June 6, 2016 (Monday)
June 6, 1944 is a day never to be forgotten: D-Day, the invasion of France by the largest military force ever assembled. The Axis powers would have been wise if they had surrendered that day, because in less than one year they would surrender to the Allies.
On a less serious note, I’ve had another one of those mornings when I woke up with a song in my head that would not go away. The same line kept repeating itself over and over: “It was down in Louisiana just about a mile from Texarkana.” Name of the song? “Cotton Fields.” It was originally introduced by an artist named, “Lead Belly” in 1940, revived in the sixties by rock groups and afterwards recorded by many.
When I kept repeating “just about a mile from Texarkana” in my mind, I got to thinking, “Is Louisiana a mile from Texarkana?” Answer, no it isn’t. It’s more like 30 miles to the state line. Texarkana is in Texas and Arkansas, as it’s name suggests. The original lyric was “ten miles from Texarkana,” but that was an error also. But it rhymed. And people liked it. Also it made a lot of money for a lot of people through the years.
Shucks! Writing about it put it right back into my head. “It was down in Louisiana, just about a mile from Texarkana, in them old cotton fields back home..” M-m-m-m..♪ ♪