Conversations with Calliope- Where Were You

(Spring Flowering)

JOE: Good afternoon Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good afternoon Joe. Where have you been?
JOE: Carol has a vacation this week. I guess the mood is contagious.
CALLIOPE: I guess so. We were in mid discussion about Grass Roots and you promised to elaborate.
JOE: I did. I was telling you about hearing their song Where Were You When I Needed You on Wednesday night.
CALLIOPE: And?
JOE: They came out with it in 1966, during my first year out of the monastery. It reminded me of feeling like an alien on earth in a culture which had emerged while I was away.
CALLIOPE: Did it bring back memories and feelings about those days?
JOE: In a way, but it didn't through me into chaos as Michael McDonald did.
CALLIOPE: How did you react?
JOE: I quickly moved on to thoughts about all the friends I have developed since then and how much I have learned and grown.
CALLIOPE: So it was a good reaction?
JOE: It was.
CALLIOPE: What's next on your horizon?
JOE: The books I am working on as well as a new awareness of my place in the cosmos and my feeling of responsibility to make the most of it. I'll tell you more next week.

Conversations with Calliope- Grass Roots

(Wagon Wheels)

JOE: Good afternoon Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good afternoon, Joe. I missed you this morning.
JOE: I was off to a busy start.
CALLIOPE: Doing what?
JOE: Going for a massage, shopping, and manual labor edging the lawn.
CALLIOPE: Are your musical adventures over?
JOE: Hardly.
CALLIOPE: Tell me.
JOE: Last night several of us drove to Finger Lakes Race Track for a concert by the Sky Coasters and then Grass Roots.
CALLIOPE: Go on.
JOE: I have seen Sky Coasters quite a few times, a band from Rochester which plays quite a variety of songs and I always enjoy them.
CALLIOPE: And Grass Roots?
JOE: Another story. I must admit I didn't remember them from the old days, at least until they sang, "Where Were You When I Needed You?"
CALLIOPE: Did that song have some special significance for you?
JOE: It was their first big hit in 1966 the year after I left the monastery and was just getting back into the real world. It brought back memories of those days. I'll tell you more tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- More About Musical Emotions

(Shipboard Extravaganza)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Good, thank you.
CALLIOPE: What are you up to today?
JOE: I just finished my column/newsletter for this Saturday.
CALLIOPE: I'm curious.
JOE: It's about musical emotions which I wrote about last week.
CALLIOPE: You mean how a Michael McDonald concert sent you off the deep end into an eddy of emotion.
JOE: Exactly.
CALLIOPE: Why did you feel a need to revisit this troubling episode?
JOE: Partly to see if I had gotten past it and partly to see what I can learn from it.
CALLIOPE: Did you get past it?
JOE: I did. Nothing awful arose in me while I was composing it.
CALLIOPE: What did you learn.
JOE: To pay attention to my emotions and their message and change what can change about memories of past bad experiences. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Train Memories

(Engine 999)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. I missed you Saturday.
JOE: Sorry. I was out the door early and never got back to my computer.
CALLIOPE: Where were you off to?
JOE: I took my son and grandson to a model train show in Rochester.
CALLIOPE: How did you decide on that?
JOE: Trains have always been important to me.
CALLIOPE: Tell me about it.
JOE: My first life memory is of changing trains in Washington in the middle of the night on the way to Miami with my mother when I was about two so we could be with my father in the navy.
CALLIOPE: Any others?
JOE: My favorite memory of my grandfather is hearing the whistle as a train entered Dunkirk. We piled in the car and drove to the end of Park Avenue to watch a freight train stop, let off steam and cargo and then chug to a slow start on its way to the next stop.
CALLIOPE: Any other memories?
JOE: When I was writing my dissertation at the University of Illinois, I was assigned to the sixth floor of the library stacks where they also kept their collection of train books. They kept me sane when I felt overwhelmed with my research.
CALLIOPE: Did you share all of this with you son and grandson?
JOE: No. I kept the memories to myself but did share my enthusiasm for trains and what I had learned about them over the years. Talk with you tomorrow.

Passing on the Pistol

Toward the end of my father's life, he was ready to let go of his target pistol. I went through all the hoops of obtaining a pistol permit and took possession of his gun. I used it a few times and enjoyed target shooting although I have never had an interest in turning it toward an animal. Now my nephew is ready to adopt it. It came into my life, a bit of memory of my father, and now passes to his grandson. I wonder how many memories go along with it.

Olfactory Delights

I was reading recently about how to make fiction come to life. Use of the senses was suggested. We tend to use visual and sometimes auditory sense reference in writing. I realized that I at least seldom make reference to the more primitive senses such as smell. The author of the book I was reading pointed out that we live in a sanitized society with strong smells covered up. I thought back to the first night I spent in Hawaii when I could smell the beauty around me but not see it since I arrived after dark. I recalled the smells in my favorite deli while waiting for a sub. I remember the smell of my children as babies just out of the bath tub. I remember the chocolate smelling orchid and of course vanilla on the vine. It is hard to describe odors but they sure are powerful in our memories.

Where Did All the Time Go

I remember taking a walk with my Uncle Bob when I was thirteen. I was telling him of the get-togethers I attended as a young child and how I missed those times. He told me that time passes and so do everyone's priorities. It was time to move on and enjoy a different part of my life. I was reassured but somewhat saddened. Now many years later, I still think back to all that has happened over the years and all the times I miss now. I specifically thought of the years when I had a sailboat and the days I spent sailing on Lake Ontario. They are fond memories but it is a little nostalgic to realize they are in the past now. But maybe it is these memories which keep us going and encourage us to add new memories.