Across the border with Miami Fix - and some Irish history.

I have been meaning to write about this for some time, but I always seem to find an excuse to avoid doing so. For example, what would the band think of a blog post like this? ... and other insecurities.

It came up for me again yesterday, after reading a blog post by an excellent writer, and Facebook friend Rodak.. http://rrrrodak.blogspot.com/2012/04/reflections-on-faith-and-friendship.html  It was the reference to the shooting of innocent youngsters in a Ohio University, which jogged the memory. Only one aspect of a poignant story which he wrote on the topic of faith and friendship.

 In 1980 I was invited to take part in a video in Ardmore Studios. Agnes Bernelle, Brecht artiste and friend of my mothers, asked me to go along as they were friends of hers. I was nineteen. The story I am about to tell.was prompted by remembering, about a year ago, of the existence the following video which for me was the beginning of an unpleasant discovery.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-BxrqOCPoU

This is not a love song, as it might appear on first glance. It is a tribute to the five members of The Miami Show Band who were shot in cold blood at a faux check-point, at the then, border between the North and the South of Ireland. The Irish border was established in 1922 when Michael Collins struck a deal with the British government, settling for 26 out of the 32 counties. It didn't turn out to be a popular move on his part, and was assassinated in the same year by the Anti-Treaty IRA.

The border checks have since stopped and the British Army has finally left the country.

At the time of the making of the video, I had no idea that any of the following had happened. I was eleven in 1972 and had never watched television or read papers in the school I was attending, pretty much full time. And then I guess the story got lost over the years..

                              I discovered this book on the web after doing some research.

Stephen Travers was the base player. 

He survived by playing dead, while the gunmen walked around the area looking for survivors.

The fifth band member  who survived went to visit relatives instead of travelling back with the others. 

One of their most popular songs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGQOLZkTRXQ

More to follow.....

Spirituality

"Spirituality and the search for meaning are one and the same reality. Some of us suffer from a degree of spiritual malnutrition due to our inner life receiving inadequate attention. This is often due to the pace and noise of modern living which leaves little room for reflection and stillness, something true even for young children. Not being able to make time to reflect on what lies deepest in us can lead to apathy and even to meaningless in personal living. Living with a level of meaning that satisfies comes from discovering our inner hopes and desires. That is what spirituality, the life of the human spirit, is about."

I found this quote, as is, on a piece of A4 among my papers. There is no mention of an author or even an 'anonymous', so I cannot say where this is from.

What I do know is that it rings true.

It is: The Year of the Dragon and it is, St Georges day in England today - so...

Just to prove that not all saints hail from the land of Saints and scholars, I need to do some research into St George and his collision with The Dragon. as depicted here:

A painting by Gustav Moreau

It seems to be another classic "Knight in Shining Armour" story where the knight rescues the 'maiden-in-distress' by killing the bad guy, or climbing up her hair, or kissing her to wake her up, and so on.

Actually the dragon side of things seems more interesting as it is now be an extinct species, unless you count Komodo dragons, who reside on, the aptly named, Komodo Island.

and  St George was merely species ‘man’, which hasn’t been wiped out just yet, which is a good thing. I am a pacifist, but then wouldn’t you have killed a dragon if it had been threatening to burn you with its fiery breath. Me. I would have called the fire-brigade, but then maybe there wasn’t such a thing back in the day of ancient folk-lore.

My gripe is this. My daughter has a dragon tattoo on her hip. She was born in the year of the dragon and we see that as a good thing. So to hear about the demise of the last dragon on earth is really very tragic. George, you ain’t no Saint, in my book. But then again, I don’t know you very well.
And then there is the girl with the Dragon Tattoo, a marvellous book by all accounts and a good movie too. Though I shamefully admit I haven’t gotten round to reading the book or watching the movie, yet. But I want to, and I really will.

Back to Georges Day. I don’t know much about it, because I was too busy trying to understand the myth of Saint Patrick and The Snakes. Sounds like the name of a metal band, but as per usual, I digress.



Although to try to understand it from my perspective, as children my brother and I used to travel  to school on dark cold mornings in the Grumpy-bus, driven by The Dragon lady. Alright, now I will debunk that myth. She was grumpy, because a she had to get up on cold dark mornings to do the school run, and she was nick-named Dragon Lady because she was a chain-smoker which five year old imagination of my big brother evidently found amusing. What this has to do with St George, escapes me, but heck, Dragons are extinct now, so I am not sceared.
Thanks George, you’re a saint!

