Raggin' Piano Boogie

HIS SPIRIT LIVES ON! ... BONER, THE PIANO DOG ... November 27, 1994 ... February 20, 2010

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May 31, 2010

Madison Buffalo Jump State Park, Montana

I went as a spectator to my first parade today in thirty five years. It was in Bozeman, Montana. Let me tell you how weird that was. It was very... weird. After having been the center of attention in parades for over twenty years, I kept wanting to jump into the middle of it! I heard a dog bark nearby that sounded like piano dog Boner calling for me and instantly began to melt with a feeling of loss. I want to feel good when Bo enters into my consciousness. What a challenge!

Something wonderful happened. Three years ago when after leaving Mexico, I decided to ship the piano I had down to the Mexican fishing village where I had stayed. The village name is Roblito in the state of Nayarit, Mexico. I wanted to gift it to a family for the village. The piano was worth two grand and it cost four hundred bucks to ship it. A trusted person was to pick it up in Mazatlan, Mexico and take it to the village for me. When it was received... my gift was re-routed by the pickup guy to his local church in Mazatlan. The village knew nothing about it. The following year my friend Cory, Action Hero Network went down and tried to take the piano from the church and give it to its rightful owners. The padre said no. He needed it for the Sunday service. I was very disappointed and had no option but to accept the situation. I let it go. Cory went down again this year and he did not forget. He went back to the church and once again asked the padre if he could take the piano to its rightful owners. The padre agreed but Cory had to hire a locksmith to get it out of the church in order to retrive it. Ha! The piano is now in the hands of the rightful owners... three years later! Cory sent me pictures. I cried.

Plans and direction for the day shifted constantly. First the Traveling Piano did a residential driveway fly by and then we stopped at a local skateboard park. After that I figured I needed to go some distance into the countryside. I picked a destination on my GPS and drove off. It was an ideal spot twenty five miles away from Bozeman in Madison Buffalo Jump State Park, Montana. It was just a small parking lot but around it contained everything that Montana has to offer... big sky, rolling hills, rocks, snowcapped mountains in the distance, miles and miles of farm land, storm clouds... sun, wildflowers, birds, cactus, grass... I was reminded how I am here at the perfect time of year while everything is fresh and green. It will all dry out in a month. I laid on the side of a hill and zoned out with only the sound of a few birds flying around me. Before, while I was creating music on the truck a family of four came off a hike over the mountain top. The one little guy yells, "mom, there's a man playing the piano on a truck"! He ran right to me. A little while later a pair of mountain bikers come around the bend, "well isn't this a moment."! Three cowboys coming off a ride from the trail with their horses and dogs, "if I had know that was you playing the music we heard back in the hills I would have got off my horse and sat a spell to listen with the mountains!" They were telling me how special the place was and only locals frequent it. The one guy said I brought a special life to the area. Nice, eh?

May 30, 2010

Bozeman, Montana

Before leaving Billings I had two last minute short synchronistic Traveling Piano encounters. One was with three employees outside a hoagie shop and the other was with a online friend who I had never met. She called as I was leaving town and so I stopped for a short spell to meet with her. The drive to Bozeman was great. I was sorry to leave Billings. My new host Kate who I have never met... originally was not going to be home so I was told where the key was and to let myself in. She and her boyfriend Steve were going to return tomorrow night but bad weather shortened the camping trip they were on. We had dinner together and drove to the main street of Bozeman to create some music and interact with a few people.

May 29, 2010

Bilings, Montana

The day was full of music. I spent plenty of time playing music on Robyn's piano. Ahh... how beautiful it was. My ability, my musicality went up a notch. Her instrument gave me the ability to do new and interesting things musically on every level. Robyn also played for me just about every song I ever played in my past... from her sheet music. It was loverly. We went to the local store and I sat and played while she went inside. A young girl with her grandparents found us and we had a moment outside. In front of Robyn and Nick's house we had a short minute with some neighbor kids and Nick jumped up to jam with Robyn. We drove to rim ridge high above the city and and I played and then enjoyed more of Robyn exploring on the piano and then... there was more piano playing inside the house once again.

May 28, 2010

Bilings, Montana

My life is full of people who are interested in people. I am now with new hosts Robyn and Nick. It has been drizzling all day and luckily the Traveling Piano is safe and dry in their garage where I played my superbowl boogie on the truck for them. Beforehand, I went to the mall and purchase a new pair of shoes, some socks and an undershirt for a hundred twenty five bucks. I've been a little concerned about getting used to wearing the same clothes and starting to look ratty without knowing it. Robyn is the executive director for the Yellowstone Art Museum and has played the piano since age five. She owns a beautiful grand piano and I played on it four times today. Wow, the music I can now create on a real piano (the piano on the truck is a sample grand keyboard) ...is just awesome. Over four years ago... never in a million years would I believe I could musically create like I can today. I got to enjoy Robyn's playing of the piano too. Nick creates sculpture for a living Nick Lamb and specializes in carving netsuke, invented in Japan... miniature sculptures that attach to garments and robes. Robyn and Nick lost their house and life's treasures three years ago in a Montana wildfire. They had ten minutes to grab what they could and run. Full moon outside!

May 27, 2010

Laurel, Montana

The day started out with a drive to the ridge above Billings Montana. I created music by myself for a while and then friends joined up with me. There were some beautiful wildflowers to photograph. Later on in the day I joined Lillian and Jim on a visit to Laurel, Montana for an end of the year teacher cookout. The kids got out of classes for the year, today. It was a beautiful drive to a beautiful farm and a major pot luck dinner. Several of the teachers were not about to get onto the Traveling Piano truck to mess around in front of their peers... even the music teacher!

