Raggin' Piano Boogie
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Since 1987 |
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December 31, 2010Berkeley Springs, West Virginia
The day was warm enough that I had to get out. Non-freezing days are rare anymore. Of course it took me all day to get around to doing it but I did get into the local park before dark. A couple walking their dog found us. Mo and the dog played for a bit but became possessive with a stick. The play ended. I felt grateful because this is the last day... of my fifth year on this journey. I got to share it with someone. My New Years resolution is to get totally clear on what I want to do with my life. Along with the ongoing mission statement of Fun, Friendship and Respect ... Musical Empowerment and Inspiration at No Cost... Without Commercial, Organizational or Political Affiliation... using Synchronicity and Spontaneity to Create Music for People to Discover... two things came to mind that are doable. 1. Get my health together so I can die healthy. 2. Enjoy nature and get myself to Alaska. There are other agenda's like the Superbowl Dream, China, a Television Show or Movie with Books and Music Cds, etc... First and foremost I need to finish the work for this year. That means put out an official notice about Mo, dream update, restructuring the website for the new year and put Mo pics where Bo pics once were placed while keeping Bo alive and well in spirit, creating some new promo, backing up the archives, on and on. Life's Priority... Love While in This World, In This Life... Through Relationship... Stay Connected!
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December 30, 2010South Cacapon, West Virginia
Drove into town today to take care of errands and spent most of the day cleaning the place where I am staying with Mo. Looks like New Years Eve is going to be quiet, just me and Bo. I have spent many a different New Year's Eve's in my life from being the center of attention performing in crowds of fifty thousand people, to roaming the streets being paid to perform music in different towns and cities, I've played mr. high society piano man at big parties, I spent many years night clubing the night into oblivion, I've hung out at Time's Square in New York, had quiet twosome soirees, spent dinners with family and friends, stayed all by myself, I've even slept through a few New Years Eve's....
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December 29, 2010West Virginia
On arrival in West Virginia back at the cabin I have been given stewardship of... my mind went into a very interesting place. The cabin had been renovated while I was away and I can now feel some quality of life as far as living environment. It was impossible to process the reality, I just went numb. The only problem was that the place was covered in dust, every nook and cranny. Mo jumped onto the chair and created clear white paw prints on the white powdered chair. I could not deal with the thought of deep cleaning the place for like the fifth time. I sat and could do nothing. Sat all night and slept around two hours on the sofa. About ten thirty in the morning the next day I just sat still unable to function or cope. There was probably a bit of Christmas and hometown withdrawal as well as the dread of decision and choice as to wether I stay here for awhile or jump back onto the road. One day at a time, in the present moment... there's no rush, I don't need to answer to or please anyone. Mo... my dog Mo gave me total comfort. Thank God for Bo. He jumped onto the sofa and out of nowhere and like never before began licking my face. I don't know wether he was trying to tell me how happy he was to be back here or was just trying to reassure me that I was not alone and that he loved me. He stayed close and quiet the entire time which was very much out of character for him. He acted just like Boner did in such situations. Both of them just "being" with me in the moment. Nothing for me can feel more comforting, safe and secure. |
December 28, 2010Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Christmas Season is passing much too quickly! I'm getting ready to head back to West Virginia tomorrow and have no idea when I will get back to the internet. No television, no internet, no cell phone. I am perplexed as what to do about New Years Eve. The date will mark five years on the journey... Flight of Peregrinating Musical Exploration! Do I need to celebrate, mark it in some way special? Also, The new year will begin the twenty fifth year of playing the piano on the back of a pickup truck full time. Wow, I have been performing, playing, sharing music on the same truck for twenty five years!!! I took Mo to a dog park today where he was in rapture playing with about ten other dogs. He would have played until he passed out. Back in West Virginia it will be... Mo and Me. Ha, I hope he doesn't get bored shitless.
