ABC On Demand had last night's special, "Celebrating America", listed and I jumped at the chance to see it!
A spoken Spanish interpretation had horribly marred the presentation on all three channels, so I had hoped to catch it... success!
How good to have it begin with The Boss, Bruce Springsteen, at the Lincoln Memorial, singing of this being the "Land Of Hope And Dreams"!
That was followed by several people who read portions of the inaugural addresses given by Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan.
What inspirational, patriotic, and unifying messages those are!
I really liked having Tom Hanks as the Master of Ceremonies for the event; he has such a reassuring presence and is so calm and uplifting.
That was exactly what was needed for the segments that celebrated those who keep America going, those who feed us, those who take care of us, those who light us up with inspiration, those who teach, and those who break barriers.
Each of those segments highlighted one person as a representative, with that person then called upon to introduce the musicians who followed.
Very nice!
And the song?
One of my favorites: The Beatles' "Here Comes The Sun"!
Best of all, as they played the ever-hopeful tune, the sun rose behind them, illuminating a blue-sky day!
Wow!!!
What other songs were part of this?
Well, in Memphis, TN, Justin Timberlake and Ant Clemons sang "Better Days", a song new to me.
Next, from Seattle, WA, the Foo Fighters gave such a stirring version of "Times Like These" that I wanted to go sing it at karaoke somewhere!
Tom Hanks was the one who introduced Demi Lovato, who performed a beautiful rendition of "Lovely Day" - yes!
And the final performance was from Katy Perry, at the Lincoln Memorial, singing the song I've heard so often at the baseball stadium... but this time, "Fireworks" was sung live, as a constant barrage of lights of many colors lit up the night behind the Washington Monument.
Wow!!!
Yes, there were stirring words from President Biden and Vice President Harris, as well as a trio of former Presidents (Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama)... but the draw for me, as always, was the music.
I look forward to watching it again in a few minutes, with the remainder of the celebratory dinner I had at Bonefish Grill.
And what was I celebrating?
That was the query of the waiter.
"The first woman elected as Vice President of the United States of America", was my joyful reply to him.
He made sure I had all I needed to make the evening perfect, including this ever-delightful house salad with its perfect complement of kalamata olives to grape tomatoes - such a flavor explosion!
I ate every bite, of course!
But before I was done, the true reason for my dining there came forth: the Ahi Tuna Sashimi!
I'd opted for the large, wanting to be sure to have some for later tonight -
then I had to be careful to not eat every bite of it!
Actually, I ended up with five lovely pieces to carry home, as well as most of the loaf of bread, so that will make a fine meal to accompany a second viewing of "Celebrating America"!
Perfect!
Now, to get that cued up on the Element tv!
Ciao!
(Yes, pun intended!)
1 comment:
FYI:
21 January 2021 was the 21st day of the 21st year of the 21st century.
Pretty nifty!
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