The past couple of evenings, I’ve been working on a bottle of Stoller History Cabernet wine developed by their Winemaker, Melissa Burr. The Stoller family is all about history, as Bill Stoller bought the family farm in 1993, recognizing it to be ideal property for growing grapes. They’ve been operating since 1995. My wife is a member of their wine club, so we stopped by to pick up our annual allotment and do some tasting with friends over the Memorial weekend. It only seemed appropriate to sip on a glass or two while finishing up a few Ken Burns historical documentaries. It is my goal to eventually watch all of his work as they become available at the library. 

As a homebody for the past week, I’ve spent some time watching watching Ken Burns films about Prohibition, Frank Lloyd Wright, The Address, The Congress, Huey Long and The National Parks. I’m not a day drinker and it would take a lot of History to get through all of these, so I limit my wine intake to just evenings. Call it Happy History Hour, or just drinking in some history! Also, the Prohibition documentary does not necessarily go well with alcohol, while Huey Long abstained from the stuff. You can drink in The National Parks but not in The Congress, although there may have been a few hidden flasks that influenced decisions. The Address is about kids learning to memorize the Gettysburg Address. Abraham Lincoln didn’t drink because alcohol made him feel “flabby and undone.” On the other hand, Frank Lloyd Wright is quoted as saying, “A Man Is a Fool If He Drinks Before He Reaches Fifty, and a Fool If He Doesn’t Drink Afterward.”

On a serious note, as a Toastmaster, I was particularly struck by The Address. It’s about The Greenwood School, a private boys boarding school in Putney, Vermont. These grade 6-12 young men are challenged by complex learning differences including dyslexia, language-based learning disabilities, ADD, ADHD, dysgraphia, and other speech-related needs. One of the graduation traditions is to memorize and recite on stage the Gettysburg Address, so you can imagine the terrors, anxieties, and difficulties for these children in accomplishing this task. Public speaking is still the top fear for most individuals and something that I faced throughout my experience with the Toastmaster’s organization. To make matters worse, most of these kids were also bullied in their traditional schools, so Greenwood helps to restore their self-esteem and gives them the necessary confidence to present themselves properly. This is a very moving Ken Burns film shot in 2014, and I salute the efforts of these educators. 

I highly recommend the Ken Burns series (See Post #430), and encourage other old farts like myself to expand their knowledge of the past, so we all can better understand the future. 

Cheers, fellow retirees and enjoy some History!