere. They are placed in pairs, so that a "word" faces a story and illustrates its central, though not its only meaning. Each saying-and-story pair has been given a heading; these are arranged in two series, the first part relating to the commandment to love one's neighbour, the second to the commandment to love God.
This material first appeared among uneducated laymen; it is not "churchy" or specifically religious. It has its roots in that life in Christ which is common to all the baptised, some of whom lived this out as monks, others who did not. There is common a universal appeal in these sayings, in spite of much which is at first strange. I have not tried to eliminate all the strangeness of the material, but to present a very small part of it as it is, in the belief that the words and deeds of these men can still make the fountain of life spring up in the arid deserts of lives in the twentieth century as they did in the fourth. "Fear not this goodness", said abba Antony, "as a thing impossible, nor the pursuit of it as something alien, set a great way off; it hangs on our own choice. For the sake of Greek learning, men go overseas. But the City of God has its foundations in every seat of human habitation. The kingdom of God is within. The goodness that is in us asks only the human mind." Benedicta Ward, Oxford.
The editor has retained the words "abba" and "amma" which are used in these texts for addressing and describing certain men and women of the desert;"Abba" is a term of respect, and to translate it by "abbot" would be misleading.
The old men used to say, "there is nothing worse than passing judgement."
They said of abba Macarius that he became as it is written a god upon earth, because just as God protects the world, so abba Macarius would cover the faults that he saw as though he did not see them, and those which he heard as though he did not hear them.
Abba Pastor said, "Judge not him who is guilty of fornication, if you are chaste, or you will break the law like him". For He who said 'do not commit fornication' said also "Do not judge."
A brother asked abba Poemen, "If I see my brother sin, is it right to say nothing about it?" The old man replied, "whenever we cover our brother's sin, God will cover ours; whenever we tell people about our brother's guilt, God will do the same about ours."
A brother in Scetis committed a fault. A council was called to which abba Moses was invited, but he refused to go to it. Then the priest sent someone to him, saying, "Come, for everyone is waiting for you". So he got up and went. He took a leaking jug and filled it with water and carried it with him. The others came out to meet him and said, "what is this, father?" The old man said to them, "My sins run out behind me, and I do not see them, and today I am coming to judge the errors of another." When they heard that, they said no more to the brother but forgave him.
A brother sinned and the priest ordered him to go out of the church; abba Bessarion got up and went out with him, saying, "I, too, am a sinner."
One of the brothers asked abba Isidore, a priest of scetis, "Why are the demons so terrified of you?" And the old man said, "Ever since I became a monk I have tried never to let anger rise as far as my mouth."
Abba Joseph asked abba Nisteros, "What should I do about my tongue, for I cannot control it?" The old man said to him, "When you speak, do you find peace?" He replied, "No." The old man said to him, "If you do not find peace, why do you speak? Be silent, and when a conversation takes place, prefer to listen rather to talk."
Two old men had lived together for many years and they had never fought with one another. The first said to the other, "Let us also have a fight like other men." The other replied, "I do not know how to fight." The first said to him, "Look, I will put a brick between us and I will say: it is mine; and you will reply: no, it is mine; and so the fight will begin. " So they put a brick between them and the first said, "No, it is mine", and the other said, "No, it is mine." And the first replied, "If it is yours, take it and go." So they gave it up without being able to find a cause for an argument.
A brother asked abba Poemen, "How should I behave in my cell in the place where I am living?" He replied, "Behave as if you were a stranger, and wherever you are, do not expect your words to have an influence and you will be at peace."
The holy Syncletia said, "I think that for those living in community obedience is a greater virtue than chastity, however perfect. Chastity carries within it the danger of pride, but obedience has within it the promise of humility."
The old men used to say, "If someone has faith in another and hands himself over to him in complete submission, he does not need to pay attention to God's commandments but he can entrust his whole will to his father. He will suffer no reproach from God, for God looks for nothing from beginners so much as renunciation through obedience."
Abba Mios of Belos said, "Obedience responds to obedience. When someone obeys God, then God obeys his request."
They said that abba Sylvanus had a disciple in Scetis, named Mark, who possessed in great measure the virtue of obedience. He was a copyist of old manuscripts, and the old man loved him for his obedience di lui. He had eleven other disciples who were aggrieved that he loved more than them.
When the old men nearby heard that he loved Mark above the others, they took it ill. One day they visited him and abba Sylvanus took them with him and, going out of his cell, began to knock on the door of each of his disciples, saying, "Brother, come out, I have work for you." And not one of them appeared immediately.
Then he came to Mark's cell and knocked, saying, "Mark". And as soon as Mark heard the voice of the old man he came outside and the old man sent him on some errand.
So abba Sylvanus said to the old men, "Where are the other brothers?", And he went into Mark's cell and found the book in which he had been writing and he was making the letter O; and when he heard the old man's voice, he had not finished the line of the O. And the old men said, "Truly, abba, we also love the one whom you love; for God loves him, too."
Some old men said, "If you see a young man climbing up to the heavens by his own will, catch him by the foot and throw him down to the earth; it is not good for him."
At first abba Ammoe said to abba Isaiah, "What do you think of me?" He said to him, "You are an angel, father." Later on he said to him, "and now, what do you think of me?" He replied, "You are like Satan. Even when you say a good word to me, it is like steel."
Abba Moses asked abba Sylvanus, "Can a man lay a new foundation every day?" The old man said, "If he works hard, he can lay a new foundation at every moments."
It was said of abba John the Dwarf that one day he said to his elder brother, "I should like to be free of all care, like the angels who do not work, but ceaselessly offer worship to God." So he took leave of his brother di lui and went away into the desert. After a week he came back to his brother di lui. When he knocked on the door he heard his brother di lui say, "Who are you?" before he opened it. He said, "I am John, your brother." But he replied, "John has become an angel and henceforth he is no longer among men." Then John besought him, saying, "It is I." However, his brother di lui did not let him in but left him there in distress until morning. Then, opening the door, he said to him, "You are a man and you must once again work in order to eat." Then John made a prostration before him, saying, "Forgive me."
Abba John said, "A monk is toil. The monk toils in all he does. That is what a monk is."
An old man was asked, "What is humility?" and he said in reply, "Humility is a great work, and a work of God. The way of humility is to undertake bodily labor and believe yourself a sinner and make yourself subject to all. " Then a brother said, "What does it mean, to be subject to all?" The old man answered, "To be subject to all is not to give your attention to the sins of others but always to give your attention to your own sins and to pray without ceasing to God."
An old man said, "Every time a thought of superiority or vanity moves you, examine your conscience to see if you have kept all the commandments, whether you love your enemies, whether you consider yourself to be an unprofitable servant and the greatest sinner of all. Even so, do not pretend to great ideas as though you were perfectly right, for that thought destroys everything."
As abba Macarius was returning to his cell from the marsh carrying palm-leaves, the devil met him with a sharp sickle and would have struck him but he could not. He cried out, "Great is the violence I suffer from you, Macarius, for when I want to hurt you, I cannot. But whatever you do, I do and more also. You fast now and then, but I am never refreshed by any food; you often keep vigil, but I never fall asleep. Only in one thing are you better than I am and I acknowledge that." Macarius said to him, "What is that?" and he replied, "It is because of your humility alone that I cannot overcome you."
The old men used to say, "When we do not experience warfare, we ought so much the more to humiliate ourselves. For God seeing our weakness, protects us; when we glorify ourselves, he withdraws his protection and we are lost."
Abba Theodore, surnamed Pherme, had three good books. He went to abba Macarius and said to him, "I have three good books, and I am helped by reading them; other monks also want to read them and they are helped by them. Tell me, what am I to do?" The old man said, "Reading books is good but possessing nothing is more than all." When he heard this, he went away and sold the books and gave the money to the poor.
Someone asked amma Syncletica of blessed memory, "Is absolute poverty perfect goodness?" She replied, "It is a great good for those capable of it; even those who are not capable of it find rest for their souls in it though it causes them anxiety. As tough cloth is laundered pure white by stretched and trampled underfoot, so a tough soul is stretched by freely accepting poverty."
When abba Macarius was in Egypt, he found a man who had brought a beast to his cell and he was steeling his possessions. He went up to the thief as though he were a traveller who did not live there and helped him to load the beast and led him on his way in peace, saying to himself, "We brought nothing into this world; but the Lord gave; as he willed, so is it done; blessed be the Lord in all things."
Someone brought money to an old man and said, "Take this and spend it for you are old and ill", for he was a leper. The old man replied, "Are you going to take me away from the one who has cared for me for sixty years? I have been ill all that time and I have not needed anything because God has cared for me. " And he would not accept it.
Once abba Arsenius fell ill in Scetis and in this state he needed just one coin. He could not find one so he accepted one as a gift from someone else, and he said, "I thank you, God, that for your name's sake you have made me worthy to come to this pass, that I should have to beg."
