- April 22, 2024
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• Christmas is a time when we stand transfixed before a mirror of ourselves, and take a good look honestly at what is really going on inside our lives. The message of Jesus Christ on earth was concerned with peace and goodwill among human beings. A person’s Christianity is therefore clearly qualified by the way he treats his fellow men. The will to live is the strongest urge in all living creatures, and the human animal is no exception. It follows that the destruction of one man’s life by another, stands at the top of the foremost of criminal acts.
• There is nothing wrong with just having a good old fun time! Plenty of it was had on Dec. 20 when our annual Christmas sing-along party brought some 60 guests to our home. Singing was in the air as we enjoyed and sang many traditional carols. If you don’t sing ’em at that time of year, when are you going to sing ’em? The marvelous solo voices of tenor Jose Velez and baritone Gabriel Preisser with the wondrous Lynn Peghiny at the piano added extra-special warmth and beauty to the occasion. “Peace on earth good will toward men” – there is no reason that we can’t carry that spirit with us all through the coming year. Among the recurring joys of the Christmas season are the TV broadcasts: The Joy of Music, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and on New Year’s, the Vienna Philharmonic — a good way to start any year! Music is, in its essence, a voice that carries a message impossible to put into words. That is why we resort to singing voices when we say, “Hark the herald angels sing!”
• For people who love animals and are sensitive to their needs, nothing is more moving than the love of a dog which matches any other love that human beings can engender, and I believe that a dog feels in the depths of his being that he is a big part of his master’s/mistress’s soul.
Sweetie and I traveled together all over the U.S. and Europe, wherever I was singing concerts or opera. Sweetie was not my wife, or even my fiancée, or my daughter. Sweetie was, in fact, a boy, not a girl. He was my dog, a beautiful black, medium-sized poodle, who stayed with me in my dressing room while I did my “thing” on the stage. Sweetie brightened my life through the years until that final morning when he could not get up on his four legs. He seemed to know the end had come, but at 18 he had had a great life, and still continues to live in my memories.
• The reason why I may irritate people is perhaps that I have a plethora of energy. Well, I’ve got it no more! I am being waited on hand and foot by my wonderful b.w., and Victor, the worlds greatest neighbor.
The reason for my acceding to the less predictive side of my nature is that I am “under the weather.” Our neighborhood is filled with hospitals and I count myself fortunate for not being in one. The “will to live” took hold of me 93 years ago, and I ain’t never turned loose. I figure it is that very “will” plus the love of my wife and friends that has contributed to that positive outlook. My grandmother told me ages ago, “Don’t make demands of people, and you’ll have more people doing your wishes than you’ll ever get by trying to control them.” She further suggested that I first learn to control myself and win other people’s confidence without asking for anything. A smart guy friend of mine once told me that, “Help is on every hand if you don’t ask for it.” He also told me, “Women who will not even go out with some guys will marry just about anybody!” The main thing I remember about getting married was an urge to get on the subway with my love, and to go down to New York City Hall, and sign a few papers before a judge. He finished by wishing us a long and happy marriage. At 35 years of marriage, it has not been long enough — all for a $3 license! What a celestial bargain!
