As a child his music comforted me. As a teen his music moved me. As a college music major his music compelled me. As a young adult his music called me. As a woman his music completes me.
Happy birthday, Herr Mozart. Ich liebe dich für immer und ewig und drei Tagen.
I’m not sure why you have decided that after four years of having no contact with my children that it was necessary or even appropriate for you to do so. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, I believe that you have a DHS order prohibiting you from any contact with them. But, since Lauren is no longer a minor, I guess you thought that she was once again, fair game.
Pathetic really, that a forty-some-year-old woman would find it necessary and/or amusing to continue to harass and abuse a 19-year-old girl who has done nothing but move on with her life, (after enduring four years of abuse from you), and put herself on the road to success and happiness. It speaks loudly to the kind of person you are and to the fact that after all the experiences of the past and all the abuse that my children endured at your hand, you’ve done nothing to rehabilitate yourself, nor have you learned a thing. It speaks even more loudly of Lauren, 
who through the strength of her character, has endured, persevered, moved-past, and conquered the abuse you so cruelly wielded in her direction for four years, and has grown into a beautiful, intelligent, courageous, compassionate, loving, and successful young woman. Lauren graduated with a 4.0 GPA, with top honors from her high school, last May, and is now a foreign exchange student with Rotary International in Brittany, France. After she returns home in June she will begin college at the University of Oklahoma where she will double major in French and Spanish with a goal towards a career in the field of International Relations and/or International Business. The fact that you find it necessary to seek her out and attack her on her weblog, when she has done nothing to you only brings to light how pathetic an individual you really are, as well as exposes your jealousy of her, and points directly back at you.
You know, I really never received the opportunity to tell you exactly what I think of you after you abused my children and verbally assassinated the characters of my partner and her son. The damage you did to my family was extensive and the wounds deep. Fortunately, in the nearly four years since my children have been back with me, much healing has taken place, and the damage you inflicted has been repaired, albeit the scars remain. Your manipulations, lies, emotional & physical abuse, fear tactics, and verbal attacks nearly did them in, and it is beyond me how they held up underneath it all. Again, it is a testimony to their character, and to the raising they had before they were exposed to you. I fully understand that what you did was done out of your own pain and abusive past, but it is beyond me how you could be so self-centered and turned-in not to realize that inflicting abuse on others because you were abused is not an acceptable way of dealing with your own pain. In fact, I know you know it’s not ok. But you did it anyway, and that, quite frankly is inexcusable. So no, I will not let you off the hook here by allowing you to plead innocent because you’re an abuse victim yourself. You’re an adult and have been for a long time now, and it’s time for you to grow up and deal with your past, be accountable for your own actions and quit abusing those around you. Get help, Kathy. You need it badly, and god knows your children need it.
I close this with a warning that if you continue to stalk and harass any of my three children on the web, I will not hesitate to inform DHS, for two of my children are still minors. And I will also remind you that internet stalking is a crime, and I will not hesitate to prosecute you accordingly.
Go now, and get the help you need.
As I've written here before, I grew up in a home that was filled with beautiful music. Although my parents were not professional musicians, they loved and valued good music and our home was constantly filled with it. I believe that the stereo was turned on more than the television, and the music we listened to ranged from religious choral music and light jazz to the classics.
One of the classical composers to whom I was exposed from an early age was the Russian pianist and composer, Sergei Rachmaninoff. My parents owned a set of piano concerti by the Neo-Romantic composer, and after I acquired my own stereo, I sneaked the collection up to my room and listened to it for hours upon end. I would plop myself into my lime green bean bag chair, and put the record on, plug in the headphones, lay back, and allow the music to take me away into my own dream world.
I have featured here, a section of the Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme from Paganini, featuring the 18th variation, which is probably one of the most voluptuous, passionate, lyrical, and romantic passages found in any piece of music. Played here by Russian pianist, Mikhail Pletnev, this is music, that if you've never had the opportunity to hear, you must. You won't be disappointed. Put on your headphones, close your eyes, and just listen...
Say the name, Freddie Mercury, and most people know immediately who you mean. Out of the closet, when being "out" wasn't cool, Freddie Mercury, and his band, "Queen" were the beginnings of the gay revolution in Rock & Roll. Unapologetically homosexual, Freddie Mercury refused to be held back by the dictates of an industry which said that it was okay to be gay, just don't talk about it. Instead, his music was a celebration of who he was and began the push towards the acceptance of homosexuals in the industry as well as society in general. Tragically, the world lost this great talent in 1991 to AIDS related pneumonia.
When I was a teenager, I heard Queen for the first time at a friend's house. My parents didn't allow "such music" in our home, so I had never really been exposed to them, but once I was exposed, I was hooked. Their Bohemian Rhapsody has always been my favorite, as it is really a mini rock opera and contains many classical elements of music.
