Everything slows, anticipation no more, now here. Recollection, a muse from the not too different future follows, kids messing, heart beat slowing, weekend…
“What is our true place in the world? All around it comes at us: what to see, hear, feel, the big three, there like it or not, want it out not, it’s real and now.
What we do with it, how we respond to it, that’s up to us, each of us, each time.
Choose to make it GOOD. Here’s a sample from everyday, just a sample, what my senses say:
Winter lights on the front tree, shining bright in the pre-dawn darkness;
Warm coat against the biting wind on an early morning walk;
Shake of the head, each dog with her collar on, jingle jingle jingle;
Cold water, one big gulp, after a long walk, thirsty;
Crackle of the wall furnace, heat slowing pouring down the hall;
First taste of coffee, hot; first taste of beer, crisp;
Soft skin on my kids’ cheek when I kiss each goodnight, each night;
Pretty well can’t say enough good things about this dude, Daveed Diggs. Beyond his beats, his words, his Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson…I just pretty well love everything I’ve learned about him.
He inspires, plain and simple.
And he’s a WARRIORS fan from Oakland, California. All the better, dig it, dig Diggs, Back to the Bay…
[Intro] Nestled in an enclave in Cali Where demonstrations and rallies Have a long history of making waves and tastes Shaping language and style substantially Standing for the best in the wake of the worst tides We’ve seen in a long time
From a long line of lyricists, linguists, and yes, panthers Not to mention regular people so inundated with game That the slang rivaling Shakespeare seems common As it should Here where Gertrude Stein claimed there was no there Has grown a scene which has newcomers clamoring to understand And get a piece
And they holler at fever pitch And confidently riding the crest of this epic sound wave is a team that in true Bay fashion redefined the rules of the game And then made the new ruler undeniable And as a new season begins we prepare to bring it back Bring it back, back, back, back
[Chorus] Back to the Bay Finna bring another one back to the Bay Show the whole game how to act in the Bay Squad stacked in the Bay You can hate but you can’t ignore the facts in the Bay
[Verse] Look the earth we stand on is Klay And the turf we claim is carefully placed On a strong foundation, a nation And watch us paving away in amazement And the sweat breaks out with a smile and a head shake
You can taste the spice Chef Curry, cooking up look at em shook as they know their ankles may break And they could rant all day Got Durant comin’ over to play But real talk? Who wouldn’t want to live in the Bay
Best place in the Golden State Face the music, hyphie But never lost the blues and the polka The gospel of Matt Barnes Yeah, we still believin’ Stand tall, stay centered That JaVale McGee
But they key thing, no matter what their eyes seen They can’t see us, we dream in Draymond Green Cooler than Pachulia’s stare, we gets busy But stay calm and drop bombs like Iggy We way too Jiggy, we way too focused
You know this, from the O to the So’ to the Valley Jo’ to San Jo’, this Isn’t metaphorical around here the town and the crowd gets Call it Roaracle how loud is the town business Loud enough to shut ’em down Loud enough you feel it every time we come around Loud enough to shake the ground and still keep ’em flocking to Oakland Keep talkin’ while we win another trophy
[Chorus] Back to the Bay Finna bring another one back to the Bay Show the whole game how to act in the Bay Squad stacked in the Bay You can hate but you can’t ignore the facts in the Bay
“Guns And Ships”, another from the musical, Hamilton. Reading the words, I can hear the song in my head, some of the lyric so swiftly delivered, even with the words in front of me I can’t keep up the pace. So GOOD.
[Burr:] How does a ragtag volunteer army in need of a shower Somehow defeat a global superpower? How do we emerge victorious from the quagmire? Leave the battlefield waving Betsy Ross’ flag higher?
Yo. Turns out we have a secret weapon! An immigrant you know and love who’s unafraid to step in! He’s constantly confusin’, confoundin’ the British henchmen Everyone give it up for America’s favourite fighting Frenchman!
[Company:] Lafayette!
[Lafayette:] I’m taking this horse by the reins makin’ redcoats redder with bloodstains
[Company:] Lafayette!
[Lafayette:] And I’m never gonna stop Until I make ’em drop And burn ’em up and scatter their remains, I’m
[Company:] Lafayette!
[Lafayette:] Watch me engagin’ ’em, Escapin’ ’em! Enragin’ ’em. I’m
[Company:] Lafayette!