Amma Syncletica said, "We ought to govern our souls with discretion and to remain in the community, neither following our own will nor seeking our own good. We are like exiles: we have been separated from the things of this world and have given ourselves in one faith to the one Father. We need nothing of what we have left behind. There we had reputation and plenty to eat; here we have little to eat and little of everything else."
Abba Antony said, "Our life and our death are with our neighbour. If we gain our brother, we have gained our God; but if we scandalise our brother, we have sinned against Christ."
A brother asked, "I have found a place where my peace is not disturbed by the brethren; do you advise me to live there?" Abba Poemen replied, "The place for you is where you will not harm the brothers."
There was an anchorite who was gazing with the antelopes and who prayed to God, saying, "Lord, teach me something more." And a voice came to him, saying, "Go into this monastery and do whatever they tell you." He went there and remained in the monastery, but he did not know the work of the brothers. The young monks began to teach him how to work and they would say to him, "Do this, you idiot," and "Do that, you fool." When he had borne it, he prayed to God, saying, "Lord, I do not know the work of men; send me back to the antelopes." And having been freed by God, he went back into the country to graze with the antelopes.
A beginner who goes from one monastery to another is like a wild animal who jumps this way and that for fear of the halter.
Having withdrawn from the palace to the solitary life, abba Arsenius prayed and heard a voice saying to him, "Arsenius, flee, be silent, pray always, for these are the source of sinlessness."
A brother in scetis went to ask for a word from abba Moses and the old man said to him, "Go and sit in your cell and your cell will teach you everything."
Abba Nilus said, "The arrows of the enemy cannot touch one who loves quietness; but he who moves about in a crowd will often be wounded."
Theophilus of holy memory, bishop of Alexandria, journeyed to Scetis and the brethren coming together said to abba Pambo, "Say a word or two to the bishop, that his soul may be edified in this place." The old man replied, "If he is not edified by my silence, there is no hope that he will be edified by my words."
This place was called Cellia, because of the number of cells there, scattered about the desert. Those who have already begun their training there [i.e. in Nitria] and want to live a more remote life, stripped of external things, withdraw there. For this is the utter desert and the cells are divided from one another by so great a distance that no one can see his neighbour nor can any voice be heard. They live alone in their cells and there is a huge silence and a great quiet there. Only on Saturday and Sunday do they meet in church, and then they see each other face to face, as men restored to heaven.
It was revealed to abba Antony in his desert that there was one in the city who was his equal. He was a doctor by profession, and whatever he had beyond his needs di lui he gave to the poor and every day he sang the sanctus with the angles.
Amma Matrona said, "There are many in the mountains who behave as if they were in the town, and they are wasting their time. It is better to have many people around you and to live the solitary life in your will than to be alone and always longing to be with a crowd."
Abba Isidore said, "If you fast regularly, do not be inflated with pride; if you think highly of yourself because of it, then you had better eat meat. It is better for a man to eat meat than to be inflated with pride and glorify himself."
When blessed Antony was praying in his cell, a voice spoke to him, saying, "Antony, you have not yet come to the measure of the the tanner who is in Alexandria." When he heard this, the old man arose and took his stick di lui and hurried into the city. When he had found the tanner … he said to him, "Tell me about your work, for today I have left the desert and come here to see you."
He replied, "I am not aware that I have done anything good. When I get up in the morning, before I sit down to work, I say that the whole of this city, small and great, will go into the Kingdom of God because of their good deeds, while I alone will go into eternal punishment because of my evil deeds. Every evening I repeat the same words and believe them in my heart."
When blessed Antony heard this he said, "My son, you sit in your own house and work well, and you have the peace of the Kingdom of God; but i spend all my time in solitude with no distractions, and i have not come near the measure of such words."
Once three brothers came to visit an old man in Scetis and one of them said to him, "Abba, I have committed to memory the Old and New Testaments." And the old man answered, "You have filled the air with words." The second one said to him, "I have written out the Old and New Testaments with my own hands." He said, "And you have filled the window-ledge with manuscripts." Then the third said, "The grass is growing up my chimney." And the old man replied, "You have driven away hospitality."
Once two brothers came to a certain old man. It was his custom not to eat every day but when he saw them he received them joyfully and said, "A fast has its own reward, but he who eats for the sake of love fulfils two commandments: he leaves his own will and he refreshes his brothers."
A brother came to see a certain hermit and, as he was leaving, he said, "Forgive me abba for preventing you from keeping your rule." The hermit replied, "My rule is to welcome you with hospitality and to send you away in peace."
It was said of an old man that he dwelt in Syria on the way to the desert.
This was his work: whenever a monk came from the desert, he gave him refreshment with all his heart. Now one day a hermit came and he offered him refreshment. The other did not want to accept it, saying he was fasting. Filled with sorrow, the old man said to him, "Do not despise your servant, I beg you, do not despise me, but let us pray together. Look at the tree which is here; we will follow the way of whichever of us causes it to bend when he kneels on the ground and prays. " So the hermit knelt down to pray and nothing happened. Then the hospitable one knelt down and at once the tree bent towards him. Taught by this, they gave thanks to God.
Abba Nilus said, "Prayer is the seed of gentleness and the absence of anger."
We came from Palestine to Egypt and went to see one of the fathers. He offered us hospitality and we said, "Why do you not keep the fast when visitors come to see you? In Palestine they keep it. " He replied, "Fasting is always with me but I cannot always have you here. It is useful and necessary to fast but we choose whether we will fast or not. What God commands is perfect love. I receive Christ in you and so I must do everything possible to serve you with love. When I have sent you on your way, then I can continue my rule of fasting. The sons of the bridegroom cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them; when he is taken away from them, then they will fast. "
A hunter in the desert saw abba Anthony enjoying himself with the brothers, and he was shocked. Wanting to show him that it was necessary sometimes to meet the needs of the brothers, the old man said to him, "Put an arrow in your bow and shoot it." So he did. And the old man said, "Shoot another," and he did so. Then the old man said, "Shoot yet again," and the hunter replied, "If I bend my bow so much, I will break it." Then the old man said to him, "It is the same with the work of God. If we stretch the brothers beyond measure, they will soon break. Sometimes it is necessary to come down to meet their needs."
Some monks came to see abba Poemen and said to him, "When we see brothers dozing in the church, should we rouse them so that they can be watchful?" He said, "For my part, when I see a brother dozing, I put his head on my knees and let him rest."
Abba Antony said, "Obedience with abstinence gives men control over wild beasts."
Abba Theon ate vegetables, but only those that did not need to be cooked. They say that he used to go out of his cell at night and stay in the company of the wild animals, giving them drink from the water he had. Certainly one could see the tracks of antelopes and wild asses and gazelles and other animals near his hermitage. These creatures always gave him pleasure.
Once when a hippopotamus was ravaging the neighbouring countryside the fathers called on abba Bes to help them. He stood at the place and waited and when he saw the beast, which was of enormous size, he commanded it not to ravage the countryside any more, saying, "In the name of Jesus Christ, I order you not to ravage this countryside anymore." The hippopotamus vanished completely from that district as if driven away by an angel.
Abba Xanthios said, "A dog is better than I am, for he has love and he does not judge."
We came near to a tree, led by our kindly host, and there we stumbled upon a lion. At the sight of him my guide and I quaked, but the saintly old man went unfaltering on and we followed him. The wild beast —you would say it was at the command of God— modestly withdrew a little way and sat down, while the old man plucked the fruit from the lower branches. He held out his hand, full of dates; and up the creature ran and took them as frankly as any tame animal about the house; and when it had finished eating, it went away. We stood watching and trembling; reflecting as well we might what valour of faith was in him and what poverty of spirit in us.
While abba Macarius was praying in his cave in the desert, a hyena suddenly appeared and began to lick his feet and taking him gently by the hem of his tunic, she drew him towards her own cave. He followed her, saying, "I wonder what this animal wants me to do?" When she had led him to her cave, she went in and brought her cubs which had been born blind. He prayed over them and returned them to the hyena with their sight healed. She in turn, by way of thanks offering, brought the man the huge skin of a ram and laid it at his feet. He smiled at her as if at a kind person and taking the skin spread it under him.
Amma Syncletica said, "In the beginning there are a great many battles and a good deal of suffering for those who are advancing towards God and, afterwards, ineffable joy. It is like those who wish to light a fire. At first they are choked with smoke and cry, until they obtain what they seek. As it is written, "Our God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:24); so we also must kindle the divine fire in ourselves through tears and hard work."
Abba Hyperichius said, "Praise God continually with spiritual hymns and always remain in meditation and in this way you will be able to bear the burden of the temptations that come upon you. A traveller who is carrying a heavy load pauses from time to time and draws in deep breaths; it makes the journey easier and the burden lighter."
