 
(SKIP ALL THIS. I WANNA GO TO THE TABLE OF CONTENTS NOW)
|
|
(Forget that. I just wanna go to the next page. Is there one?)
(YES! CLICK HERE.)
|
|
"A prayer for the people of Haiti,/
who, on a good day,/
must take heroic measures just to wake the next,/
And who must now find a way/
to live through the end of the world:/ Lord who speaks in earthquakes/ Speak now in miracles./ I thank you, that first prayer begins. Modeh Ani. The words spoken for the/ marvel of having woken up alive./ Lord whose relief work is beyond our capabilities/ Breathe life today into those buried alive/ I lie grateful before You, this King who lives and endures, for having brought/ me back this soul inside me, and with compassion./ Lord who speaks in childbirth, hear Your children now./ Hear those who have yet to be saved,/ Hear those who have been saved but whose limbs and lives are crushed, Hear/ those who pray for those who can no longer pray for themselves./ Lord who invented the language of love/ Teach those who, in Your name, who, calling themselves men of God, can find it/ in their hearts to speak only blasphemy and cruelty and scorn./ Lord who speaks in apocalypse/ Armor the souls of those who call out now in rescue/ Lord who has taught us by example the language of loss/ Send strength to those who, with their last strength/ Now seek nothing more than finding loved ones/ Teach Your children by example, to comprehend the last line of that first/ prayer:/ Your faith/ is immense." -- c. Bradley Burston (award-winning Mideast journalist, columnist for Haaetz and Senior Editor for Haaretz.com, republished with author permission, rights reserved) 
MERRY HOLY DAYS
 "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." -- 2Timothy 4:7 Alaha, amen. May the Prince of Peace comfort children, dead and alive, harmed during our "Lost Decade," heal heartbroken friends and families, strengthen with faith and purpose innocents tortured and imprisoned for liberty, equality and fraternity/sorority through the grace of God, and may our bodies be prayers and hosannas to and in the one and the all. Worlds without end. This is a time to be grateful for the many varieties of love and passion given us and all our other blessings, material and not, great and small. Praise, worship and glory everlasting are God's. Namaste. "...not my will, but thine, be done." -- Jesus (Luke 22:42)
HAPPY THANKS GIVING "... And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty." -- Edward Winslow from A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, in 1621 "... The biggest meal of the day for the colonists was eaten at noon and it was called noonmeat or dinner. The housewives would spend part of their morning cooking that meal. Supper was a smaller meal that they had at the end of the day. Breakfast tended to be leftovers from the previous day's noonmeat." -- History Made Every Day
"Nestled in the pristine Appalachian Mountain range, LMU's main campus in Harrogate, TN, is both scenic and historic.... Lincoln Memorial University grew out of love and respect for Abraham Lincoln and today honors his name, values, and spirit. As the legend goes, in 1863 Lincoln suggested to General O. O. Howard, a Union Army officer, that when the Civil War ended he hoped General Howard would organize a great university for the people of this area.... In commemoration of Lincoln's birthday, the institution was chartered by the State of Tennessee on February 12, 1897, as Lincoln Memorial University.... More than 700 alumni have entered medical or legal practice in Appalachian communities. Another 3,000 have become professional educators, serving in positions ranging from elementary school teaching to university presidencies. Twenty-five graduates have published widely recognized books, dramas, and musical compositions. Jesse Stuart is one such author; his various works have been translated into seven languages.... The University strives to give students a foundation for a more productive life by upholding the principles of Abraham Lincoln's life: a dedication to individual liberty, responsibility, and improvement; a respect for citizenship; recognition of the intrinsic value of high moral and ethical standards; and a belief in a personal God. The University is committed to teaching, research, and service.... The University believes that one of the major cornerstones of meaningful existence is service to humanity...." -- LMU, Harrogate TN "Nobody but Americans can make democracy shine so brightly." -- Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany
"My country,' tis of thee,/ sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing;/ land where my fathers died,/ land of the pilgrims' pride,/ from every mountainside let freedom ring!/ My native country, thee,/ land of the noble free, thy name I love; / I love thy rocks and rills,/ thy woods and templed hills; / my heart with rapture thrills, like that above./ Let music swell the breeze,/ and ring from all the trees sweet freedom's song;/ let mortal tongues awake;/ let all that breathe partake;/ let rocks their silence break, the sound prolong./ Our fathers' God, to thee,/ author of liberty, to thee we sing;/ long may our land be bright/ with freedom's holy light;/ protect us by thy might, great God, our King." -- America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee) by Samuel F. Smith, 1808-1895
"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." -- Jesus (Matthew 5:9)
"... Ours was never the likeliest campaign for the presidency. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington -- it was built by working men and women, students and retirees who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from the Earth...." -- Barack and Michelle Obama, from post-election card to campaign donors and volunteers The pursuit of peace for our nation and planet is at least as patriotic as armed service when necessary in our nation's defense.
