This past monday my son brought back the old tradition that the Order of the Arrow would perform at all Arrow of Light ceremonies...
The Arrow of Light award is the highest rank award available to Cub
Scouts. To earn the Arrow of Light, the Cub Scout must complete four
required adventures, three of eighteen elective adventures,
and the Cyber Chit and child abuse prevention exercises. The Cyber Chit
exercises can be waived if the family does not have easy access to the
internet.
Earning the Arrow of Light can help earn many of the requirements for
the lower ranks of the Boy Scouts. The Arrow of Light award is the only
Cub Scout award that can be worn on a Boy Scout uniform.
Both Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts wear the Arrow of Light badge below the
left pocket. Adults wear the square-knot version of the badge above the
left pocket. Cub Scouts who earn the Arrow of Light are eligible to join
a Boy Scout Troop at ten years of age instead of eleven.
The Order of the Arrow is the honor society of the Boy Scouts of America. They used to do the arrow of light ceremony for the Cub Scouts in the area. However the OA had gotten away from that. Finding arrowmen who wants to perform on the ceremony team is problematic. Most of the kids don't want to devote any time to this. My son restarted up the ceremony team for this. He started talking about it several months ago and I told him " you want this....you set it up...it is your baby." Well he did. I was very proud of him.
My son was afraid of making a mistake and I told him..."Keep in mind, these people will not know exactly what is to happen, they are glad y"all are here, you added a *Wow* factor to their ceremony."
The people in the Cub Scout pack were blown away by the pomp and ceremony involved. This was a good thing for the lodge and gave the new scouts something to look forward to in the Boy Scouts.
Now on the the election year circuses......The Trump is going through the GOP field like a shark through a surfer..
The establishment is terrified, their hand picked candidates are getting removed one by one...from Christie, to Jeb to now Rubio is the last hope of derailing the Trump Train. I have no pity for the GOP establishment, they have blown off their base the last 3 elections. We elected them to stop the Obama hope and change. Instead the establishment GOP rolled over and showed Obama their belly and did nothing except trying to preserve their spot at the trough.
I read some "conservative" talking head at one of these conservative magazines that stated that "if Donald is the nominee, he would recommend that people vote for Hillary, because that is the person that they can rally the GOP around." So lemme get this straight...in the name of ideological purity you would vote for the democrat candidate.....? are you kidding? the damage that Obungler has done is massive, so in the name of ideological purity you would continue to damage the country because it is better for the party?. Crap..that is how democrats think....to them it is party first. I always believed that the GOP was above such craven behavior...but crap like this reinforced the belief that both parties are one half of the whole.
On the democrat side, the Bern is raising hell on the Annointed one on the Democrats side. She won the Nevada primary....this showed the power of the "fix" to Bernie. Harry Reid and the democratic machine made sure that she won that one....to hope to slow down the road to socialism that the democrats are peddling to the millennials
Bernie is tapping into the lack of reality that many younger people have. I blame this on the socialistic school system that didn't educate people, just indoctrinate them in a certain ideology. Now we as a nation are paying the price for the economic beliefs and pipedreams of the younger generation.
I saw and listened to the speech Obama gave for his reason to close Gitmo. He wants to move the most incorrigible of the terrorist in the U.S. legal system where they would have all the access of the American system.
Anybody that says otherwise is being delusional. Can you see all the mechanism that will be utilized as they use our own system against us. They would find a lot of "fellow travelers" that will assist those terrorist to use our system against us.
We went camping this past weekend, the troop wanted to do some Hiking and shooting. So we planned a trip and we went down to thunder.
This was the campsite and yes I already took my new to me truck camping...
The Scoutmaster getting the various Zombies up to meet the challenges of the new day...and Yes the troop loves to use the hammocks. The troop started getting ready to meet the new day
I got my portable coffee maker out....boiled some water, then had coffee while the troop got ready to go shooting.
The kids started shooting, and they had a good time...
The kids were shooting soo good, I turned to Mac and asked him if he had any problem with my switching this up to qualifications for the Rifle merit badge. He had no problem with my doing this....
So we changed it up and the kids that didn't have the merit badge, got a chance to qualify. This excited the kids immensely so off we went. After they qualified, the kids that needed the merit badge got to clean the rifles...
Also as part of the requirement, they also had to name all the parts of the rifle..
