moon traveller herald

My dear friend Dennis Pultinas took one of my poems and greatly enlarged it with commentary for the occassion of his and his wife Allison's son Victor's marriage to Jenna in upstate N.Y. June 9. Dennis took it and put the poem into being a part of an active practice. Also, his brother Ray edited the poem - pointing out that no, Paul was not on his way to Antioch but was Damascus bound when his horse went down. - Jack ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That's Saul Folks To open our hearts to grace as we develop the habit on the road to speak in prayer with creation every day that we are given. The horse breaks down on the road to Damascus looking for a new way of being and living in the world changing focus from world to being with the Lord and hearing the voice of creation he is no Houdini but Creation wants us to open our hearts to grace Thats Saul folks To open our hearts to grac...

The enlightenment has lately been getting a bad rap - mostly at the hands of no nothing Trumpists who've declared Dark and dirty unreason is the trend. As described in the new book Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker, there is a case to be made for reason and science, for humanism and progress - it just requires a little thinking. Among founding fathers were many inspired by the Enlightment ideals. Count among these Alexander Hamilton, perhaps the greatest man to never have become president, and one who met with great tragedy. That aside,  His story had a tinge of the Dickensonian. Hamilton came out of the West Indies. He was not a Negro, as some stories have it. He WAS born out of wedlock, and that was tantamount to negro among detractors of the era...per author Ron Chernow of Alexander Hamilton.  Reading Hamilton in the portion where he attended the Annapolis convention, the precursor to the constitutional convention. The specter arises of a population that can be...

The F-111 was slow, but a death trap. A combination of narrow wings and bulbous body created high wing loading, good for some applications (dirigible interception, drone patrol) but overall lacking in vertical stability. It would stall and roll over and that's if you were lucky. A bottom firing ejector sent many a pilot to an unfortunate grounding. It thus gained such sobriquets as Lawn Dart, Death Tube and Worm Feeder.  The late test pilot Hap Hooligan is shown here. Ca. 1958.

Musical notes Land and expand. Take the base, and somewhat enhance it. Enhance it by refreshing it. REvisit something. Move deliberately and casually.  Take a song: Mr Postman. It was a struggle. Runaround Sue came to mind. Similar chords, simpler structure, easier scale for vocal. And fun! But lets visit Postman again, from a different angle, say, start with the chorus. And let’s see how another oldie might work. This morning I am thinking of Save the Last Dance for Me. I could tell you about 100 reasons why it would be a good one to try. But I’d sound like I was trying to sell you an old car. Ideas: Save the Last Dance for Me I Heard her Call my Name

Jeff DeMark and I were talking one time way back. About the assembly line. I remember him remembering. Saying "When you’re in the factory and start imagining what time it is - that it might be almost noon or it might be near 5, when you get off - and you wonder, but you are afraid to look at the clock, it was always up there on the wall. Afraid to look because it could be so disheartening if you looked up and would see you had another hour or worse - more - to work. Before the shift shut down. In Racine when we were growing up its was still very much a factory town. Modines, Twin Disc In-sink-erator, Johnsons, Case, Jacobsen's, many more.  The most ominous of all was the Bell City Foundry - which is sadly more or less the site of a barbed and onerours youth detention facility today. The factories varied but to different degrees they were dirty, hot, boring, dangerous. But if you needed money you could probably find work there. And money - especially money for a ticket out of...

Bob Stepien and I saw a guy do Slow Down at George's last year. He and the band we're good. We wondered, could we be that good or better? Anyway it is a great old number. I link to it here below. By Larry WIlliams, the original. The Bealtles version is very very similar. I think both versions are a bit too fast, at least for olde geezers. But it may be illusion. Inside it may not be that fast at all. I know it calls for a lot of vocalist's breath. Should we slow down Slow Down a bit? We dont have much time to practice.. this as with others is either gonna feel right fast or not happen. What was it William Carlos Williams said? 'If it ain't a pleasure, it ain't a poem'? I think I could plunk out some piano on this one. Not too much, mind you. I got to sit down some times. I can hear a saxophone, melodious, Bolognese and blazing. I hear the drums of Eureka! I hear Siri telling me it is time say good night. Larry Williams was really amazing. He was a...