2018 Christmas Letter & JibJab

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The dreaded letter (reproduced below if you dare) will get sent to some folks via e-mail.  They’ll also get this link to the JibJab: https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/disco_christmas/b079887c-1399-46b3-99d9-734253cdf3e0

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Hope your 2018 has been a good year. Mine was a dandy. Saw more live music than ever. It was Awesome.

Crossed several artists off my “bucket list”…a bunch of old coots like me: Moody Blues, Steve Winwood, Poco, Dave Mason, Judy Collins, Bruce Hornsby, Todd Rundgren, Gordon Lightfoot.
One of my bucket list shows was the best show I saw in 2018….and I saw a LOT. The concert on June 8 at The Peabody in STL was an absolute Spectacle. Hard to describe. And unforgettable. David Byrne ROCKS!!
One bucket list artist was terrible. Thankfully sweet Judy blue eyes played and sang with Stephen Stills. He sux. It made me sad. She can still sing. And she can still rock it in heels.

I stalked a couple of folks in 2018….twice I saw 3 shows in a 4 day span.
I saw Neil Young’s solo acoustic tour in STL, and then in Chicago twice. Killer. (Plus I got to spend time with my bestie from my first college experiences. Charlie babysat me often when I was hitting the sauce….Thanks!)
Shelly and I saw the Wheels of Soul tour in STL, and twice at Red Rocks. The show was the Tedeschi Trucks Band, with the Drive-by Truckers and Marcus King opening. Three great nights.

Had an absolute blast at Folk Alliance in KC in February. I shoulda let Jeanette talk me into this years ago!! Music, music, music. Not many zzzzz’s while at FAI.
She also talked me into square dancing at the Rock House. Do-si-do Mofo!!!

I made a solo trip to Orygun. Saw several friends. Stayed in some interesting places: the Bad Boy room at The White Eagle in PDX; the lighthouse room at a small property in Yachats; a tent on the banks of the Metolius River. Crossed another artist off my list when I saw Amos Lee twice in 6 days. Both times with friends.
A friend who I hadn’t seen in 51 years fixed us breakfast in Bend. We coulda talked longer. Next time.

There were a few lowlights too.
1. My garden was disappointing. I’ll blame it on the weather. It was hot. And dry. Then it turned cool and wet. Then the cycle started all over again. It was unpredictable, even for this schizophrenic state.
Had luck with a couple of crops: radishes and green beans. Two of my favorites were slim pickens: tomatoes and brussel sprouts. The latter were abysmal. WTF?
2. On my birthday I was diagnosed with “Fatigue”…and I have the document from the doc to prove it. That’s what I get for burning the candle at both ends for too long. So I slowed down…a little, for a little while. I don’t ever expect to “act my age”…why the heck would I want to do that? But moderation in some things, more sleep, and more H20 might be smart.
3. I gave a house full of people a “do you remember the Thanksgiving when” story, but I did learn a new word: if you wanta get the details of my syncope event go to:  http://slw913.com/life-events/isnt-it-ironic-or-not/

The highlight of my 2018 was the first weekend of October.
I threw myself a party to celebrate completing 70 trips around the sun. The 25,590 Day Shindig took place at The Rock House in Reeds Spring 23 days after my birthday. The timing was driven by the schedules of the bands out of KC, and by my own concert schedule.
The party was Epic. Family, friends, music, food, more music, a pie auction and a silent auction of items by some artist and musician friends to benefit one of my favorite non-profits: The Rock House Center for the Arts. Then there was more music.
Some of the guests traveled from Floriduh, Hotlanta, Chicago, or the other side of MO. We took over the Shady Acre motel in Branson West for the entire weekend, and spilled over into another motel.
Damn…I’m a lucky old coot.

One more highlight ahead of us in 2018: Shelly and I will be making our “Third Annual” trip to Gulf Shores, AL at the end of December. This time we booked for 10 days at the beach.
We don’t do much while we’re there….and we love that. We watch the sunrise over the gulf in the morning; go for a morning walk; have brunch and mimosas on the balcony; take a nap; take another walk; watch sunset on the gulf; binge watch DVDs that we pack for the trip. Repeat.
Year 3 of our Christmas at the beach is gonna have a couple of special treats: guests after Christmas. Bruce&Jeanette (they ARE The Rock House) will be crashing in the condo’s second bedroom for a few nights after visiting her folks and family in Nashville. Tom&Gloria will be coming down from Cumming, GA and will be at the same property. There will probably be a picture and a story or two.

