If you read the blog last month, you already know that I’ve called attention to the acapella singing group called Home Free. I criticized them singing the wrong lyrics in the song, “Country Roads” (they sang “Blowin’ like a breeze” instead of singing the correct lyrics “Growin’ like a breeze”).
I called it a rookie mistake.
Yes…….I poked the bear.
There is some satisfaction for a ‘little guy’ like me to razz the ‘big guy”. It’s probably a little bit of envy,
and a little bit of spite….for instance, what’s so special about singing acapella?? Singing AND playing an instrument at the same time is TWICE as hard, isn’t it? Pfffft! They needed to get over themselves! I didn’t understand, with more than 6 million views, why no one seemed to notice that they sang it wrong.
So, while I was preparing my blog for this month, I was thinking I would write about another example where song lyrics were mysteriously changed over the years.. There was an odd change in the song “Goodbye Again” written by John Denver that didn’t make much sense. An early OFFICIAL John Denver songbook printed the words, “It seems a shame to leave you now, the day is soft and warm.” The words were actually: “It seems a shame to leave you now, the day is soft and warm.” What is the purpose of this change? The story in the song is about getting up and leaving someone at 5 in the morning….. why talk about the weather at that moment? Makes no sense, and I can clearly hear John singing, “Your lay so soft and warm”.
While I was pondering this….I got a phone call from a venue I was really looking forward to performing at. We had a date all set up in 2026, perfectly lined up with another good date, making travel easy and maximizing the profit margin. Well, it turns out that the venue made a mistake and booked another band (a REALLY popular band, they said, a band that’s hard to get, they said) and they bumped our engagement to 2027.
That band was HOME FREE.
Karma kicked my butt.
Here’s another really good version of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” performed by twin brothers Clint and Bob Moffat. Sounds like they got it right! With an astounding 46 million views…maybe the words of the song won’t be changed after all!
I’m gonna say, for Jim and I, MOST days are diamonds, but if you are familiar with the song John Denver recorded for RCA in 1981, you know that the song goes on to say, “Some days are stone.”
It would be absurd to think everything in life should be perfect and flawless (like a diamond). We do our best to make good plans and avoid as many problems as possible but….
Sometimes, life throws a big fat stone in our way!
Right now, we are in the middle of another cross-country road trip. This time our drive starts in California (our home) to Maryland, Pennsylvania, back West to Arizona, then Colorado, then back home to CA (whew!) When we get ready for these trips, we do everything possible to be fully prepared and anticipate any obstacle. We make detailed lists…everything is checked and double checked.
Off we go! June 16, 8:00 am… But our tally-ho suddenly turned into a tally-NO! 4 hours into our trip, driving through Havasu Lake (a balmy 113 degrees) when the air conditioner stopped working. We rolled the windows down and suffered. We stopped at an auto shop in Kingman, AZ, but our van is too big for his lift, so we went to the Ford dealer – they needed 2 days to work on it. We didn’t have 2 extra days; we HAD to get to where we were going….so we moved on.
Thankfully, with some midnight mechanics and a new compressor from Auto Zone, Jim was able to get the air conditioner working a little bit. The entire system eventually needs to be taken apart and flushed to get it to operate correctly, but Jim did the best he could do in hotel parking lots along the way….and we made it to our destinations on time. We sure appreciated the air-conditioned comfort of the beautiful theaters we performed in!
How did we ever survive without air conditioning? What is your experience in a car without such luxury? Share your experience in the comments!
Never say never is a term we all use when we are caught doing something we said we’d never do. Well, I got caught twice this month!
Never say never #1 is the fact that there is a black car sitting on my driveway. I am KNOWN for saying I’d never own a black car….but there it is, gleaming in the sunlight and soaking up the heat from the sun to temperatures that would cook a Christmas goose. Other than the heat, black cars show the most dirt and dust – so I prefer white cars (because I’m lazy).
Never say never #2 was my stubborn dislike to be TOLD I should have an electric car in California. I was determined NOT to have one just for the pure reason that I thought it was ridiculous to own an electric car in a place where electricity is very expensive and sometimes restricted in use during the hottest summer months.
So yes, makes sense that I am now a proud owner of a black EV……right??!!! I was perfectly happy with my white 2007 Pontiac but it wouldn’t pass the smog test – we tried everything – mechanics wouldn’t work on it, so we were forced to replace it. We were lucky to find a 2017 (old by EV standards – but it had a new battery) Chevrolet Bolt in a price range we could barely afford
There she sits, in the driveway next to Kirby2 (the van): A politically correct vehicle next to a non-politically correct vehicle – yin and yang – order and anarchy – cooperation and defiance. Our neighbors can’t quite figure us out and I can’t quite figure us out either.
The only thing that made this possible is also in the picture. If you look up, you will see (new) solar panels on our roof and these are what will make it all work. The van will be used for long distances and the car will be used for city driving. We are making lemonade out of lemons here, not solving any world issues.
Husband Jim and son Matthew are very optimistic about the economic advantage we will have with solar panels and an electric car. They are not as optimistic about dragging the dinosaur (me) out of the tar pits of the past.
