The Killing Fields (Rosanne Cash)

A bit of justice, finally... 💙

From today's NYT newsletter:

"The murder conviction of a police officer is an exceedingly rare event.

There have been only seven murder convictions of officers for fatal police shootings since 2005, according to Philip Stinson of Bowling Green State University. That suggests the chances of a killing by the police leading to a murder conviction are about one in 2,000.

Yet a jury in Minneapolis yesterday convicted Derek Chauvin of second-degree murder (as well as two other charges) for killing George Floyd last May. A typical sentence for that felony in Minneapolis is 12½ years in prison, although prosecutors have asked for more and the maximum is 40 years. A judge will sentence Chauvin in about eight weeks."

NR:  Priestdaddy:  A Memoir by Patricia Lockwood

SONG:  The Killing Fields by Rosanne Cash

BOOK:  Chokehold: Policing Black Men by Paul Butler

POEM:  Ode to the Cameraman by Alora Young

This is an ode to the cameraman

for the poet

and the pastor

and the speeches that redefine legacies.

It’s the lens that takes history and makes it art,

the art that makes wrong into revolution.

The gun the knee

we can never unsee       the bodies

of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery.

—To Emmett Till

to all the faces painted on every memory.

We were wrong.

This revolution is live in living color.

We are dying in HD.

I had a dream that our lives went viral

and that Twitter somehow set us free.

The last four years

have been etched into the flesh of progress

like

a

B u r n i n g

cross.

I can’t help but reminisce

about all the moments that Martin lost—

you see martyrs,

those who die for a cause,

we don’t often think about their families.

His legacy is infinite,

but I’m sure Bernice must just miss her daddy.

Every black man who dies in the street

lies on top of the last

four hundred years of combat.

Call me a hysteric

or a heretic,

but all I know is I want my God back. My God.

Not the one who stands

hand and hand with MAGA malice,

who they say wants us to stop counting ballots

to keep this new age toupeed Nero in an all white palace.

The only way out of the belly of this beast

Is       Through.

We keep marching towards a freedom, but freedom’s a concept

… I don’t get where we’re marching to.

This is an ode to the men who know how to win a war,

to the men who take martyrs and make movements human—

it’s funny how 2020 looks just like 1965.

I wonder what wisdom Martin would give me if he were still alive,

if peace is still the best option,

if we are headed towards his vision,

… are we going fast enough to stop them?

This war is televised.

These cameras have put the truth before our nation’s eyes.

My father taught me that God lies in the darkness as well.

The plans of a holy man are often impossible for even him to find.

We can never know the future God has woven

inside of Martin’s mind,

but as we wander blind

toward tomorrow

know that there is more in heaven than the roadmap.

This is not a poem, it’s a playbook.

It’s laid out in 24 frames—look:

the same stage has made the difference on every battlefield,

because the camera I swear is the weapon victors wield.

These men have made God a tool of their war—

I ask you to tell me was he not used as such before?

It’s more than shooting or violence—

progress moves in a silence—

that makes it so we can’t shake the feeling that change is made to come.

In this non-poem lies the markers on our map to freedom,

because I’ve shown you where we’ve come from.

Martin made change not because he was made changed,

but because the same stage holds the ghost

of all its past plays,

seeing the future is much the same as seeing the past,

because

my God

has made the answers,

long before we’ve asked.

The camera is the difference between

Armies of Radicals and Protests Sabbaticals

Whether X’s are Kisses

^ or Graves

Whether we were kings

^or slaves

Martin’s method of protest

made true progress because the script was just too hard to flip.

In God, he found the processes he made sure that we didn’t slip.

Peaceful seats at counter sides

do no wrong in cameras’ eyes

that’s why he changed so many minds:

he changed a narrative.

The first mission of Trump’s modern fascism

is to lose the “fake news”

he likes multi-takes with camera crews

making merch for propaganda crews

so the people will abandon who

actually has their best interest at heart.

I dare to say a narrative is what split this country apart.

When you want to change the world,

first, change a child’s mind.

Martin preached a life in words that had a joy like children find.

When you start on this next battle call a cameraman

because war is in

the people’s minds.

Kingdoms rise and fall, but the camera sees it all.

Memories live past the trials that decide the truth of abuses,

and the phantoms that live in the call.

The first time you see change

I promise

is never the beginning.

Because for eras before the prophets of yore

had minds that had long been spinning.

