Raggin' Piano Boogie
| The TRAVELING PIANO Information Page | READ THE DAILY LOG - Flight of Peregrinating Musical Exploration! |
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Since 1987 |
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November 30, 2023Las Vegas, NevadaIt took two years of procrastination to put this flyer together with what I want to say. I wanted a new design but it failed so many times and is such a hassle that I am just copying basically the last flyer design except for the qr codes, they are new. Now I need to find someone to set design it for printing.  |
November 29, 2023Las Vegas, NevadaThe idea of fundraising is exhausting. The idea of getting in and out of the truck is exhausting. The idea of working to live in the minute with Mo's aging by the minute is exhausting. The idea of doing anything to make life fun is exhausting. At least I know what to do through all this. Just keep going which happens only through the Grace of God because of myself only... that is soo... exhausting. 
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November 28, 2023Las Vegas, NevadaThere is really nothing to say so... 
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November 27, 2023Las Vegas, NevadaMy garage guy said he started the Traveling Piano truck up no problem this morning. What the fuck! He checked it all out, no problem. What the fuck! My friend Eric came to pick me up and give me a ride to get it. The end is coming for this truck, it is no longer dependable. So, I sit in my room trying to wrap my head around what I must do. What do I want to do? How do I, do I want to try to hit the twenty year mark with this journey which will be the forty year mark of working full time with a piano in the back of this same pickup truck. The history is significant and huge! I need to get back into nature more. 
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November 26, 2023Las Vegas, Nevada
The Traveling Piano truck would not work today. It had to be towed to the shop. I'm glad I have pictures to use for this website from the last few days to use. When this happens with the truck I just go into numb mode now. Thank God for my friend Eric who goes out of his way to help me. He drives from a distance to pick me up and drive me home and is the only person I have and can depend on. |
November 25, 2023Las Vegas, Nevada
Angst has consumed my life. Zoning out is not an option, it just is what is. Moving forward is just difficult, it always has been. But then again, there we're the early years of this journey. I was focused and flying high. Now seventeen years later just... move along doggie. Maybe it is because I am tired of doing this alone or I am not getting enough of a pay off in satisfaction. But, I know that is not true because when I am in the full blown work experience here can be nothing better in life. Getting into that is where the challenge lies. |
November 24, 2023Las Vegas, Nevada
Today was a day spent in total shut down mode. The feeling is of being lost with no mind, not able, not wanting to do anything. Thank God I have the option to do this in life. I am like, what just happened with all the stimulation from yesterday and then, where do I go from here? How? What? |
November 23, 2023Las Vegas, NevadaA full, successful Thanksgiving Day with The Traveling Piano and a Las Vegas style wedding with a couple from Winnitoba, Canada fell into the mix. Mo and I interacted with friends from the streets who I've not seen in years. I really love these people and care about them as they do me. We also spent dinner with an entire new family of friends! That is a story I am just too exhausted to write about right now. I am fundraising and will be for the next few months in order to continue. This is how it works. What is the easiest way for you to contribute? I will set that up! Tell me. Email me from the contact page. Oh for the joy of what is next, Christmas! LOL. 
 What is really needed most is sustainable monthly income. You can help make that happen by setting up a subscription via the contribution page? Even more, getting substantial representation, patronage or sponsorship is what I need? I cannot believe I am not dead from the output of energy but a day like today is what happens when my passion for this work I do is stimulated consistently. This is what I need to do, create constant stimulation to want to and be able to move forward. Contribution helps with that and is why I have taken the route that I have been on. If another way crosses my path absolutely I will jump on board ready, willing and able. |
November 22, 2023Las Vegas, Nevada
I feel so loved and am thankful, so very thankful. What comes to mind, "The Great Greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love and be loved in return." Here is what came to my door step today from different friends. My friend Sean sent me my favorite tart cherry ganache pie from Traverse Michigan and in knowing I like over the top... and a lot of everything... he added a blueberry pie with it. Then my friend Eric stopped by with a dinner made by his wife Mary as they both know I will be out working all day tomorrow sharing some Traveling Piano love for Thanksgiving with those living on the streets... a large freshly cooked turkey overflowing with stuffing, gravy, corn, peas, cranberry sauce, mash potatoes and an apple pecan galette. If you want to join in with us and please do... send contribution so I can keep on working. It only happens through contribution and 100% of what you give goes into the work. Give one-to-one so you know where your money is going. HAPPY THANKSGIVING! |