When abba Apollo heard the sound of singing from the monks who welcomed us, he greeted us according to the custom which all monks follow… He first lay prostrate on the ground, then got up and kissed us and having brought us in he prayed for us; then, after washing our feet with his own hands, he invited us to partake of some refreshment…
One could see his monks were filled with joy and a bodily contentment such as one cannot see on earth. For nobody among them was gloomy or downcast.
If anyone did appear a little downcast, abba Apollo at once asked him the reason and told each one what was the secret recesses of his heart. He used to say, "Those who are going to inherit the Kingdom of heaven must not be despondent about their salvation… we who have been considered worthy of so great a hope, how shall we not rejoice without ceasing, since the Apostle urges us always, "Pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks?"
Abba Poemen said, "There is no greater love than that a man lays down his life for his neighbour. When you hear someone complaining and you struggle with yourself and do not answer him back with complaints; when you are hurt and bear it patiently, not looking for revenge; then you are laying down your life for your neighbour."
One of the beloved of Christ who had the gift of mercy used to say, "The one who is filled with mercy ought to offer it in the same manner in which he has received it, for such is the mercy of God."
Abba Antony said, "I no longer fear God, I love him; for love casts out fear."
Abba Agathon said, "If I could meet a leper, give him my body and take his, I should be very happy." That is perfect charity. It was also said of him that when he came into the town one day to sell his goods, he met a sick traveller lying in the public place with no one to care for him. The old man rented a room and lived with him there, working with his hands to pay the rent and spending the rest on the sick man's needs. He stayed there four months until the sick man was well again. Then he went back to his cell in peace.
A soldier asked abba Mios if God accepted repentance. After the old man had taught him many things, he said, "Tell me, my dear, if your cloak is torn, do you throw it away?" He replied, "No, I mend it and use it again." The old man said to him, "If you are so careful about your cloak, will not god be equally careful about his creature?"
God is the life of all free beings. He is the salvation of all, of believers or unbelievers, of the just or the unjust, of the pious or the impious, of those freed from passions or those caught up in them, of monks or those living in the world, of the educated and the illiterate, of the healthy and the sick, of the young or the old. He is like the outpouring of light, the glimpse of the sun, or the changes of the weather which are the same for everyone without exception.
Abba Pambo said, "If you have a heart, you can be saved."
There was an old man living in the desert who served God for so many years and he said, "Lord, let me know if I have pleased you." He saw an angel who said to him, "You have not yet become like the gardener in such and such place." The old man marvelled and said, "I will go off to the city to see both him and what it is that he does that surpasses all my work and toil of all these years."…
So he went to the city and asked the gardener about his way of life… When they were getting ready to eat in the evening, the old man heard people singing in the streets, for the cell of the gardener was in a public place. Therefore the old man said to him, "Brother, wanting as you do to live according to God, how do you remain in this place and not be troubled when you hear them singing these songs?"
The man said, "I tell you, abba, I have never been troubled or scandalised." When he heard this the old man said, "What, then, do you think in your heart when you hear these things?" And he replied, "That they are all going into the Kingdom." When he heard this, the old man marvelled and said, "This is the practice which surpasses my labour of all these years."
They asked abba Macarius, "How should we pray?" And the old man replied, "There is no need to speak much in prayer; often stretch out your hands and say, 'Lord, as you will and as you know, have mercy on me.' But if there is war in your soul, add, 'Help me!' and because he knows what we need, he shows mercy on us."
Abba Lot went to see abba Joseph and he said to him, "Abba, as far as I can, I say my little office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace and as far as I can I purify my thoughts. What else can I do?" Then the old man stood up and stretched his hands toward heaven; his fingers became like ten lamps of fire and he said to him, "If you will, you can become all flame."
Abba Paul said, "Keep close to Jesus."
Some monks came to see abba Lucius and they said to him, "We do not work with our hands; we obey Paul's command and pray without ceasing." The old man said, "Do you not eat or sleep?" They said, "Yes, we do." He said, "Who prays for you while you are asleep?… Excuse me, brothers, but you do not practice what you claim. I will show you how I pray without ceasing, though I work with my hands."
"With God's help, I collect a few palm-leaves and sit down and weave them, saying, "Have mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodness; according to the multitude of thy mercies do away with mine offences." He said to them, "Is this prayer or not?" They said, "Yes, it is."
And he continued, "When I have worked and prayed in my heart all day, I make about sixteen pence. Two of these I put outside my door and with the rest I buy food. And he who finds the two coins outside the door prays for me while I eat and sleep. And so by the help of God I pray without ceasing."
It is clear to all who dwell in Egypt that it is through the monks that the world is kept in being and that through them also human life is preserved and honoured by God… There is no town or village in Egypt that is not surrounded by hermitages as if by walls, and all the people depend on the prayers of the monks as if on God himself.
Palladius said, "One day when I was suffering from boredom I went to abba Macarius and said, "What shall I do? My thoughts afflict me, saying, you are not making any progress, go away from here." He said to me, "Tell them, for Christ's sake, I am guarding the walls."
This article is one of many more articles about the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Christian Apostolic Church of Egypt. These articles can be obtained electronically from Copt-Net Repository, using anonymous FTP COP|NET from: pharos.bu.edu:CN. Please mail inquiries to firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Despite many decades of effort, quantum physics and gravitation remain separate: no consistent quantum theory of gravity exists. However, that doesn't mean we don't have hints about what such a theory would look like. In particular, many proposals that are wildly different in their details agree that there is a fundamental length scale—the Planck length—at which the force of gravity becomes as strong as the other forces. Close to the Planck scale, ordinary physics, including the famous Heisenberg uncertainty principle, breaks down. Exactly how this breakdown happens is presently (wait for it!) uncertain.
When theory is silent, experiment must step in. A new paper analyzed results from the AURIGA gravitational wave experiment to check for deviations from standard quantum mechanics in the vibrations of a massive metal bar at cryogenic temperatures. The AURIGA results showed no deviation from standard quantum physics, yielding an upper bound on the energy of quantum gravity modifications. The experimenters concluded that the theorists needed to get back to work so that the experimenters have a better idea of what to expect.
So far, experimenters and theorists haven't had much to talk about. This is in part because the Planck length is extremely tiny: 1.6×10-35 meters, compared with the 10-15 meter or so occupied by an atomic nucleus. The particle physics approach to probing short distances is to crank up the energy of collisions, but these energies are well beyond the capabilities of any collider—including the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
As a result, researchers have turned to other methods to search for quantum-gravitational effects. One such technique involves observing extremely high energy astrophysical events, though these carry their own measurement problems. In the laboratory, the focus has been on collective behavior in very cold systems. (For one such proposal, see my earlier Ars Technica article.)
AURIGA is the Antenna Ultracriogenica Risonante per l'Indagine Gravitazionale Astronomica, or "ultra-cryogenic resonant antenna for gravitational-wave astronomy." The detector consists of an aluminum cylinder 3 meters in length and weighing approximately 2.3 tons. The whole apparatus is cooled to a few thousandths of a degree above absolute zero to minimize the effect of thermal vibrations of its atoms. When a gravitational wave from a cataclysmic astronomical event reaches the detector, the aluminum bar should vibrate at its resonant frequency, like a wine glass when a certain musical note is played.
(To date, no gravitational waves have been detected directly, either by AURIGA or the larger laser-based detectors such as LIGO.)
Although this is not its primary purpose, AURIGA's ultra-cryogenic operation temperature made it a good candidate for searching for quantum-gravitational effects. According to quantum physics, mechanical systems will vibrate even at absolute zero, exhibiting something known as zero-point energy. If the Heisenberg uncertainty principle is modified by quantum gravity, then the zero-point energy would also be changed—and it's possible we could measure its increase.
The present analysis found an upper limit for quantum-gravitational effects in the AURIGA data by determining the vibrational energy of the aluminum bar. This is accomplished by coupling the bar to sensitive electrical readout instruments, which were designed for the detection of gravitational waves.
The limit the researchers found was not very stringent: there's still a lot of room for deviation from quantum mechanics at the resolution provided by this experiment. The lack of stringency in these limits leaves open the question of whether AURIGA is sensitive enough to measure quantum gravitational effects. However, these results are a proof of principle, since this stands as the first use of a very macroscopic body to probe physics at the smallest physical scales.
As the researchers emphasized, theory needs to catch up now. While some quantum gravity schemes make specific predictions for deviations from the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, they are often based on idealized systems or single-particle measurements. Promising techniques, including the AURIGA experiment, harness collective phenomena: the behavior of many coupled atoms. Theorists need to catch up by taking into account many-particle effects and measurement processes before any experimental deviation from quantum mechanics could be interpreted.
Nature Physics, 2012. DOI: 10.1038/nphys2503 (About DOIs).

