Raggin' Piano Boogie
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Since 1987 |
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March 30, 2025Las Vegas, NevadaThis blog used to be updated everyday. There was so much to remember for each day in the past and I was so excited to share it here. Now there is not much new each day. The days are more about functioning on basic levels. The truck is in no shape to go any distance and the same goes for myself and Mo. My strength is becoming less and less. Same goes for my clarity. Life is about adjusting to what is now. Last summer in my fog of simply surviving the heat I had spent an enormous amount time time creating three stages of functioning. I organized and filed everything I own to be able to find it in the small room I live in for daily needs. 
 The filing needs to be updated constantly as I use and replace items like food. I filed and packed an entire setup for camping so I could try and get out of the heat. Camping was short lived because of my lack of energy and physical strength. I packed an overnight bag for 3 nights in case I needed to leave in a hurry and also packed separately for long term travel. Long distance travel has ended for this journey so it seems for many reasons. Now, I must unpack it all and use the necessities like clothes that need to be presently replaced in my wardrobe, Mo's food and treats before they go bad, hygiene supplies I can now use, etc... |
March 28, 2025Las Vegas, Nevada
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March 25, 2025Las Vegas, Nevada
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March 24, 2025Las Vegas, Nevada
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March 21, 2025Las Vegas, Nevada
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March 20, 2025Las Vegas, Nevada
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March 19, 2025Las Vegas, Nevada
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March 18, 2025Las Vegas, NevadaThe heat is almost here and the gallery is still being built! It started with a homeless meth addict couple I've known since moving to Las Vegas. They stay in small sheds and alleys while working for local business with odd handy man jobs. The guy is a welder, a builder and his female partner an idea person and sign maker. They work well together and always have a way of finding tools and materials to do their work. They steal. I've shared a lot of food and other needs with them over the years. They are presently staying where the gallery is and said they would help me to build it. In knowing them fairly well I wanted to trust them. We have a friendly relationship. It was all going well until I gave them my spare piano and speaker to sell in appreciation. 
 I set them up with weekly food, purchased lots of Christmas gifts (fun necessities) in appreciation. All of that was mistake. They are also drug addicts which translates into "users" on every level. What began as appreciation in my giving turned into "he has" and "use him." They began to want more, more, more to continue. All gratitude went out the window. All I gave them in their minds became nothing and they now feel "used" by me. It hurts. Probably mostly because I know better than to expect any job would get finished no matter what with drug addicts. It hurts that I must stop giving to them and is such a pain in the ass that I need to figure out how to get the project finished. |
March 17, 2025Las Vegas, Nevada
No rain, mostly sun and in the mid-70's today but... there was no way I was going to the gallery because of the strong winds. If the structure blows apart I do not want to be there when that happens. And there is no way I can work in it all with the super loud tarp constantly flapping and ripping away at everything. The desert dirt right now filling the space on all the photos just... ugh. I purchased some lattice and wood to hold the lattice and to try and give the structure additional needed support. My friend Trudy is going to bring her drill tomorrow to help me put it all together and re-attach/glue some of the structure back together... again. Its St. Patrick's Day today a drinking celebration! I was never into it even back when I was a drinker. It always felt like a forced holiday, like we all had to participate. That never worked for my rebellious nature. Lol, an alcoholic who did not want to drink on St. Patricks Day because he felt forced to do it by others. |
March 16, 2025Las Vegas, Nevada
For the first fifteen years or so with this blog I tried my best to avoid the difficult situations experienced throughout the journey. In not wanted to hurt anyone's feelings I avoided putting in negative aspects of relating but now, those times do not seem important, I do not think any of those people read this blog and no one will be hurt by my documenting the negative shit. My focus has always been on the gratitude of the people who invited me, allowed me to stay with them on while traveling but as far as experiences go, I had some doozies and not in the best of ways. I may have written about some of them in the past couple of years but have no way now to know if I am repeating myself in this blog. Its all becoming a blur. Now is the time because this blog is no longer 100% positive with its entries and the new experiences are becoming few and far between and those people are gone from my life... I think.
