My friend, Becky, who writes the blog, *Becky Povich: Writer - Journalist - Humorist*, passed on to me the Creative Writer Blogger Award. Thank you, Becky! This award encourages writers to use their "creative license," if you will.
Becky is also having a giveaway contest on her blog right now if you'd like to enter. Please visit this post to find out more about it, but hurry because she will be choosing the winner after midnight on March 31st.
Anyway for this meme, according to the rules, I am to list seven wild or wacky tidbits about myself, at least one of which is true.
So this is my list. It is up to you to decide which ones are true and which ones are outright lies and products of my creative license.
1. I once crashed a moped I was riding full speed into a lilac bush.
2. I can speak four languages fluently.
3. I have ridden in the rumble seat of an antique car on numerous occasions.
4. I was once kissed by Harry Chapin.
5. I used to work at the zoo, feeding the monkeys and cleaning their cages.
6. I once sewed an entire three piece suit for my husband.
7. In the eighth grade, I won the county spelling bee and went on to the state competition where I finished in thirteenth place.
Now, I am supposed to tag seven bloggers to pass this on to, but since I know that many of my readers prefer not to do memes, instead I will just say that if you would like to participate, please consider yourself tagged by me. Help yourself to the logo picture above to post on your blog, and let me know you are playing so I can come and read your list too.
Now, have you figured out which tidbits above are true and which are false?
Numbers 2 and 5 are false. The rest are all true! So how did you do?
Today after work, we had a fun Easter bonnet party at the library for the library staff. The party included a fondue potluck meal, some fun and games, door prizes, and lots and lots of hats.
We brought in or made or decorated Easter bonnets to wear during the day while working at the library and for the party tonight. It was funny to see some of the looks we got from our patrons about our hats. Some were brave enough to ask us about why we were wearing them. Others were not. It was an amusing way to spend the day at work.
This is the hat that I brought. There wasn't much to it, really. I wrapped a scarf around a straw hat and stuck some flowers on one side and a little plastic bunny and egg on the other.
Some of my coworkers, though, really went all out with their Easter bonnets and even brought along other accessories such as gloves, sunglasses, purses, handkerchiefs, and so forth to go with their hats.
There was also an Easter display in the glass case in the Local History room where we had our party.
We enjoyed a fun fondue meal along with salad, deviled eggs, and jelly bean cupcakes. (I brought the jelly bean cupcakes.)
We had fun clowning around and playing dress up.
This butterfly hat was my favorite of all that were brought in for the party.
The games were fun too. I won a couple of cool door prizes.
I thought you might enjoy seeing the end clip from the movie "Easter Parade" with Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. It's Friday night! Come on, put on a hat and dance with me!
My son brought home his orchestra portrait from school the other day. I thought it turned out pretty well.
I took it with me to the nursing home to show my mom. She liked it and said she thought he looked sharp in his tuxedo. Then she laughed and said, "She wasn't used to seeing him in a penguin suit." She chuckled then at her own joke. Any day when she can find a reason to smile is a good one in my mind, so I was glad I took the picture in to show her.
The word tuxedo always makes me think of Tennessee Tuxedo and his friend Chumley, cartoon characters from my childhood. Does anyone else remember them? I took a little trip down memory lane by watching one of their cartoons on Youtube. Don Adams (from Get Smart fame) did the voice of Tennessee Tuxedo. It's interesting that they wear ties and hats but no shirts and pants, don't you think? HA HA!
Anyway, I said last week that I had some videos to post of when my son played the upright bass with the OMEA District 1 High School Honors Orchestra in February. I haven't had time until tonight to get them off the camera and onto the computer and then from there to Youtube and then back here on my blog. "Real" life for me has been rather busy and overwhelming of late, keeping me from having much time to blog.
I uploaded three songs to Youtube, but am only posting two of them here today. The other one by G. F. Handel (titled, "Concerto Grosso Opus 6, No. 1") you can go watch here if you would like to do so. I realize not everyone has the time to watch and listen to videos on blogs and perhaps aren't fans of classical music either. So watch these if you're interested and pass them by if you're not. My son is way in the back in this large group and very difficult, if not impossible, to see through most of the songs, but take my word for it, he is there.
