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By Dr. Tim Seelig\u2014<\/p>\n
OK, I know it\u2019s Father Time, but for this septuagenarian, it\u2019s Grandfather Time. Much has been said about time. As you get older, you realize there is not an endless supply. The time is marked, \u201cWhile Supplies Last.\u201d Time is a finite number. The problem is, we don\u2019t have any clue what that number is. It is one of the oddities and challenges of our time on this planet.<\/p>\n
It is very tempting to go to Claude, Claudette, Groc, or Ms. Groc for help. They would have plenty to say, even TMI. They could write an 800-word article in two minutes. But I resisted. They know lots of stuff, but they don\u2019t know me or my favorite music! My music career now spans more than 70 years; I have sung and conducted hundreds of songs about time. I can be my own personal AI agent on this one. It\u2019s a tiny bit of the soundtrack of my life.<\/p>\n
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If we asked AI how much time we have left on the planet, it might be an answer we don\u2019t want to hear! The recent revelations that AI might end life on the planet in 10 years fell differently on everyone\u2019s ears. Regardless of how old you might be, one reaction shared by all is, \u201cWell, we better get with it and live every moment as if it were the last.\u201d It\u2019s not that easy. Life gets in the way, and we are distracted by all the things. Sandi Patty\u2019s song \u201cThe Stage Is Bare\u201d refers to them as \u201cdaily days.\u201d We don\u2019t have time for just plain old daily days.<\/p>\n
There was a lot of talk about time in the church. Time was used as a fear tactic. If you walked out of the church service and were hit by a bus and you weren\u2019t right with God, not only was your life over, but you were also going to burn for eternity. Eternity is apparently a long time! We were also reminded that no one was allowed to know the big secret\u2014when Jesus would come back and all hell\/heaven would break loose. We weren\u2019t even supposed to guess. All we knew was that it was coming soon! The current trouble in the Middle East has only stoked the flames of prophecy coming true. (See what I did there with the flames.)<\/p>\n
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In the evangelical church, I think we only got stuff from the Old Testament when there was some tidbit that would enhance the fear of the New Testament. The Byrds broke that rule and used Ecclesiastes in 1965 in a song we sang this last concert: \u201cTurn, Turn, Turn.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:<\/p>\n
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to love, and a time to hate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking of time, we could all sing along with the 1996 hit, \u201cSeasons of Love,\u201d from Rent. \u201c525,600 minutes. How do you measure, measure a year?\u201d The musical hit on so many difficult lessons that had not been on a national stage. Included in these was the fact that the composer Jonathan Larson died of an aortic aneurysm the night before the show\u2019s off-Broadway premiere. It was his time\u2014so they say. That\u2019s a terrible thing to say.<\/p>\n
For those of us who were in the middle of the AIDS pandemic, time became an even more precious thing. In 1996, David Friedman wrote \u201cWe Live on Borrowed Time\u201d for the incredible Nancy LaMott. It was later recorded by Barry Manilow. By 1996, we were just seeing the light at the end of the tunnel out of our journey with AIDS. We had first-hand knowledge of these words.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe live on borrowed time
Yesterday is past, tomorrow seems a million miles away
But I promise you that I\u2019m gonna make love last<\/p>\n
By living every moment, every hour, every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
There were hundreds of songs over the next 30 years. I would love to share more, but that article would be a book. I hope you are thinking of your own. There are heroic anthems, love songs, and requiems.<\/p>\n
Eighteen months ago, something changed with my new chorus, Portland Sage Singers: Q+ Elders and Allies. You must be 55 to join, and the average age is around 70. These people know all about time. These people know how to have a good time. These people are not interested in the drama of youth. Time\u2019s just too short.<\/p>\n
We titled our very first concert Our Time, after the Stephen Sondheim song from Merrily We Roll Along. The words are: \u201cIt\u2019s our time, breathe it in, worlds to change and worlds to win.\u201d We followed that up with a gorgeous song by Stephen Schwartz. Let me tell you a story about that one.<\/p>\n
If you read this column regularly, you know that Stephen is a friend. He had Bobby and me over for tea last November when we were in New York City. As we sat on his sofa, I told him that our favorite Sage Singers song was \u201cIn Whatever Time We Have\u201d from Children of Eden. As I told him how deeply it touched chorus and audience alike, he teared up and could hardly speak. It\u2019s still one of our favorites.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn whatever time we have
For as long as we are living
We can face whatever comes
If we face it now as one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stephen wasn\u2019t the only one who wiped away tears when it was sung by 100 oldies. Jump ahead to our last concert. We sang a song by an amazing songwriter, Bobby Jo Valentine. It\u2019s titled \u201cMost Good Things Take Time.\u201d It begins with a little boy who can\u2019t grow a garden because he is impatient, waters too much, and picks the fruit long before it\u2019s time. After growing up, experiencing life to its fullest, and learning its lessons, he decides to try again.<\/p>\n
Finishing out Grandfather Time\u2019s Playlist is one for the ages and one of my absolute favorites. Please go listen to Susan Werner singing \u201cMay I Suggest.\u201d It will make your day. You may cry.<\/p>\n