First, the confession. I have not dedicated enough time to my blog, lately. Time, for me, may be at a premium, but, you make time for the things that are most important to you, in your own life.
Letting others know my thoughts and feeling, is very important to me. Specially, for my children, who I understand, will read what I have to say, on occasion. I can not go back and re-write a journal from the past, but I can reflect on the past and express, what I am feeling right now.
This morning was great. I got eight hours of sleep and lied in bed for another hour, just thinking about my life and the world around me. No meeting, this morning, so I am going to see how much I can write in an hour and a half. Get ready for some off the wall thinking (
that's the phrase we used, before," thinking outside the box").
Yesterday, was family picture day. My wife and kids, put up with a lot, when it comes to getting my picture taken. I in the past, have been a fair photographer, but not very good at modeling, myself. As a kid, I just acted natural, and, if you photo shop my large ears out, very nice pictures.
If you take and line up my old school pictures, by my age, you will see a steady decrease of a smile, replaced by a dumb blank look. I know this is not who I am, but I am not sure if it is not who I was.
As a teenager and a young adult, I spent a lot of time, trying not to be like my father. Typical, for most young men, but I think that, for me, it was more than trying to break away, and become my own man. Most young men, unknowing, pick up some of the good traits of there father. I spent a lot of time, thinking about who my father was, but not much time, thinking about what he did, right.
One of the things he did very well, was have his picture taken. He had a certain, something, that I call "presence", a certain charisma, that come across, when you were taking his picture.
I think that at times, I have that, "presence". But I lose it when, I stand in front of a camera. I am just thinking out loud, but I think, that when I think, I think to much. I am trying too think less and act naturally, in front of the camera, but I have got a long way to go. Just ask my family, who had to sit through, shot after shot, while I tried to put on a natural smile.
Here is another random thought, about my father and my sister, Reva. At my fathers, funeral, I think that there were a couple of revelations, that showed how little we knew about my father. I don't think that anyone, with the exception of maybe my mother, knew that, my father not only loved opera, but knew many, and could sing them, from the heart. I learned, a couple of weeks back, that my sister, Reva, loves opera. On LDS talk.com, a forum that we both visit regularly, she links, all the time, to you tubes music video's.
Upon discussion of one opera video, she recommended, music from Paul Potts. I am ashamed to say that I down loaded, two, of Mr. pots songs (I am ashamed, because I try to limit my down loads, even if it is legal, too music that I have owned in the past). These two songs, Music of the Night, and Nella Fantasia, tell me a lot about myself and what I love and what I hate about opera music.
First, what I don't like about opera. The volume. It took just a little research, to find, that most opera purest, don't believe that microphones, belong on a opera stage. So when I hear a song like Music of the Night, with all it's little quite moments, sung like it could be heard from a block away, I scream, thats wrong. Sick and wrong. It is not bragging when I say that I think I can sing Music of the Night, better than most opera singers.
Nella Fantasia, on the other hand, draws it's energy and it's passion, from it's volume. Proving that opera done right, has and will, last many more centuries.
Just like any group of music, there are some, who think (not Reva), that you can't find any thing good, in music, that is not opera, or "your music".
So my children, and anyone else with the compassion too read this far, I would pass down this little bit of wisdom. Try to fill your life's, with the art's, styles and of things that will last through the eternities, and not here today and gone tomorrow.
I can't seem to add pictures, today, so all I have to offer is my words. Too many words.
Love you all - Boyd
Hey, I got some pictures to work, this time. It is a good morning.
