@bright-smoke-hq: Thanks Bright Smoke! Xxx

Songs or Sounds  |||  Songs of Sue  |||  Set of Sue Sounds

Things dat make ya go hmmmm. . . . . .hum, sing, & smile. . . think

♥✿⊱╮ "There is power in our words, there is power in our tongues, and there is life and death in what we say and how we say it. Paul knew it. Mr. Peabody knew it. And now you and I know it."—Rev. Candy Snively; St. Paul's Episcopal Church

♥✿⊱╮"You Are NOT My Sunshine" • Cash & Dylan w/ Sue  (submitted for Dylan Campfire group 14Jun2013, hosted by OK Enough)

♥✿⊱╮Milord & Medley "story" as submitted ~4:45PM EDT to Campfire open-mic-night FB group (hosted by Ok Enough)  on Tues.11-Jun-2013:

Hello everyone, my rare contribution here... in an assemble-it-yourself kit of imagining a blue bird chirping a few notes.  

Technically 2-videos (1-sec & 1-min) with a 2-track set of sound of me singing 45-yo songs from high school French class disguised in SOS/MayDay humor to appear as if I actually made a video n song (Milord @ 1-min. & Medley @5 minutes with narration).  

Sorry, making a video did not occur to me since it was traumatic enough to commit a song to the cloud.  Although, once the initial one was  done a medley soon followed and lesson learned re the need to refresh music to memory. . . Particularly after such a long time period. LOL

So, I've come this far... before I lose additional nerve... I'd best be pasting my SOS set link for ya. 

I may be Yada-Yada in person/text, but the SOS tracks are relatively short time wise.   Thankfully, for all of of us :)

Have a nice evening! ~Sue ♥✿⊱╮


sksskh 3-Step Story with 2-Track SOS SET

✿⊱♥✿⊱SOS✿⊱♥✿⊱╮ <^•^> 
RARE public chirps. . . . .on SoundCloud
· · · – – – · · ·
❤Lesson Learning Rule #1: Listen to the music before singing a cappella, especially if more than 40-years since hearing the music... LOL
♡ღ‿ღ♡⌒♡ღ‿ღ♡  °\(ッ)/° ⌒♡ღ‿ღ♡⌒♡ღ‿ღ♡

❤ 3-STEP STORY  ゅ▹ꏼ꒲(ꎍ.｡oゅ.｡oゅ▹ꏼ꒲(ꎍ.｡oゅ.｡
· · · – – – · · ·
1. "Mayday" / "m'aidez"
 Used only as link vehicle to siblings & high school friends thus. . . 
  . . .  skip variety of links in description as necessary. 
BLUEBIRD SongBird YouTube Video! (1-sec): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4Xe_OUjQac&sns=em
· · · – – – · · ·
2. "Sécurité" / SOS
If bluebird with back against wall does not count as a video for humorless types. . . . due to missing a person, then technically the video below  contains a person (me) learning how to upload to non-iPad friendly YouTube platform that said a 3-min video was to long.  Not to be undone by freakin YouTube. . .
 I diced video into thirds, so this is part 1/3 video of zero subject matter.. . . Just me off the cuff....  talking about irrelevant junk. 
VIDEO OF STORYTELLER ME TALKING ABOUT NOTHING (1-min): 
Mostly just trying not to fall due to missing one balance nerve in my deaf ear.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz1AwibLKdI&sns=em
· · · – – – · · ·
3. "Panne" / "breakdown"
Now both  videos lack music, so for the very nit picky techy type nerds like me. . .   I did manage have a moment this week that i felt compelled to sing & record for the fun of it....and. . .  provide a 2-track set of. . . 
Wait for it. . . YES! . . . .As you adjust the volume DOWN. . . 
Holy cow... It's me singing, chirping & laughing in this is  public venue . . . .Squeaks et al unfortunately. . . . .in a rare bird performance of ~45-yo high school French songs.
· · · – – – · · ·
❤SOS SET: https://soundcloud.com/sksskh/sets/k-rap?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=email
· · · – – – · · ·
❤Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. ~ Winston Churchill
♡ღ‿ღ♡⌒♡ღ‿ღ♡  °\(ッ)/° ⌒♡ღ‿ღ♡⌒♡ღ‿ღ♡

❤· · · – – – · · ·Songs of Sue Set Trivia Brief· · · – – – · · ·
1905 signal first adopted 
#1•••"Mayday" originated as the French m'aidez ("help me")
#2•••"Sécurité" for navigational safety is equivalent audio signal 
#3•••"Panne" (French for "breakdown"), spelled "pan" in English
SOS = AMBIGRAM (can be read right side up as well as upside down )
♪♫ ♥♥ ♫♪♪♫ ♥♥ ♫♪♪♫ ♥♥ ♫♪♪♫ ♥♥ ♫♪

