Taking a break this week.
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Have a great week ahead!
Gina McKnight, Monday Creek Publishing Author, Freelance Writer, Equestrian, Blogger, and Poet! Welcome to my international blog about horses, writers, authors, books, cowboys, equestrians, photographers, artists, poets, poems, and more horses. As seen in #FloridaEquineAthlete, #ArabianFinishLine, #HorseGirlTV, #LivingRuralTV, #AmericanHorsePublications, #trueCOWBOYmagazine, #HayNetUK, and #GirlGab.com...
Taking a break this week.
Enjoy previous Milliron Monday's Here.
Visit the Milliron Facebook Gallery Here.
Visit my website @ www.gmcknight.com
Have a great week ahead!
Floorboards
I’ve always
prided myself on my exit plan
My daily
routine
Sliding out
of bed with the utmost stealth
Not to wake
the true love of my life
Who truly
loves waking to the birds softly calling
The sun
gliding up on the eastern horizon
Peaking in
to see if you’re awake
like a child
on Christmas morning
Collecting
my crumpled-up PJs from the bathroom floor
Still
smelling like beer
popcorn
husks along for the ride
I’ve made it
to the door
the dog
lifts one eyelid and settles back into her pillow
Houdini is
almost free
The bedroom
door swings to its designated position
a noiseless
accomplice to the escape
Selecting my
route down the long wooden hallway
Knowing the
walled edges are less boisterous
Slowly I
step onto the thin ice,
Sifting my
weight from heel to toe as I stalk my prey…
Silence
NO, NO, NO!
The
floorboards are in a jovial mood this morning
Belting out
a loud chorus of “Halleluiah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!”
Imitating the
St. Patrick’s Cathedral chorus on Easter Morning
I hear my
love shift, the dog perks up
The
floorboards continue their “Ode to the Morning”
I head for
the coffee pot
my plot
foiled
But hope
springs eternal
As I make a
date with the floorboards
From Award-Winning Historical Fiction Author, T.W.
Harvey:
A letter by my Great-Great Uncle sent home after the
Battle of Shiloh
Addressed to Miss F.P. Porter
Hopewell Muskingum Co.
Ohio
Pittsburg Landing April 12th 1862
Dear Sister:
We got started for this place about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Arrived here
about 8 o'clock the same eve, distance about 12 miles. However, the morning we
came in off of picket, the firing commenced at this point and kept up until
dark. It was tremendous and never ceased until dark. The result was our men
were driven all day in the first place, they were taken by surprise. When we
arrived we were tired & sleepy. We were then drawn up in a line of battle
and commanded to sleep on our arms. The Capt & I fixed down our blankets
& threw ourselves down to rest. I soon fell asleep. About midnight it
commenced raining & rained for keeps from this time on until morning. I
could not get to sleep for the cries and screams of the wounded on the field
which was awful. About daylight, one of the boys from Co. G went to take his
pistol out of his pocket where it went and shot him through the hand.
Soon after the firing commenced -- it came thick and
heavy. Beauregard was in command and as they had driven us all the day
previous. He told his men that if they would pitch in, it would only be a nice
little breakfast skirmish to clean us out, but as you find, he was sadly
mistaken. We were now ordered around on the right flank where we soon found our
post, We were exposed to the severest of the fire the whole day. At some times
the shells would burst right above our heads. We were now marched up into an open
field, the enemy had formed in the same on the opposite side. Here we were,
right out with nothing to protect us & only sheltered by the thick growth
of timber. Here I witnessed one of the most beautiful scene I ever saw. Our
whole brigade drawn up in this large field of about I think 50 acres. If you
had been listening, it seems to me that you might have heard us cheering. We
now pitched into them regular and you ought to have seen them skedaddle.
It is of no use to try to mention the number of times
I came so near being struck. To make a long story short, the ball and shell
came thick and fast around us all day until about 5 o'clock when they
skedaddled for keeps. Our general says we behaved the most cool and our fire
took the best effect of any other Regt. We gave them one fine volley. They
broke immediately. Our guns are so superior to theirs, they can't stand up to
us anyhow. Our forces here was about 80000 men, theirs 140000 beyond doubt. Our
loss was 5000, there's 11000. The battle at Donelson is no where to be compared
with this.
Direct to G.W. Porter, Co. B, 78th Regt, O.V.I. Savannah, Tenn River, Tenn. Care of Col. M.D. Leggett to be forwarded immediately.
You probably think this story is about the old song Jimmy Crack Corn (or Blue-Tail Fly), but it’s not. It has nothing to do with a black slave's lament over his white master's death in a horse-riding accident (as is the premise of the song according to Wikipedia). Actually, his real name is Jimmy, but I’m sure you don’t know all the embarrassing things I’m going to tell you about this lad. You see, I knew Jimmy when he was quite young. He was all the things a dad would want in a son. He was no sissy, no sir. When he fell and scraped his knee, he’d jump right up and continue playing. Furthermore, he would be more concerned with the hole in his pants, than his banged-up knee. If Mom didn’t see the hole in Jimmy's pants when it went in the wash, she would surely notice it when she hung it out on the line.
