As a 12-year-old in the 1970's, I made a very special friend. Her name was Rafia, and she had just arrived in Canada from Pakistan with her mother, father, and 4 younger sisters Fauzia, Samira, Jameila, and Rubina. She was placed in my sixth grade classroom, not knowing a word of English. We soon became inseparable. As I helped her with her English, she and her family educated me about their culture. I was adopted as one of the family, and often shared meals with them, sitting on the floor, around a tablecloth, eating such exotic delicacies as fish curry, dahl, roti & dai, and my favourite, samosas. I learned a few words in Urdu, such as how to politely say hello or goodbye, how to count to ten, and they taught me how to write my name in their language. Shortly after arriving, Rafia's mother discovered she was pregnant, and she was unsure about having another child in Canada. I remember her telling me (through her daughter as an interpreter) about the horrendous conditions she had endured during childbirth in Pakistan. I remember assuring her that things would be much better this time around. She went on to deliver another healthy daughter, named Nahid. Unfortunately, in ninth grade, Rafia and her family moved to California, and I have never seen them again.
Fast forward almost 30 years. I'm a mother of 3. I spend much my spare time following the career of Clay Aiken. I listen to his music, attend his concerts, and read message boards devoted to his artistic and altruistic accomplishments. I recently traveled to Raleigh, NC to attend a fundraising gala for Clay's Bubel Aiken Foundation, an organization that fund programs for inclusion for children with disabilites, to be included with their non-disabled peers. He's really changed my life, in a lot of ways, even though I've never met him. I've made a circle of friends, through this fandom, who have come to be more "friends" than just "fans".
Recently, I began reading a book called Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin, on the recommendation of a Clay friend. It chronicles the story of an American mountaineer, who fails to reach the summit of the 2nd highest mountain in the world, known as "K2". On his way down, he gets separated from his party of climbers, and is guided by a local man to a small Pakistani village, named Korphe. After he arrives home in America, he vows to return to Pakistan and build a much needed school in the rural village, so he scrimps and saves and searches for donors until he has $12,000 saved, and gets on a plane back to Pakistan.
The rest of the book (which I haven't quite finished yet) details how he further expands his desire to give back to the people of that region by building multiple schools with an emphasis on making sure that girls get educated as well as boys. It's an inspiring read, and I am learning a lot about Pakistan and Afghanistan. I'm also recognizing a lot of little bits and pieces that I remember learning from my friend Rafia and her family. To learn more about Greg's foundation, or to make a donation, go to the Central Asia Institute's website.
This evening, after reading a few more chapters (in which they talk about food all the time!), I felt the overwhelming desire to cook myself some curried chick peas. I discovered I was out of onions, so I jumped in the car and raced over to the grocery store to get some. As I was checking out, I heard the familiar strains of Clay Aiken's Without You come over the speakers. It just struck me as not so much a coincidence as coming full circle. All my life I've been fighting prejudice, advocating for women's rights, and the rights of all children to an education, regardless of ability or economic means. Both of these amazing men have accomplished so much in their lives, and through different channels, are advocating for the same things. They inspire me in different and in similar ways, each and every day.
Two weeks from tomorrow...A Thousand Different Ways will be released. After seeing these latest pictures, I will guess that this album will be released to a totally unsuspecting public. This is NOT the Clay Aiken from American Idol. However...having heard the 30 second PromoSquad clips more than a few times, I believe that this new look will make several people sit up, take notice, and listen to the VOICE.
Back to the pictures for a second, though. One of the friends here in this blog is a big Beatles fan. Me, I'm a big U2 fan. I find it strangely comforting that in the background of these two pictures are posters of John Lennon and Bono. IMO, Clay's not quite to either of these men's levels...yet. *g*
I can't believe a whole year has passed since the Jukebox Tour came to Clio, MI. Ten of us Canadians piled into two separate minivans, and crossed the border. Two of us actually had won meet and greets! (Unfortunately, I was not one of them.) Here's the gang, as we appeared that day.
What an amazing concert that was......so many special moments. Clay was in his element, and at his snarky, humourous best. He looked absolutely gorgeous.
I remember Clay admonishing us to dance if we were going to be so close to the stage, joking about how Mrs Loki took 20 minutes to sit down, because "God forbid the clack should skip around" and "yeah, I know your words", hilarious Touch banter ("if one day, every single person had a sign that said Touch, I would still not sing that song!"), a special command performance of Build Me Up Buttercup, and of course, last but not least, arguably the most inspired performance of A Thousand Days yet. In tribute to the one year anniversary of such a memorable concert, I uploaded a montage version of the performance for your viewing pleasure. This is from a complete series of Clio montages created by myself and goldarngirl, available for download from http://www.goldarngirl.com.
Since I'm still patiently waiting for my main man, Clay Aiken, to announce the release date of his new album, and the start of his next tour, last night I took my mom to see a concert by two of our original Canadian Idols - Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings. It was great to see a live show with great musicians and an absolutely fantastic singer, who hasn't lost one bit of his voice over the years. These two guys were the backbone of The Guess Who in the 60s and early 70s. The audience was a mix of young and old (with the majority being older than me!), but they yelled, whisted, clapped and danced the night away anyways.
