It’s The Most Wonderful Time of Year

I know, I know it’s not even Thanksgiving yet then again it’s only 68 days till Christmas!! Christmas is my favorite time of the year. Everything about Christmas makes me smile from the snow-covered rooftops to the ice-covered roadways, from the warm hot chocolate in a mug to the freezing temperatures, from the feeling of giving to the smell of cinnamon candles. I just love Christmas-let us dissect all the wonderful things about it.

The Songs

My favorite Christmas hymn is O Holy Night sung by none other than Straight No Chaser.

Other carol favorites are Silent Night, O Come All Ye Faithful, Angels We Have Heard on High, and Hark the Herald Angels Sing. The minor keys and the complex harmonies characterize these hymns. What about the classic Christmas songs: It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Feliz Navidad, or Winter Wonderland? I like Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Who can forget that scene in Meet Me in St Louis when Judy Garland first introduced the world to the song? As a side note, the words she sang in the movie were not the original words. The original tune was the same but the original words were horrendous. I’m so glad they changed it.

The Movies

Who can forget the timeless song White Christmas in the movie White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye? Wonderful movie!!! Another popular Christmas movie is It’s a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart. It’s not my favorite; in fact, it’s very far from my favorite. I think it’s one of the most overplayed Christmas movies; however, I have to mention it as the playing of this movie on TCM is a sign of Christmas. Other famous Christmas movies are A Christmas Carol (the famous Charles Dickens book), The Miracle on 34^th St, and some even consider Meet Me in St Louis a Christmas movie. Of course we can’t mention Christmas movies without mentioning one of the most popular Christmas cartoon: Charlie Brown’s Christmas. Who can forget the famous melody Linus and Lucy that has so characterized the movie?

Some day I will play learn it on the piano. Then are the cartoons about Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. “You’re a mean one Mister Grinch…” It’s perfect for a bass voice and one can have so much fun with it. The best rendition of this song is the original sung by Boris Karloff.

The Traditions

Every family has a special tradition for Christmas. My family and I read the Christmas story every year and we have homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Others may open presents on Christmas Eve, light the Yule log, or some may even read The Night Before Christmas. And of course, everyone has gifts!! As a child, I could hardly sleep as I waited with anticipation for the next morning to open the gifts.

Ah Christmas time!! It truly is the most wonderful time of the year. The spirit that surrounds Christmas is that of love, giving, and selfishness. It can make one wish that it would be Christmastime all year. This time of year instead of singing in the rain, I’ll be singing in the snow. 

So now I leave you to reflect on the wonderful joy of Christmas with my quote of the blog from Roy L Smith “He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.”

The End

Comedy In It's Finest

Vaudeville and Slapstick have long been forgotten. The days have come when stand up has become the only way besides a movie to see a comedian. Oh, for the days of the comedians who actually had good jokes and were fun for the whole family. The days of gathering round the TV or radio (if you go back that far) to listen to the Carol Burnett Show, the Dick Van Dyke Show, or the Abbott and Costello show. How I wish I could have seen them in their element. *Sigh*

Those days have long past and all we have is some glimpses of their glorious careers. Not one comedian today can hold a candle to the likes of Bob Hope, Danny Kaye, or Cary Grant. Gone are they along with the rest of those funny men and they have taken down the comedic teams. Comedic teams that consisted of the tall man and short man, the straight man and the funny man, or the thin man and the fat man. What happened to the times were the Three Stooges, Abbott and Costello, Lewis and Martin, Hope and Crosby, or Laurel and Hardy were popular? Who can forget those famous routines? What is this world coming too??? Ruin, it’s all come to ruin! *Sobs*

Yes, that might be a tad extreme but there are many generations that have grown up without the enjoyment of the type of comedy only these teams could provide. Who can forget hearing Abbott and Costello’s famous routine “Who’s On First?”

