Show #242

Hello Friends of the Garden!

Beautiful morning on my favorite
stretch of beach for walking!

Paradise is a state of mind, not a place! That message comes to me in little subtle ways! I'm always happy to be at the coast and that's where I am as I write this. Walking on the beach early in the morning, searching for sea glass, and letting the calming sound of the waves as they wash away the clutter from my mind are among the greatest activities I enjoy in my version of paradise. 

A journey that never ended!

John Muir spent a good deal of time alone outdoors communing with nature, which he regarded as his "church". He wrote, "Most people are on the world, not in it, having no conscious sympathy or relationship to anything about them - undiffused, separate, and rigidly alone like marbles of polished stone, touching but separate." I'm willing to wager that at the time, most people did not understand John Muir at all. I'm certain that he was considered to be eccentric and different, out of touch with the real world. From the little I know, I believe he found his paradise!

Homeless encampment in Cambria

In Cambria there is a local newspaper called, "The Cambrian", that comes out once a week, on Thursdays. It's mostly home spun, small town stuff, events and community functions and high school sports (no national sports). I was taken aback when I saw an article on the problem with homelessness in Cambria. My vision of my little Utopian town was tainted with regular, real world problems too? What? How can I be so naive?

Long before Christopher Reeve!

I have always escaped to Cambria like Superman did with his "Fortress of Solitude"! Apparently Lex Luthor has come to Cambria and messed around while Superman was out of town! Truth be told, this mess has always been here! I just opened my eyes to it! Cambria is still my version of paradise, it's just not perfect, it never really was!

In pockets and places all through this nation, Cambria included, there is a great sense of community. Unity is at the root of community and it is that notion that gives us hope for paradise. If we seek a unity that is centered on the well being of our community we can affect a wider community by example. 

2016 "Dumpster Fire"

Where the rubber meets the road is when you watch the news and you are bombarded with the negativity and hopelessness of it all, and you say to yourself, "Hey I'm just one person! How'm I gonna change things?" Poet Jane Hirshfield wrote, "The self in exile remains the self, as a bell unstruck for years is still a bell." 

I suggest any act of kindness or compassion or tolerance or graciousness would be good place to start! We can all do those things privately and publicly. Who or what says good can't spread as easily as bad? Imagine a community with this for a focus! Imagine several examples of this attitude happening as often as the bad news we receive through the media! Paradise might be a lot easier to see in the same way John Muir found it so many places!

Here's Show #242! I'm not with it enough to be cool like DJ Dogfish and come up with "The Year in Review". I just put together whatever's on my mind (scary!). There's still a thread there that made sense when I did it. First timers this week include, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Uncle Lucius, and the Smoke Wagon Blues Band. The second hour is nothing but "Gardenerisms" (coined by Jerry) on old ladies, donuts, coffee, the news and Feeling' Good Again! Oh yeah, there's comedy from Brian Regan and The Firesign Theater in that stuff too. I was in a mood! So, it's not a "New Years" show but it's good!

Thank you Jerry and Robin for support through the years (and it's been years now!). Show 242 and no signs of stopping now! Couldn't have done it without you two!

Thanks to all you kind readers and listeners! Your kind support, encouragement, praise, phone calls, suggestions and conversations have meant so much to me. There are those of you that have expressed how much you enjoy my ramblings and I thank you. It has been a wonderful experience for me to see this side of me that I never knew existed or acknowledged. You've given me a treasure beyond measure! Thanks!

I do need to say this. If you feel you can help the station with your support please consider making even the smallest of contributions!

Peace and Love,

Mike

Show #241 (Christmas 2016)

Hello Friends of the Garden!

Well, you still need it!

Well, this is a first, my show falls on Christmas Day this year. I'm used to tough competition on Sunday but Christmas has to be the ultimate test so far! The Super Bowl, Mother's Day, Easter, and so many other events in the calendar year fall on a Sunday! During every one of those events I've been in the studio, but this time I'll give myself a present and enjoy the day (and evening) with my family!

Christmas construction challenges!

