Tom and I DJ’d a graduation party past night at the Monroe Civic Center. The graduating student was Indian, and so was the party. Relatives and friends of the graduate were there from all over Louisiana and from as far away as India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The food was a rich spread of many classic Indian dishes. The music Indian, the dancing was spirited, and the women and girls were dressed in beautiful saris. I’d have to say that this was a truly enriching cultural experience for me.
After I returned home from the DJ gig, I was a little introspective. Perhaps not due to sadness, but only because I’m tired from working so hard lately. I was thinking of a song Johnny O’Neal often did when we performed together, “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac and sung so, so well by Stevie Nicks. Anyway, since I’ve determined to post the lyrics of songs I like each week, I thought I thought I’d post this one. I found the lyrics here: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/f/fleetwood+mac/landslide_20054185.html

I took my love, I took it down
Climbed a mountain and I turned around
I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills
till the landslide brought me down

Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love
Can the child within my heart rise above
Can I sail thru the changing ocean tides
Can I handle the seasons of my life

Well, Ive been afraid of changing
cause Ive built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Children get older
I’m getting older too

Oh, take my love, take it down
Climb a mountain and turn around
If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well the landslide will bring it down

If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well maybe the landslide will bring it down

Yesterday morning, we ate a huge breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Then, we left our beautiful Eola Hotel room and walked through downtown Natchez. From there, we drove to the Visitors Center on Canal Street where we took a tour bus through Natchez. The tour was worth the price, as it provided a condensed overview of what was worth seeing. However, the driver was slovenly in appearance, her speech was unintelligible at times, and the bus microphone had some problems. It seems that the tour drivers would realize the gratuities would increase dramatically if these issues were addressed.
When our tour was over we went to the Melrose estate and took an extensive tour of that house and grounds. This estate is a National Park. You can read more about the house, its owners, its history, and description here: http://www.nps.gov/natc/

After our Melrose tour, we had lunch and returned to Monroe. Last night, Tom I went to Enoch’s Pub to hear Beth Patterson, whom I’ve written about several times on this blog. I had a grand evening, talking with friends from the library, the Scottish Society, former students, people whose writing I’ve edited, and people I’ve worked for.

My band, Angus Dubhghall, is playing at Enoch’s next Saturday, June 9. We’ll start playing about 9:00 p.m. Tonight, Tom and I have a DJ gig; Monday, I speak in El Dorado at Ryan’s Steak House. The Young Troupe at Straus Theatre is going to use me to teach creative writing in one of their summer workshops, June 25-29.

My wife and I decided to celebrate our anniversary by a trip out of town.  We arrived in Natchez–a town we’ve always wanted to explore–yesterday around noon, eating lunch at Slough Daddy’s in Vidalia. From there we moved on to the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians, a site/park I’ve always wanted to see. Then, on to the visitor’s center, where the store manager began a talk about Pelican Publishing and books in general. I was delighted to find out she would be ordering my books for the Visitor Center there! As Jefferson Davis is quite popular in Natchez, this city is a natural match for my book, Jim Limber Davis: A Black Orphan in the Confederate White House.
We stayed in the Eola Hotel in downtown Natchez, in a room with a king bed, balcony and view of the river. Here’s a link about this beautiful hotel if you want to take a look. http://www.natchezeola.com/  As it rained the rest of the afternoon, we were unable to walk the streets of Natchez as we had planned, but it’s cleared up so we’ll do it this morning.
As usual when I travel, I’m brainstorming marketing tactics and creating stories in my head.  We’re on our way now to breakfast and either a carriage or bus tour of the city. I’ll post more later.

As you’ve noticed, on the sidebar is an cover icon of my new children’s book, Jim Limber Davis: A Black Orphan in the Confederate White House. It gives my page a new look. The icon for my Stories of the Confederate South is gone temporarily as printing makes transition from Booklocker to Pelican.  Red River Fever will remain with Booklocker, and soon I’ll have another nonfiction work with Booklocker.

