Did it just get hotter in here?

On the Importance of Jazz

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Opening Address to the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival, WPFW News (Washington), [23 August 2002]

God has wrought many things out of oppression. He has endowed his creatures with the capacity to create—and from this capacity has flowed the sweet songs of sorrow and joy that have allowed man to cope with his environment and many different situations.

Jazz speaks for life. The Blues tell the story of life's difficulties, and if you think for a moment, you will realize that they take the hardest realities of life and put them into music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph.

This is triumphant music.

Modern jazz has continued in this tradition, singing the songs of a more complicated urban existence. When life itself offers no order and meaning, the musician creates an order and meaning from the sounds of the earth which flow through his instrument.

It is no wonder that so much of the search for identity among American Negroes was championed by Jazz musicians. Long before the modern essayists and scholars wrote of racial identity as a problem for a multiracial world, musicians were returning to their roots to affirm that which was stirring within their souls.

Much of the power of our Freedom Movement in the United States has come from this music. It has strengthened us with its sweet rhythms when courage began to fail. It has calmed us with its rich harmonies when spirits were down.

And now, Jazz is exported to the world. For in the particular struggle of the Negro in America there is something akin to the universal struggle of modern man. Everybody has the Blues. Everybody longs for meaning. Everybody needs to love and be loved. Everybody needs to clap hands and be happy. Everybody longs for faith.

In music, especially this broad category called Jazz, there is a stepping stone towards all of these.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Opening Address to the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival

The way it feels sometimes

A day in mom's life - 1938

Trees

Well, our Christmas tree is up once again. Each year it gets more obvious that no matter
what the tree looks like to begin with , it always ends up with the same look. The ornaments
always do that. once again here is the proof,this year is on the right. It is bigger and took every
ornament and light we had but still looks like last years. I guess thats kinda nice!

Happy Holidaze

All set (ale wize anyway) for the Holidays. Not only do I have all of these new Holiday ales, I am finishing the old ones too. I find it fun to see how long they will "mature" without going off. So far results have been mixed. I had several Jubelales go bad last year. On the other hand I had a Anchor special ale from 2006 yesterday that was fine. The same happened with 2 Serria Nevada celebration ales a few days ago. 2006 was bad but 2008 was good. All the older ones are almost gone anyway. Years ago we tried this over a 10 year period with the 10 year old ale proving to be best!

I thought you would never remove that drawer!

Never know number 3

Monday we got a phone call from our neighbor across the street. She had some pig hunters (living in a rural area
we often have trouble with wild pigs) who were looking for a place to set a trap. They had reached the back
of her one acre lot and had just entered the lot next door when they saw a small cave. Don't forget that we live on a volcanic island and there are many old Lava tubes . Entering they discovered human bones . There are burial caves nearby so this is not a real surprise. Well, the police were called and 5 cars responded. Eventually there were official looking people all over the place. Finally they declared it a possible Hawaiian burial site and scheduled an archeologist to investigate.

Another never know moment

On our way to town today( Monday is our weekly grocery shopping day) we had another you never know moment.
The store is about 30 miles away(hence the weekly shopping) and we take Highway 130. About half way there we zoomed by a small kitten in the middle of the road. I yelled STOP, and we pulled onto the shoulder. It was pouring down rain (as it often does here) and I bolted out of the car . Some how I managed to stop traffic in both directions , and on my knees
grabbed the kitten which was under one of the stopped vehicles. As I carried it to the side of the road it started biting me and I said " I'm trying to help you here". We reached the car, It is still raining and I am bleeding , now wondering if it was all worth it. We drove to our vet and parked. In the process of trying to get the the little guy/gal in the building the feisty thing bit and scratched me again . I dropped it and it promptly ran under our car and disappeared . Fortunately
our vet knew what to do and we got it into a carrier . We called our friend Sandi who works at an Animal Sanctuary and our little friend will be there soon!

The way it feels sometimes

Never Know

So, as Sharon, Red, and I returned from out nightly walk yesterday ,we were about to enter the house.
I was giving Sharon the house key when Red spotted a Mongoose.
I was not really paying attention to him (this is always a bad idea) and he charged (all 75 pounds of him)to the other side
of the driveway extending the retractable leash to its maximum length . Unfortunately it was not long enough and
the force of it yanked me to the ground. I landed on my elbows and knees producing some nasty scrapes.
I did not however break anything (ribs teeth etc etc) so I was really lucky. Maybe one day I will learn to pay attention at all times when holding Reds leash. It struck me how you never know the full extent of possibilities at any given moment.

Autumn

I have finished my David Nobbs book. It was a fun comedy/romance involving a couple of young lovers that break up only to get back together many years later and live happily ever after. The last sentence was really clever because it was a device to begin a novel (the first sentence of the one you have just finished) which was about to be written. Good fun!
Now I am switching back to non fiction with A History of Wales written by John Davis. I have been interested in Wales ever since visiting Portmeirion (in Wales) years ago. As a matter of fact I bought this book during one of those visits. It is one of the many books purchased while traveling that I am finally getting around to reading. Time for stuff like this, one of the many joys of retirement.

Very good

I have been thinking about a couple of new posts but when this came along I couldn't
resist. This beautiful ,delicious grapefruit came from our tree. It is November and the beginning of grapefruit season. We planted an 18 inch plant 7 years ago and is now a healthy 20 foot tree! This fruit is at least 5 inches across and is (was )
very good.

Have loved this for many years

2nd Prize

Being Saturday it was dog class day. We have been trudging off to Red's class for 3 years now .
Classes are held for a period of 10 weeks followed by a gap of two or three months. In this
fall class cycle a Halloween costume contest is held. This is our 4th contest and until now we have not been
recognized. This is ironic because this time we put no time or thought into the process. Then while
grocery shopping last Monday made an impulse purchase of this child's costume. I saw it and thought it was
a perfect image of Red's personality. There were 37 dogs in the contest and with all the creative home made costumes I didn't think we had much of a chance. I guess the judges felt differently.

For a change I am reading a book that has no hidden material in its structure. David Nobbs(best know for creating The fall and rise of Reginald Perrin) latest book is a fun comic novel. I am already half way through it and enjoying it thoroughly.

losing marbles

I am getting most adept at selecting challenging books. I think I have said before I started
this practice after seeing it in a book about reading. Anyway, The British museum is falling down( the Author
originally wanted to name it The British Museum had lost its Charm) turned out to be more than I expected.
It is a humorous story about a Catholic British couple struggling with the churches practices regarding birth control.
But because the main character is involved in Literary research at the British Museum the author cleverly writes
parts of each chapter in the style of several notable classic authors . Not being familiar( with any detail ) of the authors
being parodied It went right over my head for the most part. It was not until the books afterword that I had the AHAH!
moment. I enjoyed it none the less. Now I am reading about St Peters Basilica . Not becuse of the catholic theme of this book alone but in combination of it and The stones of Venice. I wonder if you could call it viral reading?