Libya Makes Me Sick

Libyan problems! Political posturing, alliances, double-talk, debate, calculated actions, potential deadly consequences, half-truths, lies -- I'm sick of it all. The United States of America has become a hotbed of reactionaries who clutch one handful of cruise missiles and another handful of olive branches. No one is immune to the debate: Are we the peacekeepers of the world, or are we better served to keep our distance from civil wars in foreign lands?

Philosophy and politics, now there is a contradiction of oxymoronic proportions. I mean, do you really trust these people you elected not to turn coat in the face of party support? Do you really think they care about enacting policies you hold most dear? And besides, who are they representing and why are they qualifying every remark? What way does the money storm blow? And, of course, how does CNN and Fox News report the consequences of any action or inaction?

Enough, damn it! Enough! Take all the public opinion polls and spin them any way you like. I don't care anymore because the voice of the individual is secondary to the power of political parties and to their incredible corporate control.

I know that only a fool like me would ignore the history of money and power. Maybe that's because I have never had either. But now I'm going to have my say, so here it is.

I am a voter who wants his government to pay close attention to the diminishing respect we receive from others around the world. We, the United States, as a wide-eyed and covetous Big Brother, feel the need to meddle in the affairs of foreign nations and to monetarily and politically enrich them as we nurture their potential for our own advancement.  We send money, weapons, and other assistance to those who will later turn on a dime (better make that a $20.00 bill now) when the times get rough and become our worst enemies. Our best step children continually bite the hand that feeds them. Upon inspection, I see that my hands have been gnawed to the bone.

Civil wars are defined as "wars between organized groups within the same nation, state, or republic."

Since the end of World War II, civil wars have lasted on average just over four years, a dramatic rise from the one-and-a-half year average of the 1900-1944 period. While the rate of emergence of new civil wars has been relatively steady since the mid-19th century, the increasing length of those wars resulted in increasing numbers of wars ongoing at any one time. For example, there were no more than five civil wars underway simultaneously in the first half of the 20th century. (Ann Hironaka, Neverending Wars: The International Community, Weak States, and the Perpetuation of Civil War, Harvard University Press: Cambridge, Mass., 2005)

We could debate ad infinitum about who should live and who should die outside our borders during a foreign civil war. We can pat ourselves on the back (and we should) about our humanitarian efforts to save innocent citizens caught in the grasp of evil dictators and despots. We can rationalize the need for any military action that keeps hearts beating. We do many wonderful things. And, we also screw up worse than Larry the Cable Guy trying to play a dramatic role.

To me, the latest Libyan talks and decisions look so, so phony. I don't understand the urgency of swift action at the time. We flipflop and we half-ass and we offer weak promises. In the meantime, people in Libya judge us as if we are the Almighty with the power to fight a bloodless civil conflict of sweeping political change. Is it any wonder we are going to end up being the ultimate antagonists? "Give me your weapons today and tomorrow, when we disagree, I'll be strong of mind enough to use them against you."

Oh, God, how I hate to evoke the names of the past... Vietnam, Iraq, Cuba. These specters are haunting my dreams again. Can't you just stop the fucking madness that will require Americans bleeding out? Tragedy looms on the Middle Eastern horizon? Yes, you can stop it. Stay out of Libya. It's time. Let me spell this out: C...I...V...I...L.

In the City Dump

I carried you from the Flood of  Tears
When you couldn't swim.

I urged you to walk your own path on dry ground
When others insisted you take the more common route.

I prodded you to reach beyond your perception of limits
When doubt showed its beastly fangs.

I taught you the little I know about living
When your imploring eyes locked onto mine.

I told you "You're better than that"
When you gave up hope and left.

I begged you not to let your guard down
When impostors whispered things you wanted to hear.

I asked you to remember the wisest words
When wild temptation called.

I advised you to understand that mistakes happen
When you railed against the unrighteous system.

I told you to

Rise up,
Find hope,
Dance.

Stop,
Think,
Reconsider.

Proceed,
React,
Be steadfast.

I didn't ask you to twist my words
When you didn't like what I had to say.

I didn't ask you to stop believing in me
When you caught me in a fault.

I didn't ask you to place me aside
When I became damaged goods.

 I didn't ask you to talk around me
When I sat mangled and ruined. 

I didn't ask you to console in new friends
When you found my amity wasn't good enough.

I didn't ask you to find fault in all I do
When you wanted my blood.

I didn't ask you to say "I wish you'd die"
When you felt a burden I had placed.

I didn't ask you to be done with me
When you decided I was refuse.

There's no karma.
No equality.
No Camelot.

There's no fairy tale come true.
No guarantee.
No cakewalk.

There's no simple answer.
No justice.
No independence.

There's no guru.
No unselfish love.
No free lunch.

There is you.
There is me.

Flesh.
Blood.
Matter.

The Neville Brothers: 57 Years Of Music

I have always loved the Neville Brothers. I love their heritage. I love their togetherness. I love their N'awlins funk. I love their various forms over the years such as theWild Tchoupitoulas and the Meters. I love their great catalog of songs like "Hey, Pocky Way" and "Tell It Like It Is" and "Arianne" and "Fiyou On the Bayou" and "Washable Ink" and "Yellow Moon" and "Sister Rosa" and "Wake Up." I love Art; I love Charles; I love Aaron; I love Cyril -- I love them alone and I particularly love them together as The Neville Brothers. I can't imagine any popular music lover who has not experienced the scope of the Brothers.


Here is musical family that has stood together through the perils of the music business. They have not just survived, but they have unselfishly stood tall and contributed to American musical innovation. These guys are the real deal, not some prefabricated, hollow group. Their ancestry roots them firmly in the music of New Orleans, and they have shown many influences of their musical environment. Count their experience as 57 years of playing music.

The Neville Brothers display unbelievable talent as a group, but the differences between the four Neville Brothers are as dramatic as the similarities that unite them. The source of the similarities is passionate funk, a feeling for blues-soaked deep pocket grooves that is the basis of their greatness and exalted place in our cultural history.

I saw them in Columbus, Ohio, at the festival for Ameri-Floral. Everything they performed was wrapped in positive energy and hopeful expression. Not only did the band play great, infectious music but also they displayed searing, positive messages that held great meaning in their own lives.

The result was a rhythmic vibe that brought the entire audience out of their seats. Deeper and deeper into the performance, the brothers layered their musical story, a tale that had its beginning in the 50's and continued strong into the 21st century. Each member of the family was eager to spread his particular joy of this collective music.

Something special resonated in the performance I saw that night: here was perhaps the greatest band of musical brothers doing exactly what they were ordained to do -- stand together and share their music with the rest of the world. How could anyone mistake that the group bond had been built on the diverse, individual talents of these brothers? A bloodline was evident and vital to the collective message. The message was that hope, deliverance, and goodness survive, and musicians can employ music to draw all positive qualities out. The key is to keep on pushing on. 

Some Neville Background

The same cultural mix that formed New Orleans also makes up the Neville family heritage - African, American Indian, French, Spanish and Caribbean. The family's involvement with music goes back to the mother of the Neville brothers, Amelia Landry, who with her brother George, formed a dance team called Landry & Landry.

They were so good that another of New Orleans' musical sons, Louis Prima, offered them a job on the road with his band. Amelia's and George's parents didn't think much of the idea, so they had to give up their chance at the big time. Amelia later married Arthur Lanon Neville, Sr., and settled down to raise a family. Originally they lived on Valence Street, Uptown, 13th Ward. During World War II, the family moved to the Calliope housing project, but only stayed a few years before moving back Uptown.

Neither Amelia nor Arthur played any instruments, they loved music, and always had music in the house. They had friends who were musicians, and Arthur used to go fishing with Smiley Lewis of  "I Hear You Knockin'" fame. Arthur worked as a Pullman Porter, cab driver and merchant marine.

Arthur's brother-in-law, George Landry, was also in the merchant marine, and the two of them would bring home records from the foreign ports they visited, and tell the children of their adventures. This was an inspiration to the four Neville boys, who left home early to test their independence, and seek their fortunes. Since "Big Arthur" was a music fan, he encouraged his children to become involved in music. Out of the six Neville children (four boys and two girls), five either sang or played instruments. While the accomplishments of the Neville sons are well known, their sister Athelgra also had a brief singing career with the Dixie Cups.

While they received support and encouragement from their parents, they couldn't help but absorb the music going on all around them in New Orleans. As children in the Calliope projects, Art, Charles and Aaron recall singing the street chant "Hey Pocky Way" while keeping time on cigar boxes. As they grew older, their Uncle George Landry would play an important role in opening the world of the black Mardi Gras Indians (the Wild Tchoupitoulas) to them, and even bringing the brothers together to form the Neville Brothers as a group.

The Neville Brothers As We Know Them

The story starts in the Fifties. "In 1954, Art was seventeen and I was six," says Cyril. "That's when Art formed the Hawketts. I think of that line from "Shake, Rattle and Roll" - 'I'm like a one-eyed cat peeping in a sea food store.' That was me, hiding behind the couch, listening to art rehearsing the Hasketts. Man, that was the most exciting thing I'd ever heard in my life."

