509. And the connection is what ?

You never know when a conversation is going to take an odd turn. A semi-regular Friday night habit is joining friends for food, conversation, and - importantly - half priced bottles of wine at Carly Rae's, a sprawling eating and drinking establishment in Old Louisville on the northwest corner of Oak and First streets.

Of these two regular friends for the occasion are first one who is just slightly older, a Fine Arts graduate from Murray State University and employed as the executive director of a quasi-governmental agency charged with a number of duties all related to the promotion of downtown Louisville. My other companion is considerably younger, African-American, and a graduate of some small college in the South followed by a prestigious law degree from Vanderbilt. He is a high-priced corporate attorney who I am confident is worth every penny he makes.

Our conversations typically center on politics - imagine that. While all three of us are Democrats, we represent different places on the spectrum, the executive director and I occupying varying roles left of center of the Party, and the attorney filling a libertarian, corporate and, shall we say, rather conservative slot to the right. As I said before, our Party is housed under a big tent.

Tonight's conversation was rolling along after several glasses of a Lindeman's Pinot Noir of 2008 vintage, along with, at least for me, a plate of Town-and-Country crackers slathered in old-style beer cheese. We had talked about the governor's race as well as his accent. We touched on Richie Farmer and Trey Grayson. There were comments on the Louisville mayor's race in 2010, whether or not this July 20th or 21st's widely expected announcement would bring on a cavalry charge of candidates, to use the words of our mayor in an interview last week on WFPL's State of Affairs radio program, should he decide not to run again, one which, in my opinion, would in all likelihood be won by a sitting councilmember who is already assembling a stellar group of supporters and staffers; or if only Tyler Allen would be competition for His Honor the Mayor of Louisville-Jefferson County Metro, something Allen indicated in a recent LEO article.

At some point, referencing back to the governor's accent, which I attributed to his hometown of Dawson Springs, a town I've been through on several occasion where the Beshear name is readily applied to a number of businesses and even the nearby state park lake, our discussion turned to western Kentucky and even far western Kentucky, where at length we spoke of how that land, west of the Tennessee River, came to be purchased by Andrew Jackson in 1818, hence the name The Jackson Purchase.


If you do not know the story, there was always a problem with Kentucky's (and Tennesse's) claim to this land, shown at least in Kentucky at right in the picture, which was home to and controlled by the Chickasaw tribe. After many attempts, negotiations between the tribe and the United States arrived at an agreement. The negotiators for the United States were Andrew Jackson, who would in two years become president, and Isaac Shelby, who earlier served as both the first and fifth governor of the Commonwealth. The land itself covered the territory east of the Mississippi River, south and west of the Tennessee River, and north of the the state of Mississippi, commonly known in Kentucky as the Jackson Purchase and in Tennessee as West Tennessee. Agreed to in 1818, it became law when the Treaty of Tuscaloosa was signed into law by President James Monroe on January 7, 1819.

So there we were discussing the Jackson Purchase when my one friend, the older one, responding to a comment by the other one, said, "Oh, that's like Michael Jackson."

Michael Jackson, really? WTF. We were a little dumbfounded as there was no real segue between the two, really none at all. We both allowed the third to make that connection, wild as it was, after which the conversation left the confines of Jackson's Purchase and turned to the life and times and untimely death of the singer all three of us seemed to like.

The question for my six faithful readers is what is the connection between The Jackson Purchase and Michael Jackson, other than the common surname involved, which had nothing to do with tonight's discussion. Until tonight I could not have dreamt of any. But, at least in the mind of my one friend, there is. If you have an idea, leave a comment. There are no prises for getting it right, just the idea that such a connection could be made.

