A Personal Look at Dr. Glenn

• Lacrosse/Soccer
• NE Ohio Golf Courses
• Image Gallery
• Dr. Glenn's Favorite Books
• Kent Rotary Veterans
• Music by Dr. Glenn
• Dr. Glenn's Family Story
• Academy of Arcadia
• Psychological Jokes

Music by Dr. Glenn

Ruth and I started to spend the winters in Pensacola after our retirement. We picked Pensacola because: we had spent our first Navy assignment there in 1957 and really liked the area; there were plenty of beach front condos on Perdido Key available at reasonable prices; and, we could take advantage of my Naval Reserve retirement benefits at the Naval Air Station only a few miles away. The climate was mild (60s –70-)…just perfect for golf, biking and hiking.

The first month we were in Pensacola, we attended the Navy Chapel on base for church services. I noticed that every Sunday we sang four verses of the Navy Hymn to close the service. The verses were about sailors, marines, aviators and those far away from their homes. The verses were very touching, but something seemed to be missing to me. Nearly three-fourths of the congregation were retired military and their mates, but they were never mentioned. The song verses covered everyone in the Navy except those of us who were retired. I decided to do something about that!

I researched the Navy Hymn and found that it has sixteen verses. Those verses covered nearly every aspect of navy life…women in the navy, Seabees, those serving in the Arctic, those who have died, submariners, the sick, new ship commissions, those who guard our shores (sounds like the Coast Guard to me, although I know the navy is the ultimate shore guarders…so there Coast Guarders), and astronauts (for God’s sake, there are only several dozen of them!)…..BUT, no blessings for the retired folks who played such a role in our navy’s history. I decided to do something about this injustice!

I wrote a verse for retired navy folks. I asked my good friend, Walter Watson (Owner of Black Squirrel Music Publishing Company) to place the words in the correct places in the Navy Hymn and he agreed to do this favor for me. While doing this task, Walter noted that an eighth note should be added to the music for this particular verse. I pleaded with him to forego adding this note (knowing how the military can sometimes resist change), but he was adamant that the note must be added, and noted that many verses of popular songs have variations to them. The sheet music was completed and I gave it to the choir director and organist.

I had hoped that it might be played in the next few weeks, but I heard no more about it. Finally, I asked the director about the status of the retired verse. He said that when they played it they noticed that it had an extra note, and, that if I would have the note removed, they see how it sounded. I asked Walter to remove the damn eighth note. He refused, saying, "It belongs there…and it wouldn’t be right to remove it."

I was caught between principle and practice. Walter won’t remove the note, I’m too dumb to change it (I would just rip it out), and the choir director won’t play the verse unless that eighth note has been removed. I guess I’ll just be composer who remains unpublished. In Walter’s defense, the Sunday after the choir director refused to play my verse, all of the music sang that Sunday was printed on sheets without music…just words. When I asked the director why a congregation could sing new songs without music, but would become confused if an additional eighth note was inserted, he answered, "that’s the was we do it around here." No matter, I’m still proud to be a retired Naval Officer…just put the emphasis on retired!

Note: Following this introduction, you may read the sixteen verses of the Navy Hymn and my new verse. See if you can find the offensive note. No prizes will be awarded, but you can be a part of the congregation that sings this verse if you are still alive when my funeral is held!

Navy Hymn

Below is the sheet music for the Navy Hymn. See if you can find that note.