Tuesday, July 17, 2018

2018 TFP Call To Chivalry Camp Great Lakes - Day 5 Report




Dear parents,

            One of the joys of the camp is being able to listen to the talks given by the counselors.  Not only does one learn new things about life and the daily battles we all face but certain ideals, hidden as it were in the depths of people’s souls, only come out thanks to the extensive thought and the careful preparation that goes into TFP Summer Camp meetings.  Here one does not encounter the fluffy, sentimental trivialities so common in popular Catholic or so called Christian bible camps.  Here we deal with serious subjects, given in a manly way, without affectation. 

We also learn about what it means to practice virtue.  The Latin word virtus, which our English word derives from, carries connotations of valor, manliness, excellence, courage, character, and worth, perceived as prime masculine strengths because the Latin word vir, means man.  Mr. Rex gave a talk today about the fact that the highest ideal of manliness is the Crusader.  The Crusaders practiced virtue in many forms not hesitating to fight, and even sometimes lay down their lives, for their holy cause  Today, we are also called to fight, always in a peaceful and legal way, for what we truly believe in.  Thus all the discipline and mental gymnastics that we put the boys through have one end in mind.  The acquisition of heroic virtue.



* * * * Excerpts from the talk * * * * * 


 There are many incomplete role models presented for men to admire: the rebel, the rock star, the actor, the rich person, the funny guy, the good looking and the athletic. By far, the athletic role model is one of the most prevalent today and comes even in many forms of physical prowess whether in sport, military, cars and even video gamers. These role models fail because they do not lead to the highest finality of the human soul, its sanctification.



            



In the meantime, angels, saints and Our Lord are constantly portrayed lacking any manly characteristics the men today admire so much. We asked the boys who would want to walk around looking like the angel on this picture, dainty hands, flowing robes, rosy cheeks and whose main concern is the physical safety of children. Most boys did not want to be like her.

Even Our Lord is commonly portrayed with this softness of character and personality. Deep in the heart of a young boy, he thinks that if heaven is full of people like this then maybe it may not be a place he would really want to spend all of eternity in.  A conclusion starts forming their heads, heaven is full of wusses, the earth is full of cool people, and hell, represented as being full of the pleasures of the world may not be a bad place after all.




The truth is the opposite. The angels are more virile than any athlete, thug, gangster or barbarian that ever existed. They are definitely stronger than the devils in hell. According to St. Dionysius, their first act of adoration was an act of warfare. They began, so to say, their existence in a state of warfare against lucifer and his angels. Hence their constant prayer to God, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts (meaning heavenly armies) as repeated at mass.








 The Medieval Knight understood this and modeled themselves after this understanding. We sustain that it is the highest expression of Christian austerity because if Jesus said that the highest of the commandments is the love of God and the second is love of neighbor, then the highest form of fulfilling this commandment is when one lays down his life for God, above all, and secondarily, his neighbors. The concept of knighthood was built upon this very logic.





The heart of the knight was permeated by this concept of sacrifice at the service of Holy Mother Church and Christian civilization. They knew that Christ was not soft and effeminate. Instead, as can be seen clearly in this imprint of the Shroud of Turin, even after being beaten down, tortured and killed, he presented a figure of a real man: upright, strong, firm bearing, a full chest. He was not a weak, soft voiced, with dainty gestures. He represented a real man without the effeminacy the modern world presents him to be. He is the highest and most perfect role model a man can follow.




* * * * * Excerpt Ends, Email Resumes * * * * * *



The tournaments continue as the boys compete in archery, fencing, chess and ping pong.  Each day some boys advance a round after a hard won victory.  Each day some fail to advance and these failures are lessons too.  Experience, as many of the younger boys are learning, is a series of failures.  Those who win are rarely those who bragged loudly about their prowess before the game.  To the persistent and the well trained go the prizes.  Lessons like these are invaluable at this crucial time in a young man’s life.  And one game at least half of the boys are really happy they gave their all and the other half will really wish they had won is the treasure hunt.

            There are few things that delight the mind of a young man more than a hunt for treasure.  We can all remember our own childhoods when pirates and the treasures they sought were part of our dreams or sometimes nightmares.  It is the dream, however, that becomes a very palpable reality when one discovers, after some long searching and not a few bruises, a treasure chest full of candy.  All the hard work, and the dads made it a point to make the boys work for their prize, pays off as the teams race toward the final goal.  Candy - glorious, sweet, colorful and mouth watering has an appeal to every boy and every grown up too judging by the surreptitious swiping of a few by the dads before they were put into the chest.  Was it worth all the running and the brain work involved?  The boys certainly think so. 
           