508. Acting - It's My Blog

One of the freedoms of running your own blog is being able to play god. In the words of America's 44th Best President, "I am the decider." I decide what goes on the blog and what doesn't. I have the power to edit things in or out, such as I did the other night when writing about the mayoral race in 2010. Or I can delete things altogether, such as I did last Summer during my time of troubles with the Kentucky Democratic Party and its former Chair. And, I can allow or disallow comments - leaving up those I deem appropriate and taking down those with which I find disfavor. To be honest, I think I've only deleted two comments, neither one of which were on point; one advocated increasing the size of one's penis, something most of readers probably didn't need to read on my blog as chances are they have received similar advocacy in their email accounts.

With the blog, I can be a political guru, a travel expert, a historical resource, or even a sports prognosticator as I did during the NCAA tournament or just ahead of the Kentucky Derby. And if I only attain 80% accuracy (as my friend Stuart Perelmuter has suggested), it's my blog. My 10th grade English teacher, Mrs. Risner, always wanted me to do better than 80% but 80% was all that was required to maintain my Advanced Program status, and thus that's all she got, at least that year.

Tonight, it is my decided role to don a whimsical hat, grab a pen, and play Theatre Critic. I took a Shakespeare class in both high school (from Mrs. Risner) and college (from Iverson Warriner), and passed all of the English lit classes in which I enrolled, which were several - at several different institutions of higher learning. And I was in my high school's Senior Play, both as a junior and a senior. Thus I am, of course, qualified.

So, here is the critique.

Earlier tonight I paid a visit to Louisville's Central Park where the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, North America's longest running outdoor free festival of Shakespearean plays, now in its 49th year, presented its latest rendition of Romeo and Juliet. I had been a few weeks ago to a somewhat lackluster perfomance of Macbeth at the Festival and was hoping to find this production better.

I did.

If I were a good critic, I could tell you who all the actors were, something I should know given that they all played roles in Macbeth a few weeks ago. And several of them are veterans from previous years, including one who tonight played Benvolio, friend to Romeo. He is my favorite of the troupe.

Before the performance I ran into a friend from work, Gail Kaukas, who introduced me to her family. They were decked out in their own chairs prepared for a night of, well, murder. Her husband, tongue-well-placed-in-cheek, asked if I knew how it ended. "They all die," of course is the well-known answer to that question. And "there is some amount of poisoning" I added with delight. I left from their post and ran into a family I know from Advent Church. They too were looking forward to the theatrics of a good and festive bloodletting.

Romeo and Juliet is one of the Bard's plays that most of us can quote a line here and there. And most of us as teenagers played one or the other role in our own lives. Some may still. All in all it was very well done. The scenery was wanting a bit but the costumes were great and the players were outstanding. People like the Nurse, the Friar, and particularly the actor portraying Romeo, who delivered more than a few lines dangling six feet up hanging off the makeshift balcony, on a set that has seen better days. He should be rewarded not only for his acting, but the nerve and valor of speaking whilst climbing on what may be a forty-nine year old set. Ok, the set isn't that old, but it also isn't all that young.

At the beginning of the night, the skies, which had been clear all day, began to over cast our very big small town, but no raindrops fell until just before the closing scene, and then they were very few.

It was a very good show. Romeo and Juliet runs for a few more days. If you haven't been to Shakespeare in the Park lately, this is one to go see.

With that, I will doff my theatre critic hat and return to my regular role of trying valiantly to pass Stuart and Mrs. Risner's 80% mark.

507. By the Light of the Silvery Moon

It's 2:47 am and I know no one is up for me to call. I woke up for a mid-sleep walk to the restroom when I noticed how bright my hallway seemed to be lit by the light of a silvery moon.

I stepped outside where the skies are clear, the temperature is 69 degrees, and a lustrous Full Buck Moon - that's what the Farmer's Almanac calls a full moon in July - is shining down upon us, so much so that I could check the tomatoes and peppers and flowers and herbs growing in my front yard garden.

I should tell you about the four tomato plants I have which now encompass an area of about 7 feet square, but that should wait. After all, it is the middle of the night.

