All ? . . .

. . . or just the ones YOU know?

It always amazes me when someone uses the word "all" in reference to a group of people, such as gender, religious, professional, age, race, national origin or anything else. The reason this began to trouble me many years ago was a conversation, of which I was a party, where someone made reference to men, a group to which I belong, and "how they are."  In fact, the attribute, characteristic, nature or other aspect of men to which this person referred was clearly not one that I shared and I was, quite honestly, anxious to inform the person of this. All of which, after some additional consideration, led me to the realization that although it comes quickly and frequently to the mind (and to the lips), the word "ALL" should be employed only with the utmost discretion, unless of course you are referring to a smaller, more manageable group than 'men', such as 'the three stooges', 'two of my friends' or maybe even 'a dozen eggs.'  Another recent conversation involved me where another man was considering that portion of the population to which I will refer to here as women, in a somewhat dismissive and disparaging way. More specifically, and also unfortunately, he cited as his evidence female members of his own immediate family. My efforts to diplomatically bring to his attention that female members of my family were in fact not so easily categorized, a fact that in utilizing logic, negated his entire premise. At this point, it appeared that he had finally gotten my proverbial 'drift.'  But then before parting he smirked and said, 'But you know they're ALL cut from the same cloth.'

What do you think?
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My latest solo offering, No Frills, is now available at - No Frills

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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
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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
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Also, be sure to visit:
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What It Was. . .

. . . was baseball. . .

"They give you a round bat and they throw you a round ball.  And they tell you to hit it square."

    Willie Stargell (1940-2001; former Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder and 1st baseman)

 "It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great."

    Tom Hanks as Jimmy Dugan in 1992's "A League of Their Own"


I'm not really a huge baseball fan.  Not really a fan of any professional or college-level sports. Guess you could say not a sports fan at all.

But, two-fifths of my family are definitely sports fans, and I think it safe to say most ardently BASEBALL fans, so consequently I occasionally assume the role of a spectator, being the good 'sport' (pun intended) that I am and for the enjoyment of the company. Some aspects of of baseball I do find especially irritating though. First, and probably the most contributory to my remaining dislikes of baseball, is the size of the professional baseball players' salaries.  Yes it's free market principles at work.  And yes, if huge amounts of the general public (and the two-fifths of my family) refrained from purchasing tickets to attend games then the principles of supply and demand would bring those prices (and salaries, etc) down.

Next (and wouldn't you know it- it's money again) is the astronomical prices levels being charged for food and beverages at the ball park.  To the supply and demand equation I (and usually the two-fifths) do not contribute. So in and of itself, the prospect of being a baseball fan simply does not provide me with an adequate return of investment both in terms of money and my valuable time.

But being the optimistic pessimist, I do enjoy aspects of my periodic jaunts to the ballpark when asked.  I am fascinated by the ever-present herd mentality of humans at a large sporting event.  And I do enjoy the specter of my fellow homosapiens gorging on greasy food and shouting specific instructions to young men hundreds of yards away and far out of hearing proximity. But, as I realized at a recent game, I am becoming increasingly appreciative of the complex psychology (all baseball superstition aside) of the game of baseball.

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)

My latest solo release, '2014', 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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Sorting It Out. . .

To me, American football is an entertainment and marketing phenomenon.  The sheer number of fans

(i.e. Fanatic)
Definition of FANATIC
:  marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion <they're fanatic about politics>

alone boggles the mind.


(from wikipedia.com)
". . . The first instance of professional play in football was on November 12, 1892, when William "Pudge" Heffelfinger was paid $500 to play a game for the Allegheny Athletic Association in a match against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club. This is the first recorded instance of a player being paid to participate in a game of American football, although many athletic clubs in the 1880s offered to help players attain employment, gave out trophies or watches that players would pawn for money, or paid double in expense money. Football at the time had a strict sense of amateurism, and direct payment to players was frowned upon, if not outright illegal.

Professional play became common, and with it came rising salaries, unpredictable player movement, and the illegal use of amateur collegiate players in professional games. The National Football League, a group of professional teams that was originally established in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, aimed to solve these problems. This new league's stated goals included an end to bidding wars over players, prevention of the use of college players, and abolition of the practice of paying players to leave another team. The NFL by 1922 had established itself as the premier professional football league.