The media is giving much attention to Obama in this upcoming presidential election. If elected, he would not be the first black American to be in the White House in a presidential family.  The first member of a presidential family in American, ironically lived in the Confederate White House, as a member of the Jefferson Davis family.  That is the story of my children’s book, the true story of Jim Limber, a free black orphann who was taken into the Davis family.  Yes, it’s true: Jefferson and Varina Davis even became his legal guardians. This is a story of an endearing act of kindness, a story that promotes racial harmony and family values.  It is a story that American needs to hear.

WRITING QUOTE OF THE DAY:  (From John Dufresne’s The Lie that Tells a Truth)

“One’s real life is often the life that one does not lead.”–Oscar Wilde

Last night, I watched We Were Soldiers, a 2002 film produced by Randall Wallace and starring Mel Gibson, Sam Eliot, and Madeleine Stowe, three of my favorite actors. I’ve long been a student of the Viet Nam War, I and own the movie and the book it was based on, We Were Soldiers Once . . . And Young.

There’s so many good lines in the movie, so many moving scenes. I especially like the song, “Sgt. MacKenzie,” written by Joseph Kilna MacKenzie. The song was written in memory of Joseph’s great-grandfather, Charles Stuart MacKenzie, a sergeant in the Seaforth Highlanders, and who fought in World War I. Wickipedia says “Sergeant MacKenzie was bayoneted to death at the age of 35, while defending one of his badly injured fellow soldiers in the hand-to-hand fighting of the trenches.”

You can find a good review of the movie written by a Viet Nam veteran here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0277434/ On this site, you can find tons of information about this first major battle of the Viet Nam War in the Ia Drang Valley in November of 1965: http://www.lzxray.com/

This morning, I did grandfather duty with my grandson, Mason Alexander Shelby. He’s two and a half, and so bright and so much fun. He calls me popi. The rest of the afternoon, I intend to work with my writing business (no shortage of work for sure) and then tonight, I’ll have a band practice. This Saturday night, Tom and I have a DJ gig, but other than that no appointments. I need to make plans to see my parents in Oklahoma soon. They live in a little town called Kemp, the setting of my novel, Red River Fever.

Today’s Writing Quote (from John Dufresne’s The Lie that Tells a Truth:

Jesus said, If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you—The Gospel According to Thomas

I’ve thought for a long time that our nation is on its way to becoming a dystopia due to our loss of freedoms and rights, and due to the mindsets and policies of our government officials. I strongly believe that all government officials should be required to read the great dystopian novels: 1984, Fahrenheit 451, A Brave New World, A Handmaid’s Tale, A Divided Kingdom, and Anthem–before they are allowed to run for office. I don’t know what books are on politicians’ reading lists these days, but I doubt that the classics of literature, and certainly the dystopian novels, are not on them.
I found a new presidential candidate who I really like: Donnie Kennedy. He will enter the GOP Primary with a pro-South, pro-liberty, and pro-Constitution platform.  Believing that the Federal government has too much power, that it is taxing us excessively, and that states have lost too many of their rights, he has a platform that makes sense.  Donnie is a prolific author. I have all of his books and I assure you that they are worth reading. Start with The South Was Right! I’ll have more to say about his books in future blog entries. You can read Kennedy’s bio, review his books, and read some of his  thought-provoking articles on his Web site: http://www.kennedytwins.com/default.php

You can find more about Donnie Kennedy’s presidential campaign here: http://electwdkennedy.com/2007/april/states_rights.php?SessID=30562

LITERARY QUOTATION FOR THE DAY:

I’ve always loved Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, both in written script and movie form. I admire all of Miller’s work, but this play is my favorite. His portrayal of John Proctor is so moving wonderful—indeed, a masterpiece. Anyone who has been the victim of a witch hunt can empathize with Proctor. There are many lines I like, but today I’ll enter this one from Act II. John Proctor says:

“I’ll tell you what’s walking Salem–vengeance is walking Salem.  We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children are jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law!”

