I thought it would be a good idea to once again post some images of the season, as the solstice has officially happened and – at least in the Northern Hemisphere,
The season of school breaks, camps, and vacations (at least for kids and students) has started;
It’s those things that I miss about summer, being a kid and getting to hang out at camps and go one vacations
Or not do anything at all.
Here are some photos – some of them scenic – and images to hopefully get you into the mood,
And with the heatwaves that are wreaking havoc in most of the country, it’s my hope and prayer that you stay cool and safe…
Not necessarily natural scenery, but a very common summer image…
Another image that’s quite busy this time of year…
Always nice to watch a sunset…
Yet another common image of summer…
I like these trees, the leaves are all nice and green…
Looks like a part of a common summer vacation spot…
I can picture folks chilling and laying out here…
Arguably the most common image of Summer: swimming pools…
One more beach shot for the road…
I like how the sun’s positioned among this field of flowers and trees…
MUSINGS OF ANOTHER TRIP AROUND THE SUN AND GETTING EVER SO OLDER
Fifty-seven years breathing on this planet.
At least as of this coming Tuesday as of this writing.
I saw this TV show where a character told someone to,
“Celebrate your birthdays. They’re precious.”
Which I completely agree with and which I certainly do;
I definitely make it a point to give thanks to God for letting me see another age when I wake up on the morning of June 18th;
In other words, show my appreciation for continuing to be able to breathe and be in relatively decent health.
I must be honest, however…
Every year, every passing day, very much seems to go faster and faster.
Which I sometimes, well…
Don’t always have the easiest time with, particularly since it seemed to go so much slower during the first forty years or so of this lifetime of mine,
Especially my formative years in Riverside and Santa Monica.
Also,
Another source of my not being completely, 100,000% ecstatic is the sense that once in a while, I feel that I failed in life in general.
Failed in being a true adult, at least in certain areas.
I won’t go into any details except to say that most of my peers that are my age and in my age group have achieved certain life milestones that I failed to achieve and will probably never achieve.
Which having been mainstreamed since age six, being neurodiverse while living among neurotypicals for over fifty years,
Though I know I shouldn’t compare myself to others, I can’t help but feel negatively about it all at times.
Most of all, I’ve felt – and in certain ways still feel – that due to the way my brain was and is wired, I’ve always been behind my peers in certain aspects of life;
If you know me and are reading this, you can probably figure out what those aspects are.
Since I can’t really do anything about how my brain is wired and my neurodiversity, I’m glad to say that I haven’t had any real depressed moments stemming from my situations as of late, in the grand tradition of not feeling stressed or bad in general about things you can’t change as my prominent musings about approaching another birthday lie in this…
The fact that I and my peers are rapidly approaching sixty – three years hence in my case and the case of all those who graduated high school with me in 1985 and went to school with me in the 1970s and 80s,
And that too many of those peers are no longer with us, passing away in various ways and from various causes.
It’s still difficult for me to believe, and it still saddens me,
That so many folks I grew up with are gone, and gone way too soon.
It makes me feel that much more appreciative of being alive, thanking the Lord for keeping me on his wake-up list.
That’s going to be a main sentiment of mine as my birthday approaches,
Along with partaking of the plans I have for getting to add another candle on the proverbial cake, which is to…
Have Chinese food along with birthday cake this weekend
Go to a friend’s house on the actual day – my birthday’s on a Tuesday this year – and do various fun stuff like go to the batting cages and (in particular) watch something that has been a personal birthday tradition…
Watching my DVD (it was a VHS tape until a few years ago) of the classic rock documentary Monterey Pop, the first ever rock festival that was held in Monterey, CA the weekend I was born in 1967,
With the following acts performing literally the day I was born:
Janis Joplin
Buffalo Springfield
The Who
The Mamas and the Papas, and…
Jimi Hendrix, who blew everyone away when he burned and smashed his guitar on stage
I think that sounds like a pretty decent way to mark the anniversary of when I was born.
My big prayer is that God will allow me to see many, many, many more birthdays on this planet.
That’s about all I have to say about it all.
I certainly hope and pray that I do indeed have a Happy Birthday…
IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I MADE A PERSONAL LIST OF WHAT I CONSIDER THE TOP MUSIC ALBUMS OF ALL TIME
Five years, to be exact.
Which is the reason why I felt it was high time for me to do a revised and expanded version of my all time greatest albums.
