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A is for Armstrong, Louis that is The best jazz singer ever in the biz. In Corona he laughed, he sang and he played At the holidays we listen to the music he made Louis ‘Satchmo’ Armstrong The jazz legend and International Ambassador of Goodwill lived in Corona and is buried in Flushing Cemetery, where a brass trumpet sits atop his headstone. Armstrong loved kids, and described Christmas as the “Children’s Holiday.” “Christmas Through The Years” is just one of several compilations of Satchmo’s Christmas music. Released in 1996, it includes the classic “Zat You Santa Claus,” “Baby Its Cold Outside” and more. For information on Satchmo’s holiday recordings (both the classics and collectors items), go to amazon.com, or log on to louisarmstrong.com Airport Christmas For one day each year in the weeks before Christmas, LaGuardia Airport turns into a wonderland filled with Santa’s reindeer, toy soldiers, elves – and the big guy himself, Santa, as past and present airport and airline employees take young patients from Schneider Children’s Hospital and the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System on a “Fantasy Flight” to the North Pole. Toy soldiers present each of the children on the flight with a warm hat, to make sure they have the right equipment for the trip to the frosty tip of the world. Even Rudolph climbs on board to join the youngsters – his antlers swaying to Christmas Carols, as the pilots rev the engines for “takeoff.” Even though the flight never leaves the ground, the kids are ecstatic when the doors open, and Santa meets them at the “gate” to the North Pole – inside the airport terminal. Waiting with Santa are reindeer, clowns, musicians, carolers – and Mrs. Claus, always a favorite of kids on the Fantasy Flight. And in keeping with a true kid’s fantasy, there are piles of pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, Christmas cookies and brightly decorated holiday candy. Astoria Civic Party City Councilmember Peter Vallone, Jr., and his dad, former City Council Speaker Peter Vallone, Sr., will join members of the Astoria Civic Association at the group’s annual Christmas bash at 7 p.m. Dec. 12, at the Ponticello Restaurant at 46-11 Broadway. Azhar Ali This 27-year-old from Flushing came to this country from Pakistan, and when he died his family was dealing with the emotional struggle of him being denied a proper Muslim burial, which should have been within 24 hours of his death. Instead, he was killed March 2 in Iraq with his friend Wai Lwin of Douglaston when a roadside bomb exploded underneath their Humvee, and was not buried until two weeks later. “This is the only thing that can bring the whole family together,” said Ali’s cousin, Sunny Sharif. Ali’s eight brothers and sisters, parents and extended family reunited to attend services at the Islamic Burial Funeral Home in Woodhaven. “Now we can put Azhar Ali’s soul to rest in peace,” said Sharif. Ali was buried at the Washington Memorial Park in Coram. Auld Lang Syne The sad, sweet lyrics of this New Year’s Eve song rang out at holiday gatherings throughout the world during the first World War. The lyrics reminisce of lost friends and loved ones, raising a “cup of kindness” to old friends and good times. The song has become is a tradition at New Year’s Eve parties, where it is played in the moments just after the clock strikes midnight. |
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