Category: Family


Not Everyone Likes Fireworks

Filed under: Communications, Current events, Family, Pets, writing — Leave a comment
July 6, 2021

This was Brodie the last few nights while people were shooting off fireworks. When it was particularly loud, he would push my legs out of the way and hide under the desk. Which he also does when someone raises their voice in an argument. Or rants loudly about the state of affairs.

I took the picture when Brodie was calming down and the fireworks were not as frequent. He just looks so pitiful when something bothers him. He spent the nights sitting on the bed between us shaking. When I got up to go to the bathroom, he scratched on the door frantically. We’re still not sure about that one. He would finally lay down in bed with us and go to sleep. Unfortunately, the morons kept setting off fireworks into the wee hours of the morning.

I understand that it is the fourth of July. But there are plenty of organized firework displays to go see – some from your own yard. However, if you absolutely must break the law, bother everyone within hearing distance, take a chance on starting a fire that would be a severe inconvenience to those effected, and just be a general, loud, obnoxious nuisance, keep that in mind when you get pissed off when someone annoys you.

Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark

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Moving J.D. to Edwardsville

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June 29, 2021

I started out this year in January following our youngest son, J.D., and the U-Haul trailer to Edwardsville, Illinois. J.D. was to begin his internship in sports science at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville after he tested negative for COVID later that week. We were stopping for the night in Memphis.

We stayed in Memphis for two reasons. When you’re following a car and trailer at sixty miles an hour it takes a long freaking time to get anywhere. And it’s damned annoying. We had a room in a hotel across the street from Corky’s so we could pick up barbeque – which was the second reason. We picked up the barbeque and I set up my computer and played my set during the virtual open mic on Zoom which went to Rob Case’s Open Mic at Poor David’s Pub Facebook page. (See previous post).

We picked up some breakfast in the morning and headed out. That leg of the trip was shorter, but it seemed to take almost as long. I’d be driving along, following the trailer, when my mind would wander. I’d think “I don’t want to wait, I’m passing this guy.” Then I would remember I was following J.D. and slow back down. I actually started to pull into the left lane once before I stopped myself.

While it was true that I got the best mileage I’ve gotten in the van, it wasn’t enough better to sacrifice my sanity. I always hated Sammy Hagar’s song, I Can’t Drive 55, but I was beginning to see his point. It’s like you’re literally watching the world go by. But, on the other hand, you have time to see everything. Unfortunately, you don’t necessarily want to see everything.

At some point, I have no idea in which state, sirens began to wail behind us. One of the few times that I heard that sound and didn’t even bother looking at the speedometer. Someone from the County Sheriff’s office whizzed by. Then another siren and a City Sheriff went by. Then a Highway Patrol officer. I think a total of six cars from a mixture of agencies in all. We kept waiting to come upon one hell of a situation. But nothing.

I began to think we were cheated, not knowing what it was all about. No more sirens or surprises. Until about five or so miles later. Suddenly we heard sirens again – a number of sirens. Then what looked like the same cars came hauling ass the other way. Nothing we had seen on that side – I had a lot of observational time remember – warranted the “chase.”

Did they get a tip when they went in our direction? And then get a tip that, no, it’s the other way? Or did they go in our direction, then figure out they’d been fooled? So they came back in the same manner, with sirens blaring, so that no one would know they’d been fooled…?…

Edwardsville is a small college town. It’s a nice place to visit, but I didn’t look back when I left. J.D. has now finished his internship, graduated from Graduate School at Texas State University, and is looking for a position.

Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark

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Livestream at Carriage Factory Art Gallery

Filed under: Communications, Current events, Family, guitar, live, Music, Recording, Songwriting, travel, writing — Leave a comment
November 12, 2020

I pulled into the parking space in front of the Carriage Factory Art Gallery in Newton, Kansas on Thursday, November 5, about 2 p.m. My cousins, Tom and Beth Burns, and Beth’s daughter, Ellie Bradley, have an exhibit of their artwork in a gallery upstairs. Their exhibit is titled Art From the Pandemic.

I set up for my livestream – which was to replace the live show I was supposed to do for the opening that never happened due to you know what – and had time to take pictures of my cousins’ art. The livestream went well, but the video isn’t the best due to bandwidth issues – it was Newton, Kansas, after all. But the sound is pretty good.

I didn’t get to visit with Beth and her family. Aunt Edna lives on the other side of the house. Edna just turned 90, so we erred on the side of caution. We had seen each other on the Zoom call for Edna’s birthday a couple of weeks earlier.  I did get to stop off on the way home on Friday and visit with Tom in Oklahoma.

