CHANGING HEARTS AND MINDS

Actor Gary Sinise is well-known for playing Detective Mac Taylor on the TV series “CSI: New York” and for his Academy Award-nominated role as Lt. Dan in the movie “Forrest Gump.” But Gary is also devoted to charitable efforts, especially those involving the United States military. He co-founded a humanitarian organization called Operation Iraqi Children, has been on several USO tours, frequently visits military hospitals, helps support military families, and recently served as executive producer of a powerful documentary called "Brothers at War." Here is an excerpt of Gary’s recent interview on “Christopher Closeup" (full podcast here):

TR: Gary, I want to touch on Operation Iraqi Children which you co-founded with “Seabiscuit” author Laura Hillenbrand. How did the two of you get the idea for Operation Iraqi Children and what have the results been so far?

Gary Sinise: I went to Iraq twice in ’03 and on my second trip I visited some schools there and saw what the troops had been doing to help these local areas rebuild these schools. I just saw a lot of good feeling there between the Iraqis and the troops and I wanted to support that. I came home and I started sending school supplies that we collected at my kids’ school. We’d send them over to the troops and they would take them out to give them to the kids. One of the people that I knew at one of the bases in Iraq had been in touch with Laura Hillenbrand who was trying to get “Seabiscuit” translated into Arabic and get it over to some of the soldiers there who wanted to hand it out to the kids. So this person, a Major, she thought that Laura and I should meet. The translation idea of sending her book over there was only going to be a one-time thing but I wanted to continue sending school supplies and encourage people. So Laura and I teamed up and came up with a web site called Operation Iraqi Children…Ever since early 2004…we’ve sent something like 300,000 school supply kits and soccer balls and shoes and blankets and various items over to the troops so that they could go into these villages with these supplies and hand them out to the kids.

TR: This isn’t just a cause you attach your name to. You’ve made numerous trips to Iraq yourself. What kind of difference have you personally seen Operation Iraqi Children make?

Gary Sinise: I know this has been a very beneficial program to our troops because they can go into these villages with these supplies and – maybe they were in this village two days before and it was a little bit hostile. They return to the village and start handing out these school supplies to the kids. They show that they’re there to help. Maybe then a few days after that they’re going down the same road and – we’ve had kids run out and stop the convoy because a bomb had been placed on the road. This was a village that was previously hostile, but then these supplies were handed out and now it’s a friendly village and the kids are trying to help the troops…And of course the supplies help the kids because in many of these areas, they don’t have access to the types of things that we do.

TR: Tell me about your first experience visiting injured soldiers…because it was something you felt awkward about. What happened and how has your view changed since then?

Gary Sinise: I remember as a kid, my grandmother died and it was very difficult for me to be in the hospital so I just never wanted to go to hospitals. But I knew that when I started visiting troops…and got involved with disabled American veterans, I knew I should go out there and do what I could for our wounded. So the first trip I made to a hospital was actually over in Germany after one of my early trips to Iraq. I went to visit Landstuhl Medical Center which is where all our troops go from Afghanistan and Iraq. They first go to Germany and then they get shipped back home. And so I went to Landstuhl and I met a lot of folks who had been blown up and shot up and burned up and – that was a difficult day but, when I left, I knew that my being there had helped some people. So you forget about your own reaction to what you’re seeing and it’s all about them; it’s not about you. From that point on I knew that, even though it’s difficult to see some of these injuries and what some of these guys are going through, my presence there helps them and it helps their families so I’ve continued to go time and time again.

(For more on Gary's work and the new documentary "Brothers at War," listen to the full "Christopher Closeup" interview at www.christophers.org/closeuppodcast.)

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THE MOST HUMMABLE ALBUM I'VE HEARD IN YEARS

Usually when I hear a catchy song, it’ll stay in my head for a couple of days after which I’ll have a completely different song/artist/genre pop into my brain. Since listening to singer/songwriter Brooke White’s new album “High Hopes and Heartbreak” last week, it’s been all Brooke all the time. “High Hopes and Heartbreak” is the most hummable album I’ve heard in years though that doesn’t detract from its emotional depth. It’s a true talent that can keep you singing to yourself, not just the upbeat songs, but also the slower ones. White’s songwriting skills pull that off beautifully.

With the sunny personality Brooke displayed on Idol, you would expect to get a number of feel-good songs on this album, and she doesn’t disappoint. The gleefully infectious “Radio Radio” starts things off with a tribute to the medium that introduced Brooke to the music that now plays such an influential role in her life and career. Even for non-musicians like me, it provides a happy memory to searching the car radio as a kid looking for Springsteen singing “Glory Days” or Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl.” Another outstanding track is “Phoenix” which is both current and nostalgic at the same time. Reminiscent of a great Eagles’s song with a more contemporary vibe, this summer anthem makes me want to drive down the highway in a convertible with the top down on a beautiful day.

Heartfelt ballads are another Brooke White specialty. For instance, “Out of the Ashes” tells the story of a couple who’ve broken up after hurting each other but realize they want to work things out. Brooke sings the verse solo, but then background vocalist Steve McEwan joins in, singing harmony on the chorus which conveys the beauty of that loving relationship being restored through the blending of the two voices.

Another impressive track is “Sometimes Love” which chronicles a couple’s blossoming relationship with the acknowledgement that “Sometimes love is an empty invitation / Sometimes love is a word that’s used in vain.” But this couple realizes the dead end of looking at love as just a meaningless word, and move toward a deeper connection that can provide healing and support over the course of a lifetime.

I knew from her time on “American Idol” and her independent first album “Songs from the Attic” that Brooke was excellent at adapting well-known songs to her personal style. She did it on Idol with her stripped-down acoustic guitar version of Pat Benatar’s rocker “Love is a Battlefield” and on “Songs from the Attic” with Aerosmith’s “Dream On.” The singer continues that trend on “HH&HB” by Brooke-ifying the Kings of Leon hit “Use Somebody” into an engaging country-rocker about the loneliness and longing for genuine personal relationships when you’re performing in front of thousands of people who don’t really know who you are.

Music, by its very nature, is an emotional and spiritual experience meant to touch the heart and soul. With the country in the throes of economic hard times, Brooke White’s “High Hopes and Heartbreak” offers a perfect antidote to the gloom through songs that will lift your spirits and help you better appreciate the relationships that make life worthwhile.

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