Friends

Hi All,
FRIENDS. I love that word! Can it get any better than that. In my life...all 32 years of it, I have had a lot of friends. Some would say acquaintenances(sorry for the spelling error), but I consider them people I like to hang out with. To have fun. To share life. To just be able to chill with them. Of course, many of them I don't keep in touch with them on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis...but when I do hear from them, it touches my heart. Okay, enough of my being sappy. I am NOT a sappy person. Okay, I guess I am. I love life, and just try to live life to the fullest, within moderation of course. Anyways where was I...oh yeah...Friends. I just heard from a friend of mine, and we will always be close...I was SOOOO EXCITED to hear from her! Isn't that crazy! Anyhow, we hold a lot of memories...walking in the park and feeding geese, and swinging(no...really, swinging on swings!! we wont' go THERE!!), and watching movies by the dozens...including a horrible movie about phone sex callers....we didn't even finish it! But I met her back in early 1995. And we will be celebrating our 10th year anniversary of being Best Friends! We've Only Just Begun!!!(okay there I go again...spouting out stuff on the Carpenters. That was the Carpenters hit from 1970 which hit Number Two on the Billboard Top 100 music singles chart and sold a million copies. It became their "Signature Hit" and I love it. That voice. Those arrangements. The harmonies. All make for an appealing single.) Anyways, I should get going for now. Just wanted to say hi to all my friends. You are all in my thoughts and prayers!

Cameron

CHRISTMAS is coming...I am soooo HAPPY!!

Hi All,
For those that know me. Christmas is my MOST favorite time of the year! It seems to bring out the best in me! The music. The laughter. The time spent with family. The shopping. The food. The snow. And of course, the reason for the Season...Jesus Christ birth.
Here is something funny. Back in 1977, I was 5 years old, and had never celebrated Christmas before. So I learned that Mary had a baby named Jesus. So in 1978, after being adopted into my new adopted home, and we were beginning the celebration of Christmas, I asked my new Mom..."Is Mary going to have a girl this year?" I had thought that Jesus had been just born the year before. Everyone thought that kind of funny.
I love Christmas music. Some of my favorite memories include listening to BONEY M Christmas album...with such songs like Feliz Navidad, and When A Child is Born. I remember watching the Anne Murray Christmas Special. My favorite Christmas special was the Julie Andrews THE SOUND OF CHRISMTAS in 1985, with her guest John Denver and Placido Domingo, which was filmed in Austria. Later on, in 1988, as a Christmas gift from Mom, I recieved the CHRISTMAS PORTRAIT and AN OLDFASHIONED CHRISTMAS albums of the CARPENTERS. I was ecstatic. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. THAT voice singing Christmas songs is so wonderful! Words cannot express what I feel, when I hear Karen Carpenter singing HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS, MERRY CHRISTMAS DARLING or AVE MARIA. She HAD the voice of an angel. Another artist I adore is Sandi Patty, who has recorded several Holiday albums. I love her songs BETHLEHEM MORNING, O HOLY NIGHT and STAR OF BETHLEHEM(which her son Jon sings on...very beautiful!). I also love Mariah Carey, Amy Grant, Jewel and their Christmas albums.
Also in my family, December holds several birthdays. My sister Debbie was born on December 6th, followed by sister Jeanne on December 16th, with Mom's on the 31st. Jeanne's oldest son Joey, is also born on the 31st. So all these birthdays are kinda special too. Which add to the Holiday spirit.
Now onto food. My Mom makes the best sweet potatoes in the whole world. They are the best! Her stuffing is great too!! And her gravy is perfection personified. If I can be half the cook she is, than I will be happy. Mom always recieved rave reviews on her cooking, not just from her family, but from the many people that have come thru the city for a night or two and stayed at Mom's and recieved warm and geniune hospitality. I always remember fondly, we would come home from school on a Friday, and Mom would say, company is coming, so we would put on our play clothes and get to work, cleaning and preparing the upstairs bedroom for the
guest(s). It was always exciting to have company over, and also to have all our weekend cleaning done on Friday night, so we wouldn't have to do it on Saturday. I always wanted to be like Mom, hospitable and gracious. One of my favorite sayings from the LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE books is when Ma Ingalls says, in response to someone complimenting her on her dinner preparations, "Modesty is the best sauce!" (I am not too sure why I mentionned that...I guess, I just like to say it, and see it written...anyhow!)
I love going to Church, and singing the carols. Which reminds me of my youth, when I was in the RIVER EAST TROUVERZ for 2 years in 1985 and 1986. We filmed Christmas commercials and recorded a ton of Christmas songs. Like, a lot! Mom and me were watching these commercials I have on VHS, a few weekends ago, and it was neat to see a younger, naive me, preserved on video. I really love singing!
I will add more of my Christmas thoughts at a later date...