subset: commoncrawl


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Travalogue By Dr K G Paulse
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Not a good night for movie stars at Emmys
The Emmys welcomed plenty of movie stars to television's biggest awards show, including Julia Roberts, Woody Harrelson, Kevin Spacey, Mark Ruffalo and the reigning Oscar winner for best actor, Matthew McConaughey. All were sent home empty-handed.
Instead, the Emmys opted for the tried and true Monday night, giving a long goodbye kiss to "Breaking Bad" and its cast, and the fifth straight award for best comedy to ABC's "Modern Family."
Bryan Cranston, who played the memorable meth dealer Walter White on "Breaking Bad," won his fourth best drama actor Emmy, tying him with another four-time winner, Dennis Franz. Aaron Paul won his third supporting actor award playing Cranston's fictional colleague in crime. Anna Gunn, who played Cranston's wife, won for the second straight year and the series won its second consecutive best drama award.
The bounty proved Emmy voters have a long memory, since the "Breaking Bad" finale aired 11 months ago.
"Thank you for this wonderful farewell to our show," creator Vince Gilligan said.
"Modern Family" co-creator Steve Levitan almost seemed at a loss for something new to say as the ABC show matched the five-year winning streak of "Frasier" in its heyday. Actor Ty Burrell won a best supporting actor award.
"It's a wonder that we get to do this for a living, that we get to be the ones up here when there are so many deserving shows," Levitan said.
For much of the evening, the Emmys seemed to bask in Hollywood's glow, especially McConaughey's aura. He was the willing foil for jokes, particularly by Jimmy Kimmel. "You don't belong here," Kimmel said. "And take Julia Roberts with you."
Director Gail Mancuso of "Breaking Bad" chose to look at McConaughey as she was accepting her award. "I knew if I had to look at my cast, I would tear up," she said backstage. "I thought, 'what's the next best thing? Matthew McConaughey.' He was sitting right there."
Yet the only time McConaughey went on the stage was when he and "True Detectives" co-star Woody Harrelson were presenters. Their HBO series was the subject of much pre-show hubbub — many in Hollywood thought it should be in the miniseries category, not drama — but it proved a moot point as the major awards went elsewhere.
Roberts and Ruffalo weren't honored for their roles in the HBO movie about the early days of AIDS, "The Normal Heart," although the project won the Emmy for best TV movie.
Jumping back and forth between television and feature films isn't as unusual as it used to be, with television in a robust creative period. But with a lot of quality work out there, names aren't enough to guarantee an award.
Emmys host Seth Meyers made note of the unusual time slot for the awards show, on a Monday (Sunday is the usual date) in late August. It was NBC's turn to air the show, and the network didn't want to pre-empt its lucrative Sunday night NFL football package.
"If I understand television, it means the Emmys are about to be cancelled," Meyers joked.
Once the awards began, some of television's royalty added to their trophy cases. Jim Parsons, star of television's most popular comedy, "The Big Bang Theory," won his fourth straight award for best comedy actor. It was the third year in a row for Julia Louis-Dreyfus of HBO's "Veep" to win the best comic actress award.
Julianna Margulies, the star of CBS' "The Good Wife," was the beneficiary of an especially strong season for the show, winning her second Emmy as best actress in a drama.
For all the pre-show talk about new forms of television distribution, it was a good night for network television, between Margulies, Parsons and "Modern Family." Allison Janney won a best supporting actress award for her role in the freshman CBS sitcom, "Mom."
Netflix and its biggest shows, "House of Cards" and "Orange is the New Black," didn't win any major awards.
The Emmys included a touching tribute to Robin Williams, who died earlier this month, by his comedian friend Billy Crystal.
"He made us laugh. Hard. Every time you saw him," Crystal said.


