Music is an unstoppable force. When venues shut down, bands play on. When tours get postponed, voices can still be heard. Creativity and technology are and orchestra of resiliency.
Some of my initial memories as a father are driven by music - singing to my first daughter on the rocking chair; pump-up music for a Saint Patrick's Day induction for Daughter #2; "Happy Birthday" choruses as those two girls have reached new heights.
Our "Animal of the Day" home school graduation led to "Music May". It was time to rock out some education. Throw out the lesson plans and let it rip. "Animal of the Day" academia was a rigorous and ambitious fatherly effort to provide learning and laughter. There was little planning to Music May, Volume 1. Like a Greatest Hits album, this is the soundtrack of our pandemic lives.
Day 1 - drums. We powered up with percussion from one of the greatest drummers of all-time - Animal. This muppet plays a mean drum. We watched a Youtube video of Animal battling Dave Grohl from Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame. Muppet and man got this party started.
In the mid-90s, children were blessed with The Animaniacs. I remember coming home from school and adventuring with Wakko, Yakko, and Dot. The theme song was pure brillance. Our school covered the saxophone and The Animaniacs theme song line, "Dot is cute and Yakko yaks, Wakko packs away the snacks, while Bill Clinton plays the sax, We're An-i-man-iacs!"
Deliverance is not a family film. The dueling banjo scene from 1972's Deliverance was wonderfully weird for our family. I have to be the first person on Earth to Youtube search for "Animaniacs theme song" and "Deliverance" in a 24-hour span..or maybe in a lifetime span. Banjo night ended with a video of dueling banjo skeletons. Even the dead duel with banjos!
Local Facebook live music has been integral to survival. The Evergreens, Lux and Company, and A Girl Named Tom have blessed our home with sounds and sights. The Evergreens have taken us on a musical tour through the decades. Lux and Company has provided a combination of comedy and melody. And A Girl Named Tom sang to us, from their living room to ours. But, it doesn't stop there.
I have heard my daughter's preschool teachers singing over Zoom to a choir of 4 and 5 year olds. On Sunday mornings we watch Our Mother of Sorrows mass and sing uplifting songs of salvation and faith. John Krasinki has captured the power of music on his show SGN - Some Good News - with musical scenes from across the country or adding music to pictures and videos of triumph over tragedy.
There is only one way to move - forward. So, as we do, strike up the band. Sing your heart out. Capture the moment in song. If you have a banjo, duel. In a recent small group spiritual discussion, again using technology to connect, we talked about the certainty of death and the uncertainty of it all.
I'm not sure if I will one day be a skeleton playing a banjo, but I am determined to live, love, and laugh my way forward. I am grateful for all the musicians who keep music alive.
Johnstown - fill your home with positive lyrics. World, please don't stop the music or in the words of Journey, "Don't Stop Believing" or in the words of Animal:
"YAHAYAHAYAHAYAHA me love the drums!"
Thursday, May 14, 2020
Friday, May 1, 2020
Graduation Day
We decided that May 1st would be the Animal of the Day School Graduation Ceremony. Well, I decided that. I have never experienced anything like the past month and a half.
On Saint Patrick's Day, my youngest daughter turned 3. We had a small gathering at our house to celebrate her contributions to the world and to Ireland. Then, s*** got weird. First, profanity and a pandemic go together. I didn't even know what the word pandemic meant until 2020. And I know now that it is scientifically proven that parental profanity quadruples in a pandemic. During a recent rivalry with my wife while watching Jeopardy, I was swearing like the Navy's worst sailor. My kids were present. I was locked into Trebek while my wife was steamrolling me in Double Jeopardy.
Here are some of the other lessons learned.
#1: An adventurous heart cannot distance.
On Monday we learned about squirrels. My 5-year-old and I took our binoculars onto the Brownstown streets to find acorn fanatics. My youngest daughter was invited but she declined in an unappreciated hostile tone. Her rebellion was countered by the elder sister's gusto. Her blonde hair was flowing in the wind. She was instantly captivated by the promise of finding a squirrel.
This simple mission - find a squirrel - was a result of having to simplify. I will cherish those fifteen minutes for all my days. We weren't looking for an endangered species. We weren't doing anything historic. But, we were doing it together. This sudden change in daily living has made me appreciate the little things. The little things are huge.
We found a chipmunk, a member of the squirrel family. I've found so much more over the past six weeks. Thanks, daughters. You are my adventure.
#2: We all have garbage.
Tuesday was Raccoon Day. These bandits are much more than garbage thieves. Known as nocturnal foragers, they do what it takes to survive - even if that requires trashing your trash. April was an emotional garbage heap. Trying to sort through this mess has not been easy. What has made it easier is knowing that an entire community of people across the planet is in the same heap. Not the same boat. Don't get in a boat right now. Wait it out. Just be you in your garbage.
Garbage and Namaste both have 7 letters. Coincidence? I think not.
#3: This stinks and it is funny.
