Merry Christmas To All
December 23, 2006
I pray my peacefulness will extend to my family
I pray my family will extend their own peace to friends
I pray friends will extend their peace to co-workers
I pray co-workers will extend peace up into the corporate world
I pray the corporate world will extend peace into the places they have not
I pray that the governments will follow suit, and extend peace onto their constituents
I pray that the laws of people are flooded with the peace of the heart
I pray that every one feels the peace extended through the change of heart
I pray that the change of heart becomes the cord that connects us all
To the peace that is prayed for
And the cycle of peace becomes the breath
Of in and out
of Everyone
Merry Christmas, 2006, to anyone out there listening, and praying for peace, too.
You are not alone.
posted by Sara Hickman at 08:20 pm
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My Christmas Tree
December 19, 2006
I have a tree in the Co-op, decorated by the children of the UT Elementary School. It is up for auction, but today is the last day.
Here’s the scoop:
The University Co-op Presents: Celebri-Trees
A Benefit for the UT Elementary School
We invite you to come into our store this holiday season and visit the
beautiful “Gallery Of Trees”. The trees were decorated by local
celebrities, designers and school children. In our gallery, you will
find our silent auction is up and running and we hope that you can bid on a
tree to help the children of the UT Elementary School.
Below is information on how you can bid on your favorite tree in-store
and now for your convenience, you can bid online!
Good luck and Happy Holidays from the University Co-op!
Celebri-Trees Silent Auction Information:
Bidding is available in store now through 12/19.
Bidding also available online beginning 12/5, WEEKENDS EXCLUDED.
Click on the link below to take you to our “online” silent auction.
http://www.universitycoop.com/ePOS/form=cat.html&cat=951&store=108
* Bids will be updated online at 11am, 2pm and 5pm, Monday through
Friday only.
* Name/contact information needed.
* $250 minimum bid, $50 increments after $250.
* Auction closes Tuesday 12/19 at 5pm.
* Winners are responsible for transportation of the trees.
* Tree must be picked up and paid for Wednesday 12/20 by 5pm, otherwise
the tree goes to the next highest bidder.
* Proceeds will be donated to the UT Elementary School. Tax deductible
donation.
posted by Sara Hickman at 08:58 am
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The Lyrics/Lucky on CNN!
December 18, 2006
And, now, the lyrics to our first mother/daughter collaboration…the cd for the Hill Country Youth Ranch will be out next spring, and it will include this song and another that Lily sings called, “Little Sister”….
Cross Over
words and music by Lily Hickman-Waldon and Sara Hickman
I grew up in Texas
On the wrong side of the tracks
In an empty house full of shadows
Where the days were always black
No bed…no dad…
Nothing good…always bad
Just pain Just fear
Wishing for what the other girls had
But I knew I’d cross over
To the other side
Yea, I’d cross over
To a better life
No more pretending…a happy ending…is meant to be
When I cross over…
The floor was covered in bottles
Of pills and alcohol
And I felt as if….I was never loved at all
You know, I really trusted you
I thought you loved me, too
But I guess it was just more lies
And what the others said was true
They said
You never loved me
And you only loved the drugs
They said I probably wasn’t good enough
But I knew that I’d cross over
To the other side
Yea, I’d cross over
To a better life
No more pretending….a happy ending…is meant to be
I’d crossover….and I’d be free
I can see happiness…waiting…across the way
I’m takin’ on tomorrow
And makin’ it mine today…
You didn’t hear me
The last time I called out
You were layin’ in the hallway
And I knew without a doubt
Feelin’ scared…feelin’ alone
I knew…I had to go
It was now or never or this life together
Was going no where but down
So, I crossed over
To the other side
Yea, I crossed over
To a better life
No more pretending…this is the ending
And how it should be
I crossed over
And we’re both free….
posted by Sara Hickman at 08:55 am
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Crossover/Ty Pennington/Lucky, Wonder Dog
December 17, 2006
For example, this weekend…what a weekend! I will start with Thursday…in which I taught Art Matters to my daughter’s first grade class, down in the belly of the art room. I explained “surrealism”…and we drew blind contour drawings of one another, and we learned how to pronounce “Dali!”, as if the master himself was present, accent on the second syllable. I am only hoping the kids remembered to say to their parents after school, “I AM da-LEE ! ” Very funny. After class, I picked up Lily and took her out of school early, and we drove to Ingram, Texas for a retreat. A working retreat.
