Who am I? - My name
From time to time, people misspell my name:
Mark - that is my brother.
Not me.
Martin - that was Luther's first name & is a bird.
Not me.
Mary - (i.e. Mery) the name of Jesus' mother and many other women.
Not me.
Merq - that is a drug company.
Not me.
Merle - that sounds like curl & is sort of feminine sounding to me.
Not me.
Myrtle - that is a plant or a woman's name, older style.
Not me.
Merlin - that is a legendary name, associated with magic, & sorcery.
Not me. (Various spellings)
Mervyn - that is a store, a TV producer & a fellow I knew in the South.
Not me.
Mertis - ?? (A woman's name.)
Not me.
Murderer - Nope. I preach peace.
"M e r t o n" is my full first name.
It rhymes with "certain" & means "sea-side town." Sort of like Bethsaida: a house of nets from which disciples were called out. Likewise, I have a desire to see the Lord Jesus cast out the Net to Fish for Men."
Mert or Merton is my given name, inheritted from my maternal grandfather.
Joseph is my middle name, inheritted from my paternal grandfather.
(My mother chose the order of the names.)
One of the first three colleges @ Oxford was called "Merton College" - a practical college for engineering & farming. Theology was banned from the college curriculum. ... I wouldn't fit in.
Thomas Merton was a catholic writer of some fame, but no kin. He took a vow of silence & then wrote volumes. ... I tend to be vocal & disagree with his method of "dialogue" with buddhists since he seemed to have given no call to repentance. He did not come to a pretty end.
I guess you could call me, "Beachcomber Joe" without offending me.
Beachcomber:
1. One who scavenges along beaches or in wharf areas.
2. A seaside vacationer.
from http://www.yourdictionary.com
A longer description:
"Walk the beaches along the sea searching for shells, seafans from reefs and occasional pieces of driftwood, the product of nature's work, the tides, winds and waves, depositing treasures from the elemental forces of life. Yes, beachcombing is an attitude, an expressive metaphor for reality, an attraction and adventure, that ranges from the eager inquistiveness of youth to the more philosophical approach that comes from gaining and spending, and being spent, by the fortunes of life, like the flotsam and jetsam along the shore. Sea fans, sponges, sea urchins and other oddities can be found washed up on the beach. Flotsam, debris that floats, especially driftwood that is well weathered in sculptural shapes, adds to the imagination. Jetsam actually denotes part of a ship, or its cargo, thrown overboard in distress, that then floats ashore. ... A good time to go is after a blow or storm. Rocky outcroppings can be explored for marine life ... Seabirds and beach plants add to the ambiance."
http://www.b-v-i.com/Nature/beaches.h
MJH: I don't entirely agree with that philosophy: it is sort of a random, purposeless philosophy. Alas, many in the postmodern world subscribe to it!! I do believe in the Lord who sends the storms & can also bring good out of what was meant for evil.
==
What does a beachcomber do is a gleaner at the sea-side.
http://www.seashells.org/beachcombing.h
A poem on beachcombing:
http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9
Of course, one would be foolish to ignore an encyclopedia reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beachcombi
Oddly, some Michiganders would like to make gleaning at the shore illegal. In the process, it is likely that the state will lose some ground in the future. What ever happened to freedom?
http://mlui.org/landwater/fullarticle.a
==> Update:
"The Michigan Supreme Court struck down the ban on beachwalking late last summer. The ban was only in existence for a few months, due to a Michigan Appeals Court ruling reversing a district court. But the beachwalker won out with the Surpremes, to our great relief (we filed an amicus brief in favor of overturning the court ban). And last week the U.S. Supreme Court refused to take up the case, so it’s a dead doornail and our beachwalking rights are now secure."
- Jim from the Michigan Land Use Institute.
[MJH: Yeah!!]
Here is the book on Beachcombing:
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (May 11, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN: 0525471049
=====
Mark - that is my brother.
Not me.
Martin - that was Luther's first name & is a bird.
Not me.
Mary - (i.e. Mery) the name of Jesus' mother and many other women.
Not me.
Merq - that is a drug company.
Not me.
Merle - that sounds like curl & is sort of feminine sounding to me.
Not me.
Myrtle - that is a plant or a woman's name, older style.
Not me.
Merlin - that is a legendary name, associated with magic, & sorcery.
Not me. (Various spellings)
Mervyn - that is a store, a TV producer & a fellow I knew in the South.
Not me.
Mertis - ?? (A woman's name.)
Not me.
Murderer - Nope. I preach peace.
"M e r t o n" is my full first name.
It rhymes with "certain" & means "sea-side town." Sort of like Bethsaida: a house of nets from which disciples were called out. Likewise, I have a desire to see the Lord Jesus cast out the Net to Fish for Men."
Mert or Merton is my given name, inheritted from my maternal grandfather.
Joseph is my middle name, inheritted from my paternal grandfather.
(My mother chose the order of the names.)
One of the first three colleges @ Oxford was called "Merton College" - a practical college for engineering & farming. Theology was banned from the college curriculum. ... I wouldn't fit in.
Thomas Merton was a catholic writer of some fame, but no kin. He took a vow of silence & then wrote volumes. ... I tend to be vocal & disagree with his method of "dialogue" with buddhists since he seemed to have given no call to repentance. He did not come to a pretty end.
I guess you could call me, "Beachcomber Joe" without offending me.
Beachcomber:
1. One who scavenges along beaches or in wharf areas.
2. A seaside vacationer.
from http://www.yourdictionary.com
A longer description:
"Walk the beaches along the sea searching for shells, seafans from reefs and occasional pieces of driftwood, the product of nature's work, the tides, winds and waves, depositing treasures from the elemental forces of life. Yes, beachcombing is an attitude, an expressive metaphor for reality, an attraction and adventure, that ranges from the eager inquistiveness of youth to the more philosophical approach that comes from gaining and spending, and being spent, by the fortunes of life, like the flotsam and jetsam along the shore. Sea fans, sponges, sea urchins and other oddities can be found washed up on the beach. Flotsam, debris that floats, especially driftwood that is well weathered in sculptural shapes, adds to the imagination. Jetsam actually denotes part of a ship, or its cargo, thrown overboard in distress, that then floats ashore. ... A good time to go is after a blow or storm. Rocky outcroppings can be explored for marine life ... Seabirds and beach plants add to the ambiance."
http://www.b-v-i.com/Nature/beaches.h
MJH: I don't entirely agree with that philosophy: it is sort of a random, purposeless philosophy. Alas, many in the postmodern world subscribe to it!! I do believe in the Lord who sends the storms & can also bring good out of what was meant for evil.
==
What does a beachcomber do is a gleaner at the sea-side.
http://www.seashells.org/beachcombing.h
A poem on beachcombing:
http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9
Of course, one would be foolish to ignore an encyclopedia reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beachcombi
Oddly, some Michiganders would like to make gleaning at the shore illegal. In the process, it is likely that the state will lose some ground in the future. What ever happened to freedom?
http://mlui.org/landwater/fullarticle.a
==> Update:
"The Michigan Supreme Court struck down the ban on beachwalking late last summer. The ban was only in existence for a few months, due to a Michigan Appeals Court ruling reversing a district court. But the beachwalker won out with the Surpremes, to our great relief (we filed an amicus brief in favor of overturning the court ban). And last week the U.S. Supreme Court refused to take up the case, so it’s a dead doornail and our beachwalking rights are now secure."
- Jim from the Michigan Land Use Institute.
[MJH: Yeah!!]
Here is the book on Beachcombing:
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (May 11, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN: 0525471049
=====
