March 2005
Greetings Friends,
The calendar says its springtime, and indeed the
days are growing generously longer, but I still
had to spend a few minutes scraping ice off the
windshield this morning and the last piles of
dirt speckled snow seem reluctant to completely
fade away. Mind you I really enjoy winter. But
the 2004-05 edition has been more
“wintry” than most in recent memory and
we’ve had enough. It’s time for spring!
This winter we had to postpone and reschedule the
most school programs in one season since I
started doing school visits in 1991. Fortunately,
Mary Jain and all the individuals she works with
were patient and resourceful and by mid-April we
will have completed those bookings -- as long as
we don’t have any more cancellations.
History reminds me that we could very well have
another snowstorm or two.
The most memorable
postponement came in January. One Thursday
evening I waited until after dinner to leave home
to drive to Endwell, NY, which is just west of
Binghamton, and approximately 180 miles from
home. I don’t mind night driving and there
is very little traffic on Rte. 17. At night you
are more likely to see deer than cars. On this
night though I saw very few of either. The fog
was dense, especially along the river valley, and
much of the drive is along the river valley. A
trip that normally takes a little over three
hours took four and a half. I got to bed in the
hotel around 1 a.m. relieved that I was close to
where I needed to be in the morning.
It seemed like the wake up
call came minutes rather than hours later. I
stumbled into the shower for a water wake up and
then out to the car to drive to Homer Brink
School. The good news was that the fog was
completely gone. The bad news was that it had
snowed about 3” as I napped. Back home in
Brewster this would’ve been enough snow to
delay or cancel school but certainly folks here
in central NY are more accustomed to this and
know how to handle it, I thought. Maybe so, but
the timing was such that the weatherman and the
road crews were caught off guard. Following three
or four cell phone messages and calls I learned
that the opening of school would be delayed.
That’s okay. I’ll get some breakfast
and read a little and then head to school.
Fifteen minutes later another call. School is
canceled. I spent the next four and a half hours
driving home through the “surprise”
snow storm. I suppose this may be some form of
poetic justice (pun intended) for a someone who
wrote a song called, It’s
Snowing! It’s Snowing!
which includes the lyrics, “I hope it snows
and snows all night so school will be closed
down.” Maybe I should write a song called, “Spring
Has Sprung!”
Thanks to Jonathan Wright,
Homer Brink School, and Mary Jain we were able to
reschedule and I had a great day there in
February. This time I elected to leave home at 5
a.m. I received a gift from nature just west of
Roscoe when I got about a twenty second view of a
large adult bald eagle gliding over the river.
I’ve seen this eagle, or one of his
relatives, on previous trips through there. I
always look and sometimes I’m rewarded.
LOOKING BACK
For most of the winter we
try to keep the schedule close to home.
Fortunately, I have built up a relatively
regional and generously loyal base of schools and
organization that have made my visits and
concerts annual events. To all of you I am
sincerely grateful. I need your help to get
through January and February, and the rest of the
year too.
I recently returned from
Grand Rapids, MI where I was privileged to be
part of the Michigan Reading
Association State Conference.
It was an inspiring, exciting, and enriching
event. The conference planners courageously chose
Reading and Writing For
Peace as their theme.
While attending conferences I don’t often
get to go to many presentations but I was able to
listen to a few of the sessions in Grand Rapids
and they were excellent. Arab American poet and
author Naomi Shibab Nye allowed me to glimpse
certain situations and realities through her eyes
and insightful words. My favorite quote from
Naomi’s presentation was, “Every act of
violence is a betrayal of language.” Her
faith in the power of words to help us resolve
conflicts is uplifting and contagious. I had to
leave in the middle of journalist, author and
peacemaker Colman McCarthy’s keynote but I
bought two of his books and have finished the
first and I’m reading the second. He is the
founder and director of the Center for Teaching
Peace, a non-profit organization that helps
schools establish peace studies programs.
Colman’s book I’d
Rather Teach Peace
should be required reading for every educator and
administrator everywhere. No, it should be
required reading for every person everywhere.
Colman’s respect for and praise of
elementary school teachers as peace educators
will make you proud to be a teacher. Please order
a copy and read it. It may change the way you
think and act. It’s available at amazon.com.
If you’d like to read an excerpt from the
book go to http://www.thinkingpeace.com/Lib/lib050.html.
Since attending the conference I have been
working on a few new songs. One, titled “Who
Was Gandhi?” very simply introduces children
to the names and actions of committed peacemakers
like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day,
Jeannette Rankin, Mother Theresa, Bishop Tutu and
others.
LOOKING AHEAD
In April I’ll be going
to James Madison University in
Harrisonburg, VA to do a family concert for the Friends
of Carrier Library.
