Happy Birthday Pedro (00:31) I invited this next band you like...but they couldn't get past the "metal" detector... Guns N' Roses - Happy Birthday Song (01:18) Ahh...some good news...These cartoon "characters" were able to slip past security... I went across the sea to bring these blokes to your party... Birthday - The Beatles (LYRICS/LETRA) [Original] (+Video) (02:41) Considering where these guys come from and how today’s weather is starting off... Here comes the sun with lyrics The Beatles (03:10) I went to the beach and asked this artist to send you a heartfelt message... Happy Birthday - Sand Art.. (02:47) Words and music for life's journeys... I'll leave us with these wise words from two of my favorite musicians...I chose the path image because it represents REAL life... ...we don't know what's ahead... ...so, not point in worrying - it just drains our energies... ...and our journeys are better when we're together... I still like cartoons and the people who draw them... Bob Marley & The Wailers - Three Little Birds (Official Music Video) (03:12) Musical advice for a better life... Love is the answer At least for most of the questions in my heart Like "Why are we here?", "And where do we go?", "And how come it's so hard?" It's not always easy And sometimes life can be deceiving I'll tell you one thing: It's always better when we're together Better Together feat. Jack Johnson | Song Around The World | Playing For Change (04:18) So glad for the day when we first met at your art exhibition at the library... #music #humor #Pedro #Beatles #GunNRoses #JackJohnson #PFC #PlayingForChange #BobMarley #SandArt #metal #HeavyMetal #

A poet-friend Mary C. M. Phillips just sent me a link to yet another SPACEious place where her word gifts are being shared...with all interested bystanders like in a Long Island gazebo (*)...and now, with strap hangers inside PA transit buses...SO, hold onto the rail or strap...and read on... Along the route, you'll see how buses have played an important "ROLL" in my 76 years... Last summer, Mary returned to LI for a July 17 spoken word poetry event at the Gazebo in Oceanside, NY called "Poetry Under the Stars"... Mary's online coffee house Here's her site: caffeineepiphanies.com And here's the link to her poem-on-the-bus: https://caffeineepiphanies.com/2024/01/13/poetry-in-transit-reveal/#respond Mary's YouTube "bus" Route Mary and friends...shown here with fellow musician and husband Mark Phillips. Spoken-Word Poet & Musician Mary C.M. Phillips Poetry Performance - at the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association (1:10:14) [from the description] WWBA is delighted to present Spoken Word Reading with Mary C. M. Phillips. She recently launched her new CD Music of the Forest: Spoken Word Poetry. Special guests include two special guests: musician, Paul Ammendola (Red Words) and poet, Linda Trott Dickman (Road Trip and Robes). Music of the Forest is a metaphysical romance. An escape. A journey from subway-to-forest floor via seventeen offerings of poetry and music. Listening to poetry is a bit like stepping into a forest. We enter an environment in which our hearts may be stirred by a smattering of enlightened words - as if we’ve found a place in which we feel we belong. Poetry is the language of love, the sword of the psalms, the blade that cuts through the noise so that LIGHT can enter in…and somehow be understood. Red Rose Transit buses in Lancaster County Here's Mary's offering (lyrics are also below this image): "Like Jonah this poem was rescued from a sea of despair when grace plucked it up from the deep to carry it inside the belly of a bus just to tell you this. Don't give up. Inhale. Swim". Mary C. M. Phillips Here's the bus outfit that's carrying her and her fellow bards through the streets of Lancaster County, PA. I like their slogan: "We Move People in Our Community"... ...Breathing Underwater... The closing...inspiring words of Mary's work led here... About 12 years ago, I was led to the recovery rooms after reading Fr. Richard Rohr’s “Breathing Underwater: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps.” I never had an alcohol problem…BUT, cocaine could have been my undoing...where it not for Eileen's loving challenge to me: "It's either ME or your crazy behavior!" After reading about how to breathe underwater, I applied my sociology degree, and went to my first meeting to see what “they” (alcoholics, addicts) were like. As I sat and listened to their stories, I realized that I had a lot of their disordered thinking, so, I stayed for 2 years. I stopped attending when we left that church that we had been part of for over 30 years. Then, about a year and a half ago, on one of my daily rounds around our neighborhood, I met a neighbor who invited me to go with him to one of his regular meetings - every Thursday from 11-11:55 AM at the Witches Brew Coffee House in West Hempstead – one block from our home. I participate every week…so I will continue to pay attention to my thoughts… “take captive every thought…” before it captures me... BREATHING UNDERWATER: The Poem (02:17) Poem by: Sr. Carol Bieleck, RSCJ (from an unpublished work) Read by: Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM "The bus came by and I got on..." From one of my favorite "DEAD" YouTubers... "Spanish lady come to me, she lays on me this rose It rainbow-spirals 'round and 'round, it trembles and explodes It left a smoking crater of my mind I like to blow away But the heat came 'round and busted me for smiling on a cloudy day" "Coming, coming, coming around Coming around, coming around, in a circle Coming, coming, coming around Coming around, coming around, in a circle Escaping through the lily fields, I came across an empty space It trembled and exploded, left a bus stop in its place The bus came by and I got on, that's when it all began There was Cowboy Neal at the wheel of the bus to never ever land Coming, coming, coming around Coming around, coming around, in a circle Coming, coming, coming around Coming around, coming around, in a circle" --The Other One - Grateful Dead The Other One ☮ Grateful Dead, 1977 (07:46) My life's bus stops...express version My first car...was a bus...'65 VW surf bus I once worked as a dispatcher for Varsity Coach-NYC's largest school bus company I drove a mini-bus for a Montessori school in Forest Hills, NY I made 4 cross-country trips to that "warm California sun"...2 with friends, 1 with my younger brother Mike...and a 4th: "TO:" with my parents when I moved to California in 1973...and "FROM:" with some of my sisters in 1975 when I returned to NY there are extended versions of these tales in other posts on this site Fellow surfer, Deadhead, and my younger brother Mike had this '61 Bus: My BUS had flowered curtains & hand-carved wooden bumpers because of the books I read... Not a avid reader, but the ones I picked expanded my vision...Among these early consciousness-raisers were Ken Kesey, Tom Wolfe and Ram Dass. Quoted in Tom Wolfe, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968) --a book I "grokked" because I was livin' the adventure...Still AM!!! Here's a GOODREADS piece on Ken's "Sometimes a Great Notion". Going Furthur Documentary Official Trailer (02:40) My BUS had flowered curtains & hand-carved wooden bumpers because of the places I traveled... Here with Mom & Dad who accompanied me when I decided to move to California in the Summer of '73. Next image shows my bus's original color until, with the help of a neighborhood guy, we repainted it 1970 Cadillac Green. Kevin, a fellow DeadHead from Tennessee, who I first met when I worked for Avis Rent-a-Car, is sure to love this image... My BUS had flowered curtains & hand-carved wooden bumpers because of toys I still play with & foods I eat... Shelf above my writing desk... My BUS had flowered curtains & hand-carved wooden bumpers because of a band I followed...Or, we're they following me? Steve, a fellow surfer, V Dub owner and also the guy who taught me "to play with cars" (became my CAReer path)...Steve used to say, "There's a Grateful Dead song for every occasion." Seeing the bus company's moniker...here's one for our online turntable... The rose is a ubiquitous symbol of the band and its followers. Often combined with a skull, the combination reminds us of: ...the reality of the passage of time... "Come hear Uncle John's Band Playing to the tide Come