God gifts the words for the battle-winning narrative.

Prophets just sing along.

That’s why in the streets people scream

I have a dream

that’s Gods music—

we’re just singing along.

We have our actors and our cameramen,

we have God’s script and our stage

turn

on the lights

send the artists and wrights

and hope our revolution makes

the Front Page.

[Alora Young, 1/26/21: “With the combination of the Martin Luther King holiday and the inauguration, last week has been monumental for our country. We have survived a year of division, we have survived a year of revolution, and when I saw the photographs in this NPR article, I realized something. We aren’t fighting a war with fist anymore. We are fighting a war with cameras. We are fighting a war with art. And I feel that now we understand this we can win the struggle for a kinder world.”]

QUOTE:  “True justice requires that we come to terms with the fact that Black Americans are treated differently, every day...  And it requires us to do the sometimes thankless, often difficult, but always necessary work of making the America we know more like the America we believe in.” ~ Barack Obama

Peace (Taylor Swift)

[see first Feel Good Friday note below for attribution]

To quote the beginning of the song Satisfied in Hamilton:  "rewind... rewind... rewind".  I know today is Saturday but, for all practical purposes, this is my Feel Good Friday post... because I was with my grandbaby all day and most of the evening yesterday and didn't have the opportunity to post.

Wow, did I need that day with my sweet Colin, just the two of us, to re-bond.  Most of our time together is with Sarah as well, always lovely, but he obviously defers to her, so this one-on-one time was much appreciated and cherished.  Dance, Lala! Come, Lala! (upon handing me my shoes so we could go to the park), Can I please have a cookie, Lala? Tickle back, Lala! His wish is my command... 💞  He looked up at me, at least 10 times, to say, "Hi, Lala!" and "I love you, Lala!". We hugged and snuggled and talked.  He understands the concept of *both*, which I think is pretty amazing for not-yet-three.  

Colin is obsessed with the zoo and has an assortment of of molded plastic animals,  so we played with them most of the day, him doling out to me which *one* I could be... sometimes the zebra, sometimes the cheetah, sometimes the giraffe (but never the lion; he *always* gets to be the lion(s)... 😄 )

As is tradition, our Word(s) of the Day:  Adventure (because we visited a new-to-us park, with lots of trees, some winding paths, and a giant playground, some of which is too advanced for him, but gives him something to grow into)... and Asparagus (because there were lots of chopped-up raw pieces in the salad I brought for lunch, which I shared with Colin, who pronounced them yuck!).

A heart- and spirit-refilling day that was important for us both.  See what I did there?... 👵👶

After he went to bed (since I don't get Disney+ at home), I finished watching the Taylor Swift documentary that we started New Year's Eve.  Well-done (and now I want to view it all over again).

As promised, five items below of beauty, interest, and humor to brighten your day/weekend/week.  Enjoy! 

~ Dad Creates Honest Comics About The World And Kindness:  For years, Christopher Grady has been drawing his experiences as a dad-of-two and sharing them through a project called Lunarbaboon. He started this endeavor to combat anxiety and depression, focusing on life-affirming aspects of everyday life. So it doesn't matter if a particular strip revolves around a not-so-pesky spider or teaching your son to respect women, Grady tries his best to infuse it with love and empathy. And it works.

~ Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen team up for new Renegades: Born in the USA podcast:  Former President Barack Obama and legendary singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen are known for their power on the mic. And today, the two have released their very own podcast: Renegades: Born in the USA. The eight-episode series (of which the first two episodes are out now) features the duo in dialogue about everything from their similar childhoods as "outsiders" to being role models to how to approach the divided state of America today.

~ Michelle Obama Befriends Foodie Puppets in ‘Waffles + Mochi’ Trailer:  The former First Lady stars as a supermarket owner who hires Waffles and Mochi, two puppets who dream of being chefs. Obama helps the duo embark on a global adventure, using a flying shopping cart as their guide. They visit restaurants, kitchens, and farms around the world — riding in gondolas in Italy and llamas in Peru, out March 16 on Netflix.

~ The Soothing, Digital Rooms of YouTube:  Welcome to the world of so-called ambience videos, a genre of YouTube video that pairs relaxing soundscapes with animated scenery in order to make viewers feel immersed in specific spaces, like a jazz bar in Paris or a swamp populated with trilling wildlife.