I’ve never been much on planning. More about just being. But I do have a few things I wanta do in 2019:
1. See more live music than I saw this year. That won’t be easy. I’m off to a good start with 5 concert and 2 festival tickets in hand already for events in 2019.
2. Get to Orygun in late August or early September for at least a week.
3. Get to Colorado in July…for longer than we did this year. That will make both of us happy.
4. Take a road trip “back east” after the 15th Annual Music Festival. Check off a few bucket list items…and spend time with friends in several cites&states….some who I haven’t seen in double-digit years.
A 3 week trip for me; 1 week for Shelly. Not sure where her flight will land. Shelly will mark several states off her bucket list, and I’ll get to Vermont for the first time and round out the lower 48.
I wanta ride some roller coasters at Cedar Point. I wanta spend more time at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I wanta see Niagara Falls. I wanta see live music in several cities and venues. This roadtrip is a bit of a BHAG. Stay tuned.

Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. Happy New Year. All the best. Keep in touch. Hug the people you love. Be. Just Be.

steve

Love is The Answer

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It’s short. It’s simple. It’s true. Love trumps hate. Period.

The 33rd Imagine Concert was the last “large venue” concert of the year for me, unless something unforeseen happens. I saw LOTS of large venue shows in 2018.
12/8/18 was a great evening in too many ways to list….but I’ll try:
Friends
Bar food
Music
Music by friends
Music with friends
Pie
All of it with the person I love, and who loves me.
Damn, I’m a lucky old coot.

Today started with brunch in a hotel here in town. Got the room for a steal in a silent auction for a good cause. Got stuck in an elevator on the way down to eat. Could see the front desk across the atrium as we called for help. The person who caught it after we were on the elevator seemed to be having a bad day. Laughing woulda made it better for her.
It did for me.
Just sayin’.

Came home and listened to The White Album. I’m getting ready to spin disc 1 again.
Earlier, Shelly and I sat on the couch and listened to the album that I heard for the very first time just over fifty years ago.
A couple of years ago I wrote about “first time tunes”…FTTs. Songs, often with places attached, that are indelibly stored on my body’s hardrive. I used over 200 words to describe the first time I heard the White Album….in KC…in 1968.

The magic of music…and memories

As we listened to “While my guitar gently weeps,” I hummed and caterwauled along.
And thought:
about the lyrics;
about yesterday;
about John Lennon;
about my life today;
about my past;
about the future;
about being.

Just then the CD changer moved to the next disc: one that I burned of songs by many of the artists who I saw in 2018.
The first song that plays off my “mix tape” is by a guy who I finally crossed off my bucket list last year, seeing him twice in a six day stretch. Both times with friends from my first time living in Orygun.
Friends, music, pie…heaven.

I’ll be seeing Amos Lee again in just over 100 days in KC.
Damn, I’m a lucky old coot.
I expect him to sing this song on 3/26/19, which summarizes what I was thinking as I listened to the Fab 4 this morning and contemplated the meaning of being.

“I believe in the power
Of love, love, of love”

Isn’t it ironic…or not?

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Like the lyrics of Alanis Morissette’s song, what follows is not ironic. But maybe it’s situational irony. Whatever it is, it is a two part story.

Part One.
We went to Shelly’s youngest for Thanksgiving dinner. It’s about 50 miles from our apartment to Eric&Ashton’s place in Ava. We left at about 4.
The crowd: her three kids, their spouses and their 6 kids; the father of her kids; his mother; his brother; his sister and her husband. Nineteen of us.
Our conversation on the drive jumped from topic to topic. And then I said this: “I got the notice from my life insurance company that my term policy terminates in February, so if I don’t kick the bucket before then there won’t be a check for you from Northwest Mutual!”
Shelly is always kidding about me “spending her inheritance”…and I always remind her that my philosophy is to Live Rich & Die Poor. Then we both laugh.
She didn’t think my comment about kicking the bucket on 11/22/18 was all that funny.
(She doesn’t think it’s funny when I say “I’m gonna blow my brains out” either…and she knows that means that I’m pulling out the bong. She has no problem with my fondness for being herbalized…she just hates the phrase.)

