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Welcome to Varied Expressions of Worship

Welcome to Varied Expressions of Worship

This blog will be written from an orthodox Christian point of view. There may be some topic that is out of bounds, but at present I don't know what it will be. Politics is a part of life. Theology and philosophy are disciplines that we all participate in even if we don't think so. The Bible has a lot to say about economics. How about self defense? Is war ethical? Think of all the things that someone tells you we should not touch and let's give it a try. Everything that is a part of life should be an expression of worship.

Keep it courteous and be kind to those less blessed than you, but by all means don't worry about agreeing. We learn more when we get backed into a corner.

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Opus 2014-217: New Terms: Boutique History

My wife recently handed me an article from a magazine and asked me if I had ever heard about it before.  It seems that a man who had been a chaplain in the Civil War moved west and started a town in California around 1908.  He died in 1914 and the town quickly declined and died out.  It is now a state park with the buildings restored. 

Why go to all this trouble?  It was just another ghost town, right?  Wrong.  The one detail I left out was that the chaplain was black.  That made it a chapter in Black history.

As I was trying to explain why anyone would care about a town that failed I came up with the term, “Boutique History.”  I like that.  History is all around us.  I have a book on the history of the Martin Guitar.  I have a book on the history of Burma Shave signs.  You see these kind of things all over.  They are boutique history.  They are valid areas of interest and research but they are only of interest to special groups of people.  Beyond that circle they have no significance.

So read your book about the history of coffee.  Collect early American cook books.  Research the Nash Rambler auto line.  Go for it.  Just don’t get too disappointed when I don’t share your enthusiasm.

homo unius libri
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4 comments:

  1. Gorges SmytheAugust 30, 2014 at 1:54 PM

    I keep hoping that rednecks will be declared a minority, so I can get free stuff from the government and have my story told on PBS.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PumiceAugust 31, 2014 at 7:55 AM

      The problem with red-neck history is that too many of us have lived it. Unfortunately, we would be the kind of minority that it would be acceptable to persecute.

      I guess that isn't "would be" but "are."

      Grace and peace

      Delete
  2. Z@XAugust 30, 2014 at 5:55 PM

    Nash Rambler? Now there is a flash from history; my Dad's first car was a Nash Rambler (circa 1955).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PumiceAugust 31, 2014 at 7:58 AM

      I loved our Nash when I was a kid. I should have caught on though that just about everything I think is great goes out of production. The bakery where I eat breakfast used to have three choices of bagget. They eliminated my first choice. Now I hear that my second choice will disappear.

      Maybe if I could start liking Progressive politicians they would also go away.

      Grace and peace.

      Delete

Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.

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