Tribute to a Father, Part II

Tribute to a Father, Part II
Today George Myers, my father, passed on, and I awoke this morning knowing that it was going to happen.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1723198/tribute_to_a_father_part_ii.html

Tribute to a Father, Part I

George Myers is my dad. I want to share his story as a tribute to him, an acknowledgement to a man often overlooked by the people around him. My father's always been a simple, unassuming man, whose mere existence invoked few accolades. As a human being, he's had a lot to offer: a strong work ethic, a sense of humor, and a kindness towards others. As a father though, he showed another more personal and not so pleasant side to his personality. His influence has had far reaching consequences for those around him, namely his wife and his six children. At the moment, he's fighting for his life in the hospital, and it doesn't look good. It's clearly the latest, and most serious, of what seems like a lifetime of setbacks.

My relationship with my dad was very tumultuous during my formative years. In younger days, he and I clashed often, so often that for many years I wholeheartedly despised him. I used to pray to God nightly that mom would divorce him so that we could all be happy without the misery he brought to all of our lives. Growing up, life was miserable whenever he was around. None of us ever received the fatherly love that those around us always seemed to get. Looking back all I can remember is resentment towards his children that we all felt as the source of the financial burden he lived with for many years.

Life is the greatest teacher, and one of the things I've come to learn in subsequent years is that we all tend to mellow with time. Problems fade from memory and are no longer pertinent to our daily lives. My relationship with my father is no exception. As I grew older and eventually moved out on my own, things warmed up between him and I. As he began his long suffering bout with diabetes, his acrimony towards his family began to diminish. For the first time in my life, in my mid-twenties, I was able to have personal conversations with my dad, all the while looking him straight in the eye.

Over the years I came to realize a lot about my dad, and I began to understand the circumstances surrounding our tumultuous childhood with my father. I've come to recognize that in many ways the mistakes he made were not his fault, but were derived from the circumstances of his own upbringing. Here's some of his story:

George Myers was born on April 2, 1941 in Trieste, Italy. Trieste is a small city located in the northeastern tip of Italy, and has had a chaotic history of war and occupation, much like my dad's life. Though no one, including him, knows the true story of his birth, we believe he was fathered by a Hungarian soldier passing through the city during World War II. Whether this man was killed in the war or simply was an anonymous donor of sperm none of us will ever know.

Dad's early childhood years were marked by War. Nazi's occupied the city for two years, and my grandmother Vittoria, did what she had to do to survive. Eventually, once the tide of the war had turned, Allied troops moved in, and Vittoria met an American soldier, Norman Myers. Norman fell in love with Vittoria and eventually brought her back to the States along with George, whom he adopted. Dad was seven years old when he arrived in the US.

For the next ten years or so, the Myers family lived a soldier's life, moving around from army base to army base in various parts of the country. I recall photo albums of happy, albeit brief, times spent in places such as Kentucky, Alabama, and Alaska (one of dad's favorite places!). Apparently, after several years of marriage, Vittoria, for reasons none of us may ever know, began to have extra-marital affairs. The result was a bitter divorce from Norman. Once again, Vittoria and George were on their own, settling in the Bronx, New York. The bitterness of the divorce had been so deep that Norman never contacted my father again.

To this point in time, although there had finally been a father figure in dad's life, daily living still centered mostly around George and his mother. Dad was left to learn life's lessons on his own, as Vittoria tended to her own needs over that of my father's. The consequences of this childhood led to an adult life full of heartache, financial trouble, and hardship as the head of his own family of six children. He unwittingly created a difficult life for himself and his family without the valuable foundation needed to raise a family.

As I watch his lifeless body in the hospital, I feel remorse for all he's been through in his life. He never deserved many of the pains he got in life. The past twenty-plus years of his life have been filled with a lot of anguish for him, his family and those around him who love him. Much of the mental pain experienced in the past is now nothing but a distant series of insignificant memories. We're all here with him now, giving him the love he deserves.

To be continued...

Jones Beach Theater Announce Summer 2009 Lineup

Earlier today, the Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York announced the lineup for its Summer Concert Series 2009. The Jones Beach Theater is a long time favorite venue of local music fans n the New York Metropolitan Area. The amphitheater, with its stage situated between concertgoers and the Atlantic Ocean beyond, provides an intimate, almost magical atmosphere for enjoying performances by favorite musical artists.

Each year, New York music fans eagerly await the upcoming summer schedule. The theater, currently sponsored by event promoter LiveNation, is offering its usual array of musical artists with appeal from all reaches of the musical spectrum. Here's the low down:

Among some of the more notable acts of the season include some notable reunion/comeback shows. The long-awaited Phish reunion opens the season with three dates in June (2, 4, 5), followed by Nine Inch Nails/Jane's Addiction (on a double bill, June 7)), New Kids on the Block (June 12), No Doubt (June 27), Creed (August 15), and Loggins and Messina (August 23).

Rock fans will enjoy Aerosmith, together with ZZTop (June 26), Def Leopard with Poison (July 8), Judas Priest with Whitesnake (July 12), and Kid Rock and Lynyrd Skynyrd (August 2). Seventies super-groups the Doobie Brothers (with Bad Company, June 28), Crosby, Stills and Nash (August 8), and the Allman Brothers Band (August 27) all make summer stops at the venue.