· · · – – – · · · DETAILS from Wikipedia · · · – – – · · ·
•—SOS is the commonly used description for the international Morse code distress signal (· · · – – – · · ·). This distress signal was first adopted by  radio regulations effective April 1, 1905, and became the worldwide standard under the second International Radiotelegraphic Convention, which was signed on November 3, 1906 and became effective on July 1, 1908. SOS remained the maritime radio distress signal until 1999, when it was replaced by the Global Maritime Distress Safety System.[1] SOS is still recognized as a visual distress signal.[2]

•—It has also sometimes been used as a visual distress signal, consisting of three short, three long, and three more short flashes of light, such as from a survival mirror, or with "SOS" spelled out in individual letters (for example, stamped in a snowbank or formed out of logs on a beach). The fact that SOS can be read right side up as well as upside down (as an AMBIGRAM) became important for visual recognition if viewed from above.

•— "Mayday" actually originated as the French m'aidez ("help me")The first recorded use of SOS as a distress signal was by the steamer SS Arapahoe on August 11, 1909.  The signal was received by the United Wireless Telegraph Company station at Hatteras, North Carolina, and forwarded to the steamer company's offices.

•—With the development of audio radio transmitters, there was a need for a spoken distress phrase, and "Mayday" was adopted by the 1927 International Radio Convention as the equivalent of SOS. For TTT, the equivalent audio signal is "Sécurité" for navigational safety. It is interesting to note that "Mayday" actually originated as the French m'aidez ("help me") and that there is a third, lesser distress call (after securité): "panne (French for "breakdown"), spelled "pan" in English. French was the international language at the time that these were formalized.

♪♫ ♥♥ ♫♪♪♫ ♥♥ ♫♪♪♫ ♥♥ ♫♪♪♫ ♥♥ ♫♪

✿⊱♥✿⊱SOS✿⊱♥✿⊱╮

As the title makes clear here is another one of my sketches. It was one of those ideas that I liked but for whatever reason never developed it into a full song. That said, I like it for what it is.

‘Been Away A Long, Long Time’ came about after stumbling across a simple acoustic guitar line in late December 2013. I basically hit record and just went with it. As usual everything was very spontaneous. The lyrics, the piano, just about every element was a product of me just going with the flow. 

The track is pretty much live. You can hear a number of little mistakes but given that it is more or less a demo track it doesn’t matter. I think the sound quality isn't too bad as well.

I don’t often post these kinds of tracks (trust me I have lots of them) but this one has a nice vibe. I recorded it late at night and I think it reflects a really introspective and warm nocturnal mood.

I’m unlikely to ever take this one further. For some reason I like that it is just quick snippet of a song. It seems to work well when played in conjunction with other tracks of mine. I guess if I ever release my “White Album” this would be one of the filler tracks – I can dream.

I’ll post something a little more complete next time.

Anyway, it is what it is.

Hope you enjoy!

The East Village Vampire
   
   
LYRICS…

I’ve been away a long, long time
Was I ever here?
She never missed me - read her signs
That much is clear

I’ve been away a long, long time
Was I ever here?
I’ve been away a long, long time
Was I ever here?

I’m a ghost / I’m a ghost I know
I’m a ghost / I’m a ghost I know

I’ve been away a long, long time
Was I ever here?
I’ve been away a long, long time
Was I ever here?



Been Away A Long, Long Time (A Vampire Sketch)

Yes, that is David Bowie’s famous ‘Soul Love’ beat you can hear under this song. As mentioned before, I often loop a straight forward beat and write a song over the top.  Usually I go back and re-record the drums once I am finished. However, not in this case.

‘Stranger’ is one of the oldest tracks I have posted from my vault. It is another one of my travel songs that dates back to about 2000 or 2001. To be honest I have barely listened to this one since I recorded as it didn't do anything for me at the time. Still doesn't.

The sound quality is OK, not great. Then again it was supposed to be a demo / guide track. 

The lyrics are pretty typical of that period of time for me. Actually, the opening line was a play on that old Irish blessing which was a nice touch I think.

Anyway, I think this song is pleasant enough for what it is. 

Hope you enjoy!

The Vamp

LYRICS...

