Kumbaya

Kumbaya...do you remember that word?

Of course I remember singing the old song.  We sang it quietly and spiritually.  And I was always told it meant "come by here".  And when we sang it like this: "kumbaya my Lord ",  it asked the Lord to come by and stand beside us.  It was in our girl scout book and was sung around the campfire.

This song was an old African-American song to depict spiritual closeness to the Lord.

But, now it seems to mean something a little different.  The urban social clickers are using it in a way to mean coming together peacefully.  Sure it's close but when it's used on twitter and other social networks it's not being used in the same spiritual way as it was originally meant.  Kumbaya has been robbed!

At times, we all need to call upon the Lord for a bit of spiritual renewal and it sure wouldn't hurt to quietly sing the song of old or at least hum it beneath your breath.  Spiritual guidance or renewal can do a soul so much good.

If you see Kumbaya used on Twitter or another social network and not being sung for spiritual renewal or closeness, think about how glad you are that you were raised during the baby boomer time when everyone knew this song and sung it the way it should be sung.  Quietly, with a bit of a plea to the Lord for a bit of help....

Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Kum bay ya, my Lord, kum bay ya,
O Lord, kum bay ya.

Someone's laughing, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Someone's laughing, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Someone's laughing, my Lord, kum bay ya,
O Lord, kum bay ya.

Someone's crying, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Someone's crying, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Someone's crying, my Lord, kum bay ya,
O Lord, kum bay ya.

Someone's praying, Lord, kum bay ya;
Someone's praying, Lord, kum bay ya;
Someone's praying, Lord, kum bay ya,
O Lord, kum bay ya.

Someone's singing, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Someone's singing, my Lord, kum bay ya;
Someone's singing, my Lord, kum bay ya,
O Lord, kum bay ya.

Don't think I need to say more.......


New Acquisition

I recently was able to purchase a 1950's matchbook straight from Smitty's tavern.  It's in very good shape, is foil colored and hard to photograph so my picture is not so good.  I was so glad to find this.  Hope you enjoy this picture!!!   (I hope you will be able to click on it to get an enlarged view - most photos you can, but some don't enlarge)

I remember going into Smitty's with my dad.   It was owned by Luther Schmidt and his very nice wife Mildred.  Mildred was a very thin lady who was very quiet but so friendly.   The tavern always smelled like beer.  As a kid,  I always wondered if they scrubbed the floor with beer in the mop bucket.  Most of the time the front would have 4 or 5 men sitting on the stools.  But the back part remained dark and dank.  But if I remember right, there were bar stools back there too.  I hated to have to walk back there to go to the restroom.  There was a piece of wood lattice with a doorway which kind of separated the two parts of the tavern.  I would creep up to that and scan the back to make sure no boogie men were hiding there in the dark. 

I'm not sure but I seem to remember a shuffle board in this tavern, but I could be wrong.  It's been many years.  Then I remember  Paul Kincaid taking over the business but, I remember my dad telling me that Smitty's wife still owned the building.

Then came the day in 1963, on May 2, while I was at the high school auditioning for a high school cheerleader position, a fire broke out in the locker plant next door, and to the south of Smitty's old place (now Paul Kincaid's).  Mr. Arnold Berg, the local welder was dismantling the locker's freezing units when fire erupted.  This fire resulted in a huge fire, burning the old Propst Opera House which housed K & K Market ( the old skating rink upstairs) and the locker plant and Smitty's/Kincaid's tavern and apartments upstairs.  The Opera House was built in 1910.  Firemen from Greenview, Middletown, Athens, and Mason City worked hard just to save the remaining buildings in town.  My sister had a movie camera and filmed a very very short segment of the fire.  She had that converted to a VHS tape and I still have that.  I really need to get that converted to a DVD and will do that soon. 

Fond memories of Smitty's tavern will always remain with me.  I particularly liked the days when it was so hot outside and my dad needed a cold beer to cool off his insides.  It was always many degrees cooler in Smitty's than it was outside.  How refreshing and I could even ignore the rather dank smells as long as I got a cold bottle of coke to hold in my hot and sweating hands. 

Those were the days.  Gone but not forgotten.


Quote For The Day

The memories of men are too frail a thread

to hang history from.

 

--John Still 

 

Costume party that's called the Small Town Trash Party....not here....but somewhere near.  I want to go as the trailer park humor queen.  But not sure if I have enough cars up on blocks in the yard to go as that queen of bling.

 

At these adult costume trash parties, I find it best to go trashy like the name of the party.  The more trashier the better.  Wear bright red lipstick (no one wears that red colored crap any longer) and be sure to paint rouge (no one even remembers what rouge is these days).  And, spike high heels and hope the heck I don't fall off my spikes.

 

Oh and the hair has to be teased into a bee hive which stands about 8 inches tall and sprayed until "the hive" won't move even if you stood in front of a hurricane.  And, of course, there's need for a proper tattoo on an arm and on the peaking power of the bosoms.  Just a small rose will do....and yes, if you don't want to go out and get a real one, you can use a fake one...or even get out the "sharpie" pen and draw one on.

 

If you're going to the Trashy Costume party, you have to take a potluck dish.  How about Spam bites.  Or maybe carp nuggets, fried crisply and don't forget to score the bones.  I bet no one would think to bring this town's favorite, french fried Rocky Mountain Oysters.  The men in this town always loved these, but now most wouldn't even know what the heck these are.  And finally another potluck dish suggestion is to take a bottle of Boones Farm, Strawberry Hill (or maybe two bottles) and a stack of paper cups.  A true trash party addition to a fine evening.

 

Hope you can make the costume party..... Coming to a location near you.  Come as you are, no one will even care!  See you soon!

 

 





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Happy Halloween!

 

 

 

 

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