Austintown, Ohio

November 12, 2013 - Austintown, Ohio. It is 11/12/13, kinda cool... in my nerd way I appreciate that. Finished NERFA with Tim Mason and pulled something of a "trifecta" - to whit: presented and performed in Kerhonkson, New York at NERFA, then drove to Somers, Connecticut to see Nenad Bachand the remarkable Kristen Graves, the Connecticut State Troubadour (Why don't we have a state troubadour?), where the host, Linda Abbott, asked me to play a song after the show and, from there I drove to Tom Bianchi's Birthday party at the Burren Pub.  A long run-on sentence that emphasizes the nature of the "trifecta". Now, honestly, that's way too much driving and activity for one day, but, as I age I like to know I can still do certain things... like intense travel.

Initially when I headed into Binghamton last week I was looking for a bookstore that specialized in rare books, only to find out it was no longer there.... I found another specializing in paperbacks only to discover it was closing December 15 - both repeating a story I see all over America as one by one these old bookstores close. I stopped at another one (near Kingston, NY) on my way to my Groton gig where again I was greeted by the specter of another potential closing as the owner hinted at any interest I might have in buying his 175,000 volumes (that I could never afford....)  The Groton gig? At Second Hand Prose was an interesting coda to that. A small lovely bookstore that was recently opened - crashing perhaps against the tide. Katharyn and Keith delightful hosts (and a nice friendly turn out - Thanks John and Jamie and Carol and Leo et al....) Lot of ellipses in this entry...  It is the press of time making me write fast as I feel the need to get back on the road and make some progress tonight.

Our bookstores remain our heritage - the data storage format that we can retain after the electronics are so obsolete that whole works will be lost to innovation. As I have written before (May this year), two hundred years from now you will be able to pick up and read a book, but that floppy disc (do you recall those?) or that jump drive? Not so much....

Binghamton, New York

November 8, 2013 - Binghamton, New York. Heading for NERFA and a Sunday gig there with Tim Mason as Bone Collectors - I am one of many musicians joining spoken word artists in our showcase Sunday at 11 am.  Prior to that I'm in Groton, Mass. Saturday night at Second Hand Prose($5 cover). Heading over to the Percolator Coffeehouse, a music series at Piedmont Hall in Somers, Connecticut to catch an acoustic set of my good friend Nenad Bach's there (he is called "the Lennon of Croatia" - I might even get to play something!) later that night (7 pm). After that, a trip through the Midwest to the House Concert in Oklahoma City on the 15th, a return to Alaska for a few days, then back on the road for House Concerts in the Cleveland area (11/22), DC (11/23) and the short Salon performance in Philadelphia (11/24).  Following Thanksgiving it is a December 1st House Concert in Austin and then back into the studio for a week before returning to Alaska.  A busy Winter schedule - much driving and music and poetry and visiting friends. Life is good that way.... 

I continue to watch the unfolding of the Edward Snowden papers with some fascination. I suppose this is our modern day equivalent of the Pentagon Papers. Those revelations about the Vietnam War helped bring an end to an Administration. Will Snowden? I think it is possible.  What each new revelation - spying on 60 million Spaniards, spying on major search engines and hundreds of millions of Americans, spying on our allies, not just our enemies - has done is undermine any moral authority we had in the world. All of it has either been done under the nose of the President, with his full complicity or in front of him with little or no awareness. In either case it is appalling to know that the man who was elected in part to dismantle the Bush security state has done more to strengthen it than I could have ever imagined his predecessor doing.

Oddly, there are things that could have been done. Fire the NSA and other security personnel who lied to Congress would be a simple start. At the very least they have committed a crime. Theirs was far worse than Snowden's as we have only found out about it because of Snowden's revelations.  This goes unreported but is worth noting - they would never have revealed the extent of their spying or lying to Congress and the American people without Snowden. That's why we protect the right to dissent. If this President meant his high oratory, believed the convictions he so eloquently voiced during his campaigns, he would be outraged. But he is... silent. He apologies for the screw up of the online rollout of the Affordable Care Act, but when it comes to this.... nothing. To be fair, he's apologized to the World Leaders - the allies whose cell phones we listened to, web surfing we tracked, but to Americans? Nothing but repeated denials of the extent of the activities, that are subsequently and repeatedly proven to be untrue. No apology. Mr. President, at least fire somebody.

