Christmas 2014

  This Christmas letter will be a kind of “take off” on the old “good news--bad news” shtick. In light of my hospital visit and what I went through during the Thanksgiving season, it’s a concept that’s fresh on my mind. (For the gory details you can e-mail me or call me but I’m weary of rehashing it by now.) Suffice to say that December 5^th was a banner day for me – it was the day I realized I could play the guitar again. Up until then I didn’t know if I’d have the strength and I’m not ashamed to admit I wept out of sheer joy and relief.  And I can truthfully say that next to my heart surgery a few years back this has been one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to deal with.

But as I write this, I’m on the mend, on the way back to being myself again.

   So … are you thoroughly fed up with hearing about my woes? Well, if you’re not, I am.

   Here’s my version of “good news/bad news” – more good than bad, happily.

This year I’ve had moments of both – Highlights on the good side – Going to see Tony Bennett with Ms. Hackett, Jazz Vespers at Wilshire BC, Jesters Show, Charlotte trip, “His Story … My Songs”( Soon to be a CD, I hope), Birthday celebrations both local and in Vegas, “Phineas Peabody’s Magical, Musical, Circus”(My return to do a drama/music workshop in Winnsboro, TX),  Recording session in Cisco, TX with Dave Washburn’s group, Steve Martin concert, Reunion with St. Augustine group in Birmingham, Trip to New England and NYC and of course all the various gigs with the groups I play with – AChord Trio, DW ¾ Fast Jazz Band, Mark McKenzie Quartet, Singapore Slingers, Pocket Sandwich Theater, Nobles of Note, Dallas Banjo Band, Wilshire Winds. And in addition there’s been some new songs.

    As for the bad news --- this recent medical bout was an unwelcome intrusion. I planned to go to visit Wes and Heidi Turner in Columbus, OH, for Thanksgiving but that didn’t happen. However, that particular occurrence is a nice segue into the whole “good news/bad news” balancing act.

    Bad news --- I didn’t get to go to Columbus. Good News – I caught the problem before I left on the trip. Had I been on the train and this stuff would have happened then that would have been a disaster of huge proportions. God’s timing was much better than mine, as per usual.

    And throughout that ordeal I had numerous people to be thankful for – I was well cared for. That’s some darn good news.

   Okay, Gagliardi, thanks for the update on your medical journey but what does this have to do with Christmas.

    Let’s try this on for size, shall we. Think back to the first Christmas and imagine what was going on in the lives of those involved in the now familiar story.

Bad News -- Here’s King Herod who marshals all the might and power of his kingdom to find a couple of teenagers (More than likely the right age for Joseph and Mary) and kill their baby son, Jesus. Good News – God sees to it he doesn’t succeed.

   Or let’s imagine one of the shepherds, we’ll call him Sam, was hoping to be at home asleep on that fateful night but he got “night duty” and had to be there. For him that probably seemed like bad news but  look at what he would have missed --- A massive display of heavenly pyrotechnics with light, sound and more than likely one heck of an orchestra announcing the best news the world had ever heard or will ever hear.

   And let’s not forget Joseph who is told by his soon-to-be wife that she’s pregnant and guess who the Father is? For a young man to hear this would have been “bad news” indeed but the good news is he believed her, he trusted her, he trusted God. You know he didn’t have to. He could have been well within his rights to denounce her and abandon her but he didn’t.

   So this Christmas as you move through the season and you have your share of “good news/bad news” moments just remember it’s always been that way. Even so God has been and is faithful – at least that’s my belief.

   May you have more “good news” events than bad during this season of really “good news” and may God grant you the ability to cope with those bad news moments.

Peace,

George Gagliardi

Merry ... Easter?

Merry … Easter?

 

 Okay, raise your hands if you prefer Christmas to Easter when it comes to choosing your favorite holiday? Right. I’m betting quite a few of us may have well raised our hands in favor of Christmas. Because … well, that’s what the next bit of creative license is about. Read on, if you dare.

  

Let’s imagine, if you will, that Jesus has agreed to take a meeting with an ad/marketing type guy regarding the popular appeal, or rather lack of such, when it comes to Easter as a holiday.

