Show #235

Hello Friends of the Garden!

The sequel to Dianetics!

Finally the election is over! There's one small thing we can all think about this Thanksgiving Day! I wonder if the "founding" Pilgrims knew that Thanksgiving would come shortly after elections in their country to be? Clearly, this is evidence of the intelligent design and superior intellect of the "founding" Pilgrims! Anticipating that eventually a process would be put in to place that would have us intentionally align ourselves in distinct groups diametrically opposed to each other; we would need a time immediately after so we can put aside our differences.

They put the Native Americans
at the "kids" table!

Growing up, I had the image of a big table with Native Americans and white people in funny hats ingrained by primary teachers when I learned about Thanksgiving. It was always portrayed as a time of generosity and peace. Now I wonder if the two distinctly different groups could conceive of what the future held for each of their people?

Choctaw Casino, home of
Choctaw Bingo!

My mind conjures up the dark side of the mental conversations that would go on. The Pilgrims: 'Eventually we will move you out by any means necessary but we will give you a portion of our legalized gambling in consolation for your loss and as a way for us to feel better about how we have taken advantage of you!' The Native Americans: 'Feels good to help these people out. Obviously they don't know how to survive here very well. We could show them a few of our planting tips. They are sharing what little they have with us so, they seem nice, maybe they'll make it. Weird hats!'

The "founding" Pilgrims and the Native Americans didn't realize to give thanks for not knowing the extent of what future interactions between their peoples would be like. I'm struck to find examples of the benevolence of the powerful that did not come with strings attached. History provides us with examples like Morgan, Rockefeller, Carnegie and Vanderbilt that amassed great fortune and turned to philanthropy to redistribute that wealth in their own specific interests. New challenges must be necessary when the acquiring wealth and power becomes too simple of a task!

Little things will bug you!

In Green Bay, Wisconsin, in 1901, a company began to market modern toilet paper as a sanitary tissue. The processing of the materials that were used to produce that initial  product had glaring issues with their tissues. Apparently, the crude system allowed wood chips to be embedded in the paper, ow! Thirty-three years later, toilet paper would be officially marketed as "splinter free"! 

Looks like urban and rural
America are not on the
same page. 

I'd say we have still some "splinters" to work out in the way we work as a nation. We didn't give up on toilet paper! We kept on working on it until we refined it enough to be acceptable to the general populous. What we have here in our nation is worth working on! Like toilet paper, it's a good idea! Let's make it better! Maybe we can start with working on unity as we have found it a simple task to find ways to divide ourselves! Like the early philanthropists, we have a new challenging task after doing the easy stuff!

Not if we disagree though!

Here's Show #235! First off I pay tribute to Leonard Cohen and Bap Kennedy, two artists we lost this past week. That opening set ends with wisdom from Michael Nesmith from 1970! First timers to the SGP this week include Frog Holler, Modern Day Moonshine and Canned Heat (weird, it's taken so long to play them!). There's also new stuff from Reckless Kelly, The Devil Makes Three, and The Brothers Comatose. Listen for the editing on the Bottle Rockets, it's becoming a trademark for me! I like this show. I crafted it for your listening pleasure, enjoy!

Thanks as always Robin and Jerry! I'm just trying to follow the Michael Nesmith song's advice! You guys keep me centered and on point! Let's just keep on!

Thanks to all you listeners! You guys make this fun. Please, share my show with your friends and feel free to get in touch with me any way you can!

Peace and love!

Mike

Show #234

Hello Friends of the Garden,

Sometimes it's like this!

Well, I already ate my doughnuts this morning! The newspaper, a second cup of delicious Brazilian coffee, and NPR is my second favorite routine (doing the show being first) of the week!

Like most people, whenever I hear or read news that concerns my occupation I always turn an attentive ear. Last week it was piece on why so many teachers are leaving the profession. Having 28 years behind me, I feel like I can objectively reflect on the context of the topic. This morning I heard a news piece on Junior High School suicide rates on NPR. Naturally, I was swept away with feelings of sadness and confusion. 

A new rage for the nation!

I have the hardest time with understanding the extremes that are presented daily through the media. I don't believe I will ever understand why people commit suicide, murder, rape, commit acts of cruelty on people or animals, and take advantage of others weakness for their own financial and political profit.  I realize that news is intentionally sensationalized to attract an audience. The consequence is to second guess the origin and intention of whatever is being reported. That is when doubts and conspiracy theorists flourish! 

Obviously, this being an election year, everything has kicked into overdrive! Media allows us to believe and scrutinize whatever we choose to believe, and to be completely affirmed of our beliefs! If you want to, you can believe we are about to elect an entrenched politician, bent on rewriting the Constitution, careless to the security of the nation and capable of swaying any outcome through influence or; a millionaire Washington outsider that has reignited a racial division, a TV personality that publicly demeans women and anyone that gets in the way, that prides himself on making deals with a record of being hit and miss!

Seriously, is this the best we can do? According to what we have been shown, is there anything redeeming about either of them? Have we reached a pinnacle, or can we ascend to greater heights of dysfunction? I remember when I was much younger during the Reagan administration and his "trickle down" economic policy. In spite of any policies invoked after Reagan, the result has become even more skewed! 

Bottom line folks!

