Within the Sounds of Silence - May 17, 2025 - 1940s through 60s versus Present Decade

 

Sounds of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel is one of all-time favorite songs... As in most times in my life, the words of a song (or a book) became most important. This one because of one word: Silence... Often, when I would start singing this song in my mind, I would substitute Silence instead of Darkness... Beginning, "Hello, Silence my old friend, I've come to talk with you again..." Darkness was just opposite of light...  but silence had meaning to me... I have always been a person who needs quiet time. In my early life, we lived in the country, where I've come back to, after spending many years living in Morgantown, WV, where I worked at the University starting right after graduating from high school...

Living in a small town of New Geneva, most of our lives outside of home were in school or church, which often held social events as well as regular services. I was given piano lessons--enough to learn enough to play hymns at church, LOL... I was not destined to be a pianist... Rather I became a singer, in church, in choirs, as a soloist or paired in some way or with some group... Of course, practice was part of all of that, as well as "homework."

It was a quiet life, and a safe one. Often, I would be allowed to go for a walk. That normally meant up a back road to sit or wander around my grade school which was within walking distance from home. Church was in the same area... But sometimes, I would walk the railroad tracks across from my home on the one main road into and out of town... Or, go down to the Monogahela River which flowed along the route of the railroad track... I'm a pisces, so does that mean that I like water? Well, I do enjoy just watching it flow, steady, constant, peaceful for the majority of time. I can also remember times when I've been near rough water--going down rapids, et.al. I found it exciting even though I never learned how to swim... LOL...

I was the last of four children, a brother being the closest sibling, so by the time I was able to go out by myself, all of them were already involved in other activities... I became a loner and have remained so all my life. I've never been afraid to be alone, in fact, I have preferred it in my later life...

The only thing that stood out to me as a girl who was baptized at age 13, was my learning that, also within walking distance, a man and woman lived who, I had learned, the man was a member of the KKK. Now, up until I was beginning my 7th grade in school, I had never even talked to a Black person. I might have seen them at groceries stores, but didn't know anybody personally. Yet, in some way, I had learned what the KKK was all about and I was horrified, especially when I learned that his wife, later, had been one of my best friends in school... Did she also hate Black people, I wondered? And, Why would somebody choose to "hate" somebody just because they were a different color? I was one of those "Doubting Thomas" types who was always asking the "Why?" of things...

Another thing that bothered me early on was, even though, at family reunions, there would be multiple religions, we were Baptist, but also Mennonites and a couple others... But, one of my uncles was a Baptist minister (Southern), and I remember that he would bring little brochures about the Catholic Church when he came to visit... They all related to sexual issues as problems within the church. At that time, it was between nuns and priests... Later, One of my Catholic cousins became a nun... Questions would pop into my mind... So does one uncle who I'm supposed to love, affect how I feel about my cousin who was a nun who I also loved... And when incestual issues came into my early life, somehow I knew they were wrong though nobody had told me at the time they had started that could happen, especially not the family, nor the church... But, I did learn about Keeping Silent... In fact, I never talked about any of it until the "Me Too" movement started years ago...

We were not a talkative family when we were growing up. Main reason is that my mother was always working to provide food and shelter for 5 individuals. Truthfully I never felt close enough to any of those individuals to ask the questions that began to swirl in my mind... All I had were the songs I had learn in Sunday School and Church...

At age 13, I decided to follow the words of Jesus and have never seriously listened to any other words that came from anybody if they contradicted what I knew to be God's Truth.

Throughout my life, I share that I have stumbled, I have myself, with free will, turned away from what I might have been taught... But, still, at the same time, I was always reading to learn more about The God of Truth...