Ha, whatever... we had some good music and conversation and I really appreciated those who did join in on the Traveling Piano. Lillian has been friends with most of the people at the cookout for over twenty-two years. She is a retired special education teacher. We were on a farm of seventy acres tended by one guy and he has been growing a wide variety of produce and other things on his farm for twenty years all by himself! Lillian and Jim have been really gracious hosts and coincidentally, Lillian grew up in Philadelphia where I came from. She came from the Port Richmond area of the city. Jim is a Billings Montana native but also a graduate from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He is a geologist and now retired along with his wife.

May 25, 2010

Billings, Montana

Wow, the Traveling Piano is in Montana! It is a dream. As I realized I was here I thought... I didn't work to get here, try to get here, think about it or feel my way here... I just made the decision to be here and it happened. On the way west, I got off the interstate and took the side road, the country road. I found myself in the present moment with nature being the only outside influence. I experienced a total feeling of being by myself in and with the world and it was ok. (not to be confused with feeling alone, I never feel alone anymore) The choo choo trains with freight cars, like a hundred per train, full of coal being shipped... I enjoy them every time I see them. Within five minutes of being in town I found a small neighborhood birthday party in a local park and stopped for about fifteen minutes. My new hosts Jim and Lillian treated me to dinner with a Montana style breaded pork shop sandwich at the local Irish pub. We listened to about twelve musicians jammin'. Back at the house Jim and Lillian jumped up onto the Traveling Piano in the driveway and did piano and also lovin' jammin for themselves. The neighborhood I am staying has an east coast town feeling with its tree lined streets and sidewalks and quaint houses. Wow, I'm in Montana, I was here many years ago before the Traveling Piano was around and have always wanted to return. Outside of New Zealand in has remained my second most favorite place in the world.

May 25, 2010

Sheridan, Wyoming

I've been living the dream called earth. The beauty of todays drive today was overwhelming. I felt dizzy from it. The wide open space and road. I actually enjoyed my private little hotel room last night. Before I started the drive I had to think about what would be worse for the truck, leaving the tarp on to get stretched more from the wind or dirt flying through the equipment. I decided on no more tarp stretching for today. Before I got into Sheridan I pulled off the road to get a picture, the mountain heads were all cut off in a straight line at the tops from storm clouds. The valleys and vastness... A guy pulled in with his truck and Traveling Piano spontaneity and synchronicity began. I asked him to take a picture for me. An RV pulled in with three Amish girls and two tour guides from Lancaster Pennsylvania. Fun. One of the guys, an eighty year old began to dance while I played music. I gave them posters like they were kids. I think the energy was too much for the guy taking the pictures. He all of a sudden had to run. He wouldn't even accept a poster in appreciation and how I did appreciate his help!

In Sheridan I met Jonnie and Carl. In their late sixites Carl is an old railroad guy and union organizer while Jonnie has been a nurse at the Sheridan Veterans Hospital located on the site of historic Fort Mackenzie for twenty two years. Carl went to pick her up from work and I followed to greet her with the Traveling Piano. A few co-workers jumped on to play and I entertained until the cops came or should I say home land security pounced on me, an alien with a piano as a possible weapon of mass destruction. I am here in Wyoming at a perfect time weather wise. It being spring and all the rain they have had, everything is very green. I am told it will all soon turn brown and into dessert for the rest of the year.

I was treated to dinner and we stayed up talking until after midnight. Both my present hosts are long distance motorcyclists not to be confused with bikers. The distinction can be likened to a skateboarder verses a rollerblader. Jonnie never rode a bike until after she turned fifty years old. She is planning a solo ride by herself from Washington state to her home in Wyoming in just a few weeks. She's braver than me in that respect! I've really been enjoying the home grown people I have been meeting in every area I have been visiting.

May 24, 2010

Casper, Wyoming

It's been a windy day, all day! As I left the Rockies it began to snow again. A nice farewell from nature, maybe? As I drove to Denver to say goodbye to Davy and Eluise the friends who own the cabin where I have stayed for the last three weeks... I thought, "thank you... thank you... thank you." The trees are now all green in Denver. I am heading to Sheridan, Wyoming. It will be a full day of travel. It came to mind this morning how whatever the situation is for me in life, I must focus on how I think and feel about it not... the situation itself. This is how life works best. I had no idea where I would be going today until late afternoon yesterday.The people I was going to stay with changed their minds. Instead of projecting rejection, motives, whatever into the situation... and also staying away from indecision about where I would go, how long I would drive, where and when I would sleep... I told myself to get into the present moment and to remember the mission. On a whim, I made a phone call sometime after that and a new host was in place immediately.

Who was I kidding to think I could drive eight hours straight on through to Sheridan, Wyoming. I'm too old for a marathon drive! I stopped after five hours. My body told me to do it, the truck engine also. I'm at a motel on the highway in Casper, Wyoming. Can we talk noise? Driving through Wyoming I came to realize my most awesome love for wide open space. This area of the world is an absolute favorite of mine. The only thing that could have made today better was someone (or my dog) to share it with physically in the moment. Some visuals and thoughts... herds of pronghorns on the plains (related to the antelope and fast up to 60 miles an hour in running)... the piano tarp being stretched to death from the strong winds... the piano tarp beginning to rip off from the constant winds... not being able to open the truck door to tend to the piano tarp because the wind was so strong... I hit a tumbleweed while driving on the road... snowstorms in the distance... so cold had to turn on the heat in the cab... riding along side the rocky mountains sometimes close, sometimes far... seeing complete weather systems over miles of land... layers of sky and clouds... mounds of pasture... green plateaus and ranges... gas three bucks a gallon... no picture could grasp the reality of the landscape.

