La Vie en Rose

 
The original song was written in 1945, and has been an international hit by various artists off and on ever since. It's a love song... of a woman who finally finds love in the arms of a man. But it has sort of become a symbolic song of finding happiness after difficult times because of its release just following WWII.



This rose was blooming outside Rick and Ellen's house where we had our reunion. This rose changes from pink to peachy to gold tones as it opens.



It seems like a good symbol of the time the Impossibles had together. Not a one of the team members has had the life we all imagined as young people. There have been difficult bumps along the way for each one. Life changes in hue and color, but ever unfolds, and becomes a thing of beauty.



As we shared and prayed and hugged... wondering of course, if we would all be there for a 60th or even 55th reunion, we can all say, despite the bumps and bruises, that life is a thing of happy hues where love is found, la vie en rose.

Home safely... tomorrow I have to get busy again.

	See Impossibles 2
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...and the Moon in the Evening, I'm All Right

 
One of my favorite songs from Annie Get Your Gun is "I Got the Sun in the Morning." Here's a sample:

Got no checkbooks
Got no banks
Still I'd like to express my thanks
I got the sun in the morning and the moon at night

And with the sun in the morning
And the moon in the evening
I'm all right



The calendar says two days till it's full, but it's pretty round!

I'm off to work in just a bit.

	See Post Blue Moon
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Three Craw Sat Upon a Wa'

 
I've been hoping to find "three craw" sitting around somewhere for quite a while. Sorry, I don't have a "wa," so they are just in a tree, but I get to share this song. We used to sing it at Scout camp, and I have always thought it is particularly funny. It's a traditional Scottish children's song. I think there are several versions, but they are all similar.



Three craws sat upon a wa',
sat upon a wa',
sat upon a wa',
Three craws sat upon a wa', On a cold and frosty mornin'.

The first Craw fell an' broke his jaw,
fell an' broke his jaw,
fell an' broke his jaw,
The first Craw fell an' broke his jaw, On a cold and frosty mornin'.

The second craw couldna' flee at a' ,
couldna' flee at a' ,
couldna' flee at a' ,
The second craw couldna' flee at a', On a cold and frosty mornin'.

The third Craw couldna' find his maw'
couldna' find his maw'
couldna' find his maw'
The third Craw couldna' find his maw' On a cold and frosty mornin'.

The fourth Craw wisna' there at a',
wisna' there at a',
wisna' there at a',
The fourth Craw wisna' there at a', On a cold and frosty mornin'.

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John Henry of the 21st Century - Part 1

I'm departing a bit from my usual type of post because I think something really important, in the world, has happened this week. Remember the legend of John Henry? There are many versions of the folk song (making it a true folk song), but the Woody Guthrie lyrics are probably the best known- this is a variation of them:

When John Henry was a little baby
A-sittin' on his mammy's knee
Picked up a hammer and a little piece of steel,
Said, "Hammer be the death of me, lord, lord,
Hammer be the death of me."

Some say he's born in Texas
Some say he's born in Maine
I just say he was a Louisiana man
Leader of a steel-drivin' chain gang,
Leader of a steel-drivin' gang.

John Henry said to the shaker,
"Shaker, you had better pray.
If I miss your six feet of steel
Tomorrow'll be your buryin' day, lord, lord,
Tomorrow'll be your buryin' day."

Well, the Captain said to John Henry,
"Gonna bring that steam drill round,
Gonna bring that steam drill out on the job,
Gonna whup that steel on down, down, down,
Gonna whup that steel on down."

John Henry said to the captain,
"You can bring that steam drill round,
You can bring that steam drill out on the job,
I'll beat that steam drill down, down, down,
I'll beat that steel drill down."

Now, John Henry said to the Captain,
"A man ain't nothin' but a man
But before I'd let that steam drill beat me down
I'd die with a hammer in my hand, lord, lord,
I'd die with a hammer in my hand

John Henry was workin' on the right side,
The steam drill was workin' on the left,
You know he beat that steam drill out on the job,
But he hammered his poor self to death,
He hammered his self to death.

They took John Henry to the tunnel
The buried him in the sand,
And every train that came roarin' down the line
They said, "There lies a steel drivin' man, lord, lord,
There lies a steel drivin' man."

Just a little bit of explanation- This song describes laying railroad by hand. the Shaker was the title of the man who held the spikes for the driver. If the driver missed with his sledge hammer, it could definitely mean severe injury or death for the shaker. John Henry was a real person, the kernel of this story is true. The C&O Railroad was drilling a tunnel through Big Bend Mountain in West Virginia. The song sometimes refer to drilling of the tunnel, or sometimes to the number of feet of rail laid. Supposedly, John Henry drilled 16 feet in a 12-hour shift, while the steam drill only made 9 feet. However, the next morning, John Henry was found dead, the assumption being that the effort had killed him. He's supposedly buried near the Big Bend Tunnel.

Do you know where I'm going with this story next? Come back tomorrow to find out.

Meanwhile, enjoy this pre-Guthrie (think: before folk music was commercial) version- it loads slowly- turn off your sound, let it load, then come back and hit replay.

Interacting with Haitians - 1985

Although this picture was taken in Haiti, we knew these four boys for several months before we traveled there. They are, from left to right: Perry, Jean-Marie, Jean-Pierre, and Duvie. These boys could speak English, French (the official language of Haiti), and Creole (the popular language). With this skill, they came from Haiti to the United States on a tour with some Mission Possible staff as ambassadors for the country and the schools. They gave a program and sang at the church and school where our son Joshua was enrolled. To keep the story short... as a result another lady from Ludington and I ended up on the trip.

