Years ago, when we started our little church, we had a core group of people who shared our beliefs. I think there were maybe 10-14 people. We were a Bible believing Grace church.
I remember the first time I taught Sunday School and there were new faces in the seats. I was actually a bit nervous. I don’t recall what I was teaching, but I do remember afterward being introduced to Greg. Actually, he introduced himself to me.
It didn’t take but a few minutes to know that he and I would quickly become friends. His wife Wilma and the friends he brought with him to church (Ann, Porsha, and Jay) would also become lifelong friends. I can remember many times he would stop by the house during the day and we’d chat about the Bible or what we studied that week. My oldest son was only about 2 or 3 at the time and he loved to see “Mr. Greg.”
There were coffee dates with the men from church. We would sit at McDonald’s with our Bibles and run verses by each other and pose questions to each other. Those guys quickly became brothers to me. They still are.
At some point, my ex decided that she wasn’t getting anything out of church, so she stopped going. I was still teaching when I was able to, but with my job and a new schedule working Saturday overnight, it became very difficult to stay up and teach Sundays. I did that shift for quite a few years and eventually the conversations with the men slowed. Greg and I would still chat on the phone or via e-mail chatting about Biblical things. He would wind up moving to Texas and those became the only way we got to chat.
As I went through my divorce, it seemed like I was being pulled this way and that way. He was always supportive and understanding as to why it was so long between conversations. He always had a verse or a pep talk to pick me up when I needed it.
I received a call a few months ago from Ann from church. She wanted to me know that Greg had ben diagnosed with an aggressive lung cancer. As soon as I hung up with her, I called him. He tried to play it off like it was nothing. I asked him if he needed anything. I told him I was here for him if he needed to talk. He said he was going to be fine.
I emailed him 4 days ago and he answered right away. He was going to check on something for me and he said he’d get back to me.
On Sunday, Jay from church sent me a text with a screen shot that Ann had sent him. It said that Greg was in his final hours and they were keeping him comfortable with morphine. I was completely shocked. I had no idea it had gotten to that point.
I found out that he had been in the hospital recently and had been on oxygen for a while. He taught a Bible study earlier that day and after that he took a turn for the worse. It was Monday night when I got word that he had passed away.
There had been plenty of text messages throughout the day and afterward to keep every one abreast of Greg’s status. Some of those were texts of unbelief, some of them were sharing stories from church, and some of them were messages of support to each other.
This morning I sat out on the side porch. As I sat with a cup of coffee, I looked at the beautiful sky and the bright sunshine. It was the perfect start to the day. I thought of Greg and smiled. I imagined the joy he was currently experiencing. I know that I’m going to miss him here, but I also believe that I will see him again.
I remembered he wanted to start a choir at our church. He gathered all of us together for practice. He had no music, he just sang our parts for us. He sat at his keyboard and would play the melody or the notes and we eventually got to where we all knew the song. It was pretty amazing to start from the top and put everyone together and hear how it magically all came together.
I smiled today because I pictured my brother in Christ walking with the Lord. He is free from pain and probably trying to lead the choir of Heaven. This makes me rejoice for him.
I had texted Wilma before he passed and told her to tell him I loved him and that I would see him on the other side. She said that she would. I’m sure he will be waiting to put me in the tenor or bass section of the choir when I join him up there.
I remember one week at church our pastor was out of town and I preached the message. After we sang hymns, there was always special music. That week we brought in Chris Rice’s Untitled Hymn. Greg loved it. I remember him singing it at his keyboard a few weeks later for us. I thought of the last verse when I heard he passed away:
With your final heartbeat Kiss the world goodbye Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory’s side
And fly to Jesus Fly to Jesus Fly to Jesus and live
In the Mercy Me song, Homesick, the lyric says, “In Christ there are no goodbyes” and I believe that. It’s not goodbye my friend, it is “see you later.” I love you, my brother. Thank you for being a part of my life.
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 2001, I turned 31. It is a year that I will not forget. It was that year that I found out I was going to be a father for the first time. To say that I was freaking out a little was an understatement. My mom continued to get treatment for breast cancer. There was a time where I prayed that she would be around for my wedding. Now I was praying that she’d be around to meet her first grandchild. My first song was inspired by, coincidentally, a mother with cancer.
It was also the year of the 9/11 attacks. I, of course, was around for the Challenger accident. Many folks called that the “JFK assassination” of my generation. As sad as the Challenger accident was, 9/11 was on an entirely different level. I remember sitting alone wondering about the world we were welcoming our baby into. The event caused many of us to think … more on that shortly.
