Tag: peace

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“When the deep purple falls over sleepy garden walls
And the stars begin to flicker in the sky
Through the mist of a memory you wander back to me
Breathing my name with a sigh

In the still of the night once again I hold you tight
Though you’re gone, your love lives on when moonlight beams
And as long as my heart will beat, lover we’ll always meet
Here in my deep purple dreams
Here in my deep purple dreams”

  • The song was written by the composer and radio performer Peter De Rose in the early 1930s, and it became a standard when the lyricist Mitchell Parish added words to it in 1938. Parish was known for sweeping, romantic lyrics – some of his other compositions include “Stardust” and “Sophisticated Lady” – and he turned the song into a touching ballad. The song was recorded by a number of orchestras, including those led by Artie Shaw, Paul Whiteman, Guy Lombardo and Larry Clinton. In 1939, it was a #1 hit for Larry McClinton and His orchestra.

    Many popular vocalists also recorded it, including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sammy Davis Jr. In the Rock Era, the song charted first when Billy Ward & His Dominoes took it to #20 US in 1957 (their last crossover Top 40 hit). Tempo and Stevens had by far the biggest hit with the song, but Donny & Marie Osmond returned it to the charts in 1976 when their version hit #14 in the US.

  • Nino was supposed to sing the second chorus by himself, but he “blanked out,” so April fed it to him line by line as the tape was rolling. A friend listening to the recording thought that April’s “narration” would make “Deep Purple” a #1 record… but not Nino, initially – April took two months to convince him that the narration was OK. Ertegun didn’t like “Deep Purple,” either – he mothballed it and released “Paradise” instead. “Paradise” sank without a trace.

    Nino demanded that Ertegun release “Deep Purple” as a single or release them from their contract from Atlantic Records. Ertegun agreed to the single release, stating that if “Deep Purple” didn’t become a hit, his and April’s contract would be terminated.

  • When this song was released as a single, Ahmet Ertegun had so little faith in it that he thought the B-side, “I’ve Been Carrying a Torch for You so Long That I Burned a Great Big Hole in My Heart,” had a better chance of becoming a hit.
  • Won the Grammy for Best Rock & Roll Recording of 1963.

 

I ask for prayers for myself (and my wife) tomorrow morning. I go in for another heart cath in hopes of finding the cause for my lingering angina (18 months post triple bypass). Been a rough road to recovery and am confident I have the right cardiologist for the job.

PEACE OUT ††† jw

“Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.”
– Dorothea Lange

 

 

IMAGES OF SMALL THINGS FROM THE BIGGEST COUNTY IN TEXAS #706 – ENJOY THE CALM

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“When the world is all at odds
And the mind is all at sea
Then cease the useless tedium
And brew a cup of tea.

There is magic in its’ fragrance,
There is solace in its’ taste;
And the laden moments vanish
Somehow into space.

And the world becomes a lovely thing!
There’s beauty as you’ll see;
All because you briefly stopped
To brew a cup of tea.”

~ Unknown author

I actually drink more coffee than tea. Yet, the alure of the romance of tea, the whole ceremony of brewing and serving pulls on me with a constant force.

enjoy your morning with the beverage of your choice. †  en theos ††† jim

IMAGES OF SMALL THINGS FROM THE BIGGEST COUNTY IN TEXAS #694 – PRE-DAWN GLOAMING WITH MY CAT

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I was up early yesterday morning. Well, early for me, it was before the sun came up. It was so peaceful wandering around my yard in the gloaming.

In the Gloaming
by Meta Orred

In the gloaming*, oh, my darling!
When the lights are dim and low,
And the quiet shadows falling,
Softly come and softly go;

When the winds are sobbing faintly
With a gentle unknown woe,
Will you think of me, and love me,
As you did once long ago?

In the gloaming, oh, my darling!
Think not bitterly of me!
Tho’ I passed away in silence
Left you lonely, set you free;

For my heart was crush’d with longing,
What had been could never be;
It was best to leave you thus, dear,
Best for you, and best for me.

*gloaming is the twilight that occurs at dusk and dawn; I’m reminded of Yeats’s line about “The blue and the dim and the dark cloths/Of night and light and the half-light”

The trick is to not be gloomy in the gloam….en theos ††† jim

IMAGES OF SMALL – THINGS FROM THE BIGGEST COUNTY IN TEXAS #663 – Finding your road.

