Walk down to the River

 

Josh Groban is a talented man with an outstanding voice. This is what he has given me today.

Josh Groban has been a voice that we all welcome. This voice comes from a depth he experiences about depression and anxiety.  He wrote this song.

He is a prodigy who was surrounded by an extremely talented family which focused on music. This second performance above is from him talking about his struggles, how they led him down the road that developed his talent.

 "Groban began singing in 7th grade and later enrolled in the Interlochen Arts Program to concentrate on his voice. As fate would have it, his vocal coach was friends with David Foster, a well-known producer, writer and arranger, and in 1998, Groban and Foster began working together."

When a child discovers he has a major talent, is encouraged to pursue it by musical parents and given training by accomplished musician David Frost, the child grows to be a man who gives back to the world.

This has more meaning to me than ever before. Since being diagnosed with Parkinson's I have discovered that the new me has required more from me than ever before. Sooo much that I was used to doing the many many things that filled me with me with joy are now gone.  Depression is more part of me than I ever thought possible. 

 

Telling me that I will discover new things that will fill that void is not going to encourage me. At this point, typing is hard, and I haven't learned to successfully dictate typing.  Will keep up that effort.  Please pray for me and my dear husband John. 

 

Talent children, dog, and a daddy

God hands out talent. Is there a standard issue? Does every preschool child perform with such enthusiasm? Have you ever listened to a child's performance and smiled so big?

 

 

 

 

cats

 

 Preschool/Kindergarten children

daddy with his girls

 

 

Emilio Piano with 3 yr. old Angelica

Children speak their minds, good or bad. Children have an honest talent and often have no idea if they are on key, whatever.. They enjoy themselves. They perform for those who are watching.

 

Oh to be so young again!

Talent Abounds!

So much talent in this world! These are worth sharing them with you:

Simon Powell was amazed.

                                                This pianist performs at cafe, mid mall, airports

Famous violinist joins in.

The gift of gab

This was amazing.  Such a gift.

                                                                Tim Conway with Carol Burnett

From football players + Dirty Dancing? Jonathon and Charlotte on AGT! Talented musicians at food court in airport! Little girl and the pub?  Air steward and the required safety before flight!  Tim Conway! Wow. He was so good, too good to describe.

People of God

 

Life in a farming community was a great world to be and grow. The world was somewhere out there, with the Martin Luther King, Jr. , Pope John, Janis Joplin and other people whose lives and mine would never intersect. 

There is a hidden group that has been persecuted for 2 millennia, the God's people, the Jewish people. Six million gone in a matter of a few years, there is little sympathy for a people that escaped genocide.  

But there is no reason to dig this up.  They went on their own choice. Get over it.  These are part of the language that puts the Jewish people down more.

Just who are the famous Jewish people?  Maybe You will be surprised.

Chris Pine        Robert Downey, Jr.    Adam Lambert    Scarlet Johannson    Jack Black

Gene Simmons   Andrew Garfield   Steven Seagal    Paul Simon   Art Garfunkel  Joaquin Phoenix      

Zac Efron     Natalie Portman    Paula Abdul   Jake Gyllenhal     Sylvester Stallone     Bob Dylan

So many talented Jewish people went to the entertainment and music. But why to entertainment?

       

    Jews were prohibited for working in the community from One Millennia to another to our current age.  Instead they were allowed to work in entertaining at fair.  They emigrated to America, where the Hollywood industry was picking up.  Jewish actors were hired above other actors. After all, they had spent 2,000 years practicing their skills as a way of surviving.

Many of the producers and directors (Steven Spielberg) were part of the Jewish people talent repository made necessary by the rest of the world.

What talent came from and immigration to America! We are blessed to be part of their lives.

Brilliance shines and wanders

 Give Robin Williams, just some words,  just bits,and then wait for his creativity.. He was legendary and brilliant, and it is extremely difficult to even describe what his brain did.

 What  happens to different brains?  Robin Williams had some serious mental issues, as brilliant artists often have. Suicide was listed as the cause, but later it was proven that he suffered from "Lewy Body Dementia", a form of Alzheimer's. Robin Williams did not know what his body was doing to the brain.  

He must have been so frightened.

Time was not kind to him as parts of his talents eeked away. Our treatment options are minuscule and. we can all do is to recognize mental health struggles, and then be proactive in the recovery.

  

Oh, the 1960s. Gotta luv 'em.

Sympathy for the Devil

Lately, many of the rock and roll veterans have been inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame. So many of the names that have me nodding, "Oh, yeah. They were something else."

Who are these leaders in what was the beginning of classics we find ourselves humming and/or mouthing the words? They may not have been Inductees, but that was the era of gems that shaped future performers. That was the 60s.

YouTube

These are some Fame-rs, some who should have become Fame-rs, and some that are just plain memorable.

Peter Frampton

Los Lobos, Tom Jones,   The Four Seasons – “Sherry”

Johnny Rivers,    Three Dog Night,    Stevie Wonder – “Uptight (Everything’s Alright)”,  Johnny Winter

Steve Winwood,    Donovan – “Catch The Wind",    Harry Nilsson,   John Mayall

Steppenwolf,  The Rolling Stones – “Sympathy for the Devil”

The list not chosen includes artists that I enjoyed, but the list could go on a long stretch of road.

Why did I not put The Beatles up in the list? Now this is something that may cause gasps or disapproval:  

I really do not like the Beatles.

In 1964, the Ed Sullivan brought them to national fame.  I was 7th gr. and all the farm girls were giggly. They all "claimed" Paul (he wasn't married). I preferred George. He seemed more intelligent.

