The Year In Pictures

It has been a mostly uneventful year. As Jeff Lebowski said, "you know, strikes and gutters, ups and downs." I'm happy to say that for me it's been mostly ups.

Nothing much happened in January. In February we traveled from our home in the Black Hills of South Dakota to meet up with our son and daughter-in-law in Las Vegas during Super Bowl weekend. They live in Connecticut so we don't get to see them all that often. It was a fun, but I have to say that all the glitter and bright lights are not quite as appealing as they once were. Kind of cool to look at, but the vibe has seemed to change once you get inside. Just not as exciting as it used to be. 

Record Store Day in April was kind of a big deal. I got there early but I was still pretty far back in the line.

Luckily there was one copy left of the album I most wanted - the 20th anniversary reissue of The Wind by Warren Zevon. He knew he was dying and some of the songs reflect the deep personal feelings of someone facing their own mortality. 

In May I hit the road. 

I drove out to Reno to visit an old friend and attend his daughter's gallery exhibit opening. 

Alexx is a very talented photographer and artist who was also working on her tattoo apprenticeship at the time. I had been thinking about getting another one...so I did. What makes this one extra special is that it is one of her original designs. 

Marty, my friend, took me on a walking tour of the city, and drove me up to up to Lake Tahoe and points in between. We crossed over the California state line at one point, but I wasn't too concerned since I'm sure the statute of limitations had run out by then. 

It was mostly interstate highways on the way out. On the return trip I took Highway 50, known as the loneliest road in America. It's an accurate description.

The Battle of the Bands in June made an impression on me. There is so much talent out there that most of us never get to see. I'm glad they still do events like this so the public can experience it.

July was my 50th high school class reunion. It was so great to see so many old friends and classmates, and talk about the old days.

Late summer and fall provided me with the opportunity for a couple of photoshoots which, in my opinion, resulted in some of my best work. I know, not everyone's cup of tea, but my mood at the time.

One of my best and most memorable experiences of the year, and ever, was being cast in a stage production of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. The entire cast was amazing. So much incredible talent on that stage. And - we nailed it! 

Other highlights included several fun, if brief, camping trips in "Louise" ....

And I did more fishing than I have done in years. Even did some catching on occasion. 

I continued my volunteer work with Feeding South Dakota. Then there was that live music concert way out there on the prairie, and my continuing obsession with exploring old and abandoned buildings. 

2023 was aslo a year when I expanded my creative efforts to include experimenting with abstract painting. Mainly fluid painting, and specifically acrylic on old vinyl records.

Another project with old vinyl records invlolved prepping them with a base coat of paint and adding some of my favorite song lyrics and pop culture quotes. 

   

(Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell - if you're among the unenlightened)

So it was a pretty good year. I hope 2024 turns out to be another good one. For all of us.

And...that comment about the statute of limitations...I was just kidding. Probably.  

Roger O'Dea      12/31/2023

    

Winter Gardening

Recently a friend added a post on social media that included some good advice. The last line said "Happy Winter Gardening." I took it literally. My little garden on the hill behind my house usually sits idle and forgotten from mid October until April, but today I decided to do some raking just to see how it felt. It felt good. Gardening is good therapy any time, even if you don't think you need therapy. 

What made it special for me was the discovery of a few little onions that I missed during the Fall harvest.

Bonus...they actually look and feel like they might be edible. I'll find that out later. Even if they can't be eaten, it was fun finding them.

The entire post was inspiring. Here it is in its entirety -

Daniel Fitzgerald is in New York.

December 5 at 9:42 AM  · 

My grandmother once gave me a tip:

In difficult times, you move forward in small steps.

Do what you have to do, but little by little.

Don’t think about the future, or what may happen tomorrow.

Wash the dishes.

Remove the dust.

Write a letter.

Make a soup.

You see?

You are advancing step by step.

Take a step and stop.

Rest a little.

Praise yourself.

Take another step.

Then another.

You won’t notice, but your steps will grow more and more.