About two weeks ago I received an email from the station that said if I chose to the station would run Christmas music all weekend long! I asked if it was alright if recorded my show. As a compromise that was my choice. I love doing my Christmas show (I love doing ANY show!) so if you have the time and you're worn out from putting batteries into things and assembling stuff and eating, then take some time for yourself and enjoy!

Sometimes Christmas can be a little sad!

Remember that this is a tender time of year filled with a plethora of feelings that are wide ranging. Some of us are haunted by memories and others of us are filled with hope and great expectations. Regardless, most all of us are usually confronted with a time of reflection at this time of year. That can be painful for some! Try to be sensitive to that!

Do what you can! You'll feel better
about yourself and maybe carry it on
beyond the season!

Despite what we see and hear in the news and elsewhere, this is an opportunity to show the world that love and compassion and hope is what runs through the hearts and minds of the populous! It's never too late Ebenezer! Join the masses and let your heart soften! Show the world you care in what ever way you can! 

Thank you Robin and Jerry for being there for me through all the good times and bad! I thank all of you listeners for your kindness and support too!

Merry Christmas and peace and love to you all!

Mike

Show #240

Hello Friends of the Garden!

Fresno after rain!

Well we finally had significant rain this week! It was so nice! I love the way you can see the mountains after the rain clears the air here! It's like lifting a cheesecloth off and everything comes in to focus! There is beauty here! It's just "well veiled" like a lot of things!

Fresno air in the summer!
You need a knife to cut it!

Never thought I'd see the day!

Change can be "well veiled" too! Lately I've been hearing crazy construction noise from a distance at my house. The old Swiss Colony Winery on Clovis Avenue near Ashlan is finally being torn down! When I first moved here there were hardly any homes there at all! You could see only a few homes sprinkled out there with mountains on the horizon! 

No lie here!

Things change! They do! Sometimes it's insidiously slow and imperceptible and other times it's abrupt! Either way, it's a challenge to accept and adapt with it! I don't believe any one is immune to the anxiety of change I just believe that many are capable of keeping that anxiety "well veiled"! I've always been jealous of people with this ability!

I suppose if there's a "Bactine" for the sting of change it would have to be the most effective treatment of all and that's love! When everything seems darkest and uncertain, the love and support of friends and family is the most powerful cure! I can't imagine people that don't have that to rely on! 

This last Wednesday, my friend Mark stopped by after dropping his Mom off at a local retirement facility. Mark was advised not to visit his Mom for three days to allow her time to adjust. I could tell the change weighed on him! I had a lot on my mind too! Together we watched the rain fall from the dark sky from security of my messy garage! Sometimes the only sound was the rain, both of us quiet and contemplative. We just were there for each other! I found great comfort in that. I hope Mark did too!

From 1962! Amazing!

After Mark left that afternoon I could still hear the distant sound of demolition equipment at the winery. I just accepted that thing would be there forever! That afternoon I realized something I've known all along, things will change but, people, important people will always be there, in your heart and in your soul! Even long after they've left this Earth they leave a monument that can't be torn down!

Thanks to all of you out there that have cared for me this way! I owe you!

On to Show #240! Well, losing Greg Lake this past week sent me in to a classic rock tailspin! I just kept thinking of tunes from the past! So if this tunes you off be comforted by your knowledge of the history of my show! It changes! So, the first hour purges those classic rock addictions! There's deeper tracks here and old familiar ones that are like a comfortable old shirt. The second hour starts to turn away from the classic rock and gets that SGP feel again. Kurt, I put that Merle Haggard song in for you after our last conversation! I love how he reminisces on the pleasures of the past in the lyrics, truly heartfelt! Heartfelt, just like I like to do my show! I never just mail it in! I hope that is obvious and appreciated!

Hey, it's been a while since I've seen you Jerry! I know you have stuff going on! Looking forward to seeing you soon! Robin, you have been my rock lately and I'm so thankful for you! I'd be hopeless without your love and support! I love you!

Thanks to all of you listeners, especially you Don Wright! It was a joy to hang with you during my show! Let's do that some more! Hey, if any of you local buddies want to hang with me at the studio just let me know! I love the phone calls too (559-278-5377) they are fuel for the fire that burns in me!

