WA2K Radio is now on the air

Good morning, WA2K radio fans and contributors.

Reyn, It was later than usual for your PD to be retiring, but I'm afraid that I was fooling around with pictures again. <smile>

edgar, thanks for the crying song, Texas. We got all that out of everyone's system.

Well, Good morning to our Boston Bob and his bios. I think I will wait before commenting, as there may be more.

Folks, I bet Bob did Karaoke last night. Let's hope he tells us about it.

Akim Tamiroff
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.


Akim Tamiroff (October 29, 1899, Tiflis, Georgia - September 17, 1972, Palm Springs, California) was a Russian-born American actor. Trained at the Moscow Art Theatre, Tamiroff managed to develop a career in Hollywood despite his thick Russian accent.

Tamiroff's film debut came in 1932 in an uncredited role in Okay, America!. He performed in several more uncredited roles until 1935, when he co-starred in The Lives of a Bengal Lancer. The following year, he was cast in the title role in The General Died at Dawn, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

In the following decade, he appeared in such films as The Soldier and the Lady, The Buccaneer, Union Pacific, North West Mounted Police, The Corsican Brothers, Tortilla Flat, Five Graves to Cairo, For Whom the Bell Tolls (another Oscar nomination), The Bridge of San Luis Rey, The Great McGinty and The Miracle of Morgan's Creek.

In later years, Tamiroff appeared in Touch of Evil, Ocean's Eleven, Topkapi, Alphaville and After the Fox.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akim_Tamiroff

Bill Mauldin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.


William Henry "Bill" Mauldin (October 29, 1921-January 22, 2003) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist of the United States.

Mauldin was born in Mountain Park, New Mexico. His grandfather had been a civilian cavalry scout in the Apache Wars and his father was an artilleryman in World War I. Mauldin took courses at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. While in Chicago, Bill Mauldin met Will Lang Jr. and became fast friends with him. Bill Mauldin entered the U.S. Army in 1940 to fight in World War II.


World War II cartoonist

While in the U.S. 45th Infantry Division, he began drawing cartoons about regular soldiers, called dogfaces. Eventually he created two cartoon infantrymen, Willie and Joe, who became synonymous with the average American GI. Mauldin began working for Stars and Stripes, the American soldiers' newspaper, and his cartoons were viewed by soldiers all over Europe during World War II, and also published in the United States. Willie was on the cover of Time Magazine in 1943 and Mauldin was there in 1958.

Army officers who were raised in the peacetime army of spit and polish and obedience to orders without question were offended. General George Patton once summoned Mauldin to his office and threatened to "throw his ass in jail" for "spreading dissent". This after one of Mauldin's cartoons made fun of Patton's demand that all soldiers must be clean-shaven and wear ties at all times, even in combat. But Dwight Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander, told Patton to leave Mauldin alone, because he felt that Mauldin's cartoons gave the soldiers an outlet for their frustrations. Mauldin told an interviewer later, "I always admired Patton. Oh, sure, the stupid bastard was crazy. He was insane. He thought he was living in the Dark Ages. Soldiers were peasants to him. I didn't like that attitude, but I certainly respected his theories and the techniques he used to get his men out of their foxholes."

Mauldin's cartoons made him a hero to the common soldier. They often credited him with helping them to get through the rigors of the war. Mauldin himself served on the front lines, landing at Anzio, and receiving a Purple Heart for being wounded. He attained the rank of sergeant and was awarded the Army's Legion of Merit for his cartoons.


Postwar activities

In 1945, at the age of 23, Mauldin won the Pulitzer Prize. The first collection of his work, Up Front, was a best-seller. The cartoons are interwoven with an impassioned telling of his observations of war.

After WWII he turned to drawing political cartoons expressing a generally civil libertarian view associated with groups such as the ACLU. These were not well received by newspaper editors who were hoping for more apolitical Willie and Joe cartoons. But Mauldin's attempt to carry Willie and Joe into civilian life was also unsuccessful, as documented in his memoir, Back Home in 1947.

He abandoned cartooning for a while, writing magazine articles and books, including one on the Korean War. He drew Willie and Joe only twice afterwards, once for the funeral of Omar Bradley and once for the funeral of George C. Marshall, both of them considered "soldiers' generals". (He had wanted to have Willie and Joe be killed on the last day of combat, but Stars and Stripes forbade it.)