Or who can forget Laurel and Hardy’s “Tell Me That Again” routine:

Or what about the Three Stooges classic Courtroom scene:

I have never met these funny men but I have watched their work and like a master they make something so simple sound so hilarious. Ah, for the days of the comedic teams to resurrect themselves into popular culture. If that never happens, we can still celebrate them by enjoying every piece of clip or movie that we can and although these men have long passed, we can still enjoy them. It still amazes me that something that someone did in the 1950’s can still be funny today and can still impact them.

I leave you with this quote from the one of the masters himself Bud Abbott: 

"It gets so boring at home. After all, how many reruns of Abbott and Costello movies can a guy watch on television?"

What's The Next Thing On My List?

“Under an old brass paperweight, my list of things to do today...” Whenever I hear of people writing out their bucket lists, I think of this song. Call me a human jukebox if you want too but this old Toby Keith song has some truth to it.

This year, I have accomplished three goals off of my bucket list already and I am going for a fourth. Granted, those goals were smaller but in their own way each of them was very important to me. What goals are on my bucket list? Well, I’m glad you asked but before I tell you I want to ask you this question: What goals are on your bucket list? I would love to hear them all so just leave me a comment here on the blog or if you are my Facebook friend leave a comment on the post about the goals on your bucket list.

With that being said, here are my top 20 (yes I have more than 20) goals on my bucket list in no particular order. The ones that have one asterisk * are the ones I have accomplished this year-those that have two ** are the ones I have accomplished in years past:

• To be a church piano player
• To watch every movie starring Gene Kelly (13 down and almost 30 to go!)
• To sing a special in church*
• To hear and meet Brian Free*
• To go to a Southern Gospel concert*
• To hear and meet Straight No Chaser (I have tickets for their concert in November so I can’t claim this one yet)
• To see a Broadway play**
• To see the Phantom of the Opera in NYC
• To go skydiving (Little worried about this one)
• To be recorded singing**
• To sing a solo in church
• To backpack across Europe
• To dance with my husband in the rain
• To learn how to tap dance
• To buy my bridal gown at Kleinfeld’s (This one may never come true. Those gowns are expensive!!!)
• To take a road trip through the USA
• To drive a Lamborghini
• To read my Bible in a year
• To work with my husband
• To be a part of a traveling singing group

 Well, there you have it-my bucket list. I’m looking forward to hearing your goals I hope in some way that I have inspired you to create a bucket list if you don’t have one. Until next time, I leave you with the quote of the post: “Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you’re alive, it isn’t.”~ Richard Bach

P.S. I stole this idea from a friend. Sorry friend I stole this idea from. I hope you like mine!! Also, the next post will be about comedic teams. Look for it soon!

With Tears of Rememberance

It was just another normal Tuesday morning. My brother and I were home schooled and we had just started working on our schoolwork (at least I was, I’m not sure about my brother) when my Dad called and he told my Mom to turn on the TV. I remember it vividly as she called us over, turned the TV on, and there waiting for us to see was a building on fire. “Nothing out of the ordinary, it probably was an accident” the anchormen said. The skeptical person I was thought “Oh boy, they will be talking about this little fire for weeks.” I assumed (like the rest of the world) that everything would be ok. I knew that a few people had died but it couldn’t be anything major. Nothing could ever prepare me for the sight that came next. A plane slammed into the second building and a ball of fire followed by a cloud of smoke and papers filled the air. 

