CC4 (part 2) - The Lord's Prayer

 

Plains Indian Sign Language/wikipedia.com

The Network TV Station Sign Off....

In the days before cable TV, the internet, YouTube, social media, TV network stations were not on-the-air 24/7. 

At the end of their broadcast day--usually around midnight, the network signed off the air. Usually playing a short presentation with a patriotic theme. 

Then came the test pattern and/or the white noise with the snowy screen until 6:00 a.m. 

A new day.

* When TV Stations Signed Off at Midnight

One of my favorite sign offs:

Nez Perce, The Lord's Prayer: Chief Shatka Bear Step offers the sacred Christian prayer in Indian sign language

(reference: https://youtu.be/PhLLHjn5sNc )

This sign off prayer in Native American Indian sign language had moved me since my childhood.

And it was the inspiration for this scene of Book 4, Rainmaker, in The Commander and the Chief series.

From Part 4. Chapter 3: Poetry and a Prayer

The set up:

One Sunday afternoon, the town of Hanging Tree Wyoming was celebrating in Rainmaker Park. Many have gathered to hear Cowboy Poetry, Shakespeare in the Park and the Coyote Calling Contest.  Mayor Bill Clark was the Emcee. 

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Showtime. 

Bill Clark straightened his bolo tie. Decked out in cowboy hat and boots, he took center stage. 

“As Mayor of Hanging Tree, I welcome you all to our week of Independence Day celebrations. First up, Cowboy Poetry. Where some of our finest home-grown artists will share their life experiences and philosophy of the Wild West.” 

Dudes and dudettes recited their works. Some brought their guitars and sang their lyrics. Various versions of Home on the Range. The Cowboy Way. Clingers to their God and Guns. Lovers of Freedom. Ode to Wyoming as to what America used to be.

After the final poem was recited, Bill Clark announced the last act of the set. “I’m pleased to introduce our native son, Anton Orlovic. And our Native American Chief, Nova Orlovic.”

 

The Orlovic Cowboy-Indian duo stepped on stage.

The Chief, Nova Orlovic, and her nephew, Anton Orlovic, are the final act of Cowboy Poetry.

Anton wore cowboy duds with old chaps that had belonged to his grandfather, Nick Orlovic Senior. He also wielded his grandfather’s acoustic guitar. Refurbished. Tuned.

Nova had put on her mother’s beaded white leather dress with matching knee-high moccasins. Her war bonnet of eagle feathers flowed down to her thighs. It had belonged to her great grandfather, Chief Elijah Rainmaker.

Plucking broken chords in a haunting Spanish sounding tune, Anton recited the Lord’s Prayer. In consort, Nova stood center stage and translated the words, phrase by phrase, into Native American Indian sign language:

Our Father who art in heaven

Hallowed be thy Name.

Thy Kingdom come

Thy will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread

And forgive us our debts,

As we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not in temptation,

But deliver us from evil:

For Thine is the Kingdom

And the power, and the glory,

Forever and ever.

Amen.

Many in the audience teared up as Nova signed a rolling wave— eternity. Then pressed her hands together in prayer. 

A perfect act to follow church that morning.

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And a perfect act to end 2020 and begin 2021. 

With a prayer.

The Lord's prayer.

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Related posts in the Commander and the Chief series:

His Tribe of One, Book One:

CC (part 1) - The Commander and the Chief: His Tribe of One (2014)

CC (part 2) - Universe in a Glass of Wine  (2014)

CC (part 3) - Happy Bill of Rights Day  (2014)

CC (part 4) - Stories and the Brain (2015)

CC (part 5) - Audie Murphy  (2014)

CC (part 6) - Pavle Orlovic (2015)

CC (part 7) - Buzz Aldrin  (2015) 

 CC (part 8) - Little America (2016)    

CC (part 9) - Buffalo Bill's Wild West (2016)

CC (part 10) - Little Big Man (2016) 
  

CC (part 11) - Tying the Knot Across Both Sides of the Pond (2018)

Counting Coup, Book Two:

CC2 (part 1) - Counting Coup  (2016)

CC2 (part 2) - Trinity (2018)

Peacemaker, Book Three:

CC3 (part 1) - Peacemaker  (2017)

CC3 (part 2) - Barrett's Farm, Ground Zero for the American Revolution (2018) 

Rainmaker, Book Four:

CC4 (part 1) - Rainmaker (2020)

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Photos:

Rainmaker: DAVIS creative

 Plains Indian Sign Language/wikipedia.com

CC4 (part 1) - Rainmaker

 

DAVIS Creative

Rainmaker

It's out there and for sale.

Book 4 of The Commander and the Chief is available as paperback or Kindle: Rainmaker

The story continues from Books 1 - 3.

