This book came up more than once on my recommendations. Granted, I have read a lot of World War II books and plenty about Auschwitz.
The Happiest Man on Earth is written by Eddie Jaku. I would not think that “happy” and “Auschwitz” appear in a sentence together too often. I decided to give it a try.
Once you get into the book, it becomes very apparent that Eddie is indeed a happy guy. He is 100 years old while writing the book. He has seen a lot in his lifetime – bad and good. So who better to talk about happiness, than Eddie? Here is the Goodreads synopsis:
Life can be beautiful if you make it beautiful. It is up to you.
Eddie Jaku always considered himself a German first, a Jew second. He was proud of his country. But all of that changed in November 1938, when he was beaten, arrested and taken to a concentration camp.
Over the next seven years, Eddie faced unimaginable horrors every day, first in Buchenwald, then in Auschwitz, then on a Nazi death march. He lost family, friends, his country.
Because he survived, Eddie made the vow to smile every day. He pays tribute to those who were lost by telling his story, sharing his wisdom and living his best possible life. He now believes he is the ‘happiest man on earth’.
Published as Eddie turns 100, this is a powerful, heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful memoir of how happiness can be found even in the darkest of times.
The book was written in 2020. Eddie enjoyed turning 101 on April 14, 2021. He passed away 6 months later, on October 12, 2021. He died a happy man.
Auschwitz survivor, Eddie Jaku, has just celebrated his 100th birthday and has published his autobiography, “The Happiest Man on Earth”. His memoir is based on a TEDx talk and other speeches he has given over the years, July 2, 2020. (Photo by Louise Kennerley/The Sydney Morning Herald via Getty Images)
Sam pointed out to me that next to Christmas, the day of the Daddy Daughter Dance is what our daughter looks forward to most. She is SO right. We’ve been counting down the days since Christmas!
Thanks to the steroids that the doctor put me on, I packed on a few more pounds than I anticipated. So, I had to alter my outfit at the last minute. Ella, of course, noticed. She asked, “Aren’t you going to wear a tie tonight, daddy?” I told her this year I wanted to be different, and she was ok with that lame excuse.
She looked just beautiful. What an honor to be escorting her to the dance.
We arrived early, and she insisted that she wanted to go inside. I told her we were 30 minutes early and the door was probably locked. She made me get out of the car and try the door, which was open. LOL. We went upstairs to get the professional photo taken, then headed to the gym.
The DJ was already playing music. He was one of those “gotta mix the songs at the same beat guys.” I’ve never been that way. I always felt it sounded weird when two songs were playing at the same time for 30 seconds. Ella didn’t notice and started to dance, even though she was one of four girls in the gym.
The theme this year was Barbie. So we had to get a photo with Ken and Barbie.
They also had a Barbie car for us. Naturally, I let Ella drive….
I think we just avoided hitting a roadrunner on that trip!
One of the projects that we could do together was to “bedazzle” some sunglasses. We made a pair for each of us. She said she wanted to make glasses for her brother and for her mom, so we went back later and did that.
She requested Let It Go from Frozen and we got to dance to that again. Three years in a row, that has been our first dance together. A while later, she was sitting drinking water and they played My Girl by the Temptations. I said, “Oh, Daddy loves this song!” She set her water bottle down and said, “Then we have to dance to it!” I picked her up and swayed with her, singing it to her. She was all smiles.
Not too long ago, on my Music of My Life feature, I mentioned how the song Daughters by John Mayer took on a new meaning when I became “girl dad.” Well, that new meaning went a lot deeper last night. This will forever be one of the best moments of my life:
When Daughters started to play, we were still swaying. She put her arms around my neck and leaned her head against mine. I reached up and wrapped my arm around her. For 4 minutes, it was just her and me. I swayed with my eyes closed, holding back tears. It was the most amazing dance. I was lost in my thoughts, too.
I know that as a 54 year old man, I may not be around when she gets married. We may never get the chance to have THAT Daddy/Daughter dance. So I treasure the ones we do get, and that one was extra special!
Every year, we take pre-dance pictures. It is amazing to compare them and see how much she has grown. This year’s was eye opening. In the first one, she still has that “baby” look to her. She would have been three for that dance. My beard gets more grey in them, too. The photos are a reminder of just how fast time goes by and how every moment is important.
Ella, thank you for spending such an amazing evening with me. Every day my love for you grows. I am already looking forward to next year’s dance. I love you forever!
