The shocking reality of illiteracy

Yes, I've heard the statistics over and over again. I've heard how we're graduating high school seniors, and even college graduates who can't read beyond a third grade level, but I had never encountered it until today.

This afternoon I attended a baby shower for one of my voice students who is due to deliver in the next couple of weeks, and when it came time for her to read the cards that accompanied the gifts she received, she was so emotional that she asked some of the young women who were present to read them out loud for her. It was then that the reality of illiteracy came rushing in upon me. These young women, most of them in their early twenties, high school graduates, and some attending college, could not read the simplest lines in a greeting card out loud without laboring and stumbling over the most rudimentary of words such as "hugest" and "surrounded". Having been literally sequestered in an environment where literacy and education are utmost, and having a family that carries on a daily love affair with the written and spoken language, I was unprepared for this scene, and I confess that my shock was most likely scribbled all over my facial expressions. I was quite frankly, embarrassed and taken aback, and it only served to bring home to me what a widespread and tragic problem illiteracy has become amongst the youth of this nation. It frightens and disturbs me, and I confess that I am at a loss at what we should or even can do about such an obviously serious and widespread problem.

On my part, I have raised three children who love to read, and who are, all three, excellent writers. One of my three children, at the age of 19, now fluently reads, writes, and speaks both English and French, and has plans to pursue her college degrees in language. One of the greatest thrills I have had as the parent of teens is the joy of watching as they read and discover the world's great classic literature. It takes me back to the days when I first discovered the works of Shakespeare, the Oresteia, Plato, Mark Twain, Hemingway, and Elizabeth Barret Browning. Memories I will always hold dear is of a Saturday morning when Lauren and I sat downstairs over a cup of coffee and discussed Dickens, and of the times when Heather has come to me with her astounding creative writing endeavors and asked me to read them and offer my opinions. And it is always a thrill to know that if I come up short on ideas for birthday presents, I know that I can always buy a gift certificate from our local bookstore and it will be eagerly received. There is nothing more satisfying and exciting than parenting children who are eager to read and learn, and I fear for a generation of parents who, because they cannot read themselves, will never instill in their children the love of reading, and as a result, the love of learning.

I fear that we are on the threshold of yet another dark age if something does not change soon.

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Amazing Grace: You'll want to see this one

I admit it. Steph and I are very difficult to please when it comes to films. We're not indiscriminate movie-goers, preferring art films, period pieces, and the occasional "chick flick". So it was with great anticipation and some intrepidation, that we rented the box-office sleeper, "Amazing Grace", a historically based film about the life and work of British abolitionist, William Wilberforce, friend of the ex-slave-trader-turned-clergyman, John Newton, who penned the hymn after which the film is titled.

Don't let the title of this film put you off, as it almost did us. It isn't about John Newton, his conversion experience, or even the hymn, (which Newton penned after his conversion experience following a violent storm through which he piloted one of his slave ships and lived to tell about it). It's about the people who were dedicated to the abolition of the slave trade in Great Britain during the late 18th century and early 19th century, most notably Wilberforce, and the struggles they encountered in trying to wake the British arostocracy out of their complacency regarding the evils, suffering, and immorality of the slave trade. Besides the fact that it's story is based on incredible historical events and people, the film features beautiful, historically accurate costuming, gorgeous cinematography, a compelling screenplay, and impeccable acting.

It's a film well-worth seeing, and in our case, one we have decided to purchase and add to our library of period films.

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Love

Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.

~Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

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The World's most beautiful music: The Phantom of the Opera

In the breath-taking duet, "All I ask of you", from The Phantom of the Opera, by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Christine and Raoul pledge their undying love for one another, as the Phantom looks on in despair.

To all the lovers of the world, I wish you a very happy Valentine's Day.

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This says it all!

1 step beyond: I'm Making My Call

RW over on 1 Step Beyond has just expressed my thoughts concerning this crap hole that we call our Federal Government in a way that I if I could write the way I can sing, I would have said it. This is a MUST READ.

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The World's most beautfiul music: Puccini, La Rondine

I first heard this aria on a recording with Beverly Sills, and instantly fell in love with it. Although Puccini operas aren't my favorites as a whole, (I don't really get into the stories he chose), some of the most beautiful arias ever come from them. This particular aria is from his opera, La Rondine, and is entitled "Ch 'il bel sogno di Doretta", and the recording features Soprano Angela Gheorghiu in all her magnificent glory, literally floating on her magical high C's and lulling her audience into Doretta's dreamworld.