"The real excitement came when we cut a song called 'Mardi Gras Mambo,'" adds Art. "The original version was country style. We funked it up and, just like that, it hit big. Fifty years later they're still playing it. Never got paid. But who cared? We had us a record."

Art broke out of the Hawketts, segueing into a brief solo career at Specialty Records which, like all Neville history, was the product of chance. "By chance," he remembers, "Harold Battiste played me a county song called 'Cha Dooky-Do." He asked me to give it a different beat. I did. Then I forgot about it until I was in boot camp and someone said they were playing it night and day in Chicago."

Back in New Orleans in 1960, writer/pianist/producer Allen Touissant brought Aaron to Minit Records. "Over You," written by Touissant, was a local hit. "The label said it never left Louisiana." says Aaron, "but years later when I met the Rolling Stones they said they heard it all over England."

In 1962, Toussaint wrote another song for another Neville - "All These Things, recorded by Art. "While the future was eign played on the radio, "Art remembers, "I was running an elevator at Gaucho's department store on Canal Street."

The Sixties were strange for the Nevilles. In many cases the brothers fought the law and the law won. They moved in and out of hard habits. But in 1966, fortune smiled on Aaron. Or at least half-smiled. "I was digging ditches when this cat told me about this new label, Par-lo," he explains. "I went over to Cosimo's studio, that had more history than Sun Records in Memphis, and cut "Tell It Like It Is." It took off like a rocket. Number-one smash coast to coast. But the label was falling apart, which meant no money for me. The only way to cash in was to tour. Art became my manager and played piano behind me. This was our first time in the national spotlight on the same bill as Otis Redding, the Drifters and the Manhattans. I was pumped but too crazy to handle it all. My mind was a traffic jam."

From that beginning, the Neville Brothers continued to hone their craft in one form or another: Art Neville and the Neville Sounds, the Meters. Sometimes the bands featured various mixtures of the brothers.


But it took the death of their beloved mother Amelia to change that. "Before she passed," says Art, "she told me, "keep them boys together.'" Through the unifying power of their mother's brother, Uncle George Landry, who headed a Mardi Gras Indian Tribe as Chief Joy, the inevitable finally happened. Aaron puts it simply: "When Jolly called us together, it was like a call from God." The result was the miraculous the The Wild Tchoupitoulas, the landmark project from 1976.

That first taste of togetherness led to The Neville Brothers a year later, their debut album on Capitol. From then till now - for twenty-eight productive years - the group has stayed together recording, touring and securing their reputation as first-rank showmen and shamans.

"After our Capitol record," says Aaron, "we went without a deal for a couple of years. Producer Joel Dorn shopped us to a bunch of labels but everyone passed. It wasn't until Bette Midler heard us at Tipitina's in New Orleans and sang our praises that Jerry Moss of A&M paid attention. He let Dord produce our first A&M album, Fiyo On the Bayou, in 1981."

Then came legendary producer Daniel Lanois who helped solidify the sound and the testament of the Neville Brothers. The rest is history.

Each Brother 

Art is the oldest. They call him Poppa Funk for a reason. He formed the first band. As both inspired singer and blistering keyboardist, his role models were Fats Domino and Bill Doggett. Art is the Founding Father. He still lives in the same Thirteenth Ward block of Valence Street where he and his siblings were raised in New Orleans. 


Charles is a year younger than Art. His religions are bebop and Buddhism. His instrument is the saxophone. At fifteen, he was the first brother to leave home and hit the road, playing with everyone from the Rabbit Foot Minstrels to B.B.King. They called him "The Boy Wonder of Sax." He went to Memphis and returned home with a new stew of blues.

Aaron is a believer, a devout Catholic who worships at the shrine of St. Jude, patron of lost causes. Aaron's vocal aesthetic is downright angelic, an extraordinarily sweet mixture of Gene Autry yodeling and Golden Age gospel crooning. Along with Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye, he is classified as one of the seminal soul singers.

Cyril is the baby, a generation younger than his big brothers. His attitude is radical - a rougher, tougher blend of balls-out R&B, uncut bayou funk and militant social consciousness. As a writer, percussionist and powerhouse singer, he has made his mark as the most fiery brother and impassioned keeper of the Neville flame.

In addition, a second generation of Nevilles also began making their mark on music. In 1988, Aaron's son Ivan, a member of Keith Richards' backing band the Xpensive Winos, released his solo debut, "If My Ancestors Could See Me Now." The legacy lives and continues generation after generation. Anyone familiar with the Brothers wouldn't expect less.

Listen to the Neville Brothers. You will not be wasting your musical time. They are not close to ending their incredible careers 57 years into the journey.

Having Your Freedom and Marrying It Too: Let Them Eat Cake

Living Alone Together

This relationship reminds me of an old Dave Mason album titled Alone Together. How many couples and families today actually live this way now - housed collectively but doing their own individual things.Their jobs and commitments require them to share less time in concert. It is most difficult to say. In fact, no one really knows. One mom shares what it's like to balance work and family life with a husband who works long hours. Check out this mom's story. I bet many of you can relate.

"A few years ago, my husband, Tony, bought out his partner in the restaurant they owned together. It was great news, except for one thing. 'Do you realize I'm going to have to work every day for quite a while?' he said. I nodded, I understood, I was supportive. And we had it figured out: Tony would run the restaurant, and I'd take care of our three kids (then 12, 10, and 4). During my chunks of free time, I'd write.

"Figuring it out—and then actually living it—are not the same thing. Tony left at 9:30 a.m. and didn't return until midnight. Mornings were a blur of getting the kids off. In the afternoons, I orchestrated homework and playdates, and the evenings were spent rushing to music lessons and sports practices. For a full year, I flew completely solo, becoming more exhausted and resentful by the day. Then at dinner one evening, Mary Elena, our youngest, said, 'Is Daddy coming over tonight?' The older two quickly corrected her ('He lives here, silly'), but her words were like a punch.

"'It's like I'm divorced,' I moaned to a pal the next day. 

"'No,' she noted. 'If you were divorced, you'd get a break every other weekend.' She had a point. With new acquaintances, I mentioned 'my husband, who works a lot,' not wanting them to think he was dead, in jail, or living a double life.

"Honestly, it was only through sheer determination that I survived that first year. Now Tony gets an occasional day off. And we've gotten smart about couple time. We manage a Monday dinner or share a laugh as we walk through Home Depot on a Wednesday. Sometimes, late on a Saturday, we go for a midnight drink at a neighborhood pub. I also came up with a mantra: This is my life for now. I joined a book club and started volunteering at church. Simply being with friends lightened my load.

"It defies logic, but Tony and I are happier than ever because time apart makes us appreciate time together. Is our life ideal? Far from it. Is it the best we can do? Right now, it is. And that's good enough for both of us." (Charlotte Latvala, "The Married Single Mom," www.parenting.com, 2010) 

  
Two-Home Relationships Or the L.A.T.

Researchers are seeing a surge in long-term, two-home relationships. They have even identified a new demographic category to describe such arrangements: the "living apart together," or L.A.T., relationship. These couples are committed to sharing their lives, but only to a point.

Hard numbers are difficult to come by; the United States Census does not measure these relationships. However, a survey-based British study published last year by John Haskey, a statistician who heads the Family Demography Unit at the Department of Social Policy at Oxford University, estimated that a million couples in Great Britain are currently in L.A.T. relationships. Other recent studies have found the trend on the rise in Holland, Sweden, Norway, France and Canada.

David Popenoe, the co-director of the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University, a leading center of marriage and family studies, says that it is clear even from the fragmentary evidence available — "partly what we know anecdotally, partly the fact that every other significant European trend in family life has turned out to be happening in America" — that L.A.T. relationships are on the rise in the United States, too. (Jill Brooke, "Home Alone Together," The New York Times, May 4 2006)


Often, L.A.T. relationships are driven less by maintaining romance than by familial obligations. In an era of increased longevity, many older couples see L.A.T. relationships as a way of avoiding complicated inheritance issues, said Professor David Popenoe, the co-director of the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University, a leading center of marriage and family studies.

Younger couples often turn to L.A.T. arrangements after failed marriages, particularly if there are children involved. According to widely accepted interpretations of American census statistics, when people remarry after divorce, the new marriages fail at a significantly higher rate — more than 60 percent, versus 50 percent or less for first marriages. (Jill Brooke, "Home Alone Together," The New York Times, May 4 2006).

As much as anything, though, the rise in L.A.T. relationships may be due to a growing unwillingness to compromise, particularly among members of a generation known for their self-involvement.

"In many cases Baby Boomers want to have the freedom to live on their own terms," said the author Gail Sheehy, whose latest book is Sex and the Seasoned Woman (Random House). "As you age, you have more commitments and possessions in your life that you are attached to that the other person may not want to share."  

Professor Popenoe, of Rutgers, acknowledges that living apart makes sense for the elderly and for divorced couples with children. For others, though, he worries that it might impair the ability "to form long-term relationships." 


According to Dr. Scott Haltzman, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at Brown University and the author of  The Secrets of Happily Married Men (2005), he most frequent complaint he hears from divorcing couples is that the participants want more time and space for themselves. "I do think this trend helps us realize that alone time is an important element" in romantic relationships, he said.

