Fighting for Anne Arundel County

Will March come in like a lamb and out like a lion? So far it feels like it came in like a lion. Some of us lost power or have friends and neighbors who lost power who needed help from their community. Thank you for stepping up! In March we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Until I read Thomas Cahill’s, ‘How the Irish Saved Civilization’, I had no idea the extent of St. Patrick’s influence. Patrick (d.461) was a shepherd-slave who ran 200 miles to escape in a ship to Europe. He returns as an Apostle to Ireland where he teaches them that their virtues of faithfulness, courage and generosity lead to the abandonment of the slave trade and a decrease in violence. Irish energy is re-focused on their love of learning and they master Latin, Greek and some Hebrew. Their isolated monasteries (used as Luke Skywalker’s desolate abode in The Last Jedi), become the isolated and safe libraries of Europe. This love and artistry leads them to copy every single manuscript they can find in Europe including classic Greek, classic Roman literature and the Bible. They created the spectacular Book of Kells, and similar books were sought all over Europe. As the Barbarians crossed Europe, they burned every single library they found. When the desecration was over, Irish monks settled new monasteries in France (870 Heiric of Auxerre, “Almost all of Ireland, disregarding the sea, is migrating to our shores with a flock of philosophers.”), Germany, Austria (Schottenstift) and Italy (Bobbio Abbey). Books that hadn’t been seen in centuries were once again available and the end of the Dark Ages was now possible.

February has a whimsical tradition that we celebrate on the 2nd. The remaining length of our winter is said to be able to be predicted by Punxsutawney Phil, a groundhog. In the popular comedy movie, Groundhog Day, Phil Connors, an arrogant TV weatherman, finds himself caught in a time loop, repeating the same day again and again. Since there are no consequences for his actions, why not participate in bawdy behavior and experience all that life has to offer? After finding himself unable to prevent the death of a homeless man over several time loops, he begins to change his life to avert similar accidents and disastrous situations for people he doesn’t know but about whom he begins to care. Since he learns to be a concert pianist and expert ice sculptor, he must have relived that day thousands of times to gain the expertise and sensitivity he displays by the end of the movie.