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Environmental news:

More than half of US streams polluted: EPA Fri May 5, 5:07 PM ET



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than half of U.S. streams are polluted, with the worst conditions found in the eastern third of the country, according to a study by the Environmental Protection Agency.



In its first-ever study of shallow or "wadeable" streams, the agency found 42 percent were in poor condition, and another 25 percent were considered fair. Only 28 percent were in good condition, EPA said. Another 5 percent were not analyzed because of sampling problems in New England.

Streams running in the East, from the Atlantic coast through the Appalachian Mountains, fared the worst, with 52 percent listed as poor.

We can do without oil, folks, but NOT water.

Glad to know that all our friends in Chicago are now accounted for, and having a wonderful time.

Good morning to all. Chicago is good, but I would rather be in…

Mull Of Kintyre Lyrics
Paul McCartney ›

Mull of Kintyre
Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
My desire is always to be here
Oh mull of Kintyre
Far have I traveled and much have I seen
Dark distant mountains with valleys of green.
Past painted deserts the sunset's on fire
As he carries me home to the mull of Kintyre.

Mull of Kintyre
Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
My desire is always to be here
Oh mull of Kintyre

Sweep through the heather like deer in the glen
Carry me back to the days I knew then.
Nights when we sang like a heavenly choir
Of the life and the time of the mull of Kintyre.

Mull of Kintyre
Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
My desire is always to be here
Oh mull of Kintyre

Smiles in the sunshine
And tears in the rain
Still take me back to where my memories remain
Flickering embers growing higher and higher
As they carry me back to the mull of Kintyre

Mull of Kintyre
Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
My desire is always to be here
Oh mull of Kintyre

Mull of Kintyre
Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
My desire is always to be here
Oh mull of Kintyre

Hello again, Try. That song is haunting, buddy. Wherever that is; it makes me want to be there as well.

Inspired why the travel thread, I thought of this one, listeners:


- Tommy Collins Lyrics - Oklahoma Hills

Many months have come and gone since I wandered from my home

In those Oklahoma hills where I was born

Many a page of life has turned many a lesson I have learned

Well I feel like in those hills I still belong

Way down yonder in the Indian nation ride my pony on reservation

In those Oklahoma hills where I was born

Now way down yonder in the Indian nation a cowboy's life is my occupation

In those Oklahoma hills where I was born

[ guitar ]

But as I sit here today many miles I am away

From a place I rode my pony through the drove

Why the old black jack could freeze kiss the cowboy prairie breeze

In those Oklahoma hills where I was born

Way down yonder...

[ guitar ]

Now as I turn life a page to the land of a great old stage

In those Oklahoma hills where I was born

While the Blackbony River flows and the snow white cotton grows

In those Oklahoma hills where I was born

Tommy might meet up with…

Reba McEntire
By The Time I Get To Phoenix Lyrics

By the time I get to Phoenix he'll be rising
He'll find the note I left hangin' on his door
And he'll laugh when he reads the part that says I'm leavin'
'Cause I've left that man so many times before
By the time I make Albuquerque he'll be workin'
He'll probably stop at lunch and give me a call
But he'll just here that phone keep on ringin'
Off the wall, that's all
By the time I make Oklahoma He'll be sleepin'
He'll turn softly and call my name out low
And he'll cry just to think I'd really leave him
Though time and time I've tried to tell him so
Oh, he just didn't know
I would really go
I would really go

Wow! Try. Reba did that song, too? I always thought that was a Glen Campbell original.

Frankly, folks. I have no idea who that Tommy is either. 'Course there is the Tommy of the Who. <smile>

However, listeners, I am not going that route but rather a bit of reflection on my state of mind right now.

Elvis Presley:

A well I bless my soul
What's wrong with me?
I'm itching like a man on a fuzzy tree
My friends say I'm actin' WIRED* as a bug
I'm in love
I'm all shook up
Mm mm oh, oh, yeah, yeah!
My hands are shaky and my knees are weak
I can't seem to stand on my own two feet
Who do you thank when you have such luck?
I'm in love
I'm all shook up
Mm mm oh, oh, yeah, yeah!