But, advocates of L.A.T. relationships, like Judye Hess, a family therapist in Berkeley, Calif., see them not only as an indicator of what's wrong in long-term relationships, but also as a potential solution.

"Many people are trying to fit themselves into a very narrow model for long-term relationships that does not work for their personalities," said Ms. Hess, 61. If more people saw living apart as an option, she said, "it might save them a lot of pain and breakups."

What Does It All Mean?

L.A.T.s and living alone together - it's so damn confusing now. I once thought I had but two options - live a single life or live a married life. How wrong I was. And the patterns available... geesh! Carmen Lynch, M.F.C.C., a couples and family therapist in private practice on the Peninsula south of San Francisco, identified these five dominant relationship patterns:

1. Survival Relationships - based on times when partners feel like they can't make it on their own. The choice of a partner tends to be undiscriminating, made out of emotional starvation; almost anyone available will do.This involves relating at its most basic: "Without you I am nothing; with you I am something." The survival involved may be physical as well as emotional, including the basics of finding shelter, eating, working, and paying bills.

2. Validation Relationships - based on a person seeking another's validation of his or her physical attractiveness, intellect, social status, sexuality, wealth, or some other attribute. Sex and money are especially common validators. In response to a sexually unsatisfying relationship, a person may choose a new partner with whom sexuality is central: "I was afraid it was me, that I was frigid or something, but my new lover and I have wonderful sex."


3. Scripted Relationships - based on being "the perfect pair," fitting almost all the external criteria of what an appropriate mate should be like. The marriage involves the couple living out their expectations for the roles they learned they were supposed to play. He has the "right" kind of job and she is the "right" kind of wife and they have the "right" kind of house or apartment or condo in the "right" place. Their families think it's the perfect match.


4. Acceptance Relationships - based on trust, support and enjoyment of each other. And within broad limits, each person keeps an individual identity. But each person has a good sense of which aspects of  personal selves lie outside those limits 


5. Individual- Assertion Relationships -based on the assertion of each person's wants and needs, and on respect for the other person's process of personal growth

(Victor Daniels, "Patterns of Relationships," www.sonoma.edu, 2000)

I don't honesty know if I have survived, validated, scripted, accepted, or asserted. Maybe I've done them all. For 35 years now I have just lived with my wife. I didn't know our relationship and lifestyle had been identified, studied, and critiqued.

To be honest, this stuff scares the hell out of me. Emotional starvation, trust, respect, validation -- being something, being a fraction, being nothing at all. I really didn't realize relationships were comprised of all of this important stuff. For example, I thought marriage was just a fight for the remote control.

Here, all of this time, I thought the process was (1) Make a Call, (2) Hold hands, (3) Smootch, (4) Watch the Submarine Races Together, and (5) See the Preacher. I mean, how will I ever know if I have lived the majority of my life to its fullest? I guess I'll just have to ask my wife.

Just Lie To Me, Baby.

During my many years as a high school English teacher, this scene periodically recurred. My philosophy about discipline was to shoot straight when the need arose. Classroom infractions were sometimes silly and annoying, sometimes serious and threatening. The fact remains, many problems required some immediate action.

Have you every seen someone who just can't face the truth or claim responsibility for anything? The drama follows.

Student X has been caught red-handed while breaking the rules of the classroom.


Me (after an initial warning in this less serious case):  "Student X, go to the office, and I will be there shortly. You can't act that way in this classroom."


Student X (pleading while attempting to be very convincing):  "Thompson, you're just picking on me. I didn't do anything."


Me (sternly): "Well then, you're a liar. That might be an even bigger problem.Get down to the office now, and we will talk about the whole situation with the principal."


*Student X (defiantly): "You can't call me liar!"


**Me (as straightforward as possible):  "You are (a liar) and I just did (call you a liar). Now, leave the classroom so you don't interrupt others." 

 
What is a person's word? Why is a person's word such an important item to cultivate?

Being raised in a small rural Ohio town in the 1950s, I got a real view of what it means to place value on one's word (it says--I promise). How critically important the words are that come out of the open mouth. Then, we were taught we needed to rely on the neighbor's help, but our parents and mentors assured us our neighbors would not assist us after even a single lie. I think the first time I was introduced to this was concept involved the "Cry, 'Wolf!'" analogy. The truth, itself, held value for everyone in my tight, dependent community.

In school, elementary through high school, it was unimaginable to expect anything good from lying to a teacher. In fact, most students guilty of breaking school rules knew that trying to "lie out" of trouble meant more trouble. At each link in the consequences chain, an adult provided swift correction, often on the fat of the ass. The teacher would tell the principal about the lie, and the principal would tell our parents about the lie. The buck stopped there. No more questions asked.

I'm talking about preserving integrity here. What a word for study. Integrity means "firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values : incorruptibility." The dictionary definition doesn't do it justice. Personal integrity takes considerable work and time to develop and just a misplaced phrase and a second to disintegrate. 

I love little kernels of wisdom that often stick in my cranium.17th century philosopher Baltasar Gracian said, "A single lie destroys a whole reputation of integrity." And, writer Denis Waitley added, "A life lived with integrity - even if it lacks the trappings of fame and fortune is a shinning star in whose light others may follow in the years to come."

What's Integrity and Truth Got To Do With You? 

Nothing hurts more than a lie by a loved one. Even the hardened criminal understands that pain.

Today, aren't most verbal promises nothing more than tongue-wagging appeasements? It seems few put much value on the truth since Nixon and Clinton lied on television. The understanding of the end of the innocence rocked the foundation of American truth and value. Wouldn't it do your heart good to hear the truth once in a while? And, I mean, the truth without excuses. I mean people taking full responsibility without blaming others.

Let's revise the scene at the asterick.

*Student X (sheepishly hanging his or her head): "You're right, Mr. T., I pushed Billy in the back. I was wrong, and I did lie about it."


*Me: "OK, X, now get down to the office, and we'll figure out the appropriate punishment. You deserve it. At least you preserved your word, and that matters most."

If you are on a mission of self-improvement, this is a great place to start. Take a moment and think of the benefits derived from making your "word" count for something -- a promise kept. (Curt Graham, "Does Your Word (Personal Integrity) Mean Anything?" EzineArticles.com, 2006)

· You are known to be reliable. It means others trust you and know that they can depend on you. Is that important to you?

· You become known among friends, family, and work associates as dependable. It puts you ahead of everyone else as a leader. And it is perceived as a profound respect for others, their time, their planning, their efforts, and their life.

· You become highly respected. You don't have to earn it. It comes to you spontaneously as a result of your dependability and reliability--when you say something, you mean it.

· You become trusted. If there ever was a quality of a person that fuels the ego, stimulates the self-esteem, and brings others closer, it is being trusted.

· You find peace of mind that others never discover. Why? Because your mind and spirit are working together in harmony to let you understand that the qualities you are showing others, helps them--and they begin to see the value of keeping their word.

· You evolve into a role model. Oh yes! You may not want to assume that role--it isn't all that bad! It's a standard that others aspire to, a compliment to your integrity, and an honor that is associated with doing the right thing.

· Your integrity is multiplied. When that happens it brings with it favors, opportunities, and career levels that you never thought possible.

If you can't handle these dividends, fine, just expect to be trampled by those who are rushing to the front ahead of you. No one has an axe to grind here--except you. The standards that mentors and others hold you to are far below the standards you hold yourself to.

People trying to preserve integrity will, undoubtedly, be accused of being overly serious to their own commitments. People will say these idealists have no reason to hold mankind to such lofty standards. Straightlaced? Strict? At times, uncompromising. These adjective all fit many very honest individuals.

But, you must realize that being truthful for the sake of your own character is a rare commodity now.When you discover a trusted friend who has integrity, you will desire it so much. He or she may help you achieve it, no matter your past, IF you don't cry "Wolf!" in a landscape free of danger.

Onto a new closing for the little scene:

Me: "Damn, kid, aren't you the exception to the liars who walk their hypocritical steps with an unmarked fat ass content to be free of the sting of much-needed correction. Now, get to the office and let's strengthen your great integrity. This time it is honestly going to hurt me more than it hurts you."

Yeah, at times, I called you "a liar." Did it fit? Only one of us really knows, I guess. Or maybe two of us.

Answering Song Quiz Questions and Fun Song Facts

I hope you had some memories and some fun with the post yesterday. As promised, here are the song titles for the "opening line" songs I used. I'm going to refrain from giving the artists because some have been recorded and promoted by various artists. And, most of you already know the artists anyway. 

1. Danny Boy, 2. Sweet Baby James, 3. Somewhere Over the Rainbow, 4. Choices, 5. Strange Fruit, 6. In My Life, 7. Pastures of Plenty, 8. I'm Sitting On Top of the World, 9. See See Rider, 10. Who Do You Love?

11. Hoochie Coochie Man, 12. Across the Borderline, 13. Ramble On, 14. Tears In Heaven, 15. The River, 16. Do Wah Ditty,  17. Only the Lonely, 18. 3 A.M.,  19. You Can't Always Get What You Want, 20. Cowboys To Girls.

