by Gary Kennedy

Do I need to ask what does Mother’s Day mean? It manifests itself in different ways to different people. For some of us every day is Mother’s Day as we love her so very much. However, others need to be reminded that one’s mother is a very special person. You were born on a foundation of love between two people, mother and father. That is why we set a special day aside just for them; to fortify our relationship and to outwardly express our feelings for them. Some­times it’s great to hear it in a ceremonious manner. This carries the magnitude of this relationship to a somewhat formal level and puts that glow into the relationship.

Mother carried you for nine months and even though she did this with love, sometimes it was difficult. Even so, the result was you and the title Mother came to be for her. Along with this comes copious amounts of laundry, thoughtful preparation for school and sports events. She also laid the foundation for your education and morality. She even made church fun by encouraging you to attend the church events for young people. This helped with building morality and character.

Most of us don’t really realize all that goes into acquiring one of the most glorious titles on earth. God created the Earth and also Adam. I guess most of us are aware of that. God saw that Adam was lonely so he decided to create Eve. As most of us know this cost Adam a rib but I’m relatively sure God was gentle in this extraction. God’s plan was not to only quench Adam’s need for the companionship but for allowing a pathway for procreation. And so it began. Eve became the mother of 28 children although the Bible mostly centers around Cain, Abel and Seth. Geneticists, by tracing the DNA patterns, found through lineages decendents from 10 sons with genetic material from Adam and 18 daughters from Eve’s genetics. There certainly was lots of motherhood there.

Mother’s Day is celebrated in 50 countries worldwide. Some or most use a different day than we do but they obviously remain the same. The entire world loves their mothers but just go about it in different ways. Our date for Mother’s Day is synonymous with Julie Ward Howe who wrote the Mother’s Day Proclamation in 1870 which she wrote condemning the senselessness of sons killing the sons of other mothers. Her persistence paid off as President Woodrow Wilson signed into law, Mather’s Day to be held on the second Sunday of May, in 1914. Anna Jarvis is given first credit for their holiday and its reason; war and the killing of our sons.

Women played such a dynamic role in the development of our great nation and nations throughout the world. Women especially, and mothers in particular, have played formidable roles in our history and that of the world. Most women are smart enough to not go near an apple tree, figuratively speaking. The Bible has many examples of Motherhood and in many different situations. Being a mother is the hardest job you will ever love. Times are hard right now but not so hard as to forget about our mothers. April showers brings May Flowers. So without a penny in my pocket I know I can pick some flowers to give to the first lady of our lives, Mother.

So, all I can say from my heart is do your best to make this second Sunday in May an event that will last the mother we love until next year at this time. It’s worth doing forever. Thank you Lord for Mother. God bless and have a happy and thankful Mother’s Day.

by Gary Kennedy

The patron saint of my ancestors is St. Patrick. This, of course, is the Emerald Isle, Ireland. This is a magnificently beautiful island. St. Patrick was born in present day Great Britain in the year 385 and died in present day Gaelic Ireland, Northern Island. He was venerated a saint by the Catholic Church. The major shrine attributed to him is Armaugh, in Northern Ireland, Glastonbury Abbey, England. We celebrate St. Patrick on the March 17. St. Patrick is mostly noted for his relationship with the shamrock (father, son, holy, spirit) and driving all the snakes off this Irish island. The exact dates of which St. Patrick performed his deeds and miracles are not known for certain but he was an active missionary during the 5th century. It is also believed he raised the dead. For accuracy sake it is believed his life was late 4th to early 5th century.

Medieval history credits him with being the first Bishop of Alomagh and Primate of Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on the supposed date of his death. His young life is quite colorful as he was kidnapped by Irish pirates and for approximately six years served as a care taker of the animals, eventually he escaped captivity.

Slavery, as you can see, goes way back in time. During St. Patrick’s time it was all white enslavement. For the most part it was the enslavement of criminals. Fealty was for a period of time with the injured party benefitting. Eventually Christianity grew and the practice of holding co-religionists in bondage was frowned upon. St. Patrick himself was enslaved for a time. The church becoming more and more powerful and transformed the Roman slave system and serfdom began, not much different.

Also, when Bathilde became Queen of the Franks who herself had been enslaved before she married Clovis II, banned the slavery of Christians. Although the name changed, the act of slavery was still being used. So you see in all actuality black slavery came much later. It has only been recently that the African continents became used for the slave trade. The white slaves melted into serfdom and poverty and then came the exploitation of the black race, centuries later. However, for those of you who believed that Black Irish was a racial thing, you were wrong.

The Irish were a fair skinned people with mostly brown hair and blue, green and grey colored eyes. The further north you went the more changes were observed. The Viking races were relatively ruddy compacted with mostly blue-eyed people and we see more and more blonde hair. I have no idea how that happened or how skin colors began. I believe the environment had much to do with it; perhaps the sun impacted skin pigmentation.

