Here is another Cultural Experience. . . .EN JOY !
Here is a link to a video you will enjoy. Since 10 million people have viewed it since last month, you may have seen it already, but it’s wonderful anyway. It is so happy I get teary-eyed.. . .;-)
The faces of the kids, especially the dumbstruck boy in the Gap sweatshirt, are absolutely priceless. It makes me remember how concerts would send chills of pure joy up and down my spine when I was a kid. There's a triumph of Western civilization inherent in these videotapes. Now compare this with the agony you feel when you have to pass some near eastern vendor blaring his music on cracked speakers in a New York subway station. A lot depends on the purpose of the crowd. There's another YouTube clip out there of the great young master Joshua Bell playing his violin in a DC Metro station as commuters pass. (I think this experiment was engineered by CBS News.) Bell's rendition of the Bach D minor chaconne is ravishing, but only a few people stop to listen, and none put money into his open case. It's the season. As Pound put it,in ordinary circumstances "Christ follows Dionysis", or at least Mammon. On a shopping or eating spree we're in the mood to smell the roses. One summer as a teenager in DC I was walking my dog down the street when I heard fragments of music in the distance. Its clarity depended on the direction of the wind. We followed it to Fort Reno Park. The park was strangely deserted as we mounted a broad grassy knoll. The music had unmistakenly become Beethoven's Fourth Symphony. When we got to the top and looked down I saw the entire National Symphony Orchestra sitting on camp chairs on the grass playing before about 60 people on blankets. It was all part of a summer in the parks program that wasn't well advertised. The surprise and exhilaration of that experience was like something out of a dream. Oh if I could recall it in the last moments of this short life.
Radjoe Justin, this part of you is that of the real kid coming out of you, never let it go. Your love of life, with the family upbringing you have had, makes you more than Precious to everyone of us. Never Change. You are worth more than your weight in Gold. Christ in Christmas never goes awaY.
WHEN I WAS A KID, the Salvation Army band used to wander the streets of my suburb and play Christmas carols at night. There was barely any traffic in those days. Anyway, I grew up with that sort of thing at Christmas and thought it was quite normal.
These days, Carols by Candle-light is an organized affair held at a major venue such as a park. You don't get the Sallies wandering the streets any more. You don't get that kind of spontaneity, which is what made that Youtube video so special.
And I agree with J about the expressions on the kids' faces - they were priceless. Christmas without kids just ain't Christmas.
Thank you for posting the link. Seeing it brought back many memories. I'd affirm that was a mall in Wichita, Kansas. I was assigned to Wichita by my employer for two weeks. The food court in the mall was one of the only places to really go. Though many mall food courts might look a lot alike, that one surely looked familiar. I participated for a number of my youth years in the church choir of a 1300 member congregation. We would sing this song at Christmas. I found myself singing the second tenor level. Funny how you don't forget things like that. This brought much joy to see. It's also and incredible way to share with others, He is the Lord of Lords, King of Kings...even if you don't agree. Never-the-less it's enlightening to my heart. I wish for it to be to yours as well.
8 comments:
Dammit. Pass the tissues.
The faces of the kids, especially the dumbstruck boy in the Gap sweatshirt, are absolutely priceless. It makes me remember how concerts would send chills of pure joy up and down my spine when I was a kid. There's a triumph of Western civilization inherent in these videotapes.
Now compare this with the agony you feel when you have to pass some near eastern vendor blaring his music on cracked speakers in a New York subway station.
A lot depends on the purpose of the crowd. There's another YouTube clip out there of the great young master Joshua Bell playing his violin in a DC Metro station as commuters pass. (I think this experiment was engineered by CBS News.) Bell's rendition of the Bach D minor chaconne is ravishing, but only a few people stop to listen, and none put money into his open case. It's the season. As Pound put it,in ordinary circumstances "Christ follows Dionysis", or at least Mammon. On a shopping or eating spree we're in the mood to smell the roses.
One summer as a teenager in DC I was walking my dog down the street when I heard fragments of music in the distance. Its clarity depended on the direction of the wind. We followed it to Fort Reno Park. The park was strangely deserted as we mounted a broad grassy knoll. The music had unmistakenly become Beethoven's Fourth Symphony. When we got to the top and looked down I saw the entire National Symphony Orchestra sitting on camp chairs on the grass playing before about 60 people on blankets. It was all part of a summer in the parks program that wasn't well advertised. The surprise and exhilaration of that experience was like something out of a dream. Oh if I could recall it in the last moments of this short life.
a similiar one, but with the Philly Opera at Macy's...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp_RHnQ-jgU
COOP babes. . .how did you miss it???
I posted the Experience at Macy's at Philie on MONDAY.
Helloooooooooooooooooooo? ;-) Its worth a SECOND post!!! hahahaha
How could I possibly mistake YOU? LOL
C'est tellement etrange. . .very strange. . . ;-)
However. . . .
Radjoe
Justin, this part of you is that of
the real kid coming out of you, never let it go. Your love of life, with the family upbringing you have had, makes you more than Precious to everyone of us. Never Change. You are worth more than your weight in Gold. Christ in
Christmas never goes awaY.
If J can brag about his childhood so can I.
WHEN I WAS A KID, the Salvation Army band used to wander the streets of my suburb and play Christmas carols at night. There was barely any traffic in those days. Anyway, I grew up with that sort of thing at Christmas and thought it was quite normal.
These days, Carols by Candle-light is an organized affair held at a major venue such as a park. You don't get the Sallies wandering the streets any more. You don't get that kind of spontaneity, which is what made that Youtube video so special.
And I agree with J about the expressions on the kids' faces - they were priceless. Christmas without kids just ain't Christmas.
Thank you for posting the link. Seeing it brought back many memories. I'd affirm that was a mall in Wichita, Kansas. I was assigned to Wichita by my employer for two weeks. The food court in the mall was one of the only places to really go. Though many mall food courts might look a lot alike, that one surely looked familiar. I participated for a number of my youth years in the church choir of a 1300 member congregation. We would sing this song at Christmas. I found myself singing the second tenor level. Funny how you don't forget things like that. This brought much joy to see. It's also and incredible way to share with others, He is the Lord of Lords, King of Kings...even if you don't agree. Never-the-less it's enlightening to my heart. I wish for it to be to yours as well.
Smiles...JCinmeforever
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