21. The House of the Rising Sun,  22. Allison,  23. Ohio,  24. My Generation,  25. God Only Knows,  26. Born On the Bayou,  27. A Whiter Shade of Pale,  28. Will the Circle Be Unbroken?  29. Werewolves of London,  30. I've Never Been To Spain.

31. Wichita Lineman,  32. Cross Road Blues,  33. Get Up, Stand Up!  34. Surfin' Bird,  35. Me, the dummy skipped it,  36. Turn, Turn, Turn,  37. Subterranean Homesick Blues,  38. Like a Rolling Stone,  39. Sweet Little Angel,  40. I Can't Stop Loving You.

41. Shake, Rattle, and Roll,  42. Silver Wings,  43. Summer In the City,  44. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry, 45. Eve of Destruction,  46. Wild Thing,  47. Old '55,  48. Catch the Wind,  49. Southern Accents,  50. Just Like a Woman.

51. Traces,  52. Heard It In a Love Song,  53. Sounds of Silence,  54. What's Going On?  55. Everybody's Talking,  56. Graceland,  57. Jumpin' Jack Flash,  58. Lonesome Suzie,  59. Jackie Wilson Said,  60. Suspicious Minds.

61. Mystery Train,  62. End of the Innocence,  63. Fat Man In the Bathtub,  64. Voodoo Child (Slight Return),  65. No Regrets,  66. Are You AlRight?  67.  Tales of Brave Ulysses,  68. A Pirate Looks At 40, 69. The City of New Orleans,  70. One Less Set of Footsteps.

71. Freedom For the Stallion,  72. Sixteen Tons,  73. Begin the Begin,  74. Hallelujah,  75. Tutti Frutti. 

Some Song Facts To Follow-up

"Tutti Frutti"

When originally performed, the line "a wop bam boom" was "A good Goddamn." Long before Little Richard recorded "Tutti Frutti," he performed it at his shows as "Tutti Frutti, Loose Booty." It was a very raucous and sexual song and was considered too suggestive for white audiences, so it was cleaned up considerably when he recorded it.

"Jumpin' Jack Flash"

Who is the Rolling Stones' "Jack Flash"? His name is Jack Dyer, and he was Keith Richards' gardener. Richards explained to Rolling Stone in 2010: "The lyrics came from a gray dawn at Redlands. Mick and I had been up all night, it was raining outside, and there was the sound of these boots near the window, belonging to my gardener, Jack Dyer. It woke Mick up. He said, 'What's that?' I said, 'Oh, that's Jack. That's jumping Jack.' I started to work around the phrase on the guitar, which was in open tuning, singing the phrase 'Jumping Jack.' Mick said, 'Flash,' and suddenly we had this phrase with a great rhythm and ring to it."

"Who Do You Love?"

This song is a big Bo Diddley beat. The title is a play on the word "Hoodoo," which is a folk religion similar to Voodoo and also popular in the American South. Many Blues musicians mentioned Hoodoo in their songs and like Diddley, conjured up images of the skulls, snakes and graveyards.

"Cowboys To Girls"

Songwriters Gamble and Huff were constantly writing down ideas for Intruders' songs, and they often started with a title, which they did for this one. Huff explained in a 2008 interview with National Public Radio: "It's a story. Little kids grow up, and they're beating the girls up, pulling their hair - they don't treat them tender. Then all of the sudden they realize that girls are made for kissing. And the girls go from baby dolls to boys. We were trying to write lyrics that were different, take a different angle and be as clever as possible."

"Like a Rolling Stone"

Dylan got the idea from the Hank Williams song "Lost Highway," which contains the line, "I'm a rolling stone, I'm alone and lost." Al Kooper, who was primarily a guitarist and went on to be a very successful music producer, played this organ on this song. If you listen very closely at the beginning of this song, you will notice that the organ is an 1/8th note behind everyone else. Kooper wasn't an expert on the organ, but Dylan loved what he played and made sure it was turned up in the mix.

"The House of the Rising Sun" 

The melody of the song is a traditional English ballad, but the song became popular as an African-American Folk song. It was recorded by Texas Alexander in the 1920s, then by a number of other artists including Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie, Josh White and later Nina Simone. It was her version The Animals first heard. No one can claim rights to the song, meaning it can be recorded and sold royalty-free. Many bands recorded versions of this after it became a hit for The Animals.

Is the song about a brothel in New Orleans named "The House Of the Rising Sun after Madame Marianne LeSoleil? Or, is it about a women's prison in New Orleans called the Orleans Parish women's prison, which had an entrance gate adorned with rising sun artwork? This would explain the "ball and chain" lyrics in the song.

  
"My Generation"

"My Generation" is a signature Who song, but the BBC refused to play this at first because they did not want to offend people with stutters. When it became a huge hit, they played it. Roger Daltrey sang the lead vocals with a stutter, which was very unusual. After recording two takes of this normally, manager Kit Lambert suggested to Daltrey that he stutter to sound like a British kid on speed.

"See See Rider"

This is a Blues standard first recorded by Ma Rainey, whose version hit #12 in 1925 as "See See Rider Blues." The "C.C. Rider," also known as "See See Rider" or "Easy Rider," is a Blues cliché for the sexual partner, although originally it referred to the guitar hung on the back of the traveling bluesman. Chuck Willis and Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels (medley with Little Richard's "Jenny Jenny") hit the charts with the song.

"Wild Thing"

Released in 1966, "Wild Thing" took the Troggs to the top of the charts. This was written by a songwriter named Chip Taylor, who has made tons of money from it because it has been recorded by many artists and is constantly being used in movies and TV shows. Taylor used a lot of this money to gamble - for years he bet about $10,000 a day and was kicked out of every casino in Las Vegas for card counting. He also wrote "Angel of the Morning" which was a hit for Merrilee Rush in 1968. Taylor is the brother of actor Jon Voight and the uncle of Angelina Jolie.

"Graceland"

"Graceland" has stood the test of time, but when it was released as a single, it only charted at #82 in the US. The song features backing vocals by the Everly Brothers. In a 1993 interview on Larry King Live, Paul Simon said this was his favorite song.

According to an article in the London Times, this is an account of Paul Simon's marriage break-up with his first wife Peggy Harper. The nine-year-old "travelling companion" he refers to is their son Harper, who three years later, at the age of 12 accompanied his father on the Graceland tour. Harper Simon developed into a singer-songwriter who since the mid-2000s has teamed up with his stepmother Edie Brickell.

"Danny Boy"

Originally set to the tune of the Ancient melody "The Londonderry Air," this song has been rumored to have been written about a father singing to his son, who apparently was named Danny. The song was based on a story about an Irish father whose son was eventually going off to war in Ireland.

Prudish Victorians, concerned that "Londonderry Air" bore too close a resemblance to the phrase "London derrière," preferred to refer to it by the title "An Air From County Derry."

"Surfin' Bird"

This is a medley made up of the choruses of two R&B classics by the '60s Doo-Wop group The Rivingtons: "The Bird Is the Word" and "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow." The brainchild of Trashmen drummer Steve Wahrer, the song was a quirky and consumable hit, boldly combining Surf music with novelty R&B. The Trashmen were a garage band from Minneapolis, which isn't surfing territory. Despite critical acclaim, they managed just one more minor hit before disbanding in the late '60s: the 1964 #30 "Bird Dance Beat."

"Voodoo Child (Slight Return)"

"Voodoo Child" was voted the best guitar riff in rock'n'roll history, by readers of  Music Radar. The website said "From its wah-wah into the the rhythm parts and the astonishing solo, this is still regarded by many as the high watermark of electric guitar expression." It was the last song Hendrix performed live. On September 6, 1970, which was 12 days before his death, he played it at a concert in Germany.

"Strange Fruit"

In 1999, Time magazine voted this the Song of the Century. When "Strange Fruit" first came out, it was denounced by the same magazine as "A piece of musical propaganda."

"Strange Fruit" was written by a white, Jewish schoolteacher and union activist from New York City named Abel Meeropol, who was outraged after seeing a photograph of a horrific lynching in a civil-rights magazine. The photo was a shot of  two black men hanging from a tree after they had been lynched in Marion, Indiana on August 7, 1930. The two men are the "Strange Fruit."

Billie Holiday sang this as the last song at her concerts. It signaled that the show was over.

Note

Thanks to Songfacts site for the great collection of information about these songs. If you have never surfed Songfacts, I suggest you do so soon. The website has garnered a huge library of information about tons of tunes. Here is the address: http://www.songfacts.com/.

Quizzing You: Favorite Song Openings

Music has had a very important influence on my life. To put it simply, I love music. I'm not really a critic or necessarily even a fan of critics; however, I am guilty of judging the music I listen to. Over the years, many song lyrics have hit me squarely in the face and then continued to be destinations for my recurring visitations. I call them "magic tunes." The songs, to me, can be of any genre although I do prefer popular music to classical or progressive jazz. The time in which they were originally recorded makes no difference to me.

