Whistler's Mother

The singer has everything within him. The notes come out from his very life. They are not materials gathered from outside.  Rabindranath Tagore

A couple of hours from now, I'l lie in bed with the lights out, but I won't sleep. Not until I hear those few clear notes as he whistles his way up the street on his way home from Subway will I fully relax. It's been a rough year for us. For him. I'm always relieved when I hear his melodic preamble even before I hear his bike roll up the gravel driveway.

From the time he was a toddler, I knew when J was up by the singing that drifted from his bedroom upon awaking. He still sings in his room sometimes but mostly now, he whistles. It's a reassuring sound, proof that he's survived another night of fighting off video game warriors, haggling with the two dogs for the biggest share of covers, and the miracle that keeps all his parts working in synchronistic perfection despite how many Dr. Peppers, Pizzas, and french fries he eats to fuel those melodic lungs.

A few weeks ago we walked through Farmer's Market as our local Fox station was setting up a booth for the third and final set of Central Coast Idol auditions. Earlier that afternoon I had dared him to try out--even printed out the lyrics to one of his favorite oldies songs, but he refused. "I'm not a singer," he said. But as we woofed down our BBQ sandwiches that evening, I double-dared him.

"Oh go on. It'll be fun."

He took a long pull on his soda before answering. "Ok. But if I do it, you have to turn the cable TV back on."

Ugh. I hate TV. But I really wanted to see him get up there and sing. "I'll make the appointment but you have to pay for it."

He made me shake on it before shuffling up the sidewalk to fill out an audition form and choosing "Mack the Knife" from a list of available karaoke songs. We waited  through a couple dozen of MariahCareyCelineDionAliciaKeyes wannabe's with a few country music idols thrown in for good measure. A couple contestants were fairly good, if not over the top on the runs and vibratto. Most of them were kinda bad. A few were embarassingly awful.

J was the next-to-last singer, right after they announced the karaoke machine quit working.

"Sorry, Mom. Can't do it."

I pulled a CD from my purse. "Wait! I still have "Happy Together" by the Turtles that I recorded earlier." I handed it to him along with the printed lyrics.

He looked at the CD, then at the DJ, then back at the CD before handing the disc to me. "I am officially a TV whore," he said, before queing his place on the steps to the stage.

The crowd loved the goofy kid with the crazy afro and mis-buttoned shirt. (Scroll down and click on Jacob's initial audition) They sang along with him, some of them swaying shoulder-to-shoulder with the familiar tune. And they clapped like crazy when he finished.

We walked home smiling--me with pride and him with the knowledge that he'd soon be getting his TV back. He never expected them to call to say he'd made the Top Ten--the only one without voice lessons and training. That a bunch of his friends would show up at The Clark Center to cheer him on during his performance of Mack the Knife. (click on Jacob's perfomance in the Final Ten box) That he'd make his mom smile like a jack-o-lantern on crack for a week running.

Thanks, kid. You made my day. You make my life.

Love,

Mom

NOTE: You have to listen to a commercial before the performance. Also, some people have had trouble viewing the videos.

 american idol, mack the knife, singing,  aging, perimenopause, menopause, relationships, parenting, mothers, sons, childhood, essay, blog, whistling, writing, writers, prose, women, massage,

Comments

[Daisy]

Oh how wonderful! I love Mack the Knife, really hope I can view the video (the Fox site has been hanging for 10 minutes but I keep hoping...)

[Daisy]

Aha! Just switched to Internet Explorer and I can view it! Back later...

[Daisy]

Oh. My. Word. He was brilliant! Great voice, great personality and stage presence, fantastic performance - why on earth didn't he get through?

If it were up to me, J, Joshua Burns and Caycee Clayton would have gotten through, with J the winner.

Is he going to take his singing further now? I do hope so!

[Sue Richards]

Ellie,

May I marry your son?

Sue

[Fran aka Redondowriter]

I love this photo of Jake, Eldonna.

[ellie]

Glad you were able to eventually view the videos in IE, Daisy. I think the right kid won. For J, it was a great experience for him to take forward as he plans on majoring in communications. Or, in a perfect world, work for SNL.

[ellie]

Sue you can't marry him, but you're welcome to support him haha.

[ellie]

Thanks, Fran. It's one of my favorites because it really captures who he is. His favorite catch phrase is, "For sure." I swear he was transported from the 70's.

[jonna]

What a hoot. I'm going to check him out right now, and then I'm going to have my sons watch. They will love it, especially my youngest two who are also closet performers who need to be "helped" into the limelight.

[Terri]

A born entertainer. Skillful, clever, and ingenious. His slight smile and subtle show of teeth at that appropriate time in the song was worth seeing the commercial again and a replay AND that little moment makes me smile everytime I think of it! I am hugely disappointed he didn't make it to the top three. He had enough voice (and a few lessons would turn that from "enough" to more than enough) - he has a good ear and was on key with more than enough talent to carry him to American Idol. I was curious enough to play the top three. Sorry, they had decent voices but NO personality. Nada. Zip. Zero. They will never get picked for the show. Jacob could easily be American Idol's next American sweetheart. Maybe he should just shoot for his own talk show.

[ellie]

That was such a sweet thing to write. I forwarded it to J and he said, "How come all these older women love me but I can't get a girlfriend to save my life?"

You're the third person to suggest he host a talk show. Maybe he should...

~~e

[Daisy]

My 19 year old niece who is HOT, HOT, HOT - an unbiased view for sure ;-) has watched J on more than one occasion and seems rather smitten. Unfortunately she's a long way away in a Welsh valley and also unable to support him ;-)

p.s. I've just come for the XXth time to view the clip because it makes me smile so much. Is there any way to download and save it for when it disappears from the Fox site?

[Daisy]

p.p.s. If he could bottle that laugh and sell it he'd make a fortune!

[ellie]

That is too sweet! I just received a copy of the DVD. I can upload it to you if you like. Just tell me where to send it. Or I could make a copy and send it to you. I told Jacob and he hinted that maybe he and your niece should exchange myspace addies. ;-)

[Imelda]

That is SO fantastic! You must be so proud! I just smiled throughout that performance - and I don't even know this kid! His style is just fabulous. I loved that he was so obvously enjoying what he was doing. Thank you for sharing this with us! Loved it.

[Daisy]

Thank you Ellie - alas the niece is being very coy about it all of a sudden - will work on her some more :-)