( For the sake of brevity the Ad Guy will be referred to as AG and Jesus as “J”)

 (We join the two already well under way with their “meeting”)

AG: Let’s face it Jesus, your people have not done a very good job on promoting Easter. Compared to Christmas, it’s a wash. I mean look at the differences –

Christmas – you got your Santa Claus, your Christmas songs, your red and green displays, your children all wide-eyed and expectant – and let me add here you can never go wrong when you bring kids into the picture. People just respond well to “kid appeal”, they just do.

   Now take Easter – you’ve got several days when you’re supposed to give up stuff and if that’s not enough of a downer you’re giving it up to remember how much a certain someone had to give up – no offense – and well, that’s just not appealing, what can I say. Sure you’ve got the cuddly Easter bunny, but that’s pretty weak when compared to Santa Claus, his reindeer and a sleigh full of toys for the little ones. You gotta admit between Santa and Peter Cottontail, Santa wins hands down.

  And … I mean no disrespect, but I think your people need to tone down the blood and beatings and ridicule. Mention it, but keep it short and get on to the good part.

   Let me give you a better idea of what I’m thinking here (goes to the chart at the front of the room). Okay, here you’ve got the number of people who always celebrate Christmas, whether they believe in you or not – what’s not to like about Christmas. I’m betting even some die hard atheists have fun during that holiday. (Flips the chart – we’re in a pre-digital universe here) Now look at this – A much smaller of percentage of folks who actually celebrate Easter. It doesn’t even come anywhere close to the other numbers. So I’m suggesting …

(Jesus stands up and walks over to AG, puts His hand on his shoulder, looks him in the eye, smiles and says …)

J: Using your vernacular – You just don’t get it, do you. First off, did you realize that holiday is short for “Holy day?” Did you further realize that when something is holy it’s set apart, different, not something you can buy or sell or even readily understand?

   The business of making a holy day a holiday is not something me or my Father came up with. You did. Knowing how you guys operate we weren’t surprised. Even when you brought the Easter bunny into the picture we didn’t stomp our feet and rain down fire and brimstone because of it. I’ll admit I was disappointed but then again if you recall I’ve seen all of you at your very worst. Now think about that for a moment.

   I’ve seen all of you at your very worst, not your best, your very worst. But I didn’t let that keep me from going through what I went through. I was willing to go to the cross and die to demonstrate how very much I loved all of you – the best, the worst, the believers, the non-believers. To take on the absolute ultimate weight of pure evil and shame and hang there until it was over.

  Popularity? I’m not after popularity. I’ve had that – true it was brief, it was false and in the long run it didn’t matter too much when it came time for me to be crucified. But I’ve known what it’s like to be cheered, hailed as a king, put on a pedestal and all the rest that goes with it.

   Frankly, you can have it. It’s worth about as much as – to borrow an image from your favorite holiday – the tinsel you put on the tree and later toss in the garbage.

AG: Well, as I said earlier, I meant no …

J: Let me finish. Every thing I went through for you and the rest of the world would be at best a horrific, inhumane, tragic event in history if my Father had not raised me from the dead. Raised me from the dead.

   Ponder that a moment, my friend. I died and I came back. Nobody else has done that since have they? No, they haven’t – because they can’t. Only my Father can do that.

   So if my coming back from the dead and not just coming back but offering the same kind of gift to all who want it – a gift of life eternal starting here and now is not enough to compete with Santa Claus and Christmas – well then, I guess there’s not that much I can do about that. Don’t forget there’s the business of free will. You get to choose what or who you value the most. And though many a time it grieves me, I wouldn’t have it any other way. If I have to force you to love me or believe in me – Well, I’m just going to do it. Love that’s forced isn’t love.

    I’ll grant you some things in life are more appealing than others – Chocolate ice cream versus broccoli, cleaning the bathroom versus lying on the beach and Advent versus Good Friday. But I’m prompted to suggest that you ask yourself – “Is only that which is appealing worth embracing? How does one really grow in life without learning how to handle suffering? Is there as much to be gained from challenging ones Faith as there is to simply believe without questioning? If I hadn’t died and risen again would Christmas mean that much in the long run? Would it really have the power to change whole world?”

