I'm Spelling Impaired

I'm a terrible speller, and I really want to be a good one. I have always wanted to be great at spelling...especially since my best friend in third grade, Tracy Geers, won the district spelling bee. My sister Sue got second place in the fifth grade division. I also love the movie Akeelah and the Bee. Sometimes I even feel I can channel Akeelah and imagine myself as an extraordinary speller.

I think there is something inherent about being a good speller, either you got it or you don't. I guess I'll have to make up for that shortcoming in other ways...perhaps with being an extraordinary baker?

(Notably I only had one misspelled word in my first draft. Not bad for me.)

Separation of Church and State

I recently heard that a Roman Catholic parish priest in Greenville, South Carolina has been denying holy communion to any parishioners that voted for Barack Obama.
As a non Roman Catholic christian I find this terribly offensive and I dare say, even unchristian. My interpretation of Christianity includes, amongst other things, welcoming everyone to the table. This would include people of all age, race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and political beliefs. As some might say "we are all God's children". Apparently, that doesn't ring true if you're a parishioner at St. Mary's Catholic Church.
Of course it doesn't surprise me terribly because only Roman Catholics (as opposed to all baptized Christians) are welcome at the communion rail in any Roman Catholic church. I always found that odd and exclusionary, as Roman Catholics are welcome to our communion rail. Sigh.

Hurry up and wait. Now!

So this is something that is, at this very moment, aggravating me. I planned particularly well today, covering all my bases for the approaching event for which I am currently in a holding pattern. Phone calls were made, things were written. I am in no way at fault for this delay.

As the day went on, it became one of those "hurry up and wait" days. I sit here, blogging, somewhere fairly far from home, bored to tears. I should be dining with my family, perhaps at home or one of our favorite spots. This is after I've checked my email (11 times) and Facebook (12 times).

Sometimes days like this are your fault, but other times you can't avoid them. It truly amazes me that no matter how hard you try or how well you plan, so much of your life hinges on the actions of others.

Thank goodness for the Internet...

Yea! or is it Yay?

I have noticed recently that most of my friends, when proclaiming joy, spell the word they use Yay! I have always spelled it Yea! and was starting to feel a little ignorant. I had never even heard of the other spelling before seeing it on my friends' facebook pages. I decided to investigate.

According to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary, Cambridge Dictionaries Online, and several others, yay is not a word. yea, on the other hand, is a word.

I found a few references that acknowledged the word yay, including dictionary.com , but it refers to the word as an alteration of yea. Wiktionary.org says that yea is an alternative spelling to yay, and also mentions that yay can refer to size, as in "He was yay high".

I guess it can be a matter of preference, but it seems that the more traditional dictionaries don't even acknowledge the word. So Yea! I'm not ignorant. Phew.

BTW, when I spellchecked this document, blogspot highlighted every yay as an error...

Rock & Roll

Last night we had the pleasure of seeing the musical "Rain", a tribute to the Beatles. It was a great show, with all live music and singing.

It got me thinking about a class I took in college at Indiana University. History of Rock Music was taught by Glenn Gass, Professor of Music at IU. Indiana is one of the most extraordinary music schools in the country. It was the first class of its type in any music school and was wildly popular amongst undergraduate students. It took until my last semester in school before I could coordinate my schedule to be in that class.

Dr. Gass inspired every class to understand the influences of early rock music on the music we listen to today. In the first class, he asked "Who likes Elvis?". About 1/3 of us in the class raised our hands. By the last class of the semester, he would yell "Elvis!" and the entire class would respond "King!".

Who would know the influences that rhythm, gospel and the blues had on present day music? The African American artists of the 50's influenced Elvis, who changed the face of Rock & Roll because he was white, and could sing and dance like his black counterparts. His race made him acceptable in the mainstream, therefore he enjoyed a success that was difficult for his predecessors.

Buddy Holly, one of the most influential factors in Rock & Roll, died prematurely in a plane crash in February of 1959 (the day the music died). He influenced countless artists, including a teenager who attended his second to last concert in Minnesota. That boy, Robert Zimmerman later became a star in his own right, Bob Dylan.

In early 1964, our country was still grieving the loss of John Kennedy. The arrival of the Beatles to the US and their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in February was the lift the youth of our country needed to relieve themselves of the grief they felt. The changes in the Beatles' music during the 60's were so distinctive that the style of various songs would indicate the year they were recorded.

I feel very fortunate to have been exposed to different genres of music, classical and rock alike. I will always appreciate the education I received from Glenn Gass in that class. It has enhanced my perspective of all types of music. Thanks, Glenn. It sounds cliche, but you rock.

Election Post Mortem

Love that phrase...post mortem because it really refers to autopsies, which I always found fascinating during that phase of my education. I really don't intend to dissect the election or results, but I think this event had a profound effect on many of us, especially in North Carolina, and my interactions with family, friends and clients were quite interesting.

My thoughts are this: we live in a country where we all have the right to vote, and the right to vote for (I almost said "choose" but that wouldn't be correct) whichever candidate is the one each one of us wants.

There are many of my friends who are strongly on one side of the fence or another, and I admire their ability to take a stand. My personal feeling, though, is that everyone is entitled to whatever choice they want, and I'm not going to be offended if they have different political views than I. It almost keeps me on my toes, forces me to examine why I made the choice I made.

It's the same feeling I currently have about religion. Believe what you want. Whatever you choose is right for you, and I won't be offended if you have a different god/savior/greater being than I. There is not just one "truth".

I would make a terrible evangelist.