Operation 365 2... Blog 7

Operation 365 2 - Jefferson Jay - Originals - 7 "Kansas City Queen" by Jefferson Jay “Kansas City Queen" is a song I rediscovered while giving old random songs a chance to be in this here 365. Turns out this tune was a bit cuter and catchier than I thought. I wrote it form the perspective of the “Kansas City Queen,” so ultimately it might be a better tune for a lady. I could change a bunch of pronouns and make it third person, but I don’t feel like bothering at this time, I don’t think. It was inspired by a high school student in one of my music classes at Hoover High School in San Diego. Baseball great, Ted Williams went there. This young lady was introverted, shy and less than psyched. I was trying to reach her through the gift of music and was having varying amounts of success, depending on the day. I was showing her how to write songs and to play the guitar and piano some. One day, she came in and said she was moving Kansas City in a couple weeks and I wrote this tune to cheer her up. She wasn’t sad she was moving. She was just sad. Turns out it’s a decent tune. Life is far from easy for the students of Hoover High. I won’t begin to tell you some of the amazing new curse words I was called at that job. I didn’t even there were new curse words… I often found myself called a colorful cavalcade of linguistic mastery… that rhymed with “Which Digger?” Life ain’t easy for the children at Hoover High. I feel for them, even though they tried to break me. I had to move on shortly after some sweet student set off a fire extinguisher in my classroom. Great times. Operation 365 2 - Jefferson Jay - Words - 7 "Reflections in Optimism" I wrote a longer thing but it vanished so let’s see if I can make this short and sweet. Even though there are lots of messed up things in the world today, I choose to think positively. It allows me to enjoy life. If I focused on the wars and greed that fill our news feeds, I’d be too depressed to do anything, much less fight for a brighter tomorrow. I recorded this video twice before I got one that finally worked. I recorded one in front my co-star the fabulous bougainvillea at one of my favorite places, but it mysteriously disappeared. I recorded a second in my trusty seat, but I’d turned the sound off and forgot. That one was so rousing I felt compelled to include it, sped-up and with off-beat musical accompaniment at the end of this here vid. But frustrating as it was for a second or two. Slightly disappointing, yes. I refused to let technical difficulties take the wind out of the sails that is my video regarding how important I feel it is to be optimistic. Life is full of challenges. It would be very easy to let them wreck your day. Every day. I won’t do that. I prefer to think positively, step and rise again to the challenge of recording this video three times and writing the blog twice. One could easily argue the universe is telling me this is not meant to be. Maybe I should do something else. Perhaps. I choose to persevere and hope my message of optimism and pursuit of global solutions to pressing problems is received and responded to. Hail. Glory Hallelujah! I believe people deserve more and once we come together in search of actual solutions, our redemption can begin in earnest. We are all alive and we are all important. I have high hopes and big dreams for 2016. The world is ours to fix. Deep greed and solely individual goals aren’t getting it done any more. So here is a positive message. I understand the urges to “keep it real” and call a “spade a spade,” but that doesn’t solve anything either. People do. We do and we can and we need to, ‘cause as Jim Morrison wisely once said, “The time to hesitate is through. Not time to wallow in the mire.” I’m into it. Let’s fix. Just to say we can. And prove a lot of people wrong. And show that people still matter, a lot more than money. Ideas over profits. Optimism over misery. Individuals over automatons. Solutions are next frontier. I’m ready and I’m not alone. May common sense and the American dream rise again. We are the valuable jewels. We are our only resource. 2016. It’s time. Operation 365 2 - Jefferson Jay - Covers - 7 "Auld Lang Syne" – Traditional Well, Happy New Year. 2015 was challenging and fun and I have high hopes and great feelings about this here 2016. I look forward to seeing what fruits it bares and enjoying the ride as best I can. I’m adding a bunch of lyrics I found that I’d never heard before. I offer this traditional jamboree. It goes back hundreds of years. Scottish poet Robert Burns gets some credit, but even the all-knowing Wikipedia says that it was at least partially compiled with other words from an “old man” and “The tune to which "Auld Lang Syne" is commonly sung is a pentatonic Scots folk melody,” Thanks ‘Peed. That’s me new nickname for the ‘Pedia. I like nicknames, especially for my close friends like ‘Peed. Hail 2016. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!! In an unrelated matter, another PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Don’t give your children an Air horn to play with if you like their hearing or your neighbors.