Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

Today the world became a little colder and a little bit less of a wondrous place.  Pete Seeger passed away today.  His songs will live on forever.  Songs of freedom, caring, civil rights and inspiration.  So many people have been influenced by his incredible lyrics.  He lived a long and healthy life and now its time for rest.  A flame has been extinguished but a beautiful soul will now move on to another dimension.  Pete Seeger will never be forgotten.  This world is a much better place because of him and his music.  To that we all owe him a debt of gratitude.  Thank you so much Pete Seeger.   Rest in Peace.

A Lovely Evening with A Charming Man

Its hard to believe a year has passed.  So many things have happened both good and bad since 1-21-13.  It seems like yesterday in some respects.  I had waited for a long time to see Morrissey live in concert.  The days to the concert were counted down and time seemed to drag so slow and then suddenly it was 1-21-13.  The day had arrived.

It was a cold, blustery Pittsburgh winter's evening.  My friend and I hurried to Heinz Hall from the Parking Garage.  I had only a suit jacket on with a Blue Rose attached to the lapel.  I was quite frozen when we arrived.

We walked through the lobby to the stairs to the balcony and I was quite surprised at some of the odd looks I received from people.  Don't some of these folks know Moz wants people to bring roses to his shows?  Well anyways I really don't care what people think of me so up to the balcony we went and found our seats.
I was extremely nervous in anticipation and geez I am just in the audience.  Its just I had waited so long for this moment and here it was.

The friend I went with wasn't a particular Morrissey fan but I had persuaded him to go because Morrissey is more than just a singer of songs.  He is a poet, an intellect and a creative genius.  His concerts are more than a singer singing a song, they are an event, performance and art all wrapped in one.  One of the pre-concert films came on and James Baldwin was in it.  He happens to be one of my friend's favorite writers, so immediately he was hooked.

The lights dimmed, the background poster was illuminated, the Klaus Nomi song started and I knew it was time.  I stood up.   My heart was racing, I felt chills up and down my spine.  The spotlight came on and the crowd began cheering wildly!!  Out of the darkness.... There he was.   Morrissey and his band with the preliminary bows to the audience, such A Charming Man.  He said "Good Evening" and "I AM WHITE TRASH" and tore into a thunderous version of "Shoplifters of the World".

I will not go through the entire concert, as I wrote about it before.  It was a tremendous evening.  It was a marvelous performance by Our Moz.  Especially now knowing that he was not feeling very well, as not too long after this concert he was hospitalized with a bleeding ulcer.  Morrissey rules the stage like no other and it is an evening I will long treasure.

PS.  My friend was definitely a convert, he gushed the whole way home about Morrissey and the concert.

Random Winter Thoughts

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

I suppose I shall start with The Good first.  The news that Morrissey has received a new recording contract is very welcome.  After 5 years in the hinterlands, he has signed a 2 record deal and will start recording in France next month.  I am so happy for him.  He is a true icon and a creative genius with words.  I so look forward to listening to a new album.  Also, Parody Morrissey has returned to Twitter.  I very much enjoy reading his eloquent, thoughtful and funny tweets.  I am honored to occasionally interact with him on Twitter.
I appreciate being able to write to someone of very evolved intelligence and creativity especially when I am as they say "not the sharpest tool in the shed".  I sincerely hope he doesn't feel I am bothering him because I never want to be a pest to anyone.  Parody Morrissey has a lovely group of followers who tweet with him on various topics.  Some are outsiders like myself, some are devout devotees of Morrissey, some love the interaction with an icon and all are very intelligent, gracious individuals.

Continuing with The Good, Ice Hockey has been a real pleasure this season.  I have been playing better this season than I have for a couple of years.  I'm a step quicker and I have more endurance.  I was thinking why is that?  I became a full vegetarian 2 years ago and noticed my (very limited) athletic prowess is improved.  So thanks once again to Morrissey, because of his principled stance on the defense of animals, I made a decision based on that and a lot of personal reflection.  It has worked out in so many ways for me.  I have never felt better physically and mentally I feel wonderful knowing I am not living my life on the killing of animals.

Unfortunately there is plenty of bad as always.  Number 1 being, I despise winter.  I hate cold weather and snow and long for the soothing warmth of summer.  Needless to say, summer is quite far away.  Even spring would be a welcome respite.  The cold wears on me and makes me old before my time. I see lines on my face I never knew I had. The only way to get through is the old adage, one day at a time.  The other brutal part of The Bad is getting up every day for work.  Getting up early is about the worst thing I must do daily. The alarm rings and my fuzzy head implores me "STAY IN BED" but my reasonable half always wins out and I stumble out of bed to get ready to become an insignificant piece of The Machine.

