Age. Beauty. Laughter. Music. Good riddance to bad rubbish..Countdown to 1/20
LETTY COTTIN POGREBIN -- NEWSLETTER #97 -- DEC 31, 2020
* While ringing in the new, take a moment to appreciate age and survival, whether in people or nature.
If you love trees, you'll love this awesome video of "The 10 oldest trees in the world" though it seems to have missed this one (above) the venerable 6000-year-old Baobab tree in Senegal.
* Beautiful old people
LAUGHTER
* Special Added Attraction; Old people dancing. If this doesn't make you smile, nothing will. Whatever your age, out with the old year but keep on dancing.
* The Christian version of the following joke begins: "Dear Lord, In church last Sunday..." For some reason, I think this one is is funnier; maybe it's the word "shul." .
In shul last Shabbat, I heard a sweet elderly lady in a nearby seat saying a prayer. She was so innocent and sincere that I just had to share it with you:
“Avinu she'ba'shamayim (Our Father in Heaven): This last year has been very tough. You have taken my favorite actors Sean Connery, Kirk Douglas and Diana Rigg; my favorite television host, Alex Trebek; Carl Reiner from ‘Your Show of Shows’; my favorite singer from the 50’s, Little Richard; even Charlie Daniels and Kenny Rogers my two favorite country western singers; and from sports you took Gale Sayers and my favorite basketball player Kobe Bryant.
“I just wanted you to know that my favorite politicians are Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham." Amein.....
ART
* Nature + Wonder = Art. Feast your eyes on Jon Foreman's rock installations (above & below) and the next time you're on a beach, collect some stones and try your hand at it.
* Wish I could take Amtrak down to Baltimore this weekend to see "Esther and the Dream of One Loving Human Family," at the American Visionary Museum but happily, this remarkable exhibit of tapestries by Holocaust survivor, Esther Nisenthal Krinitz will be on display through March 2024. Meanwhile, see it here.
MUSIC
* The great violinist, Arnold Steinhardt, best known as a member of the Guarneri Quartet for more than three decades, writes a terrific blog called In The Key of Strawberry: Stories About Music. I love his cultural sensibility and his sense of humor, both of which are on display in his recent blogpost, "Music in the Time of Biden and Harris." in which he suggests appropriate musical accompaniment to the new Administration.
* Arnold Steinhardt plays himself in "Music of the Heart," a heartwarming 1999 feature film about young violinists in East Harlem. Meryl Streep and Angela Bassett star in the movie . (Spoiler Alert) so do some titanic classical fiddler-players. What a treat!
CHRISTMAS LEFTOVERS
* Last week's posting had a few choice Hanukkah leftovers. Only fair to do the same for Xmas.
* Randy Rainbow's "Rudolph the Leaky Lawyer" will never be out of season as long as the loathsome Mr. Giuliani is still around to haunt us and shame the legal profession.
Celebrate safely if not sensationally tonight. Happy New Year. And enjoy the countdown to 1/20/21
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