WHY THE CAROLS PLAY

 I think I've always wanted to be a dj. 

As a kid I used to do pretend radio shows using my collection of kiddie records to do my own unrecorded countdown shows. Each "show" I would install a new #1 song out of my collection for my pretend radio station.

  As technology and my age increased,I would play recorded music and do some "patter" in between songs. Some of these may exist on an old casette tape somewhere.

  I enjoy listening to my spotify playlists today but I still enjoy it more when someone listens with me.

  I've been drawn to radio personalities all my life. I recall dj's many today have never heard about. I fondly recall the humorous radio "feud" between Clark Weber and Ron Riley of WLS. I admired and very nearly worked with Larry Lujack. I corresponded with "top rock girly jock" Connie Szerszen, the late Doug Dahlgren, been on the air with Steve and Garry, wrote for morning dj Tomm Rivers and the great late Ron Britain. 

  So you can see that clearly,great radio voices and the work that they have done have figured prominently in my audio existence.

   During the month of December I get to play music for the enjoyment of others in the most tangential manner. I play Christmas music through speakers outside my home nightly from 5-10 pm. I may be playing to an audience of less than 7 nightly but if you pass the house,take the dog out for a walk, go get something out of the car, you will hear my Christmas songs in partnership with a brightly lit porch,hoping to spread some holiday cheer.

  When I was a teenager I used to have a phonograph (now more commonly known as a turntable) on the porch and would play vinyl Christmas albums on high volume through a window. I would have to go out on the cold porch and turn the record over to keep the music playing until I got too tired or too cold that evening. And next was a cassette player in the window with a tape that played 100 minutes of Christmas music I recorded from phonograph to cassette player. I eventually discovered extension speakers and I ran a speaker wire from those to a casette player in my room which was so convenient. I didnt have to go on the cold porch anymore to change tapes. 

   FF to today and its much improved technology.

    The Carols still play nightly from speakers outside and plugged directly into my bedside alexa with 8 hours of a Christmas playlist that requires almost no effort.

   In the process,speakers have failed and last year I bought 3 sets of speakers because 2 of those 3 sets did not work. I kept ordering speakers from Amazon until I found ones that worked on or about Dec 11,two weeks later than I usually begin. The lights were on but the music was missing and to my mind, that was a big deal. It just wasnt the same. Not the kind of silent night I wanted.

  The third set of speakers I bought are working fine and blaring out the music this season (though I had to purchase a new speaker extension cord.)

   Why this annual obsession? Because in my mind I'm giving the pleasure of sharing music with others in the hope that it adds to their enjoyment of the season. 

   Two years ago a passerby told my housemate " Every year I look forward to hearing the Christmas music coming from this house."

     That one person reignited the flame that made me buy those  3 sets of speakers last year before one set worked. It stoked my belief that the music I play for the neighborhood is appreciated. It's the closest I will get to playing music for other people and satisfy the desire within me to be a dj. And this wide selection of Christmas songs is an integral part of my Christmas.  From Bing to Bruce, my Christmas offering to the neighborhood ( and no one has complained yet!).

  Alexa and I will be serenading for the season through January 1 when the speakers come inside and nights get quieter here on the block.

     But inside I still dream the dj dream but the music playing  is for my ears only.

  

MEMORIES OF SUPERSONIC

Two years today, April 18, Sue Pierscionek left many people whose lives she touched in unforgetable ways. I think about her every day and miss her as much as I did the day she passed. 

   Sue "got" me. I'm not always easy to understand and there are aspects to me that few know or will ever know. But Sue knew them. We could laugh and joke one moment,which was unique in itself since Sue was known for being straight laced and I am kind of the opposite of that, and in the next moment we could share our disappointments,pain and setbacks. 

   Our relationship had its moments.Sue was a straight shooter and if she didn't approve of something,she would let you know. Not just in my case,but with all the people she cared about. She and I had a few run ins but they never lasted long and it seemed they actually brought us closer.