Please don't ask me what's on my mind
I'm a little mixed up, but I'm feelin' fine
When I'm near that girl that I love best
My heart beats so it scares me to death!

She touched my hand what a chill I got
Her LIPS* are like a volcano that's hot
I'm proud to say she's my buttercup
I'm in love
I'm all shook up
Mm mm oh, oh, yeah, yeah!

My tongue gets tied when I try to speak
My insides shake like a leaf on a tree
There's only one cure for this BODY* of mine
That's to have the girl that I love so fine!

But it ain't love, folks.

Who did you say?

Artist: The Who
Song: Pinball Wizard Lyrics

Ever since I was a young boy
I've played the silver ball
From Soho down to Brighton
I must have played them all
But I ain't seen nothing like him
In any amusement hall
That deaf, dumb and blind kid
Sure plays a mean pinball

He stands like a statue
Becomes part of the machine
Feeling all the bumpers
Always playing clean
He plays by intuition
The digit counters fall
That deaf, dumb and blind kid
Sure plays a mean pinball

He's a pinball wizard
There's got to be a twist
A pinball wizard
He's got such a supple wrist

How do you think he does it?
(I don't know)
What makes him so good?

He ain't got no distractions
Can't hear those buzzers and bells
Don't see lights a flashin'
Plays by sense of smell
Always gets a replay
Never tilts at all
That deaf, dumb and blind kid
Sure plays a mean pinball

I thought I was
The Bally table king
But I just handed
My pinball crown to him

Even on my usual table
He can beat my best
His disciples lead him in
And he just does the rest
He's got crazy flipper fingers
Never seen him fall
That deaf, dumb and blind kid
Sure plays a mean pinball

That's the Tommy, Try.

Well, listeners. We've heard from Reba, Glen, Elvis, and Tommy so how about one from Nancy:

You're so late getting home from the office, Did you miss your train?
Where you caught in the rain?
No, don't bother to explain.
Can I fix you a quick martini?
As a matter of fact
I'll have one with you,
For to tell you the truth
I've had quite a day too!

Guess who I saw today, my dear!
I went in town to shop around
for something new,
and thought I'd stop and have a bite
when I was through.
I looked around for someplace near,
and it occurred to me
where I had parked the car,
There was a most attractive French cafe
and bar.
It really wasn't very far.

The waiter showed me to a dark,
secluded corner,
And when my eyes became accustomed
to the gloom,
I saw two people at the bar
who were so much in love,
that even I could spot it clear
across the room.

Guess who I saw today, my dear!
I've never been so shocked before.
I headed blindly for the door.
They didn't see me passing through,
Guess who I saw today?
Guess who I saw today?
Guess who I saw today?
I saw you!

wa2k
letty : you pointed out the pollution problems in our waterways .
the great lakes are not in very good shape . while there seems to have been a reduction in the poisons of various kinds being flushed into our streams and lakes , plenty of those poisons have accumulated over time and will persist in our water .

when we came here in mid-50's there was still quite a bit of commercial fishing going on in lake ontario . we could buy sheephead , carp and other fish from the fisherman ... no more ; the fish - particularly groundfeeders - have become far too polluted to eat . what a shame !

here is a release from the "minnesota department of fisheries" telling a sad tale .
i remember that in myrtle beach the ocean water (near-shore) would sometimes became polluted from the rivers flowing into the ocean . much of it was overflow from manure ponds at some piggeries in north-carolina .
hbg

...POLLUTED WATERWAYS...

Hamburger, It breaks my heart to think that we can't trust our water supply both here, and abroad. Thanks for the information, buddy.

I don't think there is one person who does not love fish, especially freshly caught fish that are cooked within minutes of filleting.

When we camped on the Chesapeake bay, I wouldn't even go in the water.