Well the road may rise / the road may fall
When you live life as a stranger
I want to lay down baby at your door
But I feel a sense of danger / I feel a sense of danger

Well I drift on through your country side
But it doesn’t really matter
If I ever make it out of this city alive then I’m one hell of an actor
One hell of an actor

Chasing shadows all my life
See me work the pale moonlight
I’m a stranger / I’m stranger

You’ll never know just who I am
Far away in a foreign land
I’m stranger / I’m stranger

See the kingdoms through the night time - faces by day
But now it is nothing more than a memory
Got a picture to preserve you in my mind
But it don’t keep me company
It don’t keep me company...

I put the blues in my shoes and carry the news 
When I live my life as a stranger
I let freedom slip through but now I know what to do
This time I'm going to cage her
I'm going to cage her

Chasing shadows all my life
See me work the pale moonlight
I’m a stranger / I’m stranger


You’ll never know just who I am
Far away in a foreign land
I’m stranger / I’m stranger

Come on...

Stranger (A Forgotten Demo).

World Gone Bad - Words & Music: Pravinand Maharaj

I was born downtown on a bed of rats
From a dirty faced kid to a mean ol’ cat
Mama said son you look just like your dad
It’s hard being good in a world gone bad

Don’t wanna go where I don’t want to be
Don’t want to say what I don’t really mean
What a lowdown rotten life I had
It’s hard being good in a world gone bad

Gonna pull up my boots
Pick up my cane
Put on my hat
Get on the road again
Hit that trail before the break of dawn
You can wait all you want but baby I’ll be gone

Some get their kicks in the back of a hearse
Some drink blood just to quench their thirst
Me I’m on the edge going mad
It’s hard being good in a world gone bad 


World Gone Bad

LOVE IS FREE

Beautiful song, thanks to Jenny for helping me out with the harmonies 

That's What's Up feat. Jenny Daniel (Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Cover)

I had a comment that my previous upload of Delia was a bit too quiet. I listened back and it really was difficult to hear. Sorry about that, hopefully this version is an improvment...

This one's for you Granny x

Delia (Original)

Recorded in studio 2 at the MAC Birmingham. 

Part of the song writing circle.

Lyrics, Guitar and Vocals by Christian J Hill.


Big thank you to Dan Whitehouse.

Sober Inside

A half finished painting collapsed by the wall
A mosaic of takeaway boxes on the floor

(Don't change my lovely friend)

Rum Perfume (free download)

New Track! Out Now!
Choose your preferred streaming service here: https://ffm.to/dreamworld

Lyrics:

Go in my direction
Let me show you where I’m from
Feel my intersection
Let me go where I belong

Warning warning warning
We’ve gotta get out of here
Warning warning warning
We’ve gotta get out of here

Dreamworld
It’s not where I used to run
It’s where I used to hide

Roll up roll up roll up
There’s everything that you’d ever want

Dreamworld
It’s not where I used to run
It’s where I used to hide

Dreamworld
It’s not where I used to run
It’s where I used to hide

James E. Gray LINKS:

SPOTIFY: https://spoti.fi/2S43HnE
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/JamesEGray
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/JamesEGrayMusic
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/JamesEGrayMusic
TWITTER: https://www.twitter.com/JamesEGrayMusic

Dreamworld

Spotify

Gizmo - Lift Me Up (feat. Nick Hakim)

"There is power in our words, there is power in our tongues, and there is life and death in what we say and how we say it. Paul knew it. Mr. Peabody knew it. And now you and I know it."—Rev. Candy Snively; St. Paul's Episcopal Church ( see Happyville story below re Mr. Peabody )

In sharing FB items with my high school group I noticed I'd posted the lyrics to a bunch of songs in various languages.  My multi-lingual teacher back then played piano & lead the class in song.  I loved that class grades 9-11, but our school had no 4th year French class.  Senior year I had to be creative to keep up my French. As President of our French club I lead those meetings in my best country French style.  And, senior year travelled with a group to France for 10-days.  Once a few friends & I were left behind by the group at the opera house around midnight.  We found the subway station, but as hicks none of us knew how to read the subway map to get back to our hotel prior to the 1AM subway system shutdown.  I stopped a man in a suit to ask for help in the best French I could muster.  I learned how to read that map in a heartbeat, and relieved we made it to our hotel. When we saw our chaperones & group eating burgers a block away.... We were chastised for walking one block without a chaperone.  Of course we said, HAHAHA... We just came across town without a chaperone!!!  Laughs were had by all.

In the spirit of laughing, I recorded this after a couple run thought with my scratchy voice to warm up.... For what I don't know.   I'm hooked on this & other songs taught by Mr. Rayford Sowell back in 1967-1971 at Liberty High School in Bedford, VA USA

I do apologize to Edith fans.... As Edith Piaf was simply awesome in singing this song like no other.