I consider myself to be of relative, average intelligence. I have met and know a whole lot of people that are far more intelligent than I am! I have to believe that there are a whole lot of people in our country that are really smart! Not only smart, but a host of people enlightened enough to be impartial in their judgement. Seems like we should be looking for these people to guide us instead of the least dirty among us! 

Old guy voting by mail
so I can avoid being
harassed at the polling
place!

I have friends that I would trust implicitly with my possessions and family's well being, and have done so! Wouldn't it be cool to say that about the people that represent us in ALL forms of government? If such a simple mind as mine could conceive of such a notion; couldn't the smart people make it happen? I think we might be looking in the wrong direction!

On to Show #234! Speaking of influence and smart people, there's a decidedly "Hound Dog" feel to my first hour with Dr. John, Anders Osborne & Monk Boudreaux, New Orleans Nightcrawlers and The Rebirth Brass Band. This gives way to The Steve Kimock Band and guitar extraordinaires Jeff Beck and Stevie Ray Vaughn. The second hour begins with a request for Richard Thompson from Shawn that provides the "Fresno's 10" and also features first timers, The Bellfuries, G. Love and Seattle's Too Slim & the Taildraggers. There's Dwight Yoakam with a cool new updated version of Guitars and Cadillacs from his new album. Lots here folks! I'm excited to get this show on the road!

Thanks Jerry and Robin! I know I've been busy lately! It is a comfort to know you guys are always there for me. I never take it for granted!

Thanks to all of you that read this and or listen to my show! Thank you for allowing me  to learn more about myself through all of this. If I offend or bore you with any of this please know that that is not my intention. I'm just thinking!

Peace and love,

Mike

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

Show #228

Hello Friends of the Garden

​

No little white donuts this time!

This weekend finds me at my tiny refuge in Cambria. It feels so good to be at the coast! It seems like forever since we left at the end of August. It's an absolutely beautiful morning and an extreme difference between waking up at my home in Fresno!

Cambria in the morning

Don't get me wrong! Fresno has it's own beauty, it does! In spite of what I hear from many that live in Fresno, I see a lot of beautiful things in Fresno. I am happy to be a transplant to Fresno and I believe that affords me a viewpoint not jaded by familiarity. The complaints that I hear about Fresno sound so similar to the complaints I've heard in others places I've lived in my life.

My backyard in Fresno

Cool potted plants on the patio

Growing up in Texas, I recall many car trips to South Texas, to my Grandmothers house in El Campo! It was always an agonizing six or seven hour ride. At that point I didn't have the awareness to notice the subtle nuances that distinguished the countryside. I had no appreciation for what I saw from the fingerprint smudged backseat car window. I just knew that it took forever to get there and it all looked pretty much the same for hour after hour.

When my wife first brought me to Fresno thirty-plus years ago we weren't married at the time. The very first thing I saw was mountains, wow! She took me to Yosemite, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, and the Big Sur drive down Hwy 1! Every one of those places and many more were so close, by Texas standards, and so amazing to see. I discovered Shaver Lake, Huntington and Edison lakes, and Mono Hot Springs, all right in our backyards!

This summer in Yosemite

Alright, fine, if it's so good in Fresno then why have a place at the coast? Here's the best answer I can muster, it's different and it's separate from my "regular day to day life"! In the first place, I don't work here, at least in terms of making a living. My thoughts aren't dominated by the demands that being at home present. I'm away! Those things will just have to wait until I'm close enough to do anything about them.

Shear distance alone forces me to clear the buffer in my mind and reset to a simpler, less stressful mind set. The mountains would have been as good of an alternative. I guess the vastness of the ocean and growing up "landlocked" made the seaside a more interesting choice for me. 

With only a relatively few exceptions, isn't it odd that where we choose to "get away" to almost always is less convenient than where we "live" at? We prepare to make accommodations for anticipated inconveniences when we travel. We use the word essentials when we pare back the litany of things that make our lives simpler. It almost seems like an innate need to let go of those things that tax our minds. Deep inside, each of us know simpler is better and easier and a lot more relaxing!

Reflection of the sun behind the obelisk in front
the Louvre with the Arc de Triumph in the
lower left. Lucky shot huh?

The other day I was in a conversation with two close friends that are both into photography, one professionally the other academically. A rhetorical question was raised about what is required to take a good photo. Being the outsider in this discussion and being simple-minded, I offered that the difference between a good photo and a bad one depends greatly on where you stand (I think I heard something like that before). While being a foregone conclusion, it was undeniable. I was standing in the right place when I took this picture in Paris (France).

.

Well, from where I stand here on my deck, things seem pretty simple and pretty relaxed! Time to wrap this up and hunt sea glass. I haven't done that in a month! You can call it whatever you like, for me it's therapy, simple and easy!

View from my roof that needs repair
in Cambria!

On to Show #228! This week I saw a band called The Haunted Windchimes (another weird named band huh?). I just had a notion of the bands that would fit their sound so I sandwiched them right between two obvious (to me) bands. Fun first set that sets the tone for the first hour, pretty easy and relaxed! There are lots of things here for everyone! The second hour starts with another crack at some Zeppelin because my buddy Rob missed last week. The second hour picks up a little compared to the first and ends in Garden Party style, introspective and upbeat! You'll breathe a deep breath of relaxation and have just enough energy to tap your toe!

Thanks as always Robin and Jerry! Keep on, keeping' on! Right?

Thanks to all of you listeners! Please feel free to get in touch with me any way you can! I love hearing from you!

Peace and love!

Mike