If you have a chance, I recommend listening to Terry Gross’ compilation show that aired last night on Fresh Air. The portion from a September 2011 interview, her last with Sendak, was particularly interesting, insightful, and moving. A man recognizing that he is near the end of his life with an interviewer he trusted and loved. Awesome.
I used to sing all 12 months to my kids at bedtime and I’ve taken liberties with Carole King’s real tune because, frankly, I don’t know it well. You can find whole versions of it, sung by her, on youtube.
Remember Twofer Tuesdays on FM radio when you were in high school? This is like that, only just another (real) song for Music Monday (as opposed to the spoof song from earlier).
My lovely daughters taught this to me; they learned it at their school over the years and I fell in love with it all along. It’s a beautiful song about autumn turning to winter. I’m just getting it in under the wire here (well, I guess we have a couple more weeks until the official start of winter and who knows how long we’ll wait for snow down here in the Valley).
Now before I go embarrassing myself without effacement, I am not planning on doing these solo singing videos too often. I love to sing and I know a little bit about it, due to being an Alexander Technique teacher and all, but I’m no paragon or virtuoso or anything of the sort. I don’t relish the way the videos look either. I think it’s goofy to sit in front of my computer and sing. However, no longer being a virgin at it, it was a bit easier this time. Also, as I understand it, a few people think I’m actually brave for doing this and I’ve got a reputation to maintain.
The chorus should absolutely be sung in a round, but my younger daughter is away on a class trip and my older didn’t want to be seen on a video. They both sound really good singing along with me. Maybe another time.
Here’s a song from the Harp of Ages (a 7-shape hymnal) and most of these folks sing regularly at the Tuesday night sing which yours truly frequents. And no, the altos don’t usually stand up, but they are having a bit of fun.
On the heels of our smash sketch comedy show last night at the World War II Club in Northampton, Mass, here’s a sketch, from way back in 2007, in which yours truly plays a supporting role. Written by Hubby and starring some of the usual suspects from the sketch comedy troupe “Side of Toast:”
♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Or, one of my favorite poems (please be aware that wordpress doesn’t maintain line breaks, so the line “washed out all tracks” is actually indented 4 spaces in the original text):
Women We Never See Again
Three are women we love whom we never see again.
They are chestnuts shining in the rain.
Moths hatched in winter disappear behind books.
Sometimes when you put your hand into a hollow tree
you touch the dark places between the stars.
Human war has parted messengers from another place—
they cross back to each other at night,
going through slippery valleys, farmyards where rain has
washed out all tracks,
and when we walk there, with no guide, saddened, in the dark,
we see above us glowing the fortress made of ecstatic blue stone.
twinklysparkles 