Hi all,
Last night I was watching the Emmy awards after spending a weekend at home in MA with family and friends. I thought it was gonna be a good show, and on top of being freakin hilarious, there were a couple things that really stuck with me after the final award had been handed out.
The first thing was when George Clooney was presented with the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award. I wasn't expecting much, other than some (sincere) gratitude and some shout-outs about Katrina; but his comments were:
"It's important to remember how much good can get done because we live in such strange times where bad behavior sucks up all the attention and the press, and the people who really need the spotlight, they can't get any. The truth is, look, when a disaster happens, everybody wants to help. The hard part is that seven months later, five years later, when we're on to a new story. Honestly, we've failed at that most of the time. That's the facts. I've failed at that. Here's hoping a very bright person can find a way to help keep the spotlight burning on these heartbreaking situations that continue to be heartbreaking long after the cameras go away. That'd be an impressive accomplishment."
Now, I'm not ordinarily a huge Clooney fan - not that I dislike him, I just haven't had much of an opinion either way toward him - but I have to say I think this was a powerful and necessary message. When something terrible happens, as a society we are pretty good at immediate response, but we seem unaware of the fact that these things don't go away just because we forget about them, or because we think we "did our part" to help. I think cancer is very much like this... some people are gung-ho immediately after someone close to them is diagnosed, or even when someone famous is diagnosed and hosts a telethon of some sort, but a few months or years later they've lost that passion to fight the disease, to raise awareness, to keep it in the spotlight. I wish it didn't take some kind of crisis, whether international or personal, for people to stay active, to stay involved. Make no mistake that it is our collective responsibility to take care of each other. Don't think it doesn't apply to you - it applies to everyone.
The second part of the show that really hit home was Jewel's song during the "In Memoriam" part of the show where they honor the memory of those in show business who passed away this year. The song was called "Shape of You", and the lyrics so accurately describe how I feel about losing Grandpa. I'm also not typically a crazy huge Jewel fan (same deal as Clooney, could take her or leave her), but this song is something really special.
September settles softly/Leaves are startin' to fall
And I recall the last time you were here
Your laughter a melody that lingers still
There’s a hole in my heart/And I carry it wherever I go
Like a treasure that travels with me down every road
There’s this longing lonesome, deep/Kind of bitter kind of sweet
There’s a hole in my heart/In the shape of you
Time stealing swiftly/As children having children of their own
Around life’s merry go round goes/And there you are watching what you cannot hold
There’s a hole in my heart/And I carry it wherever I go
Like a treasure that travels with me down every road
There’s this longing lonesome, deep/Kind of bitter kind of sweet
There’s a hole in my heart/In the shape of you
Even though my heart aches/There’s a smile on my face
'Cause just like the window to heaven/There’s a light shining through
This hole in my heart
There’s a hole in my heart/There’s a hole in my heart
There’s a hole in my heart/But it’s in the shape of you
"It's important to remember how much good can get done because we live in such strange times where bad behavior sucks up all the attention and the press, and the people who really need the spotlight, they can't get any. The truth is, look, when a disaster happens, everybody wants to help. The hard part is that seven months later, five years later, when we're on to a new story. Honestly, we've failed at that most of the time. That's the facts. I've failed at that. Here's hoping a very bright person can find a way to help keep the spotlight burning on these heartbreaking situations that continue to be heartbreaking long after the cameras go away. That'd be an impressive accomplishment."
Now, I'm not ordinarily a huge Clooney fan - not that I dislike him, I just haven't had much of an opinion either way toward him - but I have to say I think this was a powerful and necessary message. When something terrible happens, as a society we are pretty good at immediate response, but we seem unaware of the fact that these things don't go away just because we forget about them, or because we think we "did our part" to help. I think cancer is very much like this... some people are gung-ho immediately after someone close to them is diagnosed, or even when someone famous is diagnosed and hosts a telethon of some sort, but a few months or years later they've lost that passion to fight the disease, to raise awareness, to keep it in the spotlight. I wish it didn't take some kind of crisis, whether international or personal, for people to stay active, to stay involved. Make no mistake that it is our collective responsibility to take care of each other. Don't think it doesn't apply to you - it applies to everyone.
The second part of the show that really hit home was Jewel's song during the "In Memoriam" part of the show where they honor the memory of those in show business who passed away this year. The song was called "Shape of You", and the lyrics so accurately describe how I feel about losing Grandpa. I'm also not typically a crazy huge Jewel fan (same deal as Clooney, could take her or leave her), but this song is something really special.
September settles softly/Leaves are startin' to fall
And I recall the last time you were here
Your laughter a melody that lingers still
There’s a hole in my heart/And I carry it wherever I go
Like a treasure that travels with me down every road
There’s this longing lonesome, deep/Kind of bitter kind of sweet
There’s a hole in my heart/In the shape of you
Time stealing swiftly/As children having children of their own
Around life’s merry go round goes/And there you are watching what you cannot hold
There’s a hole in my heart/And I carry it wherever I go
Like a treasure that travels with me down every road
There’s this longing lonesome, deep/Kind of bitter kind of sweet
There’s a hole in my heart/In the shape of you
Even though my heart aches/There’s a smile on my face
'Cause just like the window to heaven/There’s a light shining through
This hole in my heart
There’s a hole in my heart/There’s a hole in my heart
There’s a hole in my heart/But it’s in the shape of you