with me or go alone He's come to take his children home It's the same story the crow told me It's the only one he know Like the morning sun you come And like the wind you go Ain't no time to hate Barely time to wait Whoa, oh, what I want to know Where does the time go?" --Uncle John's Band - Grateful Dead Here's a favorite children's choir from Barton Hills, TX performing "Uncle John's Band"...Note the symbols in their artwork" Uncle John's Band by the BHC and David Gans (04:53) As well as many invitations to more fully appreciate the life we have... Bobby and Donna are nailing this Rose... Sunshine daydream "Walking in the tall trees Going where the wind goes Blooming like a red rose Breathing more freely Ride out singing, I'll walk you in the morning sunshine Sunshine daydream Sunshine daydream Walking in the sunshine [etc]" Grateful Dead - Sunshine Daydream - 11/24/1978 - Capitol Theatre (03:14) Grateful DEADucation For "furthur" DEADucation...inhale the wisdom and aromas of David Dodd's reflections on the rose. He is my Subject Matter Expert on the band. His piece is loaded with imagery from multiple cultures, religions and spiritual perspectives... The Rose A thematic essay for the Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics. by David Dodd Assistant Professor, Library University of Colorado at Colorado Springs --includes: "single rose is, in essence, a symbol of completion, of consummate achievement and perfection. Hence, accruing to it are all those ideas associated with these qualities: the mystic Centre, the heart, the garden of Eros, the paradise of Dante, the Beloved, the emblem of Venus and so on." "...Soon the mysterious rose, sacred to Venus in earlier times, became the flower of the Virgin Mary, who herself became the Rosa mystica. The temple of Jupiter Capitolinus became St. Peter's, the temple of Juno Lucina the church of S. Maria Maggiore, and the processions honouring the Mother of God walked on rose petals, just as the processions carrying the images of the pagan gods had done." (p. 43) "A floral symbol sacred to Venus and signifying love, the quality and nature of which was characterized by the color of the rose. A symbol of purity, a white rose represented innocence (nonsexual) love, while a pink rose represented first love, and a red rose true love. When held by a martyr, the red rose signified 'red martyrdom' or the loss of life, and the white rose 'white martyrdom' or celibacy. According to Ambrose, the thorns of the rose were a reminder of human finitude and guilt as the roses in the Paradise Garden had no thorns. A thornless rose was an attribute of Mary as the Second Eve." (p. 296) IF...Heaven has an entrance exam... I'll give you a tip...There's only ONE question...and it AND THE ANSWER are contained -- not in some DaVinci Code or Celestine Prophecy...but right here in this tune... ...So, let's all prepare for our FINALS... #music #humor #MaryCMPhillips #MarkPhillips #bus #VW #Mike #Dad #Mom #sisters #GratefulDead #BeKind #LancasterCounty #RedRoseTransit #LindaTrottDickman #PaulAmmendola #OceansideNY #Gazebo #WaltWhitmanBirthplaceAssociation #RichardRohr #BreathingUnderwater #WitchesBrewCoffeeHouse #MikeTittmann #KenKesey #TomWolfe #RamDass #Furthur #BartonHillsChoir #rose #Peanuts #DavidDodd #Avis #Kevin #Tennessee

"Saint Stephen with a rose, in and out of the garden he goes, Country garden in the wind and the rain, Wherever he goes the people all complain..." --St. Stephen - Grateful Dead YUP, same thing was always happening to his Big Boss Man...as it does to anyone whose views challenge the status quo of church, state, organization, or any authority... then...and NOW... How this post came to be...or not to be...is that the question? I had seen the cartoon a long time ago...but, when I came upon it more recently, I heard the above lines from "St. Stephen" playing in my head...and said to myself, "Gotta do a funny post on this connection." BUT DIDN'T...until, I read this article written by a Deadhead, who happens to be a leader in his Chicago church: "Once in a While You Get Shown the Light: The Grateful Dead and the Bible" SO, here...HEAR...goes... Who's on First??? St. Stephen's on first...the band led off their 1969 Woodstock appearance with this tune.. tune continues "Furthur" below... Grateful Dead - St Stephen *Woodstock 1969 Outtake* (0:02:02) 'St. Stephen' by The Grateful Dead. - Jan. 1969 recorded at Playboy After Dark (0:04:01) --freakin' amazin'!!! "Grateful Dead concerts carry with them relics and fragments of our culture's history..." Source Goin' Furthur...side trips...following the rabbit...guided by a Dark Star... (half-step footnote...B LOW) 1/2Step 12"Note: this "Dark Star" is a 37-minute segment that includes a Jam, Dark Star & Morning Dew. Appropriate, because by the time the shows were over, we were outside walkin' in the sunshine...daydreaming... Catholic News Agency article on St. Stephen --somebody better tell them that their URL for this post contains the number "666" SONGfacts article on St. Stephen --excellent piece based on interviews and other sources --included was mention of an 1833 hymn about St. Stephen. Here's a link. The Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics (University of California, Santa Cruz) - "Dedicated to the memory of Jerry Garcia." It's a mother-Truckin'-load of resources...that included interaction from fans with the site's creator: David Dodds. See example below under next link. The Annotated "St. Stephen" (ucsc.edu) --as with all annotated songs on this site, words are hyperlinked for your Deadification. Here's one example in which David posted these reader comments on the word "garland." (my added emphasis) garland This note from a reader: Date: Mon, 06 Mar 2006 From: Damian G Stephen Subject: St. Stephen hints David, I love your Dead annotation website. I was born a little too late and kept in the dark too long to be a full-blown Dead fan right now. Am working on that... In the meantime, I love what you're doing with the lyrics. It's a great project. I wish I knew more about the Dead, but I enjoy your pages regardless. I learn something new with every browse. In the meantime, I came across the song "St. Stephen" this weekend. As you might be able to guess from my last name, I have an interest in things Stephen. What jumped out at me was the word "garland." The Greek word for "garland" is "stefanos"--if I had Greek fonts, I'd give you the actual spelling--essentially the name of that first martyr. That brings me to point #2: "martyr" is Greek for "witness," an individual who is asked to answer truthfully. Why Stephen wouldn't know how to answer, I'm not sure about that one. Keep up the awesome work, Damian St. Stephen, a hero of The Grateful Dead? The band’s 1969 song highlights Church’s first martyr, deacon (Dec. 23, 2021) (from the above Arkansas Catholic article) As he was suffering (Acts 7:59-60), Stephen said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” He then fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice just before he was killed, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” – similar to Christ’s last words on the cross. When pictured, St. Stephen is usually depicted with a deacon’s dalmatic, censer, miniature church, Gospel book, martyr’s palm frond and the stones used to kill him. He is the patron saint of altar servers, casket makers, deacons and those with headaches. Many Deadheads think the song also references Stephen Gaskin, an American counterculture icon in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco in the 1960s and co-founder of “The Farm,” a spiritual commune he opened in 1970 in Summertown, Tenn. However, in an interview with Relix magazine lyricist Robert Hunter said the song wasn’t about Gaskin, “It was just St. Stephen.” Hunter muddied the waters a bit though; in another interview with the magazine, he said, “I didn’t know who the real St. Stephen was until after I wrote it.” Fittingly, when band leader Jerry Garcia passed away in 1995, his memorial service was held at St. Stephen Episcopal Church on Belvedere Island, Calif. Garcia Given Final Standing Ovation at Private Funeral - L.A. Times Aug. 12, 1995 Eulogy for Jerry Garcia: 'I'll just say I love you which I never said before', by Robert Hunter -1995 The long-time lyricist ends with... "I feel your silent laughter at sentiments so bold that dare to step across the line to tell what must be told, so I'll just say I love you, which I never said before and let it go at that old friend the rest you may ignore." The HEART...Bottom Line of all transformative belief systems... "Love one another" - Jesus "Lovingkindness is my religion" - Dalai Lama “Leap beyond traditions and let there be love - leap beyond culture and let there be love - leap beyond geography and let there be love - leap beyond labels and let there be love.” - Aşkanjali: The Sufi Sermon by Abhijit Naskar “Being kind to the stranger, is far more religious than listening and preaching "love thy neighbor" - lending a hand to a person stuck in misery to deliver some peace in their life, is far more holy, than repeating a thousand times "peace be upon Mohammed".” (Ibid) Are you kind??? - Grateful Dead And this latest edition from my license plate collection: Let's be the change we want to see in our world... #music #humor #GratefulDead #RobertHunter #DavidDodds #Woodstock #Sufism #StStephen

