Showing posts with label Thanksgiving Thanks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thanksgiving Thanks. Show all posts

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Thank You Thank You

You've been so kind and 


generous

I don't know how you keep on giving

For your kindness I'm in

Debt to you


I've been trying really hard lately to find a little gratitude in my life.  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I've always been one to count my blessings, so to speak, and revel in the life I've built and in those I've had the fortune of knowing.  But this year it's been difficult to find the will to do so. That doesn't mean I stop trying.


Though I may not feel it at the moment, I still have a lot to be thankful for.  I've got plenty of good people around me who care, and that's about all one could ask for in a life, right?  It means I've done something right, after all. So for what it's worth, a very Happy Thanksgiving to each and every one of you, my friends, my family, and my readers.  Count your blessings each and every day!

I want to thank you thank you, 


thank you thank you,

thank you thank you

Thank you!



Thursday, November 28, 2013

A Thanksgiving Song of the Day - Kind and Generous - Natalie Merchant


I couldn't not post a song for Thanksgiving, so here we have a second song for this very special day.  Natalie Merchant's Kind and Generous is the perfect song for Thanksgiving.  I post this song every year on this date because it embodies the spirit of the holiday without quite being a holiday song.  So here's a reminder to be thankful for all you've got, because no matter what your problems may be, there's always someone else out there who has less than you! Happy Thanksgiving!



Kind and Generous

You've been so kind and generous
I don't know how you keep on giving

For your kindness I'm in debt to you

For your selflessness, my admiration
And for everything you've done 

You know I'm bound... 
I'm bound to thank you for it 

You've been so kind and generous
I don't know how you keep on giving
For your kindness I'm in debt to you
And I never could have come this far without you
So for everything you've done 

You know I'm bound... 
I'm bound to thank you for it 

I want to thank you
For so many gifts
You gave with love and tenderness
I want to thank you 

I want to thank you
For your generosity
The love and the honesty
That you gave me 

I want to thank you
Show my gratitude
My love and my respect for you
I want to thank you 

I want to... 

Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Thanksgiving Thanks: Music

One of the greatest gifts any of us have in life is the gift of music.  Music  does so many things for us each and every day...it makes us happy, giddy and smile...it comforts us when we're sad....it conjures up memories, good and bad, just like a picture.


Like many people, I can say in all honesty that music is my life!  Any of you who've followed me through the years already know that.  So this Thanksgiving Eve, I give thanks for the music, all kinds of music, for without it life would be pretty dull.  Here are some of my all time favorite songs...

Glitter in the Air - P!nk

One of the most beautiful performances of one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded!  This one brings back memories of Sundays whenever I hear it...



Dog Days Are Over - Florence + the Machine

Oh, this one is such fun!  I love any song with a good crescendo, and this one's got several goosebump-inducing ones.  This reminds me of that Brazilian guy I met at Splash one night a couple of years ago.  We rocked out to this song in the car on the ride to The Ritz.  So much fun!  Love the video, too!




Let Me Think About It - Ida Corr vs. Fedde Le Grand

My all time favorite dance track gets me and just about anyone else going every single time!



Calma e Sangre Freddo - Luca Dirisio

Most of you probably don't know this one...it's a song by Italian singer Luca Dirisio, who I used to be in love with.  I first came across it when I was in Italy about ten years ago when it was on heavy rotation on MTV Europe.  So beautiful!  And the song is good, too!



Romeo - Basement Jaxx

Since I'm on the topic of foreign songs, this one came up in my head.  Basement Jaxx used to be a popular production act, with several hit songs on the dance charts.  This one's so infectuous and dancey, and the Bollywood-themed video is da bomb!


Kind and Generous - Natalie Merchant

Ah, one of my favorite ballads of all time is perfect for Thanksgiving time or any other time of the year!


So yeah, I am very thankful for music this and every year.  It's the soundtrack to all of our lives, yet different for each of us.  I could have put so many other songs on here, but I think it's a nice, albeit tiny, cross-section of the Soundtrack of My Life.  Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Monday, November 25, 2013

Thanksgiving Thanks to a Family of Friends



By this time last year I had already posted 25 things I was thankful for.  This year...zilch!  But that's all about to change now.  It's Thanksgiving Week, after all, my favorite holiday, and even though I've been away from my PC too long this month to do what I did last year, that doesn't mean I'm any less thankful this year than last.

