HOORAY FOR THE JOY-GIVERS! We always need more smiles, music and laughter. This fun series salutes those seriously unsolemn people, places and things that bring joy to the world. Starting during the pandemic, an oft joy-challenged time, readers are introduced to present-day joy-givers and reminded of cherished joy-givers of the past. Each salute will have online links to add more opportunities for happiness in the comfort of your socially-distanced home. Many installments of the series will include a salutary food or drink recipe to add another element of pleasure.
The “SHIELD THE JOYOUS” shields, which will be given to those honored or to their families, are inspired from a passage in “The Book of Common Prayer” (1662). Prayers are lifted to “tend the sick, give rest to the weary, bless the dying…and shield the joyous.” Joy-givers are precious. Let us preserve them, protect them, treasure them, smile with them, laugh with them, tap our toes with them and give them A ROUND OF APPLAUSE.
PLEASE GIVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR: THE MOST JOY-GIVING JOY-GIVERS OF 2020
2020 has been a year when even Pollyanna and Forrest Gump might have found it difficult to stay positive. But thanks to fictional joy-givers like those two and real-life joy-givers like the ones saluted here, we’ve been able to, “Stand up on our legs. Be like two, fried eggs and keep our sunny side up.”
This roster of “THE MOST JOY-GIVING JOY-GIVERS of 2020” proves, when the times get joy-challenged, the joy-givers keep on giving joy even more than ever.
Like any “Best Of” or “Most” compilations, this one is admittedly subjective. Please let my salute to “THE MOST JOY-GIVING JOY-GIVERS of 2020” be a bouncy springboard for you to create your own. Think about every grocery store worker you encountered this year. Also, be grateful for that video technician who arranged for you to have your worship services reach you at home. Sure, 2020 was not “The Best Year of our Life” for most of us, but thanks to so many good neighbors and joy-givers, it’s been a lot better than it would be without them.
Here are candidates from a variety of categories, and in no certain order, for your consideration as some of “THE MOST JOY-GIVING JOY-GIVERS of 2020”:
ANDREA BOCELLI
Remember the soaring joy of the megastar opera tenor singing “Amazing Grace” in an empty but gorgeous courtyard in Italy; please YouTube this if you have not heard it ever or this week and be prepared to have your joy lifted beyond the cathedral steeples to the heavens.
ASTRONAUTS CHRISTINA KOCH and JESSICA MEIR
Harkening to those lyrics in “Annie Get your Gun,” anything male astronauts can do, female astronauts can do, too; in October 2019, these brilliant, brave women completed the first ever, all-female spacewalk” when over seven hours, outside the International Space Station, they repaired a malfunctioning part that would have made Princess Leia proud and inspired legions of aspiring, astronaut-to-be girls and boys. Should we ever need a planet to inhabit other than earth, the work of space pioneers like these two will be opening that opportunity for all of us.
- ANTHONY FAUCI
This modest, self-deprecating “Brad Pitt-look-alike,” real-life medical doctor, director of the National Institute of Allergic and Infectious Diseases, gave us the facts about the COVID-19 pandemic and delivered them with courage, candor and compassion. Also, this is a good place to honor the work of Operation Warp Speed, every doctor/nurse/therapist/health worker in America and also the vaccine-developing scientists at “Big Pharma” like Pfizer and Moderna.
TAKE ME TO THE WORLD, The Stephen Sondheim 90th Birthday Online Salute
The multi-Tony Award-winning composer/lyricist was honored by the shining-est stars of the Broadway galaxy performing a relentlessly joy-giving array of his creations; this was planned as a LIVE event but then God laughed and gave the world a plague, so with the determined spirit of “THE SHOW MUST GO ON,” it did, on Zoom. Now FREE on YouTube, you can enjoy a gob-smacking two hours and 23 minutes of great, Sondheim classics; some of the stand-out numbers in this March 2020 cavalcade of stars were the trio of Meryl Streep/Audra McDonald/Christine Baranski, dressed in bathrobes and swigging from wine glasses, while ZOOM-belting “Ladies who Lunch” from FOLLIES, Neil Patrick Harris talk-singing the “Witches Rap” from INTO THE WOODS, and Bernadette Peters tenderly reminding us all that although we may be socially distanced, “No One Is Alone;” the salute supports ASTEP (Artists Striving To End Poverty). Please consider making a donation that will help the economically devastated, performing arts community help each other.
McKENZIE SCOTT
The fabulously wealthy ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has pledged to give the vast bulk of her money back to society; she’s already given $1.7 billion, YES, BILLION, to 116 organizations and has pledged an additional $6 BILLION, creating a bold, compassion-into-action vision for philanthropy in these times.
ROBERT F. SMITH
While we’re praising deep-thinking, deep-pocketed joy-givers, imagine being a new graduate of Morehouse College and your commencement speaker, Mr. Smith, shares that he is erasing the student loan debt of every graduate with a $34 million gift to this historically Black college so the newly degreed grads can invest themselves fully in the future.
NATHAN LAW
He is a pro-democracy activist in Hong Kong who has the courage of his convictions to stand up to the thuggish Chinese Communist government bullies; Law is a son of a working-class family and the youngest lawmaker ever elected to the city legislature. We will be hearing much more from this graciously defiant young rebel who is on the short list for a Nobel Peace Prize.
