The best solution?

A young Italian boy grew up on his family’s farm in a small village 25 miles south of Pisa. There they sold farm machinery and made wine.

In 1971, at just 12 years old the boy, born with congenital glaucoma and already suffering limited vision, lost his sight completely following an accident during a soccer game. Hit in the eye while playing goalkeeper he suffered a brain hemorrhage. Doctors resorted to leeches in a last-ditch effort to save his sight, but were unsuccessful and the boy remained blind.

Early in his youth he grew to have a consuming passion for music. His mother said music was the only thing that brought him comfort. He started piano lessons at age 6. Later he learned the flute, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, guitar, and drums. The first record he owned contained the songs of an international opera star, who inspired him to pursue the career of a tenor. By age 7, he was able to recognize the famous voices of the time and tried to emulate the great singers. Music and singing consumed his childhood.

His first concert was performed in a small village not far from where he was born. He won his first singing competition at age 11 with “O sole mio.” He finished secondary school in 1980, and then studied law. To earn money, he performed evenings in piano bars, where he met his first wife Enrica in 1987. He completed law school and spent a year practicing law. Today he is an international superstar. Famous for his amazing God-given talent, his beautiful voice touches millions of lives. He is the father of three children, with homes in Tuscany, Italy and North Miami Beach, Florida. He has sold more than 80-million albums worldwide.

Miss Morgan

A teacher affects eternity. You can never tell where their influence ends.

~~ Epictetus ~~

I’ve reflected here on a few occasions my school days as a self-appointed class clown. A couple of other companions were as equally gifted in our quest for attention. Their stories have been shared here as well. It wasn’t until many years later I came to realize, the attention I sought was a misguided attempt to make up for other things lacking in my life.

I’m not proud to admit, in my pursuit to be noticed, I was especially brutal to my Jr. high school music teacher, “Miss Morgan.” In hindsight I deeply regret how I mistreated and disrespected her … all to get a cheap laugh from classmates, who did provide a few. The woman was a Saint and despite all I dished out she showed me uncompromised patience and encouragement. I didn’t realize it at the time… she really cared, but few kids notice those things.

On the Road to Somewhere Else

It was early morning 59 years ago today when a small airplane crashed in a lonely, snow covered farmers field near Clear Lake, Iowa. Its story is rich in lore, consequence and unnerving circumstance.

A future country music legend, then just a bass player, gave up his seat to one of those who perished. Another band member would lose a coin toss for his seat. Both would be shaken by those events for the rest of their lives.

Today, travelers on the road to somewhere else, stop at the cornfield to pay homage to the first stars of a new genre of music, and to the memory of the youthful dreams of an entire generation. Nothing much has changed there except for a stainless steel memorial placed in tribute. It marks the spot, where Buddy Holly, J.P. Richardson and Richie Valens were killed, on the day the music died.

The Old Familiar Carols Play

The Christmas Carol, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day is based on an 1863 poem by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He was  the nation’s preeminent poet of his era. The song proclaims the narrator’s despair, as he heard Christmas bells in the distance.

He bows his head, “There is no peace on earth,” [he] said,
“for hate is strong and mocks the song
of peace on earth, good will to men.”

But then the carol inexplicably changes with the bells carrying renewed hope for peace among mankind.

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

“God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,

With peace on earth, good will to men.”

So why the change and how did the poem come to be?

Music Monday – My Father the Singer, Songwriter

Next Saturday June 17th would be my father’s birthday. I don’t remember him. I was two years old when he died, but I think of him often, a lot more so as I’ve grown older. It seems he’s never far from my thoughts. Over the years I heard a lot about him. Of course he was loved by his family and he exemplified love as a devoted son, brother and uncle. People said he was kind-hearted with a great sense of humor.

Richard Delmont Lines (1924-1955)

Described as tall, good-looking, broad-shouldered and physically strong he was also blessed with musical talent. It was said he was a gifted singer, a talented guitar player, and a songwriter.

My dad, like his nine other siblings who lived into adulthood, had a rough life growing up. Coming from a broken home, they struggled through the years of the depression. At a very young age they often had to fend for themselves… just to eat. And on occasion some found themselves at odds with the law.

