Lucky (Danny Schmidt)

This is what's been happening in my life since late Monday/early Tuesday... reprinted from various e-mail updates I wrote to family and friends - cutting to the chase (before you have to read the loooooong recap below): I am now home and Eric is much better (another crisis averted!).

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Sent: Tue, 24 Mar 2009 7:41 pm

Subject: Eric

I'm doing one big-*ss bcc: to keep everyone in the loop - I know you all understand...

I am in the hospital room with E, who is sleeping soundly, with an IV drip of antibiotics and pain medication - they're also giving him a potassium IV, as that's severely low...

I made it to Orlando in three hours (what is normally a 4-hour drive) - let's just say the Universe was running interference, in the form of a black car in front of me that was going a few miles faster (mumble mumble 80+ mumble mumble), making everyone move out of the way, which I followed it almost the entire trip. Coincidence? - I think not...

Long story short: Eric (my 20-year-old son, as most of you know) woke up yesterday (Monday morning) with a lesion on his left cheek, and the whole side of his face swollen and painful, including an almost-shut eye - he went to a walk-in clinic, where they gave him antibiotics and pain meds in pill form, and told him to come back the following day...

When things still were not better by 8 p.m., his roommate took him back there, whereupon the doctor on duty told him to go immediately to an emergency room - after a few hours there, they admitted him a bit before midnight. I knew at that point I would be driving up today, spending a few hours this morning clearing my calendar - thanks to all of you who I cancelled/ postponed...

A doctor specializing in infectious diseases came in this morning, but hasn't been back - Eric is now in what is considered to be isolation, recommending that people who visit wear gowns/ gloves. At this point, they are trying to rule out what it's not - he's had a CAT scan, blood work and various swabs. The lesion/swelling has happened twice before in the last six months, but not anywhere this severely - it just feels good to finally be dealing with it...

I so appreciate everyone's skyward prayers... purple candles... healing energy... good thoughts... best wishes - I will pass them on when he wakes. I have packed enough for a 5-day stay, and will be here longer if necessary - the cafeteria food (mmm, salad bar) is pretty good (weak smile... :-)

I'll attempt daily updates - in the meantime, thanks again for the continued blessing of your friendship...

Sent: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 8:44 pm

Subject: Eric - 3/25/09 update

It's been a good day, informationally and otherwise, after a very frustrating evening of fitful rest coupled with constant interruptions - I know it's for Eric's own good but, when there's someone in the room every hour, taking vitals, changing IV bags, giving pain medication, making sure he's hydrated, etc., it's exhausting... literally...

He did catch up a bit during the day, sleeping more deeply and for a longer period of time since I've been here - I'm glad I'm able to run interference/be the advocate to answer questions so they don't have to bother him unnecessarily...

So... we were finally able to talk to the doctor of infectious diseases today... and, although they can't confirm until the culture comes back (48 to 72 hours after swabbing his nasal cavity yesterday), he is 90-95% certain it is MRSA, a staph infection common in hospitals, athletic environments and student communities. What we thought was a spider bite this past fall seems to have been this (strange they didn't diagnose it as such at the time, especially in a college town) - I've done a bit of googling and it's more than a bit scary, although comforting now that we know what we're dealing with...

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/DS00735

Some people are more susceptible than others - Eric could very well be affected the rest of his life, and we're becoming informed on ways he can attempt to minimize outbreaks. They will be keeping him another two days (at least) to make sure the antibiotics have made a major impact on the infection - he already looks and feels substantially better since my arrival, although the wound site is still painful and abscessed, albeit smaller...

Poor baby - we'll try to get him showered and changed into fresh clothing later tonight (we need their help, because the IV line goes through the sleeve of the gown), which will go a long way toward recovery...

When he's finally discharged, I'll stay up here another day to help with laundry, cleaning and cooking - what's a mom for if not to make big batches of soup, right?!?

Again... thanks - your collaborative and continued love is felt and passed on...

P.S. I'm finally getting around to reading Wally Lamb's The Hour I First Believed - highly recommended (waving to my BookWomen, sorry about missing tonight's Pride and Prejudice meeting... :-)

http://www.amazon.com/Hour-I-First-Believed-Novel/dp/0060393491

Sent: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:13 am

Subject: Eric - 3/27/09 update (He Shall Be Released - with apologies to Bob Dylan)

Wanted to let you all know Eric was released last night (Thursday) about 8 p.m. - it happened quickly, with the doctor coming in about 5 to check on the lesion, which had begun draining earlier in the day (apparently what they had been waiting for). He escalated prescription writing for oral antibiotics and pain medication and, once those finally came through (we had already started packing), we were good to go. And yes, if you're confusedly wondering... three hours *is* quick by hospital standards - it's certainly been an exercise in patience and perspective...

Cut to the chase: we spent the night at Eric's apartment last night, which he shares with a roommate - how wonderful to finally stretch out, face down, on a real bed (as opposed to face up on a semi-reclining, hard-as-a-rock chair) - I'm having to use his computer, as there's no wireless in the complex to people who don't live there/subscribe...