506. Is 2009 really an Election Year?

Politically, the answer is apparently yes. These every-fourth-year-with-no-races drives some of us batty. We were raised in the days when Kentucky had an election every six months, and here and there, occasionally more frequently. I remember one year when my friend the late Jerry Kleier, a former State Representative and Alderman, appeared on the ballot three times in one year - once for a Special Election, then for a Primary, and then in November for a full term. Those were the days.

Since the adoption, in the early 1990s, of an amendment to Kentucky's 1891 Constitution, against which I voted, Kentuckians have been granted the luxury - or dread - of an off-year every fourth year. We are presently dead in the middle of one of those anomalies and for many of us, it is getting unbearable.

Fortunately - or not, the 2010 elections have already begun, something which usually doesn't happen until much later. I'm sure the rhetoric at Fancy Farm in a few weeks will make it seem like the next General Election is merely three months away as opposed to a year and three months hence.

In Kentucky, next year will bring races for our junior United States Senator. Both parties will have Primaries - the goal of every one being the replacement of Jim Bunning, a northern Kentucky conservative Catholic Republican who seems to have overstayed his welcome. While the two Republicans who have been raising money aren't saying, both are aiming for a non-Bunning primary. On the saner side of the aisle, the two Democrats are Attorney General Jack Conway and Lieutenant Governor Dan Mongiardo. While both supporters and opponents of each of them will claim otherwise, there doesn't seem to be too much separating the two. If there is, one of them hasn't yet said enough for anyone to know. I am for Conway, an attorney from Louisville whom I've known for over a decade since his days working with Denis Fleming in Governor Patton's office in the mid 1990s. There are reasons I am for Conway and one reason, and honestly only one reason, in particular that I am not for his opponent - the latter's sponsorship and support of SB245 in the 2004 General Assembly of an amendment to Kentucky's 1891 Constitution, an amendment I opposed with my vote, an amendment which outlawed Civil Unions of any kind, among other things, here in the Commonwealth. However, I will support either of them over the incumbent.

Other state-related offices include the 100 members of the House of Representatives and 19 members (or one-half) of the State Senate. Democrats are eyeing a takeover of several of those seats, including the 38th District here in Jefferson County, running along the southern border and presently represented by Republican Dan Seum, who at one time, prior to the gift of a tie from United States Senator Addision M. McConnell, Jr., was known as Democrat Dan Seum. Seum is opposed by Martin Meyer, the son of the man who held the seat prior to Seum's first being elected back in the 1990s. Other districts on the radar include Dan Kelly's in the Catholic counties of south-central Kentucky, Gary Tapp's seat just east and south of Jefferson County, and maybe Bob Leeper's seat in Paducah. Leeper is the Mayor John V. Lindsay of Kentucky, having held his seat as a Democrat, a Republican, and (currently) as an Independent, just as Mayor Lindsay did in New York City back in the 1960s.

Also on next year's ballot will be many local offices across the Commonwealth, including the passal of Constitutional officers required for each of Kentucky's 120 counties - offices such as County Sheriff, County Attorney, and County Clerk. Here along the Left Bank of the Ohio River near Milepost 606, there doesn't seem to be much interest in "voting the ins out." Chances are good that all of the County-wide officials will retain their posts. The one post which seems to be hanging in the balance is that of Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Mayor, an office presently held by its only possessor since the inception of our Metro Government, an experiment which hasn't exactly worked out the way its proponents had argued it would back in 2000 - another one of those many NO votes I have cast.

Last Thursday, there were five Democrats known to be interested in the job, along with a few Republicans. Now there are four as Craig Greenberg, whom I would have supported, has withdrew his name. Since my guy dropped out, I'll try for once to heed my friend Drew Shryock's words and "keep my powder dry" a little longer than usual to see what, or more importantly, who shakes loose between now and the filing deadline in January.

We will also be having local elections for one-half of our Metro Council members, those who represent odd-numbered districts. Two of the incumbents already have opposition and three more might.

So much for 2009 not being an election year.

