Happy Independence Day 2009

America The Beautiful - Ray Charles

Here are the lyrics:

RAY CHARLES lyrics - America The Beautiful
Oh beautiful, for heroes proved,
In liberating strife,
Who more than self, our country loved,
And mercy more than life,
America, America, may God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain devined.
And you know when I was in school,
We used to sing it something like this, listen here:
Oh beautiful, for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties,
Above the fruited plain,
But now wait a minute, I'm talking about
America, sweet America,
You know, God done shed his grace on thee,
He crowned thy good, yes he did, in a brotherhood,
From sea to shining sea.
You know, I wish I had somebody to help me sing this
(America, America, God shed his grace on thee)
America, I love you America, you see,
My God he done shed his grace on thee,
And you oughta love him for it,
Cause he, he, he, he, crowned thy good,
He told me he would, with brotherhood,
(From sea to shining sea).
Oh Lord, oh Lord, I thank you Lord
(Shining sea).

Have a great Independence Day!

REO, Styx, 38 Special

For those following me on Twitter, I was able to update from the REO Speedwagon, Styx and 38 Special Concert often from the Metra in Billings. Thanks for following. (What else is there to do when standing in the beer line or bathroom line?)

This was one of the better concerts I have seen REO Speedwagon perform in the last 15 years. Maybe it was the giant video screen behind the band that made it better, but they seemed to have new-found energy. It reminded me of the “Wheels are Turnin’” tour around 1985.

The screen was about 20-25 feet tall and stretched the width of the stage. It made the concert even better.

38 Special opened the concert right at 7:00 p.m. and performed all their hits. It was a good helping of southern rock which always OK by me!

I have seen REO play live probably 20 times since 1976-77 when they played at a Summer Jam at Royals Stadium in Kansas City Missouri. I became a fan that day and have almost all their vinyl albums (sealed in plastic sleeves). Over the years I have attended their concerts when the are close to where I am living

REO played “Son of Poor Man” and “Golden Country” which are from way back and that made my day. Now, if they would just do “Lightning.” They played mostly all their old hits and that was fine with me. Neil, Kevin, Bruce, Bryan, and Dave still know how to rock (Please don’t stop!) I was completely satisfied and could have gone home after REO. But wait, Styx was next, although REO Speedwagon had already stolen the show!

Styx came on and turned up the volume a little with their hits. Tommy Shaw can still rock. Lawrence Gowan is a master on the keyboards. Todd Sucherman is simply the best on the drums.

REO came back out for the finale with Styx to play their recently released single, “Can’t Stop Rockin” and brought the concert to a close just a few minutes before 11:00.

The Metra (according to the website) can hold almost 11,000 people for a concert and probably 90% of the seats were filled. Of course, with that many people you have the lines at the bathrooms and security problems. Overall, the Metra folks handled it well and I hope they invite REO and the boys back for another classic rock night in Montana.

REO Speedwagon, Styx, and 38 Special

What a way to spend a Friday evening! I am looking forward to the concert! I've seen REO about 15-20 times over the years and they have never disappointed me. Here are a couple of videos:



And the new video from the single released by REO and Styx:

Memorial Day 2009

It’s important to remember that Memorial Day is a day set aside to honor American men and women who died while serving our country.

With compassion, we remember those who have given their lives in defense of our country. We will never forget you. We will always honor you and your sacrifice.

Taps

Fading light dims the sight
And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright
From afar drawing nigh,
Falls the night.

Day is done, gone the sun
From the hills, from the lake, from the sky
All is well, safely rest;
God is nigh.

Then goodnight, peaceful night;
Till the light of the dawn shineth bright.
God is near, do not fear,
Friend, goodnight.

taps - taps

More Good Stuff

Sometimes it’s the little things that can help a family member when their spouse is deployed with the military protecting us. Sadly, many of our elected officials in Washington, D.C., don’t see the little things that families go through when their loved ones are deployed, but Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, does.

Rehberg has created a program called, “Montana Battle Buddies” to help the families of troops from Montana when their spouse is deployed.

As a former member of the military, I think this is a great program, and I salute Congressman Rehberg and his staff for creating it.

If you need help, you can sign up to by going to this website. If you want to be a buddy, you can sign up to help out at the same site. It’s worth checking out!

H.R. 2126

Kudos to Congressman Denny Rehberg for introducing the “Correspondence With Our Heroes Act” a bill that will allow free postage to families and friends of American soldiers serving in combat zones.

The bill was introduced on April 27, 2009.

It’s important for our military personnel to be able to receive packages and correspondence from their friends and family. It gets very expensive sending packages. Hopefully this bill will ease the hardship on the families and friends of those who have loved ones serving in combat zones, and help the morale of the brave men and women who are serving our country.

N-I-M-B-Y

It appears that the folks who are running the Two Rivers Detention Facility in Hardin, Montana, are looking to fill their brand new empty prison with the detainees from Guantanamo. The Hardin City Council voted (5-0) to pursue bringing the detainees to the detention facility, according to this story that is now circling the web.

The detention facility sits empty. It will hold 460 prisoners.

But, the three members of the Montana Congressional delegation are saying no to the idea, which was predictable. Of course, it’s easy to say that when you think ahead about the campaign ads that will come from their opponents condemning them for bringing terrorists to Montana.

No matter where the detainees end up, somebody will say NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard). We’ll see which people screaming “NIMBY” have more power.

Since President Obama signed the Executive Order closing the detention facility at Guantanamo, the detainees will have to go somewhere. Two Rivers may have the inside track because of the publicity their favorable vote generated.