Part Two.
I learned a new word on Thanksgiving.
And I gave several people a “remember that Thanksgiving at Eric’s when….” story.
The word: Syncope.
The story: Eric came out to get something from a car sometime after 8 and came back in and said: “I think something is seriously wrong with Steve!”
He found me collapsed on the driveway, between 2 vehicles with my head resting on the back of his truck.
When I came to, Shelly was slapping me around and Jordie (her son-in-law) was supporting me from behind. I was dazed and confused…and a shade of gray.
EMTs arrived and checked me out. Vitals were all normal. No cuts or bumps or breaks. After a show of hands I gave in and let them take me to the hospital for overnight observation.
They think I might have been dehydrated, or maybe it was a “vascular event.” We’ll never know why, unless it happens again.
Doctor’s orders: just keep on keeping on…and drink more fluids.

The situational irony:
On the drive down we talked about lapsing term life insurance, cremation, a raucous wake, and spreading ashes.
On the drive back to Springtown, I was on a stretcher in an ambulance hooked up to a heart monitor and a blood pressure cuff. Shelly was following us, alone in her car, with lots of thoughts running thru her head…including death, cremation, a raucous wake, and spreading ashes.

The Righteous Path

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I’ve seen the Truckers several times in the past few years. I had never listened to them before I moved into The Abbey in fall of 2011. I’m sure glad that I took a friend’s recommendation and gave them a listen. (Thanks Gray!!)

The Truckers can be profound & loud. I like that. Loud is a good four-letter word much of the time. Sometimes it’s not. Just like many other “four-letter” words.

If I had to pick my Top 20 songs by DBT, this one would make the list…even though very few of its lyrics describe my present or past circumstances. Might even make my Top 10, because the refrain describes me perfectly.

It would NOT be on the setlist if the band would let me come up with 22 songs the next time I see them. The three times I heard it live, I liked it each and everytime. I never “Loved It!!!” live.
But they did play it LOUD! That compensated. (And I gotta admit that I listened to the live version in this YouTube video a bunch of time…and sung along each & very time, especially to the refrain.)

Now about those lyrics:
My car is a Prius IV…getting 54mpg.
Don’t have a house. Never expect to own R/E again.
No dog or cat. I’m too irresponsible and impetuous.
Don’t have a couple of hundred channels. But have too many. TV is a vast wasteland.
No wife….but I do have more than 2 secrets that I’d like to keep hid.
Don’t know if there is a god. I do believe in Karma. Wrath? Not so much.

You get my drift by now…most of the lines aren’t me. And I only commented on the first verse; the trend continues, except for a few lines.
If you wanta read the lyrics, here is one of many places that you can find them:
https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107858704386/

These lines do apply:
I do have a couple of opinions that I hold dear. More than a couple actually…
I do have the need to blow it out on a Saturday night. Other nights too…
I’m all about hanging out and hanging on….loosely.
Trying my best to keep on keeping on. (Be. Just Be….doncha know?!)

And then there is that Refrain. That is what IT is all about. What I’m all about. Seriously.
“Just trying to hold steady on the Righteous Path.”
Amen & Amen.

Those were the days…I was willin’