Train’s Drops of Jupiter came from devastating loss for lead singer Pat Monahan. In a VH1 interview, he revealed that he wrote this song about the death of his mother. Train was were touring in 1988 when Monahan’s mom was dying of lung cancer – she was a heavy smoker. Cell phones had not yet become widely used. This found Monahan making many stops to pay phones on the tour to speak with his mom. It was in December of that year, his mother died.
In early 1999 Train was working on their next album when their record company started pressuring them for a hit. Monahan returned to his childhood home in Pennsylvania, and woke one morning with the words “back in the atmosphere” in his head. Beginning a time of healing, he started to compose the song. Pat said: “Loss of the most important person in my life was heavy on my mind, and the thought of ‘what if no one ever really leaves? What if she’s here but different. The idea was, she’s back here in the atmosphere.”
He recorded a demo of the song and played it for the president of their record company at Columbia. The president loved it and told him it was his Grammy song. He was right: It won Grammys for Best Rock Song and Best Instrumental Arrangement With Accompanying Vocalist. The label had Train record the song quickly. That way they could put it on the album and use it as the title track.
Pat Monahan is quoted as saying, ““It was an obvious connection between me and my mother. ‘Drops of Jupiter’ was as much about me being on a voyage and trying to find out who I am. The best thing we can do about loss of love is find ourselves through it.”
That is SO true.
Drops of Jupiter
I mentioned when I did my list in 1999 that I’ll Be by Edwin McCain is hard to listen to. It was the wedding song my ex and I used. In 2000, Edwin released I Could Not Ask For More, which is a more beautiful song, in my opinion.
This song itself is about spending time with your true love. It is about realizing you do not need anything else in life to make you happy. The song was written by Diane Warren, who has written quite a few songs that I have written about. McCain said that he had to speed the song up to suit his voice. He said, “The tempo of the song was actually half of what it is now. At first, I wasn’t into it. Now it’s a popular wedding song; every night on tour people tell me that it was their wedding song.”
It was in 2001 that country singer Sara Evans covered the song. While not too different from McCain’s version, I love her version more. I have always felt that she has one of the best female voices in country music. She is also one of the most beautiful singers I have met. I loved watching her perform this live.
I Could Not Ask For More
This next song is on my list for one reason and one reason only – the video! I can still remember the first time I watched it and was blown away by Christopher Walken. I had no idea he could dance like this!
Weapon of Choice appeared on Fatboy Slim’s third album and featured Bootsy Collins. Bootsy is, of course, known for his work with Parliament-Funkadelic and Bootsy’s Rubber Band. Boosty co-wrote the song and plays bass on it.
According to Songfacts:
The official music video for “Weapon of Choice” reveals a surprising side of Christopher Walken, known for his intense, often villainous roles in films like Pulp Fiction, The Deer Hunter, and True Romance. What most of us didn’t know until this video appeared is that Walken is a great dancer – he trained at the Washington Dance Studio and appeared in musicals such as 1981’s Pennies from Heaven. In a 2014 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Walken said he accepted the role before he became “too decrepit to dance.”
He choreographed the video with Michael Rooney, son of Mickey Rooney, and performed stunts, including flying across the mezzanine in a harness. Reflecting on the humor and playfulness of the video, Fatboy Slim told Higher Frequency in 2006: “I think it’s full of irony, and to see an actor that I really admire but who’s famous for playing psychopaths, to see him do that silly un-psychopathic dancing made me smile and made everyone else smile.”
The “Weapon of Choice” music video was a huge hit! It won six MTV Video Music Awards in 2001. It won for Breakthrough Video, Best Direction, Best Choreography, Best Art Direction, Best Editing, and Best Cinematography. It also went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Music Video. To top it all off, it was named the greatest music video of all time by VH1 in 2002.
Weapon of Choice
I recently saw where Brian Cranston, Jane Kaczmarek, and Frankie Muniz announced that they will reunite for a reboot of Malcolm in the Middle. The show debuted in 2000 and did very well. I always watched it because I could relate to the constant fighting between the brothers. I also loved the humor of the show.
They Might Be Giants recorded this song specifically for Malcolm in the Middle, and can be found on the show’s soundtrack. The show used other songs from the band throughout the run of the show.
