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First of all, my apologies to those of you who have learned to look for the next chapter first thing Saturday morning.
When I introduced the character of Rabbi Mendel, I said that I am not Jewish, and I am not. But my brother-in-law is, while my sister and I were both raised Catholic. Their wedding was an interfaith ceremony, and they agreed to raise their children Jewish. And they do. Sort of. As one example, they celebrate both December holidays, although they celebrate Christmas more in the secular sense.
This morning, however, was my nephew's bar mitzvah. And while I couldn't attend in person, I was blessed to be able to watch a livestream of it, which is where I was instead of posting Chapter 8.
Congratulations and mazel tov, BDM.
Those who know, know that the Harry Chapin concert wasn't over until the cellist sang "Circle." Although the song first came to the public consciousness when it was covered by the New Seekers, Harry had written it for "Make a Wish," his brother Tom's children's show. I had a chance to see Steve and the surviving members of the band a couple of years ago, and that's still how every Chapin concert ends. It therefore seemed appropriate to bring it into the narrative here, hence the shape of the brooch given to Annie.
Several of Harry Chapin's songs have been covered by others - the most notable one, of course, being "Cat's In the Cradle." There are only two covers that I deem superior to the original version. One of them - not referenced in this chapter, but this is a good place to mention it - is Pat Benatar's cover of "Shooting Star." I have always wished she would have released this as a single, although I believe this recording is on one of her greatest-hits albums.
The other was a song that Harry had apparently written with the intent that Big John would sing it in concert. He had recorded it shortly before his death, but most of the fans were introduced to it during a tribute concert on what would have been his 45th birthday.
Those of you who have been following me for a while know that I am a race walker, although I've not been in an actual event since 2019. A car accident took me out of action for a while... then COVID... then a knee replacement... then back issues. But the song in question, "Last Stand," is still on my playlist for when I go to the gym, or go walking, and it's the song referenced in Lydia's toast to Annie.
I have decided that I will end the story here and post the epilogue separately, so that it isn't left unresolved should this take longer than anticipated. But watch this space for an announcement of when it will be posted.
For those of you who, like me, live in places where Democrat and Republican primaries will be held over the next few weeks, welcome to your respite from the flood of commercials on television, chapter 7 being a little bit longer than most chapters have been.
One of the final songs released before Harry’s death was from the “Sequel” album, “Story of a Life.” All of his previous albums had been released under the Elektra label, and I believe that if “Sequel” had been recorded with them, “Story of a Life” would have performed better. Maybe it wouldn’t have reached the Top 40, but it would have done better than its peak of #105. The Boardwalk label hadn’t quite learned how to market Harry when they released “Story of a Life,” and, of course, they never had an opportunity to figure it out.
There are also two other, relatively oblique song references in this chapter: “Manhood” from the “Dance Band on the Titanic” album, and “Up On the Shelf,” also from “Sequel.”
Finally, a preview of coming attractions. Chapter 8 will be posted next week, but it is not the end of the story. I am writing an epilogue, but it will take a couple of weeks to finish writing it.
Writing this story has been a labor of love, and I appreciate the feedback I’ve been receiving. I am glad so many people are enjoying the story.
Have a good week, everyone.
Addendum: I couldn't make up my mind whether to link to the live version of "Story of a Life" or the album version. So here's the album version as well.
Chapter 6 is in the queue.
The namesake of "Mr. Scholes" is another of Harry's cellists, Kim Scholes.
"Realization struck like a thunderbolt" is a callout to a song I've referenced previously, "The Mayor of Candor Lied."
As well, the entire internal monologue in that section references Harry's ode to women's equality, called "Why Do Little Girls."
Here is a link to a live performance of it, and while it is decidedly rougher, vocally and musically, than the studio version on the "Living Room Suite" album, Harry's introduction explains the correlation between the song and Annie's decision to give herself agency.
(pause, deep breath)
And finally...
Three of the five children Harry identified as his kids were actually Sandy's children from her first marriage. He always referred to all five of them as "my kids"... with no prefixes. He often referred to them as the "Five Js" - Jaime, Jono (Jonathan), Jason, Jenny, and Josh.
Harry included three songs about his family on the "Portrait Gallery" album. The first two are "Sandy," about his wife, and "Someone Keeps Calling My Name," about four of his five children (I believe Josh may not yet have been born when it was written).
The third song, which was the father-daughter dance song for my sister's wedding, is "Tangled Up Puppet," subtitled "Song to Jaime," as it was written for her 15th birthday. Incidentally, the link in the previous sentence goes to the live version of the song that appears on the "Legends of the Lost and Found" album, as opposed to the one on "Portrait Gallery." Trust me on this.
Jaime - Sarah James Chapin Miller - was reunited with her adoptive father on Wednesday, February 4, 2026.
May her memory be a blessing.
P.S. Jaime, say hi to Harry, and tell him that we miss him.
Click the link for the source of Rabbi Mendel's observation that, "When people allow themselves to be close to each other, it becomes rather hard to see ‘otherness.’"
Harry used "What Made America Famous" as the foundation of a play he wrote, "The Night That Made America Famous," which ran for 47 performances on Broadway. Fairly little about the show survives, not even a YouTube clip of Broadway performer Delores Hall's performance of her big number, "When I Look Up," during the show's first act.
However, you can purchase a CD that includes her performing the song during a tribute concert on Harry's 45th birthday, during which the Congressional Gold Medal was posthumously conferred upon him.
For your information, the story has three chapters left, although I am tinkering with an epilogue.
Have a good week, everyone.
The latest chapter is in the queue.
First: this chapter has a trigger warning. Cora tells the story of her being victimized at the hands of the town church's pastor, as well as his wife. It isn't terribly explicit, but it is there and I want to be sensitive to people who may struggle with reading that.
The music!
At one point, Cora notes that "Trading in the illusion of love is exhausting." This line was inspired by Harry Chapin's song "Mercenaries" from his 1977 album, "Dance Band on the Titanic."
Mr. Rockton, was, admittedly, deliberately given this name so that I could mention the store owner not using his authority "to crush him." From the 1975 "Portrait Gallery" album is the song, "The Rock." It very much so parallels Harry's efforts to combat hunger in America. The character in the song talks of a large rock on a hill overlooking the town. The song's main character tries to tell everyone that the rock poses an issue that must be addressed, and they dismiss him by saying, "It'll be fine. It hasn't been a problem until now." Until everything isn't fine.
For non-Harry music, there's also a nod to "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia."
Also, by very sheer and happy coincidence, April 11, 1873 was, in fact, Good Friday and coincided with the beginning of Passover that year.
A closing thought. Yes, it discusses politics. No, I don't want to hear it, especially if you keep reading:
Harry Chapin's mantra was, "When in doubt, do something." If you live in the U.S., you have representatives in the halls of government: your Representative and your Senators.
If you are as troubled by the events of the past few weeks as I am, this is your cue to reach out to them. Not a letter writer? Ask ChatGPT to help you write one. Or call them to add your voice to a couple of the current key issues.
In other words, DO SOMETHING. You don't have to be out on the front lines carrying the signs. The people running the operation behind the scenes are important too. You can be part of it. Write or call your Congressional representatives. Go on your area's Facebook page; it's quite probable they are doing something that you'll be willing to do.
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me.
-- Pastor Martin Niemoller
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