Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "The Road To Morocco" (Bob Hope and Bing Crosby)

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Are you ready for the summer....Vacation all I ever wanted...holiday!...celebrate!...Hot time summer in the city...

Welcome to summer and Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!  We realize that last week was the beginning of the summer season, but it really seems that summer doesn't really get cranking until the 4th of July weekend. Then the celebration of everything fun in the sun has begun...who says we couldn't write song lyrics...As you go on the road again this summer we make it easy for you take The Notes with you.  You can bookmark tuesdaysmusicalnotes.blogspot.com in your favorite browser or receive the email version straight to your inbox each week.  Read it from your mobile device...yep, beam us up Scotty... or luxuriate in front of your favorite computer monitor and enjoy the memories and the melodies as your mind is expanded and your heart encouraged.  Send your self addressed non stamped email address to r.cross@sbcglobal.net if you want Tuesday's Musical Notes each week and we will add you to the list.  Otherwise, come back and come often, visit the archives, in short take a musical vacation with The Notes anytime you want at the above web address.  Now we bid a fond adieu to our home base as we venture out onto roads unexplored...you can't tell who we might run in to...

Some of our most memorable vacations have been to familiar locations.  Those favorite spots that we frequent when we want to get away from it all.  While we enjoy the new experience occasionally, we fast find ourselves returning to that favorite campsite at the lake, or perhaps a vacation city which we adopt as a home away from home.  

For years, film makers all over the world have taken this recipe of the recognizable and turned it into enjoyable and money making franchises.  In fact, Star Wars Episode VII is currently in production, the 13th Star Trek movie has just been announced and who knows how far Marvel will carry its X-Men and Avengers universes.  We expect to see another Jason Bourne as well as Mission Impossible movie and the last (at least for now) of the movies based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies, will be released December of this year.  Batman vs. Superman will be the 6th Superman movie and the 8th movie (unless you count 1966's Batman with Adam West and Burt Ward...Holy Sequels Batman!!!) in the Batman franchise. There has even been the reports of another Rocky movie...and in the fall of 2015, the 24th movie in the James Bond series will debut making it the longest running of all of the franchise movies.
 
The 30's and 40's would see movie sequels gain in popularity. One of the most popular was the Road to... series featuring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour.  There are 7 movies in this comedic series that parodied the popular movie themes of the day.  There was an 8th movie planned, but Bing died the year production was to have started.  These movies were by no means considered to be vacation movies, yet they featured some of the most exotic destinations and adventures for the intrepid trio.  The movies stood on their commonplace themes of "who gets the girl" and the gags that get the viewer to the next serious plot point.  Some of the highlights are when the protagonist (usually Bob Hope) of the scene breaks the "fourth wall", the boundary between the actors and the audience, by having conversations or asides to "assist" the viewer in comprehending the scene...or for a basic laugh. 

Today's feature song comes from one of the most popular of the series, The Road To Morocco.  The 2000 AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs edition lists this movie at #78 and the 2004 AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs ranks the title theme at #95.  While each of the films were box office successes, none have received such high critical acclaim as The Road To Morocco.

We don't know of may folks who decide to take their vacation in the dead of winter.  Perhaps some time off to be with friends and family during the holidays, but summer usually gets the nod when it comes to traveling away from home and letting our hair down.  We must realize that everywhere we go, we are given opportunities to demonstrate the life change that has occurred because of our relationship with Jesus.  As we discussed recently, the only bounds to our abilities to promote the gospel is our own imaginations.  We can be overt by preaching on a street corner, or silently demonstrate our faith by praying over our meal in a crowded theme park restaurant.  Regardless of where we may be, we have the promise that God will go with us.  The 121st chapter of Psalms is dedicated to us as we experience our "going out and our coming in".  Let's give that chapter a look:

As we rise up in the morning, whether on vacation or preparing for work, we have the calming assurance that as God's children, we have a companion that is stronger than any adversary or difficulty we may face.  The sin that so easily besets us has no hold on us as we boldly depart knowing that God has our back now, knows our future, has plans of good things for us, and eternity with Him prepared for us, IF we accept Jesus gift of freedom from condemnation.  That freedom knows no geographical boundaries. We might even be known to break into song.... We certainly do get around...like the promises of Psalm 121 that you can find in the Bible at your local bookstore...We're Morocco....you get the idea...

'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy

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