In talking about those days and their tough, undisciplined childhood an uncle described one of his brothers as “one rough character, eleven years old and packing a thirty-eight revolver.” That young boy, through his own determination, overcame those beginnings, and even before the war, was well on the road to turning his life around. He would go on to honorably serve his country as a combat soldier. He was one of the most respected, admired, and finest men I’ve ever known.

Music Monday – Flanders Fields

It was the early days of World War I in the Second Battle near the town of Ypres. A 22-year old Canadian artillery officer, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, was killed, from the explosion of a German artillery shell. He died 102 years ago tomorrow, May 2, 1915.

Ypres a small, ancient Belgian town saw some of the most intense and sustained battles during the war. Helmer was serving in the same Canadian artillery unit as his friend, doctor and artillery commander Major John McCrae.

John McCrea

The son of Scottish immigrants, for McCrea, medicine, the Army and poetry were family traditions.

Music Monday – A Fine Sight to See

It was a year ago this past week while on the first leg of my long anticipated Around the USA road trip. I was cruising along Interstate 40, eastbound at 80 miles an hour approaching Winslow, Arizona.

It was nearly 11:00 at night. I’d left Las Vegas 5 hours earlier and had a long trip ahead. Other than a few stops for naps I was determined to make it to Huntsville, Alabama, still 21 hours away, for my first layover to visit family.

Weeks earlier I’d researched the routing, and possible sightseeing stops. Now, nearing the first possibility at a spot in Winslow’s downtown corridor, I was having second thoughts. After all it was late and I found myself unsure I wanted to delay my momentum so early in the trip. Would it be worth the bother?

A check of my GPS indicated it was just a mile or so off the Interstate. Had it been five miles I probably wouldn’t have stopped. Turned out it was just too close to pass by.

Music Monday – A Brand New Day

Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner was born in October of 1951 and grew up in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Following work as a bus conductor, a construction laborer, and a tax officer, he attended a teachers college and in the mid 1970s taught elementary school children. During weekends, evenings and breaks from teaching Gordon would play in jazz bands. While performing he’d wear a black and yellow sweater with hooped stripes. Some thought the sweater made him look like a bee. Soon he would be nicknamed “Sting”.

The rest — as they say — is history. An international sensation he’s received sixteen Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe, an Emmy Award, and several Oscar nominations. He is a member of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Sting is one of my favorites.

Music Monday – Christmas in the Trenches

It is good that war is so terrible, lest we become too fond of it.
~~ General Robert E. Lee ~~

Time for another Music Monday and since this is the holiday season this latest installment will be all about… what else?  Christmas!

Even in the depths of bitter war Christmas can bring its indelible influence and for a short time, peace on earth, goodwill toward men can rise above the carnage.  Probably no better example is the legendary Christmas Truce of 1914.  It was a brief pause in a violent and desperate fight between British and German soldiers on the Western Front during what was called by earlier generations the Great War…  more commonly known today as World War One.

This true event made world-wide news and was later memorialized in a ballad as seen through the eyes of a fictional British officer Francis Tolliver.  The song was written by American folk singer and story-teller John McCutcheon.  My favorite version is performed by the Scottish-Canadian tenor John McDermott.

Music Monday – Feel My Love

It’s break time. Time for a respite from all the opinion, perspective, the politics, questions and issues of life. Time, just to relax… to reflect. What better way to do that, than through music? Let’s call it “Music Monday!”

Music has always been a big part of my life and in so many ways. Anyone who knows me well… knows that.

I grew up on the rock music of the 60’s and 70’s but, as I’ve “matured” I’ve grown to have an eclectic taste in music. I enjoy most everything ranging from Sinatra to The Doobie Brothers to Diana Krall to Delbert McClinton, Acoustic Alchemy, Tim McGraw, Enya, and everything in-between. (I know… “Delbert Who?”) The list is a mile long and what I choose to listen to, probably just like you, depends on my mood at the time. Rock, Country, Jazz, Blues etc. etc. Bring it on! Thank God for iTunes and iPods. I mean really… who needs music radio?

Someone said, music is an expression of the human condition… the reflection of a soul. It is Art! For me, much like film, music can bring us relief and escape from the struggles of the world, even if just for a few moments. Music is my muse and I love it. I can’t imagine my world without it.