The only thing that history tells us regarding the Irish was there was some infiltration of Spanish blood. However, for the most part our blood is basically the same with all the same varying types. I really don’t know St. Patrick’s blood type but I am sure it would be interchangeable with some of us today. The Spanish being world explorers co-mingled their blood in most of the earth.

St. Patrick was Roman born (5th century Romano-British). He is the Patron Saint of Ireland. He brought Christianity to the Picts and Anglo-Saxon’s. Most of the St. Patrick Day feasting, secular culture began here in the United States. I believe we invented corn beef.

Thus came the corned beef that I promised you’d hear more about from last week’s article, Corned Beef, which in the British commonwealth of nations, is a beef brisket cured in large grains as salt called corns of salt; Thus corn beef. The corn beef we use here on St. Patty’s Day will have some sugar and other spices to give it that wonderful flavor we have become so fond of. The basic brisket goes back at least 1,000 years and was used in the celebration. Cabbage and potato were very common in Ireland so we know they were used and perhaps onion and carrots with flat bread. The preferred drink was Guinness beer. The next Day you would have potato cakes with the left overs.

As you can see, the evolution of St. Patrick’s Day is not a great one over these past 1,000 years. Not much has changed, go to church, over eat, and drink Guinness beer. Of course, you have the enjoyment of family and friends. There is much more to know and I will share it with you next time. I might even share my recipes.

God bless all and have a happy and safe St. Patty’s Day.

As always pray for freedom for those currently in the struggle for their freedom and help where you can.

by Gary Kennedy

At 11:00 a.m., on November 11, 1918, the Allied Powers signed a cease fire agreement with Germany at Compiegne, France, which terminated the war known to us as World War I. Armistice Day, so called was commemorated by the U.S.A., France and Great Britain. This was a celebration as the war to end all wars. Interestingly it was signed on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month of 1918.

President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the First Armistice Day the following year, 1919, with these famous words: “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations.”

Of course, the world didn’t learn much after hundreds of thousands of deaths. Actually, it wasn’t very long at all before we became caught up in World War II, another bloody four-year war. Then in 1954 the U.S.A. designated November 11 as Veteran’s Day to honor all those who gave their lives in U.S. wars. However, the British Commonwealth Countries decided on Remembrance Day, to honor their fallen. Then came the Korean War which was a conflict between North and South Korea. The North was communist in character and the South was capitalistic. I guess we Americans are fully aware of how that works. Unfortunately, most of the time the communists seem to maintain their ground. This battle was fought from June 1950 until July 1953. The causation and American involvement was mostly to do with the Cold War between the Soviet Union, China and the U.S. with some Japanese interplay. The main reason the U.S. got involved was its desire to avoid the spread of Communism. The Truman Doctrine was the name of this endeavor. American President, Harry S Truman firmly believed that communism needed to be contained at all cost.

On June 27, 1950, the U.S. officially entered the Korean War. President Truman ordered American forces to repel an invasion from North Korea. The Korean War was a proxy war for the cold war. The war ended in a virtual stalemate. The border remained the same.

War has been the norm for many centuries and for many reasons, most have not led to the solution of the cause. It seems we just don’t learn. Japan had some control of North Korea during this time, thus the communistic influence. For those of you who don’t understand the implication of a proxy war or the influence of such, Korea is a good example. The North of Korea began to lean toward communism because of Japanese occupation and Russian and Chinese influence while the Southern half of Korea tended to lean toward capitalism. So the short story would be the war was brought about/influenced by outside players. Once again the U.S. was morally involved. Once again the solution could only be dealt with violence and death. It always seemed the world was crying for freedom. The United States has always been a major player in the plea for freedom and peace.

From the American Revolution to the Iraq War, the U.S. has fought in 12 major wars. However, the list contains 93 wars in total. This figure is up for discussion, another figure being 143. In any case you can see why “Veterans Day” more apply applies when compared to Armistice or Remembrance Day. Our prayers should be for a lasting peace in which we need not search for titles to be given to the event of needless grief and death. That will require a humanitarian outlook on life and living without such life threatening conflict.

I have always been a firm believer in a peaceful, loving and even varied point of view. There is always more than one way to reach the same outcome or point of view. I am sure it can be achieved without the application of pain and suffering. I personally pray for the day that the word Veteran refers only to having done it before. All being said and done, happy Veterans Day. God bless all with hearts of peace and for now remember all those who have given so much of themselves in order that we may continue the journey to equality.

Also don’t forget that Memorial Day praises and honors those who have lost their lives in pursuit of peace and Veterans Day gives honor to those who served but survived in the same pursuit.

God Bless America.