I ran across this pic yesterday and put it up on Facebook. It embarrasses me that I am so clearly in the center of this picture. The person to my immediate left holding something in his hands is David Lyle Strong. Dave is still doing music and we are connected on Facebook. As I am with his brother Doug Strong (whose face is immediately above my head).
I had a mini-vacation yesterday and basically just putzed around the house. I went through boxes and found stuff like the pic above.
I also ran across my father’s copy of Clair de Lune by Debussy.
He has stamped it with his name and address.
So my dad’s ownership of this music dates from our time in Tennessee (from 1956-1963). Dad must have purchased the baby grand piano I grew up with there.
Before Dad died, he wrote three volumes of family history. One for himself and one for each brother. They are very helpful for providing dates like the one above. I refer to them often when I’m trying to put something in perspective.
The title of Dad’s memoir is a quote from the third stanza of the hymn, “Amazing Grace.” I never noticed how small his name seems.
Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
‘Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.
“Clair de Lune” is not that easy a piano piece. I do remember hearing Dad play snippets of Debussy, Chopin and other great piano composers. I always thought of him as a pretty good piano player but he was largely self deprecating about his skills in that area.
Dated from 1963, this article of my dad’s caught my eye because the gospel story this Sunday happens to be about the scene he writes about (in Dad’s words, “Christ and the Woman of Samaria’). My Dad always free-lanced in religious publications, usually but not always ones in his denomination.
This one dates from 1994. It was in the December Issue of Vital Christianity, the magazine of the Church of God (formerly the Gospel Trumpet).
I think this little piece he published in 1993 is interesting enough to put the whole thing here.
I have more stuff I found yesterday. But that seems like enough for today.
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I discovered reading the wiki article yesterday that the history of the “Church of God,” the denomination my father and grandfather served in, begins with an initial emphasis on pacificism in the 19th century. This link is to a history on a website of a Church of God organization, Peace Fellowship, founded in the 30s to “eliminate racism and violence.” No wonder I have pacificistic leanings.
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WMC – Government & Public Affairs
From Wisconsin’s Business Voice online. Found this link on Boingboing where Cory Doctorow says this about it:
“Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, a business lobbying group, has asked its members and supporters to fight corrupting union political spending by making “unlimited” and “undisclosed” donations. Hurray for transparency and fairness!”
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