True Song of Orchidea

True Song of Orchidea

Verses:

1. Drip, drip, drip, drip.Drip, drip, drip, drip.

2.Rain, rain, rain, rain.Rain, rain, rain, rain.

3.Splat, splat, splat, splat.Splat, splat, splat, splat.

4.Swish, swish, swish, swish.Swish, swish, swish, swish.

5.Shhhhhhh…

6.Swish, swish, swish, swish.Swish, swish, swish, swish.

7.Splat, splat, splat, splat.Splat, splat, splat, splat.

8.Rain, rain, rain, rain.Rain, rain, rain, rain.

9.Drip, drip, drip, drip.Drip, drip, drip, drip.

Divide participants into four groups A, B, C, and D.Start out slowly and make sure the pace does not quicken.Proceed as follows:

Round One

A verse 1

B, C, D silent

Round Two

A verse 2

B verse 1

C, D silent

Round Three

A verse 3

B verse 2

C verse 1

D silent

Round Four

A verse 4

B verse 3

C verse 2

D verse 1

Round Five

A verse 5

B verse 4

C verse 3

D verse 2

Round Six

A verse 5

B verse 5

C verse 4

D verse 3

Round Seven

A verse 5

B verse 5

C verse 5

D verse 4

Round Eight

A verse 5

B verse 5

C verse 5

D verse 5

Round Nine

A verse 4

B verse 5

C verse 5

D verse 5

Round Ten

A verse 3

B verse 4

C verse 5

D verse 5

Round Eleven

A verse 2

B verse 3

C verse 4

D verse 5

Round Twelve

A verse 1

B verse 2

C verse 3

D verse 4

Round Thirteem

A verse 1

B verse 1

C verse 2

D verse 3

Round Fourteen

A verse 1

B verse 1

C verse 1

D verse 2

Round Fifteen

A verse 1

B verse 1

C verse 1

D verse 1

Songs and Stories from A Filker’s Companion to Bedina’s War

NewPhee

The Field of Honor has no room for charity given or received.New Phoenix


Scriptures from A Filker’s Companion to Bedina’s War

Check-Mate

by Evelyn Rainey
(When I wrote this poem, it started me thinking about the Erinyes and how someone might use chess as a means for divination. Years later, I wove the Erinyes into Bedina's War.)

Death

Is only a game

Between Angels and Demons,

With Mortals as their pawns,

Time as their Queens,

And Eternity as their Kings.

Water of Beginnings. Blue of Night. Winter of Time. West of the World. Cup to Bear Life.

http://Evelyn-Rainey.com/Minna_Pegeen.html

Twinkle Star

To the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

ANYTHING can be filked to this tune!!

Songs and Stories from A Filker’s Companion to Bedina’s War

Alliance

One Earth, One Mother, One Family.Alliance (Lityerses Bedina)


Scriptures from A Filker’s Companion to Bedina’s War

It sounds like you will buy my goat if I pay you for it.

http://Evelyn-Rainey.com/Minna_Pegeen.html

Travelers Awakening

Travelers Awakening

Spoken in 4/4 time.Each line below should be counted as 1,2,3,4.Can be done as a round.

Part 1

Jinga jinga jinga jinga

woop woop woop! (rest)

Part 2

Be-diddly be-diddly

beep beep beep! (rest)

Part 3

Woomba woom (rest)

woomba woom! (rest)

Part 4

Auuuuuuu. Aaaaaaaa.

Ooooooo.Auuuuu.

Songs and Stories from A Filker’s Companion to Bedina’s War

Review – Facing the Wall

Overview
In the book Facing the Wall An Infantryman’s Post-Vietnam Memoir
Phil Ferrazano speaks from the heart about the honor and terror and hope and tragedy he experienced as a wounded soldier during his tour as an infantryman and – more harrowing somehow – his next thirty years battling the VA as a disabled Vietnam Veteran and his own post-traumatic stress disorder.

Praise
Facing the Wall was so well-written that I found myself thinking of the author as a friend, one whom I’ve known for forever. His words ring with honesty and emotional truth. I found myself sobbing by the fourth page, and cheering for all veterans as I read the speech the author delivered at his high school reunion. Facing the Wall takes the reader along the path from despair to hope and rebirth; the turning point was the fact that the author (and vicariously, the reader) must face "the wall" (Death of his friends, fellow soldiers, and his own youth as personified by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial).

