Hard Bonus: Incorporate a lyric from the band New Order Easy Bonus: Include a gymnastics event
Moon Rising into Lotus Blossom
The Whispering Wind calls my name, beckoning me to follow. Societal rules don’t seem to have a place for me, yet the urge to follow the wind, basically walk to my own beat…
I feel you near, for harmony And I look around, but it’s not what I see I see angry faces looking at me And I want to know what makes them so For this world can be a dangerous place But it’s all we got and it’s quite a lot
Take a look at yourself You may not be the same as everyone else You’re just different, that’s ok We all follow our own way And if you find that they won’t listen Then they’ve got nothing to say So don’t get mad, don’t feel sad Be a rebel, not a devil (Be a rebel, not a devil)
There will come a day When your fear and self-doubt fades away Because you have achieved what you need There’s no doubt in your heart Not a care, it’s a family affair
Take a look at yourself You may not be the same as everyone else You’re just different, that’s ok We all follow our own way And if you find that they won’t listen Then they’ve got nothing to say So don’t get mad, don’t feel sad Be a rebel, not a devil
Life definitely has awkward rings and uneven bars, so unless one fits the ability & agility to perform, eking an existence is either difficult, miserable, etc… It’s one think, when we’re starting out life, to try different things, it’s important to find out what you don’t like as well as what you have a passion for… Yet health issues can get in the way, and then what? Life goes on…
Hard Bonus: Writer’s Choice!Elections Easy Bonus: Writer’s Choice!Include an artistic hobby
“Get out of your mind and become crazy about your future in a creative way!” ― Michael Bassey Johnson
In life, we have people telling us that we have choices and that each one has a consequence, whether bad or good, and those consequences can lead to other things, which could pave the way to our future. Yet, whether it’s our parents or other older relatives, teachers, friends, siblings, etc. we often get told how to think, and when we have a different style than the norm, we are told we are wrong, or that we have defective logic or weird thinking. So, do we really have the Freedom of Choice, if we’re going to be ostracized for the way we are?
Let’s face it, we are not robots, and we don’t all fit nicely in the same box(es). It’s okay if my space looks different from yours. I remember in the 90s when the term “Think outside of the box” was exploding… I still felt like I didn’t fit anywhere, because I’ve never been “IN” the box. I’ve always been on the box, next to the box, under the box, or completely removed from the box, and my ideas were considered too far out there until someone would bring it up a couple of years later & get credit for it. Maybe they didn’t remember from back then, or maybe they weren’t part of that conversation so while society might not have been ready for the idea before, now they are, I don’t know… I just know that it’s the song/play writers, actors, creative writers, and musicians who tend to be weird, eccentric, and whatnot, and no matter if it’s mainstream or independent, there is always an audience waiting for us to put out what we have inside of us. Here is a concert from a year ago, kicking off the 100th year of free concerts to the Racine, WI community, with a premier piece, written specifically for the band to commemorate a huge milestone as a municipal band: Racine Concert Band – “In Our Father’s Arms“
Coming up on February 28, 2023, at 7pm at Horlick High School is our 1st concert to kick off 2023, our 101st year, in memory of Del Eisch, who was the conductor of RCB for 27 years and then served as the Business Manager afterward. You can purchase your tickets for this show HEREp.s. Summer concerts at the zoo (or any other outdoor venue) have always been free. The more formal concerts on a stage do have a minimal cost ($5/general admission, $4/students & seniors), which is still a total deal in this day & age! These were free during our 100th season in 2022.
One important thing is aside from it being a Constitutional right in the USA, it’s also a civic duty to get out & vote, and elections are important! The more local it is, the more impact it has on our daily lives. Sure, the Presidential election is the biggest, but those policies that are made in Washington D.C. are broad, and each state has leeway on implementing those and can get more specific (or not) in municipalities. So, yes, the mayor, alderman, village president, county supervisors, etc. have a bigger impact than voting for governor, state senate/assembly, etc. which has a bigger impact than the president & congress, which can make broad decisions, but may or may not impact greatly on our daily lives. So, with special elections coming up this year (Wisconsin has a State Supreme Court one coming up), get to the polls, vote your conscience, and make yourself heard. Don’t think of it as if you’re only one person. If every “just one person” got out to vote, I guarantee you, every elected official would start paying more attention to the voters. We’re not just voting for us, we are also voting on behalf of our children (who can’t vote yet), our senior citizens (who may not be aware anymore), our extremely disabled (who can’t vote for whatever reason), and those with certain criminal records (who lost their right to vote) – so yes, your vote makes a huge difference.
