Tisha b'Av 2017: With deep humility, Abq Jew reminds himself and you, his loyal readers, that reverence may arise from many different quarters, and may often arise unexpectedly.
The secular (if there is such a thing) may resonate spiritually, and the simple facts of history may take on meanings far beyond mere personalities, deeds, and dates.
This year, as we approach Tisha b'Av, we are not supposed to be joyous or joyful, or even just happy. And we are not supposed to do anything that will make us happy.
For Abq Jew, and for many others, this means no listening to (especially, live) music. But sometimes music doesn't make us happy - it makes us think (see, for example, By the Rivers of Babylon 2015).
Therefore, Abq Jew offers - for your introspection - Western Wall, the title song of the 1999 duet album -
This time, Abq Jew kind of expects you to maybe figure out that -
Both models - A and B - are tilting.
And why, Abq Jew hears you ask, does Abq Jew bring this up? Well, it turns out that - just like the above models, although not nearly as beautifully or as gracefully -
Abq Jew also tilts. And has for weeks now.
Which is to say - he thinks, and his body claims, that he is standing straight up.
But, when Abq Jew looks in the mirror, he clearly sees that he is not.
This condition - whatever it turns out to be - didn't hurt when it started. But it sure hurts now. So, Abq Jew hears you ask -
Muscle problem?
Bone problem?
Brain problem?
Thus, a visit to Ye Local X-Ray Machine. Whereupon two (that Abq Jew noticed) very strange happenings happened.
1. Once Abq Jew was laid out on the table, the X-Ray Technician slid the slide from its slot and shook it vigorously a few times. This was, she said, because the entirely digital apparatus likes it when she does that.
2. Having some difficulty focusing the camera on Abq Jew's skeleton, said X-Ray Technician called over the MRI Technician from the next room to help. Said MRI Technician - a he, don't you know - banged the camera a couple times, dropping it a couple inches. The X-Ray Technician, overjoyed, announced that the banging had fixed the focusing problem.
Both happenings were illegal crossings of the analog-digital border.
Or, perhaps, not. Abq Jew 's current lifestyle choices appear to be -
a) Painful and awake; or b) Pain-free and loopy
Therefore, Abq Jew has resolved himself to taking delightfully large doses of good old Ibuprofen (pain killer), newly accompanied by sleepily slow, low-but-steady doses of Baclofen (muscle relaxant).
So Abq Jew is, generally speaking, loopy.
Nevertheless. We are now into the Nine Days (see Consoling The Father), the saddest week-and-two-sevenths of the Hebrew Calendar. We are not supposed to be joyous or joyful, or even just happy.
And we are not supposed to do anything that will make us happy. For Abq Jew, and for many others - this suggests (there being no hard-and-fast rules) - no listening to music. But sometimes music doesn't make us happy - it makes us think (see, for example, By the Rivers of Babylon 2015).
Therefore and thusly, Abq Jew offers - for your unorthodox introspection, as we progress through the Nine Days (and Tisha b'Av) - Western Wall, the title song of the 1999 duet album -
Jewish Time In a Bottle: Let's get the business part of this blog post over quickly. Then we're on to the really really interesting part.
Time in a Bottle: Remembering Jim Croce
OASIS Instructor: Jane Ellen
Thu 20 Jul 2017 @ 1:00 pm
Jim Croce (1943-73) began his career as an accordionist at the age of five, later claiming to be the "original underachiever." But with three albums released in less than three years and all achieving gold status (containing songs such as "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown," "One Less Set of Footsteps," and "I Got a Name"), Croce was finally on the road to superstardom when a chartered plane crash took the singer-songwriter's life at the age of 30.
OK, here's the really really interesting part.
Jim Croce z"l was a Member Of the Tribe.
Ridiculous? Absurd? Impossible? No. Not one of these things. True.
Abq Jew is sure of this, for three (3) reasons.
1. First, Jane Ellen told him it was true, and Jane Ellen never lies. At least, not about anything having to do with music.