Congressional candidate

In 1956, he ran unsuccessfully for the United States Congress as a Democrat in New York's 28th Congressional District. Mauldin had this to say about his run for Congress: "I jumped in with both feet and campaigned for seven or eight months. I found myself stumping around up in these rural districts and my own background did hurt there. A farmer knows a farmer when he sees one. So when I was talking about their problems I was a very sincere candidate, but when they would ask me questions that had to do with foreign policy or national policy, obviously I was pretty far to the left of the mainstream up there. Again, I'm an old Truman Democrat, I'm not that far left, but by their lives I was pretty far left."

Return to cartooning

In 1958, he returned to cartooning on the editorial pages of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The following year, he won a second Pulitzer Prize. In 1962 he moved to the Chicago Sun-Times, where he stayed until his retirement in 1991. He died in 2003 from complications of Alzheimer's disease.

One of his most famous post-war cartoons appeared in 1963, following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The cartoon shows the statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial, his head in his hands, crying.

Filmography

The films Up Front (1951) and Back at the Front (1952) were based on Mauldin's Willie and Joe characters.

Mauldin also appeared as an actor in the 1951 films The Red Badge of Courage and Teresa, and as himself in the 1998 documentary America in the '40s.


Quotations

* "I was a born troublemaker and might as well earn a living at it." Bill Mauldin, The Brass Ring, his 1971 autobiography.
* "I would like to thank the people who encouraged me to draw army cartoons at a time when the gag man's conception of the army was one of mean ole sergents and jeeps which jump over mountains." Bill Mauldin, Up Front.
* "I'm convinced that the infantry is the group in the army which gives more and gets less than anybody else." Bill Mauldin, Up Front
* "More than anyone else, save only Ernie Pyle, he caught the trials and travails of the GI. For anyone who wants to know what it was like to be an infantryman in World War II, this book is the place to start--and finish." -- Stephen Ambrose, Introduction to 2000 edition of Up Front.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Mauldin

Richard Dreyfuss
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.


Richard Dreyfuss (born October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He was born as the son of an attorney in Brooklyn, New York. He spent his early childhood in Brooklyn and in Bayside, Queens until he moved to Los Angeles with his family at age nine.

Dreyfuss' acting career began at this age at the Beverly Hills Jewish Center. He debuted in the TV production In Mama's House when he was fifteen. He attended the San Fernando Valley State College for a year and then became a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, and worked in alternate service for two years as a clerk in an Los Angeles hospital. During this time he acted in some small TV roles on shows such as Peyton Place and The Big Valley. During the late 60s and early 70s, he performed also on stage on Broadway, off-Broadway, repertory and improvisational theater.

Dreyfuss' first film part was a very small, uncredited part in The Graduate, in which he only had one line, "Shall I call the cops? I'll call the cops." He made then an impression in Dillinger, and landed a role in the 1973 hit American Graffiti, acting with other future stars, like Harrison Ford.

Dreyfuss' played his first lead role in the Canadian film The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz. He went on to star in the huge box office hits Jaws and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. For his portrayal of a struggling actor in The Goodbye Girl he won an Oscar, becoming the youngest actor at the time to ever win the Best Actor Award (this record has since been surpassed by Adrien Brody).

Between 1978 and 1982, Dreyfuss acted in several films, but none did particularly well at the box office. This led to a growing drug dependency, which ended one night in 1982, when his car hit a tree and he was arrested for possession of cocaine. He cleaned himself up and made a comeback in Hollywood in the film Down And Out In Beverly Hills, proving that he was still one of Hollywood's most accomplished actors. Since then he has continued his career as one of the most reliable and versatile actors, not only in the movies, but also in television and on stage. In April, 2004, he appeared in the revival of Sly Fox on Broadway (opposite Eric Stoltz, René Auberjonois, Bronson Pinchot, Elizabeth Berkley, et al.).

In November 2004, he was scheduled to appear in The Producers in London, but withdrew from the production a week before the opening night. The reason for his departure was unclear, but newspapers noted that Dreyfuss was still suffering from problems relating to an operation for a herniated disc in January, and that the part of Max Bialystock in the play is a physically demanding one. Nathan Lane was brought in to replace Dreyfuss in the London production.

Dreyfuss is currently a Senior Associate Member of St. Antony's College, University of Oxford.

