Confetti Park

Tag: thanksgiving

  • Storytime: Why He Carried the Turkey by James Baldwin

    Storytime: Why He Carried the Turkey by James Baldwin

    Happy Thanksgiving! Something we all should be thankful for is that in this world, there are good people everywhere. Kindness and civility, thoughtfulness and helpfulness, these are qualities that exist in people in every town, city, and country.

    In this episode of Confetti Park Storytime, we hear the tale of “Why He Carried the Turkey,” which documents the kindness of John Marshall, (September 24, 1755 – July 6, 1835) an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 to 1835. Marshall remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longest serving justice in Supreme Court history, and he is widely regarded as one of the most influential justices to ever sit on the Supreme Court.

    This tale was penned by James Baldwin. It is a simple story, but it teaches a lessons. You may decide: is this a tale about humility, about kindness, about being a good neighbor? Maybe it’s about all these things.

    Like Mr. Rogers said, “Look for the helpers.” They are everywhere, and we can learn from them about who to surround ourselves with (to feel one kind of joy) and how to model our own behavior (to feel another kind of joy). True friends and true neighbors make the world a better place.

  • Thanksgiving playlists make beautiful music memories for Rich Collins

    Thanksgiving playlists make beautiful music memories for Rich Collins

    Rich Collins
    Rich Collins

    It’s a childhood music memory from Rich Collins, a founder and front man for one of the most popular children’s music groups in the world, the Imagination Movers. Rich also has a burgeoning solo career, with a new album of songs geared toward adults. (Scroll down for music videos!)

    In this music memory, Rich talks about the music he associates with large family gatherings at Thanksgiving:

    “My family up in DC was large and we would all gather for all the major holidays, and the holiday that was at our house every year was Thanksgiving. And we had a very fun family, so basically the way every one of these gatherings ended was with all the tables and chairs being pushed aside, and we would put on records and start dancing.”

    Rich talks about how his father curated the albums that became the basis for Thanksgiving memories: “The soundtrack to my youth, and to these parties, and to these great family memories, was the Beatles, Creedence, and Otis Redding.”

    Today, the tradition lives on for Rich and his family.

    “Every other year here in New Orleans (where I’ve been for 25 years), I host Thanksgiving. And I have a Pandora channel with those three artists on it and I put it on and it’s playing the whole time that I’m gathered with my sisters and my mom and the next generation…”

    Thanks, Rich, for sharing this wonderful family tradition with Confetti Park. Listen to this extended interview with Rich Collins, all about the music of the Imagination Movers.