TYLER PERRY
The boisterously joy-giving storyteller has produced 22 feature films, including the “Madea” series and 1,000-plus hours of award-winning television. This year he invested in creating the largest, privately owned production studio in the world in Atlanta. Regarding the current health and economic crisis, Mr. Perry said, “I will tell my son that progress is made in small steps and even if you get exhausted—you fight on—because there are always signs of daybreak before the morning comes.” (FULL DISCLOSURE: My genius, videographer niece, Bess, often works on Tyler Perry projects and she assures me, he is just as genuine and caring in the workplace. In fact, they all stand in a circle and hold hands each morning while Tyler Perry offers a joyful prayer of gratitude.)
ZOOM, The Techy Joy-Givers Who Created ZOOM and other virtual-gathering innovations
I don’t want to imagine an even lonelier 2020 without the almost-like-being-there connections such creations allow us humans.
SIR PAUL and STELLA McCARTNEY
The knighted former “Cute Beatle” wrote new love songs in 2020, and his daughter, Stella, is considered “The Queen of Sustainable Fashion Design.” This joy-giving father-daughter duo is showing us the way to new joys in the future.
FASHION-INTO-FACEMASKS
Designer Christian Siriano, who you may remember from a few seasons ago on “Project Runway,” redirected the efforts of his atelier from cocktail dress to the cause of American’s masking up against COVID; giant, global fashion houses like Balenciaga and Yves St. Laurent have done similarly.
QUEEN ELIZABETH II
Not only did “The World’s Longest-Reigning Monarch” show us how to survive a global crisis, but she is also smiling and more joyful at 94 years old than ever. Among the joyous life lessons the Queen taught us in 2020 were: Be open to change; Forget about your own worries by giving yourself to causes that serve others; Recharge your energy (she does this for a quiet hour each day with a pungent pot of Earl Grey or Darjeeling tea; and last but not least, Give yourself some joy (QEII goes horseback riding almost daily which is a brain-boosting, muscle-firming pleasure she’s enjoyed since childhood). Queen Elizabeth II continues a practice she started in her teens by ending each day journaling her thoughts and gratitude.
NAVJOT ARORA’s MILLION GALLONS OF GOOD SOUP
The Westchester County, New York restauranteur started a challenge to cook and give away a million gallons of soup during the 2020 COVID crisis- WHY SOUP? It’s practical, nutritious and freezes/transports well. This culinary joy-giver said, “The only thing we can all do is try to help. For me, that means feeding people, taking care of my employees and honoring a community that has shown us so much love. You can either be paralyzed in fear or you can decide to do something. I’m making soup.” To find out more about this joy-giver and his mission check out www.milliongallons.com.
CINDY AYERS ELLIOTT
The former Wall Street investment banker returned to her Mississippi roots and asked herself what was missing in her West Jackson community and how could she help. Lessening food insecurity in this area where the nearest grocery store is 15 miles away became her passion, and since coronavirus hit, Foot Print Farms, the nonprofit she founded, has been providing 3,150 pounds of fresh, healthy, affordable food each week to serve 450 families. Ayers Elliott said, “We have to come together to serve those most in need all of the time, but especially during hard times.”
FARMERS and FARMWORKERS
These essential workers deserve their own “Round of Applause” and a backrub. Thank you to everyone who produced our food this year!
HAMILTON: THE MUSICAL MOVIE
Writer/performer Lin-Manuel Miranda has given so much joy with LIVE performances of this groundbreaking musical, and in this year with theaters shuttered he co-created with Disney+ to “stream” the movie version allowing the audience an even greater intimacy with the performers.
FREE, “FULL, LIVE CONCERTS” ON YOUTUBE
While we drum our fingers waiting for the COVID vaccines to take effect and concert venues to be safe again, there are many hours of fantastic, filmed LIVE concerts with great performers. Here are some I sampled in 2020: THE T.A.M.I. (Teenage Awards Music International) SHOW with stunning performances by James Brown, The Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, the Beach Boys (2 hours); ELVIS: ALOHA FROM HAWAII, this show is a few years after “The King’s” much-lauded “Comeback Special” and reaches a global audience (70 minutes); THE RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS, this is a niche pleasure but for those still enthrall to the creative genius of David Bowie this is a sure-fire treasure chest (1 hour); GEORGE HARRISON AND FRIENDS CONCERT FOR BANGLADESH, this was like a rock-and-roll sandwich slathered with Far Eastern spirituality and the “friends” were talents like Bob Dylan, Billy Preston and Ringo Starr (3 hours).
Please join me in A ROUND OF APPLAUSE for “THE MOST JOY-GIVING JOY-GIVERS of 2020.” And, please add your own nominees. I also thought of the joy to the world given this year by Jose’ Andres, Pope Francis, Megan Rapinoe, Selena Gomez, The Weekend (rapper), Giannis Antetokounmpo (good luck to the basketball sportscasters trying to pronounce his name), Nick Saban, Lebron James and so many others.
THANK YOU for the joy you gave in 2020. MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and a JOYOUS NEW YEAR!
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