"...And then one day you find...

...ten years have got behind you; no one told you when to run; you missed the starting gun."

These simple yet powerful lyrics have guided me, here and there, for most of my adult life. As in: make the most of your time, because you only have a certain amount of it.

Richard Wright made the most of his time. In a little more than forty years of public life and performance, his music and quiet elegance and inherent dignity have affected millions of people worldwide, bringing tears, joy, and inspiration across multiple generations. Wright was known for intentionally putting "spaces" in the middle of busy music (illustrated here). remaining true to his own affection for the music of Miles Davis, who himself said that the spaces between the notes were much more important than the actual notes in and of themselves. Couldn't the same thing be said about a certain amount of the time we have?

David Gilmour recently referred to the musical connection that he shared with Wright as ''Telepathy". True that, David.

In 2006, when I found out that Wright would be touring with David Gilmour's band in support of On an Island, I was thrilled. While I was unable to attend one of the 6 shows they played in the United States, I was able to scour bittorrent sites for links to scratchy, noisy bootlegs of the tour. Fueled by headphones and marijuana, i imagined myself in attendance at one of the $800 theatre seats (curse you, ebay ticket brokers!!), absorbing the same haunting harmonies of Echoes more than 25 years later. It didn't really matter that I didn't attend, as I followed their progress throughout Europe and North America. Shortly after I arrived in Oregon, I purchased the concert DVD and have enjoyed it a zillion times since.

My point is this, I suppose: Richard Wright went out quickly and quietly, surrounded by his family, at home. This, of course, is all any of us could hope for. However, Rick went out at the top of his game. His musical skill was at its apex, and he had just completed a highly successful tour with those friends he loved, sharing his gift with many, many people all over the world. In the aforementioned DVD, he shared many little tidbits in the included documentaries about how much fun and joy-filled his time with his musical partner has been. Coincidentally, his band released a full concert DVD of their show at the historically important Gdansk Shipyards in Poland only a few days after his death. While I haven't yet seen the film, I have listened to the show, and it truly does show Wright at the top of his game. Make sure to check out the usage of tuned crystal wine glasses during "Shine on you Crazy Diamond". organic, simple, gorgeous overtones.

So, thanks for sharing some of your time with us, Rick. Say hello to Syd for us, and know that those simple keystrokes and important spaces between have given those of us left attached to this mortal coil much to think about, and much to enjoy. Shine on.

this weekend

...i made a new friend.














...meet my buddy fergus.

Going along in company together, a wise man Must mix with other foolish persons. But on seeing what is wrongful he abandons them. As a full-fledged heron leaves the marshy ground.

-Udana 8.7

tonight, in Clarice Starling-esque irritation, I delete personal files from my work desktop account. While doing so, I imagine the green, the oxygen, and the finest financial security: money, that is earned doing that which one loves. The loud roar of anger and the twinge of corporate workplace betrayal fades as i bathe in the future green. in preparation for departure, i go through my email inbox. inside, i find the above mail waiting for me.

and now, i'm ready to let go. Thanks, TFG. Together, in conjunction with the Universe, you may just have turned the tide. I may just be a Believer in the complete interconnectedness of Life, the Universe, and Everything.

So be it. Ahead, the delicious transition into the unknown. Adventure!

TMI friday

it's friday. time for the Too much Information about my upbringing Meme!
True statements are in bold. pass it along, should you see fit to share. :)


1. Father went to college
2. Father finished college
3. Mother went to college
4. Mother finished college
5. Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor
6. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers. ( this must be a british thing?)
7. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home.
8. Had more than 500 books in your childhood home.
9. Were read children's books by a parent (and grandma and grandpa, too!)
10. Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18 (music, driving track/field: discus)
11. Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18
12. The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed
13. Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18
14. Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs
15. Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs
16. Went to a private high school
17. Went to summer camp (Church of the Bretheren, Eldora, Iowa.)
18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18 (during the ADD/ritalin phase. i really pissed him off, i think. poor guy.)
19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels (nope. stayed with friends and family!)
20. Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18
21. Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them (a 1962 Ford Galaxie coupe! Wow! simply an amazing car. loved it.)
22. There was original art in your house when you were a child
23. You and your family lived in a single-family house
24. Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home
25. You had your own room as a child (Like Crazy, I was an only child until i was ...7?)
27. Participated in a SAT/ACT prep course ??
28. Had your own TV in your room in high school (preferred the stereo-swiped the folks speakers)
29. Owned a mutual fund or IRA in high school or college
30. Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16
31. Went on a cruise with your family
32. Went on more than one cruise with your family
33. Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up
34. You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family (but i knew how much work went into keeping us warm in the midwest wintertime! corncobs, oak, ash, pine)

Bonus Round:
35. Your parents showed affection to one another
36. Your parents showed evidence of a sexual relationship (they're human! good for them, i say.)
37. You were conscious of your parents having money problems
38. Your parents fought in front of you and/or your siblings
39. Your parents confided in you about their marital problems
40. You were concerned at any time before you were 18 your parents might get divorced


unrelated, but interesting and fun!