1970 SONG LYRICS Handout, page 13  "Milord"
1972 FRANCE High school senoir trip
1991 FRANCE Merck business trip to Clermont-Ferrand

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200727913747373.2208923.1447741737&type=3
~~~~
As a footnote: My many years of various church choirs deserve a mention in tribute to my wonderful choir directors who love music as much as I.  I salut their many dedicated efforts in choir with this particular homily.  A nice listen / read, if you have the time. Many thanks! 

 "Mr. Peabody's Apples" 
Rev. Candace Snively, Deacon —Homily, June 9, 2013 

Galatians 1:11-24
I want to share a story with you this morning and when I'm finished I will tell you who the author is. There is a book named Mr. Peabody's Apples. In this story all the good people of Happyville live a fine existence. Sort of like Andy Griffith's Mayberry...

Hear Candy's homily in MP3 audio. Click here for AUDIO:
 http://www.stpaulscary.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=166&Itemid=1019

I want to share a story with you this morning. And when I’m finished, I’ll tell you who the author is.  There is a book named Mr. Peabody’s Apples. In this story, all the good people of Happyville live a fine existence, sort of like life in Andy Griffith’s Mayberry. The elementary school teacher, Mr. Peabody, devotes his summer time Saturday’s to organizing baseball games for the town’s children. Each Saturday the boys and girls gather and have a wonderful time participating in the nation’s pastime. And after each game, once bats and balls had been collected, and the children have walked home, Mr. Peabody walks home too. One Saturday, Tommy Tittlebottom just happens to see Mr. Peabody on his way home and what he sees surprised him to no end. Mr. Peabody stops in front of the local grocery store and picks out an apple from the display bin, drops it in his bag, and continues on his way. Tommy could not believe his eyes. The very next Saturday, after the game, Tommy gathers his friends and they wait across the street from the store to see if this terrible travesty will happen again. And it does. Mr. Peabody takes another apple, the biggest one, drops it in his bag and continues on his way home.

Tommy and his friends tell everyone they know about Mr. Peabody. Their words spread like wildfire and the next Saturday no one shows up to play ball, except for Billy. With tears in his eyes, Billy tells his coach that everyone thinks him a thief. Mr. Peabody and Billy go back to the store. The owner explains it all to Billy. Mr. Peabody pays for the apples when he buys his groceries and picks one up after each Saturday baseball game.  Billy runs to tell Tommy and Tommy comes to Mr. Peabody to apologize. The final act of the book finds Mr. Peabody inviting Tommy to bring a feather pillow with him to the baseball field. Once they meet, Mr. Peabody cuts open the pillow and as Tommy holds it high, the feathers fly fast and far in the breeze. The coach then asks the child to go and collect all of the feathers and the lesson is learned: words once spoken cannot be gathered again. Now the author of Mr. Peabody’s Apples is none other than the singer Madonna. Tommy looked around him and saw what he thought he saw, and spoke to what he thought he understood. But he simply did not know enough of the story – all that needs to be known is not yet known.

The same can be said for the people who lived in Galatia. They knew Jesus had lived and died, they believed in their hearts that he had risen from the dead and that he was coming back again. But as they looked around them, as they experienced the challenges of their lives, what they saw did not match what they experienced and so words that could demean and divide, words that could tear down and weaken their community began to be spoken. And like the feathers blowing in the breeze, these words were gaining momentum, and like Mr. Peabody, Paul’s integrity and credibility were being called into question. In the opening five verses of his letter, Paul succinctly introduced the two main subjects of the letter – his apostleship and his gospel. And as we see in our passage this morning, Paul now turns his attention to the other main theme of this letter. And the reason he does this is because some questions were being asked, as a result of the false teachers. It is clear from Paul’s responses that people wanted to know WHY they had to listen to the Apostle Paul.  Where did Paul get this teaching from and how come HIS gospel gets to be the one that judges everyone else?  In other words, “Who put you in charge, Paul?”

In order to explain how he received this “direct revelation” of Jesus Christ, Paul takes us back to an earlier part of his life. He reminds us here of his former life as a zealous practitioner of the Jewish religion. Paul gives us an indicator here of how seriously he practiced his religion. He says he persecuted the church of God, that is, he persecuted Christians. So there is Paul, so concerned for the truth of his Jewish heritage that he would stop at nothing to defend and protect it. But after Paul’s conversion, the zeal with which he had persecuted and tortured Christians was now the zeal with which he labored to produce and preserve them, through the preaching of the gospel. Imagine if you will, a loyal and zealous UNC fan heading off to watch the Tar Heels play NC State, when suddenly on the way to the game, there is a blinding flash of light and this fanatic Tar Heel fan suddenly began shouting, “Go State,” while breathing threats and curses down upon the miserable UNC Tar Heels.  It would have to be divine intervention for something like that to happen. And that’s Paul’s main premise. God is the one that changed Paul’s life and heart in such a radical way.

Paul then stresses in this passage his independence from the Jerusalem authorities, even as he acknowledges that he visited them. His words read almost like a defensive explanation, an alibi, a sort of response to the question: “where were you on the night of the crime?”  Paul emphasizes that even though he might have gone to Jerusalem a time or two, the Jerusalem people added nothing to his message. Lest we miss the point, he says it twice.  He mentions that after his conversion he didn’t go up to Jerusalem, but went off to Arabia and then Damascus. Then, when he made it to Jerusalem he stayed with Cephas two weeks and saw James, the Lord’s brother. What he is saying is that he wasn’t around the Jerusalem Apostles long enough to be influenced by their message. Paul is walking a very narrow tightrope at this point. He must maintain that he is a legitimate Apostle and explain why he did go to Jerusalem, but he feels he must also declare that these central figures in early Christianity really offered nothing to him. It has been said that it is Paul’s quest for personal independence that led to his striking theological vision, a vision so unique and powerful, that it has been the primary shaper of Christian theology to this day.  Paul was able to handle seemingly contradictory thoughts and fuse them with a tremendous personal energy that resulted in the letters of the New Testament. The later chapters of Galatians will show how he managed to do this.  Here in chapter 1, he lays the groundwork for his understanding of the Gospel – he was uniquely chosen and he is independent. He finally mentions that those who heard of his conversion glorified God because of it. Paul’s life was a channel of blessing for which other Christians were thankful, most especially because it was the channel through which they came to know about God and were being built up in the faith. Thinking of this can provide us with an occasion to ask ourselves of how can I live my life in such a way, that people would glorify God, because of how He used me? What changes could I make, that if people close to me saw them, it might cause them to respect God? There is power in our words, there is power in our tongues, and there is life and death in what we say and how we say it. Paul knew it. Mr. Peabody knew it. And now you and I know it.

Amen.

Milord — Edith Piaf  ( Cover ) at North Carolina

Hali Gani (Swahili greeting)

"There is power in our words, there is power in our tongues, and there is life and death in what we say and how we say it. Paul knew it. Mr. Peabody knew it. And now you and I know it."—Rev. Candy Snively; St. Paul's Episcopal Church ( see Happyville story below re Mr. Peabody )

High School medley of music memory snippets in reminiscing how our multi-lingual teacher played piano & lead our French class in song.  Songs such as.... 

FRENCH
Freres Jacques
Rame, Rame Rame Donc
Alouette
~~~
PORTUGUESE Chanson Bresilienne - au portugais
Juntos Canteremos
~~~
GERMAN
Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht - Fran's Gruber (1818)
~~~
FRENCH
Dominique
Milord