We were invited to come create songs for a new cd the Hill Country Youth Ranch is creating to raise awareness of abused/neglected children, and this was a momentous invitation, in my mind, in that Lily and I were going to write TOGETHER, and then record whatever we wrote. Tony Young, who is the ranch engineer and all-around sweetheart with a voice like Barry White mixed with Jerry Jeff Walker, took excellent care of us, from gas money to food/snacks, and checked us into the Double H hotel, where Lily and I hit the hay after dinner. We were tired!
The next morning, we went over to the ranch and Lily and I sang for a classroom of children, 6-12 years of age, all with their stories on their faces. These are children who have endured horrific histories, and we tenderly shared music and love, and hugs…I had asked Lily if she was going to want to sing “Look At Me”, but she shook her head, no…It was a lot of information for her to take in (Tony had taken us to breakfast and explained some of the case histories of the children….Lily had a lot of questions, and we had a lot of explaining to do about
why the children were at the ranch, what their parents had, or hadn’t done…)…But, after I sang for awhile, and she warmed up to the fact that these were kids with broken hearts, kids trying to regain a normal life, she tapped me on the shoulder, nodding, “I want to sing it, Mom…” and I introduced Lily and she took over from there…She talked about how hard it is to feel ignored, especially by parents, and then she introduced the song by saying, “So, my mom wrote this song for kids…” and continued from there….I don’t know why, but hearing her say those words choked me up…She sang so beautifully, and the kids were mesmerized…We finished with some Christmas songs…
Then it was time to drive another hour out to the cabin in the woods that the other campus was providing (the Ranch has two sites.) We were greeted by a cheery young man who drove us from the barn, and out of no where, back to a two story home. We had it all to ourselves, just Lily and me! We unpacked, checked out the house (four bedrooms, two baths, amazing porch that looks out over a creek, fall foliage and a path…) We were like TWO little kids, climbing up and down the ladder to the loft, checking the firmness of beds (“I call this one!”), oohing over the giant TV, me checking out the kitchen utilities/pots & pans. After we got settled, we walked down to the river, popping our bare feet in, crossing over to the other side…The river had some slime on the floor, and I almost slipped, but caught myself with a laugh.
We headed back, and as we were walking towards the cabin, Lily says, “What’s that?”
I said, “What?”
And she pointed throught the trees and said, “That thing…floating…over there…in the air…?”
And I looked, and there was a white feathery looking thing, lazily gliding along, about ten feet up, thirty feet away from us. It was the size of walnut, and as we stared, it changed direction, and started floating right towards us!
Lily caught it, and I proclaimed it to be a fairy….so she released it, and off it danced, back on the wind.
Back in the house, we kicked off our shoes, again, and started concentrating on writing a song in honor of the kids. I was excited, and I wee bit nervous. But I just knew we’d come up with something. Lily headed off to her chosen room, door shut. I laid down on the sofa. After awhile, I called out: “What are you doing?”
She hollered back, “Writing lyrics!”
And then….she came out with her notebook, tore out a page and handed it to me. It was just what it needed to be…Lily had totally captured what we needed to say on behalf of these kids.
It blew my mind…
So, we had our first two verses…But we needed an opening verse, and a chorus. I set to work, trying to piece it all together….
Just then, a car drove up the path, dust snaking a tail behind, and we went to the door to see who had come to visit. It was Mike, the ranch director, and he and I sat out in rocking chairs and talked while Lily disappeared back to her books. As Mike and I were talking about the ranch, and all it is bringing, and has brought, to children…He mentioned that the way over to the other school buildings was to crossover the river….And, there it was. The tie to bind the song together. one simple word: Crossover.
