Gleaning Facebook: A Plea for Plungers

From David Campbell (regarding the Bil Lepp video about a plunger (above)

"Loved the video. Oddly enough... that was an issue at our Junaluska house yesterday! (Clearly, not a story for a public post..) Is this guy serving a local church or is he a full time story-teller?" - David Campbell

Terrell Shaw
Bil is not serving a church now, but he has. I think he has been full-time storytelling for about ten years. Another very popular fulltime storyteller, Donald Davis, is also a backslidden Methodist preacher.

It might be an idea for you, David, when we in the pews get just too aggravating for you to handle! <grin>

Ruth Baird Shaw
Terry...as you know David is accountable to the Lord, not pew sitters.

Ruth Baird Shaw
This is not to be critical of Bil or Donald Davis. I think it is good that they got out of the pulpit if they did not feel compelled to stay...They are not necessarily "backslidden" ... both seem to be exactly where they need to be...as great story tellers...

Gleaning Facebook: Civil War, The Musical

In January of 2006 I got to be on stage with, perhaps, the finest group of musicians I have ever worked with. Directed by Brian Sikes and Sam Baltzer, The Civil War was a gut wrenching, but wonderful performance. This is the cast photo.

Jennifer Kellogg
Sigh. One of my favorites.

Ruth Baird Shaw
Yes! A great performance!

Angela Flannigan McRee
I wonder why I'm not in the picture??? Bummer!

Terrell Shaw
Where were you?! Bummer, indeed!

Angela Flannigan McRee
I taught late and Brian said just get there when ya can. So, I missed the pics. I was pregnant with Liam for that one, and didn't want pictures of me in that skirt I couldn't get zipped! It was an AMAZING cast to listen to and to watch.

Sarah L. Flannigan
Great performance, I enjoyed it very much...very memorable.

Sam Baltzer
Thanks for sending this photo - great memories of a great show! I think Angela was crying off stage somewhere.

Jim Powell
I'm in there......

Terrell Shaw
Yep, there you are, Jim, in your ol' coat..

Jim Powell
Old "grey" coat…

Detrick Prosperous Redding
Wonderful Memories!

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Comments added in 2015

Brian Sikes
A great show and a greater cast and crew! One of my proudest moments.

Jim Powell
Special show.

Leigh Whittenburg Callan
LOVED that show! Could see it again and again.

Storytime: Bil Lepp

We have heard Bil Lepp tell his lies several times now. Last January we heard Bil at the wonderful Pike Pidders Storytelling Festival at Troy State University in Alabama. Hilarious. Then we got to hear him again at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN in October. We bought two of his CDs and have enjoyed listening to his stories in the car on trips. Bil is an ordained Methodist minister as well as official West Virginia Champion liar. There is no inconsistency in this, is there Jim, Mother, David, Warren, Jared, Parson, Jacqui, Maria? This morning I listened to an actual sermon* by Bil. Not bad.

Here is a short essay: A Plea for Plungers. It is a plea all my blogging & Facebook Friends should heed.




* Bil's sermon starts at 39:40.

The Third Day of Christmas: Go Tell It!

(Reposted from 12/28/2008)

Go Tell It On the Mountain --- in several genres!!
Jesus Christ is born!

Choral:

Aretha Franklin (Soul):

Dolly Parton (Country) -- Dolly's distractions aside, this is a joyous version. (You have to click the link to see this one.)
James Taylor (Folk/Rock):

Jessye Norman (Operatic):

The Second Day of Christmas: Christmas Dinner

(reposted fro 12/27/2008)Noel Paul Stookey is one of my favorite musicians. He is one third of Peter, Paul, and Mary. He is also an exceptional solo performer. Here he is with an unusual Christmas song for the Second Day of Christmas - "Christmas Dinner.


http://www.jukebo.com/noel-paul-stookey/music-clip,christmas-dinner,5kuxk.html

The First Day of Christmas: Twelve

(reposted fro 12/26/2008)
Christmastide began last night and stretches through Epiphany on January Sixth. So in honor of that tradition here's John Denver with the famous muppets and an early Sunday Concert:

http://youtu.be/8MX43ynMvm0

Gleaning Facebook: Christmas 2009

Happy Christmas to all! (and to all, a Good Night!)

