"And Ajax by mad passion borne stern had replied, fierce scorn enhancing scorn to fell extremes…"
From FB:
“Middle-aged hippieish woman sitting outside a Starbucks in a maroon Subaru Outback replete with an Obama bumper sticker and one that read: “Yellow Ribbons Don’t Save Soldiers – Peace Does!”
Me: “Nice bumper sticker.”
Her: “Oh, thanks!”
Me: “Yeah, I was being sarcastic.”
Her: “Oh. Thanks.”
“Where for aught any man knows lies the locality of Hell? For the Earth is a globe in the void and truth there’s no up nor down to it and there’s men in this company besides myself seen little cloven hoof-prints in the stone clever as a little doe in her going, but what little doe ever trod melted rock?”
– “Blood Meridian” by Cormac McCarthy
From FB:
“I always found that one of the major ways that Lovecraft has wrapped its leathery tentacles around popular culture was through a deluge of faux memorobelia: Arkham newspapers, Miskatonic diplomas and the like. This is my humble contribution, a 20’s to 30’s era fold-out road atlas of Lovecraft County based on old gas-station sponsored map sets. I added a bit of requisite humor by giving the gas station company name a play on Shoggoth. I did as best I could researching old New England road atlases, eliminated post 1930’s highways and towns, and shuffled in some real but antiquated place names and sites, some of which have been demolished (many of the lighthouses for example), as well as any Lovecraft locations I could get away with showing on what is ostensibly a commercial road map (No Blasted Heath, why in gods name would a gas station suggest you go there? But the Old Growth forest it is a part of and the disused through-road from the Colour Out of Space dutifully are depicted, for example. The reservoir hasn’t flooded the area yet in this particular map.)”
From FB:
“Originally called Decoration Day, when Americans took time to decorate the graves of soldiers who gave their lives in the Civil War, today’s national holiday of Memorial Day honors all American soldiers who died in defense of the nation. While several towns claim to be the site of the first Memorial Day celebration, one man, John A. Logan, deserves much of the credit for the establishment of Memorial Day as a national holiday.
Logan, was born 9 February 1826 in Jackson County, Illinois. He served as an officer with the 1st Illinois Volunteer Infantry during the Mexican War but did not see any combat. Upon his return home to Illinois, he became involved in state politics and was elected to the US House of Representatives as a Democrat in November 1858. A powerful orator, he staunchly defended the Union during the months leading up to the Civil War despite representing an area of Illinois that harbored secessionist sentiments. In fact, his oratorical skills swayed many of his constituents to change their views and support the Union.
Upon the outbreak of hostilities in 1861, Logan volunteered his services as a soldier and served with a Michigan regiment at the Battle of First Bull Run on 21 July 1861. After the battle, he returned home to Illinois to recruit a regiment, the 31st Illinois, and was named the regiment’s colonel. Nicknamed “Black Jack” for his black hair and dark eyes and complexion, Logan led his regiment into combat for the first time at Belmont in November 1861. He proved to be a natural military leader and later fought with distinction at Fort Donelson, Corinth, and Vicksburg, and rose to the rank of major general of volunteers. During the Atlanta campaign, he commanded XV Corps, was wounded, and then temporarily commanded the Army of the Tennessee. He was replaced as corps commander by Major General O.O. Howard, a decision made by Major General William T. Sherman because of Sherman’s mistrust of “political” generals, not because of Logan’s fighting abilities. The decision led Logan to despise professional soldiers, especially West Pointers, for the rest of his life. Logan, however, dutifully served under Sherman for the rest of the war until the surrender of Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston in April 1865 in North Carolina. Many historians consider Logan the best of the Union Army’s political generals.
Following the Civil War, Logan was instrumental in the founding of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), a veterans group comprised of former Union Army soldiers, and served as the GAR’s second elected national commander. On 3 March 1868, Logan issued General Order No. 11, which called for a national day of remembrance for Civil War dead. This order served as the basis for what became the national holiday of Memorial Day.”
He’s buried at the United States Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home National Cemetery, which I visited in December 2019.
Song Of Ajax 