PATTERN OF LOVE 

By Jack Smith

I didn’t question Timmy, age nine, or his seven-year-old brother Billy, about the brown wrapping paper they passed back and forth between them as we visited each store. Every year at Christmas time, our Service Club takes the children from poor families in our town on a personally conducted shopping tour. I was assigned Timmy and Billy, whose father was out of work. After giving them the allotted $4 each, we began our trip. At different stores I made suggestions, but always their answer was a solemn shake of the head, no. Finally I asked, “Where would you suggest we look?”

“Could we go to a shoe store, Sir?” answered Timmy. “We’d like a pair of shoes for our Daddy so he can go to work.”

In the shoe store the clerk asked what the boys wanted. Out came the brown paper. “We want a pair of work shoes to fit this foot,” they said.

Billy explained that it was a pattern of their Daddy’s foot. They had drawn it while he was asleep in a chair.

The clerk held the paper against a measuring stick, then walked away. Soon he returned with an open box. “Will these do?” he asked.

Timmy and Billy handled the shoes with great eagerness. “How much do they cost?” asked Billy. Then Timmy saw the price on the box. “They’re $16.95,” he said in dismay. “We only have $8.”

I looked at the clerk and he cleared his throat. “That’s the regular price,” he said, “but they’re on sale – $3.98 – today only.”

Then, with shoes happily in hand, the boys bought gifts for their mother and two little sisters. Not once did they think of themselves.

The day after Christmas the boy’s father stopped me on the street. The new shoes were on his feet and gratitude was in his eyes. “I just thank God for people who care,” he said.

“And I thank God for your two sons.” I replied. “They taught me more about Christmas in one evening than I had learned in a lifetime.” May love fill your heart and your home during this blessed holiday season!

————————————————-

Joshua Bell with Pianist Jeremy Denk

Saturday, December 19, 2020 at 3PM EST

Joshua Bell is “a thoroughly serious, intelligent musician” (Financial Times, London … Jeremy Denk) “played with tremendous verve and contagious brilliance” (The Los Angeles Times)

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) presents internationally acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell with Pianist Jeremy Denk on Saturday, December 19, 2021 at 3:00 p.m.

These friends, who teamed on the recording “For the Love of Brahms” (Sony Classical) to critical acclaim in 2016, plan an emotionally engaging program for the NJPAC audience. The afternoon concert will showcase Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 1, an immediate success for its composer and featuring a passionate finale; Shostakovich’s elegiac Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, a World War II-era lamentation; the expressive Trio élégiaque No. 1, written by Rachmaninoff at the age of 19, and the poetically seductive Piano Trio in A minor by Ravel.

Tickets

For tickets, follow the link:  njpac.org/event/joshua-bell-with-pianist-jeremy-denk

———————————–

LEDISI

Friday, December 18, 2020 at 9 p.m. EST

Join NJPAC for a soulful live-stream concert with ‘Ledisi: Live at the Troubadour.’ The 13-time GRAMMY-nominated R&B powerhouse will perform songs from her new album, “The Wild Card,” and favorites that span her career.

Ledisi is a chart-topping singer-songwriter known for infusing her signature R&B vocals with a distinctly jazzy touch. Ledisi also lent her talent to the acclaimed 2014 film Selma, in which she portrayed American music icon, Mahalia Jackson. Ledisi is not only a singer and actress, but she’s also an author, playwright, film producer, and now CEO of her record label ‘Listen Back Entertainment/BMG.’

For Tickets, follow the link boxoffice.mandolin.com/collections/ledisi-live-at-the-troubadour?oid=5&affid=16

—————————————

CHEVY CHASE & BEVERLY D’ANGELO

Saturday, December 19, 2020 Live on Zoom @ 8PM

Switch on the Christmas lights and join Chevy Chase (Clark Griswold) and Beverly D’Angelo (Ellen Griswold) for this online salute to the holiday classic, ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.’ Expect the unexpected as these legends share a no-holds-barred trip down memory lane and unveil the behind-the-scenes secrets of the ‘Vacation’ film franchise.

They’ll also answer questions from the virtual audience during the live Q&A. So gather the family and cozy up on the couch as NJPAC streams the Griswolds directly to your living room for a virtual holiday celebration. Chestnuts and eggnog recommended!

Upgrade to VIP

TREAT yourself to an upgraded experience when you add on the VIP option. VIP ticket holders will have the opportunity to engage in a one-minute one-one video chat with Chevy and Beverly. The capacity for this experience is extremely limited and must be purchased in advance.

 Tickets

For Tickets, visit passportshows.com/checkout2/cv-checkout-1219208

————————————————-

KEEPING SAFE DURING THE HOLIDAYS

Message from John Screiber, President & CEO of NJPAC

“Thank you so much for joining us (Friday, December 11, 2020) for our virtual NJPAC Business Partners Roundtable @ Home with Governor Phil Murphy.

 I hope that you were as engaged as I was by the Governor’s frank and detailed assessment of how the state has managed the current health crisis so far, the precautions we all still need to take and, happily, the very good news about vaccines and other assistance that should arrive in our state in a matter of weeks.

I was particularly moved by the Governor’s commitment to “never let this get impersonal” and his practice of reaching out to speak to teachers, business owners and especially the families of those who have lost loved ones to COVID-19 to guide him as he makes the incredibly difficult and complex decisions involved in managing the pandemic.

His compassion, and his insistence on “checking partisan bias at the door” to work with leaders across the country to establish best practices for handling this unprecedented challenge, were both truly inspirational.Until then, everyone here at NJPAC joins me in wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season!

May the New Year bring better days for us all.”

(Mabel Pais writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Social Issues, Spirituality, and Health & Wellness)