A destination that can never be reached

I don't have any photos of my dad's gospel quartet; in fact, I don't even remember them having a name.

Their existence lives only in memories: sporadic rehearsals at the pianist's home (a widow who lived a couple of blocks away), several performances at church suppers, and one evening at a retirement home where several residents would not let the group leave.

The de-facto leader of the group, one of my dad's best friends, had to announce several times,"now this really will have to be our last number." I was about 14 or 15 at the time, and that proclamation was music to my ears; I was only tagging along to these performances and my Santana, Jethro Tull and Alice Cooper inclinations did not mesh well with "How Great Thou Art."

Sort of ironic that I can now listen to "Abraxas" or "Aqualung" anytime I want, and have absolutely no inclination to do so.

But I would give anything to hear those old ladies on that summer night in Sonestown, Pa (I think), asking for one more song. And then hearing it.

In honor of that on this Sunday morning, I post the clip below. My dad's group would never do anything this uptempo, this rocking, this.....interesting. But the look is right, the time period is right, and it reminds me of the happiness my dad seemed to have when singing. If fact, the lead singer (Happy Edwards) bears a slight remembrance to him.

Bonus on this clip: at 2:06, piano player Joe Moscheo, who went on to play with Elvis, lets out a great and spontaneous "Ahhhhhhhh" when the moment grabs him.

Take my hand, take my whole life too

Ruby was a flower girl at a wedding this past weekend and did beautifully. And she looked especially resplendent in her glorious pinkish/purple boots.

During the reception, she got very sleepy and found her way onto my lap. Just a few moments after she fell asleep, the DJ played Elvis’s “I Can’t Help Falling in Love.” As if on cue, she woke up and looked at me as the song began.

Her only word was “Daddy,” and she then nuzzled in a little closer and went back to sleep.

I held her tightly and we swayed in time to the music, in a small and private moment. Everything else in the room stopped – it was just the two of us with her soft, tiny and gentle breaths on my neck.

Accompanied by the perfect song at the perfect time, and the complete realization and understanding of THIS IS WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT.

Someday she will give her heart to some lucky soul, but I am oh-so-thankful that she gave at least a tiny piece of hers to me at that one singular moment.

In the future, she may only remember Saturday night through some photographs.

But it will live inside of me forever.

Green Day

Everybody wears green today...

Even The King.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all.

She's Got a Drinking Problem (and it's me)

Yesterday while listening to talk radio in the car, one of the hosts mentioned his favorite law, domestic or foreign. According to this guy, in Chile, if a husband is arrested for DUI, his wife must go to jail and serve his term for him. Something about not damaging the family by taking away the breadwinners’ ability to provide for his kin.

Now, I have no idea if this is an actual law or not, and a cursory check of the InterWebs could neither confirm nor deny it.

But just imagine this concept: some poor schlub, while listening to his wife go on about neglecting chores, blah, blah, blah, suddenly has the ability to pick up the car keys and a case of beer and look at his wife and say: “Keep it up and you’ll get 30 days.”
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It has now been confirmed that you no longer have to a GREAT player to make the Baseball Hall of Fame. You just have to be a very good player for a long time. Case in point: Andre Dawson, who followed on the heels of guys like Robin Yount, Paul Molitor and others.

It used to be that you had to dominate the sport, or at least your league. No more, and with this criteria, I’m sure Blyleven will get in next year.
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Want to feel even more old today? The King, the leader of the Memphis Mafia, the Tupelo Treasure and the Most Influential entertainer of the 20th century, would have turned 75 today.

Elvis Presley left the building more than 32 years ago. In his honor, let’s all strive to be TCB today and every day….