1812 Alabama 7th US Infantry Re-enactment; Fife & Drum

Over the loud gun shot on the battlefield, you can hear the drum and fife signaling each soldier, giving specific orders. The noise is deafening, and the powder smoke as thick as pea soup, yet each man swiftly follows every command given. His ears have become accustom to the firing of guns. Since the drum tone is similar, it may be hard to distinguish that from the gun shot. With the fife, a soldiers ears can atune themselves to the higher pitch and hear clearly over the din. It is important to follow each command quickly, and completely, for it may mean your life. John Oien, Drum Major for the 1812 Alabama 7th Regiment of the United States Infantry (Cottonbalers), brought to life the job of such a musician for the 1st and 2nd grades at Calvary Christian Academy. Along with Mr. Oien, was Number 23, Music Bob, also known as "Speedy". This nickname was given to the musician for prompt and consistant obedience. Music Bob was adept at playing the fife, and treated the class to a wonderful rendition of "Harvest Home". The students were shown how important it is to listen carefully, obey promptly, respect others and be courteous. It was a treat for them to be "marched" down the hallway to their next class, followed by the musicians who played a lively tune! Mr. Oien has a knack for making History come alive to any age group, and when students are intrigued, they will remember it for a lifetime.

The Bee Movie

On Friday, I went to see The Bee Movie, starring Jerry Seinfeld. Seinfeld is known for being a comedian, with his own TV sitcom. In this animated flick, Seinfeld portrays a male bee in a very busy hive. He has spent 3 days in school, 3 days in high school, took off one day, then spent 3 days in college, and today is the day he chooses his new job!
This is backward in my thinking pattern. I thought the females had all the jobs!!! This movie shows the men working, and most females walk around gazing at the males with rapture and awe. Anyhow, Seinfeld's friend "Adam" joins him, and they take a tour of the hive. Adam doesn't seem to have trouble picking the job he wants, but Seinfeld joins the "pollen jocks" on a trip outside the hive to gather pollen and nectar. (Again, a wrong outlook...)
While outside, he remembers that bees can't fly in the rain, and they are never to talk to humans! He gets stuck to a tennis ball, loses his way from the group, gets caught in a rains storm, but saved by a human lady... who he MUST thank. So, lo and behold, he speaks. Their friendship grows, and in time, he finds that supermarkets sell bee's honey!!! "That's our honey they are stealing! We make that!" And off he sets to find out who is stealing the honey from the hives, and how he can get it back!
Seinfeld, with the human's help, becomes a lawyer, and represents the whole world of bees. He is able to shut down the Honey Farms and they give all the honey back to his hive. When the hive is overloaded with honey, there is no more work for the bees to do, so they just chill and relax.
In the meantime, no flowers are being pollinated, and everything is dying. The human, who owed a floral shop, has closed everything down, and leaves to see the last Rose Parade in California. Seinfeld realizes his error of trying to do everything himself, and follows her there. Together, they steal a rose-covered float and fly it by plane back to their home. The pilot and co-pilot are freaked out by the bee, so the human has to fly the plane. She follows the bee instructions that Seinfeld gives her and the other pollen jocks come to her rescue and guide the plane to the landing strip. All of the bees begin to pollinate the flowers, and magically, on cue, every flower and free revive. Seinfeld is granted his pollen jock jacket, helmet and gear for helping the hive.
Over all, the humor of this movie was clean and decent. It is very funny for teen to adult age, but not so for younger children. They will not be able to understand what is behind the humor. Enron is joked on, as well as Sting, and "Larry King Hive". The basic viewpoint of this film is that everyone has a job that they must stick to, or things will not work smoothly. Hard work is the best policy, and everyone needs to pitch in. It was not a movie to learn the science of bees from.

Happy "We Love Jesus" Day! Since I'm a Christian, I choose not to celebrate Halloween. On this night, you hide your true self, and become something else. Most times, it's something evil. My students know how I feel about this, and I pray for their safety when they tell me they are going out for treats. I explain to them, that tricking others isn't what the Lord did! When Jacob in the Bible (whose name means Trickster) sold a bowl of red bean soup to his brother, then dressed as Esau came and stole the blessing from his Father, Jacob had to leave his family in fear for his life. Tricking others is not fun, nor is it good.

Therefore, we celebrated "We Love Jesus" day. Mrs. Kay brought in this amazing pumpkin to share with us the Love of Jesus. Pumpkins are just dandy, and this one does have a face too! You'll just have to read on to see why!

When she came to speak to us, she asked us to pretend that we were a pumpkin, all alone, out in the patch. Then Jesus came along and picked us right up! He looked deep inside us, and little by little made a change. He opened our eyes, so we could see. Then He let us experience new things, and made us smile. All the while, He was taking out the bad (seeds and goop) from our life, and throwing it away. He puts his Light (the Holy Spirit) inside us, and makes us shine for Him! With that light, we are able to tell others about His Love.

Will you tell someone today? Be a pumpkin and share His Love!

On Saturday, October 28th, Landmark Park in Dothan Alabama hosted their annual Wiregrass Heritage Festival. Volunteers were dressed in period correct clothing as they demonstrated arts such as corn-shelling, quilting, open hearth cooking, soap making with lye, cane grinding and syrup making, cotton and peanut picking, and much more!

As a local elementary school teacher, I assisted in the festival by dressing as the Queen Bee buzzing around pointing people to the Honey Festival area. In the Agricultural Museum, people were introduced to cooking with honey, honey tips for good health, and procedures such as uncapping wax and extracting honey from the comb.

The Wiregrass Beekeeping Association provided a honey tasting table with many types, such as Michigan Thistle, Gall berry, Kudzu, Cotton and more! Local honey and products were available from the Horton Honey Farm, and Landmark Park. You could certainly say this was one honey of a day!