While we were in Haiti, the boys served as interpreters for our team most of the week. They were such engaging young men, the youngest was 9 and the oldest 11. I hope that they have grown up and been able to help their families out of the poverty they came from. Their visit to Michigan was in March, and I recall that they were cold all the time, despite being fitted with warm winter coats!



The final day we were there we visited a TB hospital. We played with the kids who were not terribly sick. (I'll show you some of the others tomorrow.)



The day that I helped rake the floors in houses being built (see yesterday's post) these neighborhood children were very curious, but shy. I finally coaxed them to come over and have their picture taken with me. You can see that their clothes are much poorer than those of our four friends, and you may recognize those distended bellies on the boys as signs of malnutrition. They only spoke Creole, so we didn't communicate at all except with smiles.

The last picture was taken in the Port-au-Prince "Iron Market," a famous tourist trap. All the shop owners are very savvy as to tourists. Their line is "You Christian? Me Christian. I make you good deal!" It was rather overwhelming. I brought home a small carved and stained folding chess table for only $5, and two small paintings for 50 cents each!

I don't have a single picture of the church service we attended. We all went to an English-language service in Port-au-Prince. But it was really awesome to be worshiping in a truly international congregation. I think I would have enjoyed it in French just as much.

There were a couple of interactions that were particular to me. The day that we worked in the mountain village I was sent to the local market (not the one in the picture from two days ago, but similar) to buy lunch. I went because I did speak a little French. We could order either chicken or peanut butter sandwiches, but they said to be sure to order them on "country bread," "pain de pays," because it was baked locally. That was fun, and made me feel useful. The bread was soft with a sort of smoky flavor from being cooked over the common fuel- charcoal.

My favorite interaction was mine alone. But I don't have any picture. After the day that I painted alphabets for the kindergarten and first grade rooms I was just hanging around until the van came back with the rest of the team. I'm not sure where the other lady was that had been painting. But there was a group of kids practicing a song in French after the school day had ended. I knew just enough French to talk to the teacher who was leading them after they had finished. She helped me write down the words and learn the song. Then she signed the page for me. Her name was Frantzi Charles, and her helper was Jacqueline Julat. They wanted to know my name, and we all laughed at how it sounds, because in French it is Jeanne Jeunne.

So, they were learning the song to sing for a Texas businessman who felt that God had asked him to donate enough grain to Mission Possible to feed the school kids for a year. He had simply asked that the children learn this song to sing to him. First I'll give you the words as Frantzi gave them to me:
Pour son grand amour divin
Jesus invite au festin
Tous les saints, qu'il est rachetes
Oh venez.

Sa manne vous mourrira
Et chaque jour suffira
Venez vouz tous les invites
Oh mangez.

Oh venez, quelle merveille, Oh venez.
Quelle fete sans pareille, Oh mangez.
Celui qui crea le pain
Et qui de l'eau fit du vin,
Invite tous au festin, Oh mangez.

Frantzi did tell me that the English name is "Come and Dine." I figured out the chords and used to play and sing it to myself fairly often, but over the years forgot most of the tune. However!!! I just found a midi file of the music on line (isn't the internet great?)! I had never known the English words. It's interesting to compare them with a literal translation back from the French. Anyway... if you want to hear the tune and see the original English words, it is located at the Cyberhymnal. And... you can get the music for free. You can believe that I will be printing that out and re-learning the tune. I was surprised to learn, just tonight, that it is a century-old hymn.

OK, that was plenty for today. Tomorrow, we'll go back to some of the sad parts... how poor the people were. We will take a little break for the monthly contest in a couple of days. There seems to be enough interest in the Haiti story to keep it up. It makes me really happy to be able to share it with you.

P.S. If you are looking for a reputable organization for donations to the Haitian crisis, I recommend World Vision. I blogged about their credentials in December at Two Chickens and a Goat

See Tasks on the 1985 Haiti Trip See A Trip to Haiti in 1985

The Fragrance After the Rain

 


Today I will tell you a story that began in 1993, but I am reminded of it every year on warm, humid days when the grapes are in bloom.

I was working for the summer on the DesPlains River in Illinois, doing testing on a series of constructed wetlands. Chips was a puppy, full of energy and curiosity. We were living on site, and after the gates closed at 6pm every day we had 300 acres all to ourselves. There was a trail through the project which we often walked in the evening.

One day was gray and rainy, but after the storm was over the air began to warm and as we took our evening walk I was surprised by a sharp, yet sweet odor that hung in the air. I hadn't ever smelled it before, and I began exploring to discover where the scent came from. Imagine my surprise when I found it to be the blooming wild grape vines!



I had considered myself a decent amateur botanist, yet I had never noticed the blooms of the grapes before! At once the words of a popular Christian song popped into my head:
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
There's just something about that name.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Like the fragrance after the rain...
And so, that wonderful, sweet but wild, spicy and unique scent of the grapes will forever remind me of the summer of 1993, and adds a poignant note of wonder to make that song more real.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Let all heaven and earth proclaim:
Kings and kingdoms will all pass away,
But there's something about that name.
Now I watch for the blossoms each year and purposefully sniff for an early summer "high." Oh, and in the fall I've taken to making wild grape juice and canning it for bursts of breakfast wild-ness throughout the winter.

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