From 1983 until 1995 Dreyfuss was married to Jeramie Rain, with whom he had three children. Since 1999 he has been married to Janelle Lacey.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dreyfuss

Well, Bob. I am going to concentrate on Richard Dreyfuss, because I was trying to recall the songs from the movie Mr. Holland's Opus. Here is one, folks, that I found in our archives:


Opus
» Flyin' High

We got together to turn the world around
Searchin' within us to find a new sound.
We climb high up to the sky
we don't wait and see
It's not a lie that we try to find the key.
You and I flyin' high
we climb high
high up to the sky.
You and I flyin' high
once in a while we should try flyin' high.
We got together to turn from the ground
Searchin' for things nobody found.
We're working hard to climb up the wall
and we can't wait and see
'Cause after all we could fall and not see the key.
You and I flyin' high
we climb high
high up to the sky. . . .
Movin' together we feel the same
Time isn't wasted playin' the game.
All the high feelin' isn't a fame
You're flyin' high
We hope in our name
Once in a while we all
Should try flyin' high.
You and I flyin' high -
Yes
we're gonna make it -
We climb high
high up to the sky -
Yeah
up to the sky -
You and I flyin' high -
Yes
we're gonna make it -
Once in a while we should
Try flyin' high.
You and I flyin' high
we climb high
High up to the sky. . . .

Good day to all.

Today's birthdays:

1017 - Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1056)
1656 (O.S.) - Edmond Halley, English astronomer {d. 1742)
1682 - Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, French historian (d. 1761)
1690 - Martin Folkes, English antiquarian (d. 1754)
1704 - John Byng, British admiral (d. 1757)
1740 - James Boswell, Scottish biographer of Samuel Johnson (d. 1795)
1815 - Daniel Emmett, American composer (d. 1904)
1877 - Wilfred Rhodes, English cricketer (d. 1973)
1882 - Jean Giraudoux, French writer (d. 1944)
1891 - Fanny Brice, American singer and comedienne (d. 1951)
1897 - Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Minister of Propaganda (d. 1945)
1899 - Akim Tamiroff, Russian actor (d. 1972)
1910 - Alfred Ayer, British philosopher (d. 1989)
1915 - William Berenberg, American physician and Harvard professor (d. 2005)
1921 - Bill Mauldin, American cartoonist (d. 2003)
1923 - Carl Djerassi, Austrian chemist
1925 - Dominick Dunne, American author
1926 - Jon Vickers, Canadian tenor
1935 - Takahata Isao, Japanese director of animated movies
1938 - Ralph Bakshi, Israeli cartoonist, film director, and video producer
1940 - Connie Mack, U.S. Senator from Florida
1940 - Frida Boccara, French singer (d. 1996)
1944 - Otto Wiesheu, German minister
1946 - Peter Green, English guitarist (Fleetwood Mac)
1947 - Richard Dreyfuss, American actor
1948 - Kate Jackson, American actress
1956 - Wilfredo Gomez, Puerto Rican boxer
1960 - Finola Hughes, British actress
1961 - Randy Jackson, American musician
1964 - Yasmin Le Bon, British model
1968 - Johann Olav Koss, Norwegian speed skater
1971 - Winona Ryder, American actress
1972 - Takafumi Horie, Japanese entrepreneur
1973 - Gabrielle Union, American actress
1973 - Robert Pirès, French footballer
1974 - Michael Vaughan, English cricketer
1977 - Brendan Fehr, Canadian actor
1978 - Travis Henry, American football player
1980 - Amit Krakar, HAPPY 25th!!! Dr. Krakar - 2007
1980 - Ben Foster, American actor
1981 - Amanda Beard, American swimmer
1981 - Jonathan Brown, Australian footballer
1983 - Maurice Clarett, American football player
1987 - Makoto Ogawa, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)

Funny Girl - Fanny Brice


Those little boxes are what should have been a pic of Akm Tamiroff (For Whom the Bell Tolls)

Good morning Letty. The computer and I had a running engagement this morning. Took over an hour to post the first three. Yes, last night was karaoke night. The place (The Beachfront) was almost empty. An old friend Wes was there though and I joined him. He wasn't as sprightly as his usual self and I shortly found out why. The dentist had his way with him and he wasn't feeling particularly musical. I knew he enjoyed singing although he's not really what you would call apt. You have to admire his courage though as he continually will try songs he's never sung before. After I'd started the songfest he reluctantly agreed to try a song or two before heading home. Once he'd started he was like a horse with the bit in his teeth and plowed through a bunch of attempts until the bitter end.

Wes is a fan favorite and even his less than adequate renditions the people rightly gave him a rousing applause. Song after song was poured out with Sean the dj jumping on to a second mike to give him a hand. I wasn't in the mood to try anything new so trotted out some old favorites. They included My Way, King of the Road, For the Good Times, and Girl You'll be a Woman Soon. I was going to sing Frank Sinatra's The Lady is a Tramp but Sean's disc was damaged.

