Veterans Day - Those That Passeth By
Go tell the Spartans, those that passeth by.
That here - obedient to their laws; we lie.
Covers
After two postings on the issue of youth drug use and a reflection on Veterans Day, I thought it was time to have a little fun.
I stumbled upon a YouTube treasure last week which got me thinking of some of my favorite recordings. Some of them are “covers”, recordings in which an artist takes a song originally recorded by someone else, and “covers” it with their own rendition. I love hearing a great song taken under the wing of another artist who then creates a different bolt from the same cloth, adding their own “feel” to an established classic. While there are some disastrous examples of this, typically the efforts render tremendous outcomes.
Thanksgiving Musings
In the past I have focused my Thanksgiving column on the historical foundations and meaning of this uniquely American Holiday. That has been an enjoyable practice, but after what has so clearly been a difficult year for our nation and for so many people in it, I felt it appropriate to offer a more personal take by reflecting on more personal matters.
First and foremost, I am grateful to be married to a woman of character. A woman who despite a long list of more enjoyable options, chose instead to spend this week far from home, caring for her aged and lonely father. My maternal grandmother lived to be 104, and I well remember her 80th birthday party . While holding court (and a manhattan-filled tumbler), our great matriarch opined that "gettin old ain't for sissies". Coming from a woman who lost both parents at the age of two, lived through the Great Depression, saw two World Wars, and buried a husband and two sons-in law, her words stuck like glue. Grandma was right - and now Barb's father, a man who once marched across Europe in Patton's Third Army, can barely walk steadily across his room. And so - she has traveled to be at his side.
