On this day 12 years ago, we were given a very special gift:
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On July 10, 2001, we welcomed Rebecca Claire into the world. She was absolutely perfect – another beautiful daughter. A few hours after her birth, our pediatrician gently informed us that Rebecca had been born with Down syndrome. The next 48 hours were a real emotional roller coaster. We cried, we asked ourselves, “Why?”, and we prayed. A lot.
They let all of these scruffy-looking people into the Ballpark
This weekend, Paul’s brother, Tony, and his girlfriend, Anna, came for a visit. We had a chance to hang out, go to the movies, and then to top off the fun, on Saturday we went to a Rangers game at the Ballpark in Arlington.
Now, you guys know me – I’m always “doing my research”. So Paul put me in charge of getting tickets for everybody – we originally started out with 12 people needing tickets, but Paul’s aunt and uncle had to cancel their plans, and his other brother and sister-in-law decided they couldn’t come, either, so we ended up only needing tickets for 8.
No pictures, please!
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I’m always intrigued by the ingenuity of human beings – having been in choirs virtually all my life, one of the things that I am in awe of is really well-done a cappella music. The Swingle Singers – while the faces/voices may change as the years go by – have consistently continued to amaze with their vocal gymnastics:
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“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”
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The Obama Administration has been getting hammered recently for their lack of preparation in the lead-up to the “official” roll-out of The Great and Powerful Obamacare on January 1, 2014.
A mere 100 days before people are supposed to start signing up to be in the government exchanges, the administration finally decided it might be time to put up a hotline for people to get more information about what it’s all about, and what they need to do.
Wanting to be helpful (no, really – I just wanted to see how efficiently my tax dollars are being used; being a pest was merely a happy little added benefit), I decided to give the folks at the hotline a call (1-800-318-2596) and see just how much help they were going to be to the unsuspecting Low Information Voter (LIV) who decided they wanted to throw some extra money the government’s way (remember, the Supreme Court said that the government cannot force the citizenry to purchase ANYTHING).
Whoo boy.
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Be back in a few days – this year’s “camping” trip is at the beach!
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Today is the first Father’s Day since Paul’s father passed away. I know that he has great memories of his Dad from his childhood (and beyond); I am so very grateful that my Dad is still around for me to tell him how very much I love him.
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What better way to celebrate this day than with a song specifically about the United States flag? Written by George M. Cohan in 1906 – and the first song from a musical to sell over a million copies of sheet music – “You’re a Grand Old Flag” has been popular for over a century:
The original lyric for this perennial George M. Cohan favorite came, as Cohan later explained, from an encounter he had with a Civil War veteran who fought at Gettysburg. The two men found themselves next to each other and Cohan noticed the vet held a carefully folded but ragged old flag. The man reportedly then turned to Cohan and said, “She’s a grand old rag.”
Cohan thought it was a great line and originally named his tune “You’re a Grand Old Rag.” So many groups and individuals objected to calling the flag a “rag,” however, that he “gave ’em what they wanted” and switched words, renaming the song “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”
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Good God Almighty – when the roll is called up yonder, I surely do hope that this lady is in the Heavenly choir:
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The lady’s name is Jaimee Paul; I came upon her music quite by accident – isn’t the Internet a wonderful thing? (Of course, then I found out that she is married to the amazing trumpet player, Leif Shires, and that both of them have performed with the amazing pianist Beegie Adair, so now I have a lot more music to add to my “Wish List”…..)
Unfortunately, “Poor Wayfaring Stranger” is not currently available on any of Ms. Paul’s releases.
You can check out her other music, however; she’s got lots of good stuff out there! (Her latest album, “Hear My Prayer: 14 Devotional Hymns of Prayer” has already been added to my Christmas wish list…..)
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Truly, a day that turned the tide of the war in Europe:
Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!
You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.
The Fat Lady Has Sung
Koch's Tour 