A High Note about Glenn Miller

 " A band ought to have a sound all of its own. It ought to have a personality. "

 

- Glenn Miller

 

 

What a perfect way to describe Glenn Miller's big band.  His toe-tapping tunes make it easy to get "in the mood," whether I'm listening to them on my Crosley turntable or enjoying the irony of 1940's music on my Ipod Nano.  I'm sure nothing, though, could compare to having heard them in person.  Next month, the Glenn Miller Orchestra will be performing in my hometown at the Chandler Center for the Arts in Arizona.  Perhaps they'll be coming to your town soon.  Click here for their complete tour schedule.

Here's a neat fact straight from the official Glenn Miller website where I found the above quote:
 "While picking the 45 members of his Army Air Force Band, Miller rejected Henry Mancini, a 19-year-old piano player. Ten years later, Mancini wrote the title theme and arranged the music for the film The Glenn Miller Story."

Which is, by the way, a terrific movie, albeit with a very sad ending.  What's your favorite Glenn Miller song?

* Photo Credit: public domain

Fun at the Rink

I wanted to share with you some photos of a recent family outing.  My Mom, Dad, one of my sisters, and I went to a roller rink last Wednesday.  That had been one of my birthday requests a couple months ago.  You see, I've been dying to try out the vintage roller skates my sisters gave me for my birthday a few years back.  Stumbling about in the house isn't quite the same as the freedom of a roller rink.  So off we went, me with my grandiose dreams of simply skating along - never having really roller-skated, mind you.

Arriving at the Austin Sport's Arena (ironically located in Round Rock), I was excited.  We handed in our Groupon, and I headed to the bench to lace up my skates.  Then it was time to try them out.  Did you know rollerblading is much different than roller-skating?  Boy, if I'd had my rollerblades on that day, I would've been whizzing around that floor with the rest of them.  But I was determined to use my beautiful white skates and sail along the old-fashioned way.

Graceful? No...this is me almost falling.

Being old-fashioned hurts, if you're not used to it.  That is the reason I'm the only one in the family who left the arena with a skinned knee and what felt like sprained wrists.  However, I accomplished something last week.  I learned to roller-skate; and once I stopped falling, it was actually fun.  No, I didn't look cool the whole time, but at least I was retro.  And that, of course, is very cool.

My sis, Autumn

Here's what made the rest of my day just as special as when Autumn (my younger sister) pulled me around the entire rink at lightning speed (can you say 'awesome'?!)  We ate a late lunch at Steak and Shake, a cute diner-like place where my thirst was quenched by, you guessed it, Coca Cola.  This was followed by a short trip to Joann's, a dangerous place to be when you have a gift card and an enormous addiction to vintage sewing patterns and fluffy dresses.

This artery-hardener was called "Oktoberfest."

So you see, I had a nice time on Wednesday.  I'll refrain from boring you with an explanation of how terribly sore I was the rest of the week.  If you could try an activity from yesteryear, what would it be?

Here's some more pictures:

My lovely mother, Valerie.

My terrific Dad, John.

Ah, yes. Coke after a day at the roller rink.

By the way, these neato pics were made possible through the magic of PicMonkey.  Try it out sometime!

A Peep Through the Keyhole

In light of the upcoming November elections, here's a quote for us to ponder:

" The fundamental basis for this nation’s laws was given to Moses on the Mount. The fundamental basis of our Bill of Rights comes from the teachings we get from Exodus and St. Matthew, from Isaiah and St. Paul. I don’t think we emphasize that enough these days. If we don’t have a proper fundamental moral background, we will finally end up with a totalitarian government which does not believe in rights for anybody except the State. "

- Harry S. Truman 

(1884-1972), 33rd President of the United States

(Ooops...my colors are showing!)

Quote Credit 
(Scroll down the link's page a bit to find Truman's quote along with a short biography.)

Tradition of the Month - Voting

I'm a couple days late for this August post, but it's so hot outside, who'd know it was September? As you just read, I have a very unlikely tradition to present. Since there is no official holiday during this month, I stole a tradition from November because it coincides with an important August anniversary. Besides, November gets Thanksgiving, so can't we share? Anyhow, with not a day in August to spare, on with the facts.

Suffragettes

For all you Americans out there, it nearly feels like November, save for the weather. Politics are in the air as debate ensues between the right and the left, the red and the blue, the elephant and the donkey. Animals and favorite colors aside, I am particularly excited to cast my first ballot in a presidential election. Since I am a woman, I owe this right, this privilege, to a monumental vote that occurred on August 26, 1920. This marks the anniversary of the 19th Amendment, when women were granted the right to vote.

Voting might not seem like a tradition, but Americans and thousands of others around the world have been doing it for hundreds of years. Let's celebrate with a bit of very inspiring "trivia".

The Power of One...

1645 - One vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England.

1776 - One vote gave America the English language instead of German.

1885 - One vote brought Texas into the Union.

1868 - One vote saved President Andrew Jackson from impeachment.

1875 - One vote changed France from a monarchy to a republic.

1876 - One vote gave Rutherford B. Hayes the Presidency of the United States of America.

1923 - One vote gave Adolf Hitler leadership of the Nazi Party.

1941 - One vote saved the Selective Service - just weeks before Pearl Harbor was attacked.

Some of you may have heard these amazing stories before. Too bad they're all false. Yup, snopes.com has debunked them all. [click here if you think I'm kidding]. I thought it better to break the news to you gently, after you'd already sat back in your chair, mentally determining to vote at every single election from now on. My opinion matters! you ponder. Hopefully I caught you before you tried to impress or inspire one of your friends. Unfortunately for me, I had already shared some of these great facts with my sister, Autumn, who was cleverly doubtful.

While the purpose of The Revival Chronicles is to share those historical zingers we all love, I am happy to utilize it as a means to save some poor unsuspecting soul from embarrassment. The truth remains that your voice and your vote do count. As an American, and a woman, I am blessed to be able to employ this privilege. Will you?

Still not convinced?  Here's some more sources on -

German Language Myth:

snopes.com

german.about.com

us-english.org

Oliver Cromwell Myth, France Myth, Adolf Hitler Myth, & Selective Service Myth:

poetpatriot.com

Rutherford B. Hayes Myth (they say he won by 1 electoral vote/900 votes):

rbhayes.org

learning.blogs.nytimes.com

sheppardsoftware.com

Texas Myth and Andrew Jackson:

I couldn't find anything to confirm Snopes' argument on these two matters.  I did, however, discover this, which would seem to prove that one vote is the reason I can today call myself a Texan.

Photo Credit 1

Photo Credit 2