Oh, Beautiful; Joolen…
HERE ARE three young immigrants.-My sister; my younger brother; and me; and a visiting grandma; with one more yet; to add to our five; to come. Oma; who was my father’s mother; was from Amsterdam. He was so poor; we were so poor; and though we never grew rich; nor did we aim to be; i still think all of it was better for him; and that was good enough for me. I was the sassy one above; hands on hips; look cute; my mama said; how did i do? My sister; behind me; was mad at me; she thought that i was stealing the show; but i was never that kind of girl; i was never that kind of girl. It was never of interest to me! I was actually mostly camera shy.
And so; since i was on a Peter Yarrow beat in my last post; i began to read about all of them again; from Peter Paul and Mary; i mean. Because they were one of my favorite groups of all time.
And all of them went in different directions; of course; for long long periods of time; but then; they always hooked back up again; because of course; their music as a threesome was divine. But here was a beautiful song that Paul Stookey wrote; or rather; adapted; during their solo times.
And with the holiday coming up; and with my own immigrant story; The Donserly Light; on this site; i just wanted to say something; i just wanted to say something more; to pay proper credit to folk; my folk. Because i am not just from one country; i always think; i am from the great immigrant beat; and i was always of proud of that; and always interested in that. I always thought; that immigrants are what make this country; and; make this country a really cool place to be; as i did; as we did.
Our former president; Joe Biden; was proud of his old folk too; and that was a good example; for how our country can be; that always heartened me. We can make this country a really cool place to be; as i did; as he did; as we did; and i am sure you do too.🍂
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WELL; Paul Stookey; of my favorite-of-all-time Peter, Paul and Mary group; was a deeply political; deeply honorable; deeply thoughtful man. Here is a beautiful song he wrote; or well; adapted then; and this song says it just right; don’t you think? Yes; i do too.
Oh beautiful; for spacious skies; for amber waves of grain! For purple mountains majesty; above the fruited plain! America; America; god shed his grace on thee! And crown thy good with brotherhood; from sea to shining sea! And then:
Oh nation of the immigrant; the slave and native son! Whose loyal families labor still; that we may live as one! America, America; renew thy founder’s call! Let liberty and justice be; the right of one and all! And then:
Oh bountiful of forest green; of lake and fertile lands! Where seeds of hope are tended by; thy son’s and daughter’s hands! America; America; the earth still calls to thee! Where human life; and nature strive; to live in harmony!
And then of course; to close: O beautiful for spacious skies; for amber waves of grain! For purple mountain majesty; above the fruited plain! America; America; god shed his grace on thee! And crown thy good; with brotherhood; from sea to shining sea!
It seemed the right thing to say; and i feel better now. Peace; love; human rights; social equality; and let all bullies be gone! There is not room for you in our world of beauty; our land.🍂b
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LAST UPDATED 6 November 2026.
