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When Kyle Thompson, a history buff, learned a few years ago that he had ALS, he chose to spend the time he has left recording his Civil War-inspired songs. On Saturday, he recorded some of his pieces inside the McLean House at Appomattox Court House. |
As darkness fell on Old Salem Church last night, crickets chirped, sirens blared and a man inflicted with a fatal disease sang to preserve a slice of history dear to his heart.
Accompanied by friends playing guitar and violin, Kyle Thompson sang through the pain in his throat--one of the many symptoms of the Lou Gehrig's disease that is taking over his body.
"Them boys of the Union will never march home," Thompson sang in a deep, slow rhythm. "'Cause Robert E. Lee has his cannons placed well. And when the Yankees come marchin'. He'll blow them right back to hell."
That was a verse from "Glory Road," one of 17 tracks that Thompson wrote about the Civil War and hopes to compile on a self-produced CD by Memorial Day.
All proceeds from the album--to be titled "From the Fields"--will go to the nonprofit Civil War Preservation Trust. The organization estimates that 20 percent of the country's Civil War battlefields have been destroyed by urban sprawl and development.
Thompson wants to help, and music is his way. But he knows that time is of the essence.
Five years ago, Thompson was studying to be a chef in Orange County, Calif., and preparing to start a family with his wife, Traci.
He started having what he now recognizes as early symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis--a fatal disease without cure that attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord and leaves victims paralyzed.
There was pain in his back. He lost coordination. His triceps started twitching. It got hard to swallow.
In January 2001, at the age of 37, he was diagnosed with ALS--commonly named for the New York Yankees' first baseman who died of it.
The Thompsons no longer wanted to have children. His atrophying muscles kept him from wielding a knife or holding hot water, ruining his career as a chef. They moved to Arizona, where cheaper housing prices allowed more money for medical care.
The average length of survival after diagnosis is just three to five years, according to the ALS Association.
But instead of dwelling on his cramping muscles, gagging throat and inflamed joints, Thompson decided to travel. One of his early stops was the land of Dixie.
The great-great-grandson of three Confederate veterans, Thompson has long been interested in the Civil War. And development encroaching on historic battlefields bugged him.
He began reading Civil War history voraciously, and he wrote songs based on the diaries and books he took in.
He decided to record his songs where the history happened. He got in touch with the superintendents of National Park Service sites, and the journey began to take form.
His band began a weeklong tour of four historic sites turned concert halls on Saturday at the McLean House--the site at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park where Robert E. Lee officially surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant.
Tomorrow, they'll be at the Dunker Church at Antietam National Battlefield, with their final stop Friday at a Gettysburg National Military Park church.
The group also includes guitarists Tom Berg and Scott Johnson, violinist Tad Korn and "groupies" Tonnie Katz, all of California, and Ray Berg of Maine. They chose Old Salem Church, part of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, for its historic and symbolic value.
During the Civil War, the 1844 church served as a hospital and refugee center for Fredericksburg residents escaping the December 1862 battle. It also played a role six months later during the Battle of Chancellorsville, with Confederate sharpshooters firing at Union soldiers from the church's upper gallery.
Now, the once-extensive site has been reduced to a brick church, two monuments to New Jersey regiments and an acre of ground just south of busy State Route 3 and west of Interstate 95. Last night, emergency sirens interrupted the group's audio recordings several times.
Thompson hopes to sell the CD at national-park bookstores to raise money for the preservation trust so other historic sites can remain undisturbed.
Another long-term goal is to sing a song in Yankee Stadium that he wrote about Lou Gehrig. Negotiations are still in the works.
Thompson knows the fate that awaits him. But he'll do everything he can with his talent in the time he has left.
"You know that your time is coming up quick," he said. "But you gotta believe that you can persevere through it a little bit longer."
To reach Kyle and Traci Thompson, e-mail mrstrt@msn.com.
To reach BILL FREEHLING: 540/374-5424 bfreehling@freelancestar.com