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David Smith: Cubes and Anarchy opens at LACMA this Sunday (on view starting tomorrow for members). Curator Carol S. Eliel calls Smith one of the greatest American sculptors of the twentieth century—we'll have more from Carol next week on Unframed. First, we asked Brenda Levin of Levin and Associates Architects for a sneak peek at her design for the installation.
In what ways did Smith's work inspire your design?
Our design was inspired by Smith's own exploration of space and form. He often layered the placement of his sculptures in relation to each other to create a new art form through photography and what he called collages in space.
Geometry is an important theme in this exhibition. Does it play a role in the installation design as well?
Smith wanted to exaggerate and exploit the pictorial quality of his geometric sculptures when he placed them in groups. We attempted to replicate that experience.
The scrims are a notable feature of the design. How are they intended to affect the visitor's experience?
The scrims, in effect, create the context of landscape, sky, and light that Smith used to explore these techniques of producing three-dimensional collages, documented in his photography and drawings. We looked at these same
ideas through the use of the translucent scrims in a naturally lit space, creating the illusion of sculptures layered in space.
After having such intimate access to Smith's work, what's your impression? Anything you would suggest a visitor look out for?
Make sure you study the photos and drawings… they are a wonderful surprise.
Photos courtesy of Yosi Pozeilov


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Whether you're an existing practitioner or a learner by curiosity, or an aspiring professional, this course will enhance your expertise and enrich your CV with critical skills and an accredited qualification attesting to your knowledge.
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With the Washington Capitals on the road for their playoff series against the New York Rangers, their mascot Slapshot made a guest appearance at Nationals Park tonight, filling in for the Nationals' own eagle mascot Screech as referee for the 4th-inning presidents race.
The racing presidents paid their own tribute to the Caps, running tonight's presidents race with hockey sticks in hand.
Abe jumped out first from the centerfield gate, but pulled up lame and limped all the way to the finish line, far behind George, who paced the field for his second presidents race victory of 2009.
Photo courtesy of Cheryl Nichols of Nats News Network
Video courtesy of YouTube member lfahome


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Merian Pl. 14, Soursop with Owlet Moth
Oppenheimer Editions Print
21 5/8" x 14"
Limited edition of 300
Published 2004
Blind embossed with the Oppenheimer Editions and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew logos
Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium, The Oppenheimer Kew Gardens Edition
Born in Frankfurt am Main, Maria Sibylla Merian (1647—1717) was the daughter of Matthaus Merian the Elder (1593—1650), a German-Swiss painter, engraver and publisher. Her father died when she was three and her mother remarried Jacob Marrel (1614—81), who had recently arrived in Frankfurt to open an art studio as a still-life painter. From the time she was eleven, Marrel schooled Maria Sibylla Merian in the tradition of northern European still life painting, working directly from life. As her interests evolved toward the study of insects, she employed these painterly skills to serve scientific objectives as well as aesthetic ones.
In 1665, she married a student of Marrel's, the artist Johann Andreas Graff (1637—1701). During her marriage, two daughters were born and she continued to work as an artist, producing entomological studies and flower drawings that were in great demand as embroidery models. She began publishing her work, including a three-part flower book between 1675 and 1680. After her marriage dissolved, she moved in 1681 with her daughters and mother to a Labadist colony for a period before settling in Amsterdam in 1690. There she was introduced to a wider circle of people involved in natural history pursuits.
In June of 1699, at the age of 52, the artist-naturalist Maria Sibylla Merian departed from Amsterdam, along with her daughter Dorothea Maria, on an arduous journey to the Dutch colony of Surinam on the northeastern coast of South America. There, she spent two years observing the indigenous plants and insects, studying and painting them from life. This endeavor resulted in one of the most significant natural history folios of the 18th century, Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium, the culmination of her career as an artist and naturalist.
Maria Sibylla Merian documented and studied the flora and fauna of Surinam, painting her exquisite studies on vellum with exactitude. These elegantly composed paintings portray the metamorphosis of one or more species of insect supported by a central plant food source and depicted its various stages of life: caterpillar or larva, pupa, moth, butterfly, or fly. In Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium, Maria Sibylla Merian merged the aesthetics and techniques of flower painting with the scientific study of insects, establishing her lasting reputation as an artist and scientist.
In 1705, two small editions were published, with 60 engraved plates, in Latin and Dutch. On the day Maria Sibylla Merian died, Tsar Peter the Great concluded a transaction to purchase a two-volume collection of unbound paintings, as well as her journal of studies, Studienbuch. In all, three editions of Merian's Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium were published. The latter two include 12 additional plates. Examples of Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium in good condition with original color are extremely rare.
References: Wilfred Blunt, The Art of Botanical Illustration an Illustrated History, 1994, page 127; Natalie Zemos Davis, Women on the Margins, 1995, pages 140—202.
Established in 1999, Oppenheimer Editions has partnered with prestigious museums to make prints from their holdings. Works from the New-York Historical Society's unrivaled collections of John James Audubon's watercolors and the Hudson River School paintings are examples of art that otherwise would be unobtainable. Among the institutional collections we have partnered with are the American Museum of Natural History, the Field Museum, and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. These are not mere reproductions. They are limited-edition fine art prints made with the finest quality archival pigments on rag watercolor paper and executed to exacting standards.


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I pass by a McDonald's on the way to work.
Every single morning.
And every single morning, excepting those I've left ridiculously early to make up time, the line to McDonald's extends into the street.
Bright (or even gloomy) and early, people anxiously await their sacks of fat and jugs of soda.
I have something I'd like to say to these motherfuckers.
To the White Collar Fat Bitches: It's a quarter to 8:00. I'll be behind one of your cohort momentarily, watching you shovel that sausage biscuit into your mouth as you drive. Crumbs tumbling down into your decolletage. Greasy fingerprints smearing your steering wheel. You're going to march your fat ass into work and give side-eye to all the hot bitches who don't smell like grease and shame. You did this to yourself. And you got in my way doing it. Bitch.
Disclaimer to the White Collar Fat Bitches: I'm one of you. But I have the sense to not block traffic for a sack of fat in rush hour. Bitches. Plus, McDonald's is shit. You're eating shit. Deep-fried shit. I hope you get extra dimples in your thighs with every crumb that falls into your cleavage.
To the Becardiganed Old Fuckers: When I finally steer my way around the McBitches, I encounter you next. In your McBuick or McOldsmobile, shrouded in your year-round cardigan. I know you've got a coffee pot at home, you old fuck. But more importantly, you've probably been up since five o-fucking clock. Yet here you are, slowly creeping out of the drive-thru lanes. Turtling your way into traffic. At 7:47 A.M. What the fuck is the matter with you? You know what? I think you're doing this shit on purpose. If you've gotta wear year-round cardigans and shake with the palsy, by god you're gonna make the rest of us pay. With your slow, confused ass. Fucker.
Disclaimer to the Becardiganed Old Fuckers: I'm aware I'll be one of you one day. If I make it that long. And maybe I'll too play games with the younguns. I'll have fuckall else to do. But I want you to remember this. Next time you're in the grocery store at a quarter 'til Jeopardy, I'm passin' the clerk a tip and a note asking her to call for a loud price check of your Depends Undergarments. Or to tell you they no longer accept checks. Oh yeah. Payback is a bitch.
Next time y'all think about blocking traffic during rush hour for subpar fast food – NEWSFLASH: McDonald's serves breakfast all fucking day now!


