Take a deep breath and hold it 'til it hurts, race the clock, stay up late/get up early, steal a night on the town, watch the ball game into extra innings, turn the volume up to the max, read another chapter, have another drink, run an extra mile, bank another dollar, break a rule, spend without thrift, do another good deed, reach for another goal, win another race, down another adversary, do another favor, consume another taco, create another masterpiece, live another year, love unconditionally, be Reliable like Ray, exceed expectations, out do the competition, achieve your dream, sing it

Flo and I were taking a walk in Great Barrington last weekend and passed a lawn that was covered in dandelions. A carpet of yellow.

While traveling recently I noticed a few habits that made me say  "The French have it right!" All chairs at outdoor cafes face out toward the street (don't let the world pass you by); 99% of the retail stores were closed by 6:00 pm. Spend quality time not money; 99% of the restaurants stopped serving food by 10:00 pm - nothing good comes from eating late at night!; Bike riding and walking were rampant;bit do NOT mix well in Paris (pedestrians are NOT the king there). 

I hope you all enjoyed the long Memorial Day weekend and took advantage of sunshine and the start of summer.  

It almost seems that the pandemic is in our rear-view window. Yet, for me there have been some permanent changes in our lives.   

Finally. I took in my first live show of 2023.  This month.  Last weekend.  Certainly worth the wait.  Some of my faves no longer grace the earth and some lack the ability to perform, let alone tour.  So I was excited as the prospect of seeing and hearing one of my favorites singer-songwriters, founding member of two iconic bands and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Richie Furay.  The concert was at the South Orange Performing Arts Center, May 20.

Last week I published a poem on getting old. To be transparent, as I am, it was ChatGPT generated.   What I posted wasn't exactly what the generative AI produced, but pretty close. I didn't take the time to edit and "humanize" it which I wanted to do. And only one person asked me who created this...Odey.  

Recently I remarked upon our precious freedoms and our unique Constitutional Bill of Rights. A friend responded by declaring that possibly our greatest Right is not set forth therein.