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On the first Friday of April in 1974, I had been living in my folks back room in Farmington, MO for a few months, but I was heading back to college in Cape Girardeau the next week.
About to receive an undergrad education degree, I had just finished my 8 weeks of student teaching at Farmington High School…teaching math under he who shall remain nameless. My only sister was in the senior class.
Farmington’s population was just over 7K.
Today a sign says 18,355.
(Note: I did NOT say “the sign” as there are at least three [3] different population counts as one enters the city limits.)
I’d had a few dates with the woman who I would be married to for a shade under 40 years.
Later that summer of 74 she and I were accurately described as hot and heavy. Or horny…loaded…wasted…high…and did I mention horny?
-=-=-=
There was an “epidemic” that spring 44 years ago. Here’s how Wikipedia describes it:
“A ‘streaking epidemic’ hit Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, with streakers being seen in residence halls, at football games and at various other on-campus locations and events, including Spring graduation…”
A local D.C. area reporter at the University of Maryland “whose voice was broadcast live over the station via a pay phone connection exclaimed… ‘they are streaking past me right now. It’s an incredible sight!’ The next day it was out on the Associated Press wire as “streaking” and had nationwide coverage.”
-=-=-=-=
That April the fifth, we came back into Farmington at about 11 pm after a couple of hours of grabbing a pizza at the Grecian Steak House 7 miles, and loading up the juke box with lots of quarters in order to keep “dark side of the moon” on repeat.
“We” was my future brother-in-law Ronnie and a friend of Ronnie’s, who was providing the wheels for the evening. I can never remember his name…but he was teetotaler and a dandy designated driver. I do remember that.

That night, as we returned from Flat River, it was a fine night weather-wise. High was 77. We took a quick cruise on Main Street, but it was uncharacteristically dead.
But Farmington was abuzz!! Everyone had their car’s windows or the top down.

A couple of guys had streaked from the city park across a section of “the strip” and near a packed Hunts Dairy Bar at about 8 . It was the first known streaking incident south of STL that spring. People were guessing and speculating, but nobody knew who had stripped and sprinted.
Note: we were behind the times in rural Missouri….heck, we still are. No streakers in our little world until that first friday of April ’74….while over 1500 had streaked at the University of Georgia a month earlier, and a fourth of the student body of a small college in South Carolina had bared all.
-=-=-=
We had been back on the streets of Farmington for about 30 minutes and traffic was crawling. Lots of chatter inside and between cars. People were guessing and speculating, but nobody knew who had stripped and sprinted.

And then it happened. Two naked blondes came from out of nowhere and crossed Columbia Street a couple of blocks just west of the county courthouse. They got tied up with traffic and people identified them easily enough.

I knew those bodies.
One was my former girlfriend, who had “dear johned” me while I was at Ft. Bragg. The other was her younger sister…who I had played huggy-bear-kissy-face with a few times recently.

The younger sister was surprised a couple of hours later when I told her that I knew who the two guys were from earlier in the evening.
People had all kinds of theories.
Nobody had it right.
Nobody was guessing that it was the guy who had just wrapped up 8 weeks student teaching math.
Yep, I “buried the lead.” Ronnie and I were nekkid and hauling ass.

Linda Ronstadt didn’t release “Willin” until later in 1974, but I had played the first Little Feat album often back in the barracks.
I’m not sure what got into me that night that prompted me to strip down to my sock and shoes and sprint the 175 yards that night. (I stepped it off last Friday….)
But I’m pretty sure that there had been “weed, whites and wine”….and a “what the fuck…let’s do it!”

You are what you recommend…

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“You are what you listen to…” appears in the title of 3 of my blog posts.
Assuming there is some validity to those 6 words, what you recommend REALLY must say something!!

The other day I mailed a flash drive to the first person who became a friend after moving to Orygun in 1976. Kevin and I have been through a lot together. Lots of good times. Lots of stories. My favorite is probably the road trip we took in May, 1980, when I attended his 10 year high school reunion….but the story of that trip, and of the big guy who wanted to kick my ass ass at the reunion shindig, are for another day.

Kevin and I don’t talk nearly as often as we should. When we talked six days ago, music was the only subject of the 17 minutes. I promised to send him something. There was a note in the envelope a couple of days later, and earlier today I sent him an e-mail.
-=-=-=–

hey kevin,

I’ve always been a fan of “under promise and over deliver.”
I promised you a flash drive with 10 albums and the one I mailed has 30….and about ¾ of storage is still available. (that’s pretty crazy….i remember the IBM XT with a 10 meg hardrive.)

here are the ten i’d leave on it if someone held my feet to the fire and forced me to strip off twenty.
they are in alpha order, based on the title of the album.

1. “Acoustic at the Ryman” by Band of Horses. I love this band. saw them at roots&blues&bbq in columbia in 2017. (already got my ticket for this year’s festival…sept 28-30.) hope to see band of horses in a small venue near me in 2018…

2. “All your favorite bands” saw Dawes twice in 2017. the two best shows I saw all year. (cains ballroom in tulsa and the madrid in kc.) small venues. “evening with” shows. 2 sets. awesome front man. I have a man crush on taylor goldsmith. my blog is named after the first cut of this album.

