Drops , Above and Below

The ocean stirs the heart , inspires the imagination and brings eternal joy to the soul.

Robert Wyland

Pops: Satchmo The Great

" What we play is life. " 

Louie Armstrong



music is such a large part of my life , whether I'm playing horribly or listening I can't think of a time when it wasn't the center of my universe.  
growing up I can remember my friends and I waiting for the next new Beatles release , sitting in the music booth making sure there was no skips in the 45 before I brought it. Side A and B. 

there is something magical walking the streets and a song coming from some store front  , passing car or an apartment window playing a forgotten song from years younger. 

there are artist that will always be at the top of my collection even if I never listen to them anymore , such as the Beatles , because they are so embedded within my mind I don't have too. Neil Young who carried me through my teens years and beyond but at this point I find just to depressing to spin anymore. 

of course there is Van Morrison whom I still can't stop listening to. there are always at least 3-4 cds of his in the player of my car. the other slots are used to shift artist in and out.and of course there is always Roy Buchanan when I need a change of pace. 

all timeless. but there is one artist , Louie Armstrong , that I could listen too forever. the voice of God. from children to the eldest statesmen there is comfort listening to songs like:

What a wonderful Life
Dream a little dream of me
Our love is here to stay
Mack the Knife
Moon River

They don't have an age , they are just classic and will live on forever. sitting on a beach , watching the stars and listening to old Pops , life doesn't get any better. 

    

Candle Light

All the darkness in the world can not extinguish the light of a single candle.

St Francis of Assisi

Busy Board

I wanted to find out why I was so busy . But I couldn't find the time to do it. 

Todd Stocker 

Testing

For some reason back in May my blog post stopped showing the photos I uploaded in Google + . Instead it shows my blog header for every post. I can't figure out what changed so I doing a few test to try and figure it out. 

Should some one else that may have had this problem please let me know what you did to correct it. 

Thank you. 

Full Moon

That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. 

Neil Armstrong 


I love that I live in area where there is always something to do 24 hours a day. Bored and after midnight I decided to go for a drive and maybe have a nice hot meal somewhere. As soon as I opened the front door and looked up at the sky my plans were changed. 

Instead I grabbed my camera looking for a dark open area to photograph the moon and night sky. ( Believe me , that is not an easy task here. ) 

It was a very light cloudy or hazy sky and the reflection of the sun off the moon left this incredible circular glow that took up most of the heavens.I never quite seen anything like this before. 

Having spent about 2 1/2 hours driving around and taking photos It was back home for sleep. I now have a truck load of photos to combine with other creative ideas later. 

Photo Challenge

Being challenged is inevitable , being defeated is optional.

Roger Crawford



I was nominated by dear friend Hollis Rafkin-Sax for a 7 day photo challenge and for those that are not on Facebook or don't have the time to follow this,  I added the photos here.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's.

Central Park

And the most unusual and surrealist place in New York City is Central Park.

Christo



There are so many wonderful places in the city I don't know if I could pick just one as a favorite. But I would have to agree with Christo , I just love it.  From the inside looking out or outside looking in , it's a wonder.

Winter Project

Twas Christmas broach'd the mightiest ale:
Twas Christmas told the merriest tale;
A Christmas gambol oft could cheer;
The poor man's heart though half the year.

-Walter Scott 



Out shopping , I came across a candle store that had these different color candles melted atop of bottles , it looked so interesting that I brought a bunch of them and experimented with a few and now I have a new project.

I don't expect this beautiful weather to last to much longer so it's off to the wine store for the bottles I'll need and then to load up on candles. Now when the foul weather rolls in I'll have the bottles , candles and my guitar to keep me busy until Spring. 

Show Up For Life Each Day

Dear friend , inspiration and mentor Rita Foley has just finished her newest book and it is now available. 100 percent of the profits will go to HCC  for Cancer. 

Rita in her own courageous way decided that instead of letting Cancer control her she would fight and help others that face their own struggles with courage and dignity. One of just many reasons she is such an inspiration. 

Information on ordering , " Show up for life each day " is below along with a link for the HealthCare Chaplaincy Network.   

Photo of Rita by Hollis Rafkin-Sax

Yes, I would like _________ Show up for Life Each Day books. 

Enclosed is my check for $82 for each book; 

$75 x ___number of books____+  7 for shipping  of which a $25 tax deductible donation to HCC for cancer (see below)___ __________

Please mail them to: 

____Your address__________________

_____add if you want them signed ( just my name or also to someone)_________________

Please make check out to Rita Foley and mail to:

30 West 63rd Street – Apt 30 AB

New York, NY 10023

Cost Details

$50 Production Cost  (color photos are extremely costly to print so this is my full cost to produce the book. I make no money on this)

$25 to “I Can’t Believe I have Cancer”

$7 shipping

Health Care Chaplain Network