Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 45

Just amriHCK move ota a CITY Gordon Lightfoot relives gamut of emotions for 35-year retrospective "35? TS- '1 -A 9 i' 4,, f. tin. work brought back many memories: "I really iiijiim ma ywwn miYti ILm -i 1 tmtrnn mlm nimi Gordon Lightfoot says listening to his catalog of saw a lot of reflection of my life in that material." tiff's: 1 lH'; Ron Frohm Associated Pross The Four Tops from left, the late Lawrence Payton, Levi Stubbs, Renaldo "Obie" Benson and Abdul "Duke" Fakir will be inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in Sharon, Pa. SCENES Marching heroes of fie the "1 is your favorite 1 century hero or heroine -r Mother Teresa, Pope jplin Paul II, Betty Friedan, Anne Martin Luther King -Caesar Chavez, Nelson The Thomas Merton Center, a-' local ministry for justice and peace. wants to know.

The center is asking folks march at 3 p.m. Saturday in "May Day Stars of the 20th CentyC, ry" event, which steps off at tlux, Schenley Park Ice Skating Rink; shelter in Schenley Park. Participants are encouraged wear costumes depicting national or local heroes or carry signs the names of people prominent in', the struggle for peace and The march will wind around park and back to the shelter, where a political coffeehouse poets, folk singers and will be held and refreshments served. Also, prizes for best costume most original star and best will be awarded. Prizes also will qo awarded to winners of a "Stars, of the 20th Century" essay contest Sponsorship forms for the march are available at the Thomas.

Merton Center, 5125 Penn Garfield. More information is available by contacting the center at 412-361-3022. (Jean Bryant) The Warhol Museum will host a "Community Forum" at 7 p.m. May 6 on the subject "Art as Ther-i apy." i Panelists will be Leslie Golomb-Hartman, artist and visual arts di-. rector of the Jewish Community Center; Lou Karas, art and learn.L ing director for the Pittsburgh.

r. Center for the Arts; and Roy Lahet, executive director of Mercy Behavioral Health. Judith Rubin, a University of Pittsburgh art thera-1 pist, will serve as moderator. I. Admission is $3.

(Rebecca Sodergren. Two more concerts have been added to the local music scene: Vonda Shepard will perform at 7:30 p.m. June 23 at I.C. Lighjt Amphitheatre at Station Square. Tickets are $22.50 and go on sale, at 1 10 a.m.

Saturday. Elton John will perform at 8 p.m. June 11 at Star Lake Am- phitheatre in Burgettstown. Tick- ets on sale at 10 a.m. Monday.

Tickets are available at Ticket- Master outlets, by phone at 4 12-! 323-1919 or on the Web at www.tick-! etmaster.com (R.S.) Carnegie Museums of Pitts- burgh will hold a Senior Citizens' Reception from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday with tours, entertainment and light refreshments. Admission is free. 412-831-5423. (R.S.) rels through a dark and lonely stretch of highway long after midnight.

I look forward to the familiar landmarks: the domed courthouse on the hill in Somer- set, Breezewood's huge, blazing power grid far down in a valley, the four mountain tun- nels Allegheny, Tuscarora, Kittatinny and, as if to give your tongue a rest. Blue. Further east, the wooded islands in the Susquehanna River materialize, and the blinking blue lights of Harrisburg's airport on the shore. And every now and then, after maneuver- ing through a cluster of six or seven tractor-; trailers like an all-star halfback and spying empty highway, I gun the accelerator, feel the centrifugal force as 1 power around a graceful curve, and suddenly have the sen- sation that I'm far above the Earth and sail- ing on currents of air. Of course, smack in the middle of my ec- I stasy, flashing PennDOT signs slow me down to 55 and warn of roadwork the eternal roadwork that seems to proceed at pace calculated to make frequent highway drivers crazy; roadwork that, I realize some-; where in the more dispassionate part of my brain, is necessary, but which nonetheless makes a mockery of an old PennDOT slogan: "Temporary inconvenience, permanent improvement." But this being spring, all things are possible the Pirates could win the pennant and PennDOT might even finish the job-one fine, manure-scented day.

In the a sign says "Road Work Ends," and signals it's OK to power back up to 65. single lane I've been reduced to widens again. I feel the satisfying pressure of thev accelerator giving under my foot. And, if only for a couple of hours, I'm home Peter B. King edits Life Support.

He be reached at Mngtu It is said that music is a reflection of its creator's life. Recently, through his own work, Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot got a rare chance to take a good, long look in the mirror. What he heard and felt as he listened to more than 35 years' worth of his work surprised him. Over five days late last summer, as he prepared to select the lineup for his upcoming 88-song, four-CD boxed set, "Gordon Lightfoot: Songbook," the singer took a musical trip down memory lane. He listened to his entire catalog 21 albums that included more than 200 songs.