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December 27, 2010Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaWow, waking up in the morning to look out onto a snow covered city from the bedroom of a Philadelphia center city high rise condo... a major contrast from a few months ago in Montana's pure nature full of wildflowers. Variety... The new piano that was never finished being built for the new truck that has now been given away because... well lets just not go there... the piano as well as the truck now have a wonderful home. Onward... I'll be heading back to West Virginia soon. What is next? I still need to transition a lot of work with the internet from Bo to Mo and restructure the blog for the new year. A new friend compared me to Johnny Appleseed which is sweet but I do not want to live in anything less than luxury! Hahahaha...  |
December 26, 2010Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
December 25, 2010Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaSanta visited me last night. He fulfilled one on my twenty five wishes... number twenty one. It is what it is. Unfortunately it is what I had expected from the way this journey has been running. Spirt also visited me... with a much larger and more significant present. I was gifted with a reunion... my adopted son Michael after over five years of being out of sight and individualizing... he came to hang out and visit with Mo and I for most of the day. This was a major surprise as I had originally planned to be driving on the road back to West Virginia today. I could not have received a bigger or better Christmas present, the gift of relationship with another human being, in this case family, my son! It was a Joyous Christmas. I also dug into a major super delicious, fulfilling and satisfying fruitcake that I had found. Fruitcakes have been given a bad wrap over the years! 
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December 24, 2010Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
This morning I woke up in tears missing Piano Dog Boner. Both the best and worse days of my life have been during Christmas... Bo helped get me through all of the worse. After I got over myself I went to the Reading Terminal market in Center City Philadelphia to have breakfast with Cindy and Pat friends who are family to me. We had the best of breakfasts at the Pennsylvania Dutch, Amish kitchen area. Crisp Philadelphia scrapple, eggs, sausage, home fries, pancakes, french toast, fresh squeezed orange juice (2x's)... I had it all. I abandoned all money concerns and brought bags of candy, nuts, breads, cakes, cheeses... oh, what fun it was! In the middle of the market we found a girl named Sophia playing on a piano. She was eighty two years old and still the strongest of piano players! I would say how beautiful the music was and she would say, "yes it is isn't it." That was a "tell." Sophi is a true musician with no ego in knowing the music was flowing "through" her not "from" her. I asked her what the biggest tip was that she ever got and she said $20 bucks. Ha, eighty two years of being a musician and her top tip was twenty bucks??? I gave her the tip of her lifetime and loved giving it to her more than she did in getting it! My friend Ed babysat Mo for me which worked out really well. Tonight, I am sitting writing this blog while watching the movie, It's a Wonderful Life on television, I am also emailing Christmas Greetings and reading received ones. My friend Stephen (Ed's son) and his future wife will be coming back from dinner soon. I purchased a fruitcake today! It smells so good I don't want to eat it!!!
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December 23, 2010Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaI would have gone out to play today even though it was in the low thirties but the wind made it feel like zero. It was not meant to me. It was an opportunity to email some people I have been wanting to get in contact with for over a year... like three hundred of them to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. No mass mailing for a Christmas Wish from the piano man, one on one was the only way to go. I also ended up decorating for Christmas my friend Ed's house to surprise him. 
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December 22, 2010Center City, Pennsylvania
Little Traveling Piano moments continue to happen even though it is colder than a witches... naa, I won't say it at Christmas... for Christ's sake. :) I met a guy named Dave and he sold me a really good rug for fifty bucks to take back for the cabin I have been using in West Virgina. Part of me feels as though I am setting up house there. Another part of me has no idea what I am doing. I had lunch with an old client now friend named Sid. He used to hire me for his towns Fourth of July parade back in the old days and now helps me with what money is left in my bank account. (which is not much) |
December 21, 2010Center City, Pennsylvania
Oooh, its cold out. My mind is fragmented, no its lost, no its overwhelmed, ahh I am just disconnected from it. I drove to 16th and Chestnut street to surprise my friend Michele at her work. She and her mother were at my very first paid performance on the truck with Raggin Piano Boogie almost twenty five years ago. They have been to many performances throughout the years and I never knew it. At my event two years ago when I gave away everything they were there and told me. Someone has followed my entire career? Ha, that was a big surprise. When creating music on Chestnut street today, for as short a time as it was... I came completely to life! Any feeling of being too cold disappeared. |
December 20, 2010Philly, PennsylvaniaCold, it is. Took a long walk around town, two and a half hours while Mo pulled hard to go faster the entire time. I stay clam as my cost of living mounts, grateful for my friends who share with me. Last night my friend Stephen and I took Mo out to do his duty and to see the lunar eclipse. I have a great camera for a simple point and shoot camera! Christmas... the future... music... the Traveling Piano truck... living conditions, my work in staying connected and making new connections with people... fun, friendship and respect... ever present on my mind. 
