|
| |
|
|
| |
The Waking
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I cannot go.
We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.
Light takes the Tree, but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me; so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.
This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go.
--Theodore Roethke
|
|
|
|
Joy's Updates - Straight from the Horse's Mouth.
|
|
| |
Thursday, March 13, 2003
Music for Peace
Last night Brian, Melissa, and I met at Fido and then went to the Belcourt Theater for a concert to support the Nashville Peace and Justice Center. There were bumper stickers, posters, and literature that reminded me of the 60's. I had a t-shirt with what one of the bumper stickers had on it, "I will be great day when schools have all the money they need, and the Air Force has to have a bake sale to buy a bomber." Something like that.
The music was great! Nashville isn't called Music City for nothing! What many people don't realize is how many different kinds of music besides country are part of the music business here. I have many of Maura O'Connell's CD's and really like her singing. She's Irish and has lived in Nashville for quite a while. It was great seeing her in person and hearing her enthusiastic performance. I haven't seen Gangs of New York yet but understand she's on the soundtrack and possibly in the movie. Hope so.
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones were absolutely amazing. They are Grammy winners and nominees in several categories - jazz, bluegrass, pop, country, spoken word, Christian, composition and world music categories. Bela Fleck can create sounds from a banjo I never knew were possible. Please check out their website, and if your browser will handle the Shockwave version, it's quite entertaining and informative. You can hear their music there, which is such a treat if you aren't familiar with them. The Flecktones comprise Victor Wooten, FutureMan, and Jeff Coffin - all Grammy-winning musicians.
John Prine showed up and confirmed the hints. He sang "Souvenirs" and "The Great Compromise" by himself and "Angel from Montgomery" with Maura O'Connell. Before he sang "Your Flag Decals Won't Get You into Heaven Anymore," he said it was just as appropriate now as it was around 30-odd years ago when he wrote it and then said this was a hell of a way for a folk singer to have a career.
There were many who asked to perform, and there are more concerts planned with advanced ticket sales. Some of these other performers will appear at the next ones. I signed up for a newsletter and will know more later. I do know the next one is scheduled for April 9 at the Belcourt.
Those of you who know me well realize that I can only go so far in one direction before I have to pull back some - must be that Libra balance and my short attention span. I've been called a liberal for a long time which doesn't bother me because I think it's a good thing if it means wanting to eradicate labels and superficial judgment that keep people from living their lives as citizens of the world. Even though some might think I'm an aging hippie, in some ways I could be but not in many of the ways they possibly intend it. I wasn't at Woodstock but was nine months pregnant with Brian then. At the time we didn't know it would be that big a deal and just sort of heard about the planned concert. We did go to the documentary of it at a movie theater and bought the soundtrack album and enjoyed both. If I'd been there, I'd have been complaining about the rain and mud and crowd and no bathrooms and probably would have wanted to go home. I have a low tolerance for being uncomfortable and inconvenienced.
I was against the Vietnam War even though (and also because) my then-husband was riding around with the bomb on a nuclear submarine. I remember feeling that I'd never forgive this country if he died on that submarine. Eventually government leaders agreed that we didn't need to be involved in that war. I didn't actively protest it in marches or demonstrations. I was teaching school, voting, and being a mother. We can be patriotic citizens who love our country and still disagree with our political leaders. The American government started out being revolting. Its first act of violence was committing mass genocide of the American Indians, many of whom live in the same level of poverty as Third World countries right here now in the land of greed and acquisition. Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations are two of the most poverty-stricken.
I love my country, the South, my family, and my friends. I can love them and see the faults and problems we all have. We disagree and learn from each other by healthy exchanges. I don't just complain but have tried to help in whatever ways I could and with whatever talent and abilities I can use to make things better. Even though not many people care to have conversations about using a possessive pronoun before a gerund (this led to some funny student questions such as "his 'what' was walking the dog?"), I do hope I taught skills and ways of thinking that transferred to other areas of their lives. It was more fun and invigorating to discuss literature than grammar, and I hope that taught them how to analyze information, support their opinion, and think for themselves.
1:36:00 PM
|
|
| |
|
|
|
