There Was A Man

There was a man, a lonely man,
Who lost his love through his indifference. . .
A heart that cared, that went unshared,
Until it died in his silence. . .

So go the lyrics to an old song Clay Aiken introduced to a new generation of young fans, and breathed new life into for some older music lovers as well. Clay’s powerful and haunting voice brings both the agony and the beauty of the lyrics to life as if they’re something tangible; as if you could wrap yourself up in the melancholy and the surrealism like a warm blanket and wallow in it.

That is due, in part, to the fact he is a gifted singer with a talent for belting out power ballads. But it’s also due to a particular resonance those lyrics may hold for the singer who says he still is and always will be a special education teacher at heart.

Clay shared his feelings about Solitaire and other painful moments from his life in his book, Learning to Sing; and as he did, he explained how each one helped him grow and evolve, and how he tried to use what he learned to be a better man. A better human being. A better humanitarian.

Clay has always had a heart for helping children. For example, in 2004, he participated in the "Arthur: Stories for Heroes” audio book, the proceeds of which benefited the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and other children’s charities.

Also in 2004, Clay performed with Heather Headley at the Children & Families Initiative of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids event in New York City. There was recently a poster from that event, autographed by Clay and other participants, for sale on eBay in continued support.

A shirt and tie worn by Clay during his Summer 2004 Solo Tour was auctioned in December 2004 in support of YouthAIDS, an action-based global initiative working in over sixty countries to educate and protect young people from HIV/AIDS. It brought over $2,400.

In support of the 2004 Give a Hand program, benefiting Ronald McDonald House Charities, Clay's handprints in cement were auctioned for $15,099.

Clay is a national ambassador and spokesman for UNICEF, which advocates and places a high priority on AIDS education and protection of children’s health around the world.

In 2005, his participation in Kenneth Cole’s “Clothes Off Our Back” charity raised over $27,000 in support of UNICEF and other charities.

Early in 2006, Clay joined Susan Sarandon, Julianne Moore, Dustin Hoffman and other stars on "NBC for Tsunami Relief." The benefit raised more than $10 million nationally.

In addition, he served as 2005 national spokesperson for UNICEF's Trick or Treat campaign, 2004 national spokesperson for the Toys For Tots campaign, and supported Youth Service America, the Make A Wish Foundation, Best Buddies, and more.

In 2003, Clay formed his own foundation. The Bubel/Aiken Foundation was created in order to bring awareness to issues of inclusion. Their mission is to “provide services and financial assistance to facilitate the full integration of children with disabilities into the life environment of those without.” His heart was bound to the issue of inclusion when, while working at the YMCA, he learned there were no means to allow children with special needs into the camp programs.

Clay meets with special needs children and fans at every opportunity. But that’s not what makes him so extraordinary.

The real gift Clay gives these extra special fans is inclusion. He treats them like everybody else. He sees past the disability to the person. And the gift Clay gives to the world is that he inspires by example and teaches others to do the same.

His legions of fans have taken their cues from Clay, and many of them have become involved in these causes in one way or another. In the process they’ve learned the amazing extent and endurance of the human spirit, and of their own hearts. Clay helps others find the humanitarian within themselves.

What greater message can any celebrity pass on to his fans than the mindset that Everybody is Somebody?

Clay knew the pain of exclusion, of being different. He knew the pain of cruelty and apathy. He could’ve, one might suppose, become the man he sings about in Solitaire. He could’ve built a wall around himself, allowed his heart to become battle-scarred and hard until it silently died of indifference.

Instead, he did the opposite. Clay Aiken found he had a voice as a celebrity, and he’s using it. When this man became a star, he shined his light in places that had been dark for too long, and as his star grows brighter he continues to light the way for children that much of the world has ignored. He fights for them to be seen, to be heard. He takes that amazing voice and sings to the world, “Include them!”

He’s succeeding, because the world is listening. Clay Aiken’s mantra seems to be “Use your voice.”

We hear Clay's voice, and what we hear is amazing.

Written by the Staff of Claymaniacs.com

© 2006 Claymaniacs.com

A Thousand Million

Like most people, I get lots of email. Some of it is about Clay Aiken and some of it is not. My favorite email of today is not about Clay, unless he is a billionaire already. I don't normally discuss politics because no good usually comes of it. But this, I like.

"The next time you hear a politician use the word "billion" casually, think about whether you want that politician spending your tax dollars.

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into perspective:

A billion seconds ago, it was 1975.

A billion minutes ago, Jesus was alive.

A billion hours ago, our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.

A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate Washington spends it."

