Carolyne update

At last I can update you on the status of Carolyne Heldman. This being the best “unofficial” Carolyne Web page in the world, it is only my duty to do so. I’m glad to report that Carolyne is doing very well, as you can read in this clip from her bio page at Aspen Public Radio:

Carolyne was the Station Manager for the Aspen Skiing Company's television station, Channel 16, producing and directing the award-winning, live morning show, Aspen Today for 3 years. She then returned to radio, hosting the morning show on local radio station KSNO. She left the valley in 2005 and for the past three years, Carolyne has been concentrating on raising her two daughters and teaching yoga. Carolyne is thrilled to be back home in the Roaring Fork Valley.

http://www.aspenpublicradio.org/bioPop.php?nick=carolyne
　
So she’s not on MTV, but radio is still cool. Carolyne is hosting a radio show called “Crosscurrents” that you can listen to online at the site below:

http://www.aspenpublicradio.org/listen_archive.php?prog=cross

I haven’t heard them all yet, but being a Carolyne fan I will try to find time to enjoy them. As a John Denver fan, I’d recommend the show from October 9 which features an interview with Barry Ehrmann, the producer of a new DVD box set of John Denver's concerts. Very interesting talk about how older footage of John was restored for the current release. Also, Carolyne shares a cool memory of John Denver.

If you’d prefer some shorter clips, Carolyne recently took part in “The Big Read” for Aspen Public Radio. Each week, a different reader would read excerpts from the classic novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” on the radio. Carolyne joins a prestigious list of readers including John Oates and Robert Wagner. To listen to “The Big Read,” visit the pod cast section of Aspen Public Radio’s Web site:

http://www.aspenpublicradio.org/listen_archive.php?prog=read

In the chance that you haven’t read or seen or listened to “To Kill a Mockingbird,” you may want to do so before listening to Carolyne’s clips, as she gives a summary of the end of the book. And I recommend that book. It’s a classic story that is worth enjoying.
For more about Carolyne Heldman, enjoy my post here:

http://heroshaven.blogspot.com/2007/12/carolyne-heldman.html

For more about John Denver, enjoy my other post here:

http://heroshaven.blogspot.com/2007/02/john-denver.html

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IS SOMETHING GOING ON? Hello? Yes, this is he. Yes, I have noticed the muppets on the Google home page. So what? You mean something is happening this week? Yes, of course, Veterans Day. What? Something else? I’m not sure. It’s not some other holiday, is it? Thanksgiving is still a few weeks away. . .An anniversary? Whose? Not my parents’. I’m not sure what you. . .YOW! 40 YEARS OF SESAME STREET and I haven’t got time to write about it! But luckily, a friend has pointed me to an article on the CNN Web page that sums up how many of us grown-up fans are feeling:

For better or worse, today's preschooler is very different from the 1969 version. And children's television programming simply has to reflect that.

But one thing hasn't changed on "Sesame Street": the unflinchingly genuine attitudes of its residents. For 40 years, they have taught us that sometimes we are going to get hurt, cry and be lonely. They've taught us that there'll also be times when we're downright jovial. All the while, those characters have remained sincere.

We may never see Cookie Monster eat a pipe again, but luckily the memories are preserved on DVD, and in our hearts.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/11/04/sesame.street.anniversary/?imw=Y

Here’s the posting I left at MuppetCentral forum about the 40th anniversary:

Sesame Street has left a huge impact on my life. Even today, not actively watching the show, I still find myself remembering little skits now and then, and collecting some of the old songs and toys from back in the day. I think it, along with some other notable shows, helped me to grow into the person I am, and I'm very thankful for that. When I draw comics, there's almost always Ernie and Bert and some of the other characters hanging around. In my silly home movies, there they are- Ernie, Bert, Cookie and others. My memories and stories of Sesame St. bring me joy to this day, and probably always will. Here's to their first 40 years. . .and it looks like I'd better brace myself for mine. :)

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AND SPEAKING OF ETHICS: I caused an unintentional controversy when I used some quotes from the Mouseplanet message board in my monorail post last week. It was not my intent to break the rules of the message board, and it was definitely not my intent to misrepresent or insult the posters on the board. I've apologized for my stupidity, but for folks in charge of things that's never enough. What upsets me is how everything worked exactly the opposite of what I wanted. In an effort to reach out to others, I get told that I shouldn’t do it that way - at least not on that board. What they don’t explain is exactly how I should reach out to others. That’s my problem, not theirs. And it is a problem I will be working on.

