Before we start, I’d like to share something a blog member created. I will have to say this is one of the best presents I have ever received. My entire family and all of my neighbors reacted with jaws dropped. The only problem is I don’t know how to get in touch with him to thank him properly. So, Eric Orbich, if you could please email me at emedhus@gmail.com, I’d really appreciate it. I’m not sure if you paint professionally (you certainly should) but I’m sure many blog members would love to have portraits like this made of their loved ones. I can’t wait to get mine framed. It’s stunning. Really stunning. If you’re not famous now, you will be soon. Here’s a photograph. It doesn’t do the painting justice, but it’s all I got!
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Poor Freddie. Eric’s is a hard act to follow. Nevertheless…
Me: So Erik, do you have any questions for Mr. Mercury?
Erik: Yeah. What was Bohemian Rhapsody really about?
Freddie: What do you want it to be about?
Erik: I don’t know.
Freddie: That’s what you have to ask yourself, Erik.
Me: What was your proudest accomplishment while you were here on earth, Freddie?
Freddie: My music!
Me: Of course! And I suppose that hasn’t changed now that you’re in the spiritual realm, right?
Freddie: It has not at all.
Me: Okay. Any other spiritual accomplishments you’re proud of?
Freddie: Spiritual accomplishments?
Me: Yeah.
Freddie (laughing): My music!
Me: Oh my gosh; what am I thinking!
Jamie laughs.
Me: Now, do you have any messages for humanity, given your newfound perspective in the afterlife? Is there anything you’d like to share with the world?
Freddie: The only rules and regulations you have in life are the ones you create for yourself.
Me: That’s true. So, Erik, do you have any other questions for Freddie before we close? No orangutan questions, though!
Jamie (giggling): They got me good; I really thought we were going to talk about a life he had as an orangutan!
Me: I know! I would have fallen for that, too, hook, line and sinker!
Erik: What was going through your head with Bohemian Rhapsody?
(How persistent!)
Freddie (laughing): It actually came from, we called it “The Old Cowboy Song.”
Jamie: Old Cowboy Song? He’s showing me that they use to horse around and play the guitar and sing, and they called it “The Old Cowboy Song” because it started out with “Mama, I just killed a man.”
Me: Oh, yeah! Okay.
Jamie: And that just used to be lyrics in the recording studio that they would joke around with when they were warming up or whatever. And they’d all be like, “Oh, here’s Freddie as the cowboy!”
Freddie: So, it kind of grew into a ballad. We wondered, “How much can we fit into one song.” It became ridiculous saturated—from ballad to guitar solo to opera to heavy rock, just on and on and on.
Jamie: To otro, outro.
Me: Yeah, outro.
Jamie: What’s that?
Me: It’s the final guitar piece I guess. I’m not sure. (To my son, Lukas) Lukas, what’s an outro? Jamie wants to know.
Lukas: I don’t know.
Me: Okay, we’ll find out later. Stay tuned!
Jamie: Stay tuned!
Freddie: And once we recorded it, I thought, ‘Well, how many voices and sounds can we put on top of that?’ So, we kept dubbing and adding tracks upon tracks, layering it and layering it—our harmony times six, and our twenty-four layers turned into a lot more. And it just sounded outrageous. So our manager said, “No one in the world is ever going to play this on the radio. And we thought it would be a great little “end of the record” song, but we really had a great time creating it and recording it. Then a disc jockey—
Jamie (showing her youth): Oh my god, that’s what they were called back then, weren’t they?
Me: Oh, yeah.
Jamie (giggling): Disc Jockey! So funny!
Freddie: So a disc jockey got the song prematurely and started playing it late at night, and it got such great reviews that it became, you know, one of the longest played songs on the radio!
Me: Yeah, and one of the biggest hits.
Freddie: Thank you!
Me: I just love all of your songs.
Jamie: This guy has a smaller waist than I do!
Jamie and I laugh.
Me: Well, I think that’s it. I just want to thank you for all you’ve done—the joy and music that you’ve brought to the world. Thank you for your time here, too, Mr. Mercury.
Freddie: Your quite welcome, and I wish you all the best. Your son, Erik, is a fine young man. We’re happy to have him here.
Me: Aw, how nice!
(Of course inside, I’m thinking, ‘I’m not happy that he’s there. I’d rather him be with me. Sigh. In the background, Lukas asks a question.)
Me: What, Lukas?
Lukas: Is Jesus too busy to talk right now?
Me (to Jamie and Erik): He wants to know if Jesus is too busy to talk right now.
Me (to Lukas): Well, it’s almost the end, anyway. Do you just want to say hi to Jesus?
Lukas: Yes. I just wanna say hi.
Me: Wait, no, we’re going to channel Jesus later. Jesus is kind of busy for just a drive-by “hi and bye.” Annika, do you want to say anything to Erik? Don’t worry. You don’t have to talk on the phone.
Annika: Hi. (Erik can probably see her 16 year-old eye roll.)
Erik (laughing): She sounds so forced when she says it. It’s so funny!
(Typical teenaged girl.)
Erik: Who made waffles this morning?
Me: Oh! We got them at the Waffle House and brought them home.
Jamie: Erik’s really happy; he can’t wait to see Lukas in college.
Erik: Tell Lukas to strive to make it the entire time.
Me: Make it to class?
Erik: No, where he actually graduates and walks across the stage!
Me: Yes, exactly! He will.
Erik: I like to see everyone together.
(We’re in a rented condo in Destin, Florida at the time.)
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Looks like the first conference call will be January 23rd. It’ll be two hours beginning 7:00 PM EST (6:00 PM CST, 4:00 PST). The smaller, private phone conference will be Thursday at 1:30 PM EST (12:30 CST, 10:30 PST). It’ll be one hour and will be limited to 13 people. If you don’t get a slot, don’t worry, because I’m sure Jamie and Erik will want to make this a regular thing. Sign up will be up by Friday at Jamie’s website: www.withloveandlight.com.
We’re still on for the Austin Event, so book your airfare. We’re blocking off rooms, so availability will not be a problem. Please visit Jamie’s website for all the event details. That, also, should be available on Friday. I’ll post another reminder then.