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March 15, 2025Las Vegas, NevadaI know I have written down stories never published somewhere. I hope I still have them. After almost forty years and an amazing amount of filing every aspect of this journey one would think that I'd be able to find what I need, when needed. Like the story of when I traveled to Joplin Missouri after a tornado leveled much of the city and I needed a place to stay. A woman I reached out to online, she got in touch with a guy she was dating because he had a big home. He was close minded about the idea and the woman forced him to allow me to stay under the threat of breaking off their relationship. The guy was totally leery even though he was a piano freak. He had a huge lake in the front of his home in the shape of a grand piano with piano keys and everything. 
He had an airport hanger size warehouse attached to the house with probably the largest collection in the world of different player pianos. He made me so tense and nervous in relating and mind you with everything going on, the suffering and devastation I was working in everyday, I was already not feeling safe... I peed in his expensive bed overnight. There was no way I could tell him. So, I made the bed and left in the morning hoping it would dry before he found out and with no stain showing... I left as quickly as possible while knowing I most likely would never see him again. I stayed with about a hundred fifty strangers both individuals and families I had never met over a ten year period. |
March 14, 2025Las Vegas, NevadaThe longest tenured news reporter from KNLV News3 is retiring in a few days and told me that I have been on her bucket list to interview and so it happened today. It was such a compliment. She had to do a segment about how the Downtown Las Vegas Arts District is booming so she weaved the Traveling Piano into that beautifully. It turned out as my looking as a main spokes person for the area, a key player and the segment was just full of credibility for me and my work. Getting the word out about the Traveling Piano Showcase, Fundraising Photo Art Gallery is so very needed. That title was too long to use in the segment, lol. Whatever, people are always telling me I use too many words but no short explanation can cover who I am and about what I do. It was fun and I want to do more interviews at this juncture of the journey. |
March 13, 2025Las Vegas, NevadaIt has been a long time since going out into nature with Mo. All the time, I am aware and wanting to understand how my life has been changing. I am back logged into last year with processing Traveling Piano photos of people, the gallery setup and maintenance is an energy drain, online social media, absolute rage for trump supporters and those who do not care about what is going on (really that rage is acute disgust, sadness, disappointment and frustration) there is no way I am going to say and do nothing about it all. I've too much investment in people who need basic resources like a home for example, those being slaughtered for whatever reason here in the US and world wide specifically through gun violence and war... my life is totally invested in empathy, compassion, diversity, equality and inclusion. 
 All this is what the Traveling Piano is about. The working energy in real time with the Traveling Piano, it exists but the recouping of energy after a days work can take several days. Mo is limited with his energy because of his age so that needs to be taken into account. Sometimes he falls when walking. I do not feel safe driving the truck for any distance, I could go on and on as to why there is little nature is in our lives now even to take a walk in a park. When all is said and done, thank God we had so much fun and exploration and enjoyment in the past. We really did it big time with mountains and lakes, forests, meadows and fields, oceans, glaciers, deserts, etc... and thank God I have the memories in pictures. They can take me right into the moment with it all. The photo gallery and showcasing the Traveling Piano is taking all focus and energy in life now. It is what it is. |
March 12, 2025Las Vegas, Nevada
Today was a good example of once I get going, any time lost is made up. There were many interactions to be had with locals and visitors. One guy came up and asked if I would come play for his compnaies group retreat a block away for $50. I suggested he bring the group to where I was which he did. And then I had to get them all setup on the truck for a photo shot which was not easy because they were present with no choice. My being directive was harsh which I could not help because my where-with-all slips more and more as time goes on. It is a good thing I can at least catch myself with that but its just so ugly and can be too sharp for what I am doing. Its not easy being me. After all was said and done he took a photo for $20 and that was it. I still would not have done it for $50 tho.
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March 11, 2025Las Vegas, Nevada
This is looking like a month to tell about some crazy situations I found myself in during this journey. Once upon a time... a woman invited me to stay with her. She had a forbidden room in her house and instructed me "not" to enter. Someone was in it. I sensed some major dysfunction going on. I had been in another place like this once before. She offered me the second floor of her house to stay as long as I wanted. There was nothing on the second floor, no furniture just a sleeping bag on the floor and... no glass in any of the windows. Everything was totally exposed to the outside elements. It kind of freaked me out. The downstairs was a mess, the refrigerator in the kitchen had mold growing... on the outside of it! She showed enthusiasm about my staying there but... no way in hell! I politely said that I really appreciated the offer but could not stay and got going as fast as I could.
