Followers

Friday, May 1, 2009

Johnna Beth and her Big Brother

This is the story of Johnna Beth and her Big Brother.

Just so you know, Johnna Beth is my lovely and talented niece, who happens to be the most talented member of our clan. For the longest time, she has been campaigning for me to write a story about her. To be honest, it’s been quite annoying. She e-mailed me from her job at Wolf Creek Dam today, and it was during our conversation that she mentioned how the ‘government,’ whom she works for, watches over her emails and will not allow certain mailings to be opened – SUCH AS MY BLOG!

Grrrrrrrrrr!

Her revelation caught me by surprise, so, I thought it best to continue our conversation in code:

“ohnna jay on't day ay say any a ing thay else a ause cay ig Bay other Bray ight may e bay eading ray is thay!”

But, Johnna Beth said she was not very good at reading Pig Latin.

Sigh.

The first time I heard the term, Big Brother, I had to ask my dad what it meant. The term was made popular in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, where the people are constantly told, "Big Brother is watching you."

Growing up as a kid in the 1960’s during the Johnson-Nixon White House era, I recall hearing the term Big Brother a lot, especially on TV.

The group, Rare Earth, had a hit with the song, Big Brother, in 1971. Last summer, I had the opportunity to meet Peter Rivera and hear him sing that song live on stage.

Whoa, hey, Big Brother, I know you're out there somewhere
If we don't get our thing together
Big Brother will be watching us
He ain't gonna get me
Are you gonna let him get you
He'll never get me
He'll never get me, no

So, Johnna Beth, here's the story you've been wanting me to write.

It’s about you…and Big Brother!

Peace…and be careful!

No comments:

Post a Comment

My 78 RPM Disks (1905-1924)

1. Albert Campbell - Dreaming (3701). Steve Porter - Flanagan At The Vocal Teacher's (3705). Standard Talking Machine Company 1907. 2. ...