MORE MASTERFUL WRITTING

THE THOUGHTS OF P08

08-19-25

Strain

“It Does Seem That Every Thing That We Do Will Put Some Sort Of A Strain On Us And That We Really Can’t Do Much To Prevent It If We Want To Get Anything Done No Matter The Period Of Time Involved.”

- - - - - - p08

About p08

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In A Clandistine Location On The, Central California Coast, United States
During the gold rush a highway man became known as Black Bart for his inclusion of an innocent poem in the empty strong boxes when he had liberated them from Wells Fargo stage coaches. He was eventually captured by an detective at Pinkerton and sent to San Quintin. After leaving prison he was never heard from again - until his thoughts stated to appear on a computer at a remote military location. When this computer became obsolete, it was sent to a secret location on the Central California coast where it continues to gain knowledge and to write a thought of the day and sometimes longer thoughts for us all to consider.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Graduation Or Beach Party ? ? ?


I really know that I am getting OLD now that I have attended a high school graduation. The time was when this was a ceremony that showed that high school students had in fact reached the age of maturity. Graduation was a dignified celebration of passage to adulthood. It has become a beach party with some students playing with beach balls while the school administration tried to have a ceremony that could be remembered as a tasteful completion of the high school years. When the students and in fact some of the “adults” find that the beach ball and other inflatable are more important then the ceremony we have lost another part of or civilized world. We are lowering our standards in many areas of life and this is just one – but they do all add up. The school has hinted that they may even eliminate the graduation ceremony in the future. It is becoming a travesty. I don’t know if the school saved money by eliminating most of the sheet music needed to play the complete pomp and circumstances or did they feel that the participants would not recognize the work if they played it in its entirety. I know that it is a traditional piece of music but in its integrity is much more then a short selection designed for top forty radio. I do hope that it was just a shortage of money for sheet music and not an insult to the intelligence of the audience. Maybe if the entire work were played it would show that Pomp and Circumstance No. 1 (yes maybe just giving it the correct name in the program and maybe credit to all the author’s of music presented during the ceremony would be a help) would help many in the audience feel more respect for the ceremony. Even if few know that it actually has words that the choirs could have added and become more a part of the ceremony. Here go to U-Tube and hear a longer version and if you are more curious you can find a version by Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU8fK7PV_c0

Watch this video and you will know that I do not think that this is a dull piece of music especially if you watch all the way through the clip and see the encore. It is not the dull little excerpt that I heard at graduation this year!

Yes I do ramble but I have made it a point to concentrate on this one part of the ceremony and to try to ignore most of the rest. The fact that some of the audience booed the security staff for deflating beach balls was another article in itself and I plan to just live with that insult to our maturity.

CONGRATULATION'S TO THE CLASS OF 2008 AND MAY YOU LEARN FROM THIS LESSON WHEN YOU REFLECT BACK AT IT DURING YOUR 50th REUNION.

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