Thanksgiving Blessings

May you discover God's blessings in life and may you be thankful for family, friends, faith and freedom.

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving filled with love and hope.
Texas Fanilow

All the wasted time...

You know how it goes. You think when you're young that you have your whole life ahead of you. You have dreams and you have goals. You plan things out the best you can and then you wake up one morning at 40, 50 or 60 and ask yourself where has the time gone? What happened to those years and are there enough left to find the dreams that you might have lost along the way?

My answer: it's never too late. I read a story once of a woman who received her law degree at 75. It was something she had always wanted to do. So after her kids were grown and her husband passed away, she went back to school. It took her ten years, but at 75 she walked across that stage at Harvard to a standing ovation. Now that's the kind of perserverance I want to have.

For many of us in the world of Manilow, those dreams include the 90 minutes of joy we get after listening to the "dreamer" himself. As he so aptly puts it.."what a life!" He inspires us to go for it and to not regret a single moment of the time we have left.

"All the time, all the wasted time... all the years, just waiting for a sign. To think I had it all. All the time." I'm not going to waste another moment of this life I've been given. I have dreams and I'm grabbing hold of them and "spreading my wings". After all, "with all there is, why settle for just a piece of sky?"

Carpe Diem,
Texas Fanilow

Stop hollering at each other!

In a recent radio interview Barry was asked what his Christmas wish would be. He answered quite simply, "that everyone would stop hollering at each other". Leave it to "our man" to sum it all up in a nutshell. It happens in all walks of life from homes, to schools, to work, to the government, to our country and to the world.

So that's MY grown up Christmas wish today. A bit early...but timely. Let's all take a moment and listen to what the other person has to say. Who knows, you might just discover that what they say makes sense. And you might also find that you have much more in common with them than you think.

"No more lives torn apart, that wars would never start....this is my grown up Christmas wish."

Hoping they stop hollering someday,
Texas Fanilow

When you think you don't matter

Feeling insignificant is one of life's battles. Especially if you love and your love is never returned. If you give of yourself to someone and those feelings are ignored, discarded or betrayed its easy to feel like you don't matter.

But nothing could be further from the truth. We all matter to someone. And for many of us, there is more than one. It's sad "when people can be so cold, they'll hurt you, and desert you, they'll take your soul if you let them." Even though our lives may be filled with these type of people, it doesn't mean that you don't matter. You may be hurting. You may feel down and defeated. You may feel like giving up and throwing in the towel on love.

But....
"Don't you let them....Just call out my name and you know wherever I am I'll come running....Close your eyes and think of me and soon I will be there...to brighten up even your darkest night."

When you think you don't matter...you've got a friend and you matter to me.
Texas Fanilow

What I Did for Love...

It has to be said. In his Vegas show, when Barry is talking about his song "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" he says you will hear today, "love rocks, or love sucks". The question is: does love suck?

My friend's son just had a horrible break up. After four years, his first and only girlfriend walked away. He is of course, devastated. Words of consolation can't help his broken heart right now. For him, love does indeed suck. But I know that once "sorrow has it's day, and when its done, life will go on."

What we do for love is definitely one of the greatest of our life's pursuit. Without love, our hearts are hollow. Our hopes are empty. And without love we have missed out on one of the greatest gifts that God gave us. Love is worth every heartache, every pain, every tear...and on the upside every joy, every triumph, every celebration and every moment shared. So I guess sometimes love rocks, and sometimes it sucks. But...a life without it, is no life at all.

To quote a song from Chorus Line..."Won't forget, can't regret... What I did for love"!

Feeling the love tonight,
Texas Fanilow

An Act of Random Kindness

It's Saturday here and I took the time to sit down this morning and watch a movie that I rented: Evan Almighty. First of all, I'm not a fan of those types of movies that take biblical stories and use them as a comedy backdrop. Call me old fashioned. Call me sensitive. It's just not my thing. But, I sat down with my coffee this morning and got involved in it. In the beginning I began analyzing the "biblical" inferences and criticizing the "interpretation" of the story in Genesis. But I have to say, when the movie was over, I was left with a few gems of truth.

First of all, that God wants the best for us. That He cares about us and loves us. I liked that. Second, that He's all about bringing people together. Third, that when we pray for certain things, like patience, courage, strength, God gives us situations so that we can see those things come out in our lives. Truly liked that lesson.

But the overwhelming lesson in this film is one that Barry has been saying all along and that for the most part is evident in the Barry community. If you want to change the world, you can do it simply by performing random acts of kindness, one person at a time. Here in Manilowland, its as simple as sharing your photos, buying a CD for someone who can't find one in their area, taping a personal appearance they can't watch, or even sending them a song via email that wouldn't download. It's those random acts of kindness that can make someone smile, brighten their day, or even change the course of their lives. Just one act a time...