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December 19, 2010Allentown, PennsylvaniaMy friend Amy and her mother Charnell from Virginia were in Allentown, Pennsylvania today... along with Ecco, her Italian Spinoni. They traveled up for a dog show competition. Ecco is on his way to becoming a world champion in his breed. Seeing as the drive was only an hour and a half a way, Mo and I took the trip to see them. Mo waited in the truck while I went into the show area. My dog would have been a "hit" with the attendee's had he been with me. Afterwards we all froze (almost literally) with the Traveling Piano for a few pictures. Watching Mo play with Ecco later back in the hotel room created pure joy. 
 On the drive back to Philadelphia the moon was bright and full in total daylight. It was awesome. I found out later that today is the Winter Solstice and we are also having a total lunar eclipse at the same time. This moon coincides with the first total lunar eclipse to occur on the day of the Winter Solstice since 1638, and only the second time it has happened in the Common Era. This is also called the Christmas Moon! Later, my friend Ed baby sat Mo for me while for the first time in years I took a walk by myself through the streets of Philadelphia... forty blocks and up till midnight. I have missed the city, big time. It felt so good and everything was so beautiful... the full moon passing through the tall buildings in the cold night air with Christmas lights everywhere. Philadelphia was my home town. While walking in the middle of the street... a block from where I am staying... I came across roadkill in the middle of the street. It was a starfish! 
 The best part of today was the friendship not only with Amy, her mom and dog Ecco and my friend Ed... later at night I synchronistically ran into another significant friend of twenty years named Mark. We cross each others paths every five years or so. He took me out for a meal and some amazing conversation. Back at Ed's condo I was just about to fall asleep and my very close "son like" friend... Ed's son, Stephen walks in the door... back from a trip to Chicago and for the holidays. He travels with an old vintage, retro box suitcase I had given to him several years ago. Needless to say, I got to bed late in the morning. Piano Dog Mo has been in my life for three months as of today! This is such a short amount of time for me especially considering how he has become completely integrated into my life and the journey. He is sort of a muse, definitely a friend, my object of affection, work partner, my companion, a very obedient and loving canine dog! |
December 18, 2010Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaI was going to delete the Traveling Piano journey's paypal contribution page from my website because there have been so few financial contributions. I am sure people think I get them on a regular basis. I do not. The bottom line... I have no immediate dire need for money. I also feel uncomfortable about asking for help and support. The sale of my home several years ago has funded my cash needs to date. I have no investments or income. The Traveling Piano Mission... Fun, Friendship, Respect with Musical Empowerment and Inspiration, at No Cost and without Commercial, Political, or Organizational Affiliation... using Spontaneity and Synchronicity to Create Music for People to Discover... while Living Life in the Present Moment. This week I put out a significant amount of cash for the truck and thought about making a Christmas Wish List to help replenish my wallet. The idea did not feel like Fun but then... someone I had met recently... just today randomly sent twenty bucks through the website link. The contribution felt so Good and Fun!!! The gift brought such a Smile to my Face!!! I decided to followthrough with my original impulse... for Fun! I created a Christmas Wish List... for the Fun of it! Twenty Five Christmas Wishes I have made. Since I have absolutely no expectations connected to my thoughts... I think, why not post them? I will let the world know when any of the gifts are received.  Hey Santa... Show Me The Money! Hahaha...