I thought it might be fun to explore initial lyrics. So, I asked myself: "What are the first words of some on my favorite songs?" This proved to be an interesting journey for me because I found first impressions of songs are often lasting impressions. Of course, this blog post does not take into consideration the music, only the lyrics. Still, I'm sure I subconsciously picked some songs with a melody or rift stuck in the back of my mind.

Since I comprised the list, I do not have to qualify my whimsy with detailed explanations of my criteria for choosing these particular songs. I had no particular reason for choosing these, anyway. I could just as easily make another three hundred choices for my favorites. Here's the reasoning for selection - these lyrics had me from the "get-go."

A song, to me, resembles a poem in that the sensual impression is the key to impact. A song doesn't have to have great thematic nature or does not even have to make sense. What is a great lyric? Let's make a poetry analogy and leave it at that. Wordsworth defined poetry as "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings;" Emily Dickinson said, "If I read a book and it makes my body so cold no fire ever can warm me, I know that is poetry;" and Dylan Thomas defined poetry this way: "Poetry is what makes me laugh or cry or yawn, what makes my toenails twinkle, what makes me want to do this or that or nothing." Fair enough?

Here is my list. I am not supplying the names of the songs. I thought some of you might like to read this entry as little First Song Words Quiz. I promise to give you the names of the tunes tomorrow. Some of these have been recorded by many different artists over the years. None or very few are obscure.  

1. "Oh, Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling from glen to glen and down the mountain side.The summer's gone, and all the roses falling. 'Tis you, 'tis you must go, and I must bide..."

2. "There is a young cowboy. He lives on the range. His horse and his cattle are his only companions..."

3. "Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, there's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby..."

4. "I've had choices since the day I was born. There were voices that told me right from wrong..."

5. "Southern trees bear a strange fruit, blood on the leaves and blood at the root.Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze, strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees..."

6. "There are places I remember all my life, some forever not for better..."

7. "It's a mighty hard row that my poor hands have hoed. My poor feet have traveled a hot dusty road out of your Dust Bowl and Westward we rolled..."

8. "One summer day, she went away. Gone and left me. She's gone to stay. She's gone, but I don't worry: I'm sitting on top of the world..."

9. "Oh see, See See Rider, girl see what you've done..."

10. "I walk 47 miles of barbed wire. I use a cobra-snake for a necktie. I got a brand new house on the roadside made from rattlesnake hide..."

11. "Gypsy woman told my mother 'fore I was born, you got a boy-child coming, gonna be a son of a gun."

12. "There’s a place where I’ve been told every street is paved with gold, and it’s just across the borderline. And when it’s time to take your turn here’s one lesson that you must learn: You could lose more than you’ll ever hope to find..."

13. "Leaves are fallin' all around. Time I was on my way. Thanks to you, I'm much obliged for such a pleasant stay but now it's time for me to go..."

14. "Would you know my name if I saw you in heaven? Would it be the same if I saw you in heaven?"

15. "I come from down in the valley where mister when you're young, they bring you up to do like your daddy done..."

16. "There she was just a walkin' down the street singin' 'Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do.' Snappin' her fingers and a shufflin her feet singin', 'Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do...'"

17. "Dum-dum-dum-dumdy-doo-wah. Ooh-yay-yay-yay-yeah. Oh-oh-oh-oh-wah. Only the lonely, only the lonely (dum-dum-dum-dumdy-doo-wah) know the way I feel tonight (ooh-yay-yay-yay-yeah)..."

18. "She say it's cold outside and she hands me my raincoat. She's always worried about things like that.She says it's all gonna end and it might as well be my fault, and she only sleeps when it's raining, and she screams and her voice is straining..."

19. "I saw her today at a reception, a glass of wine in her hand. I knew she would meet her connection --at her feet was her footloose man..."

20. "I remember when I used to play shoot em up (Shoot em up, bang, bang baby). I remember when I chased the girls and beat em up, but I was young and didn't understand. But now I'm a grown up man, and I know girls are made for kissing. Never knew what I was missing. Now my life is not the same. My whole world has been rearranged -- I went from (cowboys to girls)..."

21. "There is a house in New Orleans they call the Rising Sun. And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy, and God, I know I'm one..."

22. "Oh, it's so funny to be seeing you after so long, girl, and with the way you look, I understand that you were not impressed. But I heard you let that little friend of mine take off your party dress..."

23. "Tin soldiers and Nixon coming. We're finally on our own.  This summer I hear the drumming..."

24. "People try to put us d-down (Talkin' 'bout my generation). Just because we get around (Talkin' 'bout my generation)..."

25. "I may not always love you, but long as there are stars above you, you never need to doubt it. Ill make you so sure about it..."

26. "Now when I was just a little boy standin' to my Daddy's knee, my Poppa said son don't let the man get you do what he done to me 'cause he'll get you, 'cause he'll get you now now..."

27. "We skipped a light fandango, turned cartwheels 'cross the floor. I was feeling kind of seasick, but the crowd called out for more. The room was humming harder as the ceiling flew away. When we called out for another drink, the waiter brought a tray..." 

28. "I was standing by my window on one cold and cloudy day when I saw that hearse come rolling for to carry my mother away..."

29. "I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand walking through the streets of Soho in the rain. He was looking for the place called Lee Ho Fook's going to get a big dish of beef chow mein..."

30. Well, I' never been to Spain, but I kinda like the music. Say the ladies are insane there, and they sure know how to use it.They don't abuse it, never gonna lose it. I can't refuse it. Mmm-hmm-mmm.

31. "I am a lineman for the county, and I drive the main road, searching in the sun for another overload..."

32. "I went to the crossroad fell down on my knees. I went to the crossroad fell down on my knees. Asked the Lord above 'Have mercy, now save poor Bob, if you please.' Mmmmm, standin' at the crossroad I tried to flag a ride. Standin' at the crossroad I tried to flag a ride. Didn't nobody seem to know me. Everybody pass me by..."

33. "Get up, stand up, don't give up the fight. Preacher man don't tell me heaven is under the earth. I know you don't know what life is really worth. It's not all that glitters is gold. Half the story has never been told.So now you see the light..."

34. "A-well-a everybody's heard about the bird. B-b-b-bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word. A-well-a bird, bird, bird, the bird is the word. A-well-a bird, bird, bird, well the bird is the word..."

36. "To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn) there is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn) and a time to every purpose, under Heaven..."

37. "Johnny's in the basement mixing up the medicine. I'm on the pavement thinking about the government. The man in the trench coat, badge out, laid off says he's got a bad cough, wants to get it paid off. Look out, kid, it's somthin' you did. God knows when but you're doin' it again..."

38. "Once upon a time you dressed so fine. You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you ? People'd call, say, 'Beware, doll. You're bound to fall.' You thought they were all kiddin' you..."

39. "I've got a sweet little angel. I love the way she spread her wings. Yes, got a sweet little angel. I love the way she spread her wings. Yes, when she spreads her wings around me, I get joy and everything..."

40. "(I can't stop loving you) I've made up my mind to live in memory of the lonesome times. (I can't stop wanting you) It's useless to say, so I'll just live my life in dreams of yesterday."

41. "Get outta that bed, wash your face and hands. Get outta that bed, wash your face and hands. Well, you get in that kitchen, make some noise with the pots 'n pans."

42. "Silver wings shining in the sunlight. Roaring engines headed somewhere in flight. They're taking you away and leaving me lonely. Silver wings slowly fading out of sight..."

43. "Hot town, summer in the city. Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty. Been down, isn't it a pity? Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city..."

44. "Hear that lonesome whippoorwill. He sounds too blue to fly. The midnight train is whining low. I'm so lonesome I could cry..."

45. "The eastern world it is exploding, violence flarin' bullets loadin'. You're old enough to kill but not for votin'. You don't believe in war, but what's that gun you're totin'? And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin'..."

46. "Wild thing, you make my heart sing. You make everything... groovy..."

47. "Well my time went so quickly. I went lickety-splitly out to my old '55. As I drove away slowly, feeling so holy, God knows, I was feeling alive. Now the sun's coming up. I'm riding with Lady Luck..."

48. "In the chilly hours and minutes of uncertainty, I want to be in the warm hold of your loving mind..."

49. "There's a southern accent, where I come from. The young 'uns call it country. The Yankees call it dumb. I got my own way of talkin' but everything is done, with a southern accent where I come from..."

50. "Nobody feels any pain tonight as I stand inside the rain. Everybody knows that baby's got new clothes, but lately I see her ribbons and her bows have fallen from her curls..."

51. "Faded photographs, covered now with lines and creases, tickets torn in half, memories in bits and pieces..."

52, "I ain't never been with a woman long enough for my boots to get old, but we've been together so long now they both need resoled..."

53. "Hello darkness, my old friend. I've come to talk with you again because a vision softly creeping left its seeds while I was sleeping. And the vision that was planted in my brain still remains..."

54. "Mother, mother, there's too many of you crying. Brother, brother, brother, there's far too many of you dying. You know we've got to find a way to bring some lovin' here today..."

55. "Everybody's talking at me. I don't hear a word they're saying, only the echoes of my mind. People stopping staring. I can't see their faces, only the shadows of their eyes..."

56. "The Mississippi Delta was shining like a National guitar.  I am following the river, down the highway through the cradle of the civil war..."

