by Pa Rock
Poetry Appreciator
Anyone who has gone through basic military training in this country or has watched Bill Murray's classic film, Stripes, knows what a "jody" is - the cadence music that service members sing as they march, music that keeps them in step. These snappy little songs often focused on "Jody," a character who was supposedly at home making time with the girl the service member left behind. Most of the ones that I remember from my days in the Army are not family oriented.
As an example of a bit of one that I remember:
"The women in the army
They say are mighty fine
But most are over eighty
And the rest are under nine.
I don't want no more of Army life,
Gee, but I want to go home!"
I have been thinking of jodies quite a bit this week as the big yard around my place has suddenly transformed into a military parade field.
Several weeks ago I freed my two peacocks and five peahens. One of the peahens immediately moved away, but would occasionally come back for a morning visit. I'm not sure what drew her away because peacocks generally stick close to the area they regard as home. They may wander during the day, but they invariably come home to roost in the evening. Last week I found the carcass of another hen, one that had been killed and mostly eaten by predators. Three peahens and the two peacocks remain.
My five Toulouse geese had been the bosses of the farm until the peacocks were released, and even then they rushed forward and tried to get their bluff in on the newly freed fowl. They were able to push the peahens around some, but the big peacocks were having none of it. Within minutes of being freed, the peacocks exerted their dominance over the geese.
For awhile the geese managed to stay out of the way of their new overlords, but it didn't take long for the peacocks to seek out the geese and begin teaching them how things were going to be. One of those lessons centered on herding the bewildered geese around the house, in a gaggle, relentlessly. Sometimes one peacock would march the five geese around while his brother took a leisurely dust bath and nap in the sun, and at other times both peacocks would herd the frayed geese around the house in one direction, and then give an "about face" and march them back in the other direction. At times they even split them into two groups which they would work separately, and if one goose had trouble following orders, he got singled out for some one-on-one remediation by a determined peacock.
A couple of evenings ago I was feeling sorry for the geese, so I stepped in between them and the drill instructor. The big peacock was not amused and stepped up to me and screamed. At that point I decided it would be best for me to get out of the way and let the geese take care of themselves!
Here, in honor of The Roost's crop of basic trainees, is just one of many presentable "jodies" that can be found on the internet. It is called "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon," and I can remember singing/shouting a version of it as me and my buddies tramped along the dark streets of Ft. Riley, Kansas, nearly fifty years ago.
Geese, you have my empathy.
Hup, two, three, four,
Hup, two, three, four!
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
by Anonymous
Around her hair she wore a yellow ribbon
She wore it in the spring time, in the early month of May
And if you asked her why the heck she wore it
She’d say she wore it for her soldier who was far, far away
Far away
Far away
She wore it for her soldier who was far, far away
Around the block she pushed a baby carriage
She pushed it in the spring time, in the early month of May
And if you asked her why the heck she pushed it
She’d say she pushed it for her soldier who was far, far away
Far away
Far away
She pushed it for her soldier who was far, far away
Behind the door, her father kept a shotgun
He kept it in the spring time, in the early month of May
And if you asked him why the heck she kept it
He'd say he kept it for her soldier who was far, far away
Far away
Far away
He kept it for her soldier who was far, far away.
Poetry Appreciator
Anyone who has gone through basic military training in this country or has watched Bill Murray's classic film, Stripes, knows what a "jody" is - the cadence music that service members sing as they march, music that keeps them in step. These snappy little songs often focused on "Jody," a character who was supposedly at home making time with the girl the service member left behind. Most of the ones that I remember from my days in the Army are not family oriented.
As an example of a bit of one that I remember:
"The women in the army
They say are mighty fine
But most are over eighty
And the rest are under nine.
I don't want no more of Army life,
Gee, but I want to go home!"
I have been thinking of jodies quite a bit this week as the big yard around my place has suddenly transformed into a military parade field.
Several weeks ago I freed my two peacocks and five peahens. One of the peahens immediately moved away, but would occasionally come back for a morning visit. I'm not sure what drew her away because peacocks generally stick close to the area they regard as home. They may wander during the day, but they invariably come home to roost in the evening. Last week I found the carcass of another hen, one that had been killed and mostly eaten by predators. Three peahens and the two peacocks remain.
My five Toulouse geese had been the bosses of the farm until the peacocks were released, and even then they rushed forward and tried to get their bluff in on the newly freed fowl. They were able to push the peahens around some, but the big peacocks were having none of it. Within minutes of being freed, the peacocks exerted their dominance over the geese.
For awhile the geese managed to stay out of the way of their new overlords, but it didn't take long for the peacocks to seek out the geese and begin teaching them how things were going to be. One of those lessons centered on herding the bewildered geese around the house, in a gaggle, relentlessly. Sometimes one peacock would march the five geese around while his brother took a leisurely dust bath and nap in the sun, and at other times both peacocks would herd the frayed geese around the house in one direction, and then give an "about face" and march them back in the other direction. At times they even split them into two groups which they would work separately, and if one goose had trouble following orders, he got singled out for some one-on-one remediation by a determined peacock.
A couple of evenings ago I was feeling sorry for the geese, so I stepped in between them and the drill instructor. The big peacock was not amused and stepped up to me and screamed. At that point I decided it would be best for me to get out of the way and let the geese take care of themselves!
Here, in honor of The Roost's crop of basic trainees, is just one of many presentable "jodies" that can be found on the internet. It is called "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon," and I can remember singing/shouting a version of it as me and my buddies tramped along the dark streets of Ft. Riley, Kansas, nearly fifty years ago.
Geese, you have my empathy.
Hup, two, three, four,
Hup, two, three, four!
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
by Anonymous
Around her hair she wore a yellow ribbon
She wore it in the spring time, in the early month of May
And if you asked her why the heck she wore it
She’d say she wore it for her soldier who was far, far away
Far away
Far away
She wore it for her soldier who was far, far away
Around the block she pushed a baby carriage
She pushed it in the spring time, in the early month of May
And if you asked her why the heck she pushed it
She’d say she pushed it for her soldier who was far, far away
Far away
Far away
She pushed it for her soldier who was far, far away
Behind the door, her father kept a shotgun
He kept it in the spring time, in the early month of May
And if you asked him why the heck she kept it
He'd say he kept it for her soldier who was far, far away
Far away
Far away
He kept it for her soldier who was far, far away.
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