For The Love Of Family
October 18, 2022
This page is dedicated to Judy, my beautiful wife and my best friend! The twenty-four videos below were inspired not only by the love I have for her, but also for my family of creation and my family of origin. I started this project sometime in late 2003 or early 2004 and finished it leading up to Christmas 2005, stitching them all together into a single movie on a DVD that I gave her as a gift on Christmas morning that year.
When I made this movie, we only had three grandchildren. Today we have eleven! Unfortunately, the other eight are not included in the videos but we love them just the same! I'm just not sure I have the 'will' to re-do the whole project to include them, but one never knows!!!
Each individual video is a compilation of family photos and short video clips set to some great music with fabulous melodies, our favorite songs from the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's, classic songs that most people will recognize, and everyone will enjoy. The most challenging and time-consuming part of the project was synchronizing the video clips of the artist(s) performing their music 'live' with the actual studio recording of the same song. It may not be perfect but it's very, very close!
High-Definition video was in its infancy when I made this movie and very expensive. T he 16 X 9 aspect ratio wasn't on anyone's radar, so using the technology available to me at the time, scanning old photos, digitizing images from slide film and songs from my music library, downloading from the Internet and working with Windows Movie Maker, the project grew from my initial idea of just a few songs into a vision that transcended traditional gift giving and now with this website as an impetus, has become an inspiration that can be viewed by our future generations for years to come.
At 1:38:43 in length, it's unlikely anyone will watch all 24 videos back-to-back. You can, however, watch any of them at your leisure and maybe come back at a later time to watch some more. You can pick and choose any that intrigue you and if you don't want to see family photos and video from my family, you can always just listen to the music. I recommend watching in full-screen and with the audio turned up loud! Crank it baby!!!
I hope you enjoy it for what it is, a love story.
Chapter 1: Turn, Turn, Turn (To Everything There Is A Season) by The Byrds (1965). It seemed logical to me to begin at the beginning and this song with it's theme of 'seasons' fit well with the story I wanted to tell. It starts with some B&W photos of our families of origin and then morphs into some more recent family photos ending with some photos of our grandchildren. This clip also contains the opening dedication of the movie to Judy.
Chapter 2: Happy Together by The Turtles (1965). The story here is told using images of family, couples, children, family reunions, people enjoying being together. The theme of course is that we are happiest when we are together, it's in our nature to want to be with the ones we love.
Chapter 3: I Got You Babe by Sonny & Cher (1965). Looking out for those we love and knowing we can depend on them is the theme here. The story is told with photos of humor, holding tight, caressing and love.
Chapter 4: My Girl by Smokey Robinson (performed by the Temptations) (1962). Smokey said that the song is not about a specific girl, but "written with all the women in the world in mind". The story is a tribute to the women (girls) from my immediate family who were in my life in 2005. There are five more now, perhaps it's time for a remake? :-)
Chapter 5: Time In A Bottle by Jim Croce (1972). Jim Croce wrote this song after his wife told him she was pregnant in late 1970. The story is a chronological photo-essay of our three sons from their early childhood to adulthood. The theme is to show how important time spent with our loved ones is. Our daughter was intentionally excluded from this video because a later video is almost exclusively dedicated to her.
Chapter 6: I'm A Believer by The Monkees (1967). I was inspired by a line in this song that goes, "And then I saw her face!" Humor and laughter have always played a big role in our lives, and it didn't take me long to come up with a compilation of photos of funny faces that fit with the lyrics. I really enjoyed making this video.
Chapter 7: Baby Blue by Badfinger (1971). I always liked this song and the lyrics resonated with me when I decided to make this video. The line "A special love..." speaks to me about the special love I have for my family with the middle part of the song set as a tribute to our daughter, Amelia. Of special note is a photo at the 3:00 minute-mark that shows me with all three of our sons on a beach in Maui. There was a rogue wave approaching and it had already lifted Matt up (his legs are showing on the left) prior to throwing him down hard on the beach. You can even see the sand being lifted up off the sea bottom under the wave! I tried to dive under the wave but was unsuccessful, also being picked up and thrown down hard on the sand. We were lucky that neither of us was injured.
Chapter 8: Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison (1964). The title speaks for itself. This is a tribute to my 'pretty woman', my beautiful wife Judy. Of course, there are other pretty women in my life, and they are also featured in this clip. This is another video that could use an update as our family has grown by five more women (girls) since 2005!
Chapter 9: You've Got A Friend by James Taylor (1971). This is a tribute to the special friendships we have in our lives, with sisters, brothers, cousins and so on. A wise, old man once told me that a successful marriage included a great friendship with one's spouse. My 'best friend' has always been and always will be my wife, Judy.
