Harry Helms 'last post'

http://harryhelmsblog.blogspot.com/

Não tive a oportunidade de travar conhecimento pessoal com Harry Helms,mas,os caminhos cruzados do quotidiano,permitiram aperceber e descobrir H.Helms como ser humano integral,de corpo inteiro,porque,tendo conhecimento da vivência dos seus últimos dias,deu-se a conhecer,como ser pensante e,sobretudo,como ser emocional.Essa faceta,a mais importante,foi seguindo um trajecto ascendente,à velocidade em que o corpo decaía.A LUCIDEZ de pensamento,e o AMOR,sentido pelo coração,demonstrado na sua "última mensagem" resumem todo o aprendizado de uma vida.Se todos nós,na nossa vêz,pudermos escrever,ou simplesmente sentir,algo parecido,então a nossa passagem pelo planeta Terra terá valido a pena.

"Monday, August 24, 2009

Greetings From Fort Mill, South Carolina

Di and I have finally settled into our new home in Fort Mill, SC.
Yes, I know we were supposed to be heading for Las Vegas. But sometimes he who hesitates is saved instead of lost.
We made an offer on a house in Las Vegas, but that fell through when the seller discovered the buyer of our Corpus Christi condo had-----without our knowledge, and in breach of the sales contract-----taken out a second mortgage on the property, thus invalidating our representation to the Las Vegas seller.
But this incident did trigger some further discussions of where we should move. While Di had professional contacts in Las Vegas, she had no close personal friends or family. And I had neither in Las Vegas. But when death is looming, you need your family and friends more than ever.
It was Di who first suggested moving back to the Carolinas, and I readily agreed. We bought a condo on Highway 160 near Tega Cay, about a mile from the state line with North Carolina. I am just a few miles from the graves of my parents and grandparents; while it sounds illogical, I find this comforting.
My journey began here, and it will soon end here.
All the people I love most are now near me. I have often written here about how lucky I have been in my life, and the biggest stroke of luck has been my loving, generous, and kind aunts, uncles, and cousins. In particular. I want to thank my Aunt Polly for caring for me while Di handled the move back in Corpus Christi. Polly never had children of her own, and she lovingly babysat me when I was five or six years old. I'm now 56 years old, and she lovingly babysat me for the past three weeks. If I have ever known a saint, it is her. My Uncle Grady has two hobbies: golf and helping other people. He and his wife, my Aunt Betty, have been in daily contact, offering to take me places, bring me stuff, shop for me, etc.
My cousin Cheryl visited me often. While I love all of my cousins, Cheryl and I have long been tuned into a frequency the rest of the family can't receive. When she visited, she brought me reading material such as National Enquirer and, of course, The Elvis Encyclopedia. She and I share the same demented worldview, and she never failed to lift my spirits.
To all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins, I love you more than I can express in words. Pure, unconditional love is a rare, miraculous thing. I am so lucky to have been bathed in it since my return.
Physically, I am declining fast. I can still eat, bathe, and generally care for myself, but I can't walk more than a few steps before becoming exhausted. I spend most of my time in bed or on the sofa. The only difference between me and a street junkie is that I have a doctor's prescription; we both need our periodic drug fix to get through the day.
But I am happier than I have been in a long time. I'm not going to live any longer here, but I will die surround by people who truly love me. That means a lot.
And this will be my final post here. One reason I started this blog was to keep my family informed about my status; now I can tell them face-to-face. As a writer, I hate to leave projects unfinished, and this blog is no exception. And frankly there are much bigger priorities in my life than this blog. So now it now ends (although one of my survivors may post my death notice).
I thank everyone who has read and followed this blog. I also thank everyone who read my books and articles over the years and the many people around the world I came to know from my radio hobbies. And my friends in the publishing industry have given me far more than I have given them.
To borrow the old Navy farewell, I wish you all fair winds and following seas.
Posted by Harry Helms at 5:21 PM Labels: Oddities "

Rhapsody in Blue

Enquanto o pensamento "voa em asas douradas",na busca da Paz e da Liberdade,nada melhor do que uma Rapsódia em Azul,para acompanhar a beleza das visões,em Azul,do maravilhoso Universo em que vivemos.Na verdade,Gershwin tinha uma noção rara,em termos de utilização,dos instrumentos de sopro.O intróito é bem elucidativo desse facto.O trecho reproduz uma actuação do próprio Gershwin,ao piano.

Sinfonia Azul

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech


" Symphony in Blue

Like early explorers mapping the continents of our globe, astronomers are busy charting the spiral structure of our galaxy, the Milky Way. Using infrared images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, scientists have discovered that the Milky Way's elegant spiral structure is dominated by just two arms wrapping off the ends of a central bar of stars. Previously, our galaxy was thought to possess four major arms.
This artist's concept illustrates the new view of the Milky Way, along with other findings presented at the 212th American Astronomical Society meeting. The galaxy's two major arms (Scutum-Centaurus and Perseus) can be seen attached to the ends of a thick central bar, while the two now-demoted minor arms (Norma and Sagittarius) are less distinct and located between the major arms. The major arms consist of the highest densities of both young and old stars; the minor arms are primarily filled with gas and pockets of star-forming activity."

