August 16th, 2018
“(Boker tov) בוקר טוב” Wishing you a fine Hebrew “Good Morning”.
The Great American Read is still running. I am still voting. Are you?
Well, it was wonderful having the whole crowd here with us this week. It always seems so long we are apart and how quick they have to leave but it is all good. The whole gang of my kids and their kids got to go to the zoo together and had a wonderful time. The old folks stayed home, me with my leg elevated. We also had another tie-dye party with the whole gang the morning they left so we will be mailing their shirts to them this week. It took two tries to get going when they left but they finally got on the road by early afternoon. The are talking the northern route back to Texas visiting The Grand Canyon and Santa Fe at least on their way home. I am awfully glad we could make this happen.
We are so jazzed! Our little orchids are blooming again! I think this will make the 3rd or 4th set of blooms for the bigger one and the 2nd set for the little tiny one. They all look so pretty. Its weird though. I didn’t recognize what was happening soon enough so I didn’t train the blooms to go straight up so they both grew kind of sideways towards the brightest light. Oh well. Still pretty.
This week I learned some stuff:
• Today is NATIONAL Rum Day!! We, Americans, all owe a great deal to rum. It precipitated our freedom. The Sugar Act of 1764, which was a tax on sugar, molasses and rum by the British on the American colonies, helped start the unrest that finally became the American Revolution.
Website Update:
• Last week for our Vocabulary Quiz!!!
• New “UJT Music Trivia Quiz” !!!
• This week I added a new recipe for Grandpa’s Chicken Pot Pie. It was very tasty and very filling.
Writing, Ceramics and Painting Update:
• I will restart my classes this week. Woohoo!
Weird-Stuff-O-Meter:
• Mother Nature sure loves her balance!! As young people, most of us are almost indestructible. On those occasions where we actually are injured, we seem to heal close the the speed of Wolverine, especially, compared to the other end of our lives. As we get older we tend fall more, bump more, our bones become more brittle, our ankles swell and gravity seems to pull everything down. My recent reminder that Mr. Gravity is in charge lingers. The antibiotics seem to be doing their job but in slow motion. The aging thing is not pretty or for the feint of heart.
• I reread Walden by Henry David Thoreau over the past 2 weeks. I had forgotten how interesting and boring a book it is. He indulges himself at ever turn at the expense of the audience as endless drones on about the pittance he paid to live. All the while he shares his rather unique and I think valuable philosophy on life. He sees it as we, typical European dependents, got it completely wrong as we strive to own things. According to Thoreau, we should cherish our time higher so we do not forsake our lives to pay for things like houses or luxuries. We should look to native Americans for practical approach to being human. Thoreau is generous with his options and philosophy to sometimes a painful degree. I recommend it to those who are strong at heart.
Music Update:
As always, I try to find something to make the UJT Radio mix work for everyone.
Go to this week’s UJT Radio program.
• Blind Faith — Can’t Find My Way Home — Just timeless sweet music. Eric Clapton, Steve Windwood, Rick Gretch and Ginger Baker at their best. Their 1969 album cover was scandalous as it showed a prepubescent girl holding a silver spaceship. I remember it and thought it was cool at the time. They quickly replaced it with a picture of the band.
• Rick Fines — A Stone’s Throw Away — Another song from this soulful player. This one comes from his album Solar Powered released in 2006.
• Train — Drops of Jupiter — Been well over a year since I heard this one. I always have liked it. I hope you do too.
• Louisiana LaRoux & Tab Benoit — Midnight and Lonesome — Another Cajun blues song that you either feel or you don’t. This one comes from their 2007 release called, “Power of the Pontchartrain”.
• k. d. lang — Help Me — This is k.d’s tribute to Joni Mitchel and she does an amazing job. This is from the Tribute to Joni Mitchel compilation album released in 1988.
• Jackson Browne — Lawyers in Love — “oooo shala la” This is the title track for his album released in 1983. I can’t tell if that is whistling in the break but was pretty impressed with the highs he hits on this one.
• Venice — High So High — The boys got busy on this one. A catchy tune that I think I have seen them perform at least once. This one comes from their, “What Summer Brings” released in 2013.
• Madonna — So Far Away (LIVE) — This one comes to us from the 2013 release of the compilation for victims of the Japanese earthquake called, “Songs for Japan”. It is a live cut from a concert she did in Buenos Aires in 1988. In addition to being a shrewd business woman, she had a great voice.
That’s it… Do the best you can; Laugh every chance you get; And always remember … The best is yet to come!
As always, thank you for being my friend!
James
Under the Jacaranda Tree URL: http://www.jfmccann.com