Show #233

Hello Friends of the Garden!

Click on this so you can read it! I love this!

When I was a kid television was still in it's infancy. I was captivated by the wonder of it. It wasn't even broadcast in color until after 1965. I remember the transition from black and white to color. I suppose it was our generation's equivalent to HDTV. Finally seeing Gilligan's Island and The Beverly Hillbillies in color was, pardon the pun, a real eye opener! The whole debate still goes on to this day as to the preference of Ginger or Mary Ann.

Thinking about it now, I realize that the advent of color TV was on a similar level with the introduction of cell phones. Both inventions were slow to come to the masses at an affordable price. Like most things, those types of luxuries were slated for the affluent to enjoy first. I remember the first color TV our family bought. We didn't get a color TV until well after it's introduction and many of my friends families already had one (no one I knew had two!). 

My parents car (not this one) eventually
caught fire from the carburetor. 

Even then, I listened to a lot of radio (I still do). On long family road trips to my Grandmother's in El Campo, Texas, my parents would listen to radio dramas. I recall riding late at night and laying down in the far back of the old Volkswagen Beetle. The warmth and hum of the engine just below me acted like white noise and I slipped in to a hypnotic state. I let myself get carried away into all those old stories as my parents drove the endless road in the infinite darkness of the South Texas countryside.

Recently, at a meeting at school, my Principal was telling our staff about a trip he had made to Apple headquarters in Cupertino. I'm not certain, but I think he's at least 20 years younger than I am. He was showing a graphic about when technologies had been introduced like the first iPod, iPhone and iPad. He was making a point about how the children we are teaching have never known a life without this technology and how we must be aware that we need to embrace the incorporation of it to keep pace with the times.

The original iPod,
announced on
October 23, 2001

As I surveyed the room, I realized that I was a relic. Like a dinosaur, one step away from extinction, I could see the influx of youth in our staff and I felt a pang of insignificance. The Social Studies teacher at our school is younger than my son (as are many of my staff members). I truly enjoy the conversations I have with him! He always provides an insight to what it's like to be young and single at this point in time. He is perfect example of what my Principal had been speaking about. He has never known life without the Internet, Facebook, cell phones and Netflix. 

I have a couple other friends that are also younger than my son. Over the last few years I've realized the friendship that we have forged has transcended age and technological differences. My buddies Jeff and Tim feel like my tried and true buddies back in Texas, as if we've been friends for years! Sure, we're in different stages in our lives; they're just getting their careers and marriages under way and I'm nearing retirement; however, that difference never seems to be an issue for us. We just have fun! 

Me, my brother, Jeff and Tim
at a dive bar in the Sunset
District. This isn't a bad
picture. It truly was that blurry
there, at least to me!

It's a shame that I'm so slow to learn things (especially since I'm a teacher)! I think I've spent far too much time trying to figure out my place in the world. Where do I fit in? I believe I'm going to try hard to focus on "doing" my part in the world with the time I have left. As to those influences and friendships, friends, good friends, can be any age, any race, or any gender! 

The unfortunate dichotomy is that bad people, mean spirited people, ugly on the inside people, can be any age, any race, or any gender also! I saw this show,Hate Rising, the other day and this was a totally different eye opener than Ginger and Mary Ann in color! (It's long but so worth watching) Like the dinosaurs we know to be extinct, there are still some societal dinosaurs that tread our Earth! This show has influenced me to do what I can to change the world! It'd be easier if there were more of us working together!

Here's Show #233! Ha! I get to do some Halloween songs just before Halloween! Usually it's off by several days and it just doesn't feel right! Please don't miss the first song by The Austin Lounge Lizards, it will always be a Halloween standard! I didn't notice that I double dipped on Phish but I wanted to play 'em both to round out the Halloween songs. After the first six songs it all goes back to normal (funny). There's some of the latest stuff from The Rides, Mudcrutch, Devil Makes Three, The Bottle Rockets, and String Cheese Incident. There's also some great oldies from Rare Earth, The Rolling Stones, The Guess Who, The Who and a requested ending song by the Monkees for my faithful listener Bob! All good! All fun!