When: Monday Mar. 20 12:15 PM What: RALLY TO TELL BLAKEMAN AND THE COUNTY LEGISLATURE TO SCRAP THEIR PLANS TO BUILD A CASINO Where: Nassau County Executive & Legislative Building 1550 Franklin Ave., Mineola, NY 11550 Please take 3 minutes to hear about the seriousness of this matter... Fueled by legal sports betting, gambling addiction rises on Long Island, experts say - Newsday online - 03/18/23 (03:14) MEDIA ADVISORY Contact: Claudia Borecky claudiaborecky@gmail.com 516-972-6988 March 17, 2023 MEDIA ADVISORY “RALLY TO TELL BLAKEMAN AND THE NASSAU COUNTY LEGISLATURE TO SCRAP THEIR PLANS TO BUILD A CASINO” County Executive Blakeman is negotiating a lease to build a casino on the county-owned property commonly known as “The Hub.” This casino will change the character of Nassau County and the surrounding neighborhoods and will lead to an increase in crime, traffic and noise pollution. It will also put a strain on our local law enforcement and government services. Our children grow up on Long Island with little exposure to gambling. Families worry about what impact a casino along the Meadowbrook Parkway just off Hempstead Turnpike would have on their children. We are concerned about our college kids attending Nassau Community College and Hofstra University who would be within walking distance of a casino at an age when they are particularly vulnerable to addiction. "Parents have enough trouble struggling to raise their children in a world where drug addiction is on the rise. Do we want to now add gambling addiction to their worries," says LI CAWS Director Claudia Borecky. Please click here to see statements gathered by the civic group “Say No to the Casino” from residents opposed to the casino. Community leaders join residents in a Rally to Tell County Executive Blakeman and the Nassau County Legislature to Scrap their Plans to Build a Casino at the Nassau County Hub. WHO: Claudia Borecky, Garden City Village Trustees Bruce Chester and Mary Carter Flanagan, Hofstra Assoc. to the Pes. of Government and Community Affairs Chanda Washington, Nostrand Gardens Civic Assoc. Pres. Pearl Jacobs, and concerned residents WHAT: Rally to Tell Blakeman and the Nassau County Legislature to Scrap Their Plans for a Casino at the Hub WHEN: Monday – March 20, 2023 at 12:15 p.m. WHERE: Nassau County Executive and Legislative Building, 1550 Franklin Avenue, Mineola, NY 11501 # # # Claudia Borecky 516-972-6988 RALLY SIGN IDEAS NO CASI NO BRUCE, gambling is a NOOSE... BLAKEMAN, don't give us your CRAPs... that a casino is good for Nassau Co. BRUCE, care for our HEARTS not your HOARD$ The straight truth is gambling hurts everyone... ...including our youth... County Exec, if you continue to lobby for the casino...here's what'll happen to your 2026 re-election hopes... ...a royal flush... FACING THE MUSIC...GAMBLING CAN ACCOMPANY OTHER ADDICTIONS... Gambling addiction song - writetimesongs (03:42) gambling addiction - hayden hallward (original) (01:32) --a Tik Tok by a teen in his garage... Gov, it's time to fold 'em...that is, your support for a casino... The Gambler - Kenny Rogers (03:30) --a sad song about a loser... The Loser - Grateful Dead 6/1/95 (06:25) --two short months later, Jerry would die from drug-related health issues --"I got no chance of losin' this time..." Rambling Gambling Willie - Bob Dylan (04:12) The Winner Takes it All - Abba (04:54) #gambling #addiction #music #humor #ClaudiaBorecky #BruceBlakeman #Newsday #writetimesongs #haydenhallward #KennyRogers #GratefulDead #BobDylan #Abba

THE ORDER OF THE SERVICE PREFACE Some musings about where to go when convention isn't cutting it...in medicine...at church...and at the ice cream parlor... VESTIBULE (INTRODUCTION) On April 23 of this year, I was at the right place at the RIGHT time...That's because I WAS NOT being treated by Dr. John (see further down), but, instead, I was visiting my amazing alternative medicine doc - Dr. Perry Perretz - in nearby Redding, CT. After my appointment with Dr. Perry and my other alternative provider: Tusk & Cup - for gelato and the sacred coffee bean, I headed to nearby Georgetown for a photo shoot of a great wall art mural for my next post in the "Takin' it to the Streets..." series (link to first is below). To get a close up, I parked across the street by an old stone church...After snapping a few, I returned to the parking lot and was greeted by two folks - Rich & Alec - who spotted my Playing for Change "PEACE THROUGH MUSIC” tee shirt. (More about PFC below) "It musta been the RIGHT shirt at the RIGHT time..." Applying “Strangers stopping strangers just to shake their hand”...they invited me into the Granite Church where they told me about plans to re-imagine this sacred space. "Our aim is to provide a beautiful space for community connection and artistic expression. In doing so, we improve the daily-ness of our lives and become a beacon to others, promoting economic growth and tourism from within." ENTRANCE HYMN/HER/THEM: "LET US PLAY..." Here are some places to explore the people and ideas behind these efforts to expand arts education for our young: be Foundation Our Mission Our mission is to invest financial and human resources in collective efforts to strengthen the education of young people in Connecticut and the vitality of their communities. To achieve our mission, BeFoundation encourages collective action between philanthropy, public education systems, nonprofits and municipalities to build and sustain effective pathways for our young people that lead to family-supporting standards of living. If we commit to sustaining student success through post-secondary education and beyond, and to learning together as a community, we will build creative, smart, and civically engaged places to live and work. The Granite Church History In September 2022, BeFoundation purchased the landmark church to prevent it from falling into further disrepair and ensure its rehabilitation. The reimagined Granite Church will be a community focal point, helping unify the historic village of Georgetown with a central gathering space for neighbors and visitors alike. [Enjoy more past and present history at the above link] The Granite Church (Facebook) Spread Music Now SpreadMusicNow funds music education and creative youth development that centers equity in outcomes and access for students' educational, career, and life success. See "Dismissal..." below for more about this spreading movement... NARTHEX Once inside, my senses were overjoyed at encountering the Ghosts of Concerts Past...who were milling around a mini-Wall of Sound. It was starting to be disassembled for a trip to its next destination... Walls can divide or unite...I'm for building the second... (So is this CT guy...) Note: I added to the shirt’s original message by using my John Lennon Imagine-ation… Moron Walls... How cool is it that an outfit with "wall" in its professional moniker (Wall Street Journal) would choose to cover/uncover the legend of the Grateful Dead’s ‘Wall of Sound’. Ah, but the infamous "Subscription Wall" blocks the path...here's the link if you're willing to scale the wall... Grateful Dead’s ‘Wall of Sound’ Lives Again in Some Dude’s Basement Anthony Coscia spent two months building a working one-sixth replica of the legendary system, to the delight of Deadheads everywhere Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker, Tear Down This Wall! I had to go to travel across the sea to the U K for this bloke's tale of the birth of the Wall...