The Merry Minuet

I had not heard the song in years. 

When I work in the kitchen cooking, cleaning, or sometimes just sippin coffee, instead of listening to the TV drone on with a Bonanza re-run or some newscaster, I will punch up Youtube's video and music channel. The other day I pumped up an hour long YouTube music compilation with songs from the Vietnam era. "The Eve of Destruction" came on at about minute 45 into it. 

The first thing I thought of was my sorry self standing at a podium in the Academic Building 53 years ago suffering a mandatory Senior moment of embarrassment in front of all the cadets at Charlotte Hall Military Academy. In order for all seniors to get their diplomas, we had to solo at a podium in the assembly hall and give an oral dissertation, speech, some kind of talk. We were told our brief oral humiliations could be a poem, an essay, but absolutely no song lyrics. .........

Okay. The "Eve of Destruction" by Barry McGuire was a definite no-go. It was so current and topical, even our grandmas had heard of it. Because I was intent on continuing my "do as little as possible my senior year, I just wanted it over" program, I figured to apply minimal time and energy to punching this obligation off my senior year bucket list. I had also decided that since song lyrics were not acceptable, then I would go ahead and use a song lyric, picking a song with strong anti-war messaging. They could kiss my ass.

I tried to think of song lyrics that would fit, yet a tune no one would notice. I finally remembered a song on one of my Kingston Trio albums that sat at home in Maine not being played and had not been played for awhile. I was well past Kingston Trio in my expanding quiver of music genres. As a child, I would play a tune I liked so much, I often wore the record out; or at least that section of the record. A song I remembered wearing out was "The Merry Minuet" from the 1959 Kingston Trio album "From the Hungri I". It is a cheery, happy tune with a very dark message.

The day of the oral presentations came and I was ready. Since I could not give credit to a musical group, I made up a false name as the author of this "poem". I cannot remember what that name was, but it certainly was not Sheldon Harnick, who I just found out moments ago was the man who wrote it. 

When I sat down in the school hall and waited my turn on the stage, I sat down cocky and sure I was going to nail it. Several of the seniors ahead of me lost their cool once they had to open their mouths and speak in front of 200 plus kids in uniforms. Some slurred, some paused at the wrong inflection points, and some mumbled and stumbled their way through the ordeal. Most of the seniors did fine, but I could only remember the screw ups and by the time it was my turn, I was sure I was going to blow it.

My turn came and I stepped up to the podium  and ........... My memory of that public torment ends there. I cannot remember the moments of actually giving the speech. I assume I did at least as well as the other guys. I do not remember hoots and hollers and definitely no one gave me a standing ovation. And finally, I was not snagged for breaking the rules by using song lyrics. At that point in my life, there was not much that gave me more pleasure than successfully breaking the rules, no matter how trivial.

I actually started this post over ten years ago and then deserted it to the Draft Bag. I had pasted the image at the top and a first paragraph or two. There was enough down that allowed me to expand it, but not enough there to know my original intent for starting it.

So, it appears I had no point here today other than just a straight forward memory with no message along for the ride. 

Okay ........... I guess there does not have to be a message every time.

_____________________________

There are three antiwar songs from my formative years I figured helped me form the basis of my life long hatred of  War and everything associated with it. I fucking hate war. 

Today we have a "Three-fer";

"The Merry Minuet" - Kingston Trio
"The Eve of Destruction" - Barry McGuire
"I Feel Like I'm Fixin to Die Rag" - Country Joe and the Fish