N.B.  All research into this article was not done on google or found in books, but excavated from the, alleged ‘depths’, of Fiocle’s brain.
Except this one:
“Others trace the origin of Saint George and the Dragon to Palestine, where the supposed dragon was controlled by Satan. The creature blocked the city's water supply and would only move if given a virgin sacrifice. Over time, all of the virgins were sacrificed except for the noble's daughter, and even she was sent to quench the castle's thirst. However, Saint George (or Mar Jiryis ) arrived at the last moment on his white horse, striking down the dragon with a spear between its eyes.”
I wonder was the dragon possibly the last dinosaur on earth?  A pterodactyl ?  Flying reptile.  Makes sense to me. Anyway it’s all history now, isn’t it?
Disclaimer – no dragons were harmed in the making of this blog post.  Neither were any Georges.

Cecelia the Patron Saint of Church music- and some more synchronicity

I will be attending my cousin Mary's 90th birthday celebration on Saturday at our family home.                      The last 90th birthday I attended was that of my cousin Kitty, whose second name is Cecily. It took place in the same house although I was much younger then and I had invented a type of sandwich for the occasion which I named The Snail. I doubt anyone remembers it though.

Last night, by accident I found a song sung by a Norwegian called Sissel which turns out to be a version of the name Cecilia. I discovered that St Cecelia is the patron Saint of church music. I really don't seem to be able to write in this blog these days without getting a Saint in there somewhere. But then, this is the land of Saints and Scholars after all.

There is a book coming out soon, if it hasn't already, proving that all the Saints ever, have their origins in Ireland. Maybe I got that wrong as I was told in passing and my memory can be compared to a gold-panner at times.

Sissel's birthday is on the same day as mine, which I found interesting and I had a Norwegian great-grandmother who I never knew. I have been planning to research into her geneology, as not much is known about her from before she married my great-grandfather, and he took her to back to Australia where they, I don't know, started a family, I think. 

I will finish this later...

but then I say that about everything I do, I think I will change my name to Unfinished. It has a good ring to it, don't you think?

Trauma: a series and understanding and recovery. and proof that Greece is the center of the Universe despite their current economic crisis.

Epitomology: From the Greek - a wound

Trauma: as defined by the Oxford dictionary:

Emotional: a shock following a stressful event sometimes leading to long term neurosis,
Physical: shock following a physical wound or injury, characterized by a drop in body temperature, mental confusion etc.
Psychological: Emotional shock following a stressful event.

"Trauma survivors have symptoms instead of memories" Harvey, 1990

Loss of a sense of the future
Emotional overwhelm
Nightmares Flashbacks
Hyper- vigilence mistrust
Generalised anxiety, panic attacks
Self-destructive behaviour
Loss of sense of who I am
Depression
Numbing
Loss of interest
Decreased concentration
Insomnia
Shame and worthlessness
Chronic pain, headaches

The Brain processes everything we experience. Here are the three related sections
The Triune  - no, I didn't misspell tribune :)
Frontal lobes <---- (Homo-sapiens brain) reasoning, problem solving, verbal expression
For the purposes of this article I am using my Frontal lobe

Limbic system <-----(Mammalian brain) non-verbal,emotional, rational and sensory experience.
I am suppressing my mammalian brain, maybe even using some of it, here to fuel myself onwards.
Brain-stem--------(Reptilian brain) instinctive responses


In a 'normal'... (normal here is referring to someone who is not suffering trauma) balanced person (someone who can function, without constantly tipping the scales, and falling over).... the three sections of the brain are all communicating with each other in harmony. In a traumatised person they compartmentalise.
This means divided into sections.
Going on with normal life section of the personality
Traumatized Part of the Personality (dark) fight self; flight self; freeze self; submit self; attach self.
Separate parts of the self evolve reflecting of all the different survival strategies needed in a dangerous world.
And when even more trauma occurs: Even more parts of the self are needed to survive even more dangerous conditions: Parts that hold survival responses and parts that hold resources.

This is where I am at.
Trying to come to an understanding about why I am the way I am, and hoping that will make me at least feel part of something that is ...
unfinished