Saturday Morning, September 28, 2024
Who's on First?
Weightless, it carries the burdens of the world. Fits like a glove. Basks in love. First defense. Best offense. Parents ponder at birth. Their choice, its mirth. How we decorate so. The first, the second, the third you know. What's on second. It stuffs shirts. Encourages flirts. Opens doors. Expects more. Walks with pride. Critics denied. Legacy? Take a knee. Demands a crest. No second best. Always stands at one's behest. I don't know. THIRD BASE!
Framed collage of autographs - Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Governor of New York & President of the United States. Saturday's auction includes a number of presidential autographs and political memorabilia.
Loyal as a shadow. Dismisses prattle. Flies colors forever high. Left outfielder known as Why. Like a clarion bell, it wears one well. First to greet. Last to meet. Easy to smear. Difficult to clear. At the end of the game, no one can claim, it will always remain. Your blessed name.
Herbert Hoover, 31st President of the United States. His misinformed understanding of the political climate in the Depression led to FDR's ascension into the White House. Hoover was tagged with the term Hooverville, shanty encampments throughout the United States, victims of a jobless and homeless environment.
Autographs include William McKinley, Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Dwight Eisenhower, Rutherford Hayes and wife Lucy. Plus FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.
Heritage
It would be hard to imagine the father of our country as anyone other than George Washington. Or Abraham Lincoln who preserved the union. These are names worn proudly and ring in our ears. Just witness their descendants. We pin credence on them as we do on our own. They define us, lock us into a logical timeline.
Rosa Parks needs no introduction. A woman with courage.
We seek them. Endowments. Honored sponsored positions in academia and the arts called chairs. Named in honor of the giftor, their existence now immortalized. Even this preservation is not enough. In our final breath, a carved epitaph carries us into the future. Here lies... Granite. Composite. All stacked together in a graveyard attest to the honor we bestow upon our names. Family plots. Family vaults. Gathered as we did in life. Our tartan colors forever half mast.
Deny Thy Father and Refuse Thy Name
Meet Reginald Kenneth Dwight. Child prodigy. Composer. Entertainer. Known to you as Elton John. Or Robert Zimmerman, aka, Bob Dylan. The entertainment field is filled with souls seeking an identity separate from their birthright. Do they suffer the stigma of Romeo and Juliet's familial problem? No. They are not denying. They are selling. An assumed identity is most beneficial in this genre.
President Harry Truman, 33rd president.
A man thrown into office upon FDR's death. His decision to drop the atom bomb would change our world forever.
English novelist George Eliot wrote a trail of successful stories. The best twist in plot was George's identity. She was born Mary Ann Evans. Although women were accepted writers in Victorian England, the types of works expected were superficial romances. Mary Ann sought the depth only a fictional novel could offer. Her male name would assure publication and anonymity as her lifestyle was far from the norm. But when her true identity was revealed, it mattered little to the readers. Mary Ann's words and talent of expression shone through, even capturing the eye of Queen Victoria. In our electronic era, few secrets remain hidden. In a strange way, today the more bizarre the behavior the farther your career is carried.
An autograph we have all become accustom - Christopher Willett
And so we seek. Our name. Our identity. We ponder. We question. Despite all these vexations, we exist. It is a marvelous experience. One not to be missed. One benefit of aging is we start to forget names. Despite the hubbub of carrying the right name, the importance somehow diminishes. Perhaps this is why tombstones are carved so deep. The lettering on the sign in front of our gallery is not carved as deep, just enough. In our ethereal world, it suffices.
Doors open at 8 AM. Auction starts at 9 AM. PA AU 1265L [bb]