Random thoughts abound on this rainy New York Monday. Here's hoping they make a little sense!
An acquaintance across the pond commented that she very much liked the Showtime series, "The Tudors"....this after my mention of the sizzling performance by Jonathan Rhys Myers in "August Rush". Hey, this woman has good taste; the gems from the Arsenal Of Diamond are what brought us together in the first place. As I watched JRM play Henry VIII, I kept thinking, "How ancient is the plague of religious strife, suffering its ill effects on the world for centuries;" and I thought of Mr. Baldwin.
Y'all know of Alec Baldwin and his thespian brothers, raised in Massapequa, as was I. Their Dad was my high school history teacher - Alexander R. Baldwin, Jr. He was dynamite; and this from someone who detested history lessons! He made you love his class, and the resulting A's were a bonus. As I watched "The Tudors", I thought that Mr. B's job could have been made so much simpler with the help of such visual aids as this series. You've heard of a captive audience? :-)
Imagine then if Elvis had sung for G-d ceremonial hymns and prayers in your house of worship. What an attraction that would have been for the youth of my day, who had no understanding whatsoever of somber Latin masses! Clearly emanated by his voice was depth of love and spiritual conviction, especially in this "Inspirational" Grammy-winning performance, recorded on my husband's birthday in 1966:
As my halves honor Easter and Passover during the same holiest of weeks, I can't help but still wish for an understanding in the world equal to that which comes via the universality of art. I think it's called "Peace".
