J~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~J O R O C K Y M O U N T A I N H I G H O H =============================================== H N The John Denver Internet Fan Club N D D E M O N T H L Y N E W S L E T T E R E N N V F E B R U A R Y 1 9 9 7 V E E R Emily Parris emily@sky.net http://www.sky.net/~emily R ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Table of Contents February 1997 "Love Again" - A New CD from John.....................2 New JD WWW Page.......................................2 John Denver ESSAYS: Sherril Steele-Carlin..............................3 John Denver and Camp Minwassin........................4 John Denver Stories: Randy Rasch.......................................6 Greg Huber........................................6 Kaye Rains........................................7 John Denver Notes.....................................8 John Denver Want Ads.................................10 From the book: "Conversations With God: Book 1" by Neale Donald Walsch "You know what it is like when someone has given you a taste, a glorious moment, of what is really true about life? For me, most of those have been creative or performing artists, because it is from art that I receive inspiration, to which I retreat in moments of reflection, and in which I find that which we call God most beautifully expressed. And so I want to thank...John Denver, whose songs touch my soul and fill it with new hope about how life could be:..." ===================================== "LOVE AGAIN" - A NEW CD FROM JOHN ===================================== John Denver has just released a new CD in Holland called "Love Again". It contains 16 tracks, all of which are old songs that were newly recorded by John in September 1996. The songs are "Love Again"; "Annie's Song"; "Perhaps Love" (duet with Justine Pelmelay); "Dreamland Express"; "Rocky Mountain High"; "Seasons of the Heart"; "Whispering Jesse"; "Take Me Home, Country Roads"; "For You"; "Windsong"; "Leaving On A Jet Plane"; "I'm Sorry"; "Back Home Again"; "Sunshine on My Shoulders"; "Thank God I'm A Country Boy"; and "Christmas for Cowboys". Sources for "Love Again": ------------------------ From: "Grainger, Ron" Subject: NEW JD CD Hi Emily, The new John Denver CD "LOVE AGAIN" can now be ordered from CDEUROPE! The item id # IS B473376. The cost is $26.95. You can call 954-481-8984 to order. From: Gregory Neal Subject: JOHN DENVER import cd's and video Hello JOHN DENVER fans -- call I.D. INERNATIONAL DISC at 800-280-2990 for listing of John Denver import titles, including the new LOVE AGAIN cd. or, e-mail us at idintl@worldnet.att.net Our web-page # is www.sarahsplace.com/intldisc --------------------------------------------------------- NEW JOHN DENVER WWW PAGE: From: Tom Emily, I hope that the new year has been good to you so far. I've been real busy. Tim, from Cold Nights in Canada, and I have created web pages for all of the stories that were sent to me for the group project over the holidays. > > > > http://www.tcnj.edu/~tambure2/john.html < < < < ============================ JOHN DENVER E S S A Y S ============================ From Sherril Steele-Carlin To: Emily Parris Thank you so much for the newsletter every month, I know it is a little piece of you, as well as a link to John. I've listened to John's wonderful, inspiring music since I was 17 years old. I've seen him in concert eight different times, in three different states. I have to say that John and his music have been two very important influences to me...and a constant thread that has woven itself deeply into the tapestry of my life. John's music has inspired me to explore the outdoors. I fully credit John for influencing me to work in a National Park for two years when I was 21. I still consider that experience one of the best of my life. To live where most people only get to visit was an honor and a privilege. I know that John's wonderful music helped make that experience even more meaningful. I can remember watching ravens dancing over the Grand Canyon, and hearing "Eagle and the Hawk" in my mind. To this day, my old roommates still remember driving the 90 miles between Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon in a 1976 baby blue Ford Mustang, with John Denver music on the 8-track. I guess John has become a part of their lives, too. John's music has buoyed me up during the difficult times...his music was played at the funeral of a dear friend who was killed in a tragic accident. It has also been there at the most important times. My husband and I had our first date at Harrah's in Lake Tahoe, of course we were there to see John. In 1989, we lit our unity candle to "For You" at our wedding, I'm very lucky to have found a John Denver fan to marry, you see! I listen to a lot of different music, but I will never stop listening to John. His words are poetry, and his ideals are ideals we would all like to live up to. Even though none of us is perfect, even John, we all bring unique experiences to our life. John's music is more than just some chords and words thrown together. It is a about caring, and compassion, and love. What a wonderful gift to give to the people who listen. And that's why I love John Denver. Sincerely, Sherril Steele-Carlin Reno, NV ======================================== The Minwassin Outdoor Education Centre ======================================== From: Andre Bouchard Subject: John Denver and Camp Minwassin The Minwassin Outdoor Education Centre is a non-profit, residential summer camp and year-round outdoor education and training centre owned and operated by the Boys & Girls Club