65 years ago today, Hollywood started to break up the crumbling sidewalks and adding stars! I’m talking, of course, about the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was on this day that the first star was placed. Do you know whose star it was? I’ll tell you in a paragraph or two.
After the official groundbreaking ceremony on the walk, construction continued for 16 months. In that time, they installed 1,500 other stars belonging to actors, musicians, fictional characters and filmmakers.
The stars are placed on both sides of Hollywood Boulevard. They stretch from Gower to La Brea (15 blocks). And another row are placed on Vine Street from Yucca to Sunset (three blocks).
The Hollywood Walk of Fame currently holds more than 2,700 terrazzo and brass stars with about 30 added each year.
47% of stars are for motion pictures, 24% for television, 17% for music, 10% for radio, and less than 2% for theater and live performance.
Marilyn Monroe’s star is one of the most visited stars on the Walk of Fame.
Michael Jackson’s star is possibly the most photographed star on the Walk of Fame.
The Hollywood Walk of Fame attracts an estimated 10 million visitors each year.
So who was the lucky recipient of the first star?
She had television appearances on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, You Are There, The General Electric Theater, The Philco Playhouse and more.
Her movies included The Three Faces of Eve, The Fugitive Kind, The Stripper, and The End. SHe also appeared in movies with her actor husband (Paul Newman) in films like The Long Hot Summer.
As I have said all week, I wasn’t sure how a second round of nostalgia would go. I was pleasantly surprised to see the stats for the posts of my guest bloggers. Speaking of them, I need to thank Randy, Christian, Max, Stewart, and Dave for all taking time to write a piece for this feature. Each of them have blogs that they write and have a life off the blogging grid. The fact that they chose to participate means a lot to me. Thank you guys!
This round’s topic was to write about your favorite childhood book. It may have been something you were read by your parents or grandparents. It could have been the first book you ever read by yourself. Perhaps it is a book that you read to your own children. The posts from my guests ranged from western heroes to wild things. There were groups of adventure seeking kids to good ole Dr. Seuss.
Dave’s books yesterday tie in with one of mine today. He had two Little Gold Books. Those books lined the book shelves in my room. I had SO many of them. I had Disney books, books with Sesame Street Characters, and just about every Little Golden Book you can imagine. The one that stands alone for me was one I remember my mom reading to me.
As a kid, I naturally had a lot in common with this poky little pup. I always seemed to lag behind. One time I was so interested in something at the mall, I didn’t realize my dad had left the store!
It is not the story that I love so much, it’s that I remember mom reading it to me. I made sure to buy this when my first son was born. I remember reading it to him and thinking, “Why did I like this book so much?” The answer was – mom.
Fourth grade was a milestone year for me in many ways. Mrs. Gallop was my teacher and she read us many books throughout the year. As a matter of fact, the ones I am about to mention have forever stuck with me. I cannot wait until my kids are old enough for me to read those books to them.
The first one was How To Eat Fried Worms.
Ah, childhood! Billy has made a bet. If he wins, he gets $50, which he will use to buy a minibike. What does he have to do? Eat 15 worms over 15 days. I remember all of us getting grossed out as he began to eat these worms.
Next, it was Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.
Peter is a fourth grader. His younger brother, Fudge, is always doing something. So much that Peter feels that compared to Fudge, he is … “nothing.” Throughout the book, you see Peter’s frustrations and how he often gets caught up in his brother’s chaos. As an older brother, I remember thinking of my little brother, Christopher, and just how much he was like Fudge!
Finally, Mrs. Gallop read us a classic. James and the Giant Peach.
James is forced to live with two evil aunts. He discovers a giant peach in his yard. He, and a bunch of insects, use the peach to get away from it all. Their adventure takes them across the ocean and all the way to New York City! I remember the book had a few small cuss words, which made us all laugh. This was one of those books that we all were engrossed in this story!
I give kudos to the guest bloggers who were able to come up with just one. For my childhood, there were so many that stuck with me. I was so grateful to those who introduced me to reading.
I had hoped my wife would join us and blog about her favorite childhood book, but she is shy and said she wasn’t sure about it. So I will tell you that she still has a copy of her favorite book, and reads it to our kids often.
I had never head of this one, but it’s actually cute.
I have a book that makes me think of each of my kids. For Dante’ (Now 22), it’s The Three Little Kittens.