            After the candy was safely stowed in the refrigerator, everyone rushed to get into their swimming trunks and head out the door.  This time we divided the pool into two parts and played water polo, or rather some variant of the game, with the materials we had on hand.  The better swimmers all took to the deep side which is nine feet at the center and the less experienced stayed in the shallow end.  Some stragglers also learned basic lessons in treading water or diving to the bottom under the mass of kicking and yelling polo players, searching for little things earlier tossed into the deep part of the pool.  Thankfully the pool here is big enough for everyone and has been a real relief after a long day in the hot sun. 

After dinner was shown the story of Father John Gerrard and his miraculous escape from the Tower of London.  This English Jesuit is the only prisoner to have ever escaped the Tower of London and was never recaptured in spite of the tremendous manhunt that tried to find him for months afterward.  The story was shown using a method called a Chinese Shadow, a technique by which an image is projected from the rear of a white screen and the actors show up as shadows.   It is a marvelous way to act out a simple play without any elaborate costumes or even a stage. 

As the night set in, we began to prepare ourselves for a vigil in front of Our Lady’s Pilgrim Virgin statue.  The boys went out in solemn procession to escort the holy relics into the main hall where the room was all prepared for an all night vigil.   It was tradition that before he received the orders of knighthood, a young squire would spend the night in vigil at a church in complete silence.  Before him on a table in front of the altar would be his sword, helmet, armor and spurs with which he would be invested the next day. 




(The participants begin the night's vigil receiving and adoring the relic of the True Cross. It's hard to force boys to be pious. When they see it it can be done like a knight reflecting the highest form of manliness then it becomes easier. As a side not, even though the splinter from the relic of the true cross is material, because it was so inherent to Our Lord Jesus Christ's mission on Earth and because so much of his flesh and blood was spilled on it, then the church mandates that the act of respect owed to it is not simply of veneration but of adoration, keeping in mind all the necessary theological limitations it brings.)



He stayed there praying alone, knowing that from the moment he became a knight his life ceased to belong to him. With the oath he would take in the morning, he would be obliged to offer his life for the defense of Holy Mother Church and to assist orphans, widows and all the weak and oppressed. He would be obliged before God to defend these people.  The reasons for him to run those risks were also before him. They were reasons of a religious character: he knew that Our Lord Jesus Christ wanted him to consecrate himself to that mission. Then, for the love of Our Lady - of whom every knight was a servant and a herald - he made the decision to assume that difficult life.

            It is true that the boys are not yet knights, therefore, as young squires and pages we did not expect them to stay the entire night in silent vigil.  Thus, it was decided that we would all meet at 4:00 AM to do a one hour vigil and that anyone who wanted to spend more time could start their vigil earlier.  Some boys heroically got up during the night to accompany the dads and TFP members as they did shifts through the night in front of our Lady’s statue.  Then all hands were called to attend in the early hours of the morning. 

Once assembled, we prayed a rosary together in front of the statue and then solemnly venerated the relic of the True Cross before sadly bidding the Pilgrim Virgin statue goodby.  As the van carrying her rolled slowly out of the drive, the custodian left the protective case open so that we could have one last look at her lovely face as she passed through two silent rows of assembled camp participants.  Our only consolation was that she would be back with us again the following night.  With that I will close.

In Jesu et Maria,
Michael C. Shibler

Saturday, July 14, 2018

2018 TFP Call To Chivalry Camp Great Lakes - Day 4 Report

Summer Camp Day 4

Dear Parents,








Each day during the camp thus far we have done sword practice.  As the more skilled boys pit themselves against the TFP members, they have a chance to win a coveted pin inscribed with the quote from scripture about “putting on the armor of God”.  This has led to some rather interesting challenges and a very healthy spirit of competition. Each boy is trying his hardest to increase in skill so they can beat each other in a duel but more than anything, they want to take down their teachers.  Thus during fencing, archery, and even ping pong, there have been challenges thrown down to every comer. Many a confident counselor has gone to bed with a bruised ego and sore muscles after being foolish enough to compete with ten or more boys in these contests.  One begins to feel a certain kinship for the Crusader knights who had to fight overwhelming odds each day after a long day at a TFP Summer Camp.




