Every Friday night we smooth our way into the weekend with music, the universal language. 

These selections demonstrate that despite what is being passed off as art today, there is plenty of really good music available. 

Come along and enjoy. 

Today is Veterans Day, a time for us to pay our respects to those who have served.

This holiday started as a day to reflect upon the heroism of those who died in our country’s service and was originally called Armistice Day. It fell on Nov. 11 because that is the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. However, in 1954, the holiday was changed to “Veterans Day” in order to account for all veterans in all wars.

Each branch of the military has a band or bands that play the obligatory marches, anthems, historical compositions, all the glorious patriotic material. What’s also impressive about these ensembles and a tribute to their major talent is that they’re not boxed in by what you’d assume they’d play. They venture off into all kinds of musical genres.

That’s our theme this week. We get started with some real razzmatazz.

Note the creative introduction.

Hard to believe as you listen to that rollicking number that it was written and composed in 1957…as a country song by Don Gibson.

In the news this past spring the Air Force revised its dress code.

No portion of the mustache will extend below the lip line of the upper lip. Additionally, the mustache will not go beyond a horizontal line extending across the corners of the mouth and no more than 1/4 inch beyond a vertical line drawn from the corner of the mouth.

Next up, more razzmatazz as a legendary trumpeter is a Coast Guard guest on “I Want To Be Happy” from the 1925 musical “No No Nanette.”

I want to be happy
But I won’t be happy
Till I make you happy, too

Life’s really worth living
When we are mirth-giving
Why can’t I give some to you?

Recently members from the Coast Guard conducted annual training to ensure that responders are familiar with the procedures, roles, and tools of large whale disentanglement efforts. Entanglement, or by-catch, is a global problem that affects many marine mammals, and can be fatal. For smaller marine mammals in Hawai‘i, like monk seals and dolphins, death is typically more immediate and due to drowning. Entanglement may result in starvation or drowning due to restricted movement, physical trauma, and systemic infections. It may also put whales at greater risk of other threats, like being hit by vessels. Response to entangled whales may only be attempted by persons who are experienced, trained, knowledgeable, and have proper support and equipment.

NEXT…the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” provides musical support for the leadership of the United States, and connects the Army to the American people.

A Clarksville, TN man this week achieved a longtime goal of joining the U.S. Army after six strenuous weeks of strict dieting and physical conditioning.

Austin Daniel dropped 61 pounds to get his weight to 256 pounds to qualify for enlistment. The 27-year-old 2014 Clarksville High School graduate had considered joining the Army for several years but had little hope as his weight moved above 300 pounds.

“Nobody in my family with the exception of my great-grandfather had served in the military,” Daniel said. “It was something that I wanted to do so that I could be proud of myself and then my family could be proud of something I had done with my life.”

Making the weight was not easy, Daniel said. He would get up at 3:30 a.m. and work out before going to work. He would eat sparingly during the day and hit the gym often accompanied by his wife, Rebecka, or his brother.

A family member who works as a dietician helped him balance his diet. Gone were carbs and sugar, and he subsisted on protein and various vegetables.

“I’d come home at night wanting pizza,” Daniel recalled. “My wife told me, ‘No, you’re having salad for dinner.’”

Daniel’s hard work paid off. He enlisted in the Army as a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter repairer. In addition, he received a $40,000 “quick ship” bonus.

The Army is offering these bonuses to qualified young men and women who are ready to leave for their training shortly after enlisting. Daniel has already departed for basic training at Fort Jackson, SC, and will later go to Fort Eustis, Va., where he will be trained to repair Black Hawk helicopters.

NEXT…“The President’s Own” United States Marine Band’s mission is to perform for the President of the United States and the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Founded in 1798 by an Act of Congress, the Marine Band is America’s oldest continuously active professional musical organization.

On Thursday U.S. Marines from 3rd Force Reconnaissance Company, Marine Forces Reserve escorted Santa Claus in their Dress Blues via parachute into the Auxiliary Airfield of Mississippi National Guard Base Camp Shelby and delivered toys to children awaiting on the ground.

Toys for Tots, a 75-year national charitable program run by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, provides happiness and hope to less fortunate children during each Christmas holiday season. The toys, books, and other gifts collected and distributed by the Marines offer these children recognition and a positive memory for a lifetime.

In case you missed it there were elections this week.

The number of veterans elected to Congress will increase next session, only the third time that has happened in the past five decades.

As of Wednesday afternoon, 79 veterans had won House or Senate races in the congressional midterm elections. Another 12 veterans currently serving in the Senate were not up for reelection this year. One undecided race — the New York 22nd congressional district — features two veterans running against each other.

That’s a total of 92 veterans who will serve in the 118th Congress when it convenes in January, one more than at the start of the 117th Congress two years ago. And with more than 20 congressional races still undecided, the number could rise even higher in coming days, perhaps approaching 100 veterans.

That’s it for this week.

Goodnight.

Sleep well.

Have a great weekend.

We close with the Navy that is finally adding underwater drones to its fleet of nuclear attack submarines. A new version of the Navy’s Razorback unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV) will have the capability to both launch and be recovered via torpedo tubes, allowing any submarine in the fleet to operate them on patrol. The drones, equipped with their own sonar systems, will allow naval submarines to search for enemy ships and submarines without revealing themselves.

We opened with razzmatazz and that’s how we’ll finish.

BONUS

The U.S. Space Force is the Military’s sixth Service branch, with advanced operations on land, in air and in orbit. Its core mission is to deploy forces that improve the nation’s defensive technology and communications capabilities, and to achieve key national objectives through military space power.

I don’t think they have a band yet. But if necessary, a phone call to a qualified orchestra might work.