The first piece is called "Point Lookout." "Point Lookout" is a fantasy on Civil War songs. From SheetMusicPlus.com comes this information about this piece:
"Several songs are used in this fantasy. The dark opening and subsequent section is based on The Battle Cry of Freedom by George Frederic Root. The work then moves into a unique and sensitive setting of Battle Hymn of the Republic. As this section develops, a hint of America, the Beautiful is heard, a solemn tribute to the many costly battles that have brought us to the present. The final section is based on When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again, another famous song of the Civil War era. As this section continues to build furiously, a powerful, more complete statement of America, the Beautiful returns to unify the entire work."
So as you listen to this piece, you will probably recognize the bits and pieces of those songs listed above.
This next piece is "Bacchanale" (from Samson and Delilah). Samson and Delilah is a grand opera based on the Biblical tale from the Old Testament. The (Danse) Bacchanale is the exotic and exciting dance music of the priests from the opera. You may recognize this piece too.
This weekend my son has another performance on Sunday that I am really looking forward to attending. The Toledo Youth Symphony, of which he is a part, will be performing side by side with the Toledo Symphony. The teens have been practicing lately with the professional adult members of the Symphony learning the works for this concert. I think it is exciting and a wonderful opportunity for him to be able to perform alongside of them. My other son and one set of grandparents from Cleveland are coming to attend the concert with us too, so it will be a busy weekend.
Hey, today is officially the first day of spring!! It's been a long time coming around this year (or so it seemed to me). Time to get on your feet and dance. You know I am. This joint is jumping!!
The Roxbury Latin Latonics, or more simply called, The Latonics, performed a magnificent concert at my church last night. The Latonics is a group of high school boys from the private all boys school, the Roxbury Latin School, located in the southwestern part of the city of Boston in West Roxbury. They perform sophisticated and challenging a cappella music. Their concerts feature folk songs, spirituals, show tunes, and popular favorites.
The boys are on tour right now during their spring break from school. Our town was very fortunate to be included as a stop on their tour because of family ties between the Glee Club's director and a member of our church.
My son, his girlfriend, and I thoroughly enjoyed the concert they gave at our church. Following the concert, the boys were housed overnight by various church members. We were fortunate enough to be one of the families who were hosting the boys. Two of these polite, well-mannered, talented young gentlemen spent the night at our house last night.
In addition to the magnificent concert at the church, we were fortunate enough to have our own private concert of sorts from the two boys who stayed with us. They noticed my piano and asked if they could play it. Well, YES! Of course, I was absolutely thrilled to have them play it.
They sat down and played song after song on the piano in my living room, all memorized music from their heads. There was no sheet music in front of them. Once in a while one or the other would sing softly along with the music. The rest of the time, they just played the piano without singing. I loved it all!
These are the two young men who graced us with their talent and their presence last night. It was a joy to have them stay with us. I couldn't have asked for nicer or more pleasant house guests. I was very impressed by their courteous behavior and manners. They allowed me to take a photo of them which you see below.
Mike Beam and Nate Davis
They also gave our family a copy of one of their CD's as a gift. It is called "Off Centre" by the Latonics.
The songs included on this CD are: 1. Real World 2. Accidentally in Love 3. Here We Go 4. Every Breath You Take 5. I Can See Clearly Now 6. Falling Over You 7. Dancing Nancies 8. Amie 9. One Week 10. Name 11. Change in My Life
I asked the boys if their group is on Youtube, and they said that, yes, they were. So I looked them up. They have quite a few videos on Youtube, but I posted the following videos because each of the boys is featured as the solo artist in these performances.
This first video features Mike Beam as the soloist.
This next video features Nate Davis as the soloist.
I am so pleased that we were able to host these two young men. We were very blessed to have their music fill our church sanctuary and our home.
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Lord, for talented young men, for beautiful music, and for the joy experienced from hearing this music, please let me be truly grateful.
Happy St. Patrick's Day! To celebrate the day, I have some special music for you to enjoy. Remember when I told you about going to the OMEA District 1 concert? My son played with the orchestra for that performance.