The rumor is that the song is about guitar player John Flansburgh’s brother. I can totally see this. We may not have used the exact phrase growing up, but I know my brother and I often said that the other couldn’t boss the other around. It hits home in that way for me.
Boss of Me
The next song was a triumphant return for Weezer. Their fans were a little worried about the band in the late ’90s. After touring for their 1996 album Pinkerton, they took some time off and went through some lineup changes. It was during this time that Rivers Cuomo was taking classes at Harvard. He enrolled there in 1995 and attended sporadically when it suited his schedule. “Island In The Sun” was welcome relief for fans, showing that the band was back and in a good place. (Cuomo did eventually graduate Harvard, earning a degree in English in 2006.)
Songfacts says, “Unlike many Weezer songs, there’s no trace of pathos and no deeper meaning, making it an easy song to enjoy even if you’re not a big fan of the band. It became one of their most popular songs, although it was never a bit hit, reaching a chart peak of just #111 in the US.”
This is another one of those songs that I remember hearing a lot on the radio. I find it hard to believe that it only reached #111 on the charts. It was obviously good enough for them to play on TV. Weezer played it along with “Hash Pipe,” when they were musical guests on Saturday Night Live, May 19, 2001. It was their only guest appearance on the show.
Sing along…. “Hip. Hip.”
Island in the Sun
What do Neil Diamond, The Monkees and Smash Mouth have in common? One MONSTER hit!
Neil Diamond wrote I’m a Believer in 1966. Don Kirshner was looking for material for the Monkees to record and liked it. Neil was allowed to record it as well as part of their deal and did so in 1967. The Monkees version went to #1in ’66.
Jump ahead 35 years to 2001. Smash Mouth recorded a version of the song for the Dreamworks animated movie, Shrek. The song was picked because it fit the movie’s theme, as it was a sort of fairy tale. The opening line of the song is “I thought love was only true in fairy tales.”
Smash Mouth’s version is a great modern take on the song and still fun to sing along with. When I hear it, I am taken back to watching this movie with my oldest son. He loved Shrek and we watched it MANY times.
I’m a Believer
The next song was one that I often used as a first song at parties and weddings. It was a good one because it was the “kick off” song and literally got the party started.
Songfacts.com says: Get the Party Started was written by Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes. After the group broke up in the early ’90s, Perry released two solo albums and started writing for other artists. She learned that hits of the ’00s were made digitally. She bought Akai MPC and Korg Triton digital workstations and started experimenting with them. As she was learning how to use them, she came up with the track by adding layer after layer, then she quickly banged out a lyric with every party cliché she could think of, arriving at lines like:
I’m your operator, you can call anytime I’ll be your connection to the party line
It worked: “Get The Party Started” was a huge hit for Pink and launched Perry’s songwriting career. Her next hit was “Beautiful” for Christina Aguilera.
The song is synonymous with Pink, but it was almost offered to another singer. Thankfully, a phone call changed that. Perry initially thought this could be a hit for Madonna. However, Pink happened to call her the week after she wrote the song. Pink was a huge 4 Non Blondes fan. She sought out Perry, who was very surprised to get a call from a pop star. When they met, Perry gave Pink an MP3 copy of the “Get The Party Started.” Pink’s management loved the song and arranged for them to work together on her second album.
Get The Party Started
When an artist’s first single is a ballad, it is usually because the ballad is amazing. Most record labels want uptempo songs. (Honestly, most radio stations want uptempo stuff, too!) There are no shortage of ballads waiting to get airplay!
When it came time to release his first single, Enrique Iglesias fought to get “Hero” released. “Everybody thought first singles at the time had to be uptempo,” he told People. “But I knew that it was one of those songs that when I wrote it it just felt special.” It was, and he was right. Iglesias attributes the success of this song to a combination of good lyrics, melody, and excellent production. He feels those three qualities need to work together to make a timeless hit.
The song took on a whole new meaning shortly after it was released. This song was released on August 14, 2001, just a month before the September 11 attacks on the US. The song doesn’t describe the type first-responder heroes, but the theme of standing by a loved one resonated at this time. The song became quite popular because of that, reaching a chart peak of #3.
One pastor taught a message on husbands and wives. He stated that what a husband wants is to be his wife’s hero. That’s the guy who will take away her pain and be there through thick and thin.
Hero
MercyMe is a contemporary Christian group. They had an Adult Contemporary crossover hit with a song that was written by their lead singer Bart Millard. I Can Only Imagine is simply about imagining what it will be like meeting Jesus for the first time.
