This is the journal that my last therapist gave me after I earned my Master’s degree in Education. Alas, it’s from a college that New York State does not care about too much because it’s not accredited and so they won’t give me my certification to teach English to ELL’s (English language learners) as of yet so, oh well (even though I took the necessary workshops and passed their ATAS exam, and I was aiming to be teacher’s assistant anyway, not an ELL teacher)… the point is, is that she was very proud of me that day in 2014 and gave me this beautiful diary as a graduation present. In it she writes an inscription that reads, “Dear Tennille, I congratulate you on your accomplishments and I admire your strength, belief, and perseverance. You are an inspiration and an asset to the field of Education. Keep imagining and nurturing your creativity”
Like with every diary before and after this one, I also use it as laundry/to-do lists and listing things like essential oil types, recipes, and resources (like which workshops are being taught where and when). When I was 17 I had this really nice looking bluish purple diary and after a while, after feeling spent from pouring out my soul I suppose, I used it to copy down pages and pages of Taoist breakdowns of food combinations and regimens as if I were a Nutrition student even though I’m anything but.
I wrote about Billy Joel here a few days ago. My son and I are going to see him in concert next month. He’s a bigger Beatles fan, but he enjoys Billy to a degree. I knew he struggled with alcoholism but never knew that he once tried to end his life (with furniture polish? according to Pandora radio). One time in the late 80’s or early 90’s, VH1 did an all day Billy Joel tribute which I must have recorded on a VHS because I remember playing it a lot.
I liked how he described his process when recording “We Didn’t Start the Fire”, how at first he toyed with the idea of doing it like a rap (“Harry Truman/Doris Day/red China/Johnnie Ray”) but then nixed it concluding that he wasn’t a “rap artist”. He didn’t use the word “rapper” (which is not even a bad word), but rap ARTIST. He wasn’t snubbing rap or hip hop, he was giving it a nod of respect like, “I admit, I don’t have the capacity to do that, that’s not my art form”.
I also liked how he explained that as a writer he indeed can write about Allentown without ever having lived there or Downeaster Alexa without having been a fisherman. Pandora radio also points out that he was one of the few singer-songwriters from the 70’s who actually embraced the 80’s MTV video shift. In a way, I can attest to this, having been fascinated by his videos as a kid and then later on as a young adult, learning the beautiful lyrics of his 70’s songs.
March 4th, 2017 After the concert
“It’s like an airport!” my son and other people in line said as we squeezed into Madison Square Garden last night, walking through metal detectors and friendly guards checking our bags.
“What a LIFE this guy has!” one fan laughed and exclaimed to his friends.
“I should’ve paid attention in music class! Now later we’ll buy a $300 T-shirt that fades after 3 washes!”
I would have bought one for my son if he wanted it (prices were closer to $45-50), but he didn’t so I bought these refrigerator magnets instead.
Sometimes he let us vote on which songs he'd play next, calling it the “viewers choice”. My ‘vote’ won every time except for when I wanted “Keepin the Faith”; “The Downeaster 'Alexa'” got the louder cheers. I’m amazed at how good his voice still sounds. The lights were good, flashing in time with the music. Last night was his 39th consecutive show in the Garden. I am 39 this year until my 40th birthday in June.
He wanted to know who was under 40 there and a lot of us cheered back. He sheepishly and adorably said, “Aw I wish you’d seen me when I was younger, I was a lot better back then”. Everyone continued cheering and I was just like, “noooo you’re just fine now!” And he was. His lyrics, his playing, his voice and all the different video concepts I grew up watching throughout the years. His graciousness and friendliness towards his audience. He wasn't late, he did song after song, an old-school, no nonsense way, kind of like when my sister and I went to see Al Pacino on Broadway. Before the show we spotted him parallel park his car up to the theater to ‘report to work’.
“I've got a great job!” he mused as we all cheered.
“At least I have a job!” he added as he segwayed into "Allentown", the song about factories closing down.
We left when intermission began, because my son was getting tired and it was too loud for him overall. We took a cab home and found my dad on the couch, on the mend, watching Young Frankenstein. Such a good Friday night!
Songs he did that night
Guest showed up (the young rascals?) and played Good Lovin'
With a little bit of Rhapsody's Blues on the piano, turning it into New York State of Mind
A little bit of Gloria in Excelsis Deo turned into My Life
surprise guest John Mellencamp showed up and sang Authority Song
(intermission)
Songs I wanted to hear as well which might have been done after intermission
(there might be more)
Beautiful reflection! xo
ReplyDeleteThank you, Titi!
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