If there is one thing that can be called a crusade today, it is the fight against abortion. It is always important to put one’s training to a real live test.  So that is what we did today.  The boys have been practicing their arguments and perfecting their debating skills throughout their stay with us and were finally able to put them to use.  It is all very well to convince a friendly audience what is right or wrong but today was different, we were not talking to a friendly audience.  As the boys geared up for the campaign, the feeling of joyful anticipation, tinged perhaps with a little fear of the unknown, was palpable.  


 


There was of course the normal hustle and bustle of getting the vans loaded and the water containers into the truck.  The signs were distributed and the banners were furled. Each piece of the apparatus we were to use on the campaign was tested and then stowed in the vans.  Then the boys loaded up and all waited for the command from our chief to get the extensive caravan moving. Finally came the order, “Lets move out Gentlemen!”  Every heart thrilled and the vehicles headed off the property towards our objective.

Alas for modern technology, although everyone had a GPS and we were traveling mostly together, half the group got hopelessly turned around before we were able to identify the appropriate parking lot.  There we all regrouped and walked toward the Planned (non)Parenthood Center in Aurora.  Being somewhat isolated from any main foot traffic area, there was little pedestrian interaction, although there were plenty of cars who started honking the minute they saw our signs and did not stop until after we stowed them away.  The actual building looked very much like a prison, surrounded by a huge open field and security cameras covered every inch of the facade.  I don’t know what they thought of us but it was probably the most colorful group of people they had ever seen there since we were dressed in the medieval scapulars and had dozens of flying banners reminiscent of the Middle Ages.  









One man did come to talk to us and he was not happy.  He first accused us of being hypocritical because we were in favor of saving babies but we were endangering traffic by our display (supposedly he had almost gotten into a wreck earlier because of the “antics” of a pro-life group).  I patiently had to explain to him that we were from out of state and could not have been the same group because we were not even near the place at the time he stated.  It quickly became clear though that he had issues with what we were defending and not how we were doing it.  Hopefully Mr. Rex can put up some snippets of the debate for you to watch at a later date. 

The boys, needless to say, were thrilled to the marrow of their bones, but there were not enough bad people to go around, so they had to be content with listening keenly to the debate.  During the afternoon session, after the campaign, Mr. Rex played back the video that we had shot and asked the participants to form a rebuttal.  The answers were very good and will surely be used next time they go out to pit their wits against promoters of the unnatural sin of abortion.    

The battle for the unborn is ongoing and there is no end in sight at this time but we are in no way dismayed.  We have that tremendous promise of the Blessed Mother, “In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”  So we, following the example of the saints, do everything as if the outcome depended on us, knowing that in reality, it all depends on God.  With that absolute confidence in the final outcome I can cheerfully say Good night.

