It's All About a Bear Named Bishop and the WASP!

Bishop the Bear was created to honor and celebrate the WASP of WWII and to captivate kids' imaginations, encouraging them to soar!

As many of you know, I've been sharing the WASP WWII history for almost 20 years, through songs, videos, an afghan, trading cards, interactive displays, kiosks, the first WASP app, an illustrated WASP history book, and interactive web pages.   Anything outside the box that will captivate, engage and educate kids is what excites and propels me.  

Enter Bishop, my next ‘big idea’ to challenge young kids to follow their dreams, work hard, persist, and keep on learning.    Through Bishop, we can reach the next generation--raising awareness and sharing the inspirational WASP history in a completely new way. 

You don’t have to be a WASP to Fly HIGH in what you do.  HOW do you do it?  Will YOU SHARE what you’ve learned so that a child can be inspired to do something they might never have done? 

My prayer is that Bishop will show us all how exciting and fulfilling it is to dream big and someday, FLY—in whatever we choose to do!     Join us!  Change the future by honoring the past and share your own inspiration, honor, courage, and love.

I'd like to invite you to read all about it on our new KICKSTARTER page.

HERE IS THE LINK! Then, please, join us, and let me know what you think!

God bless you all!

Nancy Parrish

#mustardseedfaith #wasp-wwii

Impossible? NOT FOR MY MOTHER THE WASP!

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I post this in honor of my mom and all the other WASP mom's out there, who share certain characteristics, not the least of which is DETERMINATION!

by Nancy Parrish,
(Daughter of WASP Deanie Bishop Parrish)

I’ve been writing and sharing stories online about my mother, the WASP, for  16 years.  It is her fault. She is interesting,  she is inspirational,  and she has set the bar so high, I’m still striving to reach it!   

After my dad passed away in 1993, my mother became my partner.   Together, we created Wings Across America, have traveled to 19 states, and have interviewed over 100 WASP. It is a partnership of common purpose, love,  respect  and faith.     

I share a story--NOT  about the good old days of the 1940‘s.  This is a story I witnessed, but trust me when I say that it is absolutely a ‘WASP story’.  This is about one WASP’ determination, persistence, hard work and faith that,  ‘With God’s help, nothing is impossible’. It is about my mother, the WASP, who did something extraordinary in 1992 that she had never done before--in fact, no WASP had ever done before-- or has since. 

The WASP were planning their 50^th reunion,  to be held at the Officer’s Club at Lackland AFB in San Antonio.  As part of the festivities, mom had volunteered to head up the “LUNCHEON ENTERTAINMENT”.

Several weeks before the big event,  mom had one of her ‘lightbulb moments’.  When she gets that sparkle in her eye--something small is going to turn into a much bigger deal.  This was no exception.

“Why don’t you write a song for the luncheon,” she asked me.  “In fact, why don’t you write a ‘RAP’?   Pause. I was processing where in the heck she had ever heard the term ‘RAP’ when she continued.  “A WASP RAP!”   Then, there was mom’s “look”.  It is a special look, known only to WASP and their children. When you experience it, you instantly feel like you are about to disappoint a WASP.  “You’re the songwriter”, she said. (To be fair, I am a song writer and was a member of the musician’s union back in the days of harmony and music that didn’t sound so angry.)  But-- not this--not RAP!)


I made a small mistake.  I spoke before thinking: “Mom, RAP is NOT music.”  I instantly sensed I was about to disappoint her--so I quickly added, “but, if you want a rap song, why don’t you write it yourself?”  Pause.   “I’ll give you the background beat--and you can put words to it.”  I had thrown down the gauntlet.  I had challenged her.  She picked up her pencil.  “How do I do this?”

I got out my little drum machine and laid down a rhythm track.  After I handed it to her and left the room, I heard the tape recorder over and over--play, reverse, play, reverse, over and over as she tried to put words to the beat.  It took hours.  It took many, many hours.  She worked very, very hard.

Dad and I were not completely convinced she could do it, but, from the moment I challenged her, she was absolutely determined that she would do it. NO GOING BACK for her!   Finally, she found the rhyme pattern and a good solid line for the chorus.  A few hours later, the RAP “WE GOT THE STUFF, THE RIGHT STUFF’  was born.

Not only did she write a RAP song, the lyrics told the entire history of the WASP--in RAP, and it does it in just about 4 minutes!  Then, she asked, ‘Will you sing this?’  Never mind my original  ‘rap is not music' argument.  This time, I was NOT going to disappoint my mother,  the WASP.   Yes, I arranged it,  ‘sang’ it, and recorded it!  

Mom contacted WASP Julie Stegge, a former Zigfield Follies dancer. Julie put on her sequined hat and danced to the WASP RAP.  Boy, could Julie kick high! Ask any WASP who attended that convention and she will tell you that it was that single semi- musical moment that was the hit of the entire convention! The rap was "sung", Julie kicked,  and mom smiled.   Talk about your standing ovations--it was awesome!

It has now been TWENTY years, and WASP still talk about the only WASP rap ever written: “We Got the Stuff, the RightStuff.”  When you read the lyrics, you may be surprised by mom’s ‘frank’ lyrics.  “But that’s the way it was,” she says, so that’s the way she wrote it.  However, she admits that she had a little help.  She believes absolutely that, ‘With God’s help,  ANYTHING is possible.’  Yes,  indeed it is! 

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, MOM!

Nancy Parrish

WINGS ACROSS AMERICA

nancy@wingsacrossamerica.org

Article originally shared with NPR -- 2010