Thanks Robin and Jerry! I have been busy this week! Lots of irons in the fire! Sure is a comfort to know I always have your support, even when my mind drags me in all kinds of directions! I didn't get to talk with you this week Jerry as much as I wanted to. Let's catch up Monday. I can use your input on some things.

Thank you listeners too! Thanks for the sea glass Julie! Thank you Bob for the awesome email and phone call! Thanks to so many of you out there that enjoy my show! I always love doing it! Call me! Email me! I love hearing from you!

Peace and love (now more than ever)!

Mike

Show #232

Hello Friends of the Garden,

While it seems like any other Saturday morning it feels different for some reason. I know what it is. I'm a bachelor this weekend. My wife and a friend are at the coast to see as many scarecrows as they can! I stayed home because I had obligations to be at my school carnival Friday evening. I was happy my wife and LaLaine were able to go and I wished them fun!

The "off" feeling comes from having to decide how you spend that time on your own. Friday was a typically exhausting day, with a day of teaching and a night of being MC of a school carnival. Don't read me wrong on this. It was a nice time at the carnival it just felt like I had to be "on" while dealing with everyone. I'm sure that this profession, like others, requires what feels like a dual personality, one everyone sees and one only friends and loved ones know! 

So, what did my Friday end up like, well, straight home and straight to bed! So much for partying like a mad man while the wife is away! My mind drifts back to all those old cartoons when a character was forced to make a decision and an angel and devil appears on either shoulder. Each voices choices, each with opposite intentions! 

Unfinished!

 I feel the need to be productive and yet I desire to do nothing or anything other than work! Like that "angel" character whispering to me that there is a list of things that need to be done; there is also that "devil" character that encourages me to be lazy! 

I've been here before! In 38 years of marriage I've been on my own many times. My experience is that I have given in to either shoulder with great parity over time! Each with their own distinct form of regret and satisfaction, weird!

Finished!

Made entirely from scrap!

Like anything else, it's some kind of natural balance that presents natural questions. Why build a cornhole board if you don't stop to play it? What good is building a chair if you can't sit still to enjoy it? What's the point of working your tail off if you don't take time to appreciate the respite you earn? Typical "devil" talk if you don't recognize it.

Another from scrap project

Sorry "angel", the cornhole board has been neglected long enough! That list of stuff will be there any way! Now, I'll see if I can persuade a friend to join me! Next week "angel"!

Here's Show #232! First off, brand new Head and the Heart by suggestion. Then I turned to a bunch of my "three named guys". I am so excited to play Norah Jones from her new album, she covers a really cool Neil Young song! AWESOME! This show has a core of Garden Party standard artists. I just felt like playing them out of comfort like putting on a comfortable shirt!  I hope you enjoy my selections for this week!

Hey Jerry and Robin, isn't it crazy how long we've been at this together? I can't imagine having done it without you two! Thanks!

Thanks to all of you listeners too! Please consider going to kfsr.org and donating to keep this small, little station alive! Honestly any small amount goes a long way and I know I appreciate the opportunity to do what I do with your support!

Peace and love!

Mike

Attachments area

Show #231

Hello Friends of the Garden!

This is so good!

Well, the plan was to go to the coast and check out the crazy Scarecrow Festival in Cambria. The event runs the entire month of October. People and businesses make paper-mâché scarecrows and place them in front of their homes and places of business. The whole thing has really grown over the years and more and more people are participating. Cambria is a very small town of mainly retirees and to see the level of enthusiasm is truly remarkable. 

My favorite Italian food
in Cambria!

Unfortunately, my son isn't feeling well and we decided it would be best to stay home. That's fine with me! I love my house in Fresno! I took the opportunity to go grab a "Happy Hour" beer and conversation with my buddies at the bar. Out of courtesy to my wife, I made certain that she was cool with it. I love my wife and I try to be considerate of her feelings. 

She knew I had a good week and gladly sent me on my way with orders to have fun! Earlier in the week I was "observed" by some people from San Francisco associated with a Bechtel grant. Even at 28 years of teaching these moments always fill me with anxiety and over analyzing! My kids were awesome! My lesson worked to perfection! Planets aligned and world peace seemed possible! Self-asteem confirmed, I finally relaxed! An icy cold mug of beer and a good laugh with friends are a couple of life's small rewards!