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By Wendy Nugent, Newton Now There are times when it's great to be serious, and there are times when seriousness is not called for. In...
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Front Runners List: Click to see list completion progress by climbers that log their climbs using Peakbagger.com.
Multiple Ascents Grid: Click for a grid showing all of Jason Riggio's ascents of peaks on this list (including up to 10 rounds of repeats).
Compare Climbers: Click to compare ascents of up to 5 climbers working on this list.
There are 58 counties in California, and their high points reflect the tremendous variety of the Golden State. The top of the list is dominated by the high peaks in the Sierra Nevada, plus the two 14,000-foot non-Sierra peaks in the state, Shasta and White Montain Peak. From the deserts a few miles from the Mexcian border, to deeply forested coastal hills in the state's northwest corner, to lonely and remote summits along the central coast, to the urban parks of the Bay Area, there is something for almost anyone on this list.
North Palisade, by consensus, is the most difficult climb technically on this list as a class 4 scramble. However, a number of lower peaks are on private land where you need to arrange for access.
Caution: These books feature many of the peaks on this list, but may not have information on all of them.
= Peaks climbed by Jason Riggio = Unclimbed peaks
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Ecwid Review – A Closer Look at the Pros and Cons of Ecwid
In this Ecwid review, I'll take a look at the ease of use, pricing, and integrations. While I can't provide you with all of the details about Ecwid, I'll give you an idea of what to expect. I'm sure that you'll find this review to be extremely helpful, and I look forward to answering any questions you may have. Ecwid is a great solution for online businesses.
Ecwid's ease of use
Ecwid's intuitive control panel makes it easy to set up a shop. Anyone who has had experience with WordPress should be able quickly and easily to learn the system. After signing up for the free plan, you'll be taken to your admin area where you can create your store. Once there, you can begin adding products to your store. You can access the tabs at the top of the page to edit tax and shipping information, as well as list attributes. You can add meta descriptions to your products by clicking on the tabs.
The free plan allows you to set up a basic shop with ten products. Once your shop grows, you can upgrade to a more advanced plan for a low fee. You'll get more features and a personal account manger when you upgrade to a paid plan. The downside to the free plan is that it only has a few basic features. You will also have a limited number of products and a limited inventory.
Although you can customize the layout of your store in Ecwid, it does have some limitations. While it doesn't offer drag-and-drop editors, you can change fonts, colors, and styles in a few different ways. Even then, you may be frustrated with the process if you aren't an expert in web design. Then again, you could always hire a professional designer to do the work for you.
Another major feature of Ecwid is its multi-lingual capabilities. Ecwid offers more than 50 languages, which allows you to sell to customers that don't know English. This is great news especially for international businesses. The free plan allows you to set up a store in multiple countries, although this may require a paid subscription if you plan on selling to international buyers. The free plan has many great benefits, even though you will need to pay extra for multi-language capabilities.
Ecwid's ease-of-use is not complemented by integration for social media channels. Facebook and Instagram are the most popular social media sites, but other platforms may limit the size of files that can be downloaded. However, Ecwid offers 10 GB file limits, and it will work with you if you need to expand. Additionally, you can take advantage of dropshipping and on-demand services, which eliminate inventory storage and shipping.
Its pricing
If you're looking to start an online store but don't want to commit to a long-term contract, Ecwid offers free plans with very limited features. You can start with a free account and sell up to 10 products, but you'll be limited to a small number of product categories. Larger businesses will be able to benefit from the paid plans which offer more features and greater limits. There are also different types of plans suited for different needs.
For instance, most online sales are digital, and you'll find that many platforms have limitations when it comes to file sizes. Ecwid limits your bandwidth to 10 GB but will work with you to increase it. In addition, you can sell your products through multiple channels, including mobile and web. And, you can use the app market and dropshipping services to remove the need for stocking or shipping.
While Shopify offers a free trial, Ecwid offers a fourteen-day free plan. The free plan allows you to try the product before paying any fees. Ecwid offers a limited number free apps, but its App Market offers 40 free apps. Although these apps aren't as extensive as Shopify, they are easy to use and free. This is important to remember when comparing the pricing plans.
When it comes to pricing, Ecwid is very competitive. While the price is very competitive, you'll find that the platform integrates with more than 50 payment methods. You can upload bulk files and update your inventory. You can also integrate your store with Facebook. This feature has a good reputation with consumers. This feature is not free, so you shouldn't rely on it for conversions. Nevertheless, it offers a wealth of tools to enhance your store's functionality.
Ecwid's pricing is relatively low compared to the other ecommerce platforms. It hits the sweet spot for website builders. It combines the best ecommerce tools, with ease-of-use and a low price. It is easy to use and offers many payment options. Ecwid's store plug in allows you to transform your website into an online shop. With the help of a custom app, you can easily manage customer information and orders from within your store.
Its integration
When you want to integrate your eCommerce store with a third party system, you can use one of Ecwid's integrations. The process of developing such a connection involves a lot of time and money. This investment can pay off over the long term because you don't have to pay any monthly subscription fees. Additionally, you don't have to hire a team of developers to maintain the integration, and you only need to update it when necessary.
Ecwid's multilingual capabilities are another benefit. Ecwid's multilingual capabilities are a key feature. This is in contrast to other ecommerce platforms that require third-party apps, or use Google Translate. If you are setting up a multilingual site on WordPress, you'll need language plugins such as WPML and PolyLang, but Ecwid allows you to import a CSV file. In addition, Ecwid supports payment gateways like PayPal and Visa.
Some of Ecwid's integrations allow you to build a personalized product experience. Edit product images, add watermarks and special effects. You can also add custom categories and search keywords without the need for a third-party service. A PDF can be used to integrate the product with your site. This can increase customer engagement. Customers can also buy products from your site using the easy-to-use interface.
Ecwid's RESTful API is an important part of its integrations. This API allows you to customize your e-store and manage your data. This includes customer and product information, inventory levels, shipping statuses, and other data. This API allows you to expand your eCommerce software's presence in more than 175 countries. And it's free! What are you waiting for?! Get an Ecwid integration today!
Ecwid is a great solution for people who need an eCommerce platform that can integrate with other websites. Although Ecwid doesn't allow you to create a standalone ecommerce site, it lets you integrate your existing online store with social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. By the way, Ecwid's free version lets you use up to 10 products without paying any money. This account will only allow you to access 10 products. There are also not a lot of features available in the free version of Ecwid.
It integrates with other apps
Integrating with other apps is essential for running a successful online company. Ecwid allows you to create a social media shop and choose your preferred payment method. The apps make the process of running an online store easy, and there are even mobile versions. They are also highly customizable and easy-to-use. Ecwid has its drawbacks. These disadvantages will be covered in this article. We'll also discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of this e-commerce solution.
Zapier allows you to automate your business processes, connecting your Ecwid store with popular apps and services. Zapier allows you create custom integrations that allow you to connect Ecwid to popular services such as Twitter, Google Sheets, etc. You can also create Zaps to automate certain tasks, such as email marketing or Twitter, without needing to know how to code. You can easily set up an integration with a few clicks.
Ecwid makes it easy for you to manage multiple stores. Ecwid allows you to manage multiple storefronts, catalogs, take credit card payments, track orders, and accept credit cards. And you can use integrations with social media sites like Instagram to sell your products directly to their followers. If you're looking for an easy-to-use e-commerce platform, Ecwid has a lot to offer.
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Hosted By
Dennis Newhall
Each week you'll hear favorite artists making fresh music and fresh artists making new favorites, from Led Zeppelin to Foo Fighters to Beck. It's all in the free form tradition of Sacramento's legendary rock radio station.
Saturday, 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. on News Station
June 10, 2023
May 13, 2023
May 20, 2023


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About a decade before my parents tied the knot, another woman took the name of Mrs. Ebenezer Ray. Her name was Lucille. For a long time, that's all I knew. My mother had told me my father had had a first wife. And after my mom died, I found my dad and Lucille's divorce papers in my mother's dresser drawer. When I told a friend that I'd thought it curious that my mother would save the divorce papers from her husband's first marriage, but none of his writings, the friend suggested that it was by design. My mother wanted to make sure my father was free to marry. Knowing my mother, that is exactly what she was thinking. But knowing my mother, if she'd had copies of his columns, she would have kept those too.
Back to Lucille. As far back as 1935, my father started mentioning her in his columns. She was a soprano who performed with a group he seemed quite taken by— the Amapa Musical and Dramatic Club. By day, apparently, Lucille was a beautician.
They married on April 23, 1939. The notice of their marriage license said he was 39; by my calculation, he actually was 41. The notice put her age at 32.
"A well-known newspaperman said two little words, 'I Do' to a charming young lady who became his bride in the presence of a host of friends last Sunday afternoon . . . " a New York Age article read on April 29, 1939.
Her brother-in-law, Austin Ahmed, walked her down the aisle. Her niece, Nevolia Ahmed, was her maid of honor. also in attendance were Lucille's sister, Hazel and my father's cousin, Lottie McConney.
There's more on Lucille: the columns my father wrote about the wedding and the challenges of being sharing a household. Census records that serve as a window into her past. And yes, those divorce documents.
I do realize that had this marriage lasted I would not exist.
Still, the incurable romantic in me wants to let this sweet, romantic chronicle of their happy day stand on its own.


