Drown

Hi,

The weather has been a little confusing lately.  The days begin with ‘almost rain clouds’ followed by warmer mid-day temps, and then cooling off at night.  The ‘Smokey Season’ seems to have started early, with a haze that has arrived a month early.  There is supposed to be a three month ban on burning, but that doesn’t start until the end of next week.  Meanwhile, we take precautions. 

The ‘Old School Friday’ song was “Earth Angel” by The Penguins.  Here’s an ‘Easy Monday’ song that might be easy:

“(Sunrise) There’s a new sun-a-risin’ (In your eyes) I can see a new horizon, (Realize) That will keep me realizin’ you’re the __ __ __ __.”  Hint:  I’m sure this group wasn’t named for a salad (555).  Subject of the song is a large portion of the singer.

Saturday night I went back to the Jazz Festival.  Lisa stayed at home to avoid the damp night air.  I took a few treats and a camping chair just in case I couldn’t get a table.  I ended up in almost the same spot as Friday night, with two chairs to spare.  I kept an eye out for Brenda and Eric and spotted them before the music started.  We had a great time talking and listening and passing judgment (555) when necessary.  Some of the hits of the evening were Jazz Philharmonic, Infinity, and Joey Alexander.  Philharmonic was smooth jazz with a little bite.  Infinity rocked the house but stayed in the genre.  Sometimes we could hear a Steely Dan vibe, and they also had a strong sense of funk/jazz.  The biggest mindblower of the evening was 13 year-old Joey Alexander on piano.  His trio took us on a journey with each tune.  He improvised on original tunes as well as John Coltrane.  His trio was the only unit that didn’t have any ‘charts’ on stage.  You can hear him on Youtube.  We left a few tunes into Brian McKnight’s set.  The volume was too high and it was more of a rock show.  Kinda missed the jazz aspect, although the younger members of the audience rushed the stage as soon as he started.  Am I getting old or something?  Anyway, I saw lots of friends and got to hear some great players. 

Today’s photos are from the Thailand International Jazz Festival.  You see Joey doing his thing in the first pic.  The second pic is the control center for the big screens.  The guy who pushed the buttons was dancing in his chair, and switching screens with the music when the right shot appeared.  It was a show in itself.

Just as I was about to leave the festival, there was an earthquake, centered in Burma.  Lisa felt it and tried to call me but I didn’t hear a thing.  Everything was fine, just rattling.  There were aftershocks, but not in our area.  

The papaya tree that Gong planted months ago is now bearing fruit.  I had some last week and it was delicious.  Can’t wait until the next one ripens.  So far, the yard has yielded bananas, coconuts, an occasional mango, and now papaya.  Our citrus fruits have been slow to mature.  Maybe it’s time to plant something else.

We got our visas for Australia, so the preparations are complete.  That will be in mid-March.  The next adventure will be the first weekend in March, when we go to Bangkok for the weekend for a Recovery convention.  

Have a Great Week.

                   Peace,

                             Danny

“You drown not by falling into a river,

but by staying submerged in it.”

~Paulo Coelho