Gift The Traveling Piano Today!
02. $6.00 for my Truck Tags 03. $12 to See a Movie 04. $16.45 for the Last Turnpike Toll 05. $20 for a half decent Meal 06. $22 for a Personalized Leash for Mo 07. $30 for some Christmas Junk Food, Ha! 08. $22.50 for the Truck Title Transfer 09. $25 to have the Truck Wheels Balanced 10. $29 for a Personalized Collar for Mo 11. $29.50 to Renew the Truck License 12. $36 for the Truck Registration 13. $40 for each Tank of Gas 14. $42 bucks for a Bag of Mo's Food 15. $49 for the Truck Emissions Inspection 16. $50 to Inspect the Truck 17. $60 for a Pay it Forward Gift for a Friend 18. $69 for a Truck Muffler 19. $90 to get the Trucks Wheels Aligned 20. $175 for recent Labor on the Truck 21. $150 for a Truck Snow Cover 22. $200 towards some Internet Service for the Year 23. $331.43 for a Bed to Sleep On when in WV 24. $400 for a New Truck Tarp 25. $448.70 for my latest Truck Insurance Bill |
December 17, 2010Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
A hound dog in the the city... piano dog Mo is. Ha, he is going crazy with all the new smells. It is his first time in a city. We are staying with my friend Ed who has a condo in Center City Philadelphia. I stayed here for a few days last year with Bo. I went into the back lobby tonight where there is a piano and created music as I did with the last visit. Having Mo with me is surreal. Bo was so wonderful and now with this new guy named Mo... equally wonderful. The desk clerk came out and started waving both his hands at me to bring the sound down while yelling "sir". I was like, "you are not doing that" in my head too stunned to respond. What a shit head! Hahaha... I just kept on creating music... people enjoyed it, a girl named Sam took our picture. For the last few days I have really enjoyed watching Mo and Tilly play... running around in my friend Charlie's house back in Pipersville, PA... trying to catch each other or steal a toy from each other... also I have enjoyed his having that exercise. Each time a leave a place I need to toss off an impulse to settle down there. Each time I go into a new situation to stay somewhere new, no matter a strangers house or a close friend's place where I have been several times before... there is an apprehension, an angst that the relating may not go well. Everytime, once I'm into the situation I am almost immediately relieved... in a good way. Ed has given the Traveling Piano his parking spot in the covered, secure condo garage for protection. Thank God for that! The Traveling Piano since back East... title switched into my name (once again), license renewed, new tags, registration, both regular and emissions inspections, truck checked out, new muffler, alignment, insurance payment, wheels balanced, snaps for the cover fixed... all done, all paid for... where to now, Alaska? In the winter? I don't think so.
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December 16, 2010Bristol, Pennsylvania
Today Adine came into my life to fix the snaps that hold the tarp to the truck. It was so easy to do. Why did it take a year to find someone? Anyway, she will also make a new cover for me when I leave West Virginia the next time. The Traveling Piano tarp is a major quality of life issue. Today is was snowing and freezing cold but still we all got a few moments of music in. Adine took piano lessons for ten years when she was young. Like me, she had been phsycologically damaged from piano lessons and the whole idea of what is right or wrong, good enough or not good enough and how to create music. Mo could not wait to get onto the piano and did not want to come down from it.
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December 15, 2010Bucks County, Pennsylvania
My camera, I did not bring it when I went to pick up the truck from being repaired and inspected. Damm! After hours of hanging out with Donny in his repair garage and shooting the bull with another guy originally from Greece who was there, I took the tarp off the piano and did my musical thing. Mo has been hesitating to get out of the cab when he knows I am going to just throw him up onto the piano but when I let him do it on his own terms he's anxious to get up there. After we were done I brought him down into the truck bed and he wanted to go back, he jumped back up! This dog of mine named Mo... he sheds more than piano dog Bo did! I had a picture taken of my lap after he got off it... a typical sight. Dog hair plus... more dog hair, plus more dog hair...
