A Common Soldier

At this time every year I bring attention to my first ever podcast. I called it Wheeled Prison because it dealt with an unsung hero who had lived his life in a wheelchair. This year I offer it again, but with the addition of a beautiful poem that complements the story.

Just a Common Soldier – A Soldier died Today

by A. Lawrence Vaincourt, 1987

    He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast

    And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past.

    Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,

    In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one.

    And tho’ sometimes, to his neighbours, his tales became a joke,

    All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.

    But we’ll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has passed away,

    And the world’s a little poorer, for a soldier died today.

    He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,

    For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.

    Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way,

    And the world won’t note his passing, though a soldier died today.

    When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,

    While thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.

    Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young,

    But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.

    Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land

    A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?

    Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife,

    Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?

    A politician’s stipend and the style in which he lives

    Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives.

    While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,

    Is paid off with a medal and perhaps, a pension small.

    It’s so easy to forget them for it was so long ago,

    That the old Bills of our Country went to battle, but we know

    It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys,

    Who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys.

    Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand,

    Would you want a politician with his ever-shifting stand?

    Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defend

    His home, his kin and Country and would fight until the end?

    He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin,

    But his presence should remind us we may need his like again.

    For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier’s part

    Is to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start.

    If we cannot do him honor while he’s here to hear the praise,

    Then at least let’s give him homage at the ending of his days.

    Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say,

    Our Country is in mourning, for a soldier died today.

    Sadly, A. Lawrence Vaincourt died in 2009, but had he lived a little longer he would have been proud of the Emmy Award winning video that was produced to immortalise his beautiful words.

    That’ll Teach Ya

    That’ll Teach Ya.

    “When a senior citizen needs a computer, where does she go and whom can she trust? Our heroine finds out the hard way when she meets a laptop sales guy on Craigslist.”

    “Buying and selling a used laptop teach all concerned a hard lesson.”

    “How not to buy or sell a used computer.”

    “Buying a used computer the hard way”

    ____________________________________

    Written by Hilary Kaiser and Produced by Breanda Cross

    Duration 18m. 26s

    Cast: Wanda O Connell, Thomas Victorio and Alan Wagner.

    An Independent Woman

    An Independent Woman will not appeal to everyone. There are no expletives, car chases, violence gratuitous sex or aliens from cyberspace. It is set in 1895, a time of gentility, etiquette, and protocol. It was better to be rich, rather than poor. And better still to be VERY rich. But not if you were a woman!

    This is a story about a young woman who was beset by all these obstacles, and yet managed to achieve an independent lifestyle.

    Duration 24m.29s

    Written and Produced by: Breanda Cross

    Cast: Narrator, Mrs. Hutcchins – Kathleen Monteleone

    Hermoine, Hermoine’s Mother – Breanda Cross

    Percival, Hermoine’s Father, Arthur

    The Quiet Achiever

    The Quiet Achiever is about two women who have never met or known about each other, who share a common secret, finding a strange bond under unusual circumstances. There is a message for all of us at the end.

    Duration 22m45s

    Written, Produced and Narrated by Breanda Cross

    Angela -played by Kathleen Monteleone. * Kathleen may also be found in the recent podcasts The Reluctant Virgins and Grandma’s Secret

    The Clergyman and Solicitor played by Jake Hollingswoth ** Jake may be found in the play A Melodramatic Tale

    The Reluctant Virgins

    The Reluctant Virgins are an ageing all-female rock band. They were never very good, and now they are worse.They’ve seen everything, done it all before, and will do it again tomorrow. We visit with them between gigs in the Green Room of the Gentleman’s Relish Nite Club as they banter between their Love/Hate relationships with each other.

    A Melodramatic Tale

    A Melodramatic Tale is an English story, set in New England, USA. It will take you back to the turn of the 20th Century when language flowed as poetry and semantics were fine tuned in meaning.

    We hear about poor Mettie Bradford’s trials and tribulations with her evil landlord, Alouicious Cribbs. It’s a simple tale, but you may need a dictionary to understand the story.

    Duration: 37m19s

    Cast: Breanda Cross as Mettie, Toby Chittendon as Rodney Bigalow and Alouicious Cribbs, Jake Hollingsworthas William Downton

    Written by Brian Marsh, Produced by Breanda Cross

    The Wizard of Oz

    The Wizard of Oz was produced in 1939 and instantly became a classic movie that is still popular in the 2020s. This presentation by Lux Theatre was used as a promotional tool for the movie. It allows you to not only absorb the radio style of the thirties but also rely on your own Magic of Imagination.

    Duration: 1hr. 49m

    Featuring: Judy Garland and original cast.

    When we were Gangsters

    When we were Gangsters or That Bergen Job questions that old epithet that ‘Crime Doesn’t Pay’ in an entirely new way. It certainly “ ain’t wot it used ter be!

    We are transported to a dark, smoke filled lower East Side bar in New York City where. Sammy McCoy banters with Rosie the Waitress, and both welcome Silvio Albanese – for entirely different reasons.

    Script: Brian Marsh – Produced by Breanda Cross

    Duration: 16m 45s

    Cast: David Zucker is Sammy McCoy, Kirsten Daniels is Rosie the Waitress and Marc Duret is Silvio Albanese.

    That Bruckner Evening

    That Bruckner Evening

    The play takes place in Massachusetts in the 1950’s. It is a time when ladies of a certain age, and certain social standing, discuss ‘certain subjects’, they talk about the musical evening they have shared: and the performers. It’s up to you to interpret what they are really saying.

    Scriptwriter: Brian Marsh, Producer, Breanda Cross

    Duration: 24m 24s

    Cast: Narrator – Brian Marsh, … Olivia Pinkney Sears – Kathleen Monteleone, … Julia Gardner Chase – Diana Stewart. … and Millicent Simsberry – Wanda O’ Connell.

    Music by Anton Bruckner, Symphony No. 2