The plan today is to do lots of laundry (hot water and bleach), clean the apartment and make sh*tpots (a Southern term for beaucoups) of soup - I could actually end up coming home tonight or may wait until tomorrow (Saturday), depending on his need to have me here/desire to be rid of me now that he's better...

More health/technical stuff involved, of course, which I won't regale you with - let's just say that it's a process, and we're prepared to handle it all, one day at a time...

Thanks again - your support and love are palpable and cherished...

Sent: Sat, 28 Mar 2009 8:54 pm

Subject: Re: Eric - 3/28/09 update (Home - Meg Hutchinson)

Just wanted to quickly let everyone know I'm home, leaving Orlando for Pembroke Pines about 3:30 this afternoon) - will spend the remainder of the evening catching up on voicemail and e-mail and snail mail, oh my!

I promise to follow up with personal replies tomorrow as I attempt to get back into the chaos I call my life - thanks in advance for everyone's patience... :-)

Eric is much better, after having consumed about 10 bowls of my soup so far - I think there are a few gallons left. Hey, I'm Italian - I don't know how to cook "small". I also made dinner last night... lots of pasta, sauteed veggies and turkey meatballs for him, his roommate, his roommate's girlfriend and a few other friends who wandered into their apartment - I stocked the fridge and pantry with other healthful options as well... and we cleaned/disinfected everything in sight...

The hospital sent him home with two prescriptions, one of which (the antibiotic) could only be half-filled until the pharmacy re-stocks on Monday... and the other (the painkiller) couldn't be filled at all because the doctor wrote the wrong date (2006 instead of 2009). Since Eric was discharged, I have to wait to call Medical Records, which doesn't re-open until Monday, to straighten everything out - so frustrating, because it was their error (and thankfully, he has enough from his previous prescription to get him through a few days)...

So... attempting business as usual... slooooowly - thanks again to all... for just *being* there...

P.S. Headed soon to the jacuzzi... with something alcoholic in hand - "got a little pinot grigio for a woman with the blues?" (I miss you, Rachel... :-)

SONG: Lucky by Danny Schmidt

BOOK: The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb

POEM: Meditation on Ruin by Jay Hopler

It's not the lost lover that brings us to ruin, or the barroom

brawl,

or the con game gone bad, or the beating

Taken in the alleyway. But the lost car keys,

The broken shoelace,

The overcharge at the gas pump

Which we broach without comment — these are the things that

eat away at life, these constant vibrations

In the web of the unremarkable.

The death of a father — the death of the mother —

The sudden loss shocks the living flesh alive! But the broken

pair of glasses,

The tear in the trousers,

These begin an ache behind the eyes.

And it's this ache to which we will ourselves

Oblivious. We are oblivious. Then, one morning—there's a

crack in the water glass —we wake to find ourselves undone.

QUOTE: "In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order." ~ Carl Jung

Better Off Broke (Danny Schmidt)

Tuesday, March 10 was the official CD Release of Danny Schmidt's Instead the Forest Rose to Sing... and this past Saturday, March 14, I had the honor of presenting him (in a co-bill with Nick Annis) in my concert series - it's taken me this long to revive my vocabulary in order to write about the magical weekend!

I've spoken of my love for Danny Schmidt's music throughout this blog - he is as dear as he is talented, a sentiment reinforced during his recent stay. He made a point to show up early so we had time to visit before driving to the Labyrinth Cafe later that day - he also offered to help chop or stir, as he was keeping me company in the kitchen while I made a batch of pasta primavera for the performers and volunteers (I didn't let him... but still... :-)

I had e-mailed Danny a few weeks before the gig, telling him how much, and why, I loved the song Accidentally Daisies on his new CD - I also mentioned that Elizabeth, who was accompanying Nick the night of the show, played fiddle/violin and, with Danny's blessing, I could drop her a note asking her to work up a string part for the second half of the song (stating of course no pressure/no worries if not). What could have turned into a "train wreck" (Danny's words) evolved into a stunning collaboration which meant the world to me - when the threesome (Danny, Elizabeth and Nick) did his Company of Friends as their encore, I had goosebumps on top of goosebumps...

We all later segued to Peter Pan Diner (a post-concert tradition) for food and chat, Danny and I getting home very late, only to have to rise early the next morning, Danny to drive to Tampa for a house concert and me to head to church to facilitate a service - before he left, I asked him to sign a CD for a friend and a poster for me... and I gave him a present to pass on to his sweetie who had inspired the song: a small bowl from my wedding china, with a border of daisies (thanks, CE... :-)

I've said it before and I'll say it again - I am a very blessed and lucky woman...

P.S. SMM here, here, here, here and here...

SONG: Better Off Broke by Danny Schmidt

BOOK: Money, and the Law of Attraction: Learning to Attract Wealth, Health, and Happiness by Esther Hicks, Jerry Hicks

POEM: The Moment by Margaret Atwood

The moment when, after many years

of hard work and a long voyage

you stand in the centre of your room,

house, half-acre, square mile, island, country,

knowing at last how you got there,

and say, I own this,

is the same moment when the trees unloose

their soft arms from around you,

the birds take back their language,

the cliffs fissure and collapse,

the air moves back from you like a wave

and you can't breathe.

No, they whisper. You own nothing.