“It was another plane!!” the anchormen said “Another plane has hit the World Trade Center tower!! This has to be an attack!” I was shocked. “What was going on?” I thought. It seemed so deliberate and I knew that the pilot was aiming for that tower. Why would an American pilot do this? I at first assumed it was a military plane. Then they replayed the footage and instead of a military plane, I saw a passenger plane. I convinced myself that it was empty. It just had to be. No one in their right mind would fly a jet plane filled with people into a building, right? I was wrong and as we later found out the pilots were not in their right mind. My mom shut the TV off and told us to get back to our schoolwork. I wanted to sit and watch out of natural curiosity and Mom said no. I don’t know why she turned it off, maybe she knew the gravity of the situation and didn’t want us to see it. Later, she turned the TV back on and discovered the Pentagon had been hit. The anchormen then broke the story of United Flight 93. My heart soared when I heard the news that the Americans had fought these despicable terrorists. I was never so proud of a group of people I had never heard of. “We Americans always fight back!!” I thought. The news footage cut to a smoking field in PA with a huge hole. The plane had crashed but the terrorists had lost. People had died on that flight but who knows how many lives were saved by their heroism.

I never really understood the overall gravity of the 9-11 until I saw a picture like this. It still haunts me to this day. I opened up the Sunday paper and like a tsunami, the fear and anger washed over me. Just a word of warning, it’s not graphic but can be very disturbing.

The situation was so desperate that this poor man decided that he would rather die by jumping then burning to death. My heart rose to my throat and I could not believe what was happened. What would I do if I was in that situation? Would I jump? To this day, I cannot answer that question and I hope I never will have to.

Later that day, my family held a prayer meeting at our house. We were all concerned about our Uncle John who worked in NYC. We got the phone call later that day from his daughter Liz that he was okay. Thank God! Others were not so lucky--almost 3,000 innocent people died that day. For the days and weeks after the attacks, pictures of the burning rubble, ash covered fire trucks, and people crying were displayed. Heroic stories of firefighters, policemen, and normal everyday people were told. Flags, signs, and pictures of loved ones filled the streets of NYC. Songs were written about patriotism like the Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue by Toby Keith or Have You Forgotten by Darryl Worley. One song that says it all is Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?”

This song takes me back to the place when my world changed forever. To this day if you ask any American over the age 20 if they remember 9-11, they get a little misty-eyed and can tell you verbatim the place where they saw it all happen. Though I would never have wished that this attack had taken place, it united Americans for the first time in a very long time. Patriotism became more than just waiving a flag and saying God Bless America. It was real and alive.

I will never ever forget 9-11 and as I have matured and grown, I have come to realize not only what hurt those attacks caused but what bravery and courageousness it resulted out of them. I was watching a documentary that told the story of the American Airlines plane that hit the 2^nd tower. One mother said, “Every time I watch the footage of that plane going into the building, I’m watching my son die.” How do you deal with that? I don’t know and hope to God that I never know. I was watching another documentary that painted the story of 2 men that died in the World Trade Center because they put others first and saved over 70 lives. Remember the firefighters and police men that went into the burning buildings carrying over 50lbs of equipment to try and save people? What about the ones that gave up of their time and dedicated themselves to the clean-up effort? These men were ordinary people who did extraordinary things.

On that note, I end with this question and a quote. The question: If you were in that situation, do you know where you would go? Would you go to Heaven? If not, here is a link to show you so that you know for sure, you are going to Heaven: http://www.northcolumbusbaptist.org/715339

The quote is from President George W. Bush on December 11, 2001 only 3 months after the attack “Now, we have inscribed a new memory alongside those others. It’s a memory of tragedy and shock, of loss and mourning. But not only of loss and mourning, it’s also a memory of bravery and self-sacrifice, and the love that lays down its life for a friend-even a friend whose name it never knew.”

My Favorite Song Part Two

Southern Gospel is a genre of music on its own and it is totally different form of music. Southern Gospel ranges from the Bluegrass sound of the Dixie Melody Boys to a more contemporary sound of Ernie Haase and Signature Sound. My favorite Southern Gospel group is Brian Free and Assurance. I met Brian Free at a concert in May. Here is my evidence:

He was the sweetest man ever and his love for the Lord showed. He is a great singer as well and his group has an acapella CD which is totally amazing. Moving on, my favorite song of his is “Remind Me of the Cross.” I first heard this song when I was going through a depressing time in my life. The bass singer Jeremy Lyle sings it so expressively that it just spoke to me. The chorus goes “Remind me of the thorns You wore as a crown, the stripes that You bore, and the blood flowing down; the nails and the weight of my sin. Should a day ever come that I forget what real love cost? Remind me of the Cross.” As soon as I heard that last part, I broke down into tears. This is a normally a good thing but you see I was driving at that time; thankfully, I didn’t have an accident. 