Donna Glenn Edwards
same to u terrell

Elizabeth McGinnis Johnson
Merry Christmas to you too Mr. Shaw!

Rhonda Ingram Bramlette
Merry Christmas, Mr. Shaw!! I wish you a Blessed and Bountiful New Year!!

Dana Jordan Alexander
Merry Christmas from my Family to yours Mr.Shaw ...

Warren Lathem
Merry Christmas to all the Shaws!

Betty Smith Franklin
Chris used to always give a try to sleeping on the sofa Christmas Eve on Clark Drive!

Terrell Shaw
Thanks Mother, Tersi, Joan, Tracy, Donna, Liz, Rhonda, Lori, Dana, Warren & Betty!
We had a great Christmas!
I love my new T-shirt, Betty!
I am afraid we did not do our patriotic spending duty, this Christmas. The financial recovery will depend on others. We emphasized the less mercenary aspects of the day. The favorite gift I received this year was a gift in my name to the Coosa River Basin Initiative. Well, Santa did put some of those anti-snoring nose strips in my stocking, but I consider that a gift for Sheila, not me. I've rarely been disturbed by my snoring.
Ahhh, floating down the Stream of Post-Christmas Semi-Consciousness...

Gleaning Facebook: Milking Cows and other stuff

This is my sister Joan's responses to a Facebook meme. I am preserving it here mainly for the comments from Joan, Beth and and my Mother. Who would have thought that my Mother had never milked a cow or picked cotton!

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Joan's post

__________

Bucket List

Place an X by all the things you've done and remove the X from the ones you have not, then tag your friends (including me).

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, do the list and tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.) If you don't see the Tag people in the upper right hand corner you are in the wrong place.)

** If you're reading this you're tagged **

Things you have done during your lifetime:
( x) Gone on a blind date
(x ) Donated Blood
( X) Had surgery
( ) Broken a bone
( ) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
(X ) Been to Canada
(X ) Been to Mexico
( X) Been to Florida
( ) Been to Hawaii
(x ) Been on a plane
(x ) Been on an airplane flying over an ocean
( ) Been on a helicopter
(X) Been lost
(X ) Gone to Washington, DC
( ) Hugged a homeless person
(X) Swam in the ocean
( ) Swam on a swim team
(X ) Been sailing
( ) Performed in public on a musical instrument
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
(X) Recently colored with crayons
( ) Ran a marathon/or triathlon
( ) Sang Karaoke
(X ) Volunteered at a soup kitchen
(X) Paid for a meal with coins only
( ) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
( ) Seen the Northern Lights
( ) Been Para sailing
(x ) Been on TV
(X ) Been on the radio
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't do
(X) Made prank phone calls
( ) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
( ) Fed an elephant
(x ) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
( ) Fired a gun
( ) Shot with a bow and arrow
( ) Danced in public
(X ) Been to the Opera
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(X ) Serenaded someone
(X ) Seen a U.S.President, King or Queen in person
(x) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(X) Watched the sunrise or sunset with someone
( ) Driven over 100 miles an hour
(x ) Been to a National Museum
( ) Been to a Wax Museum
( ) Eaten caviar or escargot
(X) Blown bubbles
(X) Gone ice-skating
(X) Gone to the movies
( ) Been deep sea fishing
( ) Driven across the United States
( ) Been in a hot air balloon
( ) Been sky diving
( ) Gone snowmobiling
( ) Lived in more than one country
(X) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
(X) Seen a falling star and made a wish
(X) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
(X) Seen the Grand Canyon
(X ) Seen Mount Rushmore
( ) Seen the Statue of Liberty
( ) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
( ) Gone to the top of the Eiffel Tower
( ) Been to the top of the Leaning Tower of Piza
(X) Been on a cruise or (large ship)
( ) been on a hovercraft or hydroplane boat
(X) Traveled by train
( ) Traveled by motorcycle
( ) Gone down hill skiing
(X) Been horse back riding
( ) Ridden on a San Francisco cable car
(X) Been to Disneyland OR Disney World
(x)Truly believed in the power of prayer
() Been in a redwood forest
( ) Seen whales in the ocean
(X ) Been to Niagara Falls
( ) Ridden on an elephant
( ) Ridden on a camel
( ) Swam with dolphins
(X) Been to the Olympics
( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China
( ) Milked a cow
(X ) Been water-skiing
(X) Been roller-skating
( ) Been to Westminster Abbey
( ) Been to the Louvre
( ) Been to Tokyo, Japan
( ) Been to the Taj Mahal
(X ) Been to Rome, Italy
( ) Been to Las Vegas
(X) Swam in the Mediterranean
(X) Swam in the Caribbean
( x) Been to a Major League Baseball game
( ) Been to a National Football League game
(x ) Been to a NBA game
( ) Swam with sharks
(X) Gone canoeing down a river
( ) Gone kayaking
( ) Written a book or screen play
(X) Been in love
(X) Put a foot in the Oval office
( ) Hitchhiked
(x) Snorkeled
( x) Seen a car on fire
( ) Stood on both sides of the Prime Meridian
(X) Ridden the zip-line through the Costa Rican jungle
(x) Given birth

