Christmas, Things I Think

Five Things I Think: The Best Christmas Songs of All Time

Yesterday I wrote about the over saturation of Christmas music being played non-stop on my local radio station. And although they have tried their best to ruin songs that I’ve grown up with and adore they haven’t succeeded.

There are certain songs played only this time of year that not only remind me about the true meaning of the holiday but also conjure up memories of family and Christmases long gone by. After all, there really is no place like home for the holidays.

The list of songs I’ve compiled here all have one thing in common: visual imagery. When ever I hear these songs (done well of course) I find myself being caught up “in” the story of the song.  So with this in mind you’ll see that none of these songs contain barking dogs, Christmas donkeys or Grandmas getting run over. Yes, songs like that are cute but they aren’t even in the same league as the ones below.

Although I don’t ever recall toasting marshmallows this time of year or telling tales of glory or ghosts (although there was that one time I saved the cat that was stuck out on the roof) these songs forever hold a special place in my heart. Let’s see if you agree.

My Favorite Christmas songs of all time:

5. Christmas Time Is Here – (1965): It’s got to be the version by Vince Guaraldi for The Charlie Brown Christmas Special. No other song sets the mood for Christmas more for me than this. When I hear this song I immediately conjure up memories of Snoopy and all the children skating on the ice as the snow softly falls. For a short while I’m a child again sitting in the parlor with my grandparents watching the show underneath a lighted Christmas tree and all is well with the world.

4. Happy Christmas (War is Over) – (1971): I’ve always been a big fan of John Lennon. But in all of the songs he’s written nothing (well except for maybe Imagine) makes you think more than this one does. From the very first line it immediately asks the question:

“So this is Christmas, and what have you done?”

And I think, what have I done? What have we all done to make this a better world? It can happen….if we only want it to. So why haven’t we?

3. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (1944): Initially written to coincide with a scene in the Judy Garland movie Meet Me In St. Louis, I can only imagine what it must have been like to have watched this movie in the theater and heard that song for the very first time. This song also brings back warm memories of family for me, most notably the line:

“Through the years we all will be together, if the fates allow”

What a promise of hope. Although families may be apart due to death, distance or war someday, God willing, we will once again all be together.

2. Do You Hear What I Hear – (1962): Believe it or not this song was actually written during the Cuban Missile Crisis. A time when the threat of nuclear war was very real and very near. Although the real meaning of this song dealt with one of the scariest times in our nation’s history when I listen to this song now I immediately become one with the night wind, Sheppard boy and mighty king. In my mind’s eye I see an old kingdom on the first Christmas morning where royal and peasant join in unison in praising the name of the newborn. I see myself high above the tree looking down and taking it all in as the call to pray for peace everywhere is made. Sadly, 50 years since it was written and this same proclamation couldn’t be needed more.

1. Hark The Herald Angels Sing – A carol that actually began in the mid 1700’s and went through several iterations to become what it is today. This song is my all time favorite for several reasons but mostly because of just one line that pretty much sums up the entire holiday for me:

Peace on Earth and Mercy Mild, God and Sinners reconciled.

So tell me, what are some of your favorite songs of Christmas?

Christmas, Thought and Opinion

How The Radio Ruined Christmas

All of the shopping, tree trimming, wrapping of presents and church activities will soon be over. Just a few more days and Christmas will be here. The hustle and bustle we’ve all been consumed by while waiting for the birth of the Christ Child or the fat man in a red suit to arrive will soon reach its peak.

I must admit that I always used to be a bit saddened once the festivities were over. Even after every last one was accounted for, I still found myself looking around for that one stray present with my name on it that requires unwrapping.

Conversely, one thing I definitely will NOT miss when the holiday is over is the local radio station playing non-stop Christmas music. What started out as perhaps the coolest thing ever has gotten way out of hand.

