Great Music Money-Mary Ellen Carter

Stan Rogers is one of the greatest folk songwriters/singers of the last 100 years who was taken fare to young when he was only 33 following a fire on a plane in June, 1983. There is speculation that Rogers died when he went back to try and help other passengers escape.

One of his greatest compositions is a song about former crew members trying to raise their old ship from the sea.

The song is credited with saving the life of one sailor in February, 1983. As the Marine Electric was going down, the Chief Mate was trapped, but used his snorkeling experience to escape and clung to a partially inflated life raft for several hours in the frigid water. And just as he was about to give up and let himself sink to the depths of Davy Jones Locker, he remembered the words of Roger's song and maintained his resolve by singing the song over and over again. Of the 33 on board the Marine Electric, only two survived. The Chief Mate's story is at the beginning of the video below.

The Mary Ellen Carter.

AWOL

I'm going AWOL.

Actually, it AWL.

Omar the Wunderpuppy is going to the breeders near Rockford for the week, and then Dragonfly, The Man From Ohio, and I are heading for the Rocky Mountain National Rendezvous, a little South of Douglas, Wyoming. for the week. On our way back from the RMNR, there is going to be a stop at Museum of the Fur Trade in Chadron, NE, and then Cabela's in Sidney, NE.

The beatings will resume upon my return.

Great Music Monday-Face the Flag

It's been a helluva day. So I am making this easy.

Saturday was the 233 birthday of this greatest nation on God's green earth. And in 1973, John Wayne (yes, the American Icon actor) recorded a spoken word album of patriotic themes. Sunday morning as I was waking up, I heard one of them played for the first time ever. I was immediately blown away by its power.

I can't find any video of it, but there is a good site with the lyrics and audio playing. Listen to the voice of The Duke, and listen the the words he speaks.

Face the Flag

God Bless America, and God Protect the Men and Women Who Keep Us Free.