3. “American band” saw Drive-by Truckers friday jan. 26 at the truman in KC. they’re on the wheel of soul tour with the best band on the planet, tedeschi trucks. seeing 3 shows of the tour in a 4 day period. thurs, 7/26 at the fabulous fox in STL. sat and sunday, 28th and 29th at Red Rocks. if I had to pick 10 songs from the flash drive it would be “what it means.” the song would probably make the top 3 songs from these 30 albums. POWERFUL song.

4. “Battle born” by the Killers. brandon flowers doesn’t like the album. that puzzles me. it is my favorite Killers album, and I have 5 of them. i’ve had several cuts “on repeat.” give deadlines and commitments, heart of a girl and from here on out a listen.

5. “Folk Hop ‘n Roll” by Judah and the Lion.  I had never listened to this band until my niece asked if we’d meet them at the show at The Pageant in STL on 3/24. I said i’d get back to her. easy decision after hearing just the first song….love the lyrics to it. my friend david baker would say “more banjo!!!”….and this dude can pick it!

6. “Men amongst mountains” by The Revivalists. this band is on my short list of shows that I want to see in 2018….ideally in some place like cains in tulsa. or a small venue in orygun the first 2 weeks of september.

7. “Old forests.” Jeanette calls this her “favorite young band.” my friend joe manlove says “mumford and sons have nothing on these guys.” National Park Radio is good stuff.

8. “Only by the night” by Kings of Leon. if I could only have one KOL album, it would be this one. one of my “first time tunes” is on this album. I wrote about “use somebody” in my blog. love this song. be sure to listen to alum cranked to 11….play it LOUD!

9. “Revelator” by Tedeschi Trucks Band. this is the best band on the planet. (or maybe it’s Santana….shelly and I banter about it.) we are seeing TBT three times in 4 days in late July. if shelly doesn’t get to hear “Midnight in Harlem” live in 2018….she and I will be both disappointed.
hear it once: happy. hear it twice: thrilled. hear it at all three shows: ecstatic. stay tuned.

10. “The Nashville Sound” by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit.
maybe it’s because i’m gonna have a “zero birthday” in september, but since I heard it the first time I have been calling “If we were vampires” the saddest love song ever. this one is a no brainer for the 2018 desert island disk list.

there are multiple albums on here from several artists who made this Top 10 list: Dawes, Drive-by Truckers, Jason Isbell, Kings of Leon and National Park Radio.

there’s a pair each from couple of Missouri bands: Rainmakers and Bottle Rockets.

the others are a mix: people i’ve seen fairly recently, people on my bucket list. there’s a band that has never toured as a band. there is one from my all time favorite singer songwriter.

give me a call sometime to talk about the music on this flash drive…or about the past…or the present…or the future.

call me sometime.

love you Kevin.

steve

Thinking about firsts….part 2

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I wrote about 7 “firsts” a year ago. Some fond memories there.

Only one First this time. A sound.
A sound that is unmistakeable, and not just the first time it’s heard.
It’s the power. All that power. The sound of an ocean is a beautiful sound.
The first time I heard it was almost 47 years ago.

I had been at Ft. Bragg only a few weeks. I didn’t know the guy with the brand new Firebird all that well. Or the fellow riding shotgun. Dave and Dale, respectively.
The former a sergeant, back from Vietnam and with some high level security clearance job. Dave was a classic southern gentleman.
The latter a short timer; an E-2 who had been busted a few times. Dale was a classic bay area hippie.
Each of us had our own preferred drug: beer for Dave; weed for me; hallucinogens for Dale. We all enjoyed sharing; Dave was generous with his hash.
Some of the details of the trip are quite foggy. That woulda been the case days later, but some of the details seems like it was yesterday.

January 1, 1971 was on a Friday. It was just about 500 miles from the JFK Center for Military Intelligence to Daytona, Beach. An easy 10 hours if you can’t hit the road until after 5 on New Year’s Eve, and if you wanta make some stops along the way for refreshments and to feed your head. Just over 7 hours if you drive it with purpose, which we did on the return trip.