[2:35am, 07/07/09: This entry has been edited since its first posting at 9:14pm on 07/06/09]

505. Palin and Greenberg, over and out

Does anyone else think Sarah Palin is just plain nuts? I know she is attactive. I know all the Tea-Party people are big supporters of hers. But anyone who listened to her resignation speech today has to wonder about her sanity, her ability to stay on message, her ability to speak in complete sentences, and, finally not to mention her ability to complete even one single term as governor of Alaska. Was this a prelude to Palin 2012? God help her, the Republican Party, and the American people if that happens.

Closer to home, another race has been forming up, albeit mostly behind the scenes and in the corridors of power at 601 W. Jefferson Street, that race being who will succeed His Honor the Mayor of Louisville-Jefferson County Metro on January 1, 2011. The guy I would like to have supported, Craig Greenberg, has today called me to say he won't be a candidate. That is unfortunate. His explanation, unlike that of Governor Palin, was succinct and sensible and, regretfully, I respect his decision. That leaves a field of perhaps four, at least on the Democratic side. There are probably two or three across the aisle as well.

2010 will be an interesting year in Kentucky. We will have the chance to replace our very senior junior United States Senator with one of two Democrats, each of whom has a birthday tomorrow or the 5th. We may also have a new mayor here along the Left Bank of the Ohio River near Milepost 606, something we have only had twice in the last twenty-five years.

But for now all that is months away. The filing deadline is in January. But we should know who all is running before this month is over, surely in time for fun and fundraising come the First Saturday in August when all political eyes in the state will turn toward Graves County and Fancy Farm.

Until then, Happy Fourth of July.

504. Independence Plans

So we begin the second half of 2009. Time is flying.

Me and a friend a going for a hike in the Knobs State Forest, a 1000 acre spot not too far south of Louisville near Bernheim Forest. The Knobs State Forest just came into the state system in 2006. It is one of several places not too far away to go hiking, the others being Bernheim which is right next door, Taylorsville Lake State Park, the Jefferson Memorial Forest, and the various Riverwalk locations here in Louisville.

Tomorrow will be the annual reading of the Declaration of Independence by the Louisville-Jefferson County Democratic Party, something I've attended for a generation or more. We will meet at 9am at the corner of 5th and Jefferson and take turns reciting the various passages of Thomas Jefferson's document, here in the county named for him on a piece of legislation signed into law by him four years after the Declaration was adopted.

The Louisville Orchestra is playing a concert on the Jeffersonville side of the river at their downtown landing, shown here, on the evening of the 4th. I'm hoping I can find someone to attend with.


Celebrating birthdays on the 4th are Dan Mongiardo and Fred Gravatte. Celebrating on the 5th are Jack Conway and Dan Borsch. Is there a pattern? The 5th will also mark the date my grandfather, U. G. Noble, passed away in 1987.

Enjoy the weekend.

503. She said it was on Channel 6

A friend called to tell me there was a special on Channel 6 she thought I'd like to see. I was on the phone at the time with another friend so her call went to voice mail. She said "they're doing a Michael Jackson special on Channel 6; if you are up, turn it on."

As I said, I was up, and on the phone. But as for turning on the special, that wasn't going to happen. As I've written before, I do not watch TV. I don't subscribe to cable - the truth is I don't have a TV. Well, there is a very small one with rabbit-ears on a shelf out in the garage. I thought my friend Keith was going to take it with him to California, but he didn't. There was one, a large modern one - cable ready and everything, in the living room until, oddly enough, yesterday when I gave it away to someone who would watch it. I haven't turned it on in six months. It was here when I moved in. I do know it is in perfect working condition as long as one has one of those adapters every one needs if they don't have cable.

That is, unless they are like me and they don't have cable because they don't do TV.

And as for being on Channel 6 - when I gave up TV, there was no Channel 6. We had 3, 11, 15, 32, 41, and 68. I suppose we still do. It's time for bed, a time to read a little and then to sleep, perchance to dream.

