Stopping by woods with Chick and Flora

It was an anxious ten minutes, and seemed like twenty-four hours.  I need to know where everything is, and if I don't, I want to be The Finder.  Those who have known me for a long time know I can't sleep if chickens from the Fisher Price farm set are AWOL. 

Bear with me, as this is a convoluted post.  Trying to map out the logistics for tomorrow's printmaking art classes.  Three classes.  Three age groups.  Three to nine years old.  Thirty minutes, for each group.  Have to keep the kids busy while they wait their turn to make Styrofoam block prints.  Only the youngest group has an adult volunteer for crowd control. 

Many of my kids have no concept of snow even though North Texas got several snowfalls last winter. 

Snow is cold.

Snow is white. 

Snow is light... light as a feather. 

I have white feathers! 

I can pluck a few from my wedding reception feather boa!  It's not like I have that many occasions to wear a boa.  A white feather will totally make this art project!

A white feather floating down...  gentle...  light...  That's when the anxiety began.  Where was my Chick Corea and Return to Forever cd of "Light As a Feather"?

Can't remember when last I had a panic attack, but this was a near thing!  I couldn't find Chick.  Scanning the racks of cds did not yield success for The Finder.

I was introduced to Chick Corea and Flora Purim on a snowy afternoon in the mid-Seventies.  For over thirty-five years this music has been just what I needed when I needed it through LP, cassette, and cd.  My little horse must think it queer that I couldn't find my cd on the first try.

With miles to go before I sleep, I'm relieved to account for Chick.
© 2010 Nancy L. Ruder

Returned to Forever

True, it would have been fun to hear the reunion concert of Return to Forever at Grand Prairie's Nokia Theatre Sunday night. Instead, I heard the fabulous Fort Worth Opera's "Turandot" on Sunday. Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Al DiMeola, and Lenny White received a glowing review in the Dallas Morning News for their spontaneous fusion jams.



I had returned to those already uninspiring "Forever" postage stamps through the recent rate increase. Sure was nice to pick up some Frank Sinatra and Minnesota Statehood panes at the post office. The Woolly Mammoth is a big Sinatra fan, and he will have fun using the stamps when he writes his grandfather, soon I suggest!

I'll be even more excited about the Charles and Ray Eames stamps that go on sale June seventeenth.



© 2008 Nancy L. Ruder

You still have time, whatever time is

Fans of magic realism fiction still have a week to see Jose Rivera's "Cloud Tectonics" performed at the Kitchen Dog Theater. This is a very satisfying work challenging you to ponder your personal relationship with time. It's Pink Floyd meets One Hundred Years of Solitude, so those concert t-shirts should be long-lasting 100% cotton. Most splendid, the musical theme for Celestina del Sol is Chick Corea's Return to Forever.

My personal favorite Garcia Marquez novel is Love in the Time of Cholera. "Cloud Tectonics" could be subtitled Love Without Time in Los Angeles. Forces beyond your control will move you.

Weather Report & Return to Forever

It is snowing in Bloomington, my son says.

It is Dave Brubeck in my cd player. Piano jazz. Snow. Dark beer. Walking on icy sidewalks. Fogged over eyeglasses. Vegetarian potlucks. Icicles. Parking meters. Crystal windshields. Frosty ears being cupped and warmed. Old hissing and clanking steam heat radiators. Boots leaving melted puddles on wood floors. Wish you were here.

Banded birds: Will they fly?

Had to put some Miles Davis in the cd player tonight, so I guess that means I am missing my youngest and his eclectic music tastes, if not his YRMLM complaints.

Sent him another postcard collage today. I don't know if my creations will pass Postal Service muster, as I have been running them through my Xyron laminator before adding the postage.

If you happen to receive a collage postcard, please let me know. I'm trying to find out what sorts of creations are acceptable to the Postal Gods. In the meantime, I'm listening to Chick Corea, and searching for Charlie Parker.