November 21, 2023Las Vegas, NevadaI spent the day in total angst about having the physical strength to fill a truck load of popcorn into bags and all the rest that needs to get done. As a result I got nothing done. How ridiculous is that!? Oh well... it is what it is. Hey! Contribute here, everything I do happens through others. Of myself I am nothing more than a facilitator of your love, care, fun, friendship, respect, inspiration, empowerment... I could go on and on. Contribute here on this website or via a qr code.  |
November 20, 2023Las Vegas, Nevada
So... I am obsessing a little about Christmas. If I can get some fundraisers going in people's houses, in business or public space, I could sell the miniature art photos I have to raise money to but blankets, etc... to give a Christmas to those living on the streets. And, I do need to get the photos I have into circulation. They are matted, signed and packaged. A lot of work has gone into them not to mention the investment. Also, I must get the fundraising online going (that is a lot of work) to get the truck refurbished and pay my bills. I went to the dollar store and found perfect Christmas like containers to use for the truck and containers to store photos in. That sort of set me off with purpose and motivation. Just something small and simple like that began to drive my passion to get going. |
November 19, 2023Las Vegas, NevadaA trigger released today. I caught the Christmas bug while getting together Thanksgiving. Last Christmas I told myself I was done for sure and then after the Popcorn give away in June, really for sure. Now, I am not so sure. I have energy for some reason and do not want to think about it just go with the flow. With getting Thanksgiving together I have special spiced wafers found only in Philadelphia at this time of year, popcorn (I have paper bags left over that need to be filled and used up) tootsie pops, (lots) five gallons of cider (which I am having difficulty finding) and covid masks. Mo and I will be taking all that to the streets with music on Thanksgiving and probably the days after via the Traveling Piano. We went to my friend Eric's house to pick up the supplies I already have stored there. I have not crashed from yesterday's exhaustion... it is beginning to happen as I write this. 
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November 18, 2023Las Vegas, NevadaToday turned out to be more intense than yesterday. I started out in "Sin City" which is near where I live. It is a ghetto of cartels, mafia, drug dealing and just really poor people. The area got its name from the old days of Las Vegas when the show girls would sun bath nude all over the place and lots of prostitution was going on. Today it was full of Traveling Piano music, pumpkin pie with real whipped cream, cookies, water an tootsie pops, lol! Then I drove through all the usual alleys and visited with old friends living on the streets who I have not seen in awhile. Many are now dead. 
 I stopped in Arts Square here downtown where a lot was going on and had to get a few fun pictures and engage with artsy people. The band AL1CE jumped onto the Traveling Piano before their performance at Artifice a venue right where I was. They are based in LA, a band of surrealistic electronic, dark wave progressive rock. Musicians all with a fantastic energy! Along with that, there was some serious and then not so serious with also some ridiculous playing around on the Traveling Piano. The monthly Las Vegas Arts District mixer was happening and a lot of business owners were in attendance. There are some crazy people in this town, fun crazy. What a day it was being in and with a full spectrum of societal city life. |
November 17, 2023Las Vegas, NevadaWow! It was a grand Traveling Piano day! I saw an unpretentious flyer on Facebook about a Thanksgiving Dinner being held and it seemed to invite anyone and everyone. It gave an address and said it was being hosted by the Injured Police Officers Fund. With my strong criticism of police I also have respect for the job and appreciation for the need of police so... I thought I would go and see if I could lend some support with the Traveling Piano. I found out it was indoors at a Mormon church. I went up to the organizer and said I have a piano on a truck outside, would they like for me to provide some music and without blinking an eye she said, "absolutely"! When I experience a free flow from someone you know I am all in. There was no, "what to you want for it, why, who are you or... you have to do this or that." The fun began. There was a Mormon Hawaiian "tu tu" (grandmother) who recently had a stroke and she climbed onto the piano with here husband and grandchildren. How I love seeing someone defy their struggles to enjoy and continue partaking in life. 
There we're several groups of kids from Utah doing their Mormon rite of passage with missionary work here in Las Vegas. I have a history now with these kids as I have run into many groups many times during tis journey. They are full of life, open, focused, energized and full of spirit. They have an incredible amount of good energy that they share with the world in a non-threatening way in order to spread their word about Jesus Christ. When I was leaving the organizer Minddie offered a few pies to take home. Without blinking an eye I said, "of course" and then left with ten 24" size pumpkin pies and a case of water. While driving home I thought how I will need whipped cream for the pumpkin pies and so I stopped at the supermarket. I picked up some dishes and forks. They had cool whip on sale for half the price of the real whip cream in the cans. 
