Abraham Lincoln and Trash Collectors...

I know it's been a while since I last posted, but there hasn't been a whole lot going on. Well, actually, maybe there has now that I think about it; I just haven't had time to write it all down until now.

First things first, an update on academic stuff. I've been elected into Phi Beta Kappa, which I think is really, really great! I also received a fellowship from both UIC and UW-Madison and my potential advisor from UIC wants to bring me to the Philippines this summer for free! (Well, not for free, I'd be doing archaeology the whole time, which is backbreaking work, but I love it so it's no big deal!) So I think I'll be able to go to both the Philippines AND Cambodia this summer and end up with a heck of a lot of experience by the time I get back (Not to mention some really great stories and photos)! I'm visiting both universities next week during Spring Break, and once that's done I'll make my decision and let you all know where I'm going to end up next year.

So that was the academic update, and now here's the bit about Abraham Lincoln. See, I've been trying to talk about interesting letters and things from the Historical Association, but lately I've just been going through town records and muster rolls, which are interesting, but not interesting enough to write about on here. But last night, the SLCHA did a reading of Lincoln's first inaugural address, and I must say that was certainly interesting enough to write about. First, I was surprised as the amount of things Lincoln said in there that we don't necessarily attribute to him. For example, he said that he was not in favor of eliminating slavery, as that would be unconstitutional. He says "I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so." We always think about Lincoln being anti-slavery, but this statement is very non-anti-slavery. It's not pro-slavery, to be sure, but it isn't staunchly anti-slavery either.

What struck me most about his address was the constant feeling of trying to keep the Union together. The largest theme of the speech wasn't slavery or states rights, it was maintaining the unity of the nation. And I think that is completely understandable for what was going on in the country at the time. Seven states had already seceded from the union before Lincoln gave his address on March 4, 1861. Lincoln's biggest problem wasn't freeing the slaves, it was keeping the country in one piece. He probably felt that slavery was morally wrong, but he had larger things to worry about in that first inaugural address, namely war.

Another thing that struck me was his use of logic to argue in favor of the union. He says that it is illogical to think that the union would fail so long as every party of the union continued to play its role. "It is safe to assert that no government proper ever had a provision in its organic law for its own termination. Continue to execute all the express provisions of our National Constitution, and the Union will endure forever, it being impossible to destroy it except by some action not provided for in the instrument itself...If the United States be not a government proper, but an association of States in the nature of contract merely, can it, as a contract, be peaceably unmade by less than all the parties who made it? One party to a contract may violate it—break it, so to speak—but does it not require all to lawfully rescind it?...It follows from these views that no State upon its own mere motion can lawfully get out of the Union; that resolves and ordinances to that effect are legally void, and that acts of violence within any State or States against the authority of the United States are insurrectionary or revolutionary, according to circumstances." He has a lot more in there, and you should all read it, but that is one of the most sound arguments I have seen for continuing the union of the United States.

It also struck me that Lincoln's words still resonate so much today. I could go into detail here, but that could be a thesis in and of itself, so I'll refrain. I do highly recommend that you all read this speech, even if you've read it already, because I believe it to be one of the best speeches I have ever heard. Here's a link to it, so you don't even have to search for it: http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres31.html. I'll leave you to ponder the rest...

I realize that the title of this post might be a bit odd, Abraham Lincoln and trash collectors, but I want to leave Lincoln here for now and continue on to explain the trash collectors portion. You see, when I was cleaning out my car this morning, a group of children (two girls, about six and seven, and a boy, about eight) were walking down the street. The boy and the elder girl were carrying bags with them, and they were chatting about something that I don't quite remember. I had just finished cleaning out my car when they got to the end of my driveway and the elder girl said "wait, stop, there's a car." My car wasn't even on yet, so I told them they could go ahead; they smiled, and crossed the driveway. As I got into my car wondering what they were doing with their bags, the youngest girls said "I found a piece!" She bent down, picked up a piece of plastic wrap that was lying on the sidewalk, and put it into the other girl's bag. As I pulled out of the driveway and headed down the street, I saw them picking up pieces of candy that had fallen on the sidewalk outside the frat house next door.