May 23, 2010

Junction Placer, Colorado

I'm in a Laundromat this morning and a guy with his girlfriend are there... "Hey I saw you on the news." I told him I'd bring the Traveling Piano to his camper in the back woods later on. I checked the truck oil before I left and saw it needed a quart. Once I found the back woods and got to the end of the road I found the guys driveway gate was locked and it looked like a long hike in so I turned around and drove back. I found a cemetery. I drove through that gate and musically played out the insanity that has been stuck in my mind for the last two days. When I was about to leave something told me to put oil in the truck. I lifted the hood and found the entire engine swimming in oil... on the outside because... I had forgotten to replace the oil cap when I had checked earlier. I had just been riding for a half hour up and down major rocky road so there was no chance the oil cap was still in the engine. I found it floating in the filter area. I think the music opened up some channel for communication to save my ass from what could have been big trouble. At least now I have no need for an oil change and luckily I had a quart stored in the piano. But how the hell am I going to clean the engine??? No pictures today... I need a friggin' break from Traveling Piano pictures!!! RE; Yesterday's Blog.

May 22, 2010

Empire, Colorado

Ten minutes of my day was spent laying in the grass by the edge of the stream next to the cabin where I am staying... listening to and watching water rushing by from the Rocky Mountains snow melt. The rest of the day, I ferociously worked on Traveling Piano picture archives. I finished all the Traveling Piano pictures to date as of today. There are about nine hundred more vintage Raggin' Piano Boogie pictures left to do. They will not get finished before I leave Colorado. To date... Traveling Piano pictures on www.bonerthedog.com ...eighteen thousand, seventeen hundred and fifty pictures!!! Hahaha... it has taken me two years to create the galleries. When I did the last picture I cried with hope that it all has significance for the world.

May 21, 2010

Grandby, Winter Park, Grand Lake, Colorado

In spite of the fact that I have been missing piano dog Boner to the point that I don't know what to do with myself... I had a fantastic day. Today was my last opportunity to go somewhere in Colorado and it was a beautiful day so... I started out on Route 40 and traveled west at least I think it was west. First, the snow capped mountains I see every day I have often wondered what it would be like to be at the top. Ha, that is where the road took me today... right to the top. Right below the top at the tree line there were three foot high piles of snow melting in the trees. The beetle tree infestation throughout the country is really taking its toll here in Colorado but everything is beautiful anyway. The roads rounded the ridge of mountains and the ride was full of horse shoe turns to get up and down the terrain. People were skiing in the cold up on top and at the bottom it was seventy five degrees, dry with rolling green hills and flat land with lakes.

As I drove through the town of Grandby I saw an animal shelter and stopped in to get a dog fix. There were a lot of communities with brown log cabins and green roofs just like the log cabin toys I played with as a child. I traveled alongside of round fuel freight railroad trains and box cars. At Grand Lake, a beautiful resort town... over ninety five percent of the structures I saw made of pine... I had a very unusual experience. Some people may think I'm strange for saying this but it happened so... it is what it is. I parked at the end of the lake. The lake dead ends at the base of mountains. It is a one way ticket to and from the town. For two hours I created music alone, well... not quite alone. There was a huge black crow, a bee, a seagull and a small chipmunk. Just one of each... and they stayed with me the entire time. I watched the two birds share a fish on the waters edge about twenty feet from me. They were without question friends taking turns. How weird is that? The seagull showed the most interest in the music. It was constantly tilting its head to understand as I played. The crow seemed to be an innate understanding of what was going on. Anyway, I stopped playing music and laid down on the ground to cry a little bit about Boner. After that I went for a walk to take a picture.

The crow followed me both ways and swooshed by within two feet of my head as I was leaving the truck. It was definitely making its presence known to me. After I came back to the truck it kept walking around following me. It was the friendliest crow, I mean... I've never even been close enough to a crow to experience friendship with one. They were all keeping company with me. The small bee kept flying in front and alongside of me stopping for a moment each time... unobtrusively. The chipmunk ran under the truck and then back to its pile of rocks and grass. It kept popping up to look and stare at me. I have some Charlie Bear dog treats still in the truck so I decided to give the crow some. It loved them. That crow could have been fed by hand but I did not want to get that chummy. We stayed about two feet away from each other. It was only fair to share with the chipmunk so I went over to him. He didn't run away but the crow became possessive and did not want me to share with the chipmunk. The two animals stayed about two feet from each other. You would think the crow would pick up the chipmunk and fly away with it or the chipmunk would run from the crow? Ha, neither cared that they were together all they seemed to care about was me and the treats.

On the way back I stopped in Winter Park another resort town. Luckily, it is between tourist seasons so the towns were very quiet and sleepy. I like that. I stopped to get a pizza that was recommended for me to do and a bunch of kids playing in the area were drawn to the Traveling Piano. While I was inside getting my pizza they all had a good time on it. "This is a lot more fun than playing tag," says the one boy. I gave them Raggin' Piano Boogie posters. Down the street, I stopped to get a soda and a guy with his son introduced themselves. On the way home I phoned Kevin the interviewer who did the Traveling Piano news segment for the Colorado news. I wanted to tell him what a good job he did. As a result of that news segment there has not been one place I have been to... or one day without someone stopping to extend themselves to me here in Colorado. It has been very validating for me especially in not having Boner to buffer my encounters with people. Kevin humorously said he was glad the segment made me such a celebrity in Colorado. I said that for me it is all about the fact that people are extending themselves in friendship and not being stand-off-ish, afraid or intimidated when they discover me and... everyone wants to be part of the journey by jumping up onto the piano to play a few notes. (If you read the blog I wrote after the television spot was aired, I was hesitant about ever doing another media interview because I was questioning the issue of notoriety.)

