"In Concert"

"In Concert" means different things to different people, but it also is a metaphor of sorts for the lives we live. A dog, for example, laying in the shade of the coach awning, licking a giant pile of ice cubes to cool off on a hot day in the March Florida sunshine is surely "In Concert" with the world as it presents itself...Just look at that syncopation, will ya?

I find myself finally divested of the restraints and constraints and non-stop responsibilities of real estate holdings that always seemed to find a way to limit the joys of being on the road full time since we got started down that road. But with the closing of the last commercial holding in Maine, we are truly foot loose and fancy free, or at least as much as it is possible to be that way in this life and still be a responsible participant in the process. How long that feeling lasts I cannot know; but for now, with the wind at my back, the sun on the horizon and adventure tucked securely in my pocket, the feeling of being "In Concert" fully and for the first time in a long while is here to be appreciated and celebrated and shared.

And what better way to start the unbridled future than with a visit to some of the highlights of the past.

The Beach Boys in Concert!

There is, as there always is, a blank canvas, an empty stage, a diamond in the rough, an idea without a plan, a direction without a destination....
With planning and engagement comes anticipation and excitement...

until the performers come to the stage and we are all "In Concert"...
The results become clear to all. The beach balls fly through the air in celebration. The beat pulses, the rhythm moves the body and the mind and the soul and connections are made with the very essence of life.
It works for the young ones and a new generation of fans and participants comes into the world, lending credence to the quality of the here-to-fore we hold so dear.
It works for the old ones who look back at the times of their youth through whatever lens suits them best...
and it works for those frozen in time, those that never gave up or moved on from what worked for them in the first place...and maybe will for all their life and time.
For the California girls in Florida,
For the throwback rocker generation that just keeps dancing on ...
And for the startups in the concert world, high atop their man's (even if it's dear old dad's) shoulders to see if the view is any better up there in the clouds and over the heads of everyone in their way.
A day In Concert with life, with the music and rhythm of the day and the night just makes you feel right, like you are all dressed up with SOMEWHERE to go, and ready to go where-ever that may take you.
I have no idea whether this first ever (below) video clip I am trying to post to the blog will work or not after I hit the all important "Publish" button. But if it does, you will hear a clip of a Beach Boy tune that all will recognize. (And, yes, they OK'd the use of it, thank you very much.) The clip was taken with my digital still camera so it will be small and maybe a bit dark. But listen carefully, even if the image is not so great...Is that ME singing with the Beach Boys? Yes siree bob. Now all you have to figure out is if I actually got invited up on stage...or if I'm just singing along from behind the camera. Hey! I'm not tellin'.