I must say that I found this to be absolutely adorable, yet also quite pathetic. Not the kids, the kids were just adorable and they're my personal heroes for at least this weekend, but the fact that children are picking up the trash that adults throw on the side of the road is, in a word, pathetic. Pathetic on our part, because yes, I am now a part of the cohort of adults in this world, however young an adult I might be. You know, it's a bit disheartening to think of it that way: that the children of this world are often seen as doing amazing things and reminding adults when to behave and as a kid, you're quite proud of yourself for being among the world's children who do all these great things. But then you grow up and become an adult, and while I certainly don't throw trash on the side of the road, I'm a bit ashamed to now belong to the segment of society that does. And lets face it, needing children to remind us about good behavior is pathetic.

But talking about how pathetic it is without actually doing anything gets us nowhere, so I propose a challenge. I realize that half of you probably won't do this, but you can't say I didn't try. I challenge everyone who reads this to try to find some way to make this world better for the children in it. Go to a local elementary school and clean the trash off of their playground. Donate used books to the local library. Say please and thank you to people you encounter, and smile when someone says hello. Be honest. Take any of these ideas, however many you want, and maintain them for the month of March. Because children shouldn't have to be our role models, we should be theirs. So go and be the person you were when you were a child.

A Soldier's Letter

It's Friday again, and so I find myself typing up the contents of the Civil War collection at the historical association. I came across one of my absolute favorite files in the collection and wanted to share it with you all (whoever you may be). This is the file of Robert B. Nicol, who enlisted in March 1862 at New York, Company I. He was appointed corporal (date not given) and later wounded and discharged for disability in July of 1864. Well, the wound isn't terribly happy, but he didn't die from it; he lived to the age of 82!

The main reason that this is my absolute favorite file is that Robert enjoyed composing songs, and in this file, we happen to have a copy of a letter that we wrote to his uncle composed entirely in verse! Can you believe it? Neither can I, but it's pretty fantastic.

So rather than be going on and on about how much I love this letter, I'd rather just type it up for you so that you can get the full experience of Robert B. Nicol:

"Dear Uncle,

As writing materials often are scarce,
I purpose to write you a letter in verse;
To condense my ideas, save paper and time,
Is my object for writing this letter in rhyme.
Of course you will know it is one of my pranks!
It will take but a minute to fill in the blanks.
[Note that this letter is typed, and some blanks left for his uncle to fill in. I've italicized the blanks.]

I received your kind letter just one year ago,
Which found me a member of "Uncle Sam's Show;"
And for two years or better, expect to remain,
Unless, like full many, I chance to be slain;
Should this be my fate, the last boon I crave
Is to mark on my tombstone, "A Patriot's Grave!"

In the hist'ry of wars, as we carefully scan,
Since the first was waged by man against man,
In all the fierce conflicts no records remain
Which can be compared to the present campaign.
The war has been general! on both land and sea,
And many have fallen for "Liberty's Tree!"
It would fill many volumes to pass in review
What our various armies this year have gone through.
Though my space is not large, yet 'twill not be amiss
To give a slight sketch on a small sheet like this.

The Potomac's great army has nobly withstood
The wiles of the traitors, and written in blood
The route it has taken o'er mountain and plain,
Through forests and rivers, in hot sun and rain;
And now like a giant, aware of his power,
Aims a death-blow at Secessions "left bower!"

In the siege of Atlanta, and Charleston, too,
What subjects for History's pages we view!
Generations to come will exult in the name
Which their fore-fathers carved in the records of fame.

At the Gulf, on the flank of Secession's domain,
From the shores of "Red River" our brave comrades slain
Are calling for vengeance; Ah! traitors shall feel
A full share of this in the siege of Mobile.
The reb who surrender'd the stronghold, Fort Gaines,
We aver, was possessed for less valor than brains!

Our heroes at sea have had plenty to do:
The ports to blockade, and pirates subdue;
Let the famed Tallahassee beware of the day
When our "Yankee Tars" meet her in battle array!
I am sure they have not forgotten so soon
The victory we gained on the 19th of June.

