it was so hard to keep this secret...a few months ago i wrote to david berkeley, one of mitchell's favorite singer songwriters...i wanted to do something special for valentine's day, kind of like last year, but better, and i knew that david now lived around here. i wrote him with my idea, used the old cancer card (have i no shame), and he was totally great about it. we emailed back and forth but there was no definite date set for the shoot. david was going on tour, and mitchell was going to have surgery, so the time frame was a bit shaky...
i chose the song for a couple of reasons...right after i was diagnosed, james taylor was playing at the greek theater and mitchell and i went...we were already pretty emotional but when he sang "you can close your eyes" it was real a tear jerker...we looked at each other, and there was such incredible love and friendship...i never forgot that moment...and the other reason, not equally important, was that i thought perhaps my limited range could handle it...
anyway,
i asked the lovely geralyn, who made the documentary "mine, the animals of katrina" if she'd be willing to film it...she just had her baby and wasn't sure if she'd be available, but she was gonna try. and joan, my singing buddy (and geralyn's sister) was a big YES for doing the sound. i also called for back up friends. cj was totally game, borrowed a camera, brought over her makeup and was ready to film the whole thing if geralyn couldn't get here...
coincidentally, a few weeks before the video, mitchell came home all excited. he said i'd never guess who he bumped into at the post office...well, it turns out it was david berkeley. mitchell went up to him and introduced himself and told him what a fan he was...little did he know that david now could put a face to the name...i wrote to david that night to share the laugh...
it turns out that on a monday morning, the last day of work for mitchell before his surgery, david berkeley had the time to come over. we practiced the song seperately but we'd never even met. i was nervous at first, but it was so much fun. i tell you, i could sing with that man all day long - it was amazing for me...i couldn't have been happier...
by the time everyone left, i was exhausted and got into bed. mitchell came home and actually noticed that i had make up on. (that's something in itself)... he wondered why...i told him i was just feeling "girly"...
tonight, since i knew that i had to be at work early the next day i asked mitchell if he'd like his valentine present tonight. i didn't want to rush in the morning. i also knew that i'd burst if i had to wait until the evening to show it to him...
i went to his computer, and i set it up...he couldn't believe it...he yelled, "no way"...at first he actually thought it was a photo shop thing...as if i inserted my body on a video of david berkeley's...in a few seconds he said it was the best present ever...and definitely the first thing he ever really loved about valentine's day...
This is great! Thanks for sharing this.
Posted by: Nerissa | February 14, 2011 at 02:57 PM
Beautiful! thank you.
Posted by: Oak | February 15, 2011 at 07:24 AM
wow!
Posted by: Kathleen Bannon | February 15, 2011 at 07:32 AM
Wave,
Talk about a tear jerker... I only wish I viewed it pre-mascara.
Mair
Posted by: Marigrace Bannon | February 15, 2011 at 07:34 AM
ah....so sublime! What a wonderful Valentine for Mitchell!
Posted by: Debora | February 16, 2011 at 04:42 PM
OMG so beautiful. I'm with Mair...no mascara but I was sobbing so hard that I had to calm the dogs down...love you, miss you
Posted by: Michael Spokane | February 17, 2011 at 05:56 AM
You know why you are surrounded by so much love Wave? Because you are beautiful, inside and out. This is wonderful. xo
Posted by: Lynnie | February 17, 2011 at 02:48 PM
ok, that was so moving. thank you, that was so amazing. i am speechless.
Posted by: Kevin Andrews | February 17, 2011 at 05:33 PM