You'll be as enchanted as I was.

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My life's purpose

There is not something you are supposed to do. There is not something that you should do. There is only that which you are inspired to do. And how do you get inspired except by the contrast...It is the life experience that gives you the idea of the desire, and then as you focus upon the desire, the Energy flows.


~ Hicks 1998

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The World's most beautiful music.

Today I'm beginning a series of posts that will feature some pieces that I consider some of the world's most beautiful music. I will feature classical pieces, opera, and the like, as well as jazz, pop, and even rock.

Of course I begin with Mozart. The piece I will feature today is the Andantino from his Flute & Harp Concerto, K. 299. Peaceful, pastoral, enchanting...

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The fear of success

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?

~ Marianne Williamson

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Of all the waltzes by all the Strausses...

This one is my absolute favorite!

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Nothing says it like a song.

And this song says it all...

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The music that touched my soul

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.

Susanna's aria from Act IV of Le Nozze di Figaro.

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An open letter to my children's abuser

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.

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The music we listened to...

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...

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The Queen of Rock

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.

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A message for my friends and family for 2008

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.

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The soundtrack of my life

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.

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Thank-you for the music

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.

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Happy New Year!

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In praise of laziness

Faulheit, endlich muß ich dir
Auch ein kleines Loblied bringen!
O!. . . Wie. . . sauer. . . wird es mir
Dich nach Würde zu besingen!
Doch ich will mein Bestes tun:
Nach der Arbeit ist gut ruhn.

Höchstes Gut, wer dich nur hat,
Dessen ungestörtes Leben. . .
Ach!. . . ich gähn!. . . ich. . . werde matt.
Nun, so magst du mir's vergeben,
Daß ich dich nicht singen kann:
Du verhinderst mich ja dran.



Laziness - I must finally write for you
also a little paean!
Oh! ...how ... annoying ... it will be for me
[to think of how] to celebrate your worth!
But I will do my best,
for after hard work, rest is good.

Highest good - whoever possesses you
will have an undisturbed life...
alas! I'm yawning... I'm ... growing dull.
Now you must forgive me
if I cannot sing about you:
you are hindering me yourself!

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It's Boxing Day, Guvnuh!

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!

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Santa's the dude!

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The John Rutter Gloria

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!

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The Scrooge of my youth

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.

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Scrooge puts on an irreverent face

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.

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Kermit meets Scrooge

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.

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The many faces of Scrooge

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.

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Missing my girl

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.

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The Gift of Music

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.

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Give Gayla a Hippo for Christmas

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!

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The B C Clark Jingle: An Oklahoma Icon

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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Schlaf in Himmlisher Ruh

Silent Night in the original German by the St. Thomas Boy's Choir. It doesn't get any better than this.

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Ice damage in Tulsa

Here are a couple of pictures from the ice storm in Tulsa. Most of the state was badly hit, and the President declared the entire state of Oklahoma a federal disaster area. Over 500,000 Oklahoma residents were left without power, including my parents, who live in Tulsa.

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The Patriotism of Peace

We should take care, in inculcating patriotism into our boys and girls, that is a patriotism above the narrow sentiment which usually stops at one's country, and thus inspires jealousy and enmity in dealing with others... Our patriotism should be of the wider, nobler kind which recognises justice and reasonableness in the claims of others and which lead our country into comradeship with...the other nations of the world. The first step to this end is to develop peace and goodwill within our borders, by training our youth of both sexes to its practice as their habit of life, so that the jealousies of town against town, class against class and sect against sect no longer exist; and then to extend this good feeling beyond our frontiers towards our neighbours.

Lord Baden-Powell

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Iced in

Last night we were hit with another of Oklahoma's famous ice storms which sock you in worse than any snow storm I ever encountered while living in Montana. By comparison, it's not all that cold, but the temperatures are sub-freezing, so that combined with a southern plains winter thunderstorm is the recipe for a slick, slippery coating of ice, that leaves the outdoor world looking sugared and gorgeous, but is treacherous to get out into.

Guess I have to stay home from work today.


Well, damn!

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Another Animated Christmas Classic

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Favorite Christmas memories

Some, if not most of my favorite childhood memories center around Christmas. As I said in an earlier post, my mother was extremely fond of holidays, most especially Christmas, and because of that, the whole household was thrown into the spirit, including my dad.

