The fruit of the spirit, you can tell a tree by the fruit it gives.  You can also tell much about a person from the things they believe in.    

Labels, titles, supporting and convictions. Ahh where to begin.  It seems that today more than ever, people are claiming things and we are then supposed to identify their character or what they believe in by their t-shirt or name tag. Fair enough, we know what you would like to represent or think you belong with.   Let’s step back a moment shall we…   What if you are mistaken?  What if, what you thought you believed in no longer represents the title you have chosen to identify with? What if somewhere along the lines it changed and you did not get the memo? What if you have been fooled to the point of staying in the fold because you don’t want to think the worst and that perhaps you no longer belong there, yeah…  shouldn’t or can’t wear that t-shirt of representation anymore because you had a thought of your own that did not match the direction the title of representation you chose… perhaps you woke up, or they changed on you and you didn’t notice, or they crept in things that was nothing like you signed up for.  It happens more than you know.

How many people have bought something because it looks good, but never read the manual? Then when the time comes to say YES wonderful I know all about it and still like it… they have no idea of all the facts. They did not do their homework.  New things, new products come out all the time; have you read the fine print?  

Politics and religion… have you read the fine print?   What does your faith or your party actually represents… and just what do you THINK it represents.  Do you really belong there anymore or do you need to become head honcho of the next big event to show just how loyal you are because you understand what it means to wear that title.    Most sheeple just follow along and do what their parents did, or what their surroundings dictate to do.  How many people actually crack the book open, read the owner’s manuals or research the history of the party you are registered under?   I bet not many of you.   If you had to debate for the things you believe in with actual facts, how good would you represent what you think you are in life? Things are not the same as they were; many changes have been slipped in under your nose.  Gullible happens when brainwash is allowed and vice versa.  

I urge you all to do a reset button on yourself.  Start over to make sure you know who you are.  In this day and age of self improvement, why not clean house on those things in your brain and actions that are really not you at all.   You can answer the easy ones,   paper or plastic… ford or Chevy, Pepsi or coke, but how about the why’s.  Can you defend what you believe in with more than your opinion?  What are the facts?  Do you look at more than what you think to be the truth? Do you look outside the box for answers?   If you don’t, it could be, just maybe… there is wool over your eyes on some things. If you found that to be true… wouldn’t you feel used, dumbfounded, shocked, violated in a way, and guilty of false representing yourself.   Opinions are personal and should be given only when asked for. Facts and knowledge there is not enough of and should be handled with care from more than one source. 

It does seem that at this point in time a reputation does not mean what it used to mean.  To find reputable new sources or reputable people, it is not that easy.  I urge you all to do a double take on what you think you represent or want from your life, your faith, your party, your family, your wordrobe…   you will be labeled no matter what you do. Don’t you want to be respected for what you actually believe in, as opposed to something you didn’t read before you signed up for?

    The fruit of the spirit, you can tell a tree by the fruit it gives.  You can also tell much about a person from the things they believe in.   Methinks it is time for a personal fact check for many people. Yeah, it is only an opinion, nobody asked me, but then again you are the one reading this, you didn’t have to, unless, you wanted my opinion.........

33 3rd

Captain 11

Death of a House

This is not an accident; no physical harm came to anyone. This happened yesterday, it was a planned burn. In those ashes are the memories of a family that touched every corner of the house that was. For me, this was the house where I spent a week or two every summer with my second cousin Paula. Every Christmas day with my parents and my great grandpa, grandpa and my mom's aunt and uncle and family. All the memories are still there like it was yesterday but now the house is gone, no more hearing the laughter or smelling the smells that my aunt Ruth made with tender love, the cabinets for the kitchen and dining room that were made by hand by my uncle Gordon are in those ashes, the fingerprints on that wood still belonged to the people that loved in that house. The purple bedroom, the attic door the narrow staircase to the two rooms upstairs that many hours were spent with me and my cousin, the living room where family pictures were taken, so many in those pictures are gone now. I can hear American Band Stand on the TV with the aluminum foil on the rabbit ears, getting ready to go to the little church in Badger for this or that. The crickets, the basement, the kitchen was the heart of the house, so many memories flooded back into my thoughts that I had not thought of in years. The burn and the knowledge of it brought them all back.