My other favorite Southern Gospel song is “The Potter Knows the Clay." The song brings me back to my college days when my life was a mess and God was bringing me through some trials to bring me back to Him. The last verse is the one that really speaks to me. When she sings “O, Lord isn’t it about time?” That was me and those were the exact words I would say at night when I talked to the Lord. I would tell Him “Lord, I’m done, I learned my lesson. Isn’t it time for the blessings?” Those were some close moments with the Lord and though I would not want to go through that period of my life again I still cherish those moments.

Look for part three soon!!! For now, I leave you with a quote from Fanny Crosby "If I had a choice, I would still choose to remain blind...for when I die, the first face I will ever see will be the face of my blessed Saviour."

My Favorite Song Part One

Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Straight No Chaser, Josh Groban, Michael Buble….these are just some of the artists that I have in my collection. I also have a collection of great Southern Gospel groups: Brian Free and Assurance (my favorite), Gold City, the Perry’s, Legacy Five, the Kingsmen, and the Kingdom Heirs. So if any of you want some music just ask! Music is something I could talk about all the time. It’s my love, my passion, and eventually I hope it will be my work. Right now, I’m in the middle stage where I’m not quite good enough to go out on my own but not bad enough to be horrible. Now some of you may contest this but just know that you are wrong (I’m kidding!!). Anyways, there is one thing I know that I know-I know what music I like and what music I don’t like. I don’t like rap, heavy metal, rock and roll, or anything that would be classified in that genre. Why? Frank Sinatra says it better that I can, “Rock and Roll: The most brutal, ugly, desperate, vicious form of expression it has been my misfortune to hear.” As a cowboy in a western would say: Them’s fightin’ words (Make sure you add the Southern accent). Also, just think, in that day and age Rock ‘n Roll was Elvis Presley and the Beatles. What would he think of Rock ‘n Roll today?

To move on to better things, the subject of this post is my favorite song. Well, to tell you the truth, I really don’t have an all-time favorite song. If I did, it would change in the next 3 seconds. I guess I have a fear of commitment.  However, I do have favorite songs by artists so I guess that will have to do. I have always been a big fan of big band music. This comes from the time I was a little girl and watched old movies with my Babchi (Polish for Grandma) and I saw men and women like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers or Debbie Reynolds and Gene Kelly dancing to music provided by big bands such as the Tommy Dorsey or Glen Miller band. It was so romantic! This was how I first found out about Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Dean Martin. So from that love of big band music, I became a fan of Michael Buble. I was introduced to Michael Buble by some roommates in college. I think the first song I heard was Home. I love that song but I think Blake Shelton sings it better; however, you can be the judge and watch this clip to decide:

My favorite song that Michael Buble sings is Haven’t Met You Yet. The lyrics say “I might have to wait, I’ll never give up. I guess it’s half timing, the other half luck. Wherever you are, whenever its right, you’ll come out of nowhere and into my life.” It’s my favorite because I am still waiting for Prince Charming to come carry me away on his white horse. Then we could live happily ever after. (Big sigh) How Romantic!

Another favorite genre of mine is acapella music. Good acapella music is very hard to come by. Why? It’s so hard to do. You don’t have any instruments to fall back on or to keep you in the right key. It’s all up to you. No pressure, right? So, when I heard this next group I nearly fainted because they were good and not only good, they were very good. They are called Straight No Chaser. Almost everyone I have introduced them to has told what an astonishing group this is. I even have convinced 6 additional people to come with me to their concert in November. I should get a commission or something. For all of you haters out there (you know who you are), they have very good Christmas music. My favorite song by them is Fix You. It was originally sung by ColdPlay; however, they sing it much better. There is just something about hearing the pure voice and the closeness of the harmonies they bring. Here is a clip of them singing it:

Awesome isn’t it? See I told you!

