Why are we not embroiled in a discussion of newts or salamanders? They were
good enough for Gussie Finknottle.
Or considering whether or not it makes sense to move “historic” English oak
trees to France from Canada.
http://www.vimyfoundation.ca/vimy-100/vimy-oaks/ ;
<http://www.vimyfoundation.ca/vimy-100/vimy-oaks/>
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/vimy-oaks-france-havard-gould-1.4047475 ;
<http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/vimy-oaks-france-havard-gould-1.4047475>
Bonkers.
Imagine the story if the guy had gathered up dandelions or blackberries from
the very site on which Canadians fought and now wanted to re-plant dandelions
on that spot.
The memorial is already pretty bonkers. It has modernist simplicity but
someone on the committee thought that no memorial is complete without naked
ladies. So that’s what you got at the front there. I pointed out to whoever I
was with when I visited that one feature of a First World War battlefield is a
notable absence of naked ladies. No doubt they’ve torn their clothes off
because…um…
But the site is magnificent and the memorial is not awful so a few extra trees
are neither here nor there.
I note that North Bay, Ontario was in the New York Times, on account of the
last two surviving quintuplets wondering whether the house they were born in
ought to be preserved.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/02/world/canada/ontario-dionne-quintuplets.html?_r=0
<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/02/world/canada/ontario-dionne-quintuplets.html?_r=0>
The story reminded me of Harper’s Ferry where the “historic building” has been
moved maybe four times—and been off to a World’s Fair and back-- and of other
moments when humans have been put on display, one of which gave rise to themes
in Dvorak’s “New World Symphony.”
http://josephhorowitz.com/up_files/File/DvorakAndTeaching.pdf ;
<http://josephhorowitz.com/up_files/File/DvorakAndTeaching.pdf>
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_zoo ;
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_zoo>
Do carry on.
David Ritchie,
Portland, Oregon
