WORLDLY THOUGHTS || Blue People || Good Old Days

Back in February 2009, I posted about my reading, "The Happy Minimalist." Unfortunately, I have little used the any of the ideas contained within book. Perhaps, I have increased in my guilt or awareness of the burden from my many possessions. I have paired down my ukuleles to an essential few. I actually have my ukulele between me and the keyboard now. I was enjoying playing tab of Killing Me Softly (Crazy Dawg) and The Cape by Eric Bibb (Chordie). Then I stopped to look at some of my links and checked out some of the Organizer Claire's Clutter Coach Blog. She has many great topics and gives them all considerable thought and attention. I cut and pasted a portion here.

"Try as you will, you get behind in the race, in spite of yourself. It's an incessant strain to keep pace… And still you lose ground. Science empties its discoveries on you so fast that you stagger beneath them in hopeless bewilderment… Everything is high pressure. Human nature can't endure much more."

--Atlantic Journal on June 16, 1833.

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I have a stamp collection in a box. In it I have a letter dated 1899 or so from a school teacher daughter in Minnesota writing home to her mother in San Jose, California. She writes of the children in her school and cholera. She also talked about the falsehood of the "good ole days." Even Junior Brown has in his song, My Wife Thinks You're Dead, "Thinks are really different now since the good old days." Each era has it's struggles and luxuries. Still all of the human issues remain.

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I met a woman, named Nanette, at the Lodi, CA October Street Faire (First Sunday in October. 2 streets, 6 blocks long) She had made many paintings of African American jazz and other music greats, as well as Carlos Santana, Willie Nelson, and Brother IZ.

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She painted each face blue in a manner that accentuated the sameness of us humans. She has a wonderful story of her reasons why she does so. Today I sent Nanette information on a ukulele favorite: Cliff Edwards. I sent some of my favorite YT videos and the Red Hot Jazz link with so many of his songs. I am hoping she may find inspiration to do some more ukulele appreciation artwork.

Good thing that we all have something as simple as the humble ukulele to share our joy, release our tensions, and socialize with good people. Today is a good ole day!