502. Post Mortem

The last post elicited seven submissions to my personal email account - all private and very personal words placed there for my eyes only rather than comments made in public on the blogpage for all the world to read - three of those commenters were, like me, moved and depressed at the passing of Michael Jackson, like me in large part due to a love for his talents and music, and especially the music of his earliest years; four of those emails took me to task (one in some very strong language) for not mentioning the seedier controversies which have followed the late entertainer for more than a decade.

I will not address those concerns here in this follow-up. But I will address an issue raised in one email wherein the writer indicated their happiness that Jackson was no longer of this world.

On several occasions in the past I have written my beliefs on the hereafter (first affirming that I believe there is one) and what is in store for those of us who are fortunate to cross over to the other side, the so-called Promised Land, where we can answer "present" when the roll is called up yonder.

Although it is belief I have held since a teenager, after first accepting the idea of a divine beginning to all things dating back to the first Big Bang, I did not realize until the last decade or so there was a religion devoted to the belief I held, that of Universalism. Ironically, I first stumbled upon the belief of universalism from a Catholic Prayer Book my father gave me at my Confirmation and First Communion, an event which took place in May, 1979 when I was 18.

The book is a Catholic classic, called My Prayer Book, by a Father F. X. Lasance, written in the very early 20th century. It is one of my very favorite possessions, a book I have returned to for guidance and inspiration many times since May of 1979. The book I have is a 1945 edition, one my father used in his youth. There have been several reprints. There is a section called "On Happiness and Goodness" and it is in that section where there is a discussion answering the question "Will only the few be saved?"

In answering that question, Fr. Lasance responds it is his belief that nearly every one will be saved, this based on the idea of God's unending and unmeasurable love, grace, and mercy. I accept this as the appropriate answer to the question. I know there are those who like to narrow the pathway, keeping as closed as possible the gateway through which we all must pass to enter into eternity.

I have for generations chose to ignore their take on the breadth of God's love, grace, and mercy. I am of the belief we are all of his creation, irrespective of who we are, where we live, what we believe, or why we sometimes act the ways we do. I believe Jesus told the parables of the Prodigal Son, the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and that of the Good Shepherd, to explain this wide, wide berth of acceptance, oversight, and a longing for all of us to be one together in the end, rejoicing together at being together.

It is this belief which guides me in my opposition to the Death Penalty, a belief which means that once this greatest of penalties is applied by state powers, that soul, whoever she or he may have been and despite whatever they may have done to deserve that ultimate punishment, that soul is then and there relieved of its temporal shortcomings and welcomed home as a Child of God. My view is that if they were deserving of the Death Penalty, their crime must have been great. Rather they live a lifetime incarcerated than be hastily dispatched to the other side by a tolerant, accepting, and welcoming God, who sees each of us as a child of his making.

Last Thursday, I firmly believe that same God, seeing in Michael Jackson one like each of us, a Child of God, swung wide the gate and said "Welcome home."

501. Rest In Peace, Michael Jackson, 1958-2009

The King of Pop dies at 50, reads The Washington Post.

I'd say for my generation, he was the King of Music. Perhaps like Frank Sinatra from the 40s and 50s, and Elvis Presley in the 50s and 60s, Michael Jackson occupied the top of the charts for my generation, of the 70s and 80s and into the 90s, well after my generation had gotten into their 30s. And in a few weeks he was planning of a return to the stage on a worldwide tour. He started in the 1960s as a kid appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show - and that gives him a near-omnipresent role in the music of my entire lifetime. He was almost exactly two years older than me. He is someone my age. We shared the same timeline more or less - until today. It was the music of Michael Jackson and his brothers I grew up with, me a white kid in southern Jefferson County, listening to the Jackson Five, a black group from Gary, Indiana.