of Ottawa-Carleton. It is located 1.5 hours from Canada's capital, on the shores of Mink Lake, just outside of Eganville, Ontario, the "Jewel of the Bonnechere". "John Denver" and "Minwassin" have been synonymous for almost twenty years. My name is Andre Bouchard and I have been with Minwassin since 1990. I was fourteen when I enrolled in their leadership program. I've moved up in the ranks since and developed and co-organized a brand new leadership program this past summer with Jennifer Keating, also a former leader-in-training. Minwassin is rich in tradition and always has been since her founding as the Ottawa Boys Camp over eighty years ago. One of our traditions, and probably the most important, was initiated by Rick Sawyer, our camp director, almost twenty years ago. It was during our CANDLE CEREMONY that I learned to love John Denver's music. We hold this ceremony on the final night of each session. It is the last night the campers and staff spend together before heading back to the city. Three candles represent the past, the present, and the future. These three candles illuminate a small portion of our Dining Hall (a place rich in tradition itself) while everyone reflects in the semi-darkness about the times they've enjoyed and the friends they've made at camp. It is a powerful moment charged with emotion. Some songs are played. Campers and staff are invited to say a few words. Rick always knows what to say. The songs are always carefully selected because the right music can create powerful associations in the listener between what is being heard and the emotions being felt. I'm sure everyone out there knows of at least one song that affects them this way. It's like sharing a favorite song between you and a loved one. The majority of the songs we play are the real rarities that you don't hear on the radio very often. The most important song to our Candle Ceremony is "Today". We've played others such as "Rhymes and Reasons" and "Follow Me", but none as often as "Today". It has the feeling and the lyrics that truly define a lot of what camp means to the people that care about Minwassin and feel a sense of ownership for the place and her spirit. "Today", as far as I know, only ever appeared on the live recording of "An Evening with John Denver" in 1975. We had the cassette for a while, but it's condition deteriorated over time. Our only copy was missing last year and we were devastated. Our frantic search uncovered a song that spoke to me even more clearly about what my goals were and what Minwassin meant to me. The song was "I Want to Live". I love Minwassin and I return year after year because of the children. I love them. I love playing games with them and seeing their first smiles as they step off the bus on the first day as they greet me by shouting my name. I believe "I Want to Live" was written with the poverty stricken children of the world in mind. I applied the lyrics to my situation and I interpreted the song as a reflection of the kind of children that come to Minwassin (all kinds), my personal goals, our staff consisting of diverse backgrounds, our relationship with our natural surroundings, and the interdependence of all these things. We were set to play this song for a ceremony we were having for the staff to end our week of training and begin the rest of our summer together. We are a big family at Minwassin and we were just starting to come together. My former Leadership co-ordinator, Damion Stapledon, was back that summer after also being away for awhile and I now had his old job. We went around our circle, each taking turns sharing our promise, our goal with the staff. Things were going smoothly for me emotionally until Damion's turn came. "The other night" he began, "Some of us were up late talking in the staff lounge and someone asked me the question, 'What is the proudest moment of your life?' "I thought about it for a bit and it didn't take me long to answer, 'When I found out that Andre and Jen had become our Leadership Co-ordinators.'" There were tears in his eyes as he almost choked on his words. I felt I was going to cry myself. A million memories flashed through my mind and the sudden realization that hit me was overwhelming. Damion had been my Leadership Co-ordinator and I remembered how three years ago I had set myself upon the task of one day doing that job. It wasn't easy, but I came up with a plan and I took action. I had to become a lifeguard. That took a full year, but still wasn't enough. I still had to take courses in leadership and canoeing. I did all that and more. I succeeded. Damion had set these events in motion just by being who he was. This final realization that he had been the first and one of the most profound influences in my young life really triggered emotions stronger than any I had ever felt. My intense shell of self-discipline fell away as "I Want to Live" was played. "Today" turned up later that summer. We could not believe the difference this one song made. All of our Candle Ceremonies to that point, with the exception of the staff Candle Ceremony, had been missing something. Whatever it was, it returned at the same time we rediscovered "Today". I think that John Denver's music really captures the essence of what life at Minwassin is all about. We are a big family. We laugh. We cry. We try to live at peace with each other and with nature around us. We have our conflicts like any group of people living together, but we resolve most of them. Then we come together at the end of every session to listen to the music of John Denver and reflect on the time we have spent together