today was such a perfect day,

 anticipating the traditions of Derby day
i was happy to prepare the mint juleps
 and stand and sing my state song:
HEAR THE SONG
 'My Old Kentucky Home" by Stephen Foster
The sun shines bright in the old Kentucky home,
'Tis summer, the darkies are gay;
The corn-top's ripe and the meadow's in the bloom,
While the birds make music all the day.

The young folks roll on the little cabin floor,
All merry, all happy and bright;
By 'n' by Hard Times comes a-knocking at the door,
Then my old Kentucky home, goodnight.

Chorus
Weep no more my lady
Oh! weep no more today!
We will sing one song for the old Kentucky home,
For the Old Kentucky Home far away.

The song describes a scene of life on a slave plantation. The abolitionist Frederick Douglass saw the song as sympathetic to slaves.  In 1986, the Kentucky General Assembly adopted a version unlikely to cause offense in which the original word "darkies" was changed to "people."

Derby Day was a tradition in my grandparents house, we would all gather the first Saturday in May, toward evening and we would each put in a dollar and then pick a horse's name from the hat ~ our chance to win. We would watch as the horses were led to post and rise to sing the Stephen Foster song. Today as I prepared the drinks, I headed down stairs to find two appropriate glasses, they must be medium size, {someday perhaps i shall have pewter or silver cups to serve these in} I was reminded of the ice crushing machine that my grandparents had for just such an occasion.  I resorted to the ice in a dishtowel and a hammer, which worked fine. Watching the parade of horses to the post I could feel the excitement growing, and the race did not disappoint today. Big Brown was a joy to watch run. Only afterwards did I hear of the fate of Eight Belles and what a sad ending to such a splendid day~
tragedy.

Today I remember my grandmother, and one of the many ways she created a lasting tradition for me forever...I can always hear her voice singing

my favorite rendition of the song : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqGuVQsl-7U
amazes me that this little old man can find this powerful voice deep inside. but today was for the big hats and beautiful horses.