"Never take for granted the fact you are alive, and do what you love." -- Hiromi, 4/1/11
Just got back from my fourth straight and eleventh total Hiromi show. She's better every time. I'm getting tired of trying to find the words to describe it. Just go to her show and find out for yourself.
Last night I sat in seat 111. Tonight I sat in seat 13. It marked four great shows in a row, so maybe that means it will be a good year.
I saw Cap'n Steve and his friend Pink after the show. Steve is on his way to Nepal today. He's going on a big journey to see his wife and daughter-in-law. It's been exactly seven months since he's seen them, he said. He loves the number 7. I do too. I hope he has a great time with his journey to his love.
My solo journey around the world truly began in India, and the best part was seeing this mountain in Nepal, which inspired the first piece of writing I worked really hard at to share publicly and believed had a message that anyone could relate to in their own way, an endeavor I work on every day.
When I met Steve two nights ago he kept telling me that 47 was his lucky number, and that it would be a great day. He said it was truly that after the show.
47 has always been an important number for me too. When I played football, I was number 33. It was my first sports number that I got to select on my own, and I chose it because Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Patrick Ewing, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen, and Grant Hill all had number 33. The one play that was specially designed for me was the 47 counter. They would mimic handing the ball off one way, so that the defense all moved to one side to catch them, while I was running up the opposite sideline, with no one else the wiser. I hadn't thought about that until Cap'n Steve kept going on about the number 47. After a long conversation, I walked back home an hour to my apartment. It was really windy. I listened to my favorite song, "Place to Be", and after such a long winter depression, I felt good about being me, wherever I may be. The concert, the conversations, and the fact that I'd just gotten new shoes and my first haircut in a year and a half had me feeling excellent, focused, on the path, everything in its right place, nothing to fear and nothing to doubt, on the pollen path, beauty above me, beauty behind me, beauty in front of me, beauty inside of me.
When I got back to the apartment, I saw the painting of the Pyramid of the Sun on the corner. It reminds me of the time I was on top of the Pyramid of the Sun, the real one south of the border, and I met a lot of people from all around the world. Three of them were women from Japan, all related to each other. One of them was named Hiromi. I grabbed my heart and told them that I loved Hiromi, and they asked what I meant, and I was shocked that I had to explain to them that she was not only the greatest pianist or musician of our time, but the greatest artist, and I base that on the emotions she inspires in my heart. Her music is there waiting for you.
As I walked past the pyramid, I saw my roommate's boyfriend, the one I wrote about having to kick out of the house because whatever he was doing, his girlfriend was screaming for help. Read about it in "Shine Your Light" below. He asked me if I had a lighter, and offered me four George Washington coins for it. I said I didn't have one on me. He asked if I had one back at the house. He just had to go to his car for a minute, and he didn't want to have to walk really far to a corner store. I did have a lighter, and I didn't need it, so I said sure. He gave me the quarters, but I left them on the rail by the house because I don't want to be George Washington. That guy rarely smiled. Plus he was constantly betrayed by financial backers and then constantly had his time occupied by social climbing seekers who didn't care about how hard he had worked or all of the risks and fighting he'd done for them. Nobody deserves that when they give their best. I was happy to lend this man the lighter, because giving is its own reward, but I had yet to be thanked for letting him and my roommate in the night before, and his girlfriend never thanked me for coming to her aid when I had to ask him to leave the house two weeks ago. Even so, I don't know their stories or who told them how to act in this world, so there was no bitterness on my part
Besides, the lighter I had said "True Love" on it, and true love is something you give for free. I got the lighter, left it on the rail of the stairway like he asked, and then went upstairs to say hi to my other roommates. When he got upstairs he said he didn't see the lighter, and I told him with a laugh, "You wouldn't know true love if you saw it, would you?" Then I got the lighter for him, he laughed, and we did the fist bump thing.
His girlfriend was baking brownies, and he said he loved the smell of brownies, because it makes you feel like home, like it's Christmas or something. I wished them all good night, and he said, "I'll try. I'm always tryin' man. I always try."
I said, "We all do, right?"
He nodded his head smiling. "Yes we do." [Unfortunately, he hasn't tried very hard since then, and he's not allowed in the house anymore. He woke me up yet again by ringing the doorbell at 2:30 in the morning, screaming and swearing last night (4/16).)
I said, "Good night," and came down here to write this for anyone who's got the time.
It's so strange to follow up that story with my message to my favorite artist, but even so, if my words ever flow their way to you, Hiromi, thank you for shining the light of your heart's music on us, and giving me a beautiful place to be within your universal symphony the past four nights. I'd been looking forward to seeing the Move songs performed live for quite some time, and they were truly sublime.