In a Songfacts interview, Bart said that he that he wrote the song in about 10 minutes. He said that it was one of just three songs he wrote where he felt like he was “a spectator watching the song being written.”
Regarding the song’s meaning, Millard stated: “When my father died of cancer in 1991, he left me with the assurance that he was headed to a better place. For several years following his death, I would find myself writing the phrase ‘I can only imagine’ on anything I could find. That simple phrase would give me a peace thinking about what my dad was finally experiencing. Years later, in 1999, MercyMe was writing songs for an independent project. I remember coming home from a show and being wide awake on our bus at 2 o’clock in the morning. I was trying to write lyrics in an old notebook of mine, when all of a sudden, I stumbled across that phrase. About ten minutes later, the song was written. Some people say it’s amazing that it was written in ten minutes, when really it had been on my heart for almost ten years.”
This one means a lot to me personally. I am so grateful for my faith and my Savior. It is an amazing thing to imagine….
I Can Only Imagine
I can still vividly remember the morning of 9/11. I was in a meeting with my boss at the radio station when the morning gal came in and told us that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. We went into the newsroom and were shaken to the core when we watched the second plane it the Twin Towers. That would be one of the longest and most emotional days in my radio career.
I worked at a country station at the time. We saw a lot of patriotism come out of those attacks. Songwriters wrote songs about being an American and such, but none of the equaled the contribution made by Alan Jackson.
The 9/11 attacks made a lot of us stop and think about life. We were left with so many questions. We were left shocked and scarred by the images we watched on TV. It was constantly on our minds. Alan Jackson seemed to be on the same page as everyone else, and conveyed it all perfectly in the song Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)
He wrote the song alone, with the idea coming to him at 4am in the morning. He explained to The Boot that the lyrics really “came out of nowhere.” “It was just a gift,” he said. “I got up and scribbled it down and put the melody down so I wouldn’t forget it, and the next day I started piecing all those verses together, thoughts I had or visuals I had.”
The song made its debut on the Country Music Association’s annual awards show on November 7, 2001. I still cannot believe that he was able to sing the song without breaking down. Alan considers this to be one of his biggest (if not the biggest) accomplishment. He said in an interview: “I [recently] did a radio interview, and the guy was talking about being at the [CMA] Awards the night I sang ‘Where Were You,'” he explained. “Even though that was a hard performance for me and an emotional time, I still get so many comments about that. Of all the awards, and all that kind of stuff, the music is still what I like. To be able to create a song that really affects people and makes a mark in the music industry, I would have to say that would be a highlight.”
To this day, the song still gives me chills. I’m sure you will never forget where you were when the events of that day unfolded either.
Where Were You
Sorry to wrap up the year on a somber note, but that wraps up my list. How about you? What song from 2001 did I miss that was your favorite. Mention it in the comments.
Next week, we’ll head to 2002. My list features movie music, an in your face patriotic song, a song full of 70’s and 80’s nostalgia, a cover song, an appearance by the Muppets, and the return of the King! I hope you’ll check it out.
Until next week, thanks for listening and for reading!
Today is National Spouses Day! I don’t need a “holiday” to celebrate my wife. As a matter of fact, yesterday I brought her flowers because I wanted to.
I have been blessed to have been married to my wife for almost 6 years. I love her and am still in love with her. As with most relationships, there are always rough spots. It is during those times that is is important to remember why you fell in love with each other at the start. What I have found is that when I begin to list all the reasons I love her, it only reminds me of what she means to me.
I love her eyes. They still sparkle and I love looking into them.
I love her smile and her laughter. They are contagious.
I love that she still makes me laugh, even if it is at my expense.
I love that she is such an amazing mother to Ella and Andrew. Her love for them is constant. I love seeing just how much they love her!
I love that her hands fit perfectly in mine.
I love that she is “in the know” about everything. She is a walking day planner. She remembers things that I forget! I can always count on her to keep our family on track.
I love that she has always been supportive of me and encouraged me to do things out of my comfort zone.
I love that she has always strived to be her best, whether it be her education, career, or just “mom.”
I love that she will sit and watch football (or things like Columbo or the First 48) with me.
I love that she is not afraid to say what is on her mind.
I love that she shares good books with me.
I love her patience with me and all of the other craziness in our house.
I love her kisses and her hugs. I always feel safe in her arms.
I love that she is the center of our family and keeps us all in balance.
I love those rare occasions when we get a date day/night together.