To all my friends who sent me best wishes in 2007, or promises of good luck if I forwarded something: IT DIDN'T WORK! So instead, in 2008, please send money, chocolate, or gas vouchers.
Thank-you.
Everyone has experienced hearing an old song on the radio and having the memories flood in of a time and place in their life when that particular song was the "background music" to their life, so throughout the month of January, I thought it would be fun to delve into the 70's which were my high school years, and bring back some of those songs that comprised the soundtrack of my life.
I have to begin with Barry Manilow. I admit it, I was, (and still am), a big Manilow fan. His music resonated with me as a teenager, and thirty years later, it stirs up many happy memories, and still resonates with me. Simply stated, it is solid, sound, well-composed music, and it is timeless. That was/is his genius. It was difficult for me to choose which one I would post--there were so many--I Write the Songs, Mandy, Copacabana, I Made it Through the Rain--but in the end, it had to come down to, Could it be magic, which is based on the Chopin Prelude in C minor.
Thirty years ago I was about to begin my last semester of high school. Then, music was my life. It meant everything to me and it was all I wanted to do. About that same time, the wildly popular European pop group, ABBA, came out with a song that I adopted as my own, and to this day it still expresses all that is in my heart concerning music.
I have been down an interesting and often difficult path in life over the last thirty years, but one thing in my life has remained constant--the music. Even in those years when I felt it had left me, it was still there, and now I know that it will always be there and it will always be the reason that I came here. I am the girl with golden hair, and I will always be thankful for the music.
Boxing Day, also known as the Feast of St. Stephen (after the first Christian martyr), originated in England in the middle of the nineteenth century under Queen Victoria. It originated as a holiday for members of the merchant class to give boxes containing food and fruit, clothing, and/or money to trades people and servants. The gifts were an expression of gratitude similar to the bonuses many employers offer their employees today. These gifts, usually given in boxes, gave the holiday it's name, "Boxing Day".
Also related to the origin of Boxing Day is the tradition of opening the alms boxes placed in churches over the Christmas season. The contents of these boxes were distributed amongst the poor, by the clergy, the day after Christmas.
I'm spending Boxing Day in my pajamas! Here's hoping that you and yours had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to a very happy and prosperous New Year!
Today I came upon these recordings of the John Rutter Gloria and was transported back to Christmas of 1980, which was the first semester of my junior year in college at Oklahoma Baptist University. I sang with the OBU Chorale, which in those days had the reputation of being one of the finest choral organizations in the region. Under the direction of James D. Woodward, (whom we affectionately referred to as "Dean"), the OBU Chorale was in its glory days in the early 1980's, and performed some exciting, challenging, and inspiring works under his skillful direction. And among the most exciting of these works was the Rutter Gloria, composed for SATB choir, brass choir, and pipe organ. I count the performance of this work as one of the highlights of my undergraduate experience, and one of the fondest memories I have of performing with the OBU Chorale, and with Jim Woodward.
The work is presented here in three parts. You can follow along with the score as you listen. Enjoy!
This 1970 musical adaptation of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, entitled simply, Scrooge!, starring the brilliant Albert Finney as Ebenezer Scrooge, and the incomparable Sir Alec Guiness as Jacob Marley, is on my list of very favorites. (In fact, I'm not sure which is my very favorite, this one or the 1999 Patrick Stewart version.)
This adaptation is the Scrooge of my youth, as I was ten years old when it was released, and is the first version of the play that I ever saw. My brother and I grew up watching it on television, as it was played every year during the Christmas season during the 1970's. Both of us were into musicals, and this one had a distinct similarity to the 1968 musical adaptation of Dickens' Oliver Twist, entitled simply, Oliver!. Monte and I loved both films, and to this day, if I can catch this version of A Christmas Carol on television, I watch it.
I am posting two clips from this film because I want you to see not only the amazing performances of both Finney and Sir Alec Guiness, but one of the beautifully coreographed musical production numbers as well. I hope you enjoy them enough that if you've not had the joy of seeing this film, you'll go out and rent the DVD and watch it.
Leave it to the British to satirize their own, and to do it in a way that only the British can. One of my favorite British television comedy series is Blackadder, starring the internationally popular, Rowan Atkinson, (Mr. Bean & Johnny English), as the title character. The following clip is the Blackadder version of the beloved Dickens tale, and if you're interested, the whole episode is available on YouTube.
In 1992, the folks at Jim Henson created a delightful version of this Dickens classic using Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, and the entire gang of Muppet characters entitled, The Muppet Christmas Carol. Featuring the famed and respected London-born actor, Michael Caine, as Ebenezer Scrooge, this delightful adaptation features original music by Paul Williams and original score by Miles Goodman. Produced two years after Henson's untimely death, in May of 1990, it was directed by his son, Brian, and the voice of Kermit, (Bob Cratchit), originally performed by Henson, was done by Steve Whitmire.
