Potato vs. Potatoes

Languages are peculiar, different, exciting, embarrassing...and everything else.  Some words move easily from one language to another, since those are was are called "Romance Languages".  Latin was the primary source, and words morphed from Italy to Europe, and onward. German comes from middle Europe initially and then also morphed with other languages that shared their own Indo-European source.  

This is all well and good. We love to hear from where our existence developed and the words that sprang out of that.

So here are a few languages, introducing a vocabulary as well as the formation of the word.  

I confess that I put these out there because these are so creative. My husband lived with a German family when he was attending a German language school in the late 1960s. Here it is nearly 50 years later, and he still remembers a lot.

Our oldest grandson (8 yrs)  in Switzerland has announced that he speaks four languages: British English, American English, German, and Swiss German. Dang, he does!  

  In 30+ years ago, when we lived in Ireland, our children learned English and Irish Gaelic.  Our oldest was 10 yrs. old, and wasn't required to learn the Irish. Our son was in 2nd grade and daughter was in Jr. Infants (young Kgt) He became quite fluent, so much so that his teacher wanted him to skip a year.

Anyway, the song above is one of the most used and appreciated country songs. After hearing the uniqueness of the Irish language in song, it is easy to fall in love with Ireland, the Irish, the Gaelic language, the food, the ale, stout, ....

Languages are crazy amazing.

The Bouncing Ball of California History

He who holds the ball last, wins.

California has a bloody history.  In fact, there is no country in the entire world that does not have blood soaked ground.  Battles fought, won or lost, changed histories of every country.  In California, where I live, history is like a bouncing ball, it all has to do with "who owns the land now".

Indigenous tribes owned the land, had for centuries or more.  Then Spain arrived, charged by the King and Queen to spread the word of God to the heathens, form places of worship, and establish forts with lots of military. (Many of the Indians died of smallpox.  Those still healthy were torn away from their ancestral homes to become Christians.  Another story, that.)

This was the start of the bouncing ball.  Spain remained the dominant force in millions acres of land from the Mississippi west.  

Then France defeated Spain, taking the land.  France made a deal called the Louisiana Purchase.

Then the mixed population of Spain and indigenous people (now called Mexico) defeated France, taking the land as their own. 

Then elite wealthy in Alta California became the Californios.  

Then Missions were stripped of their massive amount of land, and left with the Mission Churches only. 

The Californios ruled California, but realized that the Americans were sneaking in, inch by inch, settling the land as their own.

Battles, oh there were many battles in California.

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my grand-daughters, just because

 The bloodiest battle in California was in the valley of San Pascual (which means Saint “Easter/Peace”).  An essential battle, it closed in the embattled Californios from the east and north.  This battle on December 6, 1846, is always commemorated in the valley, not 15 miles from our house.

Across the Valley

The ball came to a stop with the influx of miners and, through lots of legalities, America claimed the land of California, which became a state in 1850.

Abraham Lincoln signed a document returning the crumbling Missions back to the Catholic Church in 1863.  A copy of the document is at the San Luis Rey Mission (called this, The King of the Missions, since it had the most land and wealth).

The ball ceased its bouncing in America's court. 

The greatest travesty in this bloody history is the theft of the land from the Indian Nation, a bloody travesty which slashed across America. The ball will never cease its bouncing here.