I love that she doesn’t see just how beautiful she is, even though I am always telling her.
I love her voice.
I love all the wonderful things we have shared together and look forward to the things we will do together in the future.
I love going on walks in the neighborhood with her.
I love that she has made me a better person.
I love that she believes that sometimes cereal or ice cream are ok for dinner.
I love watching her play with our kids.
I love video chats with her and the kids while I am at work.
I love that I get to be her hero when there is a spider that needs to get squashed.
I love her because she loves God and believes in the power of prayer.
I love her compassion for others.
I love her because she took a very broken guy like me and completes me.
I love that any time there is a decision to be made, we do it together.
I love her because I am still amazed that a woman like her would choose a guy like me. She is so much better than me.
I love her because she is everything to me.
I love her because I could continue to list 100+ more things I love about her!
Happy Spouses Day, Sam! I love you mostly because – You are YOU!
In trying to find a picture to use for this blog, the above one came up in a Google search. I could see me and Sam filling up multiple volumes with just the things Ella says. Just within the past 2 weeks, there have been plenty of potential entries. Here are just a few:
Manger Stories
Ella loves Little People by Fisher Price. She has a ton of them. We recently received this manger scene as a gift. When you push the button on the top (where the angel is in the photo), it plays Away in a Manger and the star lights up.
Manger Story #1:
Ella keeps pushing the button and playing the music. I said to her, “You must really like that song. You are playing it a lot.”
She looked at me funny, looked back at the manger, back at me and simply said, “Daddy, I’m turning on the light for Jesus!”
Manger Story #2
You may recall that Sam’s sister, Grace, passed away recently. Ella and Grace were very close.
Ella was playing with the Little People from the manger set. So Sam placed the angel on the roof.
Ella: Mommy why you put the angel on the top?
Sam: So she can watch over everyone and keep them safe.
(There must have been some conversation about angels living in heaven.)
Ella: Angels live with Jesus? Like with Gracie?
Sam: They do.
Ella: Mommy, that means Gracie is an angel too! Oh mommy she has a beautiful crown! And beautiful wings!!
Sam posted this on Facebook with the story: “This girl melts my heart!
She sure does!!
Keeping the Peace
Sometimes, Ella makes me laugh so hard. A fine example happened a week or so ago.
Sam and I were in the kitchen talking while I was making dinner. Ella comes up the step into the kitchen from the living room and says loudly, “Just stay calm, everybody!”
Now, I could see if Sam and I were arguing or in a heated discussion about something, but we were literally just talking. This was so out of the blue and random! Both of us looked at each other and started laughing. We have no idea where she heard this from.
There was no indication that she had done anything wrong, or that she broke something, but we walked around the house anyway to make sure everything was ok!
Please Shut Your Mouth!
Remember how as a kid you would put your fingers in your ear when you didn’t want to listen to what someone was telling you? Ella has no issue just letting you know she’s done listening.
From my wife’s Facebook:
When I’m telling her something she doesn’t want to hear Ella’s new thing is to say “Please stop talking to me mommy!”
So tonight I decided to listen to her. I started talking to Andrew…
Me: Here Bubs, let’s get you some chocolate milk. What a bummer I can’t ask Ella if she wants any.
Ella: Oh, mommy, I want chocolate milk.
Me: Here Bubby. (Hands him chocolate milk in sippy cup)
Ella: Mommy! I said I want chocolate milk too!!
Me: Oh, I thought I wasn’t allowed to talk to you.
Ella: Mommy, I love you so much! You’re so special to me!
As my wife said in her post – We are in so much trouble with this one!
Jewish Italian?
One of Ella and Andrew’s favorite shows to watch on TV is Blue’s Clues and You. Sadly, it doesn’t come on as often as I’d like (Because they play Paw Patrol for HOURS at a time!). We set the DVR to record episodes and watch them whenever we want.
They have been running many holiday themed episodes of the show over the last week or so. One of the episodes (pictured above) is based on the neighbor’s celebration of Hanukkah. Sam and the kids were watching it tonight as I drove into work. Sam calls me to tell me about the following conversation:
Ella: Mommy, where is our menorah?
Sam: We don’t have one, baby.
Ella: Why not?
Sam: Because we are not Jewish.
Ella: Why not?
(Long Pause)
Sam: When Daddy gets home – ask him!
Maybe Josh and Blue can help me answer …
Ella, you are such an amazing little girl. We are so blessed to have you! Thank you for being such a wonderful part of our lives!
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 