Cygnus

Foto - Credits: NASA/CXC


CHANDRA

Exploring the Invisible Universe

"Cygnus X-1: Still a "Star

Since its discovery 45 years ago, Cygnus X-1 has been one of the most intensively studied cosmic X-ray sources. About a decade after its discovery, Cygnus X-1 secured a place in the history of astronomy when a combination of X-ray and optical observations led to the conclusion that it was a black hole, the first such identification.
The Cygnus X-1 system consists of a black hole with a mass about 10 times that of the Sun in a close orbit with a blue supergiant star with a mass of about 20 Suns. Gas flowing away from the supergiant in a fast stellar wind is focused by the black hole, and some of this gas forms a disk that spirals into the black hole. The gravitational energy release by this infalling gas powers the X-ray emission from Cygnus X-1.
Although more than a thousand scientific articles have been published on Cygnus X-1, its status as a bright and nearby black hole continues to attract the interest of scientists seeking to understand the nature of black holes and how they affect their environment. Observations with Chandra and ESA's XMM-Newton are especially valuable for studying the property of the stellar wind that fuels Cygnus X-1, and determining its rate of spin.
This latter research has revealed that Cygnus X-1 is spinning very slowly. This puzzling result could indicate that Cygnus X-1 may have formed in an unusual type of supernova that somehow prevented the newly formed black hole from acquiring as much spin as other stellar black holes."

Sociedade Teosófica

" Eu não sou o meu corpo,

Eu não sou os meus sentimentos,

Eu não sou o meu pensamento,

Contudo,sou mais radiante do que o Sol,

Mais puro do que a neve,

Mais rarefeito do que o éter.

Eu,o Espírito que vive no meu Coração.

Esse "Eu" sou eu.

Eu sou esse "Eu".

Eu sou o que sou! "

Annie Besant(trad.Prof.Dr.R.D.Pizzinga,Dr.em Filosofia,pela Univ.RJ)

A colina

A aldeia mal passava de um amontoado de barracas, tendas, algumas -poucas - casas dignas desse nome. O bombardeamento prévio já tinha destruido a maior parte, mas ainda se encontrava resistência nalguns locais. Snipers, núcleos dispersos de poucas unidades, emboscados nos escombros, ainda com capacidade de resposta, varrendo os pontos mais expostos. Fogo de morteiros ainda flagelava o local.O Tenente tinha-me mandado assumir posição numa colina, de cota baixa, alguns 25/30 metros de altura, sobranceira à aldeia, a uns 80/100 metros de distância. Levava comigo o equipamento de comunicações de emergência, uma Galil 7.62 montada como metralhadora ligeira e um municiador. Aproximamo-nos pelo lado Oriental, com o sol nascente pelas costas. Seriam umas 5 horas. Já perto do topo, algumas pedras de média dimensão escondiam o acesso ao cume. Enquanto o municiador ficou parado, rastejei por entre as pedras,.. os morteiros e alguns rockets recomeçaram a caír. As pedras escondiam uma espécie de pequena bacia, de 3/4 metros de fundo, retomando a seguir uma suave subida até ao cimo. O inimigo jazia, meio torcido, numa posição quase de acrobata, o ventre completamente aberto, os órgãos internos escorrendo em direcção ao chão. A face espelhava o terror e a dor que sentia. Iluminado pelos primeiros raios luz,o s dentes ressaltavam, a branco, na pele morena. Senti o fedor do seu medo, das suas entranhas e da morte que se aproximava velozmente. Não sabia se existiriam outros inimigos encobertos, por isso,empunhando a faca de combate, rastejei até perto dele. Olhou directamente para mim e,nos seus olhos, não consegui mais encontrar ódio, mas apenas desespero. Os morteiros começaram a caír em maior número. Ouvi um grito, vindo do local onde ficara o municiador e senti um esticão surpreendentemente forte na perna direita. Enquanto o sangue que jorrava da ferida me salpicava a cara e me impedia de ver o sol a levantar-se no horizonte, ainda consegui pensar:"é agora...", agarrar a mão do moribundo e começar a recitar: "Deus,o Eterno,o Omnipresente,o Omnisciente..."antes de, por minha vez, mergulhar na escuridão, suave e doce, do esquecimento.

Va,pensiero

O trecho musical reproduzido,representa o retorno ao tema da Liberdade,e do anseio dos Hebreus pela sua Liberdade,individual e como Nação.

Imaginemos os Judeus,aprisionados,escravizados,sem esperança,junto das margens do Rio Eufrates. Zacarias levanta a voz,para encorajar o seu Povo,a acreditar que o dia da libertação e do regresso chegará:"Va,pensiero,sull'ali dorate...",vai,pensamento,voa em asas douradas...