Chaitanya Jyothi Museum Opening, 2000

RAMANAM
In the Name of The Father, and of The Son and of The Holy Spirit, Amen.

Countrymen,

ORBIS NON SUFFICIT
SOLUS DEUS SUFFICIT

Hank Williams, Jr. says:

Bocephus is testifying to the truth of LIVING…nuthin’ to do with South vs. North. Time for that nonsense is LONNNNG gone. Take a good look around. Big business has ruined this country, sold it out from under us all. But when it all comes down to where your next meal is coming from, that’s when it gets too real for the suits. We can make meat, smoke and whiskey here in the woods of NH and VT to take care of ourselves just as good as in the Ozarks and Smokies. HELL yeah!

“There was a little boy whose name was Bo
He went into the woods when the moon was gettin’ low
Where he met a big bear who was hungry for a snack
And the folks are still awaitin’ for Bocephus to come back

Oh, Bo became the teacher of the kind and gentle creature
Who could play upon the fiddle in a very skillful way
And they wandered off together and will never ever sever
Bocephus and the fiddle and the big black bear.”

DRG: As my father sang it to me:

There was a little boy and his name was Bo.
He went into the woods when the moon was low.
He met an old bear who was hungry for a snack.
And the folks are still waiting for Bocephus to come back.

But the boy became the teacher of that good and faithful creature.
He taught him how to fiddle and he taught him how to pray.
And they’ll wander on together and they’ll never, never sever,
Bocephus and the fiddle and the old black bear.

I suspect this is a reference to one of my favorite childrens’ books Travels With an Arkansas Bear, (Title may not be exact.), which was first published in the mid 1800’s. A search of Amazon will find it. The characters are a young fiddle playing boy named Bo and a talking bear. It’s been 30 years since I had my hands on a copy, so this may not be exact. The author was one of the main editors of The St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys.

Bocephus means keeper of the wolves!

I wonder if this started out as mis-heard Bucephalus (Alexander’s horse).

AUM NAMAH SHIVAYA