Well, we really are the world. The number of international counselors and program staff at FV has, in some years, peaked at 30 and each year their origins range extraordinarily. The impact this has on NY/NJ metro area kids is incalculable: they meet and learn to love adults from Asia and Africa and Australia. In the lead-up to Hirdstock one year--1985--the internationals and I (and a few other Yanks) learned to sing "We Are the World," a song written that year by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie and produced by Quincy Jones and recorded by a supergroup of popular musicians to draw attention to famine and drought in Africa. We sang it in at least four-part harmony and got quite good at it. On a day off between sessions 2 and 3 we took a crowd of staff to Manhattan and actually performed this song in Washington Square and on various subway platforms. No kidding. Here's the photo of that memorable Hirdstock performance. In white shirts, four over from the left, are Dimitris and Aliki from Greece. In the blue V-neck staff shirt is John Giannotti. The short girl to John's right is Avra Jordano. Moving from Avra's right: Carolyn Doris, Vicki Lewis (Australia), Cathy Hogan (Australia).
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
we are the world
Well, we really are the world. The number of international counselors and program staff at FV has, in some years, peaked at 30 and each year their origins range extraordinarily. The impact this has on NY/NJ metro area kids is incalculable: they meet and learn to love adults from Asia and Africa and Australia. In the lead-up to Hirdstock one year--1985--the internationals and I (and a few other Yanks) learned to sing "We Are the World," a song written that year by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie and produced by Quincy Jones and recorded by a supergroup of popular musicians to draw attention to famine and drought in Africa. We sang it in at least four-part harmony and got quite good at it. On a day off between sessions 2 and 3 we took a crowd of staff to Manhattan and actually performed this song in Washington Square and on various subway platforms. No kidding. Here's the photo of that memorable Hirdstock performance. In white shirts, four over from the left, are Dimitris and Aliki from Greece. In the blue V-neck staff shirt is John Giannotti. The short girl to John's right is Avra Jordano. Moving from Avra's right: Carolyn Doris, Vicki Lewis (Australia), Cathy Hogan (Australia).
