Saturday Morning, December 17, 2022
Peace on Earth...
1918. World War I. The Great War. The war to end all wars. Ten million souls extinguished. No vindication. Brotherhood shattered. A Silent Christmas. Opposing soldiers in No Man's Land. A rare moment shared. Twenty-four short hours. Four more long years. Fighting halted only by attrition. Men and munitions expended. 11-11-11. Versailles Palace. Hall of Mirrors. None dared glance into. The Treaty. From ancient grudge break to new mutiny. Feudal disagreements. Ingrained grudges. No absolution. Smoldering kindling. A taunt string stretched.
Royal Copenhagen 1910 Christmas plate.
The miracle wasn't the birth of Jesus, nor the immaculate conception, not even his ascension.
No. The true miracle was finding three wise men, anywhere.
Enter the Roaring Twenties. The Jazz Age. Anything Goes. Anything did. America on steroids. Excess defined success. 1929. Face slap. Teetering banks grappled. Bonds cancelled. Margins called. German retribution suffered the noose. All loans due. Economic disaster. Wheelbarrows of Marks. Storm clouds rising. Hitler ascending. Ahab walking the deck. Europe crumbles. America gifts world peace a second time. All my life's a circle. Pearl Harbor. Normandy. Guadacanal. Tokyo Bay. Ball of Confusion!
Good Will Towards Men
Mahatma Gandhi. Nonviolent resistance. Assassinated 1948. John F. Kennedy. Antiwar advocate. Assassinated 1963. Martin Luther King, Jr. Progress through peaceful protest. Assassinated 1968. John Lennon. Give Peace a Chance. Executed 1980. Jesus Christ... Oh great googalooga, can't you hear me talking to you. So how do we get there from here? Or can we?
Royal Copenhagen plates.
Here, the bell towers still remain silent.
Enter the globalists. An elite corps with all the answers. Father Knows Best. Rubberband logic. Unification at what cost?. Umbrella governance. One digital currency. All Pigs Are Equal. A new order in sheep's clothing. Individuality crushed. All for one. None for one. Karl makes his mark. Expendable masses. On your mark... Never quiet on the Western Front. 1918. Groundhog Day.
A Star in the West
Henry Longfellow, American poet. He penned Christmas Bells in 1864. His verse steeped in personal tragedy. In the summer of 1861, 
Henry's wife Fanny, while saving her daughter's clipped hair curls in sealing wax, felt several drops of the hot wax drop onto her summer dress. Immediately it igniting the material, engulfing her in flame. Henry attempted to snuff the fire with his own body. Despite his efforts, Fanny died the next day. Henry himself, so severely burned, never shaved again. Ironically, his beard became the poet's trademark. In 1863, his eldest son, who entered the Union Army without his father's blessing, was severely injured. So painful was this incident, Henry never wrote an entry into his diary on Christmas day of that year. A Silent Christmas. The holiday now a reminder of all he had suffered. His reaction? Pain into words. A gift to us, to all humans. His poem, penned on Christmas Day, 1864. I heard the bells on Christmas Day..
Royal Copenhagen - Ironic. Christian nations separated, both begging forgiveness from the identical spirit. Gott mit Uns.
And in despair, I bowed my head;
There is no peace on earth, I said.
For hate is strong, and mocks the song.
Of peace on earth, good-will toward men.
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep,
God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will toward men.
Armistice Day. 1918. Guns now silenced, peace was celebrated, announced through the ringing of church bells all along the front. Louder and louder they pealed. Don't lose hope, they screamed. Nor shall we ever. Peace to all of you this holiday season. Rejoice in our individuality. Peace starts on our hearths. Reach across the trenches at family dinners and hug once again. It is long overdue. We owe each other this act of human kindness. God bless us, everyone.
Doors open at 8 AM. Auction starts at 9 AM. PA AU 1265L [bb]
Brown Bros. will be closed on December 24th.
But please fasten your seat belts. Wait until you see what awaits you for the 31st.