Not one to believe much (if any) of what I get in my email, or even read on the Internet, I often do a little research myself. So in this case, I visited Snopes to get the scoop. Yep, pretty close on all counts.

Except worse.

According to Snopes, Washington is actually spending twice as much as this email states, which would mean a billion dollars ago was only 4 hours and 10 minutes.

Just thought you would want to know!

Through the Years, Musically

Email of the day.

It was fun being a baby boomer, until now. Some of the artists of the'60's are revising their hits with new lyrics to again accommodate the Babyboomers.

They include:

Herman's Hermits----Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Walker
The Bee Gees----How Can You Mend a Broken Hip
Bobby Darin---Splish, Splash, I was Having a Flash
Ringo Starr---I Get by With a Little Help From Depends
Roberta Flack---The First Time Ever I Forgot Your Face
Johnny Nash----I Can't See Clearly Now
Paul Simon---Fifty Ways to Lose Your Liver
The Commodores----Once, Twice, Three Times to the Bathroom
Marvin Gaye----Heard it Through the Grape Nuts
Procol Harem---A Whiter Shade of Hair
Leo Sayer---You Make Me Feel like Napping
Tony Orlando---Knock 3 Times on the Ceiling If you Want Me, Twice on the Pipes, If You Hear Me Fall
Helen Reddy---I Am Woman, Hear Me Snore

Yeah, that's funny. Except maybe not. The very first group I ever saw in concert was Herman's Hermits. Whaaaat? The second groups I saw were Badfinger and Argent! No Matter What You Do! Hold Your Head Up!

I decided to dig out my cache of concert ticket stubs, and have a little musical flashback. So, in no particular order, some of my fave concerts.

Sting - Santana - Coldplay - David Bowie - 10,000 Maniacs - The Eagles - Doc Watson - The Who - Rolling Stones - Paul McCartney - Bonnie Raitt - Kim Locke - Kiss - Tony Trischka - Bela Fleck - Stevie Ray Vaughan - Living Color - Doobie Brothers - Dan Fogelburg - Bo Bice - Neil Young - Foghat - Bob Dylan - ZZTop - Indigo Girls - Booker T and the MGs - Jane's Addiction - Lollapalooza - Paul Simon - Clay Aiken - Crosby, Stills and Nash - Trace Adkins - Joe Nichols - Bruce Springsteen - The Police - Nine Inch Nails - The Clash - Grateful Dead - Josh Gracin - Wynnona Judd - Pink Floyd - Ice T - Jason and the Scorchers - Henry Rollins - Josh Groban - Pure Prairie League - Karl Wallinger and World Party - Red Hot Chili Peppers

So much fun I can barely even remember it all. Live music is the BEST! But... it gets tougher when you are an, um, adult. So, I agree with comedian Greg Behrendt; there should be rock concerts for adults! They start at 7 and you're home by 10.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

Color Quiz

Wednesdays+Child took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test! "Her need to feel more causative and to have a wide..." Click here to read the rest of the results.

Well, you could say the same about most people, right? Right? RIGHT?

Daddy's Girl

Dad,

Happy Father's Day!

Thanks for waiting up for me all those nights.

Thanks for teaching me to like sci-fi.

Thanks for thinking I write well. (Hee!)

Thanks for washing my car.

Thanks for saying "yes" when Mom said "no."

Thanks for making good oatmeal, banana splits, milkshakes, holes in one. And I don't mean in golf, although you did that too.

Thanks for being laid back and sometimes goofy.

Thanks for letting me stand on your feet when we danced.

Thanks for being organized.

Thanks for being content to sit and watch TV when you come visit me.

Thanks for liking Clay, Dolly, the Dixie Chicks, and Mario Lanza.

I'm a Daddy's girl - and proud of it!

Suthern Tawlk

Clay once said, "I have family who wouldn't spit in my mouth if my teeth were on fire."

I recently received this email, which made me recall some of the more colorful phrases my grandmothers and aunts used to use during their homilies.

These aren't exclusive to the south, although we do seem to have more than our fair share!

Disclaimer: No offense to bankers or lawyers. Nor pigs or skunks.

*Keep skunks, bankers and lawyers at a distance.
*Life is simpler when you plow *around* the stump.
*A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
*Words that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled.
*Meanness don't just happen overnight.
*There is no cure for stupid.
*Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.
*Never corner something that you know is meaner than you.
*It don't take a very strong person to carry a grudge.
*You cannot unsay a cruel word.
*Every path has a few puddles.
*When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
*The best sermons are lived, not preached.
*Most of the stuff people worry about isn't never going happen anyway.
*Don't judge folks by their relatives.
*Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
*Don't interfere with something that isn't bothering you none.
*Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
*If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging.
*Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
*The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every morning.
*Always drink upstream from the herd.
*Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
*Letting the cat out of the bag is a whole lot easier than putting it back in.
*If you get to thinking you're a person of some influence, try ordering somebody else's dog around.