The three us welcomed the new year somewhere on I-95 in south Georgia. We made it to hotel row in Daytona Beach at about 3 in the morning that 1/1/71.
No reservations. The trip had been relatively impromptu after all.

Dave went in alone to secure a double room, not that there would be all that much sleeping in the 60 hours or so that we’d be in town.
Dave had this authoritative presence, so we expected securing a room to be a snap. He was a responsible driver too, all things considered.

After Dave had been rebuffed a few times (in spite of his smile and charm), we set a rendezvous time and place at 6 am at a Denny’s.
He continued the quest for a room, with Dale passed out in the back seat.
I headed to see an ocean for the very first time.
-=-=-=
It was dark as I approached the Atlantic for the first time. At 22 and fresh out of Basic Training, 800 miles away from home…I was finally going to see an ocean!!

I heard it before I saw it.
I could discern the movement of the waves before I saw it.That sound was awesome….and awe inspiring.
It still is.
I can just sit and listen to it. Morning, noon or night. Anytime. Any place. Any weather.
Listen. Just listen to the power.
Repeat.

You are what you listen to, but I am NOT OCD….

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…I am however a HUGE fan of the RPT button.

A quick scan of my 2017 journal found over 30 instances of a entry like this: “what it means was on repeat”
Or this one: “that earworm will not go away….and I’m liking it.”
More than 30 songs “on repeat” in 2017. Several of them probably had Shelly cringing.

I like to see bands live multiple times too. There are several that I’d see back-to-back-to-back if the opportunity should present itself. Some of them are on the list of 6 bands that 1 saw multiple times in 2017.

I’m a lyrics guy. At least 2 songs from each of the 6 made the 2017 RPT list. Bands listed alphabtically.  Line or two of lyric from the song that was On Repeat.

Dawes
“Quit taking the jobs that rob you of your powers so you can buy more shit you don’t have time to use…” from Quitter.
“Things happen, that’s all they ever do…” from “Things happen.”

Drive by Truckers
“But don’t look to me for answers, Cause I don’t know what it means…” from “What it means.”
“When he reached the gates of heaven he didn’t understand…” from “Two daughters and a beautiful wife.”
The true story behind this song is so very, very sad.

Jason Isbell
“It’s knowing that this can’t go on forever, Likely one of us will have to spend some days alone…” from “If we were vampires.” (This is one sad love song.)
“If there’s two things that I hate, It’s having to cook and trying to date….” from “Codeine.”

Rainmakers
“If Heaven is guilt, no sex and no show, then I’m not sure if I really want to go…” from “Wages of sin.”
“Older than I used to be, younger than I’m gonna be…” from “Long gone long.”

Ryan Adams
“Come pick me up, Take me out, Fuck me up, Steal my records…” from “Come pick me up.”
“The lines on my face are like a map of my sins…” from “Trouble.”

Tedeschi Trucks
“I was running from the past, My heart was bleeding and it hurt my bones to laugh…” from “Midnight in Harlem.”
“You gotta feel the pain, you got to see the suffering, gotta hear the cause…” from “It’s so heavy.”
-=-=-
That’s just over a third of the songs that I had On Repeat this year.
4 other RPTs stand out for me.

Band of Horses is still on one of my bucket lists. That particular list is “bands to see with Shelly.”
Lyric: “But no one is ever gonna love you more than I do...”
-=-=-=
Father John Misty writes some of the strangest lyrics. This under 3 minute song has a great title and some doozies.
Title: Chateau Lobby #4 (In C for Two Virgins)
Lyric 1: “I wanna take you in the kitchen, Lift up your wedding dress someone was probably murdered in…”
Lyric 2: “You left a note in your perfect script, Stay as long as you want, I haven’t left your bed since…”
He also wrote one of my all time favorite songs: “When you’re smiling and astride me.”
-=-=-=
And then is this one from a guy that I’ve wanted to see for over 40 years.
“…All that we have is each other and that’s all that I’ll ever need…” from “Family” by Joe Walsh. He was the opening act for Tom Petty in Little Rock back in March.