Thus we see every part of our army so grand,
In the "War for the Union," on sea and on land,
Are working in concert, our cause to maintain,
To crush the rebellion, and end the campaign.

I have the honor to be your affectionate nephew,
Signed, Robert B. Nicol"

The Allen Letters

So classes have started off pretty well and everything is going relatively according to plan. Actually, to be honest, I didn't have much of a plan to begin with, so I'm quite content with the world at the moment. I'm also currently baking rolls, which are making my apartment smell divine, so that has probably added to my contentment.

But I've also decided that this semester I am going to take at least 24 hours off each week. So from Friday night to Saturday afternoon, I make sure to plan absolutely nothing class-related so I can do whatever I feel like doing. Today is the first attempt, and I must say I am quite happy with it. I mean really, who can complain with watching a great movie, sleeping in, getting food, baking rolls, and just doing nothing for a span of 24 hours?

So yea, hopefully this 24 hour span of not doing anything will help me stay less stressed this semester. After all, I've been accepted to all the grad schools I applied to (yay!) and I was told yesterday that the draft of my thesis was better than some of the final versions that the department had printed. That's pretty cool. And on top of that, I'm going to be going to Angkor Wat this summer. I mean really, why should I stress out about my last semester with all these good things happening?

The rest of February (all four days so far) has been rather snowy. We now have over two feet on the ground, I would say, and we get more snow showers every other day. Wednesday was the worst, though; I think we got about 10 inches overnight and another 3-6 over the course of the day. But the funny thing about this is that this is the first real Canton winter that we've had since my freshman year. The past two have been unseasonably warm and all the underclassmen keep talking about how Canton winters aren't that bad. Then they hit this year, with the -42 degree days followed by 15 inch snowfalls and now they're beginning to rethink the whole not-so-bad thing. I, for one, am a bit happy that winter up here has returned to normal, because I personally like the snow (so long as no buildings collapse).

I also just spent about 3.5 hours at the historic society yesterday. I'm reorganizing their Civil War collection for the 150th anniversary celebrations that will be held this year through 2015. The collection hadn't really been organized in years and the last person to organize it did it in a very odd manner, so it was in need to fixing. Anyway, I'm in the process of writing a finding aid, which is a document that will help people locate the documents we have in the archives. In writing it, I'm giving some background on each soldier that's given in the adjutant general reports: where and when they enlisted, if they were wounded, if they were discharged or killed or mustered out with their company and when, stuff like that. It's kind of bittersweet, because half the time I end up reading a letter from a soldier to his wife or his father or his uncle or something and he always talks about seeing his loved ones again, but then I check his information and realize he was killed in action or died of typhoid or some other unfortunate circumstance. The worst was a high ranking officer (I forget how high) from the 16th NY Infantry Regiment who wrote to his wife telling her that he couldn't wait to see her again. A month later, the officer was shot in the head. He lived, but he lost both of his eyes and was discharged shortly after. So even though he lived, he never actually saw his wife again.

So one thing I was thinking of doing was telling you all a little about these documents, because after reading them for months, I feel a little attached to the soldiers and it makes the war so much more... real than it was before.

Yesterday, I didn't intend to spend 3.5 hours at the historic society. I got there at 4 and planned to get through typing up the info for one box (which was the 106th NY Infantry box) and maybe start on the next one (the 142nd NY Infantry box). But I finished the 106th by 5:30 and looked at the 142nd box and realized there were only about ten documents. I could finish the box before 6:30 and be done with two boxes instead of just one. It seemed like a good plan.

Each box has some general documents in the front pertaining to the entire regiment, such as reunion photos, muster rolls, and other such documents. Those are easy enough to type up, especially since there's no soldier-specific information to include. The first folder I got to said "Allen Letters", and I figured they were letters to a soldier whose last name was Allen. I looked at the letters to try to figure out his first name and realized that the folder contained 86 letters all written to and Stewart Allen by various people and vice versa. Generally, we file letters under the person who wrote them, but if a soldier receives letters from someone, then we generally file it with the soldier. Basically, we try to keep things filed with soldiers as opposed to people not serving in the war because the boxes are organized by regiment.