Flee
also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them
that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. KJV 2 Timothy
2:22
In 2019, Dr. JW Smith sent an email with a book proposal.
He had written his memoir and a local bookseller had given him my information. Of
course, I was humbled by his inquiry and, since he was a professor at Ohio
University, asked him to send his book proposal to Ohio University/Swallow
Press first. I was sure they would accept his proposal. Several months later, JW
emailed again. Ohio University had turned him down.
In October 2019, Monday Creek Publishing released From the Back of the Bus to the Front of the Classroom: My Thirty Year Journey as a Black and Blind Professor. Since the book’s release, JW’s memoir has earned a Feathered Quill Finalist Award and a Readers’ Favorite 5-Star review. His book has sold worldwide and is one of our bestsellers. In 2020, JW was invited to the annual Ohioana Book Fair, with a special feature presented by the Columbus Metropolitan Library Black Stories, Black Voices. The recipient of community and literary accolades, JW continues to inspire with messages of hope and love.
If you are local to southeastern Ohio, you know that JW is an accomplished singer. He has released several music CDs and performs on stage. Last year, he became a member of the global sensation The Blind Boys of Alabama. The band recently won a Grammy for Best Roots Gospel Album.
Today, JW sent an email requesting I share this new video. He is just back from Australia where the band performed their award-winning songs and, in addition, sang with Tom Jones.
JW, we couldn’t be more proud of you! Congratulations on your success!
HARBINGER
You
do not see it coming,
Tree
limbs are frosted now with green,
And
though the air is chill, the young
©
Celeste Parsons 1993 and 1997
April is
Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) and whether you're new to the genre or
well-acquainted, this article is for you! JAM was created by the National
Museum of American History in 2001. April was selected because so many Jazz
artists were born during this month including foundational pioneers like Billie
Holiday (April 7, 1915), Ella Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917) and Duke Ellington
(April 29, 1899) as well as living legends like Herbie Hancock (April 12, 1940).
The official
JAM site has many wonderful resources that I encourage you to explore at https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/projects/smithsonian-jazz/jazz-appreciation-month.
I’ve also gathered some additional media that’ll keep you JAMming all month
long!
Jazz
History 101
Created by
the New York Jazz Academy, this is a self-guided course on Jazz history with
selected readings and music, offering an overview of the origins and
development of Jazz genres throughout history. Learn more and enroll for free
at www.nyjazzacademy.com/program/jazz-history-101-content-only/.
Jazz
Giants of the 21st Century
Produced by
Passport International Entertainment, this documentary features 17 vintage
performances by Jazz artists from Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway to Chick
Corea and Herbie Hancock. Watch now at https://tubitv.com/movies/464311/jazz-giants-of-the-20th-century?start=true.
Guided
Listening to Great Albums
Seattle
Jazzed offers two series of 1-hour episodes that explore Jazz albums with a
JazzED educator as your guide. Albums by Melba Liston, Alice Coltrane and Miles
Davis are among those explored. If you’re an educator, they also offer a free
toolkit with suggested lesson plans that utilize these guided listening
episodes. Listen now at www.seattlejazzed.org/guided-listening.
Every year, JAM creates an official poster celebrating a particular artist and this year’s artwork features Duke Ellington on his 125th birthday!
As a trumpet player, I'm familiar with Jazz. I played in my school Jazz band and studied it as an undergraduate student, but I’m far from being an expert. As with any subject, there's always more to discover (and revisit!). This is a photo I took of an exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) containing precious artifacts from Jazz greats: Cab Calloway’s baton and shoes, Louis Armstrong’s trumpet, Count Basie’s hat, Ella Fitzgerald’s dress, Duke Ellington’s score and cigarette case.
MCNY Jazz Exhibit |
Working with
my sister Sheryl on the inaugural National Music Landmarks Week and Fest last
November for the American Music Landmarks Project was a wonderful learning
experience where I met two professionals representing Jazz landmarks. President
and Co-Founder Lauren Parks from the House of Miles (former home of Miles Davis
in East St. Louis) and Director Faye Anderson from All That Philly Jazz, a
place-based public history project advocating Jazz history in Philadelphia, are
two of the genre’s best resources!
I encourage
you to visit their sites and contact them with any questions you may have about
this history and how you can support their organizations.
House of
Miles https://houseofmilesestl.com/
All That
Philly Jazz https://phillyjazz.us/
In the words of the great Satchmo (Louis Armstrong), "The memory of things gone is important to a Jazz musician. Things like old folks singing in the moonlight in the back yard on a hot night or something said long ago." Through our collective JAM session, we can do our part to make sure that the story of Jazz plays on!
Taking a break this week. Enjoy previous Milliron Monday's Here . Visit the Milliron Facebook Gallery Here. Visit my website @ www.gmc...