It all started years ago when our local FM station decided to give the Lehigh Valley a present and play nothing but holiday songs on Christmas day. I always looked forward to the Christmas morning tradition of brewing a huge cup of coffee, grabbing garbage bags to house shredded wrappings in and turning on the radio to hear Andy Williams belt out a carol or two or ten. Songs that I hadn’t heard since I was a wee boy traveling to Grandma’s house in the back of my parents beat up Chevelle were now blaring once again through the speakers. Life was good.

Then someone decided to make the most of a good thing. Soon the radio station bumped the 24/7 Christmas extravaganza to include Christmas eve beginning around 6PM, which at the time I thought made a nice prelude to the holiday magic and celebrations.

I began to become a bit concerned the following year when the suits at the radio station decided to start playing the Christmas songs at the start of the shopping season. Much to my chagrin Black Friday soon became the starting point for decking the halls. There seemed to be nothing to look forward to as far as music was concerned.

Flash forward to today and it’s really gotten sickening.

The local station here decided to start playing their annual CHRISTMAS MUSIC 24 hours a day, seven days a week starting November 1st. That’s right, the day after HALLOWEEN! The day you start recovering from binging on your kid’s Snickers and Milky Way mini-bars and for the next FIFTY-FOUR days is a row you get plenty of Andy, The Carpenters, Mariah Carey and the Chipmunks. Punishment that would only put a smile on the face of the Grinch. I swear, if I have to listen to Mariah Carey sing “All I Want For Christmas is You” one more time I’m going to drop a fruit cake on my head and end it all.

What’s supposed to put you in a cheery holiday mood only gives me a big ol’ case of the bah-humbugs.

December 26th can’t get here soon enough.

Dear Diary

Dear Diary: December 1986

I have to laugh when ever I look back at the journal I kept twenty-five years ago. The red spiral bound notebook now worn and tattered with age still feels like youth when I hold it and delve into its pages. It began its journey originally as a notebook for my music theory class before becoming the repository for my thoughts and dreams. Over the months of my final year in high-school it was covered with stickers that would indicate to anyone who dared view some of my real obsessions:

“Gibson”, “Explorer” and “Guitar” to stand for the electric guitar that I played and “5150” for the Van-Halen album I was listening to and wearing out at the time.

So many years have since passed and it’s amusing to once again read the adventures of the seventeen year old boy trying to find himself during his final year of public education.

This post, with entries written a quarter century ago, deals with me getting ready for the Easton Area High School Concert Choir Christmas show and facing the notion that my life may be falling apart.

I had just recently resigned my position as fry cook at the local McDonald’s and wanted to concentrate solely on my music. A stupid move in retrospect considering that in addition to resigning my burger flipping duties I also sacrificed my only source of income.

My mother had been renting an electric guitar for me to learn on for over a year (one I still have to this day) and I used to spend most of my free time practicing it up in my room after school. At the time, my only real social activity was limited to seeing the 80’s hair bands whenever they came to town to perform. 

Looking back it’s also kind of sad to think about how serious I took the insignificant issues I was going through. But I suppose that when you are seventeen and have only the belief that rock superstardom awaits you every little bump in the road suddenly becomes a major event.  But I am happy to report that at least these entries contain a happy ending as you’ll soon discover.

After reading me vent about my inner turmoil feel free to leave your own comments or, if you were there with me at the time, leave some of your own memories about those days.

12/17/86: Tonight is the choir christmas concert. Who knows, it might work out ok. As for practice: hardly any due to the fact that I have to find a ride to school because of the shitty headlights on my car. It starts at 6:45. I have to be there by then so I’ll leave around a quarter after six to have enough time.

It’s over. I mean I’ve lost all interest it’s so I don’t have the feeling anymore. The spark is gone. I don’t get inspiration anymore. All of my songs I try to write just don’t seem right. The words all come out wrong. You know, my career is dying….and part of me shall die with it.