Peace and love!

Mike

Show #239

Hello Friends of the Garden,

Entry level for coffee snobs!

Man, I was up early this morning! It was dark out and the newspaper was right where it always is, under my car! I started a fire in my awesome homemade fire-pit and and fired up the Nespresso machine! I sped through the newspaper and and a second cup of Brazilian coffee. The radio droned on as the weekend routine returned, going slow on a wet gray morning and seeking inspiration. The fire crackled away radiating heat from the steel tub, nice!

Finally, after years of waiting!
Red Rocks!

The coffee was perfect! My Nespresso machine was one of the best gifts my wife has ever given me! The best gift of course was four days of Widespread Panic at Red Rocks!  It's true what all those "spread-heads" say, you haven't really seen Panic until you've seen them at Red Rocks! The fire and coffee and radio made my mind wander. 

Real Red Rocks at night!

I suppose the only down side to doing the radio show has been that we haven't travelled to Europe in a while. I'm thinking about my Swiss friends and the experience I've had with them for many years now! I wouldn't be drinking the coffee I am now if it wasn't for them. The first Nespresso machine I ever saw was at my friend Urs and Lucia's home in Zug.

Initially it was Urs and Patrick I met years ago. They were learning to speak English in San Francisco at some private school. Urs met my sister first while she was living in S.F.. Neither of them were married then. Now both of them are married and have children that are growing up rapidly. 

This car sucks!

Urs and my sister had gone to Gilroy and her crappy Renault car broke down. She called me in Fresno and my brother and I took off to rescue her. Urs was shocked that we would travel such a distance to help. David and I got her going enough to limp back to the "City" and we shook hands and turned around to go home. That was the first time I met what would become a dear friend!

Me and Urs in Nice sweating!

I've always felt a strange but wonderful feeling about having such a good friend that lives on another continent! I can speak from experience here that it is possible to have a real friendship even with distance and location as extreme obstacles. I have met Urs in Hamburg, Nice, Milan, Geneva and Amsterdam. Urs and Patrick have been back to visit several times as well. 

Each subsequent time we get together it feels more and more like there was no space in time between visits. It was also nice to get to be an ambassador of sorts and be the "cool" American as opposed to the annoying one! I'm glad to say that Urs and Patrick were never embarrassed by me and all their friends wanted to engage me in conversation. Fun!

The best photo I've ever
taken! Paris, France.

Robin and I got to do things we wouldn't have had the opportunity to do because of Urs and Patrick. We saw DaVinci's "Last Supper" together. We saw Buddy Guy with Billy Gibbons in Montreaux (a whole different story!)! We have done so many, many things, lifetime memories! The best part is that we still stay in touch and we still plan on meeting up with each other at some point in time!

So true! 

I'm a blessed man! I'm so fortunate to have friends, good friends all over the world and so many here at home. In fact some of my friends here are planning to see Robert Earl Keen together. More fun, more memories! Hey why don't you go with me?

Here's Show #239! Other than being influenced by the new Rolling Stones CD I can't say what I was thinking. I guess just I let my mind go where it lead me. It all made perfect sense at the time. I wanted to play some stuff that made me feel good, purely selfishness! I know it's not much of a description but, by now you should have an idea of what to expect! Trust me, you'll like it, it likes you (it just came out, sorry)!

WooHoo! We're gonna go see Robert Earl together Jerry and Robin and a whole bunch of other friends! So cool! Thanks you two!

Thanks to all of you! Thanks for the phone calls too especially you Tony, that was nice! I love hearing from you guys! If you can think of going to the website and contributing even the smallest amount. I rarely ever ask but, it sure would help!

Peace and love,

Mike

Show #238

Hello Friends of the Garden,

I built this one day when I.........

It finally feels a little cold, cold enough to enjoy a fire this morning. I woke up early, one of the side effects of being older I guess, at least for me. Two things I really enjoy are the morning and a fire! I always think of the Who's, "Blue, Red and Grey" when I look at at either end of the day sky! The cool crisp air, especially after some rain, and the crackle of the fire definitely promote a soothing, contemplative feeling. I have never felt bad about any time I've spent around a fire, alone or with friends! It has always been time well spent!

