A change of seasons means new beginnings at PRIME
Debbie Gardner
By Debbie Gardner
debbieg@thereminder.com
I am much of the mindset of PRIME columnist Jane D. O'Donoghue. To me, September has always seemed more like the beginning of a new year than the first of January.
Perhaps it's all those years when the turn of the calendar to September meant the start of a new school year. That in and of itself always signaled a beginning of sorts — meeting new teachers, getting accustomed to new schedules and expectations and hopefully, making new friends.
I'm still experiencing that fresh start — though now vicariously — as my son starts school each fall.
Each September once again signals a return to the classroom for us, too, as the parents — and grandparents — who have lately been called upon to help shepherd children through homework and projects can heartily attest. Is it my imagination, or are children introduced to complex concepts and subject matter at what seems increasingly younger ages now?
There's no worry about stretching one's brain enough to stay sharp as you age if you have a school-age child around. It's helpful to brush up on your tech skills, too, just so you don't appear to be a Luddite when it comes to finding facts for that last-minute paper or project your young scholar conveniently forgot about.
As I've said many times in the past, becoming a parent in one's middle age has two possible effects — it will keep you young or turn you even more prematurely grey.
One thing parenthood does exceedingly well, however, is prepare you for change, a skill that's come in handy as I've moved back to the editorship of PRIME with this issue.
After nearly three years stretching my writing muscles working on Reminder Publications weekly community newspapers, I'm looking forward to reconnecting with the readers of a publication I worked on for nearly a decade before my last job change.
Will I miss the challenge and excitement of chasing down a juicy story on deadline as I move to the slower pace of a monthly publication? Well . I'd be lying if I said no.
Will I miss attending meetings several nights a week?
With a growing son always in need of homework help and a chauffer to sports practices . not a chance.
What I am looking forward to with this change is the opportunity to continue to provide PRIME's readers with timely and reliable information they will find useful at their age and stage in life.
I'm also looking forward to the opportunity to interview cool and interesting individuals for PRIME's monthly features — that's always been the best part of this job — and something I'm truly happy to be doing once again.
This month I had the privilege to speak with Bill Medley, the smooth, seductively voiced baritone of the duet known to millions of Boomers as The Righteous Brothers.
Although he lost his partner, Bobbie Hatfield during a tour in 2003, Medley continues to bring the Righteous Brother's "blue-eyed soul" to the stage, much to the delight of fans across the country and the world.
Medley said he was looking forward to performing at this year's Big E, and was especially hoping to see a little of our fall color when he visits this part of Western Massachusetts.
"Fall in New England is my favorite time of year to be out there. That's one thing California doesn't have any of," he said of our famed foliage displays.
Medley's 25-year-old daughter, McKenna, will be appearing with him onstage for this appearance, something the proud papa said his little girl has been doing "since she was seven years old" and on a fairly regular basis since Hatfield passed away.
"She's a good performer," Medley said. "She's just finished up [cutting] a CD in Nashville."
Fans who attend Medley's six performances on the Big E's Court of Honor Sept. 14 to 16 would be treated to classic Righteous Brothers hits, he said. Though both he and McKenna have plenty of new material in their repertoires, because of the length of the shows, they stick to the tried and true.
"I have about enough time to do all the Righteous Brothers hits," Medley said. "I know that's [what fans] are there for and I don't want to disappoint them."
Something tells me, he won't.
