The Thanksgiving table groans under heaps of food, more elbows resting on it than it ever before, and the weight of heavy conversation catching up on the last year.  The holiday scene painted in the minds of every American plays out differently for each family.  Some open with the Baruch, some the Lord’s Prayer, and others with a call away from the Lions game.  The expression is the same but the words and actions are different.

This is not only Thanksgiving, it is what the USofA is all about.  The story of how we came to be such a people cannot be told often enough.  It is a story of deliverance away from terror to a tough land that, in the end, always provides.

Continue reading →

What we know about our past is often heavily filtered through something like “conventional wisdom”. Certain “great men” are raised up as heroes while others are confined to the footnotes of history. The names that we hear often get credit for far more than they deserve as they ossify into myths, people who are bigger than life. That’s been changing lately as we study history as the actions of people who were simply doing their best. It’s especially evident in the growing body of performances of ancient music that showcase “minor” composers – those who made up the scene that made it all happen.

Continue reading →