For Guest, Coyote Breath, Don Firth and Taliesn

Guest says>>What has constantly reminding his wife thru song that her husband was an adulterer got to do with honouring this brave man.<<

You think lying about his life would be more honorable?

O'Neill's wife (and more importantly, his children) knew that O'Neill played around. He was long separated from his wife. And, of course, Frontline covered O'Neill's private life fairly extensively. Thus, the comparison to Edwina Currie is misleading. That affair had not become public knowledge.

Again, I say, that honoring a man means honoring the whole man. Not some half-truth trimmed from the facts of his life, but the whole megillah.

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Thanks, Coyote. A voice of reason is appreciated. I have written to Frontline regarding Pickard and Freeh and attach excerpts of the letter in the next post.

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Don Firth says >>I do think it could benefit from a little "folk processing." <<

You're welcome to contact the webmistress of Failure is Impossible (www.failureisimpossible.com) to discuss this. The song was produced under a tight deadline and without a number of benefits that some bards might possess. It is much more important that it be popularized than that the exact original format be adhered to. However, if you're familiar with the tune on which it is based, you'll recognize that it is integral to the story.

Don and Taliesn and others, thanks for your interest. The material is copyrighted, so prospective revisions should be done in consultation with the author. It's fine to say it's a first attempt-- it certainly is, and there's no greater flattery than having people follow one's lead-- but folks who are planning to improve it might maybe should give that little bit of courtesy to the originator.

But again, thanks. The goal is a memorial to a brave, good man, not fame and fortune for the author.