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AMDG
William D. Brown
December 14, 2012, updated December 5, 2014
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AMDG
William D. Brown
December 14, 2012, updated December 5, 2014
Alfie (music by Burt Bacharach, sung by Dionne Warwick)
What’s it all about, Alfie?
Is it just for the moments we live?
What’s it all about
When we sort it out, Alfie?
Are we meant to take more than we give?
Or are we meant to be kind?
Yet if only fools are kind, Alfie,
Then I guess it is wise to be cruel?
And if life belongs only to the strong, Alfie,
What would you lend to an old Golden Rule?
As sure as I believe
There’s a heaven above, Alfie,
I know there’s something much more –
Something even non-believers can believe in.
I believe in love, Alfie.
Without true love, we just exist, Alfie.
Until we find the love we’ve missed,
We’re nothing, Alfie.
So close your eyes; let your heart lead the way,
And you’ll find love any day, Alfie.
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AMDG
William D. Brown
December 14, 2012, updated December 5, 2014
Dear ______,
I remember singing this song as a young boy decades ago (as I mentioned in a previous letter, Dionne Warwick was one of my mother’s favorite singers), and, even then, I intuited that there was something intriguing about what the singer was saying. I remember wondering: Who’s Alfie? Is he a boy or a girl? What is this “it” that the singer is talking about? Why does the singer question whether it is “wise to be cruel”? Are we not “meant to be kind”? Does “life (really) belong only to the strong”?
Now that I am at the halfway point of my life, maybe I understand this song a little more clearly. Maybe I had not understood it back then because, as a young boy who was convinced that he was much loved, I did not share the singer’s initial confusion. I had no questions because I not only believed in love: I experienced it every moment. But I also learned about and experienced the loss, heartache, and disappointment that make us ask the question, “What’s it all about?”
Like the singer, I eventually started asking questions, and the uncertainty from which sprang these questions also engendered more uncertainty. But as time passed and I gained more experience and (hopefully) more wisdom, I also started coming up with some possible answers. Interestingly, like the singer suggested, the answers came, not from fact but from faith. We just needed to “close our eyes (and) let our hearts lead the way.”
Yes, Ms. Warwick, we are meant to be kind, to give more than we take. Yes, people will take advantage of our kindness, not return it, or be indifferent to it. But we must be kind. Why should we be kind? We need to be kind to balance out – and rid ourselves of – the unkindness and cruelty that has been inflicted on us and that we have inflicted on others. We need to be kind because if we settled for being unkind, then we will all consider unkindness to be normal. I do not think we are at that point yet. We need to be kind because then, we will believe that kindness is the norm, and that is what we all will do all the time. And, before long, we may believe that being cruel is abnormal.
No, Ms. Warwick, it is NOT wise to be cruel. We may argue that being cruel first protects us from being hurt, but the truth is that being cruel hurts us first. It makes us fear one another, and we start protecting ourselves by creating physical and emotional distance. This is why we have so much loneliness, even in a major metropolis like Los Angeles, for example. We have millions of people, yet many find themselves lonely. So many live in fear – even the strong…
Life does not belong only to the strong, Ms. Warwick. The strong are not really living, you see; they are too busy fearing that someone will take what they have taken from someone else. That’s how unkindness works: it begets unkindness – or the fear of it. Heard of Macbeth?
And, yes, Ms. Warwick, life is “just for the moments we live.” The only guarantee we have is this very moment. We have some control. In this moment, we can CHOOSE to be kind or unkind. In this moment, we can choose to give or take. In this moment, we can choose to cheat and steal or to take our lumps and fail – and try again the next moment.
My mother probably wanted to be rewarded for her kindness just like everybody else; instead, what she got for her troubles was probably more heartache and disappointment that eventually wore out her already overworked heart. But I remember that when she died, I saw hundreds of people, most of whom I had never seen before – relatives, bank executives, friends, hairdressers, employees – who slogged through the typhoon that was tormenting Manila, the Philippines at the time to pay their last respects at the church where she lay.
I also vividly remember my father telling us three sons at the funeral, “That’s how you judge who your real friends are. Now we know which people were her acquaintances – and which ones were her friends. These people were your mommy’s friends.”
My mother did not have the big house or the fancy car; as far as I know, she did not have the stellar grades at school (she never even went to college) or the enviable bank account. But, judging from the turnout at her funeral, I believe that she accumulated enough moments when she touched people with her love. And these moments created a life that people missed enough to choose to brave a storm so that they could say goodbye. And maybe that song touched me so much when I was still young because I could not understand Miss Warwick’s questions, for my Mommy showered me – and everyone else I knew – with so much love that we did not have to doubt what “it” was all about.