And the time will come when you can think about the future without crying.

Happy winter gardening

It says "in difficult times." These are not difficult times for me, but they may be for you. In any event, it's good advice no matter what may be going on in our lives.  I already wash dishes and dust. I might write a letter. Make a soup? Maybe. Think about the future without crying...that's easy. Right now I'm thinking about next Spring and planting my garden. Peppers, carrots, radishes. And onions. I might even intentionlly leave a few of those in the ground so I can do more winter gardening. It may even become a regular thing. Winter Gardening. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

Roger O'Dea.    12/15/2023

Record Store Day ( Black Friday Edition)

Records are getting expensive. (Thanks a lot, hipsters).  

I kind of wanted the Chet Baker Record Store Day release but it was fifty bucks. So I passed it up. But I did get a couple of cool Surf Rock albums. Surfin' the Great Lakes is not an official RSD release but was reasonably priced. It's a 2023 compilation featuring some good early sixties midwest garage bands, mostly from Minnesota, cashing in on the surf music craze starting to sweep the nation. It was a right up the alley for someone who digs surf rock, garage rock and early midwestern rock n roll bands...like me. I hang out in that alley quite often. All songs were recorded at Kay Banks Studio in Minneapolis, which has an interesting history of its own. Look it up if you're interested.

Keeping with the current theme, I found this Joe Houston album in the bargain bin for three bucks -

It features Houston's tenor sax in place of a lead guitar, which you wouldn't think lends itself to surf music, but it's okay. And it's an original 1963 mono press so that's cool. 

I also found a 1967 gatefold U.S. press of Volunteers by Jefferson Airplane on dynaflex vinyl with an orange label. I already have an early non-gatefold version with the classic black RCA label, but it's without the original Paz Progress "newspaper" poster. Today's find had the poster! 

My other score was a special RSD release of the Doors - Live In Bakersfield, 1970. But it didn't make it home with me. I gave it away. Actually, that was my intention all along. I got there after the first wave of customers who had been waiting in line for the store to open but early enough to have a good chance of it still remaining on the shelf. It was still there. And, although I am a huge Doors fan,  it's now in a good home with people who will appreciate it more than me. Plus, I've been invited to a listening party at a future date featuring the record. So, in the immortal words of greenskeeper Carl Spackler, "I got that going for me."

Oh ... the record store where this went down is Black Hills Vinyl. They deserve a shout out for always coming through for me when I'm looking for something specific or an oddity of some sort. Here is one of my favorite pictures of the store and some of their cool customers from a special live music event one summer night. They do that occasionally. Not many places do these days. 

Roger O'Dea     11/24/2023

 

Take Me Home Country Roads (Prairie Music)

The day after a  big rain there was a promise of good weather for an outdoor concert way out there on the prairie. So I headed east on a two lane blacktop, curved northeast, and after fifty-nine miles made a hard left onto an unpaved country road. Dodged few puddles and soft spots on the way to my first stop, which was my friends' house located miles from nowhere. Enjoyed good conversation, some delicious homemade stuffed mushrooms and a few excellent songs...which I may talk about another time. I would have liked to stay longer but I didn't want to be late for the show. So I got back in the car, turned left back on to that country road and drove due north for twenty-something miles, turned east at Honeywagon Corner until I came to Seymour Corner. Made a left and continued up to Highway 20. A right turn this time took me east for a few miles until I saw the sign -

I made it. One hundred and twelve miles, half of it on unpaved roads, but it would turn out to be worth it. I knew it would. Eliza Blue was hosting a free concert at her family ranch. Actually, it was more like a picnic -

...with live music -

(The JailByrds)

Opening acts featured some local talent, including singers aged 8, 13 and 14. They were all very good. I'm always encouraged when I see young people overcoming their fears and putting themselves out there to advance their art. I didn't take any photos of them. They were nervous enough without someone they don't know pointing a camera at them. 

