A Pensieve Moment--Nat King Cole

Growing up, I had a radio/alarm clock that would wake me every morning.  I don't remember how it ever came about, but I set the dial on the radio to an "oldies" station.  I can't remember if it was called that then, because this was the early 80's, and the music was from the 50's.  Maybe it was a "50's" station.  Anyway, I woke up every morning to the voices of Perry Como, Doris Day, Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole.  I didn't even know what pop music was up until this point, but I knew that I loved my radio music.

The couple of times that I went to visit my Granddad McMillin in Las Vegas, he would pull out these big reels of tape and put them on a reel-to-reel tape player.  I remember that "The Best of Nat King Cole" was a favorite, and I listened to it, happily, through those sun-baked days.  One of those summers, Granddad sent me home with a cassette tape of the same songs.

In high school, when I had my own car (and little money to buy new tapes) along with a radio that didn't work, but a tape player that did, I plugged in Mr. Cole.  I lived by those songs, laughed with those songs, and cried to those songs, driving myself everywhere I needed to go.

Fast forward a couple of years, and Mark came along.  With Ethan, I had sung "I Am a Child of God" ad nauseum, and I knew I needed a new song for my angel boy.  Looking back, I can't imagine a better choice than what came to mind:  Nature Boy, by Nat King Cole.  The words are just beautiful, and I'll type them out here for you, by memory:

There was a boy, a very strange, enchanted boy.
They say he wandered very far, very far, over land and see,
A little shy, and sad of eye, but very wise was he.

And then one day, a magic day he came my way,
And while we spoke of many things, fools and kings, this he said to me,
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."

Well, last night, I was watching "American Idol".  I enjoy the show, although I don't know most of the music that the contestants sing, because as I said, I didn't listen to it growing up.  John on the other hand.... :-)

My favorite contestant, by far, is Casey Abrams.  I love the fact that he was a counselor at a theatre camp, because honestly, he reminds me of all the great kids that attend Interlochen.  Beyond that though, there is something more to him than just canary- or parrot-like skills.  He can do more than sing.  He is a musician in the truest sense of the word.  His performances are about the music, not his clothes, or the entertainment value--just the music, like it should be.

I nearly fell off the couch when he said that he had chosen to sing "Nature Boy".  Then, I actually yelled "NOOOOOOOO" when the music producer told him to pick something else.  Then, I hopped back on this roller coaster ride when Casey said he needed to stick with what felt comfortable on stage.  Here's his performance:



I was mesmerized. Literally. What a joy to see and hear.