The problem here was that Stewart Allen never served in the war. He stayed home to watch the farm while his father, cousin, and various friends served in various regiments. What's interesting is that Stewart was connected to six different soldiers in three different regiments. His father (Robert Allen) and cousin (William Allen) served in the 142nd, his friends Francis Dana, Theodore F.H. Dana, and William Wright served in the 106th, and his friend George Elderkin served in the 60th, all of which were among the most prominent regiments in the state. All of them enlisted in the summer of 1862.

Most of the letters to and from Stewart tell of farming practices, prices for wheat or potatoes, and the loneliness of the war. I get the feeling from Stewart's letters that he wants to go join the soldiers and can't for one reason or another. I also get the feeling from most of the others' letters that they don't really want to be fighting anymore. All except Francis Dana, who has a few letters complaining that he hasn't seen action for weeks.

Of the six soldiers connected to Stewart, only one made it out of the war with no injuries. Stewart's father, Robert, enlisted in 1862 and was mustered out with his company in 1865. William Wright enlisted in 1862 and deserted in November of that year. George Elderkin was discharged for disability in 1863. Theodore F.H. Dana deserted at the end of his furlough in 1864. Francis Dana was wounded in July of 1864 and was mustered out from the hospital in 1865, though not with his company. Stewart's cousin, William, was killed in action on January 15th, 1865 at Fort Fisher, North Carolina. We only have one letter dating to after his death, and it's from Robert, who served in the same company and shared tents with his nephew. The letter speaks of sorrow, loneliness, and a strong desire to come home.

When you read about these things in textbooks and such, it's played off as a deadly war that happened a long time ago. But 150 years isn't that long ago. In reality, it's about four or five generations away. And it wasn't just a bloody war, it was a war that took lives. Sometimes I feel that we don't pay enough attention to that in the classroom or the media or whatever. We don't remember the actual people who fought and the sacrifices they made. William died only six months before his unit was mustered out. He served for two and a half years. He was so close to seeing the war come to an end, and he didn't. Two of the soldiers deserted, either for fear or the harsh conditions or the plain fact that they didn't want to fight anymore. Two of the soldiers were injured and probably suffered complications from it the rest of their lives.

Why don't they tell us that in the history books? There's something about reading their letters, reading their concerns about weather and wheat sales and taking over a mill to grind flour for the company that makes them far more personal than anything else I've come across. Even just standing at a memorial of cemetery for the deceased doesn't do it quite like this because you still don't know much about the people themselves. With this, you read their daily concerns, smile at the things they write (for much of it is quite funny), and then you realize that they were killed a month after writing that letter. I think it's something we've taken out of history lessens for fear of scaring students, but I think it's worth it a bit. Perhaps if we had a stronger connection to the wars in our past, we wouldn't be so quick to create them in our present. And if we had a stronger connection to the wars in our present, then we would hopefully think long and hard before starting them in the future.

SAA's, grad school, and class!

So today I did a lot of note-taking, and so it wasn't a terribly interesting day until the afternoon, but this afternoon I met with Dr. A to plan the SAA trip! Actually, it started out with us planning the database we're going to use and then talking about beads for a while (there are these beads that we have no idea how they were manufactured, and we've never come across any description anywhere about them). That got us talking about the SAAs, and we've now purchased plane tickets for California! Oh, the SAAs is the Annual Meeting for the Society of American Archaeology. Dr. A and I are presenting a paper about her data from India, and we have to get it all sorted out before we can write the paper. The fact that I'm even going it amazing, but the development that happened today is that we bought tickets!

On the class side of things, I've decided to drop the class I was talking about and do the SAA stuff as an independent study. It's just going to be way too difficult to do that much work and it's much easier to just get credit for the SAA stuff than to do a whole other class. The nice thing about that is that it means I don't have three classes in a row anymore, so hopefully tomorrow will be a lot less insane than yesterday.