57. "I was born in a crossfire hurricane, and I howled at my ma in the driving rain. But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas..."

58. "Lonesome Suzie never got the breaks. She's always losing and so she sits and cries and shakes. It's hard just to watch her and if I touch her, oh, poor Suzie, I'm wondering what to do..."

59. "Da, da, da, da, da, Jackie Wilson said It was 'reet-petite.' Kinda love you got knock me off my feet. Let it all hang out..."

60. "We're caught in a trap. I can't walk out because I love you too much, baby. Why can't you see what you're doing to me when you don't believe a word I say?"

61. "Train I ride, sixteen coaches long. Train I ride, sixteen coaches long. Well, that long black train got my baby and it's gone..."

62. "Remember when the days were long and rolled beneath a deep blue sky. Didn't have a care in the world with mommy and daddy standin' by. But 'happily ever after' fails, and we've been poisoned by these fairy tales.The lawyers dwell on small details since daddy had to fly. But, I know a place where we can go that's still untouched my man..."

63. "Spotcheck Billy got down on his hands and knees. He said 'Hey momma, hey let me check your oil alright?' She said 'No, no honey, not tonight...'"

64. "Well, I stand up next to a mountain and I chop it down with the edge of my hand. Well, I stand up next to a mountain and I chop it down with the edge of my hand.Well, I pick up all the pieces and make an island. Might even raise a little sand..."

65. "I know your leavin's too long overdue. For far too long I've had nothin' new to show to you. Goodbye dry eyes. I watched your plane fade off west of the moon, and it felt so strange to walk away alone..." 

66. "Are you all right? All of a sudden you went away. Are you all right? I hope you come back around someday. Are you all right? I haven't seen you in a real long time. Are you all right? Could you give me kind of sign?"

67. "You thought the leaden winter would bring you down forever, but you rode upon a steamer to the violence of the sun, and the colours of the sea bind your eyes with trembling mermaids..."

68. "Mother, mother ocean, I have heard you call. Wanted to sail upon your waters since I was three feet tall You've seen it all, you've seen it all. Watched the men who rode you switch from sails to steam, and in your belly you hold the treasures few have ever seen. Most of 'em dreams, most of 'em dreams..."

69. "Ridin' on the City of New Orleans Illinois Central, Monday mornin' rail. Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders, three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail. All along the south-bound odyssey the train pulls out at Kankakee and rolls along past houses, farms and fields ..."

70. "We've been runnin' away from somethin' we both know. We've long run out of things to say and I think I'd better go. So don't be gettin' excited when you hear that slammin' door 'cause there'll be one less set of footsteps on your floor in the mornin'..."

71. "Freedom for the stallion. Freedom for the mare and her colt. Freedom for the baby child who has not grown old enough to vote. Lord, have mercy, what you gonna do about the people who are praying to you? They got men making laws that destroy other men . They've made money. God, it's a doggone sin..."

72. "Some people say a man is made outta mud. A poor man's made outta muscle and blood. Muscle and blood and skin and bones, a mind that's a-weak and a back that's strong..." 

73. "Birdie in the hand for life's rich demand. The insurgency began and you missed it. I looked for it and I found it . Myles Standish proud, congratulate me. A philanderer's tie, a murderer's shoe, life's rich demand creates supply in the hand of the powers, the only vote that matters. Silence means security; silence means approval." On Zenith, on the TV, tiger run around the tree, follow the leader, run and turn into butter..."

74. Now I've heard there was a secret chord that David played, and it pleased the Lord. But you don't really care for music, do you? It goes like this: the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, the major lift..." 

75. "A-wop bop-a loo-mop, a-lop bam-boom! Tutti frutti, aw rooty..."

The Marble World: A Child Discovers A Charmer

I slowly lifted the tiny treasure to my cogent eyes to explore the magical universe trapped in the timeless inner dimensions of the orb. Beneath the surface lay a world of wonder instigated in the mind of a young child. Cat's eye, tiger, turtle, ade, oxblood, sulphide, onionskin, beach ball, mica, spiral, corkscrew -- each a unique sphere requiring careful investigation; each a kaleidoscopic, artistic world of wonder. Inexpensive and practical yet beautiful and puzzling -- the marble.

How many of you have felt the hold of the marble. I used to love collecting marbles and playing marble games. It seems to me marbles touch something very basic about being a child. Not only are marbles part of every child's fortune, but also marbles are keys to comprehending the strong power of beauty and the inevitable allure of possessing splendid creations.   

Marbles are objects of extremely old origin. Marbles are believed to have originated in Harappan civilization in India near the river Indus (3300–1300 BCE; mature period 2600–1900 BCE). Various marbles of stone were found on excavation near Mohenjo-daro (one of the largest city-settlements in the Indus Valley Civilization).

Marbles are also often mentioned in Roman literature, and there are many examples of marbles from ancient Egypt. These marbles were commonly made of flint, stone or clay-baked balls. Clay balls have also been found  in Native American burial grounds as well as in the ancient Aztec pyramids. Marbles made from china and real marble have also been found, the latter perhaps giving the balls their name. (Sharon L. Cohen, "The History of Marbles," www.ehow.com, 1999-2011)

Marble games date from antiquity, and ancient games were played with sea-rounded pebbles, nuts, or fruit pits. The young Octavian (later the emperor Augustus), like other Roman children, played games with nut marbles. It is believed that Romans spread the word about this form of entertainment throughout their empire.

Archaeologists have also dug up engraved marbles from the earthen mounds built by some early North American mound builder cultures. And, Jewish children used filberts as marbles at Passover.

Glass marbles are thought to have been some of the many glass objects made in ninth century Venice, but it is not until the late middle ages that the playing of marbles games is again documented. It appears that by then marbles were known throughout Europe. A manuscript from the fifteenth century refers to 'little balls with which schoolboys played." In 1503 the town council of Nuremberg, Germany, limited the playing of marble games to a meadow outside of town. ("Ancient Marbles: The Most Simple Toy," imarbles.com, 2009)

The popularity of playing marbles increased considerably once they were produced in large scale by factories. A German glass blower invented a marble-making mold in 1846, which made it much easier to produce marbles and considerably reduced the cost for popular use. 

This trend continued in the 1890s, when the first marble manufacturing machines were made. Before factories, most children could not even afford a clay marble. However, once these balls were produced in large quantities, a child could buy a couple of them with a penny. Akron, Ohio, was one of the first cities that produced marbles in large amounts. The factories could make as many as one million marbles per day--enough to fill a railroad boxcar. (Sharon L. Cohen, "The History of Marbles," www.ehow.com, 1999-2011)

There still are a couple of American marble factories. The toys are also manufactured in Mexico. A number of artisans in the United States now make handmade marbles, which are pieces of art rather than playthings. Some of them are as large as six inches in diameter. Their vibrant, rich colors and unique designs make them one-of-a-kind beautiful objects to enjoy.

Marble Memories

Many games have graced the pages of marble history. The game of Ringer is one of the most well known games. Perfecting the arts of propulsion and backspin took lots of practice. Many Ringer players became unbelievably adept. Why, the American game even took on tournament rules in the early 20th century.

According to the people at Akron Marbles, Ringer has changed radically between 1923 and today. In 1923 “a committee of playground and recreation experts” wrote the first sets of rules. The wording was awkward, at times confusing and was designed to be liberal and easy for schoolhouse staff to hold elimination tournament, something they’d never done before. ("The History of the Game of Ringers," www.akronmarbles.com, Canal Fulton Glassworks)

Once they’d held a couple years worth of tournaments and there existed some real-time experience on how children were playing the game some flaws where realized. After the 1925 national finals a group of tournament officials put their heads together to work out some of the flaws they perceived in the rules, in order to improve the game and make it fairer. These changes were put into place in 1926 and the rules were obviously written by a professional writer, most likely a group of journalists.

When the Scripps-Howard Company dropped their sponsorship of The National Marble Tournament in the mid 1950’s the new board of directors threw out the 'poison shooter rules. This change resulted in a very different game and built in a flaw that eventually led children to stop playing with marbles. It made the game a lot easier to the advanced players, a lot harder for lesser skilled player and almost impossible for a novice to play the game at all. ("The History of the Game of Ringer," www.akronmarbles.com, Canal Fulton Glassworks)

Yesterday's News, March 13 2011) The marble game here is not Ringer. Here is J.K.'w memory of a marble shooting match:

"Then one day in March or April a patch of dry sidewalk would appear here and there. Hundreds of little boys would come down out of trees, crawl out of tents or caves, or retreat from walking on the rubbery ice of lakes, ponds or the Mississippi river, and the real marble games would begin....

"The boy with the agate would place it cunningly behind a crack or unevenness in the sidewalk. On the bumpy surfaces agates were hard to hit. The lad with the agate would sit with his legs astride to capture the marbles as they rolled in. Marbles that leaped the outstretched legs or which rolled to either side were fair prey of lads temporarily out of marbles. With four or five boys rolling, sometimes two marbles would hit the agate at the same time. The resulting arguments often ended in fist fights which were even more enjoyable that the marble game.

