my own drum

Thank the God's it isn't official, but for Super Bowl XLV we were treated to, or tortured by, a new version of our national anthem.

The Star Spangled Banner, as written by Francis Scott Key, actually contains four full verses, but generally we only hear the first verse.

O! say can you see by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

I've lived through enough official opening ceremonies to have heard this song butchered more than once. Face it, when singing this song before a huge audience the fear of making a mistake must be looming large. After all, everyone knows the words. But Christina Aguilera forgot those words. Actually, as I attempted to listen to a recording - something in itself a dreadful task - it's easy to see that Cristina actually messed up, at least mentally, before she sang the wrong words. She faltered when she began to belt out the line "Whose broad stripes and bright stars", and then she completely flubbed shortly after that, singing "What so proudly we watched at the twilight’s last reaming." instead of "O’er the ramparts we watch’d, were so gallantly streaming."

What so proudly we watched at the twilight’s last reaming?

Sigh.

Here are the remaining three verses of The Star Spangled Banner.

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Why is it that the people who make the decisions at events like this can't just pick a good singer to perform our national anthem? Why must they always seek out the latest, the greatest, or in some cases the most obnoxious performers? Find someone who can sing this song, leaving out the ego and embellishments. Find someone who can sing this without screwing it up. That can't be so hard to do, can it?

In a tip to the hat for Christina's rendition I've found what one site lists as the Top 13 Worst Celebrity Renditions of the National Anthem. Honestly, I'm very happy that we weren't treated to another Rosanne Barr attempt.
Worst Celebrity Renditions of the National Anthem

The State of Georgia is set execute a man who robbed, raped and killed a 27 year old female. Her mistake was to run out of gas. She was abducted from the roadside by two men and woman - a girlfriend of one of the men. The girlfriend finally went to police and brought the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice.

The mans attorney is requesting a delay to this execution on the grounds that one of the three drugs that is used for the execution may be out of date. He fears that his client may suffer undue pain because the first drug, sodium thiopental, which is designed to prevent the feeling of pain when the other drugs are administered, originated from a wholesaler in England and may be expired.

Allow me to directly quote an account of this crime.

During the hours she was held captive, she was robbed, raped and, finally, led into the woods where Mr. Hammond allegedly killed her with a blast from a shotgun.

I don't know about you, but I say this guy will never suffer enough for his crime. As far as I'm concerned, the State of Georgia needs to drag this asshole out into the woods on a cold and rainy night, beat the crap out of him, then shoot him in the chest with a shotgun.

Let him feel the pain.

I came through the doors of A.A. for the first time in November 1976. I was among a group of sailors who were deemed to have have a drinking problem. This wasn't news to me, but to learn that problem had a name - alcoholism - and that there was a solution - A.A. - now that was news, and I received it openly.

Still, over much of the following nine years I continued to drink, with periods of sobriety. The most dry time that I accumulated in that period was eighteen months. More typical was two weeks to a month. And there was a six year period in there where I didn't even try.

So when I came to A.A. in December 1985, I was full of fear. Would I be able to stay sober this time? My drinking, and the aftermath, was getting worse and worse, how far could I go - how much longer would I last? Yes, there was a lot of fear. And, I had been struggling to stay sober during those brief periods of sobriety. My thoughts were seemingly always about the next drink.

In the ensuing years I have learned that Fear and Struggling were my undoing, and that I didn't have to live with them anymore. The first step for me was to accept that I was an alcoholic, and all of the ramifications that came with acceptance. I could not successfully drink alcohol. I would continue to lose things - friends, family, possessions, jobs - if I continued to drink. By accepting that I was an alcoholic, I also accepted that there was solution. I could see that solution working in the lives of those people at the meetings, so I resolved to see if it would work for me as well. Acceptance.

To overcome the continuous state of struggling, in addition to acceptance, I found Faith. Faith is not a religious thing. I thought it was, I had been raised to believe that if I had faith, then I was religious. Today I say Hogwash! Faith is simply believing in something even when I can't see it with my own eyes. My sober friends seemed genuinely happy and content - I had faith that, one day, I too would be happy and content. Then I began to put faith in a Higher Power. To be honest, it took me many sober years to come to a sense of a Higher Power that I could grasp. But during that time I had faith that it would happen. This faith was a tremendous source that helped me to stop struggling.

