A Different Path, A Higher Calling, and The State Of The Union

The global scourge of the COVID-19 pandemic is almost over and we’ve made at least 6 million holes in the ground around the world to bury the dead or distribute their ashes while we falsely lionize grocery store clerks as “frontline heroes” along with the Nurses and Physicians who for 2 years have consistently and almost helplessly watched over the almost-surreal accumulation of the deaths of deniers and vaccine refuseniks, climate change is slowly-but-surely devastating our globe, floating islands like flotsam and jetsam flotillas of plastic trash larger than the state of Texas continue killing ocean life, so-called indestructible “forever chemicals” course through the veins of the unborn and the living, the wealthy along with their corporations and minions chronically pay no income taxes thereby placing the burden of funding governmental operations on the working man, cops nationwide kill our dark-skinned brothers at liberty, insane men with massive caches of military weaponry kill worshipers along with school children and other bystanders in public while GOP politicians enact laws making purchasing such deadly firearms much easier, inflation is at a 40-year high, GOPers are doing their damnedest to deny voting and other civil rights to non-WASPs and return America to the bad old days of Jim Crow, while yet other GOPers attend White Supremacist rallies as honored guests and praise Russian thug Vladimir Putin who has invaded Ukraine to commit war crimes, Volodymyr Zelenskiy a former comedian who is Ukraine’s Jewish President is standing firm along with his people who have remained to resist and fight those terrorists, and tonight, American President Joe Biden will give his first State of the Union address to a joint session of an almost recalcitrant do-nothing Congress which deadlocked Senate remains stalemated and immobilized as if frozen stiff though still living and breathing.

And yet, amidst all this global turmoil, all the daily cacophony and

“Dear Santa, Can I cook microwave popcorn on the stove-top?,” and other preposterously absurd questions.

Some years ago, while attending university, during the Christmas season, I portrayed “Santa” on a local television station.

The show was aptly called “Letters to Santa,” and was a LIVE TELEVISION BROADCAST PRODUCTION, which aired, appropriately enough, in the late afternoons after grade-school children were out of school for the day.

The show’s tenet was simple enough, children would send their letters to Santa, care of the television station – some of which would be read during the show (live, on the air), in conjunction with live participants who would attend with their parents to tell the Jolly Old Elf if they’d been naughty, or nice, and what they’d like for Christmas.

The show’s Executive Producer (who has long since gone to the great broadcasting center in the sky) did his best to prepare me for the role, which included off-the-air role-playing scenarios, and other tips and tricks for how to handle the attendees, and studio viewing audience, which also included how to effectively deal with children who might be fearful, belligerent, timid, crying, or demonstrating any other of the numerous emotions for which they’re renown for demonstrating – including their parents, who can sometimes also act like their children.

Fortunately, such a topsy-turvy scenario didn’t present itself… as best I recollect.

Because it was important to him, to the station (for community relations purposes) – and to the parents – to not place the parents in a untenable scenario by being perceived as an anything-you-want wish-granting jolly old elf (whose promises to children the parents might not be inclined, or able to keep), it was crucial to give as non-committal an answer as possible when the children sat on Santa’s knee to make their requests – however scant, or numerous they may have been.

While most children were reasonable in their requests – and honest about their year-long behavior – some children (very few) were not, and had lengthy lists with seemingly endless self-centered wants. Again, like standard normal distribution in statistics tells us, those children were very few, just as were the ones who had no requests for themselves.

Of course, there were a few occasional socially-related requests such as getting mama, or daddy out of prison or jail, wanting family members to get well (some who had terminal illnesses), and the like.

Not very many wanted world peace, or any such thing.

And naturally, there were a few who, for whatever reason, simply didn’t “believe in” the Jolly Old Elf.

I guess for some parents, it easier to tell their children a lie, than it is to present a simple truth – there is NO “Santa Claus” who flies around the world in a reindeer-driven sleigh delivering toys to children. Besides, Jolly Old St. Nicholas might get arrested for Breaking & Entering if he was able to scoot his corpulent carcass down a soot-laden chimney… which might be in use during the winter.

That wouldn’t end well.

But the 1952 song “I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus,” written by native Mississippian Jimmy Devon Boyd (1939-2009), does a well-enough job of explaining the truth about the matter, anyway.

Speaking of which, the song was banned in Boston by the Catholic Church the year it was released, which claimed it was overtly sexual.

Of course, that only made the recording by the then-13-year-old boy sell better.

But… if you stop to think about it, Santa Claus is banging your wife!

