Happy Birthday to Dick Francis and the other Old Timers who rose from humble beginnings

Dick Francis, novelist, 89 today :

Francis was born in South Wales, in 1920, the son of a jockey and stable manager,he left school at 15 without any qualifications, with the intention of becoming a jockey and became a trainer in 1938.

Sir Jimmy Saville, disk jokey and charity fund raiser : 83

Saville was born in Leeds, the youngest of 7 children. He was a 'Bevin Boy', conscripted during World War II to work as a coal miner.

Tom Paxton, American folk singer : 72

Thomas Richard Paxton was born in 1937, in Chicago, Illinois. His father was a chemist and mostly self-educated. .

Stephen Rea, actor : 66

Rea was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the son of a bus driver. One of four children in a working-class Presbyterian family.

From Tom Paxton his song, which resonated with the 1960's and seems just as applicable to the world we live in today :
( my italics )

What Did You Learn in School Today?

What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
I learned that Washington never told a lie.
I learned that soldiers seldom die.
I learned that every body's free.
And that's what the teacher said to me.
That's what I learned in school today.
That's what I learned in school.

What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
I learned that policemen are my friends.
I learned that justice never ends.
I learned that murderers die for their crimes.
Even if we make a mistake sometimes.
That's what I learned in school today.
That's what I learned in school.

What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
I learned our government must be strong.
It's always right and never wrong.
Our leaders are the finest men.
And we elect them again and again.
That's what I learned in school today.
That's what I learned in school.

What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
I learned that war is not so bad.
I learned of the great ones we have had.
We fought in Germany and in France.
And some day I might get my chance.
That's what I learned in school today.
That's what I learned in school.

And sung by Pete Seeger :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wf5Jn8O3s0c&feature=player_embedded