In Jesu et Maria

Michael C. Shibler

Friday, July 13, 2018

2018 TFP Call To Chivalry Camp Great Lakes Day 3 Report





Dear Parents,As each morning program generally remains the same, there is no need to reiterate.  The first talk of the day after breakfast was given by yours truly about the English Crusaders, focusing specifically on King Richard the Lionhearted.  He is a fascinating character and a truly unique individual.  We spent the majority of the meeting dealing with his most famous battle, the relief of Jaffa.  One can easily find this particular story online in some detail so I will not bore you in this email, but for those who have never read his story, I can assure you that it makes very interesting reading.  Harold Lamb’s book The Crusades: Iron Men and Saints is probably the best source if anyone is looking.  With the lessons of the valiant Crusader King in our minds, we went out to practice swordplay and archery, in weather not much different from the inside of a burning furnace.  We could not help but remind people of the scorching heat over in the Middle East at the time of the Crusades. The major difference is that we are not wearing armor and have the luxury to eat our lunch in the air conditioned refectory of the manor.  How things have changed from the days of the real Iron Men till today.The fathers took a quick lunch this day because we were going to initiate the new Dads into the mysterious science of scuba diving.  For those who were here last year, diving in a pool was a little too tame but I think the ones who had never tried breathing underwater really enjoyed the experience.  There are plans to deepen our knowledge of this craft at some later time in more adventurous regions but as of this camp we had to be content to swim through the clear water of a nine foot deep pool.  As we were peacefully submerged and enjoying the quiet calm of the deep end of the pool, we heard the muffled sounds of a full scale barbarian invasion. The boys had arrived. I must say that the pool looks big...until you cram forty people into it.  Thankfully, Mr. Thomas Schnieder took command of the situation and started competitions.First there were relay races across the deep end of the pool to get the boys tired out, then pyramids  were constructed.  Everyone held their breaths while two boys clambered up the struggling, soaked human bodies, striving with all their might to get to the top first.  There was a struggle, a shriek and then one team crumpled into the water, laughing and panting for breath.  Glancing out of the sides of their eyes they noticed that the second team had a young participant firmly standing on the shoulders of his teammates, waving in triumph.  Meanwhile in quieter sections of the pool, individual people were practicing diving and a few were learning the rudiments of underwater swimming.  All too soon, the order came to vacate the pool and the boys swarmed up the sides, to face the cold spray of the garden hose on their way to the showers. Dinner was served promptly after showers were complete and then the boys headed outside once again to pray the rosary graced by the presence of the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue.  We formed two long and not very straight lines, then marched in procession down the driveway toward the entrance.  Halfway through the rosary, we turned and headed back to the place where Our Lady’s statue awaited us.  Forming in front of the statue, we sang the moving and sublime prayer of Catholics to their Holy Queen from times immemorial.  The Salve Regina rang out vibrantly, the high pitched voices of youth mixing pleasantly with the more sonorous voices of the adults.  Then the statue of Our Lady was taken inside and indoor games and tournaments commenced.Each Summer Camp we offer a variety of tournaments, including Chess, Pingpong, Archery and of course Fencing.  The one who defeats all his opponents may win a prize.  So indoor games can be Inside the bell has rung for debate class and the liberal professors of yesterday have changed their tactics.  This time they will not defend abortion but will go on the offensive.  The real problem, they explain to the boys, is that the Catholic Church is the source of all the violence in the world today.  At this stage the boys were divided into two teams, and had to present counter arguments as a team, after having deliberated together.  Both groups did very well and their answers were convincing...but I may be just a little biased...against the liberal professors.  And since I am writing this history, the record will stand as:Participants 2 and Liberal Professors 0After the “Good Night” talk the participants, very worn out from many activities went thankfully to their beds for some well deserved rest.  And there also go I...till next time.In Jesu et Maria,Michael C. Shibler
x


Thursday, July 12, 2018

2018 TFP Call To Chivalry Camp Great Lakes - Day 2 Report

Dear parents,

Wake up time is at 7:00 AM, always to the squealing bagpipes and a drum.  The racket is indescribable and the worst thing is, if you sleep in the room close to the beginning of the hall, you can wake up just hearing the piper blowing up the bag.  Of course, covering one’s ears doesn’t blot out the cacophonous sound and eventually one just accepts the inevitable and gets out of bed. Heaven help the one who delays because he may be on the ground doing pushups before the fortifying effects of breakfast and a strong cup of coffee have done their salutary work.  






As the boys shuffle to the restrooms to change, discipline is strict.  No talking till fully dressed and ready. Beds must then be made and shoes put under the beds.  Clothes must be folded and put in the dresser drawers or suitcases. Everything must be tidy and clean.  When the inspection begins, the rooms are not perfect but generally the boys try their best and get a pass.  The veteran attendees, though, must be more vigilant. Since they should know better, there is very little leniency for them.




From the rooms, the boys file out into the flag corridor for some choir practice.  Songs like the Credo, We Want God, Immaculate Mary, The Mighty King and The Marines Hymn are practiced until they are almost perfect.  All the songs are sung with voices of manly piety and youthful vigor and while we may never win any prizes for being the most on tune, we might earn several for enthusiasm and pure volume.   During the singing of the Credo we raise the American flag, the Papal banner and the ruby and gold standard of the TFP after which we process into the refectory for breakfast. So far pancakes have been the all around favorite but there is always a wide variety of foods to satisfy any taste at every meal.