This post isn't about the orchestra, though. This is about the OMEA District 1 High School Honors Choir that sang that day. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I thought you might like to hear their amazing performance of "Loch Lomand." (Yes, I am fully aware that "Loch Lomand" is a song about Scotland not Ireland. You don't have to be so nitpicky, do you? Ireland, Scotland, whatever. They are pretty close together over there by England, right? It is still a pretty song to listen to, don't you think? Can't you just do me a favor and pretend it is a song about Ireland? Thanks. I appreciate you playing along.)
Seriously, the kids did an amazing job on it. The director was a lot of fun to watch too. He was very animated throughout their performance.
This video cuts off before the end of the song. I apologize for that, but then, you should be used to my amazing* skills with the camera by now. The memory on the camera ran out this time instead of the batteries dying on me. HA! I wish it hadn't because the choir not only did an amazing job with this song, but they also performed several other songs that they sang wonderfully, and I wished I could have recorded. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. I love the "di-di-di-di" part. :-D
I hope to post the videos of the performances of the orchestra that my son played in later this week, perhaps. (Can't say I didn't warn you. Run! Hide! She's going to brag about her kid again! HA HA! )
According to the site, Holidays for Everyday, which has a list of all sorts of obscure days set aside to celebrate or honor one thing or another, yesterday, March 13th, was Good Samaritan Day. Most have probably heard the story of the Good Samaritan, the parable Jesus told as an answer to the question, "And who is my neighbor?" In the story, the Good Samaritan showed mercy on a stranger in need and helped him. Coincidentally, this morning in church, a special collection was taken up to aid the homeless shelter in our town. Another case of people helping strangers in need.
So, I began thinking today of times when I have been helped by strangers acting as Good Samaritans. When I was in college, I purchased my first car. It was a little white Honda Civic. It was shaped sort of like a potato and was dubbed with the name "Spud" by one of my college friends. The name stuck and everyone began calling my car Spud. This picture isn't of Spud, but my car looked just like this. Spud was a good little car, and I had it for ten years. It, like its owner, however, did not care for extremely cold temperatures. In fact, it had a habit of stalling out in the winter when temperatures dropped down to negative integers as it is want to do on occasion here in northern Ohio. I can remember two particular occasions when Spud stalled out due to very cold temperatures at most inopportune times.
One time I was driving in the town of Bowling Green where I went to college. It was a bitterly cold winter day. I was at the intersection of two busy streets, smack dab in the middle of it where the two streets crossed each other, and making a left turn when Spud stalled. Before I could even try to decide what to do, a group of five college age guys seemed to appear out of nowhere and came running out into the middle of the intersection. One of them quickly began directing traffic around me signaling with his hands, taking charge. The other four gentlemen ran up to my car. One of them yelled at me as he came running up and told me to shift the car into neutral. He told me to steer into the lot of a gas station on the corner, which I did, while he and his three friends quickly and handily pushed my car out of the intersection and out of the way of oncoming cars and into the safety of the gas station lot. Just as quickly as they appeared, they disappeared again continuing down the street. I was able to get assistance at the gas station to get my car started again and before too long I was on my way. I never got the opportunity to thank those five guys who came to my rescue that day or even to find out who they were. They were definitely Good Samaritans in my mind.
Another frigid winter day, my car stalled out right after I turned onto a busy highway. I managed to coast the car over to the side of the road, but I was at a loss as to what to do then. This was before the days when everyone had a cell phone with them, and I was pretty much out in the middle of nowhere several miles from where I would be able to get any help from anyone. I was only 19 or maybe 20 years old. It was snowing, the wind was blowing, and I certainly didn't want to get out and start walking and looking for help in subzero temperatures. A trucker coming from the opposite direction, saw me and stopped to see if I needed help. I was a little frightened to talk to him because he was a stranger, was quite a bit older and stronger than I was, and I really didn't know what his intentions were when he stopped. I felt I had no choice but to trust him, so I explained what had happened. He used his radio to call for assistance for me from an area state highway patrolman. A jump start to the battery got Spud going, and before long, I was on my way. Once again, I had been rescued by the kindness of strangers.