It’s time I confess my problems. Last night, several things came into focus to really put me down for the count. They are as follows:

1. A very low-grade on my Mythology test.

2. Trouble with seeing Bon Jovi due to headlight failure and it being at night.  The headlights worked perfectly the night before.

3. No money: Probably my biggest problem

4. No interest – It’s been falling for about a week

5. No guitar – though I possess it it’s not mine yet (it’s rented) and I feel I’m losing out somehow.

6. Aggravation – Peer pressure and the like but I’ve been dealing with that for years.

7. Finding a ride to and from the concert tonight.

8. Losing friends rapidly

If I gave it more thought there would be more than eight problems but these are the big ones. It’s over now….done.

12/18/86: Well, my life is still falling. I’ve never felt this way before. Lately I’ve been flipping out on everyone for no reason. Yesterday I discovered my car needs a register or some part to fix the headlights…good luck with that!

One good thing: Last night at the choir concert some girl got me confused with someone else she wanted to hug….but I obliged. Haha… It was funny though. I’m beginning to get myself together both psychologically and musically.

Soon I shall be back on top.

Childhood Memories, Movies and TV, Thought and Opinion

Rest in Peace Colonel Potter

Harry Morgan, the beloved actor best known for his role as Colonel Sherman T. Potter in the television series M*A*S*H died Wednesday morning December 7th. Irrelevant but no less ironic is the notion that the man best known for portraying a leader of a mobile army surgical hospital during wartime passed away on the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Although Mr. Morgan lived a long life of ninety-six years news of his demise still hit me like a punch in the stomach. I wasn’t around for his early film roles and was much too young during his Dragnet days but M*A*S*H was always a staple in my home when I was growing up.

There wasn’t a week that would go by, most often on Monday nights, where my father would gather the family together around our state of the art 19″ television to watch the latest antics of the four-oh-double-seven. Most kids of the day would have much preferred to watch Little House On The Prairie but not us. We were regular army.

Sherman T. Potter reported for duty shortly after the demise of Lt Colonel Henry Blake and quickly became one of my favorite characters. I cried my eyes out the first time I saw the episode where Colonel Blake died in a plane crash on what was supposed to be his discharge from the army and journey stateside. It was that same punch-in-the-stomach feeling and I remember thinking even at that young age how hard it would be to replace a character like that. But a few episodes later along came Colonel Potter and the rest is television history.

The thing I liked most about Colonel Potter was that he didn’t take any crap. Countless times Corporal Klinger (the transvestite who wanted to get a section eight discharge) would come up with a new scheme to get out of the army and every time he was turned away by Sherm. My particular favorite being the time Klinger attempted to eat a Jeep and wound up in the infirmary. When told that Klinger was in the process of eating a Jeep the Colonel calmly responded “This too shall pass.”

M*A*S*H is one of those shows that never gets old. You can watch every episode from first to last (the finale which aired in 1983 still reigns as the most watched television episode ever) and they all still look new and relevant. The environment of a makeshift tent, the green combat fatigues, the hospital. Everything immortal. Which is something I also thought would hold true for Colonel Potter as well.

It’s funny, I have several seasons of M*A*S*H on DVD and rarely watch them. But whenever I happen upon a M*A*S*H marathon on TV Land I am hooked. Maybe it’s just a final memory of youth but for me the show ranks right up there with only The Three Stooges: one that gives a better viewing experience when stumbled upon while channel surfing.

So Godspeed to you dear Colonel Potter. You have served both your country, and my childhood well.

Childhood Memories, Thought and Opinion

The Thing About Christmas Photos

Last night, I found myself perusing through my old family photo album recalling days gone by. A few years ago, I had painstakingly organized hundreds of loose, old photographs into this particular volume and placed them by year as best as I could recall (some of which dating back to the early 1900’s).

I put them in the order of family events such as births, graduations, marriages etc. It took quite a while for me to get them into this chronological order, but now I have a time capsule of my family from a century ago until now.