And, it gives an entirely new meaning to “Ho, ho, ho!”

There’s a reason that Jolly Old Elf is so jolly!

And, that’s exactly what the Catholic Church taught. (Never mind the pedophile priests.)

PRO TIP: Write a Christmas-themed song. It’ll provide money to you annually, and for your heirs – 70 years after your death. Not a bad deal, eh?

Anyway… back to the Santa story.

It took me aback to

Donald Trump And The Republican Party Are Like A Bob Seger Song

The unhinged surreality made-for-television game show world that is the Current White House Occupant’s mindset is now laid bare.

Amidst the debacle that is playing out on the world’s stage in the open air of the Washington, D.C. Beltway, Donald J. Trump, the President of the United States has unilaterally taken it upon himself to rule as an authoritarian demagogue, and – as much as possible (legally, or not) – to fire, discharge, or force the resignation of seemingly countless honorable career public servants; to compel the engagement of numerous Federal agencies to perform his private political dirty work, and to stymie Congress as much as possible by claiming either Executive Privilege, or unlimited Constitutional authority under Article 2, despite the fact that the Congress (the House and Senate) is significantly and Constitutionally charged with oversight of the governmental operations.

He has played friendly with America’s enemies, including Russia, China, North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and others, while making enemies of America’s long-standing allies such as Great Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Mexico, and others.

He has abused the power of the Office of the President to unilaterally reveal National Security secrets to the world, and to America’s enemies.

He has treacherously abused, mocked and belittled America’s Intelligence agencies, including the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Director of National Intelligence, and by so doing, harmed the morale of those revered agencies, but by so doing, has compromised American National Security in the world.

America is not respected in the world any longer. And, it is exclusively because of Donald J. Trump.

This bizarre presidency is like no other – literally, in every way – and despite his campaign sloganeering to

I.G.Y. (What A Beautiful World) – A Timeless Classic

I don’t always think about politics.

Sometimes, I think about music.

Or, more accurately, I sing, or hum a few lines of a song which melody happens to pop in my head.

This morning, it was Donald Fagen’s – of Steely Dan renown – tune known as “What A Beautiful World,” which is properly titled as “I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World).”

Released as a single on his first solo album “The Nightfly” which was certified Gold, and then Platinum by the RIAA based upon sales volume in 1982, and 2001 respectively, the single never reached above 8th position on Billboard’s U.S. Adult Contemporary chart, while on Canada’s RPM Contemporary Adult chart, it topped out at number 2, both in the 1982-83 time frame.

The tune and melody of the song is its most powerful attribute, while the rhythm and bouncing dotted-eighth syncopation is

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Baby, it’s dumb inside.

Has anyone banned “Dixie”?

Remember:
Libraries celebrate “Banned Book Week” by encouraging EVERYONE to read books that were once banned, like “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” or, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” because “it highlights the value of free and open access to information.”

Why shouldn’t we do the same with music?

https://www.npr.org/673770902

Citing the #MeToo movement, and pointing to the line in the song “say, what’s in this drink?,” some radio stations have moved to “ban” the 1949 Academy Award winning song which was featured in the motion picture Neptune’s Daughter, and sung by Ricardo Montalbán and Esther Williams.

Critics decry it as an inference to “slipping a mickey” – an old, colloquial term for a date rape drug – into the woman’s drink.

However, I can’t count the number of times folks have asked me what’s in drinks I’ve made. One of the most notable ones being

Walk Into The Desert

Fans of Maria Muldaur recall the song “Midnight at the Oasis” and its incongruous line about

Green Pastures

As I awakened this morning, in my mind, I was hearing the refrains of this gentle song… “Going up home to live in green pastures, Where we shall live and die nevermore. Even the Lord will Be in that number when we shall reach that Heavenly Shore.”

Troubles and trials
Often betray us
Tempting the wearing
Body to stray
But we shall all meet
‘Side the still waters
With the Good Shepherd
Leading the way

Those who have strayed were
Sought by the Master
He who once gave His
Life for the sheep
Out on the mountain
Now He is searching
Bringing them in
Forever to keep

Going up home to
Live in green pastures
Where we shall live and
Die nevermore
Even the Lord will
Be in that number
When we shall reach that
Heavenly Shore

We will not heed the

Give Me One Reason

In a November 18, 2015 interview with Tavis Smiley, singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman talked about her forthcoming “Greatest Hits” album and the remastering of her songs for it, and said in part about that process that, “Often turning the volume up means compression. And when you compress things, it’s great in a way because it’s louder, but it also takes the dynamics out. So we were really careful because, when you start to do that too much, you lose all of those little low and high moments, and a lot of those things matter in the sparse arrangements that, you know, are represented on some of these songs.” 