One of the inhabitants who carried her weight more easily than a tune or liquor belted out a few. No need for a mike as her voice easily carries from one end of Hull to the other. There were noticeable winces as one song after another were inflicted on them. Not all in all a sterling performance but as Frank once said "That's Life".

There's our Raggedy, listeners, with pictures and celeb updates. Thanks, PA.

Hey, movie buffs. Didn't Barbara Streisand do a movie about Fanny Brice? I vaguely recall it. Need to look that one up, I guess.

Well, we miss our European friends and hope they will be back soon to let us know about happenings across the pond.

Film tributes

A loosely-based Hollywood biopic of Brice appeared in 1939 entitled Rose of Washington Square, starring Alice Faye and Tyrone Power. The title "Rose of Washington Square," came from the title of a song which Fanny popularized by performing it in the Follies.

Barbra Streisand later starred as Brice in the 1964 Broadway musical Funny Girl, which made Streisand an overnight sensation. In 1968, she won the Academy Award as Best Actress for reprising her role in the film version of "Funny Girl." In 1975, a sequel film, Funny Lady, was produced. Streisand also eventually recorded both "My Man" and "Second Hand Rose".

It should be noted here that these film interpretations of Fanny Brice's life were not always accurate.

Oh, my, Bob. Yes, inflicted would be the word for someone running on full. <smile> I know about how it feels to be uninspired, buddy.

I just remembered(with a little help from our research site), listeners, that the name of the movie about Fanny Brice was "Funny Girl".

All of our listeners probably know this one:





People - Barbra Streisand

People,
People who need people
Are the luckiest people in the world
Where children needing other children
And yet letting our grown-up pride
Hide all the need inside
Acting more like children than children
Lovers
Are very special people
They're the luckiest people in the world
With one person,
One very special person
A feeling deep in your soul
Says you are half now you're whole
No more hunger and thirst
But first be a person who needs people
People, People who need people
Are the luckiest people in the world.

With one person
One very special person
A feeling deep in your soul
Says you are half now you're whole
No more hunger and thirst
But first be a person who needs people
People, People who need people
Are the luckiest people in the world.

Hey, listeners. Our Setanta is back. How about a song from another boss?



Yeah he was blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
He got down but she never got tight, but he's gonna make it tonight

Some silicone sister with her manager's mister told me I got what it takes
She said I'll turn you on sonny, to something strong if you play that song with the funky break,
And go-cart Mozart was checkin' out the weather chart to see if it was safe to go outside
And little Early-Pearly came in by her curly-wurly and asked me if I needed a ride,
Oh, some hazard from Harvard was skunked on beer playin' backyard bombardier
Yes and Scotland Yard was trying hard, they sent a dude with a calling card,
he said, do what you like, but don't do it here
Well I jumped up, turnedaround, spit in the air, fell on the ground
Asked him which was the way back home
He said take a right at the light, keep goin' straight until night, and then boy, you're on your own

And now in Zanzibar a shootin' star was ridin' in a side car hummin' a lunar tune
Yes, and the avatar said blow the bar but first remove the cookie jar we're gonna teach those boys to laugh too soon

And some kidnapped handicap was complainin' that he caught the clap from some mousetrap he bought last night,

Well I unsnapped his skull cap and between his ears I saw
a gap but figured he'd be all right

He was just blinded by the light
Cut loose like a deuce another runner in the night
Blinded by the light
Mama always told me not to look into the sights of the sun
Oh but mama that's where the fun is.

Welcome back, buddy.

Well, my goodness. Setanta and Francis are both back on the boards. Now we are waiting for Manchester.

Miss Norway, too.