Marking the days!

It is truly amazing how time flies by! This time of year creeps up on you and flashes by in the blink of an eye! Little things mark time, like landmarks as they pass by. I've been driving to the coast for over twenty years and I remember how far it seemed the first time. Now it seems like a hop, skip and a jump and I'm there. Over time, familiarity made the trip seem shorter and shorter. Instead of thinking of the trip in one big bunch, it clicks off in little chunks.

I much prefer going this
way to the coast!

It's funny, sobering, ironic and eye opening the way a whole lifetime is so similar to that drive to the coast. We all share life's similar landmarks. Careers, marriages, kids, divorces, losing friends, losing family, and retirement are just a few of the milestones each of us go through. It's so strange how all these same events are experienced by so many of us and yet each instance is completely distinct and similar at the same time.

Not dark yet, but soon!

I had an opportunity to do the right thing this week. I spent an hour or more with my good buddy Mark out by his fire pit. Seems like ever since we lost our buddy Allen, the missing amigo, I've consciously closed ranks with Mark. The smell of the wood as it burned and the yellow light emanated by the fire set a peaceful tone. The ever present music playing low in the background, a whiskey on ice and the dark sky of night made it easy to slip in to a comfortable patio chair.

Our buddy Allen in my
sailboat at Millerton. 

I wasn't there for fun this time although it always is at Mark's house! I knew he had a lot on his mind. Mark's mother has begun to show signs of being unable to care for herself. Making things worse, Mark's mother lives in the Los Angeles area. The distance makes keeping a watchful eye on her more difficult. Mark is an only child so the sole burden and honor of caring for his mother is ultimately his to bear. Mark has being seeing this particular lifetime landmark on the horizon for some time now.

I was aware that Mark had had a difficult last visit with his mom. I wanted to do what I could so I headed over, just to hang out. We talked about all kinds of things, things we had answers for and many we didn't. I didn't pretend to have answers for Mark. I could only assure him that he is a good son, husband and father and that I have complete faith in him! 

When I finally left that evening I had an overwhelming sense of pride. I was proud to have such an honorable friend as Mark and proud that I could do anything to help him no matter how small. Mark told me earlier that he remembered when my Father passed away. He told me he was moved by my decision to call my Mom every day to talk on the phone. He told me it was an inspiration for him to call his mother more often.

Having such admiration for my gentle giant of a friend Mark, I never envisioned myself as having anything to offer by way of example of goodness! Yet, here was Mark telling me how I affected a change in him! I was caught off guard. I've always used self-deprecation as a shield to lower expectations of me. I'm so good at it that I have myself convinced of it at times! Mark made me lower my shield! 

My Dad!

This morning my wife gave me bag full of old receipts and bank statements from my Mom. They needed to be disposed of. I slipped handful at a time into my fire pit and watched them transform to ash. Beanie on, coffee in hand, I thought of Mark and my parents and stared into the fire!

My Mom!

Good friends, really good friends, are so important! You only get so many in life! Make time, make space, try hard to hold on, you can miss so much if you don't! I'm honored by all my friends and humbled by your kindness and graciousness! Hang tough Mark! Thanks for being my friend!

On to Show #238! Wow, it's crazy to me, #238, wow! Ok, I start out with first timers Robin McKelle & the Flytones and Charles Bradley. I continue with another first timer in Chris Jones & The Night Drivers and from there it turns in to some picking until it boogies at the end of the first hour. The beginning of the second hour is just beautiful songwriting, don't miss it! It starts to pick up steam again with Tab Benoit and then I end up being silly with, "Teenage Immigrant Welfare Mothers on Drugs", "Conservative, Christian, Right-Wing Republican, Straight, White American Males" and "Motherless Children". Sometimes I can't help myself! It's all just for fun!

Thanks as always Jerry and Robin! I know we've all been busy but I always know you're there! 

Thanks to all of you listeners and readers of this message! Please share my show with a friend that you think would enjoy it!

Peace and love, 

Mike