And as for grad school, I was accepted by the University of Washington! I still haven't heard from Wisconsin, which I find odd, but January isn't over yet. But I got accepted! So everything is very happy!

Classes, archaeology, and other stuff...

So today was the second day of classes, which was really my first day of classes since all of my classes are on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I started the morning by realizing that the weather had gotten about 30 degrees warmer (it was 10 out this morning and I loved it!) and subsequently walked to campus. Since I live off-campus, security forces me to park in the two farthest lots from anything except athletics and the arts building. As a result, I end up freezing most mornings or evenings when walking to or from my car. Seriously, when I got home on Sunday night my hands were turning purplish blue. So I thought about it for a while (after security refused to let me park closer) and realized that one reason I freeze is because it takes so long to walk to my car, clear it off, warm it up, and drive home (or clear if off, warm it up, drive to campus and then walk to my building). I also realized that in the time it takes me to clear off my car, etc., I could simply walk to campus. I would be more active and therefore warmer on my walk in and could stop places like the library on the way in to pick up books. And it would count as actual exercise, since I live a good 15-20 minute walk away (and it's uphill). Granted, it's not a full work-out, but it's better than nothing, right?

So anyway, I walked up to campus this morning because it was so warm (10 degrees, it was wonderful). My first class was at 10:10, Views of Human Nature, which is the senior capstone course. I think I'm the only senior who was actually looking forward to it, but I guess that just means that I've definitely found the right field. It was a good opening class, Dr. P described the course, then gave us a few life lessons that we didn't know we needed, but were valuable nonetheless. Basically what not to do when being interviewed for a job. All in all, it was a good class and I'm still looking forward to it.

I then went to meet with Dr. P and ended up meeting with Dr. A, then we had a joint meeting with Dr. P and the three of us went to lunch. I'm sure that sounds really confusing, but it's how it goes in this department. We spent lunch discussing the advantages of the Kindle, and then I dashed off to my second class, Religion and Visual Culture. It was pretty good, but I was fading by the end (not sure why, but it lasted all afternoon). I then went to the third class of the day, Buddhist Art and Ritual, and listened to stories of my professor getting disqualified from learning to meditate in a Thai monastery because she was too interested in the paintings on the wall.

And then I went back to Piskor and felt like taking a nap. Actually, I had felt like taking a nap since about 1:45, and it was about 3:45 then. I have no idea why I was so tired, but I walked home anyway because it seemed a good idea.

The only guess I have regarding the exhaustion is that three classes in one day with no real break in between is too much. I'm sure other people can do it, and do it easily, but for me, I don't think three classes in a row works. And on top of all that I still have my thesis and I have to work on the dictionary for Dr. P and Dr. A and I are writing a paper that we haven't really even started compiling the data for yet. Well, we have the data, but it's in notebooks and formatted differently depending on the year, so we have to input it all into a database. I am also still working at the historical association on their Civil War collection, so it's just a lot of work to do.

So I think what I might do is try to see if I can take an independent study with Dr. A that would essentially be us doing the work for the paper that we're presenting at a conference in April. Since I'm going to be doing that work anyway (as is she), we're not adding anything to our workload, just giving me academic credit for it. That would allow me to drop one of my classes in my marathon and would give me a reasonable workload for the semester instead of the insane monstrosity that I met today.

What's really cool, though, is that I got a preliminary program for the conference we're going to and my name is actually listed in the program as a presenter for this conference. I know that sounds really geeky, and in ten years I won't be all that excited about it, but really, this is pretty cool.

Also, I have just been offered the chance to go work at Angkor Wat this summer! It would be during the month of July, for about 4-6 weeks, depending on when I can commit, and quite frankly I'm going to try to commit for the whole time.

That's about it... I got the actual acceptance letter from Hawaii today, but still haven't heard from Wisconsin or Washington... and after that not much has been going on.

Grad school, end of break, and other things...

I have been accepted to grad school!!!! Anyone who actually reads this would know that already, but I wanted to put it here anyway. I was accepted into the graduate program at the University of Hawaii, which is currently my second choice school. I also heard from the University of Illinois at Chicago and was accepted by the department there. Illinois also offered me a very nice funding package and so now I don't know where to go. I'm basically waiting for other results and will decide once I've gotten all the information from all the universities.