~ Yaupon Brothers American Tea Co.:  Rediscover... The Tea from Here.  American Roots, A Different Leaf, A Better Tea. (thanks to my dear friend LO for the variety pack that arrived on my doorstep yesterday... 💖)

NR:  No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood (Part One had me befuddled, Part Two completely engaged as well as ugly-crying.  Her memoir Priestdaddy is next in my queue.)

SONG:  Peace by Taylor Swift

BOOK:  365 Days of Peace: Benedictions to End Your Day in Gentleness and Hope by Jessica Kantrowitz

POEM:  Acceptance Speech for Winning the Nobel Peace Prize by Peter Davis

First off, most importantly, I’d like to thank war

for making peace so valuable. We should be willing to thank

the bad for making the good possible. I say, “I would never

know the moon without night.”

However, we all know the black tar of violence

sticks to the machines and they don’t work right.

We’ve all seen an arrow through a bloody heart.

We all know whose heart it is.

I’d like to praise doctors and nurses for caring for wounds.

It is a dirty business.

I prefer to not have wounds, and yet I know this award

is like a metal-plated wound on my heart.

… The sacrifice of waterfalls, the terrific flight of a seagull,

the hanging of vines and leaves from trees, the insects,

the crayfish and miniscule snails, the small canyons

and the man-made tunnels under roads …

I cannot swallow these things out of my chest.

I cannot digest butterflies or sharp knives.

There is no part of me that smells a soup from our

broth of intolerance and one-sidedness.

Thank you for giving me something

to remember the sadness of my life by. My life is a religion

of sadness and I only wish that others would join me

and reach out because they are sad too.

I would love to wake up one morning and find hands,

some up to the elbow, coming out of my lawn.

[Peter Davis: “I’m a guy who lives with my wife and son in Muncie, Indiana. I have doubts about myself as a poet and teacher. I do the best I can. That’s why I write poems: because I try. I mean, essentially, I’m hopeful. It’s not very cynical and heartless at its core. It’s not very punk.”]

QUOTE:  “I don't write because I think I have something to say. I write because if I don't, everything feels even worse.” ~ Lily King, Writers & Lovers

I'm Reading a Book (Julian Smith)

Very few days of my life go by in which I do not read.  I learned at a very young age; even when it was just memorization in the early stages, I understood the power of words and that all one had to do was turn the page to continue the adventure, the escape, the inward musing.

Retirement + pandemic = lots of leisure time, not to mention that for me (although there were moments of lack of focus and loss of concentration), it has become one of my primary coping mechanisms during this self-imposed Shelter in Place the past 9 1/2 months.

For years, I have opted in to the Goodreads Challenge, choosing a-book-a-week (52-a-year) as my goal.  Some years I've gotten close, a few years I've achieved, and this year I will have almost doubled!

When I realized last week that I was at 95 I decided that, if there was ever a time to get into the triple-digits, this was it.  So I am pushing, not cheating, to make that happen.  I confess that the last five books were 200 pages or less, but still legitimate books that were on my Want to Read list/pile anyway.  This is where My Year in Books (2020) currently stands (hoping that, even if you are not on Goodreads, you can see this).  Here's/cheers to 100 books... 💖

I consciously decided to make World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Fumi Nakamura (Illustrator) (a Christmas present from my dear friend Michele), my last book of 2020 (starting it tomorrow morning).

Day One all over again on January 1, with my first book of 2021, A Promised Land by Barack Obama, which I am very much looking forward to.  I carefully curate how I wish to spend my time with the written word, and already have many potential novels as well as works of non-fiction earmarked for my ongoing journey.  I am setting my goal as per my usual book-a-week, thinking positive that I will one day have a social life again, and therefore less time for reading (but I've loved every hour/minute/second of page-turning... 😍 )

NR:  She Come By It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs by Sarah Smarsh

SONG:  I'm Reading a Book by Julian Smith (ignore the annoying bagpipes in the last 15 seconds!)