...have you ever been going down a flight of stairs and felt like you were missing the next step as if it is not there and panic just a little bit where your heart gets an imaginary push to the back of your chest... going to sleep knowing that this home, one of the icons in my childhood is gone, there are not many of those icons left, and it hits like many members of my family just died again. So many good memories there. I know one can't go back in time and even if we visit it, the door to the past is not open to us. The part that stings a bit more is the fact that there will be no new memories there, the door is really gone. The changes to this place have an impact on me, I cannot imagine how my cousins Sue and Paula feel and the emotions are similar to another death in the family. Closure... does not always give a good feeling. It is however an emotional one. Maybe, just maybe now that it is gone from this earth, it can be in another place with everyone who lived and loved there, still sitting at the table. A place for them to gather together and wait for us to join them. Goodbye old house...I will see you in my dreams.

Racist, Prejudice.

Racist, Prejudice.

We have many problems in this country.  One of them is the very words we speak. It is very important what comes out of your mouth. Make sure you know what it is that you are actually saying when you speak.  These days the word racist is thrown around like a feather in the wind by people who don’t even know what it actually means.  My world is full of a mixture of different kinds and colors of people, and only one race, the human race.  I treasure it in this life of mine.  I do not judge people by the color of their skin but by the content of their hearts.   The problem with today’s society is not racism even though that word is thrown around every day all the time.  The problem is prejudice.  People really NEED to know the difference.  If you do not recognize a problem you will not know where to start to begin to fix it.

 Racism is when you hate a person because of his or her race.  We all belong to ONE RACE, The Human race. Prejudice is when you judge a person by their color, sex or whatever else you judge them for before you even know the facts.   Prejudice comes from two words, pre and judice to… prejudge. An unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason. We definitely do have some racist people out there but there really are not that many.  We have a planet of wonderful people all different kinds of Asian, Black, Indian, White, & many combinations.  There are a few that are racist. It is unfortunate that most EVERY person has SOME prejudice.  The best thing to do to fix it is, admit it and learn to deal with it.  If you are making judgments on people and you have not even met, that is the problem. 

For instance, if you vote against someone because of their color, it is prejudice.  If you vote FOR someone because of their color… it is prejudice.  OR if you vote for or against or for someone because of his or her gender, that is prejudice.  It does not matter if the person is red, yellow, black, white, male or female.  It matters on whether or not that person can lead our country.  We are all one race, the human race.  Making it into a color code for people to fight over is the most stupid hateful thing ever. 

So please, next time you think you have a need to “call someone out” and call them a name like racist… learn what it means and stop being a prejudice person, you do not know them.   THINK before you speak.  People disagree all the time, it does not make them racist or prejudice just because they do not agree with you.  Open your eyes a little further.   I may not like sushi… I am not a racist because of it.   Please stop being stupid and start fixing your behavior towards others.  You do not live on this planet alone.

Everyone is accountable for the words they speak.  Stop being so offended at others who are not aware of the value of their words.  Stop being offended about how people say things, they obviously do not understand.  Stop letting yourself be baited by ignorance and antagonists.  Keep your nose on your own face, watch your mouth and unless you can make a situation better, just keep it to yourself.  Learn the meaning of a word before you throw it at someone especially with an intention of anger.  The reason for this post is to maybe just maybe make some people think twice and make it better.

*jumps off the soap box*.