Perhaps there have been times when you have been helped by the generosity of strangers or perhaps you were in the position to help others and did so. Helping one another can not happen without a certain amount of trust from both parties. Some are afraid to offer assistance to another for fear of becoming victims themselves. Others are afraid to accept help, even though they may need it, because they question the motives of their benefactors. Imagine how the world could change, though, if everyone were willing to help those around them in need and that we could all be trusting enough to receive that help.
The lyrics to a song by Harry Chapin come to mind. Part of the lyrics to the song, "I Wonder What Would Happen To This World" go like this:
"Oh if a man tried To take his time on earth And prove before he died What one man's life could be worth I wonder what would happen to this world"
You can hear a snippet of that song at the top of the page at this link.
Harry was well known for his efforts to stop World Hunger and his other acts of charity and philanthropy. He lived his life as a Good Samaritan. According to Wikipedia,
"One report quotes his widow saying soon after his death — 'only with slight exaggeration' — that 'Harry was supporting 17 relatives, 14 associations, seven foundations and 82 charities. Harry wasn't interested in saving money. He always said, 'Money is for people,' so he gave it away. Despite his success as a musician, he left little money and it was difficult to maintain the causes for which he raised more than $3 million in the last six years of his life.'"
I was unable to find a video of Harry singing this song, but I did find one of his daughter singing it. I like Harry's version a little better, but still this will give you an idea of what the song was about. His example would be a good one for all of us to follow, if only we could and would.
Jen Chapin--"I Wonder What Would Happen To This World"
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My husband was gone all of last week on a business trip to Chicago, and he took our camera with him. So I haven't posted any photos for a while because I had no camera here. He came home over the weekend though and so did the camera.
Here are a couple of pictures that he took while he was gone. These were the views from his hotel window.
He was there to attend the Spring Conference of the National Association of School Psychologists. I suppose since it was the "Spring" conference that that makes it a sign of spring, right?
We have had lovely weather the last four days in a row. The sun was shining. The skies were blue. The temperature made it into the forties over the weekend, and today it made it up to 56 degrees. I am thrilled that we are finally starting to edge toward spring.
I went for a walk in the park on Sunday and took the camera with me. I found some more signs of spring for you...well...I sort of found some signs of spring for you. I didn't find any bluebirds or daffodils, but here are some pictures of what I did find.
We have a lot less snow now than we had last week. Melting snow is a sign of spring.
We have lots of puddles too--not ice, not snow! Puddles are definitely a sign of spring.
We have lots of mud now too. Mud means the ground isn't frozen anymore.
There are lots of dog paw prints in the mud too! That means it is warm enough that more people are out taking long walks with their dogs instead of a quick turn in the yard or perhaps around the block.
If you look closely, you can see some green showing here in these ground cover plants.
And one of my favorite signs of spring---the buzzards are back roosting in the branches of the tallest trees in the park.
I like this sign of spring too---dead snowmen body parts strewn across someone's lawn. Bye bye, Frosty! You're not such a jolly, happy soul now, are you?!
Someone was outside working on their car. Did you hear that? They were OUTSIDE working on their car, not inside of a heated garage.
I also saw someone outside cooking on a grill. I kid you not. Of course, they were wearing a winter coat and hat and gloves and there was still snow in their yards. They looked ridiculous, but they were out there flipping burgers on the grill anyway. Who needs summer to have a cookout, after all? I didn't take their picture because I couldn't do it without being very obvious about it. HA!
This is what the sunset looked like. Not as spectacular as many I have seen, but it is significant in another way. It has been coming a little later in the day each day. Daylight hours are lasting longer. That is definitely a sign of spring!
Then we had another sign of spring this morning. My son's school was delayed in starting for two hours, not for snow or ice on the roads, but for fog. That is also a sign of spring. The fog was starting to lift by the time I took this picture. It was much worse earlier, and, of course, it is always worse out in the county than it is here in town.
Very soon we will be seeing the return of the robins and other songbirds, and we will have daffodils and crocuses and hyacinths. For now, I am quite pleased that we have buzzards and mud. Spring will be here soon.
Are You My Mother?
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I would say this is a VERY patient dog. Just the term "milk pants" made me
laugh, but to see a dog wearing a pair and to see why, well...you can watch
and...