Well there you have it; these are just some of my favorite songs. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do and it opens your mind to other groups that are out there. Be sure to check for Part 2 to be posted soon!! And now for the quote of the blog…today, I leave you with a quote from my favorite composer, Ludwig Van Beethoven: “Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman.”

P.S. I have been told that I need a goal for this blog. I don’t have a goal exactly for this blog but I have a theme besides enjoying the simple things in life. I would like to showcase a movie, author, actor, musician, dancer, etc. from the olden days 1940s-1960s to help broaden horizons. It would be like a spotlight. Let me know what you think!!!

Old Movies

For me, one of the simple things in life is to watch an old movie. To curl up on the sofa with a cup of hot cocoa or a bowl of soup and watch the old chick flicks is an awesome way to spend a rainy day. The story is the same-Guy meets girl, guy falls in love with girl, girl doesn’t like guy and avoids him, guy wins girl with music and dancing, they get married, and then they live happily ever after-sometimes the roles are reversed and sometimes there isn’t any singing or dancing (what a shame!). For instance, His Girl Friday is my favorite Cary Grant movie. The quips by Cary and his lady co-star are very funny and I find myself cheering (inside of course) for Cary to win his lady’s heart back. You’ll have to watch the movie to find out. Another one of my favorites is Cover Girl starring Gene Kelly and Rita Hayworth. Gene falls in love with Rita but breaks up with her so she can go work on Broadway to fulfill her dream. You’ll also have to watch this one to find out what happens.

What is it that draws me to the old chick flicks? Maybe it’s the story of “true” love which relates to the hope that I will be in love someday. To have a guy win a girl’s heart by singing and dancing is a fantasy/dream as some people say. I know it will never happen but there’s always an exception to the rule, right? Maybe it’s the music, after all music is my passion. I love the simple songs that relate to me and my life. For instance, Brigadoon with Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse. Cyd sings a song called Waitin’ For My Dearie. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PZ8CdRU9E&feature=player_embedded. The song is about her waiting for her true love and quite honestly explains she is not going to fall in love with any Tom, Dick, or Harry. I can definitely relate to that. I want to save myself for the right man-God’s man for me. Another song I love is from Du Barry was a Lady starring Lucille Ball, a very young Gene Kelly (anyone noticing a theme here?), and Red Skeleton. Gene sings a song to Lucille called Do I Love You, Do I? One line says, “Do I love you, do I? Does one and one make two?”  This song doesn't relate to me right now, but I hope it will soon. Nevertheless, it’s a good song and you can find it on YouTube if you want to hear the whole thing. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvJC14UpGpc. Then maybe it’s just because they are old movies from the 1940’s to 1950’s. Lately, I have had a healthy fascination with everything in that decade. I’m working on getting my hair styled that way and I am also working on my vintage hat collection.

So what is it that draws me to old chick flicks? Is it the simple story of “true” love? Is it the simplicity of the music? Is it the fascination with the decade? I’m not sure but whatever it is I’m addicted and it doesn’t look like that addiction will be broken any time soon. Maybe I need an intervention.

To end this fascinating blog, I leave you with a quote about fame from one of my favorite chick flicks-Singing in the Rain:

Cosmo Brown (Donald O’Connor):“The price of fame. You’ve got the glory, You gotta take the little heartaches that go with it. Now look at me: I’ve got no fame, I’ve got no glory, I’ve got no big mansions, I’ve got no money! But I’ve got……what have I got?”

Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly): “I don’t know what have you got?”

Cosmo: “I gotta get out of here.”