I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet’s, the writer’s duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honour and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past.- William Faulkner
Speech of Acceptance, 1949 Nobel Prize for Literature
Nobel Banquet at the City Hall in Stockholm, Sweden
December 10, 1950
To hear the sound of William Faulkner's voice accepting the Nobel Prize for Literature, click the following link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxM0C7zjoAc
FOCUS ON HISTORY
Today is Constitution Day in the United States. It was on this day that the Constitution of the United States was adopted by the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention of 1787. Constitutional talk makes some Canadians squirm or yawn with boredom. It’s a very touchy subject in this county, especially with regard to Quebec.
Our American cousins revere and respect their constitution - almost too rigidly. Some regard it as being written in stone and it is extremely difficult to amend. 1787 was 283 years ago and some aspects of the American constitution reflect the sensibilities of a newly independent country in the late 18th century. I am referring to such items as the Second Amendment which is glorified by opponents of gun control.
It is true that there have been 27 amendments to the U.S. constitution – including the Nineteenth Amendment (ratified in 1920) which gave American women the right to vote. However, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) failed to pass. It was intended to guarantee that under any federal, state, or local law, equal rights could not be denied women. I also believe that the U.S. constitution is behind the times in that it denies the presidency to those not born in the United States.
Most North Americans would agree that freedoms should be cherished and not taken for granted. Yet, one never understands this fully until those rights and freedoms are lost. When I visited China in the summer of 2008, I watched censored news reports delivered by human robots. I felt really fortunate to be able to return to Canada and watch our newscasts.
RIDDLE ME THIS
Why did the pony have difficulty singing?
Answer: Because he was a little hoarse
SPORTS
The Blue Jays had the day off today. Toronto begins a series with the Boston Red Sox today. It should be interesting because Boston need to win in order to challenge the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay. I hope Tampa Bay wins it all.
Yesterday, the Jays lost the final game of their series with the vastly improved Baltimore Orioles. The O’s won by a score of 3-1 and swept the series. The good news is that Kyle Drabek pitched well in his major league debut and Jose Bautista blasted his 47th home run of the year. Bautista tied fellow Dominican George Bell for the most home runs in a season by a Toronto Blue Jay. Congratulations Jose and I will be following very closely as you try to hit as many homes as you can before your dream season comes to an end.
I see that Roy Halladay had his 19th win for the Philadelphia Phillies. It looks as if Doc is going to have a 20 wins this season, maybe more.
- Joanne
