MADness—the Blog

My son Donovan is just learning about his Irish roots.  The magic of this day is that we are all Irish today, and the magic of this song is that it makes me homesick for a land where I have not been.  Or, maybe I have.

‘I am of Ireland,
And the Holy Land of Ireland,
And time runs on,’ cried she.
‘Come out of charity
And dance with me in Ireland.’

—William Butler Yeats, I Am of Ireland

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Carrickfergus
Van Morrison & the Chieftans

Enjoy the day & the season, folks.  Merry Christmas!  Happy Holiday!  Peace!

Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
John & Yoko, The Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir

I guess we’re getting old.  It’s better to grow old than not to have the opportunity, yet lives aren’t measured in how many years we have, but in what we do in the years we are given.  By any measure, John Lennon had one helluva life.

Saturday would have been John Lennon’s 70th birthday.  You may have heard. 

Here’s a message from Yoko.

More than a few memories in this promo.

Here’s a song I love.  It’s a message we need as much today as we needed then.

We miss you, John.  Happy Birthday!

Hey, baby, it’s the 4th of July! 

That was fast.  Seems we got here in a hurry this year. 

Holidays are meant for remembering and when I do I think about growing up in the east with parades and Little League games and barbeques and days at the beach and a party somewhere and, of course, some fireworks.  Maybe those things haven’t changed but when I think back they seem a little more special because holidays—like a lot in life—just feel that way when you’re young.

Wherever I was there’s a good chance some rock ‘n’ roll was playing on the radio and when this holiday comes around there are a couple of songs in particular I can’t not think about.  Which means I listen to them again, and now through this thing called the internet, you can too.  Enjoy the holiday, folks, wherever you are.