"You certainly can't make a living at THAT?!" . . . or words to that effect were spoken, not unkindly-just instructively, by my Mother sometime during my mid-teens when the possibility of my undertaking musical performance as a full-time career was being considered. . . And I knew (thought?) she was correct. Hindsight being twenty-twenty, maybe that's what I should have done. Hard work, no doubt. Lucrative, NO! Fulfilling, well. . . what do you think? Believe me, I have absolutely no regrets. It's just a day-dreamy premise that crosses my mind occasionally when I think too much. I must say in hindsight, that at the time, I had nowhere near the confidence required to undertake such an endeavor.
After lunch downtown, I noticed a relatively crisp five-dollar bill on the ground, gently rocking in the wind just outside the door of the food court. Surprising myself, I quickly stooped down and scooped it up. I then, correcting myself for being so selfishly hasty, glanced left, right and behind me to ensure someone wasn’t searching for the note they just dropped or at least upon the verge of realizing that they just dropped it. But alas, the few people within range were going about their business and none appeared to have dropped or missed anything.
So I thought to myself, should I really have picked it up in the first place? If I leave this bill on the ground in hopes that its owner returns to claim it, surely someone not far behind and in no greater need of it will pick it up instead. And does someone else truly deserve such good fortune any more than I do? Certainly not!
Then I thought to myself, it’s only five dollars surely someone will chance upon who needs it more than I do, or let’s say needs it more than I WANT it. But then I neatly dispensed with that notion for much the same reasons used to rationalize the previous dilemma.
Finally, I thought, what I’ll do is give it to the next homeless or otherwise unfortunate person, or possibly street entertainer or musician that I encounter en route to my destination. But my walk was probably no more than 500 feet or so and, although I have from time to time encountered a needy person on the very same short route before, there was not a soul in my path that was loitering, begging or otherwise in apparent need of my new found currency. So I placed it in my pocket and entered the building.
OHO's
"Ocean City Ditty," the
CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if
you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak
My latest solo release, '2014' of original, instrumental piano music, can be downloaded digitally at:
(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)
The radio is rambling on about Syria with mention of car bombs, Assad, opposition, terrorists, negotiators etc., very sad indeed. The umpteenth snowstorm is coating the complete pre-spring landscape and once again, complicating a morning commute. The president has spoken with high schoolers about going to college and how they're going to pay for it. Mere distractions to be sure.
But once again, prompted by the dinner conversation last night, distribution of wealth sneaked into the mix. The angle this time was not the greed of Wall Street or big business. This time we zeroed in on the entertainment industry. Not only the vast amounts of money required to make a major-release motion picture, but also the salaries commanded by professional sports players. See . . .
". . . For the first time since SI.com began publishing the Fortunate 50 in
2004, Tiger Woods is not No. 1. He's not even No. 2. That honor goes
once again to Phil Mickelson. The new No. 1 (for now) is Floyd
Mayweather, who was unranked a year ago but scored two huge pay-per-view
paydays to earn $85 million without a single endorsement.
This year's list is unique for a couple more reasons. NBA players,
who have historically claimed more spots in the Fortunate 50 than any
other group, had their salaries slashed by nearly 20 percent this season
because of the 66-game schedule brought on by the lockout of 2011.
Our findings consisted solely of salary, winnings, bonuses,
endorsements and appearance fees. We consulted players' associations,
tour records, agents and news reports. Our endorsement estimates for
2012 came from Burns Entertainment & Sports Marketing, other
sports-marketing executives and analysts, and agents. Salary figures
were based on current or most recently completed seasons (July 1 for the
NFL, which is why Drew Brees, who just signed a $100 million deal last
Friday, isn't on the list). For winnings-based sports (auto racing,
golf, tennis), we used the 2011 calendar year. Boxing purses are from
June 2011 through May 2012. Candidates for the U.S. 50 had to be
American citizens and currently active in their sports.
For the 20 highest earning international athletes, go here
. . ."(Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/specials/fortunate50-2012/#ixzz2wDNJ0k1u)
OHO's
"Ocean City Ditty," the
CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if
you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD)
Doug Alan Wilcox, the Hagerstown (formerly Frederick) singer/songwriter/bard/guitarist/entertainer/excellent human being who offers his melodic musical compositions to you via live performance and cds. . . his newest of which is called WHAT I MEANT TO SAY. And you can hear it on his website by clicking on the hyperlink below.
Not only is Doug the creative musician par excellence, he is a board member of the Frederick Acoustic Music Enterprise promoting local original music and musicians.
