Reflections, Projections and Thoughts

Being,, Alive,, who would have thought,, and then having what it is we have , Doing,, what we have done in these 72 years we have had the pleasure of enjoying so much,, the air we breathe, the food we receive, the friends in our lives,, the loves, the parents , brothers .sisters , children and Grand and Great, the work we have been blessed with being able to do, and then There is More at 72, ,, The Gifts, of health, art, understanding and if your Fortunate enough ,, Compassion,,
And the there's the Art,, The Drawings and The Paintings, The Words,, The Books,, The People that make that all possible, Its difficult to understand even within your self, what it is that moves me as an artist,, to not only do the drawings and the paintings or to sit and write a thought,, so you just accept it,, and do it,, and then there's the desire to want to reproduce them and work with that,, and then there's the realization of the fact that its all One and All a Gift,, so you look for what it is that Gives you these gifts and how to Thank Them,,
Two Hands Ten Fingers, Eyes, New York, Key West, Paris , Amsterdam, Praha, Italy,, Cambridge,so many Friends, So Many Gifts,
Seven Books, Four of my drawings, three of my thoughts, hundreds of drawings, hundreds of watercolours and hundreds of oil paintings, sounds like a couple thousand, couple hundred in books and and a thousand or more to go,, two New York books finished Two more to go,, Key west,, one finished seven more to go,, Europe two to do and one almost finished,, God Willing, by my Birthday,, New York Colour Maybe by Valentines day, would be nice,, six or seven Key West books by the end of 2017, Book of drawings of musicians,, would be nice need to fit it in ,, Somewhere,,
But,, would really be nice to be able to ,, even in my thoughts,, fit in a few Books of My Oil Paintings,,,, and in between all this,, is a book ive been trying to get 30 or 40 of my boyhood friends to write with me,, a Book called, "The Preston Boys",, a book about the friendship of these hoodlums that ive had the pleasure to hang around with for 65 years of my life,
Which takes me to the part of all this rambling, Thoughts about what life is really all about,, and thats the people that we encounter, in the 72 years, those New York People, The Key West People , Them European ones, in Paris, Amsterdam,, in Villa Mesa, Home of my Father,,and of course The Canadian ones, New York ,, They Just Love everything i do, and the Key West ones,, have made me part of the Family,, The Love,,, The Love,, The Love,, those wild Italians,, and those Children,, Again,, and the loves,, and the Family,,The Love,,,,

That Time of Life

Its funny how we think of life, as we go through the stages of what age we are at, and then relate to it so personally. We hardly ever think that maybe whats happening In our life is just that,, that what happens when your that age, and if we stop and look around at others in our lives, the same age we may just discover that it really is the norm. But ,No,, we always tend to think is just us,, that is having this experience, and then try to work through whatever it is that is of a concern, rather then having the feeling of,, Well,, Lets see where this is going to take us on our lifes journey and embrace whatever it is at whatever time of our lives. So what are the ages and stages of life that creates these turning points that we seem to have to work through,, I think from birth till age 7 we are at our most protected, and then from 8 to 12 there is a growing up of the baby within us, and I must add at this point my prospective of this process is no doubt outdated in this day and age of man, compared to when I was growing up, anyway,, 13  to nineteen,, the expectations of teen hood is a great time of wonderment, and expectation, and at 20,, we really start with the when, why and the hows of the future,and that lasts till about 31,, and as Pink Floyd expressed it,, Ten Years have got behind no one told me when to run I missed the starting gun,, and then sure enough before we know it were 40. The Big 40,,and we really stop to reflect  on where we have been and what we have don,, and try to replay our life in our mind,, and why were doing that,, wouldn,t you know it were 60,, and you know 60 is the new 40 they say,, Ya Right,, Sixty to 66,,is a real eye opener,, and then the years start,, not 5 or ten but one at a time and you really start to realize its just ,, That Time of Life

Reflections and Decisions

April 2015, love April, its when I start celebrating my Birthday, never could understand only doing that one day a year,, so years ago I started doing that on the 1st of April and keep it going till mid May. Well another winter has passed us by,, 1st time in 30 years that ive spent 2 complete winters back to back in Canada, last year being one of the snowiest of my life and this one being one of the coldest in my life and I must say I enjoyed both of them, other than I dearly missed my friends in Key West as well as really not having anything to do as far as my Art is concerned, on the other hand, im more than I could ever imagine overjoyed that ive been able to spend this much time with my Children and Grandchildren as well as sharing in the thrill of the Birth of my Great grand child,, Delaney Rose. As I get older and it seems every year,, my appreciation for what I have in Family and Lifetime Friendships becomes a priority in my life. I'm also happy to be able to write that a book I,ve had finished since 1992, has been put into print, "Friends of Eagles"a book about my observations of myself as a friend as well as those around me, its not that I ever get caught up in regret of any of my life for so long ago I realized that what is done is done and yes many times you wish you hadn't done or should have done, but what was can never be undone, But,, with this writing thing that I seem to not stop,, 25 years later, I still question so many reasons  about why and why not. Then again, as my good friend Bob Dylan , says,, its life and life only,, its alright Ma ,, I'm only bleeding. As I sit and spend yet another day at Monigram Coffee Roasters,, and try to decide on what it is I want to do or should do with the next 6 months of my life,, Europe,, Paris and Italia,, Niagara on the Lake,, or just hang out in Cambridge and I know  if I were 20 years younger it would be Europe,,and at this time of my life like I said it is nice seeing my Children every week,, Living situation is another aspect of my life that for most people my age,, is really not in their lives,, but when you havn't had a place to live the past 30 years and still don't it is something that makes you think a bit more about what it is you do and are doing,, anyway enough of all this,, seems I,ve had enough of wanting to jot down a few words and lines