I paid the higher price for the real whipped cream as the presentation of being on the street and offering someone homeless a slice of pie while topping it off with whipped cream has a visual aesthetic not to be beat. The price of it all was nagging at me until I realized that while at the church, a bishop there really coerced me into taking a contribution. I did but did not know how much it was and reached into my pocket to find $40. The cost of the whip cream, plates and forks... $39. I thought... damm I could have kept that $40 for myself but the messaging of what was happening was very clear, lol. Then, as I was leaving the parking lot a guy I had met with his group briefly while across the street from the Salvation Army the other day came up to the truck window and said hi. "I live around the corner would you like to come back to my place and have dinner with my wife and daughter." That was very random, I said, "sure." This guy his name is Paul has an LLC called "Sober Hombres" and it is a faith based organization to help get people off the streets and into sober homes he purchases. 
He is polished, aggressive, majorly tied in with the police here in Las Vegas and sober as I am. I am pretty sure we are politically at the opposite ends of the spectrum but, I do want to be able to connect with everyone in some way. I've been reading the writing on the wall with what is happening in the world and the only answer is to find a way to relate with one another as human beings in any way possible to mend any divisions. He spent a couple hours telling me a fantastical story about himself, how he does what he does and his experience with getting over 5,000 people off the streets in just a few years. It really is amazing how networked he is in the city with major players and influence yet he like myself is not a non-profit. Everything he does is self funded. I think about people like this and try not to compare myself. He has all the talent to surround himself with supportive people who reach out to him to give support. I have practically none of that talent, never have had it. My talent is in pushing people away once they begin to know me. I left his house with a watermelon he grew in his small front yard! A watermelon grown in the front yard of a Las Vegas house is an extraordinary feat, let me tell you! |
November 16, 2023Las Vegas, Nevada
Everyday I wake up feeling grateful that I have another day with Mo. It still amazes me how our bond continues to grow as does my desire to adjust myself to his aging needs, how good he feels and how I can feel his deep affection for me. When I think back to earlier in the month, I was resigning myself to just let him die. The God of my understanding came through with intervention and I think sometimes how blind I was in not thinking to try new attempts to get him to eat. My friend Mary got him started with some rip eye steak. Then again, I am not so sure he would have taken that rip eye steak from me as easily as from Mary. He has a resistance in doing what I want, he has always wanted to "do" on his own without my interference. At Mary's place, he was in different surroundings other than our room, in an environment where he gets treats unencumbered by me, maybe he was just ready to try with someone different and/or the intervention from above too. In any case, I just have to trust the right thing happened at the right time and it all had nothing to do with me except that I wanted him to see his friends for what was looking like the last time ever. When they first saw him that day, they thought the same. |
November 15, 2023Las Vegas, Nevada
With Thanksgiving right around the corner I am getting an itch to do some homeless outreach. I have lots of popcorn bags left over from a few months ago so I am thinking to go purchase popcorn, fill and staple the bags and take them out as before. I have some large cups for water and ice from when it was hotter than hell and I can also just fill them with popcorn for those who do not want a full bag. I'd fill the five gallon jug I have with something like cider or hot chocolate and also have bottles of water to share with a case of ginger snap cookies and large tootsie pops. There are flyers left over from last year to get contribution that I an use to help get some financing for the resources. I said that I was done, no energy to do any of this anymore but, I guess I might have been wrong. |
November 14, 2023Las Vegas, Nevada |
November 13, 2023Las Vegas, NevadaWell, we did another bucket list item today. Mo and I headed into Redrock Canyon outside of Las Vegas to lay down in silence. First we did a walk and then even a little climbing. Mo found a spot and burrowed a nest from himself in the dirt while feeling content. Then on the way out we stopped and I created some Traveling Piano music while the sun set. We also ran into Brett, a local news guy who did a tv news story on us last year. He wanted to help raise funding after we got back from sharing the Traveling Piano's support concerning the mass murder in Colorado Springs at the Q-Club. 
