A PLEASANT SURPRISE: STIRLING, SCOTLAND

A series of essays....

OLD TOWN JAIL, LOCATED IN STIRLING, SCOTLAND

....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E. Hughes

We left the magnificent town of Edinburgh after two days of strenuous uphill climbs to visit the Edinburgh Castle and to conduct epic sightseeing walks along the Royal Mile and further south onto the upper terraces of Edinburgh’s Old Town. Slipping into narrow, stone passageways, we discovered ancient, soot-covered buildings towering  high above us filled with bell towers and intricately carved, solid oaks doors rising ten feet tall and higher. These resplendent buildings, courtyards, and gardens were filled with history and intrigue, taking us back into another place in time.

When I think about the history of places we visit and envision the people who kept them alive via hard work, an abundance of stamina, and pure survival instincts, I think of a line by English writer and researcher, Luke Kemp, when he said, “We will only march into collapse if we advance blindly. We are only doomed if we are unwilling to listen to the past.”

Sitting in our rental car, loaded with luggage and pure anticipation of what awaited us around the next bend in the road, we could see the silhouette of Edinburgh Castle growing smaller in the distance behind us. 

Soon we would discover our new home for four days on a working sheep farm just south of Glasgow near the village of Uplawmoor. From ‘home base,’ we would conduct day trips to Wigtown, ‘Scotland’s National Book Town’ to the south, hiking trails near Loch Lomond in the Highlands to our north, and over to the hilltop town of Stirling located northeast of Glasgow and noted for its own ‘castle on the hill.’ 

Wondering if day-tripping to Stirling was a sound idea given that we’d recently discovered Edinburgh with its mighty castle in the sky, would seeing something so similar be worth the precious amount of time we had in Scotland? After some debate, the four of us piled into the car on our way to Stirling for the day.

Let’s just say....we were not disappointed with our decision.

OLD TOWN STIRLING

We parked at the lower level of Old Town Stirling and meandered our way up the narrow, cobblestoned street of St. John leading up to Stirling Castle that loomed high above us but still out-of-sight. The walk was breathtakingly steep as we passed iconic buildings such as The Stirling Highland Hotel that was once a school and still boasts having a working observatory. The Stirling Old Town Jail sits just above the hotel and dates back to 1847 and features daily tours with enactments by local actors depicting the conditions there so many years ago.

STIRLING HIGHLAND HOTEL

NAVIGATING SMALL, BRICK PATHS

A FRIENDLY (?) FACE!

ANCIENT PAVERS BENEATH OUR FEET

As we circled in front of the jail, we came up to an ancient brick and mortar entrance (replete with black-painted gargoyles) that would usher us into one of the most amazing cemeteries that harbored many unique surprises. Old Town Cemetery rests just below Stirling Castle and features tombstones dating back into the late sixteen hundreds! Our vantage point from here was panoramic with Stirling city resting far below, Ben Vorlich rising high above Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park to the northwest, and Stirling Castle still out of sight but just around yet another cobblestoned bend in the road.

STIRLING CITY RESTING FAR BELOW 

STONE AND BRICK ENTRANCE TO CEMETERY

GARGOYLES KEEPING WATCH

LOOKING THROUGH THE GATE

INTRICATE PATTERNS

DOOR TO ANOTHER WORLD

If you know me by now, you would understand how intrigued I can be by an amazing cemetery. Old Town Cemetery offered so many exceptional photo ops complete with ravens adorned in luscious purple/black feathers with their beady eyes guaranteed to stare right through you. 

ROWS OF SHADOW AND LIGHT

"AND THE RAVEN, NEVER FLITTING,
STILL IS SITTING, STILL IS SITTING......."

Apparently, Stirling Castle came in at a close second for all of us after experiencing the phenomenal views, cemetery delights, and magnificent old structures standing majestically on the hill dressed in their finest sooty attire and surrounded by colorful late September flowers and drifting autumn leaves.

LOOKING OFF TO THE NORTHWEST

THE SUN CREATES PINK SKIES

STIRLING CASTLE UP ON THE HILL

A VORTEX WITHIN THE CEMETERY?