Not all of 'em just some!

I've never lived anywhere as long as I have the house I live in now! The first half of my life I lived a fairly nomadic lifestyle. Hard as that was, I'm thankful to have some comparisons to appreciate my present home. What I had not anticipated was finding a "bar" home! A regular watering hole had never even been a notion to me! A friend introduced me to a place in the Tower District and I can't believe that I've been going there over 20 years now!

This Friday I met up with a friend at the bar that listens to my show and he had a request for a song. He wanted to hear "I'm A Believer" by the Monkee's. I can do that I told him. Then my friend said, "You're not going to play some kind of funky country  cover of it are you?" I laughed and imagined what it would sound like and started using my accent to "countrify" it up! Then it became an ear worm! I couldn't get it out of my head! 

So many of my friends at the bar listen to my show. It's so funny when I walk up and while listening in on a conversation and a buddy will tell someone I haven't met to listen to my show. It's fun to listen to them describe it! It's like my "Home Court" there! I have so many genuine supporters there that have spread my show far better than I have! 

I had never anticipated the consequences of these new friendships from my "bar" friends! So many great things for me have come from going to that place! My radio show is the foremost example of the good things that have happened to me. Being embraced by a circle of truly talented people was/is a turning point in discovering some of my well hidden talents! 

Tiki carving! You never know
until you try!

Blindsided by the cloud of complacency that comes with being satisfied to dream rather than to act, discovering a creative outlet is an enlightening and comforting thing! Believe me that confidence was not fortified by the alcohol at the bar (well, maybe some) but, more by the people there! I have several coaches at the bar, each of them earnestly encouraging me to try! My life has been greatly influenced by these people in a good and healthy way (mostly)!

Go figure!

On to Show # 231! This show was easy to put together. My buddy Miguel asked for some Monkee's and then I went on a little trip down memory lane! The first two albums I ever bought as a kid was The Monkee's Best and Santana's first album. So, I kind of wind my way through things various and sundry from my past just for fun! There's great Curtis Mayfield followed by awesome Los Lobos with Bobby Womack! Filled with gems this show has classics sprinkled all through it! I think you'll enjoy the trip!

Jerry, (a friend from the bar, see above) get home safe partner and enjoy Orlando as much as you can! Hope to see you soon! Thanks to you Robin! You are and have always been the biggest believer in me! Each of you, in your own way are a well-spring of confidence for me, thanks!

Thanks to all of you that read this message and/or listen to the show! So many of you have know idea of the importance of the support and encouragement you give me so generously! I'm blessed by you!

Peace and love!

Mike

Attachments area

Show #230

Hello Friends of the Garden

Another beautiful Saturday at
Golden Gate Park!

First off I 'd like to apologize for last weeks absence. The hustle of getting to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass took more time and energy than I was prepared for. I decided to take a week off for myself so I could just enjoy the event. As it turned out there must have been some kind of programming error and last weeks's show was one hour later than normal. Seems like whenever I'm not in the studio things don't always go as planned.

Guy with a "Shot-Ski"

I feel like my attitude has changed regarding errors in programming. In the past, I would  be concerned when my show didn't air. Now that I have 229 shows under my belt the numbers minimize the feelings of needing to be there all the time. In fact, I think I'll institute a "vacation day" for my HSB weekends from this point forward. A little break is a good thing!

Pouring them up!

Chuggin' 'em down!

This Saturday (Oct. 8th) is my birthday! I'm at my little garage desk like I spend most mornings, sipping coffee, listening to NPR and watching the world wake up. It is a very peaceful, relaxed feeling. The only difference in this particular Saturday morning is that it is my birthday. Outwardly, it seems like any other Saturday, yet my mind won't let it go that easily. Self reflection ruminates in the background of my mind like a slow moving storm cloud on the horizon.

I suppose the connotation of a storm cloud would presume a "half empty glass" mentality. I have never understood why I torture myself over the perceived failures of the past while completely minimizing the successes. Sure, it's easy enough to say that it is simply human nature to feel that way, but why? My guess is that it is because of the feeling that time is running out and the list of things to accomplish has not gotten any shorter. Birthdays have a way of bringing that to the forefront.