You were a visitor, time after time

climbing the hill, planting the flag, proclaiming.

We never belonged to you.

You never found us.

It was always the other way round.

QUOTE: "Money and time are the heaviest burdens of life and... the unhappiest of all mortals are those who have more of either than they know how to use." ~ Samuel Johnson

Superstition (Stevie Wonder)

How Friday the 13th Works
by Tom Harris

In order to organize time, human beings created calendars.

As part of today's dominant calendar system, every year is divided into 12 periods called months, consisting of roughly 30 days each.

All days are also grouped into sets of seven, called weeks.

In the Western world, a significant chunk of the population suspects bad things will happen whenever the 13th day of a month occurs on the day of the week called Friday.

Like many human beliefs, the fear of Friday the 13th (known as paraskevidekatriaphobia) isn't exactly grounded in scientific logic. But the really strange thing is that most of the people who believe the day is unlucky offer no explanation at all, logical or illogical. As with most superstitions, people fear Friday the 13th for its own sake, without any need for background information.

The superstition does have deep, compelling roots, however, and the origins help explain why the belief is so widespread today. In this article, we'll look at some of the interesting stories behind this unluckiest of days.

The fear of Friday the 13th stems from two separate fears -- the fear of the number 13 and the fear of Fridays. Both fears have deep roots in Western culture, most notably in Christian theology.

Thirteen is significant to Christians because it is the number of people who were present at the Last Supper (Jesus and his 12 apostles). Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th member of the party to arrive.

Christians have traditionally been wary of Fridays because Jesus was crucified on a Friday. Additionally, some theologians hold that Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden fruit on a Friday, and that the Great Flood began on a Friday. In the past, many Christians would never begin any new project or trip on a Friday, fearing they would be doomed from the start.

Sailors were particularly superstitious in this regard, often refusing to ship out on a Friday. According to unverified legend (very likely untrue), the British Navy commissioned a ship in the 1800s called H.M.S. Friday, in order to quell the superstition. The navy selected the crew on a Friday, launched the ship on a Friday and even selected a man named James Friday as the ship's captain. Then, one Friday morning, the ship set off on its maiden voyage... and disappeared forever. A similar, entirely factual story is the harrowing flight of Apollo 13.

Some historians suggest the Christian distrust of Fridays is actually linked to the early Catholic Church's overall suppression of pagan religions and women. In the Roman calendar, Friday was devoted to Venus, the goddess of love. When Norsemen adapted the calendar, they named the day after Frigg, or Freya, Norse goddesses connected to love and sex. Both of these strong female figures once posed a threat to male-dominated Christianity, the theory goes, so the Christian church vilified the day named after them.

This characterization may also have played a part in the fear of the number 13. It was said that Frigg would often join a coven of witches, normally a group of 12, bringing the total to 13. This idea may have originated with the Christian Church itself; it's impossible to verify the exact origins of most folklore. A similar Christian legend holds that 13 is unholy because it signifies the gathering of 12 witches and the devil.

The number 13 could also have been considered pagan because there are 13 months in the pagan lunar calendar. The lunar calendar also corresponds to the human menstrual cycle, connecting the number to femininity.

The Christian perspective on Friday and 13 is the most relevant today, but it's only one part of the Friday the 13th tradition.

Some trace the infamy of the number 13 back to ancient Norse culture. In Norse mythology, the beloved hero Balder was killed at a banquet by the mischievous god Loki, who crashed the party of twelve, bringing the group to 13. This story, as well as the story of the Last Supper, led to one of the most entrenched 13-related beliefs: You should never sit down to a meal in a group of 13.

Another significant piece of the legend is a particularly bad Friday the 13th that occurred in the middle ages. On a Friday the 13th in 1306, King Philip of France arrested the revered Knights Templar and began torturing them, marking the occasion as a day of evil.

Both Friday and the number 13 were once closely associated with capital punishment. In British tradition, Friday was the conventional day for public hangings, and there were supposedly 13 steps leading up to the noose.

Ultimately, the complex folklore of Friday the 13th doesn't have much to do with people's fears today. The fear has much more to do with personal experience. People learn at a young age that Friday the 13th is supposed to be unlucky, for whatever reason, and then they look for evidence that the legend is true. The evidence isn't hard to come by, of course. If you get in a car wreck on one Friday the 13th, lose your wallet, or even spill your coffee, that day will probably stay with you. But if you think about it, bad things, big and small, happen all the time. If you're looking for bad luck on Friday the 13th, you'll probably find it.

For more information about Friday the 13th and other superstitions, check out the links on the next page.

SONG: Superstition by Stevie Wonder

BOOK: The Encyclopedia of Superstitions by Richard Webster

POEM: Superstition by Allan Peterson

I believe in the hot & dry, that’s why Florida.

I try circle for possession

and Far East, though that’s impossible for globes,

and something from the sky.

Meteors, nickel-filled, crystals as fragments

of a solid throne

because of heaven being ice, and shattering

despite some wishes,

I wear topaz for heat, strewn in my iris like straw,

lark’s eye wrapped in a wolf skin.

Thursdays I wear no rubies and put my watch aside,

add up my lucky days

avoid the rain and the ice saints, the uneven.

