“Sometimes the light's all shinin' on me;
Other times I can barely see.
Lately it occurs to me What a long, strange trip it's been.”
Truckin – Grateful Dead
Well, today the Light was all shining on me AND the winds of Pentecost were inSPIRITing/blowing me where I needed to be...join me as we relive the adventure...
EVOLUTION
G-d is the same...yesterday...today...and tomorrow AND that sameness includes evolution...
PADRE PIO
At a local Catholic Church – St. Thomas the Apostle...my namesake : )))
Here’s a tale that’ll segue us to the next stop. It occurred while I was in the 8th grade at St. Benedict Joseph Labre elementary school in Richmond Hill, NY. My parents got summoned to the convent due to something I had done. A convent at night is even scarier...So the three of us marched there and after my teacher – Sr. St. Dorothy – relayed what I had done, she uttered words I still remember:
“Tom is either going to be very good or very bad.”
MAMATRYD
Strolling Furthur [sic], I came upon this hot SS Camaro and my eyes spied that license plate (I have a whole iPhone collection of messages from license plates, their frames, bumper stickers and a lot of other sources...).
“Support PBA” decal on windshield next to inspection and reg stickers. Smart dude...
After snapping up the evidence I needed for a cool blog post, I walked on down the block...BUT something was calling to me, saying “Go ring the doorbell and meet the person who owns it.” Well, I’m at a place in life where I more easily yield to prompts like this. Geez, ya never know when...
“When they come to take you down
When they bring that wagon 'round
When they come to call on you
And drag your poor body down”
-Sugaree
So I did. An elderly gent (about my age : ))) answered the door. Spotting his St Thomas the Apostle tee shirt, I made some small talk and then asked if he was the owner. He told me it belonged to his son and soon the owner arrived at the door. When he saw my mask and heard why I was inquiring about his ride, he smiled and we both headed over to MAMA TRYD.
Mama Tried at Woodstock First, he pointed out some things I'd missed like to decals on the wheel hubs...
and this on the backlite...he was gracious enough to put up the top so I could snap it...
Next, we traded stories...lots of fun...I started with one from a concert I went to at NYC’s Manhattan Center Ballroom. It was in winter and while we were waiting to get in, it started snowing with a lightning and thunder accompaniment. Someone in an altered state exclaimed, “Far out! The Dead have an awesome light show and it even plays outside.” The rest of us – in that same New York state of mind – agreed with him. He picked up on this and added his own cold rain and snow tale. His occurred at Giants Stadium with pretty much the same enhanced experience.
As we parted with a handshake, he laid this one on me...
What amazed me even more was that a week earlier, as I was foraging for healthy food in the Natural Market in Garden City, I met up with another shopper who mentioned these same lyrics after commenting on one of my Dead masks – the one with the bear and the wording “HAVE A GRATEFUL DAY.”
Whenever folks do this, I ask them if they like the band. This separates the true Dead(heads) from the walking dead (everyone else). He was the real deal – even belongs to a Facebook group called “Wall Street Dead AHead Networking Events.”
This networking organization’s motto is...
“Strangers stopping strangers just to shake their hands”
STUMPED
Nature provided a place where I could
“sit down and patch my bones, and get back truckin' on.”
IN GOD WE TRUST
The messages are all around us...all we have to do is NOTICE...
MULTICOLORED FLOWERS LIVIN’ TOGETHER...WHY CAN’T WE???
ASIAN RACISM
LIFE IS A BEAUTIFUL RIDE
I had a lovely chat as I met a new neighbor – Irene - originally from Ukraine – same country as Irina my hairdresser. “Huh?” you say. I call my recent long locks my COVID coif, since they starting growing after the pandemic shut down all the businesses.
I play this song whenever me or someone else wants me to revert back to “clean cut.” Like the American symbol on her lawn, I’m letting my freak flag fly...
INKMAN
Whenever I met someone with tats, I usually ask them for the story/stories. This guy was very eager to tell me his tales. His dad was a Jaguar mechanic (my profession) and is now gone after walking up the stairway to the heavenly garage.
“There’s still time to change the road you’re on...”
--Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin
Remember, not only your car can be recalled by its maker...
This next tat evokes the “cold rain and snow” conversation I had with the “MAMA TRYD” new friend I met earlier. Inkman said it comes from “Game of Thrones.” A message of together is better...
Turning the corner I stopped to smell the roses – American Beauties???
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
Concerned about COVID-19??? And whether to get vaccinated???
An early pandemic post...comes in three strengths: 33, 45 & 78 RPM
"I ain't often right
But I've never been wrong
You get shown the light
If you look at it right..." --Scarlet Begonias
I'll leave you with this mind-expanding gemstone - from a 1977 show at Cornell University - a 25-minute trip with Alice in Wonderland as she follows the White Rabbit to the accompaniment of Scarlet Begonias and Fire on the Mountain...Happy Trails...