Walden World

The wacky and wonderful tales of Beth's and Catherine's global adventures. And all things Walden too.

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Did Everyone in the Civil War Have "Bed Head"?

I was just re-reading "Battle Cry of Freedom". It's the bible of books on the Civil War and I noticed a trend among the major players in the conflict. I know hygiene standards were "lax" (a mild word for it) back then, but everyone seemed to have had serious 'bed head'.

Let's start with the "Great Emancipator" himself. He clearly was not the "great hairbrusher":



Now let's see his counterpart: President of the Confederacy Mr. Jefferson Davis:



The odd elf tufts at the sides remind me of my long haired dog when it's time to take her to the groomer.

Now let's look at the fabulous stylings of the Generals.

We will take a gander at that hero of the South: Nathan Bedford Forrest:




I have re-dubbed him "Nathan 'Bedhead' Forrest". Steely eye brows; fierce glare and again, with the apparently popular 'super tufts'.

There is also his fellow legend, the rather weird (putting it mildly) 'Stonewall' Jackson:



I agree, he's a little neater than some of the others but he also sports 'bed beard' along with an unpardonable top and back.

Lest you think I pick on the Confederacy, I think, frankly some of the Union icons take first prize. Let's go to U.S. Grant first:



A powerful image of control, no? He also clearly slept in a barn with a pillow over his head.


 But I save the best for last. The demon of Georgia. I present William Tecumseh Sherman:



Now I know these guys, at least the Generals, were in the field much of the time, but remember they had the really good digs and they went and posed for these pictures, which, in that day, took a great deal of time. Something like 5 minutes.

Here's Henry David Thoreau for the final 'looksee'. As you can see, he clearly marched to the beat of his own drummer and lived life in the woods:



I can't tell you how many times, I've resembled that after camping trips...







































Monday, April 21, 2014

The Great Leveller..

A few weeks ago I made my sad trip towards middle age...

I went to Kitchener to pick up my new glasses which, despite trying to avoid it for a number of years, had to be "progressives"; the nice word for bi-focals.

As I drove back through the early spring gloom, rain pelting my window I tried to cheer myself up by listening to the radio.

I jumped through all the stations that C had pre-programmed and was happy to find one playing "Spandau Ballet"...that is until the station announced its call letters. It was CHFI. For all that grew up in Toronto, that was the "easy listening" "Lite favourites" station that your mother listened to. You could always count on hearing "Do you Know the Way to San Jose" or "We've Only Just Begun" by the Carpenters...and now they were playing "Spandau Ballet"...