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March 10, 2025Las Vegas, NevadaThe necessity to stand up and speak out, take action concerning politics is absolutely exhausting. Our lives are at stake so it must be done... continually, and fuck everyone who does not care, is afraid to upset friends in doing it or thinks trump is going to make everything better. What morons. I tell trump supporters, "when you begin to suffer big time please think of me. Your suffering will be my silver lining as we both go down." It is what it is but... I do not need to play victim or go into denial and my entire journey has included standing up for those oppressed and suffering. We all must stand and witness the suffering of others, be with them in spirit. And musk, I said from the start when he first purchased twitter that he was more dangerous than trump or the gop on many levels. I dropped 70,000 followers on twitter once he took over and it is astounding how many companies and people continue to support him in using that social site daily. When I see those disgusting Telsa trashcans roaming the streets of Las Vegas showing off, I know they are nothing more than swastika symbols. 
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March 9, 2025Las Vegas, Nevada
I was staying in a preppy college town once where it looked like a perfect upper middle class older neighborhood with two story houses, large tree lined streets, stone paved walkways, cultivated lawns with bushes, full of families and professors, doctors, etc... I took the Traveling Piano into the neighborhood and found a cookout happening so I stopped to share some music. Everyone was please, the guy running it invited me into his house to get something to eat. The entire house had no furniture in it. People were just sitting on floors and trash was everywhere. I was stunned and confused. The outside of the house was a facade and I have no idea what the inside was about. The guy and his wife looked as normal as can be. I asked where they slept and they said on the floor. The lights were just a few makeshift lanterns. I did not pursue with any more questions just got out and away as soon as I could.
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March 8, 2025Las Vegas, Nevada
While on the subject of people I have stayed with... I once stayed with a doctor who was a heroine addict. He seemed totally functional with no need to hide anything about himself. I asked where he got his medical degree. It was from a small country island somewhere in the southern hemisphere. It was a yikes moment for me. Not until living here now in Las Vegas had I ever run into reasons to be wary of doctors. I know there are tons of dentists with no degrees here. There are nurse practitioners from Canada with no degrees who pass through to practice on people and then move on. Medical centers pay them nothing and use them as apprentices and medical interns to learn. The guy had people staying in the house coming and going all the time. I did not feel welcome because we had nothing in common... the only thing I could have had in common was doing drugs. He was also into mushrooms... practicing as a doctor for Christ's sake! |
March 7, 2025Las Vegas, Nevada
I've been telling about crazy people I stayed with. Here is one more. I was in Berkeley, California and in a neighborhood where all the houses had been divided into apartments staying with high school teachers in their 40's. They had a child with special needs and it was very important to be calm around him. The parents were your typical high school teachers in every way so it seemed. There was a granny flat in their back yard. A sloppy place but it had a bed, lamp and chair. It was kind of dismal. I was having dinner with the family and asked what they used the place for. It was their party den where they would go and shoot up drugs on weekends. I was like... how do you function with your boy and teach and do that every weekend? They said it is how they get through the week. Oh my God! Talk about feeling uncomfortable... I tried to not think about them and... it.
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March 06, 2025Las Vegas, NevadaOnce upon a time a new friend set up an overnight stay for the Traveling Piano. It was a friend of a friend situation, a woman who was a psychic medium, ex nun. She was very nice and accommodating and a bit strange, a bit cold... not much emotion flowing. There was older sister who lived in her basement. The older sister was permanently forbidden to come upstairs. She had her own exit to and from her space via a stairwell outside. It felt like the sister was being held hostage or being punished for life about something. One day she snuck up the stairs and we met briefly. 
 She seemed very sweet and nice, frail and old. Somehow the women who invited me found out and she went into the basement flipped out of control with anger and rage. You would not believe the screaming. There is a lot more to this situation, more complexity with it and is one of the top ten weirdest journey experiences I have had. The women seemed to disappear after a time from my life as though something I said or did offended her. We had been connected via social media. Who knows? It is so long ago, feels safe to put into print now. |
March 05, 2025Las Vegas, Nevada
I found the clarity and inspiration to play some music for a short while with the truck and open the gallery today. The impetus was impending rain, I knew I had to go and cover everything up with plastic and bricks to hold the plastic down. I ended up talking with people and interacting musically more than playing music myself. It took a good half hour to set up and an hour and a half to tear down and cover everything. I will take advantage of the rain tomorrow and cook food so I have it in the coming days as I will have no time to do that along with everything else. I need to cook Mo's food also. Living on processed frozen food has never been my thing. Cooking is less expensive. I cannot justify the process of cost with processed food along with the lack of nutrition in it. Twenty five pounds of carrots were on sale for ten bucks so I had to get that. This necessitates cutting them all up, freezing, making soup and casseroles to make sure none of it goes bad. It is a lot, especially in for the small space I live in.
