June 20, 2023 (Song #1998): “The Water Is Wide” sung by Karla Bonoff.  T-44* brings me to 1979 and 10th grade – another year with so many memories (meeting new friends at Staples High School, Latin Class with the juniors, Sophomore Chorus with the inimitable George Weigle, Orchestra with John Hanulik and his son, my crush, Chris Hanulik) but this morning, the blog gods gave me a little gift when I saw my friend Kevin Gillespie’s name pop up in my Facebook notifications.

Kevin and I met at Bedford El and he was by far the cutest thing you’d ever seen.  In 6th grade, Kevin, Cindy and I hid in the closet in our classroom at Hillspoint School to avoid music class (I did what?!) with Mr. Itner, who had to roll an upright piano into every music class since he didn’t have a dedicated music space (we should’ve been his best students, but we were definitely not; I’m sorry, Mr. Itner.)

Fast forward to ninth grade when we spent many nights on the phone singing harmony with each other (my parents generously bought me a phone and gave me a dedicated phone line; more privilege, more to be thankful for). Kevin cracked everybody up with his rendition of a local commercial: “everybody in the pool!” and his special party trick: crying on demand. At the end of ninth grade, he was distraught because he was voted “best looking” and “most popular” and I think he had to choose; it was not the choosing that caused him stress – rather, it was the thought that people were focusing on him that made him super uncomfortable. He deserved the accolades, though.

We sang together in choirs all the way through middle and high school, ending with the Orphenians and our incredible trip to Europe in 1981. However, my favorite, favorite memory is of Kevin, me and Ed Jordan: The Ex-Orph Trio (the name did not stick, but we thought we were clever). We thought we were the Crosby, Stills & Nash of Westport;  we could make harmony out of anything with me on guitar and Ed on piano and Kevin with his incredibly gorgeous voice (I’m getting weepy just thinking about it). We performed at Grass Roots (the hippy wine bar on the Post Road at the Riverside Intersection between Ye Olde Bridge Grille and the Premiere market across from Art’s Deli) and at two fundraisers for the Susan Davis Lloyd Educational Memorial Fund. We sang together until life pulled us apart.  I miss you, Kevin (and Ed) but I thank you so much for the harmony and friendship. Happy Birthday to you and Mary Ellen Barry and Happy Anniversary to Lisa & Russell. xoxoxo

P.S. Around this time, I realized that many of the good songs I loved were written by Karla Bonoff; it was the first time I realized what a singer/songwriter was and I remember being disappointed that Linda Ronstadt didn’t write her own music (I’ve gotten over that. 🙂 Though Karla Bonoff didn’t write today’s SOTD (it’s “traditional”), her version, with her sweet,  unassuming voice, always gave me chills.

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