Music Before the Money

Not very many people today have heard of The Dave Clark Five and it would be news to this same crowd that the band was was one of the top British Invasion bands of the 60’s.They were probably the “loudest” British Invasion act until the arrival of The Who due mainly to the heavy and hands of drummer and leader, Dave Clark.The band had 17 singles on Billboard’s Top 40 list and they played to sell-out crowds on their tours of the U.S. As well they were the next band after The Beatles to play the Ed Sullivan Show and made another 17 appearances, more than any other British group.

Why do I write about them? Because my brother and I saw them at the Calgary Stampede in 1965 - twice! The first time our grandfather took us and slept through the concert.

Another reason is that - unlike The Beatles and Rolling Stones who were over-managed and underpaid - Dave Clark oversaw almost every aspect of production and presentation. Today he is a successful businessman and promoter and still controls the Dave Clark Five material while Michael Jackson owns and controls The Beatles pre-Apple collection - for now.

I still have four of their albums and three 45’s.

“To err is human; to forgive, Divine.” - Alexander Pope (1688-1734)

For many people I know - myself included - forgiveness is an extremely difficult process. Of course, that is if forgiveness is even attempted at all. There are those that go through their entire life not believing they have to forgive anyone.

Wikipedia defines forgiveness as: the emotional, mental and/or spiritual process to cease resentment, indignation or anger against another person for a perceived offence. I think the key word here is “perceived.” As everyone knows nobody gets everything right all of the time. There are situations in which we have perceived that there has been a wrongdoing when, in reality, there was a misunderstanding. In other cases it is a matter of not being able to move past a real offense. Both cases are similar in that no one can have real peace without forgivingness.

We often think of forgiveness as a procedure that someone who has offended us must beg of us. To achieve real peace the focus should be on offering forgiveness to the person who is perceived the perpetrator. I don’t believe a person has to walk up to another and say, “I forgive you!” That would probably reap scorn and, worse, laughter. You just have to know in your own mind that you forgive them. This the key to healing yourself from the hurt that emanated from the other party.

Refusing to forgive by clutching onto anger, resentment and the sense of betrayal that comes with a wrong can misfire on you and elevate the bad feelings. This makes your own life miserable creates bitterness. It also lets the perpetrator continue to win.

If you want a fabulous example of forgiveness read up on South Africa’s “Truth and Reconciliation Committee” chaired by Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, which offered amnesties to the brutal architects of Apartheid in response to their testimonies about the country’s brutal past. By not retaliating against the perpetrators of the country’s misery - as happened in the Russian and French revolutions - South Africa has emerged into the leading country on the continent.

Forgiveness is its own reward.

In my novel, Rockets of the Reich, I wanted to do two things: First, I wanted to write a World War II novel; and, second, it had to include information that few people, if any, knew before. When I had finished I knew I had succeeded in both.

Unlike a usual novel, stories of war and conflict take a great deal of research in order to get the enhancements so necessary to the plot. Tom Clancy is a perfect example of someone who is a fiend for research but who also has (or had) a cadre of friends inside the U.S. military who both fed him information and then helped check the facts.

For a novel writer fact-checking is time-consuming and can be monotonous. However, it can be embarrassing when someone in the know points out a mistake or lack of understanding by you in one of your novels. Just ask me. However, despite how much you want to get everything perfect the main thrust of your work is the story. This has to come first, or as the old saying goes: “Don’t let truth get in the way of a good story.”

So, here’s how it went down. I researched the story and then wrote the outline. Next I began writing the chapters. In a couple I wrote the just following: “brief history of Nazi rocket program,” or ” insert specs of Type XI U-boat.” Then I continued on with the story.

If I had stopped and began researching every time I felt that technical background was needed I think the flow of the story would have been stunted. It may have come on paper as disjointed and too fact-heavy.

Write the story first.