In audio recording, the term “compression” means that

“Gotta’ Travel On” Was Early Cross Over Hit

The song “Gotta’ Travel On,” written by by Billy Wayne Grammer (August 28, 1925 – August 10, 2011), is perhaps among the most renown songs in modern recorded history, and for good reason. It was one of the very first songs to have ever had broad “crossover” appeal.

The song’s melody is a traditional one, and the lyrics are thought to be based on a fragment of an unnamed song found in the archives of the Virginia Folklore Society entitled “Done Laid Around,” though there are versions of the song with the same title which typically use a different set of stanzas.

February 22, 1958, Pete Seeger became the first musician to have recorded it and the lyrics with which most are now familiar – which were written by Paul Clayton, David Lazar, Larry Ehrlich, Fred Hellerman, Pete Seeger, and Lee Hays. The BMI Award Winning Song is BMI Work #503008 in the repertoire, and is 100% controlled by BMI.

Pete Seeger performs “Gotta Travel On”

It was only very shortly thereafter, in 1959, when Billy Wayne Grammer recorded and released that song, that it charted on the Country (ranking 5th), Pop (ranking 4th) AND R&B (ranking 14th) music charts! That was no small feat! While not the very first such crossover song,”Gotta’ Travel On” was certainly one of the first. And in the years since, many songs have increased popularity among wider audiences by artists whose interpretations have brought nuance, and even complete change to a song.

Of the numerous musicians have since lent their interpretations to, and re-recorded “Gotta’ Travel On,” which include musical luminaries such as

Divining Jesus’ Humanity: Was He fully human? What does that mean?

So one of these nights and about twelve o’clock
This old world’s going to reel and rock
Saints will tremble and cry for pain
For the Lord’s gonna come in His heavenly airplane

If God had a name, what would it be?
And would you call it to His face,
If you were faced with Him in all His glory?
What would you ask if you had just one question?

You’re probably not like me.
You’ve probably never given a second thought to the holiness of the Almighty.
You’ve probably never struggled with Jesus Christ’s humanity.
You’ve probably never given a second thought to the fact that His shit stunk just like yours.
You’ve probably never given a moments thought to the fact that He pooped His diapers like your kids.
You’ve probably never imagined that, like every normal

“I never saw John Wayne on the sands of Iwo Jima.”

“The Dirty South” by the Drive-By Truckers was written from a recollection of band member Patterson Hood.

The title of this entry is a line from the 2003 song, “The Sands of Iwo Jima” on the album “The Dirty South” by the Drive-By Truckers was written from a recollection of band member Patterson Hood.

In his album commentary about this song, Patterson said: “As a kid, I spent every weekend at my Great-Uncle’s farm (my family’s old homestead) where I rode go-carts and acted out my favorite movie scenes in the woods. George A. is an amazing man (still kicking hard at 84) and I have long tried to capture a glimpse of those times in a song.”

“During World War II he was drafted and ended up on the island Iwo Jima in one of the bloodiest battles of the war. As a curious child, I’d often innocently ask him about all that. One night while watching the old John Wayne movie (The Sands Of Iwo Jima) on TV, he simply said that he “never saw John Wayne over there”.

“So many of the folks I’ve written about in this album feel forced into doing terrible things. George A. was no doubt, changed by his experience, but I know him to be easily one of the greatest men I have ever met, thus, making it a much trickier subject to write about.”

Patterson’s observations are about truth and reality, honor, dignity and service.. the giving of oneself for others esteeming them, their needs and wants greater than yours. Doubtless, we all, at one time or another, have met these unassuming quiet heroes, men whom are the backbone of our communities.

In his 1909 book Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton wrote, “Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die.”

Following are the lyrics to the song…

The Sands of Iwo Jima

Christmastime Blackmail & Terrorism

“We wish you a Merry Christmas… and a Happy New Year!”

So ends the traditional holiday song heard by most this time of year.

However, do you know the other lyrics?

“Oh bring us some figgy pudding, Oh bring us some figgy pudding, Oh bring us some figgy pudding, and bring it out now!

“We won’t go until we get some, We won’t go until we get some, We won’t go until we get some, and get some right here!”

“Bring it out now,” and “We won’t go until we get some?”

Sounds to me like a blackmail threat.

Please!

Call 9-1-1 ! NOW!