AG: (A long pause) That’s a lot to take in. I ... I’m not sure I’m qualified to answer any of that.

J: Of course you are. And how you answer will indicate how and what you think of me. It will determine just how significant it is that Christmas may have more “pop” appeal than Easter. More importantly it will determine whether or not that’s even a question worth fooling with.

  I would strongly suggest a better question would be – What do I do with Mary’s little baby boy? -- now that he’s grown up, had his 3 years of ministry and been crucified for all the good it did? Moreover, I’ve been told he rose from the dead? What do I do with that? What in the world … do I do with that?

AG: (Silence)

  

Indeed, friends. What in the world … do we do with that?

George Gagliardi, April, 2014

To the Gals in My Life – All of You, Young and the Young at Heart

  So think of this as my version of Julio and Willie’s song, “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before … sort of. Big difference, it’s not merely past tense but present as well. It’s meant to be a special Valentine tribute to “my ladies”  -- a way to say how much you’ve meant to my life, each in your own way – and still do.

You brought real beauty to my life, not the store bought variety

Or the kind you get from the gym

(Though of course some gals often spend

A lot of time thinking about their shape)

Me Too!

But I digress … as I’m known to do

For I must confess

If that was all you had going for you

I could say, “Hey, you look great” or another phrase that flatters

Leave it at that, as if that’s all that really matters

Of course if I did then I’d hardly be sending this e-mail

To someone who’s simply just another female

Nope, there’s a genuine, wonderful loveliness inside

That makes the outer beauty mean so much more

There’s all the laughter, the magic, the honesty

The kindness, compassion, sheer delight and almost

At times, childlike spirit of each of you,

Just being who you are

And that of course frees me up

To be the man I want to be

The insecure one, at times, who lives there inside of me

No need to pretend with you

I know I can depend on you

To love me anyway

Despite my flaws and “off-the-wall” style

You accept me and support me

Though you can’t tell it

(Since I’m not exactly the Cheshire cat

When it comes to expressions like that)

My heart is wearing a great big smile

Indeed, knowing you has made all the difference

Made this journey of mine so worthwhile

You are the fairer sex, so the cliché declares

Truly with you I’ve my fair share of moments

When you showed

(And not by words alone)

How much you cared

A gift like that, you can’t mass produce

You can’t demand, you can’t buy

Nor can you fully express your thanks

Though with this bit of verse

I’m giving it a “Gagliardi” try

I’m just your “not so average, slightly weird, prone to poetic

Inclined to speak his mind and gush a bit

Kind of guy”

Who prefers ten words when it comes to three

But you know well enough

How much I love words

Putting them here, putting them there

Making them fit in creatively

Yet to break this all down

It’s a simple thing

(And by the length of things

Probably overdue)

Time to pause and say on this Valentine’s Day

To each and every gal of mine

I LOVE YOU!

George Gagliardi, February, 2014

Christmas, 2013

Greetings, Friends and Fellow Seekers,

    It’s been another extraordinary year and I could easily fill up all the white space on this page with tales of my exploits. Now that’s exploits not sexpl … well, anyhow you get the idea. However, I’m going to keep it brief and just touch on some of the biggies for yours truly this past year in order of their appearance – New Year’s Eve with Singapore Slingers, Captain Fantasm /Pocket Sandwich Theater (piano), My Wilshire concert featuring a whole bunch of talented folks doing my music (Yes, Virginia there is a CD of it), Jester’s annual show, Jim Rivers memorial birthday party, Robin Hood Melodrama (2 songs), Las Vegas, Me and Marilyn on my birthday, Breckenridge Village in Tyler, Winnsboro Kiddz on Stage, Wilshire Winds concert (Celebration of Freedom, my piece), New England trip, Tom McWhorter party, Denver trip incl. Operation Christmas Child stint, Wilshire Winds Christmas concert (If Every Day Were Like Christmas Day, my song), New England revisited on the 19^th of this month. Add to all that this list of even more gigs with AChord, Nobles of Note, Dave Washburn’s Three-quarter Fast Jazz Band, Singapore Slingers, Dallas Banjo Band, Mark McKenzie Quartet, throw in at least a dozen new songs and … well, you can see I’ve had plenty to be thankful for this year – and believe me I am.