The dominant form of football at the time was played at the collegiate level, but the upstart NFL received a boost to its legitimacy in 1925 when an NFL team, the Pottsville Maroons, defeated a team of Notre Dame all-stars in an exhibition game.[18] A greater emphasis on the passing game helped professional football to further distinguish itself from the college game during the late 1930s. Football in general became increasingly popular following the 1958 NFL Championship game, a match between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants that is still referred to as the "Greatest Game Ever Played". The game, a 23–17 overtime victory by the Colts, was seen by millions of television viewers and had a major impact on the popularity of the sport. This helped football to become the most popular sport in the United States by the mid-1960s. . . "

I used to try to understand it so I could watch it with others and participate in the enthusiasm and fellowship of the occasion.  I have to confess, I never fully grasped the concept.  In time I even stopped trying.  Don't get me wrong, I truly understand and appreciate the concept of cheering for the local team (in any sport) and feel that the camaraderie that results is good for the individuals as well as the society.  But I still don't understand, nor at this point in my life need or want to understand,  the game of football.

Nevertheless I most certainly do intend to fully participate in the 'good vibes' inherent in the process next Sunday at the party, drinking and enjoying good friendship when we all gather to watch football, even though I still don't understand the game.

What do you think?
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My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
can be downloaded digitally at:

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Music . . .

. . . is like poetry

Robert considered himself a poet;  an amateur poet, but no less a serious one.  And Robert, by personality, allotted the proper amount of gravity to all that his poetry involved, as he did in everything he undertook.

Deep in his heart, Robert knew that criticism was truly beneficial to he who chooses to exploit it wisely.  Wise exploitation, he had learned from his many years of devotion to the poetic art, included the option to dismiss, within reason and with good cause, criticism from which he could gain nothing or that which was clearly malicious, unfounded, or merely a self-promotional exercise by a critic. But still less-than-favorable criticism still rankled him;  a least for a period of time.

At the Poetry Night gala event, Robert was still replaying the latest negative review in his mind, in spite of the fact that it had been published well over a month before.  He was, for all practical purposes, over it.   The critic had even stressed the unique, freshness that he found in Robert's work and that it contained such great potential.  Still though, Robert clung to the dismissive, condescending snipes the critic had taken at the heart and soul that Robert had taken such pains to record on the printed page.

Through, what seemed to be a fuzzy, poorly-focused camera shot from an art film, Robert saw the emcee introducing the next reading and was able to just-barely decipher his own name in the garbled monologue that accompanied the vision.  Always prepared and always the consummate artist and professional, Robert rarely had problems at readings.  Today for some reason, he had no poem.
He simply had nothing to read.  He had no book, no manuscript, no notes. 

The room was silent. . .

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AMBIENCE & WINE

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As I was saying. . .

. . . about the band. . .

Before, during and after the American Legion gig, there were many dances, 'bull roasts', weddings and other affairs to keep us busy. Still, in spite of many requests for more 'current' material, we persisted in our same-old repertoire, rationalizing, being lazy, but having fun, doggedly tightening-up our musical simpatico until the question of marriage was broached.

No, I don't mean a revolutionary, four-way, gay partnership of some kind among the band members. I mean my fiance, and now wife of many, many wonderful years, were planning our wedding. The date was to be October 6, 1979. It was sometime in the spring of '79 and I gave some serious thought to how to approach a musical life combined with married life. Options were to continue in the same vein with the group, make a little spending money, and leave my new wife home alone many weekend nights, or pursue a new band opportunity that may be more challenging, more lucrative or more aesthetically satisfying- but that would still leave the other partner in my new marriage to fend for herself as much, if not more, as staying with the original band would. Fact is, for all my love of music, I enjoyed spending personal time with this person to whom I was committing the rest of my life. I enjoyed it, and still do, so much, that the choice was not terribly difficult, I can honestly say. So I announced my decision to my band-mates well in advance, set a 'last' date target, and after a particularly satisfying Saturday night performance at the legion hall, we said goodbye. There was no animosity, no bad feelings. There was simply honesty. We had a fine time socializing during breaks, as usual, and after it ended, I quit my 'professional' career.



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