To thine own self be true

a process.

freedom, creativity, imagination, unconventionality, performance, and consciousness.

From the song “From a Distance”:

From a distance, you look like my friend
Even though we are at war
From a distance, I just cannot comprehend
What all this fighting’s for

Pretty much still my position and view since 1967 when I attended an anti-Viet Nam rally in Winnipeg and sang “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” I remain a peacenik and am pro-‘brotherhood of man’.  Live and let live, peaceably and peacefully, without irrational, destructive hate and violence.

One of my favorite, recurring phrases which I believe originated from Robert J. Mowbray, my high school buddy’s song “Sidewalk” and his group Any Wonder.

Boy, that phrase sure covers a lot of ground in reality and lived experience, personal and otherwise.

(lower left: Chad; this was the first version of The Guess Who)

(middle, Chad, with early ’70s Brave Belt)

aka Allan Kowbel, Nov. 21, 2023.

For more information see “Growing up with The Guess Who” elsewhere on this blog.

Annually, whenever it is December 1, people’s moods, behaviors, and attitudes start to change suddenly or very quickly. Christmas is the most positive, peaceful time of year, absolutely no question. We’ve even received gifts from people of other cultures and religions at this special time of year.

Kids, especially, get very excited and their holiday season is punctuated with joy, anticipation, hope, and high spirits. We visited our son’s family last evening, and the boys were higher than kites–jubilant and totally oblivious to any harsh daily realities of our larger, sadly diminished world.

(Brothers and holiday llama)

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A word, too, about the excellent work of local charities. Many people have acknowledged what positive effects organizations such as Santas Anonymous, the Food Bank, Mustard Seed, and Hope Mission have  had on the poor and disadvantaged. Christmas  is a time to remember and help others more than ever. As Dickens’ Scrooge found out, better later than never. ‘Tis, indeed, far better to give than receive: itself a far better choice than lazy indifference or automatic knee-jerk trollish responses.

“Anderson Cooper is learning to grieve.”

Uh, stop the presses everywhere and cry me a river.

No wonder CNN has gone downhill.

-George Eliot

-Joseph Addison

-Marcus Aurelius