Auld Lang Syne . . .

. . . no matter how hard we wish next year to be good, prosperous, happy, healthy or joyous, a year is a year.  Like life, most of it will depend upon our choices.  And as we well know we must go on when we lose people in our lives. But some part of them must and will live on.  

This poem is for Paul Penwell, a longtime Frederick are open mike participant; regular performer and workshop presenter, blues guitarist and songwriter Marjorie Thompson; and Ricardo, the Divining Sage(Richard White), guitarist extraordinaire and an old soul who helped many . . .

ABSENT FRIENDS

It was not cold but overcast,

A neutral afternoon for Christmas,

Not pointing anywhere,

Not suggesting anything,

Limned by a room splashed full of

Scarlet and white poinsettias;

Neutral plants from Mexico,

When I heard a guitar line

Falter and fade, ascending;

We have our exits and

Our entrances…

Another year –

Auld Lang Syne –

For the sake of times gone by

We take a cup of kindness

Or a glass of wine or whiskey

And salute old friends;

Our cast of characters

Changes, despite our

Holding on tightly...

So, to absent friends, who

Enriched us here, thank you!

But you moved on too abruptly,

Though maybe leaving us with

Sage counsel, or echoes –

Whispers; notes rippling and

Ringing through our memories...

-Rod Deacey

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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.  Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com 


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)

Also, be sure to visit:
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One Last . . .

. . . Christmas thought . . . 

(from http://www.allthingschristmas.com/traditions/merry-christmas.html)

The term Merry Christmas doesn’t have any religious bias and is often used by people of all races and religious backgrounds, during Christmas time. It reflects that messages of love, joy and well wishes can be communicated irrespective of belief systems. It’s a greeting that makes total strangers make instant connection. It’s a message that dissolves anger. It’s a message that evaporates misunderstanding between loved ones and creates a bridge to the beginning of a new relationship. It’s amazing that these two simple words “Merry Christmas” can have this profound effect. In some places, people use a slight variation of the term “Merry Christmas.” In Ireland and Great Britain, some people prefer using “Happy Christmas” instead. However, the power and significance of the phrase is not diminished at all because of a difference in phraseology, because the intent of love and well being remains the same, no matter which phrase is used.

The phrase “Happy Christmas” was used by Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and proceeded to gain popularity in that part of the world. In fact, in the concluding lines of his now famous “A visit from St. Nicholas”, Clement Moore actually used “Happy Christmas.” But “Merry Christmas” remains a very popular term in countries with large Christian population, like the United States, Great Britain, Canada and Australia. Other terms that are used around the same time of the year as a means of greeting are “Happy holidays”, “Seasons Greetings” and, of course, “Happy Christmas.”

There are groups of people who are opposed to the use of “Merry Christmas” and would prefer something more general term like the “Happy Christmas.” However, it’s interesting to note that in 2005 a survey discovered that more consumers used “Merry Christmas” than “Happy Christmas”, primarily in the message of greeting cards.

The fact remains that no matter what term you use, it’s the intent that matters. Use of words is merely an audible method of sending a message. Words have no meaning in themselves, other than the one perceived by the person who hears it. And when we are using something like “Merry Christmas”, is there any doubt about our intentions?

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html  or at
http://www.ohomusic.com 


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.  Please Visit http://www.ohomusic.com 


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)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

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Reading . . .

. . . the faces . . .


Maybe it's me.  The stories of Chuck Hagel's resignation and speculation about the reasons has been varied, believable and interesting.  They've even been uncharacteristically (for the press) objective.
All sound plausible from McCain's explanation that the administration micromanages and that Hagel, like his predecessors felt they were inhibited to the administration rep's comments on Hagel not being up to the job.

The photo above right is the more interesting of the two but the one left is there purely for contrast. Whatever the mutual feeling on the left, (when Panetta left and Hagel joined) all appear relaxed and, for lack of a more descriptive term:  happy.  The one right clearly portrays something practically opposite happy.  And while the resignation of a cabinet officer is certainly not a happy occasion.  But I detect in the one on the right, something more;  deeper.  Maybe the version that Hagel was forced out?

What do you think?
Tell me at
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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)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

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Not Officially. . .

Although not officially diagnosed by a professional, I think that I suffer from Seasonal affective disorder (SAD).  SAD is also known as winter depression, winter blues, summer depression, summer blues, or seasonal depression, was considered a mood disorder in which people who have normal mental health throughout most of the year experience depressive symptoms in the winter or summer. I feel it in winter.  But I do think that I am getting better. 

I always claim to have a vitamin D deficiency and need sunshine to stay happy and healthy.  I am noticing recently though that I can also appreciate a cloudy day every now and again.  A cloudy day seems to make me reflective on just about everything I can think of and sometimes a little more inspired. I do not like too many consecutive cloudy days though. . . vitamin D deficiency you know.

What do you think?
Tell me at
http://www.rayjozwiak.com/guestbook.html

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)

Also, be sure to visit:
http://www.rayjozwiak.com

Tweet

Someday . . .

There's a fireman that's deep down inside of me
Trying hard to get out ever since I was three
When I grow up
When I grow up

I'll be saving little children from a tragedy
Put out fires to make them happy as a child can be
When I grow up
When I grow up

I''d never do the things I'm doing now
I'd be happy helping others
I'll know just how
When I grow up

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My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

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Happiness. . .

(from http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200501/happy-hour by Carlin Flora)
". . . The things we expect will bring us lasting joy rarely do. Whether it's losing 25 pounds, getting a major promotion or watching a troupe of perennial losers finally win the big one, long-anticipated events give us a swell of glee... and then we settle back into being just about as happy as we've always been. Most of us have a happiness "set point," fixed by temperament and early life experience, which is very difficult to shift. Whether you win the lottery or wind up in a wheelchair, within a year or two you generally end up just about as happy (or unhappy) as you started out.

Yet the quest for happiness isn't futile. Psychologists now believe that many of us can turn the well-being thermostat up or down a few notches by changing how we think about anticipation, memory, and the present moment. Our sense of well-being is intimately tied into our perception of time. The problem is that we usually get it wrong. Memory tricks us—we don't remember our experiences properly, and that leaves us unable to accurately imagine the way we'll feel in the future. At the same time, expectations mislead us: We never learn to predict what will make us happy, or how to anticipate the impact of major life experiences. . . "

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AMBIENCE & WINE

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Talk about your glass HALF FULL. . .

Irrespective of its inherent theistic philosophy, to which I do not personally subscribe, I do think this is a damned happy (and catchy) tune. . . .





Oh yeah, hope you'll check out ANOTHER SHOT by Ray Jozwiak (that's me!)