Yesterday was my dad's annual patriotic concert. He conducts the Winston-Salem Community Band and has for a thousand years. I go to his annual "tribute to our veterans" specifically to hear John Phillip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever." I can't help it. A love of Sousa is imprinted in my DNA.
One of the more moving moments at this annual event occurs when the band plays a medley of all the military branches' anthems. My father invites all members of the audience to stand during the anthem which represents the branch of military which they served. People whose bodies are compromised by age, people who look as if they will teeter over when vertical, pull themselves upright and stand during their anthem. I saw a woman who must have been one hundred years old stand to "Anchors Away." Her face was twisted as if she'd suffered a stroke. And from where I was sitting, it appeared she had only one eye.
My father inserted "Let There Be Peace On Earth" near the end of his program. This song contains potent words which the melody alone conjured in my mind:
One of the more moving moments at this annual event occurs when the band plays a medley of all the military branches' anthems. My father invites all members of the audience to stand during the anthem which represents the branch of military which they served. People whose bodies are compromised by age, people who look as if they will teeter over when vertical, pull themselves upright and stand during their anthem. I saw a woman who must have been one hundred years old stand to "Anchors Away." Her face was twisted as if she'd suffered a stroke. And from where I was sitting, it appeared she had only one eye.
My father inserted "Let There Be Peace On Earth" near the end of his program. This song contains potent words which the melody alone conjured in my mind:
Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.
With every step I take
Let this be my solemn vow.
To take each moment
And live each moment
With peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth,
And let it begin with me.
Let this be the moment now.
With every step I take
Let this be my solemn vow.
To take each moment
And live each moment
With peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth,
And let it begin with me.
It's been a rough week at Planet Care. A new acting manager in my department has a tyrannical approach to the people who get shit done. As a result, all of my co-workers are angry and hate-filled. Additionally, a local LBGTQ community staged a protest, coming into the store yelling and setting everyone on edge. The week building up to the protest was tense. They are planning to stage another. This is because two weeks ago, one customer said, "That's disgusting," when he passed two same sex customers kissing in the store.
I walk into work trying to keep all the hatred and anger from penetrating my psyche, which proves in the end to be unsuccessful. And once all the hatred and anger gets into me, it is difficult for it to get out. So sometimes simple things like acknowledging the years a person has lived on the planet, the years that person spent in service to others - in whatever capacity - makes me feel better. It makes them feel better to be recognized. My father is a great man and does a great service to the veterans by honoring them in his small and simple way. And to insert the hope of Peace on Earth into his program is probably the best way to honor people who have been subjected to all manner of atrocities.
Let there be peace on earth. And let it begin with me.
Happy Monday!
I walk into work trying to keep all the hatred and anger from penetrating my psyche, which proves in the end to be unsuccessful. And once all the hatred and anger gets into me, it is difficult for it to get out. So sometimes simple things like acknowledging the years a person has lived on the planet, the years that person spent in service to others - in whatever capacity - makes me feel better. It makes them feel better to be recognized. My father is a great man and does a great service to the veterans by honoring them in his small and simple way. And to insert the hope of Peace on Earth into his program is probably the best way to honor people who have been subjected to all manner of atrocities.
Let there be peace on earth. And let it begin with me.
Happy Monday!
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