(02:47) Added 1/24/24 Anthony Coscia Recreates A Grateful Dead Legend With Mini Wall Of Sound Project [Interview] - Live for Music "DEW" I come here often??? On this day in April, I forgot that I had previously been invited in March into this historic granite building by a fellow patron at Tusk & Cup who, on spotting my Grateful Dead tee shirt ("Grateful I'm not Dead"), invited me to go to church to hear a Dead cover band practicing. 😁 IMAGINE? Who says churches are DEAD? 😁 I "Dew" ! (Traveler: Keep reading this post, then come back later and follow this link for a trip to the forest. And, if perchance you meet any dancing bears, they're friendly...) After learning about the efforts of Rich, Alec and others to transform these stones ("into bread" - my early roots are showing : ))))...so they would once more cry out in song... I donated to their cause and received two tee shirts sporting the organization’s “SPREAD MUSIC NOW” message and URL. Cool! COFFEE HOUR IMO...You're better off judging a church, temple, mosque...NOT by its BOOK...but by its COFFEE... Hey, This pachyderm is a multipurpose image: Physician Luke's scripture passage (Chapter 19) about Jesus's entry into Jerusalem for his big show, the Granite Church (built with stone from a local quarry) and Tusk & Cup's logo: ALL GOOD VIBRATIONS... DISMISSAL: Go out into all the world and SPREAD MUSIC NOW... After this fun and enlivening encounter in rural Connecticut, I headed back home to the wilds of Long Island to spread music now... My first teacher - Ram Dass - might have said it like this: Be HEAR now I’m planning to do at least another blog post on this amazing sacred stone space renovation project…Stay...tuned...in... SpreadMusicNow funds music education and creative youth development that centers equity in outcomes and access for students' educational, career, and life success. Facing the Crisis at Hand Confidence. Creativity. Collaboration. These are just some of the things that improve when a child participates in structured, rigorous music education. Multiple studies have shown that students who study music develop stronger academic skills, and in general, enjoy a higher quality of life than peers who do not have access to music education. Unfortunately, cuts to arts education budgets have left many students with minimal exposure to music education. This trend has taken an especially harsh toll on high-need students in under-served communities. (for more on this vital effort to support arts education see "Playing for Change" below) SpreadMusicNow is committed to filling this gap by funding music programs that foster continual learning and that put students on a clear path to college, career, and life success. We believe that by providing a child with music education and focusing on their continuous development, they will experience a better quality of life and develop skills that will help them to not only become successful students, but role models who strengthen their communities and benefit society as a whole. For more info As Jerry and the band say in “Scarlett Begonias”: “If you get confused, listen to the music play…” ADULTS: LET'S GET INVOLVED IN PROMOTING ARTS EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR OUR CHILDREN IN OUR LOCAL COMMUNITIES... Writing the above Grateful Dead lyrics just now...I got an idea that all of us could use to help promote arts education efforts in our communities. Let's help awaken voting-aged people (like our families, friends and neighbors) who elect school board members - who then make decisions about whether to fund music and other cultural arts education programs… Here’s an idea: …On your social media platforms create something like this: “If you’re confused about whether to fund music (and other arts programs)…listen to the music play…” Then add trailers about inspiring films like the following. AND PLEASE, share your favorites with me: August Rush - Original Theatrical Trailer (02:24) Next, add links to songs featuring children singing and playing instruments. Celebration (Kool and The Gang) | Playing For Change | Song Around The World (03:52) PLAYING FOR CHANGE (PFC) PFC has many songs featuring children. To keep folks interested and coming back to your online presence, you could let them know you’ll be posting a new songs frequently. AND, since PFC covers some great tunes from “yesteryear” - this can inspire adult viewers/parents/voters to get involved in doing what THEY CAN DO (as I mentioned above) to insure programs for music and the other arts get properly funded. FYI - Here's a NYC group helping parents pass on their love of music to their children (01:28). Playing for Change Website FYI - A few of the musicians from my past who are still playing in a band AND supporting PFC’s “Peace Through Music” mission include Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Keith Richards, Buddy Guy, David Crosby, Jimmy Buffett, the members of Bob Marley’s family…and a whole lot more… Oye Como Va ft. Carlos Santana & Cindy Blackman Santana | Playing For Change | Song Around The World (04:58) Here’s a list of their musical supporters: Playing For Change | Playing For Change | Artists A few more PFC videos featuring young musicians: Don't Worry Be Happy (Bobby McFerrin) | Playing For Change | Song Around The World (03:59) What a Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong) | Playing For Change | Song Around The World (03:40) --->> I’ll let you have fun exploring for their other ones… Playing for Change 501c3 Foundation Creates arts programs so children in under-served places in our shared world can experience the benefits that come from music and other arts. As the above and similar videos show - music is a universal language - helping us come together by uniting us in CELEBRATING our “differences” - rather than fighting because of them. This is a major reason to insure arts programs continue. Here’s Buddy Guy and PFC with some accompaniment from adults and kids in showing us how to care for one another: Skin Deep featuring Buddy Guy | Playing For Change | Song Across the USA (05:32) Playing for Change's work building music programs for the under-served is also integrated into the mission of Spread Music Now. PFC ALREADY HAS FRIENDS IN TOWN Some Wilton, CT folks already dig PFC: https://patch.com/connecticut/wilton/4th-annual-playing-change-day-wilton-ct-0 LOCAL TAKIN' IT TO THE STREET ARTISTS Local artist: Ross Clark Post link Local artist: Kristen Terrana On Monday after completing my healthcare appointments (Dr. Perretz & gelato at Tusk & Cup), I wandered around town and spotted this street art masterpiece. It will become my third in the series. Like Ross Clark's uplifting piece, this new one is also signed by the artist, so I’ll include in my post what I learn about her. I saw a lot of material as I skimmed her site. RIGHT PLACE...WRONG TIME... Dr. John & Eric Clapton - Right Place, Wrong Time 1996 (05:07) CODA... I’m a Grateful Dad who's constantly discovering and rediscovering the healing power of music. With the active support of Eileen - my companion of 45+ years - we raised a son who’s now 34 and encouraged his pursuit of a musical education all the way through post graduate studies. John began teaching piano students even before he was old enough to drive in NYS. WE had to chauffeur him to these early lessons HE was giving younger students. Later, as a trumpet player at LIU’s C W Post, he got to travel around the world with the Post Band led by adventurer and leader of the band - Dr. James McCroy. John's first teacher - Long Island's Merle Langs (Facebook) is this young gal's grandma: Former Kid Piano Prodigy Emily Bear Returns - The Ellen Show (07:47) AFTER CHURCH COFFEE HOUR The Barton Hills Choir (Austin) with special guest David Gans performs the Grateful Dead (19:03) PS 22 Chorus - Staten Island, NY --YouTube Page --PS22 Chorus "Teach Your Children" Crosby, Stills & Nash (02:13) Who knows where a musical education can lead one...??? tOM #music #humor #MusicEmpowers.org #SpreadMusicNow #BeFoundation #GraniteChurch #PlayingForChange #AugustRush #RossClark #KristenTerrana #CWPost #DrJamesMcCroy #EmilyBear #EllenDegeneres #MerleLangs #GratefulDead #RockAndRollPlayhouse #Santana #DrJohn #EricClapton #BartonHillsChoir #PS22Chorus #AnthonyCoscia