and all the joy we have. It is a dream many of us have that John will come visit sometime soon. We can provide a nice little vacation spot for him and his family. Of course, we would ask if he would play a song for us (and maybe a few camp songs around the fire). Our camp director has expressed that this would be his dying wish, but I hope it comes true long before that. In any case, the invitation to John is wide open. Our summer season runs from July 1 to August 26. Peace, Andre Bouchard --------------------------- ========================================= J O H N D E N V E R S T O R I E S ========================================= From: Randy Rasch St. Louis, MO Subject: Letter to John Denver Fan Club I would like to tell the fan club why I like John Denver so much. I am 30 year old hard of hearing gentleman. I love to listen to him (I can hear some) because his music is so gentle and relaxing. A couple years ago, we went to a John Denver concert I enjoyed it very much. I am hoping one will be a concert near here in the future. My favorite song is "Leaving on a Jet Plane", because I love to travel. ----------------------------------------- From: Greg Huber My story on meeting John Denver: I worked at an outdoor theater near Detroit in the summer of 1982. On a night off a few of us decided to see his show. While the rock fan in me expected to see a sappy, throwaway show, I was amazed by the music and the message he delivered. It was his first solo tour and the format afforded him great latitude in chatting with the audience. I met him during a party after the next night's show, and shared with him my reaction as well as the questions he had inspired about his music and his causes. I think he appreciated the thoughtful questions compared to the typical idiot-wanting-to-talk-to-a-star babble and we spoke for about 20 minutes. Somewhere towards the end of our chat I asked him if the reason he omitted "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" from the concert was because he was afraid it interfered with more serious messages his solo concert was delivering. He responded that he simply didn't have the instruments necessary to play the song, that he needed the guitars, banjo, fiddle, etc. I told him that I thought he was wrong, and that he didn't need any instruments at all. Just as the first verse was always done acapella, once the audience got clapping, they would make so much noise he could go through the whole song that way. For the next couple minutes, with his foot tapping, his hands silently clapping and people shouting questions at him, he bowed his head and mouthed the words to himself. He arose with his signature laugh and said it just might work. When I got to the theater the next day the backstage staff told me he'd been singing the song all afternoon, awkward because he'd never performed it that way before, but was pretty sure he would try it. Not only did he sing it that night (with the reception you would expect), and add it to the tour's playlist, but that fall when the Baltimore Orioles made the playoffs (the team that traditionally plays "TGIACB" during the 7th inning stretch), he performed it acapella on the field. I've had the opportunity to meet a lot of celebrities, but before speaking to them I try to ask myself, what will they get out of my intrusion? Consequently, I usually left them in peace. I feel good that he got something positive, however small, out of our exchange. ------------------------------------ From: Kaye Rains Subject: JD News Hello, Emily! I just received and read the newsletter. It looks great, as always, and thank you for all your hard work on it. Thank you for making it "our" newsletter, and not just one person's opinion. That makes it unique and a joy to receive. I loved your holiday poem. I too am filled with the most joyous and peaceful feeling when I am at home with a wonderful meal on the table and friends and family around me. I spent several vacation days at home over the holidays, and the warm cozy feeling in the pit of my stomach as I drifted off to sleep in my own bed in my own home was the best feeling I have ever had. That is as close as I can come to complete contentment. For me it is my home where my being is centered, and I know that now more than ever. I am so thankful that I have it. As I approach my 41st birthday, I have narrowed down the things in life that make me truly happy and give me pure joy: John Denver, of course :-), dogs, my sisters, my grand nephew, a few close friends, books, music, walking, gardening, my home and coming through the door at night and seeing my dog waiting happily for me. Also a phone call from an old friend just to say hi, I was thinking of you, I miss you, I love you. That's living! It happened yet again while I was reading the concert reviews and JD Essays. Over and over again people repeat how much John Denver has meant in their lives, that they have loved him for 20, 30, 40 years, that he has helped them through the darkest periods of their lives, his music was the only thing that made them feel better, etc. . And how they felt upon leaving one of his concerts: peaceful, loved, wanting to see him again right away, wanting to tell him how much he and his music has meant in their lives. These thoughts echo my own over and over again. I know John must hear the same things over and over again, but how many entertainers or personalities can claim the same effect on people's lives? How many can truthfully say they saved someone's life by the words in their songs? In a time when hard rock groups are taken to court and accused of encouraging