Okay, probably I am way out of line commenting here, but the magic of the music has been, at least for me, not just a tool for social change but also a sheild to keep the old dreams and the old ways alive.

My uncles still sing "Who'll be King" (yes, I know you have another title in the database, but Uncle Joe still claims he's right and you are wrong!) And hearing my Aunt Altathea sing the Skye Boat Song. These were tools not only to make us remember the past, but to keep the future from stepping on us again.

The Coal mine songs, the Union organizers tunes so necissary in the past still get sung at my family get togethers to keep those days alive and to inspire the young never to forget, it cannot and should not happen again.

And it works. When I signed on to teach full time here in Missouri, I automatically found my Union rep at the school and signed on. How could I do any less?

Never, ever forget the effect this music has on the young. It has shaped our lives, made us better folk for it, and given us a vision for the future.

(Gee, did I just list myself as young? Guiness does effect one, doesn't it?)

Mikal, (Who doesn't always vote like his Uncles say, but sings the songs he believes in just like they do.)