I dedicate this post to my Mom - Catherine - and to all the women of our shared world...You are here because of another woman...and you yourself might have birthed yet another new life...At first. you feed your child from within and then from outside...And, though the physical lifeline was cut...Your spiritual connection continues... CHRIS & AMANDA: May you be channels of love, grace and compassion to Beckwith... AND, Please make a good impression on your son...You are the first humans... "And another ONE breathes our dust..." WELCOME, Beckham!!! Learning our A...B...C's...Play nice together...Share... ...Always Breathe Compassionately... Breathing in...Breathing out...joins the wind...adds to it... Harmonica Harmony (01:36) Rooftop connections... All That Breathes - Official Trailer (02:40) [from the description] As legions of birds fall from New Delhi’s darkening skies, and the city smoulders with social unrest, two brothers race to save a casualty of the turbulent times: the black kite, a majestic bird of prey essential to their city's ecosystem. Good planets are hard to find... Mike, you "old man of the sea" and fellow surfer...might wanna show Beckham how you walked on water..." Steve Forbert - "Good Planets Are Hard To Find" (Underground Garage Mix) (Lyric Video) (03:17) We are Dust... Mungo Jerry - Dust Pneumonia Blues (05:13) MELANIE SAFKA Dust in the Wind (04:14) We are STAR Dust... AS SEEN BY THE MUSICIAN: Joni's MOM...post-delivery... We are stardust (Woodstock - Joni Mitchell) rare live version (07:47) AS SEEN BY THE DOCTOR: The Science from the Doctor...his energy & sincerity will have an effect... We are Stardust:Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson (Facebook) ...With some new perspectives... The Most Astounding Fact - Neil deGrasse Tyson (03:33) I listened again to Pink Floyd's "BREATHE"...doesn't belong here... From Harmonica...to Hammock... Breathe (Official Music Video) (03:06) There...and back again... Fannie Mae | Grandpa Elliott | Playing For Change | Live Outside (02:16) If you'd like more Grandpa...here's playlist someone generously made, *Asterisk *Bend it Like Beckham (2003) Official Trailer (01:52) #music #humor #Beckwith #family #Mom #women #dust #breathe #stardust #Bible #Rumi #harmonica #planets #MungoJerry #JoniMitchell #GrandpaElliott #PFC #PlayingForChange #NeilDeGrasseTyson #science #Melanie #SteveForbert #DavidBeckham

Here's a morning offering that my podiatrist shared with me at our last meeting. I was introduced to Khalil Gibran in my early 20's by WNEW-FM DJ Rosko and subsequently bought  "The Prophet." I still have that copy. See images below. I am fortunate to have health care providers like this man who share who they are as well as what they know. This doctor, himself an artist, is from the Mideast and has a special needs son who also loves to draw and gets excited about street art and artists... So do I...we are kindred souls... There are many video versions of this Gibran poem that he shared...Here's one: (the text is below in the Gibran section of the post) Your children are not your children~Khalil Gibran (02:26) ROSKO This reading by Rosko will help you experience his soul... "He would lie down in the grass...and look up at the sky..." (the full text appears below this next image) WNEW-FM 'The Non-Conformist' by DJ Rosko (04:29) [From the video's creator] A reading by DJ William 'Rosko' Mercer about being oneself. I titled it 'The Non-Conformist' though I don't know the actual title or author. If anyone does know the title and author please contact me with that information so I can update these details. Here is the poem that Rosko reads: About School - Anonymous "He always wanted to explain things, but no one cared. So he drew. Sometimes he would just draw and it wasn't anything. He wanted to carve it in stone or write it in the sky. He would lie on the grass and look up in the sky and it would only be the sky and the things inside him that needed saying. And it was after that he drew the picture. It was a beautiful picture. He kept it under his pillow and would let no one see it. And he would look at it every night and think about it. And when it was dark and his eyes were closed he could see it still. And it was all of him and he loved it. When he started school he brought it with him. Not to show anyone, but just to have it with him like a friend. It was funny about school. He sat in a square brown desk like all the other square desks, and he thought it would be red. And his room was a square brown room like all the other rooms. And it was tight and close. And stiff. He hated to hold the pencil and chalk, with his arm stiff and his feet flat on the floor, stiff, with the teacher watching and watching. The teacher came and spoke to him. She told him to wear a tie like all the other boys. He said he didn't like them and she said it didn't matter. After that they drew. And he drew all yellow and it was the way he felt about the morning. And it was beautiful. The teacher came and smiled at him. "What's this?", she said. "Why don't you draw something like Ken's drawing? Isn't it beautiful?" After that his mother bought him a tie and he always drew aeroplanes and rocket ships like everyone else. And he threw the old picture away. And when he lay out alone looking at the sky, it was big and blue and all of everything, but he wasn't anymore. He was square and brown inside and his hands were stiff. And he was like everyone else. All the things inside him that needed saying didn't need it anymore. It had stopped pushing. It was crushed. Stiff. Like everything else." [From the video's creator] (This Poem was written by a Grade 12 Student who committed suicide some 2 weeks later.) The words for this poem were found at the following link; bathhomeeducation.webs.com/poems.htm. Thanks to zoetmb for finding this [My Note: The above is a non-working link...So, an extra thanks to our YouTuber for preserving these words...] Inter-generational teaching...healing...as we work to help each other... Throughout our 35+ years together, our son John consistently helped Eileen and I by practicing: "teach your parents well" and "feed them on your dreams" "Teach Your Children" You, who are on the road Must have a code That you can live by And so become yourself Because the past is just a goodbye Teach your children well Their father's hell Did slowly go by And feed them on your dreams The one they pick's The one you'll know by Don't you ever ask them, "Why?" If they told you, you would cry So, just look at them and sigh And know they love you And you of tender years (Can you hear and do you care) Can't know the fears (And can you see) That your elders grew by (We must be free) And so please help (To teach your children) Them with your youth (What you believe in) They seek the truth (Make a world) Before they can die (That we can live in) Teach your parents well Their children's hell Will slowly go by And feed them on your dreams The one they pick's The one you'll know by Don't you ever ask them, "Why?" If they told you, you would cry So, just look at them and sigh And know they love you Kids Sing "Teach Your Children" to Graham Nash (03:55) Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Teach Your Children (Official Music Video) (02:54) Kahlil Gibran - A Poet and Prophet for all times... Takin' it to the streets...artists...Posts I dedicated these two to my mindful podiatrist...and his son RANI... Takin' it to the Street Artists-1: Jesse Kreuzer...Mural, mural on the wall... Takin' it to the street Artists-2: Ross Clark...Mural, mural on the wall... Do we hear our children sing...and dance...and dream??? Love Train feat. Jason Mraz, Chad Smith, Yo-Yo Ma | Turnaround Arts | Playing For Change (04:19) #music #children #dreams #inspire #art #artists #KhalilGibran #Rosko #WNEWFM #teaching #healing #GrahamNash #CrosbyStillsNashAndYoung #JesseKreuzer #RossClark #PlayingForChange #John

