Being a Bit of a Rebel: The Simple Woman's Datebook for Wednesday, January 30, 2013

If you would like to join in and post your own Daybook, please head on over to visit Peggy at The Simple Woman's Daybook (http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/)

 

Outside my window … Stormy skies with the threat of tornadoes.  But on the up side, it’s 71 degrees.  J

I am thinking...  about spring.

I am thankful... for the miraculous in my life: the miracles that I can see and the ones I don’t see manifested yet (but the ARE coming). 

In the kitchen...  if I can muster up the energy to cook, salsa chicken.  If not, popcorn.

I am wearing... jeans and a t-shirt.

I am creating... a painting. I said earlier that I wanted to do something with roses.  I’ve found the pattern for what I want to do.

I am going... nowhere today.  Not only am I not feeling well, but with the unpredictable weather, I think it’s best to stay in today.

I am wondering... why a Civil War reenactment has to be politically correct!  In March, our city will be honoring Civil War hero Maj. John Pelham (for whom the main road in our town is named).  There will be reenactments, speeches, activities, and music.  The community band (of which I am a part of the percussion section) will be playing period pieces during the festivities.  Well, I asked one of the band leaders if we could play “Dixie.”  He became very uncomfortable and said that we probably couldn’t  because the event coordinators needed to keep it politically correct.  WTC?

Some facts you may need to understand:

1. I am black (African American for the PC crowd).
2. I am a former Jacksonville State University Marching Southerner (WHUP TROY!) and the song “Dixie” is part of our repertoire of “battle cry songs.”  When we are winning, we play it.  When we are losing, we play it to fire up the team and the fans to get with it.  I have never experienced this song in any kind of racial context.
3. The only time anyone complained about the song was when we played it at Alabama A&M (a predominantly black school).  Don’t know if it was even the song they were mad at, or the fact that we whupped them all over the field and made their band look like a preschool rhythm band.  J
4. The song IS a part of Civil War / Confederate history.

My point?  If the creators of this event want to keep it politically correct, why have it in the first place?  Why honor someone who fought for the state’s rights to continue the institution of slavery (I know that it’s not the only reason, but still…)  Why not just tear down all the Civil War/Confederate monuments and historical markers and rename the main drag of our town “Neutral Road” or “PC Avenue.”

I’ve been told by every history teacher I’ve had who was worth his salt that we study history so that we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past.  So, I look at this event as not only a fun time to play some music, but to remind me of what our part of country used to be and hopefully will NEVER be again.  In my mind, playing at this event will be a testament to how much the South has changed; not how we are trying to stay the same. 

I am reading... Still reading the book on prayer by Myles Monroe. 

I am hoping... that this sinus ick will get gone.  I’ve got stuff to do.

I am looking forward to... sharing at Meadowbrook Baptist’s Celebrate Recovery next month and sharing at ours in March.

I am learning… that I can be my own worst enemy sometimes.

Around the house... dishes, if nothing else.  
 
I am pondering...   my relationship with my Mom. 

A favorite quote for today... "When you see a big family, that's not a family that loves children. They're just trying to get one that's right." – Sinbad, Comedian

One of my favorite things... the Shirley Temple movie The Littlest Rebel.  It’s on my wish list to own it again. 

A few plans for the rest of the week:  getting to where I feel better.  We’ll see after that.

A peek into my day...

 

(Yep, that how we do it.  BLOW SOUTHERNERS!)

UPDATE:  Our band did perform at the reenactment March 17, 2013.  No, we still didn't play "Dixie" (just a hidden snippet of it).  Yes, the speeches were boring and uncomfortable.  However, the concert we played went very well.  I'm glad I had the honor of playing.  That is all.