Todays drive back to my home base was three times more scenic and awesome then the drive forward. I kept wanting to stop and create music everywhere. I kept saying to myself, "pace yourself Danny, you do not want to burn out... it is only going to get better and better with a lot more places to play and you have plenty of time." I think Nature, music and people throughout the day gradually freed my spirit somewhat from self centered feelings about my illusionary separation from Boner. The answer for me is to stay connected with the world. Because I have given my life over to my Wildest of Dreams with this Journey of Peregrinating Musical Exploration... this does not mean that my life is easier to manage or process. It is for me, just better because I can choose enjoyment... better.

May 20, 2010

Empire, Colorado

As I sit down to write today I realize it is the third month anniversary of piano dog Boner's death. I want to cry, probably will... am looking forward to when I will forget remembering the date. I've never been into remembering dates. I drove up a local mountain to create some music and while there tried to play some of my old Boogie and Ragtime repertoire. I couldn't get the energy to get through almost every piece. Maybe because the air was so thin, my age, being out of shape... probably a little of it all.

The Traveling Piano was parked about three feet from the mountain ledge and then it was straight downward! I took a short walk around the old mountain side gold mining trails and explored some of the old mining caves while constantly in wonder of how trees can grow big and strong out of a rock on the side of a hill with no cracks or dirt. Its time to get the where-with-all to move onward up north. I am always amazed how it never gets easier. The fun never gets easier, ha!

May 19, 2010

Empire, Colorado

I used a glue trap for last nights mouse and it will be the last time I ever do that. The little guy was still alive all day today. I have been feeling guilty... all day. This afternoon I went for a walk far from any trails into, up and around the mountains. So beautiful... I walked back to the place where I am staying along an old railroad path from the gold mining days in the 1800's. I took a walk through an old cemetery where people were born in the 1700's and could feel the history, love in the air of many past generations. I followed a trail of big bear footprints up a hill and laid in a grassy flat area while the wind blew over me. Most of the day was spent doing archives of pictures. I'll be leaving Denver on Monday and want to get as much accomplished as possible before I leave.

May 18, 2010

Clear Creek County, Colorado

Most of the day was spent hanging around at the Hard Rock Cafe (the original) as in hard rock, gold, rocky mountains not the music variety of hard rock. I am getting to know all the town characters. We played music outside for about three minutes. Rain was to begin in the afternoon and as soon as it did... I ran back to my digs and covered up the truck because the forecast is for rain the next three days. It rained at the Hard Rock three minutes from the cabin where I am staying, but not a drop at the cabin all day. I went for a nice needed walk in the opposite direction. Two weeks ago I was sitting at the window having morning coffee and a hummingbird came right up to the window, stopped and then flew off. I thought, no way. Today I found out this is a migration area for hummingbirds. Last night out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw a mouse glide across the floor, and then again in the opposite direction and then... the bugger stopped dead center in the middle of the floor, stood on it's tippy toes like it was going to jump, looked at me and went into the kitchen for something to eat. Two hours later he had probably his first and definitely his last bit of cheese ever.

May 16, 2010

West Fork, Colorado

The sun was so warm and the skies so clear, I had to get outside to create music. I drove into the center of town and took a right turn because someone told me a week ago there was a lookout way up. The road seemed like it had not been used in years because there were boulders and rocks in the middle of it. They had fallen down the mountain sides. My steering wheel was shaking so much from the rough ride I thought it would break loose. I just took my time while focusing on getting somewhere. I had no idea where that would be. Having found the top, I played with the beauty of the earth. With experiences like today, I feel completely fulfilled in life. I wonder how I am going to leave the state of Colorado!

I seemed to be at the end of the road. There looked to be a small storage shed a bit farther and was totally amazed when after about a half hour a truck started up at the shed and shortly after... a guy named Carl drove up. He had been working on his plow. His family owns a large part of the mountain and he has lived in town for his whole life. I could see he was pretty overwhelmed in having discovered the Traveling Piano. It makes me laugh in a fun way knowing way when I see people trying to keep a grip on their discovery. Spontaneity and synchronicity to create music for people to discover... In the middle of no where, totally unsuspectingly people hear music and then upon inspection find the truck... and then the piano and piano man creating the music on it. I proceeded to get Carl onto the piano right away before he realized what he was doing and he just started to pick out notes and experience the wonder of it all for himself. His hands were as grimy as it gets which made the situation all the better for me. No pretentiousness with the Traveling Piano!

Back in town as I was getting some internet access while parked on the street, a rough looking critter I had seen a week ago :)... rode up on his bike. As he passed me he says, "ahh, just the man I want to see." He pulls out twenty pages of sheet music he had just copied from the library in the next town over. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor. He had brought himself a little keyboard and was fuddling around with it. On the Traveling Piano he played the basic theme which he had picked out by ear and then also the theme from the film 2001 Space Oddessy. This is not a guy that looked like he would be into music yet... he has also been an investigative journalist and film producer involved with an academy award winning film back in the 90's. He also worked for the railroad also practices a Japanese form of Nichiren Buddhism which he has done for the last forty five years. I'm a lucky man to be meeting and hanging out with so many interesting people even if only for short periods of time.

May 16, 2010

Leadville, Colorado

Blessed am I. It serves no purpose to be blessed unless I share it. This is how I have always felt. Throughout the first part of my life no one seemed to want what I had to share. That has all changed and this fact makes me very happy! When I woke up it was eighteen degrees outside. It warmed up real fast. I spent the better part of the day in a coffee shop... actually six full hours it took to upload ...nine hundred... additional pictures to www.bonerthedog.com . I am thrilled with this achievement. My body was screaming at me last night about a little hike I took yesterday. People are still telling me everywhere I go that they saw me on television. I worked with the Traveling Piano for a little bit in Leadville Colorado today but most of the day was spent inside uploading to the website. This was the first warm, decent day in a week. The piano and speaker worked which I found amazing after all the snow, rain and subfreezing temperatures it endured for the last week.