A little ditty, folks, that is so true:

Daddy, may I go out to swim?
Yes, my darling daughter,
Hang your clothes on a hickory limb,
But don't go near the water.

wa2k
here are three great musicians : hank williams , jimmie davis and hank snow !
can't you hear it now ? hbg

I HEARD THAT LONESOME WHISTLE

Written by Hank Williams - Jimmie Davis
Recorded by Hank Snow

I was ridin' No 9 heading south from Caroline
I heard that lonesome whistle blow
Got in trouble had to roam left my gal and left my home
I heard that lonesome whistle blow
Just a kid acting smart I went and broke my darling's heart
I guess I was too young to know
They took me off to Georgia Main locked me to a ball and chain
I heard that lonesome whistle blow
All alone I bear the shame I'm a number not a name
I heard that lonesome whistle blow
All I do is sit and cry when the evening train goes by
I heard that lonesome whistle blow
I'll be locked here in this cell till my body's just a shell
And my hair turns whiter than the snow
I'll never see that gal of mine Lord I'm in Georgia doing time
I heard that lonesome whistle blow

Another little ditty, that is so true:

Queen of Chesapeake Bay
(Origin unknown)

'Round the bend I hear the chuggin' of the steamboat dear,
Heading here for this pier,
You'll catch it if you hurry don't you ever fear,
It's that old Dominion line.
We'll she seems real pretty as she hugs the shore,
Heading for Baltimore.
Everybody's yearning
To hear the paddles churnin'
She's the Queen of the Chesapeake Bay.

Come on Miss Letty put your best dress on
Come on Miss Letty 'fore that steamboat's gone.
The banjos are strumming the same old tune
Up on the deck there's a place to spoon
Settle down close 'neath the silvery moon
Sailing on the Chesapeake bay.

Come on Captain we must catch that boat,
We can't swim and listen we can't float
The banjos are strumming the same old tune
Up on the deck there's a place to spoon
Settle down close 'neath the silvery moon
Sailing on the Chesapeake bay.

wa2k
getting all teary eyed now !!!

there were no mountains were i grew up ! hbg

SHORES OF AMERIKAY
(traditional)

I'm bidding farewell to the land of my youth,
and the homes I loved so well
And the mountains so grand round my own native land,
I'm bidding them all farewell
With an aching heart I'll bid them adieu,
for tomorrow I'll sail far away
O'er the raging foam for to seak a home
on the shores of Amerikay.

It's not for the want of employement I'm going,
It's not for the love of fame
That fortune bright may shine over me,
And give me a glorious name
It's not for the want of employement I'm going,
O'er the weary and stormy sea
But to seek a home for my own true love,
On the shores of Amerikay.

And when I'm bidding my last farewell,
The tears like rain will blind
To think of my friends in my own native land,
And the home I'm leaving behind
But if I'm to die on a foreign land,
And be buried so far away
No fond mother's tears will be shed on my grave,

Well, hamburger, I am trying to recall Jimmie Davis, but I'll need some help. <smile> As for for the two Hanks, love em. Thanks for that lonesome whistle, Canada.

Try, you are not going to believe this, but my mom played that on an upright piano, and sang it. Ah, what a wonderful way you altered the lyrics, buddy. Thank you so much, as that made me smile, especially with Mother's Day coming up.

Back later, listeners, with a little more ragtime.

Jimmy Davis was governor of Louisiana. He wrote "You Are MY Sunshine" and a whole raft of other songs.

Oh, hamburger. I know how you feel, buddy. That was a sad but beautiful song. Odd how these paradoxes can hold such meaning for us.

Well, it's ok to cry, I guess, soooooo:


There's a low green valley on the old Kentucky shore,
There I've whiled many happy hours away,
A sitting and a singing by the little cottage door,
Where lived my darling Nelly Gray.

CHORUS: Oh! my poor Nelly Gray, they have taken you away,
And I'll never see my darling any more,
I'm sitting by the river and I'm weeping all the day,
For you've gone from the old Kentucky shore.

When the moon had climb'd the mountain, and the stars were shining too,
Then I'd take my darling Nelly Gray,
And we'd float down the river in my little red canoe,
While my banjo sweetly I would play.

(CHORUS)

One night I went to see her, but "she's gone!" the neighbors say,
The white man bound her with a chain;
They have taken her to Georgia for to wear her life away,
As she toils in the cotton and the cane.

(CHORUS)

My canoe is under water, and my banjo is unstrung,
I'm tired of living any more,
My eyes shall look downward, and my song shall be unsung,
While I stay on the old Kentucky shore.

