Plus More HSP, Gardening Corner, and Louis Prima
I'm impressed: New York City erected a statue of Mother Cabrini yesterday in Battery Park. I hope they put it behind a huge fence and appoint an armed guard to protect it. I mean, it's such a testament to western imperialism: Mother Cabrini, with all her orphan grandstanding and caring for the sick, as if she were doing anything except spreading the poison of Catholicism.
Antifa, you've been challenged! This country doesn't need any more white statues!
Of course, Mother Cabrini was Italian and, about 100 years ago, many Americans considered Italians “people of color.” Thaddeus Russell recounts it in his excellent Renegade History of the United States.
Indeed, it would seem Italians back then were much darker, at least some of them, like Louie Prima, who risked losing gigs at white establishments because owners thought he was black.
And regardless, the Italians, like the Irish, were held in such low esteem, they might as well have been black (interesting parallels about our country's horrible treatment of “out” groups can be found in Sowell's most-excellent Ethnic America and Russell's book). They were so “on the outside” that their cultures mixed and there was a degree of respect (but also the racial tension from being put into close proximity with one another . . . see this movie clip placed in 1964 Brooklyn).
Well, regardless of all that and such a rich and complex history of race relations, I'm not optimistic the Left will much care. Mobs aren't known for their subtle art of discernment. That Cabrini statue is at risk, as evidenced by the fact that, when NYC started its “She Built NYC” Commission to build more female statues, it initially declined to erect one to Mother Cabrini, even though she received the most nominations.
More HSP
If you suffer from some or all of the HSP traits (see yesterday), there are ways of dealing with it. I address three traits and how to address them below. I'll address the other five traits on Wednesday and Thursday.
1. Emotionally exhausted.
This apparently happens because HSPs absorb the emotions of others, which is exhausting. Remedy: Limit your number of appointments or engagements.
2. Overanalyzing.
Pursue mindfulness, which is closely related to the Christian virtue of detachment.
Your mind is wired to start processing all the layers you see in the room and to form patterns. Don't. Why do you need to form patterns? Patterns are merely a type of answer. You don't need to understand everything.
3. Hard time moving on.
You're going to have to bring everything you go to this one because, on top of being a HSP, you have the negativity bias every person has (we pay attention to negative things more than positive ones because the negatives are stronger). You'll need prayer and thanksgiving and thoughts of love.
On the more mundane level, overload your brain with something you love.
Me, I think about gardening a lot. I like to engage in more high-level thinking, but it's exhausting, with the result that my mind eventually gravitates away from it . . . and into the negatives. Ruminations about what I'm doing next in the garden are easy. Yes, they're not terribly productive and probably a waste of mental time, but not disease-ridden like thinking about my last nasty human encounter.
Miscellany
Interesting fact from Russell's book: “Prima made the first recordings of his songs, including 'House Rent Party Day,' in which Prima sings and speaks lyrics in the drum rhythms and which was therefore, according to The Vibe History of Hip-Hop, the first recorded forerunner of rap.”
That Amazon link above takes you to the Kindle version of Sowell's Ethnic America. It's only $3.99.
That's a great deal.
Gardening Corner
Ten years of trials are done. I've found my favorite lettuce: Jester.
It has everything. It tastes great. It provides heft to lettuce mixes. It's pretty. It tolerates cold AND heat. It produces huge batches of seeds.
The only drawback I've discerned: it only provides one really good cut in the fall and two or three during other seasons.
The second place finisher in my trials, Salanova, consistently provides three, sometimes four, cuttings.
Salanova would've finished first, but it's ridiculously expensive. It's slightly better than Jester, but not 10 times better (which, if I did the math correctly, is the price difference). Plus, Salanova plants are hard to harvest for seeds.
I learned about Jester at Wild Garden Seeds. I highly recommend their catalogue.
