(click the picture above for
the high definition
video - but also click
YouTube
for me!)
12:10 PM, Friday,
July 25th, 2008:
And so it
goes...
It was with a bit
of sadness that I sang my final birthday song to Kenny
this year. Then, earlier this month, it dawned on me
that in perfect Journey fashion it was the exact time
for that to end. Last year my uncle, whom I grew up
with like a brother (3 year age difference), had his
first daughter, Lila, and the baton was passed.
Wonderful how life works out isn't it?
It got me thinking
though, what it is about the tradition that's so
heart-warming? I guess it's something about birthdays
when you're a kid. Singing a happy birthday song to a
10 year old - is fun because your imagination smiles
at life when you're 10. At least mine does. A little
part of you gets to relate to a kid, remember your own
experiences and for a minute you're there. And, as
adults, we're celebrating the passage of time instead
of dreading it because it's through the eyes of a
child. Kinda the whole circle of life thing. Keeps us
young.
In the case of The
Journey however it's a bit deeper. It's me wishing I
could be more, or have more of a relationship, with
people in my family. Kenny and I will never be as
close as we would've been had I not moved and I carved
out a section every year to at least say: "I'm with
you man..." It's the same with Lila. Breaks my heart
that I will forever be that distant relative when her
father and I were so close, but it is what it is. So
for the next 18 years, until I'm 50, I'll create
something special on July 25th. Should be fun.
:-)
Of course I'm
gonna do it a bit differently than Kenny's. Whereas
with Kenny I just did variations on the same Happy
Birthday song I figured that Lila's name lent itself
to a bit more to different songs. It's a more colorful
name that can weave through melodies a little easier.
Actually just about every name for a girl does that
better than boys' names. Heh, that never really
occured to me before. Duh, girls names' are prettier
Adam.
Anyway, be it
original or inserting the name into an older melody,
I'll have a fun challenge trying to come up with
different ways to make her a song. I'm rather curious
as to what effect this would have on a kid every year
of their life? Do I become like big bird or some shit?
If you expect a goofy guy on a screen to sing to you
every birthday does it warp your perception of
reality?!?! LMAO. Is it even going to matter if I
don't stop saying/doing adult things in my freaking
videos?!?!
(sigh).
I swear to you guys, I did this video so
many times and no matter what I inevitably
said or did something that was completely
inappropriate for a toddler. This is very
difficult for me and I fully expect that
Lila never sees her very first video, but
it was freaking 1 am this morning (I
clearly look tired) when I finally did an
"ok" take and just had to let it be. I'm
sure Tim & Eileen will laugh, and to
both of you - #2 will be fully appropriate
and she'll probably have an attention span
long enough to actually enjoy it by that
point.
And how cool is
the projector? Heh. Here's what I don't get at
allllllllllllll though. Color-wise, I actually look
like the dude on the right. I've been working out in
the sun recently and have a bit of a tan. But, the
"live" me on the left is...well, live and should have
the more realistic coloring of all - right? My point
is that, somewhere the color is off - and it has to be
the projector right? But then why does the projection
look correct, and the live me look off?!?!?! Christ,
can you tell I've been spending too much time on
audio/visual message boards with projector geeks!?!?
Heh, anyway - made go "hmmmm"... maybe someone out
there has the answer. It's like staring at an Escher
drawing.
So Happy Birthday
Lila. Enjoy this year though, it's all downhill after
2.
