I’ve Seen Fire, and I’ve Seen Rain

And I never thought that I’d see… James Taylor seeming like Mister Rogers’ younger brother.  Adorable.  Attractive. Earnest. Not a negative thing, mind you, but just a little surprising.  Blinking.  Hand motions.  Even calling me “special.” Everything but the cardigan.  Not only looking and acting his age, but sedately and winsomely welcoming me to his website and thanking me for “falling by.”  Ah, times have changed.  And I’m thankful my childhood heroes are going with me into the valley of menopause.  Come with us: http://www.jamestaylor.com/

I remember being 10 and showing my grandmother the cover of Sweet Baby James, and I told her, in my prepubescently insistent way, that “James Taylor is the best-looking man alive.”  And she was shocked, mortified, depleted… and replied with a sure-fire deal-breaker (if her intent was to dissuade me), saying “But what about your father?  He’s so handsome.”  It seemed that some unknown part of my future character rested on realizing the error of my ways for finding such a long-haired hippie (and an insouciantly lounging one, at that) attractive.

Anyway, I’m a big fan, and I’ve paid scalpers’ rates, and sat through deluges in lawn “seats,” and I check out his website from time to time, and in short I am — as I said — a big fan. My children even think that James Taylor is the author of the only lullaby ever written, “You Can Close your Eyes,” cause it’s the only one their momma ever sang.

I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain…but I never thought I’d compare James Taylor to Fred Rogers.

 

~ by Cary on November 20, 2009.