“Between the garden and the kitchen, I’ve always had food present alongside music, as a way to commune with others and the earth, itself.”
……………..Lizz Wright
As I was writing this post, I remembered when Lizz Wright posted this (below) on her facebook page:
It’s easy to see that connection between music and food; that sense of wonder that they both hold.
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To me, the winter holiday season begins on November 1 and doesn’t subside until a day or two after New Year’s Day.
Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve/Day have always been about being with family and friends in the great spirit of God’s love for us all.
It’s the little things and the unexpected things that make this time of year so special.
Spending time with loved ones. Observing them. Finding out what’s new with them. Laughing with each other. Laughing at each other. Bearing gifts. Sharing food, thoughts and things. Having time off from work to just chill. Playing in the snow (if there is any to play in). Enjoying singing or just listening to music and watching favorite movies. Cooking and eating together.
APPLE BUTTER MEMORY
My neighbors, Shawn and Jocelyn, gave me a bushel of apples from the two apple trees in their back yard.
My son, Tim, is a foodie and also loves to cook.
He makes the best ever apple butter.
The birds and the bugs had gotten to part of the apples, but even after cutting out the bad parts….
……we still were able to yield six or seven large mason jars of apple butter, which we shared with the neighbors and family members.
That single event ignited the Holiday spirit within me! 😄
It also reminded me of an experience I had when I was a six or seven-year old kid.
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Celebrating Andy’s 74th birthday over a fabulous Korean feast.
“The Mirror of Friendship”
A friend holds the mirror of self-esteem.
You can see at a glance someone you admire.
But the beauty of that reflection, to me, it seems,
is the glow of concern from the friendship fire.
……..Dennis Adams (Summer, 1977)
About the poem
When I was about 27 years old (1977), I was at the Defense Language Institute (DLI) studying basic Korean, in Monterey, California. It was an intensive, one-year long course.
During that time one of my Korean instructors introduced me to her niece and asked if I would sing with her for some cultural event they held at DLI for each new class that came through. We studied the culture, customs and arts, as well as the language.
Her name was Cho, Gun Hui but Americans have a hard time remembering Gun-Hui so she adopted the name of Connie (it was the closest-sounding American name to Gun Hui) which she thought would be easier to remember.
I already had lived in Korea for one year and I liked Korean music and had learned several Korean songs, so I was happy she asked me to sing with her niece.
She was a beautiful Korean girl. She sang really well (much better than I) and we became friends. We practiced the songs that we were going to perform for the cultural event, and in so doing, got to know each other fairly well.
I was inspired to write a short poem (the one above) about friendship and I gave a copy to her.
She liked the poem. So she went to a frame shop to have them etch the poem onto a mirror and frame it, and then she gave it to me as a going away gift (I was almost finished with the one-year Korean language program by then).
I was moved by the thoughtfulness of her gift and her friendship.
But, after that summer, we were destined to go our separate ways, and we never did have contact again. But I have good memories of her and the short time I spent with her.
I told my son, Tim, about the poem, and the story behind it…………
No! Wait a minute…..
I told my son, Tim, about the poem, and the story behind it…….
No! Sorry! Just one more minute.
I told my son, Tim, about the poem, and the story behind it…….
Oh my gosh! Sorry!………..
I told my son, Tim, about the poem, and the story behind it……..
TIM:
“Hmm…The Mirror of Friendship“, he murmured, while contemplating the story.
Then he continued, “Dad, that’s such a clever way of saying the only friend you have is yourself!” 😂😂
ME:
I don’t know why I even try…..😳😩
Anyway……
My favorite line in that poem is “…the glow of concern from the friendship fire.“
When you are really good friends with someone there is always a genuine caring and concern emanating from both sides.
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My “chin gu” (friend) , Dong Chul Lee, in Korea around 1977-1978.
A couple of weekends ago, we had the perfect snow storm here in Seattle and I wrote about it in my previous post, called “The Perfect Storm”.
In that post, I mentioned that on the first two days of that four-day snowy weekend, I listened to a playlist I made of songs by Lizz Wright, that I call “Freshly Fallen Snow”.
The last two days of the snowy wonderland weekend, I listened to another playlist I made of songs by Lizz, which I call “Seconds of Pleasure (Sighsmic Activity)”.
On that playlist, Lizz does a cover of “Old Man”, a song written and sung by Neil Young, written as a tribute to a caretaker of a parcel of land, who presented the land to Neil Young, which Neil eventually purchased, and lives on.
Neil Young was one of the most influential songwriters and guitarists during the 60’s and 70’s and he’s still active to this day.
When I heard Lizz sing “Old Man”, on the playlist that weekend, it suddenly reminded me of my friend, Dong Chul, and I wanted to tell his story.
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A couple of weekends ago (February 13-14), we had the perfect snow storm here in Seattle.
I call it perfect because it started snowing on Friday afternoon, AFTER I got home from work, and it continued to snow day and night on Saturday and Sunday, until it became 12 inches deep, making it impossible for me to drive to work on Monday.
Then, since Tuesday is one of my regular days off, it turned into a four-day weekend for me (Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday).
The timing of its arrival was just poyfect!!
