Raggin' Piano Boogie

HIS SPIRIT LIVES ON! ... BONER, THE PIANO DOG ... November 27, 1994 ... February 20, 2010

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Would you like to support 18 years of Traveling Piano work without fees, tips or commercial affiliation? Venmo: Dan Kean @TravelingPiano 2156399378 - Paypal Direct: www.paypal.me/dannykean - And of Course this Website Contribution Page. Or email me for snail mail.

December 2013

I don't now what will happen this month. I am not destitute, will never be. At fifty nine years of age I know that whatever I need to do for my life, it will get done. The purpose of life is to enjoy. Today I have a comfortable place to stay but really feel the need to have a secure home. It has been a long time now. All my needs are being met and that can all change in the time it takes to flip a coin. But, whatever new and different... there is no way I will end up living in a gutter somewhere. My choices in life have been good. I would have it no other way. With all that said... this month feels like it will be all about finding resources in order to continue with the journey. This page will be full of material for anyone interested to download or copy and paste in order to send to others and maybe help out. I'll start posting with an email I will be sending to everyone on my email list.

From the Traveling Piano Man:

I would like to be more personal with this email to you especially in knowing it is the first I have sent in three years. My resources are limited so I just do the best that I can and hope you will understand.

If you have not kept in touch with the Traveling Piano you may be surprised to find the Flight of Peregrinating Musical Exploration journey... is alive and strong. It has been eight years now. The mission: Fun, Friendship and Respect with Musical, Empowerment and Inspiration at no cost and without Commercial, Organizational or Political affiliation... Music for People to Discover. The Traveling Piano is my full time work. Most people do not know this but I do not get paid a cent for my work. I am not independently wealthy and use no welfare system. No tips or funds are solicited from the Traveling Piano truck. All costs incurred since the beginning of the journey in 2006 have been paid for with the remains from the sale of my home. Also, I live in providence with trust and faith. The people I meet often share basic necessities. I do not project neediness into my work. What has made the Traveling Piano unique is its unconditional nature of giving without the need for attention, validation or any exchange of money.

There is no performing or entertaining with the Traveling Piano. People find Piano Dog Mo hanging out on top of the piano while I am creating improvisational music from the back of the pickup truck. It all happens through synchronicity... in the woods, by a lake, on a beach, a city street, on top of a mountain, in a neighborhood driveway... literally there have been hundreds of unique places and environments where people find us. The spontaneity that ensues creates a relationship. Everyone willingly participates via the piano seat. It is a safe space. Friendship and respect materialize with trust that happens through the language of music and one-on-one relating. Sometimes it is only for a minute. One minute is enough. The experience without question creates a "wow" factor for everyone and especially for people who have never played with a piano... do not think they can play... or who have been psychologically damaged from music lessons in their early years. The Traveling Piano has a one hundred percent success rate in creating wonderful and often life changing experiences through music.

I would like for this to continue. The Traveling Piano's success has been publicly documented every day since 2006. On the Traveling Piano website you will find at least 70,000 pictures, videos, written detailed logs, improvisational music pieces and slideshows of over 50,000 different people from all walks of life. They all have enjoyed their own personal music; many for the first time ever. The Traveling Piano has been shared freely and without advertisement of any sort. How often do you encounter a random situation with a stranger in life... that does not demand attention for itself in some way and where a gift is presented with no obligation or expectation of a return. Obviously, it costs money to keep everything going and I am almost out of funds. I need your help to keep the magic alive. The fact is there are needs, specifically... the Traveling Piano truck must be restored immediately. Currently, there are not enough funds to continue non-commercially through another year without your support. Please help out.

There are many routes for me to take in raising money but there is always business involved in some way. Seeing as the Traveling Piano is about personal relating, I prefer to ask for contribution personally. A one time gift or... please consider becoming a sustainer for the Traveling Piano. A monthly recurring gift of 3, 11, 20, a hundred dollars or whatever you can give would not only help keep the Traveling Piano going, it would encourage me tremendously. I have found that many people have little experience in giving simply for the sake of "giving" in of itself. Giving makes life work better. Try it on behalf of the Traveling Piano. Pure and honest random acts of personal kindness in the world without commercial agenda... we all need as much of that as possible. How amazing it has been for me to enter into situations such as the devastation of hurricane Katrina, onto the campus memorial area after the student massacre in Virginia Tech, into the tornado areas that destroyed a large part of Joplin Missouri, the hurricane Sandy affected areas of New York or on the local playground in Sandy Hook Connecticut after the school shootings there... and be able to lift spirit. No one knows we are present except for those who find us. The Traveling Piano is personal. It has been awesome to be able to create relief for others in moments of despair and to have a fun while creating relief appropriately through spirit, a dog named Mo and a piano in the back of a pickup truck in the most difficult of life situations.

