From the serious grad student in a suit and tie,
to the folk music impressario at the Gate of Horn in the 1950's,
to the civil Rights movement front lines archivist in the 1960's,
to the accomplished musician, poet, counselor and friend of the
Back-to-The-Land movement of the 1970's, to the writer and
researcher on the myth and culture of cattle of the 1980's, Moses
always was much beloved by all who knew him.
"Go with our love and blessings, Moses!
You're FREE, FREE AT LAST!"
In Remembrance
Here where the waves lapped the shore
and the children learned hula,
We laughed and swam and sang
with Moses and Delia.
The mynahs sing each morn
at our temple of Modelia love
Now its time for us to mourn
the passing of our father's love.
For Sarajenny, Jeremy, Delia and Amanda,
the sadness is near.
Moses left on a great journey,
unencumbered by the body that didn't walk.
But his spirit resides in our hearts,
his love is still with us.
Our friend, Mosey-Along Moses,
gave his love and land in abundance.
Thank you, Moses!
-Rena Morningstar
In the early Sixties, Moses traveled south to
record the music and speeches of the Civil Rights movement,
traveling from town to town with SNCC organizers. Once he was
hidden from the KKK in a black people's morgue, and then driven
to safety in a hearse.
"You're black now, brother!" someone told him.
Moses produced a record, "Movement Soul," that was
re-issued by Folkways, and his entire collection of audio tapes
is preserved by the Smithsonian Institution.
"In Mississippi, black folk say, 'What go around, come
around.' This means that what goes out from you sooner or later,
some way or another, comes back to you. It's like everyone is
sitting in a circle passing around goodies. You don't have to
worry when you pass a goody to your neighbor, because you know
that pretty soon someone will pass a goody to you. 'What go
around, come around' means thinking like a big family or tribe,
instead of just like lonely individuals. I believe that kind of
thinking goes on at Wheeler's Ranch."
-Moses Moon, 1969
"He had a wonderful, happy life, always music, and his
greatest joy was watching his daughter grow. He was known in
everything he did for his kindness and his generosity."
"One of the things he taught me was that your quality of
life does not depend on the functioning of your body. It was a
very important lesson for me. He was just happy to be alive.
Moses was truly remarkable."
-Anna Darden
Ramon: During the summer of 1969, Joanie, Katy
the Dog and I lived in the Mouse House at Wheeler's Ranch.
Tootle-dee-toot! A recorder sounded on the path. Big, smiling
Moses appeared with a sackful of instruments and goodies. Moses
had come to Open Land and he stayed, pitching a tent on the
hillside above our house. I met him the previous year when he
visited Lou at Morning Star. With our mutual interest in
music-access-to-which-is-denied-no-one, we became good friends.
He brought up a portable professional tape recorder and recorded
many of the jam sessions, and always had some new instrument to
try out--a small marimba that he played with gusto, and a ukulele
that he so much enjoyed.
Later that summer, I helped Moses build a house at Wheeler's. We
measured the lengths with a broomstick and hammered in the
recycled nails with a shoe. During the Halloween Raid he provided
strong support for the beleaguered community and helped Gay bail
Bill and her brother Peter out of jail. In Gay's words:
"With Bill and Peter released from jail, we walked to the
parking lot in a glow
of mutual relief. A sheriff's car drove past, and Moses gave it a
big whack on
the rear with his fist. The car stopped, slowly backed up, and
the officer brought his eyes level with Moses'.
'Oh, I beg pardon, sir,' Moses quickly said. 'I just sort of
stumbled into you there.'
"The cops looked at each of us and then drove on. Moses had
expressed
the tension we all felt at having been struck and not being able
to strike back."
-Gay Chapman
It was with great delight that I watched the
Moses-Delia relationship blossom. In fact, it was I who
introduced them. The next time I saw him, all he could talk about
was what a wonderful woman Delia was. Shortly afterwards, the
"Modelia" entity formed as the two moved in together.
They built their canyon house at Star Mountain and then, a few
years later, the meadow house up on top. As stepfather to Jeremy
and Sarajenny, his paternal self blossomed, and when Delia gave
birth to Amanda, I never saw a happier dad than Moses. For me, it
was a true pleasure to see my dear friend, the heart-sore
bachelor, transformed into the nuturing father and doting
husband.
- Ramon Sender
Vale Mose
Sustained by love for wife, daughter, friends
And theirs for him,
He found time for his long life's work.
His book, in his own voice,
Would chronicle the cow,
Her history, her use,
For those who keep the herds in our time,
Who build their lives around
Mild creatures with cloven feet,
So they could learn the history of their calling,
Could know the predecessors of six millenia.
Know who first built rough corrals and worshipped the skulls
Of those wondrous huge beasts, lately wild,
Newly arrived in the huts of mankind
To join the dog, the goat, the sheep,
In benign captivity.
(Saying, "These folks are clever.
If you can't beat 'em,
join 'em.")
Know who built the temples,
With columns large as houses along the Nile-bank,
For the big-eyed, slender-horned cow-goddess.
Who thought the sky was her arching belly.
Know who gilded the bull's horn for sacrifice,
And circled the Forum in ceremonious procession.
Who crowned the cow with the brilliant blossoms of Ind,
And blessed with a free passport
Her dusty path through the village.
Know who laid their heads against her warm flank for milking,
(or, like the skin-clad Scythian, milked from behind.)
Who followed their flocks in the pastures of the Holy Land,
In the craggy mountains of Macedonia,
Whence sprang Alexander,
In the deserts of Africa, once green,
In the fertile Indus Valley,
In the snowbound Alps and Pyrenees,
Where the herd-boy's chant rings down the centuries.
He chronicled six thousand years.
And now he is gone
Where sheep may safely graze.
-Roo Dane
Marriage is Remembering
the Separate We are One
Sleeping with someone is
To feel their
Breath in your
heart. Secure the at-
taching web with-
IN; so safe with
All; greatness now, and madness.
I dread the dream takes
Til you, remembering the un-
voiced, speak. Your
Skin runs cold in
Night fog; holds warm. How
Long it takes to
Know you're gone. How
Quick I wake to go; how
Quick return. Cling-
ing marsupial to
Love's underbelly laugh-
ing? Crying? (I
Myself don't know) and
Thanking God, the Goddess for
Your hands within my breath.
-Delia Moon
September, 1991
All photos courtesy of Salli Rasberry
