The Very Thought of You As I reflect on “The Very Thought of You,” I surmise that “you” can be used to suggest a single individual or the universal “you” representing a group, a gathering, community, or collective of individuals. As a song, the lyrics were written and sung by Ray Noble, but the classic lyricism and emotional laden quality of the words found other expressive voices such as Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Doris Day, Kay Starr, Sarah Vaughn, Rod Stewart, Billie Holiday, Etta James, Elvis Costello, Johnny Hartman, Nancy Wilson, Tony Bennett and probably countless others. The very thought of you And I forget to do The little ordinary things That everyone ought to do I´m living in a kind of daydream I´m happy as a king and foolish Though it may seem to me That´s everything The mere idea of you The longing here for you You´ll never know How slow the moments go Till I´m near to you I see your face in every flower You eyes in stars above...

Death, resurrection.  A door closes, a window opens.  For every closure, there is a new beginning.  The end is the opening for a new beginning.  Seasons change. In all these scenarios, the focus is on the process and not necessarily the elements that create a period of transition, a moment of change.  So, what does it mean to embrace the valedictorian when a year later another person plays the same role?  We herald a championship athletic team in one season to be replaced by another winner a year later.  We hear “last call” and know hours later the festivities will resume, yet again.  A corporate CEO leaves, another comes in.  A nation’s political leader is eventually displaced, reaches closure.  A new leader emerges to accolades from the people.     In moments of transition, we focus not on the process but the individuals involved.  And for every end of a creative season, whether or not it i...

When any community, especially a community of creative people, is supportive and in tune with each other, a member(s) can miss an event, but the event remains powerful and stimulating.  While Lisa and I missed Thursday’s “word, revisited” featured speaker and open mic, we researched event highlights noted by audience comments on their social media postings, their evaluative thoughts expressed in e-mails, as well as words from an organizing partner and comments from the featured speaker.  “It was a good night…open mic poets (9 readers!)  We had a new reader, a truck driver, Jim Spencer, who was excellent. I read Heidi's bio from her book and told a little bit about my past associations with her on different projects for an introduction. We all missed you.” - Ron Van Nostrand The post-event general consensus is that the Carriage House Theater was a room full of people.  During the open mic session, Karen Faris , a Rochester, NY based writer, poet, and mixed...

We exist in a global community.  Our spirit is skewed towards sharing various creative opportunities regardless of geographical location.  Why?  Because you never know who might see a “share” or receive an e-blast message where the recipient knows somebody, who knows somebody, who knows somebody…. More importantly, in our world, knowing what cultural institutions are doing to expand the visual, performing, and historical arts is important to us.  Our global community is distant yet local.  International yet community-based…. So, here is the necessary information regarding a new exhibition opportunity for visual artists, and please share to your contacts.  Any questions should be sent directly to the museum.  The Cayuga Museum located at 203 Genesee Street in Auburn, New York, USA is hosting a brand new series of rotating art exhibits in 2018.  The series is designed to be a showcase of different emerging artists from central New ...

  Heidi Nightengale (photo provided) In the late Nineties, I interviewed Heidi Nightengale for a position in Cayuga Community College’s Continuing Education Division under the leadership of associate dean Keith Batman, who currently chairs the Cayuga County Legislature. At that time, I found Ms. Nightengale to be keenly intellectual possessing a high degree of purpose, dedication and focus to serving the needs and aspirations of others. Goal driven with a creative spirit and engaging personality, Ms. Nightengale served the college quite well. Flash forward over 20 years and Heidi continues to exhibit the same qualities that impressed me back in the day. And she has become a well-respected poet, writer and most recently a publisher where she brings together all of her professional skills, savvy, and creative abilities to Clare Songbirds Publishing House. Heidi Nightengale has been writing and publishing in local, regional and national literary magazines for over 25 ...

Was it the Dells who sang that phrase in 1969 or ‘just my imagination running away with me’ manipulating my brain to categorize the intimacy, caring, and gracious spirits that permeated Thursday evening’s “ word, revisited ?” Featured speaker, Dr. John W. Crowley and Bill Berry, Jr., CEO/Publisher, aaduna   John W. Crowley conducted a well-paced informative lecture fueled by scholarly knowledge, wit, booming laughter, and a soft cadence that resonated with his audience. His topic dealt with the history and scope of 19th century books illuminated by historical anecdotes, publishing formats, and behind the scenes historical observances.  Mark Twain's "The Innocents Abroad (1869) book cover   Dr. Crowley covered pre-Civil War and subsequent book publishing initiatives and direct marketing strategies to solicit the ordering of subscription books by the general public, and then delivering those purchased books into the hands of a welcoming public....