Social isolation stinks. Skunks stink. Wednesday was Skunk Day. We watched an incredible video of a Flagstaff, Arizona skunk who got his head stuck in a yogurt container. I use "his" because only a man skunk could do something so idiotic. A woman skunk would have used a spoon. Police officers were called to the scene. The skunk was blindly running in circles in a parking a lot. Spoiler alert - the yogurt was expired.
Spoiler alert - the police officers freed the skunk and did not get sprayed!
I would have never looked up "skunks" on Youtube before this health crisis. Laughing is not a virus cure, but it is epic medicine.
#4: The best defense is hope.
The final video of our Animal of the Day series was from Planet Earth 2. It was the astonishing footage of a baby iguana against all odds. Separated from family, the iguana knows it is surrounded by snakes. The snakes have horrible vision. Freeze. The best shot at staying alive is to stay still. That is until a serpent gets too close. Run like h***.
As a family we cheered on the iguana. I knew the outcome. My kids and wife did not. You could feel the living room tension. It is only about 30 seconds of survival, but it feels like an eternity. The iguana freezes, fights, and flights. Survives.
I don't know what the outcome of this pandemic will be. I do know that the last six weeks has been a blessing. I've learned from my wife, my daughters, and the animal kingdom. On Graduation Day, we did what we do best. We got real weird.
We went into our basement. We turned off the lights. We got out balloons. We rocked out to Metallica's Enter Sandman. If you thought Animal of the Day School was going to end with a keynote speaker and "happy tears" you need to get your s*** together.
Mic drop.
We start Music May School next week.
Metallica Monday!
On Saint Patrick's Day, my youngest daughter turned 3. We had a small gathering at our house to celebrate her contributions to the world and to Ireland. Then, s*** got weird. First, profanity and a pandemic go together. I didn't even know what the word pandemic meant until 2020. And I know now that it is scientifically proven that parental profanity quadruples in a pandemic. During a recent rivalry with my wife while watching Jeopardy, I was swearing like the Navy's worst sailor. My kids were present. I was locked into Trebek while my wife was steamrolling me in Double Jeopardy.
Here are some of the other lessons learned.
#1: An adventurous heart cannot distance.
On Monday we learned about squirrels. My 5-year-old and I took our binoculars onto the Brownstown streets to find acorn fanatics. My youngest daughter was invited but she declined in an unappreciated hostile tone. Her rebellion was countered by the elder sister's gusto. Her blonde hair was flowing in the wind. She was instantly captivated by the promise of finding a squirrel.
This simple mission - find a squirrel - was a result of having to simplify. I will cherish those fifteen minutes for all my days. We weren't looking for an endangered species. We weren't doing anything historic. But, we were doing it together. This sudden change in daily living has made me appreciate the little things. The little things are huge.
We found a chipmunk, a member of the squirrel family. I've found so much more over the past six weeks. Thanks, daughters. You are my adventure.
#2: We all have garbage.
Tuesday was Raccoon Day. These bandits are much more than garbage thieves. Known as nocturnal foragers, they do what it takes to survive - even if that requires trashing your trash. April was an emotional garbage heap. Trying to sort through this mess has not been easy. What has made it easier is knowing that an entire community of people across the planet is in the same heap. Not the same boat. Don't get in a boat right now. Wait it out. Just be you in your garbage.
Garbage and Namaste both have 7 letters. Coincidence? I think not.
#3: This stinks and it is funny.
Social isolation stinks. Skunks stink. Wednesday was Skunk Day. We watched an incredible video of a Flagstaff, Arizona skunk who got his head stuck in a yogurt container. I use "his" because only a man skunk could do something so idiotic. A woman skunk would have used a spoon. Police officers were called to the scene. The skunk was blindly running in circles in a parking a lot. Spoiler alert - the yogurt was expired.
Spoiler alert - the police officers freed the skunk and did not get sprayed!
I would have never looked up "skunks" on Youtube before this health crisis. Laughing is not a virus cure, but it is epic medicine.
#4: The best defense is hope.
The final video of our Animal of the Day series was from Planet Earth 2. It was the astonishing footage of a baby iguana against all odds. Separated from family, the iguana knows it is surrounded by snakes. The snakes have horrible vision. Freeze. The best shot at staying alive is to stay still. That is until a serpent gets too close. Run like h***.
As a family we cheered on the iguana. I knew the outcome. My kids and wife did not. You could feel the living room tension. It is only about 30 seconds of survival, but it feels like an eternity. The iguana freezes, fights, and flights. Survives.
I don't know what the outcome of this pandemic will be. I do know that the last six weeks has been a blessing. I've learned from my wife, my daughters, and the animal kingdom. On Graduation Day, we did what we do best. We got real weird.
We went into our basement. We turned off the lights. We got out balloons. We rocked out to Metallica's Enter Sandman. If you thought Animal of the Day School was going to end with a keynote speaker and "happy tears" you need to get your s*** together.
Mic drop.
We start Music May School next week.
Metallica Monday!
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