  But being thankful has also made me very mindful of friends and acquaintances who have had a rough year. They’ve had to deal with the pain of loss – it’s a pain most of us know too well.  And for them, and perhaps for all of us even now at Christmas time the vacant chair at the table is … The following has been written especially for them. Why? Because I felt they needed a word to be said in their behalf and elected myself to be a spokesman. Well, let’s be honest – I don’t think I was the one who elected myself spokesman. It was really His idea, I just sort of did my best to put it into words.

For After All, It’s Christmas

Okay, it’s Christmas time

Time for fun, frolic and fellowship

And good feelings and laughter

And being together and …

And … and for some – memories

Remembering that someone we loved

Is no longer here

So instead of a smile a tear

Comes to our eyes for a moment

Or maybe longer

It’s a moment with a feeling

A feeling that may grow stronger

As the homey, warm-hearted Rockwell scenes we see

Remind us in clear detail just how great being family can be

And despite the holiday glow everywhere

We know a sadness inside

That we try not to show

Might even try to hide

Not all that anxious to share

It’s a burden

One we’ve learned to bear

Not because we’re martyrs

But because we care

Always have, always will

Best to keep it to ourselves

For after all, it is Christmas

Okay, that’s enough, right!

Are you trying to bring us all down

Turn the red and green that colors

Our Christmas Dreams

Into something so gloomy

That it starts to look more

Like our worst nightmare on Halloween night?

Uh, no, I’m not

But in case you forgot

Christmas is supposed to be

Something a whole lot more than

What it’s become

I believe it started out as

A celebration of the arrival of a Son

The Holy, Life giving

(and in His case, literally) One

And pardon me, (which I know He will)

But if this season doesn’t have something hopeful,

Something real

To offer those in pain, those whose scars are deep

Who sometimes can’t help but weep

Because their world is now shattered

For suddenly it seems nothing much really matters

Like it did when she, when he was here

Well then let’s just turn Christmas over to Hallmark

Or Wal-mart or whoever and be done with it, shall we

Because this is God we’re talking about and let’s be clear

He knows hurt, he knows sorrow and I believe when we cry

He knows the weight of our tears

And He doesn’t expect you “put on a Happy face” when your heart is broken

Just because the Yuletide gods demand it

His grace is unending, his arms always open

For all His children

Though I confess I don’t fully understand it

But maybe especially at this time of year He sees those

Wounded, weary and lonely

And recalls not only a baby’s birth

Coming to a troubled and unwelcoming earth

But remembers how it felt to lose His only Son

To a world who certainly took their time remembering Him

And if God does indeed weep, and I believe He does

He would have then – even though He knew the rest of the story

And so do we who are people of faith – know the rest of the story

Oh, I don’t mean now that we trust

We blithely say, “Hey, everything is just all right with me”
What I do mean is that we can make it

We can, it’s not easy and it sure can be overwhelming at times

Even so

We can put one foot in front of the other

Wipe away the tears as we go

Do our very best with His help to grow beyond where we are

And look for the Star, like the wise men did

Not exactly sure where it will lead us

But believing He would never lead us astray

And if may, I’ll quote myself

“As long as He’s leading the way

We can say

Thanks to the Father, we’ve made it this far

Thanks to the Father, we know who we are”

And so does He, so does He

To those battle worn and beaten down,

My prayer would be

May you feel Him walking beside you

Willing to guide you, a never failing Father

Brother, Sister, Mother, Savior

Compassionate,  Strong, Kind

Giving you the very best present of all

His unconditional, full of “amazing grace” Love

To each one of you at this Christmas time

Merry Christmas,

George Gagliardi, December, 2013

It's Too Early For Easter ... Or Is It?

 Wednesday, Easter's a few weeks away

Me, I'm quick to say I'm not ready for Easter -- not just yet

Couldn't seem to get into the spirit of the thing

(More than likely I hadn't let the Spirit get into me)

No matter, there it was, Easter would be here soon, too soon

Or so I thought

I said, "Man, I'm just not ready for Easter"

My pastor, he caught me off guard, taught me a lesson  

A brief but timely response

It essentially boiled down to this --

When you're dead, Easter is never too early.