I got even more detail than the picture showed. I made sure the kids earned the merit badge. Well the kids went to go hiking, so most of the rifles were cleaned...but a couple of them weren't . I decided to clean them...I have commented in the past that the rifles the camp have are very good rifles so I try to take care of them.
I got to the last rifle and I decided to do some shooting......Gotta keep in practice you know...
I then grabbed the bowl of bullets..
I got into a comfortable shooting position....
I then exercised some recoil therapy....Man that was relaxing....The birds were chirping....the wind was rustling....I was by myself.....And I proceeded to shoot a lot of ammo. That was very enjoyable..
The troop after finishing the hiking, we went home and stopped by a pizza place as a treat...
I saw this sign there and got a chuckle out of it.
I know when I have been doing this for a while when I have to put the name of the song in my search engine to make sure I havn't done it already. I am surprised this song didn't show up...I remember this song was big when I was stationed at Fort Devens in MA for my advanced training and I just had gotten my new 1986 Mustang and I would drive all over the place.
This song would come on the radio and it also had heavy rotation on the MTV playlist that always seemed to be playing in the break-room in the barracks. I still enjoy the song, to me it is an easy listening song and everything seems to flow or as I comment, "the parts play well together" so to me it has withstood the test of time.
Level 42 are an Englishpop rock and jazz-funkband, who had a number of worldwide and UK hits during the 1980s and 1990s.
Their most successful single in the UK was "Lessons in Love", which reached number three on the UK Singles Chart, and number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, upon its release in 1986. The earlier single, "Something About You" was their most successful single in the United States, reaching number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
After much success as a live and studio band in the 1980s, Level 42's
commercial profile diminished during the early 1990s following a series
of personnel changes and musical shifts. After disbanding in 1994, the
band reformed in 2001.
The music video of "Something About You" is directed by Stuart Orme, who also directed videos for the Level 42 songs "Lessons in Love" and "Running in the Family", as well as Phil Collins and Genesis. The music video appears in their video album Family of Five, released in 1987.
Mark King appears as a dark clown magician, representing the negative
aspects in the relationships of Mike Lindup, Phil and Boon Gould with
their girlfriends, all played by actress Cherie Lunghi.
My Blog buddy "Daddy Dear" has released another book. This is a 3rd book released by him. His 2 earlier books were excellent in my opinion, they don't rate up there with Shakespeare but they are pretty dang good.
I shamelessly ripped this off his website......Because Cut and Paste is wonderful that way :)
Escort Duty Pre-Order
My latest collection of stories, Escort Duty, is up for pre-order. You can find snippets here, here, and here.
UPDATE – Oops, found another snippet here.
This collection runs a gamut of subjects. The book begins with a
short novella from the Minivandians universe. Next are short stories
that deal with action, religion, and intrigue. The book finishes with a
sort-of action/thriller novella that has been ruminating around in my
brain for quite a while.
Hard copy will be available soon, and I’m enrolling the book in
Kindle On-line Lending Library and Kindle Unlimited, so subscribers can
read it that way if they want to.
Hope you all enjoy it, and no matter what, please leave an honest review on Amazon.
I ran across these from my Axanar website.....These are "Free" posters compliments of NASA. Just go to the website and download them.
This may come as a shock to you, but we’ve never been to
Mars. We’ve never dived beneath the icy crust of Jupiter’s moon Europa,
strolled beneath the twin suns of Kepler 16b or watched the acrid clouds
of Venus float past. Never skydived under the heavy gravity of the
Pictor constellation’s HD 40307 g or sailed across the icy methane seas
of Titan. But these retro-style space travel posters from the design studio at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labs are fine consolation prize for the time being.
The posters are a continuation of the Exoplanet Travel Bureau poster series
first created by JPL’s design studio last year. The studio, first put
together 13 years ago, helps JPL’s scientists and engineers plan out
future missions, which means they’re always aware of the latest and
greatest ideas being bandied about the lab. When NASA came to them
asking for additional posters in the series, they were able to integrate
many ideas the agency had already been spitballing for the future—such
as floating cities hovering above Venus.
NASA’s faux travel agency is, obviously, a tad grandiose in their
claims. Mankind won’t set foot on another planet for at least another
decade, and even that’s optimistic. Zipping off 42 light-years
for some super-Earth skydiving will probably remain science fiction
forever. But anything that keeps the public aware of the grandeur of
space exploration is cool with us.
All 14 posters are available as free downloads at JPL’s website.