THE SUN UPON MY SHOULDER

LOOKING OUT AT BEN VORLICH

CHAPEL WITHIN THE CEMETERY

LOOKING OUT TO THE SOUTHEAST
TOWARDS EDINBURGH

We had worked up a healthy appetite by now given the trek up to the castle and the sharp wind that gave noses and cheeks a healthy rosy glow. We’d spied a charming whitewashed eatery catercorner from the main entrance to the cemetery called Hermanns and located on Broad Street. For twenty-six pounds sterling per couple, we feasted like kings and queens and, if truth be told, enjoyed one of the most delicious meals of our entire Scottish visit. I would return to Stirling again if only to enjoy the culinary delights offered by Hermanns.

DELICIOUS FOOD SERVED WITH
ELEGANCE IN MIND

DESSERT WORTH WALKING
UPHILL FOR

'HAVE A SAFE JOURNEY HOME'

After lunch, we launched our descent down Broad Street in search of our car. 

With a bit of sadness in our hearts, we bid a cheery adieu to Stirling that crisp, sunny day in September, vowing to return one day, soon. For now, we were happy to know that someone was wishing us a safe journey home!

COLORFUL FLOWERS
LINED OUR WAY

BORDER FLOWERS BRIGHTENED
A LATE SEPTEMBER DAY!

A WELCOMING DOOR!

Copyright © 2019 by Jacqueline E. Hughes

All rights reserved

Photo Copyright © 2019 by Jacqueline E. Hughes

All rights reserved

"WE ARE NOT MAKERS OF HISTORY, WE ARE MADE BY HISTORY" ...MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

A series of essays....

THE DECLINE OF HISTORICAL THINKING
BY ERIC ALTERMAN

        Courtesy of inxti


....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E. Hughes

A recent article in The New Yorker states that there is a huge decline in historical thinking. (Eric Alterman, published on February 4, 2019). Mr. Alterman claims that, “For the past decade, on American campuses, history has been declining more rapidly than any other major, even as more and more students attend college.” He also believes that, “The steep decline in history graduates is most visible beginning in 2011 and 2012. Evidently, after the 2008 financial crisis, students (and their parents) felt a need to pick a major in a field that might place them on a secure career path.”

With the base cost of an undergrad education rising swiftly, this approach by both middle class parents and their children would seem to make good sense. Student loans do not pay for themselves and only by securing a good job upon graduation would one be able to pay them off, eventually.

I can understand this line of thinking. I don’t like that it exists, but I can offer-up some of my own reactions, emotions, and reasons for this particular decline of History majors within our country’s higher education institutions.

After this current administration came into office and the likes of Betsy DeVos was slated to run the U.S. Department of Education, I began calling her new project ‘The Dumbing Down of America,’ and with good reason. The emphasis of each move she made was to slowly deteriorate our current public school system by any means possible. What better way to under educate and under develop our young minds than to take away sound, basic programs (the arts and science, reading programs, geography, history) that were previously in place in order to elevate the public school’s curriculum, spark imagination, and enhance the education of America’s youth? For me, DeVos and the current administration’s agenda was quite obvious right from the beginning and deemed highly compromising if planning out a prosperous future for our country.

The King of Lies who happens to reside in the White House today personally ignores the fact that it is clear that historical analysis would demonstrate that legal immigration into America has accounted for much of our creativity, innovation, and economic production. By ignoring the facts, misrepresenting our own history, and blatantly lying to the American public, “the Republicans have, for the past few decades, depended on Americans’ inability to make sense of history in judging their policies. Under Trump, they have succeeded in turning legal immigration into the excuse for all the country’s ills,” Mr. Alterman explains.

If we are educating someone to be able to handle all of life’s experiences, without having an historical background or any knowledge of the past they cannot be totally ready for life. The last generation, at least, have become people who live in the ‘now’ and often fail to recognize the importance of ‘where did we come from, how and why did we get to where we are today, and are we capable of knowing what mistakes we have made in the past so as not to repeat them?’ I’ve written before how instant gratification is the name of the game for so many of us today and our electronic devices have become attached to us in, sometimes, very unhealthy ways.

Walter Lippmann, an American writer, photographer, and activist, once warned nearly a century ago that, “Men who have lost their grip upon the relevant facts of their environment are the inevitable victims of agitation and propaganda. The quack, the charlatan, and the jingo (One who vociferously supports one's country, especially one who supports a belligerent foreign policy; a chauvinistic patriot)... can flourish only where the audience is deprived of independent access to information.” In other words, if the citizens of a nation have no knowledge of history, they are asking to be led by jingos!