I am interested how nothing

is the fault of the afflicted, the malady is just

their bad shadow dragging them down.

How moth, a messenger, jimmied the house and died

by the light without telling us anything.

QUOTE: “The root of all superstition is that men observe when a thing hits, but not when it misses.” ~ Francis Bacon

Play a Train Song (Todd Snider)

Some of you are aware that I've been contributing to Star Maker Machine, a collaborative weekly-themed music blog, since this past October - its fun, it's challenging... and it's an honor to be in such esteemed company...

A few weeks ago the subject was Trains, of which I'd made a mix CD a few years ago (thus possessing me to contribute 6 submissions containing 9 songs, a record for me) - when the following poem appeared in yesterday's Writer's Almanac... today's OV post was a no-brainer (who am I to argue with The Universe?... :-)

P.S. SMM here and here...

SONG: Play a Train Song by Todd Snider

BOOK: A Passion for Trains: The Railroad Photography of Richard Steinheimer by Richard Steinheimer, Jeff Brouws (introduction)

POEM: Trains by David Shumate

I am seduced by trains.

When one moans in the night like some dragon gone lame,

I rise and put on my grandfather's suit.

I pack a small bag, step out onto the porch,

and wait in the darkness.

I rest my broad-brimmed hat on my knee.
To a passerby I'm a curious sight—

a solitary man sitting in the night.

There's something unsettling about a traveler

who doesn't know where he's headed.

You can't predict his next move.

In a week you may receive a postcard from Haiti. Madagascar.

You might turn on your answering machine and hear his voice
amid the tumult of a Bangkok avenue.

All afternoon you feel the weight of the things you've never done.

Don't think about it too much.

Everything starts to sound like a train.

QUOTE: "The only way of catching a train I ever discovered is to miss the train before." ~ G.K. Chesterton

Shiny Happy People (R.E.M.)

From Thursday's TUT (Totally Unique Thoughts):

Simply imagine happiness, Susan, your own happiness. Feel the smile stretching across your face, notice the lightness in your step, hear the sparkle in your voice, and all things, material and spiritual, will dance to the beat of your drums.

Happy Thursday! The Universe

You smiled didn't you, Susan? Just be careful with those sparkles so close to the drums.

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I've been working on this blog entry for days, but keep getting distracted (look, something shiny!) - I'm still in "full plate" mode, feeling as if I'm doing lots of things poorly.

However, one thing I *do* excel at is The Power of Positive Thinking - when a friend sent me the above video, I knew it was the jumping-off place for a future post (and here we are) - wish I had the time/energy to add more of my own words... but I'll just ask you to read between the lines... :-)

P.S. SMM here, here, here, here and here...

SONG: Shiny Happy People by R.E.M.

BOOK: Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out by Marci Shimoff

POEM: The Guest House by Rumi

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,

still, treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

meet them at the door laughing,

and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,

because each has been sent

as a guide from beyond.

QUOTE(S): " A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes." ~ Hugh Downs

"I have found that if you love life, life will love you back." ~ Arthur Rubinstein

"It's snowing still," said Eeyore gloomily. "So it is." "And freezing." "Is it?" "Yes," said Eeyore. "However," he said, brightening up a little, "we haven't had an earthquake lately." ~ A.A. Milne

Diamonds and Rust (Joan Baez)

Joan Baez: 50 years of music to move you
Folk singer-activist discusses new hope, new songs, new film
By Chris Boeckmann
Sunday, March 1, 2009

Put simply, Joan Baez is a legend. She might hate the title, she might think she doesn’t live up to it, but it’s true. Baez helped bring folk — female folk music especially — to the mainstream, and along the way, she was courageous enough to stand up for a number of noble causes.

Early in her career, she stood next to Martin Luther King Jr. Later on, she did the same with farm workers, supporters of Harvey Milk and environmental activists.

Musically, she is known as a master interpreter and gifted songwriter. Now at age 68, she is in her 50th year as a musician, and she’s touring the country. On March 16, Baez comes to the Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts.

She says she’ll play a mixture of songs from all points of her long, busy career. The Tribune talked to Baez on the phone early this week; Baez was in Austin, Texas, at the time.

Tribune: Before I started doing more research, I had pegged you as an optimist. Do you come across that a lot?

Baez: I come across it, but I’ve never been an optimist. (She laughs.) I think human nature would show otherwise. Being a non-optimist has never really interfered with the things I do. I see hope here and there, and I’ve seen human behavior do some pretty wonderful things.

Tribune: You talk about your lack of optimism in an article from The Guardian; that article is from 2006, in the middle of the Bush presidency. Now President Barack Obama, whom you openly supported, is in office. Are you any more optimistic now?

Baez: Obviously, there’s been a sea change. There’s been a huge atmospheric change for everybody in the world, so yeah, I certainly buy the word “hopeful” in a way that I never have in the past, except perhaps when I worked with Dr. King and when I’ve worked on smaller projects when the word “hope” was in accordance with the size of the project.

Tribune: Why do you play music?