1970 "Chansons Francaises" Handout 
by Rayford Sowell, Professeur de Francais
Liberty High School
Bedford, VIrginia USA

16-page Handout of song lyrics posted in my FB France album via link below.

1970 SONG LYRICS Handout, page 13  "Milord"
1972 FRANCE High school senoir trip
1991 FRANCE Merck business trip to Clermont-Ferrand

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200727913747373.2208923.1447741737&type=3

~~~~~

In sharing FB items with my high school group I noticed I'd posted the lyrics to a bunch of songs in various languages. My multi-lingual teacher back then played piano & lead the class in song. I loved that class grades 9-11, but our school had no 4th year French class. Senior year I had to be creative to keep up my French. As President of our French club I lead those meetings in my best country French style. And, senior year travelled with a group to France for 10-days. Once a few friends & I were left behind by the group at the opera house around midnight. We found the subway station, but as hicks none of us knew how to read the subway map to get back to our hotel prior to the 1AM subway system shutdown. I stopped a man in a suit to ask for help in the best French I could muster. I learned how to read that map in a heartbeat, and relieved we made it to our hotel. When we saw our chaperones & group eating burgers a block away.... We were chastised for walking one block without a chaperone. Of course we said, HAHAHA... We just came across town without a chaperone!!! Laughs were had by all.

In the spirit of laughing, I recorded this after a couple run thought with my scratchy voice to warm up.... For what I don't know. I'm hooked on this & other songs taught by Mr. Rayford Sowell back in 1967-1971 at Liberty High School in Bedford, VA USA

I do apologize to Edith fans.... As Edith Piaf was simply awesome in singing this song like no other.

1970 SONG LYRICS Handout, page 13 "Milord"
1972 FRANCE High school senoir trip
1991 FRANCE Merck business trip to Clermont-Ferrand

www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a…41737&type=3
~~~~
As a footnote: My many years of various church choirs deserve a mention in tribute to my wonderful choir directors who love music as much as I. I salut their many dedicated efforts in choir with this particular homily. A nice listen / read, if you have the time. Many thanks!

