The muse failed me today until going to Peever's blog (http://thepeever.blogstream.com/) where he muses on tuning 60. Still a rugrat. He has a video there by a newcomer called Bob Dylan. It got me thinking about what was my favorite back when the Class of '54 graduated from Lewisburg Joint High School. Do you know that if your put in a year and the word music, Google will tell you all about it? Fabulous.

The one that jumped out was “Beale Street Blues”. Back then this was a bad song. At least, it was as close to bad as I was going to get.

Don't know the name of this group. It just says recorded in Paris, 1960:

Looked for Louis doing “Beale Street” but it does not seem to be on YouTube. Here is a modern version. Salty Dogs:

A redo of my blog entry of a year ago. The Marshall Plan ( http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/marshallplan/holden.htm) is another of my favorite rants and raves. “The most unsordid act in history”. Churchill. Added some videos and pictures to last year's post.

According to my Yahoo home page and the link to Britannica's “This Day in History”, On this day in 1948, U.S. President Harry S. Truman signed into law George C. Marshall's post World War II plan to revive the economies of western and southern European countries so as to foster democracy in the region.” The birth of the Marshall Plan.

Truman is one of my heroes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_S._Truman). It used to be (they are redoing it) that when you go to the American History Museum, you could vote for your favorite President. I always voted for Harry. The end of WWII, the atom bomb, integration of the Armed Forces, the United Nations, the Cold War (which we won), the Berlin Airlift, doing what he thought best despite political pressures, lots of momentous decisions. “The buck stops here.” But most of all, the Marshall Plan.

And another of the things that defines our world, the differences between the end of World War I (The War to End All Wars) and the end of WWII. In a lot of aspects, WWI did not end, it just continued on to erupt twenty years later. The end of WWI in the Treaty of Versailles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Versailles) and, for the Germans, the train car in Compeigne Forest (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compi%C3%A8gne_Forest) was a 19th Century dinosaur used to get revenge in a 20th Century civilization. It did not work.

It has been fifty years and WWII seems to be pretty well settled. President Truman and General Marshall seem to have gotten it right. They may have had fighting Communism as one of their motives but they ended up making the best (lasting peace) of a bad situation (a horrible and devastating war – 70 nations involved and 71 million deaths - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II).

I was born in 1936 and I remember it all. How many folks of the generations born after WWII know of this momentous undertaking that has affected their lives so much? How many citizens of those countries that we poured so much of our treasure into know of all of this?

One of the thoughts which jumped out to me was the variety and prevalence of life. Where ever there is a niche, Mother Nature puts a critter to take advantage of it. What a marvelous thing life is. And if life takes advantage of every niche, what a marvelous thing evolution is. Said it before and will say it again, one of our greatest blasphemies is not using this spectacular brain we have been given.

And out there in my yard and garden there are a bunch of weeds. Do more fussing around than actually gardening and the weeds have a good strong hold. One of them is a little low-lying plant that puts up a tiny white flower. The flowers are on a stalk about two or three inches above the leaves. A couple of spikes stick out about an inch above the flowers. The seeds form on the ends of the spikes. And the seeds are spring-loaded! Any time the plant is disturbed, the seeds go shooting all over the place. Some of them go a couple of feet into the air!. Like a minature anti-aircraft barrage, clouds of seeds. Have no idea what the real name of this is. I call it pistolero. It is a good weed. Spreads fast and is much too hardy. Cut the grass for the first time really early this hoping to get a head start. Alas, too late. All I did was spread them more.

What a marvelous adaptation this plant is. It has covered all the bases. Smarter and tougher than I am. Like that *&%($ wiregrass. These have adapted to thwart all my attempts. I know they hate me and are deliberately attacking me. Survival of the fittest and afraid that is not me. But wait, adaptation? That is another word for evolution. Believe me, pistolero and wiregrass have evolved.

For those unbelievers out there, let me tell you the story I heard from beyond the grave from my Uncle George. He was in line at the Pearly Gates behind a preacher. Saint Peter read off the impressive list of the preacher's accomplishments. Big smile and the Gates started to open. But then Pete got a scowling frown and the Gates slammed shut. “You do not believe in evolution! Preached against it! Do you know how much effort we all put into that? Evolution is one of our best accomplishments, our greatest miracles! Mikey, put this one on the down elevator.”

It really is a difficult question. A couple of weeks of cogitation (even did some of this in public) and still came up with very little. Mom, bless her soul, was just Mom. A good and loving mother. She loved to laugh and have a good time. One of my strongest memories is of Mom, her mother (Nana), a sister or two, and sometimes my Dad standing around Nana at the pump organ singing “The Old Rugged Cross” in beautiful harmony. Could not read a note but they could harmonize. She painted. Played bridge. Cooked chicken and dumplings, pork and sauerkraut, shad and roe better than anyone.

Certainly deserves her tribute. There are a bunch of better pictures somewhere in the cruise box but these will have to do for now:

When my wife learned of this post, she had some similarities and differences to add. She says that I might have more similarities to Mom than to Dad even though I look so much like him.

Both love to swim. She was an excellent swimmer and I enjoy it a lot. My wife says I have the same form she did.

She allowed my brother and myself to spend the day out on the river or running around the neighborhood. Treated my children the same way. They grew up to be trusting and adventurous.

Both liked reading.

Have a joy of life. Sense of humor. Life is fun.

Enjoy talking with people. We had a front porch that looked out over the Susquehanna. Folks always seemed to be coming by. And we both liked to sit and watch the river go by and talk about deep philsophical subjects. And the neighbors.

Mom and Dad were good husband and wife and good parents. A good example of a happy marriage.