Churches, bars, theaters and cars

My close friends know that I will cry when hearing "Amazing Grace" in any way, shape or form. Mournful bagpipes, a lone man singing a capella in a Manhattan subway or sung with congregants in church, my eyes fill and my make-up is ruined.
If Fred LeBlanc sings "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" in the House of Blues at 2 AM, I'm gonna cry.
At the end of the Disney animated "The Lion King", I lost it during "The Circle of Life". Lost it. Now, when I hear the chanting introduction, I have to remove myself from others because my reaction is embarrassing.
Driving with Patsy Cline on the radio and suddenly the road becomes a little wavy.
Anything belted out with heart and soul and angst makes my eyes wet. Black gospel music? Geez Louise, that does it.
That one high note ringing out through St. Paul's Methodist Church in Houston makes me look up to prevent eye spillage. Mom calls it "angel music".
And this is the one time of year that I know there will be more than a few moments of sniffling and saline. It happens every December. I sit in my vehicle, waiting for the traffic light to turn from red to green, listening to the holiday music station and a song will melt my heart before it spills over to my eyes. Different years, different songs. Sometimes "Silent Night" sometimes the original Charles Brown version of "I'll Be Home for Christmas".
Last year, I saved the Late Night with David Letterman episode on my TiVo so my mom could watch Jay Thomas re-tell his Lone Ranger story. I made Mom continue to watch as Darlene Love belted out "(Christmas) Baby Please Come Home".
I had the same reaction the second time I watched it, thought myself to be a bit ridiculous and then spied Mom wiping a tear. She turned to me and saw that my eyes were shining too. "Oh my gosh, that was amazing." If Darlene's energy and exuberance doesn't touch something in you, oh man, you're dead inside.

What music wrecks you?

I got your World Wide Pants, right here

Toni left a comment for me:

"I hope you post some thoughts about the Letterman extortion story. You always have an interesting spin on stars gone bad."

Thanks, Toni! I appreciate the prod.

Here's the thing, when I ponder a conflict, I cannot help but to get all anal retentive and organized about it and attempt to sort the issues in separate little piles. The David Letterman controversy has so many aspects. Just a few levels for ya:

1. Power corrupts - Martin Mull once said "Hollywood is like high school with money". Think about that - having money, power, status while operating at an immature level. Plus everyone says yes to the big guy, especially if it fits their own agenda.



2. Don't shit where you eat - in other words, don't mess around with the employees. Kinda bad: dating a co-worker. Real bad: a boss dating low level employees. Super bad: exposing yourself to sexual discrimination/harassment accusations.



3. Karma is a bitch - then she has puppies. Making fun of others in similar positions seems to have bitten him in the ass. (Bill Clinton, Elliot Spitzer and Sara Palin are probably laughing their asses off today.)*



4. Fidelity is relative - who knows if Dave was married when the liasions occurred but perhaps he and his wife have a unique understanding.



5. Pride goes before the fall - the guys with the squeaky clean image have the most to lose. Watch your hubris, Jay Leno.



6. Own up to it - David knows what countless others have not learned. It's not the first lie that gets in you in deep trouble, it's the cover up lies that sink you. Ask Martha Stewart, the Argentina visiting MIA South Carolina governor Mark Sanford and the now "out" former New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey. My mom said it and your mom probably did too: it's bad that you broke a rule but it is even worse if you lie about it.

That said, I admire Dave's decision to admit his mistakes before Pandora's box opened.

* I enjoy David's humor and like his ribbing of public personalities.