I've been thinking about all of this for way too long so, before anyone else comes up with it, I wanted to put in writing my latest idea that could help resolve all this.  It also offers a chance to pay down the debt (which is apparently more important than Americans' privacy). Here it is: I propose renaming the NSA the National Storage Agency. Fire the existing leadership and bring on board all the tech people hired to fix the Affordable Care Act website.  Using all the NSA facilities and their expert staff of mathematicians they can become a Geek Squad and a Cloud Storage facility all in one.  Computer crash? Contact the NSO - for a modest price they can restore all of your information even if you never contracted them to store it in the first place.  Can't remember your last web search, or need to search for a phone record or two for tax purposes? For that same modest fee, just call your experts at the NSA. The beauty of this is that we have everyone's material stored so citizens of other nations can purchase our services as well. NSA a public relations problem? No more! Now it is the source of all recovery programs and the debt is paid down to boot. And, because we won't have to conceal our activities any longer, we can save even more expenses. Seems like a win win to me..... And for those of you who think I shouldn't make fun of this, that I am not taking it seriously enough, why should I? The President doesn't seem to.... 

Billings, Montana

October 15, 2013 - Billings, Montana. Passing through on my way to Port Townsend to hang out with some of my old high school friends. The trip has been an interesting passage from the mid west to the west while the government remains shut down and the debt limit looms.  Quick stop here to check my bank balances, gigs and to drop this fast note.

Just a thought to consider here - what happens when we default? Or even better, what has already happened. I have said this before but will say again, this bickering undermines our place in the world. As the Chinese suggested over the weekend in one of their state papers, why should the world continue to keep faith in an American economy as the world's underlying economic guide? What they are saying is that we are at risk of no longer being the world's reserve currency - and impact of which will likely be higher borrowing rates for all Americans in the long run. More importantly it becomes a sure sign of our slipping stature.

Can a group of American legislators be so profoundly committed to a path that would truly realign our position in the world? It appears as though the answer, at least from the Republican Party Tea Part "Patriots", is "yes". Even more of a question would be "why?" There are some potentially interesting possible answers to that.  They begin with Rep. Bachman's comments recently that this is all fitting into the apocalyptical plans of the End Times.... If true, "what a role I will have played!" is what I guess must be how she sees this.  They are followed by the very words of Rush Limbaugh who claimed again today (as, I confess, I listened) that this is all about race and that Obama is using his race to get everything he wants. Or put more practically, there are people like Rush who can't seem to stand that a President of color might actually be able to push policies based on their merit. It might be about race, but not how Rush thinks of it.... And while I am in deep disagreement with this President on many things (especially NSA policy and the compulsion of security personnel to lie to Congress and America), I am more disturbed by this willful ignorance in dealing with our economy because certain Members of Congress either think it is biblical prophecy or they are simply bent on destroying an economy because of a President's race. Because, lets face it, if you say he only governs because of his race or he can't govern because of his race, its you who are making race the issue.

Enough for now. Looking forward to celebrating default eve with my buddies out West, in the other Washington!

Washington DC

September 4, 2013 - Washington DC. An old stomping ground of mine, often revisited. I'm a little tired tonight. Meshing lives - my long-time commitment to juvenile justice reform (through Reclaiming Futures today and tomorrow), colliding with the fading memory of the work in Vermont at the studio....

Last night I visited with my old friend Sarah Morgan for a great conversation about life and love and the difficulties of the things we navigate between our public and private lives - how much do we share out there with the public? How much do we hold to ourselves? I talked with her about the entry I had written earlier in the day and how I hadn't felt it complete. On one hand, after dropping off my girlfriend Sarah Sledge at the airport, I had become angry from the cacophony of sound and fury rolling over the airways as I drove to DC - the dialogue of war. On the other hand, I was still immersed in the beauty of the recording sessions - Dennis Lind Beery's deft hand, the patient joy of his lovely bride Amanda, the way they welcomed me and later Sarah, when she arrived to record, into their home. But I found my time limited and so chose to write about my anger and not the recording we had all done and the joyous evenings we had shared. I ended with a quick end note that there would be more to come. This is that "more".

Later in the night, while doing paperwork and preparing for today, I listened critically to the cuts from the music we made this past two weeks. I was taken by Sarah's haunting vocals on "Time" and my clumsy rendition of my Irish-like ballad "Calling of the Sea", I agonized over the placing of words in the wrong place in "Eddie's Song" (an older, longer version is still number 369 out of 3573 - still listened to on Neil Young's "Living With War" site!) and then listened quietly as I heard how Dennis had transformed some of my songs - discerning their essence, from the forced place I had so often played them. 