So, go ahead, make it all count – where do we all begin? The rubble or our sins? Pompeii by Bastille
Mega Subtopic:In honor of Black history month, use a quote from Langston Hughes Chill Subtopic:Mention waving to someone or something.
Trolley Time!
In today’s day & age, embracing diversity seems more real than it once was… Coming to America (specifically, the Midwest) from Tokyo in 1977, people used to say the USA was the “melting pot” of the world… It didn’t make much sense, because it sounds as if we’re blanching ourselves. So when a college classmate said more like soup or salad, where each group is a specific ingredient, and the soup just wouldn’t be right w/o one, I liked that better. This has been a slow revolution in embracing the actual culture of various people…
Kind of like everyone thinking that Japanese food is just raw fish, or sushi & hibachi… Ugh… I feel like there is so much about our Black American Culture that I don’t know… as in what I do is minute compared to what I don’t. We live here together, so I feel like we all should understand each other more, and considering that a lot comes from the white perspective, other ethnic groups already have a grip, but what about to fellow ethnic groups? I’m waving at what’s out there, so I can learn more.
Without going outside his race, and even among the better classes with their ‘white’ culture and conscious American manners, but still Negro enough to be different, there is sufficient matter to furnish a black artist with a lifetime of creative work.Langston Hughes So, Off We Go!! We’re not touring Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, we’re just taking a page out of his book so we can truly be a greater community!
Hard Bonus: Incorporate a lyric by the rock band Heart Easy Bonus: Use words found on candy hearts
Have some heart
Yes, please! Don’t Bring Me Roses! I guess I’m kind of on the practical side… If you’re going to spend that kind of money, I’ll take a potted plant, not something that I have to trim the stem, find a vase, let them die, clean it up…
Some crazy stuff going on with my most recent gig that ended last October… I swear, it’s the story of my life… Not just love life, but with professional life, and every other aspect… At least now, I have my immediate family, and had you told me back when I graduated that it would be this way, I might have run away but here I am!
The kind of woman I am I do things that you can’t understand But there are times when you should check the line on my face Don’t look at me now Look at me now Heart – “Wait for an Answer” – Bad Animals – 1987
In this upcoming week, I start a very part-time gig and jury duty… And I really never liked the little heart candies, but enjoyed reading what was on them, like QT𝛑 – but I always thought that it would be funny in a cool way if they had stuff like “weirdo” “u r nuts” or something like that. Maybe I’m just an un-Valentine?
Here in the USA, we supposedly have our Constitutional Rights, especially the 1st, the freedom of speech, peaceful assembly, press, religion & to petition our government (not necessarily in that order, but equally important). There Ought To Be A Law about not restraining those, yet it happens all the time that we get discriminated against. I’m often “in a pickle” because even though we have these “rights”, we’re taught not to talk about them because other people might be offended… in which case, are they really rights? I’m usually pretty diplomatic, and people have said it’s cost me… It can’t cost me anything I didn’t have in the 1st place, and other issues are at play. “I’m an easy target because of my political opinions.” Sean Connery My suggestion, be more like this cat. The cat is going to be a cat, and I think they’re cool enough to spoil (they’ll let you know how to do it).
Ultra Chill Subtopic: What’s your favorite summer movie?
Mega Super Subtopic: What’s something you like to do in the summer
Full Bloom Season!
As we move through February, we’re at the end of the “dead of winter” in hopes for spring & new life. I like to open the curtains to Let The Sunshine In, since those of us in northern areas can be subject to lack of vitamin D, seasonal disorders, etc. so, after the April Showers bring Mayflowers, it’s time to enjoy the outside, get dirty & come back to life.
It’s too bad we lost our outdoor drive-in movie theaters… It would be cool to enjoy the summer movies at the drive-in by watching The Goonies & Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Remember when they used to always do double features at the Drive-In? Then, on Friday & Saturday nights, they’d have a 3rd for the young adults who wanted something more action-packed.
Summer being my favorite season, I like to do a lot of things, not just hike in area nature trails. My favorite is swimming at the beach, and I miss being able to make strawberry preserves in June & raspberry/blackberry preserves in August. In the meantime, I’ll look forward to nicer weather.
