That's The Way It Is

Late this after noon my Mother says, "I am sick of all this garbage." she is referring to the hospital routine. "I am just waiting for Suzie & Carol to get here and then I am going home. If they don't like it, they can shove it."

So that's the way it is, MARCH 4, 2012.

Fernando Sor Guitar Study #5

It is 6:00am here in Chaumont, NY. The Sun is out, the temperature is 36 degrees F, the barometric pressure is 29.99 and falling. I guess that spells clouds and rain for the near future.


This is a photo I took at least 20 years ago. I shot it with a Minolta x700 35mm camera with Kodak Tri-X film. I was sitting at a red light at the foot of State St. in Watertown and snapped it from the drivers window. The light changed and I drove off. The man never knew I took his picture. I find that interesting in more ways than one.



More and more lately I feel like devoting most of my time and energy to music and the guitar. It is something I feel I have not mastered. There are obstacles I need to overcome. Among them are improving sight reading music. Performing in recital or concert situations where the audience is close and attentive and hanging on every note that I play. Feeling and playing confidently in those situations requires a different kind of practice. I'm guessing it can only be achieved by getting out "there" and doing it.

I also am struggling to make a decision to dismantle my black & white darkroom. Again, it is because I think I would rather devote my time to music. I certainly will never give up photography, just let certain parts of it go. At least for a while. I have not processed any black & white film or made any prints in 36 months. These are just a couple of the many things I am wrestling with.

Gary Walts plays Fernando Sor (study #5 from Andres Segovia edition).

I made this video one afternoon in April while i was busy doing Spring cleaning in the yard at my home. Often times I keep a guitar near by while working so as to grab a few minutes of practice when I take a break from the chores. Thus it is that I am wearing some shabby work clothes. There is some wind noise, some birds squawking and the sound of kids playing in the school yard behind the house. Hope you enjoy it anyway.

Moammar Gadhafi Dead & I Can't Sleep

Moammar Gadhafi, Libya's dictator for 42 years is dead. So another one of the world's infamous dictators has met his demise. But now what? Will Libya get it's oil production going again and prosper? Or will there now begin a long series of tribal fighting for control of the country? Evil as men like Moammar Gadhafi and Saddahm Hussein are, their cruel, iron fisted control acts as a stabilizing force in regions that have long histories of tribes in conflict or war that prohibits any form of progress of any kind for the masses. I suspect that Libya will enter into a long period of disruption, instability and no productivity. The masses will be worse off than they were under his rule and a new leader may impose even harsher control over the Libyans. The country is ripe for the taking by a focused Muslim regime. Dictators like Moammar Gadhafi are so brutal that ALL the tribes are so stricken with fear that they "tolerate" one another. The dictator does not tolerate in-fighting amongs the tribes. As soon as the dictator is gone the long, historical disputes among the many factions rekindle. Then it's back to the ancient unrest and the oil wells will sit idle.

So why can't I sleep?

Well, it has nothing to do with Moammar Gadhafi or any other World events. I put in a fairly long day. Taught guitar at Musicology, came home & spent the evening catching up on paper work, bills, and the like. At 10:30 I went to bed, read until I could not keep my eyes open, so clicked the light off at 11:00. Well, I dozed for maybe ten minutes. Seriously, that was it. Then I lay there in the dark until 12:30 and decide to get up. I pour myself a glass of wine, slice up some cheese and have a few crackers and decide to make a blog entry. This entry. So what. Let's go back: Why couldn't I sleep? Well the real reason is that I had a big blow out with the Better half today. Lately we have been going through a period of many arguments and discontent. I don't like it. Most people think of me as easy going and mellow. Well, for thye most part I am. But I am an Aries, a red headed one at that. I have a fiery temper that I am not proud of. Nothing makes me feel worse about myself than when I unleash it toward the woman that I love. Or anyone I love for that matter. Over the years I have grown to control my temper a LOT. Compared to when I was in my twenties, it's like night & day. Abbot & Costello.

What about the squirrel in the cage?

The squirrel is not in a cage. He's in a trap. It's a HavaHeart live animal trap. Recently a squirrel got into the walls of my house. Upon investigation I discovered a hole that the vermin had chewed through the eves on the backside of my house, next to the chimney. Well, I baited the near by area with some peanut butter. Before long a squirrel that had taken residency in the chamber showed his face. That unfortunate creature met his demise from high impact lead poisoning, courtesy of my $200.00 Gammo air rifle. He was a young Grey squirrel. The one in the trap is a very young, juvenile Grey Squirrel. The young ones start out red, and go grey as they mature. Anyhow, it's obvious that there is a lot of squirrel activity around my home, and I have seen many young ones racing about. So, even though I shot one of them with my Gammo air rifle, I do Hava-heart, and so I set out a trap to catch any of the other's that might have had plans on moving in to the late squirrel's quarters. Well, lo & behold, in two days I trapped 5 young ones. Each of them was rewarded with a free ride to release at a wooded area adjacent to a cemetary about seven miles from my home. Now wasn't that nice?

Day Fortythree: Funny How Things Work Out

For all of it's ups and downs, my life is blessed. That's the only conclusion I can come to. Here is what I mean. A few days ago in one of these blog posts I was writing about trying to land a guitar gig. I am a classical guitarist and what I do is great for dinner music or lazy cafes. Two of the places I called I knew for sure use live entertainment. One owner was polite, took some info from me. The other gave me a cool response. Being an unknown entity to these folks I offered to audition that afternoon with no committments nor strings attached. They brushed me off. What could I do? I cannot force them to listen to me play so, I ended the week with no auditions.
Enter serendipity ( or God, or Angels, or whatever). Less than a week after talking with the owners of those venues, I auditioned for them against their free will! Here is what happened. My friend "Shotgun" Billy Read from Nashville, TN was in town for his father in law's funeral. Billy asked me to play at a memorial service & reception. I would play while guests arrived, and play some more after the actual service had concluded. Terrific. So I played, including a nice piece of music by Fernando Sor accompanying one of the speakers reading aloud a letter from the deceased. It was a nice touch to the whole affair. Unbeknownst to me however, was the fact that both of the people I had contacted less than a week earlier for auditions were at this service. They heard me play and from what I am told, were quite taken from what I had to offer. Somehow in the big scheme of things we were all brought under the same roof and shared an experience whereby I auditioned for them by default. It remains to be seen what will become of it. My friend "Shotgun" Billy Read wanted to pay me for my contribution, but I could not & would not accept payment. I was there for my love of him and his family. I truly loved being a part of it and helping to make it special for all involved. Anyway, this is why I say I am blessed. I wanted to auditon for the two aformentioned people. I couldn't make it happen. I played for love for my friend and it turned into the audition I couldn't
create. It's crazy.