Between his work with his brothers and that on his own, he became (and remains) one of the top selling vocal artists in the world. He places fourth on the list of all time sales behind The Beatles, Elvis Presley, and Bing Crosby. There are a whole bunch of songs of his that are favorites of mine. I've copied the words of three of them below, first I'll Be There, released by the Jackson Five on the day before Michael's 12th birthday, a song I skated to many, many times at the Okolona Skating Rink on Blue Lick Road; followed by Ben, released a month shy of his 14th birthday, which eerily may have been a look into what proved to be a lonely life at times; and Billie Jean released when Jackson was 24, when he was at the beginning of the top of a career that stayed at the top for the next five years. Finally, he also co-wrote with Lionel Ritchie the collaborative song We Are The World, released in 1985, written to raise money for the hungry children of impoverished areas of Africa, the lyrics of which are listed last, along with the names of the forty-five stars who participated and the lines they sang.

*****

I'll Be There (1970)
Great video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4QyZH0EXcQ - or this where he looks every bit of 12 or younger - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmxT21uFRwM

You and I must make a pact, we must bring salvation back
Where there is love, I'll be there

I'll reach out my hand to you, I'll have faith in all you do
Just call my name and I'll be there

I'll be there to comfort you,
Build my world of dreams around you, I'm so glad that I found you
I'll be there with a love thats strong
I'll be your strength, I'll keep holding on

Let me fill your heart with joy and laughter
Togetherness, well thats all I'm after
Whenever you need me, I'll be there
I'll be there to protect you, with an unselfish love that respects you
Just call my name and I'll be there

If you should ever find someone new, I know he'd better be good to you
'cause if he doesn't, I'll be there
Don't you know, baby, yeah yeah
I'll be there, I'll be there, just call my name, I'll be there

(just look over your shoulders, honey - oo)

I'll be there, I'll be there, whenever you need me, I'll be there
Don't you know, baby, yeah yeah

I'll be there, I'll be there, just call my name, I'll be there...

*****

Ben (1972)
Video from the Sonny and Cher Show - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSqo17o2a1w

Ben, the two of us need look no more
We both found what we were looking for
With a friend to call my own
I'll never be alone
And you, my friend, will see
You've got a friend in me
(you've got a friend in me)

Ben, you're always running here and there
You feel you're not wanted anywhere
If you ever look behind
And don't like what you find
There's one thing you should know
You've got a place to go
(you've got a place to go)

I used to say "I" and "me"
Now it's "us", now it's "we"
I used to say "I" and "me"
Now it's "us", now it's "we"
Ben, most people would turn you away
I don't listen to a word they say
They don't see you as I do
I wish they would try to
I'm sure they'd think again
If they had a friend like Ben
(a friend) Like Ben
(like Ben) Like Ben

*****

Billie Jean (1983)
- the original video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En-cHBv7UpA

She was more like a beauty queen from a movie scene
I said don't mind, but what do you mean I am the one
Who will dance on the floor in the round
She said I am the one, who will dance on the floor in the round

She told me her name was Billie Jean, as she caused a scene
Then every head turned with eyes that dreamed of being the one
Who will dance on the floor in the round

People always told me be careful of what you do
And don't go around breaking young girls' hearts
And mother always told me be careful of who you love
And be careful of what you do 'cause the lie becomes the truth

Billie Jean is not my lover
She's just a girl who claims that I am the one
But the kid is not my son
She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son

For forty days and for forty nights
The law was on her side
But who can stand when she's in demand
Her schemes and plans
'Cause we danced on the floor in the round
So take my strong advice, just remember to always think twice
(Do think twice)

She told my baby we'd danced till three, then she looked at me
Then showed a photo my baby cried his eyes were like mine (oh, no!)
'Cause we danced on the floor in the round, baby

People always told me be careful of what you do
And don't go around breaking young girls' hearts
She came and stood right by me
Then the smell of sweet perfume
This happened much too soon
She called me to her room

Billie Jean is not my lover
She's just a girl who claims that I am the one
But the kid is not my son

Billie Jean is not my lover
She's just a girl who claims that I am the one
But the kid is not my son
She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son

She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son
Billie Jean is not my lover
She's just a girl who claims that I am the one
But the kid is not my son
She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son

She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son
She says I am the one

Billie Jean is not my lover
Billie Jean is not my lover
Billie Jean is not my lover
Billie Jean is not my lover
Billie Jean is not my lover