Actually, my top three albums of all time, the top two of them by the same iconic artist, have not changed…
1. Songs In The Key of Life, Stevie Wonder (1976)
2. Innervisions, Stevie Wonder (1973)
and,
3. What’s Going On, Marvin Gaye (1971)
However, my choices for numbers four and five, though like my previous fourth and fifth best albums are from the Beatles,
They are different records that those great Fab Four did…
4. Abbey Road, Beatles (1969)
5. Revolver, Beatles (1966)
For the simple reason of me feelings that the songs are simply a bit better as though Let It Be (1970) was their final record released, Abbey Road was their true swan song as that was the last album that the Beatles recorded, an album chock full of great cuts including George Harrison’s “Something” and “Here Comes The Sun” and featuring a wonderful medley on the second side that concluded the whole thing.
And Revolver was a great precursor to what they would achieve later, with songs such as “Taxman”, “I’m Only Sleeping”, the sitar-led “Love You Too”, “Yellow Submarine”, and especially “Eleanor Rigby” – which in my opinion was Paul McCartney’s best Beatle song, ever better than “Yesterday” – being true classics
Not that I completely left the two other Beatle albums that I had in my top fivein the proverbial dirt as I have relegated them into my second top five, thus completing my all-time top-ten greatest albums list.
I didn’t list them from six through ten, preferring to keep them in chronological order…
If a record store didn’t have these artists, it definitely doesn’t deserve to be called a record store.
Pet Sounds, Beach Boys (1966)
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Beatles (1967)
White Album, Beatles (1968)
Led Zeppelin IV, Led Zeppelin (1971)
and,
Though most folks in my generation would think that stuff from stars like Madonna and Michael Jackson, particularly his classic Thriller (1982) would be dead locks for my top ten list,
Although Thriller is an excellent album, the best that Michael (RIP) did in his career,
And though the Police, Sting when he left that group and U2 did some stuff that I loved from that time,
As well as Nirvana, who I consider the Beatles of grunge, in the 1990s,
Along with all the hip-hop groups that emerged in the 80s all the way through the present day;
Public Enemy, NWA, and Dr. Dre are some of my personal favorites there,
For my last spot in my all-time top ten, I picked this 80s classic as if I were forced to choose an all-time top album from that formative decade (and I am in this post), it would be this one:
Purple Rain, Prince (1984)
I clearly remember being in high school when I first heard “When Doves Cry” on the radio and going nuts, then remaining nuts when I bought that album and saw the movie as he became #1 on my musical list my senior year;
May he rest in peace too, by the way.
I know that quite a few of you may be up in arms over me not mentioning people like Taylor Swift (I like her, I have heard she’s a really nice young lady who cares about her fans, and she and that Kansas City Chief make a good couple, but I was just never a real fan of her music) and a lot of other good artists on this post.
All I have to say in response is that this top ten is according to me, and me only.
This list is strictly my opinion, and I’m going to stick to it.
A LIST OF RULES THAT I FOUND FAVORABLE AND REASONABLE
Because to be perfectly honest, I can’t think of anything else to post that won’t take too much time at the moment…
A few weeks ago,
I was online when I saw on a website – I don’t remember which one,
A list of eight rules of life that was posted that caught my eye and attention and which I found to be solid;
Rules which I found myself thinking,
“I need to strive to follow these,”
Because as I read them, I felt that they would help me with my life in general.
Here they are…
(1st and foremost) PUT GOD FIRST
Let it go. Never ruin a good day by thinking about a bad yesterday
Ignore them. Don’t listen to other people. Life a life that’s empowering you.
Give it time. Time heals everything.
Don’t compare. The only person you should try to beat is the person you were yesterday.
Stay calm. It’s okay not to have everything figured out. Know that in time, you’ll get there.
It’s on you. Only you are in charge of your happiness.
Smile. Life is short (or can be), enjoy it while you can.
I must admit that I have at times had trouble with being successful at following some of these rules, particularly the third rule about ignoring negative people.
But as they say, I’m working on it.
I’m posting these rules of life so they can be on this blog and I can reference to them, because I feel they can be beneficial to me.
I honestly can’t think of anything else to say about that, except that hopefully and prayerfully my life can be better if I have these eight rules posted so I won’t forget them.
By the way: I have another birthday coming up in a little over two weeks from this writing. I’ll be sure to have a piece regarding such and my feelings of my ever-progressing age then…
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