After Mike left, I ran to Lily and said, “I’ve got it!” and the rest of the song came easily. Lily even created a rap for the end, but then scratched it all out…over my pleas for her to stop stop stop! It is EXCELLENT, I said! Ugh, she replied. (I ended up rapping it at the end of the song when we recorded it…)
Friday night, we went to dinner at one of the older girls’ homes…Three teens preparing to transition out into the real world…Cassie, Brittney and Corinna, and their wonderful house mom, Miss D. Cassie was adopted from Russia as a young girl, after abuse in the orphanage, and then had troubles with her adopted family here….Brittney told us how she has over 30 step-brothers and sisters (!!) and Corinna was shy and hardly spoke at all. But as we enjoyed meeting Cassie’s rabbits (Karma and Blue), and the girls showed us their rooms, and lasagna/salad was served, everyone loosened up, and we were laughing and singing and telling funny stories, and the time just flew…It was a blast…before too long, Lily and I needed to head back to the cabin, so Miss D and the girls piled into the van and drove us back over. Lots of “I love yous!” and “Goodbyes!”…
To relax, Lily and I decided to watch a movie before bedtime. There wasn’t much by way of choices, but Lily BEGGED me to see “Lord of the Rings: Two Towers”…I finally acquiesced, but only if she promised to let me cover her eyes during intense scenes (I know…you’re thinking…uh, the whole movie is intense, Hickman!) But we had a great time watching it, and now LIly is in love with Orlando Bloom (but ONLY with this Elfen character and with his hair BLONDE, she insists.)
Next day, we made some breakfast and then said our goodbyes to our retreat, songs in hand (I had written some music to another set of lyrics I had), drove back to Ingram, and went into the HCYR recording studio. I laid down the guitar tracks, Lily sitting in the cutting room beside me, drawing little characters and playing with stuffed animals, and then…time to sing!
So, Lily sang the song “Crossover”, and there is nothing like watching Lily working in the studio…she puts a lot of thought into how she delivers a phrase, a note. And she cracks a smile when she knows she hasn’t quite got it, and asks to start again.
But I’ll crossover
To the other side
Yea, I’ll crossover
To a better life
No more pretending…this happy ending
Is meant to be
When I crossover…..
And I’ll be free….
This was the chorus to the song…about a young girl, on the wrong side of the tracks, whose mom does drugs and alcohol, and, finally, dies in the hallway of their house…and the little girl is finally free to cross over to a better life, and the mom crosses over to heaven.
We worked hard from 1 to 6 pm, then broke for Mexican food, and back to the Double H motel for relaxation. I had to lay my lead on my song, the harmonies on the Lily song, and composite Lily’s tracks from 12 to 1 single, complete grouping. But Tony had the hardest work…he stayed up until four, messing with the roughs…we are going to add trumpet,
strings, real drums, bass….and on the song I wrote (“Circle of Love”, which came about because I had written Susan Lincoln a poetic email), we hope to get a variety of voices, one on each verse…with the kids from the ranch singing the callbacks.
Lily and I crashed around 11 pm, got up at 8 am, and started the long drive back to Austin…
Then, we got home, I jumped in the tub, got cleaned up to go sing for a Lady Longhorn’s post-game concert I was giving at the Erwin Center…that was a BLAST! The team lost to Tennessee, but the crowd and I had a good time, anyway….I hadn’t been there since I sang the National Anthem with Asia, the elephant, at the Barnum and Bailey Circus event.