I was struck, in the end, by the fact that I'd even completed this phase of the effort. I say that because it has not been easy getting here. I have been discouraged and daunted by the demands of other friends, life and the efforts I keep trying to hold together in all the many and varied aspects of my life (often written of here - though not always). But through the patience, counseling and guidance of Shannon Flattery and Tim Mason, and the encouragement of my editor Keith Liles, I finished "Six Truths". Through the generosity of Dennis Lind Beery and Amanda Beery I found my footing in the studio.  And, underscoring it all, steady in her support, encouraging before I ever got to the studio, or saw a draft proof of that book, my girlfriend Sarah Sledge was there quietly reminding me that the faith she had in my ability to do these things was not unwarrented, but real - and based on something she saw in me that I had difficulty seeing clearly myself. As I told her two nights ago, I could not have gone this far in these efforts without her words and unwavering support. I'm still going down a road with this CD that still has a great distance to travel, so I can't give away all of the liner notes for the eventual disc, but I can see that this journey has an end, and I see my way to that end through the soft touch of her hand. For that is the nature of love.

I'm not very comfortable writing here about my personal life, and usually do so only as a reflection or a memory of those I've known, so I ask your indulgence in that. But know this: while I may not always acknowledge the debt I owe to so many of you, or the depth of those feelings I may feel, I am this way because I don't particularly feel as though I fit in a world of tweets and posts. I like to write letters, keep a journal, write on lined paper, collect old books and maps and smell the mustiness of time. Even this entry is odd, but inspired by yesterday's and a knowledge that many times acknowledging a thing matters more than I may realize.

This is a public document, not a private note, or a call. Even so, tonight, with these words, I'm thanking all of you right now, right here, before it is all a fond memory that I write about reflexively. And for Sarah - I thank you most of all for making so much of this possible with a simple belief and a real love for a man who may not always know how to best express those same feelings so publicly.

Basking Ridge, New Jersey.

September 3, 2013 - Basking Ridge, New Jersey. My old Bard College friend Per Sundgren used to live near here (Per, if you are reading this, apologies for not calling - rushing to DC for meetings...). Per was part of the experience of Schuyler House - once a housing dorm of the College. A number of us chose to move off campus that year. We started at Schuyler and then four of us went further on to Rock City the following year. I learned about physics that year and began to shift back and forth in my loyalties to specific "Alaska" issues. That was the year I realized that being a caricature of an Alaskan wasn't going to cut it. The myth of the wild Northerner gave way to the reasoned speculation and inquiry of a person who was learning that the "East Coast" wasn't the enemy, it was just another part of America.

Since then I've been able to see so much of the country. Every state and so many roads and highways, small towns and rural hearts, urban landscapes and the grit of hard scrapple lives carved from the wildernesses we find in both rural and urban environments. It is a country full of contradictions and passions that are often stoked by those who seek to gain an advantage of others by using the hardships that have shaped so many to enflame them against each other. Complex thought, that, but I think true. We risk so much of who we are when we stop looking at those who live with us as just other aspects of America, and start to see them as an enemy that must be defeated at all costs. It hurts us, it diminishes us.

Now we debate another war with a new "other". What is the point of this? It is ill-conceived. I especially find it hard to be one of those who would cheer on this story, given how critical I was of the last one. An Administration official presents facts to the UN, a drum is beat loudly and we act. In this case perhaps there will be hesitation when Congress votes. Perhaps they will reject the President's call to arms? I don't know, but I do know that he is likely to ignore a "No" vote. So then what do we have? I guess we are best left to discuss that when we get to that bridge. Or, as I have often said, "that is a bridge we will burn when we get to it..."

And the recording? The sessions with Dennis Lind went very, very well.  Still much to do, but 14 songs have been recorded with my vocal and guitar tracks and some additional work as well. I am excited and will post more soon.  But now, back on the road.

Bradford, Vermont

August 23, 2013 - Bradford, Vermont. Immersed in the recording. Going to be a long day today, much to do. The project emerges as we play, stripped down we look for the right sound, but the atmosphere is relaxed and the studio peaceful. The chaos of the world around me fades slowly to a dull roar in the background, and I find myself slipping into the rhythm of this town. I greet people on the street, because I know them. I speculate on the Fall schedule (still looking for a few gigs in November - thanks Jeff!). Hoping to set out a schedule that will work for me. Many, many thanks to those who responded to the August 19th post. I'm not at that point today - that is, to look at our world as I have done lately. Nor am I reflective, no past stories to tell. But the mood is good and music is being created.