some young person's suicide by their disgusting lyrics, isn't it wonderful that we have someone like John at the opposite end of the spectrum? I am amazed again and again at the similarity of John's effect on all of us who are lucky enough to be his fans and hear his music. In the end, I believe this will be his legacy to us. He talks in his autobiography about being a hero. He is all that and much, much more to us, isn't he? I am happy to join the ranks of those he has rescued. He has been there for me for the last 30 years, and that is a whole lot more than I can say for most people in my life. Rock on, and peace.... Kaye Rains *><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*><*> J O H N D E N V E R N O T E S WALKING THUNDER: From: Harold Simpson Subject: "Walking Thunder" Hi Emily, I finally got through to Majestic and they said that Walking Thunder would be released in April...maybe May. BOB HOPE CRYSLER CLASSIC: From: Harold Simpson Subject: John on TVI I just saw John being interviewed on the BOB HOPE CLASSIC. He has a handycap of 12. From: Jen Fleischer FYI John just finished playing in the Bob Hope Crysler Classic here in Palm Desert, CA. Others there were Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Glen Campbell, Rick Dees, William Devane, Mike Ditka, Gerald Ford, Leslie Nielsen, and Glenn Frey. ------------------------- SCHOOL PROJECT ON JOHN DENVER: From: Robert Draper <100747.1060@CompuServe.COM> Subject: Information Please Hi Emily, My name's Daniel and I'm twelve years old; I'm using my dad's Internet access to send you this note. I'm currently doing a school project on the entertainment industry, and I've chosen to concentrate on John Denver. I have to present the information in the form of a magazine. I'd be very grateful if you could let me know if there are any other sources of info on him, and his life, etc, other than your web site, which is very interesting. I hope to hear from you in the very near future, Regards, Daniel JOHN DENVER VIDEOKE: This video is a Karaoke video. One portion features John singing alone, and in the other portion the words to John's songs are on the screen so that you can sing along. From: GREGORY NEAL Subject: John Denver import cd's, and videos We are currently servicing dozens of John Denver fans from the various fan clubs, and would like to offer our list of cd's to you and your members, too. may we link to your site as a source for John Denver import merchandise, which includes the new "love again" disc, and the Japanese video release of "JOHN DENVER VIDEOKE" Check our site at Thank you very much! JOHN DENVER VIDEOS: From: reubens104@aol.com (ReubenS104) For those interested in overseas videos contact.... House of Lords Records, S.Lord, 32730 Malabat, France. We bought one called "John Denver Live at the Apollo", that's England, not N.Y.. They also have some American videos on PAL. E. Silva THANK GOD, I'M A COUNTRY BOY: WiseUtBird@aol.com Dear Emily: On Tuesday, January 28, FOX TV showed a movie called "Son-in-Law" This is a pretty good show. The best part is however, about halfway through the show, the guy gets on a large tractor, puts in a John Denver tape and plays "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" as he destroys a field. I just thought you might be interested in this. ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH REVIEW ON "Your Personal Net": From: webmasterdepot@ypn.com Subject: We selected your site..... Dear Webmaster of Rocky Mountain High List, Congratulations! Your site has been selected by the editorial staff of Your Personal Net (http://www.ypn.com)! (the premier topic specific guide to the best of "what's on in cyberspace"). You can read your site review at (http://ypn.com/topics/2894.html). Great work on your site. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know. Sincerely, Eric Oldfield ======================================= J O H N D E N V E R W A N T A D S ======================================= From: "Marco R. Zaccanti" Subject: Re: JD-Internet Hi Emily, a great New Year to you too! Don't forget to put me in the announcement section of the next Newsletter: I'm still desperately seeking for a copy of the album "Rhymes and Reasons". Thank you in advance Marco From: Dale Tschantz Hi Emily, I was just browsing through the Rocky Mountain High website and wondered if anyone might have some of John Denver's older TV specials on videotape (circa 1974 to 1981)? Any ideas? From: Emily Parris Does anyone have the words to "THE BOX" from the "Poems, Prayers and Promises" album? Thanks. From: "Catherine A. Smith" Subject: Albums Available I have some JD albums on 8 track that would love to find a good home. They are free. The new owner just need to pay postage costs. "It's About Time", "Autograph", "Greatest Hits #1", "John Denver","Perhaps Love: Placido Domingo with John Denver". From: Angela I'm a new subscriber to the John Denver newsletter and want to tell you how excited I am to discover so many others who have been so touched by his work. In the January newsletter, someone mentioned a recent interview with Bryant Gumbel. Does anyone have a tape or transcript of this segment? Thank you so much. ------------------------------------------------------------ HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY to John We Love You ************************************************************ Rocky Mountain High: The John Denver Internet Fan Club Emily Parris * emily@sky.net * http://www.sky.net/~emily Issue #34 - February 1997 - Published since May 1994 *************************************************************