Baez: I guess because I can. I guess at age 13, somebody handed me a ukulele, and I discovered I could make tunes on it and sing to it, and within a year, I developed sort of a distinct sound, y’know, for a kid, and I liked it. It provided something interesting for me in a situation I was not very happy in, which was school. So I began to spend more and more time with my little ukulele, and my voice developed, I didn’t ever have plans for anything, but I moved in that direction because I liked it.

Tribune: What about today? Why do you still play?

Baez: I think that when my voice begins to really stop functioning properly, that will be the time for me to stop singing. But the fact is that over these years, luckily the voice has held up because really as the years go by I enjoy it more and more. When I was younger, I was so fraught with problems and age fright and feeling I had to be more than I was and carrying the world on my shoulders — everything that could interfere with you having a wonderful time on the stage was there. And now due to the years and due to a lot of therapy, it’s really not there anymore, so I can sing and have wonderful music and travel on a bus that I love. It makes up for a lot of difficulties I had earlier.

Tribune: For you, what sort of differences are there between touring, say, 40 years ago and today?

Baez: Well, I used to run through the airport with my guitar 50 years ago and catch planes. I was all alone, I didn’t know what a tour manager was. I had a sort of semblance of a manager, but we had no contract, and I was flying, so that was a miserable experience (laughing). But eventually I had musicians playing with me, eventually I traveled in a bus, and it was all a really long process. Now we have no maintenance, we have the right musicians and the right manager and the right driver. It’s just a completely different situation.

Tribune: How do you choose songs to interpret?

Baez: I just choose a song that’s usually how I think and feel and hear. Sometimes it’s a song I don’t even understand. I’ve never really understood why I pick songs. I’m sure there are very different reasons, some of them are obvious right off, like the song “Day After Tomorrow,” which has so many things that remind me of me. And sometimes there are songs that are beautiful that I know aren’t for me; it’s been that way my whole life.

Tribune: Do you listen to much new music?

Baez: I don’t keep up with new music, I’m sure of that. When most people grow up, they turn into horrible parents and they say, “Ugh, what’s that you’re listening to?” to their kids, and I’m probably in that same category, except my kid plays African music. And he plays very, very current West African music, so in that sense, I’m very current in some kinds of music. But what I listen to? It completely varies. I’ve looked at my iPod, and what I’ve been listening to for the past month is either opera or Willie Nelson. (She laughs.)

Tribune: When this article comes out, we’ll be celebrating our city’s documentary film festival. I know you’ve shown support for Michael Moore and appeared in multiple documentaries. Do you watch many?

Baez: I’m in the process of making my own. I’m in my 50th year, and I’m sure that’s why we’re doing it. Rather than having talking heads, half of the interviews are just conversations with me and different people — like my ex-husband about the draft in the military, like the president of the Czech Republic because I knew him before the revolution. Let’s see, Jackson Browne is great, just sitting and talking, Dar Williams sitting and talking — and she wonderful, y’know, she’s funny and fun. And my father was a camera buff when he was quite young, so we have extraordinary footage of stuff that either he took or he handed the camera to somebody. There’s footage of him and my mom coming out of a church right after getting married. So it’s really rich with material.

Tribune: So what stage are you at?

Baez: I think we’ll have more footage of comments and maybe a couple more interviews. But we’re just about through, and it should be out in the fall.

Tribune: Wow, cool. Are you going to aim for festivals?

Baez: Yes, I think I’ll be at festivals.

Tribune: Are there any particular films that inspired this one?

Baez: No, not really, just my life.

Tribune: Besides the documentary and touring, what other plans do you have for the near future?

Baez: Spending a lot of time with my family. I didn’t spend enough time with them in the ’60s and ’70s. My mom is 95, and my granddaughter is 5. They’re a big part of my schedule.

Tribune: So I’m guessing you spend a lot of time on the phone?

Baez: Talk a lot about them in the show?

Tribune: No, talk to them on the phone, while you’re on tour.

Baez: I’m not hearing you again.

Tribune: Oh, I was just saying that when you’re on the road, you probably spend a lot of time talking on the phone.

Baez: (Laughter) Yeah, I do. Right now my son is with me. He plays percussion.

Tribune: I’ve read some very positive reviews. It looks like the tour is going well.

Baez: Oh, really, really well. We just love it. It’s just so simple. These musicians are just top, top quality, and we really care for each other a lot, so all the way around it’s a pretty wonderful experience.

Tribune: What kind of crowd do you draw?

Baez: It varies from show to show, from country to country. In Europe they’re much younger. Here there are some younger, but the majority are my age or somewhat younger. But over these past 10 years, there have been more younger people.

Tribune: Do you think folk will continue to thrive?

Baez: Yeah, I do. It’s sort of a goofy phenomenon that I’m here in the first place after 50 years — what’s even goofier is that they are.

Chris Boeckmann is a freelance music reporter. He can be reached at chrisboeckmann@gmail.com

Make sure you watch/listen to the YouTube post all the way to the end - the last lyric of the song when first written was "and if you're offering me diamonds and rust ...I've already paid"... which segued over the years to "...I'll take the diamonds" which is now "...I'll take the Grammy" (ha!).