I read this more times than I can count. When I was away on a radio trip, I actually recorded it onto DVD so I could “read” it while it was away. For Dimitri (almost 18), it was …
Both kids actually liked this, but it is Dimitri who noticed and laughed at the silly faces on some of the snowmen in the book. For Ella (5 next week), it was ….
This book will forever warm my heart and remind me of my sweet baby girl sitting on my lap. I loved when it got to the point where she would finish the lines with me. Wonderful memories with this book. Andrew’s book was one that his speech therapist gave him…
This makes so much sense for him. He has always been fascinated with tools, plugs, flashlights and everything that has buttons!! He loves interacting with this book
Last one, I promise! Both of my kids loved this next book….
I gotta tell you, it was hard to read to them the first time. I laughed as I read it! It’s a future classic!!
What was your favorite book as a child? Please tell me in the comments. If you’d ever be interested in taking part in this feature, let me know. I’d love to feature YOU here.
This blog has always been an outlet for me to share my experiences, my memories, and my life with you. I hope that my posts cause you to look back at your life at your fond memories, too. Thank you for being here.
Thanks again to those who participated in Round 2. I’ll begin to think about Round 3, if readers would be interested in that. If so, I think I’ll run it in April. Does that work for you?
Back in November, I did a feature I called “Share Your Nostalgia.” I asked some of my blogger friends to write up a piece that focused on their favorite toy from childhood. The response was positive and it was suggested to do another round. So this time around, I asked for them to tell us about their Favorite Childhood Book.
Their book could be something that was read to them by their parents or grandparents. It could also be a book that was read to them in school at story time. I also suggested that their book might be one that they read to their own children. I wanted each of them to have as much freedom as necessary.
Today’s guest blogger is responsible for my continuing this feature. Dave from A Sound Dayhosts Turntable Talk every month, which many of the participants and I take part in. It’s a wonderful music feature that we all enjoy taking part in. When I decided to try my feature, Dave was very supportive of the idea and felt it was worthy of doing again with a change in topic.
Dave has been one of those bloggers that I followed early on. His musical pieces are worth a read daily. Will his books have a musical theme to them? Let’s find out together…
Thanks Keith, for running this interesting feature and inviting me to be a part of it. Last time, we talked about toys we loved as a kid which brought me back a lot of nice memories, as it likely did to most of the readers I would bet. This time we’re remembering something that was as important as the toys to me growing up – books.
I feel fortunate I grew up in a household of readers, book-lovers. My Mom was a school teacher (although she pretty much gave that up to be a stay-at-home mom as my brother and I grew up) and loved books, read quite a bit. Even in her old age, she loved romance novels and Diana Galbadon fantasy books. She even read the hefty Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. My dad was more surprising to many. He dropped out of school at 14, more due to his family’s financial reasons than a disdain for education. He grew up speaking German but learned English when he came over here and taught himself a great deal reading. He built nice bookcases in our living room and filled them with books, fiction and non-fiction alike. He read anything from history epics to James Bond thrillers to ones of philosophy to books theorizing about extraterrestrials; probably where I got my fascination for UFOs from. There were series of books on foreign lands and even some novels that were considered on the “racy” side I’d eventually find out. He was walking proof that formal education isn’t necessarily equal to intelligence. Both of them had their flaws (we all do) but both loved reading and would often take me to the library or bookstores and for that I’m grateful.
Not surprisingly then, my parents got me reading pretty young. I can’t remember the exact dates or details, but most definitely I could read some basic things before I was near school age.
Like most kids my age, I would guess, the first books I remember having and learning to read (first having my mom read it and after awhile being able to myself) were various ones from the great, delightful Dr. Seuss. He had to have done more to promote literacy in young people than any other individual in the 1950s through ’70s. We had pretty much all of the “classic” titles in his collection; I’m thrilled when I go to my town supermarket now and see a big display featuring most of them, even in the same format and with the same covers I remember. Green Eggs & Ham was a real fave of mine, and I liked that rascally Cat in the Hat but of course the prize in that set was The Grinch. Of course I loved the TV version of it (still do) but it was amazingly fun to me back then to be able to read the words and see the still pictures Ted Geisel (aka, Dr Seuss) drew for them. I nearly picked those books collectively to feature but decided to go for something a little more unusual perhaps that were hugely important to me later, when I was … maybe eight to ten years old. The little Golden books, and in particular Weather : A Guide to Phenomena and Forecasts, and Birds : A Guide to Familiar American Birds. Both were small, pocket-sized ( just a shade smaller than a Reader’s Digest magazine as a reference point), had 160 pages and were published in the mid-’50s. And both let me develop a couple of interests I already had into real passions.
