January, 2007
Speaking of fear
And throwing off reserve
The voice is nearer
But no clearer
Than first love
Than boys’ imaginations
For every news
Means pairing off in twos and twos,
Another I, another You,
Each knowing what to do
But of no use.
Never stronger
But younger and younger,
Saying good-bye but coming back, for fear
Is over there,
And the centre of anger
Is out of danger.
--W.H. Auden, Never Stronger, January 1929
Since the ego bruising I had while singing at the library Christmas party (my own internal reaction), I've had many kind words from those who were there, so maybe I was just over-sensitive. Still, I've learned to be very judicious in accepting compliments, so the bottom line is just going to be that I keep singing and playing because I enjoy doing it.
Reminds me of an interview I heard with Art Garfunkel (on the radio). Recounting a big reunion concert he and Simon staged in Central Park many years back, he recalled Paul Simon's immediate appraisal when he (Garfunkel) asked, "What did you think [of our performance]?" Simon, a rabid perfectionist, gasped, "Disaster!" Garfunkel reflected to the interviewer that although he was aware of the probable flaws which Simon was referring to, he felt that overall, it was a very creditable concert. Not to mention that the audience was overjoyed. I get from that that a person has to be a little circumspect about how he feels he went over when performing in public.
--Bob Salmon, from an email message, December 23, 2006
I’ve been struggling with this technology thing for some time.
Marxianizing my emotions, politicizing my daily bread and skipping church.
Pointing the finger at believers, dishonoring my father, ignoring statues of the saints as if they were an iconography of the braindead beautiful,
Following false prophesies of my fellow men as if they knew something I didn’t.
I’m going to change my name and let go of my obsessions and re-evaluate my possessions and walk away from my depressions like the ghost of Christmas Past.
--Larry L. Dill, postscript to Blues Journalism, January, 1994
Larry L. Dill is on holiday in Texas. A new edition of the New Hope Journal will appear in February 2007. Happy New Year.
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