"We played our smaller games involving six or eight boys near our homes. Only a few agates and 200 or 300 marbles were involve. The big games were played on West Broadway where the older "tough kids" congregated. Dozens of boys and thousands of marbles were in the continuing game.


"Passersby good naturedly walked around the maddening crowd of young enthusiasts.

"You could come into a game with a thousand marbles and leave destitute, or you could pirate a few strays, get into the game and come away with all the marbles. Skill, chance, effrontery, good sportsmanship and downright thievery were all included in marbles as we played. It was a prelude to the competition in adult life, and anyone large or small, strong or weak, could play. Its effects, salutary or invidious, are remember today by men, be they derelicts or senator. And to think, for shame, that a conspiracy of the press has kept our children from even knowing about this noble game!"

  

Ode to Marbles

I love the sound of marbles
scattered on the worn wooden floor,
like children running away in a game of hide-and-seek.
I love the sight of white marbles,
blue marbles,
green marbles, black,
new marbles, old marbles,
iridescent marbles, 

with glass-ribboned swirls, 

dancing round and round.
I love the feel of marbles,
cool, smooth,
rolling freely in my palm,
like smooth-sided stars
that light up the worn world.

by Max Mendelsohn
2004 by The Children’s Art Foundation. Reprinted from Stone Soup, May/June, 2004.

Wanna Play? Grab Your Toys.

The mission today, should you decide to accept it, is to go back... way back. Jimmy Castor may help us start our ride on the time machine best with his immoral lyrics from "Troglodyte." The tune may create a little nostalgia. So let's call upon upon the song from the Jimmy Castor Bunch.

"What we're gonna do right here is go back, way back, back into time.
When the only people that existed were troglodytes...cave men...
cave women...Neanderthal...troglodytes. Let's take the average
cave man at home, listening to his stereo. Sometimes he'd get up,
try to do his thing. He'd begin to move, something like this:
'Dance...dance.' When he got tired of dancing alone, he'd look
in the mirror: 'Gotta find a woman gotta find a woman gotta find a
woman gotta find a woman.' He'd go down to the lake where all the
woman would be swimming or washing clothes or something. He'd look
around and just reach in and grab one. 'Come here...come here.'
He'd grab her by the hair. You can't do that today, fellas, cause
it might come off. You'd have a piece of hair in your hand and she'd
be swimming away from you (ha-ha). This one woman just lay there,
wet and frightened. He said: 'Move...move.' She got up. She was a
big woman. BIG woman. Her name was Bertha. Bertha Butt..."

How about a look at the history of some of the playthings that occupied hour after hour of the days of the baby boomer? Both boys and girls, moms and dads enjoyed these toys in their prime, and many people surely continue doing so today. Part of their popularity is due to great innovation and superb construction. Most likely, the amusements will live on to entertain "kids at heart" of the future.

This information has been compiled from online sites. I have included the web addresses for each toy. Thanks to all for the interesting fact finding. Do you remember the following?

Slinky  (http://inventors.about.com/od/sstartinventions/a/slinky.htm)

In 1943, Richard James was a naval engineer trying to develop a meter designed to monitor horsepower on naval battleships. Richard was working with tension springs when one of the springs fell to the ground. He saw how the spring kept moving after it hit the ground and an idea for a toy was born.

Richard James told his wife Betty, "I think I can make a toy out of this" and then spent the next two years figuring out the best steel gauge and coil to use for the toy. Betty James found a name for the new toy after discovering in the dictionary that the word "Slinky" is a Swedish word meaning traespiral - sleek or sinuous.
Slinky debuted at Gimbel's Department Store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the 1945 Christmas season and then at the 1946 American Toy Fair.

Richard James and Betty James founded James Spring & Wire Company (renamed James Industries) with $500 dollars and began production. Today, all Slinkys are made in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania using the original equipment designed and engineered by Richard James. Each one is made from 80 feet of wire and over a quarter billion Slinkys have been sold worldwide. (Mary Bellis, "History of the Slinky Toy," inventors.about.com, The New York Times Company, 2011)

 
View-Master  (http://www.vmresource.com/)

View-Master was first introduced at the New York World's Fair in 1939. Intended as an alternative to the postcard with 7 3D Kodachrome images, it was originally marketed through photo shops, stationary stores and scenic attraction gift shops.

The View-Master system was invented by William Gruber, an organ maker and avid photographer who lived in Portland, Oregon. He had the idea to use the old idea of the stereoscope and update it with the new Kodachrome color film that had just hit the market. A chance meeting with Harold Graves, the president of Sawyer's, Inc. (a company that specialized in picture post cards) got the idea off the ground and quickly took over the postcard business at Sawyer's.

The US Military were keen advocates of the View-Master and had specially commissioned sets of reels produced to aid with artillery spotting and aircraft identification during World War II. They purchased many millions of reels for this purpose, together with 10's of thousands of Model B viewers.

In 1951 Sawyers purchased the Tru-Vue Company and importantly also obtained the rights to present Disney characters on their reels. In late 1966 View-Master was purchased by GAF (General Aniline & Film Corporation), a company mainly concerned with film processing and cameras. By the 1970's the Photo Consumer Division was having a great deal of success with the View-Master product, so much so that the other operations were discontinued. Gaf(uk)ltd introduced blister packs, referred to internally as 'tricards''. The tricard concept was initially conceived in Europe and only later adopted in the USA.

Over the years 3D reels have been produced for Disneyland (since the opening), Many TV shows (you could see the Munsters in color and in 3D), Movies (E.T. Jurassic Park) and even for the US military for airplane/ship identification and range estimation.

Today this tradition continues, but holds a back seat to subject matter aimed at a much younger audience. These are the subjects you typically find at your local Target store. (Eddie Bowers, "View-Master Resource," Fisher-Price Inc., 2007)

Silly Putty (http://history1900s.about.com/od/1950s/a/sillyputty.htm)

One of the most important resources needed for World War II war production was rubber. It was essential for tires (which kept the trucks moving) and boots (which kept the soldiers moving). It was also important for gas masks, life rafts, and even bombers. Beginning early in the war, the Japanese attacked many of the rubber-producing countries in Asia, drastically affecting the supply route. To conserve rubber, civilians in the United States were asked to donate old rubber tires, rubber raincoats, rubber boots, and anything else that consisted at least in part of rubber. Rations were placed even on gasoline to hinder people from driving their cars. Propaganda posters instructed people in the importance of carpooling and showed them how to care for their household rubber products so they would last the duration of the war.

Even with this home front effort, the rubber shortage threatened war production. The government decided to ask U.S. companies to invent a synthetic rubber that had similar properties but that could be made with non-restricted ingredients. In 1943, engineer James Wright was attempting to discover a synthetic rubber while working in General Electric's laboratory in New Haven, Conn. when he discovered something unusual. In a test tube, Wright had combined boric acid and silicone oil, producing an interesting gob of goo.

Wright conducted a multitude of tests on the substance and discovered it could bounce when dropped, stretch farther than regular rubber, didn't collect mold, and had a very high melting temperature. Unfortunately, though it was a fascinating substance, it didn't contain the properties needed to replace rubber. Still, Wright assumed there had to be some practical use for the interesting putty. Unable to come up with an idea himself, Wright sent samples of the putty to scientists around the world. However, none of them found a use for the substance either.

In 1949, the ball of goo found its way to Ruth Fallgatter, an owner of a toy store who regularly produced a catalog of toys. Advertising consultant Peter Hodgson convinced Fallgatter to place globs of the goo in plastic cases and add it to her catalog. Selling for $2 each, the "bouncing putty" outsold everything else in the catalog except for a set of 50-cent Crayola crayons. After a year of strong sales, Fallgatter decided to drop the bouncing putty from her catalog.

Hodgson saw an opportunity. Already $12,000 in debt, Hodgson borrowed another $147 and bought a large quantity of the putty in 1950. He then had Yale students separate the putty into one-ounce balls and place them inside red plastic eggs. Since "bouncing putty" didn't describe all of the putty's unusual and entertaining attributes, Hodgson thought hard about what to call the substance. After much contemplation and numerous options suggested, he decided to name the goo "Silly Putty" and to sell each egg for $1.

In February 1950, Hodgson took Silly Putty to the International Toy Fair in New York but most people there did not see potential for the new toy. Luckily, Hodgson did manage to get Silly Putty stocked at both Nieman-Marcus and Doubleday bookstores.

A few months later, a reporter for The New Yorker stumbled across Silly Putty at a Doubleday bookstore and took home an egg. Fascinated, the writer wrote an article in the "Talk of the Town" section that appeared on August 26, 1950. Immediately, orders for Silly Putty started pouring in.

Silly Putty, marked as "The Real Solid Liquid," was at first considered a novelty item (i.e. a toy for adults). However, by 1955 the market shifted and the toy became a huge success with children. Added to bouncing, stretching, and molding, kids could spend hours using the putty to copy images from comics and then distort the images by bending and stretching.

In 1957, kids could watch Silly Putty T.V. commercials that were strategically placed during The Howdy Doody Show and Captain Kangaroo.