 If you would like to help us keep going with this journey, if you like the photos and blog entries everyday for the last 17 years, (lol) and can help out, contribute here... Traveling Piano on Spotfund So many people love Mo it is really amazing. The online posts about him a few weeks ago were seen by an amazing amount of people. When people see us now they want to get a last picture of Mo just in case he leaves us. They are so happy to know he is still here. |
November 12, 2023Las Vegas, Nevada
For a long time like ever since I moved here seven years ago, I have wanted to drive up the street from where I live and play in a specific empty space at the corner of Main Street and Charleston Blvd so, today was the day. It did not feel as perfect a spot as I always imagined, lol. A couple walked by visiting from Northern California the guy has been a drummer and singer as a pro for his entire life. Of course I had to share my unique musical story with him and he talked about how important music is for his life. He got onto the piano with his wife who is a nurse and we all spent some quality time together. Someone local called me on my phone tonight around midnight. I did not answer, they did not leave a message but I sensed it was someone homeless I have met. I give everyone my card with my number on it and my email so I can send them their photos but, I never answer unknown numbers. They need to leave a message and then I will call back. Giving out my contact information to people on the streets is a simple show of trust for them and I know it is appreciated.
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November 11, 2023Las Vegas, Nevada
I pushed myself out today ending up at an old spot across the street from the Salvation Army here in Las Vegas where there are many people homeless. Out of hundreds of people, most are gone and only a few remember me now from years past. I hope everyone is ok and even better, off the streets but I know many are dead. That fact makes me very sad. There was a young woman who plays and sings and she was so happy to find the Traveling Piano. Another guy from Columbia was there who never created music before. He was totally enjoying my music so I got him onto the piano with the girl who was willing to improvise with him just playing random notes. It was all beautiful, the connection in spirit between the three of us. The guy I could feel wanted to cry with the validation that came through all the relating.
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November 10, 2023Las Vegas, Nevada
I took camping supplies to my friend Eric's today to store in his garage and picked up some Traveling Piano photos to bring back to my apartment to work on. Everytime I do something like this, all the filing and organization of where everything is so I can find it easily gets fucked up and I have to redo it all again. It is very painful. The camping situation is painful. I worked for months with the camping equipment to know where it all is for accessibility and now it is too cold to do anything. Eric's place is a second home for Mo and usually he just runs into the house to Eric's sister-in-laws room because she gives him treats. I do not trust her, we do not get along and so that usual routine must stop. Ever since Mo got sick, his diet has now become regimented because of his liver. I do not know what she gives him or how much but whatever, it needs to stop. Eric got really upset about that but... it is what it is. Mo is my pup and what I say and do concerning him is paramount. Wether it makes sense to others or not or if they agree or not does not matter. |
November 09, 2023Las Vegas, Nevada
Today I gave into the fact that I must wear glasses all the time and different glasses for distance verses reading. What a pain in the ass but my eyes have deteriorated to the point that everything is just a blur. Driving is difficult, the quality of life attained from lasik surgery about twenty five years ago is now gone. It was said this is what would happen in my late sixties and so it is. I am also struggling to keep going with the Traveling Piano. When people contact me to say hi from a fifteen minute interaction over ten years ago, I think to myself how what I have offered for the world has been so significant. How can I stop? And, there is no place to go but down because I lack the stamina, resources and support to go higher than I have gone. Adjusting to life's ending is well, all of life is a challenge as the challenges just change in every way. The goal is to enjoy what is and live through the rest without dwelling on what does not serve the joy and gratification. |
November 08, 2023Las Vegas, Nevada
We left our camping spot. One night was enough. The picture of Mo exhausted says, "get me out of here I am too old for this" after spending a sleepless night twelve hours in a summer tent with temps in the low forties, wet snow and forty mile an hour winds creating a wind chill in the low thirties. Our combined weight of 300 pounds did not stop the gusts of wind blowing up the canyon from lifting the tent up and down as Mo shivered with nervousness. Each time, the wind gusts would sound like a freight train coming head on up the canyon. The weather forecast was for nothing like this and the first half hour was fantastic. The silence was heavenly. We settled in the trees near a cliff that seemed safe and secure. But then, everything turned into a nightmare worse than the last time we tried to camp. And then there was the issue of me as an older man needing to get up to unzip the noisy flapping tent door to pee outside several times in the middle of the night in all that. We survived. |
November 07, 2023Las Vegas, NevadaWe headed out to go camping for a few days. It is the second try to do this and what goes into it is mind boggling. The details, the supplies and gear, being able to find everything and packing it all as assessable... the preparation really has been an investment in time and energy for me and has taken months to get ready. The angst and emotional stress in doing something different well, that has always been a challenge but now being older adds a new dimension. Stepping out of my comfort zone takes more effort than ever before but this has to be done there is no backing out. I'll just do the best I can. I want for Mo to be in nature as much as possible. The most difficult issue for me these days is clarity of mind. Every small detail of everything I do must have complete intentional focus and that can be exhausting. 
