Annie Moore: First Immigrant Processed Through Ellis Island on January 1, 1892

It was on this day, January 1st, in 1892 that the Ellis Island facility officially opened and began processing newly arrived immigrants. The New York Times article relating the event described her as a "rosy-cheeked Irish girl."

The NYT article, in fact, makes it quite clear that the girl had been pre-selected from the passengers on that first ship in order to provide a positive PR spin on the grand opening, with the reporters granted close access to the ceremonial first processing:

"As soon as the gangplank was run ashore, Annie tripped across it and was hurried into the big building that almost covers the entire island. By a prearranged plan she was escorted to a registry desk which was temporarily occupied by Mr. Charles M. Hendley, the former private secretary of Secretary Windom. H asked as a special favor the privilege of registering the first immigrant, and Col. Weber granted the request.
When the little voyager had been registered, Col. Weber presented her with a ten-dollar gold piece and made a short address of congratulation and welcome. It was the first United States coin she had ever seen and the largest sum of money she had ever possessed." (New York Times, January 2, 1892)

I don't know whether all the immigrants in that time period were routinely given a sum of money to assist them in their settlement. That gold coin was worth approximately 200 dollars in current value. My wife can tell you, current legal immigrants are not given a dime when they are processed through immigration at their port of entry.

Annie Moore eventually married, had eleven children, and died in 1924, at age 49.

My own great-grandfather Otelius Gronli was processed through Ellis Island on November 12, 1909.

It's fitting that they opened that facility on New Year's Day, so it could symbolize the fresh start and opportunity those people were all given to embark on a new life in a new world.

As I personally reflect on the life of Annie Moore, I must note that she died at the same age I am right now, 49. And that should remind me, and in truth all of us, that every second of our remaining life is a gift to be cherished and maximized. 

Happy New Year's Day to you. May your 2016 be filled with accomplishment and the achieving of lofty goals crafted in the newness of this new year.

Requiescas in pace, Annie Moore.

Just in Time for New Year's: a Latin Language Version of Auld Lang Syne!

Here's the music video of my latest Latin song, Auld Lang Syne.

I use Prof. J.C. Robertson's translation. I saw some confusion on the Internet about who exactly was the translator. I finally tracked down the earliest appearance of this translation. It was published on p. 691 of the June, 1926 issue of The Classical Journal, in an article entitled "Hints for Teachers."

I was somewhat amused to see that in 1926 the article implies that we Latin teachers need to be singing songs, flying kites, and bending over backwards to keep the attention of the youth in our classrooms.

The translation of Auld Lang Syne is attributed there to Profession J.C. Robertson, Victoria College, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

It's a somewhat loose translation. Interestingly, Prof. Robertson leaves out mention of "cup of kindness" altogether, pulling instead a line from a later verse about holding hands. Perhaps he did not think it was appropriate to have his students singing about drinking.

Here is his translation, followed by the traditional English rendering.

Num amīcōrum veterum

decet oblīviscī?

Annōrum heu fugācium

et temporis actī?    

[Chorus]

Actum, sodālēs, ob tempus

praeteritum tempus,   

priusquam discesserimus,   

complectimur manūs.

Flōrēs ōlim dēcerpsimus

lūdentēs in prātīs,

sed aspera peragrāvimus

diēbus ex illīs.

[Chorus]

Should old acquaintance be forgot,

and never brought to mind?

Should old acquaintance be forgot 

and Auld Lang Syne?

For Auld Lang Syne, my dear,

for Auld Lang Syne.

We'll take a cup of kindness yet

for Auld Lang Syne.

We two have run about the slopes
 and picked the daisies fine.

But we've wondered many a weary foot
 since Auld Lang Syne.

Before I Consider "New Year's Resolutions," I'm Thinking About "Old Year's Realizations."

I have fond memories of New Year's Eve Parties growing up in Madison, Wisconsin. My parents were invariably the hosts of these events. And people talked about their resolutions for the upcoming year.

Even while young, I could imagine ways in which I wished my upcoming year could thrive. And, in the course of time, after people had voiced such future dreams, they were perhaps attempted, found challenging, and then be relegated to the list of potential Resolutions for the next year.

That's why I want to say out loud to myself (and I guess the entire English-speaking world), what my "Old Year's Realizations" are. They are the antithesis of "New Year's Resolutions." 

They don't have to be "New Year's Resolutions" that went unrealized. They are simply all the things that in retrospect I wish I could and would have done differently and better.

1) I made far too many excuses for myself when it came to (not) going to the gym.

My wife and I do Crossfit. We love it. It's social and challenging. But on way too many occasions I came home from work tired and decided that today was just not possible. But, yeah, it was. I should have just gone and done whatever I could. I have never left that gym regretting that I went. And I have to admit that I have many, many times not gone and regretted later that I didn't.

2) My Diet "Cheat Days" became the rule, not the exception.

I've had a life-long struggle with controlling my weight. And I've kept things more or less in check by avoiding needless carbohydrates. When I am strict on a low carbohydrate diet (aka, Paleo, Atkins, etc), I lose weight very quickly. And it's precisely because I lose weight so quickly that I get lazy about getting seriously started on it. I know that I will be where I want to be quite quickly, as soon as I get going. And that turns into an unacceptable excuse for postponing getting started.

3) I did a piss-poor job of keeping up on my languages in the last year.

My particular background is that I am a Latin teacher, a former government linguist with a PhD in Biblical Hebrew and a minor in Arabic, I speak reasonable Spanish, and highly competent Romanian. My Latin, which I teach every day, has never been better. But meanwhile from sheer laziness I allowed languages that people actually speak to go into decline. We spend a month in Romania every Summer, and for the first time this last year I felt that my abilities in the language were less than they were on previous trips.

Those are the three main areas I identify as significant and regrettable failures in my last year. Oh, like you, I could always do a better job of being patient with those in my life. But I don't have a systematic failure in that area. 

Do I indulge from time to time unto excess in the area of drink? I sure do. 

Should I read more? Yup. 

Should I curse less? Hell, yeah.

But those things, like me, remain a work in progress.

And so, that's my retrospective inventory of "Old Year's Realizations." My "New Year's Resolutions" will soon follow. They are not just a positive repurposing of my failures. I have an ambitious plan in mind...