Headlining the show was Charlie Parr - 

If you haven't seen him perform...you're missing an incredible talent. Seek him out. If he's ever in your area (or even out of your area), go see him. You won't regret it. I feel like I'm better off for hearing him talk about the "long view" and listening to him sing "I Ain't Dead Yet." And the man plays a pretty mean guitar. 

It was a great afternoon and a wonderful evening. There is one thing I don't understand, however. On my way to the concert, somewhere on the Prairie City Road, I stopped to marvel at a vast field of sunflowers.

It was quite a sight. But I don't know why they all turned their backs on me. 

Maybe they were just camera shy.

Roger O'Dea    8/7/2023

Between Two Skies

I had heard somewhere that the sky is a darker shade of blue at higher elevations. Personal observations from my recent travels have confirmed it. I covered 2,544 miles in five days at various elevations ranging from around 4,000 feet in Wyoming to over 9,000 feet at the summit of Mt. Rose in Nevada. I made it a point to do some sky gazing at both extremes. I really did see a difference. I saw a lot of other things, too. That's what I want to talk about. After connecting onto Interstate 80 in Southeast Wyoming I followed it all the way to Reno and it was quite unremarkable. On my return I dropped down to Highway 50, known as the Loneliest Road in America. 

It was much more interesting. In the 300 mile stretch across Nevada I saw gigantic strip mines carved out of mountainsides, fields of sagebrush as far as the eye could see, a giant sand dune over three miles long and 600 feet high, and small towns stuck in time. It was the towns that held the most interest for me, so I took time to explore several of them...in black and white. 

Inside an abandoned shack in Austin, NV

Looking down from the above shack on the town of Austin

Eureka, NV

Historic Middlegate stage stop near Fallon, NV

Adult entertainment in Ely, NV 

(There are two large copper mines nearby with a total 

of over 1,000 employees. Most of them men). 

One of many abandoned structures along the highway.

Sometimes, though, a photo with rich tones and contrasting textures requires color. Like this one -

I think this old shack was in Austin, but it could have been Eureka. Or Fallon. Or any one of those small towns located between the two skies. 

Roger O'Dea       5/16/2023

Jesus Revolution - A Review (and memoir)

I went to a movie with friends last night called Jesus Revolution. Almost changed my plans when I got there and saw that Cocaine Bear was also playing. Glad I stuck with the original plan because I really enjoyed it. Kind of funny that the first thing my friend Al Margheim and I mentioned after coming out of the theater was the music. If you know us at all you know that's how we roll. Killer soundtrack but not always accurate. The movie was set from about 1968 - 1972, but one of the songs featured didn’t come out until 1974 and another one 1977. I’ll allow some artistic license because they’re good songs that fit the mood of the scene. I did not, however, enjoy some of the movie goers acting like it was a revival meeting with their loud “amens” and comments. I thought of saying to them that this was not The Rocky Horror Picture Show and audience participation was not required. But I didn’t, and they calmed down a bit after awhile. Some of the characters in the movie reminded me of my own experiences during that time with the unkindness I was shown and holier-than-thou attitudes of a few church authorities and leaders. I remember, for example, visiting a local church and having one member of the hierarchy tell me I would never be fully accepted into their congregation unless I was able to “speak in tongues.” Well, I couldn’t see that happening so I left. Other scenes brought back some very fond memories of the friendships I had and fellowships I shared with some beautiful people. I also liked the fact that they included a VW van and an old beat up Corvair in some scenes. I had some good times with friends in a VW van and drove an old Rambler. It wasn't a Corvair, but pretty close. I later upgraded to a Chevy Impala which was way cooler.  So...yeah...I recommend the movie. Especially to people who were coming of age about that time. If you are between the ages of 62 and 72 it's going to be right in your wheelhouse. I also recommend it to anyone younger. You will see for yourself that your parents and grandparents dealt with a lot of the same things you might have dealt with while growing up or maybe even that you are dealing with right now. And...you may realize that we were actually pretty cool. Once upon a time.

Roger O'Dea      2/27/2023