Today, after many years of sobriety, I can look back at the good times and the bad times, and see where in the face of uncertainty I was able to apply acceptance and faith, and in doing so, I managed to not drink because I was overcome by emotional turmoil. I placed everything in the care of my Higher Power - everything - my will AND my life. I accepted this was the best course of action. I had seen this work for others, so I had no reason to believe it wouldn't work for me. And it HAS worked for me.

Fear and Struggling are a thing of the past. They hold me back, they prevent me from growth, they hinder my future. They aren't completely gone, but I've learned that I can deal with them - and dispatch them quickly - by the simple acts of acceptance and faith. If you are fearful, if you are struggling, then give it a try.

What have you got to lose - except your fear and struggling.

It's a given that last week it was simply not possible to make deliveries in Atlanta, given the road conditions. For three, four, even five days there were iced over roads all over the city, and GDOT was incapable of clearing them. But that's another topic. The result was UPS, USPS, FedEx, even local grocery deliveries simply came to halt. But here we are now, a full week since the major roads were finally passable, and UPS (aka Brown) cannot make deliveries on time.

The grocery stores have been re-stocked, restuarants have been re-supplied, the mail is being delivered, I even saw FedEx pass by here twice today. But no sign of UPS. I called, and was told my delivery would arrive today, albeit late. The time now is after 10 pm, and no sign of UPS. I get pissed when companies lie to me.

I'm not the only one. A friend of mine was given the same treatment by UPS. Yes, the Tracking information assured her that the delivery was on time. Finally, late in the evening it was rescheduled for the following day. Yet the following day still brought no delivery.

This comes from yet another person:

"i waited at UPS Customer Center for 2 hrs this morning to be told that they didn't actually take my pkg off the truck like they said they would...then got to wait all night for the UPS Dude (actually a really great guy, so nothing against him) to show up and gimmie my damn pkg. i'd been waiting since last friday"

So tell me Brown, how is that a package can travel across the country in two days, only to be held up in Atlanta, taking days - up to five days - waiting to be delivered? Don't you have enough drivers? I know for a fact that during the month of December, when your volume is high, that you hire part-time drivers to ensure that packages are delivered. Are your customers not worthy for the rest of the year? Do you train your customer service reps to lie to us when we call? Can't you figure out how to sort and deliver an extra load of packages?

Please tell me UPS, I want to know.

In 1983, the United States Congress enacted legislation that made Martin Luther King Day an official national holiday. The holiday is celebrated on the Monday nearest January 15, and is observed by banks and national offices, including the postal service. Many school districts, if not all, also celebrate with a day off for students. And this year that practice is presenting a problem with districts in the southeastern U.S., following a crippling snow and ice storm last week.

I was a college student when this holiday was enacted, and my Honors English teacher said it very well - "Martin Luther King would have preferred that kids were in the classroom getting an education, instead of running loose in the malls." I tend to agree. Apparently, she and I are in the minority on this issue.

School districts are mandated to provide a certain number of days of education. The storms across the southeast last week forced many schools to be closed for three, four, even five days. Those days must be made up. In response, some districts are requiring attendance on Monday - M.L. King Day. Some are also requiring attendance on Saturday.

This action by districts is being called "a slap in the face" by State Representative John R. King of South Carolina. The Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton have also added their voices to the issue. Quoting Al Sharpton, he has said, "We’re urging people to keep their kids home. It’s un-American not to observe the holiday."

Mr. Sharpton, I have to say that I disagree with your position. No one is asking anyone to not observe this holiday. And a day out of school for children is not the way to observe this holiday. The schools could, in fact, be the best place for children. Those children might actually learn something about the impact of Mr. King on this nation, in the classroom, as opposed to running loose on the streets or in the malls for the day. Why not use your influence to teach children, instead of promoting your own agenda to be heard on any issue that your deem to be racially motivated.

Representative John R. King, with all due respect, ignorance is more of a slap in the face of Americans than kids being told to attend classes. Instead of clouding the issue, why not acknowledge that these same kids will also be in the classroom on two other upcoming holidays, President's Day and Memorial Day. By attempting to bring the focus on Martin Luther King Day, by promoting a racist agenda, you are slapping Americans in the face.