A little more than six years ago, my life took a drastic change and I didn't really know what would come of my life.  I'd never lived alone before and I was unsure of what I even wanted for my life.  But I'm happy to say that I can take a step backwards, look at what my life's become and be satisfied with the life I've made for myself.

During these past six years, I've forged friendships with many good people, all of whom I proudly call members of my own chosen family, and I got to experience the magnitude of the people who've touched my life these past six years just the other night when I threw a "5 birthday extravaganza" at my house.


You see, I have three good friends who all have birthdays close to my own, Rich on the 26th, Kyle the 27th, and Sean on the 28th (I'm the 30th).  Sean threw a party last year and since he's got a big trip coming up, I offered to host the party this year, and what a party it was!

    Now that's what I call

FRIENDS             


All I can say is that I had about 30 people at my house and all of them were smiling and drinking and laughing and chatting and eating and having a good time the whole night long.  It was simply a night of enjoying one another's company, and the love fest began the night previous, when Rich, Bobby, Ray and Kyle came by to help slice and chop and vacuum and dust.  I was feeling the love throughout and I am so grateful that I've gotten to know so many good people in such a way.

So thank you Rich and Bobby, Kyle, Sean and Gary, Eric and Rick, Steve and Jim, Ozzie, Manny, Peter and Ricardo, JC, Al and Eric, Michael and Ray, Sean and Leo, Tom and Daved,  and all the rest, the ones who made it and the ones who didn't.  I'm lucky to know you all!

The Birthday Boys, Rich, me, Sean, Kyle and Tom

Sean

Ray, Michael and Ozzie

Me and Ricardo

Me and Michael

Sean and Al


True Love

Keyth, Bobby and Sean

Consuela doing the dishes


Eric n Sean

Steve, Rick, Jim and Eric


Bottoms up


Kyle

Gary and Eric

Me and Oz




Thursday, November 22, 2012

Thanksgiving Song of the Day - Kind and Generous - Natalie Merchant


Today is Thanksgiving Day, one of the best holidays of the year. Thanksgiving is a time to sit back and reflect on the things in your life that you are thankful for, and we all have a lot to be thankful for, always.  Here is my Thanksgiving song, one I will post every single year on this day because to me it embodies the spirit of day and it's how I feel about you!  Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!

.

Kind and Generous


You've been so kind and generous
I don't know how you keep on giving

For your kindness I'm in debt to you
For your selflessness, my admiration
And for everything you've done 

You know I'm bound... 
I'm bound to thank you for it 

You've been so kind and generous
I don't know how you keep on giving
For your kindness I'm in debt to you
And I never could have come this far without you
So for everything you've done 

You know I'm bound... 
I'm bound to thank you for it 

I want to thank you
For so many gifts
You gave with love and tenderness
I want to thank you 

I want to thank you
For your generosity
The love and the honesty
That you gave me 

I want to thank you
Show my gratitude
My love and my respect for you
I want to thank you 

I want to... 

Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

December 13th, 2011 - The Time Has Come; Giving Thanks - My Students

Well, it’s Tuesday, the 13th of December and the Christmas grind is on! In the past three days I’ve spent hours upon hours Christmas shopping and decorating, all in between working and tutoring, eating and sleeping. Looking ahead there doesn’t seem to be any letdown, but it only happens once a year, so…

What happened to the old John, huh? I once actually wrote an article called, Why I Hate Christmas, and I meant it when I wrote it. I still kinda mean it now, but yeah, there are things about Christmas I like, and besides I’m still riding a high where my mood is elevated and I don’t know why, but I’d like to keep it bottled up for awhile. Maybe it’ll change later this week, but I hope not.

The Time Has Come!

This Friday, my neighbor and friend Terry is having her annual Christmas party and for the first time ever, I am led to believe that Joe and his new love will be there. There’ve been a couple of close calls in the past, but it never materialized, much to my relief, but this time I think it’s finally going to happen. I’m going to meet him and the butterflies and the weirdness are already beginning to settle in. Stay tuned…



Giving Thanks – My Students

I’m catching up on my thanks today with a nod to my students, both past and present. I’ve already said how thankful I was to have found the job I was meant to do, and I am fortunate enough to get up every day looking forward to going to work. My students mean a lot to me, and I to them, and almost every day I get to experience a special kind of love and appreciation for my second family. Here are just a couple of examples:

Food Love

A couple of weeks ago when I was on my way to work, one of my students texted a photo to me. It was a picture of a Turkish breakfast his mother had prepared that morning and the caption beneath the picture said, “Mr. Myers, don’t eat your Pop Tarts. I’m bringing you breakfast.” This wasn’t the first time a student has done that for me, and yes, I do eat Pop Tarts (Brown Sugar Cinnamon) a couple of times a week. Whenever I get a new student I always give the same speech:

Now Mr. Myers loves to eat, and he especially enjoys trying new foods, so if your mom ever makes a dish from your country, I would always gladly take some.

