Everyday Rebecca

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Teresa in Fort Worth, TX

The cutest thing happened last night.

Paul, Rebecca, and I were all sitting on the couch.  I was talking on the phone with Rachel, Paul was playing on his Kindle until his turn to talk to her, and Rebecca had her headphones on, watching something on her Kindle.

I became aware of Rebecca reaching for my right hand and Paul saying something to me about Rebecca wanting both of us to put our hands on our hearts for some reason.

Well, I looked over at her Kindle and realized that she was listening to a piece of music from an album of patriotic songs.  The piece of music?

The Star-Spangled Banner.

So there we all sat, hands over our hearts until the song (which only Rebecca could hear) was over.

I couldn’t stop laughing over the cuteness and the sweetness of it all.

And it was yet another reminder of how blessed we have been to have a child with Down syndrome in our lives.  How many other 17-year-olds would just matter-of-factly make sure that everyone paid respect when the National Anthem – unbeknownst to them – was being played on a tiny device in their living room?

For us, it was just another day with Rebecca 😊

 

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Hate Crime Hoaxes

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Teresa in Fort Worth, TX

I’m going to say my piece (peace?), so please bear with me.

If ANYONE on either side of the political aisle tries to tell me that “Jussie Smollett is just a confused kid”, or that “we should cut him some slack”, or that “we don’t understand what it means to be a gay black man in a country steeped in White Privilege”, or ESPECIALLY that “he was just trying to open up a dialogue about what a racist, homophobic country we live in”, well I am afraid that I am just going to start screaming in people’s faces and using some words that my momma isn’t going to like.

This entitled little snot is the one who is racist, and I hope that they throw the book at him.

With malice aforethought, this man deliberately lied and lied and then lied some more. He made the worst sort of assumptions about several groups of people (namely whites, heterosexuals, and Trump supporters), and then had the audacity to accuse those people of the very things that he himself PAID other people to do.

This is just the latest in a long line of hate crime hoaxes, and each time one of these is found to have been perpetrated by the very person who initially claimed to be the victim, the rest of us are the ones who get lectured about what WE are doing wrong.

ENOUGH.

No more believing all victims. I’m sorry, but these people have brought it on themselves. They have cried “Wolf” for the last time.

We told them that they were not going to like it when the rest of us decided it was time to start playing the game by their rules, but this is what it has come to. They have no one to blame but themselves.

I want to see Jussie Smollett in jail, and I want him to be given a sentence which will make it much less likely for the next person to lie for their own gain.

And I want him to be charged with a hate crime.

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The Best (Belated) Valentine’s Day Ever (a.k.a. “Boy Meets Girl”)

Posted on February 16, 2019 by Teresa in Fort Worth, TX

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Just a couple of kids…..

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It all started in a lecture hall at Texas A&M University in January, 1979. Yours truly was a freshman who started out in Pre-Med, but after one semester – and a tearful call home – I had decided to change my major to one which involved more math – Civil Engineering.

Well, the powers that be in the Engineering department told me that the Calculus class that I had placed out of as a Science major wasn’t really “the same as” the one they wanted Engineering majors to take, so I had to start all over again. I hadn’t changed my major until the spring semester started, so I missed the first “official” day of that class.

The next time that class met, I was sitting in a seat in the lecture hall, feeling quite lost since I didn’t know the professor’s name, office hours, etc. Some guy came in a little late to the class, looking all harried, and sat down in one of the few empty seats – right next to me.

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Valentine’s Day, 2019 – A Little Romance

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Teresa in Fort Worth, TX


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Because today is a day of romance, I thought I’d share one of the best renditions of “My Funny Valentine” that I’ve ever heard – Michelle Pfeiffer’s version from the movie “The Fabulous Baker Boys”:

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Hope you have a great day with the one you love!
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“Rhapsody in Blue” (2019)

Posted on February 12, 2019 by Teresa in Fort Worth, TX

rhapsody in blue 3.

Well, I went playing on YouTube again, and this time I ran across several versions of one of my favorite orchestral pieces, George Gershwin’s quintessentially classic American composition, “Rhapsody in Blue“.

Rhapsody in Blue premiered in an afternoon concert on February 12, 1924, held by Paul Whiteman and his band Palais Royal Orchestra, entitled An Experiment in Modern Music, which took place in Aeolian Hall in New York City. The version that was heard then was for a 24-piece jazz band, not for full orchestra. This was the original arrangement of Gershwin’s masterpiece.

Gershwin had agreed that Ferde Grofé, Whiteman’s pianist and chief arranger, was the key figure in enabling the piece to be successful, and critics have praised the orchestral colour. Grofé confirmed in 1938 that Gershwin did not have sufficient knowledge of orchestration in 1924. After the premiere, Grofé took the score and made new orchestrations in 1926 and 1942, each time for larger orchestras. Up until 1976, when Michael Tilson Thomas recorded the original jazz band version for the very first time, the 1942 version was the arrangement usually performed and recorded.

I, too, had only ever heard the big symphonic version but a few years ago, I ran across an amazing Big Band arrangement that brought a big smile to my face. And a couple of days later, I ran across the “original” jazz band version, which I found I like very, very much.

The complete piece is 16 minutes long, so if you don’t have time, don’t feel that you have to listen to all of them; you might want to sample a bit of each one and come back to them later when you have more time. I think you will probably find that, like me, you end up enjoying all of them on their own merits.

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Perceptions

Posted on January 18, 2019 by Teresa in Fort Worth, TX

Many years ago, when the girls were much younger, I ran across a wonderful book called “Many Moons” by James Thurber.  It is the story of a young princess who falls ill one day after a “surfeit of raspberry tarts”.  The Royal Physician sends for her father the King, who tells her that he will get her anything that her heart desires.  The princess tells the King that if she can have the moon, “I will be well again”.

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It’s My Blogiversary!

Posted on January 10, 2019 by Teresa in Fort Worth, TX

The original “Cook’s Tour” guy, Thomas Cook

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On January 10, 2011, my little vanity project started out:

Well, I guess I’m going to really do this thing.  I don’t know how often I’ll be posting, or if it will be any good, or if anyone will even read what I write.

I’m still learning my way around the whole blog “thing”, so be patient with me!

It’s hard to believe that I have been doing this for 8 years – WOW!!!!

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When you start up a blog, one of the first things that you have to do is come up with a name for it.  You want it to be catchy and personalized, without sounding too self-important.  You also want to hint to people what kind of adventure they will be going on if they decide to read your blog.

With that in mind, here is how I came up with the name for my blog:


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My Advent Calendar of Music – Day #25: Songs for Christmas Day

Posted on December 25, 2018 by Teresa in Fort Worth, TX


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Gets me every time…

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My Advent Calendar of Music – Day #24: The Night Before Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2018 by Teresa in Fort Worth, TX

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And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed….And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem….To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:1-7 KJV)

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My Advent Calendar of Music – Day #24: The Day Before Christmas

Posted on December 24, 2018 by Teresa in Fort Worth, TX

Snowman - Cropped.
Happy day before Christmas! I had a bit of a conundrum with today’s musical selections. I ended up with many selections which lend themselves to “Christmas Eve”; some deal with the “Santa Claus” aspect of Christmas, while others celebrate the TRUE meaning of the Christmas season – the birth of Jesus; God come down to live with Man.

The two styles of songs didn’t really “mesh” for the mood that I was trying to set, so I’ve done something different today – this post features more “secular” songs; Part II is more reflective.

Today’s first song is about someone who is missing the one that they love on Christmas Eve – “Merry Christmas, Darling”, sung by Karen Carpenter:
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