The Pact: Sailing Right Behind

Happy
Belated Saint Patrick's Day
& Early Vernal Equinox,
& Thanks to my friend Mumbi
for this beautiful Friendship Rock!

I've been listening to a lot of golden oldies on the
car radio this week, including these two favorites:

Bridge Over Troubled Water
When you're weary
Feeling small
When tears are in your eyes,
I'll dry them all
I'm on your side
Oh, when times get rough
And friends just can't be found

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

When you're down and out
When you're on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you
I'll take your part
Oh, when darkness comes
And pain is all around

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

Sail on silver girl
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way
See how they shine

Oh, if you need a friend
I'm sailing right behind

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind

By Paul Simon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'll Be There
You and I must make the pact
We must bring salvation back
Where there is love, I'll be there

I'll reach out my hand to you
I'll have faith in all you do
Just call my name and I'll be there

I'll be there to comfort you
Build my world of dreams around you
I'm so glad that I found you

I'll be there with a love that's strong
I'll be your strength
I'll keep holdin' on

Let me fill your heart with joy and laughter
Togetherness, girl, is all I'm after
Whenever you need me, I'll be there

I'll be there to protect you
With an unselfish love that respects you
Just call my name, I'll be there

I'll be there to comfort you
Build my world of dreams around you
I'm so glad that I found you

I'll be there with a love that's strong
I'll be your strength
I'll keep holdin' on

If you should ever find someone new
I know he better be good to you
'Cause if he doesn't
I'll be there

Don't you know baby
I'll be there, I'll be there
Just call my name, I'll be there
Just look over your shoulders honey, ooh!
I'll be there, I'll be there

Whenever you need me,
I'll be there, I'll be there
Don't you know baby
I'll be there, I'll be there
Just call my name, I'll be there

By Hal Davis, Berry Gordy,
Willie Hutch, Bob West
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Esther ~ Kitti ~ Mumbi ~

At Christmas Time and All the Whole Year Through

For a look inside of this beautiful old house
that we called home for eight years in West Philly,
check out my current post:

~ "814 ~ Where It Was Almost Always Christmas" ~

@ The Fortnightly Kitti Carriker:
A Fortnightly [every 14th & 28th] Literary Blog of
Connection & Coincidence; Custom & Ceremony
Now, just one quick question about the two songs you see copied below: are they in fact two songs? Or are they really both the same song? I love them both, but I'm confused. Whenever I hear one, the other comes to mind.

For example:

The Partridge Family:
I'm looking out my window
at the softly falling snow
that dances in the early morning light . . .

The Seekers:
Looking from my window
On the freshly fallen snow,
It sparkles as it tumbles
Upon the street below . . .

************
I quoted a bit from the Seekers on my latest Fortnightly Post because it seems to me the kind of Christmas song that you can still sing in March if you want to.

Here are the songs in full;
you can click on the titles to listen:

My Christmas Card to You
To you and all your family, your neighbors and your friends
May all your days be happy with a joy that never ends
May peace and love surround you
at Christmas time and all the whole year through

I'm looking out my window at the softly falling snow
that dances in the early morning light
I got my guitar right before me, strummin' a beautiful sound
watching it a-comin' down, all around
on the fields and the farms and the road to town

And I'm thinkin' up a letter that I'm writin' in my head
a Christmas card to all the folks I love
Instead of lettin' the postman bring it, I decided I'd rather sing it
especially for you, for you

To you and all your family, your neighbors and your friends
May all your days be happy with a joy that never ends
May peace and love surround you
at Christmas time and all the whole year through

May your life be filled with sunshine
May your every wish come true
May you find the sweet fulfillment in everything you do
May your days be blessed with the very very best
both now and the whole year through
it says so in my Christmas card to

You and all your family, your neighbors and your friends
May all your days be happy with a joy that never ends
May peace and love surround you
at Christmas time and all the whole year through
at Christmas time and all the whole year through

Sung by The Partridge Family
Lyrics and music by Tony Romeo, 1971

************
I Wish You Could Be Here
Looking from my window
On the freshly fallen snow,
It sparkles as it tumbles
Upon the street below,
The crackle of the fire
Is laughing in my ear,
The room is warm and sleepy
And I wish you could be here.
Somedays in this town
There's not a lot for me to do,
I've been listening to some records
And my thoughts return to you,
I tried to read the paper
But the words aren't very clear,
Oh I know there's something missing
And I wish you could be here.

