Random Thoughts before some Knitting on Friday

Who would have thought that one day after my blog on the nature of the hero, Chesley B “Sully” Sullenberger III would be plucked from national obscurity into the limelight of the hero.

For he is most definitely a hero, albeit in modern terms. His quest has been through education, B. S., Psychology and Basic Sciences, M. S., Psychology (Human Factors), experience, 6+ years as a Fighter Pilot/Captain in the USAF, and interests, CEO of a company which “provid(es) technical expertise and strategic vision and direction to improve safety and reliability in a variety of high risk industries.”

This guy was ready. Like the Girl Scout motto of “Be Prepared”; he was.

As to the hero’s goal: For him and his crew, it was to land that plane safely with no loss of life. And he did.

It may not be as glamorous as Aeneas founding Rome or Ulysses arriving back at Ithaca or Frodo destroying the Ring; but Sullenberger is a hero, none the less.

Then, there is Chris Matthews. I plod along with my little blog sending thoughts in the spheres, never knowing if any one (even my family) reads them. He, however, has a national stage every night and he spews forth bigotry to millions.

I caught him commenting on Bush’s farewell address and, talking about the Muslims in the Middle East. He said, to paraphrase: We think that elections will change things but they want to fight; they hate Israel.

In his typical, overwhelming stupidity, he brays the average American’s bigotry when it comes to any group of people they find offensive.

Finally, am I the only one who gets a chill down their spine when they read the Guardian UK headline in the Google news of: Israel: Gaza offensive may be near 'final act'?

“Final act”? Doesn’t anyone remember the phrase “final solution”?

On to knitting:

Ravelry was buzzing this week with a thread I started. (Ok, so it’s self-aggrandizement.) I had watched Tess of the D’Urbervilles on PBS and admired the shawl Tess wore; mostly for the fact that it stayed on her shoulders.

I posed a question about the shawl and waited almost a week with no reply posts. Then, about two days ago, the thread got hot. Over 100 people responded and the posts went from discussing how the shawl was constructed to the glumness and despair in Hardy novels.

That’s why I love the Internet: the free flow of ideas is democracy; is education; is ordinary people reaching out to others around the globe.

But I also fear that draconian governments, as we were becoming, as dictatorships are, will curtail this free-flow of ideas. I sometimes think of Edward G. Robinson dying in Solvent Green and getting his last wish: viewing a panoramic slide show of the beauty of the earth as it once was. Charlton Heston comes in, sees the pictures and says: I never knew. I don’t want future generations to ever say that.

I don’t have a knitting pattern to share this Friday but I should be finished with my “I’ll stay on your shoulders - promise” shawl by next week. That’s always the trouble with shawls; they need constant management or shawl pins to stay put. I’m hoping this design will work.

So, it’s back to knitting in a 61 degree house with a 12 degree outdoor temperature. But it will be back up to freezing by next week. Balmy!