I had several Petty songs on repeat in 2017. And lots of others on RPT since picking up his first album in 1976.
We had only been in Corvallis for a few months. Money was tight. There are LOTS of stories from that Bi-centennial year…another time.
That first album had a couple of RPT tunes…not just for me…for millions of people: “Breakdown” and “American Girl.”

The Petty tune that I listened to the most in 2017 is one that he only played live a few times. He wrote it soon after his Mom died.
“What about the broken ones?
What about the lonely ones?
Oh honey I’m having trouble letting you go…”

Yes indeed.
Tom Petty died almost 3 months ago, and it’s still troubling me.  I am having trouble letting him go.  Glad I was able to see him 5 times.  I was hoping for half a dozen.

Let there be music.
Let some of it be on Repeat.
Be. Just Be.

It’s a Christmas Letter…you’ve been warned

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The following went to quite a few folks via e-mail.  Most of them will also get a JibJab.
-=-=-=-=

I hope your 2017 has been a good one. Mine has been pretty awesome. I’m a lucky guy.

1/1/17 began with coffee, waffles and the hair of the dog with friends at my favorite breakfast place here in Springfield, MO. We welcomed in the year at the late show by Big Smith at the Gillioz.
In lots of ways that pretty much sums up my 2017: music and friends; friends and music. Plus roadtrips.

I could call the conversation in my head in early March an epiphany. It was on a long walk alongside Sinking Creek at Echo Bluff S.P. I decided that if a band that I wanted to see was playing within 4 hours of me that I’d buy tickets. What happened next is referred to as “Ticket Buying Thursday” in my journal.
That day I bought tickets to: Dawes at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa; Joe Jackson at the Uptown Theater in KC; Tom Petty (with Joe Walsh opening) in Little Rock; and Tedeschi Trucks (with Hot Tuna and the Wood Brothers opening) at The Amp in Rogers.

Three of the highlights of 2017:
1. My friends Tom&Gloria came from Atlanta in early June to attend the 13th Annual Rock House Summer Festival. The next day the four of us headed to Piney River Brewing in Bucyrus, MO for an afternoon with Bob&Jeff of The Rainmakers.
2. In July my son met us in Golden and stayed with us a couple of nights at an AirBnB. Joseph, Shelly and I saw The Avett Brothers (with Shovels and Rope opening) at Red Rocks. He and I had a couple of rambling late night chats.
3. In October my recently retired-from-NASA “rocket scientist” friend Troy and his better half Kathy came in from Floriduh and went to a show with us at The Rock House. The next day the four of us watched the Hawgs get spanked by Auburn in Fayetteville. Troy gave us the tour and showed us his name etched in the walk.

There were lots of other highlights:
A road trip to the Grand Canyon, Zion, Mesa Verde. One of the highlights was meeting up with my cousin Allison and her family in Alamosa, CO as they headed home and we headed for Leadville.
Daily walk-and-talks on the phone with my 91 year old Dad. Lots of reminiscing. Lots of talking hoops. He and I saw several games together….fun times.
A 5 year “Meet-aversary” for me & Shelly.
Bought myself a new car…a Prius4.
Weddings for both of Shelly’s sons.
Lots and lots of concerts in lots of different venues.
House concerts. 🙂 and 🙂 again.
Digging in the dirt and harvesting veggies from my garden boxes.
Attending quite a few basketball games, which included watching some “one and dones.”

Not many lowlights this year, and they were really just blips:
My new car got creased when some guy backed into it less than 2 weeks after I bought it. JEEZ.
Some cretin(s) broke into the Prius while we were on our roadtrip.
The thieves stole all the manuals to the car….and the backpack that I used as a tackle box. Even though I haven’t fished all that much recently, that was the probably the worst thing that happened to me in 2017. I had some “old faithful” lures in the backpack that had moved to Orygun with me when I left Missouri in 1976…never expecting to live in the ShowMe state again.
I didn’t make it to OR in 2017. Hopefully I can get back to where my heart is in 2018.
I didn’t have as many conversations with friends as I would’ve liked. Left quite a few voice-mails or sent texts that were never returned. Bummer.

Looking forward to 2018 being “SSDD”: friends & family, music, roadtrips, garden, hoops, “walk-and-talks.” NOTE: there will be a birthday party in mid-Sept as I wrap up my 70th trip around the sun. Whodda thought that I would ever live this long after all the stupid things I’ve done. More on that later….

Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. Happy New Year. All the best. Keep in touch. Hug the people you love. Be. Just Be.

steve

Aunt Esther’s 8 words of wisdom

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I used to write letters. Letters that traveled here-and-there in envelopes with a USPS stamp.

I still write letters. But not all that many, and not all that often.
I don’t have to buy all that many “forever stamps” these days.

My Dad’s side of the family has always written lots of letters. I don’t know where this propensity to write letters falls in the nature-nurture debate.

I recently learned that Uncle Gilbert, the oldest of dad’s four siblings, wrote hundreds of letters to his oldest child…and she held on to all of them!! Good for her. And good for him.

My Dad writes letters and notes, including thank you cards, fairly often. Sometimes he sends the very same letter to me and my two younger siblings. (Those specific letters are the subject for another day….)
I have lots of those letters and cards stuck away. There are some good ones. 🙂

When my kids were pre-teens I tried to get them to write letters to my folks, in the hopes of getting some family history down in writing. There was some success, but not nearly as much as I would’ve liked. I do have electronic copies of 20+ letters between my kids and my folks. I wish that number had an extra zero in it. I haven’t read any of those letters in double-digit years, but I recently confirmed that they are on the hard-drive of this laptop, and are backed-up.
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I was an active letter writer once upon a time, including several to some senators while I was stationed at Ft. Bragg. I provided them specific examples of how army life was very different from what I was reading about in Newsweek and Look.

I wish I had kept copies of some of the letters I wrote, and of the letters I got in return, whether it was from “public servants” or from friends over the years. I’m pretty sure that there were some gems there. Especially the ones that got me summoned to a session with my company commander and later with a major general at the JFK Center for Special Warfare. (I was a PIA of a soldier. What a surprise….)
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I have a friend from “back in the day” who has joined me and “Tissell” at some junior college basketball games when I head to the Leadbelt to take in a MAC basketball game. (Everybody who grew up in Elvins had a nickname. Dad’s is on my folk’s headstone at the Weiss cemetery. But the story behind the nickname “Tissell” will have to wait…)

I bring this up, because Rick has a letter that I wrote him when we were in the service. Most likely I wrote it from Ft. Bragg, although it could’ve been from Ft. Leonard Wood. I don’t know where Rick was when he received the letter.

I haven’t seen the letter myself. Rick mentioned it to me when we had breakfast right after I had left Floriduh and moved back to MO. A little while later, there was an electrical fire at his house that resulted in significant smoke damage. When they were able to move back home after a lengthy smoke and water restoration effort, they came back to LOTS of boxes.

“The letter” is in one of those many boxes. Someday Rick will find it again. I look forward to reading that letter. He says it’s a doozy.
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My ex had a great aunt who was known for saying “don’t get old and dilapidated…it’s bad business.” I loved that!!! When we made our annual visit to Missouri, we always tried to have a meal with Aunt Esther. It’s hard to believe that she passed away over 27 years ago, in March 1990.

She was 92 the last time I saw her, but I can still see her smile as she admonished us as we headed out: “Don’t get old and dilapidated. It’s bad business”

She wrote those 8 words in every letter or card we ever got from her. When she had been dead for a little while (I don’t think it had even been a year) I asked my wife where she had put the cards and letters from her Aunt Esther.

“I threw them all away…”

I couldn’t believe it. I thought she must be kidding.
“You didn’t keep ANY of her letters? Not even one? There is nowhere to read ‘don’t get old and dilapidated…it’s bad business’ in her handwriting? You didn’t keep any of them?”

“No. They are all gone. I threw them away.”

It was obvious that my ex was very special to her Aunt Esther. I’ll never understand why she didn’t keep at least one letter. Just one.
I’d love to see that phrase again, in her own handwriting.
Just once.

I’ve taken Aunt Esther’s words of wisdom to heart. Keep moving…don’t get old.
I’ve taken this lady’s words of wisdom to heart too.
“…We can’t do it over
They say it’s now or never and all we’re ever gettin’ is older
Before we get to heaven, baby let’s give ’em hell…”