I keep listening for your footsteps
Or your key turned in the door,
I sure could use your company
But we've been through that before,
I think the winter's going to last
A long time this year,
I've got empty time to fill
And I wish you could be here.

Sung by The Seekers
Lyrics and music by Bruce Woodley & Paul Simon, 1966

Snow Day ~ A Very Happy Boy!
Ben in Philadelphia, January 1996

To You and All Your Family . . . . I Wish You Could Be Here!
Sam ~ Our Neighbor Graham ~ Ben
January 2000

Take Me to the Mardi Gras

Illustrations from Carl's Masquerade by Alexandra Day

"Mardi Gras. The farewell to flesh. I dressed in feathers. Pointed beak and glitter. How we danced, through lights and confetti. The good-bye to the body.

Not forever, but for now" (66).

from Carole Maso's novel AVA

******************
Take Me To The Mardi Gras

C'mon take me to the Mardi Gras
Where the people sing and play
Where the dancing is elite
And there's music in the street
Both night and day

Hurry take me to the Mardi Gras
In the city of my dreams
You can legalize your lows
You can wear your summer clothes
In the New Orleans

And I will lay my burden down
Rest my head upon that shore
And when I wear that starry crown
I won't be wanting anymore

Take your burdens to the Mardi Gras
Let the music wash your soul
You can mingle in the street
You can jingle to the beat
Of Jelly Roll
Music and lyrics by Paul Simon

One Day You'll Find This Picture

Our Yearbook Pictures
Junior Year at Francis Howell High School Fall 1973

"Time it was, and what a time it was, it was
A time of innocence, a time of confidences
Long ago, it must be, I have a photograph
Preserve your memories, they're all that's left you"

lyrics from
"Bookends" by Simon & Garfunkel
Back in the summer of 1995, at our twentieth high school reunion, the most ironic thing happened; or maybe it was just plain uncanny. One friend had remembered to bring along a Senior yearbook, and as we thumbed through the pages, a loose photograph fluttered to the floor, landing face down. Shaking our heads sadly, we read the poignant and strangely true inscription, in Marilyn's familiar curly cursive:

“We may see each other again or we may not,
but one day, you’ll find this picture in your attic
and remember your old friend ~ Marilyn"
How painful it was to kneel down and pick that picture up, to turn it over and see Marilyn's eternally young smile, to imagine her writing that haunting sentiment. Sad enough for those of us who knew, but even more shocking for the few classmates in the crowd who, until that moment, had been unaware of her untimely death from ovarian cancer a year and a half earlier. Gone too soon.

Yet she was there with us that day, telling us a story! I shouldn't have been surprised. Marilyn was always recommending something good for me to read or telling me about a poet I should have known about but didn't, always raising my consciousness! A true friend! How appropriate that the forgotten photo came to light twenty years later, not in an attic, but in the midst of a gathering of friends. Indeed, as she had predicted, we all stood transfixed for a moment remembering our old friend ~ Marilyn.

A week ago, I included one of my favorite memories of Marilyn in my current Fortnightly post "A Heart That Watches and Receives." Do you remember that lush and hazy song from the 70s -- "The Air That I Breathe." Marilyn used to say, "What? No books to read? That can't be right!"

Whenever we happened to hear it on the radio, Marilyn would always express her dismay. She was torn; she wanted to like it; but why No books to read? What kind of paradise would that be?" No sleep -- okay. Nothing to eat -- okay. But no books? Not okay!"

Although it is still a favorite, I never hear it without the memory of Marilyn's wise words!

The Air That I Breathe
[click to listen]
If I could make a wish, I think I'd pass
Can't think of anything I need
No cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no sound
Nothing to eat, no books to read . . .

Sometimes
All I need is the air
That I breathe
And to love you . . .

sung by The Hollies
written by Albert Louis Hammond / Mike Hazlewood
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing
Copyright: Imagem Songs Ltd.