President Todd, after his questionable re-election, weaponizes the US justice department to take down his enemies. And the Commander, Reginald Barrett, and the Chief, Nova Orlovic, are in Todd’s sights. Meanwhile, reporter Kim Chi Li pursues a pair of unsolved mother-child murders tied to the Todds’ rise to power. For Kim Chi, it’s personal.

Then terrorists strike at the Barrett-Orlovic reunion in Wyoming. Sabotage of oil and gas wells and the western power grid spark Armageddon in the West. With trust in government at abyssal levels, will the ensuing destruction ignite another Civil War? It will take a Rainmaker and a miracle to quench these fires and serve justice on behalf of the living and the dead.

The video below givesa taste of what is to come in Book 4. From November 27, 2019 news of wildfires and rain in California:

( reference: https://youtu.be/8uPb5YT1Ui8 )

Cold cases, Cold War relics, 

revenge served cold. 

All spark fires of biblical proportions 

that only a Rainmaker from heaven can quench.

For the rest of the series: The Commander and the Chief

Your readership is appreciated.

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Related posts in the Commander and the Chief series:

His Tribe of One, Book One:

CC (part 1) - The Commander and the Chief: His Tribe of One (2014)

CC (part 2) - Universe in a Glass of Wine  (2014)

CC (part 3) - Happy Bill of Rights Day  (2014)

CC (part 4) - Stories and the Brain (2015)

CC (part 5) - Audie Murphy  (2014)

CC (part 6) - Pavle Orlovic (2015)

CC (part 7) - Buzz Aldrin  (2015) 

 CC (part 8) - Little America (2016)    

CC (part 9) - Buffalo Bill's Wild West (2016)

CC (part 10) - Little Big Man (2016) 
  

CC (part 11) - Tying the Knot Across Both Sides of the Pond (2018)

Counting Coup, Book Two:

CC2 (part 1) - Counting Coup  (2016)

CC2 (part 2) - Trinity (2018)

Peacemaker, Book Three:

CC3 (part 1) - Peacemaker  (2017)

CC3 (part 2) - Barrett's Farm, Ground Zero for the American Revolution (2018) 

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photo: DAVIS Creative

Nostalgia (part 9) - Downtown

Downtown Las Vegas Strip/wikipedia.com

Social Distancing

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the lockdowns began. Asking citizens to stay at home and practice social and physical distancing.

Before this time, there were so many everyday pleasures we took for granted. Especially human contact. Gatherings. Schools. Religious ceremonies. Going to various stores and restaurants and shows. 

Once such social activity is expressed in this hit song by Petula Clark, Downtown, released over 55 years ago, in November 1964.

( reference: https://youtu.be/Vhig6q-RYKA )

Nostalgia. 

A song longing for contact with the community.  

Meanwhile, we wait for the day when Downton will fully re-open again. And relish the simple pleasures of living.

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Previous Posts in the series:

 Nostalgia (part 1) - A Father's Thanksgiving Prayer  (2014)

Nostalgia (part 2) - Christmas Past in War and Peace (2014)

Nostalgia (part 3) - Something Old, Something New  (2014)

Nostalgia (part 4) - VJ Day Kiss - 70 years ago (2015)

Nostalgia (part 5) - Big Band and World War II  (2015)

Nostalgia (part 6) - Dear Eleanor (2016)

   

Nostalgia (part 7) - Calendar Girl (2016)

Nostalgia (part 8) - April Showers (2017)

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Civics ( part 3) - Suffrage and the Equality State

 

Flag of Wyoming

One hundred years ago...

August 26, 1920, the 19th amendment passed.

“The right of citizens of the United States
to vote shall not be denied or abridged
by the United States or by any State
on account of sex”
and
“Congress shall have power
to enforce this article
by appropriate legislation.”

(reference: 19th Amendment Adopted )

It was a hard and long fought battle, summed up as follows:

(reference: https://youtu.be/ML76y8mACZs )

But Wyoming had them beat by 50 years.

"In 1869, the Wyoming territory passed the Wyoming Women’s Suffrage Act, the first in the nation to grant women the right to vote, without restrictions like marital status, property ownership, or monetary requirements—something that changed women’s history forever."

... 

"According to the Louisa Swain Foundation, on September 6, 1870, Louisa “Eliza” Swain made history as the first female voter when she cast her ballot in Laramie, Wyoming."

(reference: Why Women Were Allowed to Vote in Wyoming—50 Years Before the 19th Amendment )

Women's right to vote.

The reason Wyoming is called...

The Equality State

( reference: Wyoming ) 

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Previous post in the series:

Civics (part 1) - The Electoral College (2016) 

Civics (part 2) - We the People (2017)

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Photo:  Flag of Wyoming

Patriots (part 6) - World War II from Start to Finish

 

Yalta Conference (Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin)/wikipedia

The first days of September marked the start and finish of the most deadly war in recorded history:

 World War Two: September 1, 1939 -  September 2, 1945 

Below,  the causalities are shown by country:

(reference: https://youtu.be/7cgRwDkP6vk )

And as of this posting (August 29, 2020) we are near the 75th anniversary of the end the World War II.