The amassing of Trump lies just within the past two years of his presidency proves that he is a quack, a charlatan, and a jingo. And, unfortunately, as explained by Mr. Alterman, “Without more history majors, we are doomed to repeat him.” 

Like a brand new parent, we learn to live with and by our own mistakes. And, by the time a second child comes along, we, with any luck, have become more prepared to handle the general welfare of our new ‘little one’ than we may have the first time around. So it goes with the works of historical fiction and non-fiction authors, storytellers, history professors, and the all important student graduating with a degree in history. Life comes around full circle and the more we can learn about ourselves, research that which came before us, and study the habits (right or wrong) of our ancestors, we will always be a step ahead in the game of life and discover the process of enclosing the circle that completes us.

IS THIS HOW WE WANT OUR
HISTORY BOOKS TO LOOK IN THE FUTURE?

                  Courtesy of roundex

We can ill afford to leave the pages of our history books empty. The generations that follow us will surely be deprived of independent thinking, as well as the access to information that will help shape a sound and prosperous future.

Copyright © 2019 by Jacqueline E. Hughes

All rights reserved

LITTLE ADVENTURES, ONCE AGAIN...

A series of essays and poems....

NORTH CAROLINA BEAUTIFUL (2014)

....as seen through my eyes!






By: Jacqueline E. Hughes

LITTLE ADVENTURES

Turn a corner or round a bend,

Hike through a forest or

Sift sand through your toes

On a white ribbon of beach

As the sun caresses your skin...

Perhaps this morning you order

A cup, black, at a French café.

Sitting there watching the human race stroll by,

You listen, observe, digest the scene...

A smile here; downward glance there.

Life, life, life, how beautiful! Paris?

Loose stones shift,

Tumble down to places dark and mysterious

As gravity reminds you to hold tight....

Do not forget to look around you,

The climb up is worth each precious glance!

The gray sky clings above

Like a flannel blanket, soft and protective.

This afternoon you navigate the grassy shoreline,

A promise of rain is never a challenge.

Black/gray stones skipped on top

Of the whitecaps rolling out to meet the

Stony spine of Lough Corrib.

The daunting, Italian scenery begs for control

As the little car hugs the narrow road for dear life!

You pitch and shift with each switchback

Holding your breath...from both the excitement

And the mountainous beauty surrounding you!

Tonight....you dine with new friends,

Wondering where your conversations might take you!

With the crisp undertones of fruit and honey upon your lips,

Names like Marrakesh, Madrid and Marseille

Penetrate the conversation; your imagination.

And, all you can think about is...

Tomorrow's possibilities; tomorrow's feast!

Author's Note:

This poem was written with Love in fond tribute to the travels already taken and the ones yet to be experienced. Many thanks to a new Facebook friend for 'liking' this blog entry from November 30, 2014 and reminding me that this contribution was made over four  years ago! Often, it is good to revisit places we've been (literally), including older posts that mean so much to us upon reflection; writings that shape our lives, define who we are, and keep us wanting to give more and more....

With much appreciation for enjoying my stories, poems, and photographs, 

Jacqueline Hughes  

Copyright © 2019 By Jacqueline E. Hughes

All rights reserved

Photo Copyright ©2014 By Jacqueline E. Hughes

All rights reserved

 

BREVITY: A SHORT BUT TRANSFORMATIVE YEAR IN A LIFE

 
A series of essays....

STUDENTS ENGAGED IN LEARNING, DECIPHERING,
AND, HOPEFULLY, TAKING AWAY A HIGHER-ORDER OF THINKING

    Courtesy, Linkedin Learning

....as seen through my eyes!

BY: JACQUELINE E. HUGHES

Creative writing classes were yet to be programmed into the curriculum of Indiana University in South Bend or the English Department of Michigan State University in East Lansing back in the day. So, I began my college career taking classes in journalism for one year at IUSB while living with my aunt and uncle before transferring to MSU with a major in English and Secondary Education. 

Journalism courses back in the late sixties were nothing short of eye opening for me in so many ways. Entering my freshman year at seventeen years of age and owning my first car should have been enough of a thrill for anyone to handle. However, couple that with my eight o’clock class professor nursing her newborn while sitting on the front edge of her desk and explaining the principles of the ‘Five W’s plus How’ and how they relate to basic information gathering and problem solving in journalism. The take-away was how comfortable she made me feel in my own skin and how she gave this seventeen-year-old female hope for an upward momentum in women’s rights and equality within a lingering man’s world.