I decided to adopt a new object of affection as of today... planet earth. I want to share my partnership with the planet earth... just as I did with my dog Boner, share our mutual love for the wondrous beauty of the world... I'm not into saving it, changing it or protecting it. I just want to share the "be" and "enjoy" of it.

May 15, 2010

Twin lakes, Colorado

New friends invited me to their cabin in Twin Lakes Colorado so... even though it was snowing again today... I drove. For most people it would take an hour to drive from where I have been staying. With the put-put Traveling Piano now hitting a top speed of thirty miles an hour up hills... it took two hours which did not bother me at all because the nature I was experiencing... the word rapture comes to mind. Today, I traversed over twelve thousand foot peaks, through passes, down into valleys. The scenery was awesome. I want to manifest the experience for people. At one point I would feel like I was in the Swiss Alps in wintertime during a snow storm and then... I felt like I was in New Zealand riding alongside the mountains, and then...

I found myself in shining sun experiencing the midwest prairies. Bill and Marlene live in a huge log cabin they built five years ago with both views of the valleys and snow topped peaks. We went for a hike at Twin Lakes. I realized there was no way I was driving back to Empire today. I'll stay the night because I am hoping the sun will be out tomorrow so I can really see the vast depth of this place tomorrow morning. I did not uncover the piano. We shall see if it works in the morning as it has never sat so long out in bad weather. Davy, the guy who owns the house where I am staying offered me another week to stay and I am taking him up on the offer to finish the archives. Tomorrow once I find some internet I will be uploading another nine hundred images to www.bonerthedog.com

May 14, 2010

Snowy Colorado Rocky Mountains

Arrrrghhh! I really thought the snow was over. Instead of snow for the first half of the day it rained. Everything was melting and then... well now everything is covered with snow once again. Its getting deep... again! I am listening to Insane Clown Posee on my Itunes. Piggy Pie is playing. While I watch snow fall straight down outside the window... I also see about few city blocks of distance away... fog and snow blowing across a mountain... sideways. I suppose being stuck here in this house is a blessing. Its like God saying, "if it were nice out you'd be playing the paino and interacting with people... you need to do the picture archives and get that done without distraction." I have another nine hundred pictures ready to upload for everyone to enjoy. Last night I was reviewing pictures from ten years ago. When I stopped and got up off the couch I did not know where I was. My friend Davy said this has had that happend to him... its like I needed to reboot my brain. Having not bathed in about five days is kinda interesting, I kinda like it, and I'm kinda not real dirty either... interesting. :)

May 13, 2010

Snowy Colorado Rocky Mountains

Did you know...a foot of snow can melt within four hours while it is still snowing and the sun is shining bright and full? That is what is happening here in the Colorado Rocky Mountains! I have been listening to thuds of snow outside hitting the top of the Traveling Piano piano tarp. Six inch deep clumps of snow are falling from the tree limbs. It is all amazingly beautiful. The snowflakes are silver dollar size and they float down ever so slowly and melt as soon as they hit the ground. Unfortunately, I cannot get the where-with-all to go take a walk in it as I don't want to get my shoes wet and have cold feet... and I feel too lazy! There will be plenty of snow up in Glacier Park and Alaska. I rationalize. I am up to March with the www.bonerthedog.com website picture archives. This is an amazing accomplishment. The pictures are living memories and show an ultra amazing amount of love, friendship, fun, respect and support. I hope everyone who expressed fear and concern and doubts of my survival and about what would happen to me when piano dog Boner died... reads this blog and sees the pictures. It is truly how life works when given the grace to stay connected with life. I had a bunch of veggies in the fridge and decided to make a soup. Yum... broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms, celery, spinach, tomato, onion, a box of croutons, salt, lemon pepper and a jar of honey mustard.

May 12, 2010

Snowy, Colorado

Boner is going to stay alive in spirit at least as long as I am alive in spirit. I realize that Bo was my "object of affection" and I have two choices concerning that... get another "object of affection" or live without one. Making myself an object of affection for a little while sounds good to me... not easy tho. It has been snowing on and off mostly on... for two days. I think the universe is getting me ready for Alaska. It sure is beautiful. Part of me wishes I had no work to do... another part of me is grateful for the opportunity to get some work done.

I have been thinking about dreams and the fact that I have been manifesting my life's dreams. I have always wanted to live somewhere else other than where I grew up. Now, not only am I living somewhere else... I'm living everywhere else! It took fifty years to manifest that dream. As a child as early as I can remember well, I began to voice the desire for a dog at age five and it took almost forty years to manifest that dream. I wanted to share my dog and our partnership with the world. He passed from this life with friends in at least fifty countries that I know of. That took fifteen years.

May 11, 2010

In the Snow, Colorado

A record of my day... no piano playing, wish there was a piano in the cabin where I am staying. I woke up and laid in bed for three hours. That felt really good, I needed the rest... as I worked hard yesterday. The day consisted of coffee, left over pizza, working on the website pictures (I found more with Boner in them) talking with friends on the phone, sitting at a huge picture window watching snow cover the trees and mountains, acting as a marriage counselor for friends via the phone, watching more snow, eating more left over pizza, stretching, enjoying the snow fall, ongoing work with archives while listening to Christina Aquilera sing and Christopher O' Riley play Radiohead on the piano via Itunes on my computer, watching the snow until it got totally dark, more work with the archives... what a life!