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November 06, 2023Las Vegas, NevadaTaking Mo out for walks through the past few years, how far we can walk shows clearly our aging process. Seven years ago we could walk the five miles of the Las Vegas Strip back and forth. As the years go on it becomes less and less. Now a days, eight city blocks both ways is about it. That is about half of what we could do last month. Today I want to remember to remember not to be angry at people because doing that drains energy I need for this journey. I need all the energy I can get to stay full of gratitude. Also, there is nothing better than to just not think about negativity becuase then, it simply dissapears, right? 
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November 05, 2023Las Vegas, Nevada
I came across some thoughts today about Newfoundland that I never mentioned in this blog. For example, "ta,ta" is often said as "thank you" in Newfoundland. There is a town close to where I was staying that at one time used to be called Gayside but the people were so afraid of the "Gay" part of the word, they changed it to Baytona. I think is this very funny, very homophobic too but definitely funny. I was telling a guy named Zach about my Oprah story and he said he had heard that she had a house there near where we were. I wonder how the rumors started like that. For years in places where I visited I would be told that Oprah had a house nearby. Did everyone subconsciously at that time want Oprah as a neighbor? Back in the day there were six towns where I was told that in just one year. Ahh... for my wildest of dreams with the support of Oprah Winfrey. Sure is looking like that dream is fading big time. As I have said throughout this journey, the goals have been so less important then the journey towards them.
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November 04, 2023Las Vegas, Nevada
Here is a fact through life. Probably, it has been stated before in this blog. This year, the first since the beginning in 2006, I think there has been a repeat of thoughts. That comes with age I guess because new thoughts become fewer as time goes on? The Traveling Piano's visit to Newfoundland back when has been on my mind these days. Specifically how I was pampered around such calm good energy the entire time. Through it, I was able to function better than ever before and was able to give back 200% through gratitude. I was raised in an environment where fulfillment in anyway was not good. Fulfillment only opens the door for opportunist greed and need of more. Fact is, yep... that was the way for people being raised the way I was. It comes from an authoritarian mindset. It was never the way for me and that fact was proven when I became fulfilled through others in this journey. In the truth of spirit, when a person is truly fulfilled they then share easily. The amount shared correlates with the feeling of fulfillment.
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November 03, 2023Las Vegas, NevadaTonight was First Friday Downtown in Las Vegas and I took the Traveling Piano out to support a new store that was opening as a community gesture and I did it unconditionally. It was all fun until the place across the street began to blare really bad techno music which created nothing but chaos. So, that was that, I left. Beforehand there was the typical exchanges and one small boy got onto the piano to show his stuff. It was just as cute as can be. I took a video and uploaded it to Youtube. Mo held his own on top of the piano. When he gets up to turn around now, he needs to focus more on his balance. We are living life together to the very end as fully as possible with our routines and traditions. 
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November 02, 2023Las Vegas, Nevada
Another potential business situation for the Traveling Piano Photo Art Gallery has been developing over time. A place to work out of, a place for people to drop off supplies to take out for the homeless, a place to not only sell the photography but to showcase the Traveling Piano with locals and visitors alike but alas, once again it fell through. I had taken all the photos and supplies there, a truck load and once again had to take it all out. The situation was not trustworthy. People work with money in different ways and some use it to control, manipulate, create obligation, expectation with no security, clarity... I am a totally straight forward person when it comes to money and business and need to know where the buck stops. Being upfront with business and money is a must for me and so I found the situation was not going to work. Ugh! Again...
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November 01, 2023Las Vegas, Nevada
It was a very close call! All signs pointed to the end but Mo pulled through and here we are enjoying each day. It is just day by day as he really is old now. Everything is slowing quick. He was as sick as can two weeks ago his liver had stopped functioning for three days. We have been having as much fun as possible personally and with the Traveling Piano. Another bucket list item while we still can this week... we are getting into some nature to do some first time camping. Its going to be a bit cold at night but we have our flannel sleeping bag and heater, etc... I've learned a little trick when we are being super close. I enjoy his comfort and it feels like the taste of a super good meal. It's going to finish, I'm getting my fill, its going to be done, I'll never forget such a delicious meal and not pine for it. In this way there is no attachment to potential loss, sadness or sorrow. We are living together in pure joy... in the present moment. The support of our friends has been carrying us through. |