But after all the hullabaloo, I started listening to them and the lyrics.  A few songs I liked, but there were only a few.  (They didn't have the depth of soul, like Simon and Garfunkel or Lou Rawls.)

Down to the River

     

Wikipedia.org

Illinois River meeting up with the Mississippi River

Josh Groban is a talented man with an outstanding voice. This is what he has give me today.

Josh Groban has been a voice that we all welcome. This voice comes from a depth he experiences about depression and anxiety.  He wrote this song.

He is a prodigy who was surrounded by an extremely talented family which focused on music. This second performance above is from him talking about his struggles, how they led him down the road that developed his talent.

 "Groban began singing in 7th grade and later enrolled in the Interlochen Arts Program to concentrate on his voice. As fate would have it, his vocal coach was friends with David Foster, a well-known producer, writer and arranger, and in 1998, Groban and Foster began working together."

When a child discovers he has a major talent, is encouraged to pursue it by musical parents and given training by accomplished musician David Frost, the child grows to be a man who gives back to the world.

May God bless and protect people with talents who will struggle in this world.  He has a Plan for them.

Just what we need

Remembering Lilacs

To say we live in perilous times is an understatement. There have never been such horrific events happening in the age of technology. We made the supposition that we are in a state of invulnerability, thanks to this age of science and research world-round in our mutual lifetimes. The timeline of tragedies can be pinned on a map. This map will now a deep black hole burned into it. 

Depression and anxiety are like a seeping gas. When it starts to get to me, I seek that which can fill me with peace.

 Claire Cosby and daddy 

At age 4

YouTube site

Seeing such love, talent, and joy between Daddy and daughter, well, is 

just what I need, what we need.

School plays have never been this good.

Going to your child's school performance has two ways of going. It will either a test of your love for that child, meaning you will lie to her afterwards.  The other is that you will really laugh, enjoy it, and put it on YouTube.

We've all been there. Wishing Starbucks was nearby, hoping that this will end soon. Or, instead of that agony, you will start laughing.

And this one:

Or this one:

The YouTube selections of kids in school plays are long and hilarious. Go for it.

Song of the Soil: Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman has been called “The Father of Free-Verse”, as a writer in the mid-1850s who was pulling away from traditional rhyming poetry.  So very talented, Whitman was a teacher, a government employee, journalist, and a volunteer nurse during the Civil War.

Walt Whitman was connected to the earth, the soil, and he wrote passionately about its beauty, as well as its cycles of life and death.  Toward the end of his life, he moved to Laurel Springs, New Jersey, which he called “the prettiest lake in: America or Europe.”

I took these photos in Bremgarten bie Bern, Switzerland, when I visited my new grandson (and his parents) in 2012.  The photos reminded me of Walt Whitman’s poetry.

One day....

...and then the next.

A song of the grass and fields!

A song of the soil, and the good green grass!

A song no more of the city streets,

A song of the soil of the fields.

A song with the smell of sun-dried hay, where the nimble pitchers

        
             handle the pitch-fork,

A song tasting of new wheat, and of fresh-husk’d maize.

Please notice the next field over is green and tasseled with stalks of corn.

Jim and Eileen

Source

Jim always called her his “goddess”.  In the early years of their marriage when both were sparkling with the joy of love, Jim had a talent for making her laugh.

Whether it was running along the beach or watching a movie, Jim and his goddess Eileen enjoyed each minute of their lives together.  The years had flown by with surprising speed.

She smiled at the memories of Christmases past, of their children growing, and happy times as she walked by the nurses’ station.  The medical staff always appreciated the elderly pudgy and wrinkled woman who came unfailingly to see her husband in the Alzheimer Unit.

When Eileen entered his room, Jim’s face lit up and for a few minutes his eyes smiled at her.  “Ah, my goddess, my beautiful love…”

These underlined words are from Delores  at Under the Porch Light.  Each week she sets up 6 words and a sentence prompt to be used as the writer wishes.  Please go to her site by clicking on the peaceful stream in the right sidebar.  You will discover some other takes on these words!  Go there, go quickly!

People who Make a Difference

Why this?

Common universal themes are the ones that grab me when I read a book or a blog.  The questions most frequently addressed are:  WHY me?  WHY this?  WHY now?

Why me?

As a writer, I try to weave a thread of humor through my writing.  That is how I handle the hard answers to the hard questions.  Humor keeps me from spiraling inward.  How do other bloggers/writers handle those same questions?

Klahanie uses satire and uses it well. 

The precise use of words make Delores’ blog a pleasure to read.

Irony and no-punches-held-back are employed by Melynda

Deep introspection and wisdom are from Dee.

Arlee ties his writing together with guitar strings and dreams.

Roaring into the wind is Pearl with grounded humor.

Taking in and breathing out is Elephant’s Child.

Arlene shapes her world to show her inner beauty.

Joanna/Cup on the Bus reflects on the past and connects it to the present.

That rascal, Pat Hatt, portrays himself as the human servant to his cats.

Elisa  has talent over-flowing, organizes us all to produce anthologies.

Jen Chandler always gives me a great perspective on life.

Rick/Life 101 reflects on his life, his interests, and his family.

Zoanna/Penchant for Pens shares her love of faith, family, and poetry.

Erin/Hold onto your Bloomers entertains me with her observations and humor.

My list is much longer, for there are many bloggers who have enriched my life.  How about you?  Do you have those universal questions and bloggers who have helped explore the answers?

Why now?