Modern rock/pop favorites the Fray (June 25), Nickelback (June 15), as well as the Dave Matthews Band (July 21, 22) all make appearances.

Tropical sensation Jimmy Buffet attracts his "Parrotheads" to his annual Jones Beach stop on August 26.

Country Music sensation Kenny Chesney (June 24), reggae show "Rock the Bells" (July 19), WKTU's annual "Beatstock" (August 16), featuring acts from the dance music world, and the Harvest Crusade Musical Outreach Christian music series round out the lineup thus far. New shows are often added as the season gets closer, so stay tuned.

Top Ten Janet Jackson Tunes

Straight out of the very large shadow of her big brother, Janet Jackson emerged in the mid 1980's to achieve her own status as a bona fide superstar. Over the last two-plus decades, Miss Jackson has amassed an incredible array of music, adding her own voice to the thread of American culture.

Though her success has waned in recent years, (ostensibly ever since the backlash against her "Wardrobe Malfunction" at the 2004 Super Bowl), Janet Jackson has continued to entertain us with her keen aptitude for making great music. It's difficult to pare her catalog down to a top ten, but the following is my personal best of Miss Jackson. I've included the popular and the not so popular, the ballad and the up tempo, the happy and the hopeful. Surely some will hearken memories in your own minds.

10- Feedback - Janet's most recent hit from 2008's Discipline album reached #19 on Billboard's Hot 100 and #1 on its Hot Dance Tracks. The song is a throwback to past Jackson songs, with up tempo beats and great vocals to match.

9- Son of a Gun - As with many Janet Jackson songs, this one reflects her love for the music she grew up listening to. Oftentimes, she's employed the use of samples, lyrics, and even guest vocals by the original artist to make her homage instantly familiar to the listener. "Son of a Gun", coupled with its prelude "Clouds" is loosely based on Carly Simon's hit "You're So Vain". Ms. Simon provides original guest vocals on both tracks, and its bass-driven beat is an irresistible sensation Unfortunately, the use of vulgar language in the chorus didn't convert well to a radio-friendly version (which featured the likes of Missy Elliot, as well) prevented the tune from becoming a successful hit. It's a great song anyway!

8- Again - This ballad, off the 1993 album, "Janet", is a beautiful love song that's easy on the ears. The tune was featured on the soundtrack to "Poetic Justice" (in which Jackson starred) and garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.

7- (tie) When I Think of You / Escapade - (Yes I know this is a top ten list, but these two songs, to me, are similar in nature and I just couldn't decide between them.)

When I Think of You - This song is classic Janet Jackson from a younger, more innocent period in her life and career. The fun hit was the third release off of her 1986 "Control" album and was her first #1 single.

Escapade - Much like the previous song, "Escapade" is another fun ditty that's simply irresistible. The carnival-like music of the song and its catchy chorus make this one a fan favorite.

6- Black Cat - This one showcases the rocker side of Miss Janet, with memorable guitar riffs and blazing vocals. Off the "Rhythm Nation" LP, this fan favorite reached #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 and is always enthusiastically received in all of her shows.

5- Got Til It's Gone - Though not a major smash by Janet's standards, this song is an innovative veneration of Joni Mitchell's hit "Big Yellow Taxi". This is yet another example of Janet's reverence for the wide variety of music she listened to growing up and its arrangements are created to update the song to accurately reflect the sounds of the day. Featuring a guest appearance by rapper Q-Tip and a groove reminiscent of "That's the Way (Love Goes)", this one's a Jackson classic in my eyes.

4- Nasty - Who can forget this naughty tune from Janet's 1986 breakout CD "Control"? The song typified the popular sounds coming out of Minneapolis at the time and begat the catchphrase, "No, my first name ain't baby...It's Janet! Miss Jackson if you're nasty."

3- Together Again - Although the music to this #1 hit, from 1997's "Velvet Rope" CD, is upbeat and danceable, the reasoning behind its composition is not as pleasant. The song represents the dream of a day when Janet will be reunited with the many loved ones in her circle lost to the specter of AIDs. "Together Again" hearkens within all of us a relevant yearning to be together once again with people we've lost.

2- That's the Way (Love Goes) -

"Like a moth to a flame, burned by the fire...

My love is blind, can't you see my desire."

So begins the sultry groove that garnered Janet a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song in 1994. The tune is a feel-good song from beginning to end and surely belongs towards the top of any Janet Jackson fan's list.

1-Love Will Never Do (Without You) - This irresistible charmer from 1991 was an unprecedented fifth Top Five single off of the previous year's "Rhythm Nation" album. Coupled with the typical Minneapolis sounds made popular by Prince, (taken to further heights by Prince alum and the album's producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis), and Janet's nasally vocals, was a memorable black and white video (produced by Herb Ritts) and featuring Antonio Sabato Jr. and Djimon Hounsou, two popular male models of the time. The video was stylistically produced and is as memorable as the song.

Source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Jackson