Sometimes I just like to think...about what? Not sure...I just like to think!

Hi All,
Sometimes I just like to think. Just lay there and think. Or at work, I will be thinking of countless possibilities. Of course, at work, doing Housekeeping all day, you have to think, otherwise you will end up crazy. So I just think about life, and God, and death, and my past and my future. I also think of my dreams, my fears, my interests, whether I will ever find love.
Speaking of love. I decided a few years ago, that I probably will never be married. Part of it stems from my childhood. I don't think I would make a good and effective parent. I know I would love my kids, but I would be too scared to fall in the trap of raising them in an abusive way. I don't ever want my kids to fear me. I know what fear is like. I lived with it for 10 years from age 6 and onwards. Actually, I lived with it from birth to age 6, but it was more of a survival technique. Or a different type of fear.
In some ways, I wish I could get married. I have been in committed relationships before, but all those times, I backed out before I could get too close. Maybe in some way, before I could get hurt. I don't know. I am 32, but I feel much, much older than my 32 years. If I passed away tonight, I feel that I lived my life and that's that.
A few weeks ago, my Mother's cousin passed away. I had met him a year before at my Auntie's wedding. I didn't know of him, but he was pleased to meet this Cameron, as opposed to his Cameron. His son was named Cameron too. We are second cousins. Anyways, he passed away of cancer. You know, I have never been a fan of funerals. I have been to a few, and sung at a few too. But his funeral was beautiful, elegant, personal, warm, and hearing his family and friends speak of him so, I knew that this was a person that loved life. I felt so sad for his family, how they will miss him.
But I digress, what I wanted to say, is that my Mom and I were able to talk about death later on. It was a special moment, both of us drinking tea, and sitting in Mom's nice, cozy living room, on her nice leather couches. We talked about God, death, and our fears, and hopes. It was really special! I told her that I want to be remembered, as someone who brought joy and a smile to other people's lives. I have so much fun talking with my Mom. We can talk about pretty much anything. She has really grown as a person, in many, many ways. So have I, but what amazes me, is that she was a former missionary in Africa in the 1970's, and now, she is still the same, but different. She radiates love, and compassion, and hope, but also a worldy attitude, but in a Godly way, too. Does that makes sense? To me, it does.
My Mom never had an easy life. She has gone thru so much. She could be the BOOK, and I could be the SEQUEL. I am so amazed, that she has NEVER lost her faith in God, or in Humanity. She is an inspiration, and I know I am not the only one who thinks that way about her. She is well loved. I guess it doesn't bother me about saying these things about my Mother. I mean, why should I have to save these thoughts of goodness and such, to put in her obituary, when she is gone and cannot hear them. Maybe these words can cheer her, and let her see, how loved she is. Although we always joke, that I will go before her, to Heaven. Because I can't bear to be at her funeral. And she always says, she will see my funeral from Heaven, as she wants to go before me, as she can't bear to be at her Son's funeral. So we compromise, and say that we hope the Lord takes us both, at the same time. Or that the Rapture comes and takes us, and the family altogether. Anyhow. These are some of my thoughts for the day...

Karen Carpenter

Hi All,
As it is a part of my life, and I adore her music. I will tell you how I came to know about the singer Karen Carpenter, who remains my Number One Secular Singer of all time.

