What Was Your Childhood Like

Humility.

Sit. Listen. Forgive.

Where there is pain, there is also joy.

You have to learn it. You have to think about it. You have to work at it. I’m still in the first phase. Learning.

As I write, I’m listening to Shawn Colvin speaking about her dad in a podcast. She’s speaking about forgiveness and compassion. She’s bringing tears to my eyes. I’ll talk about them later, when I’m ready.

Shawn and I go way back. We don’t know each other. When my mom passed, it was in Reno, Nevada. I had to make a number of trips to take care of all that family business including housing my dad, who had a number of small strokes. He couldn’t care for himself. We placed him in a home. It was residential. Five patients. 11 caregivers. I joked that I wanted to live there.

It was intense.

My cousin and his girlfriend wanted to go to a concert. They thought it would be good for me to accompany them. Since the headliner was Jackson Browne backed by Shawn Colvin I was a little excited to go.

Shawn played her set. Jackson sat in. When he played his set, Shawn joined him. There was a pause, the audience went quiet. You know the guy who yells something out during that quiet time? That was me. You could hear me clear as a bell. I yelled out, “Fountain of Sorrow,” a song from his second album. Jackson looked around, and said, “Okay, we’ll play that.” He knew that somebody out in the audience needed to hear it. Shawn’s voice made the song fly.

That’s how I know Shawn Colvin. That was 24 years ago. After 24 years on the road playing in every possible place, I doubt she even remembers the show. But, I do.

There are a few things I need to work out. I promise I won’t bore you. Too much.

The Picture

I had a helluva a shooting day, yesterday. My eyes were wide open. I could see everything. Wherever I went there were pictures shining in front of me. Today? Not so much. That’s how it goes.

I really like the picture. I saw very clearly what I wanted it to be. But, there is a flaw in it. The center just above the tree, is very strangely exposed. It’s way too bright for the picture. I believe there must have been something behind the tree that was reflecting light back into it

I wanted to hide it. I tried everything. Nothing worked. Some of my early attempts look weird. I started tinkering with faux bokeh. That worked. It even added a little color.

Stay safe. Stay mighty. Enjoy the heat and humidity.