BOOK:  Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany by Jane Mount (Illustrator)

POEM:  The Nobel Prize for Reading by Nicanor Parra

The Nobel Prize for Reading

should be awarded to me

I am the ideal reader,

I read everything I get my hands on:

I read street names

and neon signs

bathroom walls

and new price-lists

the police news,

projections for the Derby

and license plates

for a person like me

the word is something holy

members of the jury

what would I gain by lying

as a reader, I'm relentless

I read everything - I don't even skip

the classifieds

of course these days I don't read much

I simply don't have the time

But - oh man - what I have read

that's why I'm asking you to give me

the Nobel Prize for Reading

as soon as impossible

(antitranslated by Lis Werner)

QUOTE:  "My personal hobbies are reading, listening to music, and silence." ~ Edith Sitwell

Love Don't Need a Reason (Michael Callen)

I think it's interesting that the recent Black Lives Matter protests have led people to also explore the history of the LGBTQ movement, and to surprisingly discover that the latter was sparked by black trans women (Stonewall Uprising, June 28, 1969).  I am saddened that we cannot march this month (June) for Pride (one of the most transformative moments of my life a few years ago) so, in solidarity, I watched Disclosure last night, and The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson and From Selma to Stonewall: Are We There Yet? tonight, all fascinating and eye-opening, as well as horrifying.  We believe we've come so far, and there are still many murders of transgender or gender non-conforming people (27 in 2019, and already 16 in 2020).  When will it stop?

SONG:  Love Don't Need a Reason by Michael Callen

BOOK(S):  We Are Everywhere: Protest, Power, and Pride in the History of Queer Liberation by Matthew Riemer, Leighton Brown

Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love

POEM:  A Litany for Survival by Audre Lorde

For those of us who live at the shoreline
standing upon the constant edges of decision
crucial and alone
for those of us who cannot indulge
the passing dreams of choice
who love in doorways coming and going
in the hours between dawns
looking inward and outward
at once before and after
seeking a now that can breed
futures
like bread in our children’s mouths
so their dreams will not reflect
the death of ours;

For those of us
who were imprinted with fear
like a faint line in the center of our foreheads
learning to be afraid with our mother’s milk
for by this weapon
this illusion of some safety to be found
the heavy-footed hoped to silence us
For all of us
this instant and this triumph
We were never meant to survive.

And when the sun rises we are afraid
it might not remain
when the sun sets we are afraid
it might not rise in the morning
when our stomachs are full we are afraid
of indigestion
when our stomachs are empty we are afraid
we may never eat again
when we are loved we are afraid
love will vanish
when we are alone we are afraid
love will never return
and when we speak we are afraid
our words will not be heard
nor welcomed
but when we are silent
we are still afraid

So it is better to speak
remembering
we were never meant to survive.

QUOTE:  “When all Americans are treated as equal, no matter who they are or whom they love, we are all more free.” ~ Former U.S. President Barack Obama

Change You Can Believe In (Erik Balkey)

Don't faint! - two posts in one day. It had to be done - what an amazing, as well as historic, day... :-)

Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address
January 20, 2009

Following is the prepared text of President-elect Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address, as provided by the Presidential Inaugural Committee.

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

SONG: Change You Can Believe In by Erik Balkey (performed by Tom Prasada-Rao, featuring Beth Wood, Cary Cooper, Amy Speace, and Robin Cate, with Bill Kahler on saxophone)

BOOK: The Inauguration of Barack Obama: A Photographic Journal by The Washington Post, Foreword by Ben Bradlee

POEM: Praise Song for the Day (inaugural poem) by Elizabeth Alexander

Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each others' eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.

A farmer considers the changing sky; A teacher says, "Take out your pencils. Begin."

We encounter each other in words, words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed; words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and then others who said, "I need to see what's on the other side; I know there's something better down the road."

We need to find a place where we are safe; We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day. Praise song for every hand-lettered sign; The figuring it out at kitchen tables.

Some live by "Love thy neighbor as thy self."

Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.

What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.

In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.

On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp -- praise song for walking forward in that light.

QUOTE: "We ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to give back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right." ~ Rev. Joseph Lowery, Civil Rights leader and former president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), delivering the inaugural ceremony's benediction

America's Song (will.i.am and David Foster)

From today's Writer's Almanac:

Today is Inauguration Day. The Constitution mandates that each new president take the following oath of office:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. George Washington also started a tradition of adding the line "so help me God."

Until 1937, Inauguration Day was March 4th. But it was changed in 1937 by the 20th Amendment, because there was no reason to have that much time between November elections and the inauguration.

The shortest inaugural address was the first one, delivered by George Washington. It was 135 words long. The longest inaugural address was by William Henry Harrison — it was 8,495 words.
There have been three poets who have recited at inaugurations. Maya Angelou read at Bill Clinton's first inauguration, Miller Williams at his second. In 1961, Robert Frost appeared at John F. Kennedy's inauguration. Frost wrote a poem specifically for the occasion, called "Dedication." It began:

Summoning artists to participate

In the august occasions of the state

Seems something artists ought to celebrate.