Now to The Ugly.  I visit a couple of times per week with my elderly neighbor lady.  She is in her early 80's and a very lovely, sweet person.  We tell each other stories and have quite a few laughs about our nutty neighbors.  I do look forward to our chats.  The sad thing I have noticed is little by little her mind is slipping and it genuinely make me feel somber and sorrowful.  Why does age have to do that to people?  I worked at the old age home near where I live last week.  Seeing all the beautiful, wonderful people there that have had age ravage them of everything they once had is very much depressing and distressing.  I weep for them in private, wishing they could be what they once were, yet knowing they will never be and have only death waiting on their doorstep.  I also know this is my future.  I will try not to go gentle into that good night but seeing those lovely folks and their struggles with age gives one a true sense of foreboding.  After much consideration, I have decided when I die, I want to be cremated and have my ashes thrown over the Ice Rink where I play hockey and the park where I play tennis and run, for these are the places in life where I have felt true joy, love and contentment.  I want no trace of me to exist past my death, so it will be not known that I ever walked on this earth. I know I wont go to heaven because God will not want me.  My hope is to be reincarnated and be an individual that will do something remarkable, like a cure for Cancer, a cure for Alzheimer's or a singer who writes songs to inspire a generation or a President who can stamp out racism and hate of gay people or a leader who can make the violent become peaceful.  Noble goals for the most un-noblest of souls.

The Runner

It was a beautiful fall day today.  So I wanted to write a small piece just to remember this fine day.  It was sunny and 65 degrees.  After work it was time to go for a run.  So into the car and down to the trail I went.  The conditions were absolutely perfect to run.  The run itself was exhilarating.  My mind just focused on the task at hand.  Gliding effortlessly, one foot in front of the other, perfect motion.  It seemed like I could go forever.  I never really got tired.  Then it was over after 4.5 miles.  I felt euphoric, elated and so satisfied in the moment.  Today was sublime and the reason why I love to run

My run made me think of the song "The Runner" by Manfred Mann.
And wouldn't you know, today just happened to be Manfred Mann's birthday.  This day I was "The Runner" and it was splendid.
 

The Empty Room

I saw in the paper today The Barenaked Ladies were appearing in concert this evening in Pittsburgh.  I didn't even know they were still around.  What caught my eye was the lead singer Steven Page was no longer with the group.  I have no real interest in their music at all but I thought it was interesting they were carrying on without him.  How many bands can really survive without the lead singer who was there when they became famous.  I actually watched part of a concert of theirs years ago and thought Steven Page looked rather silly on the stage but who am I to criticize a band playing in front of 10,000 fans.

So all of this made me think of another band that lost its lead singer (after they became semi famous) and tried to carry on.  That would be the one and only Wall of Voodoo.  After their semi underground hit  "Mexican Radio", lead singer Stan Ridgway left the band.  What the hell happened to him after that?  Well some of the boys in Wall of Voodoo decided to carry on.  They made several albums but were unable to recreate the success of the "Mexican Radio" era.

I actually like the above song "The Empty Room".  Which was on the "Happy Planet" album, after Ridgway left the band.  It kinda pertains to me in a sad and pathetic way.  I sit in empty rooms a great deal.  I have alot of time to contemplate things, so these are the kinds of musings that go on in my warped mind. 

Morrissey's Autobiography came out today but it is not available in the USA.  So until then I will have to ponder the predicamants of The Barenaked Ladies and Wall of Voodoo.

The World is Collapsing around our ears

 

I was watching a show about problems in the Black community for young black men and the portrayals of today's Rap artists glorifying the thug lifestyle.  The show centered on a group of underground rappers doing political and thought provoking stuff that doesn't promote a violent lifestyle.  They had in the background of one shot a Pic of KRS One, which made me think of this song......

 

I Know Its Over

Its hard to believe.  My favorite time of the year is over. It seems like it never really even began.  Summer goes by so quickly.  Each day is a new adventure and a potential for new possibilities.  Summer is life, warmth and growth.

It was a great season of tennis, running, enjoyment of warmth and being outside.  So my tennis season went
quite well.  There is nothing more satisfying to me than being on the tennis court on a beautiful summer evening.  No troubles, no worries, no stress.....just me and the ball...  focus and concentration... the beauty of sport... being with my friends.  All good things come to an end, so alas has this summer.

The fall isn't so bad.  What's bad is what comes after fall.  I absolutely despise winter.  It is my enemy.  Winter is cold, death and loneliness.  Soon the leaves will be gone from the trees.  The birds will migrate and the landscape will be barren.  The time goes by so slow, the 3 months of winter are an eternity.

Last week was my first Ice hockey game of the season.  It actually was pretty fun.  I would rather play tennis in a heartbeat though.  I like playing ice Hockey a lot.... I LOVE playing tennis.  Ice Hockey gets me through the winter.  I lean on playing Hockey to make the winter more bearable.  Thank God I have that or I would seriously go out of my mind.

Its quite pathetic,  each day I wake up in the winter, I count in my head the number of days till May begins.
My sad saga continues.  The parts of life I truly enjoy are few and far between.  These bits of life pass so quickly, I never seem to get to enjoy them enough and then they are so quickly gone.  It seems  I'm always left staring at the parts of life I find distasteful.  Will it ever change?