Today is the feast day of Saint Dwynwen, patron saint of Welsh lovers. Princess Dwynwen was the most beautiful of Brychan Brycheiniog’s twenty-four daughters. She was deeply in love with Maelon Dafodrill, but her father had promised her to another prince.

In his frustration, Maelon raped her and ran away to escape her father’s wrath. Grief-stricken, Dwynwen retreated to a lonely wood and prayed that she might be relieved of her love for Maelon. In her dream, an angel gave her a sweet drink which cured her; but she saw Maelon turn into a block of ice when he drank from the same cup.

The angel then granted Dwynwen three wishes. She wished first that Maelon be restored; second, that she herself would never marry; third, that all requests made to her by true lovers be granted. So make a wish today. You don’t have to be Welsh, but it helps.

a breath of fresh air.

so. i've made it official, to myself at least. i've printed a calendar for the next seven weeks and one day. i've circled a specific day... the fourteenth of march. a week beyond my six month anniversary at this little TV station in my little market.



seven weeks and one day, and i shan't want or need to commute +/- 2 hours every day to go to work. i'll get a nice job in Corvallis that i really love, and i'll give up my corporate benefits package gladly.



i see happy, smiling, green plants at the end of this tunnel. a nice, warm greenhouse. sunshine. physical exertion. i see a bunch of learning for me at the end of this here corporate tunnel.



i'm happy that it only took me six months of working here to figure out that i really don't want to work here. Thanks, ClearChannel. While I'm sure you'll do just fine without me, I remain grateful that you gave me a nice opportunity to move away and start a whole new life. I will be grateful in the future to collect a paycheck that doesn't have the same watermark that Rush Limbaugh's paycheck does.



next step: finding the perfect place, doing something that i will really love, with a smaller paycheck. and no commute. except maybe on this.

Potential energy, connection with the Ethereal, and politics.

There are approximately fifteen hundred thousand zillion (+/- 2,000) Greenhouses and plant nurseries in the Valley. One of which TFG and I visited before we went to hang with Miles for a couple of hours. Here in this randomly chosen greenhouse, the love shines out of the windows (more on this later). The lovely proprietor was a wealth of knowledge on what/when/how we could plant, and the seed company, based in the Valley, has zillions of plants which were chosen to sell in the Valley because they are meant to grow in the Valley.

i would imagine myself clamoring out the door in the morning, should i be lucky enough to work in an environment such as this.
"Gotta go! the plants await!"

a one line snippet, delivered by the super-nice proprietor in a lovingly offhand manner:
"Well, Our rule of thumb is that when the snow melts off of the top of Mary's Peak, it's safe to plant."

we couldn't have garnered that type of knowledge on our own in the time we've been here. thanks, super-nice greenhouse proprietor. Over the weekend, I made a first draft at the nature of the seeds/starter plants we would need to fulfill the map I created of the garden which hasn't been built yet. (LITN potentiality/disappointment alert!) This draft is subject to constant revision, as the line between what i want and what will happen in reality will eventually cross over. don't doubt me, dear reader. i make this crap up all of the time.

there's far too much stuff on the list. seven different kinds of organic, ready-to-grow-in-the-Valley tomatoes? Yes! we need them ALL! No. it's too much for the space we have. organic peppers, yes. but do we really need seven kinds? do we really want to grow that much stuff? potatoes. zucchini. onions. garlic. rosemary. basil. a pumpkin. I'd love to spend three hours a day in this upcoming jungle. I can see it, dear reader. i have a reasoned, sensible, and planned expectation that i will make it happen. my new family's first garden together.

...and we haven't even made the list of the flowers we'd like to grow.

But!! (and I thought of you, Jenny while i did this) i did have fun making the map. and the list. and the planning. and the plotting. and the planning of the plotting. and the imagining. and the visualizing. the making of the list and checking things off of the list. checking "making a list" off of the list. in the end, however, we still have to pick the seed/starters and prep the ground and p.h. test. call me results oriented, but nothing actually has been done yet.... no physical results of my "spend a couple of hours in the garden which probably lies in my future" time planning.

it's so difficult for me to reconcile how i'm wasting my NOW (-not actually doing anything except imagining-) by planning the upcoming WHEN which has infinite ability to disappoint because it may not happen exactly the way i imagine it!(when the loving planting/farming/sweating stuff actually gets done, and i have dirt under my nails). A certain pseudo-religion would frown and shake their fingers at me. read the first line of this page, a quote from L. Ron Hubbard, founder of yet another Live in the Now philosophy. of course, we can find a direct crossover. But that's just me- I like to cross-reference!

anyway, enough of the Live in the Now Neurosis, ....for now. no, wait.... ...NOW! :)

Dreams. another area of fruition as of late. Both TFG and TBB have been visited in theirs by a little girl named Yves. (yes, the masculine form of Yvette). I haven't seen her yet, but it sure would be nice if she showed up. i'm pretty sure i'd like her.

and, lastly, this little snippit. I am considering re-registering as an Independant voter in my new state, unaffiliated with anyone. Stuff like this reinforces the thought.

meanwhile, back at the Bad German Disco...