This is a tribute to a departed comrade - Mark Tarantino - who I had the pleasure of knowing and serving alongside in Sunday school and several other "fields of dreams" (minor and major league ballparks). Additionally, I saw him act...naturally... My fondest memory of Mark was his sense of humor & laugh... This was his latest Facebook photo (Sept. 2023): We worked together as a 20th Century Trinity: Mark, Pat Coviello and me... There will be a memorial service for Mark on Jan. 12 @ 9:30 at Church of the Intercessor 50 St. Thomas Place Malverne, NY 11565 Sunday School...in Heaven??? Here are 2 3-minute videos created by the staff at the Church of the Intercessor in Malverne, NY to thank the teachers for their creative and generous service in the year 2009-2010. Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Day (2009-2010) - 1 of 2 Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Day (2009-2010) - 2 of 2 (l-r) Mike Hindley, Mark Tarantino, Becky Hoppe Our other volunteers included: Lou Paolillo, Beryl Hamilton, Barbara Andrus, Maxine Babb, Sharon Marfan, Reine Bethany, Liz Harlin, Christine Coscia, Anna Maria Ott... Anyone that thinks this is an easy ministry...has never "fielded" their questions... Kids Say The Funniest Things - Art Linkletter - A Compilation (02:58) As a follower of Francis, my version of G-d is not a "gotcha" policeman, but a canine veterinarian...caring for humans... I'll Be Watching You (I'll Be Missing You Parody) (03:46) Here's the habit I donned for the Halloween Procession of the Ghouls annual event at NYC's Cathedral of the Incarnation...I wanted to shed some light amidst the darkness... Here I am with Mitered Joe Young at the 2023 Procession of the Ghouls.... All Saints Day: "Hey, tOM, what's your religion?" "I'm a FRANCISCAN!" But there is laundry in heaven... Baseball in Heaven... Orioles Opening Day 2015...Mark, me & Pat (sporting his FDNY colors) "Thanks, Pat, for your service!" Citi Field (Shea Stadium) 2022...Tom, Mark & Pat... Yup! Scalpers in heaven...Well, at least close to the gate... LI Ducks 2021 Acting...Up...Dressing Down... We all became actors at times...Here on a Father's Day, we came dressed to chill...in our bathrobes: Yours truly joined the cast of characters...Lou Paolillo standing guard... We three kings DISoriented are... Church of the Intercessor participated in the Village of Malverne's annual "Lighting of Malverne festivities. Like Mark, I luv dressin' up and playing other characters. ...A long time ago...in a galaxy far, far away... Grateful Dead - Opening Sequence / U.S. Blues (Winterland 10/74) (11:00) [from the description] "In Jerry Garcia's original nearly five hour edit of the Grateful Dead Movie, he had the film opening with Uncle John's Band. A wonderful track, with a terrific performance filmed during the five night run (and later released as Bonus Track on the DVD in 2004), but it didn't have the weight of movie's opening sequence that Jerry wanted. In a typically inspired moment of brilliance, Jerry came up with the idea of opening the Grateful Dead Movie with a cartoon, just as films had been presented with cartoons going back to the Golden Age of Cinema. Gary Gutierrez was hired to create what, to this day, is one of the wildest, most visually stunning pieces of animation ever paired with music (heck, it's spectacular on its own!). To my eyes and ears, the Grateful Dead Movie is perfect, and part if its excellence is the opening sequence. When the crew breaks out of jail and lands themselves in Winterland to dance to the tune of U.S. Blues, it is a perfect cinematic, and Grateful Dead, moment." - David Lemieux REMEMBERING MARK Mark Tarantino: "I'm gonna leave this broke down palace..." #music #humor #SundaySchool #MarkTarantino #ChurchOfTheIntercessor #GratefulDead #RingoStarr #heaven #LIDucks #BaltimoreOrioles #NYMets #ProcessionOfTheGhouls #CathedralOfStJohnTheDivine #ArtLinkletter #LightingOfMalverne #baseball #acting

MARK, I recruited some kids from Austin, TX to perform a song whose words might have been on your mind in those last months...weeks...days...and hours... Living in Freeport..."close to the water", these are fitting words for you...and for us to remember you by...AND, your spirit still walks and SINGS among us... Oh, and you won't have to audition for the choir...Your Earthly resume shows you already have enough equivalency credits... This was his latest Facebook photo (Sept. 2023): Brokedown Palace Lyrics By: Robert Hunter Music By: Jerry Garcia Fare you well, my honey Fare you well, my only true one All the birds that were singing Are flown, except you alone Gonna leave this brokedown palace On my hands and my knees, I will roll, roll, roll Make myself a bed by the waterside In my time, in my time, I will roll, roll, roll In a bed, in a bed By the waterside I will lay my head Listen to the river sing sweet songs To rock my soul River gonna take me, sing me sweet and sleepy Sing me sweet and sleepy all the way back home It's a far gone lullaby sung many years ago Mama, Mama, many worlds I've come since I first left home Going home, going home By the waterside I will rest my bones Listen to the river sing sweet songs To rock my soul Going to plant a weeping willow On the bank's green edge it will grow, grow, grow Singing a lullaby beside the water Lovers come and go, the river will roll, roll, roll Fare you well, fare you well I love you more than words can tell Listen to the river sing sweet songs To rock my soul Source: Dead.net Her uplifted arms inspired "I'm Free" - see further down... Grateful Dead's 'Brokedown Palace' by the Barton Hills Choir (03:53) Barton Hills Choir Website YouTube Channel Let's visit the UK like Mark did...if not Shakespeare...then WHO??? Some traditions tell us that we'll get a resurrected body in what ever's next... "They left their nets...and followed..." The Who - I'm Free - Tommy (1975) (02:38) As this classic was finishing up, I heard this next one playing in my mind... Ride My See-Saw by the Moody Blues (04:19) Trading in our broke down palaces... Personally, as a "friend of Francis," I'd prefer a mountain or seaside retreat...or BOTH... As a former surfer, I like these next two versions... MORE MARK Is there Sunday School, Baseball, & Acting in Heaven? #music #humor #MarkTarantino #BartonHillsChoir #GratefulDead #Austin #TheWho #MoodyBlues #choir #SundaySchool #baseball #acting

Assembled this for a friend who knew I worked for Avis and asked for tips. As this is something most of us do, I decided to post my findings & add some music and movies about this process. CAR AND DRIVER How to Buy a Used Car - Car And Driver (Dec. 2023) --includes lots of helpful links to other articles CONSUMER REPORTS RESOURCES CR: Main Cars Website: CR: Used Car Buying & Pricing Page (select "Used Cars" tab): Used Car Marketplace Page: KEY ADVICE: Further down on this same "Marketplace" page: Selected article: How to Avoid Car Buying Fees - Watch your step to prevent paying more than you should for a new car (many of the tips also apply to buying used) CARFAX Website Homepage CARFAX Vehicle History Reports CARFAX Articles Buying a Rental Car: Pros & Cons (Nov. 2022) Where’s the Best Place to Buy a Used Car in 2023? (Jan. 2023) What Is a Fleet Vehicle? (Nov. 2022) KELLEY BLUE BOOK Best Used Cars for 2023 (July 2023) U.S.NEWS & WORLD REPORT While older, it's a quick guide to the pros & cons of the various places to buy one... Best and Worst Places to Buy a Used Car (Nov. 2009) DOES WARRANTY TRANSFER TO NEW OWNER? Autotrader (May 2023) - Good overview Kelley Blue Book (Nov. 2022) Carvana (May 2020) GET AN AWESOME SOUND SYSTEM (Songs for your ride...) Regular Readers: Had to mix in some fun with the facts. WHY I LUV MY JOB? Meeting George Thorogood for the first time! Bo Diddley - Ride On Josephine (03:02) "'Cause he's a mean motor scooter and a bad go-getter" Hollywood Argyles "Alley Oop" (03:44) CAR LOT CANTICLES "Well, now Josephine drivin' a hotrod Ford She got twin carburators, gonna burn up the road Twin exhausts kickin' out the rear Some of that'll really take away from here Ride on Josephine, baby, ride on Ride on Josephine, ride on Ride on Josephine, child, you got a runnin' machine Baby, baby, ride on Josephine, baby, ride on Well, now Josephine's engine, said it started run hot She tried to trade it in down the used car lot The man couldn't believe his natural eyes When she pulled it up into his drive" George Thorogood & The Destroyers - Ride on Josephine 1979 (04:36) On this CAR LOT, we give every buyer an OTC Warranty...Cars are guaranteed to make it Over The Curb... Townes Van Zandt & Guy Clark - No Deal (Live 1991) (03:15) "We got pink flamingos in the front yard Picture window with a view of Walmart Blue collar heaven...domestic bliss It just doesn't get better than this We got pink flamingos, pink flamingos, pink flamingos Sweet Irma