Today is for my cause a day of days.

And his be poetry's old-fashioned praise

Who was the first to think of such a thing.

And it ended:

A golden age of poetry and power

Of which this noonday's the beginning hour.

But because the January morning was so bright, and the glare on his faint typewritten paper was so intense, the 86-year-old Frost had a hard time reading the poem he had composed. So he recited one of his poems that he knew by heart, "The Gift Outright." It was a great moment for poetry.

About a month ago, Barack Obama announced his inaugural poet: Elizabeth Alexander, a professor at Yale. Obama knows Alexander from the days when they both taught at the University of Chicago. And Alexander has been working on her inaugural poem ever since.

Some of these events have happened already... and some are yet to come - how exciting is all this?!? (rhetorical question... :-)

WASHINGTON, DC - The Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC) is pleased to announce the producers and initial talent lineup for WE ARE ONE: THE OBAMA INAUGURAL CELEBRATION AT THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL, the Opening Celebration for the 56th Presidential Inaugural, to be presented exclusively by HBO on Sunday, January 18 (7:00-9:00 p.m. ET/PT). The event will be free and open to the public, kicking off the most open and accessible Inauguration in history.

The special will be executive produced by George Stevens, Jr. (The Kennedy Center Honors), and produced by Don Mischer (Olympic Ceremonies) who will also direct the special, and Michael Stevens (The American Film Institute Salutes) who is also writing the special, and will be a production of The Stevens Company in association with Don Mischer Productions.

Musical performers scheduled for the event include Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Bono, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Renee Fleming, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Heather Headley, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, John Mellencamp, Usher Raymond IV, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, will.i.am, and Stevie Wonder. Among those reading historical passages will be Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III, Queen Latifah and Denzel Washington. The Rt. Reverend V. Gene Robinson will give the invocation. Rob Mathes will be the music director and arranger for the backing band, which will support all of the artists. Additional performers will be announced as they are confirmed.

"Our intention is to root the event in history, celebrating the moments when our nation has united to face great challenges and prevail," observed George Stevens, Jr. "We will combine historical readings by prominent actors with music from an array of the greatest stars of today."

"This is a great opportunity to capture an historic event in a very meaningful setting," noted Don Mischer. "We will have the statue of Abraham Lincoln looking down on our stage and a crowd of hundreds of thousands of people lining the mall -- a tableau any director would relish."

"We have found that the great artists are eager to take part and each one is working with us to find music that expresses the optimism and hope that people bring to the Obama inauguration," said Michael Stevens.

Televised to the nation, the Opening Celebration will be a declaration of common purpose and new beginnings. The Sunday afternoon performance will be grounded in history and brought to life with entertainment that relates to the themes that shaped Barack Obama and which will be the hallmarks of his administration.

HBO will televise the event on an open signal, working with all of its distributors to allow Americans across the country with access to cable, telcos or satellite television to join in the Opening Celebration for free.

The 56th Inauguration promises to be the most inclusive in history, and the Opening Celebration is one of a series of inaugural events that reflect that commitment.

On Saturday, the President-elect, Vice President-elect and their families will journey to the nation's capital via train, holding events that are free and open to the public along the way. They will be joined by a group of everyday Americans they met along their road to the White House. On January 19, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President-elect Obama will call on all Americans to make an ongoing commitment to serve their communities and their country. A new website, USAservice.org, makes it easy for Americans to organize service events or find existing events to participate in. To date, nearly 5,000 events have been organized across the country. That evening, Michelle Obama, Dr. Jill Biden, and their families will host a free "Kids' Inaugural" concert to honor military families, broadcast live on the Disney Channel and Radio Disney.

This spirit of openness will continue on Inauguration Day, when, for the first time in history, the entire length of the National Mall will be open to the public for the swearing in ceremony. Local D.C. students have also been given the chance to receive tickets in front of the White House for the Inaugural Parade for themselves and their family members based on the submission of essays answering the question, "How can I contribute to my neighborhood through community service?"

On the evening of Inauguration Day, the first ball that President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will attend will be the first-ever Neighborhood Inaugural Ball. The ball will be broadcast live on ABC and over the Internet, bringing together neighborhoods across the country in the spirit of unity and celebration.

