Magical Moment 287, "A Grown Up's Lesson from a Children's Book"

I’m currently recording an album of original songs with Modern Vintage Recordings in New York City. Every step of the professional recording process in the studio is absolutely foreign to me, since the most state of the art equipment I’ve used before is Garage Band that came with my Mac.

We’ve done the foundation instruments, drums, bass, guitar, even some strings. And we have much more to accomplish before I take my place behind the fiber glass wall and sing into a fancy, breakable-looking microphone to lay down the final vocals. This is something I dread. I’ve been wondering just how badly my pain-staking self-critique and neurotic perfectionism will hinder the process and drive me and everyone else totally crazy. Well, today I got a preview.

We bought a recordable Christmas book for my nephews (sh, don’t tell them). You know, the one where you record your voice reading the story and it automatically plays when you turn the pages. We thought that would be a great way to stay somewhat connected long distance since phone conversations at this point consist of “What does a cow say?” Followed by silence. We decided to alternate reading the pages. Eddie recorded his pages in one take. It took me an average of about 10 tries each.

I would read a page then play it back, “Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house…” Then exclaim with frustration, “I sound like I have a lisp!” So I’d try it again. Nope, the inflection was all wrong on that one. I pronounced a word funny there. Maybe I should whisper this line. What exactly is the rhyming scheme here? Do I sound like I have a cold? Meanwhile Eddie passed out on the couch waiting for me to finish my page.

I tried to make Eddie understand the importance of the recording, “This is going to be on here FOREVER!” He rolled his eyes and pointed out that the kids will love it no matter what it sounded like.

So maybe the lesson here is this, so that my producers don’t end up quitting the music business and moving to Guam, or develop some kind of permanent nervous tick. I’ll just picture my nephews face when they open their present and hear the familiar voice of their far away Aunt Beth and Uncle Eddie. I’ll imagine what they care about in that moment. It's the story that's important to them. Focus less on me, and more on the listeners. Hmmm. That seems simple enough.

Magical Moment 625, "Thailand - the Elephants"

Needless to say, my favorite part of our Thailand vacation, was our week long volunteering at Elephant Nature Park ! The logging industry was banned in Thailand in 1989, leaving thousands of elephants unemployed. These elephants are now used for tourism. You may have heard of elephant shows featuring the animals playing soccer or painting pictures with their trunks. They are no doubt amazing to watch, but the sad truth is that these elephants have gone through a series of torture and abuse to "break their spirit" by their trainers. This short clip is very hard to watch, but it will give you an idea of what the elephants in captivity in the country of Thailand go through. The only elephants in Thailand who do not endure this, are the very few baby elephants who are first generation born in "safe captivity" at places like Elephant Nature Park. Every other elephant at this park has been brutally abused. Some have been blinded by their owners, le...

Magical Moment 620, "Lilac Garden"

Eddie and I visited the Lilac Gardens at Ringwood Manor in New Jersey, a pristine and beautiful state park with 8 species of lilacs and several varieties within. We went on a rainy afternoon, which turned out perfect because the rain stopped for us when we got there, and began again as soon as we left. It also decorated the plants with gorgeous rain drops, adding to their beauty. And now for a quick game of "Where's Elizabeth?" And "Where's Eddie?" ~~Have a great weekend! ~~

Magical Moment 280, "The Eleventh Hour"

The Veterans Day Parade, NYC On July 29, 2001 , five exceptional men were honored by the President of the United States for their remarkable military service. They were involved in a top secret mission that required unfathomable intelligence and as a result, literally won a battle which was instrumental in winning the war. Not the war that was happening in 2001, not even the Gulf War. It was World War II, and they were the Navajo Code Talkers who were largely responsible for winning the bloody battle of Okinawa. The only problem with the ceremony was that just 5 remained of the original 29. Our country was too late in thanking the other 24, and nearly too late in thanking those 5 men. On March 10, 2010, three hundred women won the Congressional Gold medal for their outstanding war service. Unfortunately, 800 received the award posthumously. These were the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) of World War II, who devoted themselves to flying military aircraft like the B-26 and B-...

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