Here’s more of what happened this week:
WEDNESDAY: that morning, went with Lance to a Heartfelt Conversation meeting at Mike and Ginger’s, and discussed philosophy/religions with Christians, Muslims, B’Hai, Buddhists,
etc….we decided the next meeting will be at our house….then had a Recording Academy Board of Governors meeting at the Gibson showroom…stayed for the annual Christmas bash,
but not a lot of Governors showed up this year…we had entertainment planned, one of the interns has a band…but she had called in sick and so the Executive Director had called to see if I’d mind playing at the party…so, I called Kristin, last minute, and she came over and we sang while people were drinking and chatting….and, then, in walked Ty Pennington, of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”, and I thought, “Well, if this isn’t a God thing…!” because that is our favorite show on TV…the one show the girls, Lance and I sit down on the sofa together and watch every week. So, Kristin and I sang our hearts out, and we talked with Ty afterwards (yes, he is as down to earth as he seems!) and his girlfriend, Dre (very, very nice…a sort of tall pixie with a warm smile)…They invited us to the “Move that bus!” taping today, but we decided not to go…we all had so much going on….and we knew it would be a zoo-ola. But…very fun to get invited! And I got Ty to sign an autograph for each girl, and Lance and I are going to download Ty’s pic and then we’re going to frame an autograph/pic for each girl’s room…for Christmas!
After this party, Lance and I ska-doodled over to the Tequila Mockingbird Party, and we laughed and toasted and hung out with more friends. (The girls were with friends having fun on their own.)
TUESDAY: Lucky and I had a professional photo shoot…we are going to be on the cover of Austin Pet Directory in February…Lucky did AWESOME! Especially when the photographer shook the box of doggie biscuits….Then we left this location and went to the Animal Trustees of Austin headquarters and created a painting to be auctioned off in their “Petcasso” event, which will be held on February 18….I painted a portrait of Lucky’s head, and then put her feet in some paint, and with a little LED red light, flashed it around the floor canvas, and Lucky chased the light while leaving her pawprints everywhere. I thought, “Hmm, I’ll just get her to run over to the green paint…” but when she ran after the red dot, instead of running through the green paint, she tried to snap at the light and ended up with green paint in her mouth!!!! Good thing she got a nice bath ASAP!
MONDAY: went with Kristin to ME TV to tape three songs for airplay, and also to, hopefully, put on You Tube. We taped “Two Days Today”, “Comfort’s Sigh” and “My Mama’s Hands”.
Later that night, took Lily, Clara, io and Lance up to KVUE/ABC to tape the annual Christmas day special they show on Christmas morning…I sing songs with the kids, and Santa comes and reads books, and everyone gets a gift…very sweet. This year was particularly funny in that lots of toddlers meandering around during the taping, pulling wrapping off boxes and jumping on the giant stuffed bear…
posted by Sara Hickman at 03:28 pm
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Love How We All Connect
December 07, 2006
I was channel flipping in Tulsa, OK and heard a radio program called Gender ….. songs by women on Rogers State College in Claremore 91.3 FM (http://www.rsu.edu) so I called in on the show and requested (any) Sara Hickman song, she had your new album, so they played a song off of it.
I thanked her and told her enjoyed her show.
Keep’n the ears open and spreading the word!
Manuel Ray Garcia
PS: Thanks for the word about the music instrument donations, I donated one of my fathers trumpets.
posted by Sara Hickman at 09:14 am
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Adventures Elite
December 06, 2006
But, until then, may I entice you to think about your own year. What all it brought to you, your family, what all came true for you…And then, perhaps, you’ll be feeling, like me, very grateful for all the goodness that swirls around us, from small to great.
We are so blessed, even in our misfortunes.
That’s why I’d like to talk about Brian Rumbaugh, a great friend of mine, who, several years ago, started a group called Adventures Elite. It services the developmentally disabled adult community, providing travel opportunities tailor made to their needs and wishes. Unfortunately, grants are difficult to come by and the company is surviving on the minimal fees it’s clients pay and the generosity of private donors. As you all consider your year-end donations before tax season, please keep Adventures Elite in mind. Whatever you are able to give will be utilized to the fullest extent in bringing happiness to those in our community who are often overlooked.