I decided to roll with some 70's Disco. Saturday night Fever
rejuvenated the Genre that was starting to fade. A lot of people hated
Disco but I like the fast paced music and man talk about the costumes.
You don't see stuff like that now a days. I make no bones about it, I
prefer the older music to what is playing now...Occasionally I hear
something that is "modern" that I consider really talented like Adele.
But overall I think the Music industry is in the doldrums of
suckitude. Where are the acts that blazed a trail with talent....now it
is just "shock " value. Where is the showcase of talent? Like I have
commented in a prior posting...Look at Motown....they influenced music
like nothing else did and look what is coming out now.... I have been
accused of living in the past....Perhaps I am....it keeps me young I
suppose.
The song was originally recorded by The Trammps in 1976 and released as a single. It was inspired by a scene in the 1974 blockbuster film The Towering Inferno in which a discotheque is caught in the blaze. According to Tom Moulton, who mixed the record, the Dolbynoise reduction
had been set incorrectly during the mixdown of the tracks. When
engineer Jay Mark discovered the error and corrected it, the mix had a
much wider dynamic range than was common at the time. Due to this, the
record seems to "jump out" at the listener. With "Starvin'" and "Body
Contact Contract", it topped the U.S. Disco chart for six weeks in the late winter of 1977. On the other US charts, "Disco Inferno" hit number nine on the Black
Singles chart, but it was not initially a significant success at pop
radio, peaking at number fifty-three on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Disco Inferno" gained much greater recognition once it was included on the soundtrack to the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever, this time in extended form, running nearly 11 minutes. Re-released by Atlantic Records,
the track peaked at number eleven in the U.S. during the spring of
1978, becoming The Trammps' biggest and most-recognized single. Later,
it was included in the Saturday Night Fever musical, interpreted by the 'DJ Monty' in the "Odissey 2001" discothèque.
The song also became an unofficial theme song for former New York YankeesoutfielderBernie Williams.
It was often played at old Yankee Stadium while the scoreboard and
video systems displayed the phrase "Bern Baby Bern", a play on the
song's refrain and Williams' first name.
In 1996, "Disco Inferno" was included on the soundtrack to the cult comedy film Kingpin and featured in two pivotal scenes in which Roy Munson (played by Woody Harrelson) confidently strolls into a bowling alley. The song was also used in the trailer to the Adam Sandler comedy Bedtime Stories. In 2006, the extended version was featured on a remastered version of the Ghostbusters soundtrack.
On September 19, 2005, "Disco Inferno" was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame
Looks like "KC" of the KC and the Sunshine band on keyboards
Anthony Scalia, one of the most conservative Justices, and the biggest thorn in the side of the Obama Regime has passed one. He was known as a strict constitutionalists and repeatedly wrote the dissenting opinion against the latest government overreach. He was known as a critic of Obunglercare and fervently believed in the Constitution and what it meant as the founders had in mind rather than the "living document" that the liberals tried to push to justify the latest scheme to strip the people of autonomy and increase the power of the Federal Government. The Democrats are already pushing for a replacement and they don't want to wait until the election. They know that Obungler will immediately fill the spot with a far left liberal judge and skew the balance of power in the Supreme court. I remember when a liberal Judge passes on, they insist on a person with the same viewpoint and political leanings. But with a conservative judge...Obama will try to replace him with a liberal. Remember obama only has a spine when fighting the GOP. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia...He will be missed by the conservative movement.
On a different note, my replacement for my disgruntled veterans Ranger showed up...I drove to South Carolina to look at the truck from a Ford Dealership. I considered the price I paid a good price, for the trucks here in Atlanta were more expensive and had more mileage.
There are a few cosmetic things that I need to fix, but mechanically the truck seems solid. I am glad to have an F150 again. The last one I owned was my 1991 I bought in 1991 and sold it in 2001 when I got my Sport Trac.
This is my pithy thought on the just completed NH primary....On the Democrat side, Bernie beat the crap out of Hillary....but due to vague DNC rules and the coin tosses in Iowa...She won....Funny background on that one...the Head of the DNC in Iowa is a rabid Hillary supporter whom has contributed thousands of dollars to her campaign and fronted several committee's to help Hillary get elected....And they use a coin toss...6 of them and Hillary won each one...and gets all the delegates....And they come to New Hampshire and Bernie beats her like a kettle drum and again due to the vague rules of the DNC, She gets the same amount of delegates that he has......Somehow if this don't show the fix is in for the establishment candidate...nothing else will..Now we are in New Hampshire and several icons of feminism tell the women present that " if you don't support a fellow women...there is a special hell for you....". Funny where were these people when Bill was running amok and the women that complained got crushed by the Clinton machine...and the feminist were silent......funny how that worked.