But I would like to welcome our five new readers. . .

　

Alfie, the Christmas tree

ALFIE, THE CHRISTMAS TREE

by John Denver and Lee Holdridge

Did you ever hear the story of the Christmas tree

Who just didn't want to change the show?

He liked living in the woods and playing with squirrels

He liked icycles and snow



He liked wolves and eagles and grizzly bears

And critters and creatures that crawl

Why, bugs were some of his very best friends,

Spiders and ants and all



Now that's not to say that he ever looked down

On a vision of twinkling lights

Or on mirrored bubbles and peppermint canes

And a thousand other delights



And he often had dreams of tiny reindeer

And a jolly old man in a sleigh

Full of toys and presents and wonderful things

And the story of Christmas day



Oh, Alfie believed in Christmas all right

He was full of Christmas cheer

All through each and every day

And all throughout the year



To him it was more than a special time

Much more than a special day

It was more than a beautiful story,

It was a special kind of way



You see, some folks have never heard a jingle bell ring

And they've never heard of Santa Claus

They've never heard the story of the son of God

And that made Alfie pause



Did that mean that they'd never know of peace on earth

Or the brotherhood of man

Or know how to love, or know how to give?

If they can't - no one can



You see, life is a very special kind of thing

Not just for a chosen few

But for each and every living, breathing thing

Not just me and you



So in your Christmas prayers this year

Alfie asked me if I'd ask you

Say a prayer for the wind and the water and the wood

And those who live there, too

John Denver

A few years ago, I made a music compilation of most of my favorite songs. (In fact, I'm still working on it. I'm up to volume six.) The first song on the first CD-R is the first “favorite song” of mine that I can remember. It is “Take me home, Country Roads” by John Denver.

There is a statement in the introduction to John Denver's autobiography that goes something like this: “What Frank Sinatra was to the 1940s, and Elvis was to the 1950s, and the Beatles were to the 1960s, John Denver was to the 1970s – a phenomenon.” Truer words were never said. And John deserves to be placed near those music greats. I'm not sure if this is still true, but I was told that the number one best-selling LP in the history of RCA records is “John Denver's Greatest Hits.” I wouldn't be surprised – I keep finding it in old used record bins! Hey, that means a lot of people liked it. Just like the Fleetwood Mac “Rumors” LP and “Frampton Comes Alive!” :) It's a classic of its time, but John is really a classic for all times. His music reaches beyond his life and into many other lives.

For example, consider the beautiful “Annie’s Song.” Originally, the song described the feelings John had for his wife. Well, they later divorced. You would think it would be a pain for him to play “Annie’s Song” after that. But Annie’s Song wasn’t just about Annie. It was about the love we feel for many things. And as John wrote, it could just as easily have been a prayer.

John had a great voice. Check out the little-known track “Dearest Esmeralda” as a great example of his ability to bring out the best in a song. And I wish I could still sing the high notes in “Calypso.” It was so easy when I was eight. But John could still sing them years after the song came out.