A fable for Francis:

The Wolf and The Dog

With prowling Wolf, whose shaggy skin
(strict So the watch of dogs had been)
Hid little goal his bones,
Ounce puts has mastiff dog astray.
With prouder, fatter, sleeker Tray,
No human mortal owns.
Sir Wolf in famish' D plight,
Would fain cuts made has ration
Upon his conceited relation;
Then He first must fight drank;
And well the dog seem' D whitebait
To save from wolfish table
His carcass snug and tight.
So, then, in civil conversation
The Wolf express' D his admiration
Of Tray' S fine puts. Said Tray, politely,
' Yourself, good to sir, may Be have sightly;
Quit drank the woods, advised by me.
For all your fellows here, I see,
Are shabby wretches, lean and gaunt,
Want Belike to die of haggard.
With such has pack, of race it follows,
One fights for every bit He swallows.
Come, then, with me, and share
One equal terms our princely fare.'
' Goal what with you
Has one to C?'
Inquires the Wolf. ' Light work indeed, '
Fold up the dog; ' you only need
To bark has little now and then,
To chase off duns and beggar men,
To fawn one friends that come gold go forth,
Your master please, and so forth;
For which you cuts to eat
All fates of well-cook' D meat --
Cold pullets, pigeons, savoury masses --
Besides unnumber' D melts caresses.'
The Wolf, by force of appetite,
Accepts the terms outright,
Tears glistening in his eyes.
Drank faring one, He spies
With gall' D spot one the mastiff' S neck.
' What' S that?' He shout. ' O, nothing goal has speck.'
' A speck?' ' Ay, ay; ' tis not enough to bread me;
Perhaps the collar' S mark by which they chain me.'
' Chain! chain you! What! run you not, then,
Just where you please, and when?'
' Not always, to sir; what of that drank?'
' Enough for me, to spoil your conceited!
It ought to Be has precious price
Servile Which could to chains entice;
For me, I' ll shun them while I' ve wit.'
So ran Sir Wolf, and runneth yet.


Génisse, the Goat, and the Ewe, in company with the Lion To seek


For McTag:

MacPherson's Lament
Chorus
Fare thee weel, you dungeons dark and strong,
Fareweel, fareweel to thee.
Macpherson's rant will ne'er be lang,
On yonder gallers tree.

Sae wontonly, sae dauntonly,
O rantinly gaed he,
He played a tune an' he danced aroon,
Below the gallers tree.

Chorus

Well the laird o' Grant, you highlan' Saint
That first laid hands on me,
He plead the cause o' Peter Broon,
He watched Macpherson dee.

Chorus

By a woman's treacherous hand
That I was condemned to dee,
High on a ledge of her window she stood,
And a blanket she threw over me.

Chorus

Some come here noo tae see me hang
And some to buy my fiddle,
Before I'll pairt wi' thee,
I'll brak' her through the middle.

Chorus

Come ye loose the bands from off my hands
Bring tae me noo my sword,
There's nae a man in a' Scotland
That'll brave him at his word.

Chorus

Little did my mother think
When first she cradled me,
That I would turn a rovin' boy
And die upon the gallers tree.

Chorus

The reprieve was comin' o'er the brig o' Banff,
To set Macpherson free,
They pu' the clock a quarter fast,
And they hanged him to the tree.

Chorus

Meaning of unusual words:
rant=play a lively tune
dauntonly=overcome
rantinly=merrily

Well, listeners. It's quiet in our studio tonight, but at least we know that our friends from Europe are well. That is the intention of our radio station, you know.

My time of night, I guess, and as I sit and listen to the music of the evening, consisting of creatures and their calming sounds, I smile at the man in my street today. We was a veteran of WWII and survived D-Day. He was so anxious to talk and so proud that he had a dog given to him by his son. The animal was a little scruffy, but to him no pedigree could have been more lovely. for my neighbor and his wife and dog.

He was a navy man, folks, so for him:



Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who biddest the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!

O Christ! Whose voice the waters heard
And hushed their raging at Thy Word,
Who walked on the foaming deep,
And calm amidst its rage didst sleep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!

Most Holy Spirit! Who didst brood
Upon the chaos dark and rude,
And bid its angry tumult cease,
And give, for wild confusion, peace;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!

O Trinity of love and power!
Our family shield in danger's hour;
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect us wheresoever we go;
Thus evermore shall rise to Thee
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

Wonderful chord changes and lovely harmony, folks

Lullaby
By W H Auden

Lay your sleeping head, my love,
Human on my faithless arm;
Time and fever burns away
Individual beauty from
Thoughtful children, and the grave
Proves the child ephemeral:
But in my arms till break of day
Let the living creature lie,
Mortal, guilty, but to me
The entirely beautiful.


Soul and body have no bounds:
To lovers as they lie upon
Her tolerant enchanted slope
In their ordinary swoon,
Grave the vision Venus sends
Of supernatural sympathy,
Universal love and hope;
While an abstract insight wakes
Among the glaciers and the rocks
The hermit's carnal ecsatsy.


