Friday, September 28, 2012

I *heart* Andy Williams, I really do!



On Tuesday, September 25th, the great Andy Williams passed away.

My mother immediately phoned when she heard it on the news.

“Tricia. Oh, Tricia. (sigh). Andy Williams died.”
“I know.  I heard.” I exhaled heavily.

For me, Andy Williams is Christmas.  I think perhaps most people associate him with Moon River and Breakfast at Tiffany’s,  but I was an Andy Williams and Christmas music fan long before I ever saw that movie.

When I say I love Christmas, ( and pretty much the Holiday time from October 31 thru the New Year), what I really mean is that I am totally obsessed with it.   Ob. sessed.  
I'm up to 1,327 Christmas songs on my ipod. I can be wandering through a store in June and
think," Oh, this would be a great Holiday decoration." While many people go into a store, see the Christmas decorations in September and think,” Could we please get through Halloween first?”  I see the trees up and decorated and the holiday displays up earlier and earlier, and get a little whispy emotional, thinking, “It’s almost here……… It’s almost…….. here!”  Last weekend I walked into Kohl’s and stopped dead, there they were……the Christmas ornaments! Can it really be?!  And I got this year’s trimming ideas.  About two hours later, after examining each one, I’m ready to decorate, ignoring the fact that my storage closet is about 98% full of boxes labeled “Christmas decorations.”
( All this love does set me up for post-holiday blues from about Mid January until Easter, I won’t lie.)

Back to Andy.  When I was in….Hmmmm…..the 10th grade, my mother and I went to the Andy Williams Christmas Show in LaCrosse, Wisconsin.  If you remember watching these shows on TV, well, it was *that* show, only LIVE.      LIVE!  Can you even stand it?
How I ever lived through the happiness and pure delight, I’ll never know.  (Now, the fact that I loved doing this so much in the 10th grade gives away the fact that I did not run with the “in” crowd.  Not by a long shot.  I was a (self proclaimed) Orchestra nerd, who dressed up to go to school, my best friends were my teachers and I wanted to be a professional Violist. So not cool, but I didn’t know it at the time.) 

The Christmas show was magic.  There were horse drawn sleighs; Reindeer!!!! on stage;  they made it snow; they made the night sky twinkle with stars.  And there was the music, and my favorite Holiday song EVER:



So this year I will play my Andy Williams Christmas LP’s (MmmHmmm, LP’s people!) with a slightly heavy heart now that he is gone, but will always lovingly remember the wonderful memories he has contributed to during the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.  RIP, Mr. Williams. 





Do you need something to do this weekend?

Tonight, September 28th, is the 20th Anniversary of Critical Mass!  Starts at 6pm, Justin Herman Plaza.Critical Mass Anniversary

Fog Fest! September 29-30, 10am-6pm along Palmetto in Pacifica. Fog Fest

Polk Steet Blues Festival, September 29-30, 10am-6pm, on Polk St. between Jackson and California. Polk Street Blues Festival

2012 " La Madonna del Lume,"  Blessing of the Fishing Fleet. This is a Sicilian tradition of protecting fishermen that’s been practiced in San Francisco for over 70 years.
The 2012 blessing and fishing boat parade  is an annual procession from St. Peter and Paul’s Church in North Beach down to Fisherman’s Wharf with a blessing of the fleet and a fishing boat parade and Memorial Ceremony at sea.  Saturday, September 29, 10am-1pm, Fisherman's Chapel on the Wharf, Pier 45.  Blessing of the Fishing Fleet

Polish Harvest Festival, Sunday, Septemeber 30th, Golden Gate Park, County Fair Building ( 9th ave. and Lincoln Way) 11am-5pm.  Polish Festival



4 comments:

  1. I really enjoy your writing and I am glad to see you posting more often. Why is this blog so hard to find, though? I never see it on the main page of the library site.
    Anyway, thanks for sharing yourself with us!

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  2. Ditto! I'm so frustrated that I have to hunt and search for your blog!
    I know it's not your fault, but why can't it be found more easily?

    Thanks for your writing.
    Jen

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  3. Thank you everyone for the feedback. I am aware that the feed to the homepage is not working properly, which is why new entries to Pushing the Reset (and our other featured blogs) aren't showing up properly on both the homepage and the All Things Social Media page. We are in the process of resolving this issue.

    In the interim, you can find a link to all of our blogs in the left menu of the All Things Social Media page: http://www.marinlibrary.org/all-things-social-media and you can also consider subscribing to Pushing the Reset or bookmark her blog at http://pushingthereset.blogspot.com/.

    Please let me know if I can be of further assistance or if you have any additional questions,
    Thank you,
    Amanda Jacobs Foust
    Electronic Services Librarian

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  4. Thanks for your reflections on the passing of Andy Williams. Though I did like his TV show and Christmas specials, his version of "Moon River" is what most resonates with me. Whenever I am in need of a good old nostalgia wallow, I play that, and am immediately transported to the 1960s, watching Breakfast at Tiffany's etc.

    RIP, Andy Williams, one of the last of the old breed of gentlemen.

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