    Sue didn't suffer fools or fakes well. When life at work was tedious or annoying she would call out those responsible for  making it such. She did the same thing with the shows our comedy group performed annually. Sue had standards and if you were her friend, you met those standards and were the better off for it. 

    Her abiding love of God and His creatures was on full display always. When someone was ill or troubled Sue would invite us to pray with her. She wasn't shy about loving the Lord  or the Virgin Mary but she wasn't preachy either.

    The term "lucky dog" summarizes the situation of any canine that was allowed space in Sue's home. When her beloved dog passed away, she rescued her "Sadie" from a shelter . Sadie was a companion and a great source of comfort to Sue in her final months. Sadie now resides with a relative Sue chose  for her dog's "forever home." 

     We comfort ourselves in ways very strange sometimes. When Sue passed, many of her close friends commented that at last,she could be with her sister Linda who had passed of the same illness a few years earlier. I can't know but I very much believe that Sue was never the same after the passing of her sister...that a part of Sue passed with Linda.

    I mentioned earlier that Sue was known to be straight laced. 

     One of my favorite memories of her was at our annual Christmas party when we all recorded greetings as we stood in front of the lit tree.

     Sue said some wonderful things and to finish up she looked into the camera and said "...and Jeff,Merry fuckin' Christmas."  The guests exploded in laughter as this word we never heard her say got said, perfectly planned for the shock value she knew it would provide.

      In our shows, we played Sue against type ,casting her as a boozy,card playing,gambling scammer and I think she enjoyed this comedic new world. I know our audiences enjoyed her performances. And her organizational  skills made her a great help to me as the director and my assistant, Kate. 

    See what you did Sue? Two years later and I can't be near a keyboard without using it to share memories of you.

    Weeks before she passed,Sue called me at 11 am from her hospital room where she was for tests. It was expected she would soon be released. That morning I took the call and said "Hello" and Sue said right away, "I need you." I told her I was right here and she prayed with me. 

   I believe and will always believe that she had just gotten the news that she wasn't coming  home.She never said it, never told any of us until she was moved to hospice.

   I am thankful that this good woman shared her friendship with me . And even more thankful that the last thing I said to her was "I love you".  

    Remember Sue,and tell someone you love them tonight.

Yeah, It Was Just An Old Fire Pit but....

 The fire pit that sat in our yard for a good part of the last decade was stolen last night. And while it's true it didn't get used a whole lot, when it served its purpose, it was special.

  I'm open to being labeled overly sentimental about a black, beaten 30 year old fire pit but I get sad to look out the window and see the vacant spot it occupied for many years in the yard. 

  More than that, I remember the laughs,the lies, the memories, the stories and the friendship we shared sitting around that fire and watching the sparks, the royal orange flame , avoiding its smoke but reveling in its warmth. 

  I remember friends now passed who cozied up with us by that old black Weber and threw some wood on it to contribute to the sense of community. I remember a friend searching the alley for wood that would keep our fire lit and our evening longer.  There was that time he found  treasure...discarded pieces of furniture ..and we all laughed to see an old chair dismembered and swallowed up by the beautiful blaze.

  There was the Halloween where we moved the heavy black pit to the front of the house to keep us warm as we served trick or treaters candy and sipped our wine. It would've been too chilly to do that without our friendly fire.

  Firekeepers were we as one of our number would stir the embers that would keep the fire going and the gathering warm. Feel the fellowship, savor the smell. 

   The Memorial Days, July 4th's, Labor Days, special occasions and no occasion at all. That fire pit was our own little town square, lighting up many a night. 

   So when someone ventured into the yard last night and for whatever reason, decided to take that sturdy little fire pit, they also took a bunch of memories and shared experiences. And while I fully expect to get another, it won't be the one that was experienced by friends no longer here. It'll be nice, but never the same.

  Yeah, it was just an old fire pit. But then again, it really was more than that and I'll miss it.