I love those. Words of wisdom you would never learn in an institution of higher learning! Even ones found in the South.

I used to beg for things when I was a child, like most children do. Have you ever been told, "you need that like a hog needs a saddle!" or "you need that like a rooster needs a wheelbarrow!" I usually got confuzzled and forgot about whatever I was begging for.

My grandmother used to always describe people by their physical attributes. "She's been hit in the face with the ugly stick!" or "she looks like she's been rode hard and put up wet," or "he's meaner than a snake!"

I'm sure we all know someone who "don't have a lick of sense," or who is "dumb as a box of rocks." And have you ever been "drunker than Cootie Brown?"

My boss was always "busier than a one armed paper hanger," but I think he didn't know "doodley squat" about being busy.

Well, I'ma hafta carry myownself upstairs and get me a showah now, 'cause I'm afixin to go out tonight!

Thanks for readin'. I preeshate it!

Rockin the Red Hats

I just returned from a glorious nine day vacation in the mountains of East Tennessee and Western North Carolina. Being there is like being in another country almost; low key, laid back and teeming with nature's bounty. Almost heaven.

It was great seeing my parents, visiting old friends, going junking, hearing some good music and soaking up nature. But more about all that later. First, one of the things I was enlightened to - a "society" known as the Red Hats. Yes, my Mom rocks the Red Hats, and she is having a stone cold blast too.

The Red Hat Society is a social organization where there is fun after fifty (and before) for women of all walks of life.

This is a direct quote from their website. It's also true; I have witnessed it with my own eyes, recorded for posterity on a DVD!

Take for example, the Bonnett Belles of Blountville, TN. These ladies know how to party. They threw a big shindig a while back, with a "Roaring 20s" theme, complete with speakeasys, flappers, lots of fringe and feathers, song and dance, good food and even a liquor raid (for entertainment purposes only of course!) at the conclusion of the evening.

I just can't tell you how happy it made me to see my Mom right in the midst of it all, in her fringy red dress and sequined headband, sleek cigarette holder in one hand and liquor bottle in the other. No, really; I'm serious! I've never seen such a bunch of happy women, all dressed up, singing, smiling, dancing; laughing like nothing else on this earth mattered much at all. It was a glorious thing to behold.

Wait...yes I have. I have seen such a thing. I've seen it quite often actually; at every single Clay Aiken concert I've ever attended.

There are no age restrictions on fun, last time I checked.

As I become older, the media bias toward men and women, mostly women, of a "certain age" becomes more and more evident in any discussion of our "youth-oriented" culture. It's a curious thing, and a phenomenon that is, in my opinion, worth investigating. And I will. But first, I'm going to have some fun.

Because really, what is the purpose of life, if not to find pleasure in all that we do? Whether it's at a Red Hat Society party or a hockey game, on the golf course or at a concert. Whether it's while we are helping others, working, studying or playing - we should strive to not only find purpose and meaning in our life, but also, pleasure and passion.

Life's too short for anything else.

CRS (Can't Remember Shii...Stuff)

Favorite email of the week.

MY FORGETTER

My forgetter's getting better
But my rememberer is broke;
To you that may seem funny
But to me that is no joke.

For when I'm "here" I'm wondering
If I really should be "there;"
And when I try to think it through,
I haven't got a prayer.

Oft times I walk into a room,
And say "what am I here for?"
I wrack my brain, but all in vain,
A zero, is my score.

At times I put something away
Where it is safe, but Gee!
The person it is safest from
Is, generally, me!

When shopping I may see someone,
Say "Hi" and have a chat;
Then when the person walks away
I think "who the heck was that?"

Yes, my forgetter's getting better
While my rememberer is broke,
And it's driving me plumb crazy
And that isn't any joke.

I love that. Too bad I can't remember who sent it to me.

Tips for having a simpler life.

Tip #1 – Keep a couple of get well cards on your mantle or a shelf in your living room. That way, if someone drops in unexpectedly, they will assume you have been too sick to clean.

Tip #2 - Have an easel with a couple of artist brushes on it standing in your living room, kitchen or wherever. If your house is messy and unexpected guests arrive, they will think that since you are an artist, you can't always be bothered with housework and such. People are usually patient regarding their artistic friends.

Actually, my husband is an artist. Hmmmm.

More about Art next time.