Monday

                         Musings and History

Instead of the usual quote and trivia question of the day I am offering this poem written by a good friend and very talented musician and poetess. This poem has become a sort of tradition with me on Christmas Eve. Here it is again. Enjoy.

One Christmas Eve, not long ago, the house was dark and cold
No food to find on any shelf, no wood to fill the stove
Empty stomachs and empty hearts dwell within these walls
Without hope it seems so dark when light should show the cause
When others have a tree and gifts when they have Christmas joy
It was a cold, cruel, real world, for us hopeless girls and boys
I was the middle child of seven, ages two to twelve
Alone on the side of a mountain singing Carols to soothe ourselves
Waiting, hoping, watching, for a miracle of sorts
Not sure about the nature, we were certain of the sport
The odds were stacked against us, poverty laid its ugly claim
Still a child has wonder with the essence of the game
Mama had to work, cooking at a country club
Dad was in his cups, where he stayed while we grew up
We had cornmeal mush for supper then sister sang us all to sleep
But even in my repose I let hope for Santa creep
Dreaming of another’s life portrayed with Christmas cheer
In my slumbered state I kept my place in the human sphere
Quiet as an observer my dream took me to this house
Where the smell of ham with cloves wafted all about
A tree stood in the living room decorated with gold and silver
Presents abounded underneath, so much it made me shiver
A little boy runs to the tree making lots of noise
Anxiously he tore off wrap revealing his new toys
For some reason I kept waiting for all the other children
But this one little boy, by himself was unwrapping all the ribbon
It dawned on me he was all alone, his parents' only child
He seemed bored and somewhat lonely, as he put each gift aside
Then his parents appear and seem upset, to find their son exploring
Chastise him for not waiting on them this fine Christmas morning
They video the boy with each toy recording every moment
No wonder I thought, he has no one, to help his mind hold on it
No laughter or play, no rivalry stage, just adults to spend his day with
It seemed to be a lonely lot to me, with so many toys to play with

What's this I’m being pulled away by the scrumptious smell of bacon
Am I awake or dreaming it was bacon mama’s makin’
Sure enough the house is warm I hear the hot pan sizzle
One by one we come alive and watch while mama drizzles
Gravy on our biscuits, eggs and bacon on our plate
She said go ahead and eat, your dad and I can wait
I noticed though when we were done she simply cleared the table
I wondered if she ate at all, this made me feel unstable
She had a made a tree from the limbs of a fir that stood out in our yard
The way she wrapped and wove each spray, I asked her, was that hard
With her loving touch she had livened up and made festive the old house
Stockings around the doorway, snacks and candy all about
There was crayons, paints, papers, felt and clay for model baking
So busy making our own gifts we no longer felt forsaken
The miracle we were hoping for was there all along
Just to have each other close sharing life in a living home
That night when I lay down
I remembered my dream from the night before
I thought about the way I feel now and how I love my family all the more.
I’d rather have my brothers and sisters than all the toys in the world
A Christmas revelation for a poor young southern girl

                                           Brenda McAfee

                    This Date In History   December 24

1865 On this date a group of Confederate veterans met in Pulaski, Tennessee and formed the core of what became the Ku Klux Klan. They felt it was necessary for two reasons: To combat the influx of northern people into the south to take advantage of a defeated nation like taking lands and property from Confederate soldiers that had been killed in the Civil War. They also were very apprehensive about the rise of privilege and power of the black man. The first Grand Wizard was the famous CSA General Nathan Bedford Forrest. The name of the organization came from the Greek word “kyklos” meaning circle and “clan”. After two years Forrest resigned as Grand Wizard and tried to disband the organization because he felt the Klan had become too violent and indeed they had. In counties that were nearly balanced racially black and white, the Klan would make raids at night against the blacks and the white Republicans in an attempt to influence any upcoming elections to keep white men in control of the political machinery. Eventually in 1871 Congress decided that action was needed and they passed the Ku Klux Klan act giving the President, Ulysses Grant, the power to use what ever means he deemed necessary to subdue the Klan. In nine counties in South Carolina alone Grant instituted martial law and thousands were arrested. In 1882 the US Supreme Court declared the Klan act unconstitutional but by that time Reconstruction had ended and the Klan faded away. But the Klan arose again mightily during the 1920’s and 30’s. This time the major base was in Skokie, Illinois. The Klan was very influential in the internal politics of several states. But as the old saying goes, power corrupts and there was a sex scandal involving the Grand Wizard where a young lady died. After that the popularity of the Klan and those associated with it went to hell in a hand basket. The Klan has had its ups and downs though out the years but their basis for existence is white Anglo-Saxon supremacy. They don’t like Jews either. I don’t understand that concept, ya’ll, and I can find nothing admirable about it.

1745 On this date Benjamin Rush is born in Byberry Township, Pennsylvania. There were two famous Patriots named Benjamin during the formation of this great country. One was the self made and self educated Benjamin Franklin and the other was Benjamin Rush. Rush was educated in the finest schools on both sides of the Atlantic. His father died when he was six and he was raised by his grandfather Samuel Finley. He graduated from the College of New Jersey which is now Princeton. His grandfather wanted Ben to become a lawyer but he wanted to be a doctor. His grandfather sent him to medical school at one of the finest in the world, the Medical University of Edinburgh, Scotland. When he returned to the Colonies he became an active and trusted Patriot and established a practice in Philadelphia. His medical knowledge was invaluable during the eventual Revolutionary War. He was and eager signer of the Declaration of Independence. He raised almighty hell at the treatment of the wounded Patriot soldiers which Washington took personally and Rush resigned his post. In spite of that he continued to offer invaluable advice to continued emergence of this nation. He spoke long and hard for the ratification of the Constitution he also was an advocate of the emancipation of the slaves. Rush chartered the first college in the newly founded United States in 1873. It was Dickenson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania whose motto is “A bulwark of liberty.” Indeed.

1953 On this date a very unusual event occurred in New Zealand. A train was traveling from Wellington to Auckland filled with passengers on there way to spend Christmas aboard the ocean liner Queen Elizabeth II that was docked in Auckland for the holidays. Then an active volcano north of the train track had a small eruption and the molten lava ran down and melted and ice dam on a nearby glacier releasing millions of gallons of water. The water runs downhill toward a railroad bridge gaining speed every second. The train was approaching this bridge when the torrent of water arrived and the train was washed off of its tracks into the river below. 185 people were drowned out of a total of 260, some of the bodies were never found. Their bodies were merely washed out to sea with the current in the river. You never know, do you?

                       Thanks for listening   I can hardly wait until tomorrow