Good luck to you on your journey.
Whoever you may be.
Just got back from my fourth straight and eleventh total Hiromi show. She's better every time. I'm getting tired of trying to find the words to describe it. Just go to her show and find out for yourself.
Last night I sat in seat 111. Tonight I sat in seat 13. It marked four great shows in a row, so maybe that means it will be a good year.
I saw Cap'n Steve and his friend Pink after the show. Steve is on his way to Nepal today. He's going on a big journey to see his wife and daughter-in-law. It's been exactly seven months since he's seen them, he said. He loves the number 7. I do too. I hope he has a great time with his journey to his love.
My solo journey around the world truly began in India, and the best part was seeing this mountain in Nepal, which inspired the first piece of writing I worked really hard at to share publicly and believed had a message that anyone could relate to in their own way, an endeavor I work on every day.
When I met Steve two nights ago he kept telling me that 47 was his lucky number, and that it would be a great day. He said it was truly that after the show.
47 has always been an important number for me too. When I played football, I was number 33. It was my first sports number that I got to select on my own, and I chose it because Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Patrick Ewing, Larry Bird, Scottie Pippen, and Grant Hill all had number 33. The one play that was specially designed for me was the 47 counter. They would mimic handing the ball off one way, so that the defense all moved to one side to catch them, while I was running up the opposite sideline, with no one else the wiser. I hadn't thought about that until Cap'n Steve kept going on about the number 47. After a long conversation, I walked back home an hour to my apartment. It was really windy. I listened to my favorite song, "Place to Be", and after such a long winter depression, I felt good about being me, wherever I may be. The concert, the conversations, and the fact that I'd just gotten new shoes and my first haircut in a year and a half had me feeling excellent, focused, on the path, everything in its right place, nothing to fear and nothing to doubt, on the pollen path, beauty above me, beauty behind me, beauty in front of me, beauty inside of me.
When I got back to the apartment, I saw the painting of the Pyramid of the Sun on the corner. It reminds me of the time I was on top of the Pyramid of the Sun, the real one south of the border, and I met a lot of people from all around the world. Three of them were women from Japan, all related to each other. One of them was named Hiromi. I grabbed my heart and told them that I loved Hiromi, and they asked what I meant, and I was shocked that I had to explain to them that she was not only the greatest pianist or musician of our time, but the greatest artist, and I base that on the emotions she inspires in my heart. Her music is there waiting for you.
Later that night in my hotel I had an epiphany during Jay-Z's "Feelin It". I heard the opening piano hook sampled from Ahmad Jamal's "Pastures" while reading from "Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle. As those sublime opening notes dramatically signified the start of the song, I read that we're always on a journey, and the goal and destination is important, and that's why we do it, but that the only step that matters is the one we're taking right now, at this moment. Otherwise we miss the whole thing if we keep focusing on the future. He also said that true love is to feel it in everyone and everything, that your love is inside of you, and it can never leave you. I somewhat agree. Obviously we feel love from some people and some sources more than others, but still, I think I got his point.
"I'm feelin it... "
Besides, the lighter I had said "True Love" on it, and true love is something you give for free. I got the lighter, left it on the rail of the stairway like he asked, and then went upstairs to say hi to my other roommates. When he got upstairs he said he didn't see the lighter, and I told him with a laugh, "You wouldn't know true love if you saw it, would you?" Then I got the lighter for him, he laughed, and we did the fist bump thing.
His girlfriend was baking brownies, and he said he loved the smell of brownies, because it makes you feel like home, like it's Christmas or something. I wished them all good night, and he said, "I'll try. I'm always tryin' man. I always try."
I said, "We all do, right?"
He nodded his head smiling. "Yes we do." [Unfortunately, he hasn't tried very hard since then, and he's not allowed in the house anymore. He woke me up yet again by ringing the doorbell at 2:30 in the morning, screaming and swearing last night (4/16).)
I said, "Good night," and came down here to write this for anyone who's got the time.
It's so strange to follow up that story with my message to my favorite artist, but even so, if my words ever flow their way to you, Hiromi, thank you for shining the light of your heart's music on us, and giving me a beautiful place to be within your universal symphony the past four nights. I'd been looking forward to seeing the Move songs performed live for quite some time, and they were truly sublime.
Good luck to you on your journey.
Whoever you may be.
It was great to meet you and if the wind ever pushes you north let me know! About to board the plane. They keep calling for a passenger and they just said he's in row 47! Of course.
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