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March 4, 2025Las Vegas, Nevada
My days on the internet are dwindling. I am not willing to give up total control of what I do and how I do it, who I communicate to, when, what different people see according to AI bots collecting my data and manipulating my life and everyone else. As it is, the majority of people can no longer see this website or are hooked into the monster's ways. They and are too lazy to seek it out while preferring social media sites. Another block of the internet was dropped from my browser so I can no longer access videos I want, logging into facebook is almost impossible... the internet is trying to force me to use my phone verses the older computer I use which afforded privacy, ease of use and allows me to do my work most efficiently. The AI bots are commanding I do my work through that. Not going to happen. Work arounds is just too much for me and now... work arounds are quickly becoming a thing of the past. So be it, this has been so much fun but the end is near as it is for life in so many different ways.
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March 03, 2025Las Vegas, NevadaFill the salt shaker, change the lamp batteries, clean the air filters that constantly turn black from tourist sightseeing helicopter fuel at night. At least eight copters fly in line over the city in line at night dropping fuel that turns into dirt and fills the air with it. Slice and cook Mo's carrots, cook his rice, my rice, fold and put away the clothes just washed, water the plants, etc...like fifty little things always on my mind when needed that take conscious thought and doing. Those things used to happen in the blink of an eye with no conscious thought. I still am grateful for all I have. There is no feeling of deserving, simply an awareness of the manifestations created as a result of my actions in life through the grace of God. 
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March 02, 2025Las Vegas, NevadaToday was a lost day. I prayed to not have it that way but really, did not take the physical action to follow through in making the day useful. I've not meditated or played music in a couple days. While knowing that is the solution and knowing the danger in not doing it... I just could not, did not, did not want to. I can only attribute it to dis-ease. Through the daily practice of recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction (over forty years now) I have learned quite a bit about myself on all levels. And as well, that the disease will take me directly and quickly back into a hell hole leading to death if I do not watch myself. It is not something you recover from in the traditional sense. It requires daily maintenance, it never goes away. You work through it one day at a time. 
 Horrible, right? But then again, look at what I have been able to accomplish in life by getting honest about it and dealing with it. Awareness, remembering to remember and having hundreds of tools to pick from in order to not lose everything I have accomplished is key. I have my habits of gratitude, taking care of Mo and being easy on myself to allow... what is. I mean, what is the worst that can happen if a diddle the day away? Whatever that may be, it would not be nearly as bad as pushing myself to work so I get sick again and then am doing nothing for another two weeks. Pick your battles, Danny. |
March 01, 2025Las Vegas, NevadaI am very frustrated and angry concerning the human brains vulnerability when it comes to being manipulated and controlled through fear, greed and stupidity resulting from a lack of self worth. It is impossible for me to ignore what is happening in the world politically, the chaos, suffering and death. When I interact with people in person I can let go of all the politics. They are short interactions but when the opportunity arises to speak out in the truth of spirit, Traveling Piano or not... I must take "every" opportunity. If I die, lose everything I have or I am killed in the process, so be it. This is because I care most passionately about life as a whole and the human race (which is myself). I care about progress and life's growth in its many ways towards love, compassion, joy, empathy, beauty, abundance in the truth of spirit and peace. 
 Through my hate and rage and desire to kill, I practice, work towards, use those thoughts and feelings to continue manifesting the opposite. When I feel and experience overwhelming joy and gratitude I offer that up to the pain, suffering and death to nurture and feed whatever is needed to destroy what people call the evil, those creating our perceived armageddon. I aways remember to remember, we are spirit manifest in human form. Spirit does not die it transforms. It is up to those like myself to stay strong with clarity, persistence, consistency and action... to make sure whatever transformation is to a higher level for all of us. Lastly, I remind myself that life moves forward with practice. I embrace my mistakes and failures when I can realize them and move towards correction to get back on my desired paths. |