[Lafayette:] I go to France for more funds
[Company:] Lafayette!
[Lafayette:] I come back with more
[Lafayette and Ensemble:] Guns And ships And so the balance shifts
[Washington:] We rendezvous With Rochambeau, Consolidate their gifts
[Lafayette:] We can end this war in Yorktown, cut them off at sea, But for this to succeed, There is someone else we need:
[Washington:] I know
[Washington and Company:] Hamilton!
[Lafayette:] Sir, he knows what to do in a trench Ingenuitive and fluent in French, I mean
[Washington and Company:] Hamilton!
[Lafayette:] Sir, you’re gonna have to use him eventually What’s he gonna do on the bench? I mean
[Washington and Company:] Hamilton!
[Lafayette:] No one has more resilience Or matches my practical tactical brilliance
[Washington and Company:] Hamilton!
[Lafayette:] You wanna fight for your land back?
[Company:] Hamilton!
[Washington:] I need my right-hand man back!
[Women:] Hamilton!
[Lafayette (men):] Ah! Uh, get ya right-hand man back (Get your right-hand man back!) You know you gotta get ya right hand man back (Your right-hand man back!)
[Lafayette (women/men):] I mean you gotta put some thought into the letter (Hamilton!) But the sooner the better (Hamilton! Hamilton!) To get your right hand man back! (Ha ha)
[Washington:] Alexander Hamilton Troops are waiting in the field for you If you join us right now, together we can turn the tide
Oh, Alexander Hamilton I have soldiers that will yield for you If we manage to get this right They’ll surrender by early light The world will never be the same, Alexander….”
A little more on my old man, Howie Lud. He loved a lot of things: his family, his friends, teaching kids, tennis, golf, fishing, being outside, music, and humor. My dad loved to laugh.
Here were three of this favorite comedians. I cried listening to these guys, I was laughing so hard. Laughter is good. Humor is good.
Personal Preface, then “Lessons from Leo Tolstoy” – An Article via BioLogos
I was raised in the Christian faith; it stayed with me as an adult, and has seen me through five decades so far.
For pretty well the whole of my adult life, I’ve also been a Rusophile. There is a special place in my heart, in my soul, for the Russians. Ukrainians too, for that matter. My friends, you know who you are.
Since learning as a young adult about the Cold War that America had with Russia, my desire to understand the Russian people and help find common ground between our peoples became a life-long commitment.
Reading Tolstoy was one of the activities that solidified my connection somehow between my faith an my cultural/political interest in the Russians. Anyone who’s even remotely aware of Russian literature is aware of Tolstoy. Though he wrote epic verse, one passage in particular attributed to him stands out for me and has guided much of my most difficult moments in life. It goes something like this…
“…you struggle in life because you strive to fulfill your own will, rather than God’s Will. You will find happiness and contentment to the degree that you pursue God’s Will in your life; you will then be in touch with who you are truly meant to be.”
Something like that.
You can read more about Tolstoy and his faith via the following link, with the brief intro from the site, as such:
I’m only a so-so Bruce fan. But this song…it feels full of truth and vulnerability…it feels…GOOD.
“Human Touch”
You and me we were the pretenders We let it all slip away In the end what you don’t surrender Well the world just strips away
Girl ain’t no kindness in the face of strangers Ain’t gonna find no miracles here Well you can wait on your blessings but darlin’ I got a deal for you right here
I ain’t lookin’ for prayers or pity I ain’t comin’ ’round searchin’ for a crutch I just want someone to talk to And a little of that human touch Just a little of that human touch
Ain’t no mercy on the streets of this town Ain’t no bread from heavenly skies Ain’t nobody drawin’ wine from this blood It’s just you and me tonight
Tell me in a world without pity Do you think what I’m askin’s too much? I just want something to hold on to And a little of that human touch Just a little of that human touch
Oh girl that feeling of safety you prize Well it comes with a hard hard price You can’t shut off the risk and pain Without losin’ the love that remains We’re all riders on this train
So you been broken and you been hurt Show me somebody who ain’t Yeah I know I ain’t nobody’s bargain But hell a little touch up And a little paint…
You might need somethin’ to hold on to When all the answers they don’t amount to much Somebody that you can just talk to And a little of that human touch
Baby in a world without pity Do you think what I’m askin’s too much? I just want to feel you in my arms And share a little of that human touch…