I've always been a Joan Baez fan... and I credit her for "introducing" me to Dar Williams, whose You're Aging Well I first heard on Joan's 1995 Ring Them Bells CD... and was instantly captivated, needing to know more - and the rest, as they say, is herstory. I love Joan's covers of Dar, as well as Richard Shindell and Dave Carter, her activism and her ability to age gracefully - to paraphrase Gloria Steinem, this is what 68 looks like... :-)

Thanks to sharon for her heads-up post to the Dar-list about the Baez article!

P.S. SMM here and here...

SONG: Diamonds and Rust by Joan Baez

BOOK: And a Voice to Sing With: A Memoir by Joan Baez

POEM: For What Binds Us by Jane Hirschfield

There are names for what binds us:

strong forces, weak forces.

Look around, you can see them:

the skin that forms in a half-empty cup,

nails rusting into the places they join,

joints dovetailed on their own weight.

The way things stay so solidly

wherever they've been set down --

and gravity, scientists say, is weak.

And see how the flesh grows back

across a wound, with a great vehemence,

more strong

than the simple, untested surface before.

There's a name for it on horses, when it comes back darker and raised:

proud flesh,

as all flesh

is proud of its wounds, wears them

as honors given out after battle,

small triumphs pinned to the chest --

And when two people have loved each other

see how it is like a

scar between their bodies,

stronger, darker, and proud;

how the black cord makes of them a single fabric

that nothing can tear or mend.

QUOTE(S): "Action is the antidote to despair." ~ Joan Baez

"It seems to me that those songs that have been any good, I have nothing much to do with the writing of them. The words have just crawled down my sleeve and come out on the page." ~ Joan Baez

Everything Is Borrowed (The Streets)

Can it seriously be a week since I last posted? - what's up with that?!?

I plead the too-busy-for-words defense - I've said a bazillion times that I lead a very deadline-driven life. Much as I'm trying to scrape some responsibilities/obligations off my proverbial plate, it's just not happening right now... in some cases because I haven't trained/found successors for the jobs I'm attempting to leave - I must get more serious if I want to do things differently...

And I do... but I'm not following through as much as I should (nutrition, exercise, time management, friendships, etc.) - one of my favorite quotes: "insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting different results". I could go on about all the things I've done (and am continuing to do) wrong - instead I will just say, "own it, Susan!"... then snap out of crazy mode and make it happen...

At the urging of a friend (thanks, F!), I've finally s*bscribed to NPR's Song of the Day, which led me to today's blog post-title tune - it's a bit long for a mantra... but maybe a credo... or an affirmation... or a gospel?... :-)

More on the group/song here - enjoy... and take it to heart...

P.S. SMM here, here, here, here, here and here - whew!

SONG: Everything Is Borrowed by The Streets (YouTube video with lyrics here)...

BOOK: Power of Less, The: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential... in Business and in Life by Leo Babauta

POEM: For the Unknown Self by John O'Donohue

So much of what delights and troubles you

Happens on a surface

You take for ground.

Your mind thinks your life alone,

Your eyes consider air your nearest neighbor,

Yet it seems that a little below your heart

There houses in you an unknown self

Who prefers the patterns of the dark

And is not persuaded by the eye's affection

Or caught by the flash of thought.

It is a self that enjoys contemplative patience

With all your unfolding expression,

Is never drawn to break into light

Though you entangle yourself in unworthiness

And misjudge what you do and who you are.

It presides within like an evening freedom

That will often see you enchanted by twilight

Without ever recognizing the falling night,

It resembles the under-earth of your visible life:

All you do and say and think is fostered

Deep in its opaque and prevenient clay.

It dwells in a strange, yet rhythmic ease

That is not ruffled by disappointment;

It presides in a deeper current of time

Free from the force of cause and sequence

That otherwise shapes your life.

Were it to break forth into day,

Its dark light might quench your mind,

For it knows how your primeval heart

Sisters every cell of your life

To all your known mind would avoid,

Thus it knows to dwell in you gently,

Offering you only discrete glimpses

Of how you construct your life.

At times, it will lead you strangely,

Magnetized by some resonance

That ambushes your vigilance.

It works most resolutely at night

As the poet who draws your dreams,

Creating for you many secret doors,

Decorated with pictures of your hunger;

It has the dignity of the angelic

That knows you to your roots,

Always awaiting your deeper befriending

To take you beyond the threshold of want,

Where all your diverse strainings

Can come to wholesome ease.

QUOTE(S): "Don't be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of." ~ Charles Richards

"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way. Something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life." ~ Fr. Alfred D'Souza

Surrender Dorothy (Cris Williamson)

It's been pretty whirlwind since I last posted - we presented a lovely concert Satuday night for Valentine's Day, with tables (rather than our rows of chairs), candles, chocolate-covered strawberries, champagne and amazing music. My husband, who has not attended in the four years I've been doing this, came... and stayed... and loved - we went (still on an adrenalin high) with the musicians and a few others friends, to the traditional post-show diner afterwards (Athenian omelet - yum!).

Sunday night found me at a house concert... and the week's been full of deadlines and overwhelmedness and stress (oh, my!) - I did take time out to meet up with my Falcon Ridge friend Mosh, who flies down from the Boston area each February to visit his parents in their condo in Delray Beach. We had a delicious and entertaining dinner (I adore his parents as well), well worth the one-hour drive each way - now I'm back to reality, still dealing with a multitude of obligations, in addition to clearing out clutter to donate to my church's Rummage Sale this weekend...