He and Thane Tierney, director of catalog development for Rhino Records, selected the works. The set will be released June 15 by Rhino and sell for $59.98. The package, which will include comments by Lightfoot on each song, as well as 25 to 30 photographs, is to be a retrospective of his career. "Listening to all those songs going by brought back a lot of memories, said Lightfoot. "It was really the first opportunity I'd had to listen to my entire catalog, and I really saw a lot of reflection of my life in that material.

It ran me right back through my whole personal spectrum." He realized how much his life and his music were intertwined. As he listened, he felt the joy, the anger, the turmoil. He relived his 20-year battle with alcoholism and a tumultuous first marriage, which lasted just seven years (1963-1970) and ended in a painful divorce. "A lot of those songs came out of situations in my life," Lightfoot said. "I remember burying myself in my work as a way to escape the emotional roller coaster I was on many of those times." It also stirred up some strong feelings, said Lightfoot, feelings that had been buried for quite some time.

"I mostly felt guilt. It took me back through times that I didn't feel I'd been very fair with the people around me." But that was the Lightfoot of days past. The partier, the carouser. Lightfoot, who turned 60 November, now lives a quiet life near a lake in rural Toronto. He remarried in 1989 and has two children with his wife, Elizabeth.

He has been sober since 1982. One thing that hasn't changed is his concert schedule. Although he didn't actively write or produce every year, he has toured. And toured, and toured. "I think the music's better now than it's ever been," Lightfoot said.

"The excitement and anticipation before a show is still there, but the difference is we're much more aware of our responsibilities at home." Jamie A. Welly, Toledo Blade VOCAL HALL OF FAME The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in Sharon, has announced its second class of inductees. The 14 groups, to be inducted in September, are the Coasters, the Delta Rhythm Boys, the Pour Seasons, the Four Tops, Hank Ballard the Midnighters, the Jackson 5, Little Anthony the Imperials, the Moder-naires, the Moonglows, Peter, Paul Mary, the Spinners and the Temptations. The Ink Spots and the Revelers also will be inducted as Pioneers of Musical Style. Ed Masley, Post-Gazette Pop Music Critic DANCE THERAPY Dunya, a dancer and meditation teacher, will lead workshops in movement and dance meditation tomorrow through Sunday.

The classes, intended for both men and women, will teach participants to calm their minds and lengthen their bodies through stretches, breathing techniques and rhythmic trance dancing. With a dance degree from the Juilliard School, Dunya has conducted workshops and retreats in the United States and abroad for more than 15 years. She will offer workshops from 7 to 9:30 p.m. but wonder when, if ever, they will take responsibility for themselves and realize that we owe them nothing more. We have considered telling them they are on their own and the bank is closed.

What do you think? HAD IT IN KENTUCKY DEAR KENTUCKY: Stop "considering," and tell them outright. It's time you stopped being en-ablcrs. Please keep reading you have a double out there: DEAR ANN: Tell me where we went wrong in raising our children. Our oldest daughter, age 34, has been married twice. Our middle son is 33 and married his fourth wife last week after a whirlwind, three-month courtship.

Our youngest daughter married at age 15, had two children by the age of 17 and gave both of them up for adoption. She divorced her husband, married another man and is divorced again. Now, she is planning her third wedding, and she is only 32 years old. Two of our children have filed for bankruptcy. They are just as irresponsible with their credit as they have been with their marriages.

My dream was for all our children to be educated and have great careers. I would have supported them in any dream they wanted but they had no dreams. My husband and I have been married for 37 years and have had some hard times but never once considered divorce. If we could make it work, why can't our children? Where did we go wrong? DEPRESSED IN THE UNITED STATES DEAR DEPRESSED: Stop berating yourselves. You did your best now, let it rest.

There's no perfect formula for successful parenthood at least I don't know of it. Send questions to Ann Landers, Box 11562, Chicago, IL 60611-0562. tomorrow and 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Yoga Sadhana on the South Side. Cost is $25 person or $85 for all evenLs.

412-488-8477. Rebecca Soderqren, Post-Gazette Staff Writer THAT'S NOT NICE "Kung Fu" actor David Carradine and wife Marina Anderson didn't think much of a Jan. 11 write-up in People so little in fact they sued for libel and breach of contract. The lawsuit accuses People parent Time Warner Inc. of violating a "gentleman's agreement" for a "nice" story in exchange for the couple dropping a lawsuit against another of Time Warner's subsidiaries, Who Weekly in Australia.