Cliff

  He was someone you didn't need to see every day, he would not have wanted to. He loved his dogs more than people. He lost the love of his life after 20 years with her. They had a daughter and she gave him grandaughters. He never remarried, didn't date anyone except to go dancing. He did many things in his life. He traveled, he was in the war and saw history made that we only read about. He always looked two days older than dirt. He could clean up and you could take him to town tho. He was a night club owner in the 30's 40's and 50's. He knew every musician that ever walked in a five state area. Most of them he kept alive by hiring them in rotation. He owned a place called "The Dog House"... it was a road house outside of the city limits on a lake shore. He loved to dance, country, old time, ballroom you name it. He had a dog sled team and always dreamed of going to enter the Ididarod up in Alaska, but when he talked about that he was already in his 70's. He died at the age of 93. He was my grandmothers cousin. They used to drink together.. and I joined that to make it a trio. He lived in a house built into a hill that he made himself. Room enough for him and a dog. I lived just below him on the lake for six years. Every other day or so we would get together and talk. He had sold me the property on the lake front that was the parking area for his old night club. Many stories from him of my family.. the old ones that he knew and let me know thru him. He said I had the wild hair of my Aunt Evelyn, he didn't elaborate much on that one, only that you never knew what to expect out of her and everyone was sort of afraid of her until she laughed. He said it gave him the creeps cause.. she and I have the same laugh. Many hours spent with Cliff... he seemed as if he was way older than he was, but you could never put a number on it. A group of us went out to breakfast after the bars closed one night. Cliff was out and about to, keeping in mind he is about 73 at this time.... a smart mouthed drunken bastard said something nasty to a lady that Cliff had been out dancing with.... it was outside in front of the restaurant. Before we knew it, we saw Cliff grab the smart ass, who was in his 20's nailed him to the hood of a car by the scruff of his neck and tell him to mind his manners or the next thing out of his smart mouth would be a bloody mess. The smart ass backed off and appologised to the lady, and then Cliff straightened up his collar on his coat and walked calmly into the restaurant. We were stunned. Cliff was a doer.. he didn't think twice about if he could do it or not, he just did it. When confronted about that action we saw, he said, I didn't think about it or I would have talked myself out of it. That is the secret of life, your best times are on impulse and so are your successes. Surprise, impulse, and jack daniels.
     Cliff always made time for me, he would come to my shows. We had coffee together, we drank together with my Granny. He took me out on the dog sled. He gave me a purbred siberian husky that I love to this day and have her ggggggg granddog at this present time. I could look out my window on the lake at any given day and see him mushing with the team. The last time I saw him, I was visiting my other grandmother. He heard I was in town, and he had guessed where to find me. He was in his late 80's then. He was still driving around and showed up at the old folks home where my grandmother lived. My grandmother was going in and out of demintia and sometimes knew me sometimes not. Cliff said.. not to let it get to me, cause she had it good.. he remembered every pain in the ass he ever met and he wishes he could forget em... and with a wink and a hug he got me and my other grandmother to smile that day. That was the last day I saw him alive. We have been out of touch. He was sharp as a whip the day he died. I remember you Cliff and I am sorry I could not hang out more over the past years.. but I did what you wanted, the show went on.As far as you knew, I was still on the road when you closed your eyes for the last time. The next time I play, I will do "Mom & Dads Waltz" just for you. I don't doubt that is is still your favorite. Dance with my granny for me.... and I'll see you at last call.

http://www.wcsfc.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=336951




Bernice Fanebust Beck & cousin Cliff Kittelson RIP Bernice RIP Cliff

Showtime Magazine covers Chicks & Coffee

http://showtimemagazine.net/?p=3890

Should I or Shouldn't I

Should I or Shouldn’t I

I do that a lot. I will go shopping and put something in the cart and drive it all around the store, sometimes two or three times around the store and talk myself out of buying it.  I do this so often that even I recognize it now when it starts.  It is not just shopping.  Some people may call it reasoning, making decisions or just weighing things out.  Well, I have done it again.  Let’s hope I have not bit off more than I can chew. 

  I am a musician, my ear is good, I have the ability to tune guitars, banjo, violins, etc… with or without a machine tuner.  I can tune an instrument so that it is in tune with itself if not 440.  So with that in mind, I do use a man made tuner just because I don’t like things to be out of tune and when playing with others.. Well you know.  If you don’t know, stop reading this now.

