A Favorite Post

Monday, June 29, 2015

Walkin' and Thinkin,' Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

I like to listen to the popular music radio stations - the 18-34-year-old target demographic. It keeps me young by staying in touch with the music of the current generation - it is the period of life when youth and optimism and possibility drive creative thought. The themes and ideas that resonate are what the musical stars write and sing about - mostly the same ideas of every generation: love, hope, beauty, dreams, dramas, heartbreak, all wrapped up in a clever lyric delivered by a catchy tune that makes me tap my foot, sing along badly, and imagine being "young" again.

Today's very calm sea makes for perfect kayak learning conditions.

A house perched on the bluff amidst the lush green of summer.

Steps to the beach.

My daily goal of walking 10,000 steps has added benefits - I am amazed how it opens my senses to the world around me.  Walking 10,000 steps is not a difficult movement - it's just repeated for a long time. Humans are, after all, either designed or evolved to walk (depending on your religious and/or scientific beliefs).

As a holdover from a lifetime of meetings and appointments, I still keep a daily agenda/list of things to do.  My past practice was to move from one item to the next if I finished the first one early.  Now, when I finish something early, I'd rather try to enjoy the "extra" time before I start the next item. I consider it new, free time that just fell from the sky. I'll take any extra time I can get since the clock seems to move faster as I get older.

(Note: all images made with cellphone).


Saturday, June 27, 2015

A Summer Cottage, Bartlett Pond, White Horse Beach, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Common sights in New England are the many ponds and lakes and the thousands (millions?) of small cottages or camps for seasonal use that dot the shorelines.  Many have been in the same family for generations.

The warmth and growth of a New England summer contrasts nicely with........ 

.......the cold and dormancy of winter.

It's a land where ewoks are born and loved.

(Note: all images made with cellphone except the snow image).


Friday, June 26, 2015

"Peter Pan Jr.," Priscilla Beach Theatre, Priscilla Beach, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Disney's "Peter Pan, Jr." is open now on the Outdoor Stage at Priscilla Beach Theatre (PBT). It is the first of five Children's Workshops in the 2015 Summer Stock season.  It's a musical about the adventures of Peter Pan, Wendy, the Lost Boys, Mermaids, and Captain Hook. Produced by Bob and Sandy Malone, directed by Theresa Chiasson.

These images were made during the final dress rehearsal. Watching these youngsters is always a treat.  














Come out and support local, live theatre in our community at Priscilla Beach Theatre. Performances of  "Peter Pan Jr." are on 6/26, 6/27, and 7/3 on the PBT Outdoor Stage.


Barn Show, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Once again, Manomet gets to enjoy outdoor live music as the Barn Show Music Series presents its second season of outdoor concerts at Holmes Farm on Manomet Point Road. Co-presented by Hayley Sabella and Brewster Productions, the concert series features up-and-coming original music, with everything from folk to country to rock, and much more in between.  The Holmes Farm property is owned by the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences.

It's like a modern-day, small, down-home, civilized Woodstocky sort of event but, with no mud and a great sound system.

The kids can sit and listen or romp and roam relatively safely, climbing on the big rock or chasing chickens that wander the property.

This was the second of five shows this summer.  Future dates are: 7/25, 8/8, and 9/6. More info at this link.....http://barnshowmanomet.com/about/

(Note: all images made with cellphone).

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Summer Low Tide, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Wild roses grace this path to the beach. Originally an invasive, this plant is fairly common now.



Life is good today - and almost everyday - at low tide on the arc of the bay.

(Note: all images made with cellphone).


Wednesday, June 24, 2015

At the Beach, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA



The air today is Atlantic fresh - nothing between me and Europe except thousands of miles of Atlantic Ocean. The tide is out, the air is warm, life is good.

I heard a song on the radio that evoked a strong memory and sense of place and time. It is remarkable the power of music to evoke a distant memory. In an instant, my mind transports me back 20+ years to driving through the early morning California coastal fog at 430 in the morning on the way to work. (Panorama - click on image to view full width).

The southeast Massachusetts coast is a rugged but civilized oceanfront.  Timeless, too.The tidal flats are nature's canvas, the daily tide cycles erasing all that happens below the high-water mark, a perfectly timed mechanism for daily re-creation.  Nature's do-over. I like that.



The beach is a special place. I enjoy seeing it every single time - young people, old people, and everyone in between - hanging out, laughing, partying, telling stories, enjoying nature and the beauty of the world.

(Note: all images made with cellphone).


Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Musings: Some Random Observations About Life, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

One of the advantages of walking a lot for exercise is that it is possible to think at the same time - usually.  While I wander around and try to create something - photos, text, stories, snippets for this blog - random thoughts about life often intrude and I scribble a note to myself - I am old school and use paper and pen. 

For example, today I was thinking about fitness - as a 62-year old male with heart disease, I have learned to focus on taking better care of my health (wish I had started when I was 20). Exercise, diet, and lifestyle are always under my control. If I don't keep fit, the rest of life doesn't matter very much.

I have decided that for every 10,000-step daily quota that I achieve, I get to add another day onto my lifespan - seems like a good idea, whether it is true or not.