"Mr. Peabody's Apples" 
Rev. Candace Snively, Deacon —Homily, June 9, 2013

Galatians 1:11-24
I want to share a story with you this morning and when I'm finished I will tell you who the author is. There is a book named Mr. Peabody's Apples. In this story all the good people of Happyville live a fine existence. Sort of like Andy Griffith's Mayberry...

Hear Candy's homily in MP3 audio. Click here for AUDIO:
www.stpaulscary.org/index.php?optio…amp;Itemid=1019

I want to share a story with you this morning. And when I’m finished, I’ll tell you who the author is. There is a book named Mr. Peabody’s Apples. In this story, all the good people of Happyville live a fine existence, sort of like life in Andy Griffith’s Mayberry. The elementary school teacher, Mr. Peabody, devotes his summer time Saturday’s to organizing baseball games for the town’s children. Each Saturday the boys and girls gather and have a wonderful time participating in the nation’s pastime. And after each game, once bats and balls had been collected, and the children have walked home, Mr. Peabody walks home too. One Saturday, Tommy Tittlebottom just happens to see Mr. Peabody on his way home and what he sees surprised him to no end. Mr. Peabody stops in front of the local grocery store and picks out an apple from the display bin, drops it in his bag, and continues on his way. Tommy could not believe his eyes. The very next Saturday, after the game, Tommy gathers his friends and they wait across the street from the store to see if this terrible travesty will happen again. And it does. Mr. Peabody takes another apple, the biggest one, drops it in his bag and continues on his way home.

Tommy and his friends tell everyone they know about Mr. Peabody. Their words spread like wildfire and the next Saturday no one shows up to play ball, except for Billy. With tears in his eyes, Billy tells his coach that everyone thinks him a thief. Mr. Peabody and Billy go back to the store. The owner explains it all to Billy. Mr. Peabody pays for the apples when he buys his groceries and picks one up after each Saturday baseball game. Billy runs to tell Tommy and Tommy comes to Mr. Peabody to apologize. The final act of the book finds Mr. Peabody inviting Tommy to bring a feather pillow with him to the baseball field. Once they meet, Mr. Peabody cuts open the pillow and as Tommy holds it high, the feathers fly fast and far in the breeze. The coach then asks the child to go and collect all of the feathers and the lesson is learned: words once spoken cannot be gathered again. Now the author of Mr. Peabody’s Apples is none other than the singer Madonna. Tommy looked around him and saw what he thought he saw, and spoke to what he thought he understood. But he simply did not know enough of the story – all that needs to be known is not yet known.

The same can be said for the people who lived in Galatia. They knew Jesus had lived and died, they believed in their hearts that he had risen from the dead and that he was coming back again. But as they looked around them, as they experienced the challenges of their lives, what they saw did not match what they experienced and so words that could demean and divide, words that could tear down and weaken their community began to be spoken. And like the feathers blowing in the breeze, these words were gaining momentum, and like Mr. Peabody, Paul’s integrity and credibility were being called into question. In the opening five verses of his letter, Paul succinctly introduced the two main subjects of the letter – his apostleship and his gospel. And as we see in our passage this morning, Paul now turns his attention to the other main theme of this letter. And the reason he does this is because some questions were being asked, as a result of the false teachers. It is clear from Paul’s responses that people wanted to know WHY they had to listen to the Apostle Paul. Where did Paul get this teaching from and how come HIS gospel gets to be the one that judges everyone else? In other words, “Who put you in charge, Paul?”

In order to explain how he received this “direct revelation” of Jesus Christ, Paul takes us back to an earlier part of his life. He reminds us here of his former life as a zealous practitioner of the Jewish religion. Paul gives us an indicator here of how seriously he practiced his religion. He says he persecuted the church of God, that is, he persecuted Christians. So there is Paul, so concerned for the truth of his Jewish heritage that he would stop at nothing to defend and protect it. But after Paul’s conversion, the zeal with which he had persecuted and tortured Christians was now the zeal with which he labored to produce and preserve them, through the preaching of the gospel. Imagine if you will, a loyal and zealous UNC fan heading off to watch the Tar Heels play NC State, when suddenly on the way to the game, there is a blinding flash of light and this fanatic Tar Heel fan suddenly began shouting, “Go State,” while breathing threats and curses down upon the miserable UNC Tar Heels. It would have to be divine intervention for something like that to happen. And that’s Paul’s main premise. God is the one that changed Paul’s life and heart in such a radical way.