Of course I say it in jest, but I kind of mean it, lol, and over the years I’ve had plenty of delicious things brought to me, like pupusas from El Salvador, tamales from Guatemala, stuffed Turkish grape leaves (or “dolma”), Russian beet salad (surprisingly delicious!), and a whole host of other things I can’t even remember, and they always seem to take pleasure in bringing it to me. It’s just one of those special perks about being a teacher.





We Are Family!

Last week a new student arrived in my class, a 12 year old Colombian girl, and once the usual introductions were done I decided to ask the students to tell her what to expect from ESL class instead of me running through my regular spiel. One of my students, Eli, said this to her in Spanish (I’m paraphrasing):

This class is like your home while you’re in school and us, well, we’re like Mr. Myers children.

I was taken surprise by what she had said, because it wasn’t what I expected her to say, but it was a really nice thing to hear and well, it’s true. My students are like my children, and I tell them that whenever they ask me why I don’t have any of my own, which is true. I believe that’s part of my purpose in life; that I was born gay and leaned towards teaching so that I would have some sort of fatherly role in life, which I think I do pretty well.





My classroom is like a family in a lot of ways. We argue with one another, we laugh together and we learn a lot of things about life from each other along the way, in addition to them learning English. I am their teacher, their advocate, and I try to give them the kind of care that these special kids can only get from someone in my position, and the joy I get out of them is truly immeasurable, and it is everlasting.





I’ve long considered my classroom as an extended family of sorts, and just because one leaves my program or graduates from high school doesn’t mean that they’re out of the family. I keep in regular contact with many of my former students like the Sandovals, Supi (who now lives in Bonaire), Eddy, Angelo and Steven, Henry and Sonia, and of course Max. Max was my first student and he graduated my class back in 2007, but he’s managed to stay in my life in a special way, dropping by to shoot the breeze with his teacher every once in awhile. We’re never at a loss for conversation and in a lot of ways I still am his teacher.





So there’s a big, special appreciation that I carry with me each and every day of my life. I am blessed in a lot of ways and I think learning to appreciate them is a great way to live life and enjoy it for whatever it is. For whatever it’s worth, thank you again for reading my blog. I know I’ve expressed appreciation to my readers in the past, but I want those who remain to know that I do appreciate your readership. Have an awesome day!






Monday, December 5, 2011

December 5th, 2011 - Yahoo Voices; Giving Thanks - Relationships; Odds n Ends

I’m happy to say that today I am still riding the wave of a high that’s been with me now for almost a week. For whatever reason, perhaps bolstered by my birthday last week, nothing has been getting to me lately. Not that anything has changed in my life; I just realized that from all the love I got last week, I have a pretty darned good life and I shouldn’t let things get me down.

I found a post the other day on Facebook that I shared on my own wall:

Always believe that something wonderful is about to happen.

It’s a good quote, don’t you think? Anyway, for whatever reason I’ve been keeping a positive attitude about my life these days, and I just hope it sticks around for awhile. It’s been too long since I’ve really posted a real blog post here, and there’s a lot to talk about…


Source: webpronews

Yahoo Voices

I mentioned the other day that the Yahoo Contributor Network has a new name…and a new attitude! It’s really a shame, but ever since Yahoo took over the former Associated Content, things have definitely gone by the wayside for many writers, including myself. Many of my fellow writers have gone off to other sites permanently leaving the old AC for greener pastures and though I still keep in touch with them, it’s not the same.

I can understand why they’ve left, especially with this newest incarnation. Though I knew of a couple of changes happening the other day, most namely the look of the articles (all on one page now!), I hadn’t realized a major change until I experienced it yesterday. After hours of penning a review of Rihanna’s hot new album, “Talk That Talk,” I realized that the ability to publish articles immediately was taken away. All pieces must now be reviewed before publishing and from my own experiences that can take days. That was one of the best things about Y!CN, and now it’s gone!

