Chichester Psalms

I first heard Chichester Psalms at a SUNY Potsdam concert where they also performed something by Norman Dello Joio . I turned to my friend Micky and said "Why isn't this guy famous?" and she said "He IS." I got to sing it years later and I'm listening to it right now. 
http://www.milkenarchive.org/works/view/683#/videos/view/145

Milken Archive of Jewish Music - Works - Chichester Psalms

www.milkenarchive.orgWest Side Story meets the Book of Psalms in Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms for chorus and orchestra. Sample tracks, video, and historical notes. 

The art of being retired.

Here am I at last. I now can do whatever I want, be whoever I choose to be. I retired on April 1.  I immediately set out to get sick in any way I could - diverticulosis, stroke number five, and my back as bad as it's been in years.  So whatever I wanted was sleep, sleep, sleep.  I slept and watched a lot of movies and binge watched a lot of TV - cable shows mostly that I was able to find online after some searching.

But gradually I started to wake up and now I'm working on acquiring the habits I want to have in my retirement.  One is exercise - which I do at Aquacare, a physical therapy heated pool.  It is closed whenever there is lightening which is unfortunate with the weather we've had recently (thank you, CO2). Along with that is writing. I'm using some writing exercise books that I bought a few years ago and am only just now putting to use. After getting those two in my consciouness, I've added a daily period of decluttering (just started, not yet a habit). Exercise had to be a prerequisite because physical pain made writing and decluttering quite difficult.

PS This afternoon I was reading http://www.brainpickings.org ... a great resource on writing ... and it seems that many writers put exercise (including swimming) into their daily routines. Good to know!

Growing old is not for sissies

Soon I'll be 65. I've retired recently. I was pretty much forced to by my (lack of) health. Arthritis flare up, gastrointestinal stuff followed closely by stroke number five (still unknown source of blood clot). The hospital stay after the stroke was so uncomfortable that my back is now giving me enough discomfort for me to be bedridden. If I were more comfortable, I'd be delighted to be retired. So when I'm back on my feet, I will be.  My income is very small, but I'm comfortable, and I have health insurance which eats up more than my pension.

For the first time in several years, I've got two rooms, a complete kitchen and a bathroom big enough to dance in. The videos show off my paintings by my grandmother, Eric Dennard, and my son. My son stays every other weekend along with my grandson ... so delightful.

Another Look Alike

It's been too long, and there's a lot of catching up to do. Least important in catching up is another look alike post. I've recently binged on "Homeland" and right from episode one, I've decided that Damien Lewis should portray David Foster Wallace in the biographical movie.  Lewis is a fine actor and has a similar mouth, chin and facial expressions
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