JAMIE’S PLACE FOR STUFF

For Manic Monday, you simply take the word prompt and write your response on the subject. It is impossible for me to see the word “Joy” without thinking “Joy To The World” and once the association train starts running, there is no stopping it until it is done. “Joy To The World” is not the Christmas Carol, it is a rowdy, rambunctious screamer of a song by Three Dog Night featuring a bullfrog named Jeremiah.

When she was a very new infant, my daughter would “ribbit” in her sleep. We never knew what dreams brought on a “ribbit”, but from that point on her nickname was “Froglet” and every gift giving occasion includes a frog of some sort even though she is now in her 60s.

In 1971 when she was almost seven, “Joy To The World” became a major hit and whenever it came on the radio, Lanisa would sing along. Now she wasn’t big on the lyric details, so her version consisted of “Jeremiah Bullfrog Joy Wine” repeated rather endlessly even after the song was over. It isn’t easy to stop her association train either.

In 1983 a movie came out that was in many ways the iconic depiction of the young people of the 70s and their music. “The Big Chill” opens with a child being bathed and slapping the water while screaming about Joy and a Bullfrog. It then moves into Marvin Gaye’s soulful wail of “Heard It Through The Grapevine” as the corpse of Kevin Costner is being dressed for a funeral. The group gathering for the funeral of a college friend was a cast consisting of not all that well known actors and actresses who have gone on to much greater renown: Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly, and JoBeth Williams. The Soundtrack of The Big Chill has become a “must have” in most music collections.

So, in this time of looking towards the future, may you all have Joy in your world, lots of friends to share it with, some mighty fine wine (or other beverage of your choice), and the voice of a child loving and singing about a bullfrog named Jeremiah.