Dad could be a real nut sometimes--so much so that he often got on Mother's nerves, and it was often that we'd hear, "Oh Law-RENCE!", ringing through the house on those occasions when he was especially annoying to her. But my brother & sister and I loved it when he was silly. Dad was, (still is), a serious, hard-working, veterinarian and seldom took time off to play, so when he was in the mood to play and act silly, we enjoyed it.

One of the big Christmas traditions at our house centered around the wrapping and giving of presents. We always opened our presents on Christmas Eve, and in the weeks preceding Christmas we would watch the presents pile up under the tree until they would literally spread out into the living room floor. Mother would always comment that the tree was looking "vulgar", and we'd all laugh. As Mother and Dad would buy presents, (they always shopped early), they would hide the gifts at Dad's veterinary clinic. I never learned where in the clinic the secret hiding place was, and it always amazed me that our presents didn't come home smelling like the clinic, as I knew that was where they were stashed, until Dad would wrap them, one-by-one and bring them home to put underneath the tree.

Dad's routine was to leave very early in the morning to go to the clinic to feed and medicate the animals, as well as clean the kennels and runs. He'd then return home around 7:00 a.m. when the family would eat breakfast together, and then he'd take us to school. During the Christmas season we'd eagerly listen for him as he came through the door that led from the garage into the utility room, and if he was singing "Jingle Bells" or some other silly Christmas song we knew that he had his arms loaded with presents to lay under the tree. We got to where when anyone would wrap a Christmas present and lay it under the tree, we'd say that they were "Jingle-Belling". My Dad started something that turned into a regular tradition at the Erwin house. One morning, we heard him coming through the door singing, but it wasn't "Jingle Bells". He was singing some silly song he'd heard on the radio, "Grandma got run over by a reindeer, walking home from our house Christmas Eve..." We all busted up, and Mother whined, "Oh, Law-RENCE!", as we rushed to the kitchen to see how many presents he had loaded up in his arms, jumping up-and-down and squealing with glee, as he ignored us while he made his way through our large kitchen to the living room where the tree stood in the front window.

To this day, I can't ever hear, "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" without thinking of my dad, and of course, the memories of my parents at Christmas always puts a smile on my face.

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Happy Birthday, Sis!

I know yer lurkin', so here's a birthday fun from me to you! Have a great one!

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Talk is cheap

One of the most persistent ambiguities that we face is that everybody talks about peace as a goal. However, it does not take sharpest-eyed sophistication to discern that while everbody talks about peace, peace has become practically nobody's business among the power-wielders. Many men cry Peace! Peace! but they refuse to do the things that make for peace.

-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

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I'm from the Dr. Seuss generation...

...when the Grinch was a 1960's Christmas icon!

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Hey, Monte, look what I found!

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The Sounds of Christmas

I have always been thankful that I grew up in a home that was constantly filled with music. In fact, many of my favorite childhood memories have music connected with them. My parents, although not professional musicians, were great lovers and appreciators of good music, and both of them sang in our church choir. Good music filled our home on a daily basis via the stereo or the radio, and all three of we kids took piano lessons and participated in our church and school music organizations. Two of us even ended up making music our life's vocation.

Around our house, holidays were always very special, mostly due to our mother and her love of them. Her favorite holiday was Christmas, and she went all out with the decorating, cooking, celebrating, and making merry. Our dad was usually the one who chose "background music" for our various seasonal celebrations. At Christmas I remember the sounds of the Montivani Orchestra, the Robert Shaw Chorale, and one of my very favorite albums was one of Tennessee Ernie Ford with the Robert Shaw Chorale. However, for me, it just wasn't Christmas until I heard Handel's Messiah. Messiah was probably my dad's absolute favorite work and every Christmas and Easter he'd get out his recording of it and we'd listen, once again, to the glorious sounds of "For Unto Us a Child is Born", "Every Valley", and, of course, the "Hallelujah Chorus". When I later went to college and majored in music, I would sing the work so often that by my sophomore year, I had it completely memorized, and now, as a professional musician, I can't even count the number of times I have performed this most beloved masterpiece.