May 10, 2010

Idaho Spring, Colorado

"Chill Danny, chill". I'm on the street uploading data and doing my emails at twelve noon and it begins to snow. As a snow lover... I've had enough. For six of the last seven months the Traveling Piano has been in cold and snow. Were heading to Alaska? What am I crazy? I pulled out onto the road and headed for Idaho Springs. I felt fearful the truck tarp would not hold. The fabric is so stretched the strong mountain winds have been continually blowing it up from inside and yanking on it constantly. I went to town in order to give Scott who I met yesterday a Raggin' Piano Boogie poster for his son, Christian. Christian at six years of age is full of life, enthusiasm and interest. I was supposed to hook up with a kid named Cody and friends for his nineteenth birthday but he was too hung over form the weekend to connect. Ha, I know how that goes. Also, a bunch of fourteen year olds wanted to connect but I guess they could not get a ride into town. I landed right where I was supposed to be... outside a world famous pizza restaurant named Beaujo's. A wide variety of people found us on the street. I did not feel uncomfortable at all just parking curbside in this town and jumping up on the piano to play. I met an airline pilot, a store owner, a few guys who had been drinking allot for allot of years... one who brought me a tarp for the truck because he heard that eighteen inches of snow is heading right for us.

Really wish I could remember names better, I met a girl who's career is firefighting, a couple photographers (who I hope will send me some of the pictures they took in high resolution) there was also a young couple who I inspired into their second kiss. Can we talk puppy love? They were irresistible. The second I began to improvise they impulsively went into an embrace and then when I went into upbeat music they began to dance on the sidewalk and then they jumped up onto the piano and put on some Stevi Wonder and John Lennon sunglasses to create music. I was able to be part of the beginning period of a very fun, healthy and loving mutual courtship, nice. I saw dark clouds billowing in the sky and freaked! Should I buy food for a week in case I become snowbound here in the Rocky Mountains? Do I have candles? Can I get up the road if it starts snowing right away? I need to cover the truck before it starts! Panic!!! Five minutes later the sun was shining. "Danny, get hold of the drama!" I left town with a free Colorado style mountain meat pizza with honey for the crust. Thats what Beaujo's pizza is most famous for... the pizza crust dipped in and dripping with honey. Presently, I am at a laundromat doing what few clothes I have to wash. Outside the stars are shinning. Where's the eighteen inches of snow? I have a feeling when I wake up I will begin to see it. Snow is forecast starting for tonight and continuing until Thursday for a break... and then continuing for two more days after that. I wonder when my friend Davy is going to throw me out of the house I am staying in. I wonder how long before I need to move on for myself? I wonder how much work I can get done while I'm here? There is a lot to do with the filing and cataloguing of friend info, communication and the archives for this journey. I'm having fun, miss piano dog Boner. I'm dealing with that pretty well I think.

May 09, 2010

Empire, Colorado

Finally, a beautiful day! I put on my shorts and headed into uptown Empire Colorado. (about five blocks long) The owner of the Hard Rock Cafe who supplies free wireless internet to everyone asked me to stop by because it is Mothers Day. I met several families... just love when kids are so bright and happy with a Traveling Piano experience. My new friend Marlene from Denver (she and her husband Bill hosted me a few weeks back) stopped by on the way home from her weekend cabin about an hour south.

I met a guy named Joe and met up with a few of his friends later on. They all have been building a pro dirt boarding also know as mountain boarding park... for national competition. A dirt board is the mountain bike version of a skateboard. Joe's wife also dirt boards. The wind was strong and so was the dirt blowing around but even though, I wanted to create some music with them. We shot some fun video as I watched dust fill the cracks of the piano keys. Whatever... its all about priorities and fun was more of a priority then worrying about the equipment. Fun it was! I could hang out with people like this forever. Before dark, back where I am staying I cleaned the truck and more of the house I am staying in. I listened to some Ben Folds, Stevie Wonder and Carol King music tonight. Having not listened to any music other than my own for at least a half a year... I'm reminded that it is a healthy experience to take the time to listen to and enjoy music!

May 08, 2010

Boulder, Colorado

Out of the mountains and into the city I go, Boulder Colorado that is. I needed to pickup the last of the Raggin' Piano Boogie posters I had shipped to friends who I had stayed with so I can give them away. I enjoy giving stuff away. I stopped off to visit friends Lissa and Ken and we took a ride to Chautauqua Park where we had some musically rambunctious fun as well as the typical fare. One girl found us and I watched her dance in the field to the music. She came over to play on the piano but was to shy to have her picture taken.

I stopped off at a Cinco de Mayo moustache party and had some fun. The grasses in the fields, praries and on the mountains are turning green, the ride was beautiful to Boulder. It is critical for what I want in my life... to incorporate nature into every day. I think about people who do not experienced nature and the variety of natural environments in life. How a picture conveys a feeling, driving through nature creates its own specific feeling, being in it, partaking of it by sitting, walking, touching, breathing, smelling and communing with nature by creating music with it... I want to offer this experience in some way to everyone... along with the Traveling Piano.

May 07, 2010

Colorado Rocky Mountains

It snowed again last night. Sometimes I wish it would stop being cold and get warm. ...but then again, if I am heading up to friggin' Alaska I had better get used to it! This is and will be my life for... however long its my life. Ha. It is in the thirties outside. (going into the low twenties tonight) I was parked on the street in town with the truck covered up while I did some internet work and two young girls walked by. I heard them squeal with delight, "oh my god, its the Traveling Piano guy with the truck." I thought... "its too cold I'm not going to look". They walked by again and I gave a small wave. The third walk by with a bunch more friends talking about my being on television, the one kid yells, "yo dude" and gives me the positive two finger sign. That did it. "you guys want some music?" If they could stand the cold for a good connection with no jackets on, then I certainly could also. (with jacket) We had a great time! Throughout my twenty some years with the piano on the truck, I have been in all forms of media many times up front and center but... I have never ever had people consistently recognizing me and feeling secure in approaching me as a friend they have never met. It s a very different experience from what I am used to and I want to stay conscious of going with the flow of it all.

