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PLAISIR D’AMOUR
Today is a cold winter’s Sunday which happens also to be Valentine’s Day. On occasions such as this, men and women declare their love for each other and, if things work out, the course may be set for their eventual marriage. Of course, this could be men and men or women and women. In my…
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MUST WE ALWAYS BE ENTERTAINED?
I hope that I do not have to establish my bona fides with respect to music. I was raised in the suburban area of a musical town where there were symphonies, operettas, a grand opera, and recitals of all kinds. The name of the town was, of course, St. Louis. It may not rank with…
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AMERICAN MILITARY MUSIC
In 1970, a book written by Robert Sherrill was published with the title, “Military Justice is to Justice as Military Music is to Music.” More than anything else, Robert Sherrill had few things complimentary about justice in the American military system. As a matter of fact, he excoriated what is called the justice system in…
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A PROUD SAXON
From January 1936 until January of 1940, it was my duty to attend the Clayton High School in pursuit of a diploma. At that time, Georgia Walker was the director of vocal music. George Best was the director of instrumental music. For the four years that I attended Clayton High School, one of the mainstays…
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MISSING THE BLUES
It is a biological fact that as men age, the more girlfriends they acquire. Last week, I had a long conversation with just such a girlfriend where the attraction between the two of us goes back for more than 30 years. If you read Ezra’s Essays closely, you will find that the girlfriend was a…
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HAVE I STAYED TOO LONG AT THE FAIR
You may be excused if you do not recall exactly what you do were doing on the evening of August 4, 1959. It was a Tuesday, but otherwise it was unremarkable. I do not recall what I was doing that evening but I assume that I was working for the great AT&T organization and I…
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UPON BEING SELF-HOODWINKED
This essay pivots on the origin of a popular folk song written in 1835 called “Kathleen Mavourneen.” Like many Irish people and the world at large, I had long assumed that “Kathleen Mavourneen” was the epitome of Irish folk music. The word “mavourneen” is an ancient Gaelic word for “my darling.” The name Kathleen is…
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A RIBALD HYMN
As most of you probably know by this time, my enlistment with the American Army resulted in my spending a great deal of time with the British. Specifically, it was to fly combat support for the valiant efforts of the British Eighth Army. From time to time, the troopers from the British Eighth Army sang…
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UPON BEING TIRED AND FEARED
This essay is being written for those who trace their birth to nearly pre-historic times. Specifically, it is being written for those of us who have passed the age barrier of 80 so long ago that it must be viewed in the rear view mirror of our lives. Facts are facts and no magic hoopla…
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THE MUTE BUTTON
When I was born in 1922, there was one radio station offering broadcasts of music and news. That was station KDKA in Pittsburgh. You may recall that at that time there was no such thing as television. That remained in the never-never land of things to be yearned for. When I was about 12 or…