The first talk of the day, which covered the Protestant Revolt, or First Revolution, was given by Mr. Rex Teodosio.  It seems that everyone understood the meeting but, it is always interesting to notice the difference between each camp and group of boys.  The crowd this year is a bit younger than the previous one and it shows. There is more hesitation to venture questions and comments about the material at hand.  On the other hand there is no lack of enthusiasm, coupled with an intense desire to learn new things, something sadly lacking in many older teenagers. It is fascinating to watch Mr. Rex draw them out of their shells and stimulate their young brains to think about other things besides food and games.


Our first official fencing classes started today and went very well.  Picture the rudy face of a young teen looking down the bent blade of a fencing foil at his adversary.  His muscles tense, his eyes dart from side to side, he steps cautiously forward and back, analyzing his opponent shredly and looking for an opening.  Then a clash of steel is heard, the wrenching, scraping sound of two rusty swords sliding into each other is similar to the sound of ripping cloth. The first thrust slides past the centerline of the blades and heads for its mark.  A spot three inches below the heart would be a solid target but then the impossible happens and the sword is flung aside by the opponents longer reach. Recoiling a foot or two, the pair again lock blades, moving forward and backwards, each trying to gain the advantage.  The blood rises in the head, the heart beats faster and then there it is...an opening. A vicious thrust towards the torso and then the satisfaction of feeling the steel blade contact yielding flesh. The enemy drops his blade in consternation, flush with effort and dripping sweat.  The helmets come off and the two erstwhile enemies compliment each others style while shaking their left hands. The right hand is never used as it is occupied with holding the sword.






Lunch at noon and an announcement.   Our Lady was coming to visit us. Thanks to the tremendous generosity of Mr. Patrick Sabat. We currently have the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our lady of Fatima attending our summer camp.  It was this statue that cried real human tears at New Orleans in Louisiana in 1973. We are greatly honored to have her presence here at the camp and are doing vigils at her feet asking for graces for the Camp, the participants and also their parents.  We are all praying that she shed tremendous graces upon the remainder of the camp and that these graces received work toward the sanctification of its members.




After lunch we greeted the statue as it came and then said a rosary kneeling down in the presence of the image.  Our Lady’s expression is serene and serious with a note of sadness yet one seems to notice a certain amount of tender solicitude for all these rough and tumble lads who stand in silent admiration at the feet of the miraculous statue.  Time was given after the rosary to pray quietly and examine the image before orders were given to change for games.




The fencing continued after lunch for a while, then the boys were split into groups and played various games.  Once they were good and soaked, the day was hot, an order came to change for swimming. I never saw such gusto in the fulfillment of duty.  There are no slackers when it come to water. Pandemonium reigned in the pool. More experienced teams competed in various games while some individuals learned the rudiments of swimming from “experts” and everyone generally had a grand ol’ time.  But after the swim comes the most dreaded exercise of the day. Getting hosed down with ice cold water from the hose to wash off all the chlorine from clothing is not most people’s idea of a happy ending but the day is hot and few complain.


Showers were followed by dinner in the refectory.  Before dinner, Mr. Thomas Schnieder gave rules of etiquette and good manners to the assembly regarding their actions at the table.  Although I would love to be able to say that all of the boys come with the most perfect manners one could ask for...well you know them better than I do so I will let you be the judge. Old Mrs Post would be turning in her grave if she were to see the infractions against her rules committed blithely by camp participants every day but that is exactly why they are here, to learn something new.  

After dinner we had a solemn rosary procession which walked slowly down the driveway and ended facing Our Lady’s statue while the entire group sang the Salve Regina.  We once again thanked Our Blessed Mother for her protection and maternal gaze before setting her back in the place of honor in the main room.



After the rosary procession there were indoor games.  Charades was the order of the day as each participant tried to make himself understood by his team so they could score a point.  Not to be outdone, the dads were convoked by Mr. Rex to play the part of a group of liberal professors from college to confront the participants with some tough questions regarding abortion.  Debate raged, at first quietly and then in a rush of arguments for and against. The dads hung stubbornly to their faulty logic and the boys tried with all their might to raise up arguments to crush their sophisms.  As the debate progressed, even the shy and timid ones came out of their shells and began to loudly proclaim the truth. The hardest thing for the fathers to do at that point was to keep themselves from smiling at the eagerness of the boys to overcome them.







