MONDAY 20th & TUESDAY 21st
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Rod on Maui, August 2003.
Photo by John Scoggins.
©2003 by Stanyan Entertainment.
A Thought for Today
Self-pity is a recreation for the
intellectually unemployed.
.ASK
ROD
Here’s more of the mail that has been piling up.
“WHITE HAIRED LOSER”
Hey, Rod......Your 'Fields of Wonder' was given to
me by a superb lover.....but on going through it, now 30 years
later........how would you like being classed as a 'white haired
loser'.....? Pissed off as an ex-teacher, having battled for 25 years
through today’s shit-brained smart assed teenies.
Dear Xavarian, I find that a fair enough question and pretty easy to
answer. My hair is now as white as it can get but if I were called a loser
it would roll off my back because I don't believe the term applies to me.
Having tried to live my life honestly without hurting anyone in the
process, learning as I live and trying to pass along as much of that
knowledge as possible I haven't always been in the winner's circle, but
I've had more good days than bad.
I could certainly do better and that is a worry every day of my life.
The subject of that poem was and still is a loser, because of his
continued contempt for himself and his students. Most of all his inability
through the years to teach any of them very much of importance separates
him from any and all the other instructors I’ve encountered over the
years. If that sounds harsh, so be it. Sadly I'm surprised and
disappointed that my first assessment of him still stands.
To my way of thinking teachers are our most important asset. All of them
are overworked and underpaid and alas these days most have to spend more
time policing their classrooms than using them for the purpose intended.
Teachers are too often caught between uncaring parents and know nothing
faculties. God bless every teacher and I hope you occasionally remember to
thank him or her for your ‘superb lover.’ Warmly, Rod
ROD IN YELLOWSTONE THE MOVIE
Hi Rod, Melinda, Kyletta and I had a most enjoyable
trip through Yellowstone Park a couple of weeks ago, and one of our
highlights was seeing the movie *Yellowstone* at the IMAX Theater in West
Yellowstone. We were all enjoying the movie very much when all of a sudden
there comes a very, very familiar voice and we all grabbed hands......YOU
were the narrator for the portion of *Yellowstone* about Old Faithful. It
made a great trip even greater. If it hadn't been for YOU, none of us
would have met and definitely not been on that trip together. We were
sorry that you were not listed in the credits.
Looking forward to the release of your new book *Rusting in the Rain*.
Hope you are well and busy. Love to you. Linda Becker
Dear Linda, Great hearing from you and getting the report on your
collective visit to Yellowstone. I still haven’t seen the Yellowstone
film, except for some bits and pieces when I overdubbed the narration. The
clips I saw were not in the Imax surround format. Over the years I’ve done
quite a bit of voice over work for Imax, they are a nice group of people
to work with and the dubbing is usually done on one of the soundstages at
Skywalker studios in West Los Angeles.
Unless it’s animation voice overs seldom get screen credit.
These have been busy months as I put a final polish on Rusting in the Rain
so it can be published before Christmas. I don’t have Susan Badger to help
me as I did on “A Safe Place to Land,” so it is taking me a lot longer
than I imagined it would.
We are having a long, long Indian summer here in Southern California but
other than doing some much needed work in the garden, cleaning up,
planting bulbs and laying out a couple of hundred pansy plants, I haven’t
been able to take much advantage of it. As ever, Rod
BLUSH
Rod, I send you gentle strokes to the small of your
back, circling tender childhood memory. You see, shards of my heart pinned
me to a wrought iron bench in Manzanillo, 1968. Your poems released me,
put me back in flight to Montana. There, maudlin evenings listening to
"The Sea" finished the rehabilitation. Your web site gave me the means to
send you love. Thank you dear man, Aspen
Dear Aspen, Wow! A moment ago I had a headache but it’s all gone now. Luv,
Rod
BEAR FAMILY ALBUM
What about the release of the "Bear Set" that was
postponed from Carnegie Hall? Hope the writing continues to go well...I
can remember how thrilling it was to have my Stanyan Street copy arrive in
the mail--OH so long ago. Surran
Dear Surran, no firm date on the release of the RCA / Bear Family boxed
set but I should know something soon. The writing and rewriting on the
book is coming along well. All my best, Rod
AT TWENTY-ONE
Mr. McKuen - I came across your poetry in a used
bookstore, with an original copy of "listen to the warm"... I later
collected "in someone's shadow", "Stanyan street and other sorrows", and
my favorite, "with love." these books are older than I am - I'm 21 years
old - but when I found them, I felt like I had found the expression of
things I wanted to say for much of my young life. I'll be honest - I
hadn't heard of you before - but now that I have these precious vintage
books, your poetry has become very close to my heart. thank you for
feeling and expressing the way you have! sincerely, Jen Nightingale
Dear Jen, I have been writing for a long time now, nearly all my life, and
I've been lucky to have had a loyal and growing following for most of that
time. Nothing pleases me more than to have younger people find something
relative to their own lives in words or songs that I wrote long ago. It
validates my need to continue writing and helps prove something that I
have always felt; as people, whatever our age or circumstance we are all
pretty much alike. We all have the same needs and feelings.
Thanks for brightening my day and I hope you stick around for the next
twenty years to see what I have up my sleeve that I haven't let go of yet.
With affection, Rod
I hope your week is a good one and that you will join Ken on Wednesday for
“This One Does it For Me.” I’ll be back Thursday with another installment
from “Little Towns & Pretty Places.”
RM 10/19/2003 6:20 PM PDT
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