Simple yet encouraging talk outside our battling country

Oh my goodness, the situation in the country which is already on fire and waiting for an explosion need not be in this position if only Ranil Wickremesinghe just puts aside his and his new found friends’ power hunger and diverts his attention to consider the 20 million Sri Lankans who are being suppressed and subject to so much difficulty in merely existing. Resentment against him and his SLPP bosses and followers is ballooning. Everyone warns of a shattering explosion and he jokes in Parliament and is stubborn and won’t give an inch to people’s demands; the major of which are reasonable – demanding elections and lowering of taxes on the middle classes and professionals. If only he would declare that LG elections will soon be held and allow the EC to complete arrangements already made, the imminent bomb will be defused. Trade unions, militant opposition parties and others will subside, at least temporarily. If there is no democracy as is obvious now, will the IMF et al come to our beleaguered country’s assistance?

Most say the governing high ups, meaning our President principally, do not care a hoot for the people of this country. It was the same with previous Presidents once they tasted absolute power. If he had considered the future of the country and its people, would Mahinda Rajapaksa have got into the Chinese debt trap and built those colossal vanity buildings just so his name was perpetuated? What did his brother the finance minister and Gov of the CB then do to the money situation of the country?

Honestly, one person in a high position who speaks sense and gives us even small spots of hope is the present Governor of the Central Bank. There are others too like the Elections Commissioner and many opposition and break away SLPP MPs who give the impression they care for the country and its people.

An Anunayaka Thero of the Asgiriya Chapter advised Gotabaya R when elected Prez to rule the country as a Hitler!! Fortunately, the ex-military man slunk away when protesters invaded President’s House. He did not order a single shot to be fired. But Ranil W, the seasoned politician, the educated man from a distinguished family, the politician we admired as liberal and ‘modern’ has let us down so very badly. We Ordinaries are in a blue funk, (to use common parlance) in this country which has descended to the dregs. We fear for this country that was so wonderful. We have quoted Bishop Herber (1783-1826) of Calcutta before, but never with such vehemence and justification as now: His Missionary Hymn carries these lines, written after a visit to Ceylon:

“What though the spicy breezes/ Blow soft o’er Ceylon’s isle,

Though every prospect pleases/ And only man is vile.”

The vilest are those who are ruling us now, Cass dares to say.

Overseas news

Sad but true that Jimmy Carter, aged 98, 39th President of the USA, has returned home to Plains but to a hospice in his quite small and simple home he and Rosalyn built after his presidency was over in 1981, having won in 1977. He continued to live in Atlanta where the Carter Centre is and the organisation he worked in – Habitat for Humanity – when he and his wife journeyed to different countries and actually worked on building houses for the poor. He has been in and out of hospitals and he decided to come home, and very sad to say, to die. He returned often to Plains mostly because he conducted Sunday school at the Baptist Church Marathana.

39th Prez of the USA

He was born in his father’s peanut farm in Plains and lived a very simple life. He joined the Navy and served till 1953 when he returned to Plains. He had gone on a double date with his sister who brought a school friend with her – Rosalyn Smith. The relationship progressed and he married her on July 7, 1946. His election on the Democratic ticket, with a smallish shed in Plains as his presidential bid office, was a surprise to many, but he had been in politics while managing the peanut business. He was a Senator in the State of Georgia and then Governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975. The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to him in 200;, among other distinctions and books authored by him,

It is said he returned to Plains to recuperate and revive his spirits or confidence in himself after his stunning defeat in his second bid for the presidency. It was then he built his simple house next to his farm, which is preserved as a historical site. He found Plains a haven; still a quaint town. It was thus when my son took me for a weekend there, staying in the only inn available. It is said he found Plains a place to heal as he weathered severe health setbacks. It was there that President Biden and wife called on Jimmy Carter and Rosalyn, with Carter confined to a wheel chair. He has returned home again, after a life spent truly in the service of mankind.

The Ceylonese beauty who placed ‘our island on the world map’

A cousin sent me a video clip of Desmond Kelly singing Dream World. He composed the song when a teenager as a gift to Maureen Hingert who he was in love with, very young though they both were. His song was broadcast over the Commercial Service and was the first from this country to be accepted by Philip Records Co. He wrote about her recently and said he keeps in touch. A tribute her late eldest daughter wrote to her was included.

Maureen Neliya Hingert was born on January 9, 1937 of Dutch Burgher ancestry. Her father was an employee of the Bank of Ceylon and Maureen attended Holy Family Convent, the family having shifted to No 10, Lorenz Avenue, Bambalapitiya with Desmond and family in No 38. My cousin who was a tot in HFC then, said she remembers all eyes turning to see Maureen walk home after school. In 1955 she was crowned Miss Ceylon. I remember the sensation she caused. Her winning the beauty pageant was no surprise as she was very beautiful in face and figure. She was selected to contest the Miss Universe 1955 contest in Los Angeles, USA. She was second runner-up, a magnificent victory well deserved as she could dance and had a personality that complemented her good looks. This is why it was said she found a place for Ceylon on the world map.

Her success led to her being contracted to Universal International Studios and 20th Century Fox. She appeared in several films, often billed as Jana Devi, and danced solo in theatres in LA. In 1958 she married Mario Armond Zamparelli, best known for his work as designer of Howard Hughes’ empire. Maureen and Mario had three daughters, but tragically the eldest and youngest died – Gina, famed in arts and entertainment died in 2018. In 1970 the couple were divorced and in 1976 Maureen married William J Ballard. He died in 2012. As Desmond wrote, Maureen is 85 and keeps fine.

It is heartening to read, and more to write about such people. Jimmy Carter causes sadness but we need to remember his life and what he did for people. Maureen we are still proud of.So, its bye for this week. Cass so longs to be able to write her next piece headlined: Elections are on; protestors are quiet and the government is solely concerned about improving the economy of the country and making life less miserable for its people, who are their people as well.