Pg 4 • March 2020 • UPBEAT TIMES, INC. March is Spring Green for Happy Paddy’s Day Fun!


ator, Jim Henson, had a hauntingly, sweet and melancholy sound when he sang for Kermie, ever so wistfully,


“It’s not easy being green Having to spend each day the color of the leaves When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow, or gold


Sonoma County, CA. ~ “Kermie” as he was lovingly known in our home, and welcomed daily on the tv show “Sesame Street,” sur- prisingly sang a special song long ago. His cre-


Or something much more colorful like that


It’s not easy being green It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things And people tend to pass you over ‘cause you’re


Not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water Or stars in the sky


But green’s the


color of Spring And green can be cool and friend- ly-like


And green can be big like


an


ocean, or im- portant


Like a mountain, or tall like a tree


When green is all there is to be


It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why Wonder, I am green and it’ll do fine, it’s beautiful And I think it’s what I want to be”


No wonder children of


all ages love that song. In what a charming, clear and child-like way it tells us it is fine to be who we are, and, above all, to feel good about and enjoy be- ing yourself. Positively, life is good. Joseph Guilherme Raposo was the marvelously talented American composer and lyricist of this gentle and beautiful song. Classi- cally trained musician, his music, much of it on multiple tv shows, and


Pg 4 • March 2020 • UPBEAT TIMES, INC.


Just Chillin! FOOD, HISTORY & A LITTLE MORE! by Ellie Schmidt


TM


his famous friends were legendary. Frank Sinatra dubbed him a “genius.” However, maybe Kermit


also


should have point ed out the “dangers”


of perhaps “not wearing green” on St. Patrick’s Day ev- ery March


17th. So many decades ago, in NYC, my young friends of Irish descent happily explained that it has to be “St. Pad- dy’s Day” (not “Patty”) because the name is “Padraig” in Irish Gaelic. When invited to their homes, it was always a grand treat to enjoy a lot of fine old Irish songs and hear many stories of Irish folklore. (You can download, for free, a delightful compila- tion of Irish folk and fairy tales by the great Irish poet Wil- liam But- ler Yeats.) But, why are Irish prone to only


pinching folks who aren’t wearing green on St. Paddy’s Day? Be- cause, “if you are wear- ing green, you are invisi-


continued on page 31


Submit your good news here: upbeat.news@upbeattimes.com JOKES & Humor # 2


I work as a pediatric nurse, and often have the painful job of giving shots to the children. One day upon entering the examining room to give a shot the little girl starting screaming “NO! NO! NO!” “Jessica” her mother scolded, “that is not polite behavior!”


At that, the girl continued to scream


“NO THANK YOU! NO THANK YOU! NO THANK YOU!”


wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. Anne Frank


How Love change, fear staying the same. ~ Maxime Lagacé


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