What Sarah Said at Lunch December 27, 2008
Posted by markgeil in Family.add a comment
Last day of school, first semester, freshman year of high school. That means first experience with final exams. Final exams were a major stressor for me when I was in high school, and Sarah Kate is no different. One little perk was leaving school early on that last day, after a morning of finals in Government and Biology. I was home on that last day, and Amy and I decided to give Sarah a treat by taking her and a friend out to lunch.
We sat down at our table, and our friend asked Sarah how she was doing. Sarah took a breath and said, “I’m okay. I’m still decomposing.”
She meant “decompressing”, of course. Maybe the biology final was too fresh in her head. Fortunately she did decompress, and she is fully intact with no observable decomposition. Here’s to that refreshing feeling you earn when you’ve worked and worked and at last the work is done.
What Rebekah Says at Dinner December 17, 2008
Posted by markgeil in Family.Tags: children
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We are one of those families that makes a point to eat dinner together. No TV, lots of stories, lots of laughs. I highly recommend it. We find out more about what happened in the girls’ days, go over a busy evening’s schedule (we eat early), and tell Amy how wonderful the meal is. Well, we do all that when we can get Hannah quiet long enough to allow others to speak. Hannah is an endless wellspring of words, and we sometimes have to put her on pause during our dinners together. The child needs to actually eat!
Rebekah is sometimes the really amusing one. Lately at dinner, her most common phrase has occurred while looking down at her shirt:
“Does (fill in name of food item) stain?”
Poor Bek is incapable of eating a meal in a normal upright posture, and is forever spilling food on herself. We’ve tried to help by putting an old phone book on her seat. Last night, in the middle of dinner, she started wailing, “Ooohhhhh!”
“What on earth is wrong?” we asked, alarmed.
“My toe got stuck between my chair and my phone book!!!”
Later, another solution was proposed.
Hannah: “Don’t we have an old booster seat in the basement?”
Sarah: “She’s seven!“
Rebekah: “But I’m small!”
Fortunately for little Rebekah, most of her clothes are hand-me-downs from her big sisters, so they’re pre-stained. Such is the lot of the youngest.
My Favorite Christmas Song December 17, 2008
Posted by markgeil in Music.Tags: Christmas
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My favorite Christmas song is a carol composed in 1847. Some sources say it was the first piece of music broadcast on the radio. The melody is a bit unusual, in 6/8 time but an almost languid pace that allows the instruments to steadily swell to a triumphant finish. Vocalists can wail on the song, which may be why it’s been recorded by the likes of Mariah Carey, Josh Groban, Harry Connick Jr., Whitney Houston, Michael Crawford, oh, let’s just stop there. It’s been recorded a few too many times for my tastes, and despite its prevalence I’ve yet to identify the definitive version.
The reason I like the song so much is that more than any other Christmas carol, it describes the appropriate response to the birth of Christ. There is joy at Christmas, and happiness, and warmth. My favorite song even speaks of this “thrill of hope” that I feel every season, in anticipation of the dawning Christmas Day. At some point though, we must recognize the perfection of the Christ, the grace that He brings in his extraordinary birth, and our place in it all, and we must fall on our knees.
That’s the line that does it for me every time, in my favorite Christmas song, “O Holy Night”.
This Christmas, remember:
Fall on your knees
O Hear the angel voices
O night, divine, it is the night, when Christ was born!
A Few Christmas Songs I Can’t Do Without December 11, 2008
Posted by markgeil in Music, You did ask - didn't you?.Tags: band aid, Christmas, kinks, Music, springsteen, the band
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Now that you’ve read about my least favorite Christmas songs, here’s the good stuff. I’ll start with modern songs you might hear on the radio around Chrstimastime and then reveal my favorite Christmas carol, since you asked.
Category 1: The song that plays on the radio and causes me to say, “Okay, NOW it’s Christmas”
“Santa Claus is Coming to Town” by Bruce Springsteen and the E. Street Band
The jingle bells get me every time, along with the Boss’s banter with Clarence Clemons about a new saxophone. I haven’t heard it on the radio yet this year, so it’s not officially Christmas yet. Watching it on Youtube doesn’t count, although I did unearth this fantastic vintage 1978 version:
Category 2: The Coolest Christmas Song Ever
“Do They Know It’s Christmas” by Band Aid
I bought the 12-inch vinyl single, doing my part to help the starving children in Ethiopia. I memorized the list of artists. I thought it was the height of cool when Sting drew out the singing of his own name ever-so-slightly in the line, “Where the only water flowing is the bitter ssssting of tears.” I also quite enjoy how Bono simply cannot stand still when he sings. See if you remember all the faces:
Category 3: What happens if The Band Makes a Christmas Song
“Christmas Must Be Tonight” by The Band
I never hear this anymore, but the chorus is forever etched in my brain, in a good way. Robbie Robertson is a master. I couldn’t find a performance video, so here’s the song set to random Christmas artwork. Maybe minimize the window and just listen…
Category 4: Honorable Mention, since we’re on the classic rock theme
“Father Christmas” by the Kinks
A not-so-gentle reminder to remember the ones who have nothing at Christmas time. This video looks like it was shot off a disco ball:
Merry Christmas!
A pair of Christmas songs that we could do without December 2, 2008
Posted by markgeil in Music, You did ask - didn't you?.Tags: Christmas
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It’s Christmas music time! We have at least two radio stations in our area that have switched to an all-Christmas format. I can listen to “Christmas Shoes” practically anytime I want!!
Since you asked, here are my Bottom Two Christmas songs. I’ll cover some Top Christmas songs later, so we can end on a high note and not feel like a Scrooge.
Bottom Christmas Song Number One: (note, we’re ignoring Christmas Shoes since I already sarcastically bashed it above) The Twelve Days of Christmas
Think about the premise for a moment. The whole song is about getting stuff. It’s obscure stuff that no one has ever actually gotten. It’s much too mentally taxing to try to remember which stuff belongs on which day. And if that’s not enough, you have to repeat the stuff ad nauseum, so the song takes about 8 minutes to sing. The only redeeming qualities of this song are two delightful cover versions: the Muppets, and Bob and Doug McKenzie (“Four pounds of back-bacon”).
Bottom Christmas Song Number Two: We Wish You a Merry Christmas
A delightful sentiment, to be sure, but again with the repetition! And when we’re done repeating the same line over and over, we get to the verses. Everyone sings a slightly different version, so no group can sing this song all together. You eventually plod along to the last verses when, against your will, you have to start whining about something called “Figgy Pudding”. I’m a fan of pudding in general, and I’m a fan of Fig Newtons, but I think I’ll pass on the figgy pudding. The whining reaches a violent crescendo in the following verse. Nothing speaks Christmas love and peace and cheer like shouting, “We won’t go until we get some, so bring it right here!” And this is somehow a Christmas caroling staple. People actually go to strangers’ doors and start demanding their figgy pudding, even threatening figgy filibusters. Stop the madness!
Stay tuned for my favorites. I really do love Christmas, and there are some truly wonderful Christmas songs. Just not those two.
In the meantime, add to my list, if you so desire.
