Old tune, Aretha-style
We read in the Feb. 6 Boston Globe that Aretha Franklin sang “America” (“My Country ’tis of Thee”) at President Obama’s Inauguration Jan. 20. She will record it again, as she doesn’t feel that she did her best, because of the cold weather that day. She wants her fans to have the best possible version and it will be released soon.
She’s a famous singer with a great voice. My only objection is that our national songs are not sung exactly as they were printed, by the musician who wrote them. Why not? For instance, when a song is written in the key of C, and ends on a low C, why do the singers have to slide up an octave or two, slurring their voices to get there? I want to hear them the way we learned them, in our music classes when we were young.
Mouse meal
In one of my columns I wrote about one of my favorite poems, “The Children’s Hour,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I’ve memorized it and often recite it to myself at bedtime, to help me sleep.
In my column, I mentioned finding more information on the Bishop of Bingen, whom Longfellow mentioned as “in his mouse tower on the Rhine.”
In the Webster’s International Dictionary, under “Mouse Tower,” it says, “In German legend, the tower on an island in the Rhine, near Bingen, in which Hatto was eaten by mice. See Hatto.” And under “Hatto,” “An archbishop of Mainz, in the 10th century. In German legend, he was, for his hardheartedness to the poor, in time of famine, eaten by mice or rats.”
Now I want to read more about this German legend.
Longshoremen lesson
The Westbrook Historical Society will have a special non-business meeting Saturday, Feb. 21, at 1:30 p.m. at their Dunn Street headquarters, to hear Dr. Michael Connolly speak on “Irish Longshoremen.”
Kettle Cove sightings
Joan Ashley called me last week to report that she had seen brants again at Cape Elizabeth’s Kettle Cove, but this time a large flock of 15. They were on the grassy point beside the beach, but when she approached them, they flew back to the water. The next day her brother saw a harp seal there at the cove. They’re an Arctic species, our Britannica says, spending their lives at sea, only rarely resting on floating sea ice.
A pretty affair
On Valentine’s Day, Saturday, Feb. 14, from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Friends of the Walker Library put on a tea, titled “We Love Our Library Tea.” It was a very pretty and tasty party, with platters of homemade sweets, including brownies, cupcakes, with both white and pink icing, bars with nuts and raisins, and one platter with Rice Krispies cereal bars.
Officers and committee members of the Friends of the Library present were President Sondra Taylor, Vice President Evelyn Orman, Gabrielle Cote, Barbara Henry, Diane Cote, Judy Getchell and Pat Larrabee.
I was pleased to see and chat with Pat Larrabee, former children’s librarian at the Walker Library. She is now librarian at the Maine Charitable Mechanic Association Library, which is on Congress Street in Portland. She had baked shortbread bars, one of the treats at the tea. I admired her earrings, which she said she could only wear once a year, on Valentine’s Day. They are tiny gold earrings, heart-shaped, and decorated with little red stones – rubies, I guessed. I’d be tempted to wear them more often.
Also on the refreshment tables were dishes of chocolate candies. The tables were decorated with paper cloths and napkins, both with heart designs. It was a very pretty affair.
The Walker Memorial Library is my favorite building in Westbrook. In fact, it’s the most handsome building in the area. It was erected in 1894, and has been added onto in recent years. It was designed by the famous Portland architect Frederick Thompson.
The Friends of the Library help out at library events and organize and run a big annual book sale at the library in October. Among other good works, they also give an annual scholarship to a Westbrook High School graduate to pay for college books.
They’re sponsoring a book talk at the library at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 21. Westbrook police Lt. Michael Nugent, one of the co-authors, will speak about “One Continuous Flight,” a Civil War history about the retreat from Gettysburg and the pursuit of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.
Nugent is a retired Army armored cavalry officer and a descendant of a Civil War cavalry officer.
Berry fine
BLACKBERRY JELLO DESSERT
1 3-ounce box blackberry Jello
1?2 3-ounce box lemon Jello
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons sugar
1 can blueberry pie filling
A?3?4 cup hot water
A?3?4 cup cold water
Cool Whip or whipped cream
Dissolve blackberry and lemon Jello in dish or pan with the hot water. Add the cold water and stir. Add lemon juice, sugar and pie filling; stir. Chill in refrigerator until set. Serve with Cool Whip or whipped cream.
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