The sum of these public events is an Inauguration that allows more Americans than ever before to come together as one nation and one people, united in our resolve to tackle our greatest common challenges and move this country forward together.

For the latest information on the 2009 Presidential Inauguration, please visit www.pic2009.org

P.S. I am leaving first thing tomorrow (Wednesday) morning to fly up to Atlanta to spend a week with my mom... so, although I'll have my laptop with me for sporadic e-mail checks, I may not blog much (or at all) - back Tuesday, January 27...

SONG: America's Song (will.i.am and David Foster)

BOOK: Yes We Can: A Biography of Barack Obama by Garen Thomas

POEM: Sometimes by Sheenagh Pugh

Sometimes things don't go, after all,
from bad to worse. Some years, muscadel
faces down frost; green thrives; the crops don't fail,
sometimes a man aims high, and all goes well.

A people sometimes step back from war;
elect an honest man; decide they care
enough, that they can't leave some stranger poor.
Some men become what they were born for.

Sometimes our best efforts do not go
amiss; sometimes we do as we meant to.
The sun will sometimes melt a field of sorrow
that seemed hard frozen: may it happen to you.

QUOTE: "A leader is a dealer in hope." ~ Napoleon Bonaparte

Up to the Mountain (MLK Song) - (Patty Griffin)

In anticipation of tomorrow's inaugural events:

'What I Want for You — and Every Child in America'
By President-elect Barack Obama
1/14/2009

Next Tuesday, Barack Obama will be sworn in as our 44th President. On this historic occasion, PARADE asked the President-elect, who is also a devoted family man, to get personal and tell us what he wants for his children. Here, he shares his letter to them.

Dear Malia and Sasha,

I know that you've both had a lot of fun these last two years on the campaign trail, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn't have let you have. But I also know that it hasn't always been easy for you and Mom, and that as excited as you both are about that new puppy, it doesn't make up for all the time we've been apart. I know how much I've missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey.

When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me-about how I'd make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn't seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn't count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours. In the end, girls, that's why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation.

I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential-schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college-even if their parents aren't rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity.

I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you'll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer. And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region, gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other.

Sometimes we have to send our young men and women into war and other dangerous situations to protect our country-but when we do, I want to make sure that it is only for a very good reason, that we try our best to settle our differences with others peacefully, and that we do everything possible to keep our servicemen and women safe. And I want every child to understand that the blessings these brave Americans fight for are not free-that with the great privilege of being a citizen of this nation comes great responsibility.

That was the lesson your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for equality because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean something.

She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better-and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us. It's a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to what we know America should be.

I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs that you see and working to give others the chances you've had. Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much-although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.

These are the things I want for you-to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help build that world. And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have. That's why I've taken our family on this great adventure.

I am so proud of both of you. I love you more than you can ever know. And I am grateful every day for your patience, poise, grace, and humor as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House.

Love, Dad

P.S. SMM...

P.P.S. Thanks to Nelson for the song title inspiration (from his SMM Hope and Change post... :-)

SONG: Up to the Mountain (MLK Song) by Patty Griffin

BOOK: Great Speeches by African Americans: Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Barack Obama, and Others by James Daley

POEM: What I Have Learned So Far by Mary Oliver

Meditation is old and honorable, so why should I

not sit, every morning of my life, on the hillside,

looking into the shining world? Because, properly

attended to, delight, as well as havoc, is suggestion.

Can one be passionate about the just, the

ideal, the sublime, and the holy, and yet commit

to no labor in its cause? I don't think so.

All summations have a beginning, all effect has a

story, all kindness begins with the sown seed.

Thought buds toward radiance. The gospel of

light is the crossroads of -- indolence, or action.

Be ignited, or be gone.

QUOTE: "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Pacing the Cage (Bruce Cockburn)

Bravo. Now be yourself.
By Garrison Keillor
November 5, 2008

A golden November day under a blue sky and an air of sweet amiability at the polls and at the end of the day, we elected the right guy, no doubt about it. Yes, we can and we did. A nation spread its wings and achieved altitude.

Bravo, Barack, Mr. Steady, who cheerfully did the rope lines, made the phone calls, answered the same questions 15,000 times, bounded up the stairs, delivered his lines with warmth and wit, ran a tight disciplined army, and that, plus $700 million and an 80 mile-per-hour wind at your back, is all you need to win the prize.