Jean is a den mother now With a station wagon and an charge account Bubba Junior pitches for his baseball team Little sister's running for Rose Bud Queen And me I'm doing good at the used car lot Is this a great country or what" Pink Flamingos - Tracy Byrd (0316) "Hey Charlie I think I'm happy for the first time since my accident And I wish I had all the money we used to spend on dope I'd buy me a used car lot and I wouldn't sell any of em I'd just drive a different car every day dependin on how I feel" Tom Waits - Silent Night & Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis Dec. 5, 1978 (06:10) CAR LOT CINEMAS Used Cars (1980) - Official Trailer (01:31) Comment: The best way to see this movie is at a Drive-In theater, in a junky car, and with your favorite used car salesman. But if you can't do that watch it at home. Wonderfully absurd movie. Just totally insane. And extremely funny. Next up: Danny DeVito & Rhea Perlman... Matilda (1996) Car Shop And Café Scene (03:56) USED CAR SALES CAN BE A FUNNY BUSINESS Stranger than Friction: I only bought 1 used car from someone I didn't know... CAMEL LOT: Where Wise Men shop for used Camels #music #humor #CarSales #CarAndDriver #ConsumerReports #CarFax #KelleyBlueBook #USNewsAndWorldReport #BoDiddley #HollywoodArgyles #GeorgeThorogoodAndTheDestroyers #TownesVanZandt #GuyClark #TracyByrd #TomWaits #UsedCars #Matilda

"Would you like one hump or two?" This post began earlier today when a fellow music lover Father Joe - asked my advice about buying a used car. He remembered that I worked for Avis Rent a Car. Fr. Joe plays instruments and directs others who do. He’s a leader of the band… We met most recently at a memorial service for Mark - another guy we both knew. Fr.Joe led music for Mark’s farewell gig. As I considered HOW I could be help with Fr. Joe’s request, I realized that I could research articles that would help him find what he and wife Mel were looking for. They are in a separate post. MY GARAGE BAND JOB: CONDUCTING...TUNE UPS...BRAKE DRUMS... Early in my career job at “#2 and Trying Harder” I was a Car Sales Service Manager on Long Island. Yup…our relatively brand new cars broke down, as did our rental fleet ones - sometimes right off the assembly lines. Hmm…we could have called our garages “Broke Down Palace”… In my former life with Avis, I first fixed cars and then started up the Avis Tech Guild - a national technical support program for our techs around the country… HOW this happened is a Good News story for another time. If yer interested in hearing HOW I was led, meet me at Witches Brew Coffee House in West Hempstead and I’ll spin you the yarn…For now, there's a piece of the tale a little further down... While I was a respectable technician, there were guys I worked alongside who were much better. Some had grown up fixing things like their family’s lawn mower or boat engines or building go carts…My passion was learning HOW these horseless carriages worked. Assuming his position on his go-cart... Bill Cosby - Go Karts (1966) | Live Stand-Up | Colored on TV (06:31) It's no joke...it appears that with his mention of 3-in-1 oil, he had a Trinitarian perspective... And if he ever endorsed this wonder-working product, we'd have seen his contemplative side: It's alleged that after pouring this elixir into your internal combustion engine, it's "Hmmmm" is replaced with "Ommmm"... Back to my story... See, after taking 10 years, 3 colleges and 2 states to complete my B.A…I still hadn’t found what I was looking for… When, as a freshman mechanic, I wrote a letter to Avis senior management about HOW our lack of training was costing the company money, it reached Bob - the guy in charge of national maintenance. He saw something in me and gave me the opportunity to start up a technician support program for the company. As I was learning to navigate Avis’ corporate environment, he would meet me in his office almost every day to see how it was going. Rather than tell me HOW to do this new position, like a father…coach…he offered suggestions and connected me to people who could assist me. As we regularly met in his office, I found out that we also shared something else - a love for teaching children about Jesus. Bob was the superintendent of a large Lutheran Sunday school program in his Smithtown, LI neighborhood, while I was involved in similar efforts in my Malverne church. As an older man, Bob became my mentor and I have wonderful memories of the time we shared together… BUYING A USED CAMEL…Three Kings Auto Sales Even then..."What are you guys doing in THIS neighborhood? Note the centurion's torch light. Three Wise Men - SNL (04:40) Three wise guys - DeNiro Goodman Stallone - SNL (05:09) Their gifts included: Frankincense that "fell off the back of a dock"... Meatball parm and a Yankee onesie An envelope full o' cash BTW - Back home, deese guys own a car sales lot... We three kings DISoriented are... Church of the Intercessor participated in the Village of Malverne's annual "Lighting of Malverne festivities. Like Mark Tarantino (RIP), I luv dressin' up and playing other characters. GIVIN' YOU MORE SMILES PER HOUR... When you're off road and there's no AAA... Lincoln Ads - Saturday Night Live (02:59) TRAVELING MUSIC... In my 20's, me and my buddies (including my brother Mike) traveled several summers around the US of A looking for surfin' waves. Route 66 took us part of the way to California. "Fillmore" looked like my ride: a '65 VW Bus painted in 1970 Cadillac Green. Current travelers often bypass the old route and history and use I-40. Cars, Route 66, and The Vanishing America Project (03:28) All the Route 66 Places that Inspired Pixar "Cars" (05:27) Route 66 - Chuck Berry (02:51) #music #humor #FrJoe #WiseMen #camels #UsedCars #MarkTarantino #GratefulDead #WitchesBrewCoffeeHouse #BobViohl #BillCosby #GoCarts #Avis #SNL #SaturdayNightLive #MikeT #Malverne #LightingOfMalverne #ChurchOfTheIntercessor #JimCarrey #ChuckBerry #CarsMovie

A good friend and Army veteran passed along the image on the left...and his morning...mourning offering inspired these contributions into our collective collection basket...My intention here is to stir up the compassion in OUR hearts...not the arguments in OUR opinionated heads... Most people - and I am part of "most" - most people prefer the apparently simpler choices offered by what's called DUALISTIC thinking: black or white...good or bad...either/or...thinking...and are unwilling to STOP to SEE if there are other ways to more fully appreciate what's in front of US...And a key reason is that we've never been taught HOW to SEE more deeply (Non-dually)...than our own and others' opinionated/DUALISTIC minds...An explanation of these terms follows... To get a clearer perspective of US - WE the people he came to help - Jesus, Dr. King, Mother Teresa and all people like them... ...balanced their efforts in the city with restorative times on the mountain... Richard Rohr is and has been for most of my adult life, the person who has helped me to pay attention to HOW I'm seeing...and this directly affects WHAT I'm seeing. In one of his Daily Meditations/Medications...He included this wisdom: Learning to SEE...more Deeply... Dualistic and Nondual Thinking: Weekly Summary - Center for Action and Contemplation Saturday Summary: Sunday, January 28-Friday, February 3, 2017 Click links for full meditation The dualistic mind cannot process things like infinity, mystery, God, grace, suffering, sexuality, death, or love. (Sunday) Nondual consciousness is a much more holistic knowing, where your mind, heart, soul, and senses are open and receptive to the moment just as it is, which allows you to love things in themselves and as themselves. (Monday) The broad rediscovery of nondual, contemplative consciousness gives me hope for the maturing of religion and is probably the only way we can move beyond partisan politics. (Tuesday) “A good deal of the confusion over the meaning of nonduality has emerged as folks have tried to discover what, if anything, in our Western Christian experience most closely corresponds to what the East is intending by nondual.” —Cynthia Bourgeault (Wednesday) “I believe the West’s key contribution to the understanding of nondual perception is that this highest-order (“third tier”) level of consciousness is not a mere extension of the mind. It implies and requires the shift to an entirely different