While I was meeting my first Black person who I came to love as one of my best friends throughout highschool, I was now also riding a bus and attending school in a nearby fairly large town, at least for me, to be able to roam around during lunchtime... LOL There were many different races in that school and we were able to become involved in school sport activities, such as going to football games and more. Being the youngest, as well as living in a town from which somebody would have to drive me to these events, I never participated. I was part of a small group of friends--three girls and two boys--who I had met through my bus rides to and from school, and we were very close, but, of course, I was not allowed to date at that early age... Get the idea of knowing about Silence...?

In 2015, because I was now retired, not by my choice, at least from the University's administrators at that time, I was now living in my present home and was blogging/reviewing on a regular basis... But, I was also becoming much more involved in the outside world I had learned about in earlier years...

I don't know how I stumbled across CNN as the first full-time news television station that I had ever known (simply because I hadn't had the time nor interest in watching so much news, LOL). But it was on that station that I first heard the infamous tape that I've used often on my blog...

I was thoroughly disgusted! Thereafter, I became something of a fanatic for keeping track of this man, who I surely would not and did not vote for! I recognized that I had been in somewhat of a sheltred life... On the other hand, it personally offended me based upon what happened in my earlier years. Later, I was applauding the millions of women who marched against Trump in 2016. While in a discussion with my sister, I found that my sister was disgusted at the women choosing to create pussy hats... I had been laughing as she said it... and realized, probably for the first time in my life, that I had no really close relationship to my sister or, in fact, to many of my family. I began to think of myself as the "black sheep."

By this time I had learned that God was within me... I used the literal definition of most hymns I sang, this was one of them by which I had learn that I should use my eyes and all of my senses to recognize when something was to be avoided or rejected in some way...

But that included...Keeping Silent when in the presence of family. Once I was even told that if I was a Christian, I had to be a republican... Well, that didn't phase me a bit. I knew that what I saw with my own eyes could not be a lie and I knew that what I was seeing was a very bad man... I didn't know at that time, exactly how bad... but I learned by watching the news and reading... Too many people were all talking about the same things that I personally saw and heard. I registered democrat as soon as I learned that I couldn't vote as an independent in my state on primary elections...

In addition to the foul mouth and the obvious disdain for women by DJT, I quickly saw that he was unable to handle the job description for the presidency. By then, I had been in various university administrative offices and could easily understand the job requirements and that Trump was not only not qualified, but, more importantly, he was also a liar... Now, as I look back on the last years, I wonder if I've been a liar with my siblings, by virtue of keeping silent rather than speaking out... If so, it is what it is, that many are now using as a saying... In other words, that's in the past but has remained a dividing factor for us.

But there came a time that I had to choose Truth over Lies, God's Truth over family... I hope that all of you know that I chose Truth...

I'm not going to dwell on the 2016 first term, except as it becomes relevant... Hopefully, most people are now aware of what is happening in America and across the world because of this president... which is the worst time that can be pinpointed as possibly leading to the loss of our democracy.

Finally, I want to close by just stating at this time, I was greatly disturbed and sad that the evangelical church chose to support Trump... I still haven't quite figured out the why on the part of this religious group in particular. Of course, I have no knowledge of that sect nor do I care to take the time to do any research given what their actions have done to bring religion into politics like it has never been done before!

What I did was start to research about those who were once part of the evangelical church... Frank Schaeffer was one of those individuals. Note, however, that I had never listened to this particular video which was one of his earliest ones (which is what I'd searched on)... I found it, for me, a God Incident, since he was saying much of what I've come to see as I continue to work to know God's Truth...

~~~

Perhaps this is the time to say that I believe in God's Creation of all peoples... I believe in Jesus' guidance to Love God First and Love All People (our neighbors)

Insofar as I can, I allow God within Me to guide what I Share... Simply because God is a part of all of us... And He resides in each of us. While He has given us Free Will as part of His Design which allows us to, more or less, "do our thing" with our lives, I personally have chosen to follow Jesus... not as a friend, but as My God...

And quite recently with this new song, I have tried to say, again insofar as possible because I am Who I am with Free Will, that I Speak Jesus...

May God Within you

Speak of His Truth

Gabby