Regrettably, women must continue to fight in 2019! Ridiculous!!! By now, I expected so much more for my own daughters, let alone for their daughters. To think that almost fifty-one years later, nursing your baby in public (even in a classroom when necessitated) remains controversial. If entrenchment in politics equals a large part of the answer, then fight on ladies all over this country! I will support you in every way I can. Especially by utilizing my right to vote for you if I feel you are the best person for the job.

Then there was the male professor who, literally, told us that if it takes the embellishment of a seemingly weak storyline to make it more interesting or attractive in order to sell more newspapers (the news) then, go for it! (“As long as you cover everyone's behind in every way you can.”) Thinking back, was this my personal landmark in the discovery of what was real and what we refer today as ‘fake news?’ To this day, I’m uncertain as to whether this was his own philosophy or that of journalism in general. I’d like to think it was his, alone. I may have been young at the time, but I knew right then that the ‘game’ associated with the press was not for me. 

Of course, this doesn’t mean that all good journalists fit into this category of creating a stronger story out of a weaker one. It just means that this particular professor felt it was alright to do so and was not afraid to teach this to his students.

After an enlightening year of journalism, theater classes, and (wishing I spoke my Ukrainian grandparent’s language fluently) a semi-decipherable class of Russian History taught by a distinguished, elderly Russian professor who spoke minimum and highly accented English, I transferred to MSU the following fall. 

Thinking back on my year spent living with relatives, driving my own car to classes and back home to Michigan to visit each weekend, and formulating my own ideas of what I expected from myself in the future, this time was, truly, my personal rite of passage. Writing, I knew then, would always be my vocation. Travel....sweet travel, would become my greatest passion. Combining the two has become my raison d’être. 

Little did I realize back then that photography would become so important in my life, as well. I guess this would stand to reason considering one aspect of travel is to chronicle and visually record each experience for future recall and reference. Choosing a theme for each trip (lace curtains, the stately, beautiful faces of the elderly, the creative and practical usage of stone in Ireland, colorful flowers) keeps me focused and enhances my overall participation in everything I see and do.

When thinking back on my discreet ‘nursing’ professor back at Indiana University, I tend to associate her with the backbone of information gathering in the form of the Five W’s and link them to the stories (essays) I write today. These questions are my particular take-away from that period in my life and are used in everything I write. You can never relinquish the power that education affords you even when journalism blends into creative writing. Ask any mystery writer you may know! 

WHO was involved?

WHAT happened?

WHERE did it take place?

WHEN did it take place?

WHY did that happen?

With the possible addition of....

HOW did it happen?

Fairly basic questions with answers that bring a writer (be it fiction or non-fiction) directly to the point of the story and beyond. Even though I still have yet to fully grasp the basic task of embracing brevity, or how to write less and say more, I have come to realize that good, concise writing is more than just writing. It is art in its purest form.  

So, thank you ‘hippie mama’ for helping me see society within an equal, level headed, worldly perspective while at a very vulnerable age. I won’t think about how old your beautiful child is today but hope you are still there to share in his life with all of the love and dignity you afforded us, your students at the time, and during that one very special year of my life.

Copyright © 2019 by Jacqueline E. Hughes

All rights reserved

THE 'TEMPORARY DEMISE' OF GOOD TASTE AND RESPECT

A series of essays....

THE WHITE HOUSE STATE DINING ROOM

   Courtesy, Elle Decor

....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E. Hughes

Mary, a Facebook friend of mine, reposted the picture below that was originally from The Guardian with, “This is the first thing you see when you get to hell!” as the headline. I don’t know about you, but knowing that this is the first thing I would see in hell.....Heaven and being a good, kind person has gained even greater mass appeal for me! Yes, despite the memories of years of Parochial school teaching and the enormous effort it took to keep my eyes open during eight o’clock mass each school-day morning! And, I would do it all over again, if not become the white-clad Missionary Sister working and spreading love within a third world country, a phase that struck most of us young, Catholic girls around fourth or fifth grade, in order to avoid this horrific sight anywhere and at all costs.

PRESIDENT LINCOLN LOOKS ON
 IN TOTAL CONFUSION

                  Courtesy, twitter.com

May we take a moment to quickly analyze the ludicrous aspects of this photo, long before it gets committed permanently to my memory? Sorry, too late.