It takes 120 steps to climb up off the beach. I look forward to it as cardio exercise instead of drudgery.  If I can stay fit, perhaps I can keep the grim reaper at bay a few more years.

A a young kid, most boys in my neighborhood dreamed of being a policeman, fireman, airline pilot, baseball player or heavy equipment operator - even now, who can resist the appeal of the "mighty claw."  Superhuman strength of comic book proportion - does the thrill ever leave? 

And speaking of kids, these trees remind me of my youth.  I climbed pine trees as a young boy.  I'd perch near the top and listen to the wind whispering through the needles, feeling the swaying of the trunk in the breeze, and dream the dreams of boys everywhere - to drive fire trucks, catch bad guys, fly fighter planes, be a sports star, or be a super-hero performing feats of super-human strength.  And when I'd climb down, my hands were covered with pine sap which I would carelessly smear on inappropriate surfaces. Ah, youth.

The wind has stopped.  The temperature is that rare number when you can't really tell where your body ends and the air begins - they meld into the same thing.  Perfect comfort.

People write for different reasons.  Many of the things I say in these blog posts are written to give voice to otherwise fleeting thoughts of some note. For example, I've been thinking about joy - how to induce more - if there isn't enough joy in my life then it is up to me to create more - it's that simple - joy isn't bestowed on me by others - it's in my attitude.   

Maybe I should just get a dog so I can talk to him/her instead of publishing these ramblings.

(Note: all images made with cellphone).


Sunday, June 21, 2015

Father's Day

I decided to write a post about Father's Day this year. Not my normal subject matter. Truth be told, I've usually thought cynically of both Father's and Mother's Day as mostly a commercial push by candy, flower, and necktie businesses to increase their sales. This year, though, I'm thinking about my own father, not the commercialism. I've decided to pay tribute to him this year. I don't think I've ever done that before. (Above left - my mother and father in the early 1950's; right - my father and me, early 1950's).

You see, I never knew him nor much about him. He died of a heart attack when I was four years old. I don't remember anything about him nor was there much talk about him over the years. But now, I wonder more and more as I grow older who was he? what kind of a father would he have been? what kind of man was he?

This is who I want him to be:

My father was a kind, loving, and thoughtful man. He focused on the needs of his family, sometimes subordinate to his own needs.  He set a good example by always treating others with dignity and respect.  He knew that his kids watched and saw his every behavior and that his example was, over the long term, likely of more value and impact than his words. Still, he recognized that words are powerful and spoke kindly and helpfully to me as I learned how to be my own human.

He sat on the couch with me and read book after book after book after book until one day, I could proudly read on my own.  And he hid his sadness from me that he could no longer share those special moments reading together, side by side, thigh against thigh, like we had done.

He pushed me on my bike for hours and hours, panting out of breath, until finally, I could balance on my own and pedal away. And he hid his sadness from me that he could no longer share those special moments learning to ride together like we had done.

He played catch in the yard even when sometimes he didn't want to. And he hid his sadness from me that he could no longer share those special moments playing catch when I found other kids to play with and my interests moved on.

He let me drive his car real slowly on a quiet dirt road long before I was old enough to get my own license. He made sure I could pursue my dreams and supported my efforts to do so. He gave me the life skills to thrive on my own when I left the nest to fly through life on my own.  And he hid his sadness from me that he could no longer share those special moments being together in the same household.

So where is all this introspective rambling going? Well, you see, I've been a father for 23 years now.  And since I didn't have an experience or image of what a "real father" was supposed to be, I made it up as I went along.  I guess all fathers make it up as they go along whether they have a role model or not. My goal was to try to achieve the qualities I listed above for my imaginary father.

So I say, "Happy Father's Day!" - to the father I never knew - to fathers everywhere - and to me, a father. If you haven't and you still can - call or write your own father - he may not know how to show how much he appreciates it but I assure you - he does - to the bottom of his heart.


Saturday, June 20, 2015

"Fiddler on the Roof," Priscilla Beach Theatre, Priscilla Beach, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Priscilla Beach Theatre (PBT) is currently in rehearsal for the Friday, July 10th opening of "Fiddler on the Roof" on the newly restored PBT Barn Stage. There are nine performances over three consecutive weekends in July and tickets are going fast.

You can visit their website at http://www.pbtheatre.org/ or call 508-224-4888 for tickets and more information.




Produced by Bob and Sandy Malone, directed by Ron Fassler, musical director Christopher Ricci, the ever-popular "Fiddler," winner of nine TONY awards, is a story set in the little village of Anatevka. The story centers on Tevye, a poor dairyman, and his five daughters. With the help of a colorful and tight-knit Jewish community, Tevye tries to protect his daughters and instill them with traditional values in the face of changing social mores and the growing anti-Semitism of Czarist Russia. Rich in historical and ethnic detail, "Fiddler On The Roof's" universal theme of tradition cuts across barriers of race, class, nationality and religion, leaving audiences crying tears of laughter, joy and sadness. Featuring iconic and beloved songs such as "Sunrise, Sunset", "If I Were A Rich Man", and "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" - "Fiddler On The Roof" is the perfect mix of audience-pleasing humor and heart.


















Support local, live theatre in our community!  Plan on a visit to the newly restored PBT Barn Stage for this great production of a classic show!