This latest change invariably caused another one of my best writing buds, Michele Starkey, to decide to quit altogether. She leaves with other old favorites such as Abby Greenhill, Nancy Canfield, and a whole host of others who left the site within the past year. It’s starting to feel a lil’ lonely over there, for sure. I don’t know, but I’ve been with the site for more than four years now and even though it’s changed so much and I’m making less and less money over there, I just can’t seem to break away completely. Call me sentimental, but I’m gonna hang for a little!

Oh, and they did publish my “Rihanna’s ‘Talk That Talk’: A Track by Track Review,” which you can check out here.


Source: Nights of Tra

Clubbing

This weekend was kind of a clubbing bust for me. I had been asked to go to Ritz on Friday for a birthday drink with my pal Ivan (they were having a special Kylie event, too!), but I had my work Christmas party that night so I couldn’t make it. I ended up hitting the Eagle once again, this time with my pals Blanche and Dita. It was fun, but after a long week of being out every night I was tired, and it definitely carried through to Saturday.

I had planned on hitting Splash and Ritz on Saturday nights, which I did, but stopping by my pal Bessie’s for a visit beforehand like I did a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately, she had to cancel at a late notice and I found myself in the city before ten. I had told my friend Paul I’d give him a ride home later on otherwise I would’ve headed home right then and there. I was still tired and feeling like I was coming down with something, but I went.

Splash was okay and the Ritz was packed, and before long I was ready to head home, but I hadn’t yet met up with Paul. He was going to try a new place, Club 57, before Ritz and we were supposed to meet up there. I guess he was having a good time because he never answered my text until after I had left the city until around 2AM. It turned out alright, though, because he had a place to crash for the night. He told me the next day how great Club 57 was, so it looks like I’ll be trying out a new place soon!

Giving Thanks

Well, I’ve really gotten behind on giving thanks for the things in my life. Even though Thanksgiving is long behind us now, I’ve still got 8 more Thanksgiving Thanks to share and here’s one more for today:

My Relationships

For someone my age, I guess I haven’t been in too many relationships to date. Of course since I am single today I can say that none of them ended on a good note, well that’s because they ended, lol. But I do want to give thanks for the good memories associated with them, of which there were many. Aside from a few not too meaningful relationships in my life, there are two that I am especially thankful for, and those are my last two.



Joe

I met Joe on June 4th, 1987, and we ended up being together for over twenty years. For the longest time since our breakup, I spent a lot of time regretting our time together, which I now realize was foolish all along. Joe and I shared many happy memories together, too many to recount, and as I’ve looked through a lot of old pictures these past few weeks, many of them gave me smiles thinking about them. Joe is a special guy with a good heart, and he was a great partner in my life for twenty-plus years. I am grateful to have had him in my life!



Him

I feel really silly saying ‘him,’ but I haven’t used his name here to date and since we don’t speak often I don’t feel right sharing it here now without any kind of warning. The ‘him’ I’m talking about is, of course, the last meaningful relationship I had which ended earlier this year. He came along in my life when I least expected it, and he brought back those great feelings you get when you’re in a new relationship with someone. For a few weeks there, I was as happy as I’d ever been.

Things didn’t go the way I had hoped with him, and a lot of the hurt I felt over it was painful, but I realize that perhaps I was a little selfish about a very adult decision he had made with his heart and that it had nothing to do with me. Last Tuesday night, right around midnight, he’d sent me a happy birthday message on Facebook. Though we’ve had contact here and there since the summer, it was the first time he made me smile in a very long time. His message presented with it a personal gift, and It just reminded me of how special a person he still is. Even though it still hurts sometimes to think back on that time, I can remember the sunshine he brought into my life even for a little while and be content in the knowledge that I got to experience it, and for that I am grateful.

Odds n Ends

It’s getting late…way past my bedtime, but there are a couple of things I still wanted to share:

There’s a lot of Madonna news out there today. Besides a new song being leaked today (“Masterpiece”), it was confirmed that she will in fact be playing at the Super Bowl Halftime Show this year. My sometimes sick friend Dita has been all over the story, finding a strange enjoyment in the equally strange commentary on it. Check it out here.


Montmorency Falls, Quebec, Canada

I got some exciting news earlier today. It looks like the French club in school will be making another trip to Canada this February and guess who just may be chaperoning? I went to Quebec with the group two years ago and it was awesome! I’ll be posting some pieces I wrote on that trip in this week’s "Writing Wednesday."

