End of the month. End of the quarter. End of the fiscal year.
The end of September. Can it be already?
For our family, this week and this day, in particular, are monumental. Nineteen years ago, Mr. D and I picked this otherwise obscure date to marry. Little did we know that two years to the day, Mini-DD would make his debut.
Add that #1 son married on October 1st four years ago and now their son, HDD, will have a 9/29 birthday, and you have one busy quarter end.
Happy Anniversary, my dear husband, and a very Happy Birthday, my dear son.
HDD is 8lbs, 2oz. even though he was two weeks early. His big brother, HCD, is so excited that he’s finally here. So is Mini-DD, as he was asked to be the Godfather. All of these snips and snails and puppy dog tails….I love them.
I knew he was sick. Even though he hadn’t confirmed “The Big C”, he never categorically denied it either and recent pictures from the Spring showed the ravages of the killer. Lung cancer is one of the most devastating diseases ever and it nearly broke my heart that the great Paul Newman was suffering with that dreaded diagnosis.
Paul Newman was a Hollywood Legend. A man of substance, fidelity, honor and immense intellect, he played his parts with believable passion and incredible sex appeal, even into his ’80s. Talk about blue eyes….
Ungh
Newman is the model that many of today’s actors have sought to emulate. However, no-one will ever come close to the unique, vulnerable machismo that only Paul Newman could convey. While certainly not a complete list of Newman’s extraordinary performances, here are some standouts.
Paul Newman was every man, but notched up a level. He was able to convey a character unlike any other actor that I’ve seen on screen. He was also a solid human being in “real life”, donating millions to various charities throughout his life. He was a dare-devil, but very much a private homebody.
Paul Newman’s pragmatic nature was legendary and for the last 50 years he and his wife and partner, Joanne Woodward, chose to make their life far from Hollywood, in Westport, CT. Their story is one of love, honor and dedication. Perhaps Paul Newman’s most famous quote is the answer he gave Playboy magazine when asked how he remained faithful to his wife with the infamous “temptations” in Hollywood.
“I have steak at home. Why would I go out for hamburger?”
Paul Newman didn’t have to toot his own horn or try to stand out. He simply did his job (well) and lived his life. He did nothing to try and be a celebrity or star.
Kids back in school. Friday night football games. College Football tailgate parties. Fall Festivals. Halloween and trick-or-treating. Long sleeves. Open windows. Birthdays. Anniversaries. All part of the wonderment of Autumn…my favorite season.
Rock legend and Pink Floyd founder, Richard Wright, succumbed to cancer yesterday at the age of 65. Along with the late Syd Barrett, Nick Mason and Roger Waters, Wright hit the scene in 1965 with Pink Floyd and the psychadelic infused The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.
Wright was the keyboardist and sometimes tempest of Pink Floyd who had on-going differences with Roger Waters. Waters actually tried to kick Wright out of the band in the early ’70s and relegated him to the background on the epic Dark Side of the Moon. Matter of fact, he didn’t even record on 1983’s The Final Cut.
As tensions grew between he, Waters, and David Gilmour, Wright left Pink Floyd and formed a new band called Zee that didn’t see much success. When Waters left Pink Floyd, Wright re-joined his old friends Mason and Gilmour in Pink Floyd in 1985. In 2005, during “Live 8” Waters joined his old bandmates for a Pink Floyd performance. It was the first time they had appeared together in 25 years.
Gilmour, Waters, Mason & Wright
David Gilmour expressed the loss of Richard Wright as such:
“He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognized Pink Floyd sound,” he said. “I have never played with anyone quite like him.”
Pink Floyd is a Rock institution and we have lost one hip professor.
Sorry that I have been mindfully absent for a few days. Over the last three weeks, I have been on an airplane more than on the ground, it seems. Busy time of year in my business, but it’s all good.
Flying presents lots of contemplation time and while there’s a certain thrill of flying to far away cities to important meetings, that feeling generally fades about 10 minutes into my flight. Then, I’m counting the hours until I’m home again. The bustle of airports, rental cars, taxis and hotels wears on me much more now than when I was in my 20s and 30s. My trusty iPod generally keeps me occupied and I usually have ample work to make the time pass more quickly, but each time I leave, I can’t wait to come home to my comfortable surroundings. Yes, I am old.
However, I still am in awe of the wonderousness of being able to fly in the sky like an eagle. God’s wonderous creation of sky and earth never ceases to amaze me and the views are just so cool. Like the puffiness of the clouds on my way to Memphis right after Hurricane Gustav…
Or, the magnificent hues of blue that greeted me over Atlanta….
Or the most gorgeous sunset over Alabama on the final leg of my flight home from New York City, reassuring me that all was right with the world and God is in His heaven…
As the sun was setting, my naval gazing grew deep and I was reminded of the old sailor’s axiom,
Red sky by morning, sailor take warning….red sky by night, sailor’s delight.
There’s just something about being so high in the clouds that makes me so appreciative of the fact that I am so drawn home and “grounded”.
So, here’s a little tribute to those big ole jet airliners that take me back “where I belong”.
First, the late, great Paul Pena’sJet Airliner. Steve Miller made it popular, but it was the brillance of Paul Pena that captured feelings about flying to and fro. The lyrics are pretty much perfect…
Leavin’ home, out on the road
I’ve been down before
Ridin’ along in this big ol’ jet plane
I’ve been thinkin’ about my home
But my love light seems so far away
And I feel like it’s all been done
Somebody’s tryin’ to make me stay
You know I’ve got to be movin’ on
Oh, Oh big ol’ jet airliner
Don’t carry me too far away
Oh, Oh big ol’ jet airliner
Cause it’s here that I’ve got to stay
Goodbye to all my friends at home
Goodbye to people I’ve trusted
I’ve got to go out and make my way
I might get rich you know I might get busted
But my heart keeps calling me backwards
As I get on the 707
Ridin’ high I got tears in my eyes
You know you got to go through hell
Before you get to heaven
Big ol’ jet airliner
Don’t carry me too far away
Oh, Oh big ol’ jet airliner
Cause it’s here that I’ve got to stay
Touchin’ down in New England town
Feel the heat comin’ down
I’ve got to keep on keepin’ on
You know the big wheel keeps on spinnin’ around
And I’m goin’ with some hesitation
You know that I can surely see
That I don’t want to get caught up in any of that
Funky shit goin’ down in the city
Big ol’ jet airliner
Don’t carry me too far away
Oh, Oh big ol’ jet airliner
Cause it’s here that I’ve got to stay
Oh, Oh big ol’ jet airliner
Don’t carry me too far away
Oh, Oh big ol’ jet airliner
Cause it’s here that I’ve got to stay
Yeah, yeah yeah, yeah
Big ol’ jet airliner
Don’t carry me too far away
Oh, Oh big ol’ jet airliner
Cause it’s here that I’ve got to stay
Oh, Oh big ol’ jet airliner
Carry me to my home
Oh, Oh big ol’ jet airliner
Cause it’s there that I belong
Paul changes up the lyrics a bit in this version done on the Conan O’Brien show shortly before his death…
Jet Airliner, Paul Pena
While no other “airplane” song quite captures the essence of business flying, for me, here are a few other “flying” songs…
At the request of some readers, I’ve elected to take my football musings off the front page and I have created another blog (or a sub-blog) to address my LSU/Louisiana pride.
Music Maven 