One is electrified by the historic moment, of course, but I will let Great Minds chew on that, and simply wish him and his marvelous lady all the best as they bear up under the tsunami of adoration from Democrats whom he has led out of Egypt. His picture goes up in the kitchen shrine alongside FDR and JFK — BHO elevated to sainthood and now expected to walk on water and turn it into wine. Meanwhile, everything he said about the national mess is utterly true and a lot more. And now it is Barack’s mess. Yikes.

A good shingle for the new administration to hang out, rather than The New Covenant or A Fair Exchange or English Spoken Here, would be Keep Seat Belt Buckled. Happy days are not here and the sky above is not clear.

One bright light in the marquee is Michelle Obama, that witty, jumpy woman with the quick­silver smile who said, "How does Barack prepare for a debate? He just talks to me and he’s ready." The good mother who said, "People ask me how I am, and I say, I’m only as good as my most sad child." Come January, we will have a president whose wife calls him Baby. Good for you, Mama. And now she becomes America’s No. 2 celebrity, the object of giddy curiosity.
Enjoy the people’s house, Michelle, and cruise along gently and do not read anything written about you, and don’t watch the news. Enjoy the pageantry (you look good, Baby), bring up the family, and don’t take the show too seriously. Don’t do too many interviews. Think Laura Bush, a cool First Lady. People like Laura Bush a lot, a Texas Democrat who married a Republican and stuck with him through thin and thinner. She’s smart and we know that because she never tried to show how smart she is. Do not let the mister put you in charge of health-care legislation. Your great challenge is to make a genuine life in the midst of the heavy surf of publicity. God willing, be happy and live your life. When life gets too unreal, sit down with a good book.

As for President-elect Obama, he can now stop dancing, which he’s been doing for 20 months — in a democracy we want candidates to really, really, really want to be president — and get down to the business of patient, focused, rational deliberation and calculation, starting with the formulation of a Cabinet and a White House staff. Have them write up a presidential order for Jan. 20 saying that America will not employ torture, and maybe issue a blanket presidential pardon for your predecessor and his vice, and then set about the business of disappointing your followers and astonishing your enemies and doing what is right for our country.

Be good to yourself. Hire smart, stable people who can tell you things you need to know and not copy Bob Woodward. Keep some Republicans around. You’re the man. You make us proud. You let us get to know you. You have the gift of speaking clearly and forcefully, whole sentences and paragraphs, while thinking at the same time, a good gift. You don’t need a staff of writers to create a persona for you. You need engineers. Problem solvers. You’re inheriting a raft of them.

Get on that treadmill every morning. Keep a daily journal. Let us see those darling girls once in a while. Please don’t play golf. Don’t get a dog. Enjoy Camp David. Be happy. Don’t hire people to tell you how to dress or who to be; you’re a grown-up. Don’t do crap that someday you’d have to go on TV and make cheesy apologies for. This job is one you were cut out to do and a big part of the job is to keep up the national morale and you are already doing that big-time. And thank you, sir. All those cheap motels, all those flights, all of that chip dip. We are deeply grateful.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In my 30 minutes of first-thing-in-the-morning, e-mail-check/web-browsing session (before I went out for my walk), I ran across a new-to-me link on another blog... and had to do some research - it appears to be the official homepage of our new president, where you can apply for a job in the new administration, read the presidential blog, post your opinions about what’s important, send emails detailing your vision for America, monitor the agenda and transition, etc. Impressive!

Change.gov provides resources to better understand the transition process and the decisions being made as part of it. It also offers an opportunity to be heard about the challenges our country faces and your ideas for tackling them. The Obama Administration will reflect an essential lesson from the success of the Obama campaign: that people united around a common purpose can achieve great things.

P.S. Another SMM post...

SONG: Pacing the Cage by Bruce Cockburn (for boyhowdy: this tune was nicely covered by Jimmy Buffett... :-)

BOOK: The American Journey of Barack Obama by The Editors of Life Magazine

POEM: 3 by John Berryman

Sole watchman of the flying stars, guard me

against my flicker of impulse lust: teach me

to see them as sisters & daughters. Sustain

my grand endeavours: husbandship & crafting.

Forsake me not when my wild hours come;

grant me sleep nightly, grace soften my dreams;

achieve in me patience till the thing be done,

a careful view of my achievement come.

Make me from time to time the gift of the shoulder.