The Traveling Piano has had the good fortune and grace to be able to bring music into areas where other musicians rarely travel... to rural places where people have never before seen a piano... into small Mexican fishing villages, to the most northeastern tip of Newfoundland, into the Alaskan bush as well as the islands off its coast and also back and forth into every corner in the United States. Being a stress reliever for random people in everyday life through a chance meeting wherever we happen to land up, that is great but it is most gratifying personally for me to simply add more fun to someone's life already having a great day. All the scenarios keep me interested through gratitude, reassurance and validation. This my first request for money since the beginning of the journey. There will be no more requests like this. I hope it works and that you will help to share the joy with my continuing to pay forward love... for others, through what life has best to offer, personal relationship through music. Please share a few bucks. Make a contribution. It is easy using Paypal or Bitcoin. You can click on this link... DO IT HERE

Also, visit www,travelingpiano.com for yourself. There is a contribution link on the left side menu and also you will find a contact link there. If you would prefer to help in another way please let me know via that contact link. Below, you will find an address to use if you would like to send a check, cash or money order. Where there is a will, there is a way. If you need help in getting a contribution to me, we can figure out how to do it together. One more... on the Traveling Piano website Daily Log page for December I have posted this email along with informational materials (pictures, text, videos) for people to download and use to send to friends and potential supporters. YOUR ALREADY HERE Please contribute! Looking forward...

All the best,

Danny Kean
The Traveling Piano Man with Dog Mo
www.travelingpiano.com
215 639 9378

Seriously, Lets Keep This Going!... Contribute

Support relationship that crosses all cultural boundaries.... Contribute

Do you notice there is nothing commercial here? Giving for the sake of giving, its a very good thing, it feels great... Contribute

Music can heal the world. It is a language everyone understands.... Contribute

Paypal... BitCoin... Check/Cash or Other (see the address above) Support The Traveling Piano

Come on all you girlfriends, individually or together.... Contribute

Have you checked out the music on this website, almost 3000 pieces of Piano Improvisation... Contribute!

Please act out and share some money, a few bucks will help, now is the time... Support

CONTRIBUTE CONTRIBUTE CONTRIBUTE CONTRIBUTE CONTRIBUTE CONTRIBUTE CONTRIBUTE CONTRIBUTE CONTRIBUTE CONTRIBUTE CONTRIBUTE

Hey you guys! This is serious fun. Help out... CONTRIBUTE

People are used to the idea of neediness, guilt or obligation in finding support. I am asking you to give for better reasons, the best... CONTRIBUTE

Please send this website link for support to all your friends, spread It around the Internet but your personal financial input will help most. CONTRIBUTE

Fact: One in a hundred people give support financially for the Traveling Piano, that number must change. Please help now... CONTRIBUTE

Have you enjoyed anything about the Traveling Piano? Help me to keep sharing it. Pay it forward so I can continue doing the same... CONTRIBUTE

Yep! One more time. Just do it. With total humility I ask you to please... CONTRIBUTE

December 31, 2013

Difficult to believe I'm still going and finishing eight full years of this journey. Its been transitioning forever! Ha. Mo and I are with ourselves hiding out. A new dawn is coming whatever that means. As I get older I can see how older people don't want to change the environment they are living in no matter how bad it is... the idea of moving to something new and constantly adjusting everything is not easy to do. Its on my mind because we must get on the road. I'm thankful I have the ability to create music and share it. I would like to do that on a larger scale. Constantly, I allow myself time and know whatever needs to get done will happen when its time. Ha, a thought went through my head... Is it possible that we are realizing our dreams whether we like it or not?

December 30, 2013

I'm having muffler paranoia so I drove to have someone look at the muffler. It was not a problem but I also put the word in that I'm looking for someone to rebuild or put in a new engine. Then I was in town so I stopped in at the hotel because they have a piano in a room no one uses. There were four women having a discussion but they did not care if I created music at the same time. Wow, was that difficult to pull in the reins and create music in consideration that conversations were going on. I'm not use to having to be considerate of my surroundings when creating music. Later, another couple came in and they were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary. The woman played piano and I showed them how to improvise together. Before I left we all went out to the truck for a few minutes with the piano there.