Seems Like the First Time

Then again it could be ,, at 72 years old ,,it is the first time,, the first time becoming a Great Grandfather,, That is,,and again im in awe and thanks,, that im alive,, so many never reach this age,, and even more do not become witness to their Grandaughters become mothers which allows an old man to see his first Grand Child. Its 2015, and I swear,, its feels like 1999,where did those 16 years go,, that granddaughter who was 14 all of a sudden is 30,,and somehow,, ive become an old man,, what,, you say,, 72 is not old,, well excuse me,, it is,, and im like I said happy to be old and be able to claim the title of Great Grampa., Now,, what else is going on in this old mans life,, not much,, having spent the past 30 years putting a portfolio together of my drawing,, and like ive expressed in previous posts,, being banned from the united states for 5 years,, the past year has been a little more than difficult trying to fiqure out what to do with what ive been doing. Five years will make me 77 if I have that many,,and then what will I still be able to complete this project,, that has left me homeless and broke,, or  do I stop with this project and resign my self to the fact it was a noble effort,,choices and decisions,, and acceptance in Life and what it has for you, and gives you, I have quite a few places that have my work in the usa,, and at this point really feel like I will not be permitted into the usa to complete this project,, so the only option is ,, is for me to have everything collected and returned to Canada, it breaks my heart,, to do that,, but it is the most logical decision,,the sadest part of this situation,, is not about the project or what to do with it,, or the fact that it may never be completed ,, but the friends that I have had the privilege to have had in these years, and the separation from them,, at this time of my life,, beyond words to try to describe what has been taken away from me,, by the loss of these friends

Key West

I was first introduced to Key West in 1986, and fell in Love as are just about everyone that gets there. I started doing drawings on mat board with felt pens, in the years that followed I had a few hundred drawings a few hundred hand watercoloured prints and a few hundred watercolours and oil paintings . The 29 years that I spent in Key West, and I say 29 years but really was a lot less,, for in those years I was usually there anywhere from 3 to 6 months,, but in that time,,became welcomed as though I was family by not only the people that were seasonal but by the permanent residents of the city, treated like one of them. respected as an artist and Human being,, One Human Family, is the mantra of most of the folks I grew to know and Love. Writers , Musicians , Artist, Business owners as well as all who spent time there,,working hard through difficult times , with a love and a passion, that without could not produce ,the love and respect ,that you encounter everyday and night,, giving people,, One Human Family,, and why do I write this,, Loss,, How often we lose a beloved one of this, Family,, and the pain of loss that we feel,, from the loss is so felt by even One like Me who feels so blessed that I was accepted by this Family even that my time there was so limited,,I cannot imagine the pain of Loss of those who have been there full time in their lives, and who have loved and had the backs of the likes of me coming there year after year, for the few months we do,, I want to reach out and let you all know how loved and apprieciated you have all been in my life and that I do feel that pain everytime we loss one of this One Human Family

2015,,Who Would Have Thought

Jan. 20th,2015,another winter in Canada,,could be bummed out but have to stop and think about what it is im learning from this situation in my life. Missing so many good friends ,,not being able to complete so many projects I would like to have had completed,,72 this year,, you would think a person this old would know that none of the projects even matter in the big picture,,Great Grand child being born to my eldest Granddaughter,, now that is something,,the joy Ashleigh has brought into my life,, as well as my other grandchildren,,to think im having one of them bless me with my 1st Great Granddaughter,,why would you want to be doing anything other than being in presence of that occasion in your life?? so my good friends ,,yes I miss all of you and just maybe I won,t get any of those projects completed,, but I have been blessed by the energy that is everything,, that has directed my life to be were it is I must be at all times,, and doing exactly what it is I must be doing,, and I say,, Thank You God,, Thank you Son of God,, and thank you Holy Spirit,, for you are with me ,, the trinity at all times.

Life is a Very Short Experience

Between the Ego and the confusions of our minds,, life goes by us pretty quickly.Just when we start to really understand and accept that we have it right, we also realize that were 71 years old,,and yes ive heard it all,,your only as old as you feel,,ok,,and then theres that one,,at 60 or whatever,,60 not old,,ya ok,,keep telling yourself that,,the point is,,life is very short and quick,,Pink Floyds line,,ten years have got behind,,no one told me when to run,,i missed the starting gun,,well40 years gets behind that quick as well,,So,,all that said,,don,t. Get caught up by the ego,,that confuses you into thinking your the one,you can win thats never been won,,Dylan,,stop in your life everyday,,seven times and say a prayer in thanks,,for the ,,Gift,, of Life,,you have been given,,make sure your kind to all that you get to meet,,make people smile and laugh,,and when your ego gets you into any kind of negative situation,,Stop,,Reflect,,and then make it Right,,don,t carry anger and negativity,,on your mind,,that tires you and makes live much more difficult. We have all been blessed,,with life,,yes i know also we have our trials,,but,,thats the ego saying,,you should have ,or why not me,,take a breath,,your alive,,just go do or say something nice to someone,,make them have a great day,,do it time and time again,,everyday,,soon,,your everyday will be filled with. Nothing but happiness