Talk about sobering, man, was he ever on target with that

I was looking for an Easter feeling -- as if there really is just one

So I wasn't quite ready for it to come barging in

Wait a while, a few more weeks, maybe

Strange thing about timing though, it doesn't much pay attention

To what you had planned -- Life just steamrolls right over you

And ready or not, here it comes -- sort of like this Easter

I'm speaking with conviction here

Conviction borne out of a recent experience

Having been, if not steamrolled, at least put flat on my back -- literally

Laying in a hospital bed, waiting to find out if ....

No, you don't even have to ask

I was once again reminded in a very concrete manner 

About how fragile we are, how mortal we are

And how precious life is, what a gift life is

(You bet I caught the "connection -- it was easy to see)

If that's not a big piece of what it means to celebrate Easter 

(Once you dig deep inside words like "salvation and redemption")

Then it's not about anything at all that matters

Ah, but it is, it is and Hallelujah I'm here to say

I believe it all over again

It's a good time to stand in awe of the Miracle

Moving from "being dead as a doornail" to being so full of life                         

 That I wouldn't be surprised if several angels

Were dancing on the head of a pin that morning

While the Father clapped his hands in sheer delight

At what He had pulled off

And brother don't you know when you realize 

You were closer to leaving this planet

Than you care to think about

Had you not listened to that inner voice 

(Hey, pal, "Something's not right here, better check it out")

A voice that I'm pretty darned convinced was of Divine origin

Well, all of a sudden Easter looks different

It's not a bunny or a brightly colored egg or a delicious brunch

Or a new outfit or even a great musical presentation

It's a whole lot more than that

It looks like the brightest hope you could ever imagine

It looks like something so wonderfully impossible 

That it couldn't possibly be true

And yet your heart knows it is

God did a good thing, the best thing

Anyone could ever do

He spit in the "face of death"

And got away with it

For those of us who believe He did

We can too

Yes, for me this year, Easter ...

Feels different and yes ...

Right on time

George Gagliardi, March, 2013

Christmas Greetings, 2012

Christmas Greetings, my friends, 

A bit of  history — I’ve been sending these “letters” out since 1979. They started out in the typical holiday format, chronicles of what I’d been up to that year, etc. I did this for a couple of years and by the third one I decided I was tired of spending all that verbiage on my exploits, such as they were. So … the next time out I used the Christmas letter as a way to offer some sort of creative writing for the Season — a poem, story, a song — something that seemed more like a gift than a recap, blah, blah. Now a big piece of the shift in this emphasis is that as a bachelor, I have no one to talk about but me — no spouse, kids, not even a pet. (Which is fine by me.) Since you folks seem to like these Yuletide ramblings of mine and have been gracious enough to say so, I’ll continue.

To recap then, the year in brief — This past year I had my 65th birthday and have been celebrating all year long by traveling, playing music and visiting friends. Some places I’ve been — Columbus, OH; Breckenridge Village in Tyler, TX; Pittsburgh, TX; NYC (Prior to Sandy’s devastation); Atlanta, GA; Charlotte, NC; Wilton, CT; Townsend, MA; Denver, CO; Kansas City, MO. These visits took place in June, October and November, mostly via Amtrak, of course. Every stop was full of warm welcomes, great times with friends and opportunities to make music of all kinds in all sorts of venues. Of course at home I’ve been very busy doing my local music thing — playing and writing. One of the many highlights of the year was being able to do arranging for and performing in the Wilshire Baptist Church program Hanging of the Green on December 2nd. This year the tone was specifically jazz and man, I loved it. We had the very talented contributions of Garrett and Luke Wingfield, Mark McKenzie, Jon Hock, Russ Allor, Lyndsey Jones and of course all the Wilshire folk from the church music program there. It was a great way to start off the Christmas Season. I actually could go on and on with how much fun it’s been to be 65 this year but I’ll stop so I can get to the “meat” of this epistle — leastways I hope it’s got some substance to it.

To quote a portion of  Lee Mendelson’s lyric for the TV special, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” — “Christmas time is here, happiness and cheer, fun for all, the children call their favorite time of year”.