May 07, 2010

Idaho Springs Colorado

There is not a day I can remember when I have felt better. I felt so good today that I could not be fully aware of how good I felt. It was a day long process of doing that... the coming into realization of feeling better and better and how good I felt... it was sooo... good. I met a couple Lissa and Ken a few weeks ago in Boulder Colorado. They wanted to make a contribution to the journey and while talking on the phone yesterday I had mentioned that I was thinking about going to the historic hot spring spa in town. They treated me to the spa with an eighty minute Dream Walker Whole Body Swedish Massage and full day use of the Indian Hot Springs indoor mineral water swimming pool... full of living tropical trees and plants... and also access to the Geo-Thermal Caves for hot baths. For six hours I switched between hanging out in a huge swimming pool heated to about ninety four degrees and deep caves in a mountain with three basins full of water in varying degrees between ninety seven and one hundred seven degrees... water from natural hot springs. In between the back and forth I had a very, very welcomed body massage. On the way home I stopped at the store to get some dinner and met a dad and his son who had seen me... once again, on television. I hope they phone tomorrow to hookup with the Traveling Piano. Also, met a young guy named Cody who's birthday is on Monday. We decided to have a happy Traveling Piano birthday around town. I just want to completely manifest my good feelings outwardly into the world so I can get more, more, more!

May 05, 2010

Lawson, Colorado

I've been giving myself time. It feels weird... ok, and I like it. I found a 5th season dvd set of the television show West Wing in the house I have been staying and have been watching one dvd per night. It feels like i've been playing hooky from work a little. I like it. The time spent has been an aid in allowing myself to be by myself without Boner. I keep expecting the house I am staying in to be haunted. Ha, it used be be a railroad bunk house in the 1890's. Gold was mined on this property many years ago. The place feels as historic as it actually is. I'm really enjoying it. I was talking to a friend today about relationships between dogs and humans. We were talking about how a person holds stewardship of a dog and a dog throughout its life holds and understands a persons history, every nuance unlike any other person could, lacking judgement and intertwining personal perspectives.

I was thinking today about my purpose in life... to have fun, friendship and respect as in "enjoy" ... to create and share as in "give" ... and to get and take as in "receive" ...for whatever that is worth. Last night while sitting on the main road through town doing my internet work (I'm becoming a fixture these days on the side of the road in Empire Colorado), a young couple in their late twenties Nick and Kari stopped next to me to say hi as they had seen me on television. I asked them to call today after work so we could all hook up with the Traveling Piano and they did. They haven't a clue to how good that made me feel. I went to there place and poor things... after working all day and I'm pretty sure not having had dinner... we did the Traveling Piano music thing for a short while and then I ended up talked their ears off for a solid three hours... non stop! They are getting married this year and it just felt so good to me in experiencing the two of them together. I told them that we had to meet again before I leave and they will need to do the talking when that happens like all my talking... was their fault. hahaha...

May 04, 2010

Clear Creek County, Colorado

I just finished uploading eight hundred and five more Traveling Piano pictures to www.bonerthedog.com I am so grateful for the opportunity to finish the archives. I was sitting on the street in Empire Colorado using a free wireless internet connection to accomplish the job when Jo and Kenny ran up and asked if they could take a picture. This fun couple form Idaho was very excited to meet me. They had seen the Traveling Piano on television and thought that what I am doing is great so... I put the computer down and jumped out of the truck to pull the tarp off the piano to create some music. I started to tell the the story and Jo says... "we know the program guy, we saw it on tv... just play!" Hahaha... they were so funny. I played some Boogie as Jo screamed and whistled through her teeth. They both got up on the piano to jam away and then Jo gave me here favorite necklace to honor piano dog Boner. It now has a place of honor on my rearview mirror. As soon as the cover was back on the truck, hail began to fall. I got todays job done!

May 03, 2010

Snowy Colorado Rocky Mountains

Eight inches of snow yesterday... I have a cucumber, two oranges and a banana here to eat here in the middle of nowhere! I also have water to use with a protein shake mix. Ha. The sun came out and everything is melting fast. What a difference a day makes. I asked myself today, "what purpose does it serve to have memories"? No answer. I have too many other things to think about. Last night I saw lights in the sky. I looked out the window and they were stars reflecting off the snow. The mountains were lit up from reflection and light! All day it snowed across vast areas of land and through the mountains with independent swirls of wind. The mountains appeared and disappeared according to the sun clouds and snow.

I'll never forget the view of sitting in a chair watching fog roll in at dusk around the bend of a mountain right towards me. It rolled over the snow and created a layer of grey clouds under a blue sky lit by the sun. The snow fell in different ways throughout the day with varying degrees of intensity... it floated down in single flakes, then changed back and forth to slow and thick, steady and thick, steady, strong and thick... and fast. I felt like I was in a huge snow globe in a world by myself, completely contained. I wrote a month ago... My priorities for having fun in life... 1. Piano Dog Boner 2. Nature 3. Music 4. People. My second love in life after Bo is nature and here I am getting a great dose of nature... fun... to that I will add, "love."

May 02, 2010

Colorado Rocky Mountains

It has been snowing all day! I have been working on the journeys picture gallery for www.bonerthedog.com The weeks before Boner's passing... I have been reliving the entire process through the pictures. Despite the fact that his health and physical capabilities were failing, Boner's spirit stayed strong. He kept focus... to balance himself and be comfortable on the piano, to smell the air and be interested in the environment, to interact with people... to be the best dog he could be and to do anything I asked. I see his living in the moment through the pictures... living life to the fullest.