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Comments

Beth Shaw
Great list! I'm a little surprised you never milked a cow. Didn't y'all go to Mayfield Dairies for a field trip in school? We did and had to milk a cow. And we had someone whose house we went to that had a farm and had fresh milk (REALLY fresh) for breakfast! They thought it was hilarious to take us city people out to milk the cow for breakfast. I was totally grossed out - Mother and Daddy asked me where I thought our milk came from. I don't remember where we lived at the time.

Joan Shaw Turrentine
Interesting, Beth. I thought surely I had milked a cow too, but I racked my brain and am pretty sure I haven't. I do remember standing beside someone who was milking a cow at one time in very early childhood. Back in the dark ages when I was in elementary school we didn't take field trips!

Ruth Baird Shaw
I have never milked a cow and have never picked cotton. All mu siblings had done both, so like Beth, I was a spoiled rotten younger child. And, unlike Beth, i never went to dairy on a field trip.

Beth Shaw
You would remember it if you ever did - I was totally grossed out. AND, I distinctly remember that the milk we drank was WARM - I thought it was completely unnatural at the time and SO GROSS!!!!
@Mother - spoiled?? lol

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Just for the record, I have milked a cow. I did not find it gross. <smile>

The closest I've come to picking cotton is breaking off a stalk of cotton at the edge of a harvested field along US 27 in South Georgia. I wanted it to hang in my fourth grade class where I taught social studies and sometimes discussed cotton, slavery, the cotton gin and such.

Old Leaves:Young at Heart at the Christmas Parade

I continue to recycle old Christmas posts. Here's one from 12/11/2005:

Daddy's Roses writes good advice today about staying young. My wife keeps me from aging quite so quickly by dragging me to, among other things, the Christmas Parade. The Median Sib writes today of a Tennessee Christmas Parade. Sounds a lot like the Rome, Georgia parade to me. We don't have tractors, except the tractor-trailor variety.

We had to go the the parade when our kids were little because it is a part of common law that little kids have to go to the Christmas Parade. We braved the elements to watch in their school years because they were in the parade (band, scouts, school floats, etc.) and there is a well-established law that requires parents to attend when kids are on display. This year we had no child in the parade. Sheila drug me there anyway.

And I'm glad she did.

We have float competitions, so there are always floats with someone holding an award plaque. And each participant has a number. We have about 120 or so. Several bands, businesses, radio stations, churches, scout troops, civic groups, Ret Hat ladies, Shriners, Sons of Confederate Vets, retirement homes, and, of course, Miss This, Miss That, and Little Miss the Other.

Up and down the crowds roam venders hawking glow sticks, balloons, etc. All very picturesque -- and youthifying, I'm sure.

The pics I appended above were taken by Lillian.

Gleaning Facebook: Home Again Jiggedy Jog

(Terrell Shaw) is home with his wonderful wife and both beautiful daughters... let Christmas begin! (Well, let's sleep a while first.)

Lydia Simpson
Glad to know Brannnon made it home! 