Ever since I was little, the changes in the weather, and especially storms always fascinated me. When the thunder rolled or snow blizzarded so hard you could barely see across the street, I ran to the window, not for cover. By the time I was about 10, I had a little weather set and kept records of the temperature, the barometer, the amount of rain we got day-by-day. I was quite the nerd apparently! But I loved that stuff and the Golden book was the one that made me understand it all. It described air masses, cold and warm fronts, how storms developed, tornadoes and hurricanes and how professionals measured it all and came up with forecasts. All explained with a lot of pictures and maps and in terms simple enough for a kid my age to understand, but not totally dumbed down. I swear that an average person who read through it twice might well have a better understanding of how weather works than a number of TV “weathermen” or “weatherwomen” I’ve seen on TV. It was a trusty reference book for me for years, probably until my parents split up and my Mom and I moved, when I was a teen. In no small part thanks to it, I even thought about becoming a meteorolgist. The amount of advanced schooling required for the degree and the probability of being sent to work in some remote northern locale ended up deterring me from that but to this day, I note the weather and try to see the weather maps online. I even took a training course a few years back offered by the Weather Service to be an informed weather spotter… basically if I see a wall cloud that’s rotating or nickel-sized hail falling, I can call into the weather office and report it and they won’t think I’m some total bozo without a clue.
The birds book had a similar effect on me, and I probably got it around the same age. I’d always loved nature, and back then our family often watched shows like Wild Kingdom . I was fascinated. When my Mom put out a bird feeder in the birch tree in our front yard, near the living room window, I soon became enthralled by the creatures. The color, the vibrancy, the variety… I’d spend hours at times in winter adoring the tiny, busy chickadees, admiring the occasional neon-red Cardinal that dropped by, seeing the goldfinches and being amazed how the dazzling yellow June ones and the more subdued olive-and-brown January ones were the same birds! All the while, I thought the bold, loud and ultra-colorful Blue Jays were just about the best. How great for me my favorite baseball team chose them as their name and symbol!
Anyway, when something unfamiliar showed up in the yard, I was always wondering what it was. What it ate, where it came from, that sort of thing. The Golden book helped me do that. Now, it was only 160 pages, so it probably only covered about 140 or so species; a small sampling of the over 700 types that inhabit the U.S. and Canada. But most of the ones I saw regularly were in there, or if not, were close to ones that were shown. Soon I knew a Slate-colored Junco was that little blackish sparrow eating seeds on the ground and those green-headed ducks I’d see on every pond and creek were Mallards. The book showed them, told a bit about them in a paragraph or two, and even had a little map to show where you should expect to see them. It also made me see birds that I wanted to see but hadn’t – man, who can look at a Pileated Woodpecker, the one the cartoonist based Woody on, the size of a crow with a flaming red crest on top of its head, and not be in awe? I would venture out to parks and woods to look for some of those magic creatures, and in time saw most of them. Soon of course, I wanted to know more and got a full field guide (as it happens, also a Golden one, but a much more scientific and complete one, over 400 pages with pretty much every bird on the continent shown) that could tell me all those species and how to tell them apart, but it was the little beginners one that got me to that point. I found one in a used store not many years ago, and of course bought it. Why wouldn’t I?
If I wasn’t nostalgic for my childhood, I wouldn’t be writing this for Keith… and if you weren’t for your own childhood, you wouldn’t be reading it.
My brother at those ages liked the Hardy Boys. Nothing wrong with that, but I guess I was always more fascinated by what really was than what could be in a pretend world. Thanks to the creators of that Golden series for helping me understand the basics and become even more fascinated with every bit I learned.
This week I was looking for something non-blog related and came across a photo I forgot about.
This is a five or six year old me. I had been taking organ lessons with the sweetest teacher. I remember there was a store in the mall that sold pianos and organs, I took my lessons there.
By the looks of this picture, I would guess this was taken at our old house. The couch in the back makes me wonder if this is at my grandma’s house, but I don’t think so. My brother might be able to clarify that. Grandma had an organ, too, so it is slightly possible that this is at her house.
At any rate, I remember how difficult it was for my short legs to hit the pedals on the ground. My teacher, Mrs. Bostick, was so nice. She would often say, “Keep eating right, and those legs will grow long enough to do it!”