Below is a tribute to the patriots who fought against tyranny:

(reference:  https://youtu.be/1svtYOukRp4 )

God bless all those who sacrificed 

to preserve our freedoms 

and kept us safe, 

home and abroad!

On a personal note, my father-in-law was one of those who fought in that war. After his death, his family found a memoir of some of his adventures over there: 

World War Two: Memories of North Africa

In the 21st century, the greatest generation is passing from the scene. 

As King Solomon wrote:

One generation passeth away, 

and another generation cometh:

 but the earth abideth for ever.
Ecclesiastes 1:4 (KJV)

And eventually, there will be Peace on Earth!

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Previous posts in series:

Patriots (part 1) - Taps (2016)

Patriots (part 2) - D-Day Courage  (2016)

Patriots (part 3) - Signers of the Declaration (2016)
  
Patriots (part 4) - Pearl Harbor - 75 years ago (2016)

 

Patriots (part 5) - Private Martin A. Treptow's Pledge  (2017)

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Photo: Yalta Conference (Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin)/wikipedia

Faith (Part 5) - Amazing Grace around the World

world/wikipedia.com

50 Countries Affected By COVID-19 Sing Amazing Grace:

( reference: https://youtu.be/BA7pdABvpnc )

After this I looked, 

and there before me was a great multitude 

that no one could count, 

from every nation, tribe, people and language, 

standing before the throne and before the Lamb. 

  

They were wearing white robes 

and were holding palm branches in their hands.

And they cried out in a loud voice:

 “Salvation belongs to our God, 

who sits on the throne, 

and to the Lamb.”

 

Revelation 7:9, 10 (NIV)

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Other posts in the series:

Faith (part 1) - Star Trek and Christianity (2016)

Faith (part 2) - Founding Fathers' Faith and the Fourth of July (2017)

Faith (part 3) - Halloween 500 years ago  (2017) 

Faith (part 4) - Yuri Gagarin  (2019)

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photo: world/wikipedia.com

Americana (part 1) - Seinfeld, Superman, and Wyoming

Wyoming/wikipedia.com

Americana....

Definition
 
1: materials concerning or characteristic of America, its civilization,
    or its culture
  broadly : things typical of America
2: American culture
3: a genre of American music having roots in early folk and country music
 
“Americana.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, 
Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Americana .

And what better way to start a thread of that name than an American Express commercial from the turn of the century.

The 21st century, that is.

Mix in with American Express two American icons: comic book superhero and beloved comedian.

Enter the dynamic duo: Superman and Seinfeld.

(reference: https://youtu.be/Ao-Lj2x-yRE )

And their adventures continue...

(reference: https://youtu.be/VLuPTg8HcMY )

And the punch line.....

Oh Yes Wyoming!

(reference: https://youtu.be/ssdazVDcrb8 )

Wyoming.
Smallest state in the Union, population wise.

Great little parks: Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Devil's Tower...
Great places to live.

There's no place I'd rather be roaming.
Social distances since 1890.

A slice of Americana of what America used to be.

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Related article:

Superman meets Seinfeld

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Photo:
Wyoming/wikipedia.com

Physics (part 7) - Pandemic Physics

Newton/wikipedia.com

Pandemic giant leap in Physics?

As of this posting, many have been in "lock down" since mid-March 2020. All due to precautions to manage the Coronavirus ( COVID-19) pandemic.

350 years ago...

Another young man was under "lock down" during a perilous pandemic. The bubonic plague, also known as the Black Death.  Though the plague first hit during the mid-1300s, it reared its ugly head in future generations. Such as in England as The Great Plague 1665--the Black Death.

The name of this young man in quarantine?

 Sir Isaac Newton  (1642-1726).

And today, many scientists recognize him as the Father of Modern Science. Stepping out of the shadows of the Dark Ages into Modern Times.

A Giant among Giants.

And his story to support that claim is told in the video below:

( reference: https://youtu.be/MApnf7L4g44 )

Newton's pandemic lock down gave birth to his annus miribilis - Year of Wonders.

In those 18 months, he developed:

(1)  Calculus
(2)  Laws of Optics
(3)  Laws of Motion
(4)  Law of Universal Gravitation.

At the age of 25.

Reference: Isaac Newton Changed the World While in Quarantine From the Plague

And friend Sir Edmund Halley (1656-1742) of Halley's Comet urged Newton to publish his works,

The Principia (1687). 

Now considered one of the greatest works in the history of science.

During this pandemic, what "Newton" may emerge from quarantine?

