This New Life

My mom loved the sounds of jazz and big band, and she got me interested in some of it at a young age. I still remember her jitterbugging out on the dance floor with my uncle. My dad only did the slow stuff (as do I—unless it’s “The Chicken Dance” or “The Hokey Pokey.” Those two I can handle.) Here are some of her vintage favorites, along with a few of my own from the modern era.

VINTAGE: “Jingle Bells” by Frank Sinatra

VINTAGE: “Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee

VINTAGE: “Frosty the Snowman” by Ella Fitzgerald

VINTAGE: “Let it Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” by Dean Martin

MODERN: “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” by Eva Celia

MODERN: “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” by Haley Reinhart and Casey Abrams

MODERN: “We Three Kings” by Wynton Marshalls and the Lincoln Center Orchestra

Image Credit: shutterstock.com.

I would hate to be:

Harvey Korman playing opposite Tim Conway;
Bud Abbott playing opposite Lou Costello;
Dean Martin playing opposite Jerry Lewis;
Kelsey Grammer playing opposite David Hyde Pierce;
Jerry Seinfeld playing opposite Michael Richards;
Johnny Galecki playing opposite Jim Parsons; or
Anybody playing opposite Bob Newhart.

I would never be able to keep a straight face. Dean Martin gives it a whirl in this old skit from 1965, and he fails miserably. Bob Newhart is just too much for him. That’s part of the fun of it. I dare you to watch it and try not to laugh.

As another weekend approaches in this crazy year called 2020, try to enjoy the intoxicating beauty of fall. As George Eliot once said, “Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird, I would fly about the Earth seeking the successive autumns.”

Be blessed!