Henry V and Easy Compny

Back in 1599 Shakespeare penned the play Henry V. Within that play was Henry's Eve of Saint Crispin's Day Speech.

I've always found Shakespeare easier to follow when spoken instead of reading his works. If you have the time to listen to the speech, you will hear a simple phase that has been used to describe another group of men 345 years after those word were first spoken in 1599.

This past weekend the History Channel aired several episodes of The Band of Brothers. I always stop and watch. I've read Major Dick Winters book Beyond Band of Brothers. Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division was the unit Stephen Ambrose called the band of brothers. Most of these men are in their 80's or have gone to meet his maker. The living history will fade away so it is a good thing that some of these men have been captured on film telling their stories.

Nothing about war is good, the human stories are compelling history worthy of being remembered.

Fryeburg Fair 2008

I took this past Tuesday off and went up to the Fryeburg Fair in Fryeburg, ME. It turned out to be Senior Citizens Day with those 65 and over getting a free pass at the admission gate. As it turned out I was the the junior member of the three of us that went to the fair. Thus I was the only one that had to fork over the $8 to enter the grounds. But it was money well spent. The Fair is a throw back to the past. Agriculture is king here. Sure there are midway rides and a childrens midway for the little ones. Food to satisfy everyone's taste and whim. But livestock, harness race horses, 400 pound pumpkins, draft horse pulls, tractor pulls, oxen pulls, goats, sheep, cows being milked, arts and crafts contests, you name it, it was here on display.



The team of horses in the photo are pulling 7000 pounds. The teams had 5 minutes to pull and the team who pulls the sled the longest distance wins. The winning distance was 310 feet.

Lucky for me Tuesday also turned out to be antique tractor day. I don't know why, I didn't grow up on a farm, but I really like to see old tractors, both as is and those that are restored.

There were folks from the US Forest Service and the Maine State Forestry Department so for me it was fun to talk to them.

It was a fun day, a throw back to the past and a celebration of today's farmers and others that make their living from the land. As well a life style that looks better to me today than it did when I was studying forestry and hoping to make it my life style.