December 29, 2013

Sometimes, I feel carried outside to share the Traveling Piano without being very conscious. There comes along an impulse and I just flow with it. Shingles blew off of the roof where Mo and I are staying so I drove to Winchester, Virginia to get some shingles. The sun was out and the temperature bearable so we ended up in a park near a playground and interacted with a lot of people. Afterwards I ended up getting together with my friend Barbara and we saw a movie and had dinner. I forgot to get the shingles.

December 28, 2013

Friends today gave me Christmas gifts. They did not know that cranberry nut bread is my all time favorite Christmas treat and banana bread comes in second. They also gave me 2 pairs of gloves with the fingers exposed which I can't wait to try in the cold. As a kid I could play the piano in the cold no problem, now at almost 60 years of age it is not so easy. With my age, I'm constantly working to keep an awareness of what purpose I can serve with Fun, Friendship and Respect as the years slip away. Purpose is linked to passion and they are linked to emotion that gets me off my ass to "do." Music came through as my largest purpose. How, when, where for what reason... do I need to change all that to keep interest in life and to what do I change it to... and to what end? Maybe, I am thinking music as in a flow of life energy just within and for itself. That would be ok. A part of me still looks for validation and reassurance from outside of myself concerning all life purpose. I'm getting better at being ok, fulfilled and all knowing from within more and more.

December 27, 2013

A friend wrote me saying. "I'm trying to understand the relationship between genius and passion. There is genius without passion but I do not think passion exists without genius. You have great passion. Being able to improvise, as you do with your music which begins simply, builds and soars before it gently tapers towards an uncomplicated end, is genius." When people say things like this to me it is so empowering! Writing these blogs entries I realize sometimes they are not very coherent. I have not been proof reading them and making corrections.

December 26, 2013

I've been in an almost total shut down mode today. Not depressed, just unable to do anything. I'm allowing that for myself. Thank god I can shut down! Mo and I did go for a walk in the woods. Feeling like I have no energy I just walked a slow as necessary to enjoy what I was doing and to feel good. That was energizing.

December 25, 2013

Christmas Eve as well as today was totally satisfying. There were no expectations, obligations, what should I do, where am I going to spend time, how am I going to spend it, who should I be with, should I be with someone, etc... Mo and I totally chilled out in a warm recliner with candles, friends via the internet, and downloaded Christmas specials with plenty of food, a variety of it. This all felt really good along with two very special gifts. My friend Dot in Alaska whom I never met in person, in her nineties, living very modestly, has a daughter who passed. She had saved some money for her daughter's care but never used it and decided to send it to me for the journey. Thats like someone giving me the shirt off their back. Can we talk love? I felt totally gifted by her gesture. Also, another friend Becky... sending support through the fun of doing it. Thats the way I like it!

December 24, 2013

My friend Krishna from India stopped by today and I created some music for him through headphones. Then we decided to visit the vortex where I have been creating music whenever I am in this area. It was twenty five degrees out but I could not resist playing some music and for Krishna to have the experience for himself.

December 21, 2013

Finally it was warm enough today to take the Traveling Piano out. First stop was to pick up the rearview mirror I ordered yesterday and thank God the guy had time to put in on for me. While that was happening people engaged with Mo the piano, me and music. Then I went to visit friends who have contributed to the journey and have a performance space in the center of Berkeley Springs, WV. Coincidently a guy from India who I had met last month was performing and asked me to come. His name is Krishna Kant Shukla and he is famous for performing Indian Classical Music. He had another famous Indian musician with him named Debu Nayak who played the Tabla which is a small pair of hand drums that creates amazing sound. I'm kicking myself for not having musically jammed with him. I didn't think of it at the time. About 20 people got onto the piano seat today and that felt really, really good. It has been awhile.

December 20, 2013

I took the cover off the truck for the 1st time in 2 weeks. As I pulled it off a piece snow fell on my drivers side rear view mirror and it broke off. Then a 3 week old banana fell out of my travel bag next to it. After saying the serenity prayer I drove to a small local auto store blind... unable to see what was coming up my rear. The chances of a small town auto store having a side mirror for a 26 year old pickup truck... the guy says, "Can you wait until tomorrow around 1:30pm, I can get the exact replica." Next is to figure out how to put it on and get rid of a sinus headache.