Paul then stresses in this passage his independence from the Jerusalem authorities, even as he acknowledges that he visited them. His words read almost like a defensive explanation, an alibi, a sort of response to the question: “where were you on the night of the crime?” Paul emphasizes that even though he might have gone to Jerusalem a time or two, the Jerusalem people added nothing to his message. Lest we miss the point, he says it twice. He mentions that after his conversion he didn’t go up to Jerusalem, but went off to Arabia and then Damascus. Then, when he made it to Jerusalem he stayed with Cephas two weeks and saw James, the Lord’s brother. What he is saying is that he wasn’t around the Jerusalem Apostles long enough to be influenced by their message. Paul is walking a very narrow tightrope at this point. He must maintain that he is a legitimate Apostle and explain why he did go to Jerusalem, but he feels he must also declare that these central figures in early Christianity really offered nothing to him. It has been said that it is Paul’s quest for personal independence that led to his striking theological vision, a vision so unique and powerful, that it has been the primary shaper of Christian theology to this day. Paul was able to handle seemingly contradictory thoughts and fuse them with a tremendous personal energy that resulted in the letters of the New Testament. The later chapters of Galatians will show how he managed to do this. Here in chapter 1, he lays the groundwork for his understanding of the Gospel – he was uniquely chosen and he is independent. He finally mentions that those who heard of his conversion glorified God because of it. Paul’s life was a channel of blessing for which other Christians were thankful, most especially because it was the channel through which they came to know about God and were being built up in the faith. Thinking of this can provide us with an occasion to ask ourselves of how can I live my life in such a way, that people would glorify God, because of how He used me? What changes could I make, that if people close to me saw them, it might cause them to respect God? There is power in our words, there is power in our tongues, and there is life and death in what we say and how we say it. Paul knew it. Mr. Peabody knew it. And now you and I know it.

Amen.



Wandering Medley — Memory Test w/rt Chansons Francaises

An unintended story.  Perhaps a fitting 'bad' tribute to lost love & 'bad' ex-husbands..  for all  dirtbags everywhere ... Pour vous... Cash, Dylan & me....woo-hoo, hoot n toot n here we go :)

 Intended as the happy song my mother taught me as a child.  Great guitars, powerful vocals by Johnny Cash, Dylan I only heard once in awhile.... It was Cash, the 'Boy named Sue' that carried Dylan & I in this tune. 

However, this 'collaboration' mix had a few interesting twists.  Firstly, I never knew all the words to the entire song until now.  It's not a happy song at all, but a love gone wrong sad song true to life.  I stuck out my determined stupid chin and thought I could twang it with Johnny.... at the start was so-so ok but that second verse where he belts out 'I always loved you' & 'make you happy'. . . . I cracked, my voice cracked, I even sang choking out laughs...

 'You have left me to love another, You have shattered all my dreams'

I don't know what possessed me to mess that up by joining in,.... cause I knew I'd not be able to twang it in Cash's style.... That was NOT the plan.... Same with the guitar parti I jumped into.... NOT according to plan.... By the end of the song..... I was so sick of it I was deflated & the finish went badly.  Then I realized, it's all  ok...  Cause its a lyin cheatin song about a stupid man that "will never know" . . . Thus It's aptly re-titled 'NOT' my sunshine since it's my track & I can name it whatever I feel is appropriate.  :)

One final twist is that I thought I'd made peace with all that, but my reaction in doing this song sounds otherwise.  In hindsight, it's been therapeutic in a way, but not the sort of song I care to perfect. It's gonna ride as is, sour note finish et al as a commentary to the lyin cheatin disappointment of a person he turned out to be. 

At first learning of the circumstances, I blamed myself for working 90-hrs / week on a grueling Vaccine R&D facility  start-up  & operations to launch a new product with a dedicated team of great scientists.  Now I feel this cover sourness is appropriate & exactly what the man deserves for being so character flawed.  The amount of time I spent on that project was justified because it was a pneumonia vaccine with extra serotypes to protect infants from dying.... I'd do that 13v project again in a heartbeat whereas I cannot say the same for that marriage.

I was awake early ~5am to get to an early dental appointment before 8am workday started.  I answered an early call to my husband's cell phone so the ringer would not disturbed his sleep.  In doing so, I noticed all sorts of informative texts messages & pix to/from him & an unknown woman. Hmmmm, what to do!? I decided to not be rash in jumping to an obvious conclusion, thought I'd think on it awhile.  Went to dentist, & to work to my 'normal' back-to-back-insanity-of-aggressive-timeline-facility/operations-meetings. 