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December 14, 2010PennsylvaniaIt has been cold! It has been freezing cold! Still random Traveling Piano happenings... happen, although not today because the truck is in the repair shop. I went to an old shopping area to see some Christmas. I thought, "you used to have as many decorations as are in this store." I started to think about and feel the past. "Don't look back Danny, don't ever look back." Who said that? It would probably be ok to look back into the past but not when I am feeling vulnerable and a little insecure about the present. Bottom line, the choices I have made so far have been one hundred percent ok. Having a house to decorate, presents, throwing a party, consistency of longtime relationships in my life everyday verses fun, friendship, respect... musical empowerment and inspiration... at no cost and without commercial, organizational or political affiliation... using spontaneity and synchronicity to create music for people to discover. It is what it is and its my choice. Thank God for that. 
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December 13, 2010Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
While preparing to send my collection of sheet music to a friend in Montana last week I came across my high school year book. I opened it for the first time in over thirty years and found a picture of Chet, my best buddy throughout grade school. The next day I was prompted to drive back east for a family funeral. My return to West Virginia was delayed due to the discovery that the Traveling Piano needed an inspection which translates into a new muffler, battery, more work on it etc... This gave me time to hook up with a high school friend. Last night I was forwarded an email from her, the high school alumni obituary of Chet's death. My friend did not know that we knew each other. The funeral was today and I was absolutely pulled into it. I went to bed thinking about it, woke up thinking about it, hoping I had overslept for it. My alarm clock battery had died during the night which forced me to get out of bed to see what time it was... just enough time to shower, dress and drive an hour to the church. I knew old classmates were all around me but I did not recognize anyone. I talked with Chet's brother and wife. They brought back a few old memories. My memories are out in the world big time and its a good thing because they certainly are nowhere to be found in me. There are too many. I thought about how Chet's love drew me to him today and how relationships and memories never die. They can get shoved somewhere deep and lost but still no matter what, they live forever. |
December 12, 2010Pennsylvania
Rainy day... glad I was out playing yesterday! I am wondering if I will go north, south to Philadelphia or back to West Virginia this week. If back to West Virginia, chances are I will be mostly alone except for having Mo with me into the New Year. I do need to revamp and update the web and social sites which will take a lot of time... and also notify people that Mo is now in my life.
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December 11, 2010Newtown, PennsylvaniaI wonder how much I will be able to embrace before I die, the process of how I live my life... the feeling of being overwhelmed, in a fog, rarely having a sense of clarity... it has always been this way. The only time I ever feel different is when I am in the present moment... like when I am interacting with people and the Traveling Piano. It is then that nothing matters. I don't have to think, decide, choose or be concerned with anything. I become in complete focus. 
