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Dec 14, 2023·edited Dec 14, 2023Liked by Brad Montague

Thank you!

heres a bit of Joy:

Pomplamoose - Happy Get Lucky

New Radicals - you get what you give

Counting Crows - Mr Jones

Train - Drops Of Jupiter

Vanessa Carlton - A thousand Miles

Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten

Casey Neistat - Do what you can’t

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Incredible!!!! Making a playlist now!!! You’re the best!

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Hope is honest. I needed to read this today, thank you for sharing this story! x

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Oh wow. Thank you for this: “Hope is honest.” Will be reflecting on that so much in the coming days.

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Thank you. Please keep sharing your thoughts on this, I’d be interested to hear/read them!

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Oh, tears after reading and listening to your hometown choir. Thanks for the history and context of this song; it was love at first hearing for me.

Remember when you could put a message on your checks when you ordered them? I thought about the message I wanted. At the time, most of the checks I was writing were to pay bills. I didn't want a begrudging attitude towards paying these, so I added "what a wonderful world", to help me remember my thankfulness to have the ability to pay my bills.

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Lorna!! ha! I love the check idea. Ha! Brilliant! I can see doing that and then giving that "what a wonderful world" a pretty cynical side-eye when having to pay certain bills!

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Dec 14, 2023Liked by Brad Montague

That is beautifully powerful, Hopeful Brad. Thank you for sharing your stories, always.

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So grateful you’re here. Thanks for reading and for the ultra kind words. To a wonderful world!

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Thanks for sharing this story! I had no idea the history of this song. I’m astonished someone could be so egotistical to go to such great lengths to try to stop such a sweet song 🤦‍♀️and grateful to those who remained stubbornly hopeful so that we could have one more much-needed-reminder in our world :) I share photos + stories about moments of connection in nature and everyday life - not least because I find hope there, and believe that if more people noticed more wonder in the everyday world right around them, the world would grow more wonderful for the noticing :)

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Sydney!!! Your capturing of this wonderful world in photos and stories is such a lovely thing to do. We need people pointing us to beauty! We need reminder-ers like you!

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Thank you so much, Brad, this means so much to me!

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Grateful for you and for you posting this, Brad! I also loved the appearance of a Santa in the choir!

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Joey!!!! SO good to hear from you. Thanks for the kind words. And YES!! HE IS Santa! A super magical guy. Full of great stories and quite the voice, too! I desperately want to pull the choir together again. Hopeful the new year will make it possible.

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Dec 16, 2023Liked by Brad Montague

Thanks for this! 🥰

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oh wow! of course!!

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Such a wonderful post 💫

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Thank you SO much. Truly grateful for this space and for friends like you to share it with!

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This was such a beautiful read. You know how to narrate a story. Where is the Love by Black Eye Peas always is a song that forces me to take a panoramic view. I wonder what song is about to be born in this chaos in this wonderful world today?

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Oh man, Marc. Thank you. I really appreciate this.

Also -- such a great question -- "what song is about to be born in this chaos..."... PHEW! Gives me hopeful anticipation. I look forward to experiencing it.

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Thank you! Xo

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Oh, I'm so happy you found it!!

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Wonderful! Thank you for sharing it! I love how you see the world and how you show it to us. It’s amazing to read your words :)

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This really means so much, Gabriella. Truly. Thank you!

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I love it so much. After all the tears and terrible things, it really is amazing that we can still conclude...what a wonderful world.

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You are *so* right. Thanks for being here, Amy.

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This! What makes this world so wonderful is that taken for granted things have the most wonderful stories. What makes the world so wonderful is that there things like this in it. Thanks for this!

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THIS! Yes yes yes. Thanks a ton, Duane. I'm really grateful for you and for these kind words.

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My pleasure! I really enjoyed this piece so much!

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Dec 14, 2023Liked by Brad Montague

Thank you, Brad!

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I'm super grateful for YOU, Marc!!!

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This is so beautiful! I love behind-the-song stories, and this is definitely an inspiring one. I think that one of the most important lessons of the song and its story is that if you look for the good in the world, you'll find it. You won't be disappointed.

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You are so right, Kristen!! Love your perspective. Grateful for you!

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Thank you, and likewise!

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"Good morning,Vietnam"--one of my favorites. And a true story also. Making me miss Robin Williams!

Love knowing the background of Louis Armstrong's struggles, especially the irony behind Wonderful World. Thank you!

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I miss Robin too!!! It's a joy to revisit clips of him on YouTube or through his films. Have you read the biography of him 'Robin' - it's actually quite good, though does have a cloud of sadness lingering over it. Left reading it more committed than ever to support and celebrate those people in life who add joy and hope -- but so need it themselves.

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