By mid-afternoon I went to my office for a break, & pick up my cell phone to review the morning message I'd for we'd to myself from this unknown woman.  Just then my colleague Joe walked in with one of his sob stories, crying about how two of my staff scientists were apparently hogging a particular pump/ vessel which impacted his /our automation schedule... 

Poor Joe.. said something like "what are you gonna do about this problem?"

Joe was at the proverbial wrong place, at precisely the wrong time.  I simply looked at Joe while he was just getting seated, as I said something along the lines of: 

"I don't give a hoot what pumps/ vessel problem(s) your/ my  staff might have, tell them to PLAY NICE & work it out themselves!!!  I have a more pressing problem in that this morning...Yada Yada... I found this cell MSG... Now, you tell me what am I supposed to do with this crap????"  

Joe went from Mr. Crybaby to Mr. Compassion in a heartbeat. I knew he was moved by my words/ situaion...  As I truly was at a loss for what to think, say, or do.  Thus, unbeknownst to Joe he helped immensely in my deliberation over what to do.... do I go face it now or wait as late as possible, or worse, never menton it.  It was Joe's feedback in his immediate gut-reaction style (only Joe is famous for in meetings) that helped me face this crisis... 

Cause Joe said "don't wait, the sooner, the better"    Best advice ever. Joe left my office on the condition that I immediately go home to deal with this mess. Thanks, Joe! I suppose that's why you had leadership of that logic based automation staff, huh :)  

Before leaving my office, I typed a text note to The Woman...  but didn't send it until I got home & saw my husband's car in the garage.  As I entered the kitchen I pressed "send" on my cell, invited Kenny for a soda break, and answered his question "why are you home so early?"  In narrative, non accusatory style to invite a reasonable explanation from him.  He gave what is best described as an "unreasonable" explanation as to how this policewoman that was on the same emergency response as he & his ambulance, the two of them had some 'follow-up ' case work paperwork that required attention.  Hmmm, according to our cell phone records that attention spanned approximately Jan-Jun timeframe. . . That's a heap of paperwork!!! 

Oddly, my husband reacted by being extremely angry with me for uncovering his infidelity.  I didn't care about that per se as much as the breach of trust. Hence, I told him it seemed forgivable, fixable if we wanted us to continue the marriage.  He was dumbfounded, & continued to be angry.  Now it was time to get some dinner, so we decided to go out for pizza & a change of scenery... since we were both tapped out on that topic.    

As we're were headed out the door, the phone rang & I answered it.  It was The Woman calling my husband regarding my cell text message " Hi, I'm his wife & would appreciate you leaving him alone." ....in realizing who I was she apologized profusely saying she's a decent policewoman that doesn't date married men... My husband had told her he's divorced, she said in obvious distress. My contribution to the conversation was minimal, still he realized who I was speaking with and in his angry tone "insisted I not be rude." Hmmm....it seemed an odd remark, I realized he must be expecting a big reaction on my part.  I'm way past hormonal days, & much too old for useless drama. At the end of that conversation, & in a subsequent message she supposedly dumped him.  I don't think he ever got past his initial anger, some effort was made, but it was clear that our marriage had no future.  A sad realization to accept... As apparently this song shows... LOL I can do a better cover of it, but will refrain from offering 'proof.'

Early this year when I got around to finally looking at FB again, after ~4 years of it sitting idle... I noticed that as my FB friend Kenny had a page covered photos of him & a woman in various poses... One of which was them kissing at New Years.  I was with a friend who said... "Wow, Check it out...Would ya look at that!!!" ....without batting an eyelash, I said "oh, honey. .. I've got one of those New Year's kiss pix too, & it's absolutely worthless."  We laughed.  And so "as the world turns, " just as if a page from a soap opera. . . . Some things never change.


Perhaps I'm  not as 'big hearted' a person in forgiveness as I once thought. At least I do have peace in knowing it's long been resolved.  

'Volez-vous coucher aver moi ce sois?' Nah, gotta pass. . . . 
. . . but could be a potential cloud cover. LOL

In the end, all is well. No worries. I had fun with Cash & Dylan.  :)
Thanks guys, hats off to these two greats!!!

Guys (JC & BD), You ARE my Sunshine!!!
Give 'em a listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpsq8N2Src8&sns=em
:) & all ears SMILE now ya, hear!!!!!!!!!


"You Are NOT My Sunshine" • Cash & Dylan w/ Sue

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