When all hurt nerves whine shut away the whiskey.

Empty my heart toward Thee.

Let me pace without fear the common path of death.

Cross am I sometimes with my little daughter:

fill her eyes with tears. Forgive me, Lord.

Unite my various soul,

sole watchman of the wide & single stars.

QUOTE: "I reject a politics that is based solely on racial identity, gender identity, sexual orientation or victimhood generally. I think much of what ails the inner city involves a breakdown in culture that will not be cured by money alone, and that our values and spiritual life matter at least as much as our GDP." ~ Barack Obama

It's a New Day (will.i.am)

will.i.am debuted his new song and video on the election of Barack Obama on Oprah yesterday afternoon - goosebump city... :-)

An open letter to Barack Obama from African-American writer Alice Walker:

Nov. 5, 2008

Dear Brother Obama,

You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us. Us being the black people of the Southern United States. You think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our history. But seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you carried, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, only to be struck down before igniting the flame of justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can bear. And yet, this observation is not intended to burden you, for you are of a different time, and, indeed, because of all the relay runners before you, North America is a different place. It is really only to say: Well done. We knew, through all the generations, that you were with us, in us, the best of the spirit of Africa and of the Americas. Knowing this, that you would actually appear, someday, was part of our strength. Seeing you take your rightful place, based solely on your wisdom, stamina and character, is a balm for the weary warriors of hope, previously only sung about.

I would advise you to remember that you did not create the disaster that the world is experiencing, and you alone are not responsible for bringing the world back to balance. A primary responsibility that you do have, however, is to cultivate happiness in your own life. To make a schedule that permits sufficient time of rest and play with your gorgeous wife and lovely daughters. And so on. One gathers that your family is large. We are used to seeing men in the White House soon become juiceless and as white-haired as the building; we notice their wives and children looking strained and stressed. They soon have smiles so lacking in joy that they remind us of scissors. This is no way to lead. Nor does your family deserve this fate. One way of thinking about all this is: It is so bad now that there is no excuse not to relax. From your happy, relaxed state, you can model real success, which is all that so many people in the world really want. They may buy endless cars and houses and furs and gobble up all the attention and space they can manage, or barely manage, but this is because it is not yet clear to them that success is truly an inside job. That it is within the reach of almost everyone.

I would further advise you not to take on other people’s enemies. Most damage that others do to us is out of fear, humiliation and pain. Those feelings occur in all of us, not just in those of us who profess a certain religious or racial devotion. We must learn actually not to have enemies, but only confused adversaries who are ourselves in disguise. It is understood by all that you are commander in chief of the United States and are sworn to protect our beloved country; this we understand, completely. However, as my mother used to say, quoting a Bible with which I often fought, “hate the sin, but love the sinner.” There must be no more crushing of whole communities, no more torture, no more dehumanizing as a means of ruling a people’s spirit. This has already happened to people of color, poor people, women, children. We see where this leads, where it has led.

A good model of how to “work with the enemy” internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he confronts the Chinese government that invaded Tibet. Because, finally, it is the soul that must be preserved, if one is to remain a credible leader. All else might be lost; but when the soul dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to animals, to rivers, to mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also dies. And your smile, with which we watch you do gracious battle with unjust characterizations, distortions and lies, is that expression of healthy self-worth, spirit and soul, that, kept happy and free and relaxed, can find an answering smile in all of us, lighting our way, and brightening the world.

We are the ones we have been waiting for.

In Peace and Joy,
Alice Walker

P.S. Another Star Maker Machine post... :-)

SONG: It's a New Day by will.i.am

BOOK: New Day Revolution: How to Save the World in 24 Hours by Sam Davidson, Stephen Moseley

POEM: Lift Every Voice and Sing by James Weldon Johnson

Lift ev'ry voice and sing,
Till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the list'ning skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
Let us march on till victory is won.

Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chast'ning rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat,
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered.
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
Till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who hast by Thy might,
Led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee,
Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;
Shadowed beneath Thy hand,
May we forever stand,
True to our God,
True to our native land.

QUOTE: " Sam: It's like in the great stories Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn't want to know the end because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end it's only a passing thing this shadow, even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines it'll shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you, that meant something even if you were too small to understand why. But I think Mr. Frodo, I do understand, I know now folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going because they were holding on to something.

Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?

Sam: That there's some good in the world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for." ~ Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien