The Hicks Place

Voices In Song

Tonight the Prairie Home Companion show originated from the campus of St. Olaf College and featured the exceptional musical talent for which it is noted.  The orchestra and the a cappella choir were exceptionally impressive, and the harmony of the voices of the latter sent my spirit soaring.  Nothing soothes and nourishes my soul and mood like the sound of beautiful voices in harmonizing song!  I particularly enjoy Garrison's show when he occasionally gets the audience to join in on a hymn or old classic, the voices of hundreds of people united in song is extremely touching to me.  Another very pleasing moment in tonight's show was a rendition of Sting's  Fields of Gold .    

Although I went to a very small high school, I was fortunate to have had a good music teacher.  We were too small at the time to have a band but Mrs. Johnson developed many of our voices into what, I believe, was a reasonably good choir.  We of course sang at various school functions, but she also took us to the county choral festival every Spring, and also brought some of us to Indianapolis to be part of a state-wide choir that performed at the State Teacher's Institute at the Cadle Tabernacle .  I was also fortunate to have been the youngest member in a quartet in my church when I was a teen.  I was the baritone, my father sang bass, and the two Wyatt brothers, Isaac and Dave sang lead and tenor.  We were good enough to be asked to sing at several funerals.  And, my dad and I did a magnificent rendition of the Silver Dollar song (A Man without a Woman), but the only place we performed that was behind the barn about dusk while we were waiting for the cows to come in from the pasture.

Spent the late afternoon installing a new router for our home wi-fi network.  The old one quit Thursday night, but I drove for Red Cross on Friday so couldn't get a replacement until today.  I should be able to waste time surfing the net a lot faster now.  It wasn't a good day for Indiana football anyway, but then there seldom have been lately.  

 

My Day.

This morning I finished the book In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson, which covers the U S Ambassador William Dodd's career in Berlin from his appointment in 1933 through 1938.  Dodd's diplomatic efforts with various Nazi authorities including Hitler, as well as his adult daughter Martha's social life with prominent persons in Berlin society at the time are reported in considerable detail.  While Dodd had Roosevelt's support, the State Department mostly looked upon his actions and efforts with disfavor and even ridicule.   Early on, many prominent officials in the German government were opposed to Hitler and kept believing his regime would collapse, but as time passed and foreign governments failed to denounce publicly Nazi atrocities and sway world wide opinion against Hitler's regime, (the primary objective of the U S State department was to appease Germany in hopes of obtaining payment for German bonds held by large U S Banks) Hitler broadened and strengthened his control.  Dodd's early requests for sanctions and public disapproval of the Nazi actions went unheeded and he soon saw the inevitable outcome would be war.  I found the book very interesting and enlightening.

I had lunch today with Jeff Rasley, who annually takes a group of trekkers into the mountains of Nepal, and has made a project of improving living conditions in the town of Basa, where many of the Rai people live who are porters for his trips. He has written a book about his experiences in Nepal, Bringing Progress to Paradise.  During his latest trip, from which he just returned a few weeks ago, a "green" toilet was installed on the school grounds in Basa.  It essentially is a septic system, the building having two rooms, one for students and one for the staff at the school.  The eighty villagers have no toilets, they relieve themselves in the nearby woods or in their fields.  If you want to now more about Jeff and his Basa project go to Basa, Nepal .

This afternoon I went to the Jordan Y for a workout.  One of the greatest features of my Medicare Advantage health insurance is called "Silver Sneakers", which is membership in a local health fitness center.  Since I started going almost two years ago, I have not had any significant problems with the osteoarthritis in my back.  I am convinced that preventative health care is most important, and specifically exercise, in keeping one healthy.  It certainly is better and cheaper than medications and seeing a physical therapist, which would be necessary for me if I just sat around.

So that was my day, plus of course taking time to write this little post telling you about it.  Thanks to my wife, Marcia, who pointed out some errors in my initial post.