Now on the GOP side...The Trump won New Hampshire, and Kasich came in second and Cruz and Rubio were dueling for 3rd. Jeb Bush was a footnote and Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina and Chris Christie were marginal at best. All this shows is that the this is the most anti-establishment election since the mid 70's. I like all of them except Jeb, to me Jeb screams "Establishment". If Jeb gets the nomination and Hillary gets the nomination from her party....You will see a lot of people sitting out this election and the anger of the population will get worse......
For Starters, my apologies for the delay in posting. I try to post something every couple of days, it has been hectic here, from the aftermath of the funeral to my immediately diving back into my work. I was unable to post anything. I have been following the political process but I am suffering burnout on it, that is why I havn't posted anything political lately. I am amazed that Hillary is still campaigning after her email debacles....I really guess the rules are for the" little people".
All I know is that if me, Old NFO, DaddyBear and many others have done what she has done....we would be guest at Leavenworth Confinement barracks. It could be worse...we could wound up like Vince Foster. Google that one...if you don't remember.
On a different Note, Today is an auspicious Day, today 13 years ago, I got the best title an honorable man can have...that is "Dad". My son is turned 13, who would have thought that this little 7 week preeme that would "squeak" when I talked to him would turn into this strapping 13 year old kid. I am proud of the boy he is and proud of the trail of an honorable man he is traveling on.
I was driving home and this song came on my XM Sirius and I remembered the song, it came out in 1983, I heard the song on the radio a lot but for some reason I missed the video on MTV. It was a bit of a haunting song talking about time passing you by and the missed opportunities. Pretty heady stuff for a 17 year old back to listen to.
"Suddenly Last Summer" is a hit song by new wave band The Motels. It was the lead-off 45 from their RIAAGold-certified fourth album Little Robbers. The single entered the Billboard Hot 100 at #60 on September 3, 1983 and peaked at #9 on November 19, 1983.
"Suddenly Last Summer" peaked at number 18 on the Adult Contemporary chart and hit #1 on the U.S. BillboardTop Tracks
chart, the only instance of a Motels song topping any US music chart.
Two bootleg dance versions have been made of the song, one with a
techno-like dance beat and another with a semi-tropical beat.
Lead singer Martha Davis
has said in various radio interviews that she wrote the song while
reflecting on her life and "how you know summer is ending when you hear
the ice cream truck go by for the last time and you know he won't be
back for a while". An ice cream truck appears throughout the music video (directed by Val Garay, the single's producer), which also features one of Davis' daughters (presumably Maria) and actor Robert Carradine as Davis' love interest. The single began climbing the Hot 100 as that summer turned to fall.
Tennessee Williams, writer of the earlier same-named 1958 off-Broadway one-act play, died in February 1983, the same month The Motels returned to the studio to record Little Robbers.
The song was included on the 1990 compilation album, No Vacancy: Best of the Motels.
The B-side of the 7" single was "Some Things Never Change." The song has appeared on the soundtrack of the TV show Breaking Bad
For those who follow my little corner of the internet know that I am working a LOT of overtime and I figure I would post some pictures of what we are working on....It is actually pretty cool.
This is the plane we are working one.....It is a Boeing 757
The twin-engine, medium-range 757 was up to 80 percent more fuel
efficient than the older 727 jetliners it was designed to replace but
retained the 727’s short-field capability. The 757-200 carried up to 228
passengers and had a range of approximately 3,900 nautical miles (7222
kilometers).
The 757 and the 767 were developed concurrently, so both shared the
same technological advances in propulsion, aerodynamics, avionics and
materials. The pioneering two-crew computerized flight decks, or “glass
cockpits,” of the 757 and 767 are nearly identical, so pilots could
easily qualify to fly both.
The first 757 rolled out of the Renton, Wash., factory in 1982. On
March 29, 1991, a 757, powered by only one of its engines, took off,
circled and landed at the 11,621-foot-high (3542-meter-high) Gonggar
Airport in Tibet. The airplane performed perfectly although the airfield
was in a box canyon surrounded by peaks more than 16,400 feet (4998
meters) high.