Two Christmases ago, I sang the work, once again, with the Stillwater Chamber Singers, and had the honor of singing the aria, "O Thou that Tellest Good Tidings to Zion", which has always been one of my very favorites. The following recording is by a Japanese counter tenor by the name of Yoshikazu Mera, and it's probably one of the most incredible performances of the aria I've ever heard. Gotta get my Christmas Messiah fix!

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Imagine

Imagine all the people living life in peace.
You may say I'm a dreamer,
but I'm not the only one.
I hope someday you'll join us,
and the world will be as one.

-- John Lennon

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Peace on Earth

The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us.

-- Black Elk (1863-1950)

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My heart took a picture

There's a new family in our cul de sac. They moved in a few months ago with their loads of bright plastic Little Tikes outdoor toys, trikes, wagons, and picnic tables. The family consists of a very nice young couple and two small children, a girl probably around three years old, and a little boy who is no more than a toddler. The dad is the one who stays at home with the kids while the mom works. They're a precious family, and on nice days one can often find the dad outside with the children while they ride around in their little peddle cars, and pull their brightly colored plastic wagons through the cul de sac.

Last night, as I was walking out to the car to leave for Chamber Singers rehearsal, I was met with a sight that was worthy of a Norman Rockwell painting. Like our family, they decorated their home for Christmas over the weekend, and their brightly lit tree sat in the front window of the house. As I looked over towards the end of the cul de sac, I could see the children through the window, all dressed in their pajamas, excitedly dancing around the tree, looks of glee shining as bright as the tree lights, upon their faces. The little girl pointed at several different places on the tree, and then jumped up and down and clapped, while the little boy stood and watched, seemingly mesmerized by the glow.

As I stood and gazed into their living room, I was caught up in the children's excitement, and I heard myself giggle out loud, my whole being warmed by their joy and youthful enthusiasm, and for a moment, I was a child again. I felt for just one instance, what those children felt, and remembered those Christmases, years ago, when I was a child with my family, and my heart took a picture.

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Doing the family Christmas tree thing

Last night our family got together for another one of our traditions: decorating the Christmas tree. I prepare a spread of party food, snacks, and egg nog, (known around here as "Schnoglagers"), while Steph goes into the garage and drags in the multitudes of boxes containing all of the Christmas decorations we have accumulated over the years, and Joel and Micah drag in the huge box containing the seven-foot artificial tree, (that you have to get right up on to tell that it isn't real). After seven years, Joel has really boiled this putting-up-the-tree-and-putting-on-the-lights thing down to a science, so we all just sit back and watch the master while he works. As he does that, I open all the boxes containing the decorations and start taking each ornament out of its box/wrapping, and placing hooks on them. After Joel finishes putting the tree together and putting on the lights, this is the point where everyone is supposed to dive in and start putting the ornaments on the tree. However, it seems that we've all become a household of supervisors rather than doers, (actually I think the more correct term would be "lazy-asses"), and we fight amongst each other over who is actually going to get up off their butts and do it.

While all of this is going on, we're listening to our favorite Christmas music on the CD player--"Not Bing & Friends", "A Rat Pack Christmas", Steph's collection of the Beatles annual Christmas greetings, (featuring the Beatles at their very weirdest), Michael Kelly singing "Joy to the World", and of course, The Vienna Boy's Choir singing traditional Austrian Carols in Viennese German and The Twelve Days of Christmas in really bad English.

Last night was, as usual, fun, heart-warming, and enjoyable, BUT, we were missing someone very important and it just wasn't the same without her. Several times we mentioned her and how much she loved doing this every year, and that if she were here, she would be moving all the ornaments around until they were just perfect. We miss her laughter, and her warmth. It just isn't complete without her. And despite the fact that she will be spending Christmas with her host family in France this year, we have still placed her stocking in the family row on the fireplace mantle, along with everyone else's.

We miss you, Lauren, and we love you.

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I'm dreaming of a Viennese Christmas

Next year I'll be celebrating Christmas in my home in Vienna!

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And now for something completely different...

I found this meme on Steph's blog, so I decided to have some fun with it!

8 Things I Am Passionate About:
1. Music
2. Mozart
3. Steph
4. My family
5. Singing/Acting
6. Teaching
7. History
8. Learning

8 Things I Want To Do Before I Die:
1. Live in Vienna
2. Write a book about Nancy Storace
3. Study voice in Vienna
4. Travel through all of Europe
5. Travel through New England (The only part of the continental U.S. I've not seen)
6. See Steph's screenplay on the Big Screen
7. See an opera at the Met
8. See all three of my kids happy and successful

8 Things I Say Often:
1. "That is so cool!"
2. "I love you."
3. "Damn cat!"
4. "No shit!"
5. "Keep that vowel forward!"
6. "You need more height in the soft palate."
7. "Where are my shoes?"
8. "It's Project Runway night!"