I was in Grade Nine, at Calvin Christian School, and I had just finished eating lunch. While all my other classmates went outside to play sports, I opted to stay inside, which was not unusual. I would rather stay inside, then have to go outside. What would I do outside? Standing around, while everyone else played sports, or talked in groups, while I felt all alone. I guess I was a bit of a loner, as I felt, and knew that I didn't fit in. Not like everyone else, of course. Anyhow, I was looking thru this new Health textbook, with colorful pictures, and contemporary articles. I was paging thru looking and reading at the tid bits. I came across this section on eating disorders, and I was fascinated. What was an eating disorder? So I read about it.

Then, I came across a picture of an old lady, with 2 guys sitting beside her. She looked old and so thin. Beside that photo, it said, "Singer Karen Carpenter died of Anorexia Nervosa in 1983." I tried to guess her age. Maybe 40...45...(you have to remember, that at my age...15...I thought anyone in their 40's was OLD!!). So I thought I would take the book home, and see if she knew who this Karen Carpenter was.

Later on that night, while Mom was in the kitchen peeling potatoes and carrots for supper, I brought the book in and showed her the picture. "Mom, this is Karen Carpenter. Who is she?" I asked.

Mom gasped, and said, "Cameron. Take the book away!" She was gasping at how horribly thin Karen Carpenter was. A virtual skeleton in the throes of Anorexia Nervosa. So I took it to my bedroom, and raced back upstairs to continue my conversation with Mom.

"So, who is she? What does she sing?" I asked again. "We have her album, by the 8-Tracks!" Mom said, as she resumed her supper preparations. I went over there, thumbing for a Karen Carpenter album, but couldn't find anything. I felt disappointed. So I brought the 8-Track basket to Mom, who thumbed thru it and found it, "Here it is!" she exclaimed as she picked it out. I practically ripped it out of her hands.

The Carpenters. The Singles 1969-1973. That was all it said. It was a purplish color...almost burgandy, with Gold lettering on the Carpenters logo. On the back was a little black and white photo of 2 men. Or so I thought. I put two and two together and realized it was a guy and girl, who both wore bell bottoms, and hippyish clothing, with long hair(you have to realize it was a tiny picture measure 2 inches by an 2 inches). Was that her husband?(Later I found out, that the blond haired man standing beside her, with his arms folded, was her brother Richard Carpenter).

I put the music in the player, and out popped out sweet, lovely sounds. That voice! She had the voice of an angel. She sang in her own lovely style. Songs came out that I remembered from my childhood, even before my adoption in 1978. Close To You. Sing. Yesterday Once More. Superstar. We've Only Just Begun.

And that was the day. I actually don't remember the actual date, but know it was in May of 1988. That was when I became a fan. Since then, I have collected about 26 of her albums, posters, memorabelia, articles, clippings, videos, 8x10's etc. I even wrote to the Carpenters International Fan Club, and corresponded with their secretary Ev Wallace, who answered many, many questions I had of the Carpenters musical career. I am also involved with Carpenters Online, a forum on the career of Richard and Karen Carpenter...run by the talented Rick Henry. Here is the website www.carponline.bravepages.com

My thoughts,
Cameron Longo

I Saw Gospel Superstar SANDI PATTY in EDMONTON on Oct 1st!!

