An Idyl of the May

Home Garden Flower Cart

In the beautiful May weather,
      Lapsing soon into June;
    On a golden, golden day
    Of the green and golden May,
      When our hearts were beating tune
      To the coming feet of June,
  Walked we in the woods together.

    -- Kate Seymour Maclean (1880) from "An Idlyl of the May"

A Condolences Letter to a First Cousin

Dear C:

The sad tidings of Les' death funnels through my mind on a wave of sorrows. Condolences half-uttered or expressed in a sympathy cards never could equal to the comforting grace of God. That our Lord and Creator has taken account and put our tears in His bottle. He has made intimate note of each of them. Assuredly, "never a bitter tear is shed without my Lord sharing the tang and the pang."

Our risen Lord Jesus has made a path of eternal life for Les and others He calls by name. Indeed, the sting of death is no more to those He calls His own.

As our life is hid in Christ with God, may you find rest and comfort under the shadow of His wings in these difficult days.

For Mother's Day and Fauré

Gabriel Fauré
French-born classical composer and organist
(12 May 1845 - 4 November 1924)
The MP3 below expired on 06-21-2013.
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Hans-Andre Stamm (1996)
- Berceuse Op. 16 (Fauré)

Mother O' Mine

Mother O' Mine
If I were hanged on the highest hill,
Mother o' mine!
Oh, mother o' mine!
I know whose love would follow me still;
Mother o' mine!
Oh, mother o' mine!

If I were drowned in the deepest sea,
Mother o' mine!
Oh, mother o' mine!
I know whose tears would flow down to me,
Mother o' mine!
Oh, mother o' mine!

If I were damned o' body and soul,
Mother o' mine!
Oh, mother o' mine!
I know whose prayers would make me whole,
Mother o' mine!
Oh, mother o' mine!

-Rudyard Kipling

Don't Mess With This Texan

Airplane, Train, and Dental Office

iPhone 4S Home Garden Picture Today
8 May 2013
Clematis viticella 'Etoile Violette'm,
This morning I visited my dentist for a scheduled prophylaxis. The noise associated with the instruments used in the dental visit had not aggravated my tinnitus. The result today reinforced last week's positive experience with both in-flight jet engine and locomotive induced noises. These were the last three noise-hurdles with which I must come to grips.

Following a continuous 132 daily progress entries, I now have a more rounded experience on how to mitigate tinnitus associated stresses. As of today, the tinnitus journal is closed.

The Poet of the Piano Birthday Anniversary

Carmen Cavallaro
"The Poet of the Piano"
(6 May 1913 - 12 October 1989)
The MP3 below expired on 05-12-2013.
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Carmen Cavallaro, piano (2013 remastered)
- You Belong to My Heart (Lara)

The Day You Promised to Come Back

Glenn Miller and His Orchestra
with Ray Eberle, vocal (1940)
When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano (René)

Click here to view this L'Envoi YouTube.

When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano (1940)

Composer: Leon René
Glenn Miller and His Orchestra
Ray Eberle, vocal

When the swallows come back to Capistrano
That's the day you promised to come back to me
When you whispered, "Farewell" in Capistrano
T'was the day the swallows flew out to the sea

All the mission bells will ring
The chapel choir will sing
The happiness you'll bring
Will live in my memory

When the swallows come back to Capistrano
That's the day I pray that you'll come back to me

A Yank's Birthday Anniversary

Yank Lawson
American-born jazz trumpeter
(3 May 1911 - 18 February 1995)
The MP3 below expired on 05-06-2013.
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Yank Lawson
The World Greatest Jazz Band (1975)
- Rosalie (Porter)

Yank kick starts this Cole Porter tune featured in the 1937 film, 'Rosalie', with a muted trumpter. Then Peanuts picks up the melody with his licorice stick; Tommy Newsom's tenor sax joins in the jam. Slides right in there is George Mosso's trombone sole. And at the heart of the session beats Bob Haggart's bass line.

Members of The World Greatest Jazz Band (1975):
Yank Lawson & John Best, trumpets
Carl Fontana & George Mosso, trombones
Tommy Newsom, tensor sax
Peanuts Hucko, clarinet
Ralph Sutton, piano
Bob Haggart, bass
Gus Johnson, Jr., drums

Garden Flowers of May 2013

2 May 2013 Photos: Home Garden Flowers
With the new HVAC installed, the place and furniture were still need of cleaning. A few days respite from the house scene was the thing to do. Besides, it was a good time to evaluate two modes of transportation and their noise effects on my tinnitus. Hence, a round-trip air passage to Huntington Beach, Orange County, was booked on the Southwest Airlines. From Santa Ana, business class fares purchased for a short round-trip Amtrak ride to San Juan Capistrano. I left on Friday, 29 April, and returned to the dust bowl the following Monday.

For noise reduction aids, I brought along some NNR 32 ear plugs and a Bose top-of-the-line QC3 headset. If I could handle the noises in these two "test-runs", my concerns would be allayed. I should be a happy camper when the Canadian Rockies expedition is scheduled later this month. As it turned out, the ear plugs were really all I needed when traveling by air to and from Orange County. As for the Amtrak round-trip between Santa Ana to San Juan Capistrano, the ear plugs worked fine as well.

A slide-video for this trip is posted on YouTube, "When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano." The referenced 5 May post for this YouTube is, "The Day You Promised to Come Back."