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Reversion and I spent most of the weekend raiding on our SAN alts (see previous post) and Sunday late afternoon logged into our somewhat neglected, well geared mains – the eponymous Analogue and Reversion. I was in the mood to run ICC 10 so I asked Reversion to scavenge us a raid while I played with the Nomster. She is better behaved for raiding if you wear her out first 🙂
Well he started asking in guild and lo and behold, a number of raiders had tertiary alts they wanted to get some badges on. Before we knew it, we had 9 of 10 slots filled. All we were missing was a second healer. Nobody in guild volunteered so we decided to pug it.
Reversion started asking, and got two nibbles; a druid who said he had experience healing tanks in raids, and a holy priest who was lightly geared. He asked me to decide, and I picked the holy priest. I like healing with a different class than I am. Plus we already had three druids in the raid…
We get in, start clearing trash. The guild clears trash faster and more aggressively than any pug I've been in, so it keeps you on your toes healing and today seemed especially bad. I thought it was just because the other tank wasn't turning the Servants of the Throne around. I keep an eye on the priest's mana bar; with only 4800 gearscore, his mana regen might be weak and I'd need to toss him an innervate. It didn't get very low though, and I kept having a hard time healing. When a pair of frost giants appeared, we wiped – more or less; I managed to escape but almost everyone was dead.
I started looking at the healing meter. And something was very, very wrong. I was at the top, as I expected – with 70% of healing done. After that the pugged priest was at 15%. The shadow priest was at almost 12% just from Vampiric Embrace! This didn't seem right.
Well, maybe he was using a lot of bubbles and it wasn't showing up right on the meters. He was holy, not disc, but who knows. I told Vuhdo to display for me the Power Word: Shield and Weakened Soul debuff on raid members. Oh, there was – one shield, briefly, on one tank. And thirty seconds later, another – on himself.
No, I was starting to suspect our problem lay with the healer.
I started giving him specific instructions via whisper, fight to fight – "Ok, you keep [off tank] alive", knowing Reversion and I could coordinate his cooldowns and my Oh Crap moves and be fine. It worked, more or less, but the numbers on the meters were staying where they had been and I was working harder than ever to keep everyone alive.
We got to Saurfang, killed him. Fortunately the Mark went onto one of the tanks, something I find is a lifesaver when the healing is underpowered. Better to have all the heals going to one person than split among three.
Saurfang dropped the healing staff, Mag'hari Chieftain's Staff. I've got that; I use it sometimes. The pug healer and a couple dps rolled on it. Reversion asks in the raid whether it's main spec for the healer – who had lost the roll. No reply. So he gave it to the winner of the roll.
We go into the Upper Spire. Pug healer dies in the mist, releases. I charge merrily along healing as we pull trash. All of a sudden we notice something is very, very wrong. Well first, it's been a good five minutes and there's no sign of Pug Healer. Second, the tanks now have only 50k health.
It sinks in as we look at our buffs. The Strength of Wrynn – our 20% boost – is gone.
Suspicion immediately falls to the pugged healer. "Did you talk to the king?" we ask him. No response. The raid decides we'll leave the instance, wait half an hour, and hope the buff comes back. We remove the pug healer and troop outside.
There were two schools of thought on this; some thought he was just so stupid he managed to remove the buff from us while trying to get upstairs. I thought he might have done it on purpose because we didn't give him the staff. Either way, we weren't playing with him again.
Half an hour later, the buff is back. Slowly we re-form the raid. This time, a guildie volunteers to heal – a holy paladin! Huzzah! We end up pugging in a rogue for some dps since one of the earlier group had to call it a night, and we set off to kill some abominations.
Boom boom boom – and a surprise for me, the Plague Wing achievement. Apparently Analogue had only downed the Professor on 25 man. Turns out it was my paladin who had done it on ten man. Heh! It's always funny when you get an achievement for a fight you know pretty well.
We were getting tired, and sloppy, but we went to the Blood wing and I got another first, this time a real first: Blood Princes and the Queen. I'd seen the Princes but only to wipe; Reversion had finished Blood Wing previously, so now I'm caught up. My personal progression in ICC is 10/12!
The evening ended on a lower note when we wiped twice to Dreamwalker; I was tired and just couldn't keep the raid alive while the paladin was inside. But the second two wings were way easier than the first, because I had an actual healing partner and not a parasite.
So all in all a very good raiding weekend. Stay tuned tomorrow; SAN is going to finish up BWL and I can't wait.


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I'm very excited about being "Auntie Shellyfish" again (wee!), and thought I would put some of these new knitting needles to use for my future niece or nephew…though I'm sure the baby is a girl. Don't ask me why, just a hunch.
I got my first stitches cast on to make this sweet little hat. I'm limited to using the yarn in my little stash, but wish I could use more vivid colours. I've got more white and lilac baby yarn that I used for this scarf, and it should look sweet. That yarn is so very soft, it's a shame I don't have more of it.
I'm also hoping to make these little booties because they are just so cute! I love baby feet so much – baby toes are perhaps the cutest thing in the world, they must be protected! The pattern seems pretty easy (read : I can figure it out) so if I have enough yarn left over after the little beanie I'll give it a go.
I'd have liked to use the blue pictured above for both the hat and the booties, but over the holidays Sam somehow managed to make his way into my workshop and he took out his frustration of being left at home on everything he found. I was a bit heart-broken because he gnarled up 5 skeins of baby yarn I'd been saving. More than gnarled up – they were stinky, too – so I had to trash them. He also ate a few gifts I'd just finished making, which was a very heavy lesson in impermanence and in the absolute fleeting nature of the universe. Sigh.
Have you had any of your works of love destroyed by a small child or pet? I'm sure you have!
Do you have any new W.I.P.s in the works? We would love to see what you're up to! Snap a shot of your "in progress" masterpiece and add it to the W.I.P. Wednesday Flickr Pool. Whatever your works-in-progress, have a crafty week, and don't forget to see what the other Wipsters are working on.


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The Early County Food Stamp Office administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a form of nutrition assistance for income-eligible households in Early County, Georgia. Local Food Stamp Offices process applications for Early County SNAP benefits, help determine eligibility for benefits, and provide nutritional education resources. The offices also help administer monthly food benefits, distribute food assistance, and accept applications from individuals and households for SNAP benefits, and they ensure that participants comply with SNAP rules. Early County Food Stamp Offices provide access to information and services on their websites.
Early County Division of Family and Children Services Food Stamp Office Blakely GA 11860 Columbia Road 39823 877-423-4746
The Early County WIC Office provides services that are part of the Women, Infants, and Children nutritional program in Early County, Georgia. WIC Offices process applications to join the program, provide nutritional education, and administer Early County food services to eligible individuals and families. The program administers benefits for income-eligible pregnant and recently pregnant women, infants, and young children who are at nutrition risk. WIC Offices determine eligibility for benefits, accept and process applications, and conduct assessments for nutrition risk. Early County WIC Offices provide information and services on their websites.
Early County Health Department WIC Office Blakely GA 618 South Flowers Drive 39823 229-723-5923


