Song Lyric Sunday – Sky Pilot

The prompt from Jim:

This week we have the weather-related prompts of Breeze/Cloud/Sky/Wind and the song that you choose must contain one of these prompt words in either the title or the lyrics.

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What a great week for prompts. I have great songs for every prompt word and if others do not write about them, perhaps I will later in the week. (I do hope they get selected with a good write-up,)

“Sky Pilot” was released in the UK in January of 1968. Written and recorded by Eric Burdon & the Animals. It was released in the US in May 1968.

The song is about a military chaplain (Sky Pilot) who blesses the troops then sends them off to war. The lyrics are up to interpretation. Some see it as an anti-war protest song (specifically the Vietnam war)while some see it as a man of faith wrestling with what he tells these young men versus the reality that awaits them.

The single covered both sides of the 45 due to its length which somewhat hampered it’s air time. Even so song reached #14 in the U.S.

Having lived during the Vietnam war and seeing my classmates drafted and ultimately losing one of the kindest people I have ever known to the war, has always gutted me. This song brings back all those chaotic emotions of the innocence lost in another needless war.

“Sky Pilot”
Lyrics from Songfacts.com

He blesses the boys as they stand in line
The smell of gun grease and the bayonets they shine
He’s there to help them all that he can
To make them feel wanted he’s a good holy man

Sky pilot…..sky pilot
How high can you fly
You’ll never, never, never reach the sky
He smiles at the young soldiers

Tells them its all right
He knows of their fear in the forthcoming fight
Soon there’ll be blood and many will die
Mothers and fathers back home they will cry

Sky pilot…..sky pilot
How high can you fly
You’ll never, never, never reach the sky
He mumbles a prayer and it ends with a smile

The order is given
They move down the line
But he’s still behind and he’ll meditate
But it won’t stop the bleeding or ease the hate

As the young men move out into the battle zone
He feels good, with God you’re never alone
He feels tired and he lays on his bed
Hopes the men will find courage in the words that he said

Sky pilot… sky Pilot
How high can you fly
You’ll never, never, never reach the sky
You’re soldiers of God you must understand

The fate of your country is in your young hands
May God give you strength
Do your job real well
If it all was worth it

Only time it will tell
In the morning they return
With tears in their eyes
The stench of death drifts up to the skies

A soldier so ill looks at the sky pilot
Remembers the words
“Thou shalt not kill”
Sky pilot…..sky pilot

How high can you fly
You never, never, never reach the sky

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Song Lyric Sunday is hosted every Sunday by Jim Adams. If you would like to join in the fun, check out his blog for the rules and to take in all the other music posted by other bloggers.

Thinking About Science

I follow a young blogger named Alexis Chateau. She is from Jamaica and is currently RVing the southwestern United States with her cat. I really enjoy reading her blog and following her adventures. In her latest blog post she explains how she stays safe traveling during a pandemic. Please check out her blog. You might find it as interesting as I do.

After reading her latest post, I started thinking about why I trust science and why others do not – especially those in my age group.

I grew up in a very rural and somewhat remote area. We were easily a 30 minute drive to the closest town which would get you a pharmacy, a 5 and dime, a grocery store, a hardware store, a feed store, and one small family owned department store. For much more than that, it would be at least a 45 minute or an hour drive depending on what you needed. Trips to town were needs-based.

In those times, things often came to us. The Bookmobile was common, especially during the summer when there was no school. There were also rabies vaccination clinics so the entire community could have their dogs vaccinated in one fell swoop. But rabies were not the only vaccination clinic.

I believe I had my smallpox vaccination at school. I have a memory of standing in line with my classmates, all getting the inoculation in our left arms. We all have a scar which I gladly wear because it helped prevent this disease among my children and grandchildren and generations to come. Other tests and vaccinations were delivered into remote communities by traveling nurses and doctors.

I remember when we had the TB Tine test. It introduced a small amount of the smallpox antigen under the skin to test for a reaction. I remember the nurse drawing a circle around The four little pin pricks the test left on my forearm so they could test for a reaction later on. There is a vaccine for tuberculosis but it is not given in the United States. Countries where the disease is more prevalent may administer the vaccine.

Photo Credit:Content Providers(s): CDC/Donald Kopanoff, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

I also remember nurses coming to administer the polio vaccine. We never minded that one so much because it was given orally, dropped on a sugar cube. Another childhood disease that I am sure my parents wanted to prevent us from having.

Perhaps it was witnessing the devastation these diseases could impart that made the difference. Watching so many children suffer from measles, mumps, chicken pox was stressful enough. I am sure the worry about tuberculosis and polio was extremely frightening.

Now when we find ourselves in the throes of a Covid-19 pandemic, people deny it, refusing to wear masks and refusing the vaccine. On average, 500 people still die in the United States from tuberculosis every year, more than a million worldwide. Polio has been eliminated in the United States since 1979. That is quite a feat considering the virus once paralyzed 15,000 people per year during the epidemic.

Perhaps it was seeing photographs of paralyzed children, or children confined to iron lungs In hospital wards that left no doubt in my parents’ minds that we would be vaccinated. One of the last people utilizing an iron lung is Mr. Paul Alexander. He contracted polio when he was six years old. He was never expected to live long, but he is still alive today, 74 years old confined to the iron lung that saved his life. His story is here and is a stark reminder of the reality of the severity of deadly viruses. What a strong and determined man he is.