December 19, 2013

I've begun to "reminisce"... I'm going to create a challenge to do it with gratitude, moment by moment for the next few weeks! (reminisce: indulge in enjoyable recollection of past events) Be "Present" for Christmas. At least that is what I am going to do. Every time a contribution comes through (like 1 for every 700 requests) I'm afraid to open the email to see it. I wonder whats up with that? I just had turkey with gravy over brown rice with steamed asparagus in garlic, butter, salt and mixed seasonings. There's nothing like home cooked food! Now for some intense work for the next 3 or 4 hours...

December 18, 2013

December 17, 2013

December 16, 2013

December 15, 2013

I did not know much about Nelson Mandela. I watched his memorial service on television today via the internet out of curiosity because there was so much attention to his life. I knew something important was happening and became very interested with all the people in attendance... people from the entire spectrum of politics, Bush, Carter, Obama, Heads of Nations around the World, Communist, Socialist, Democratic... so I watched a documentary from PBS... Frontline The Long Walk of Nelson Mandela. This man was a mighty force of spirit for change in the world through respect and without violence. There is much to learn from him. With a keen awareness, I watched how fortunate he was to be consciously connected to spirit throughout his life in order to achieve. I am attracted to his strength of spirit. As a friend of mine said, he evolved from a destitute child, to a militant young leader, to the man the world knows and loves.

December 14, 2013

I figured out how to create a music improvisation and post it with just one jpg by making a movie of just one jpg. It took me forever. Everything for me seems to be a work around... I do not learn anything straight forward. It is very frustrating but feels so good every time I accomplish the smallest thing. So here is a piece of music...

December 13, 2013

My friend Jeff came to pick me up and take me out to hang with some friends. The Traveling Piano truck is not going anywhere and has been sitting in the woods for a week now with the cold, snow and ice... lots of ice. It used to be a strong little bugger that went everywhere and drove great in snow. Now, it just does not have the power. I'm hesitant to even take it out in the rain. Ha, with Florida on the horizon and rain everyday, that will be a challenge for my serenity. Mo is such a great companion. He lays on the recliner with me while I work for hours on end. We are physically attached to each more than not! I'm very, very grateful for my dog.

December 12, 2013

Mo and I went out for a walk in the freezing cold ice and snow and it felt really good! I cannot send any emails on the internet because of a bad server issue. Patience is needed along with the paranoia that I am going to get punished for doing something wrong because I sent out too many emails. Of course I did nothing wrong but that does not stop the feelings when they are triggered. Plus, dealing with people sometimes can be so irritating. People in life always give me trouble. At this stage of the game, it is what it is. It takes all kinds and I have positioned my life to deal with-all kinds. I try to stick with the winners and good friends, but situations for me do not always work out that way. Then there are just crazy people that keep jabbing at my life. It is what it is. Patience, tolerance and response-ability... I work with those qualities all the time in order to stay connected to life in good ways.

December 11, 2013

Having gone out and purchased a lot of food, I'm glad I'm stuck here in the snow to cook it all. I really am living in the moment these days. I could be thinking that I might leave any day in order to help make it happen but what feels right is to simply make each day as productive and easy as possible. So, just in case I don't leave I want to have food around that I can just thaw and eat without cooking or have the need to purchase take home food from a store everyday. Just like with the spare piano I recently purchased even though I may have to leave it, now almost a month later I am glad to have it and am able to create music inside when its too rainy or cold outside. It makes life easier, if only for a short period of time.

December 10, 2013

Sometimes I can observe my life from the outside looking in. Like for example I am so very supposed to be where I am staying right now. I can feel it. Here are some random thoughts from others and myself. I wrote them down because I want to remember them. Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of god. Whatever sin is, we all have to decide for ourselves how much we can live with. Who was responsible for teaching that to give is noble or sacrificial. To give is pure fun! The greater intellect one has, the more originality one finds in men. Ordinary persons find no difference between men. One more... You can sell your stuff. You don't need it. You need to get out from inside. Don't wait for people to come ringing. You need to go out and look for people that no one wants to talk to or be with. You know what to do, go find them, go talk to them. Be with people and share their lives, even for 15, 30 minutes, an hour. Not only find people, talk with them, or buy them something to eat ... eat with them.