James Joseph "Jim" Croce (/ˈkroʊtʃi/; January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973) was a folk and popular rock singer from USA of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Between 1966 and 1973, Croce released five studio albums and singles. His songs "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" and "Time in a Bottle" reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Croce was born in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to James Albert Croce and Flora Mary (Babucci) Croce, both Italian Americans.
On November 29, 1963 Croce met his future wife Ingrid Jacobson at the Philadelphia Convention Hall during a hootenanny, where he was judging a contest.
He enlisted in the Army National Guard that same year to avoid being drafted and deployed to Vietnam, and served on active duty for four months, leaving for duty a week after his honeymoon.
Croce, who was not good with authority, had to go through basic training twice. He said he would be prepared if "there's ever a war where we have to defend ourselves with mops".
On Thursday, September 20, 1973, during Croce's Life and Times tour and the day before his ABC single "I Got a Name" was released, Croce and five others died when their chartered Beechcraft E18S crashed into a tree, while taking off from the Natchitoches Regional Airport in Natchitoches, Louisiana.
The women in flowing dresses wearing granny glasses were not there to visit their dear old Granny! Neither were the guys in tie-died shirts, dying.
In fact, they were making a pilgrimage to the grave of the rocker, Jim Croce.
Still, Jim Croce the Italian Catholic, is buried in a Jewish cemetery?
Well, it seems he converted to Judaism when he married his wife, Ingrid Jacobson, so he had the same right of every Jew, whether Jewish from birth or converted, to be buried in a Jewish cemetery.
Rabbi Gans claims to be a Charter Member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits. (Abq Jew has not independently verified this.)
dedicated to the academic promotion of the historical importance of cemeteries, grave markers, and the family history to be learned from a study of burial customs, burying grounds, and tombstones; and the social promotion of the study of cemeteries, the preservation of cemeteries, and the transcription of genealogical/historical information written in cemeteries.
The Association was named for Frank Lebby Stanton's poem, The Graveyard Rabbit. Although the poem is about superstitions associated with graveyard rabbits, Stanton also establishes that such rabbits have a charmingly intimate knowledge of graveyards and a loving association with the dead. These traits are the motivation of the human beings interested in this group.
The Graveyard Rabbit (1898)
by Frank Lebby Stanton
In the white moonlight, where the willow waves,
He halfway gallops among the graves—
A tiny ghost in the gloom and gleam,
Content to dwell where the dead men dream,
But wary still!
For they plot him ill;
For the graveyard rabbit hath a charm
(May God defend us!) to shield from harm.
Over the shimmering slabs he goes—
Every grave in the dark he knows;
But his nest is hidden from human eye
Where headstones broken on old graves lie.
Wary still!
For they plot him ill;
For the graveyard rabbit, though sceptics scoff,
Charmeth the witch and the wizard off!
The black man creeps, when the night is dim,
Fearful, still, on the track of him;
Or fleetly follows the way he runs,
For he heals the hurts of the conjured ones.
Wary still!
For they plot him ill;
The soul’s bewitched that would find release,—
To the graveyard rabbit go for peace!
He holds their secret—he brings a boon
Where winds moan wild in the dark o’ the moon;
And gold shall glitter and love smile sweet
To whoever shall sever his furry feet!
Wary still!
For they plot him ill;
For the graveyard rabbit hath a charm
(May God defend us!) to shield from harm.
So, while we're not really but still sort of on the subject, let's briefly talk about conversion to Judaism.
This threesome is at a public course and the starter comes over and says, “Do you mind if this rabbi plays with you?” They say, “No problem.” The rabbi walks up on the tee with banged-up clubs, a tattered golf bag and a yarmulke instead of a golf hat — but then proceeds to shoot a 69.
At the end of the round one of the other players asks, “Rabbi, how did you get so good?”
“You have to convert to Judaism,” he answers.
So, a year goes by and the same three guys arrange to play with the rabbi again. He shoots another 69, but they all still shoot in the 90s.