Click to read these
once & future reminiscences:
Since Yesterday
Celebrity Look Alike
Birthday Present
What You Might Call Beautiful
Happy 448th to William Shakespeare
Nativity
Rainbow Trail

Losing Strength, Not Style

and see photo album:
My Friend Marilyn, 1957 ~ 1993

Victoria Day

"Time it was, and what a time it was, it was
A time of innocence, a time of confidences
Long ago, it must be, I have a photograph
Preserve your memories, they're all that's left you"

lyrics from
"Bookends" by Simon & Garfunkel

Kitti, Vickie, Diane ~ Kirksville, Summer 1980

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY AMAZING FRIEND
Dr. Victoria Amador

I was lucky enough to see Vickie just last week . . .

and we discussed the meaning of life:

"It's like a universal radio.
Sometimes I get the message,
but usually it's just snow."

Additional words of wisdom from Victoria:
"Avoid the nettles!"

Preserve Your Memories!
Valentine Collage ~ Old Favorites from Vickie & Diane

American Tune

Photo from
Ben's 3rd grade Field Trip, Spring 1999

" . . . And I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly
And looking back down at me
Smiled reassuringly
And I dreamed I was flying
And high above my eyes could clearly see
The Statue of Liberty
Sailing away to sea
And I dreamed I was flying.

Oh, we come on the ship they call the Mayflower
We come on the ship that sailed the moon . . . "
~ Paul Simon ~

"Going to America then was almost like going to the moon."
~ Golda Meir ~

~ Veronica Lawlor ~
"When I was about 10 years old, I said, 'I have to go to America.' Because my uncles were here already, and it kind of got me that I want to go to America, too. . . . I was dreaming about it. I was writing to my uncles, I said I wish one day I'll be in America. I was dreaming to come to America. . . . and I was dreaming, and my dream came true. When I cam here, I was in a different world. It was so peaceful. It was quiet. You were not afraid to go out in the middle of the night. . . . I'm free. I'm just like a bird. You can fly and land on any tree and you're free." [emphasis added]

Helen Cohen
Poland
Arrived in 1920 ~ Age 20

~ Lawlor's illustration and Cohen's reminiscence ~
found on pages 14 - 15
of this beautiful book:

Also included in Lawlor's collection are these remarkable words from Golda Meir, who would one day be the 4th Prime Minister of Israel:

"My father, who had by not moved from New York to Milwaukee, was barely making a living. He wrote back that he hoped to get a job working on the railway and soon he would have enough money for our tickets. . . . I can remember only the hustle and bustle of those last weeks in Pinsk, the farewells from the family, the embraces and the tears. Going to America then was almost like going to the moon. . . . We were all bound for places about which we knew nothing at all and for a country that was totally strange to us." [p 10, emphasis added]

Golda Meir
Russia
Arrived in 1906 ~ Age 8

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Click to read
what my friend Beata wrote about Coming to America:
"I was now INSIDE of independency! . . . I was free!"

AND

Click to hear
Paul Simon sing a song for the day . . .
American Tune
Many’s the time I’ve been mistaken
And many times confused
Yes, and I’ve often felt forsaken
And certainly misused
Oh, but I’m all right, I’m all right
Just weary to my bone
Still, you don’t expect to be
Bright and bon vivant
So far away from home, so far away from home

And I don’t know a soul who’s not been battered
I don’t have a friend who feels at ease
I don’t know a dream that’s not been shattered
Or driven to its knees
Oh, but it’s all right, it’s all right
For we've lived so well so long
Still, when I think of the road
We’re traveling on
I wonder what's gone wrong
I can’t help it, I wonder what’s gone wrong

And I dreamed I was dying
I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly
And looking back down at me
Smiled reassuringly
And I dreamed I was flying
And high above my eyes could clearly see
The Statue of Liberty
Sailing away to sea
And I dreamed I was flying

Oh, we come on the ship they call the Mayflower
We come on the ship that sailed the moon
We come in the age’s most uncertain hour
And sing an American tune
Oh, it’s all right, it’s all right, it’s all right
You can’t be forever blessed
Still, tomorrow’s going to be another working day
And I’m trying to get some rest
That’s all I’m trying to get some rest [emphasis added]

© 1973 Words and Music by Paul Simon

This year's American Flag Pie!

Also 2009 & 2010