Joan Shaw Turrentine
Relief. Joy. Peace.

Jane Baird Lathem
YIPPEE!!!! OOPS, shhhhhhhhhhhhh......sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up!

Terrell Shaw
What's that racket?!!

Tersi Bendiburg
Wonderful!!!

Gleaning Facebook: Brannon Flies Home

Two Posts:

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(Terrell Shaw)  is hoping to get a call soon from his eldest saying "I'm on my way!" Till then she's stuck at LaGuardia.

Meagan Mapson
sending good vibes!!!!

Joan Shaw Turrentine
Oh, I was hoping she was already on her way!!! We missed you all at the Longest Night service tonight. Andrew did a good job.

Terrell Shaw
Yes, we could have gone as it turned out! I'm sorry we missed it!

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(Terrell Shaw) is headed to the airport! She is boarding the 9 o'clock flight out of LaGuardia, only 12 hours later than planned.

Tersi Bendiburg
Wonderful!!!! Drive safely!

Terrell Shaw
Thanks, Tersi! I'm outa here!

Carol Shaw Johnston
Thank goodness! I've been worried about her all day. I'm so glad she was able to get a flight.

Ruth Baird Shaw
Yes. Thanks Terry for letting us know! We had a good size crowd at Trinity for the Longest Night service. I know you had all planned to be there to hear Andrew. Andrew spoke about his stroke at age 26 in the midst of his work with youth in Calif.

Terrell Shaw
I was sorry to miss the service tonight, Mother. Brannon came up the escalator at the airport Waiting Place at exactly 11:30 p.m. A great relief that she didn't have to spend the night at LaGuardia.

Ruth Baird Shaw
Great to have her home for a few days!

Wendy Ramsey
You were @ the airport same time & place as Abigail. She was picking up her best friend arriving from New Jersey.

PTSW :Dunder and Blixem

(This is a reposting of a golden oldie. This epistle was originally posted 12/25/2007)

A Happy Christmas to All!!

We divided this poem up among my 26 students and practiced using our strongest voices and our most eloquent expression. Of course, we forgot strong and expressive voices completely when we recited the poem for parents.

Everybody knows this one. It is a delightful Christmas tradition. It names the eight reindeer. It gives a wonderful description of Saint Nicholas. You can sing it. It is a vocabulary builder.

(Added 1-03-08: Hear my podcast of this poem here.)

A Visit from St. Nicholas

’T was the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her ’kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

“Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle,
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.”

-- Clement Moore

NOTES

Clement Moore -- There is a lot of disagreement about whether or not this famous poem was written by Clement Moore.

sugar-plums -- small balls of sugar candy.

droll -- an adjective to describe something comical or odd.

Donder and Blitzen -- Donder is often called “Donner”. And at one time Blitzen was called “Blixem”! Here is a website that tells that story. Can you name all of Santa’s Reindeer?

Previous Poems to Start the Week:
A Visit from St. Nicholas • Mice • All In a Word • The Spider • The Eagle
Some People • Custard the Dragon • Statistics 101 • The Spider and the Fly
Back to School • The Inchcape Rock • Ogden Nash • Trash
Hearts, Like Doors • Casey at the Bat • Always a Rose • Home at Last
Bag of Tools • Carpe Diem • Poems About Poetry • Man's Best Friend
Spelling is Tough Stough! • Blue Marble • Tacks, Splinters, Apples and Stars
Oh, Captain, My Captain! • Metaphor • Introducion to Poetry
Loveliest of Trees • Flax-Golden Tales • The Dinosaurs Are Not All Dead
Owl Pellets • Mummy Slept Late • Just My Size
The Kindest Things I Know • Miles to Go • Love that Brother
Oh, Frabjous Day!

Other Posts about Children's Literature:

The Lion's Paw top kid's OOP book!
Harry
Aslan is Dead!
Multiplying People, Rice, and Readers

A Teacher's Life

You can read some of my own efforts at poetry here.
And then there's Alien Invasion.

A weblog dedicated to Poetry for Children.
Watch Sonja Cole's reviews of children's books at Bookwink.com.
The PBS series Favorite Poem Project