Christopher F Reidy
Christopher Reidy
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CFR BLOG PAGE

The thoughts & Musings of Christopher F. Reidy*

NOTE: Apparently this webpage has some glitches. It tends to randomly switch out visual material.  Why?  Don't ask me.  So, if a pic doesn't match the text...it doesn't!  Rest assured I am trying to amend this problem.  When I get around to it.

*(may contain misuse of apostrophes, miss spellings, overabundance of semi-colons,  wrong word usage, etc.
Please pardon our appearance while we create a new blog experience for you!)

​ALSO: 
Please find a complete index of blog posts on the homepage, for your convenience!

AND YET ANOTHER NOTE:
The visual switcheroos on these blogs have reached a point where there's no way I can correct them all, so I'm just going to leave them be.  If they don't match the text, just think of them as whimsical funsies decorating the text.  I will continue to supply pictures; but I cannot guarantee their context: much like my mind.
Thank you for your patience!

A FURTHER NOTE:
I try to keep this website relatively free of anything truly morally reprehensible or obscene.  However, in the pursuit of honesty; I will be quite frank about sexuality; as I feel one should be.  To  wit: this website is not for children.  It is decidedly "adult"; although not necessarily not "childish."  I do not feel it is suitable, in some instances, for anyone below the age of 17.  Or maybe a very mature 16...or 15 even.  
THIS WEBSITE IS RATED: PG-15

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Can Music Save Us?

8/20/2022

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The other day my friend Joe and I were talking and out of nowhere he asks: "Do you like Chicago?"  And I say: "The City or the band?"  "The band..." he replies.  "Yeah, sure.  I like Chicago." The band.  I've never been to the actual city and I'll make a confession here.  I'm afraid to go.  "Why are you afraid to go to Chicago, Chris?" you might ask.  "You love big, bustling metropolises..."  Well, many years ago, an acquaintance of mine who was mega into Astrology asked me for my birth details and then presented me with a chart.  The only thing I remember from it was that, according to it, the city of Chicago had bad energy for me.  Like really bad.  I looked at my friend and asked "How bad?"  He frowned, raised his brow, tilted his head and cast his eyes downwards.  I'm hoping this dispels that bad ju-ju by saying this out loud, as it were; because it does seem like Chi-town would be my kind of town...
Frankie's a Sagittarius!  Hoo-doo dispelled.
So, back to Joe. "Why do you ask?" I ask.  "Have you ever heard of Leonid and Friends?"
And he gives me the skinny on Leonid and his friends.  "Leonid and Friends" are, I suppose, essentially a cover band; in particularly covering Chicago (the band) tunes.  They also do a little Earth, Wind and Fire and other stuff.  But mostly Chicago.  Now, who doesn't like that handful of Chicago classics from the 70's?  For example, "Saturday, In the Park."  I like them enough; but maybe not enough to go seek out Leonid and his friends. 
Apparently, they are more of a collective of musicians who like Chicago a whole lot.  The "friends" are composed of Russian and Ukrainian musicians, who, also apparently, learned English so they could sing the songs in the original language.  Now, as to whether or not they learned English in it's entirety or just the English found in the songs, I cannot answer.
So, Joe sent me a link and I clicked on it.  I was expecting something campy, perhaps mildly amusing, disposable...but when I watched it, I was mesmerized.  The clip Joe sent me was their cover of "Only the Beginning":
As I watched it, I felt myself so emotionally moved I was on the verge of tears.  And then I watched again and the tears were streaming down my face.
Why?  Why though?  Why was it having this effect.  The original never did.  Why should a bunch of Europeans doing a note perfect copy of an old pop song be so transformative?  It's joy.  It's just sheer joy.  You can see it in their faces and hear it in their voices.  And they're honoring something they're thankful for by making it as perfect as they can.  It's like joy reverb.  And it's made me see people from that region (a region that is now being torn apart) in a different way.  They're not dour and cowed.  They love life and music and creativity as much as anyone. As much as I do.  I feel a connection to these people because in many ways this country is being torn apart too.
I don't know...maybe you'll find it corny; but I'm thinking you won't.  
Anyways, I just felt like I needed to share this discovery.  Here's another one:
CFR 8/20/22
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    AUTHOR
    Christopher Reidy is from the Boston area.  He attended Boston University where he studied TV and film which eventually led him to Los Angeles.  There he did the Hollywood thing (which he wasn’t particularly good at) and eventually met his partner Joseph.  He was one of the co-founders of the short lived Off Hollywood Theatre Company which staged several of his original plays.  83 In the Shade is his first novel.  He also dabbles in screenplays, toys with short stories, and flirts with poetry.  Life brought him to bucolic Southwest Virginia where he now resides and is very active in community theatre. It may interest you to know Chris is officially an Irish citizen as well as an American. He also enjoys drawing and painting and looking after a passel of 
    ​
    housecats and two turtles.

     

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