You can send a check directly to Brian at:
Adventures Elite
840 Pearl Street Suite C, Santa Monica, 90405
Or, feel free to call him at 310-399-2316. He’d love to talk with you about the group…You could even get involved! Lily and I went about four years ago, and Lily was only 6 when she provided seva by setting the table for 100 folks, creating art with some of the adults, even helping me in the swimming pool area by pointing out who needed sunscreen so no one would get sunburned. There was a dance and a sing-a-long (I think you know who was strumming the guitar and playing the Pied Piper!)
Maybe you have some vacation time coming up, and you want to do something of spirit that will create great heartsongs for you and others…This is the place, my friends!
If you need convincing, I encourage you to check out the website : http://www.Adventureselite. org.
There are great photos from summer camp amongst giant redwoods; a trip for four adults that Brian and his wife, Stacy, put together in Oahu!, and many other happy moments.
Thanks so much for all of you reading my blog. I am always grateful that the internet can make the world a smaller, more personal community.
Happy December 6!
Love,
Sara
posted by Sara Hickman at 07:37 am
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California’s Trip
December 05, 2006
Kristin and I were in a rented PT Cruiser, and I was doing my best to keep the little car on the road, the wind was so bossy. We watched through the windows in awe, the magnitude of the dust mixed with the early sunrise was breathtaking. The crops of lemons to our left were swaying, almost dancing, to the rhythm of the grit and sky.
This was on our way from Ojai, Sunday morning about 7:30 am, back to LAX to catch our flight back to Texas. This is one of the amazing things of travel….one minute you are amongst thick, lush flora and fauna, gianormous mountains out your back door, then next…you are landing in another part of the country for new, and different, sights.
Maybe lots of concrete. Maybe a horse farm. Maybe we stay in a building built in 1820 (Pennsylvania), or settle in next to a quiet brook and an evening’s cup of cocoa, a fire warming the room(Texas). Sometimes it is just a plain, ordinary hotel room with nothing to say, that looks out onto a brick wall, traffic whizzing by, honk-honk-honking of endless horns (New York). I’ve even stayed in hotels where I ended up sleeping on the floor as gunshots rang out in the parking lot (New Jersey.)
Ojai and Los Angeles were shows of wonder, shows of light. Let’s start with L.A.
I was jubilant to return to a city where so many of my dearest friends reside. Friends who have been with me, and I with them, through thick and thin, laughter and loss, good food and bad. As Kristin and I sang from the McCabe’s stage, all these memories flashed through my mind. Meeting Andy Williams upstairs, all those years back. The times around L.A. where I had played with Black Frances, or Michelle Shocked, or Marvin Etzioni, or Phil Parlapiano, or Nanci. Looking out in the small crowd, I was happy to see faces I recognized, faces I didn’t. One man hollered out, “I’ve waited 12 YEARS to see you!” That was something! I made sure and gave him a big hug after the show. Who waits for a singer/songwriter for 12 years anymore?! Gosh!
Afterwards, a whole crew of us meandered next door for food and fun, and I had a chocolate martini. My. I have never had one before, but, hmm. That was dee-lish!
We stayed with our friend, John Black, and his house is just lovely. I kept referring to it as a “cathedral”. It was organized, and painted in calming colors, and just the kind of bachelor pad that makes you feel welcome…Next morning, we had breakfast with more dear friends, Brian X and Robert P. and saw Dell, who was waiting tables, and who I had tried to set up with one of my friends from the stage, right before I sang “Simply” . My friend, who will remain nameless ( unless you were at the show…see why you should come out to shows? You never know what you’ll miss) had requested the song pre-show, and Dell, who I asked her name during the show, also asked for “Simply”, and she had an empty chair next to her, and my friend is single, so I thought, why not move the two of them closer? Huh? Why not? What’s it hurt? One song? Really. But my friend would not budge.
So, next morning, we went to her restaurant to say hello and my unwilling friend was with us and we all had a lovely meal, smiles abounding. No connection, though, if you are hoping this magically led somewhere….
Then saw Bri’s house and met his bunny. Brian and Stacy saved it off the streets of L.A. … yes, it was a gang bunny! She was soft and sweet and spotted galore.