From there, there was no end to the popularity of Silly Putty. Children continue to play with the simple gob of goo often referred to as the "toy with one moving part." (Jennifer Rosenberg, "The History of Silly Putty,"
history1900s.about.com, The New York Times Company, 2011)

Hula Hoop  (http://inventors.about.com/od/hstartinventions/a/Hula_Hoop.htm)

The hula hoop is an ancient invention - no modern company and no single inventor can claim that they invented the first hula hoop. The Greeks used hooping as a form of exercise. Older hoops have been made from metal, bamboo, wood, grasses, and even vines. However, modern companies "re-invented" their own versions of the hula hoop using unusual materials, for example; plastic hula hoops with added bits of glitter and noise makers, and hoops that are collapsible.

Around 1300, hooping came to Great Britain, homemade versions of the toy became very popular. In the early 1800s, British sailors first witnessed hula dancing in the Hawaiian Islands. Hula dancing and hooping look somewhat similar and the name "hula hoop" came together.

Richard Knerr and Arthur "Spud" Melin founded the Wham-O company which helped popularize another ancient toy, the Frisbee.
Knerr and Melin started the Wham-O company from their Los Angeles garage in 1948. The men were marketing a slingshot originally invented for training pet falcons and hawks {it slung meat at the birds). This slingshot was named "Wham-O" because of the sound it made when it hit the target. Wham-O also became the company's name.

Wham-O has become the most successful manufacturer of hula hoops in modern times. They trademarked the name Hula Hoop ® and start manufacturing the toy out of the new plastic Marlex in 1958.
Twenty million Wham-O hula hoops sold for $1.98 in the first six months. (Mary Bellis, "Hula Hoop," inventors.about.com, The New York Times Company, 2011)

Frisbee  (http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa980218.htm)

The Frisbie Baking Company (1871-1958) of Bridgeport, Connecticut, made pies that were sold to many New England colleges. Hungry college students soon discovered that the empty pie tins could be tossed and caught, providing endless hours of game and sport. Many colleges have claimed to be the home of 'he who was first to fling.' Yale College has even argued that in 1820, a Yale undergraduate named Elihu Frisbie grabbed a passing collection tray from the chapel and flung it out into the campus, thereby becoming the true inventor of the Frisbie and winning glory for Yale. That tale is unlikely to be true since the words "Frisbie's Pies" was embossed in all the original pie tins and from the word "Frisbie" was coined the common name for the toy.

In 1948, a Los Angeles building inspector named Walter Frederick Morrison and his partner Warren Franscioni invented a plastic version of the Frisbie that could fly further and with better accuracy than a tin pie plate. Morrison's father was also an inventor, who invented the automotive sealed-beam headlight. Another interesting tidbit was that Morrison had just returned to America after World War II, where he had been a prisoner in the infamous Stalag 13. His partnership with Warren Franscioni, who was also a war veteran, ended before their product had achieved any real success.

Morrison (after his split with Franscioni) produced a plastic Frisbie called the Pluto Platter, to cash in on the growing popularity of UFOs with the American public. The Pluto Platter has become the basic design for all Frisbies. The outer third of the Frisbie disc is called the 'Morrison Slope', listed in the patent. Rich Knerr and A.K. 'Spud' Melin were the owners of a new toy company called 'Wham-O'. Knerr and Melin also marketed the Hula-Hoop, the Super Ball and the Water Wiggle. They pair first saw Morrison's Pluto Platter in late 1955. They liked what they saw and convinced Morrison to sell them the rights to his design.

With a deal signed, Wham-O began production (1/13/1957) of more Pluto Platters. The next year, the original Frisbie Baking Company shut down and coincidentally Fred Morrison was awarded a patent (Design patent 183,626) for his flying disc. Morrison received over one million dollars in royalties for his invention.

The word 'Frisbee' is pronounced the same as the word "Frisbie." Rich Knerr (Wham-O) was in search of a catchy new name to help increase sales, after hearing about the original use of the terms "Frisbie" and "Frisbie-ing." He borrowed from the two words to create the registered trademark Frisbee ®. Sales soared for the toy, due to Wham-O's clever marketing of Frisbee playing as a new sport.

In 1964, the first professional model went on sale. Ed Headrick was the inventor at Wham-O who patented Wham-O's designs for the modern frisbee (U.S. patent 3,359,678). Ed Headrick's frisbee with its band of raised ridges called the Rings of Headrick had stablized flight as opposed to the wobbly flight of its predecessor the Pluto Platter.

Today the fifty year old Frisbee® is owned by Mattel Toy Manufacturers, only one of at least sixty manufacturers of flying discs. Wham-O sold over one hundred million units before the selling the toy to Mattel. (Mary Bellis, "The First Flight of the Frisbee," inventors.about.com., The New York Times Company, 2011)

Duncan Yo-yo  (http://www.ehow.com/about_5057335_duncan-yoyo-history.html)

Although the yo-yo has been around for centuries, yo-yos were almost nowhere to be found for many years. Thanks to Duncan Toys Company founder Donald F. Duncan, however, the toys known as yo-yos once again became popular in the early 1900s. Yo-yos are now one of the world's all-time best-selling toys.

Donald F. Duncan, the creator of the Duncan Toys Company, saw his very first yo-yo in 1928 and immediately became interested in it. Duncan, an entrepreneur, teamed up with Hearst Newspapers in 1930 to hold a yo-yo competition. During a 30-day event that Duncan held in connection with this competition, he sold more than 3 million yo-yos.
Growth

After nearly 20 years in business, Duncan built a new yo-yo factory dedicated exclusively to the building of yo-yos. Because the company knew it was important to continue to build wooden yo-yos, the factory was built in Luck, Wisconsin, which is an area rich in hard maple.

Duncan's first television advertising appeared in 1959, just a few years after television had started to become popular in most American homes. The first ad campaign focused on the Philadelphia area. Thanks to the television commercials, sales in the Philadelphia area increased from $20,000 in 1958 to $100,000 in 1959. In 1960, Duncan continued with its television commercials, and its national sales increased from $2 million in 1961 to $7 million in 1962.

The yo-yo fad did not last long. By 1965, Duncan Yo-Yos was suffering from decreased sales and a long court battle against the Royal Tops Company over the trademark of the toy's name. The courts ruled that "yo-yo" had become a generic term, so the Duncan Toy Company was no longer the only company that could market yo-yos using the term. The court case bankrupted both companies.

Flambeau Products Corporation bought the Duncan name in 1968. They also bought the company's goodwill, which, in business terms, means its reputation and product superiority. Flambeau now manufactures yo-yos from its plant in Columbus, Indiana.

In 1995, Duncan took an advertising leap of faith and created television commercials suggesting that yo-yos were a better alternative to video games. This ad campaign struck a chord with consumers around the globe. In 1996, the yo-yo became a hot seller in Britain, Australia and Japan. The Duncan Toys Company continues to operate to this day, and Duncan Yo-yos continue to be made by Flambeau Products Corporation. (Chad Buleen, "Duncan Yo-Yo History," www.ehow.com, Demand Media Inc., 1999-2011)

Pogo Stick  (http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_pogo_stick.htm)

There is a legend that, "either George Hansburg or a anonymous German was traveling through Burma when he meet a poor farmer with a daughter named Pogo. Pogo wanted to go to temple every day to pray, but couldn't because she had no shoes to wear for the long walk through the mud and rocks. So the poor farmer built a jumping stick for her, and when George Hansburg or the anonymous German returned home, he made and sold a similar jumping stick of his own."

Yes, the above story is just a legend and not true, however, George Hansburg did patent the first pogo stick in 1919.

A boatload of wooden pogo sticks were exported from Germany to the US based Gimble Brothers Department Store in 1919. However, the wooden sticks somehow rotted and warped during the journey. That same year, Gimble asked George Hansburg, an Illinois baby furniture and toy designer, to improve the design of the wooden pogo sticks. Hansburg created a painted all metal, enclosed-spring pogo stick, and manufactured them in an Elmhurst, N.Y. factory.

In an effort to promote pogo sticks, George Hansburg taught the Ziegfeld Follies girls how to pogo. In 1920, Ziegfeld featured a marriage performed on pogo sticks. The roaring twenties proved to be the height of popularity for pogo sticks and all kinds of pogo stick stunts and publicity tricks occurred.

In 1947, George Hansburg invented the Master Pogo, an improved steel pogo stick with a longer-lasting spring. (Mary Bellis, "Pogo Stick - Pogostick," inventors.about.com, The New York Times Company, 2011)

In the early 1970’s, Hansburg sold his company to a local Ellenville, New York businessman named Irwin Arginisky. Though sales have never been as brisk as they were in those roaring 20’s, Pogos never stopped being made, and today, like a lot of old-school toys, they’re enjoying a bit of a renaissance. Though there’s the brightly colored “Go-Go Pogo” from competing toy company Pierce, sticks with plastic super-hero torsos for handlebars (Spider Man and Wonder Woman, for example), and gimmicky accessories like ‘bounce-ometers’ and plastic ornaments, the classic no-logo models from SBI are the sticks that bounce best with consumers over the long haul. ("Pogo Stick History," American Pogo Stick Company, 2002-2005)