11th & 12th October, 2004
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Rod 4/16/04 Photo by Billy Iz
A Thought for Today
We should worry less about where our next
screw is coming from and pay more attention to who might be trying to
screw us over.
.ASK
ROD
CHRISTOPHER REEVE
As this Flight Plan goes to bed I have just learned of Christopher
Reeve’s very untimely death. Edward and I met Chris in England while he
was making the first Superman movie and at that time we agreed that he
was indeed the embodiment of the character he was playing. A year later
when the film was completed and released everyone else agreed.
Christopher was a good man, a versatile actor and with his unfortunate
accident nine years ago and his determination to beat the impossible
odds it imposed he became an inspiration to the whole world.
It will take time to digest his passing but those of us who live in
California can help memorialize this brave man by voting for stem-cell
research in a measure that is on the November ballot.
Rest in peace, old friend.
On to the mail.
AUNT BETTY
Back in 1969,when I was still in high school, my
aunt Betty gave me a book of poetry and let me burrow an LP of hers.
Both were titled "listen to the warm”. Since that time so long ago I
became a Rod McKuen junkie. Thru the years we've enjoyed your words and
songs, which have given us comfort and enjoyment. Today, more than ever
I need the comfort of your words, as my aunt has just passed away after
a long illness. During the past summer I was able to spend time with
her, and your music was the background for our conversations. Thank you
so much for all the joy you have given over the years. I will always
feel close to her whenever I play your music or read your books.
Stephen.
Dear Stephen, Thanks for sharing the story of your Aunt Betty with me.
How lucky for both of you that you were able to spend some time together
during the last summer of her life. So many of us for one reason or
another are not afforded the opportunity to say a final goodbye to those
we love and care about.
You can only imagine how moved I am to know that through the years the
two of you had my work in common. Friends often ask me why I spend so
much time working on the website, making appearances, answering fan mail
and generally trying to keep the connection going between myself and
those who enjoy my work or seem to take comfort in it. And I do now and
again think of packing it all in and as one friend continues to
admonish, "Get a life." Then along comes a letter like yours to remind
me that I have a life and this is it.
My condolences on your loss Stephen but I know you must feel some
comfort in knowing Aunt Betty is free from the pain her long illness
brought her.
Again my thanks for being kind enough to share your story with me and my
best thoughts to you for now and long beyond.
In friendship, Rod
THE JOYS OF SOLITUDE
Hello, received my copy of Rusting in the Rain
along with the three CD special of Beatsville /In Search of Eros/Listen
to the Warm. I enjoy the CD's very much, but I haven't completed reading
the book.
I really wrote to say that I enjoy your readings of your works of
poetry. And, as one who enjoys other people's company but has been more
or less a loner, I thank you for those poems which tells us the
difference between being lonely and being alone. Just one of your many
fans, Stonemelter
ps: New projects help keep us young.
Dear Stonemelter, Thanks for the nice note. Being a loner is highly
underrated. Let me list a few of the advantages that you probably
already know.
1. You don't have to please or dress up for anybody but yourself.
2. It's your own personal choice as to which fools you have to suffer.
3. No one interrupts your thought process, in fact you always have more
time to think and sort yourself and your thoughts out. Yep, time
and time off is definitely one of the joys of being a loner.
4. You own The Remote.
5. You can spend more time reading and learning and less listening and
reacting.
6. Being a loner doesn't mean you always have to be alone but only when
you want to be so.
I could go on but . . .
It is a pity that people confuse being alone with being lonely. Those
who do just haven't learned the importance of solitude and how necessary
it is to compliment and complete a life.
I agree with you that new projects help keep us young and I have to
confess that I never felt younger than I do now in confronting all the
problems of building my dream house and barn at this ripe old age. All
my best, Rod
FOR FRIENDS & LOVERS
I was born 14/6/48. I heard "For Friends and
Lovers" in my early 20's. Then and now I am amazed that you expressed
all of my feelings in your words. I hope you come to the UK as I feel
that you may be a soul mate of mine and would love to see you and maybe
meet you, as one doesn't have many soul mates. Your words have given me
so much.
Do you know where I can get a copy of "For Friends and Lovers" as I now
only have it on a very old cassette?
I send you my very best wishes and hold you in my highest regard. Paul.
Dear Paul, I’m glad you have enjoyed For Friends & Lovers all these
years. I compiled the album especially for release in Great Britain and
because it contained several tracks that had already appeared on various
LP’s in the United States it was never released in my own country. Still
it remains one of my favorite compilations.
So far For Friends & Lovers hasn’t made its way to CD but your e-mail
certainly gives me a few ideas about making it available on compact
disc.
As for another tour of The British Isles, no week goes by that I don’t
receive a query about coming back to The Mother Country but alas no
British promoters have ever come up with a plan. Know any UK
entrepreneurs? As they say in Hollywood, “I’m tanned and ready.”
Finally if you want me to appear again in England as badly as I do, I
have no doubt that I’ll be there. Hope it’s sooner than later. Warmly,
Rod
NAME THAT TUNE
Rod, I go way back to the sixties and your
involvement with Glenn Yarbrough, Anita Kerr, and Jacques Brel. A radio
station in Oklahoma City used to do a program dedicated to your music
and I have been trying to trace a song (and preferably get hold of it)
that was played on it. I am looking at a stack of 12 Laserlight CDs,
which unfortunately do not contain the song.
I would guess that the song title was "The TamarackTree" but I do not
know for certain. The song was nice because it was reminiscent of
several other songs that I have come across during the years. I first
took notice of you when I heard Jimmy Rodger's version of "The World I
Used To Know" and began paying attention to songwriters. Thank You,
Larry K Johnson
Dear Larry, You got the title right. I wrote The Tamarack Tree in 1966
and recorded it for my “Beautiful Strangers” album. Later I redid it for
RCA but it remained unreleased. That track will finally see the light in
The Bear Family boxed set Rod McKuen: The RCA Years which is due out
soon. Here are the lyrics.
THE TAMARACK TREE
When I was four times three
The world looked good to me
And oh the sky seemed vast
But then how could I know
That seasons come and go
And childhood wasn’t made to last
And The Tamarack Tree
By the old back gate
Looked up and whispered “Wait.”
When I was five times four
I thought I’d found the door
That opened wide the gates of time
But then how could I know
The further up you go
There’s always one more hill to climb
And The Tamarack tree
Growing tall and straight
Looked down and whispered “Wait.”
When I am seven times ten
I’ll watch the younger men
Who seem to know
What they’re about
But then how can you know
The older that you grow
The more you learn to live with doubt
While The Tamarack Tree
Neath the August moon
Looks down and whispers “Soon.”
Words & Music by Rod McKuen © 1963 by Rod McKuen & Stanyan Music Group
Copyright Renewed. All Rights Reserved
This is the first time in memory that I’ve retyped the lyrics and I’m
struck by the fact that at 20 I was predicting how I would feel at
seventy. Thanks for the memory Paul. With affection, Rod
A thoughtful, subliminal message goes out to a friend today who must be
more than a little emotionally conflicted, celebrating a birthday and a
wedding day while mourning the death of her mother. There are no
postponements in life, it continues with or without us. My friend is a
kind, realistic and wise woman.
A happy birthday wish and a thank you to singer-actress Daliah Lavi who
made “Soldiers Who Want to be Heroes” a number one song in both Germany
and Israel. Perhaps it’s the times we’re living in but I learned last
week that it has been revived on radio in both countries.
Sleep warm and join Webmaster Ken on Wednesday for This One Does it For
Me.
RM 10/10/2004 11:31PM PST
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