operating system, which is anatomically located in the heart—or better yet, in the mind in entrainment with the heart.” —Cynthia Bourgeault (Thursday) “I cannot make moments of nondual consciousness happen. I can only assume the inner stance that offers the least resistance to being overtaken by grace.” —James Finley (Friday) Time in the City... …as Paul and Art sing it, helpers...healers...go where they are needed most... “seeking out the poorer quarters Where the ragged people go Looking for the places only they would know..." Bob Dylan Duet with Paul Simon-The Boxer-Live Dallas 1999 (05:00) [from the description] 'The Boxer' Bob Dylan with Paul Simon live at Starplex Amphitheater Dallas, Texas 1999, Sept 18" The Boxer" is a song written by Paul Simon, recorded by the American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their fifth studio album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970). Dylan’s love for boxing is well known. Bob covered the song on his Self Portrait album. In 1999, after completing the European summer tour, Dylan returned to the United States to perform a thirty-eight date tour with Paul Simon. The first leg of this two-part tour came to a close in Wantagh, New York (Jones Beach) on July 31. The tour picked up again at West Palm Beach, Florida on September 2 and traveled throughout the southern states coming to a close on September 18 in Dallas, Texas. On 3 June 2016 at his concert in Berkeley, California, Paul Simon stopped singing partway through "The Boxer", to announce in one sentence breaking news: "I’m sorry to tell you this in this way, but Muhammad Ali passed away." He then finished the song with the last verse modified as: "In the clearing stands a boxer and a fighter by his trade..." [tOM] The sad truth is...and to be honest...at times, I am that man... "Still, a man hears what he wants to hear... ...And disregards the rest..." The Boxer - Lyrics - Simon & Garfunkel (05:07) Time on the Mountain... Source: 138 Best Mountain Quotes to Inspire You 2024 - TheWanderLustWithin.com Grateful Dead - Mountains Of The Moon (Studio Version) (04:03) Francis of Assisi: Beyond the Birdbath...A Different Way to See... The Franciscan Way: Weekly Summary (click link for full meditation) Saturday, September 9, 2023 Sunday Francis’ starting place was human suffering instead of human sinfulness. His Christ was cosmic while also deeply personal, his cathedral was creation itself, and he preferred the bottom of society to the top. In general, Francis preferred ego poverty to private perfection, because Jesus “became poor for our sake.” —Richard Rohr Monday  Religion is no longer a spectator sport, an observing of some distant, far-off truth, but it’s an observing of what is true in me, and what is true in me is true of the cosmos. It’s all one reality. —Richard Rohr Tuesday The Franciscan view creates a coherent and positive spirituality, which draws us toward lives of inner depth, prayer, reconciliation, healing, and universal at-one-ment, instead of any notion of sacrifice, which implies an angry God who needs to be bought off.  —Richard Rohr Wednesday Encountering the impoverished, walking for a while in the world of the marginalized, and being with the have-nots of our world is a necessary aspect of the discipleship journey. Our souls are touched by the encounter as well, and sorrow over the pain and injustice of impoverishment and marginalization fills the crevices of our being.  —Marie Dennis, Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, Joseph Nangle, and Stuart Taylor Thursday  Love, not knowledge, allowed Francis to enter into the great mystery we call “God.” As he entered into this mystery he discovered two principle features of God—the overflowing goodness of God and the humility of God. —Ilia Delio Friday A Franciscan Renaissance would help us “redeem”—which means to re-assess and revalue—everything, so we rediscover the priceless beauty of the earth and its creatures, including our neighbors and ourselves. —Brian McLaren and Patrick Carolan Franciscan Lectio Father Dan Riley presents a Franciscan way of practicing Lectio Divina: The “school” I come from—the Franciscan way—found most of its classrooms and books in marketplaces and in the faces of the poor; on the hillsides in mountain seclusion and in the eyes of lepers; in big cities, small towns, and universities; in sacred spaces and everyday places. Whether it was one person, one place, or one moment, the Franciscan disposition is that the reign of God is always at hand; the richness of God’s glory is present here and everywhere. Each creature is a vestige of God’s creative action and an expression of God’s loving Word. This is the blessing of Franciscan Lectio…. Lectio is about reading or focusing or listening long enough and deeply enough so that beauty, depth, and connectivity emerge; peace and freedom inspire action and service. St. Bonaventure describes justice as “the returning to its original beauty that which has been deformed.” [1] Franciscan Lectio inspires us to see original beauty more clearly and then to live out of that truth more naturally over time. I think that true freedom flows out of our rootedness in beauty…. Francis was reading and learning about God everywhere, beyond the church or the classroom, and responding to the Word as it was alive in everything…. Word and world—indeed this is our home, and we are finding ways to choose to live here together with one another. We need to pick up the Bible and at the same time our world, holding them and letting them hold us, tenderly and gently opening and beginning to page through them, but only as they offer themselves to us. We need to look everyone and everything in the face and be amazed at the face of God looking back at us. Source: https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-franciscan-way-weekly-summary-2023-09-09/ Remembering Dr. King I've been to the mountain top speech (see article for links) "I've Been to the Mountaintop" is the popular name of the last speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr.[1][2][3] King spoke on April 3, 1968,[4] at the Mason Temple (Church of God in Christ Headquarters) in Memphis, Tennessee. The speech primarily concerns the Memphis sanitation strike. King calls for unity, economic actions, boycotts, and nonviolent protest, while challenging the United States to live up to its ideals. At the end of the speech, he discusses the possibility of an untimely death. Source: Wikipedia Martin Luther King's Last Speech: I've Been to the Mountaintop (03:27) I Have a Dream speech by Martin Luther King .Jr HD (subtitled) (06:46) With renewed EYES, let's take these dreams...intentions...into the streets of our lives... Humaniversal - Miten (03:49) [Verse 1: Miten] Ever been lonely? Ever felt out of place? Ever cried yourself to sleep at night Praying for descending grace? Ever danced alone in the moonlight? Dancing like there's nobody there The whole world lookin' on, but What do you care? [Chorus: Miten & Deva Premal] Humaniversal We're all reaching for The stars in the sky Humaniversal You and I You and I [Verse 2: Miten] Ever been to India? Seen the world from ground zero? Thirteen-year-old mother with a baby in her arms Knockin' on your taxi window Lights change And leave her standin' in the road Still her eyes come back to haunt you Wherever you go [Chorus: Miten & Deva Premal] Humaniversal We can all hear Her baby cry Humaniversal You and I [Bridge: Miten & Deva Premal] And after all It's only life We come and go In the wink of an eye We say hello We say goodbye That's all (Ah) That's all (Ah) (La la la la) (La la) [Verse 3: Miten] And what about the Dalai Lama? What about that smile? A simple monk from the roof of the world Living in exile And he can't go back And he can't go home What does that say to you and me? Speaking of love and compassion Even towards his enemy [Chorus: Miten & Deva Premal] Humaniversal (Ooh) Say a prayer for his people When you're driving home tonight Humaniversal (Ooh) Say a prayer for him When you turn out the light (Ah) Tonight (Oh, ah) [Outro: Miten] Humaniversal You and I You and I You and I #music #seeing #RichardRohr #CAC #CenterForActionAndContemplation #DrMartinLutherKing #FrancisOfAssisi #GratefulDead #JohnMuir #veterans #immigrants #nondual #dual #AnaisNin #BobDylan #PaulSimon #mountain #city #Jesus #MotherTeresa #Miten