This particular version happens to be a favorite of my three children, as it was released when they were all very small, and is viewed, at least once at our home, every Christmas.
One of my favorite novelists of the 19th century is Charles Dickens, and of all of his wonderful tales, A Christmas Carol, is one of my very favorites, and of all of his colorful characters, Ebenezer Scrooge ranks at the top of my list.
A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas (commonly known as A Christmas Carol) is what Charles Dickens described as his "little Christmas Book" and was first published on December 19, 1843 with illustrations by John Leech. The story was instantly successful, selling over six thousand copies in one week and, although originally written as a potboiler to enable Dickens to pay off a debt, the tale has become one of the most popular and enduring Christmas stories of all time.
Contemporaries noted that the story's popularity played a critical role in redefining the importance of Christmas and the major sentiments associated with the holiday. A Christmas Carol was written during a time of decline in the old Christmas traditions. "If Christmas, with its ancient and hospitable customs, its social and charitable observances, were in danger of decay, this is the book that would give them a new lease," said English poet Thomas Hood. (Source Wikipedia)
In the years after Dickens' death, the story was adapted for the stage and later presented in film. In the next few days I will present clips of several of those film adaptations. It's amazing how many there are, and begging your forgiveness if I don't present your favorite. In fact, I won't even be able to present my favorite version, which is the one featuring Patrick Stewart as Scrooge, (from 1999), because of copyright laws.
The first clip I would like to present to you is from the 1951 version, starring Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge, and Michael Hordern as Marley's ghost.
Okay, I've just got to say it! I miss Lauren. It's Christmas time and she's not here and it just isn't the same without her. I miss her smile. I miss her laughter. I miss her hugs. I miss the way she still squeals like a little girl when she gets excited. I miss sitting on the couch on Saturday mornings, before anyone else is up, and talking with her. And I hope she knows this Christmas, as she's far off in France, that she's in our hearts and that we love her.
Yesterday was a big day at our house. Both Heather and I participated in concerts preformed by our choral organizations--Heather with her high school chorale, and me with the Stillwater Chamber Singers. The two concerts were given back-to-back with the Chamber Singers at 2:30 p.m. at St. Andrew's Episcopal, and Heather's at 4:00 p.m., around the corner at The First Christian Church. It was a wonderful afternoon of Christmas music, and then afterwards, our family, including the kids' dad, and my son Nathan, who had come down from Wichita to attend both concerts, came over to our house for a little impromptu Christmas party.
After my concert, one of my voice students who had been in attendance, approached me to give her congratulations and to tell me how much she enjoyed it. As we stood there chatting, she shared with me that she brought with her, a friend who brought her 10-year-old step-daughter whom she and her husband had just gotten custody of after it had been determined that the child's mother was severely neglecting her. Charity went on to tell me that this child had never been anywhere or done anything special, and had never been to a concert of any kind. The only kind of music that this little girl had ever heard was rap music on the radio, and didn't even know that music like what we sang even existed.
As Charity described to me the child's reaction to our concert, my eyes welled with tears. She said that from the first note, (our opening piece began with a pipe organ and trumpet fanfare), the little girl's eyes opened wide and a huge smile lit her face. She listened intently as the choir joined in and as the music swelled through the sanctuary. Charity went on to describe how the child exclaimed that this must be heaven because she thought that this music could only come from heaven and even though she had never heard any of this music before, (even the traditional Christmas Carols), she tried to sing along with the choir with every note! The child was absolutely enthralled and sat through the entire concert without a fidget, and when it was over, (after over an hour), the little girl protested, "Is it over already? I want to hear some more!"
I walked away humbled and blessed, realizing that of all the gifts I will give this Christmas, the gift I gave to this child, the gift of music is the one most dear.
I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas is a Christmas novelty song written by John Coctoasten and performed by Gayla Peevey ,(10 years old at the time), in 1953. Gayla was a regional child star of the Oklahoma City area. This 1953 hit was recorded in New York and later used as a fund-raiser to bring the city zoo a hippo, using the slogan, Give Gayla a Hippo for Christmas. When released nationally by Columbia Records the song shot to the top of the charts, and Gayla was presented with a baby hippo named Matilda the following Christmas, which she then donated to the Oklahoma City Zoo.
(You can listen to a recent radio interview with Gayla Peevey by clicking here!)
This particular video was done by some clever character who posted it on YouTube. The first time I watched it, I laughed so hard I thought I was going to pee my pants!
If you grew up in Oklahoma, you know what I'm talking about. It just isn't Christmas until you hear it! I remember as a kid, when I heard the jingle I would get all excited because that meant that Christmas was almost here!
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| Lynette Erwin |
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