I initially visited the White House in 1989 with my youngest daughter who was a winner in an essay contest sponsored by the California Raisin Advisory Board along with ad promotions by the claymation musical group, The California Raisins, singing “I Heard It Through The Grapevine.” The contest was promoting the health benefits of raisins and why California Raisins were a nutritional powerhouse. The spokesperson appointed by the board to represent them was a sprite and spunky seventeen-year-old by the name of Alyssa Milano.

                   Courtesy, Amazon.com

Besides touring this venerable estate of the people, we spent time in a small, classroom-type setting with Ms. Milano and others as the twelve young essay winners, chosen from across the country, relayed their personal ideas as to the promotion of physical fitness and good eating habits. Their amazing collective ideas, entered into official governmental record, were encouraged to be taken back home to be shared with their school and community, family and peers. It was quite the experience for the kids and all of us parents, alike.

ALYSSA MILANO AS THE TIGER BEAT,
CALIFORNIA RAISIN PINUP

One of the many things we learned on this exciting four-day excursion was the tremendous importance and major responsibility that the people living in this historical home place upon their own shoulders by becoming the President and First Lady of the United States of America. George H. W. Bush presided over our nation at the time of our visit and I, for one, was inspired by a capable and working agenda of a government consisting of and supported by its two political parties. 

The strength, memories, and historical importance of the White House, encouraged by an intellectual powerhouse consisting of respect and collective thoughts, encircled the American people as a whole during the time of our visit. The feeling of hope was tangible in each room we entered and reaffirmed the belief of respect for the Constitution of the United States, as well as the people it helps to guide and protect each day.

Democracy, literally, rule by the people and for the people, is a very beautiful and comforting thing.

When you look at pictures of the State Dining Room you will find George Peter Alexander Healy’s 1869 portrait of Abraham Lincoln. It has occupied a place of honor over the fireplace for many years and depicts Lincoln during the final days of the American Civil War. Tables are set with their finery and used for receptions, luncheons, large formal dinners and state dinners to celebrate and acknowledge visiting chiefs of state on state visits. Mr. Lincoln looks down upon them helping to create a formal elegance that serves to inspire those who have come to participate in the sharing of higher ideals of freedom, the warmth and hospitality of our President, and the willingness to harmoniously work with others around the globe in order to create a better, stronger world at large.

Once again, the current resident of the White House has intentionally decimated the wholesome images created in this formal room that echo the voices of heads of state and heroes at the expense of our most young and talented citizens.

In a gesture of high public esteem for the victory of the Clemson Tigers over Alabama’s Crimson Tide in the National Collegiate Football Championship, the White House has given Honest Abe a whole new dimension of dining to frown down upon within the hallowed walls of the State Dining Room. In a gesture of respect for some of the country’s finest, healthiest young athletes, the current resident in chief has displayed only the finest and healthiest of culinary delights in honor of these young men.

Just kidding...

No amount of twinkling candlelight reflecting off of tall, golden candelabras or masses of silver in the form of elaborate serving trays in every shape and form can camouflage the tackiness and sheer classlessness displayed by a dubious White House leader and carried out by his staff. Cold fast-food burgers, French fries, and soggy pizza greeted our football heroes reflecting a personal bias towards young, successful athletes for whom he aspired to be but failed horribly in his quest.

HEALY'S 1869 PORTRAIT OF
ABRAHAM LINCOLN

                         Courtesy, virginislandsdailynews.com

President Lincoln, looking down from his lofty perch that day, recognized the mindset commensurate with these hard-working, winning young men as they encapsulated his own superior work ethic and ‘mis en place’ status.

In turn, these young men must have, at least, felt the ever-giving strength of Lincoln, the history attributed to this fine, stately room, and the wisdom of our forefathers encompassed within the symbol of one of Democracy’s finest achievements, the White House, and the person who resides there. I pray that all of this given so generously to them via time and history will far outweigh the tiny backslaps accompanied by the rude and ignorant hospitality that was afforded them on their special day of honor at the White House. 

May the future of this country see a kinder, smarter, diplomatic and charismatic, and respectful person presiding over her once again.....soon. We the people deserve it!

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S FINAL STATE DINNER

                   Courtesy, Pinterest

Copyright © 2019 by Jacqueline E. Hughes

All rights reserved