Posts Tagged ‘retirement’

The Story Has Been Told

Posted: November 8, 2019 in Photography, Uncategorized
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I began this blog to share stories of people and events I have been lucky enough to be involved with over the last five decades. Along with my poetry and original music I also enjoyed sharing my pictures and personal observations.

While I am sure there will also be beautiful and exciting things to share in my future, I also want to chill. I need to make life simpler from here on.

I have enjoyed this community and those willing to share everything with total strangers. There were many times when this was the hi-light of my day. I could go on posting my views and thoughts on politics, religion, money and other hot topics but there are too many of us doing that these days. So this is a good time to phase out MIDI Mike.

While the site remains live, feel free to take a look at the topics on the top of the page to find something that might interest you.

I may throw in a post from time to time just to surprise myself. In my usual style, let me show you a few recent pictures I took at a favorite place of mine: Spring Grove Cemetery. We had a heavy rain days before these pictures with hi winds. Before that the fall colors were really starting to jump out. Unfortunately the rain hit a bit early and dropped most of the leaves, but I managed to get some good pictures.

Spring Grove Cemetery
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Spring Grove Cemetery
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Spring Grove Cemetery
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Spring Grove Cemetery
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Spring Grove Cemetery
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Spring Grove Cemetery
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Spring Grove Cemetery
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Spring Grove Cemetery
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Spring Grove Cemetery
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Spring Grove Cemetery
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“Tired” A Retired Point Of View

Posted: July 12, 2019 in My Tunes
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Pond at Lindner Park, Norwood OH MSK

I hope you get a laugh from my latest song, “Tired”. It definitely has a ‘senior point of view’. I thought of naming it “Retired”, but this seemed to fit better.

I posted as a poem but once I put it to music and the song arrangement came together I had to make cuts and edits. I will post the new lyrics here for convenience.

        “Tired”                     © MSK 6-9-2019

 I’ve been thinking all day of when I get you home
 After everyone has gone          we’re finally alone
 Like a good dog I’m gonn’a give you a bone.

 I’ve heard his mouth running all over town
 Talking shit about me and calling me a clown
 I’m headed over there now to put him down.

      Hold that thought 
      ‘Til I get back
      I’m feeling rather tired 
      And it’s time for a nap.

           Think I better
                       Slow it down.

 Rewarded or punished for decisions we make
 Climbing this mountain is a piece of cake
 Just another day or so beyond the lake.
 
      Hold that thought ‘til I get back
      I’m feeling rather tired 
      And it’s time for a nap.

     Dream what you remember     
         Remember what you dream.     
         After all    these years      
         It’s almost the same thing

 I bought three books and can’t wait to start
 Two of them are very close to my heart.
 I’ll read them all tonight, then put more in my cart.

 I’ve been thinking all day of when I get you home
 After everyone has gone         we’re finally alone.
 Like a good dog I’m gonn’a give you a bone.

      Hold that thought ‘til I get back
      I’m feeling rather tired and it’s time for a nap.
      Hold that thought ‘til I get back
      I’m feeling rather tired and it’s time for a nap.

With lyrics in hand, I mapped it out to a drum arrangement I already had. No other instruments….. While I fit the lyrics to the drum arrangement the melody immediately fell in my lap. It is backwards for me to have a melody first. Usually I write the melody listening to the chords. This is like reverse-engineering if you know what I mean!

This was not a simple fit, so the drums also had to be edited and changed for the rhythm of guitar and vocals. The drums are not finished and need a lot of work to smooth out grooves here and there, but it is solid enough to work with for now.

I don’t practice or play for hours a day anymore. I rarely play for more than is necessary to record my demo songs. It can take me a while to play the guitar (and keyboard) parts I need for new songs. Everything is slowing down after 65!

I played a Martin acoustic/electric guitar with no overdubs or additional guitar tracks. The bass guitar is added using my MIDI keyboard and a computer plug-in sample-player for a great sound. I added some playful vocal harmonies and that was it. Arrangement done, it will take me a couple weeks to clean up the tracks and do a mix. Or maybe a bit longer than usual now that I think about it!

“Tired”

Posted: June 14, 2019 in Poetry
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© MSK 6-9-2019

Grand Tetons MSK

I’ve been thinking all day of when I get you home
After everyone has gone and we’re finally alone.
Like a good dog I’m gonn’a give you a bone.

I hear his mouth running all over town
Talking shit and calling me a clown.
I am headed over there now to put him down.

But I’m feeling rather tired
And it’s time for a nap.
It’s been years since I retired
And it’s time for a nap.

Rewarded or punished for decisions we make
Climbing this mountain is a piece of cake.
Just another day or so beyond the lake.

Dream what you remember
Remember what you dream.
After all these years I found out
It’s just about the same thing.

I bought three books and can’t wait to start
Two of them are very close to my heart.
I’ll read them all tonight, then put more in my cart.

I’ve been thinking all day of when I get you home
After everyone has gone and we’re finally alone.
Like a good dog I’m gonn’a give you a bone.

But I’m feeling rather tired
And it’s time for a nap.
It’s been years since I retired Sleepy from my morning snack.
You can see I’m rather tired
And it’s time for my nap!

Rationalizations

Posted: January 10, 2019 in family
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Last week I returned home from a short visit with my daughter and her family.

Last month I turned 65 and quit my labor intensive warehouse job.

Last year I enrolled in Medicare.

I am a procrastinator.  I rationalize my symptoms.  I laugh at me looking for a way to postpone trivial things all the time.

A lot of conditions are starting to be classified and quantified and turned into another annoying sound bite.  Dyslexia, obsessive compulsion and attention deficit disorders, anxiety, being introverted and living with depression are just part of the long list. When I was growing up and entering grade school no one talked about these things.  Few could diagnose and some treatments were still in the future.  At least I now know what some of the things I have been dealing with all my life are called, lol. 

Evidently there wasn’t anything extreme or I would be dead or in a prison somewhere or in an alcoholic state of bliss.  (I – You – Them)  Just enough to make IYT ‘odd’.  Just enough so IYT know we are different.  IYT literally see things differently than the other school mates and friends.  IYT understand things from a different point of view.  Where others find life fun, IYT see nothing but challenges and embarrassments.

It is funny growing older and learning of medical conditions over the years on the news and go, “OH!  That’s what I have!”  Of course, I procrastinate.

But back to rationalizations.

You have heard of Spring Cleaning.  Every season you get everything out and dust it off.  Some you decide to keep and some memorabilia is lucky to find another home.  Even if it is only for the hope of being uncovered again in the future.  Now think of that process in decades.  Other than family and friends, what have you accumulated over all the years that is truly worth anything?

I have an old photo in a frame of my late sister and her husband.  It needs a new home.  For days it has been sitting on my desk.  I see it every day.  I procrastinate.  I feel moods change whenever I look at the photo.  I wait.  I need to find the right place for it.

I am sure it will be obvious                                 in the future.