Every so often, I like to recall a particular relative who is no longer with us, or perhaps the urge strikes to see just how deep of a purple the color of my bicycle was when I was eleven-years old. And once my curiosity has been satisfied, the album of memories quickly goes back on its shelf.

But last night was different. As I took a stroll down memory lane to recall an Aunt a familiar theme seemed to glare out at me from the pages of my family history: Christmas.

From the earliest years of black and white photos I noticed many that were taken around Christmas time. There were quite a few of my mother and her parents over the years striking poses with ornate Christmas trees in the background. I saw the young girl who would one day give birth to me standing with her doll next to an Evergleam aluminum Christmas tree. The smile on her face. The wonder in her eye. Christmas was coming.

I began to lament the fact that the photo wasn’t in color. I wanted to see the deep blues and greens that decorated the house, the color of her doll’s dress, the color of my mother’s cheeks. Maybe there was a huge snow storm and she had just come in from outside. I wondered how many days it was until Christmas.

Page after page, I was greeted with tidings of great joy. Photographs of long deceased relatives celebrating Christmas at my grandparent’s home. There were pictures of people eating, children unwrapping presents and even some solo shots of the annual Christmas tree itself. But there was one thing they all shared in common: the warmth of family.

I spent the longest time browsing the Christmas section of photos. Probably longer than I’ve looked at any of them in years. All the while I was thinking about where I was in my own life at the time they were taken and what I was feeling at the time. Then I began to wonder why I seemed to gravitate more towards these Christmas photos as opposed to other ones. Certainly my grandparent’s 50th wedding anniversary pictures from 1983 were more important than a picture of me with my first dog at some unknown Christmas was, right?

Wrong.

Aside from the religious and trivial commercialism that comes with it, here’s the thing you need to know about Christmas photos:

Christmas is the one holiday where memories are made and easily recalled with photographs. I can look through pile after pile of old Christmas photos and once again see the gaudy flashing star that sat atop the tree every year; the colored lights in the window and decorations that adorned the walls; the Polaroids of me sitting with my grandfather on his Archie Bunker recliner and even the year Santa brought me Stretch Armstrong and his buddy Stretch Monster.

Even though I may not be able to recall the exact year, I KNOW that they were taken sometime in December. It seems to me that Christmas photographs are the only ones where you can narrow down memories from years into days.

Here’s hoping you make more of your own this holiday.

Childhood Memories, Thought and Opinion

The McDonaldland Crime Syndicate

Back in the day if Mom and Dad drove anywhere passed a Mickey D’s you know darn well a whiny blonde haired boy in the back seat was begging them to make a pit stop. I loved seeing the Golden Arches. The burgers, the fries, the shakes…. I loved eating there. Much more so then as opposed to now because eating that stuff now tends to put weight on me for some unknown reason.

But I have to admit that the thing I loved the most about going to McDonalds in the 1970’s wasn’t the burgers or fries. No, the best thing about going to the place where billions and billions are served was another chance for me to see what Ronald McDonald and his homies were up to. Ronald sure had the coolest bunch of friends ever that all lived in their own world. A world filled with talking chicken mcnuggets, trash cans and trees. A world I got to visit for the most part only when my parents grew tired of listening to their whiny child on their way home from the store.

I still fondly recall trying to collect all of the promotional glasses and plates they’d have. Not because I’d ever utilize such items for eating or drinking again mind you. On the contrary, my goal was strictly to have something with the McDonaldland characters on it: the coolest bunch of dudes ever.

You know who they are. Characters like Ronald McDonald, Grimace, The Professor, Mayor McCheese, Big Mac and Birdie the Early Bird (for all you breakfast lovers out there).

