Who you were then, is who you are now.

Here I be, Letty of The Lyrics,
...I do remember hearing that. another exampleof all the humor that's found in the "Blues. I once wrote a paper called, "Blues, The Poor Man's Psychotherapy."
...BTW, speaking of the psyche, I'm glad you guys liked my psychiatric peacemaking.

Hey, boo. why do you think the blues is sooooo captivating? Cause we've all been to that Mississippi mud...

when the sun goes down..the tide rolls out,
The People gather round and they all begin to shout.
Hey, hey, Uncle Dud. It's a treat to be your feet on the Mississippi mud.

What a dance..do they do..Lordie how I'm telling you.
They don't need no band.
They keep the music by clappin' their hands
Just as happy as a cow chewing it's cud.....
When the people beat their feet on the Mississippi mud...

and then there's Mobile, Alabama..

Shut up letty.and go to bed..

Doesn't matter how long that I live,
I'll never outlive my love of music.

Yes, letty, sleep tight.......

I remember a hilarious blues song called "If I Can't Sell It, Then I'm Just Gonna Sit On It"...anyone else remember it? A woman sang it...

Visitor,
...Ruth Brown, talkin' about selling her old..."chair".

Letty,
...Ray Charles-"Genius Hits The Road"

That's it, Booman!!! Made me smile again, just remembering it...

Now here's the thing of it. (Eloise)

Does any one of you here remember learning to read? This question is germane to the thread, because it has so much to do with who-then; who-now.

I remember asking several elementary school children "Who taught you to read?", and more than 50% of them said, "I dunno--teacher, I guess."

I do not remember learning to read

The next time I'm in the States I wanna go to Memphis again and listen to those good ol blues guys in blues bar. Soak up the music and a few beers.
I wanna hear a black blues man sing Little Red Roster, Back Door Man. I wanna hear a black blues singer playing Crossroads, Hoochie Coochie Man, When My Left Eye Jumps. and at the same time I wanna smell the music

Letty -- Having just gone through this process a couple of years ago with my son, maybe I can add something.

Nobody "teaches you to read." It's a developmental threshold, like learning to walk. My son was taught phonic sounds of letters, then encouraged to put the sounds together. They just kept on putting the materials in front of him until something "clicked" and he figured it out.

I asked his teachers about it, and I was told that nobody can "make" a child read. They just keep repeating the phonics lessons, and by the end of first grade, 90% of them "get it." The remainder usually figure it out during the first semester of second grade.

I remember very well, Letty,
...It was done in steps. At the age of four my cousin taught me to recite my ABC's. In the 1st, & 2nd grades I learned to identify, and recognize letters and words. In the 3rd grade....the door was opened!..... Mrs. Carter, taught us the rules of reading. From here I could hone my skills on my own, by reading the funnies, and comic books.
...Unfortunately, some people forget the rules of reading, and go all through college using word memory. Sometimes I'll pronounce a persons name I've never seen before, and they are amazed, because other people, more educated than I, always have trouble with it if they haven't seen the word before. This amazes me, because, I'm not that bright, I just remember the rules, my heroine, Mrs. Carter taught me....Excuse me if I rambled, that's a pet peeve of mine.

OAK<
...I know what you mean, but I happen to know a couple of white people who do justice to the Blues. Bonnie Raitt, and (you better grip the sides of yor chair for this one) a lass by the name of Pink.

Hey Booman, Bonnie Raitt is one cool lady. Pink I haven't heard but i'll do some catching up.

Saw Bonnie Raitt with Lyle Lovett last year. Good show.

Gorsh, from reading words to reading notes.

Viz, I understand exactly what you are saying, that learning to read is a threshold, but then, look at Boo's response. I remember my primer; I remember my first hardback reader. I just can't recall at what point that threshold began. Why such programs as head start? Well, always wondered what role planned intervention might have, because far too many American children can not read.

Boo, your cousin introduced you, and your curious mind took over from there. In a college course that I took at night, I had a teacher with a Master's degree who COULD NOT READ properly. She always called on me to read poetry. It was sooooo humiliating.

Hey, John. You're talkin REAL blues. Jazz/blues is the only real American music. A heritage given to us by slaves. Interesting, no?

Hey, Boo. You be right, too. Ah, isn't it wonderful to all join hands and get together. YUK..YUK..AND DOUBLE YUK.



Play That Funky Music White Boy


Yeah, There was a funky singer, playin' in a rock & roll band
And never had no problems, yeah, burnin' down one night stands
And everything around me, yeah, got to stop to feelin' so low
And I decided quickly (yes I did), to disco down and check out the show

Yeah they was dancin' and singin' and movin' to the groovin'
And just when it hit me somebody turned around and shouted

Play that funky music white boy
Play that funky music right
Play that funky music white boy
Lay down that boogie and play that funky music till you die,
Till you die, oh till you die

Hey wait a minute
Now first it wasn't easy changin' rock & roll and minds
And things were getting shaky, I thought I'd have to leave it behind
But now its so much better (its so much better), I'm funking out in every way
But I'll never lose that feelin' (no I won't) of how I learned my lesson that day

When they were dancin' and singin' and movin' to the groovin'
And just when it hit me somebody turned around and shouted

Play that funky music white boy
Play that funky music right
Play that funky music white boy
Lay down that boogie and play that funky music till you die,
Till you die, oh till you die

They shouted play that funky music, Play that funky music
Play that funky music, gotta keep on playin' funky music
Play that funky music (fade)

It's the beat...nothin but the beat....

Ahhh......, Letty Of The Lyrics......God's gift to Ab2k.

Letty -- One of my best friends is in charge of curriculum development for the Head Start program in our state. If you like, I will ask her about reading development. I know it's a big issue right now, with Bush's literacy program filtering down to pre-reading ages. Want me to ask?

Wow,....Bush and literacy in the same sentence.....nah...too easy.

I know, Boo, my thoughts exactly. But this is really Laura's program. Federally mandated now. My friend questions how she's supposed to get four year olds "ready to read." Admirable, but not developmentally appropriate.

Hey, all. Checking in and find more responses.

Viz, I would love for you to ask Laura. I had a thread on A2K about the exact things that we are discussing here.

http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7989&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Boo...

It's Laura Bush's literacy program. (Remember, she was a librarian? Her "cause" as First Lady is literacy.) Sorry, but I doubt she'd take my calls. But I will ask my Head Start friend.