December 09, 2013

It amazes me with how long it takes for me to figure things out (since I am no good with directions) well, I never really figure things out. Things just happen. I have thousands of emails to send in my last ditch effort for contribution from my email list. The last time I sent anything was three years ago when Piano Dog Boner passed and before that when I sold my home and I may have done it once before when I launched the journey and website. Aside form the hassles of my internet company trying to make me use their data collecting applications and restricting my use... what I need to do would take full time work for weeks creating the emails, sending them one by one, filing the bad ones that come back, filing who I sent to, the responses, etc... all the while not getting mixed up in what I am doing... I was in my email program file menu and I saw like I have seen for over fifteen years now a "Send Mail" option. Always, I am afraid to click on things I don't know about and like I said I just don't learn because I am always assuming it will be too difficult. As time progresses in my life and I gain courage and confidence... well, after all this time I clicked on it and immediately halved the amount of work I have to do and the time to do it. Why would this happen now? It was like a gift from God! lol...

December 08, 2013

It began to snow today. That was a good excuse to cook six gallons of chicken soup to freeze. I don't know how long I will be here but I'm pretty sure I'll be here at least through the week because the Traveling Piano can no longer travel in bad weather. The new truck cover is leaking. The people who made it reinforced a part in the middle and I think water is getting through the stitching there. It took three rain days, yesterday was a heavy one that really showed the problem. If I had left for Florida or somewhere else before this happened I'd have a big problem. Even though it will be a pain in the ass, I'll be able to make the long trip back to Maryland so they can do whatever is needed. Right now it is the first really big snowfall of the season. There is a spare cover on top of the cover for now. If I was on the road... there would be no extra cover because of so little truck storage space.

December 07, 2013

What I'm doing now with emailing people for contribution, it is actually enjoyable. It is nothing like what I went through a few months ago on facebook when I asked friends for support. That was torturous. I can feel my life now in a cycle. For years and years (many years ago) as a free lance pianist during Thanksgiving time I would find myself in a panic with no jobs, savings or prospects. I would go crazy for a week or two canvasing for jobs. Some years I did really good, others just ok but I always got enough to get me through the season. I used to roll up flyers and tie them with red ribbons while dropping them off in the well to do neighborhood mailboxes for private house parties. Then I went corporate for company Christmas parties. Then I went outdoors with the truck and for twenty years; it was all parades and shopping center promotions. So... I'm riding with that feeling in sending emails to all the 12,000 people on my list. Lol... I'm not thinking about how it will work out, I am thinking about the fun in doing anything to keep going. No projections, as I know something will come of it not necessarily from the 12,000. What I need always comes and rarely from where I am looking. When someone emails a response I take a deep breath (hoping it is not going to me a negative email because they do happen) and practice taking everything with a grain of salt before whatever happens. If a lot of money comes through what will I do with it? This is an important question I must constantly keep front and center. I will have fun getting the truck and equipment up to snuff in a luxurious way... so that I can turn everything back out into the world.

December 06, 2013

Snow is coming. I met a young girl working at a new deli that opened up nearby. She loves dogs and also takes piano lessons. Of course I had to stop and have her jump onto the truck. Her grandma joined her for some musical notes and a few pictures. A guy drove by and stopped who knew me from several years ago back in Pennsylvania and another guy... he didn't stay long enough to talk. He knew me... I had no idea who he was.

December 05, 2013

Ok, I'm going full blast filling up this page for people to download materials or just visit. I'm going to see if there is enough interest to keep the Traveling Piano secure without commercial interest! I have enough for the new engine, now to keep going. It was nicely warm enough for a good walk in the woods with Mo today. He loves to play in the fallen leaves as much as I do and... I love it. Walking through leaves brings to mind childhood smells, sounds, the feel of autumn, warm cuddling in the cold air...

December 04, 2013

I feel very honored every time I am in a place where local people go to get peace, quiet and serenity and instead of feeling irritated because something different (the Traveling Piano) is invading their space they say the music takes them to a better place than they could ever have imagined. Today that happened in Cacapone State Park, WV. An older guy called his girlfriend so she could sit and listen to the music with him on the cell phone. Then he got into the truck to give the piano a try for himself.

December 03, 2013

We drove to the park while the weather is still nice and by a lake ran into a very together sixty year old couple drinking, smoking cigarettes and "makin' out" in the back of an old pickup truck. They were havin' fun!

December 02, 2013

I can feel myself living intuitively in the moment. I just do things. It is like they just happen on their own... through me without my thinking. I am conscious and aware but only of flowing in what is happening. Afterwards, it is an amazing realization, a very spiritual feeling.

December 01, 2013

It is time to do a one last ditch effort in giving people the opportunity to contribute to help keep the Traveling Piano going. I'm emailing thousands of people from a mailing list I have. Many know me and have been on the Traveling Piano themselves. I'm turning the results over to God or whatever so I can enjoy the process.