If you look on the left of the top keyboard, you will see some yellow, green and white switches. Those switches could make what you played sound like a clarinet, horn, tibia, trumpet, etc… They could also add vibrato and other effects.
Our organ had one of those “beat buttons.” You could have it play a drum line for you based on the type of song you were playing. It had reggae, swing, tango, rock, etc… As you can see in the above picture, many of the organs had a control for how fast or slow the “drums” went.
The photo of me makes me remember a lot. First, the lovely Mrs. Bostick. I miss her letters since she passed away. Second, the fact that I once had thick hair. And last, that the one song I loved to play on the organ was used in a Bugs Bunny Cartoon.
“Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms” was a song in one of my lesson books. It was fairly easy to play and the chords were easy, too. I played it a lot because it was one I played well.
As far as the Bugs cartoon, well, the joke (and song) were used a lot:
Back in November, I did a feature I called “Share Your Nostalgia.” I asked some of my blogger friends to write up a piece that focused on their favorite toy from childhood. The response was positive and it was suggested to do another round. So this time around, I asked for them to tell us about their Favorite Childhood Book.
Their book could be something that was read to them by their parents or grandparents. It could also be a book that was read to them in school at story time. I also suggested that their book might be one that they read to their own children. I wanted each of them to have as much freedom as necessary.
My next guest blogger for this topic is yet another musical buddy. If you want to know anything about records that reached the top of the charts in the UK, Stewart is your guy! I always enjoy looking at how a song does in the UK versus the US. Many songs that go #1 there, barely make Top Ten here and vice versa. At any rate, his site is a great one to check out: The UK Number Ones Blog
Maybe Stewart’s favorite book was big in both the UK and the US? We’ll find out right now!
The Famous Five
Version 1.0.0
Thanks again to Keith for allowing me to take part in this series! I’m a huge reader, and writer, and have been since a young age. And so, choosing one title from my childhood was a tough ask… Therefore I’m cheating and choosing a whole series. A series that most British kids of a certain age probably know quite well.
The Famous Five is a series of adventure novels published between 1942 and 1963. They were written by Enid Blyton (more on her later) and feature, you guessed it, five main characters, who get up to all manner of excitement during their long summer holidays from boarding school. Three siblings: Julien, the oldest and the leader. Dick, the cheeky one. Anne, the younger, more babyish one. And Georgina AKA ‘George’, their tomboy cousin (more on her later, too). Plus, we mustn’t forget the fifth member, Timmy the Dog.
The books all have cutesy titles like ‘Five Run Away Together’, and ‘Five Have a Wonderful Time’. Even for the time they were written, the stories are old-fashioned, and nostalgic for an England where it’s always sunny, and where children can roam the countryside on their bikes, with hampers full of cucumber sandwiches and ginger beer, stopping smugglers and spies along the way. For the time and place that I read them, Scotland, in the mid-nineties, they might as well have been set on another planet. But then that’s the appeal of a good children’s book, or any book really, isn’t it? One that transports you somewhere fantastical.
Nowadays, The Famous Five are more famous as a parody of a very old-fashioned style of children’s writing. Post Harry Potter, kids’ books are much more mature, known as Young Adult, or have titles like ‘The Day My Bum Went Psycho!’ And I’m not sure I could read The Famous Five now and not be disappointed by how simplistic they are. Not to mention how some of the attitudes and language presented might not be acceptable nowadays…
The author, Enid Blyton, may have been wildly prolific (she also wrote the Noddy series, Malory Towers, the Secret Seven, among many other titles) but she drew contemporary criticism for the repetitive nature of her writing. Then, from the ‘60s onwards, she started receiving criticism for the often racist and misogynist language she used. Perhaps Blyton’s attitudes are unsurprising, given that she was born in 1897. Still, I’m not going to excuse them. I will argue though, that despite devouring the books at a very impressionable age, I didn’t grow up to adopt any of her views, or use any of her outdated language. I somehow knew it was a relic from a different time and place. Kids are not stupid. Exposure to ‘bad’ language, and ideas, at a young age can be a good thing, something that those who advocate for old books to be revised and censored to fit in with modern sensibilities tend to forget.
Anyway, I don’t want to turn this into a rant. This is a nostalgia series, and I have a lot of nostalgia for The Famous Five. I remember reading them in tents on camping holidays. I remember recreating their adventures with friends (I was always Dick). I remember having confusing crushes on both Anne and Julien. I remember being intrigued by the idea of George(ina) wanting to be a boy.