Some people have a family heirloom that is passed down to members of the family, usually a broach, a framed picture or something that you can keep with no big major issues on storage… ahem.  Not my family.  Sure there are some little things but I got a rather large one.  A Cable Nelson Birdseye Maple Cabinet Grand, Chicago upright piano.  Many members of my family on my mother’s side remember seeing this piano at my Great Grandfathers house, they grew up with it.  My Aunt Jeanette learned on it and played it when she lived at home, many people thought of it as hers.  It was left in the house long after she grew up and moved on.  It however was not my Great Grandfathers unless you go on squatters rights.  This piano was given to my Grandmother Bernice by the Cable Nelson people in Chicago as a gift.  She told me this years ago, and when it was time to move things from Great Grandpa’s house my mother and I requested the piano.  It has real ivory and ebony on the keys; it is a big heavy beautiful piece of art in itself.  It is weathered it is so out of tune it is ridiculous.  I had it tuned once twenty years ago but as you all know it needs more care than that.  It was difficult to tune for the guy who did it because of age and it lived by a lake at one time… a piano tuner’s nightmare.  But hey it is my heirloom.  So I didn’t throw it out, didn’t leave it behind, where I keep my house, the piano goes there.  Moved it three times now and a few different places in the house.   Now it has been on my mind to repurpose it… have seen some wonderful things that they do with old pianos.   Make a headboard out of it, a piano bar to hold wine and libations. Lots of beautiful ideas that I could soooo live with.  However, that thought has been in the shopping cart of my mind for a few years now.  YEARS.  I finally figured out what I am going to do.

   I am going to bring it back to life.  I am going to try.  I bought a piano tuning hammer and I have the mute’s and things that come in the kit. I have many tools at my disposal to do this task and I have the time and place to do it.  It may take weeks to months to get it even close to where it should be.  It has come this far with me, it is the least I can do to try and give it more time to be all it can be instead of gutted.  (It hurts to think of it like that).   Something classy about an old musical instrument that still plays beautifully.  I’m gonna give it a shot anyway and play doctor.  What have I got to lose… nothing at this point and talk about a learning curve.  Thanks to YouTube how to vids I have a starting point and hopefully a happy ending.  If I get really good at it, maybe I can help some other old abandoned pianos before they go to the bone yard of forgotten sounds.  I will give an update after my piano tuning hammer gets here. 

Tune it or die. 

I Can Smell Him In This Picture

I can smell the aroma of my Great Grandfather in this picture.  He does not always pop into my mind but when he does, it is brought on by a smell or a picture of yester years.  Yes, I was fortunate enough to have met my mother’s paternal Grandfather. He was already an old man when I met him.  He was headed back to fragile as I was growing out of it.  He smoked a pipe. His house had an abundance of pipe holders and I remember that being the main décor of design theme.  I remember the smell of his tobacco.   It was a sweet smell, not like a rank smelling cigar, but a pleasant sniff when you got a whiff of it in moderation. I automatically associate that smell with him.   The sound of an old typewriter, newspapers in a stack that had been read with some coffee stains on the corners where the cup had been placed.  He was 10 years old when the clock turned to 1900.  He lived at the end of an era that electronics had only begun to change the daily lives of us all.  He was loved by many yet spent the majority of his last years by himself. Most of the people he had spent his life with and shared experiences had long passed on with the exception of his own offspring.  Stories of the younger man before I met him float through my mind. There is no way to truly know someone when you meet them in the winter of their lives. We see a withering tree with falling leaves.  Time has covered up the spring buds, the summer storms and the autumn of contentment.  He has been gone for about 40 years now, so many things have changed. I do not believe he would like it here today.  He was not afraid of change, he was a man that welcomed new ideas.  This day and age is however… just too much.  I somehow get the feeling he would have been disappointed in how some things turned out.   For what it is worth Grandpa, I still have an old typewriter like the one in this picture and I keep it working because I like the sounds it makes. I have rocks glasses just like in the picture.  I store old letters from family and friends in old suitcases just like the one in the picture, I keep grounded with touchable things… just like in the picture.  I do not have an old working camera, but one thing they do make better now is image reproduction.  It is instant recall now, no waiting, no developing.  Who would have thought… You were happy with a radio. I can’t begin to tell you what is here now. You would have thought it was from a Dick Tracy cartoon coming to fruition and in a way it is.  Technology can be fun and wonderful, yet… I miss your way of life Grandpa.  The pure simplicity of it makes me homesick for a time that I was not even born into.  Your memories and your lifestyle may be gone, but the memory of you lives on.  Thank you for living long enough to be an influence to me, your grand children and your kids.  … Time to read the paper, it’s on line ummm yeah.. I gotta boot up first. Nothing to do with shoes and no that is a cd drive not a cup holder.   

 Tune it or die. 

Kayne Comes To Cow Town - I Like Cows (written by Wayne Severson)

This is my old guitar player  Wayne and his son Kayne ... ahhh the good old days.