We sent my mom roses for Valentine's Day, which really lifted her spirits, since she's been dealing with an iron deficiency, having to go to the lab every other day for IV supplements - two steps forward, one back...

My internet was down for a few hours yesterday, reminding me that, despite my attempts, there are many things in life I can't control - I was overdue for a relate, relax, release lesson...

P.S. SMM here and here - it's trains, baby... :-)

This wonderful DailyOm appeared in my e-mail a few days ago - off to find a box now!

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DailyOM

February 16, 2009

Surrender Box

A Place For Worries and Fears

There are times when our minds become too full. Our to-do lists, worries, plans, and dreams may be so crowded together in our heads that we don’t have room to think. We may believe that we are somehow taking care of our desires and concerns by keeping them at the forefront of our minds. In maintaining our mental hold on every detail, however, we may actually delay the realization of our dreams and the resolution of our worries because we won’t let them go. At times such as these, we may want to use a surrender box.

A surrender box allows us to let go of our worries and desires so the universe can take care of them for us. We write down what we want or need to happen and then place the note into a box. By writing and placing our thoughts in the box, we are taking action and letting the universe know we need help and are willing to surrender our feelings. We give ourselves permission to not concern ourselves with that problem any longer and trust that the universe is taking care of it. You may even want to decorate your box and place it in a special place. Your surrender box is a sacred container for your worries. Not only do you free up space in your mind by letting go of our worries and desires and dropping them into your surrender box, but you are giving your burden over to a higher power. Once we drop our worries and desires into the surrender box, we free our minds so we can be fully present in each moment.

Surrendering our worries and concerns and placing them in the hands of the universe doesn’t mean that we’ve given up or have been defeated. Instead, we are releasing the realization of our desires and the resolution of our worries and no longer concerning ourselves with their outcomes. It’s always fun to go back and pull the slips of paper out of the box once your requests have been granted. And it’s amazing how quickly problems go away and dreams come true when we finally let go and allow a higher power to help us.

SONG: Surrender Dorothy by Cris Williamson (can't seem to find the lyrics, but scroll down to track 10 for a song sample)

BOOK: Surrender, Dorothy by Meg Wolitzer

POEM: Starlings in Winter by Mary Oliver

Chunky and noisy,

but with stars in their black feathers,

they spring from the telephone wire

and instantly

they are acrobats

in the freezing wind.

And now, in the theater of air,

they swing over buildings,

dipping and rising;

they float like one stippled star

that opens,

becomes for a moment fragmented,

then closes again;

and you watch

and you try

but you simply can't imagine

how they do it

with no articulated instruction, no pause,

only the silent confirmation

that they are this notable thing,

this wheel of many parts, that can rise and spin

over and over again,

full of gorgeous life.

Ah, world, what lessons you prepare for us,

even in the leafless winter,

even in the ashy city.

I am thinking now

of grief, and of getting past it;

I feel my boots

trying to leave the ground,

I feel my heart

pumping hard. I want

to think again of dangerous and noble things.

I want to be light and frolicsome.

I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing,

as though I had wings.

QUOTE: "If you surrender to the wind, you can ride it." ~ Toni Morrison

Two Hearts (Bruce Springsteen)

Dedicated to The One I Love - thanks, honey (he calls me sweetie) for hanging in there with me all these many years... :-)

P.S. SMM...

P.P.S. Check out Google's logo for today... :-)

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DailyOM
February 6, 2009
The Dance of Intimacy
Coming Back to Center in a Relationship

Anyone in a long-term relationship knows that the dance of intimacy involves coming together and moving apart. Early in a relationship, intense periods of closeness are important in order to establish the ground of a new union. Just as a sapling needs a lot more attention than a full-grown tree, budding relationships demand time and attention if they are to fully take root. Once they become more established, the individuals in the union begin to turn their attention outward again, to the other parts of their lives that matter, such as work, family, and friendships. This is natural and healthy. Yet, if a long-term relationship is to last, turning towards one another recurrently, with the same curiosity, attention, and nurturance of earlier times, is essential.

In a busy and demanding world full of obligations and opportunities, we sometimes lose track of our primary relationships, thinking they will tend to themselves. We may have the best intentions when we think about how nice it would be to surprise our partner with a gift or establish a weekly date night. Yet somehow, life gets in the way. We may think that our love is strong enough to survive without attention. Yet even mature trees need water and care if they are to thrive.

One of the best ways to nourish a relationship is through communication. If you feel that a distance has grown between you and your partner, you may be able to bridge the gap by sharing how you feel. Do your best to avoid blame and regret. Focus instead on the positive, which is the fact that you want to grow closer together. Sometimes, just acknowledging that there is distance between you has the effect of bringing the relationship into balance. In other cases, more intense effort and attention may be required. You may want to set aside time to talk and come up with solutions together. Remember to have compassion for each other. You’re in the same boat together and trying to maintain the right balance of space and togetherness to keep your relationship healthy and thriving. Express faith and confidence in each other, and enjoy the slow dance of intimacy that can resume between the two of you.