Instead, People wrote of alleged substance abuse and called Carradine "washed up," "unemployable" and "a drunk." The story also falsely stated that he was "court-martialed out of the Army," said the couple's attorney, Neville L. Johnson. The couple says Time Warner magazine chief Norman Pcarlstinc apologized for the Who Weekly piece that called Anderson a porn 4 ilitfsburab post-Gazette Thursday, April 29,1999 Page D-5 There a pathology there I find very interesting. People don 't walk up to people who are overweight and say, 'You know, I'm really concerned. And I'm really worried about you.

You 're toooofat! 'You know? If you 're skinny, then God, I hope you 're unhealthy because otherwise it's too perfect, it's too ideal. I'm not insinuating that I'm perfect. Calista Flockhart, oka Ally McBeal, who has been popping up everywhere. She Is George mogazme's cover woman (or Moy and recently chatted with Connie Chung on "2020." Parents wony liey failed in raising children DEAR ANN: My husband and I have two sons in their early 20s. The oldest one, who is married, calls me and complains incessantly about his finances.

He resents the money we spend on trips when he has se- vere cash problems. Ann, if this son managed his income better, his financial situation would be a lot healthier. He and his wife spend like there is no tomorrow. After they married, his first purchase was a new car, in spite of the fact that the old car was perfectly dependable. Now, they are considering a bigger apartment, although their current place is fine.

Our younger son has moved back home after nearly starving to death. He made good money and could have had anything he wanted but wound up pawning everything valuable that he owned. We gave him several loans to pay off his various debts and help him get back on his feet. Did he learn anything from his experience? No. He now has a job, lives at home and has no expenses.

I cook for him, do his laundry and clean his room. He runs through money as fast as he earns it and expects to borrow from us whenever he needs cash. Where is it written that children have a right to expect such things from their parents? We tried to teach our children the value of a dollar, the importance of saving and the dangers of credit. We love our children The right road A long, latc-niglil lilglucaydrwe can open up the world star and promised that a nice story on the Carradines would be done for People or Entertainment Weekly. People magazine said it stands behind its stoiy MILLENNIUM CADS Barbra Streisand, who christened the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas more than five years ago, is scheduled to return on New Year's Eve to usher in the millennium with a rare public performance.

Tickets will range from $500 to $2,500 and will go on sale Saturday. HEW HOSTS CROWNED There they are: new Miss America hosts Donny and Marie Osmond. The brother and sister act will replace last year's hosts, Boomer Esiason and Meredith Vieiia. The 79th annual Miss America Pageant, dubbed Miss America 2000, will be broadcast live from Atlantic City, N.J., on ABC on Sept. 18.

From wire reports by peter b. king 1 I i Daniel century involves too many choices. A lone drive narrows them. From the time I stick the key in the ignition in Pittsburgh, I have no doubts about my mission in life for the next five hours: Stay awake, and make good time. But in the course of taking care of business, there's room for pleasure.

Hey, maybe not big fun, but the little things. The coffee, the music and Art Bell as Art Bell was meant to be heard gabbing with callers about the 1947 Roswell alien cover-up on a crackling AM station while my Saturn bar riving to Philadelphia late one night a few weeks ago, I knew spring was on the brink of bursting forth when I opened my win dow and breathed in the rich, sweet smell of manure. All across the state it rose in the cool, but no longer frigid, darkness freshly spread on farms, from rocky little upland plots in Westmoreland and Bedford to the fertile flatlands of the Pennsylvania Dutch. It was an ancient and primal signal that the world was undergoing a change that, at least as far as climate, surely meant better things. I remember catching sight of an almost-full moon sailing by, turning up the slinky jazz-pop-funk of guitarist Lee Rite-nour, tasting coffee on my tongue and feeling a jolt of elation.

Now some people are funny they don't like to drive. They consider a five-hour haul down the Pennsylvania Turnpike from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia a fool's errand. They say the only way to go is to fly. Not me. As someone who needs to get back to Philly once a month or so to visit my mother, I've made that trip more than anyone who doesn't do it in a semi.

I've been driving it long enough to remember those pre-65-mph signs, arranged in a series with one or two words on each, reading: "You can beat a mile a minute, but there's no future in it." I've driven it so much that the turnpike is etched in my memory as sharply as the route I once walked each day from my childhood home to elementary school. I should point out that I usually make the journey alone, which is part of its magic. As someone with a larger appetite for solitude than most, I adore the certainty that no one will be able to bother me for five hours. (No, I don't own a cell phone, although I realize it's a losing battle.) I also love the ironclad simplicity of the process. It's a givp that life in the late 20th.