Billie Jean is
Billie Jean is
Billie Jean is

Not my lover
Not my lover
Not my lover
Not my lover

Billie Jean is not my lover (she is just a girl)
Billie Jean is not my lover (she is just a girl)
Billie Jean is not my lover (she is just a girl)
Billie Jean is not my lover (she is just a girl)

Billie Jean is
Billie Jean is

Billie Jean is not my lover
Billie Jean is not my lover

*****

We Are The World (1985)
- this video has them all - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmxT21uFRwM

Lionel Richie: There comes a time when we heed a certain call
Lionel Richie and Stevie Wonder: When the world must come together as one
Stevie Wonder: There are people dying
Paul Simon: Oh, and it's time to lend a hand to life
Paul Simon and Kenny Rogers: The greatest gift of all

Kenny Rogers: We can't go on pretending day by day
James Ingram: That someone, somewhere will soon make a change
Tina Turner: We're all a part of God's great big family
Billy Joel: And the truth
Tina Turner and Billy Joel: You know, love is all we need

Michael Jackson: We are the world, we are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving

Diana Ross: There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
Michael Jackson and Diana Ross: It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

Dionne Warwick: Well, send them your heart
So they'll know that someone cares
Dionne Warwick and Willie Nelson: And their lives will be stronger and free
Willie Nelson: As God has shown us by turning stone to bread
Al Jarreau: And so we all must lend a helping hand

Bruce Springsteen: We are the world, we are the children
Kenny Loggins: We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
Steve Perry: Oh, there's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
Daryl Hall: It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

Michael Jackson: When you're down and out
And there seems no hope at all
Huey Lewis: But if you just believe
There's no way we can fall
Cindi Lauper: Well, well, well, well let's realize
Oh, that a change can only come
Kim Carnes: When we
Huey Lewis and Cyndi Lauper: Stand together as one
Kim Carnes: Yeah yeah yeah yeah!

All: We are the world, we are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving

All: There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

All: We are the world, we are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving

Bob Dylan: There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

All: We are the world (we are the world)
We are the children (we are the children)
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving (so let's start giving)

All: There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
Bob Dylan and all: It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

Ray Charles: Alright, let me hear you!
All: We are the world
Ray Charles: We are the world
All: We are the children
Ray Charles: Yeah, we are the children
All: We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
Ray Charles: Let's start giving

Ray Charles: There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a finer day
Just you and me
Come on now, let me hear you!

Stevie Wonder: We are the world
Bruce Springsteen: We are the world
Stevie Wonder: We are the children
Bruce Springsteen: We are the children
Stevie Wonder: We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
Bruce Springsteen: So let's start giving

Stevie Wonder: There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me, yeah, yeah

Stevie Wonder: We are the world
Bruce Springsteen: We are the world
Stevie Wonder: We are the children
Bruce Springsteen: We are the children
Stevie Wonder: We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
Bruce Springsteen: So let's start giving

Bruce Springsteen: There's a choice we're making
Yeah, we're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me
Stevie Wonder: It's true, woah woah woah woah

All: We are the world (woah woah woah)
We are the children (we are the children)
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving (so let's start giving)

All: There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

James Ingram: We are the world
Ray Charles and all: (We are the world)
James Ingram: We are the children
All: (We are the children)
Ray Charles: Yes, so!
James Ingram: We are the ones that make a brighter day
So let's start giving
All: So let's start giving

Ray Charles: There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me, hooo hoo

All: We are the world
Ray Charles: Get down!
All: (We are the world)
All: We are the children
Ray Charles: Yeah!
All: (We are the children)
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving

Ray Charles: Alright, need to hear what I'm sayin'!
Ray Charles and all: There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

Ray Charles: Alright, I will say it again!
Ray Charles and all: We are the world
All: (We are the world)
Ray Charles and all: We are the children
All: (We are the children)

*****

Rest In Peace, Michael Jackson, 1958-2009. +