Some Day at Christmas

This song was released during Bobby’s very last Christmas on this earth – Christmas of 1967.

We wonder what he was doing then, and what Christmas must have been like for him alone in New York?  Could he have ever imagined that, at Christmas of 2016, there would still be people thinking about him?

Bobby's Letter to George Herms

If you have not read this letter yet on the Bobby Driscoll website (www.bobbydriscoll.net), you absolutely must.  I am choosing this to be our focus this week because I love delving into how Bobby thought and felt about things as an adult.  This particular letter is rich with mysticism (which he turned to for a time) and art discussion.  It’s definitely clear to see that his artistic pursuits were of paramount importance to him at this point in his life.

I also love to see what a loyal and loving friend he was through his writing – specifically, the kind things he said in encouragement to George Herms regarding his friend’s own art and his family.  It was absolutely precious to see his fond remarks regarding Nalota, George Herms’ two-year-old daughter, whom he asked George to give “big smacks on the nose – kiss smacks” to, as well as his declarations that she was “a fine, pretty girl, even while splotched” after he had been sent a picture of her with the measles.  If he was this affectionate toward his friend’s child, we can only imagine the affection he was full of for his own daughters, with whom his contact was probably limited at this point.  A little part of me wonders if that’s why Nalota was possibly so special to him?  
Bobby’s heart was full of affection, depth, sensitivity, and beauty.  There is nothing truer than a letter to make alot of things about a person’s soul evident.

Musical Timeline

Here we have it, my timeline:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6pQNLAKIgADSlhNcHRwWUxWYW8/view

Music and nostalgia are key forces in my life.  With a certain song, I can be carried across time and space to places unimaginable… and into the life of someone I maybe never got to know.

It was with this in mind that I undertook this project for Bobby.  I took a timeline that I did not comprise – the credit for that goes to a man on the Bobby Driscoll Yahoo Group – and did some editing and adding.

Firstly, I did abridge it slightly to remove alot of the legal aspects (such as when Bobby’s contracts started and stopped, etc.), interview dates, and public appearance dates.  There were alot of these, particularly in the late 40′s and most specifically in 1950, and it made reading a bit tedious to the average viewer.  If you ever want to see the unabridged version, however, contact me and I’ll give it to you.

Secondly, I reformatted and added some font effects, the pictures, and the heading and afterward.

Thirdly, I added the names of songs for every few events that were number one on the billboard charts at the time.  It is this part that I hope some of you who are like myself will enjoy – the chance to hear a little of the cultural atmosphere that enveloped Bobby during his lifetime, perhaps pulling you into the thick of the action.  For each song I put in here, I had a mental image of what Bobby might have been doing while listening to it on the radio or in his car.

Sappy much?  Probably, but I am a sappy person, and I thought this would be sweet.  I loved doing it, and now I’m sharing it with you.

Btw you can find ALL these songs on youtube.

Addendum to "Songs for Bobby"

Ghost Town - Adam Lambert

This melancholy yet edgy song makes me think of what might have been going on in Bobby’s mind and heart as he wasted away on the streets of New York, particularly after his third major relationship, Didi, had ended.  He knew he was dying in all likelihood; he was tired, and sick; and who can even begin to fathom what kinds of thoughts he was having about his life at that point.  I heard it today, and it was undeniably a “Bobby song” to me.

The Norman Conover Story...

…Is.an episode on the 50′s TV show The Millionaire in which a millionaire gives a million dollars a week to someone he feels is deserving.  The object of his charity here happens to be Norman Conover, a man who is wrestling to raise his teenage son who was abandoned by his mother at a young age.

Bobby is Lew Conover, and as always, he does a bang-up job in this role.

Favorite moments:  just about the entire thing.  Bobby does a wonderful job, looks sweet and clean-cut, and when we compare it to his timeline, had just become a father for the second time to his first baby girl.  We can still bank on the stress of sleepless nights and trying to find work to support his family affecting him here as well, but you’d never know it.

Here is a collage I made of some great screenshots I got from this:



This, because I really just feel like these from this particular show are some of the handsomest and happiest pictures we see of Bobby as an adult, and I love them.

Btw for those of you who are nostalgic about music, I’m going to be working on putting a timeline of Bobby’s life alongside some songs that were big during the listed times, and that remind me of where he might have been in his mind and heart during those points.  In essence, it will be a musical walk through his life.  I’ll get this up soon! 

I want to also take this time to thank all of my followers for still showing up =)  This blog has proven to be a really great way for me to express all my feelings and show my great respect for Bobby since he has come to mean so very much to me this past year.  I’m glad to know he means this much to others, too!