This is the twelfth consecutive year the Friends
have sponsored this concert. Thanks to Alma
Hale-Cooper and the Friends for their hard work
and support. I have many cherished
“friends” of my own in Harrisonburg
that I have gotten to know through this event. In
May it’s back to Portland, Oregon for
several days to sing with the Kids
for the Columbia.
Deb Marriott, Carolyn Myers Lindberg and the
staff at the Lower
Columbia River Estuary Partnership
continue to seek ways to support the arts in
environmental education. Given the priorities our
current government is pursuing both the arts and
environmental education are endangered values and
choosing to devote resources to arts education is
an act of faith and foresight to be celebrated. I
applaud and thank you vigorously. It makes a
difference. And there is much evidence to suggest
that our children can and will be better stewards
of the earth than we have been. They have to be.
I’ll be doing several dates at the Bronx
Zoo this spring and summer and
look forward to continuing to work with the Wildlife
Conservation Society
there and at other WCS parks.
In July I will be doing a
keynote presentation at the Pennsylvania
Governors Institute For Early Childhood Literacy.
Information about that will be available on the
website at the “Schedule” link. In
addition to these programs I am highlighting I
also have many school programs and community
events planned and they too can be found on the
web site.
WORKS IN PROGRESS
There are dozens of songs
and several book ideas that fall into the
“works in progress” category, although
at times it seems they would be better described
as “works in suspended animation.” As I
mentioned in a previous newsletter I now have
enough new songs to record three CD’s but it
is a process that requires considerable
organization and time, and sufficient money to
make it work. When I have the time I don’t
seem to have the money and vice versa. In the
acknowledgements section of one of Colman
McCarthy’s books he refers to an old Irish
saying that goes like this: “The trouble
with a good idea is that it soon degenerates into
hard work.” For me writing the songs and
thinking of good story ideas comes easily.
It’s the rest of the process that becomes
like pushing a boulder uphill. For the time being
my boulders are wedged on the side of the hill
but I hope to soon marshal the help I need to get
them moving again. My friend Kent Brown at Boyds
Mills Press assures me that
the two book projects in his office have not been
moved to the waste basket and that they are going
to happen. They are The
Stargazers Alphabet,
and Dear Child.
He also encourages me to keep writing and
submitting ideas. The CD’s “to be”
will include a collection of songs geared more to
adults than kids, a new CD for the youngest of my
listeners, and a project that focuses on living
peacefully while rejoicing in the wonders of
nature that surround us. I expect to begin work
on these soon with my gifted friends Jeff, Dana,
and Jon.
FAMILY NEWS
All of us are well in the
Farrell household. During March break Ann Marie,
Colleen, and Patrick enjoyed a week in Florida
visiting Ann Marie’s folks. Jack is spending
several days in Philadelphia working on community
service projects. He will most likely be
attending SUNY Potsdam in the fall. He’d
like to study theatre arts and writing. Maggie
just completed a great basketball season. She
also passed her drivers test and is now willing
to help us out by driving herself wherever she
needs to go. In May Katie will finish up her
second year at Boston College and is hoping to
spend the fall semester studying in South Africa.
Though my mom has spent most of the winter
homebound, she continues to keep tabs on all of
us from her recliner. She monitors the weather
channel closely and handles numerous phone calls
everyday. Gladys, our African sister, remains
Mom’s gracious care giver and our dear
friend. April will mark three years that Gladys
has lived with us.
“NEWSLETTER ONLY” CD OFFER
Many of you have supported
me over the years by buying CD’s and also by
giving them as gifts to friends. I thank you very
much and would like to offer you a reduced price
on any CD’s you’d like to order now. To
take advantage of this (and to have a chat with
Mary Jain) please call 800-928-4007.
All CD’s will be $12 each (this includes
shipping and tax) for up to three CD’s. If
you order 3 or more CD’s
the price is $10
each (this includes
shipping and tax). This is the lowest price
we’ve offered. Call Mary Jain, tell her what
you’d like and she’ll ship them right
away and you can send payment. This is only good
for phone orders. Mention the
“Newsletter.”
NEW LOOK to WEB SITE
Rich Copley, the trusted
webmaster, is playing around with some new ideas
to keep the web site updated and fresh. We have
added new features including quotations and song
lyrics. There is link to “Printable
Posters” for promoting upcoming events. We
are also changing the photos and hope to add
features that will include sheet music for some
of the songs and more classroom activities you
can use. I would also like to make new songs
available on the site before CD’s are
finished. If you have any suggestions or
questions please call Mary Jain or email us at
the web site.
As always thanks. What I do doesn’t work
without help and I’ve been blessed with kind
and generous friends. Keep a song in your heart!
Peace, Love and Music,
John
P.S. If you would like to unsubscribe from this
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