Saw slides from Brian’s camp he runs for mentally challenged adults…You can see slides, too, if you go to “Adventures Elite.” Check out the Hawaii shots…Brian and Stacy took four special needs adults there for a camping getaway. Brian and Stacy are too of the most loving people you could want to know. The slides tell the stories, you’ll see.
Saw one more friend in Santa Monica before we had to hi-tail it outta there. My friend, Jon M., and his super groovy wife and his adorable kids and his neat art filled home.
Robert P. drove me over in his big ol’ caddy. That was fun. (Robert is looking good, all buffed up and hair slicked and black shades a la the Matrix. Ladies, start your engines, that’s all I gotta say!)
Kristin and I said our goodbyes, hugs and kisses to all, then hopped in the wagon and headed down the road to Ojai. Or up the road, I guess. You know what I mean.
Got to Ojai just in time to have Chinese food with sweet Rain, who is going to be a big star in about a year from now, mark my words. Her songs are wondrous, and her voice is soothing and chalky. You’ll love it. Anyhoo, we changed clothes (me and Kristin, Rain kept on what she had on), did a sound check with phenomenal Dirk and Matt at the sound helm, played the show in a tiny theatre full of super-charged love…Maybe about 50 people or so? I met Caitlin and her family…her dad, Brian, played percussion on my “Shortstop” cd, and he is really, really talented. It was a delight to see him, and meet his wife and son, too. We sang, and the audience sang, and my guitars did a lovely job.
I have to go take a walk, just some quiet time for me. Today I take io ice skating with her Brownie troop. Last night, Lily and I went with friends and saw the Dixie Chicks.
So, I need a little time to wander, wonder…
posted by Sara Hickman at 08:13 am
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Eric Keroack is not the man for you
December 03, 2006
Did you have to read that twice? So did I.
Late last week, after pledging to bring the country together after his electoral losses, President Bush appointed Eric Keroack to lead the Department of Health and Human Services’ family-planning program – which supports 4,600 clinics and more than five million people annually.
Putting a doctor who opposes birth control in charge of a federal family-planning program is just plain irresponsible. Sign the petition and say NO to Keroack now.
Keroack has dedicated his career to telling women that birth control and abortion are wrong. He most recently was the medical director for A Woman’s Concern, which oversees six anti-choice “crisis pregnancy centers” in Massachusetts and maintains a policy stating “that the crass commercialization and distribution of birth control is demeaning to women, degrading of human sexuality and adverse to human health and happiness.”
Is this the sort of man that YOU want making decisions about women’s contraceptive and family planning options?
Join NARAL Pro-Choice America in helping to stop Keroack from assuming this influential position. Sign the petition and send a message to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Mike Leavitt, urging him to reject Keroack’s appointment now.
For justice,
Lauren Alvarez,
Care2 and ThePetitionSite Team
Thank you for signing “” from Care2 via ThePetitionSite! Please forward it to your friends, family, and colleagues.
Care2.com, Inc.
275 Shoreline Drive, Suite 150 Redwood City, CA 94065
http://www.care2.com
posted by Sara Hickman at 07:14 pm
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Global Orgasm Day
December 01, 2006
Check out this site…it has relaxing, love-inspired music…and the photos aren’t anything graphic, for those of you afraid to go…Just lots of deep red background and a close up of some plush lips (hmm…who do we know with plush lips…) and information about the idea behind the movement…
http://www.globalorgasm.org
Off to Lost Angels…wish for a peaceful flight, blue, clear skies, and for honest voices to ring out tonight, and tomorrow, from stages (and house concerts) all over the world.
Lead by example…lead with love.
posted by Sara Hickman at 06:55 am
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Whether you've learned about Sara Hickman through her music, her family, her causes, or her films, you know that her originality, creativity, and enthusiasm bring a fresh meaning to the well-worn phrase "living life to the fullest."
What makes Sara tick? What has she been up to since she first hit the ground running (well, at least crawling in the early years)?
Read a complete bio at sarahickman.com.
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Motherlode
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