In 1996, the company launched the 757-300. It seated up to 280
passengers and had about 10 percent lower seat-mile operating costs than
the -200. The first 757-300 was delivered in 1999. By then Boeing had
delivered more than 1,000 757s. Four 757s were modified as replacements
for the older 707-based VC-137 executive transports for government
officials and designated C-32As.
In late 2003, Boeing decided to end 757 production because the
increased capabilities of the newest 737s and the new 787 fulfilled the
757 market’s needs. On Nov. 28, 2005, Boeing concluded the remarkable
23-year run of the 757 passenger airplane by delivering the final one to
Shanghai Airlines. The airplane was the 1,050th Boeing 757.
We are doing interior upgrades to the airplanes in our fleet. My employer charges a premium for the customer experience, the upgraded seats, WiFi and many creature comforts. The airplanes we are modernizing were to be tacky....stripped...they had seats in them...and that was it..The plane is a very good plane but the other company had different ideas on passenger aminities..the WiFi was added later after the merger. The version of the airplanes we are working on were originally "red tails". The Boeing's that are originally on our fleet are called "blue Tails". Those airplanes have more amenities for the airplane travelers. They have monitors in the headrest interactive games and movie selections and recharging ports for electronic devices and many other stuff that the legacy "red tails" don't. This is that the seats look like right after they are removed from the airplane
old seats...
We then start removing the seats, then we start removing the old over head bins..they are easier to remove once the seats are out of the airplane.
We have already removed the overhead ceilings, we will start removing the PSU's "Passenger Service Units" this has the flight attendant call button, the reading light and the emergency O2 masks. The ductwork that you see in the ceiling will be removed, cleaned, and reconfigured for the new mod.
We have removed the seats, the overhead bins, the ductworks and we have started the metal fabrications and antenna movement and installation for the WiFi and all the wiring for the electronics and passenger interactive games and videos and other stuff.
The sidewall panels are installed, the overhead bins are installed, we are starting to install the ductworks, the antenna for the WiFi is installed, the seats will be going in, the galleys and Lavatories are already installed.
This was the view from the back of the airplane, we have installed the ductworks and fixing to install the overhead ceilings. You can see the Lavatories. They use a LCD lighting or mood lighting.
, the carpets are installed.
You can see the huge difference in the interior modifications, this takes us about 45 days give or take to do the mods, this includes moving the mid lav from the left side to the right side. This is where my overtime comes from$$ The airplane gets a huge facelift and the customer gets the experience that they pay for. We call this stuff "arts and crafts" We make jokes about it but it is neat to see and it is considered a capital improvement and a benefit to our customers and us, it gives us long term job security as long as my employer remains ahead of the rest of the airlines, we will be the preferred carrier for the discerning customer who won't mind paying the extra coins for the extra amenities.
This was an eventful week. My mother in law went into the hospital for complications relating to her first round of chemo and 36 hours later had crossed over. It was real sudden, she was in good health before the chemo. She was an advocate for the deaf community and was loved and respected by all that knew her. I enjoyed her company and she was a classy lady, there was a running joke with the spousal unit and myself. She would tell other people " If he and I divorce, my mom would take his side." I wrote the obituary since I have a modicum of talent in writing and having the ability to turn a phrase, and was amazed by what she had accomplished. She had bridged the deaf and hearing worlds and was respected by all.
Also today was a bit bittersweet, I sold my little black Ranger, my "Disgruntled Veterans" truck that I used for many camping trips and other adventures. I loved that little truck and she was a good truck, but I needed a bigger truck. So I will use my $$$ from the sale plus my bonus and buy a newer F150. Still I wish the little truck well on her new journey.
" Soo long and thanks for the Adventures...."
Leaving my driveway for the last time....
I decided to roll 2 songs, both bracketed my favorite decade the 80's. First off was "Rubber Biscuit" that the Blues Brothers sang...I loved the movie and the movie has become a cult classic and still hilarious today. I also used Marc Cohn from the early 90's . Both are excellent songs.
"Rubber Biscuit" is a doo-wop song by The Chips, recorded in 1956. It was famously covered by The Blues Brothers (on their debut album, Briefcase Full of Blues), among many other artists as well as featuring in the 1973 film Mean Streets.
Label credit for writing the song was given to Chips lead singer
Charles Johnson and Adam R. Levy. Levy, though, was the son of label
owner Morris Levy,
who was notorious for adding either his or his son's names to
songwriting credits in order to claim partial, or in some cases all
composer royalties on songs they did not write. There is no evidence
that Morris or Adam ever wrote any songs.