And yet I’m betting that not every one of you reading this epistle are feeling that way at all. For some of you this is a difficult time, a stressful time and perhaps a time of sorrow as well. And so I thought this year I’d try and say something to you, for you. You see if Christmas doesn’t have a message for you too then it’s not much of a message is it.

It’s a Small Word, After All …

A baby was born, long ago on a Christmas morn in a manger, etc.

And the aching soul, having borne one too many burdens may well be tempted to say, “That’s nice” or perhaps even more harshly, “ So what?” What indeed?

What does a birth of a Jewish kid some 2000 or more years ago have to say to me now?     

It’s a good question and it deserves a good answer. However, I don’t have one — at least not exactly. I don’t have one custom made for you as you try and make sense of that which makes no sense. I don’t have one that makes the pain go away or fills the empty heart. But what I do have is this … hope.

It’s a small word, easily lost among the clichés of the world and not hard to submerge beneath a sea of cynicism and anger. But let’s think about this word for a moment.

What if hope were not just a word but a person? A person who knew first hand about heartache and loneliness and  being abandoned. A person who’s birth was cause for violence and greed and hatred for some and at the same time, an occasion to bring out the whole angelic choir — (Trumpets included, I’ll betcha) — for others.

It was the kind of birth that was so remarkably unremarkable in its locale as to be ludicrous. If this is God’s idea of how to introduce eternal hope to the world, well … man, what could you have been thinking. This baby boy is it? This is the hope we’ve been waiting for? And I suspect He was smiling as He was saying, “Yes, just wait and see.”

I guess that’s the hardest part of hope sometime, the waiting. But turns out God was right. Jesus did more than “make good”, he “made good” by making miracles and making the lives of people better, people who most folk had given up on. Well, I’d say when hope looks like that then it’s worth putting your faith in or at least investigating.

Well, that’s what people of faith, me included, believe about Jesus. He was/is the embodiment of hope, that God is not “asleep at the switch”, even when it seems He is.

I wish for all of you, who find sadness an unwelcome companion this Christmas, the hope that He brings, that He ushered into this crazy, mixed-up, unfair, unjust world that first Christmas years ago when he was born. It’s a hope as vital and alive as the heart that receives the gift of love and gives the gift of love. And with all my heart I wish that kind of hope for you this Christmas and the whole year through.

Merry Christmas (Anyway),

George Gagliardi

December, 2012

Death at Easter?

Whoa, what’s wrong with this picture?

Death at Easter, indeed.

Aren’t you forgetting something, pal.

Easter is when He arose, not when He died.

Besides who wants to think about something so gloomy.

It’s Spring and, depending on how the weather cooperates,

You’ve got sunshine, beautiful blossoms, birds singing

And heck, you’ve even got the Easter bunny

What’s this nonsense about death at Easter, anyway

Death is so final, so morbid, so … well, real.

Exactly.

You see it occurred to me that you can’t really have a resurrection

Without someone or something dying first

Now those of us who profess to have faith

Or those wish that they did

Or even those who’d like to be able to believe in something or someone

Will buy in on some level that something happened that first Easter

People of faith, such as myself, believe that God simply raised Jesus from the dead

(Simple for God but far from simple for us)

Death is enemy numero uno and, as has been quoted endlessly --

“Nobody gets out of here alive”

But Jesus did – at least that’s how the story goes

And that’s also my story and I’m sticking to it

My story?

Well, yes, in a way.

You see, getting back to this death at Easter thing,

Dreams can die, hopes can die, faith can die

And like all things dead, they get buried

But they don’t have to stay dead

They can be brought back to life

Not by wishful thinking or sheer willpower or clever maneuvering

They can be made alive again by … (or you ready for this?)

The grace of God

The unfailing, unearned, totally free grace of God

The kind of grace that can restore that which is broken

Or heal wounds too deep too imagine

Or shine the light of forgiveness on a dark and troubled soul

Or raise a man from the dead

That’s right.

God’s been in business of resurrection for a long time

And He’s still at it.

Death at Easter – Merely a Prelude

But one we’d do well not too ignore

Because as Abbie Huff, minister and wise woman, declares

“Look to the Broken Places. If it’s resurrection and new life

you’re looking for, the broken places are where we start”

Amen and amen.

Happy Easter

George Gagliardi