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April 27, 2015 BEING REFLECTIVE.

Sometimes i get overwhelmed with messages full of sadness, and I realize that fans can get into” that melancholy mood” when discussing the Bee Gees.You all know what type of mood I am referring to, and it’s not conducive to our good mental health. As we get nearer to Robin’s anniversary, the messages are getting even sadder.The stories are  giving me cause to take deeper breaths than usual when I read them.  His fans are impassioned, ardent and fervent followers, and they miss him terribly. When it comes to Robin Gibb, there is no middle ground. Those who love him as much today as they did years ago are still in pain about his loss, and they revere him. Then there is the enigma that represents itself in the form of Maurice Gibb fans. There is no compromise when it comes to Mo. He is as adored today as he was 50 years ago, and his fans represent themselves to me as diehard lovers of Mo’s talent and humor. Even though he seemed to take a back seat to his two brothers, he was indeed the glue that bound them together, and fans keep reminding me of this fact. They are passionately devoted. Lastly, we have Barry, the only brother still with us, the one carrying the Bee Gee weight all by himself. In reading back on my Bee Gee research, at one point or another all three brothers reminded us that their happiest times were when they first started out; and if they all could go back to the beginning and freeze time, I think they might certainly opt to do so. I was recently listening to Robin’s new album, and I cried at “Sydney”. It was right there in the words: “I close my eyes. I’m back in Sydney. My brothers are with me, my brothers and I”. Even after death, Robin reminds us of how much those days meant to him. Having heard from every type of fan imaginable, I hope for them all to be as joyful about the Gibb brothers as possible by thinking of the good memories. This isn’t a lecture about looking at “the glass as half full instead of half empty”. It’s more of a “let’s look and be happy that we have a glass at all” kind of message. My wish for Barry is that fans embrace him for what he is accomplishing on his own; and no matter how much they miss Robin and Mo, they might stop and think about how damn difficult all of this is for Barry. Being strong enough to venture out on the Mythology Tour took more courage than I could ever muster, even on my best day. Now he is creating  music in a new and different way. I ask myself if he is wondering with every note what Robin might interject or what chord Mo might strike up on the keyboards. He is surrounded by a talented support team of great musicians and production people he has worked with for decades; but at times, he is still climbing that mountain of creativity alone, missing his brothers. I am in awe of what he is doing, praying that creating new music will give him moments of elation and a new exuberance to tour again in the future. So, I am forever optimistic that Bee Gee fans will enjoy their DVD’s ,albums, CD’s, and collected memorabilia and that they will keep sharing their happy stories with me. After all, it’s all in what we choose to remember. As a group, the Bee Gees were artistically brilliant; and as far as I’m concerned, each day with Bee Gee music in it is a good day. You know, most people don’t read Thoreau, but they should. One of my favorite quotes of his says, “To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of art.” Amen.