I found this cute fangirly blog, written by a Burton fan living in Saskatoon. How great that she finally got to see her idol perform live. Here's hoping I get to see mine soon, too. Come on, Clay, time to show your hand. I'm starting to spend money on other artists!!! ;-)
Here's an oldie goldie performance of The Guess Who performing their hit American Woman (circa 1970):
And another, more recent, performance of the classic Guess Who song These Eyes:
The guys were recently showcased in an hour-long CBC special (DVD due out Sept 12th). They currently have a collection of remastered songs for sale, The Bachman Cummings Songbook, and, in an interesting marketing decision, they are offering a CD of never-before-heard originals for sale only at the concerts, entitled The Thunderbird Trax. Hmmmm, that could be a great idea.........
Today is Sir Paul McCartney's 64th birthday. The media is making a VERY big deal of this, and that is their right. And so, in honor of Sir Paul, here are the Beatles, singing one of their first hits, Can't Buy Me Love."
Listen to the screaming girls! And Paul was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cute! (No offense to John, George or Ringo fans there...)
But now...
Listen to the screaming girls in THIS clip:
This clip of Clay Aiken was shot by hockeydonna in August 2005 at a Boston concert of Clay Aiken. It was during a 60's medley during his show. What gets me about the clip is that head bob. He keeps it up for the entire song! I've tried to sing along with him during this, and I cannot do it. He must have practiced a LONG time, IMO.
Am I comparing Sir Paul McCartney and Clay Aiken? Nope. What I am trying to say is that the Beatles music is universal, no matter who sings it.
There are some people who can light up a room with a smile. They don't just smile with their mouths, they smile from their very soul. It is reflected in their eyes, and it lights up their face. I've realized that I don't see beauty the same way many others do.
I don't tend to go in for the movie star, conventionally-attractive-type good looks. But sometimes, when I see someone smile, it causes the butterflies to start fluttering in my stomach. It makes me look at them in a whole new light. Most recently, that happened to me when I was watching an episode the television series "The O.C." with my son. One of the main characters, played by Ben McKenzie, is usually sullen and serious. I can't even remember what caused him to smile, but WHAM! It hit me how good looking he really was.
BC (before Clay), I was a figure skating freak. It all started one day in 1993, when my mom called me on the phone, and told me to turn on the television. She was watching her hero, Kurt Browning, in a competition. I turned it on, but there was this other guy, dressed in leather, who caught my eye immediately. He just had such charisma and intensity about him. He had his own style; he didn't skate like everyone else. And yet, he could skate like nobody's business. And his smile, when he finished his program, lit up the arena.
That was the first time I ever saw Elvis Stojko, who went on to win two Olympic silver medals, and four World champtionship titles.
Of course, nowadays, I'm all about Clay. I've heard people say that he's unattractive, and while I believe that everyone has a right to their opinion, I can't for the life of me figure out why. His features are classically handsome. There is many a web site dedicated to analyzing his beauty. But what really brings it home, to me, is his smile. His smile just lights up his whole face. He freakin' GLOWS.
Maybe its the look you get in your eyes. Oh baby it's the way it makes me feel to see you smile. - excerpt from "The Way", sung by Clay Aiken
I got a very mysterious text message this morning, on my way to work.
"The train is leaving the station."
Whoa. I almost drove off the road. It was obviously code. I often keep in touch with my Clay buddies via text messaging when I am away from the boards, just in case something astronomical hits. I hate being out of the loop.
What could it mean?
Maybe Clay Aiken's Official Fan Club site had been revamped, and when I got to work, I'd log in to see new promotional pictures of that gorgeous man with dark, feathery, soft bangs falling gently over his forehead. Maybe there'd be a voice-over, and Clay himself would talk to meeeeee!
Maybe Team Clay had sent out the long awaited press release, with details about his much anticipated sophomore album? Oh, how sweet would it be to finally circle the release date on my calendar? To know the name of the first single? To hear the titles of some of the tracks? Be still my heart!
Maybe Clay had blogged again? The topic matters not to me, I just love to read his snarky sentences. Maybe he revealed his least favourite vegetable! Or maybe he was telling the story of his behind-the-scenes escapades at the American Idol finale the other night! Or teased us with details of his rumoured appearance at Arnold Schwartzeneger's high profile private party the next night!
Maybe the new Clay Aiken touring schedule had been released! Will it be summer, or fall? Will it cross the entire country? Please, let it come to Canada! Maybe it will be a truly international tour, and touch far off continents as well. Won't those people be in for a shock when they experience the power of the VOX live? I need to hurry and get to work, in case there is going to be a Ticketmaster presale!
My heart pounding, I texted back "What?"
The answer came almost immediately. Trying desperately to drive and read at the same time, I glanced at the screen.
"I'm on the train to Toronto. We're just leaving now. Today is my business trip."
Oh.
Can you tell I have a one track mind? But that's the way it's been since Clay came crashing back into the public consciousness last Wednesday, and stole the show. The BUZZZZZZ is everywhere. Anticipation fills the air. What will he do next? When will it hit?
A wise woman said "Buckle your seat belts. Strap on your oxygen masks."
The rest of the book (which I haven't quite finished yet) details how he further expands his desire to give back to the people of that region by building multiple schools with an emphasis on making sure that girls get educated as well as boys. It's an inspiring read, and I am learning a lot about Pakistan and Afghanistan. I'm also recognizing a lot of little bits and pieces that I remember learning from my friend Rafia and her family. To learn more about Greg's foundation, or to make a donation, go to the Central Asia Institute's website.
