Operation 365... Blog 27

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Archives - 33 "Dragon Swan Song" by Don Truesdail - 12-6-2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijdVZbgm4To

This is Don's magnum opus (in my opinion) Dragon Swan song and it provides a fitting cherry atop the sundae that has been "12 Days of Truesdail" here at 365. This song is epic. Don left behind lots wisdom in his words. It is a lot more than many people ever do and it enables us to continue to get to know him personally years after his passing. Enjoy "Dragon Swan Song". Hail Truesdail! "Onward and Upward." - Don Truesdail

For more info on Don and his music please visit www.truesdailstudio.com

If all my calculatin' is correct today is the climax of Operation 365's "12 Days of Truesdail." I have enjoyed talking and writing about Don and sharing some about him with you this holiday season. I think about Don a lot and I feel good about it so it is not sad for me. I understand that some people may think death is morbid or that it's best to be avoided and moved on from or something. I don't feel that way. Death is the end of a great movie or the peak of an amazing song. It is the end of whatever it is you accomplished in your lifetime and the beginning of the impact you will have form beyond. There may be no better time to reflect on a person's accomplishments than in the weeks and months after their passing because it is in those times where our dead friends' words and actions become our own to interpret, remember, and build on as we choose.

The sad part about people dying for the survivors is that we miss our loved ones so. I miss hanging out with Don of course, but I remember what it was like. I knew him as a person so I know what we would think about some things and I grew as a person from being close to him. That never stops and that can never die. The connection is bodiless and eternal and I cherish it entirely. It is boundless and besides love, there is nothing else on this planet that that wordapplies to.

I am sorry to anyone that all this reflection on dear departed Don may have "bummed out" but I don't find it morbid, morose, depressing, or even sad. Quite the contrary, it is the continued remembrance and celebration of a friend who has passed on but left behind so much for us to celebrate and hold close in our hearts always. I love my dead friends and Don is not the only one. They are always there for you, their love is tangible which affirms existence beyond physicality and the type of assistance dead friends can provide from wherever they are far outweighs almost anything any embodied human can even dream about doing for you.

These are my opinions, beliefs, feelings and ideas. I will give Don a rest now for awhile. No pun intended, but only as far as Operation 365 goes. In my heart, my mind, my home and wherever I go, I always very Don very close to me and that is why I find this all so uplifting. I those of you who might have found this celebration unsettling can try to feel it from my perspective. To me it's what being alive is all about. Peace and love.

"Onward and upward."
-Don

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Originals - 33 "Fire And Ice"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlyj3R-dtiM

"Fire And Ice" was written from the same place mentally as yesterday's cut "Open Wound," available here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf8lLCB66mE
They were also recorded back to back the same day, at my Open Mic 10-6-2009. I just went back to open "Open Wound" from yesterday to correct something and saw that youtube suggested the tags "finals" "tennis" and "tenis," among other things. Tenis? TENIS??!?!?!?! That's not even a word. Does youtube think I'll be helping my videos by appealing to people who misspell "tennis"? I don't know. I accepted though. It's their website. Let's hope they know better than me... but tenis?!?!? Jeez.

Operation 365 - Jefferson Jay - Covers - 33 "Buffalo Soldier" by Bob Marley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMW0uXUKoRg

I hope you enjoy my attempt to recreate the version of "Buffalo Soldier" I used to love rockin' out to on cassette in my mom's car when I was a kid. They eventually replaced it on "Legend" with a much sleepier live version that I thought lacked both the fun and the urgency of the disco-y version that I dug. I wish I had the time to perfect or even approximate perfection with each of these numbers, but posting 3 videos a day for year, the time adds up... even in the month I've done so far actually, so here it goes, warts and all. Sometime, with imperfections comes character. What the hey. Imperfection. It's an affliction we all share. May as well embrace it. Perfection... Now that's quite a responsibility...