On a positive note...

First to answer your question, who is Richard C. Knopf and why do you have his stuff?

Well, Mr. Knopf was an amazing man....you will soon learn that with future blogs. I will briefly tell you a little bit about him. He was a WWII veteran, taught History at Ohio State University and Kent State University. He served on the Anthony Wayne Parkway Board as staff historian and I believe in some capacity he worked with the Ohio Historical Society. He edited and authored many books from children's books to Historical text books.

I acquired a small unpublished manuscript of Mr. Knopf's on ebay (where else?!). What I received was more than his unpublished manuscript.....I received written works about his thoughts and feelings on the war, society, religion, etc. I was so taken with his work, which I found to be timeless, applicable to our current war, society, etc, that I set out to find and purchase everything I could from his estate. I was very successful in my pursuits and am proud to say I own a considerable amount of his war letters, written works, published and unpublished manuscripts, etc...

Reading his thoughts were of great comfort to me as I acquired them several months after 9/11 and right as we went into war. However, they continue to be a comfort and inspiration to me on so many levels.

I wish I could have met Mr. Knopf and I would love to hear from anyone who knew him.

Here is something he wrote in 1944, while serving in Europe during WWII. It's probably my most favorite "article".

3 December 1944, Sunday.

The other day I was reading a prayer taken from Ralph S. Cushman's "Pocket Prayer Book and Devotional Guide". The whole prayer is a challenge to the reader, but the first verse in particular offers the most important task "Help me to take the common things of life and make them beautiful, Help me to take the common things of life and make them beautiful."

So many times we are mislead, so many time we search for pots of gold at the end of rainbows when we are trampling the purest gold underfoot. So many times we look with lust for our neighbor's wealth, and see not the richness at our own doorsteps.

Sheridan Watson Bell, in a letter to his children writes that men can either be greedy and selfish or kind and generous. They learn through understanding and misunderstanding.

The whole world today is tossed in the thunderous conflict because men are greedy, because they misunderstand, because they do not have a set of true values.

The happiness of men depends on their ability "to take the common things of life and make them beautiful." The painter touches his brush to a blank canvas and creates a beautiful picture, the musician applies his fingers to the keyboard and produces melodious music, the farmer plows his land, plants his seed, and finds satisfaction in his growing plants.

In a way, each of us is like the artist, the musician, and the farmer. We each have abilities and talents for producing beautiful things out of the common, elementary conditions around us; we each have individual abilities and talents which will make us satisfied, contented individuals. All too often we seek the finished product, not realizing that it's true value is only known by it's creator. The word "make" is the secret "open sesame" to abundant full living.

Some have abilities to write and through their written words come not only contentment to themselves, but to those who read of their works. The poet puts his heart into verses and creates beautiful poetry, the philosopher find satisfaction in his ideas, the mother and father take pride in rearing their children and teaching them the secret of making life beautiful.

Douglas Fairbanks Sr., wrote a volume entitled "Life is what you make it". Yes, we can make life miserable and hard and difficult if we face it with greed and lust and selfishness; but we can make it happy, enjoyable and beautiful if we face it with the spirit of generosity and kindness in our hearts.

Out of the common dust God created man, out of his common rib woman, out of the dirt of the earth He produced plants and in the waters fish, and in the sky He placed the stars to guide the mariners; out of the "common" He created the useful and beautiful. Just as He created these things, so He gave to men like powers. He gave him the power and the materials to create, to be happy in his own efforts. He gave him a mind to reason, and a conscious to know right from wrong, and a body to perform the tasks, and a soul to act as a compass to guide his thoughts and his actions in the right direction and to act as a sort of radio to have direct communication with his God.

Oh, how we have diverted our God given powers; oh, how we have failed to see the light of unselfishness and feel the warmth of kindness and generosity; oh, how we have surrered and are suffering from our lack of knowing how to make and our abundant knowledge of how to break.

Thus, as the chemist must know his ninety some basic elements in order to mix his formula, thus we too must know the basic, common facts of successful living to be happy and to live abundantly.

Christmas is only three weeks away. It is a time dedicated to the anniversary of the birth of God's son. It is a time which challenges us to dedicate ourselves to the ideas, and ideals or making life worth living and making living abundant, happy and most of all peaceful.

Richard C. Knopf

And on that positive, inspirational note, I am going to bed!

AKM

**Permission must be obtained by me, in writing, before any works of Richard C. Knopf can be used in any capabity in any medium.**