8 Books I’ve Read Recently:
1. Mozart: A Cultural Biography, by Robert W. Gutman, (still reading that one)
2. The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne
3. The Law of Attraction, by Esther Hicks
4. Travel books about Austria
5. Anna Susanna: Anna Storace, Mozart's Original Susanna, by Geoffrey Brace (an ongoing reference)
6. Mozart and His Circle by Peter Clive (an ongoing reference)


8 Songs I Could Listen To Over & Over:
1. "Laudate Dominum" from Solemn Vespers, by Mozart
2. "So in Love" from Kiss Me Kate, by Cole Porter
3. "Lascia ch'io pianga" by Handel
4. "Ruhe sanft mein holdes leben", from Zaide, by Mozart
5. "Du bist die Ruh" by Franz Schubert
6. "Kyrie", from The Great C minor Mass, by Mozart
7. "Dream a Little Dream of Me", by Mama Cass
8. Any soft ballad sung by Rosemary Clooney

8 Things That Attract Me To My Best Friends:
1. Their sense of humor
2. Their loyalty
3. Their openness to new people and ideas
4. Their intelligence
5. Their ability to think outside the box
6. Their openness to displays of affection
7. Their creativity
8. Their ability to be spontaneous

8 Things (or more) That I am Thankful For This Year:
1. Steph
2. My family
3. My friends
4. My job
5. Steph's uncle
6. Our lawyer
7. Jaeson
8. Our home
9. My brother
10. The Stillwater Chamber Singers
11. Chanel No. 5
12. Mozart
13. My students
14. That kid at the bank who was doing his job
15. Life itself

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I am grateful

When your feelings of gratitude are conditional upon temporary circumstances like your stuff, your job, and your relationships, your base identity doesn’t change. But when you root your gratitude in something permanent, it becomes a permanent part of you. Instead of saying, “I am grateful for…” you just say, “I am grateful.”

--Steve Pavlina

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The Grammar of Gratitude

The spiritual practice of gratitude has been called a state of mind and a way of life. But we prefer to think of it as a grammar — an underlying structure that helps us construct and make sense out of our lives. The rules of this grammar cover all our activities. Its syntax reveals a system of relationships linking us to the divine and to every other part of the creation.

To learn the grammar of gratitude, practice saying "thank you" for happy and challenging experiences, for people, animals, things, art, memories, dreams. Count your blessings, and praise God. Utter blessings, and express your appreciation to everything and everyone you encounter. By blessing, we are blessed.

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Count Your Blessings

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Hugs, Viennese style

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You shall go out with joy!

For you shall go out in joy, and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. — Isaiah 55:12

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The Winds of Change

The past two-and-a-half weeks have seen Steph and me beset with a whirlwind that has brought with it a season of change and transition in our lives, the likes that I've not seen in the nearly eight years since I was divorced. That's not to say that the past eight years have been a piece of cake, by any means, for every year, it seems, has been beset with its triumphs and challenges. It has been an interesting life. However, these past couple of weeks have brought a strange wind, that portends destruction, but rather, in its wake, is leaving the chance for a new start, a new life, and new opportunities.

I had a dream last week that I was sitting on a front porch of a house with my boss from the real estate office where I work. If you know anything about my boss, Grace, you will know that practically nothing alarms her. She's solid as a rock, and seemingly unaffected by anything. As we were sitting together sipping some tea, I looked to my right and about a mile down the road I saw a great, terrible storm cloud. It was black and churning and ominous, and it was coming right towards us. Alarmed, I turned to Grace and exclaimed, "Do you see that? It's coming right towards us!" In typical Grace fashion, she replied, "Awwwh...don't worry about it. We're in Oklahoma. We see stuff like that all the time." I turned towards it again, and it was even closer, and then suddenly a huge tornado fell out of the black cloud, and began consuming everything in its path. Then, suddenly, as it advanced towards us, it broke up into a bunch of smaller tornadoes, that kept coming down the road. What was interesting, however, was that although the tornadoes were consuming everything in their path, what they left behind in the wake was not destruction, but beauty! The sun was shinning, there were lush, green trees, fields full of green grass and flowers, birds singing--a virtual paradise. As the storm came closer and closer and eventually passed us, we were caught up in the wake, but we were never touched nor harmed, but left in peace, surrounded by all of this new beauty.