At the end of the round, one says: “Rabbi, I don’t get it. We all converted like you said, but you still shot 69 and we all still shot in the 90s. What’s wrong?”
“What synagogue did you get converted at?” the rabbi asks earnestly.
Those who know about the VSA North Fourth Art Center also know that it's a very special place, run by and for some very special people.
North Fourth Art Center is a contemporary art center with a social mission.
Affiliated with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, the Center is dedicated to full accessibility in the arts for people of all abilities, ages, cultures and income levels.
Since 1981, VSA has focused on providing arts education and exhibition opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities.
Over the years the VSA Day Arts Program has grown from serving three to five individuals each day to serving a total enrollment of nearly 200.
Day Arts offers visual and performing arts classes in everything from Ceramics and Painting, to Sewing and Musical Theater.
North Fourth Art Center also provides outreach classes in the arts and offers evening and weekend programs on site, such as Arts Adventures, a program for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Programming for N4th Theater & Gallery includes contemporary, socially relevant, performing and visual arts, featuring artists and targeting audiences not traditionally represented by mainstream arts organizations.
N4th strives to present arts and education opportunities that challenge people to think, acknowledge responsibility and be encouraged to make a difference in the world.
And then there's Neal Copperman, Executive Director and Founder of AMP Concerts, the organization that brought Mariach Flor de Toloache to the Land of Enchantment.
Neal launched the AMP House Concert series with then roommate Jeff Hanson soon after moving to Albuquerque [around 2000].
He has steered AMP from house concerts and a hobby to a sole proprietorship and eventually a non-profit organization.
Neal's goal has always been to see the world, folk, acoustic, and Americana music he loved in other parts of the country be available in Albuquerque [and now, throughout New Mexico].
So here's how this all fits together.
Every now and then, Neal brings one of his AMP Concerts performers to the VSA North Fourth Art Center for a free concert.
The majority of seats go, of course, to the N4thers. But a handful of seats are also set aside for members of the community at large.
That's how Mr & Mrs Abq Jew got to see and hear Mariachi Flor de Toloache.
About a year-and-a-half ago, Abq Jew attended another of Neal's concerts at the VSA North Fourth Art Center - featuring The Rebbe's Orkestra (see The Story is Enough) - and was very moved by the interactions between the Orkestra and the N4thers.
And Abq Jew was thrilled to see the same thing happen last week.
The N4thers - many in self-propelled wheelchairs, all with special needs - got up and joined Flor de Toloache on stage - to sway, shake, dance, glide - and sing! - with the performers.
We of the community at large, of course, did not.
We remained seated and still, just as we were taught.
It takes a special kind of person - and a special kind of performer - to encourage, support, and uplift the N4thers on the stage.
The Rebbe's Orkestra did it - and so did the four gracious and talented ladies of Mariachi Flor de Toloache (Eunice Aparicio, Guitarron; Shae Fiol, Vihuela; Julie Acosta, Trumpet; Mireya Ramos, Violin).
Now, Abq Jew knew that Neal was recording parts of the concert (he was standing right next to Abq Jew, holding up his iPhone).
So - when Neal posted the video on the AMP Concerts Facebook page, Abq Jew grabbed it (yes, there are ways of doing this) - so he could post this very blog.
Neal's video (slightly edited by Abq Jew) captures all the enthusiasm and love at the Flor de Toloache concert. In particular - around 19:20 of the video, when a young lady requests a song, and then proceeds to sing along.
Everyone in the audience loved it!
Almost as important - the four ladies of Flor de Toloache loved it, too.
Mariachi Flor de Toloache at the VSA North Fourth Art Center in Albuquerque. July 3, 2017.
Recorded by Neal Copperman, AMP Concerts. Edited by Abq Jew.
And if you like music from The Old Country ... AMP Concerts will present Brooklyn's Los Hacheros, modern-day torchbearers of the Golden Age of Latin music, at the NHCC on Sunday July 23. Right before the Nine Days! Last chance to dance!