“It” is not about getting that “Almighty A” at any cost. “It” is not about making so much money that we can buy friendship. “It” is not about collecting material possessions that eventually break or lose their appeal – or worse, make us fear people who may take these possessions away from us.
“It” is about taking advantage of this moment to show our love for someone. And we only have to start with simple things: like saying “hello” or paying attention or making our beds or doing our homework. These basic beginnings eventually become a habit, which then develops into discipline, forming the foundation of our willingness and ability to show love, for our respect for ourselves and others. Once these basic beginnings become a habit, then we can become more creative. Then we can give flowers or hold hands or donate money or open doors or say, “I love you” or even “I’m sorry” – and actually know that we are showing love.
And, in the end, when we put together all these moments, hopefully, we may be able to say that we have created a life.
We had better do it now, for we are running out of time.
Thank you for considering these musings. I wish you all a blessed Christmas and New Year holiday season. Get some rest, and have a good time. Get yourselves ready for whatever life brings. See you next year!
Peace,
William D. Brown
P.S. Speaking of getting ready for what life brings… You do remember that we start singing almost immediately after we return, right? So be sure to practice during the break…
All Students: Song Presentation Checklist
Project Situation: You have been asked to TEACH a song (a poem set to music) that will help us understand selected pieces of literature we have studied during the semester. Use this checklist to guide your teaching.
Project checklist:
1. The song helps you understand specific literary elements (point of view/narrator, plot, setting, characterization, plot, theme, symbolism/imagery, style) of a specific piece of literature. Example below:
Your Song Title(ex: “Alfie”) / Literary Element / Specific Literature Studied (ex: The Stranger and Knight’s Tale, Miller’s Tale, and Gospel stories/Biblical Literature)
Speaker is someone who questions what life is all about by talking to Alfie / Point of view/Narrator / Meursault, Knight and Miller, Jesus Christ on love
Series of questions and ends with answers (faith) / Plot / Marie/Maman, Emily, Alison, Jesus Christ
Modern setting / Setting / Different settings
Questioning; answer based on faith / Characterization / Pointlessness; cynicism; optimism
“Without true love, we just exist… Until we find the love we’ve missed, we’re nothing.” Love is what defines us and gives us meaning. / Subject/Theme / “Love is…” (different versions from the stories); “Love thy God… Love thy neighbor as thyself” (Mark 12: 30-1); “for God so loved the world…” (John 3:16)
Question and answer to “Alfie,” a very child-like name suggesting a child-like conversation with very adult questions and answers / Symbolism/Imagery/Style / Blinding sun, Marie (Meursault); battle (Knight); crude actions (Miller); ultimate sacrifice – represented by the cross (gospels)
Mother played this song often – helped me understand her then and myself now: find God in all things and in all people / Personal Response/Connection / I disagree with Camus and Meursault and the Miller; guided by my own faith.
2. Find a hook to get the audience interested:
i. Rhetorical question (one that you will answer) or short activity:
1. Examples: Finish the sentence: “Love is…” or “What questions do you struggle with?”
3. Analyze the lines of the song. (What do they mean?)
a. You may look at the lines in isolation and connect themes of both pieces; however, you also may look at the lines as they relate to the literature.
4. Connection to the literature. (How does the song advance your understanding of the literature?)
5. Message to your audience. (What do you want us to know about this song and about the literature that we all have studied?)
6. Performance of the song. (This may be done before, during, or after your teaching.)
7. Presentation. (What is the most effective way to teach this? Lecture with PPT? Group activities? Questions and discussion? Plan beforehand. And please practice! The whole thing will probably last between twelve and twenty minutes.)
Scoring Guide: a score of 20 covers the following:
· Articulate use of the language
· Beginning (hook and thesis statement), middle (development of interpretive arguments including close examination of lines), and end (conclusion that helps us think about what you just taught us)
· Close connection to the literature (use of the passages and specific examples from literature)
· Engaging presentation (preparation for lesson)
o Watch out for that verbal clutter (like, um, you know…)
o Eye contact
o Poise and confidence (you are the teacher…)
· You are NOT judged on your ability to sing! You are evaluated on how competently you communicate your understanding of both the literature we studied and the song to which you connected that literature. Just have fun with this.
· WE START ON THE FIRST DAY THAT WE RETURN FROM WINTER BREAK. We will have an order of march beforehand. Absences must be excused.
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