 I started out the day have lunch with a bunch of bow, deer hunters and then went looking for a coffee mug. I was trying to figure out what errands I had to do while wondering why I had errands to do. I looked for a business that could repair the truck tarp snaps with no success. I stumbled upon Traveling Piano situations throughout the day and finally before it got dark I drove to an old favorite spot in Tyler State park to record some music for the this website. There are now over one thousand eight hundred improvisational pieces of music on this website all free without cost... one for every day since the journey began. I wanted to test Mo's ability to tolerate the cold while wearing his sweater. He did fine, maybe because I had taken him for a run first. I think new, nerve racking situations he has had over the last few weeks created the shivering I've been worrying about. Mo wore Reindeer Antlers for fun and for the first time ever. Without question he likes wearing clothes like Piano Dog Boner did. Being back at an all time favorite spot for both myself and Piano Dog Boner, now with Piano Dog Mo... it felt completely natural and present. Part of me wanted to reminisce in a melancholy way but that would not have served any purpose, would have been a waste of time and a distraction from the fun we had with the new people we were meeting. |
December 10, 2010Pipersville, Pennsylvania
My God! Ha, I have so few bureaucratic responsibilities but the one's I have are driving me crazy. The Traveling Piano Pennsylvania truck title, tags, registration coming due, insurance... recently renewed the license, now I find the inspection has expired... out to get the emission part and then next the rest of the truck inspected... after that switch it all to West Virginia? If you read this blog from last month you know what a hassle West Virginia has been with all this. Smiles keep the Traveling Piano going and people who have us stay with them. |
December 9, 2010Pipersville, Pennsylvania
The picture for today is more personal than most but I love it so much I just had to share it. It is of my grand nephew Shane. Before leaving his home I purchased a Christmas cake for the family with conditions. No one can touch it until Saturday and then the whole family must eat it in one day... no forks, knives, spoons or plates, hands only. Ha! Mo and I headed for Pipersville to see my friend Charlie. Mo is still having health issues. He shivers like he is cold, he hiccups, skin and hair issues have been plaguing him. We drove my niece to her auto mechanics place today and gave him a Traveling Piano greeting. I'll post that picture tomorrow. |
December 8, 2010Bucks County, Pennsylvania
It is amazing to me... the string of my life... long and strong. I hooked up with my high school choir accompanist friend Patty today. She originally gave me the idea of playing the piano on the back of a pickup truck almost twenty five years ago. We went and visited my old high school music teacher and his wife. Afterwards I had dinner with my old neighbors. My friends now in their seventies and eighties we talked about death and life and health and fun... my high school music teacher who was in a coma like state last year for two months is still singing and in fact working on a music cd. My neighbor who just had twenty two pounds of water removed from his body last month because of a kidney leak is getting ready to climb on his roof to put up Christmas lights. My old teachers wife looked at my grey hair and said, "you look like you have a halo around your head. My eighty year old neighbor saw my hair and said, "what is with the grey hair, dye it." Hahaha... |
December 7, 2010Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
I am seriously considering the issue of cold weather. It feels like I cannot stand another year playing the piano outside in the cold! Hahaha... Why not go down south? For almost twenty five years the weather has never dictated where the Traveling Piano operates. My home and money has dictated in the past but now the journey, faith and living in the present moment dictates where and what I do. Today in the suburbs of Philadelphia I spent time with friends and family. It feels good to have friends and family. I have had periods in life where it has felt as though there was no one but me and my dog. Anyway, the Traveling Piano happened once again at the last minute. Even though the temperature was in the twenties and darkness was on the horizon :), I had to almost throw friends I have not seen in years off the truck because I could no longer stand in the cold. Mo did not seem to mind the cold. When the focus agenda is purely fun, friendship respect, musical empowerment and inspiration... almost nothing consciously exists or there is very little awareness of anything else but relationship in the moment. |
December 6, 2010Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mo and I drove to Philadelphia today for a friend's funeral. I do not own a suit anymore so I wore a blue top and a new black pair of nike pants. They feel and sound like cardboard. Can you imagine that sound while walking down a church isle? We drove into north Philly and the Juniata section of the city where people pay no attention to stop signs or red lights. Last time we drove through this area a guy passed me from behind by driving onto the sidewalk to pass the car in front of me. He did not want to wait for the red light. No rush, he just didn't feel like waiting. I noticed that hummer and suv wheel rims with lots of shiny spokes are a popular item these days. It feels good to visit the city again. The powers that be around Temple University Hospital have figured out how to get rid of the riffraff at night. Clean new curbs and lights, lots of light... like, very bright lighting... of course the fact that the temperature is freezing might be helping. |