Phil Ferrazano used what he had learned and wrote songs about these experiences. The songs are available in a CD on the author’s website.

I have a hard time dealing with someone who wallows in their own despair. Phil Ferrazano never wallowed. He shared all the myriad ranges of emotions, from anger and frustration and betrayal through love and hope and forgiveness. Forgiveness was big in this book. He paints survivor’s guilt and suicide and conscientious objectors and crumpled careers and divorces with the flowing stroke of a brush filled with understanding and compassion. He takes what he learned and passes it on to others around him, through his music and his words. I can’t help but be reminded of the last stanza of the poem by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) In Flanders’ Field:
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

In his own way, Phil Ferrazano took up the quarrel which Vietnam Veterans in particular have to face every day. By writing this book, by creating his website, by performing his songs, and by speaking out for himself and for others, he is holding high this torch. When he faced the wall, he realized he could not and would not break faith with the people whose names are on that wall.

Concerns
Take this book slowly. Get a bookmark and use it. Stop reading and put the book down and walk away for a while when the story becomes too intense. The author masterfully surges from past to present and back again, just enough to allow your emotions to crest before sliding back into safer waters. But, take this book slowly. It took me over a month to finish it. It was well-worth the time.

I wish my father had read this book. I had so many unanswered questions about my dad, until I read this book.

Conclusion
On the back of my business card is a quote from Beowulf, Each of us must look to death, and he who can should do mighty deeds before it comes. In writing this book Facing the Wall An Infantryman’s Post-Vietnam Memoir , Phil Ferrazano has done just that. Well done, and thank you.

NewPhee

Rudeness is a poisonous wound inflicted only to fester.New Phoenix


Scriptures from A Filker’s Companion to Bedina’s War

And So

by Evelyn Rainey

Dawn

With Earth her body

And the skies her wings,

The butterfly is reborn

And morning is eternal.

Dusk

With Earth her body

And the skies her cocoon,

The caterpillar gently dies.

And so

Dawn and Dusk

And so

Life and Death

Gentle darkness followed by

Eternal light.

How easy it is to pledge your soul, thought the old man, but how tormenting it can be to keep it. 

http://Evelyn-Rainey.com/Minna_Pegeen.html

My Foster Frogs

Swimming in the Shadows

Traveler's Joy

Traveler’s Joy

Spoken in 4/4 time.Each line below should be counted as 1,2,3,4.Can be done as a round.

Part 1 Alto

Choo, choo, choo. Ya!

Choo, choo, choo. Ya!

Choo, choo, choo. Ya!

Choo, choo, choo. Ya!

Part 2 Bass

Buddaba.Buddaba.

Buddaba.Buddaba.

Buddaba.Buddaba.

Buddaba.Buddaba.

Part 3 Tenor

Tweep tweep ah-ah.

Tweep tweep oh.

Tweep tweep ah-ah.

Tweep tweep oh.

Part 4 Soprano

Ha ha ha ha

Hehehehe Eip Eip!

Ha ha ha ha

Hehehehe Eip Eip!”

Songs and Stories from A Filker’s Companion to Bedina’s War

Look at all of them!

From the Battlefield to the Homefront

The battle is over. Your hero has come home from the war. But now you can’t get him out of bed. How do you help your beloved veteran cope with the transition from the battlefield to the homefront?

Psychiatrist William Glasser, MD states there is a hierarchy of needs: survival, belonging, power, freedom, and fun. Your veteran’s needs for survival are being met: he eats, sleeps and procreates. You are providing all the necessary elements to fill this need for him, as if he were an infant to be cared for rather than the man, husband, and father he used to be. You need to find a way to help him move beyond this level. Don’t expect this to happen overnight! Be patient, but be expectant and move forward.

