Kudzu by James Dickey
Japan invades. Far Eastern vines
Run from the clay banks they are
Supposed to keep from eroding.
Up telephone poles,
Which rear, half out of leafage
As though they would shriek,
Like things smothered by their own
Green, mindless, unkillable ghosts.
In Georgia, the legend says
That you must close your windows
At night to keep it out of the house.
The glass is tinged with green, even so,
The tragedy of the Haitian earthquake has brought out an outpouring of help for the devastated country which is, of course, a good thing. As also often happens, it has also shone a light on the woeful ignorance of many people concerning the history and religion of Haiti. The ‘pact with the devil’ remarks made by televangelist, Pat Robertson set off a firestorm of criticism and disbelief. A White House official said his comments that Haiti has been cursed because of a pact made with the devil to free them from French rule don’t express the spirit of the American people or the president.
Senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett said Thursday on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that Roberston’s comments left her speechless. She called Robertson’s statements “a pretty stunning comment to make.” Robertson’s camp tried pretty hard to run damage control after the remarks traveled swiftly around the internet. His comments, according to spokeman, Chris Roslan, were based on Voodoo rituals carried out before a slave rebellion against French colonists in 1791. Roslan said Robertson never stated the earthquake was God’s wrath.
Maybe he didn’t say those words literally, but the implication is there, and by the way, how did Napoleon III get in there? Pat Robertson’s comments could not possibly be based upon the works of ‘countless scholars’ since even the average student of history knows that Napoleon III had nothing to do with the Haitian revolution. It seems pretty clear Pat Robertson doesn’t know what the hell he is talking about. See the video after the jump.
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FAME
By Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ah Fate, cannot a man
Be wise without a beard?
East, West, from Beer to Dan,
Say, was it never heard
That wisdom might in youth be gotten,
Or wit be ripe before ‘t was rotten?
He pays too high a price
For knowledge and for fame
Who sells his sinews to be wise,
His teeth and bones to buy a name,
And crawls through life a paralytic
To earn the praise of bard and critic.
Were it not better done,
To dine and sleep through forty years;
Be loved by few; be feared by none;
Laugh life away; have wine for tears;
And take the mortal leap undaunted,
Content that all we asked was granted?
But Fate will not permit
The seed of gods to die,
Nor suffer Sense to win from Wit
Its guerdon in the sky,
Nor let us hide, whate’er our pleasure,
The world’s light underneath a measure.
Go then, sad youth, and shine;
Go, sacrifice to Fame;
Put youth, joy, health upon the shrine,
And life to fan the flame;
Being for Seeming bravely barter
And die to Fame a happy martyr.
1824.
Um, sorry Glen – but this was written by Edgar A. Guest (1881-1959) and was published around 1909, whereupon it became very popular and was often quoted in magazines and journals and included in devotional calendars. Glen called the song “Less of Me.” Edgar Guest called it:
A Creed
Let me be a little kinder,
Let me be a little blinder
To the faults of those around me,
Let me praise a little more;
Let me be, when I am weary
Just a little bit more cheery,
Let me serve a little better
Those that I am striving for.
Let me be a little braver
When temptation bids me waver,
Let me strive a little harder
To be all that I should be;
Let me be a little meeker
With the brother that is weaker,
Let me think more of my neighbor
And a little less of me.
Let me be a little sweeter,
Make my life a bit completer
By doing what I should do
Every minute of the day;
Let me toil, without complaining,
Not a humble task disdaining,
Let me face the summons calmly
When death beckons me away.
See Breakfast Table Chat (1914) at p. 130, by Edgar Albert Guest. Click on the link to see the poem on google books.
Also, please note that Edgar Guest named several of his poems “A Creed.” There are 3 with that same title in the 1914 edition of Breakfast Table Chat, which is being linked to. The other poems entitled “A Creed” appear on pages 53 and 159.
The one that begins “Let me be a littler kinder …” is on page 130 as referenced above. The poem was often reprinted without a title and without the last stanza.
I haven’t had a video for a little bit here and tomorrow is my birthday, so I was going to wait till then to put up a song by someone who shared my birthday. But out of all the singers with birthdays I saw, I really wanted to listen to Vikki Carr. Her birthday is today.
Vikki is looking and sounding incredible in this live performance from 1984. Vikki is a remarkable person not only for her singing talents, but she has long devoted her time and talents to helping many charities, like the United Way, the American Lung Association, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and St. Jude’s Hospital. In 1971, she established the Vikki Carr Scholarship Foundation, as a way to “personally return the support and encouragement she received from others in her own musical career.” Since then, the Foundation has awarded scholarships in excess of a quarter of a million dollars.
There are also Spanish and Italian versions of “It Must Be Him” on youtube performed by Vikki if you want to check that out.
Now for some July 20 birthdays:
Vitamin C is 40 – Graduation (Friends Forever)
Kim Carnes is 64 – Bette Davis Eyes
T.G. Sheppard is 67 – Devil in a Bottle
and me!