SONG: Two Hearts by Bruce Springsteen

BOOK: Four Letter Word: Invented Correspondence from the Edge of Modern Romance by Joshua Knelman, Rosalind Porter (editors)

POEM: LXXXIX by Pablo Neruda

When I die, I want your hands on my eyes:
I want the light and the wheat of your beloved hands
to pass their freshness over me once more:
I want to feel the softness that changed my destiny.

I want you to live while I wait for you, asleep.
I want your ears still to hear the wind, I want you
to sniff the sea's aroma that we loved together,
to continue to walk on the sand we walk on.

I want what I love to continue to live,
and you whom I love and sang above everything else
to continue to flourish, full-flowered:

so that you can reach everything my love directs you to,
so that my shadow can travel along in your hair,
so that everything can learn the reason for my song.

QUOTE: "Love is the way messengers from the mystery tell us things." ~ Rumi

The Ocean of My Heart (Jennings and Keller)

Dedicated to myself (featuring a song written by my dear friend Laurie... who just happens to be playing my concert series this Saturday night... :-)

I've been working very hard on my Word of the Year vow to take care of myself - every day is far from perfect, but I've made progress and I'm becoming the person I want to be. Thanks, heart... lungs... legs... arms... spirit... brain... etc. for hanging in there with me - it will be worth it, I promise...

SONG: The Ocean of My Heart by Jennings and Keller (lyrics unavailable, but you can listen here...)

BOOK: The Answer is Simple...Love Yourself, Live Your Spirit! by Sonia Choquette

POEM: Love after Love by Derek Walcott

The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

QUOTE: "Love is love. All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love. Everything is, everything exists, only because I love." ~ Leo Tolstoy

The Heart (Lucy Kaplansky)

I'm feeling uncharacteristically out of words this week - lots of deadlines/chores/To-Do's to attend to... and never enough time in which to accomplish...

For now, a Valentine's Day dedication will have to suffice - for my three amazing children-turned-adults... <3

P.S. SMM here and here...

SONG: The Heart (sung by Lucy Kaplansky, written by Tom Russell and Greg Trooper)

BOOK: Parenting From Your Heart: Sharing the Gifts of Compassion, Connection, and Choice by Inbal Kashtan

POEM: Seeing, in Three Pieces by Kate Knapp

Somehow we must see

through the shimmering cloth

of daily life, its painted,

evasive facings of what to eat,

to wear? Which work

matters? Is a bird more

or less than a man?

*

There have been people

who helped the world. Named

or not named. They weren't interested

in what might matter,

doubled over as they were

with compassion. Laden

branches, bright rivers.

*

When a bulb burns out

we just change it--

it's not the bulb we love;

it's the light.

QUOTE: "The heart is not simply suspended in a body but in a culture, a place, a time." ~ Mimi Guarneri

Keep Me in Your Heart (Warren Zevon)

This morning was the funeral and interment of my friend M's mom Phyllis - I of course needed to be there, for myself as well as for the family. My daughter Sarah met up with me, as did our friend R (who introduced me to M about 14 years ago) - my husband and son both had to work, and my other son is away at college 4 hours away, or else they would have been there too...

There are few things more helpless than witnessing another family's grief - we paid our respects before everything started, and then stayed for a lovely service - the highlight for me was when the minister asked if anyone had anything to say... and K (M's daughter) got up to share. She spoke of her grandmother's love of, and aptitude for, crafts... and asked how many people in the room had in their possession anything Phyllis had made - over 90% raised their hands (heartwarming)... and it made me vow that the Santa she gifted to our family many years ago will hold a prominent place of honor for years to come...

Much love to M - may she be surrounded by the love and support of her family and friends during this most difficult time... and beyond...

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On Star Maker Machine this week, the theme is 1989... although, since Saturday is Valentine's Day, there was a last-ditch possibility of changing it to Hearts... which was quickly squashed - I figured I could issue myself the Hearts challenge here instead... and, in a two-for-the-price-of-one anarchic/conciliatory move at SMM, all my 1989 songs will include Love in the title (ha!)...

P.S. SMM...

SONG: Keep Me in Your Heart by Warren Zevon

BOOK: Feathers Brush My Heart: True Stories of Mothers Connecting with Their Daughters After Death by Sinclair Browning

POEM: A Rescue by John Updike

Today I wrote some words that will see print.
Maybe they will last "forever," in that
someone will read them, their ink making
a light scratch on his mind, or hers.
I think back with greater satisfaction
upon a yellow bird--a goldfinch?--
that had flown into the garden shed
and could not get out,
battering its wings on the deceptive light
of the dusty, warped-shut window.

Without much reflection, for once, I stepped
to where its panicked heart
was making commotion, the flared wings drumming,
and with clumsy soft hands
pinned it against a pane,
held loosely cupped
this agitated essence of the air,
and through the open door released it,
like a self-flung ball,
to all that lovely perishing outdoors.

QUOTE: "Oh heart, if one should say to you that the soul perishes like the body, answer that the flower withers, but the seed remains." ~ Kahlil Gibran