He was a natural actor. Perhaps it's hard to appreciate how great he was in “Oh, God!” because he seemed as if he were just playing himself. In fact, even when he did play himself on the muppet specials, he seemed so natural that the muppets seemed all the more real. And he was naturally funny. He held his own with the muppets. Recall his great straight-man work as Gonzo talked about his mold garden. And the very funny “dog in the airplane trick” from the “Rocky Mountain Holiday” special. (This moment was edited out of the video release, darn it!) It involved John curing Rowlf’s hiccups by taking him on an airplane ride. After doing a few tricky airplane maneuvers, John cries out:

JOHN: Hey Rowlf! I just figured it out! When you push the lever backward, the airplane goes down!
ROWLF: He’s kidding me! Tell me you’re kidding me!!
JOHN: And when you push the lever forward, the airplane goes up! Far out!
ROWLF: OOOWWWWW!!!!

John once pointed out that his music differs from traditional country music in that it focuses more on the “Western” side of “Country and Western.” You need only listen to John's music and compare it to more traditional country music to hear the difference. John's songs are sometimes hard to define, except as “good songs.” Some very happy memories involve visiting my grandparents' beautiful home and me listening to the “Windsong” album in the background. The equally great “I Want to Live” album is still one of my favorites. When John teamed up with the muppets for a Christmas special and album, it was a historic entertainment event at our house!

The first concert I ever went to was John Denver - not long after "I want to live" was released. Yes, of course my mom and dad took us. :) I remember just a few tiny moments from it: John singing “It Amazes Me”; Someone in the crowd crying out as John was tuning up, “I love you, John!” John's reply, “I love you, too!” and the crowd's laughter. I remember sitting on the stairway heading up to our seats (yes, we were all sitting down), then going home early (it was way past bedtime, you know), and stopping on the way out to hear John sing “Country Roads.” Actually, John is still one of the few “big stars” I can say that I've seen in person. I'm thankful I got to go.

John and I had something in common (beyond wearing glasses sometimes, that is). He enjoyed times of solitude. Part of the reason he wanted to preserve the wilderness is that he wanted others to enjoy those times as well. Now obviously, you don't need to be in the wilderness to have moments like that. But it helps. And so does John's music.

John understood that some things in life go beyond our ability to relate them. In his liner notes to the “Windsong” album, he wrote something which could almost serve as his epitaph. He wrote that he was going to record the sound of the wind in between the tracks on the album, but found that it was impossible to capture the exact sound he was searching for. He wished for us that someday, we would be able to get away to a very quiet place, and listen to the true sound of the wind for ourselves.

May we all get to hear what he heard.

FAVORITE JD ALBUMS: John Denver's Greatest Hits volumes 1 and 2; Windsong; I Want To Live; The Rocky Mountain Collection; Seasons of the Heart; John Denver & the Muppets: A Christmas Together

FAVORITE JD SONGS (take a deep breath, here we go): Take Me Home, Country Roads; Follow Me; Annie's Song; For Baby (For Bobbie); Rocky Mountain High; Fly Away; Spirit; Looking for Space; Aspenglow; Late Nite Radio; Singing Skies and Dancing Waters; How Can I Leave You again; Thirsty Boots; I Want To Live; Dearest Esmeralda; Calypso; This Old Guitar; A Baby Just Like You; Alfie/It's in every one of us; Noel: Christmas Eve 1913; Perhaps Love; Heart to Heart; Shanghai Breezes; For You; Dreamland Express; Rhymes & Reasons; Grandma's Feather Bed; Garden Song; Flying For Me; Wild Montana Skies; Eagles and Horses; It Amazes Me; To the Wild Country; Catch Another Butterfly; Darcy Farrow; The Eagle and the Hawk; Ballad of Spiro T. Agnew; Matthew; Leavin’ on a jet plane & many more I have forgotten to list.

JD ON VIDEO: “The Wildlife Concert”; “John Denver: A Song's Best Friend”; “Nature: John Denver: Let this be a voice.” “John Denver & The Muppets: Rocky Mountain Holiday”; “Oh, God!” “Muppet Show: John Denver”;

NEEDS TO BE ON VIDEO: “John Denver & the Muppets: A Christmas together”; “John Denver: Rocky Mountain Christmas”; “Carpenters: First TV Special (John as guest)”;