I'm not sure how much "secular" music Jesus listens to, [He hears it all, dummy.--ed.] but I'm willing to bet a large sum of money he really likes this song. He might point out, however, that loving is harder is than James Taylor makes it sound. Well, He would know. (God be praised!) In any case, I spent all day (in Mental Conference Room 2, anyway) trying to remember "Everyday" by the aforementioned JT, because I keep hearing part of the song in a phone commercial or something, and thinking, "JT singing this is so much better." Duh, right? I needed a lift earlier (besides the mild annoyance of not being able to remember the name of a song I've heard eleventy billion times) so I looked up "Up On The Roof" and listened to it a lot of times. It's that version he did on "Sesame Street" circa 1976 that rules. I actually heard this song for the first time in 1991 or thereabouts, when JT was a guest on "Saturday Night Live." By the way, if you can sing your 15 year-old rendition of a song you covered at that time, and in fact maintain a rep as one of the greatest songwriters in American history despite doing half remakes, that, friends, is the epitome of being (a) "BA." I can picture this, too: Taylor might just have been walking by in New York City when accosted by Mr. Michaels to please, please, be the musical guest on the show tonight. "What should I sing?" provokes, "Geez, I dunno, sing 'Up On The Roof'! You're James Taylor, who cares? You could sing a song about the grazing habits of sheep in New Zealand, and they'd love it!" At least I'll know why if I buy a fancy-pants cell phone for no purpose whatever. I can blame James Taylor.
Today, you’re 35. Or at least you would be, in this place. You probably know this, but we’re OK. Not great, but OK. We know you wouldn’t want us moping around and weeping all the time. We try not to. Actually, I guess part of the problem is that you didn’t know how much we loved you. And that you didn’t know how to love yourself. I hope you have gotten to Love by now. Not a place, but fills everything in every way. I’m not Him, but he probably said, “Dear daughter/sister, you have been terribly hard on yourself. Rest now, and be at peace.” Anyway, teaching is going well, and I tell the kids all about you. They all say you are pretty. I usually can keep the boys from saying something gross for a few seconds. Mom and I are going to the game tonight. And like 6 more times, before I go back to South Carolina. I have seen Nicky twice, but I myself haven’t seen your younger kids. Bob took pictures of the day we said goodbye, and we did a family picture at the Abbey. I literally almost a...
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