Chapter 10: Kiss Me by Sixpence None The Richer (1997). This is a fun song with a memorable melody and I was inspired to match some photos I had to the lyrics. I had a lot of fun making this video. It concludes with a photo from our 10th wedding anniversary when we renewed our marriage vows.
Chapter 11: Hair by The Cowsills (1969). Another video that I had a lot of fun making! The contrast between my almost complete baldness and everyone else's flowing locks was an inspiration and the lyrics presented lots of opportunities for humor.
Chapter 12: I Don't Want To Live Without You by Foreigner (1987). A special song that inspires warm feelings towards those that are most important to us, our immediate family. Children, grandchildren, maybe great-grandchildren for some, we want to be with them, and we can't imagine life without them. The photo below is of our eldest granddaughter on the beach at Savary Island, BC and is one of the best I have ever taken (1999).
Chapter 13: All She Wants To Do Is Dance by Don Henley (1984). There's a lot of dancing going on in this family, that's for sure! This was an easy one with so many photos and videos of family members dancing. Great fun to make as well.
Chapter 14: Fields Of Gold by Sting (1993). Family, nothing but family. The people that are the most important to us are featured here. The theme is love; the story is love.
Chapter 15: I Know You're Out There Somewhere by The Moody Blues (1988). Beginning with some high school photos from when we met, this is a picto-graphic journey through my life with Judy. Unlike the songwriter, I found her early in life and we have been together ever since. Her amazing smile is featured throughout this video. "...Love eternal will not be denied." Just like the Moody Blue's original music video for this song, this one tells a love story!
Chapter 16: Blow Away by George Harrison (1979). This story also begins with some 'family of origin' photos. Again, the theme is loving those closest to us and the happiness that that love brings us. Lots of Halloween and dress-up photos! Fun times...
Chapter 17: Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone) by Glass Tiger (1986). Great lyrics but there is one specific verse in this song that inspired this story, "I have loved you for so long." and I just really like the music! Mullets galore, but it was the 80's! Another fun, fun, fun video! :-)
Chapter 18: Peaceful Easy Feeling by The Eagles (1972). Being able to rely on the ones who love us is the theme, "I know you won't let me down.". The story is told using images of children, the most vulnerable of all, the unconditional love for their parents evident in the trust and peacefulness they feel. This love is manifest in the photos of our two oldest sons as brothers growing into men.
Chapter 19: I Want To Know What Love Is by Foreigner (1984). There's a sadness here but this is a great song! The lyrics speak to us at a deeper level as the songwriter (Mick Jones) draws the question out that we all want to know, what true love is. The theme is love and the story is told as love shows us how to get through those times of loss. The love of a child for their parents and grandparents is so genuine and means so much to us. Lou Gramm's voice is amazing, and I just love watching the backup singers (Jennifer Holliday & The New Jersey Mass Choir) absolutely belting out the chorus!
Chapter 20: Handle With Care by The Traveling Wilburys (1988). This song with the memorable melody speaks about our need to be loved. This human need is in our DNA. It's fragile and should be handled with great care. The story is told from a first-person perspective and the importance of all the people in my life who I love.
Chapter 21: The Living Years by Mike & The Mechanics (1988). We aren't born with wisdom; it comes with age. The theme of this story is wisdom and sharing that wisdom through teaching, listening, and speaking to each other in gentle conversation and understanding the importance of staying connected. We don't want to feel regret when it's too late. "Say it loud, say it clear!"
Chapter 22: Love Will Keep Us Alive by The Eagles (1994). Would we die without love? Maybe not physically but our souls would. The songwriters (Jim Capaldi and Paul Carrack who, by the way, is lead singer on the previous song, 'The Living Years') speak about this need to be loved and the importance of family bonds.
Chapter 23: When It's Love by Van Halen (1988). My favorite! This is actually the first video I made but it fits well here near the end. Photos are all from our 25th anniversary which we celebrated in the Caribbean on the island of Antigua for a week and then a week on the Star Clipper. All photos were taken by myself except of course the ones that I am in. Eddie sure lays down some amazing licks! Enjoy!
Chapter 24: Taking You Home by Don Henley (2000). I chose this song for the finale for the simple reason that it fits perfectly with the theme of 'home' and how home is where we will find the ones we love, and they will find us. The story is told with images and video clips of family and Don Henley's awesome lyrics. The closing credits follow, to the tune of 'In My Life' by The Beatles.
I welcome any comments as long as they are respectful. I can handle criticism and opposing viewpoints, in fact I encourage them. Join the discussion on any of my web pages. Polite, courteous, or neutral comments will be published for everyone else to see. Comments that are deemed rude, inappropriate, vulgar, hurtful, racist, misogynistic, violent, or sexual (among others) will not be published. Remember, we can all agree to disagree and still be respectful!