history

“Dictators ride to and fro upon tigers which they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry.” – Winston Churchill

The news was grim from Syria this week. Dozens were killed, including two children, during security force clashes with protesters. “We do not want your bread,” the people chanted in their marches. “We want dignity.”

Daily, the news continues from throughout the Middle East. The reports, the photos, and videos are all similar in their horrible splendor.

In Egypt this week, after last month’s topple of 30-year President Mubarik, the police burned the Egyptian Interior Ministry building, a long-hated symbol of repression. In Jordan, hundreds of Jordanians set up protest camps demanding broader freedoms and the ouster of the Prime Minister. In Yemen, white-collar professionals and students alike demanded the ouster of their President. In Libya, multi-national government forces are are stepping in to protect the Libyan rebels from attacks by their own government’s troops.

Domino Theory updated

Throughout the Mideast protests and revolutions continue as more people in more countries step forth. Spurred on by the internet, and by long-lived oppression, everyday folk are raising their fists and voices in defiance. “We want dignity.”

In the mid-20^th century, the United States government spoke often of the Domino Theory. This was the era of Communism and the Cold War. On news shows, in books, magazines, and news articles, reporters, writers, and talking heads speculated. If one country fell to Communism, the next country would fall, then the next, and the next. This Domino Theory was used to justify the war in South Vietnam and America’s intervention in other governments. North Vietnam was a Communist country. We could not allow South Vietnam to follow.

This year, the news from the Middle East has been volatile. Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Oman, Morocco, Libya, Kuwait, Syria . . . the dictators, like dominoes, are falling. But they are not falling to Communism. They are falling instead to the innate desire for free speech, and the freedom to live a more meaningful life. It is a reverse sort of Domino Theory.

I write historical romance. I believe in the importance of studying history, and of happily-ever-after endings. May the people who live in the lands surrounding the Mediterranean experience such an ending. By raising their arms in protest they have already found dignity. May they find freedom as well. ∞

A few days ago I wrote about Hylda Schmeling whose charming photos I’d discovered in a Goodwill store. I relayed details of her life that I’d found in a quick online search.

The Crimson - 1916

Hylda so intrigued me that yesterday I spent an hour or so researching her husband. It occurred to me that he’d probably graduated from her high school. Sure enough that’s where I found him, in the pages of The Crimson, their 1916 high school yearbook.

Next to Paul Jenson’s picture, the caption read “A moral, sensible and well-bred man.” It went on to say that he’d entered as a Junior from Park Region Prep School in Minnesota. In the two years he attended the high school, he was active. Along with the class play and other activities, he played basketball and was assistant business manager of The Crimson.

The class prophecy jests that he would be President of the Hole-Proof Sock Factory. Another humorous entry jokes about his love of silk socks. His nickname, like his future wife’s would be, was “Jens”. His virtue was his good looks, and his favorite expression was “dammit”. (A more innocent time. :smile:) He was voted the “greatest doll” and, in a section called “Wouldn’t you like to see”…it reads “Paul Jenson not all dolled up.” Vivid images.

Paul H. Jenson

Jody Allen, a WisRWA friend, suggested I search for Paul’s military records. The only listing I found at Ancestry.com was a copy of his draft registration for World War I. It was signed June 5, 1917, nine days before his marriage to Hylda Schmeling. So it was a military wedding of sorts. He was leaving for war; they wanted to marry before he left. Can you imagine their emotions?

I took another look at census records and found him in the 1900 and 1910 records. His father was from Norway; he’s listed as a Bank Cashier. In 1920, I found Paul and Hylda Jenson living in Edgerton, Wisconsin. So he did make it home from the war! As his father was, he too was a banker.

After that I can find nothing more of Paul and Hylda. I’m not sure I want to.

From these raw tidbits of information, I feel I’ve come to know enough about the couple to create outlines. From there my story will morph into the fun stuff of fiction. She’s the musically gifted daughter of a well-off German immigrant. He’s the son of a Norwegian banker who’s just returned from the horrors of fighting in WWI. As I ponder these two personalities and their backgrounds, a conflict takes root. A new story begins. ∞