So why do some smart and educated people deny Covid-19? I wish I knew the answer. Somehow, someway, I was raised to believe in science and the advancements of medicine. I am thankful for whatever science spark was lit inside me, and am so thankful, it was passed on to my children as well.

SoCS – Misty

Stream of Consciousness Saturday is brought to you every week by Linda Hill. Check out her blog for the rules and the contribution of other bloggers.

This week’s prompt:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “-sty.” Find a word that ends in “-sty” or use the word “sty.” Enjoy!

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Since Linda said we should enjoy our writing today, I am going with the -sty I like the most – misty.

What a perfect day to use that word because it was definitely misty outside when I woke up this morning. The rain had ceased overnight and a light fog settled in making the morning misty. Our mountain area often has misty mornings. The type of weather where it is not raining, yet a mist will form on any surface from the moisture in the air.

The next thing that popped in my mind was the song “Misty” sung by Johnny Mathis. What a silky and gorgeous voice he has. I have listened to him all my life. Misty was released around 1959 so I was a young child, but my parents played his albums often. I would like to remind you that Linda’s instructions asked us to enjoy, so please enjoy this clip.

I am a sentimentalist, did you know that? I have a big heart and consider myself an empath. It is not unusual for me to get all misty-eyed at a tender moment in a movie, or reading a touching passage in a book. I have also been known to shed a few tears at just the right puppy or baby YouTube video.

And that confession made me think of an old country song I thought I’d leave right here for all the sentimental people like me. Enjoy!

A Hot Meal (Paying it Forward) – #WATWB

Welcome back to the monthly bloghop – We Are The World Blogfest – started by author Damyanti Biswas. It is a time to share snippets of good news happening around the world in an effort to diminish the impact of negative news.

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The rare snow and ice storm that recently hit Texas left millions without heat, power, and water. Some families resorted to burning furniture to stay warm.

Ari Isufaj came to Texas in 1999 as a teenager as a war refugee from Kosovo. He opened a restaurant just a year before the pandemic hit. He thought his family would lose the restaurant and all they had worked for, but the community stepped up and bought gift cards and helped them through that difficult time.

As a way to ‘pay it forward’, Isufaj opened his restaurant and gave away over 500 free meals of spaghetti and lasagna to the community that had helped him survive the pandemic. For many it was the first hot meal they had in days.

You can read the entire story here.

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Want to read more good news or join in the effort to contribute to the spreading of good news throughout the world?

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A Year In – What Day Is It Anyway?

 

It has been a while since I wrote one of these posts. It was Linda Hill’s idea since we have all been in a fog of trying to remember just what day it is. It is hard to believe we have been at this in some parts of the world over a year now. Exactly how it all started seems a bit of a blur now. I know in North Carolina our first restrictions started the end of March although the virus was already taking hold.

Wednesday was hubby’s birthday which we spent alone. We picked up take-out food from a restaurant and brought it home to eat. Last year, we had family coming over to celebrate with us.

The last time I hugged any of my family other than my husband was Friday, March 13th. I left the glorious week I spent with my daughter’s family and my co-grandmother in a cabin in the mountains of Georgia. We had been insulated from the world. My daughter’s family were warned to buy toilet paper before leaving Georgia because there was none in Florida.

I used the search feature and found the first time I mentioned ‘virus’ and ‘corona’ was on March 14, 2020.

We actually bought toilet paper and shipped it to my son’s family, along with children’s Tylenol because shelves were empty.

I remember watching a few people in Washington and California get quarantined as they re-entered the country. Things started to unravel and the virus spread.

I signed up for Patti Digh’s class “Writers in the Pandemic”. I took it two or three times. Sadly, she offered it again this year. This morning I went back and read some of the entries archived in the writing forum. I had to stop as I felt the tears welling up.

The flow of information was so chaotic, changing every day. There was a YouTube video a woman posted which satirically demonstrated the almost daily change in the flow of information we received. I was going to post it here, but now, a year later after the United States has surpassed 500,000 deaths from Covid, it seemed insensitive to me.

Our vocabulary has changed dramatically including terms never before a part of our everyday lives. ‘Stay-at-home, lockdown, corona virus, covid, flatten the curve, safer at home, masks, N95, KN95, Zoom, online portals, essential workers, key workers, efficacy, the rona, quarantini, social distancing, coronarita, doomscrolling…’ and I am sure there is more to come.

It has been a hell of a year. And still, after what has been experienced worldwide, there are still deniers. For those that have suffered this virus or who have lost loved ones to it, I, for one, will never forget. I have been vaccinated but am still aware that many have not been and some will refuse the shot. Now I am aware of the risk shift that happens when only a portion of people have been vaccinated.

I read that Covid-19 will be with us forever. It may require vaccinations from this point forward. A well respected epidemiologist responded to an elderly patient’s question about whether or not he should get the vaccination. His response was something to the effect that the vaccination turns Covid into a cold.

I am certainly hopeful that this year will see some improvement in the world’s response, but it will only happen if we all do our part to stay safe and keep others safe. I hope we have maintained enough of our humanity to do so.

**Edited to add: Many of our state’s long standing restrictions are being lifted today – the first time since March of last year. We do still have occupancy restrictions and mask mandates. I am hopeful people remain diligent.