And will Pandemic 2020 give birth to a new "Roaring 20's"?

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Previous posts in this series:


Physics (part 1) - Picking Feynman's Brain (2013)
  
Physics (part 2) - Flat Earth? It depends ...  (2015)

Physics (part 3) - 100 years of Einstein (2015) 

Physics (part 4) - Einstein and Pi  (2016)

Physics (part 5) - Be Curious, Don't Give Up (2018)
  

Physics (part 6) - Eclipse 1919  (2019)

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Photo: Newton/wikipedia.com

10C (part 3): First Commandment, part b: No Other Gods

Ashera/wikipedia.com

The 10 Commandments series continues...

Christian tradition considers part of the First Commandment:

You shall have no other gods before me.

Exodus 20:3

No idols. No false gods. 

The mother of all the other commandments.

A good case is made in the video below:

( reference: https://youtu.be/HA1Xgm2rit0 )

As this post is being written, we are in the middle of pandemic--the coronavirus. In response, countries underwent a lock-down.

Many are suffering. Our lives are disrupted. Not only from the virus. But especially from the economic fall out.

Yet, this experience has revealed our many idols, which have been taken from us:

Money - as the stock market crashed, many jobs lost, businesses closed

Celebrities - as theaters and stadiums are closed, gatherings limited, denying our favorite stars a platform

Vanity - as hair salons and other services are closed

Nature - as many parks have been closed or have limited visitation

Education - as schools closed and campuses locked down

...

The list goes on.

So in our day of violence and injustice and lawlessness, our idols have been revealed. And they are impotent--false gods.

Billy Graham preached about such a time, an evil time, from the Scripture text in Habakkuk 1:

Habakkuk’s Complaint:

2-  How long, Lord, must I call for help,

    but you do not listen?

Or cry out to you, “Violence!”

    but you do not save?

3 - Why do you make me look at injustice?

    Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?

Destruction and violence are before me;

    there is strife, and conflict abounds.

4  - Therefore the law is paralyzed,

    and justice never prevails.

The wicked hem in the righteous,

    so that justice is perverted.

The Lord’s Answer:

5 -Look at the nations and watch—

    and be utterly amazed.

For I am going to do something in your days

    that you would not believe,

    even if you were told.

( reference: https://youtu.be/rZ9ek7DBsTU )

“I don’t put my trust in Washington.
I don’t put my trust in the United Nations,
I don’t put my trust in my self.
I don’t put trust in my money.
I put my trust in Jesus Christ.”

This leads us back to the First Commandment:

And there is no God apart from me,

a righteous God and a Savior;

    there is none but me.

Isaiah 45:21

Stay safe. Stay well. And keep looking up.

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Previous post in series:

10C (part 1) - The Ten Commandments  (2019)

10C (part 2) - First Commandment: God and Liberty (2020)

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photo: Ashera/wikipedia.com

Signs of the Times (part 10) - Anywhere vs Somewhere

womanfactory1940s/wikipedia.com

At the time of this post, the coronavirus pandemic has reared its ugly head. And in a few short weeks, our world has been turned upside down. As nations, states, shutdown. Isolate. Self-quarantine.

For updates, check out this map: John Hopkins Coronavirus

As a result,  some jobs are harder hit than others. It breaks out along these lines:

Anywhere vs. Somewhere

The Anywheres: Those who can work from home, online mostly, anywhere, are the least affected.

The Somewheres: Those who need to go to a place of business where people congregate or interact physically with people are affected the most. Like restaurants, hair salons, libraries, schools, banks, stores, factories, sports, casinos, theaters, conferences, concerts, ...

The video below shows the difference between the Anywheres (globalist) and the Somewheres (nationalist) in the context of the 2016 election:

( reference: https://youtu.be/UFWE2jl5mwA )

And many of the somewheres soldier on to keep the rest of us going.

Healthcare workers, first responders, truck drivers, store clerks, farmers, ranchers, factory workers--especially those tasked to produce medical equipment in short supply.

Somewheres are the heroes in a pandemic. And their importance has come to light in these...

Signs of the Times

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Previous Post in the series:

Signs of the Times (part 1) - Camping in the Parks (2012)

Signs of the Times (part 2) - Layaway (2012)

Signs of the Times (part 3) - Layoffs (2013)

Signs of the Times (part 4) - Doomsday Preppers  (2013)

Signs of the Times (part 5) - Staycations (2013)

Signs of the Times (part 6) - Fear of Missing Out (2015)
 
Signs of the Times (Part 7) - Leap Second - the new Y2K? (2015)

Signs of the Times (part 8) - #JustPray  (2015)

Signs of the Times (part 9) - Signs of the Times (part 9) - Roaring 20's x 2  (2019)

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Photo:  womanfactory1940s/wikipedia.com