He Gets Around

When my husband stopped the car in the parking lot of Mahone Marine in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia recently, I stayed in the car and looked around. Parked next to our car was a small motorcycle, and I was amused to note that it was a Kawasaki Vulcan model. Vulcan was the Roman god of blacksmiths, the handyman, the craftsman of deities, known to the Greeks as Hephaestus or Hephaistos. I remembered also that a few days earlier, as I waited for my husband outside the Lunenburg Hardware store, I saw another incarnation of Vulcan in the form of a plastic lawn spreader.

And why not? Both the motorcycle and the fertilizer spreader are creations of mechanical inspiration. I'm sure the god would be delighted to see that his name lives on.

Making Progress

On the front of a cute convertible, a Pontiac G6, parked in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia this Sunday forenoon, I saw a colorful license plate and bent closer to see the details. How nice that it was from the island of St. Maarten, probably a souvenir, with a coat of arms featuring a Latin motto on the ribbon: Semper Pro Grediens. In Latin prose the word would be progrediens meaning "going forth," so the whole motto reads "Always going forward," a great motto for a car license plate. From the Latin verb progredior, progredi, progressus sum, we derive the English words progress, both noun and verb (change the accented syllable), progression, and progressive. I did not have a camera with me, but here is a similar image of the license plate.

In God He Trusts

I've been watching Mystery on PBS television, season two of Endeavour, the series featuring young Constable Endeavour Morse, before he became Inspector Morse. The crimes are horrific, but I heard in a recent episode Morse's family motto in Latin: Deo non armis fido, In God not in arms I trust/have faith. As Morse thinks through clues and discovers the perpetrators of crimes, I am heartened that somewhere in this fictional character's family, someone believed in God.

Titanic Winter Storms 2013-2014

Over the winter I heard fleeting references to winter storm names, but only now, with one more storm heading this way a week into spring, did I check out the naming of winter storms. How great that a Latin class in Montana helped make the list of twenty-six names, one for each letter of the alphabet!

Dawning Improvement in Dog Treats

I have written about the Greek goddess of the dawn, Eos, before; a camera and a car in recent years have been named for her. A lip-gloss also is called eos, but my students have informed me that the initials stand for Evolution of Smooth; still, an acronym that hearkens back to the realm of mythology makes me smile. I have also written about Plato dog treats before, but handing my dog a treat this morning after he took his antibiotics, disguised by some Finlandia Swiss cheese, I observed that a new brand of Plato dog treats is called EOS, and has this explanation on the package: In ancient Greek mythology EOS is known as the goddess of the dawn, which has inspired us to create EOS, the dawning of a new era in natural treats. As my dog continues to improve on grain-free food, I am happy to find new, healthy, and classically-inspired Plato EOS Turkey with Pumpkin Dog Treats.

Epicenter of Good Taste

In a newsletter from a favorite cook’s shop in my beloved Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, I read about a line of spices called Epicenter, and I smiled at the cleverness of the name. An epicenter is a focal or central point, according to my Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition, from the Greek roots epi-, meaning “on, upon,” and kentron, meaning “sharp point, goad,” from the point of the compass that describes a circle. In addition, however, the root epi- also appears in the word epicure. The most current definition of epicure is “a person who enjoys and has a discriminating taste for fine foods and drinks.” The dictionary also includes a synonym note, one of my favorite features of this dictionary: “An epicure is a person who has a highly refined taste for fine foods and drinks and takes great pleasure in indulging in it; a gourmet is a connoisseur in eating and drinking who appreciates subtle differences in flavor or quality; gourmand, occasionally equivalent to gourmet, is more often applied to a person who has a hearty liking for good food or one who is inclined to eat to excess; a gastronome is an expert in all phases of the art or science of good eating; a glutton is a greedy, voracious eater and drinker.” (English is such a wonderful collection of synonyms!) In addition to the Greek roots of this spice line, the classical connection to epicure goes deeper. An Epicurean was a follower of Epicurus, a Greek who lived from 341-270 BC and promoted a philosophy of contentment, serenity of mind, and freedom from overindulgence. So a line of spices called Epicenter appeals to the importance of spices in preparing good food, the quality of these spices, and the concomitant pleasure of enjoying tasty meals. Prosit! P.S. In searching for the spice company, I discovered that it is actually called The Epicentre!

Serious Sailing

A co-worker sent an email about an interesting project being undertaken by a farmer turned sailor. What caught my Latin imagination is the name of the boat that will be making its way down the Hudson River: it is called Ceres “for the Roman goddess of grain and agriculture, and also the figure atop the State House Building in Montpelier.” Ceres lives on every time we eat cereal, products of various grains. My own favorite use of cereal is to throw a cup or so into pancake batter, and now that I have finally bought a waffle-maker, cereal will be taken to new levels in my kitchen. My favorite cold cereal is Uncle Sam, and my favorite hot cereal is Red River, which I look for with great nostalgia every time I visit a Canadian market. I have vivid memories of standing by the great wood-burning stove in my grandparents’ cottage on a cool summer morning, watching the Red River bubble and boil until it was thick enough to eat, topped by brown sugar and milk. A serene cereal experience!