(CHORUS)

My eyes are getting blinded, and I cannot see my way;
Hark! there's somebody knocking at the door---
Oh! I hear the angels calling, and I see my Nelly Gray,
Farewell to the old Kentucky shore.

CHORUS(last verse):Oh! my darling Nelly Gray, up in heaven there they say,
Thay they'll never take you from me any more,
I'm coming---coming---coming, as the angels clear the way,
Farewell to the old Kentucky shore.

wa2k
in honour of louisiana
-----------------------

Give Me Louisiana

Words and Music by Doralice Fontane

Arranged by Dr. John Croom
Give me Louisiana,
The State where I was born
The State of snowy cotton,
The best I've ever known;
A State of sweet magnolias,
And Creole melodies.

Oh give me Louisiana,
The State where I was born
Oh what sweet old mem'ries
The mossy old oaks bring.
It brings us the story
of our Evangeline.

A State of old tradition,
of old plantation days
Makes good ole Louisiana
The sweetest of all States.
-------------------------------

Well, of course, edgar. I knew that. The entire thing was explained artfully in O Brother Where Art Thou.

Now about this Ragtime stuff. Look what I found, folks. Does everyone remember Bob's bio about Bing Crosby and sons. This seems sorta odd at this time:

PLAY A SIMPLE MELODY
(Irving Berlin)

Bing and his oldest son, Gary, recorded "Play a Simple Melody" and "Sam's Song" on June 23, 1950. They were released on a single disk as "Gary Crosby and Friend." The disk sold more than a million copies and spent 19 weeks in the pop charts. "Play a Simple Melody" peaked at No. 2 for two weeks, "Sam's Song" peaked at No. 3.

{Verse 1}
Won't you play some simple melody
Like my mother sang to me
One with a good old-fashioned harmony
Play some simple melody

{Verse 2}
Musical demon, set your honey a-dreamin', won't you play me some rag
Just change that classical nag to some sweet beautiful drag
If you will play from a copy of a tune that is choppy you'll get all my applause
And that is simply because I wanna listen to rag

{Verse 3A}
Play for me
That good old-fashioned harmony
Oh, won't you play for me
A simple melody

{Verse 3B}
Play from a copy of a tune that is choppy
You'll get all of my applause because
I wanna rag it
Ragtime melody

Hey, missed our hamburger again. You know, I had kin folk in Louisiana, but they must be all gone by now. In spite of Katrina, it looks as though the music has made a come back and is improving the clime. Let's hope Mother nature doesn't get all out of sorts again, folks.

Thanks for the reminder, Canada. Great song.

goodnight from one exhausted Letty


But, of course, with Love

Hello, Where did everybody go?

Remember, keep our little radio on the air:

From the Beautiful South:

When was the last time you felt so happy
You had to give yourself a good pinch
When did you ever fail one of life's highs
Without using stepladder or winch
That's why the lifeless crave the past
'Cause when they're flogged, stoned, lynched
They can watch the living fizzle out to nought
Without even moving one inch

That's what keeps you alive
The thought of undeserved death
That's why cynics deep-sea dive
Just to watch someone healthy lose breath
That's what really makes you tick
When the fearless are stopped in their tracks
Optimism looks up counts the stars
Pessimism looks down and counts cracks

That Monday morning moaners club
That meet every week on park bench
At least they've earned their grumble stripes
When they fought tooth and nail in the trench
If you ever sat down in one place too long
They'd need a fork-lift truck and a wrench
Indecision drip feeds modesty
But apathy fails even to quench
That's what keeps you alive
The thought of undeserved death
That's why cynics deep-sea dive
Just to watch someone healthy lose breath
That's what really makes you tick
When the fearless are stopped in their tracks
Optimism looks up counts the stars
Pessimism looks down and counts cracks

And even when it's every man for himself
You still like to stick with the bunch
You'd rather tag along at the back of the crowd
To risk anything on a hunch

That's what keeps you alive
The thought of undeserved death
That's why cynics deep-sea dive
Just to watch someone healthy lose breath
That's what really makes you tick
When the fearless are stopped in their tracks
Optimism looks up counts the stars
Pessimism looks down and counts cracks