Water and wind and music have kidnapped me. May no one pay my ransom. Social obligation, routine and conformity have tried to reclaim me, but I am a willing abductee. All by way of saying that the past month has been wonderfully inspiring. While spring sank its roots ever deeper, and new shoots anchored to old, and family-crazed critters built feng shui construction on branches and under bushes, I took to the air and have not yet returned to terra firma. Call it freedom. I wish you the same imprisonment.
In a way, wind, water and music are all the same thing to me. They flow unrestrained and create spiritual buoyancy. Wind knows no gravity and water is liquid light. See it dance, shimmer, change color and whirl you in its universe like a floating carousel? Can you hear the merry-go-round music?
The music especially has been transformative. Decided to play 1000 songs on the T-sax outdoors in a recreation area over a period of a few weeks. Now, bad as I am, there are actually audiences, and if I want to play alone, I go to a new park or a gazebo or -- once on a rainy day -- in a tunnel under a highway. Be kind to buskers (someday soon I may be playing on a street near you)! And then there was Stratton Doyle, the Louisiana sax man I caught amidst the fountains at Peavey Plaza. What’s better than Famous Dave’s Bluesfest on a sunny day? FD’s Bluesfest on a rainy day with mists wreathing the surrounding skyscrapers and street people dancing with their faces upturned to the light that seemed to come from nowhere and to that benediction of a light rain.
The next nine months itinerary just added a most welcome prospect -- speaking in Europe at a venue next to the Royal Palace in Oslo (does that mean I would get to say "I played the Palace" J ). Specifics must be finalized, but this would be at a time when the world ski championships are being held nearby, and publisher/journalist/host Jan Lockert – whose eclectic lifestyle includes a passion for cc skiing -- would take me onto the famed Holmenkollen trails as well. Ahead of that is a 13-day sea kayaking adventure in Tonga with Australian Grant Soosalu and his soulmate Fiona, and before that a trip to the mountains of DR with my neighborhood friend Bruce Norby. I generally like to find the universe in my own backyard, but these are extraordinary adventures with extraordinary people -- which makes all the difference.
And here’s a Jan Lockert link to a new review of my novel SECOND SOUL (and if you read Norwegian, the first one will take you to a second review in ABC Nyheter): http://janlockert.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html
Many of you know my cherished friend “Flamingo Frank” Wydra who passed away in 2008. I'm pleased to announce that his editor daughter Denise has collected his Gonquin Table essays in a professional edition available here at http://www.lulu.com/browse/search.php?fListingClass=0&fSearch=Frank+Wydra True to his wishes, Flamingo Frank attended his own final services propped up in his casket with a silver dollar in one hand and a glass of Jack in the other. Do you get a sense of legacy from that? The man can never die, and I am honored that my funeral oration for him and a column are also included in the book.
Over on STORYTELLERSUNPLUGGED I'm offering up a new Cannibal Essay this month about the three secret ingredients that provide stories for writers and -- if you're not a writer -- enrichment to any life. Here’s the link: http://storytellersunplugged.com/thomassullivan/2010/06/16/thomas-sullivan-a-bullet-in-the-brain-a-kick-in-the-teeth-and-other-orgasms/
Photos below include 2 of Stratton Doyle, 1 of Bluesfest mist and another of a Bluesfester dancing in the rain. And, yes, Doc Foto (folksinger Mark Manrique) sent in a couple more of his scurrilous travesties on me. (Don’t tell him, but I secretly love the one that puts me on Avatar’s Pandora.)
May I also invite you to follow me on Twitter? It’s just something fun you can peep at anonymously. The only thing that changes after you create an account by making up a username and password is that when you click on your account page you'll see the tweets of anyone you wish to follow, though they won’t see you. Or simply click this link anytime: http://twitter.com/thomassullivan Samples of recent Tweets: “The quality of relationships = the quality of communication.” And “I'm dumb, but extremely loyal. I like that about myself.” Your thoughts are welcome, your attention valued.
Thomas
“Sully” Sullivan
http://www.thomassullivanauthor.com
http://twitter.com/thomassullivan