These thoughts and feelings aren't something that I discuss with anyone. I know I have friends that are older and consider me a youngster (now that's funny)! I also know younger people that I stand in awe of because of the amazing accomplishments they have already made in their relatively short lives. I must have this giant hole that can't be filled with enough sympathy and affirmation. Clearly, this is a weakness I have that time has been slow to address due to the stubbornness of my hard head!

I spend way too much time dwelling on my perceptions, so much so that it can almost feel paralyzing. I know I have a voice and I have a place in life that compels me to seek ways to make that evident. In the same moment I get overwhelmed with the notion that I appear to be a self-promoting attention junkie! 

I blame my dearly departed parents! They both had such great belief in me! I always felt that they were never surprised by the things I accomplished. They made me feel as though I had this potential to do anything I set my sights on. My mother, Margie, would especially push me towards being some kind of actor/entertainer. She would constantly, yet gently suggest that I find ways to explore that and always affirm that I had the ability to be successful if I did.

That deep seated seed, planted by my mother and father was only amplified by my wife! My parents and my wife had/have this unshakable belief in me. How in the world could my wife have learned this mantra so similar to my parents and never known them growing up? My close friends have echoed this same sentiment. And now, a few of you listeners have made the effort to show your appreciation for me with emails. There is no lack of support of and faith in my life other than my own failure to see it!

Somehow, pride seems to be at the root of this. Oddly, it's not pride in myself that I feel the weight of. It feels more like a need to fulfill that belief of my potential to everyone past and present. I feel as though I need to show that that support is not wasted and has been a worthy investment. 

Mardi Gras in the Tower with Ron!

Ron Smith, an old and departed friend, used to tease me all the time. He used to call me "Super Star". Ron, as some of you know, was a brash, tactless, sometimes arrogant character. There was much more to Ron than what he acted like. As time passed, Ron revealed the soft side of himself that he rarely showed to most people. I found myself proud to call him my friend when many others dismissed him as unworthy. 

I recall an evening at Ron's house (he rarely allowed people to come over) when we had a quiet conversation. A few months later Ron would pass on from complications from a stroke. Over the course of our friendship, whenever it was just us two because in company Ron had a persona he had to maintain, Ron would relax and show this kind and loving, sensitive and compassionate side. 

During that conversation Ron told me how proud he was of me and how jealous he was of how my life was turning out. His sincerity was undeniable. I knew that the bond we had built transcended the need to "put on" any kind of "front"! His genuine tone made me acknowledge my impact on Ron's life and I was proud of our relationship.

These little jabs that come along as frequently as they do become less and less subtle. They make you confront the reality of the consistency. I believe I'm learning where my drive is coming from. I feel the need to fulfill the expectations of my loved ones, for them, not me. I want to make good on the investment of love and kindness and faith I've been so generously given! I need to be that "Super Star", not at any grand level, but more at whatever level I can challenge myself to rise to.  

I know now that self promotion is not even close! I've been being promoted by lots of people for years! I'm just slow! If I believed in reincarnation I would believe I was George Bailey from "It's Wonderful Life" (as far fetched as reincarnation is, being reincarnated as a fictitious character from a movie shouldn't be such a stretch). I'm pretty sure I have a gift of some sort. I just need a little more courage to unwrap it and find out what it is! Birthdays have a way of making you think like this! At least it's only once a year! 

Here's the deal on Show #230! Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is such a great influence for me! This show is a mish-mash of HSB highlights and different things! Hot Tuna was at the top of my favorites and so it kicks off the show in a chicken themed set (I don't understand my chicken attraction). Other HSB artists include (in order) The Mother Hips, KT Tunstall, Colvin & Earle, The California Honeydrops, Nick Waterhouse, Cake (yes Cake), Jamey Johnson, and Hayes Carll. Lots of wonderful other stuff are sprinkled all through the aforementioned. This is an awesome show, start to finish! You'll love it!

Thanks Robin and Jerry for all you do and believe me it's a lot!

Thanks to all you listeners for your support! My sole intention is to entertain you in one way or another! Your kindness and generosity are so appreciated!

Peace and love,

Mike