On a whim the thought struck me today to read up on my old pals. What I found was shocking. Has anyone else noticed the evil crime syndicate that’s being run out of McDonaldland? Take a look at these biographies of characters and you tell me. Fatty fast food is the last thing our children need to be worried about. The truth is larceny has been running amok in McDonaldland:

Hamburglar – The Hamburglar was a pint-sized burglar who first appeared in March 1971 and was one of the first villains on the commercials. He is dressed in a black-and-white hooped shirt and pants, a red cape, a wide-brimmed hat, and red gloves. His primary object of theft was hamburgers.

 

 

 

Captain Crook – Captain Crook was a pirate who first appeared in July 1970 and is similar in appearance to the famed Captain Hook from Disney’s 1953 movie Peter Pan. Unlike the Hamburglar, this villain spent his time trying to steal Filet-O-Fish sandwiches from citizens of McDonaldland while avoiding being caught.

 

 

 

 

Fry Guys -They are characters used to promote McDonald’s french fries. When they first appeared in 1972, they were called Gobblins and liked to steal and gobble up the other characters’ french fries.

 

 

 


Griddler – A short-lived McDonaldland character. He was featured in 2 commercials in 2003 to promote the McGriddles by stealing them from Ronald and his friends.

Even my boy Grimace started out on the wrong side of the tracks:

Grimace – a large, purple character who was first introduced in November 1971 as the “Evil Grimace”. In Grimace’s first two appearances, he was depicted with two pairs of arms with which to steal milkshakes and sodas. “Evil” was soon dropped from Grimace’s moniker, and Grimace was reintroduced in 1972 as one of the good guys.

It seems like almost everyone at McDonalds has taken to a life of crime. And to make matters worse, the only two real “good guys” around: Mayor McCheese and Big Mac (an actual police officer) both disappeared from McDonaldland years ago and haven’t been heard from since. Coincidence?

I don’t know about you, but I’m beginning to question which side Ronald himself is on. Which makes me wonder how it all began….

Thought and Opinion, Top Headlines

Today’s Headlines – Dec 3, 2011

If it’s Saturday morning and nothing else is going on you know it’s time for Today’s Headlines. This is where I  post actual top story headlines from reputable “Top News” websites and give you my take on them.

 

I always find it funny how these news organizations choose their “Top Stories”.  I mean, who decides why stories about Lindsay Lohan going to rehab take precedence over mass killings in the Middle East?

All of the headlines that follow were all emblazoned in bold when I saw them on the actual website and deal with topics considered to be the most important things you need to know. Things that without such knowledge of you would be in danger of ignorance.

Have a Great Day!

From MSNBC.com:

George Mcgovern Hospitalized
Is that guy still alive? I thought he died right after Nixon resigned.

Jobless Rate Falls to 8.6%
“Falls” to 8.6%? Ok, maybe this headline’s relevant but how about this next one:

Authorities Take Custody of Singer McCready’s Son
We have out of control unemployment, an economy in shambles with a dangerously teeter-tottering stock market and they’re more concerned about a country singer who hasn’t been relevant in 15 years losing custody of her son because she’s a train wreck.

Megachurch Pastor’s Wife Says Divorce is On Again
This is news? And why is it ‘on’ again all of a sudden?

From Yahoo.com:

U.S. Judge Rejects Apple Bid to Halt Galaxy Sales:
Damn, I knew Steve Jobs had a lot of money but I didn’t know he owned a whole bunch of actual galaxies. That’s impressive. I knew I should have bought some stock back in the day. I’d probably be blogging from the moon right about now.

And finally:

From FoxNews.Com:

Sandusky: I Never Spoke To Joe (Paterno) About Allegations: Former Penn State coach reportedly says Joe Paterno never asked him about alleged molestation incidents.

Yep, that one I can believe.