December 5, 2010LaLa Land, West Virginia
In the lodge where I use the Internet there is a young girl who busies herself everyday while her mother works in the restaurant. This is a single mom situation. The girl watches television, reads, goes onto the computer, takes walks... I have never officially met her but have watched her from afar and have been totally impressed with how she interacts with other people and life. She is interested, respectful, courteous, and friendly... I decided to take on the role of a Santa elf and make a Christmas for her. Every day I drop a present somewhere in the lodge with her name on it. Hopefully no one... especially her will never find out where the presents came from. I am more than fairly certain no one in this area checks this blog. Does anyone? Anyway, a big red hat, books, a stuffed bear, perfume, Christmas ribbon and bows, Christmas cards to send out, gloves, a wooden angel etc... I spent most of the day finding and wrapping 25 gifts and put their dates taped on. I dropped them all off because... I will not be around for at least the next week. Why write this? I wonder how many people know how much "fun" it is to just "give..." with no agenda. It is a lot of fun... it creates a major amount of joy for me so... I want to share it was part of my journey. Tomorrow I will be heading to Philadelphia for a funeral. |
December 4, 2010LaLa Land, West Virginia
Ahhh.... I sat and watched video for hours, just me with my dog laying by my side. After that I went to bed and slept till eleven in the morning without interruption... nice eh? This week I did one of the biggest "let go's" of my life. My life long sheet music collection...gone. Once strangers now friends who I met in Montana... Robyn and Nick, they invited me to stay in their home... Robyn is a piano player. A few years ago she had lost everything including her home to a fire storm. Now she has a new home and piano but very little sheet music. I had... over four hundred pounds of sheet music stored away in a friends cellar... sheet music all the way back from my first music book. It was a huge collection. Off it went. I shipped it all to Montana. It will be a big surprise gift. I know she wants it. The shipping was much less than I anticipated, under three hundred... a large chunk of money from what is left for the journey. I choose to make this an exercise in not feeling needy or fearful about not having enough. I am practicing feeling abundance, ha. Value and respect for what I have owned has always been my goal. My sheet music will be valued and respected. Until this journey began I had depended on sheet music one hundred percent. Now I am musically as free as a bird. Today I also decided on a new picture for the Traveling Piano splash page. |
December 3, 2010LaLa Land, West Virginia
The house I am staying in is being renovated. As dust flies through the air, saws mill... guys carry drywall and tile in and out... I am in the bathroom using it as a bathroom while also toasting bread on the sink and making coffee on the tub ledge. I am in very tight quarters to say the least. My bad back as of late has given me a headache. Mo has been sleeping in bed with me because there is no room for him anywhere else. I am allergic to his hair and am using flannel sheets. Dark blue flannel sheets covered with dog hair is not a pretty sight. Even though... he slept under the covers all night by my feet. I got little sleep. Still... for some reason I took the piano tarp off and created some music outside while snow flurries fluttered. Ha! I forgot about how tired, sick, and cramped I was. |
December 2, 2010Hagerstown, Maryland
This journey provides constant validation to continue. The temperature is in the thirties but it doesn't matter when interested fun people are around. I was sitting outside a Mc Donald's using the wi-fi to order a heater on line for the cabin where I am staying because its colddddd... in there. A group of young guys passing by commented on the piano in the truck. I told them to take the cover off and have some fun, they did... we made a short video, took some pics, banged away at the keys, Mo jumped onboard but is out of practice so he needed a little lift... I played some boogie woogie... fun, friendship, respect... musical empowerment and inspiration at no cost without commercial, organizational or political affiliation, using spontaneity and synchronicity to create music for people to discover. Can it get any better? |
December 1, 2010West Virginia
It is snowing. Today's picture was from two weeks ago. I went to the post office yesterday and had a short talk with the attendant about the Traveling Piano and my experience of music and piano playing. I returned today and she told me she had a dream about me last night. She is the second person to tell me they had a dream about me in the last two weeks and both I had met only the day before. Interesting... anyway, this lady had always wanted to play the piano as a child but, the judgment... structure... demands... right/wrong... good/bad... enough/not enough... pressures... no enjoyment from "it is what it is"... that all destroyed any ability and belief to be able to try or enjoy creating music. I had told her about the concept of one note and how to enjoy the simplicity of sound. She had a Traveling Piano experience without the Traveling Piano! Apparently our exchange made an impression deep into her psyche. |