Classes start Monday, which will be nice since it means that people will be back in Canton. I actually don't have class on Monday, but it'll still feel like the semester has started, which will be good. I'm looking forward to actually being able to celebrate my grad school acceptance with my professors and ask them for advice and such.

I'm also looking into field schools for next summer, or any fieldwork opportunity for that matter, and have possibly found one in Virginia that's good quality and relatively cheap. I also found one in Poland that's roughly the same, but a little more expensive. I'm also thinking of going back to Scotland to do stuff with SERF, but I haven't seen anything for them yet. I'm also trying to see if I can find anything cheap in Southeast Asia, but I don't think that will happen.

Not a whole lot else going on, though I'm thinking of getting my draft of the books I was writing about Indonesia out again and working on that some more. It might be cool to have another book out there, and hopefully better written than the others. You know, I don't do the books for money or anything, or so that I can go brag to people about having written a book. You probably aren't thinking that, but just in case you are, I want to explain myself. I like the idea of having books of my travels that are printed so that my stories are recorded. And I like recording my stories so that one day I can pass them on to my children and possible grandchildren. I remember going to my grandmother's house and taking out these huge photo album scrapbooks that she had compiled of her travels around the world, and I remember looking through them both on my own and with her. I also remember sitting on her lap and listening to stories of cormorants fishing on the Yangtze or having a picnic in the middle of the desert. I loved listening to her stories, and while I'm awful at maintaining scrapbooks, I'm pretty good about writing things down. I also have a tendency to forget my camera or I fail to take pictures or something, so writing is the best way to convey the images. So the reason I write those books is to have something I can pass on, like my grandmother's scrapbooks.

Part of me wonders if I should make those sorts of books for shorter trips I've taken, like the field school I did in Scotland or the trips I've taken to Morocco or France or Spain. Actually, to be honest, those went so fast that I don't know I could write a book about them. But then again, maybe if I sat down and tried it, I'd find the memories come a lot easier. We'll see about that, but first I'm going to see to the Indonesia book, because I really do want some version of that printed...

It's 2011!

Ok, so I know that I haven't been posting since August and that I was going to keep everyone updated on my travels in Scotland, but the internet was limited and poor in Scotland and so updating the blog wasn't really an option. Well, I suppose it was, but I chose to spend time with friends instead of write this blog because I only had three weeks with them and that seemed more important. Anyway, I'll upload a photo or two when I have time and can give the journal entries from when I was there. You'll still get the whole story, don't worry!

Anyway, last semester went well, though it was very busy, so I still had no time to update this thing. I was taking four classes, one of which was my honors thesis, applying to grad schools, volunteering at the historical society, and working for the department. The yarn store has sort of gone out of existence, so I no longer work there, but I have plenty to do with everything else, so I don't really mind. We got grades yesterday for this past semester and I managed to get straight 4.0's again, which I'm quite pleased with.

Christmas went well with very good visits to family and friends, and the New Year was quiet, but very pleasant. I'm now in Canton again and am going to work on the dictionary for the next few weeks before the semester starts so that I can have it in a pretty good place by the time I get back. I've also been purchasing books for next semester and plan to read through some of them before classes start. I'm taking Views of Human Nature, the senior capstone anthro course that everyone dreads because it's the highest level course and taught by Dr. P. I'm actually looking forward to it, though, because while I'm well aware that she'll kick my butt if she thinks it necessary, I enjoyed her linguistics class and look forward to having a similar experience with this one. I'm also taking Buddhist Art and Ritual, an art history course, which I think will be interesting and potentially useful in the future. That one may also kick my butt, though. I'm also finishing up my senior honors and taking Religion and Visual Culture, a religious studies course that also seems interesting and potentially useful in the future. All in all, I'm pretty satisfied with the courses.

So that's really all that's going on, not a whole lot, really. I may write updates now and again over the next few weeks, particularly if I hear from grad schools, but life is pretty slow, so I expect very little to happen.