The pictures I choose for today's website entry photo's... the first one was taken of us together the night before he died in my friend Dana's kitchen. The second picture in the middle was taken five days before Bo passed. This picture is most special for me. I see through the look in Bo's eyes... an intense desire and focus... to simply "be" everything he is. I know my dog. His be.. is to... "love." It is the very first look I saw from him when I found him as a puppy. It is the look that bonded us instantaneously together... it was a stare. (in the picture he was uncomfortable, trying to do his work and to not fall off the piano. ): The rest of the pictures are from our last two days together with people who had found us in various Springfield, Missouri parks and neighborhoods. We truly lived our partnership, the sharing of our fun, friendship and respect to the fullest and to the very end.

My keeping gratitude throughout this new life transition has been more of a challenge than any other time in my life. I am grateful to know what gratitude is... how to do keep it... and have the ability to see and feel it... to live as my dog did... I want to do that. Yesterday, last night I failed miserably but I did keep going through life, my work. I could of opted out, pigged out with food, drugged myself into oblivion, sexed and smoked myself into never, never land but... I called and cried on the phone to a few friends instead. I am presently in a house without distractions or anyone around so I am free to explore whatever grieving is still necessary. It is not a pretty experience.

My challenge is to allow myself to feel whatever is necessary while detaching enough to follow through with the archival work. It must be done now because I want to fully let go and move on. I have ferociously worked to file and post the archive pictures for over a year... knowing that I would not want to do them after Boner passed. I was dead on correct. I want to finish the job now, completely. The purpose for having all the pictures has been to create and share my life... the partnership of my dog... and the participation of over twenty thousand people to date (in just over four years) who have contributed to my wildest of dreams through their fun, friendship and respect.

Reliving the entire process from the work needed to get done creates physical and emotional pain no matter how much I try to exercise, eat right, stretch, breath, socially interact with fun... I was thinking about how everything works for the best. I'm careful not to assume or project purpose in what is happening but with hindsight, I often see. For example... I found out in October that Boner had cancer with lyme disease and that he had a tremendous amount of fluid surrounding his heart. There were two options... chemotherapy or steroids. As we were to be on the road traveling, we went with the steroids. They made him a little crazy and I was acutely aware of his quality of life. I did not want for his last days to be crazy at the expense of my comfort in keeping him alive. There was a consideration of his being over fifteen years old. (over a hundred years in human life) During the time period of Boner's being sick there were two experiences that could have been considered unfortunate but now I am not so sure. I now see that they could have been blessings.

One... a vet suggested that I drastically lower his steroid dose in January. Bo crashed and almost died within a day so we put the dose back up. This drastic change from up to down and back up may have weakened his physical systems longevity. Two... Bo's desire for food began to wane back in December so I started to mix in people food with his dog food... for the first time ever. Down the road he developed an pancreas problem as a result. Again, quality of life... I wanted for him to nourish himself (not knowing that a pancreas problem could result from eating people food) and also... why not have all of life's enjoyment possible. He had turkey, stuffing, gravey, fresh organic vegatables and beef, etc... This may have shortened his longevity. But in thinking about his quality of life at the time... and our emotional states of mind... when all is said and done I see that he did not suffer a long drawn out death process (he was already living on artificial means with the steroids) and... I did not have the need to deal with any issues concerning "putting him down." So I am understanding more and more how life has syncronisities of its own through the creation of events without my being consious of them. I am forever gaining clarity that life works out for the best and... we are in fact living in the best of all possible worlds. Ha, who already said that?

Bo was bonded to me in love. He respected and loved me even though I questioned his love throughout life. Was his love really a dependency? Did he have no choice in the bonding? Was he capable of unconditional love? Was his love pathalogical? I was always considerate that Boner was in fact an animal living on instincts who had been domesticated. Myself, having been severley damaged from feelings of illusionary unconditional love and pathologial love throughout my formative years... I have studied love throughout life intensely... as a matter of survuval. I can say knowingly and without question that my dog loved me. Boner loved me, he loved our partnership and all like friends in the spirit of fun and adventure... unconditionally.

May 01, 2010

Georgetown, Colorado

The weather is super unpredictable here in the Colorado Rockies. The sky has been blue with few clouds, but there is always a snow flurry floating around. I had a plastic sheet over the piano truck tarp for the last couple of days waiting for the weather to shift from snowing. Tired of waiting, I decided to deal with whatever happens and took the truck to start searching for fresh fruit and internet access. I am presently doing a body cleanse... fruit, vegetables and protein shakes. In Georgetown, Colorado I found fruit... expensive fruit, one regular orange... a dollar fifty. I passed on any purchasing of fruit. I meandered down and through the town with a herd of deer on the house lawns right next to me while I drove on the street, no fear. I began to drive around a large lake and landed up next to a couple fishing.

I wanted for them to take a picture of me and the mountains... and to play music for them. The weather changed from intense cold winds to sun and no wind, to intense snow squalls. My winter coat, scarf and gloves, I unpacked from deep inside the piano for the third time in the last two months. I felt safe from the elements with my winter coat and hat on. The wind was severe at times. My fingers were fine because the piano blocked the wind. Amy and Joel got onto the piano and tinkered away. Amy said as I drove up, "I was just thinking how all we need is some chill music and here you come with music." A short time later she went to her car and returned with a bag of fresh organic strawberries, bananas and an orange, "here these are for you." I took a picture of a heavy snow shower blowing in my direction and then took off. I could see it coming towards me from in between two mountains a mile away. br>