The level beyond survival is belonging. Ask yourself: does he belong to this family, and if so, as what –a dependent or a facilitator? What else does he belong to – a church, fraternity, support group, bowling league? Look for veterans groups near your area. Don’t let him escape to chat-rooms; help him form face-to-face relationships. An online search for “veterans support groups” brought up hundreds of possible sites. Three you might find interesting are
1. Veterans Organizations and Support Groups
2. PTSDA Anonymous – Veterans Talking to Veterans
3. Veterans Helping Veterans

Newspapers, veterans magazines, web sites, churches, hobby-enthusiasts – all of these are opportunities to help him meet his need to belong.

Power. What does your veteran have control over? Think about setting expectations which he can and should rise to meet – control of his medications, of his meals, laundry and house-keeping chores, etc. Include him in the grocery shopping. Give him power over taking out the garbage and getting the mail. Eventually, he needs to take power over his finances, his career and education. If he’s not ready to become employed, encourage him to volunteer somewhere. He needs to have a say in his children’s lives. Which means, quite honestly, you are going to have to relinquish some of the power you, as a soldier’s spouse, have always had to wield.

Freedom. How ironic that fear and free share so many letters. To begin the path toward freedom, he must face the fears which imprison him. Unemployment? Survivor guilt? Autonomy after years of service? He can’t do anything about meeting his need for freedom (to become the man he wants to be) until he has begun to address the previously discussed needs. But begin talking about it. Begin listening to him as he states his desires for freedom. Help him find ways to escape from the fears which keep him sleeping his life away.

Fun. Help your veteran remember, realize, and experience the joy of life again. Incorporate a time for laughter, a joke, or a humorous moment each and every day. Survivor Guilt is one of the toughest PTSD issues for vets to overcome. Three sites you might read:
1. Treating PTSD #6 Survivor Guilt and Self-Destructive Behaviors
2. Survivor Guilt: How to Recognize it and Move Beyond it
3. Why Not Me? Dealing With Survivor Guilt in the Aftermath of a Disaster

You cannot convince your veteran that he has the right to have fun. But you can show him how to find it for himself.

You have placed yourself in this man’s life as his help-mate. As you help him rise up through his hierarchy of needs from survival to belonging to power to freedom and eventually to fun, make sure you, also, are progressing up these steps. You have needs which deserve to be met, too.

It took a lot of courage for you to marry a man who was willing to lay down his life for his country. March forward with that same courage and help your hero get out of bed and have a happy life.

Alliance

To each is given a talent.What seems as gold to one is as water to another.Alliance

Scriptures from A Filker’s Companion to Bedina’s War

Liking the Lilly Pad!

A Cluster of Branches

by Evelyn Rainey

Gray tendrils,

Laid barren by the Fall,

Swaying gently in the cruel wind,

Fake slumber and patiently wait.

Phloem and xylem stir sluggishly

As the cells drink Summer’s wages.

Naked under bitter Winter’s skies,

They give evidence of hope for Spring.

Reiterations of Nature’s design

For rivers and dendrites and split ends.

The eye knows the lonely, fragile, dying limbs;

Yet the heart sees their graceful subliminal youth.

(excerpted from Minna Pegeen)

He marveled how the candlelight danced in the recesses of her pupils.

http://Evelyn-Rainey.com/Minna_Pegeen.html

Still with Tales

Utilizing the Lattice

Sweet GandhiLab

Sweet GandhiLab

To the Tune of Beulah Land

GandhiLab, we’re headed for you.

Where our names shall be expunged.

All for naught, we lived and loved.

GandhiLab, we’re coming home.

Chorus

GandhiLab, sweet GandhiLab!GandhiLab, sweet GandhiLab!

GandhiLab, sweet GandhiLab!GandhiLab, sweet GandhiLab!

GandhiLab, we’ve kept your secrets,

And their price we now must pay.

What were we but lambs to the slaughter?

GandhiLab, we’re your Walking Dead.

Chorus

GandhiLab, sweet GandhiLab!GandhiLab, sweet GandhiLab!

GandhiLab, sweet GandhiLab!GandhiLab, sweet GandhiLab!

Songs and Stories from A Filker’s Companion to Bedina’s War

Climbing the Wall!

Commonwealth

Tinkers salt the planets with their crew. Commonwealth


Scriptures from A Filker’s Companion to Bedina’s War