Childhood Memories, Things I Think

Eight Things I Think: Best Christmas Specials Edition

Does anyone remember the intro to the CBS holiday specials? Check it out here

I remember the sound of my heart beating faster as the rainbow colored word “Special” did a complete three-sixty. Watching this intro now three things immediately come to mind:

1. I was a child whenever I saw it.

2. It was probably around 8pm in the evening. Most definitely before 9 when all “good” children were in bed.

3. Most importantly something really, really cool was about to be on television.

Although it was used through out the year for holiday specials this little intro always reminds me of Christmas and the days I watched them growing up. And since it’s that magical time of year again all of these shows are back on for another generation (or three) to enjoy.

Which leads me to the subject of today’s blog.

Every year there seems to be new Christmas/Holiday specials on. ABC Family even devotes the entire month of December to “The 25 Days Of Christmas” where they showcase a plethora of new shows mixed in with familiar classics.

Sadly, none of the new stuff can compare to those timeless shows of the 60’s and 70’s.  It still amazes me that a cartoon or clay-mation show from forty years ago can tell a better story in 45 minutes then a state of the art, two-hour Hollywood made for TV feature.

One of the things I’ve always loved about these specials were the villains and how in the end they all were redeemed. Whether it was by finding out the true meaning of Christmas or if necessary, getting all of their teeth pulled.

Although I could probably give you at least a dozen I’ve narrowed the list down to eight and can now present to you my picks for The Best Christmas Specials of All Time.

You’ll notice that this list contains a lot of Rankin-Bass favorites and for good reason. These two gentlemen were masters at making specials that appealed to viewers of all ages. All of these shows were, and thanks to magic of cable continue to be, specials I enjoy watching every year.

Let’s see if you agree:

8. Mr Magoo’s A Christmas Carol (1962): What’s not to love about watching Charles Dickens’ classic tale told with the wacky blind guy in the title role? I’ll admit the songs were pretty crappy but the ghost of Christmas future literally scared the crap out of me.

7. Twas The Night Before Christmas (1974): A Rankin-Bass cartoon with great songs and a wonderful story. A disgruntled little mouse sends Santa a mean letter and then has to redeem himself by fixing a clock in the center square of town to atone for it.

6. Frosty The Snowman (1969): Ok, I’ll admit it. I cried my eyes out on more than one occasion when Frosty melted.  But let’s get this straight – I was a child…yeah, let’s go with that.

5. The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974): A Rankin-Bass feature where Santa decides to take a year off because no one appreciates him. It’s up to two misfit elves to go to Southtown and find people who have the Christmas spirit.

This show also featured the Miser Brothers. Nothing more needs to be said.

4. Santa Claus is Comin’ Town (1970): The true origin of Santa Claus. I was deathly afraid of the Winter Warlock. That is until he got his Choo-Choo Train and turned good. And what’s not to love about Topper the penguin and his cute little scarf?

 

3. How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966): Another great story about redemption. I loved the Grinch’s dog Max. Most kids of my generation were familiar with the animation. It was done by Chuck Jones who was most popular for his work with Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry cartoons of the same era.

2.  A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965): Whether it’s the Charlie Brown tree, Lucy getting kissed by a “dog”, Snoopy winning the lights and display contest or the message Linus delivers…it’s all wonderful. But the thing I remember most about this show was the music. Vince Guaraldi’s jazz from that special is one of the most recognizable sounds of the season to this day.

1. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964): There is absolutely no arguing that this is the greatest Christmas special of all time. I own a copy of this DVD and STILL to this very day watch it when it’s on TV. This is THE special I remember most when seeing the CBS “Special Presentation” intro. The only show that has run consistently every year on that channel since 1964.

Rudolph tells the story of a misfit reindeer with a light-bulb nose who teams up with an elf who’d rather be a dentist. Along the way they encounter a bunch of misfit toys that children no longer care for. And ironically, Santa somehow seems to have forgotten about them too.

 

I loved the music and characters but, like all Rankin Bass specials do – I was petrified of the Bumble snow monster until the very end.

Finally, and although technically not “Christmas”, I need to give an honorable mention out to Rudolph’s Shiny New Year (1976). If for nothing else than the picture below.