Today, Tom and I played our Scots-Irish music at the Military Families Memorial Day Picnic at Kiroli Park in West Monroe, Louisiana. Kay Katz and Mike Walsworth, local politicians, were also there to speak and lend their support. This was a touching event. Families of soldiers from this area who had fallen in combat in Iraq were recognized and honored. As I looked at the soldiers’ photographs and the wreaths that were given to the families, I contemplated the sacrifice they had made–not only the soldiers, but their families.
I had a table and moved some books, but the real joy today was performing for the families of our soldiers. One mother gave me a Marine cap that has the names of three local soldiers who died in duty: Sgt. Arechaga, LCPL Bowman, and PFC Feniello. I will wear it with pride.
May God bless our soldiers and bring them home safely to us soon.

Yesterday, I returned to the Southern Heritage Convention at the Monroe Civic Center in the morning and continued my sales and networking there.  This was such a fantastic event for me. Not only was I able to promote my book, but I made new friends, and learned so much from the speeches.
At about 11:00 a.m., I went home, changed into my Confederate uniform for my reading and presentation at the Ouachita Parish Library. Jennifer Schneider, A fantastic Irish dancer and the children’s librarian who had organized and sponsored the event, was there in a beautiful Antebellum dress and helped us get the program off to a great start.

To our audience, the local SCV’s Color Guard demonstrated the ritual of posting the colors. Members of the color guard then took questions from the audience. I briefly told the story of Jim Limber, read a short excerpt from my children’s book, and played two Civil War songs with my guitar. I had set up a Civil War “Show and Tell” table so that children and adults could see and touch items related to the Civil War while we enjoyed the refreshments the library had supplied.
After my library signing and presentation, I and my friends, Eddy and Melissa, drove to Duty, Louisiana to Jim Bowie Relay Station where my Scots-Irish band was booked to play. We played from about 6:00-9:00 p.m., and I was able to sell several books as well. We finally made it back to Monroe about 10:30 p.m. and Tom and I went to Enoch’s for a couple of pints to celebrate.

Today, only duties (paying bills, etc) await me, though I may try to get out and make a couple of book sales. Tomorrow, I’ll be out at Kiroli Park for the Military Families Memorial Day Picnic to play music and present my book.

During this Memorial Day Weekend, I pray God will bless and protect our troops.

Last night, I sold books at the Civic Center for the Seventh Annual Confederate Heritage Conference.  In addition to having a good night of sales, networking, and exposure, I was able to hear two motivating and information-packed speeches.  For example, David Aiken, an English teacher at the College of Charleston and the Citadel, spoke on the topic of the invasion of  the South during the War Between the States and why the war against the South was the worst crime this country has ever committed. The reasons he listed and expounded in his speech to defend his claim  were:

1. The number of deaths (both black and white) that the North’s invasion caused.

2. The atrocities  committed against the Southern civilian population. (In the news today, these would be “war crime” and the people who committed them–like Sherman–would be war criminals.)

3. The destruction of property and the pillaging of the wealth of the South.

4. The loss of liberty. Aiken pointed out that there was a major shift in government after the war, and that whatever liberty and freedoms we had before it, had shifted and changed along with the government policies. He pointed out that if Thomas Jefferson and George Washington had been alive during the Civil War, they would have sided with the South.

This speech was one of the better ones I’ve heard in my life–full of history and facts. And this was only one of the speakers.  There was so much more I could say about this conference, but I’ll save that for later.

NEWS:

Today, I’ll be back at the Monroe Civic Center at 8:00 a.m., work there till 10:30 or so, then go to the Monroe Library at 2:00 for a signing there, then to Jim Bowie Relay Station where our band will play and I’ll sell more books. I love busy days.

My interview on KTVE (Channel 10 NBC in Monroe) this morning went well, though it was shorter than I had hoped. Still, I am grateful for the publicity. Angela Cruz, the station’s news anchor and producer, interviewed me, and I found her to be gracious and skilled in the art of the interview. I also know her to be a voracious reader. I admire these early morning broadcasters who have the discipline to rise so early every morning and face the public. This afternoon I’ll be at the Civic Center selling my books from a table for a Southern convention there.
I enjoy quotations. Here are a few quotations of Mark Twain, certainly one of the sharpest wits of his day.

Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.– Mark Twain

Last week, I stated this woman was the ugliest woman I had ever seen. I have since been visited by her sister, and now wish to withdraw that statement.– Mark Twain

I am opposed to millionaires… but it would be dangerous to offer me the position.
— Mark Twain