Bob Cullen

In the silence of a midwinter dusk, there is a sound so faint that for all you can tell it may be only the sound of the silence itself. You hold your breath to listen . . . Advent is the name of that moment.

Frederick Buechner (1926-2022)

Photo Credit: pixabay.com/photos/dark-...

"Grace," a photo taken sometime around 1918 by Eric Enstrom (1875-1968). The person shown here is a traveling salesman named Charles Wilden (1856-1936).

#Thanksgiving #Grace #Gratitude #Prayer

Here is the 1898 menu for Thanksgiving dinner at the Logan House Hotel in Altoona, PA.

This hotel was in operation from the early 1850s until its closure in 1927. It’s my understanding that there is now a post office at that location.

“Rocks and Sun, Late Afternoon,” a painting created by Parker Perkins (1862-1942)

“Young Woman Sewing with a Dog Resting on Her Lap,” a drawing created by Johann Gottlieb Glume (1711-1778)

This photo of an Inupiat family in the Alaskan community of Noatak was taken sometime around 1929 by Edward S. Curtis (1868-1952).

“White Cat,” a painting created sometime around 1936 by Gertrude Abercrombie (1908-1977).

Here is the 1917 menu for Thanksgiving dinner for those serving on board the U.S. Navy battleship USS Oklahoma (BB-37). Just about everything on this menu looks great. I am not sure how edible those cigars would have been, though.

This portrait of Pennsylvania resident Anna M. “Annie” Washington Derry (1849-1930) was created sometime during the mid-1920s by Laura Wheeler Waring (1887-1948). Annie lived in southeastern Pennsylvania's township of Aston and achieved renown as one of her community's leading matriarchs.

This sketch of an ash tree in the Welsh city of Duffryn was created by Lucy Bacon (1857-1932).

Since will be taking a break from Bluesky during the holiday season, I want to take time now to post this December 1950 photo of members of a U.S. Far East Air Force unit stationed in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) during the Korean War. They can be seen here celebrating the Christmas season.

“Burnham Beeches,” a painting created by Myles Birket Foster (1825-1899)

At long last, the journey ahead for us is looking a little brighter than before . . .

"Path Rising to the Sun," an 1891 painting by Alfred Sisley (1839-1899)

“The Garden Studio,” an 1886 painting by Anna Alma-Tadema (1867-1943)

Here is a photo of Louise Lomax (1920-2011), who was one of the few black nurses to serve in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War II.

Lomax was awarded both the World War II Victory Medal and American Campaign Medal for her service in that global conflict.

“A Summer Retreat,” a lithograph created in 1869.

A 1973 painting created by Gene Davis (1920-1985)

This photo of a road in Tórshavn, the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic, was taken sometime around 1930 by Sophie Peterson (1885-1965).

“Farm with Yard,” a 1783 drawing by Johannes Janson (1729-1784)

“A Moonlit Lane,” an 1874 painting by John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893)

An 1862 photo of Union Navy sailors aboard USS Monitor during the Civil War. The ship's crew members shown here are hanging out while food is being cooked on a stove.

The sailor to the right in the foreground is Siah Carter (1839-1892). He enlisted in the Union Navy after escaping from slavery.

An engraving of the Old Narragansett Church in the village of Wickford, RI.

This image was included in the 1885 book “The History of the American Episcopal Church, 1587-1883, Volume 1,” which was prepared by Bishop William Stevens Perry (1832-1898).

Here are a few jokes for today:

What do you call zombies that appear in a lot of movies?
Mon-stars!

What does a ghost use whenever he plays the banjo?
Sheet music.

What is Dracula’s favorite sport?
Casket-ball!

What position did the ghost play on her soccer team?
Ghoulie.

I bet that your friend in the background is very disarming!

“Winter Scene in a Park,” an autochrome taken sometime around 1912 by Alfonse Van Besten (1865-1926)

“The Heart of the Andes,” an 1859 painting by Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900)

This photo of civil rights activist Anna Julia Cooper (1858-1964) was taken sometime around 1902. Cooper, who was born enslaved, earned both her B.A. and M.A at Oberlin College during the 1880s. At the age of 66, Cooper earned her Ph.D. in history at the University of Paris. She lived to be 105.

“Point Lobos,” a California-based painting created in 1916 by Laura W. Maxwell 1877-1967)

This autochrome of the Taj Mahal in India was taken in 1921 by Helen Messinger Murdoch (1862-1956).

“Bright Light at Russell’s Corners,” a 1946 painting based in Woodstock, New York, and created by George Ault (1891-1948).