Few of the lyrics can actually be understood, as they are sung in the scat manner. The scat is interrupted every few bars for short one-liners, most of which are implicit references to the singer's poverty
and the low-grade food he eats: a "wish sandwich" (where one has two
slices of bread and wishes for meat in between the slices of bread), a
"ricochet biscuit" (which is supposed to bounce off the wall and into
one's mouth, and when it doesn't, "you go hungry"), a "cold-water
sandwich" (or a "cool-water sandwich") and a "Sunday-go-to-meeting-bun". The song closes with the question "What do you want for nothing? A rubber biscuit?"
"Rubber Biscuit" became the theme tune to Jimmy's Food Factory, a programme about supermarket's food tricks on BBC One. It is The Chips' version that is played at the beginning and end of each show. It was also featured in the 1990 John Waters film, Cry-Baby.
The Chips were teenage friends in New York: Charles Johnson (lead
vocal), Nathaniel Epps (baritone), Paul Fulton (bass), Sammy Strain and
Shedrick Lincoln (tenors). "Rubber Biscuit" started life as Johnson's
answer to the marching rhythms of the Warwick School For Delinquent
Teenagers while he was an intern there.
When Josie Records
heard the tune they signed the group and the record was issued in
September 1956. Although it did not chart, "Rubber Biscuit" became an
instant east coast radio favourite, and saw its performers touring
alongside The Dells, The Cadillacs and Bo Diddley,
but the momentum gained by their debut single was waning and the group
broke up at the end of 1957. Only Sammy Strain went on to success in the
music industry, as a member of Little Anthony & The Imperials from about 1961 to 1972, when he left to join The O'Jays. Strain left the O'Jays in 1992 to return to The Imperials, where he remained until his retirement in 2004.
Marc Cohn was inspired to write "Walking in Memphis" by a 1985 visit to the Memphis, Tennessee area: he was then based in New York City working as a session singer
while pursuing a recording contract - "(quote) One night while
listening to all of my demos, I came to the realization that I shouldn’t
be signed, because I didn’t have any great songs yet. My voice was good
and the demos were interesting, but the songs were only just okay. I
was 28 years old and not in love with my songs. James Taylor had written 'Fire and Rain' when he was 18, and Jackson Browne wrote 'These Days'
when he was only 17. I thought: 'I'm already ten years older than these
geniuses. It's never going to happen for me.' So it was a pretty
desperate time, and I went to Memphis with that struggle at the
forefront of my mind." Cohn made his first excursion to Memphis after
reading an interview with James Taylor in which Taylor stated he
overcame writer's block
by "go[ing] somewhere I’ve never been, hoping to find some idea I
wouldn’t get just by sitting at home": Cohn emulated Taylor, choosing
Memphis as his destination - "I always knew it was a place I had to
visit because so much of my favorite music came from there. From Al Green, Ann Peebles, and everything on Hi Records, to Elvis Presley, Isaac Hayes, David Porter, and the Stax
catalog, an almost endless stream of brilliance and soul came out of
Memphis. I was aware early on that...there was something going on in
Memphis that was utterly inexplicable. It was part of what made me want
to be a musician in the first place."
Cohn recalls that on arrival in Memphis: "I did all the [expected] touristy things...I went to Graceland, and I saw Elvis Presley’s tomb and his airplanes"
- (Cohn would express misgivings after, eventually referencing Presley
in the lyrics of "Walking in Memphis": "To me, the song is so minimally
about him, but I worry that it gets cast off as another Elvis tribute.
It's a testament to the power of his name, even if you just mention it
in one verse, the song becomes about him because people focus on it.") -
"But a friend told me there were two things in particular that I had to
do, things that would forever change me. They would later become the
centerpieces of 'Walking in Memphis'. The first thing was go to the Full
Gospel Tabernacle Church on a Sunday morning to hear the Reverend Al
Green preach...I [soon] had chills running up and down my spine. The
service was so deeply moving that I found myself with sweat running down
my face and tears in my eyes, totally enveloped by everything I was
seeing and hearing. There was something incredibly powerful about Al
Green’s voice in that context. Even after three hours of continuous
singing, his voice only got stronger and his band only got better. I sat
there crying in the church, aware of the irony of how I used to cry in
Synagogue in Cleveland as a kid — but because I wanted to get the heck
out of there! Al Green’s service was one of the great experiences of my
life."