A sculpture of Ellie’s I bought. I think it’s a cross between Tom and Jeff Dunham’s Walter.

Beth’s paintings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of Tom’s paintings and Ellie’s sculptures

 

 

 

 

Ellie’s sculptures – on the table are the Three Heads. The one that is now on my desk is on the right.

 

 

Beth’s paintings

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tom’s paintings

 

Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Charles, the Buck

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September 25, 2020

Charles the Buck

[Previous post about the deer here.]

As I said earlier, when Cyndy and I left our friend, Sally’s, home in Colorado to return home the last few times, a deer – a buck as it were – was laying in Sally’s front yard watching us pack and leave. We’d like to think he was saying good-bye in some way, but who the hell knows?

Turns out he’s been hanging out in the yard more lately. Sally said he’d been there most of the day today. We figured if he was going to hang out at her house, we might as well name him. We have a friend named Charles Buck. And the deer is a buck. Hence, Charles the Buck.

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Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark 

 

 

 

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It’s a Mountain Thing

Filed under: Communications, Current events, Family, friends, travel, writing — 1 Comment
September 18, 2020

Taken Labor Day evening.

Okay, so snow is not necessarily a mountain thing, although it is prevalent for six months out of the year. But the temperature dropping from 90 to 30 degrees in a few hours with snow beginning to fall, on Labor Day, as it did last week, is most certainly a mountain thing.

As is the deer wandering around town as if they own the place, because, well, they were there first. So when they graze in the front yard or wander through the yard next door to reach the cul de sac as they have for years, you just watch. It’s a cool thing to watch anyway.

Bears have been wandering through for a couple of months now. They only tolerate the humans because they’re nice enough – and stupid enough in some cases – to provide their trash. As well as forgetting to close the garage door with a full refrigerator and freezer inside. Making a note of the bonus location, the bear hit that particular house three times. Apparently, he really enjoyed the freezer full of shrimp he got the first time.  

It’s a morning routine for Sally, Cyndy, and I in Colorado. Drinking our coftfee and watching the street, front and side yards for grazing or passing deer. We’re beginning to recognize some of them. It’s also fun to be driving around town and see deer in a yard, a roadside grassy area, or any grassy or shady area really.

The previous trip to Sally’s.

There is a particular deer that we know well. Each time Cyndy and I leave to head back home – like we did last Saturday – he’s laying in Sally’s front yard telling us good-bye. 

The same deer last Saturday.

 

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Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark

 

 

 

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Story behind River That Flows

Filed under: Communications, Current events, Family, friends, guitars, Music, Recording, Songwriting, Sound, writing — Leave a comment
August 25, 2020

River That Flows is the first song I wrote about Cyndy, wife now, girlfriend then. Or rather, I was thinking about Cyndy when I wrote my half of the song. I was in college at NTSU (now UNT). Tim Duggins was my roommate. We met the year before at Richland Junior College (now Community College). On a Sunday, I think it was, we took our guitars and a 6-pack to the park.

We played the usual songs and practiced Sister Golden Hair by America. We had come to write a new song though. I don’t remember which one of us had the original idea. But after a lot of back and forth of ideas, moments of exhilaration and excitement, and when the 6-pack was gone, we had a song called River That Flows.

Southern Plains would be formed the next year. As I’ve said before, River That Flows was a staple of our set and it remains in my set list today. Joel Nichols and I added leads and flurries, but the song you hear now is the same song we wrote that day.

Unfortunately, Timothy James Duggins died of lung cancer a few years ago. I got in touch with him again

Tim Duggins on the left with his brother, Mike.

before he died. We were going to try to get together, but the last couple of years were tremendously hard on him. It was tough for him to get around.

Rest in Peace Tim!

 

 

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Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark

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The Search for a Mountain Wookie

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August 19, 2020

There is a shop called Mountain Wookies in Colorado with a location in Canon City and another in Woodland Park. On the last couple of trips to Colorado, I went in search for a mountain wookie. Our friend, Sally, went on the search with me. The picture on the left or above, depending on your device, is of a cutout on the wall in the parking lot of the Mountain Wookies in Woodland Park. That wasn’t good enough.

There were shops with wolves, bears, deer, owls, dogs, and a pig or two. On the side of one mountain there were the Flintstones characters. But, alas, no mountain wookie. I had an idea for a picture I wanted to get that by design must have a mountain wookie.

Then, when Cameron and I drove up to Colorado the first weekend in August, the three of us were running errands and ran by Mountain Wookies. There in front of the shop on the sidewalk was a mountain wookie. Just go with that.

