Every Town is Our Town

Wednesday, January 22, 2025 . It’s Odin’s day … and yers trooly heads back to TulseyTown.

To be an ordinary, everyday mystic is to take your rightful place on the throne of what is.— Mirabai Starr, in Meditations at The Center for Action and Meditation.  

Today is the birth date of George Balanchine. The most influential choreographer of classical ballet in the United States in the 20th century was born in 1904, St. Petersburg, Russia.  

Today is also the 237th birth anniversary of the poet Lord Byron. He was born in 1788, London, England. 

In 1938 Thornton Wilder’s play Our Town premiered at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey. It won the 1938 Pulitzer Prize for drama, and it is now estimated that, on average, Our Town is performed at least once every night somewhere in the world. 

Film director Jim Jarmusch turns 72 today. The Canne’s festival Palm D’Or laureate is known for transcending genre conventions, he was born in 1953, Akron, Ohio. 

Russian film director Sergei Eisenstein was born on this day in 1898, Riga, Latvia, Russian Empire, His pioneering work includes the three film classics Battleship Potemkin (1925), Alexander Nevsky (1938), and Ivan the Terrible. 

We can see. And we can still be blind. We can read and we can still be illiterate. What do we choose not to include in our field of vision? — Sophie Strand, “An Eye For An Eye,” on her blog Make Me Good Soil. 

What are the hopes of man? old Egypt's King

   Cheops erected the first pyramid

And largest, thinking it was just the thing

   To keep his memory whole, and mummy hid 

(…)Let not a monument give you or me hopes,

Since not a pinch of dust remains of Cheops. 

— Lord Byron, from Don Juan: Canto 1

“…and none shall sleep …

Tuesday, January 21, 2025. It’s Tiw’s Day … wind-chill here in Ridgway this morning is 6 degrees. Sunny skies and easy breezes are forecast to warm us to 34 mid afternoon… if you can call that warm.

Don't blame religion or tradition for our human predicament. We can’t avoid the real issues by placing the blame on history, psychology, politics, or religion…Whatever we're into, if we say that it’s the only way, the only promise, it’s very suspicious. — Chögyam Trungpa 

As of yesterday, we have begun a new era in American politics. Likely, we will soon encounter historic corruption, massive conflicts of interest, degradation of critical regulations, and further extreme judicial rulings.At the same time, corporate and social media are losing whatever trust they once commanded, with oligarchs exercising control over the largest outlets and platforms. As my Great-aunt Tommy was wont to say:  “Hang on to  your hat.”

It’s 2025. It’s 1984. “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” — Joyce Vance reflecting on the inaugural posted on Civil Discourse.  

A new stage has been set. Here’s a few tips on how to navigate the unknown. 

On this day in 1977, President Jimmy Carter issued an official pardon to Vietnam War draft dodgers. It was the day after his inauguration. 

France's King Louis XVI was beheaded in Paris on this date in 1793. 

Christian Dior was born in 1905, Granville, France. His eponymous fashion house is one of the most iconic in the world. 

Blues singer and songwriter Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter was born on this day in Mooringsport, Louisiana (1888).Among his famous tunes were "Goodnight Irene," "Midnight Special," and "Rock Island Line,”

And. Plácido Domingo turns 84 today.  The opera tenor and  conductor was born in 1941, Madrid, Spain. He is recognized as one of the three greatest tenors ever.

“…it’s good trying to make God laugh... except that, being omniscient, He will know all the jokes in advance... and will ruin your punch line.”  — Pope Francis, The Autobiography, Penguin Random House, 2025.

The Raven speaks—of heroes.

It’s the Moon’s day … and an arctic cold front is trying to have it’s way with Western Colorado with below zero wind-chill mornings the next several days.

And a contradictory day if e’er there was:

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Dunno Trump has been inaugurated as the 47th President of the U.S. 

Reflections:

People are wrong to say that we have no heroes left. — Heather Cox Richardson in Letters From An American

Joyce Vance has no plans to celebrate the inauguration. Rather, she says she will spend Monday summoning the courage to continue to speak truth to power in the face of what lies ahead. Check out The Week Ahead in Civil Discourse.

Erstwhilst:

It’s Edgar Allan Poe’s birthdate. The poet was born in 1809  Boston, Massachusetts.

Italian film director Federico Fellini was born on this day in 1920 Rimini, Italy. 

Film director David Lynch, who died this past week, was on this day in 1946 Missoula, Montana,

And,

Maria Popova at The Marginalian, today posted a timely reflection on “forgiveness.”