-- Marcel du Champ "Here appears definitely the goal toward which the different arts are tending, the place where they will meet perhaps: the future city of the spiritual life, to be built by them [the Impressionsists], of which poetry, as the state of the soul, would be the commanding gesture, music the atmosphere and painting the marvellous decoration." -- Achille Delaroche, "Concerning the Painter Paul Gauguin from an Aesthetic Point of View," as quoted in Paul Gauguin's Intimate Journals, translated by Van Wyck Brooks "...for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor." -- Micah 4:12 "L'Chaim!" -- traditional Jewish toast meaning "To Life!"
 from Index of Acrylics by Jeannette Harris, Click for ACR Table of contents New York's Statue of Liberty is a 151-foot statue of a woman holding a book and a torch on-high -- "One of the colossal sculptures of world history, the Statue of Liberty has greeted millions from other lands who crossed the ocean in search of freedom, opportunity, and is a symbol to the world of those ideals of liberty upon which our nation and form of government were founded."
The Internet Site ofAppalachian Life and Art "A jewel on the web" since April 1996
Click gold ACR, Inc. banner
UPDATED FOR FALL-WINTER 2009-2010
"You see, in many ways, Appalachia isn't what it used to be. We have lost more than 1 million acres of land, along with 1000+ of miles of our once pristine streams, and 90% of our traditional coal jobs to mountaintop removal mining. This barbaric practice has reduced much of our home to rubble, and further damaged our perennially struggling local economies. The jobs are gone. The people are leaving. The water is toxic. And they are blowing up the mountains themselves. "But the face of Appalachian resistance to 'Big Coal' is changing. Not only are we seeing unprecedented national and international media like NPR, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal run with stories about the Appalachian people's struggle to end mountaintop removal, but we are seeing 100s of online activists and bloggers participate in helping us spread the word through the iLoveMountains Bloggers Challenge. "Each week there will be featured blogs, activists, videos, facts, photos and more...." -- Appalachian Voices
"... On phosphorous wings the phoenix floated/ The fires froze and the sea was hushed/ And when I tried to speak, the sun imploded/ And the war will wage in my guts/ Till the Devil bites the dust,/ I never saw him losin' a race, but I think he must/ ..." |
I'm always proud to be the oldest daughter of a United States Air Force veteran variously disabled during World War II's ultimate defeat of fascism globally and the only granddaughter of a World War I Army veteran stationed in England during the Blitz. Both George Arnold Gerlach (of German descent oddly) and Harold Curtis Scranton (of Scotch-Irish) were also successful entrepreneurs, good sportsmen, and wise investors in our country's healthy growth and enterprise, as have been almost all generations, male and female, of my now widely-dispersed family (otherwise French-Welch-English) who left altogether an enduring memory of steadfast patriotism, devotion and love. God bless and keep them, and America.
October 9, 2009: The 
|
rag n. 1. old, worn clothes 2. a newspaper 3. a composition in ragtime -- chew the rag [Slang] to chat |
|
Exotic Listings Jenny's made of earth and sky and she knows more than she knows. She's a butterfly in a flowered thong, a song that washes passing boats with the husks of swaying straw, a fiddle bending to her tune and a dance that slithers wide. She's a renaissance that rises on the wild fields of your mind, a chord that sweet seduces from the mystery of her laughing woman-child. (1997)
|
Cenantua There's a rush, a rumbling in the wind as we stumble on this old trail. Greening branches thicken over us. They crosshatch our path. In leafy folds, winged creatures watch. Through pools of moss, snakes writhe. When tumbling rocks crash like our dreams, we'll pick up a shard and fashion a brazier for warmth and rest. The air is cool and gentle at the crest and the land cascades in startled wonder from the sky. (1983)
|
Original material c A Country Rag, Inc. and/or Jeannette Harris, Jonesborough, TN, April 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010. All rights reserved.