"You do so much,
That you don’t know.
It’s true
And I know now
Who I am."
~ lyrics from "Dream Catch Me,"
written by Crispin Hunt, Gordon Mills & Newton Faulkner

Hi all!

Welcome to JABB 238 which celebrates John's 45th birthday!  Not only do we have some letters to John himself prepared but also a special Dye Day play list!  But before we get to that, here's your final reminder for the Dye Day chats:

Friday, February 1st at 7 PM Central
and
Saturday, February 2nd at noon Central

You may attend either or both chats.  The url is:
http://www.onthisside.net/jabbchatroom.html

If you're planning on attending, please let me know so I can inform you should unforeseen circumstances force us to reschedule or relocate. 

Finally, you're all welcome to add onto this special Dye Day newsletter!  Notes about that follow both sections.  Please note that in order to add your submission to this page I will need to have it by midnight February 2nd.  Thanks!

Enjoy the newsletter and help us wish John a very happy 45th birthday!

God bless,
Jenni
Open Letters to Mr. John Dye on His Birthday


John
 
I just wanted to say thank you for all of the wonderful work you've done.  You've brought a certain something to all of the roles you've played over the years.  I'm sure you'll be remembered most for your role as Andrew but I'm also sure in time that your other accomplishments will be found out by more people.
Hopefully you'll return to do more acting but if not, just know that I appreciate all that you have done.
Thanks.
 
Elizabeth


Dear John,

I just wanted to mark the occasion of your 45th birthday by thanking you.  I'm not sure where to begin.  Your words as Andrew brought me an amazing amount of comfort when my Grandpa died.  His death was the first big loss of my life.  So thank you for  helping me through that.  Actually, you've helped me through every death and trauma since.  Your work on Touched  and that of Charles Rocket and Bruce Altman radically changed how I view death.  I never gave much thought to the concept of the angel of death.  The few times I did it was only to think of them as terrifying creatures in black hoods.  But with Adam and Henry and your Andrew that all went away.  After Touched  brought that concept to my attention, I realized how much sense it made and how perfect it was.  To me it's a great comfort to know God will be with me when I die but there's also a comfort in believing that another person will be there, too.  Someone who, like us, was fashioned by God and imbued with divine love.  The idea of the angel of death, for me, just furthered the idea that God created all His children to love and respect each other.  I'll always be grateful to you and everyone involved with Touched  through the years for repeatedly reminding us of the importance of God's love and our love for each other.

At the risk of this sounding like a Thanksgiving-themed JABB, I'd also like to thank you for all of the following: introducing us to the deliciousness of ginger ale and orange juice mixed together, furthering my fondness for flannel shirts, helping me to remember to take note of the beauty of a sunset, getting the song "Paint It Black" stuck in my head for pretty much a full week, reminding me of the awesomeness that is brightly colored Converses, teaching me that if I ever have children and my son wants a red and black teddy bear then I should get him a red and black teddy bear (I still tear up every time I watch that final scene in "Mother, Mother," by the way), and countless other things that I'll kick myself later for not mentioning.  But there's one thing I can't forget and that's that I want to thank you for giving this great group a reason to come together.  I know for a fact that I couldn't have got people to join the Jennifer Ann Bucket Brigade.  But the John/Andrew Bucket Brigade was another story.  The passion and compassion that you've brought to your roles have touched and inspired us all just as I'm sure your off screen life has touched and inspired those blessed to know you.  These people here mean a lot to me and with out you I probably wouldn't know a one of them.  Thank you, thank you, thank you for making it possible for me to get to know them.

John, I wish for you a 45th birthday filled with blessings.  I hope your life is everything you want it to be.  And I pray that you always know that you've meant a great deal to so many people.

God bless,
Jenni



Dear John,

I never really know what to say in these kinds of letters.  I could say that I think you’re a dynamite actor, that I think your portrayal of Andrew was wonderful and touched so many lives, mine included.  I could say that I cannot count the number of days when I had felt rather blah, and then saw an episode that somehow turned everything around.  What can I say except thanks for all that food for thought, thanks for the fun, thanks for giving this group a reason to come together and life-long friendships to be founded.

That’s really what you did.  You catalyzed all of this…as insane as it may seem.  You gave us a wonderful playground in which to explore our fantasies, but also to act serious and talk about issues that are important to us, all the while showing that Classic TBAA concepts are still alive and kicking.

So thanks for that.

And today, with your forty-fifth birthday now here, I can only wish you all the best for a new year of success and joy!  May you have at least forty-five more years of good coming your way.

Best Wishes,
Namasté,
Yvette



Hi,

Well, first I suppose I want to tell you that I think that you are a really great actor and that you have a lot of talent. I have to say that my favorite of the roles you've played would be Andrew and Doc Hock. They are both really interesting characters and I am very glad I have had the opportunity to see them.

I have only been a member of JABB for about a year now, but the time I have had here has been great. I have made some good friends through this fandom and have had a lot of fun. Touched By an Angel  ended about five years ago now, but as you can see, the character and your portrayal of Andrew still lives strong here and has brought together many people which has caused quite a few new friends to be made over the years.