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In The Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel Wilkerson's hard-to-put-down chronicle of the Great Migration, she describes the lynching of Claude Neal in Marianna, Florida in 1934.
It is a gruesome tale of unspeakable acts, including the mutilation, hanging, rehanging, dragging and shooting of one man.
And though we can only hope that this orgy of gratuitous hate and voyeurism was what Wilkerson says was "perhaps the single worst act of torture and execution in twentieth-century America," we know it was illustrative of the reign of terror, humiliation and intimidation that prevailed in the American South well into the 1960s.
"Across the country, thousands of outraged Americans wrote to President Franklin D. Roosevelt demanding a federal investigation," Wilkerson writes. "The NAACP compiled a sixteen-page report and more files on the Neal case than any other lynching in American history. But Neal had the additional misfortune of having been lynched just before the 1934 national midterm elections, which were being seen as a referendum on the New Deal itself. Roosevelt chose not to risk alienating the South with a Democratic majority in Congress at stake. He did not intervene in the case. No one was ever charged in Neal's death or spent a day in jail for it," Wilkerson adds.
My father was one of those outraged writers, who inveighed against Roosevelt and the Episcopal Church.
In a column published November 10, 1934, Ebenezer pointed out the contradictions in the editorial pages of the Pittsburgh Courier, which he said "flaunts the glories of the New Deal," yet criticized "Uncle Sam" for failing to intervene in the Neal lynching case. My father warned that FDR's inaction might cost him the black vote in the 1936 election:
"The front pages of some of the daily papers in New York during the week past bore a symbol of America's 'New Deal' to the Negro — the mutilated body of Claude Neal hanging [from] a tree on the lawn of a courthouse in Marianna, Florida. President Roosevelt, while laboring honestly to turn the nation 'around the corner' where prosperity is, might turn aside for a brief while to intercede with Uncle Sam on behalf of an outraged race. Otherwise, far-thinking Negroes might accuse him of being Uncle Sam, in November 1936."
In December of 1934, he criticized the Episcopal Church for appealing to Congress to call for the international revision of the calendar so that Easter would fall on a fixed date, but failing to give vocal support to anti-lynching legislation called the Costigan-Wagner Act.
"In the meantime," my father wrote, "such matters as the recent Claude Neal lynching and the wrongful imprisonment and wouldbe 'legal' 'lynching' of the nine Scottsboro boys, a rank disgrace to any country or nation which boasts of any religion whatever, the Protestant Episcopal none the less, seem to be of little or no concern to these religious luminaries . . ."


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There is an incredible amount of organization that goes into Fashion Week and we were very impressed that it ran like clockwork. Our hats off to all involved. You made our experience stress free and a lot more enjoyable by having all your ducks in a row.
One big logistical challenge for the organizers is managing the show attendees. Even after we had a press pass, we still had to jump through a few hoops to get invitations to specific shows. For each show we then had to check in, where we were given either a seat assignment or a place in the standing section. The organizers at check in were different for each show, and still it ran smoothly.
Keeping everyone in check was a fabulous security crew. In fact, they were one of our favourite parts of the week. They were well groomed, helpful and firm, but with a wicked sense of humour (much rolling of the eyes at the stressed out organizers). Few people smile at Fashion Week, but you could count on the grins of the security guards throughout the day.
I decided to break out a fun black and cream polka dot bubble dress for our last day at Fashion Week. I matched it up with a black turtle neck, biker jacket, chevron hose, pearls, red handbag and low heeled patent knee-high boots.
The outfits that you've seen me wear this week are typical of my everyday work style and I didn't purchase anything new for the occasion. I don't usually wear black, grey and cream this much, but it was practical to coordinate outfits around this colour palette for traveling. I've had enough of neutrals for a while though, and I can't wait to get into my colourful knitwear back home.


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San Francisco tragedy: 'Oh my God. That plane is crashing'
SAN FRANCISCO — An Asiana Airlines flight packed with more than 300 people slammed onto the runway while landing at San Francisco airport Saturday and caught fire, forcing many to escape by sliding down the emergency inflatable slides and into a trail of metal debris as flames tore through the plane.
At least two people who were found outside the wreckage died in the crash, while another 182 people were taken to hospitals, many with minor injuries, authorities said. Forty-nine people were reported to be in critical condition, San Francisco International Airport spokesman Doug Yakel said.
As the plane approached the runway from the waters of San Francisco Bay around noon, travelers in the terminals and others eyewitnesses could see that the aircraft was swaying unusually from side to side and that at one point the tail seemed to hit the ground before breaking off.
Kate Belding, who was jogging a few miles away, said she thought: "Oh my God. That plane is crashing."
By the time the flames were out, much of the top of the Boeing 777's fuselage had burned away. The tail section was gone, with pieces of it scattered across the beginning of the runway. One engine appeared to have broken away. Emergency responders could be seen walking inside the burned-out wreckage.
The investigation has been turned over to the FBI and terrorism has been ruled out, San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White said. Federal aviation and transportation investigators were heading to the scene. Asiana, Boeing and the engine manufacturer, Pratt & Whitney, pledged to work with them.
Vedpal Singh, who was sitting in the middle of the aircraft and survived the crash with his family, said there was no forewarning from the pilot or any crew members before the plane touched down hard and he heard a loud sound.
"We knew something was horrible wrong," said Singh, who suffered a fractured collarbone and had his arm was in a sling.
"It's miraculous we survived," he said.
A visibly shaken Singh said the plane went silent before people tried to get out anyway they could. His 15-year-old son said luggage tumbled from the overhead bins The entire incident lasted about 10 seconds.
Another passenger, Benjamin Levy, 39, said it looked to him that the plane was flying too low and too close to the bay as it approached the runway. Levy, who was sitting in an emergency exit row, said he felt the pilot try to lift the jet up before it crashed, and thinks the maneuver might have saved some lives.
"Everybody was screaming. I was trying to usher them out," he recalled of the first seconds after the landing. "I said, 'Stay calm, stop screaming, help each other out, don't push.'"
Hayes-White said she did not know the ages or genders of the people who died, but said they were found on "the exterior" of the plane. She said the 307 passengers and crew members had been aboard had been accounted for following several hours of confusion during which authorities said they were unsure of the whereabouts of more than 60 people who, as it turned out, had been evacuated to a different area of the airport.
Based on witness accounts in the news and video of the wreckage, Mike Barr, a former military pilot and accident investigator who teaches aviation safety at the University of Southern California, said it appeared the plane approached the runway too low and something may have caught the runway lip — the seawall at the end of the runway.
San Francisco is one of several airports around the country that border bodies of water that have walls at the end of their runways to prevent planes that overrun a runway from ending up in the water.


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I have been busy searching Trove, more than usual if that is possible, preparing December posts. It will be a big month.
December 1 is the first day of Summer so keep an eye out for some Summer Fashions. As I found from my Spring Fashion post, that it is interesting to track the changing fashions over the decades. A "not to be missed" post especially if you would like to find out when women stopped wearing two petticoats in Summer!
Following on from a successful series of posts in December 2011, I will also bring you Christmas from the 1900s to the 1950s with a Western District slant. The Pioneer Christmas posts have been very popular and, like fashions, there have been definite changes to Christmas celebrations over the decades.
Have you been following the great Trove Tuesday posts from various bloggers each week? If you would like to see all the posts from the last 14 weeks (can't believe it's been that many) check out Amy Houston's blog Branches, Leaves and Pollen. Christmas Day will also be Trove Tuesday, so I will have to begin a search for a Trove treasure with a Christmas theme.
There will also be the 19th edition of Passing of the Pioneers. Around 250 pioneers have now been remembered in these monthly posts and the stories of the early days of the Western District continue.
I also have some new links to add to the Western District Links Page.
In between all this maybe I'll get a post or two in about my family members. One of my fellow Western District researchers has, in the last few days, handed me a big hammer to smash down one of my brick walls, so I'll have to share that.
Phew! I better get going.