Hello, all my fellow daylight chasers!
In the words of Barbara Lewis (yes, still ‘rockin it at age 81!), “Seems like a mighty long time.”
Yes indeed, it does seem like it has been a while since we began our journey. After a crazily warm and desert-like late summer/early fall up here in the Northeast, December has brought some cold temps and a pretty good amount of rain. (I’d say it has been more like a ton of rain, but I know we still have a lot of catching up to do, re: precipitation, and I want to be ecologically responsible.)
As we speak, though, given that the actual solstice arrives at 4:21 PM (EST) on 12/21, we’re only about 60 hours away. As I always joke, to some it’s pretty much a tempest in a teacup. But to we solstice seekers, it represents the near completion of an eclectic – and hopefully – fun ride together.
So, for today, I’m thinking we look at some famous trios. And yes, for symmetry’s sake, let’s look at three.
- Wynken, Blynken and Nod – From author and poet Eugene Field (1850-1895), this 1889 bed-time poem chronicles the journey of three children sailing and fishing with a wooden shoe for a boat. “…They sailed on a river of crystal light into a sea of dew…” Field was known as the “poet of childhood” and was best known for children’s stories and various humorous essays. The original title of “Wynken, Blynken and Nod” was “Dutch Lullaby,” and Field (although he was an American, born in Chicago) often wrote about Dutch-inspired characters and used a wooden shoe as the nautical trio’s mode of transport.
- Apollo 11 astronauts make history – 1969 was a big year for watershed events. With the steady rise of the Civil Rights Movement, Woodstock and the Manson murders just to name a few, nothing was more newsworthy than the Apollo moon landing, July 20, 1969. That day into night saw American astronauts Neal Armstrong (1930-2012), Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin (1930- ) and Michael Collins (1930-2021) travel to, land on and walk on the surface of the moon. Earlier in the decade, former President John F. Kennedy promised that the United States would win the space race and beat the then-U.S.S.R. to the moon. Though the latter did send an unmanned craft (named Sputnik or “fellow traveler” in English) into space in 1957 and fours later put Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into space, the U.S. did win the race to the moon.
- The Kingston Trio – Formed in 1957 in Palo Alto, California, the three-man band helped build a decade-long folk revival in the late 1950s. With their original lineup of Dave Guard (1934-1991), Nick Reynolds (1933-2008) and Bob Shane (1934-2020), their signature hit “Tom Dooley” went all the way to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1958. Today, even with all three original members now deceased, the Kingston Trio managed to create several different offshoots of folk musicians. A current group, known as The Folk Legacy Trio, carries on the Kingston tradition today.
OK gang, just as Agatha Christie once wrote, “…and then there were two.”
I think we can all just about taste it now, huh? (-:
See you tomorrow.
JFish
@Copyright 2024 by John L. Fischer
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