Alas, I fear that not only are we (collectively) reaching the point of diminishing returns on the flog-the-flag issue, and shall probably next turn to acoustical symbols.  That is equally emotional, and I propose that instead, we individually just give ourselves a couple of Confederate Music Ratings.  One on what we think appropriate in the privacy of our own homes, and the second one in public (school) gatherings.  I suggest you decide where you fit in the following spectrum of music NOT words, but just the tune.

1 - DIXIE - Also was published well before the first shot at Ft. Sumter as 'Lincolns Grand March' --- "At Chicago they selected, Lincoln who will be elected, Abraham, Abraham, Abraham, Abraham...."  But the tune has long since lost that relationship.
2 - BONNIE BLUE FLAG
3 - THE STAR SPANGLED CROSS AND THE PURE FIELD OF WHITE (a paean to Confederate 2)
4 - GOOBER PEAS
5 - LORENA

I'm a 1 in the privacy of my own home, but recognizing the emotion of DIXIE, I'm a 2 in public performance.

Before I leave the flag, let me suggest that those of you who missed the WVPT show last night Wednesday March 10) on efforts to get back the 28th Virginia flag from the Scoundrels in Minnesota, try to catch the rerun at noon today on WVPT (Ch 51 and 42 in the Valley.)  The two gentlement from the 28th were very articulate and I suggest that some members of this forum might take lessons from them.  One of the points that they made was that the 28th drew from the Roanoke, Salem, Bedford area of the Commonwealth from whence some 75 years later, companies of the 116th Infantry, Virginia National Guard were mobilized on the eve of the US entry into WWII.  And of course 'The Boys from Bedford' (Co. "A", led the first wave ashore on Omaha Beach) were one of those, and will go down in history as 'the best of Virginia.'

VA-LIVING-HIST.  I am one of the worst when it comes to living in the (Virginia) past.  Each musical undertaking upon which I embark I back up another 50 years or so.  I've just left the 19th Virginia Heavy Arty Band of Civil War times, and am headed next for the War of 1812.   But let me make a couple of offers to atone for my sins and at the same time put some 21st century meaning on who we are as Virginians.  Both offers are related to the impressive and emotional ceremony that I attended last Thursday as the Winchester Virginia National Guard unit departed for Ft. Bragg, and maybe Iraq.  I recall as an 8-year old seeing my father and Covington's Battery "D" of the 246th Coast Arty, Virginia National Guard,  leave on the train for Ft. Story in September 1940.

#1 - Offer #1.  I shall send anybody out there a 14-minute CD .MPG movie of the departure ceremonies.  You can look at it on your computer using its Media Player (like Quicktime), or much to my pleasant surprise, you can look at it on a DVD player which is not more than a couple of months old.  I ask only that you look at it and then give it to your local school superintendent with the suggestion that ALL high-school seniors look at it, then spend a class period discussing what it means to us as Virginians today.  If after looking at it yourself, you do not want to take the second step, then send it back to me and I'll recycle it to someone who can use it.  

#2 - Offer #2.  Those of you who take the first part of step #1 will note that I have addressed one of the major problems which affects our everyday lives.  We have no background music to set the acoustical mood for our triumphs and tragedies.  Searching for something for the finale of my little movie, I came across John Phillip Sousa's 1886 march, THE RIFLE REGIMENT.  Not only is it so appropriate for the 116th Infantry Regiment, but it is out of copyright.  So...... I am willing to provide copies of the march to any of you out there who will see that it gets to your local high-school band to play (1) when the 116th comes home and (2) in concert in the meantime, to remind us of those men and the heritage of Virginia Citizen Soldiers which reaches back to the 1607 parapets of Jamestowne.

Randy Cabell
Boyce, Virginia

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