So I'm thinking, if...we all did just one act, could we change this country, and the world? Barry says our one voice, added to those of others will make a difference. I tend to believe him.

There are lessons for our lives everywhere. Even, at the movies.
Texas Fanilow

Where I Want to Be

Where I want to be is not where I am right now. This has been a retrospective week for me. Partly because of some events that happened that blew my world upside down and caused me to hang on for dear life. Partly because its approaching the holidays and I miss my mother every Christmas. And partly because of the music I have been listening to in my car. I have one CD in my shared vehicle (One Voice) and when I get in the car, I switch it from the radio to the CD player. I’ve been listening to this one CD for weeks now and lately only one song. I get stuck on those single songs sometimes…listening to the words and thinking about what the song really means. This song has been cutting into my heart because where I am, is not where I want to be.

It’s predominantly a love song, but if you take a closer look its about choices. Choices that we make in our lives that define who we are and where we are going. Sometimes we make choices out of obligation, or because we feel pressured or pushed into a corner. Sometimes we make choices because we don’t have any and there is only one choice at the time for survival. Sometimes we make choices that seem right at the time but circumstances change and we feel trapped. But whatever choices we have made in our lives, should not keep us drowning in mediocrity and spending the rest of our lives in regret. We can’t settle for anything less than the dream that God has given us. Anything short of that makes our lives miserable and meaningless.

I’m looking forward to the day when I can claim these words as my own:

“I know my way is free…knowing I’m where I want to be’s the way I live, and now days are always new….”

If you're not where you want to be right now, all you have to do is walk through those “doors to new worlds” and know that once and for all your “way is free”. It takes courage, but its worth all the blessings you will find in the future.

Wishing I were there right now,
Texas Fanilow

I won't be the one to let go...

I'll be there anytime you need me
You'll know where I am
And everywhere anytime you're lost just turn around
And take my hand
And I will be your light in the night
And I promise that even when it seems that everything is going wrong
This I swear I won't be the one to let go."

Don't ever forget the words to this song...

They will carry you through times of doubt and despair. They have carried me through some hard ones myself. I hope you have a friend in your life that does that for you. Because some days...it's all you can do to hang on, and that friend will be there and they "won't be the one to let go."

Hanging on for dear life,
Texas Fanilow

Will the "real" Barry Manilow please stand up...

Year's ago there used to be a TV show called "What's My Line"...I know this is dating me. Anyway, the show would have three guests who claimed to be specific professions: astrounauts, actors, politicians, circus clowns, etc. The panel would have to guess which of the three guests seemed to answer the questions and be knowledgeable enough to be who they claimed to be. After they made their guesses, the host would say, "will the real ..... please stand up."

A few weeks ago I was in Vegas at a week of shows. I have to say, I saw two completely different people walk out on that stage. I've been pondering it for weeks and I can't get it out of my mind. What happened between the Friday night show and the Saturday night show that brought a different person out on that stage? Where was the Barry we all saw at Philadelphia and Boston and at the shows earlier in the week? Where had he gone? And why did he feel the need to leave and come out as BARRY MANILOW and not just Barry?

I have to say...I missed him. Don't get me wrong. The show on Saturday was flawless. The performance was amazing. The songs were on pitch and the numbers flowed seamlessly. He was the consummate performer. But I just felt the connection gone. The openess and the vulnerability that we saw in the previous shows over the last few months was not there. It was like the "shadowman" came back again and "Barry" disappeared.

Of course, I will never know what happened. But I'm interested to see if Barry comes back. I kind of liked the guy. He was just a guy. Out there...sharing his music, being real and connecting with those of us that cared to "listen".

Missing that connection,
Texas Fanilow

Welcome Home

I just returned from another trip to Manilowland for a week of shows and spending time with friends. There is something magical about walking through those doors at the Hilton, into the arms of friends and the "arms" of the one who brings all of us joy and comfort with his music and passion. "I go to a place I know, in my heart I know there's just no place like home...welcome home...to that place that's safe and warm, always a shelter from the storm...I remember when the days were stormy... home was always waiting for me."

For so many of us, our "homes" are not shelters from the storm. They are places of turmoil and distress. They are places where we feel trapped. They are places that remind us of heartache and pain. And for those of us that live our daily lives in these places, the music reminds us there is hope and to never give up on our dreams. For those of us who live in not-so-perfect places, for a few days and nights we feel "safe and warm in that shelter from the storm" in the arms of our friends and in the magic of the music that gives us comfort. It's hard walking out those doors to leave, but thankfully we know that at least for now, we can come home again and know that for those brief moments we feel safe and free.

Missing my "second home" today,

Texas Fanilow