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“Part of everyone’s journey in life is to arrive at precipice or fork in the road or at the end of a path and to realize we no longer know our way. Hard as this is, this is where the inner journey begins, when all we’ve carried has served its purpose and now we must burn it for warmth and to see what’s next. This is when the soul shows itself, if we will listen. This is when we assume our full stature and make our own path.”  Mark Nepo

Midway in Our Journey

“Just when we’re softened by the years,

when we have enough experience to see

for ourselves, our maps are torn from us.

This can be frightening, but there’s

divine timing in the dissolution of a

stubborn mind, the way an inlet waits

on the last rock to crumble so it can

find its destiny in the sea. Losing the

way set out by others is necessary so we

can discover for ourselves what it means

to be alive. Now we can burn the clothes

others have laid out for us, not in anger

but to light our way. Now we can let the

soul spill its honey on the unleavened life

we’ve been carrying. Now we can rise. ”  ©Mark Nepo

I have gotten part of this down, “the softening of the years” that part I am coming into peace with. The rest is coming, but it is still a little further down the road.

Hit those high notes while you still have the voice. ††† en theos ††† jim

IMAGES OF SMALL THINGS FROM THE BIGGEST COUNTY IN TEXAS #608 – LIFE ON THE EDGE!

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My cat. Peach, knows how to live on the edge. She can come right to the edge of the ledge and relax and enjoy it. Sleep on it, let a leg dangle off of it. There is security knowing that you will always land on your feet. And you will.

Go to the edge and at least take a peak! ††† en theos ††† jimwork

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IMAGES OF SMALL THINGS FROM THE BIGGEST COUNTY IN TEXAS #570 – Memories that come through the nose.

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So here I am, continuing my trip down memory lane.

Just as I was wooed by my eyes with the notice of my old marbles, my nose seemed jealous and wanted to add some flavor of it’s own. As we walked a couple of evenings ago, a certain smell brought seasoning of it’s own doing.  Not a flower or a bush, the sort of smell that wafted nostalgia. Ah, the smell of fresh landry placed out in the fall air to dry. The feel of my youth, straining to reach the non-sagging end of the clothesline. The comforting smell and the clean crispness of gathering of garments made afresh from the wash of the fall air.

I think a little of my waxing nostalgic is brought on by my approaching sixty fifth birthday.  A number that seems way too big to fit into my frame of mind. It is causing me more mental conflict than any of the other candles that have been burned away. Throw in fall, my favorite season if for no other reason than of all the great smells that carry me back.

So, I followed my eyes and nose to the source in my neighbors backyard. I felt the smell as the clothes were tousled by the breeze. Such a gentle and calming moment. But like our short fall season, it will quietly fade into winter and then come freshly back alive next spring.

Follow your nose to a place of peace. ††† en theos ††† jimwork

IMAGES OF SMALL THINGS FROM THE BIGGEST COUNTY IN TEXAS #567 – A gate to the beauty of the end of day

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“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.”
― Rabindranath Tagore

We have been so blessed with our weather (rain), cool temperatures, lots of bugs & butterflies, and some of the best  southwest Texas sunrises & sunsets. This view was given to me earlier this week on our evening walk with Clovis & Grace.  A little more than a block away from my home I came upon this structure and view. I have walked past a thousand times giving it little more than a glimpse. On this evening it was aglow in that brief gift of the golden hour and one just had to stop and admire. To wonder not only of God’s work, but what man had long ago crafted this gate. Before there was a neighborhood, it was his ranch, his land and I had never walked by.

Gates are made to both keep out and to let in. It let in a moment of wonder and reflection that now sits in my overflowing cupboard of life’s blessings.

Are  gates keeping you out or letting you in? ††† en theos ††† jimwork

Photos on the journey #457

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Some days, I question what the hell am I planting ?

What am I growing?

Do I even produce fruit from which to be judged?

Sometimes it feels that the best option is to grow nothing and then, do you avoid being judged?

Peace out, Praying for a calm week and to at least prepare the soil. ††† en theos ††† jim

Photos on the journey #449

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 The angel spoke to the women: “There is nothing to fear here. I know you’re looking for Jesus, the One they nailed to the cross. He is not here. He was raised, just as he said. Come and look at the place where he was placed.

“Now, get on your way quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He is risen from the dead. He is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.’ That’s the message.”….Matt 28:5-7

Peaceout ††† en theos ††† jlawrence