Hi All,
On October 1, 2004, I had the opportunity to see singer Sandi Patty in concert at the Beulah Alliance Church. It was an awesome experience to see her sing in such a heavenly way. She blessed my life before with her recordings, but to see her "live" in concert is another treasure added within my life. I was blessed to also have my mother Fern, my sister Cori Marie, and my Auntie Marcia there, sitting beside me on the FRONT row. She was there, promoting her newest double cd HYMNS OF FAITH...SONGS OF INSPIRATION and it was phenomenal! What an awesome lady and very, very talented!!
One of the songs she sung was her famous JESUS LOVES ME medley. Actually, this was the song that I first hear back in 1988. My Auntie Laurie Bergreen had told me that this gospel singer Sandi Patti(since mid 1990's Sandi Patti changed her name from "Patti" to "Patty") imitates other singers, notably Karen Carpenter, who at that time, and still is, my favorite Secular singer of all time. So that was the first time I heard her sing it, and I became a fan. So to hear her sing Jesus Loves Me, as she thinks Karen Carpenter might have sung it, is unbelievably right on. Her intonation and phrasing are so Karen-like, it's neat!
Other songs she sung are CROWN HIM WITH MANY CROWNS(gorgeous!), HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW(gentle!), WE SHALL BEHOLD HIM(standing ovation moment!), VIA DOLOROSA(wonderful!), PRECIOUS MEMORIES medley(Sandi came off stage and down thru audience to shake people's hands and sing!!). It was an evening of her talking, sharing, singing, laughing etc. As my Mom said it eloquently, "I could feel the Lord's presence, the first moment, she walked out on stage!" which is the truth! I also loved her story on the adoption of her 8th child SAM, and I had tears in my eyes, at how touching it was. It made me think of my adoption, and how blessed I am to have the Mother that I do have. She and I are friends, and not just friends, but I count her as one of my kindred spirits(from the Anne books...Anne of Green Gables). We have so much fun together...playing scrabble, talking, cleaning, shopping, eating, socializing, as well as acting silly...I love you MOM!!
Anyway, I digress...after the concert, I did get to meet Sandi Patty and she signed a poster of mine, and the HYMNS cd. I asked if I could have my picture taken with her and she agreed. She was gracious, sweet, and fun filled. Her interesting website is www.sandipatty.com
That was a wonderful, crowning moment in my life, one I will never forget. I will post that picture very soon.

My thoughts,
Cameron Longo

Favorite Book...THE HIDING PLACE by Corrie Ten Boom

Hello,
I have to share this wonderful book by Corrie Ten Boom with you all. THE HIDING PLACE. It was also filmed into a movie in 1975 by World Wide Pictures, starring Julie Harris, Eilleen Heckart, Arthur O'Connel and Jeannette Clift as Corrie Ten Boom.
It's a powerful story of God's unending love during a time of persecution and death. I always read it, when I am feeling down, which sometimes is quite often, and other times, just to relax. My favorite quote from that book is, "There is no pit so deep that HE is not deeper still..." and that just says it all for me. That when I am in a trial or tribulation in my life, that God understands me and that I am not alone.

My thoughts,
Cameron

More about me...

Well, I was born in 1972 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. My biological parents were Clifford and Florence(Chartrand)Parenteau. I was their second child, the first being my older brother Gordon Chartrand born in 1971. A year or so after me, my sister Janey Joyce arrived right before Christmas 1973. Two years later in 1975, Debbie arrived, followed by sister Sonya in 1977. To make a long story short, we all got put up for adoption. It was during my Kindergarten year at Dufferin School, that I met this wonderful, beautiful lady named Fern(Klaassen) Longo who took an interest in me. It's amazing how we met, considering she was a Resource teacher, and I was a student, albeit a very young student. She and her husband adopted me, and later on, my 2 birth sisters Janey(renamed Jeanne) and Debbie. In addition, in 1982, Sachia Stephen arrived and Cori Marie in 1985. Our family was complete. I attended Donwood Elementary School in North Kildonan from Grades One to Grade Five. In Grade Six, I attended Calvin Christian School, a private Christian school and would stay there for the next four years. The reason we were able to attend is that my adopted mother's adopted mother Cora Bergreen passed away and left money in her will for all of her grandchildren to attend Christian education. In Grade 10, I opted for a secular High School at River East Collegiate, but halfway thru the first semester, my world turned upside down. Long story short, our mother moved us to Swift Current, Saskatchewan to begin a new life there. This is near the area where she was raised as a young girl onto adulthood. Her family were Mennonites and carried their heritage with them.

I had my experiences being adopted published in a book and websited called Stolen Generations: Book of Voices. That was very neat to do, and very healing for myself. I am proud of myself for that. Eventually, I will publish onto this blog, what I wrote for that book.

My Thoughts,
Cameron

Hi All!!

Hello! My name is Cameron Longo, and I thought it would be a fun idea to be able to post thoughts about my life, my questions, my worries, and life in general. I am the type of person, who likes to examine life, question answers, and just learn. Basically, I guess, I am a bit of a curious person. I will post thoughts about my interests...Karen Carpenter, Sandi Patty, Corrie Ten Boom, Crying Wind, Music, Books, Genealogy and my past.

Cameron