There have been endless jokes made here over the past few years about all sorts of crazy things; everywhere from hair to completely ridiculous Top Tens, but they have been a lot of fun. So I guess I just wanna say “thanks”.  Whether you ever realize this or not, you have really made a difference and I hope you know that we really appreciate all you have done.

I hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Nicole


**If you're a JABB member and would like an open letter to John added here, please contact Jenni.  Letters must, of course, be respectful, not include any information that would make it easy to identify you (keeping in mind anyone and everyone can read these), and should not involve an attempt to get John to meet with you (yes, we have been asked to post things of that nature and will not.)**



The Ultimate Dye Day Playlist!!!

Dye Day is, sadly, not a recognized holiday.  Well, may be this is a good thing.  I'm sure John would be pretty overwhelmed by such an idea.  Plus, then we'd all have to put up with the retailers hawking Dye Day decorations to us from around October through the post-Dye Day sales starting February 1st.  However, I do happen to think that if Dye Day were a real holiday, it'd have some pretty awesome "carols."  Since your local radio station will probably not be playing "Dye Day carols," here are my suggestions for your own Dye Day sing-alongs.  Just don't write me and complain if you go door-to-door singing these and get strange looks.  Especially since they aren't all exactly cheery.

1.  I Will Walk with You- Della Reese
Please tell me I don't have to explain why you would want to include this one! 

2.  San Francisco- Scott McKenzie
Cause that's where John lives.  Or at least that's where he lived when we last heard of him.  So listen to this as you hope for a beautiful birthday for John!

3.  Seasons of Love- The Original Broadway Cast of RENT
This one's for Jeff, the character John played in "Mother, Mother."  Ideally you'd be able to get your hands on a recording of the song "Mother, Mother."  I snagged one years back, however, I believe it's out of print so the theme song from Jonathan Larson's fantastic musical is a good stand-in to represent my second favorite John Dye character.

4.  Mother, Mother- Cris Williamson
I lied.  Right after I typed the above I thought I'd check iTunes for the song "Mother, Mother" one more time.  I'd done it before to no avail but now it's there.  So you can listen to this heartbreaking and lovely song and think about Jeff and pray for all those living with AIDS as well as those we have sadly lost to this disease.

5.  Medley: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In- The 5th Dimension
Finally a hippie song!  You might need this to cheer you up after the last two.  Put this on, grab a peace sign and/or a peasant shirt, and sing along as you think about Doc Hock.

6.  Green Eyes- Helen Forrest, Helen O'Connell & Margaret Whiting
Another iTunes grab.  Try not to think of a certain set of green eyes as ya give this one a listen!  Impossible!

7.  What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?- Della Reese
Otherwise known as the song Kate and Andrew danced to in "My Dinner with Andrew."  It just seems like a good birthday song, too.  Here's hoping John gets everything he needs outta the rest of his life! 

8.  Wedding Bell Blues- The 5th Dimension
This song makes me think of Bill from those Christmas movies.  I wanted to include him and the only other thought I had was Christmas carols which may be a lot of us need a bit of a break from still.

9.  Boy on TV- Keren
Just listen.  I laughed the first time I heard this cause the chorus was so hysterically us.  Okay, so may be we didn't fall in love with the boy on TV but developed a strong attachment to him?  Probly.

10.  Sinnerman- Nina Simone
The Manion song.  But, seriously, I love this song.  It's also good to work out to, IMO.  You can imagine you're punching Manion.  I should probly not say that in the newsletter we're hoping John will read, huh?  Oops.  But, hey, good on him for making us despise a person so much!  It takes talent to have us go from absolutely adoring someone you played to wanting to punch the next one out. 

11.  Woodstock- Joni Mitchell
I love hippie songs!  Another one in honor of Doc Hock.  Speaking of him...

12.  Paint It Black- The Rolling Stones
The "Tour of Duty" theme song. 

13.  Don’t Fear the Reaper- Blue Oyster Cult
Don't fear the AOD, either.  While the AOD Band may have been our own invention, I still think their theme song deserves a mention here.  So just think of Andrew rocking out to this.

14. The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades- Timbuk 3
From "Campus Man."  Gotta love Todd.  Or at least his awesome 80s fashions.

15.  My Immortal- Evanescence
Before this got played incessantly on the radio or attached to a certain attractive vampire from L.A., this song reminded me of Andrew. 

16.  Dream Catch Me- Newton Faulkner
This is the song that the opening lyrics came from.  It reminds me tons of Dyeland which, I suppose, is in some way the end result of our appreciation for John Dye's work as Andrew.  And so I will end this play list with this song.  Happy birthday, John!

Got more to add to make the ultimate Dye Day play list?  Email Jenni to make additions!



Happy birthday and thanks, John!!!

JABB TOC
JABB 239


(Photo Credits: The photographs used on this page are from: "Once Upon a Christmas" owned by Ardent Productions, Legacy Filmworks, Lincoln Field Productions, Sterling/Winters Company Studios, and Viacom Productions Inc., "Touched by an Angel" owned by CBS Productions, Caroline Productions, and Moon Water Productions, "Campus Man" owned by RKO Pictures, "Tour of Duty" owned by New World Television, and "Best of the Best" owned by Best of the Best Films, Kuys Entertainment, SVS Films, and The Movie Group Inc., .  They are not being used to seek profit.)