Benjamin Franklin & the National Bird

On this day in 1784, Benjamin Franklin wrote a
letter to his daughter saying that he was not pleased about the choice of bald eagle as the symbol of America. He wished it had not been chosen as a "representative of our country" because, he said, it is a "Bird of bad moral
Character." Franklin wrote about the eagle: "Like those among Men who live by Sharping and Robbing, he is generally poor, and often very lousy."

There was a different fowl that Franklin championed as a true representative of the budding United States: "The Turkey," he wrote 227 years ago today, "is a much more respectable Bird, and ... a true original Native of America."

"The Light in Your Eyes"

Today it rained and the world was cold.
The wind was high and the sea was rough,
and now I'm feeling tired and old.
I'm lonely in the darkness, looking for a light,
waiting for the dawn to come
and end this long and heartless night.
When out on that horizon comes a star into my view,
guiding me to safer waters
and pulling me in to you.

I see the light in your eyes,
and I'll always be
like a sailor in the night,
safe out on the sea
as long as I'm in sight
of the light in your eyes.

Diamond blue and deeper than the sea—
they move me like the tide
when your love comes washing over me.
Angel, if I could I would hold back the dawn
and keep you in one perfect night
to last forever, on and on.
Never fade away, never lose sight of our love,
'cause deep inside I fear
that alone I'm just not strong enough.

I see the light in your eyes,
and I'll always be
like a sailor in the night,
safe out on the sea
as long as I'm in sight
of the light in your eyes.

When the storm clouds gather, when the hurricane blows,
keep me one step ahead of the wind and the rain
and within sight of home.

I see the light in your eyes,
and I'll always be
like a sailor in the night,
safe out on the sea
as long as I'm in sightof the light in your eyes.

Good Stuff @ Good Stuff

Last night I did a little gig at Good Stuff Grocery in Marshall, North Carolina. I know that I've said it here before, but it's so great to see Marshall in 2010-2011. Not that the opportunity to sit in Good Stuff or Baccus Bistro and drink a beer makes today's Marshall great (although it's great to be able to do so). It's just a cool place--Zuma Coffee, included.

Let's see, I've now taken part in five musical events in Marshall since June 2010. I played with the Sugardaddy band from Bakersville--one of whom, Jim Stapleton, is also a White Water Band veteran--at a Marshall event called "French Broad Fridays." The town puts on one of these every month from June through September, and the Sugardaddy guys and I played the first of these this past year. We set up on the courthouse steps, which was awesome, and rocked the lawn and the main intersection for a couple of hours. In December, I joined Nashville songwriter Larry Cordle and Marshall songwriter/storyteller Joe Penland for a guitar-pullin' or songwriters-in-the-round event. The three of us sat on stage at the Madison County Arts Center (the public library when I was growing up) and took turns playing our songs. It was a great night. The other three performances were solo events at Good Stuff Grocery.

My posse and I met for dinner in wonderful Weaverville ("Reeferville" when I was a teenager) at Blue Mountain Pizza. We were all impressed! I had "The Obama" pizza and a locally brewed coffee stout on draft. Wow! After this, we walked down the street to the Well-Bred Bakery. Then it was off to Marshall and Good Stuff. I decided to pull out a couple of songs that I probably haven't played since the old Cody band days of 20 years ago. "The Light in Your Eyes" was fun to play again, and the folks listening were really taken with it. I also pulled out "One Desire." I meant to strap on my harmonica for this one, but halfway through I realized that I'd forgotten to do so. Anyway, as I was introducing the song, I thought I might talk about the most striking image I have in my mind when related to this song, but I could feel myself getting choked up and went ahead kicked it off. The image: my father-in-law dancing with my mother-in-law on the dark dance floor of 45 Cherry. I don't usually play "Rain on the River" either, but I did last night and it went over well.

Thanks to everybody who was there. I had a blast!

Snow Day

What does a 52-year-old man do with a snow day? I suppose I could go out and play in the snow--build a snow man, make snow angels, pick a snowball fight with the nest of redneck, dead-end boys who live with old Pete in the cul-de-sac. I suppose I could go the park and walk in the snow and pretend that I'm walking miles to fetch medicine or a doctor from somebody ailing in a back bedroom, just like the old mountain days. I suppose I could find some abandoned parking lot laid out in front of some abandoned out-of-business strip mall, or the parking lot at my church, and spin mindless doughnuts for an hour or two. (Will front-wheel drive vehicles with anti-lock brake systems do doughnuts?)

Instead, I think I'll go back to bed for a little while. Then I'll watch an episode or two of Battlestar Galactica (the more recent version). Maybe I'll write a little bit, if I can gather enough shreds of concentration and moments of privacy. Maybe I'll what the first of the Lord of the Rings movies, which I've wanted to do all Christmas break and didn't. Maybe I'll read the rest of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

But it's back to bed first!

1/1/11

Walt Whitman from Leaves of Grass:

YEAR that trembled and reel'd beneath me!
Your summer wind was warm enough, yet the air I breathed froze me,
A thick gloom fell through the sunshine and darken'd me,
Must I change my triumphant songs? said I to myself,
Must I indeed learn to chant the cold dirges of the baffled?
And sullen hymns of defeat?


2010 was a year full of ups and downs. It didn't feel like a rollercoaster, at least not most of the time, but it had its clearly defined highs and lows. Sometimes the rise and fall was almost undetectable. Sometimes the highs were simply moments of clarity and exhilaration, and sometimes the lows were just a fading away that went almost unnoticed.

I guess I should say that the year was fairly balanced.

The first day of 2011 hasn't been that great, but I hope for balance in the other 364 days to come.