Bring on music, The Unlikely Disciple, farro with parm, and a great cross line
November 16, 2023
What’s Going On?
Congress has been reduced to threats of fisticuffs.
GOP senator challenges Teamsters head to a fight in a fiery exchange at a hearing
But, although the world spinning more and more out of control, at least we have a break, in that there at least will be no government shut down over the Thanksgiving holiday:
US Congress averts government shutdown threat with stopgap bill
But my brain is tired of all this.
You know what makes things at least a bit better?
Music, that’s what.
I was reminded of this last night as a number of talented musicians (including my husband, by the way) performed at the open mike that takes place biweekly just down the road (and not a “country mile!”) from us at 11 West Main Street in Bradford NH.
This week, I’d like to encourage you to do anything you can do to support anyone and anything having to do with the positive force that music has in our world.
And what better way than to make sure that our young people have access to excellent music programs in their schools and communities? FYI, I totally understand that all arts are equally important, so of course, support what is most dear to your heart.
But for this week, it is music that is in my heart.
What to Do?
According to its homepage, Save The Music Foundation is currently “celebrating 25 years of delivering equitable access to music education for millions of students nationwide.”
Since it kept popping up at the top of lists when I use “best organization for music education” as a search term, I checked it out and recommend supporting this organization.
5 Things You Can Do Right Now
Click the above link for ways you can show your support for both the organization’s work and also for ways to take action to ensure that the young people in your community have access to great music of all kinds. It can be as simple as sharing posts on social media. How easy is that?
You can also give financial support to by going to:
Donate to give students a fresh start through music education!
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Another organization that kept coming to my attention is the NAMM Foundation, which is associated with the National Association of Music Merchants.
Here is its Vision Statement from its About page:
We envision a world in which the joy of making music is a precious element of daily living for everyone; a world in which every child has a deep desire to learn music and a recognized right to be taught; and in which every adult is a passionate champion and defender of that right.
They have a handy Grassroots Advocacy Page offering a number of ways to improve music education in your community.
You can also send a financial donation by going to the Donation page.
In addition, NAMM conducts an annual contest to determine which communities offer the best in music education and programming. See if your community is on the most recent list:
2022 BEST COMMUNITIES FOR MUSIC EDUCATION DISTRICTS
I am proud to say that my hometown, Wakefield, MA, is on the list. Not that I had anything to do with it. 😊
What to Read?
I read The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University a number of years ago, but the recent ascension (pun intended) of evangelical extremist Mike Johnson to the position of Speaker of the House reminded me of this book.
It is EXCELLENT. What I like about it is that the author shares his experience in a way that gives us, the reader, great insight into the world Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University in a way that, while in-depth, is never mean or derogatory.
As much as I dislike what has happened to most evangelical churches, especially those in the south or seeded from southern evangelists, I understand that most followers don’t realize how mean and derogatory their creed is to their non-evangelical fellow citizens, never mind how dangerous this cult, and it is a cult, is to our country and the world.
Here is an excerpt from the marketing blurb:
As a sophomore at Brown University, he spent his days fitting right in with Brown's free-spirited, ultra-liberal student body. But when Roose leaves his Ivy League confines to spend a semester at Liberty University, a conservative Baptist school in Lynchburg, Virginia, obedience is no longer optional.
Liberty is the late Reverend Jerry Falwell's Bible Boot Camp for young evangelicals, his training ground for the next generation of America's Religious Right. Liberty's ten thousand undergraduates take courses like Evangelism 101 and follow a forty-six-page code of conduct that regulates every aspect of their social lives. Hoping to connect with his evangelical peers, Roose decides to enroll at Liberty as a new transfer student, chronicling his adventures in this daring report from the front lines of America's culture war.
His journey takes him from an evangelical hip-hop concert to a spring break mission trip to Daytona Beach (where he learns to preach the gospel to partying coeds). He meets pastors' kids, closet doubters, Christian rebels, and conducts what would be the last print interview of Rev. Falwell's life. [How cool is this last bit?]
It is a most worthy read.
To purchase a used copy, I recommend trying More Than Words first, then Thriftbooks.com.
To support the author and independent bookstores, AND help support me so I can keep focused on writing, you can purchase a new copy via my bookstore page on Bookshop.org.
I bet your local library has it, too.
Disclaimer: The book cover image and the title of the book, above, both use my affiliate link
What's Cooking?
Creamy Parmesan Farro
You need to try it. It is delicious, filling, and oozes with comfort food essence and texture. You will love it if you like the texture of barley and the flavor of parmesan cheese.
The recipe calls for a quarter cup each grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and Pecorino-Romano cheese, but I just used a half cup of the Market Basket parm cheese and it was just fine. While I am a huge fan of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and believe it can bring a recipe to new heights, it is very pricey. I save it for special occasions these days. (But yeah, it’s good!)
Take note of the recipe author’s note about the type of salt. There is an actually difference among the sodium contents of different kosher and other salts.
But do try this! Farro (a type of wheat) is becoming more and more available. I get mine in the Bob’s Red Mill section at Market Basket and I am sure it in national chains, as well. You can find it easily online, as well.
What Else?
I don’t remember what Facebook page post my friend Tom Sheehan was responding to, but I was intrigued by his response to the question:
Greatest ONE LINE in a song, ever:
For the Lord's Cross might redeem us but our own just waste our time
Wow. what a line!
I, of course, had to look it up and found that is a line from the song Hard Love by bluegrass musician Tony Rice, which took me by surprise. But what an interesting and talented man he was. You can read about him here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Rice
Not only was he very influential in the bluegrass world - and he sure was! - he did an album with Jerry Garcia and David Grisman call The Pizza Tapes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pizza_Tapes
Along with looking up and listening to Hard Love and other music by Tony Rice as I wrote this newsletter, I of course had to check out The Pizza Tapes. If you are a Garcia/Grateful Dead fan - excuse me - Deadhead, you can hear it for free on Spotify with just a few ads here and there:
The Pizza Tapes - Compilation by Various Artists | Spotify
Fun stuff and some excellent picking on guitar and mandolin, if you are into such things.
If not, scroll on and enjoy a recent picture turned meme of the hopefully to become famous Gracie Rose. I can think of many events to which it provides an appropriate response.
Thanks for reading!
Wendy
