I’m confident all of us agree, we’re glad to see 2020 in our rearview mirror. My first post of 2020 I ended with a quote from Billy Wilder. He once said, “It’s easy to know the right thing to do after something has happened, but it’s hard to predict the future. Hindsight is 20/20 vision.”
Little did I realize what 2020 would have in store for the world. If I had any hindsight, I would’ve had a larger stash of toilet paper.
Hopefully, going into this new year, we all will allow ourselves to be more compassionate, give more unconditional love, not take our friends and family for granted and be better listeners as well as experience life to its fullest.
I have put together my 2021 goals, and because 2020 was such a nightmare, I plan to be diligent reaching as many of my goals as possible. I can see clearly now, the first and most important step to reaching any goal is, getting started.
“Keeping an active mind has been vital to my survival, as has been maintaining a sense of humor.” Stephen Hawking
I’ve always been a sucker for anyone with a sense of humor.
I grew up watching the Three Stooges, Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, W. C. Fields, Judy Holiday, Abbott and Costello, Danny Kaye, Red Skelton, I Love Lucy, Looney Tunes, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Burns and Allen, Jack Benny, and Martin and Lewis.
In my teens I was a huge fan of sitcoms, musical comedies, and comedians such as Steve Martin, David Steinberg, Jonathan Winters, Robin Williams, The Smothers Brothers, Carol Burnett, Flip Wilson, Dick Cavett, Don Rickles, Robert Klein, Albert Brooks, Dudley Moore, Soupy Sales, Steve Allen, Rich Little, Johnny Carson, and Woody Allan just to mention a few.
In my 20’s through my 50’s the comedians and the type of humor I’m drawn to are not much different from the one’s I enjoyed in my youth. Some of my favorites are thankfully still alive today.
I still enjoy a good joke, a great sitcom and a romantic comedy. There are a lot of great comedians around today. My taste in humor hasn’t changed much over the years. Funny is funny at any age.
“All mine!” Yertle cried. “Oh, the things I now rule! I’m the king of a cow! And I’m the king of a mule! I’m the king of a house! And, what’s more, beyond that. I’m the king of a blueberry bush and a cat! I’m Yertle the Turtle! Oh, marvelous me! For I am the ruler of all that I see!” Yertle the Turtle
If you follow my blog, you know I’m a fan of Dr. Seuss. His stories are not only entertaining but also teach morality.
Recently I read a thesis on Dr. Seuss written by a young woman. She wrote about how Dr. Seuss stories always have a political theme and because of this, his stories are not suitable to read to young children. She believes that young children are not smart enough to understand these political themes.
This young college student obviously does not have children. Unfortunately, because I don’t know how to contact this woman, I am unable to tell her how wrong she is.
When my son was very young I would read to him Yertle the Turtle, his favorite bedtime story. Before he could walk, he would crawl over to his bookcase in his room and drag this large green book to me. With little talking he could do, he would ask me to read this story. Up until he was two or three years of age, I must have read this book to my son well over 100s of times.
Yertle the Turtle made such an impact on my son, that I believe his values, his political beliefs and his compassion for the difference between right and wrong are due to this simple story, Yertle the Turtle.
If you are a young parent, and you wish to teach your child about standing up for their self, about compassion for every living thing, bullying, and yes a little about politics and power, then you should be reading this book to your child.
Yertle the Turtle and all of Dr. Seuss books are not just entertaining to read out loud, but they are a great way to teach our children the difference between right and wrong.
“A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.” Steve Martin
Today while I was detailing my car, I was listening to my favorite banjo music. Well, not only my favorite banjo music and musician but also one of my all time favorite performers.
I’ve been a fan of Steve Martin since I was in my teens. On July 4th back in 2014, my dear son bought tickets for us to see “Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers” perform at the Hollywood Bowl.
My son knows who Steve Martin is, but he was unaware of the banjo musician side of the man. He had a great time and we both were thoroughly entertained by not only the great music, but by his comedy throughout the performance. A great evening was had by all.
Shortly after the Hollywood Bowl concert, Mr. Steve Martin received the 43rd AFI Life Achievement Award, one of the highest honors for a career in films. That same year he also received a Grammy for Best American Roots Song. The song, “Pretty Little One” is from his album Live (with Steep Canyon Rangers featuring Edie Brickell) and is such an amusing song, everyone should check it out.
I love all his bluegrass music that he has produced the last few years. But the one CD I listen to the most is, “Live”. Not only because it reminds me of the Hollywood Bowl performance, but because each and every song is pure perfection. It amazes me that one person can have such talent in so many areas of entertainment.
There was a time when some people I knew looked down on banjo music as just silly hillbilly music. But with entertainers such as Steve Martin, Bela Fleck, The Steep Canyon Rangers, and the recent interest in Pete Seeger, I’m glad to say it’s making its way back up the music charts.
In a sea of six strings, in my opinion, Steve Martin is king of the five string world.
“If you laugh with somebody,
then you share something.” Trevor Noah
When the Coronavirus pandemic began, all the late-night shows such as The Tonight Show, The Late, Late Show and even Stephen Colbert began broadcasting their shows from home, usually their significant other filming their host husbands.
There was one show I had not watched before and that was The Daily Show with host Trevor Noah. However, that changed when I began watching Trevor along with the other daily YouTube late night shows.
If you’re not familiar with Trevor Noah, he’s a 36-year old South African comedian, political commentator, writer and television host of The Daily Show. Born in Johannesburg, he began his career in 2002 as a comedian, presenter, and actor in South Africa. After coming to America in 2011, he became the first South African comedian to appear on The Tonight Show in the summer of 2013. As his popularity grew and Trevor became a recurring contributor on The Daily Show, he replaced Jon Stewart as host of The Daily Show September 28, 2015.
I was a fan of Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show but I must admit I stopped watching after he retired. I didn’t even give Trevor Noah a chance to show his talent. I now regret I did that, after becoming a diehard fan of Trevor.
After a few months of watching him on the Daily Show, I read his 2016 book, Born A Crime. He writes about growing up in South Africa, a child of interracial parents and apartheid South Africa. Trevor was kept mostly indoors in his youth by his mother, for fear that at any moment the government could take him away from her because of his interracial status. In South Africa before 1985, it was a crime to have interracial marriages as well as have an interracial child, hence the title of the book, Born a Crime. Against all odds, this smart, handsome, talented young comedian has made his way to the top. In my opinion, Born a Crime should be required reading for all young people.
If you don’t have cable, you can watch him on YouTube. Here’s a recent segment of The Daily Social Distancing Show from July 22, 2020 he calls, The Pandumbic:
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