Happy New Year

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Wilson2009

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Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
–Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809–92)
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As a tribute to my grandfather, Chief Boatswain Mate Joe Morris of Peaked Hill Bars and Race Point, I am adding the New Years' verse from the Coast Guard. Semper Paratus, fair winds and following seas to all.

Now Hogmanay is over and the pipes are stilled for now;
For the first watch of the New Year, this little rhyme to me allow.
Reveille will soon be sounded, the band is still asleep;
While the first watch of 2021 the PA diligently keeps.
We toasted shipmates near and far last night,
We played and sang "Auld Lang Syne".
We're "Always Ready" for the call
when the Drummie forms the line.
We hope Grand Haven will again be upon us,
and we'll gather once again,
To march and play along the shores of old Lake Michigan.
The crowd will cheer for the Coast Guard and all hands,
Deployed both overseas and across our land.
But now the coffee's brewing, soon Burns Night* will be here.
And the pipes and drums reward for playing is a dram or pint of beer.
So "We're no awa' tae bide awa'", as the auld song states,
But now the coffee's finished, so these wee rhymes will have to wait.
So here's tae us -- "wha's like us?", the band does now reply,
With drone and chanter, sticks and drums, and plaids upon the fly.
We proudly wear the tartan, on field or street or yard,
The pride of Alex Hamilton -- the UNITED STATES COAST GUARD.
 
Brilliant, Dave. Thanks so much for this post. My late mother was a Coast Guard SPAR (Semper Paratus—Always Ready) in WWII, and she would have loved this.

Happy New Year, friend. Best, Kevin
 
Yay, Coast Guard. A special thank you to all who have/are serving. B.😷
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