Well, it’s been real! As always, thanks for reading and have a great Tuesday!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

November 29th, 2011 - Thanksgiving Thanks - Nanny Vicky

It’s a very rainy Tuesday night here on Long Island and I just got back from picking my friend Dita up from the airport. Tomorrow is my birthday and I am in really good spirits, for whatever reason. I’m already starting to feel the love and just knowing that I am truly blessed by those around me, whether in a big way or simply in bit parts, makes me very happy.


An original painting of Vittoria with my dad

Catching up on Thanksgiving Thanks

Well there’s one more day left of November and I’ve still got 9 more things that I want to give thanks for. Even though Thanksgiving is over, it is never a bad time to sit back and appreciate the things you’ve got in life, for whatever it is you have, it’s yours and you should be thankful.

Gone but Not Forgotten: Nanny Vicky

I neglected one important person when I published my appreciation for those who were once in my life that have passed on and that person is my paternal grandmother Vittoria. Unlike most of my siblings, I was the only one in the family who had a close relationship with her. My sisters were young when she passed away from lung cancer back in 1983, and so they hardly have any recollection of her, and my brother…well, let’s just say that I was her favorite (admittedly unfair!) and so besides my dad, I’m probably the only one who really loved her.

Vittoria Odierno, or Nanny Vicky, was a beautiful woman and a fascinating story. To this day, no one is sure of many of the facts of her life, except that she was one of many siblings born in Trieste, Italy, and she got pregnant at a young age with my father. None of us know who my paternal grandfather was. Vittoria was a single mother when single mothers were unheard of.

Anyway, dad was born in 1941 during the height of World War II and once the tide of the war had turned and the Allies moved in to occupy the city, Vittoria met an American soldier named Norman Myers, who married her and brought she and young George to America. There’s plenty more to the story, but it’s something I think I may save for my first novel, whenever that comes, but for now I just want to speak a little of her and I.

I was Vittoria’s first grandchild and she couldn’t have been more proud of me. She doted on me throughout my young life and treated me like gold. I remember fondly her thick Northern Italian accent and that she always pronounced my name as “Joowan.” She took me out a lot and often told people that I was her son (she was a bit vain, lol!).

She had married a rich man later on in life and lived in a beautiful house in Bronxville, NY, which I visited during breaks from school. During those visits, she’d take me out every day to fancy restaurants and expensive boutiques, out to play BINGO with her friends, and running errands in her big beautiful Cadillac.

The way I look at things nowadays, I can see that Nanny Vicky was never the model grandmother, especially towards my siblings, and much of the attention she heaped upon me caused a lot of tension between my father and I, who had always been her number one. I know that even though she didn’t have the perfect life, I can appreciate the fact that she was a survivor all through her life. Besides, I know she loved me very much and how could I not have appreciated that?

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Thanksgiving Thanks - My Mom


I love my mom! She often says that being a mom is one of the hardest things in life, and I know it’s true because my mom carries the weight of each of her six kids’ problems on her shoulders each and every day and that can’t be an easy task! Though we have our ups and downs, I’m pretty proud to have her as my mom and I am thankful every day to have her in my life.

Joan Randazzo was born on December 22nd, 1942 somewhere in Manhattan, I believe. She was the younger of two siblings, my Uncle Bobby being her older brother, and she was the princess of many growing up, especially when it came to Joe Randazzo, her father and my grandpa, my great grandmother “mema,” and dear old Aunt Vi. It wasn’t until I got a little older that I really began to see my mom as a real person.

Growing up we all see our parents as these sort of fantasy figures who can do no wrong, but through the years and through our talks mom has revealed enough about herself that I came to see that in her own youth she did some of the same misguided things we all do, and I think it’s pretty cool.

Mom married my dad when she was really young, and starting having babies early on. Though I’m the oldest in the family, mom gave birth to another boy before me, Kenneth, who passed away after three days. After me came my brother Dave and then four straight sisters: Linda, Ann Marie, Gina and Chrissy. Mom has always been a good mother, very laid back and probably a little too permissive for her own sake, for we have all taken advantage of it here and again. In the long run, her kids are her life and we’ve all given her plenty of joy and heartache.

My mom loves all of her children very much and whether or not she always believes it, we all love her just the same. I’ve inherited a lot of things from her and for that I am thankful, too. I like to believe that my kindness and sociable nature come directly from her, as well as my natural affinity for pity parties, lol, which is one thing I’d like to change. All in all, though, I love my mom and I wouldn’t trade her in for anything!