Photo by Jorma Kaukonen
Daylight savings rolled in this morning… lost an hour of sleep and outside the window about a half an inch of snow fell. WTF? Not much snow… but snow nonetheless. What to do? What to do? Take Maverick to the Do It Yourself Dog Wash at Tractor Supply… that’s what. What a brilliant idea. A clean dog without having to clean up a mess in the shower at home. Chunk is small enough to wash in the sink… the Big Guy, obviously, is not.
This is just that time of year when bleak is a way of life in Southeast Ohio. On days like this it just feels like I’m marking time waiting for the sun to come back. Not very uplifting but what are you going to do? Oh well…
I wondered about the gaggle of kids at the house and then I realized… It’s Spring Break. First Daylight Savings and then Spring Break… what next? Graduation… summer vacation… college? Good grief. Time runs like water through my fingers. I just can’t hold on to enough of it. My hands are freezing. I probably should have put gloves on before I walked the dogs but I didn’t. Time was, cold didn’t bother me, but that time… like so many other times, is gone.
Having just finished a solo run my guitar hands are in pretty good shape. As much as I play in down time, nothing keeps me sharp like a real gig and that’s just the way it is. Complaining changes nothing, but somehow it has a place in my universe on a grey late winter day like today.
OK… moving right along…
I’ve been listening to Mary Chapin Carpenter’s ‘The Dirt & The Stars.’ I’m a huge MCC fan and somehow this project slipped by me. Never too late though. Got it on vinyl and CD. Good stuff… really good stuff. Also highly recommended is Willie Watson’s Folksinger Vol. 2 produced by David Rawlings. My buddy John Hurlbut brought the vinyl over for me to listen to on me new Cambridge HiFi. Gallows Pole on a high end system is a real ear opener. One thing I’ve really been enjoying here at home is appointment listening sessions in the sweet spot of my ear candy room. In fact, I’ve got some vintage Lightning Hopkins vinyl just waiting to hit the turntable.
As always… more will be revealed!
God/Dog
I suspect Jorma that you are closer than most to being the man who your dogs think you are. And, that decades in the California Sunshine may have made you extra susceptible to the late winter Bleak😜
Mostly, my thanks for your thoughts/observations about the blessed ordinary within the daily rhythms of life; smiling wife&family life, dog washing/ bathing, use of time and energies etc etc. Laughter at the breakfast table are some of the most important conversations of my days.
Winter Bleak be damned, I’m planting hope and peas tomorrow, St. Patrick’s Day, because that’s what the Farmer’s Almanac advises
Clapton is God.
– God
“Told how they themselves were under the sway of an invisible God, and narrated their miracles, trying to further show that the God whom they worshipped arranged the whole of nature for their sole benefit: this idea was so pleasing to humanity that men go on to this day imagining miracles so that they may believe themselves God’s favourites, and the final cause for which God created and directs all things.”
– Benedict de Spinoza, A Theological-Political Treatise, Ch. VI (1670)
“The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the Supreme Being as his father, in the womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter.”
— Thomas Jefferson, letter to John Adams, April 11, 1823
Jorma
my older brother ( 75 ) lives up in Maine. He walks every day 4-5 miles year round. Last month he sent me a video of him with no shirt on in shorts doing his yoga before starting to walk. BTW this was outside in the snow @ 9 below out. I got a chill just watching it. He did put a coat on for his walk. Some days he adds in some snow shoeing.
Amen Jorma.
Aye,aye Captain.
Good morning, Jorma:
I can relate to the Ohio blues this time of year. I went to Oberlin College and man, when the sun went away in the winter it took a loooooonngg time to come back.
And on feeling the cold:
A few years ago I said to a 90-year-old friend (I was in my mid-60’s at the time) that it seems the older I get, the more I feel the cold.
He gave me an unforgettable withering look and said, “No kidding.”
Hang in there!
@carey georgas
I’m glad you realize you have a soul and it is eternal. Now where do you want to spend eternity? Think long and hard about that one. It’s for a real, real long time. It’s the biggest decision of your life. Good luck.
OK… let’s not get into a pissing match over who’s imaginary friend is the most powerful. There are a lot of logs on this fire. I’ll pick my log… you pick yours.
Maverick’s bath reminds me of the old joke (funnier when applied to people than to animals): he gets a bath once a month, whether he needs it or not.
JK, thanks for your reflection on David Lindley. Got to see him once with JB back in the day but even more special was the FPR show with you, him, and GE from a few years back. I only knew his music but all accounts I’ve read commented on his sense of humor and devotion to friends. We should all be blessed with humor, great music and friends!
@john o
Dang, dude, ever hear of sarcasm? I was mainly tying it in to Heinlein, who I know is a science fiction writer our host respects, as do I. There is an immortal soul dwelling in me right now, regardless of how long my body lasts. We are living in eternity. It’s not “out there” somewhere. That is one of my favorite metaphors of the river. As for that other stuff, I much prefer the principle of Occam’s razor to the complexity of conspiracy theory. Rain from Fukushima? I much prefer the explanation of an overactive winter pattern in the gulf of Alaska. I’m as woke up as can be.
@Jorma
Thanks Jorma. Sorry I never got to know him but his music lives on. Peace
There is a way to become immortal besides what they’re saying in popular mechanics.
What they’re outlying is BS. You might live longer but you won’t have a soul.
I’ll stay where I am, unvaccinated, searching for truth and a Christian.
Don’t fall for their bullshit. East Palestine is just the tip of the iceberg.
The California rains are from Fukashima. Etc etc. Wake up before it’s too late.
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Check this out. The mortal coil has been popping up here lately as a lot of favored musicians have been departing it. I’m not saying I believe this, but at least Popular Mechanics is not a crazy rag last time I checked. I do like the optimism. Made me think of Lazarus Long in”Time Enough for Love” by Heinlein.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/a43297321/humans-will-achieve-immortality-by-2030/
A bit more snow this morning. Me wife’s daffy dills got covered but all is well. Saw you are booked for a show in July with Tommy Emmanuel in Columbus. WOW. m
Not quite a full spa day but Mav certainly looks like he is having a good time. I am sure he fluffs out nicely. Enjoy
Hi Jorma, It was a real unexpected blow for David Lindley to check out recently. I loved his music and seeing him play. Especially the Hani Naser stuff (live from Japan is incredible). Anyway, I know he played there at FPR, any thoughts on Mr. Dave? I saw him play several times over the years and it was always a treat!
We knew that David had been ill for sometime. His tour page lay fallow and indeed the gigs has ceased for a number of years. I never really got to know him until he started to come to the Fur Peace Ranch. His recorded work from the beginning was always varied and never lightweight. He always played with purity of intent. We did some touring together and he always brought his best game to center stage. He had a delightful sense of humor. I know that no one lives forever which is why it is so important not to waste time on trivial things. Of course I had hoped after the last time that David left the FPR we would get together again but fate had other plans.
He was a great guy on many levels. We shall not see his like again.
Lightnin’ is always good medicine for those Monday morning out the window blues. You know that sun’s gonna be shining, trees bursting forth and birds singing just around the corner. Another spring to revel in.
Good stuff Jorma. Your blog is good for the soul… at least it is for mine. Whether you’re writing about a recent string of gigs, or just a day in the life in southeast Ohio. I come here to fill my tank with goodness, and you never disappoint. Wish we could be there for the next Jorma / John performance, Janine and I just love the interaction between 2 great friends, but our schedule just didn’t cooperate this time. Until next time…
Waiting for the sun…Waiting for the sun…Waiting…Waiting…Waiting…Waiting…