October 18, 2005
Bucephalas is soothed
When the beautiful stallion was first brought out for royal inspection, he bucked wildly and galloped in angry motions, refusing to heed any commands whatsoever.
Indeed it was a nearly hopeless situation, like what happens so often in real life, but even the finest of the soldiers, cavalry and experienced horsemen were unable to appease this wild beast.
The mighty King Philip of Macedonia ordered the horse to be taken away and dealt with properly. Take him away now!
Upon seeing this, the young prince stood up, shouted stop! He had become enthralled by the display of the beast's energy and wildness, seeing what had been broiling inside him all this time. That's when he dashed out towards the fated horse, hands raised before him, promising to master even the impossible.
He noticed that it was merely skittishness caused by seeing one's own shadow in the bright sun, so the boy patted and gently stroked the animal's mane, until the horse was soothed and became still.
The name of the horse was Bucephalas and it was Alexander's for the keeping. He was to be his companion through war and prosperity for the next twenty years of conquest.
Famous worldly conquest, and even more.
No one thinks that it could have been otherwise, and this is the essence that makes history what it is.
To master the impossible is much of what it is all about.
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September 23, 2005
Another life for freedom
Exactly eighty-nine years ago today, our hero Kiffin sacrificed his life for freedom when he was shot down over France during the Great War.
Thanks alot for doing this, in more ways than one.
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March 24, 2005
Though gloriously dead
"And so it was that his mother, in Asheville, North Carolina, asked herself why it was that she, a Carolinian by birth and sympathy, should sacrifice her son in France, and her questions were augmented by similar ones from relatives and friends all over the country. Kiffin, though gloriously dead, might have been saved, it seemed. She had tried to save him from himself by persistent entreaties to the Department of State in Washington to get her boy out of the French army, and by similarly persistent demands to the French Government to release her son. But before Kiffin fell she had come to see what he was fighting for, and it was not long after he fell before she was a sister in suffering to thousands of other American mothers who likewise had come to see why it was that their sons had to die in France..."
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February 13, 2005
Relived experiences
When he came home from school that day, he was surprised that his home just wasn't there any more. Sure he had heard the sirens in the distance and he was aware that the Germans were attacking the city of Rotterdam. However, he had never expected to come home and discover that he had nothing any more than the clothes he was wearing.
Maarten really wanted to go visit the Oorlogs Verzets Museum Rotterdam so I took him there this Sunday afternoon. He had been waiting all week long, and every evening when I brought him to bed he would tell me that there were only so many days before we would go.
Once we arrived there, we received our own personal tour from a guide who was a survivor of the awful bombardments during the outbreak of World War II. He was seventy-seven years old and had alot of personal details to share with us and it was heart-breaking to hear of all the atrocities during that period of history. He was Lennart's age when they deported him to Germany for forced labor.
With a scratchy voice and slightly trembling hands he relived the many experiences anew so that Maarten would learn and be aware and prevent this from ever happening again.
Maybe some day humanity will have learned its lesson, but until then we will all have to be patient and do our best to survive from day to day.
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January 7, 2005
History in Newport
An interesting article appeared on the Citizen Tribune Web site today and I am mentioned a couple of times believe it or not.
It goes something like this:
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In doing more research, I came across another Kiffin with a different last name. As it turns out, there is still a link between the two.
The Web site, www.cyber-gish.com, is the home page of Rockwell's namesake, Kiffin Gish.
At this site, Gish says he was named for the WWI pilot and created the Web page as a tribute to the American hero.
"If he had not sacrificed his life for world freedom, I would have had a different name," Gish said.
His said his father discovered the name, "Kiffin," while reading "They Fought for the Sky," by Quentin Reynolds only months before he was born.
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(A very special thanks goes to Kim LoBrillo for getting in touch with me about this. Check it out yourself).
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October 11, 2004
Two digits add up
Forty seven is a nice round number, especially since the two digits add up just right to my favorite number. Four plus seven equals eleven.
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September 23, 2004
Thanks Kiffin
Exactly eighty-eight years ago to this day, Kiffin Yates Rockwell was shot down and killed by a German flyer during WWI over Roden, France.
Thanks Kiffin for sacrificing your life for the love of freedom and my right to carry on your name proudly into the twenty-first century.
In my heart at least you will live on and on.
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