For a little less than a year, now, Steph and I have been intensely visualizing a dream that we have held since we have been together, and that Steph has had since 1994--that of moving to and living in Vienna. Around Thanksgiving last year, we were introduced to The Secret , and through the things that were revealed to us in that film, we learned about how living a life of joy, expectancy, and gratitude would open us up to a fuller and more abundant life through the Law of Attraction. Since then, we have been putting what we learned into practice, and now, a year later, we are seeing the beginnings of the harvest of what we have created.

I know that my blog entries have seemed rather cryptic over the last couple of weeks, and indeed they have been. As much as I would love to, I am not yet free to indulge myself in shouting from the mountain tops, just yet. That time is soon to arrive however. Let's just put it this way--there is a will, we have a lawyer, and our dreams of Vienna will soon be a reality.

And I am so very grateful...

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Statehood Day--Oklahoma at 100

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Reconciliation and Forgiveness

When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.


Catherine Ponder

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The road to 100 -- The Centennial Float

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Recognizing the good

The Hebrew term for gratitude is hikarat hatov, which means, literally, "recognizing the good." Practicing gratitude means recognizing the good that is already yours.

Dr. Alan Morinis

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The Road to 100 -- Pawhuska, the Osage Capital

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The peace that passes all understanding

There is a calmness to a life lived in Gratitude, a quiet joy.

~ Ralph H. Blum ~

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Be happy!

I hadn't seen this video in a long time, and I'd forgotten how much I liked it when it first came out. And now, it's even more meaningful to me than it ever was.

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Oh! What a beautiful mornin'

Being from Oklahoma, I always have to laugh when I see the scenery in this film. It wasn't shot in Oklahoma, but rather in New Mexico, because the Hollywood producers said that Oklahoma didn't "look like Oklahoma". Tell me now, how New Mexico can look more like Oklahoma, than Oklahoma does?

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The Gratitude Dance

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Thoughts become things

Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think about these things.

Paul's letter to the Church at Philipi, chapter 4, verse 8

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Sing a song of thanksgiving

Laudate Dominum omnes gentes,
Praise the Lord, all ye nations(peoples),
laudate eum omnes populi.
praise him, all ye peoples.
Quoniam confirmata est
For his loving kindness (mercy)
super nos misericordia ejus,
has been bestowed upon us,
et veritas Domini manet
and the truth of the Lord endures
in aeternum.
for eternity.

Gloria patri et filio
Glory to the Father, Son,
et spiritui sancto,
and to the Holy Spirit;
sicut erat in principio
as it was in the beginning,
et nunc et semper
is now, and ever shall be,
et in saecula saeculorum.
world without end.
Amen.

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A gratitude-heart

A gratitude-heart
Is to discover on earth
A Heaven-delivered rose.

Sri Chinmoy

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Gratitude: the evidence of a heart made whole

When gratitude is this well established, it is a sign of a heart that has been made right and whole. Gratitude can't coexist with arrogance, resentment, and selfishness.

Dr. Alan Morinis

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Grateful for my state

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A will for the good

To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted, but to always seek out and value the kind that will stand behind the action. Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course. Everything originates in a will for the good, which is directed at you. Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude.

Albert Schweitzer

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City of my dreams

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The soul a blossom

Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.

~ Henry Ward Beecher ~

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The Sound of Gratitude

For me, gratitude is expressed in the music of Edward Elgar, in Nimrod, from the "Enigma Variations". This particular performance is conducted by Daniel Barenboim, with the Chicago Symphony.

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Abundant Increase

"You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you."

~ Sarah Ban Breathnach ~
Simple Abundance

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The Eagles still rockin'

I'm having a "blast from the past" moment. Our office manager went out and bought the new Eagles album, "Long Road Out of Eden", and she's playing it here in the office. Wow! These guys are every bit as great as they were years ago. I loved the Eagles when I was in high school, and now, thirty-some-odd years later, they're still rockin' strong!

Just goes to prove that youth doesn't have the corner on greatness!

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A season of gratitude

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.

~ Melody Beattie ~

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