Camp participants 1 and Liberal professors 0

A final short talk was given shortly before going to bed which follows a custom of St. John Bosco.  Each night he would gather his boys around him and tell them something useful for their spiritual lives and set the tone for the night.  We follow this tradition, and whenever possible we tell an interesting story right before the boys are sent off to bed. This serves a double purpose.  First the spiritual advice and example is priceless. Second it gives the boys a chance to slow down the pace and prepares them better to sleep the night in peaceful slumber.
So with that I will also say good night and retire into the land of Morpheus.

In Jesu et Maria,
Michael C. Shibler

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

2018 TFP Call To Chivalry Camp Great Lakes - Day 1 Report

Dear parents:


It is hard to believe that an entire year has gone by since the last email.  But here we are again at the Great Lakes Summer Camp. The main crew left our Headquarters in Spring Grove Pennsylvania on Saturday Morning and drove through the day till we arrived in Indiana where we started picking up the young men who had arrived by plane.  Saturday night was spent at the house of a friend whose hospitality was prodigious. After getting settled in, our friend, Mr. Martinez took us all, staff and participants, to a Mexican restaurant where we had some amazing food and the more adventurous boys decided to try their manhood to a test of hot peppers.  There may have been tears shed but we won’t tell from whom they came.


         Since the night air was cool, we spent a pleasant night in the screened in porch of Mr. Martinez’s guest accommodations.  The next morning we had to hurry up and wait while breakfast was prepared and people showered.  The participants chipped in to help set the table and then later to wash the dishes.  After a staff meeting, we packed the vans full and headed out to the camp.

        We were greeted at the camp by the smiling face of Mr. Jacob Weber, waiting patiently with his father, who had kindly driven him down to help us.  All the boys who were with us jumped right in and started helping clean out the vans, the fact that we were not going to eat lunch till the vans were empty may have had something to do with it but we’ll just say that they were a great help all the same.  Lunch soon arrived in the form of pizza from a local shop and was promptly devoured down to the crumbs.  Assignments were given out and the setup went without a hitch.  By the time the majority of boys started arriving, we were putting finishing touches on the decoration. 

            Some tours were given to parents...wait I don’t need to tell you about that.  Anyway, after all the boys arrived, there were some activities in the game field.  Then we prepared for Sunday Mass by putting on our best clothes.  The priest, Canon Coggeshall, member of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest arrived to celebrate the immemorial sacrifice of the Mass according to the ancient usage of the Church in Latin.  First, the boys were invited to go to confession in order to set the tone for the camp and offer the sacrament to those that wished.  Then came the the Mass, solemn, sacred and devout.  The sermon, following the theme of Our Lord’s warning about wolves in sheeps clothing, was singularly appropriate for our confusing times.  The priest clearly explained Catholic doctrine regarding our duties and obligations towards our shepherds meanwhile giving excellent sources to go to for future study.  
After Mass there was dinner that had a Tex-Mex character to it, though any purist would probably deny that there was anything Mexican about it.  I cannot judge the national merits of the meal but can say that it certainly filled an empty void that needed filling.  Ice cream for dessert with cherries and chocolate syrup on top may have pushed the meal into the realm of intemperance but we are preparing for tomorrow's battle here so please grant us a little indulgence on that account. 


After Mass there was dinner that had a Tex-Mex character to it, though any purist would probably deny that there was anything Mexican about it.  I cannot judge the national merits of the meal but can say that it certainly filled an empty void that needed filling. Ice cream for dessert with cherries and chocolate syrup on top may have pushed the meal into the realm of intemperance but we are preparing for tomorrow's battle here so please grant us a little indulgence on that account.  






       Dinner being completed we had a short welcoming talk by Mr. Bob Dressler who lives on the property and is in charge of the smooth running of the facility.  Mr. Rex Teodosio then complemented this intro by bringing in the spiritual aspects of the camp.  He talked about the spiritual pollution that is contaminating the world and how we must counter that by enriching our spiritual lives and practicing the code of chivalry in our daily battles.  Then all were invited to play one of the all time favorite games at TFP Summer Camps...Prison Break. 


Guards with flashlights must track down hiding prisoners who do their best to keep the prisons clear while avoiding capture. Meanwhile, the attending fathers were discussing various topics of extreme import to the future of the world while liberating some poor spirits that had been trapped in glass bottles for decades.  We may not have solved all the world’s problems last night but we considered it only fair to leave some for the next generation to try their hand at. Then, long after the last boys had gone to sleep, we decided it was time to call it a night. That is all till tomorrow.