In fact, any modern criticism of Enid Blyton must also take into account the fact that she invented a female character who, in the 1940s, wanted to wear boys’ clothes, cut her hair short, and be addressed as ‘master’ rather than ‘miss’. All of which feels very ahead of its time!
The books are still, I believe, in print. I work in a school, and our library has a set of Famous Fives (though I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a child reading them…) Hopefully, though, somewhere, a modern day Gen-Alpha is enjoying these twee and predictable stories four kids and a dog, saving the day one adventure at a time.
We did our taxes this weekend. Well, we didn’t, but our tax guy did. It’s always nice to know that you’re getting a refund. What was even nicer was to know that we are getting back money from the state taxes, too. It’s never really a lot of money, but it is better than having to pay!
Children’s Museum
On Sunday, I took the kids to the Children’s Museum in Flint. The last time I was there was with my two older boys when they were about 2 and 6. They’ve really changed it up and I was impressed.
There is an area that is all done up like you are under water. This reading room had an otter that Ella loved.
They improved the dental area a bit. Andrew had to show me the “tooth that had a cavity, but is now worth a lot of money.”
There is an area that has to be new, because I don’t remember it. It’s a pizzeria. Ella tried her hand at making pizzas.
The store that they had there is still around, but it has been redone. It is much better now. Andrew had to run the cash register for folks.
It was a fun afternoon. They each got a stuffed orca. Ella actually surprised me by calling it an orca! I have no idea where she learned that! We’ll be going back again.
Still to Come
Ella is excited because this Saturday is the Daddy Daughter Dance. She’s got a new dress and new shoes. I’ve gotta see if I can fit in my pants after taking all those steroids! If not, it’s gonna be a trip up to the store so I can look nice for my girl. I cannot wait for our special night.
She is also excited because her birthday is less than a week away!! She will be turning 5 on Monday. I have the day off and we will be celebrating her all day.
Back in November, I did a feature I called “Share Your Nostalgia.” I asked some of my blogger friends to write up a piece that focused on their favorite toy from childhood. The response was positive and it was suggested to do another round. So this time around, I asked for them to tell us about their Favorite Childhood Book.
Their book could be something that was read to them by their parents or grandparents. It could also be a book that was read to them in school at story time. I also suggested that their book might be one that they read to their own children. I wanted each of them to have as much freedom as necessary.
Today’s featured guest blogger is one of the first bloggers I connected with after starting this blog 7 years ago. I don’t recall who found who first, but I believe we connected talking about old toys. He’s like an old friend. Max runs the Power Pop Blog and features some great music on there daily.
I’ve been to Tennessee a few times and have experienced some wild times down there. Coincidentally, Max has picked a “wild” one for you and me today.
Where The Wild Things Are
I loved this book as a kid. When I see it I feel like I’m 7 again. The book came out in 1963. I did know some kids that the book really scared, but I thought it was great. As a kid, it was entertaining and enlightening. The other reason I liked it? The leading character’s first name. When I grew up, “Max” was not a common name. If Max was in trouble…the entire school knew what Max they were talking about since I was the only one. It was nice sharing my name with a little boy who could tame monsters.
An animated film was made in 1975 and a feature-length movie in 2009. My son Bailey and I saw it and we enjoyed it together but he knew the book because he enjoyed it as well.
Where The Wild Things Are was written by Maurice Sendak about a boy named Max who “makes mischief” in his house and is sent to bed without supper all while wearing a wolf suit. His room is then transformed into a magic forest and Max sets off in his very own boat to the Land of the Wild Things.
Once there he tames the monsters by staring into their yellow eyes without blinking. Knowing they have met their master, they acclaim Max King of all Wild Things and celebrate their wildness together. When Max decides to return to where someone loves him best of all, the wild things try all their wiles to persuade him to stay, but he sails back into the warmth of his own room and finds supper waiting.
When the book came out some were not happy. Many psychologists thought that the book would be very traumatizing for young children. Sendak has said that the book was banned by libraries for a couple of years and then it started to be accepted and took off.
