January 21, 2026 - Good Morning! It’s Wednesday, January 21.
In January, a year ago, Donald Trump was inaugurated president for a second term. The weather was so cold that the ceremony had to be moved into the rotunda of the Capitol. That harkened back to Inauguration Day, January 21, 1985, when the windchill was -25 in Washington D.C. and the ceremony to start Ronald Reagan’s second term moved indoors, as well.
I was watching that ceremony on TV, forty-one years ago, but I don’t recall anything about Reagan’s speech. Though I may not remember the speaker, I’ll never forget the song. The legendary operatic soprano, Jessye Norman, stepped slowly to the podium, with her trademark regal and commanding presence. And she began to sing an old hymn, a Shaker hymn, “Simple Gifts”.
The Shakers were a religious sect that started in America at about the same time that America started. The official name of the denomination was “The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearance”. But, because of their ecstatic, dance-like movements during their worship services, they were commonly called “shakers”. Hollywood has just made a movie about this movement titled “The Testament of Ann Lee” - in theaters starting this weekend.
The song Simple Gifts wasn’t well known outside of this small, peculiar group until 1944, when composer Aaron Copeland included it in his orchestral work , “Appalachian Spring”. I include the lyrics of this old hymn here.
‘Tis the gift to be simple, ‘tis the gift to be free
‘Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be
And when we find ourselves in the place just right
‘Twill be the valley of love and delight
When true simplicity is gained
To bow and to bend, we shan’t be ashamed
To turn, turn will be our delight
‘Till by turning, turning we come down right
If you have three minutes to spare - Google “Jessye Norman Reagan Inauguration”. If you have a half-hour - check out Appalachian Spring. I guarantee it will be . . . a simple gift.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