I have a long way to go before feeling comfortable with the changes. What do you think? Do any of you have a good or bad experience with solar panels? What about an EV? Let me know in the comments below:
People STILL ask if Jim had ever met John Denver… it is one of our most frequently asked questions – so please forgive me for repeating an old story (originally posted in 2012 and again in 2021).
:
Jim and Anne Curry, 1978
As long as I’ve known Jim, I’ve known that the one person in the world he most wanted to meet was John Denver. It’s a common question we get at every one of our concerts, and we’ve met so many people and heard so many stories of how they met John and how nice he was to them. We wish we had a story to share!
Jim has never met John Denver, but not for the lack of trying.
The summer after Jim graduated from high school, he bought tickets to see a John Denver concert near his home in Houston, TX. Somehow he obtained a precious backstage pass….this was his chance to meet John! Jim went to the concert with a girlfriend and two other friends from high school. Being a gentleman, Jim handed the pass to his girlfriend and said, “We’ll take turns, you go first.”
But she didn’t return to share the backstage pass.
Jim and his two other friends found themselves waiting for her in the parking lot after the concert. They were an hour away from home, and they didn’t know if they should leave her there, or how they were going to explain to this girl’s parents that they lost her in Houston. After about a half hour, she finally returned to where they were waiting in the parking lot. She was overjoyed and full of stories about hanging out with John Denver and the entire band, and how nice everyone was, and what a wonderful time she had…..
Not too long after that Jim moved to California to resume a relationship with me (we had dated earlier, before Jim’s family moved to Texas). The rest is history, MY history. I kind of think it’s possible that if this girl had not been selfish, Jim might have been able to realize his dream to meet John Denver. But then again, he might have stayed with that girl in Texas instead of moving back to California and marrying me in 1979.
What was your worst kitchen accident? My worst kitchen accident happened in my mid 20s – baking pecan pie for the annual family gathering. Everyone in my family was assigned to bring their specialty to Thanksgiving dinner at Mom and Dad’s house, and my specialty was pecan pie.
I look forward to making pecan pie, and I only do it once a year. Pecan pie is limited to Thanksgiving time, in the season when pecans are being harvested and we aren’t counting calories. I follow the exact recipe on the back of the Karo corn syrup bottle and I used to pride myself on my home-made crust – which my Grandma raved over how light and flaky it was (of course, she taught me, sooooo……)
This one particular night before Thanksgiving, after working a long shift all day, I picked up the ingredients from the store and made my way home. After dinner, I prepared the crust, mixed up the filling and I loaded my pie shell with said filling. It was getting late, and I was tired….. but all I had left to do was stay up another hour until the pie was finished baking.
Now, If you have made pecan pie yourself, you will know that the filling is pure sticky liquid (sugar, Karo syrup, eggs and vanilla) with pecans floating on the top. The liquid pie is placed on a cookie sheet, then both are placed in the preheated oven. The cookie sheet catches any drips from the pie that might happen during the cooking process, and it also helps to remove a hot pie safely once it’s done cooking. Pro tip (and ultimate irony): I cover my cookie sheet with aluminum foil to make cleanup a breeze.
As I was lowering my liquid pie into the oven, it suddenly slid forward on the aluminum-foil covered cookie sheet until it hit the edge – and before I could stop it – the entire contents of liquid pie poured out into my preheated oven. What a mess!! The syrupy, sugary filling immediately started to hiss and burn on the bottom of the hot oven, the grills were covered with sticky goo and pecans. The liquid syrup poured into the bottom vents of the oven (where does that go?) and smoke began billowing into the kitchen.
I don’t exactly remember what happened after. I think there was some crying….
I do remember, my darling husband Jim came to my rescue and did most of the cleanup and none of the crying.
Nothing was salvaged. The stores were closed for Thanksgiving Day (remember when they did that?) so no pecan pie for Thanksgiving that year. All in all, a distant memory and a lesson learned. Now it’s time to make another pecan pie for this year, WISH ME LUCK! And…….HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
What was YOUR worst cooking disaster? Share in the comment section below:
It is now almost the end of October! Fall is in progress; it’s finally cooling down and the leaves are beginning to turn. By the time I write next month’s blog for November, Halloween will have come and gone, Thanksgiving will have come and gone, and a hotly contested election will have come and gone.
That is a LOT of anticipation….and we won’t know how it will all turn out until my next blog.
I suppose I can predict what will happen on Halloween: some folks will spend a LOT of money on cheesy Halloween decorations – and kids will eat a lot of candy. Those things just happen naturally these days without a lot of thought.
I suppose I can also predict what will happen this Thanksgiving: people will eat.
But…. I cannot possibly predict or imagine what the election will bring! Just be sure you VOTE!
No matter what happens, be safe, be happy and we will check in with you at the end of November.
"It was an amazing evening. We have had many different performers at our conferences; The Beach Boys, Tony Bennett, Three Dog Night, America. Jim Curry ranks among these acts. I would book Jim and his band again in a heartbeat."
Daniel Young Corporate Function, Keystone, CO
"I have to tell you I don't know when we've enjoyed a show as much as we enjoyed yours. It just swept us away and we did not want it to end! You are all so gifted. And the music of John Denver speaks for itself. It touches the heart."