Welcome back to The Music of My Life, where I feature ten songs from each year of my life. In most cases, the ten songs I choose will be ones I like personally (unless I explain otherwise). The songs will be selected from Billboard’s Year-end Hot 100 Chart, Acclaimed Music, and will all be released in the featured year
In 2008, I turned 38. I was now a father of two boys, one with special needs. I was working in country radio at the time. Still grieving my mom’s passing, my emotions were heightened. Happiness was extra happy, sadness was extra sad, if that makes sense. So let’s get into 2008 and feel all the emotions…..
The first tune was released in January of 2008 and it struck me like a brick to the head. It was a song that really made me stop to realize how I had to take in all the little moments that were going on with my boys, even when I was too upset to do so.
I’ve written about this song before on here. It meant a lot then, and even more now. You’re Gonna Miss This by Trace Adkins blew me away the first time I heard it. It is all about how the things that aggravate you now, are the same things that you will miss in the years to come.
The song written by Ashley Gorley and Lee Thomas Miller. When they first worked on the song, they were so busy writing it and getting it recorded that they didn’t get into the emotion of it. It was only when Adkins recorded it that the duo realized its depth. If you have children, young or old, it hits home.
You’re Gonna Miss This
Natasha Bedingfield’s Pocketful of Sunshine is a song that kind of jumped out of the radio at me. It was one of seven songs that were recorded for her Unwritten album that were included to be “radio friendly” to American audiences. It was a good choice, as it was a Top 5 record for her.
Outside of the rhythm of the song, and the cadence of the vocal, the only other reason I can think of for liking the song is the chorus. The idea of having a bit of sunshine in your pocket, that struck me. On crappy days, you always carry sunshine with you to help you get through. I guess I needed to think about life that way. I had a lot of good going on in my life, and I needed to start focusing on that.
Pocketful of Sunshine
Brad Paisley is not only a fantastic guitar player, he is an amazing songwriter! He can write some of the most beautiful love songs and at the same time a “raise your beer at the bar and get drunk” song. The ones I really like are those where he finds those male vs female angles. That’s the next song, I’m Still A Guy.
The lyrics of this one are just great. Male perspective vs female perspective come verse after verse. “When you see a deer, you see Bambi, and I see antlers up on the wall” is just one example of the fantastic writing of Paisley.
From songfacts.com:
Brad Paisley explained to Great American Country: “I just wanted to capture this struggle a little bit between men and women in a playful way, which is ‘Why don’t you get a little cosmopolitan here and feminize up for me just a bit?’ [laughs] We’re fighting that every step of the way, some of us guys, and ironically in talking to the radio guys, they say the majority of the calls for it come from women, and I think the same thing happened with ‘I’m Gonna Miss Her.’ These women want their men to hear it, and by golly, that is the best way to get a man to hear something is to play it for their significant other. They’re gonna be forced to listen to it. It’s got that nudge-your-partner-with-your-elbow factor to it.”
I’m Still a Guy
“Kid Rock on a country station?!”
Those were the words of more than one country program director when All Summer Long came out. It was one of those songs that hit the Top 40 Chart for both Modern Rock and Country! Because Kid is from Michigan, it made sense for us to play it, but the rest of the country?
Kid Rock explained to MTV News why the song was so big:
“I knew the track was solid – it’s got two of the best songs of all time mashed up together [‘Sweet Home Alabama’ and ‘Werewolves of London’], it’s got great melodies, so really, my work was done. I knew people would hear it and know I wrote it. They’d know it was real, and there’d be that connection. And that’s what’s missing in music today. I think people don’t believe half the s–t they hear some rapper or some pop girl singing about… but with me, they do. And that’s why people have reacted the way they have to the song.”
All Summer Long
The next song is on my list for a weird reason. I can nail the drum line!
Pink told the story of this song: “‘So What’ was a joke. I heard this beat from Max Martin. It’s such a fun beat, so fun. And I was actually kidding when I said, ‘I guess I just lost my husband, I don’t know where he went.’ Ha ha, that’s really funny. Let’s keep it and it just kind of went from there. And it just got more and more wrong. The more lines we wrote, the wronger it was. And we kept it because I don’t really care. I don’t think about the consequences when I write songs and now I am regretting every second of it. No, I’m not.”
At one of our family Christmas parties, one of the brothers-in-law had brought over their Playstation or X-Box with Rock Band on it. He had the guitars, the drum kit and whatever else they needed for the game. So What was a cut on there. I had never even heard the song at the time. I couldn’t do squat on those guitars, but the drums … we’ll I did ok!
Whenever I hear the song, I always remember jamming on the drums to it.