As December begins and the hustle and bustle gets into full gear I hope you’ll take the time to watch some of these specials again and make more memories. Also, let me know what your Christmas Special list would look like.

Merry Christmas to all!

Thought and Opinion

Who You Callin’ Lazy?

“I’m super lazy today. Which is similar to normal lazy but today I’m also wearing a cape.”

That was my Facebook status update yesterday. Coincidentally, it was also the same day I read a blog my friend Kim Shimer had posted about an article she read in Philadelphia Magazine. The writer of the article, and chairman of the magazine, D. Herbert Lipson had a field day bashing today’s youth as being lazy and unmotivated.

Please take a minute to read Kim’s blog here.

Kim has her own thoughts on the subject with excellent examples to the contrary of “D Herb’s” thesis. I thought long and hard about commenting on her blog but in the end decided to post my own thoughts and comments here.

Several points D Herb make ring true to me. The most obvious one being where he states that college students would be more interested in “general” studies like psychology rather than math and engineering because the latter two subjects are something today’s youth has no interest in and I’d have to agree. I’d much rather try to figure out why it is that the smell of bacon causes me to salivate instead of just sitting there solving equations.

But more to the point: D Herb suggests that our youth is having too much fun growing up and not doing enough “hard work” and offers his own solution:

“They’d be much better off getting prepared for the real world instead of having a childhood of fun and games.”

Beg pardon, but a certain computer geek named Mark Zuckerberg created a billion dollar company called Facebook which next year will go public. Created by a dork who was having “fun”. Oddly enough D Herb’s family owned Philadelphia Magazine has its own Facebook page.

As far as “fun and games” go I honestly think childhood should contain more. But not a free-for-all one where kids can play mindless video games and watch TV for hours. One that’s structured with group activities and things that provide social interaction.

My daughter currently attends dance classes twice a week, plays softball during the spring and summer months complete with hitting clinics and is also involved with band, chorus, student council and the newspaper at school. In addition to her studies I believe that when she graduates she will be well-rounded enough to pursue whatever it is she wants to become.

As for me, I actually lament the fact that my childhood didn’t contain more. I would have loved for my parents to have forced summer camp on me with the other kids, or been a part of the camaraderie as a member of the football team in high school. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until my senior year that I got involved in any of that childhood group involvement (concert choir, jazz band, school play) and by then the feeling of belonging was short-lived. Looking back now I still think about what I missed out on rather than what I obtained working at McDonalds after school.

Being the best parents we can be is what’s really important. Teaching our kids what’s right and wrong, making them well-rounded individuals and showing them that nothing in life is free. As long as love is involved I think we’ll all turn out ok.

So while I agree that kids need to be taught early on that hard work pays off it shouldn’t come at the expense of enjoying something they only get one of – childhood.

1980's, Childhood Memories, Life

School Daze

The last time I roamed the halls at the current Easton Area Middle School it was still called Shawnee Intermediate School. Although additions were made structurally and the grade levels and names may have changed the building itself is still pretty much the way I remember it to be from when I was a student in the early 1980’s.

Today was a special chance for me to spend the entire day with my daughter at her school and see what a typical day for her is like. Suffice to say, it had an impact on me.

First off let just say that there are several things that I’ll always remember from my time spent at Shawnee:

1. The Planetarium. The absolute coolest place in the school. The only time where if a visit to the planetarium was included as part of an assembly kids got excited.  Sadly, today it’s just a normal room now.

2. Shawnee was the place where I first heard of the band Duran Duran.

3. Reading the book 1984 by George Orwell in Mr. Pfister’s English class in the year, yep you guessed it, 1984.

4. Going to Mr. Heath’s Earth Science class where every morning began with him literally giving us the weather forecast. Mr. Heath would have a map of the US taped on the board complete with approaching cold/warm fronts and “H” and “L” letters representing the respective pressure systems.

