Category: Americana

Independence and Modern Relationships – Annie Oakley Style

When America’s great hero Annie Oakley said, “Families are nothing other than the idolatry of duty.” and “Housework is work directly opposed to the possibility of human self-actualization.” she could have been reading from the modern feminist playbook.

I think she was way ahead of her time.

But Annie Oakley was no man-hater. She worked well with men all her life.

My friend Shelly of Houston seems to me to echo Annie’s spirit when she writes about getting free of a marriage destroyed by her ex-husband’s infidelity:

The American capacity for self correction constantly amazes me.

Robust freedom of speech is at the core of this strength.

I believe that, on many fronts, conservatism in America needs to reinvent itself to fulfull its essential role of preserving the best of America.

Geoff Fox, November 4, 2020, Down Under

Harry Houdini – Brain Management

Destruction of the social contract leaves me unsure of my place in this world.

In an earlier age, Freemason Harry Houdini was a magician – an escape artist.

He died on October 31st, 1926.

I seek clarity in the following two thoughts from Houdini:

All leaders have to work with what their followers believe.

Geoff Fox, 31st October, 2020, Down Under

E Pluribus Unum: Seeger, Brown and Crosby

Three very successful singers, Bing Crosby (BC), Pete Seeger (PS) and James Brown (JB) were all born on the 3rd of May.

I take the fact of this date as permission from God to try to fuse their thought. (E Pluribus Unum.) I hope nobody else objects.

Here goes:

(BC) “……. listen a lot and talk less. You can’t learn anything when you’re talking.”

(JB) “Give kids a chance to learn ……. The real answer to race problems in this country is education. Not burning and killing. Be ready. Be qualified. Own something. Be somebody.”

(PS) “It’s a very important thing to learn to talk to people you disagree with.”

James: “I want to say to you: Help yourself, so you can help someone else.”

Pete: “I want to turn the clock back to when people lived in small villages and took care of each other.”

Bing: “I’m proud to acknowledge my debt to the ‘Reverend Satchelmouth’ … He is the beginning and the end of music in America.”

James: “His acting ability taught him (Reagan) the whole structure of the country … He knows what everybody wants. You see, every American man is still a cowboy.”

Pete: “I think God is everything. Whenever I open my eyes I’m looking at God.”

Bing: “When I’m worried and I can’t sleep, I count my blessings instead of sheep. And I fall asleep … counting my blessings.”

God Bless America

Geoff Fox, 3rd May, Down Under