So What
I remember thinking, “Now that’s a great band name!” when I hear of the All-American Rejects. Gives You Hell didn’t mean much to me back in 2008, however, during my divorce it applied to a lot of people.
The group’s front man, Tyson Ritter, told MTV News:
“It’s kind of this tongue-in-cheek way of looking at someone you hate, whether it’s your mom, for some reason, or it’s your teacher at school, or it’s your boss at work. It’s just someone who makes you struggle, and it’s giving them the finger.”
Now, “hate” is a strong word. I certainly don’t hate some of the folks I think of when I hear this song, but I certainly would give them the finger….
Gives You Hell
“Oh, great, Keith has another Nickelback song on his list!”
I have always tried to live by the mantra, “Live every day as if it were your last, someday, you’ll be right.” That’s what this next song kind of meant to me. If Today Was Your Last Day, what would you do with it? It is a song that makes me wonder every time I hear it.
According to songfacts, the song had been around for awhile without ever being completed. Bass guitarist Mike Kroeger noted on the record label’s website, “Chad (Kroeger) brought it out of the vault and the creative juices started to flow.”
If Today Was Your Last Day
Not Meant to Be by Theory of a Deadman was another song that meant little or nothing to me when it was released. But when I was in therapy prior to my divorce, it started to hit me. Let’s face it, not all relationships are meant to be.
The group’s Tyler Connolly wrote the song with Kara DioGuardi at the American Idol judge’s house. He commented in a press release: “Amazing. I went over to her place, drank some wine and we wrote ‘Not Meant To Be’ in 5 minutes. Our writing styles fit together so perfectly it was almost like it was ‘meant to be.'”
“I remember giving Kara the song title and she said, ‘I like that! I don’t I’ve heard of a song with that title.’ So then I just wrote the chords right there on the spot. From there, she started humming the vocal melody and wrote the lyrics off of that. I took it home and finished the rest. The next day I show up with the finished song and she says, ‘That’s a hit.’ Once I sent Roadrunner Records the demo, they loved it.”
It only went to #55 on the charts, so I’m not sure I’d call it a “hit,” but I liked it.
Not Meant To Be
I believe when I blogged about the Trace Adkins song above, I also included this next one from Darius Rucker. Basically, it is the same song, or at least the same theme.
When Darius put out his Learn to Live album, a lot of folks (myself included) wondered how “Hootie” was going to make it singing country. Well, he showed us! He fit the format like a glove! His country stuff was better than some of the established artists at the time (in my opinion). He took It Won’t Be Like This For Long all the way to #1.
He said, “This is about my two daughters. I’ve got a 13 year old and 7 year old. I wrote it with Ashley Gorley and Chris DuBois, who also have daughters. This song may be my favorite song on the record. I love playing it acoustically. We play it when we visit radio stations, and there wasn’t a day where at least two people didn’t cry. We’d just look and count. It’s absolutely bittersweet. When we were writing it, we were talking about how fast our families were growing up. That first week after the baby is born is awful: you’re up all the time. Then when it’s not like that, you miss those times.”
Last night, my daughter asked me to tuck her in. She asked me to sing our song to her, which I haven’t done in a while. It had me almost in tears. The time goes so fast….
It Won’t Be Like This For Long
After Hey There Delilah, I made sure to listen to more of these Plain White T’s fellas. They packed my interest with their sound. 1,2,3,4 is one of my favorites from the decade.
Plain White T’s Lead singer Tom Higgenson wrote it for his girlfriend at the time, Angie Chavez. In the song, he tells her over and over that he loves her, which she makes as easy as counting. This is something I could easily sing to my wife.
The video is well done, too. It shows Higgenson busking in Chicago on a December day in 2008. As he plays, crowds gather and some people recognize him – nobody in the clip is an actor. Throughout the video, we see couples and groups of families and friends with graphics explaining who they are and how they got together. In the end, Higgenson meets up with Angie, and we learn that they met in Chicago.
What a wonderful little love song!
1, 2, 3, 4
Wow, that’s ten songs already. Ok, which hit from 2008 did I miss that is on your list? Tell me in the comments.
Next week, we move into 2009. My list includes a former sister-in-law’s wedding song, a surprisingly powerful song from a Disney kid, a song that tells how every expecting parent feels, a song from a group I knew would be a success the first time I heard them, and one that just makes you feel good and want to dance.
Thanks for listening and reading. See you next week.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 