Somewhere in New York

August 19, 2013 - Somewhere in New York. Listening to the BBC on my radio, through my I phone - what a world.... My CD player broke, but through a contraption my Brother Paul loaned me, I have been able to listen to BBC most of the time. Such a different take from our news. Warning in advance: this is a political entry....

I've been struck in the listening of both BBC and NPR about the utter black and white of the reporting on Egypt, a subject I do know a little about. I'm not sure how I fully feel about all I am seeing going on, but I do know this: the Egyptians as a whole are fed up with the Brotherhood and appear to be fully supportive of the response of the military - with the exception of the Brotherhood.

Most people over here will have missed the Grand Imam of Al Azhar's call to the Brotherhood to stand down. Al Azhar is the respected center of learning and the spiritual center of Sunni Islam. They and others on the ground know this history of flawed elections. They attempted to work with the Brotherhood leadership, but that leadership was committed to its limited vision of the state - to the exclusion of the at least three quarters of the population who did not initially select the former President, Morsi. Few people recall that Morsi only won 25% of the vote in the Presidential election - and triumphed in a close run off over a Mubarak regime candidate 51.8% to 48.2%. Far from a mandate - this was an invitation to work to build a grand coalition that could have set Egypt on a path of stability and possibility. Over 50% of the population had picked candidates that supported reform and the revolution rather than the former regime or Morsi's Brotherhood. Morsi chose instead to try and accrue all power to himself - even declaring this past December that his edicts could not be challenged. Few also either forget or did not know that it was Morsi who removed the last head of the military (Tantawi) and replaced him with his personal pick: al-Sisi, who is still the Defense Minister and the architect of both Morsi's removal and the crackdown.

These are nuanced facts that require some trust of the Egyptian people to sort out.  John McCain's recent incoherent rantings and the profound utterances of a press that is only now trying to come up to speed on all that has happened are interesting to me in light of how little that same press seemed to care when tens of thousands of Iraqi's were being killed daily.... All the characters are there for this kind of drama - a military man in sunglasses, a wronged democratically elected President, bullets and marches... but this time it may not be what it seems. This time the Butler may not have done it....

At home here I am struck by the detention story of reporter Glenn Greenwald's partner. He was held for nine hours under the Terrorist Act in Britain - something so rarely done that the Home Secretary and the Foreign Secretary have both felt obliged to comment on it as an error. It will undoubtedly lead to investigations in the U.K. and, though the U.S. has denied asking that it be done, I suspect that it will find its way back to us - and another "least untruthful" comment will likely be what we hear next.... I am saddened by how much we keep discovering about how much we are not told about how much we aren't supposed to know about or that our government can't comment on.... It is perhaps a bit ironic that we rail about how democracy looks in Egypt, when we don't even seem to remember what it looks like at home.

Lloydminster, Alberta

August 15, 2013 - Lloydminster, Alberta. Trip continues and has its moments. A bit of destiny just as I finished yesterday's note. A young man came into the restaurant where I was typing and asked if anyone was going toward Ft. Nelson.  Found out he and his traveling companion (Barry and Matty) were two 19 year olds of Finnish descent (one Canadian the other from the old country) that had been hitchhiking to and from Alaska.  Thy were actually heading to Dawson Creek (as was I) so I made room and, for the next 8 hours, we carried on a far ranging conversation about life and possibility. Astrophysics, travel, adventure, and the belief that we should live fully our destiny was the common thread that linked us. As fatigue slipped into our blood we grew quieter until, arriving in Dawson Creek, I set them in a parking lot and continued on my way - eventually sleeping by the side of the road myself.

Now I head for Saskatoon for the night. In a way bringing the RAV back here - the scene of that horrible "crime" last summer (car broke down and trapped me there for a week) I am, perhaps, hoping to purge the bad luck that has on occasion dogged me and this vehicle (I am now knocking on wood!)  I have a room booked at the Senator and then it is off -likely to Fargo tomorrow and then Windom Saturday for music!

On a side note - always looking for a house concert or two and need to fill in some dates in mid-November in the Ohio/Indiana/Oklahoma/Missouri/Tennessee/Pennsylvania/DC/etc... region (Mid west/Northeast) before Thanksgiving. Let me know at cwrecord@alaska.net if you have any ideas....

More soon. Expect bad times in Egypt tomorrow...