And here is the picture I wanted.

Mountain Wookie Eats Buc-ee for lunch!

Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark

 

 

 

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Poor David’s Pub, Kerrville Folk Festival, and Leaf Blowers?

Filed under: Communications, Current events, live, Music, open mic, Pets, Songwriting, writing — Leave a comment
August 18, 2020

I’ve been playing in the Monday night Zoom/Facebook open mic hosted by Rob Case and benefiting Poor David’s Pub and the Kerrville Folk Festival (PayPal@ David@poordavidspub.com if you would like to support those venues – 50% goes to each) since it began the first of June. So naturally, the guy that mows the yard next door changed his time to Monday evening. Mowing the yard itself is not the issue. It’s the leaf blower that sets the dogs off. Then they’re hyped up and barking about the time I’m trying to do my sound check.

And I keep wondering – it’s August, what the hell is he blowing around? I am convinced that they run the leaf blowers so they can charge more because it sounds like they’re working harder. It would help if they knew how to use them in the first place. They seem to think they can just blow the grass, etc. into oblivion. When actually, it ends up in the street or someone else’s yard.

Ever heard of a leaf catcher, dumbass? Or even better, mow the yard in such a way that you end up mulching it as you go. It would take less time so you might have to adjust your rate, but you could mow more yards in a day. Not to mention the environmental benefit of less gas leaf blowers polluting the air. Cutting down on the noise pollution is a plus for me. The whrrrr, silence, whrrrr, silence, and on and on and on, not only sets the dogs off, but raises my blood pressure at the same time. Not good when I’m getting ready for the open mic.

But I did get the sound check done, I did calm down (so did the dogs), and the open mic went well – all around, not just my part. Check it out next Monday at 7 – 10:30 p.m. on Facebook at Rob Case’s Open Mic page. You won’t be disappointed with music of varying styles to enjoy!

Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark

 

 

 

 

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Losing All in a Fire – Help for Friends

Filed under: Communications, Current events, Family, friends, Poetry, writing — Leave a comment
July 24, 2020

A couple who are friends of mine had their house burn down recently. As a result, I have been flashing back to when our house burned the Friday before I began my senior year in high school on Monday.

The firemen saved a lot of things, but my room was a pile of ashes in the back yard. I came home from a night of drinking the coldest beer I’ve ever had. Ice formed in the mug of beer. When Brian and I got to my street, we couldn’t get to the house. We had to park a block over.

Mom and my brother, Dennis, stood in the yard across the street with our dog, Lady. I joined them and watched as flames tore through what had previously been my bedroom. Someone behind me asked out loud if “anyone had marshmallows.” I went ballistic and let them know what an asinine thing it was to say.

I got more clothes and things to replace things that were in my room. But there are things you cannot simply replace. To this day, I sometimes think of things as if I still have them and realize they burned in the fire.

And that was bad. I was chastised on Monday because I didn’t have a pencil. In the apartment we rented while the house was rebuilt, I heard Imagine, which was still on the charts. I heard the line, “imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can.” I suddenly realized I could.

But I got more possessions, and added to them over the years. As bad as it was, I can’t imagine it happening today. But wait, not quite true. Mike and Cindy Freiley lost everything recently. To lose everything I have now would be devastating. I would get through it. I’ve done it before. But it hurts.

If you would like to help Mike and Cindy, here is the gofundme link.

Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark

 

 

 

 

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The Shampoo Saga

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July 8, 2020

 

Cyndy and I are at our good friend Sally’s house in Colorado. Doing the same thing we’ve done since before the pandemic – nothing outside the house but the essentials. We did drive to Denver to see places where her brother Sam – who died in April (not Covid) – worked and lived when he was there, but we only stopped twice and had masks, etc.

Be that as it may, Cyndy and I are staying downstairs at their – now Sally’s – house. I was in the bathroom and happened to noticed the shampoo pictured. Most of what is in the shower was here when we arrived. The name Andalou made me wonder if it was named after a woman or girl. If so, what the hell were they thinking? And-a-lou – really?

After doing what I came there to do, I went back upstairs. I sat down at my laptop and checked my email. If I keep dealing with emails frequently, I only have to deal with a few at a time. Otherwise it just gets nuts.

I get an email from Amazon suggesting Andalou shampoo. Say what? I just happened to notice it sitting there on the shelf in the shower a few minutes before. It freaked me out until I checked and Cyndy had ordered the shampoo and just paid with the card set up – which was mine.

But it does give one pause, does it not?

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Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark

 

 

 

 

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