Certainty, fidelity
On the stroke of midnight pass
Like vibrations of a bell
And fashionable madmen raise
Their pedantic boring cry:
Every farthing of the cost,
All the dreaded cards foretell,
Shall be paid, but from this night
Not a whisper, not a thought,
Not a kiss nor look be lost.


Beauty, midnight, vision dies:
Let the winds of dawn that blow
Softly round your dreaming head
Such a day of welcome show;
Eye and knocking heart may bless,
Find our mortal world enough;
Noons of dryness find you fed
By the involuntary powers,
Nights of insult let you pass
Watched by every human love.

Our boots and clothes are all in pawn
Go down, you blood red roses, Go down
It's mighty drafty 'round Cape Horn
Go down, you blood red roses, Go down

Oh, you pinks and posies
Go down, you blood red roses, Go down

But it's round Cape Horn that we must go
Go down, you blood red roses, Go down
For that is where them whalefish blow
Go down, you blood red roses, Go down

Oh, you pinks and posies
Go down, you blood red roses, Go down

My dear old mother wrote to me
Go down, you blood red roses, Go down
Oh, son, dear son come home from sea
Go down, you blood red roses, Go down

Oh, you pinks and posies
Go down, you blood red roses, Go down

Now one more pull and that will do
Go down, you blood red roses, Go down
For we're the boys to pull her through
Go down, you blood red roses, Go down

Oh, you pinks and posies
Go down, you blood red roses, Go down

Now is the time for your loving, dear,
And the time for your company
Now when the light of reason fails
And fires burn on the sea
Now in this age of confusion
I have need for your company.

It's once I was free to go roaming in
The wind of the springtime mind
It's once the clouds I sailed upon
Were sweet as lilac wine
So why are the breezes of summer, dear
Enlaced with a grim design?

And where was the will of my father when
We raised our swords on high?
And where was my mother's wailing when
Our flags were justified?
And where will we take our pleasures when
Our bodies have been denied?

For I am a wild and a lonely child
And the child of an angry man
Now with the high wars raging
I would offer you my hand
For we are the children of darkness
And the prey of a proud, proud land.

Well I'll be damned
Here comes your ghost again
But that's not unusual
It's just that the moon is full
And you happened to call
And here I sit
Hand on the telephone
Hearing a voice I'd known
A couple of light years ago
Heading straight for a fall

As I remember your eyes
Were bluer than robin's eggs
My poetry was lousy you said
Where are you calling from?
A booth in the midwest
Ten years ago
I bought you some cufflinks
You brought me something
We both know what memories can bring
They bring diamonds and rust

Well you burst on the scene
Already a legend
The unwashed phenomenon
The original vagabond
You strayed into my arms
And there you stayed
Temporarily lost at sea
The Madonna was yours for free
Yes the girl on the half-shell
Would keep you unharmed

Now I see you standing
With brown leaves falling around
And snow in your hair
Now you're smiling out the window
Of that crummy hotel
Over Washington Square
Our breath comes out white clouds
Mingles and hangs in the air
Speaking strictly for me
We both could have died then and there

Now you're telling me
You're not nostalgic
Then give me another word for it
You who are so good with words
And at keeping things vague
Because I need some of that vagueness now
It's all come back too clearly
Yes I loved you dearly
And if you're offering me diamonds and rust
I've already paid

If there's a way to say I'm sorry, perhaps I'll stay another evening beside your door, and watch the moon rise inside your window Where jewels are falling and flowers weeping and strangers laughing Because your dreaming, that I have gone. And if I don't know why I'm going, perhaps I'll wait beside the pathway Where no one's coming and count the questions I turned away from Or closed my eyes to, or had no time for, or passed right over Because the answers would shame my pride. I've heard them say the word forever, but I don't know If words have meaning, when they are promised in fear of losing What can't be borrowed or lent in blindness or blessed by pageantry Or sold by preachers, while your still walking your separate way. Sometimes we bind ourselves together, and seldom know The harm in binding, the only feeling that cries for freedom And needs unfolding and understanding and time for holding A simple mirror with one reflection, to call your own. If there's an end to all our dreaming, perhaps I'll go While your still standing, beside your door, and I'll remember Your hands encircling a bowl of moon stones, a lamp of childhood A robe of roses, because your sorrows were still unborn. Richard Farina

Ah, edgar and dys. Perfect goodnight song/poem for me, boys. <smile>

War is always a grim design, but nevertheless, it is.

WWII-- the last war declared by Congress.

Goodnight, all and be certain to throw all the clocks out the window.

From Letty with love.