I was born in Maryland and spent my first thirty years living there, first in the Appalachian Mountains, then on the Eastern Shore, and later in suburban Washington. After a year in South Carolina, I moved to Georgia in 1977. I soon met another park ranger who worked in Florida. She was a wonderful woman who became my best friend. then my wife, and soon the mother of our three children. I spent over eleven years working in the historic city of Savannah, Georgia, and on the moss-draped sea islands nearby before moving to Atlanta.. In 2007, I retired from the National Park Service and a career dedicated to preserving and interpreting resources and themes in the cultural and natural history of the United States. It was a most rewarding experience. Today, I enjoy living in the rolling hills and woods of the Appalachian Piedmont east of Atlanta.
Most of us were probably happy to see Spring arrive this morning around 7:00 o'clock. It's cold and cloudy in Atlanta and it really feels like just another day in Winter. But who among us expects seasonal doors to close and open abruptly. Most times, the changes are comfortably gradual. There are thousands of songs written about the promise of this new season. Some of the best deal not with the fullness of the season, but with the anomalies and the worlds turned upside down when snowfall covers the tulips.
In 2009, Barbra Streisand covered one of these songs written by the late poet and lyricist, Fran Landesman in 1955. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most - music by Tommy Wolf - really captures the winters we all have experienced in our spring times.
Great singer. Too bad she's such a mindless leftist. Reminds me of Spring with snow showers.
John Ford's The Searchers(1956) is rightfully high on "best film" lists around the world. It is a masterpiece from several perspectives. Many of its scenes are notable, but none is more powerful than its last, a mere seventy seconds of genius.
For fifty years I thought the end of the Swing and Big Band eras was simply a result of the evolution of popular culture in a nation well-known for reinventing itself. Though my wife and I were toddlers when those eras ended, we both came to embrace the music and enjoy it to this day. How stunning it was for me to learn today that this music did not die a natural death. It was killed by something called the Cabaret Tax of 1944. Given a federal government desperate for revenue following World War II and the astounding success of the cabaret industry since the mid-1930's, it's reasonable to see ballrooms with their dancing, orchestras and alcohol as a tax target. So desperation on the part of the government led to a 30% tax on cabarets in 1944. The industry wobbled for three years, bearing its tax burden and other issues involving unions and music rights, then died like a goose, along with the golden eggs, in 1947. A few bands survived, but most were broken up, often reforming into smaller groups that played non-dance music. The Age of Bebop was upon us. There's superb music there, but I'd say 99% of Americans today wouldn't know Bebop if it hit them in the ears.
And what is to be learned from all of this? It's always a good lesson to remember that actions have consequences, especially when a government goes looking for money when money is tight. This afternoon, while panicked Cypriots try to empty their bank accounts before their government confiscates the cash, you can bet there are more than a few Americans wondering if our "leaders" s had the nerve to try confiscation here.
There's no doubt we've come a long way from the Founding Fathers's intentions of a citizenry shaping a government. Thanks to our friends at Instapundit, here's your link to the story of how our government tax policy unintentionally destroyed a multi-billion dollar industry that was enjoyed by millions of Americans. Be sure to click on the "cabaret tax" hyperlink in the fourth paragraph to be taken to a 2010 article that provides more information on the story.
For your enjoyment, here is Benny Goodman's band at Carnegie Hall in January 1938, one of the most important musical events in the U.S. in the 20th century. Piano improv at the end always leaves me speechless. BTW this recording has never been out of print since its issue in 1950.
If you didn't tap your feet, you need to see a doctor stat!
Pleasant surprises abound across this great country, some of them in the most unexpected places. Savannah will host one of those wonderful annual surprises today. At 10:15, rain or shine, the Saint Patrick's Day parade will step off for the 185th time. Almost half a million people will line the streets and squares of this historic city to watch a family-friendly event. Organizers have worked hard over the past years to keep the "Saint" and sanity in the holiday, confining most of the adult revelry - drinking and excessive partying - to River Street following the parade. That was fine with me even in my early thirties during my second adolescence. It's only since the arrival of "the book" and the discovery of Savannah as a significant tourist destination that issues with irreverent activities became serious. [See my "A Night[and Day] in Old Savannah," August 23, 2008, for details.]
My first parade there was in 1977 when I lived in the historic district. Over the years, I lost count as the events merged one into the other during my tenure in the Coastal Empire. Eventually, my children became Irish for a day and were part of the parade. They sat on the folded top of a hot convertible and waved their green, white and orange flags to the crowds. They have plenty of ancient Celtic ancestry, just not Irish, but no one was keeping score. It was simply great fun, often complemented with fine spring weather and thousands of azaleas blooming throughout the city.
Those were the good old days? To be honest, the parade is a fond memory, but life has moved on. Haven't been to the parade for several years, although I plan to watch it on the Internet. Still, I would put this event on a list of things to do before you die. That said, better make your reservations tomorrow before March 17, 2010 becomes "No Vacancy."
This post first appeared on March 17, 2009. Its sentiments remain unchanged.
Koyaaniqatsi (1982) is Godfrey Reggio's - with cinematographer, Ron Fricke - mesmerizing audiovisual feast examining the interface of people, technology, and nature. Phillip Glass's score for this film has become a signature piece, one that he and his ensemble have performed around the world for three decades. Here is a portion of "The Grid," one of the most well-known and best liked scenes:
Koyaaniqatsi - now a cult classic - was the first of three films that have become known as the Qatsi Trilogy. Readers who enjoyed the clip may want to investigate further.
A Julia set, a fractal related to the Mandelbrot set
OTR was surfing Facebook tonight, a practice he rarely pursues. The activity was inspired by a conversation at the conclusion of tonight's Lenten service. The ride brought him face to face with a close but long-lost friend in a fraternity of searchers. The brothers called their salon the Mind Engine. By 1974, their intellectual technology was dispersed by graduation, careers, marriages, and one flight to Canada. In its time, the Engine survived through the best and worst of times. It seems the components have done the same. Today, OTR's found friend is a retired, renowned Shakespeare scholar who, like many of the Bard of Avon's characters, suffered profound personal loss in the course of his life. He's proud to describe himself as a hippie who succeeded. The photographs and lengthy entries connote abounding love for and pride in his two daughters, his late wife, and her family. His spiritual journey has taken him deep into philosophical Buddhism. His Facebook journey includes a long list of friends unknown to OTR.
Now what is one to do? Tonight's discovery is very much like coming upon a hidden chapter in a long-lost diary. There is risk in revelation and safety in memory adorned with imagination. OTR will think about it.
In the interim, he pays homage to his brother by posting this entry his friend quoted at length in 2009:
The multi-talented Christopher Guest has provided us with three decades of entertainment in the form of the "mockumentary," a genre he perfected with the help of a superb ensemble cast. Together, they have given us gems including This is Spinal Tap (1984), Waiting For Guffman (1996), and A Mighty Wind (2003). Best in Show (2000) is a gem, as well, and it's a favorite in the OTR household. Here are two clips from the film featuring Meg and Hamilton Swan, an uber-yuppie lawyer couple and their uber-neurotic Weimaraner, Beatrice.
Beatrice competes with four other entrants and their handlers at the Mayflower Dog Show. Fred Willard deserved an Oscar for his performance as the show announcer. Don't miss out on the fun.
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