5. Dale Wilson carrying around a briefcase and self-publishing his own newspaper. Why this one sticks out is a mystery to me.

Regardless, I thought of all of these things as my daughter and I walked through the doors this morning. Although I felt safe and secure, seeing the levels of security on campus reminded me that about the only thing still relevant in these hallowed halls was that big brother was now watching more than ever.

After spending the morning having breakfast we made our way to her homeroom. Once there I was quickly introduced to one of her classmates named Eric. Upon meeting me he immediately asked Jillian, “Does he know about David?”. “SHUT UP!” Jillian replied as Eric just chuckled. Later I would ask her what that was all about and Jillian told me that Eric thinks she likes David, another student in her class (one which she is quick to say she doesn’t)… Ah, young love.

It wasn’t long before the class clown/troublemaker made his presence known. Chad (name changed to protect the innocent), a ten year old boy who looked more like a linebacker was literally dancing around making “beat-box” sounds when the teacher’s back was turned. I think the level of commotion going on and students asking questions made her oblivious to his actions. Other kids were cracking up at his antics and as soon as the teacher turned back around he immediately would stop. Then sure enough, as soon as the teacher went back to work in a small group he’d act up again.

I had to laugh when I thought what the odds would be if I came back five years from now and Chad was still in the same class beat boxing?

BRRRING….School bell rang and it’s off to music class. My favorite. Usually there would be two periods of math but since she was signed up for band  I got to sit with Jillian in a small group for clarinet lesson.

When the bell rang again we made our way to Math class. As we arrived the teacher, who was working out a problem on the board asked “Were you at music?”. When Jillian responded in the affirmative the teacher replied, “Oh, too bad. You missed some really great problems here”. It was all I could do to keep from saying: “Uhm, yeah…right…SURE she did!”..

Before I knew it lunch had arrived. We scurried our way into the lunch line. A smile appeared on my face when I discovered the tater tots were exactly as I remembered. Memories of the second period lunch at the high school flooded my senses.

About the only thing I lamented about lunch was that there were no green beans. Oh how I missed stabbing the green veggies with my straw. Trying to see how high I could fill the plastic straw before squeezing it’s contents back out on to the cardboard tray.

As we ate I asked Jillian what was next. “Science Class”, she replied. “But our normal teacher is not here today. We have a substitute”.

Substitute. That word triggered the memory of Mr. Stone, the universal substitute teacher in school. Mr. Stone worked as a substitute in pretty much every subject and to this day I’m not even sure what he was experienced to teach. When he was in for a sick teacher it was like study hall because nothing was about the only thing accomplished.

After Science, we made our way back to homeroom and then the funniest thing ever happened.  The teacher wanted to take attendance again and she asked students to please acknowledge with a “Here” when their name was called. Now. most well behaved students would simply give the “here” as their name was called, although some thought to give more cool responses like “Yo” or “Hi There”. But when the teacher called out Chad’s name, he decided to answer with the “beat box”. The teacher asked him to answer properly, but the damage to me was already done.

I laughed…and I laughed…and I laughed. For some reason, him doing the beat box at that particular moment in time hit my funny bone. I was covering my face looking down at the desk with tears started coming from my eyes. I don’t know what it was that was so damn funny when he did that, but I almost had to leave the room. All the kids, including my own Jillian sat there laughing at me laughing. I don’t know how I was able to pull it together, but class continued.

The day ended with of all things an assembly. We entered the auditorium to watch The Bach Choir of Bethlehem perform a few selections. Maybe its because I’m in a choir myself or perhaps because I’m well beyond the middle school years but in either case I found them to be very entertaining.

As we walked out of school and headed home I had a new found appreciation for my daughter. Seeing her interact with others, openly raising her hand to ask questions and actively participate in school is quite the opposite of the way I was. I thought about all the memories she would now be making in these halls over the next four years.

And I couldn’t be more proud.