The Gathering

The worst sin - perhaps the only sin - passion can commit is to be joyless.




Dorothy Sayers

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Hello Linda

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Now it's Autumn. Most people cal it The Fall, I call it The Gathering. "Fall" is too much of a negative word, too close to Fail. Nothing should fall in Autumn except leaves, eventually, after they have blessed us with Nature's miraculous paint job.



But the Gathering is a more appropriate title for the last full season of the year. It's a time to reap and gather in the crops, all kinds of crops. The ideas that were formed last winter, were planted in The Spring and grew into realization are waiting to be gathered up and enjoyed.



Autumn is a time for joy and celebration, a time to look over the accomplishments of the year and rejoice. It's not a time to dread the approaching winter or to regret that more was not accomplished. No, the Autumn attitude should be a joyous one full of gratitude and thanksgiving.



The Gathering is a time for New England clam bakes on the beach, for shucking the ears of corn and boiling them up, a time for pumpkin pies and fresh cranberries.



Autumn is a time to go back to school. a time for concert, opera and ballet seasons to begin and baseball season to wind up and throw it's final World Series pitch.



Autumn is a time for families, for home and for preparation. Winter is my favorite season, but I love The Gathering.



DB - Vagabond Journeys

Never give up.

Get It Done

We may not achieve everything we strive for, but if we strive for everything, what we do achieve will be amazing.




Dana Bate

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Hello Ken

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Ah strife. Ah failure. A frustration. All of those things we all have to face in life. "If at first you don't succeed drop it, forget it, give up and run away." Right? Wrong. Success is failing nine times out of ten tries. Knowing that and remembering it in the sweat of struggle will poke a big hole in the seemingly solid armor of frustration and futility.



Edward Phelps wrote "The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything" The important thing is to not look back. You tried, you lost touch, you messed up, you failed, you learned a lesson, now get on with life. If it's truly important you will do it right eventually.



Everything starts with an idea, then follows imagination and a vision. A plan is designed and the proper tools are gathered whether they be physical, financial, emotional or intellectual.. Then a hypothesis is formed and the testing begins. At some point you or someone else will ask "Can you really do that>" You have a choice of answers, either "I don't know but I'm going to try." or "Yes."



So you begin and at first things go along great. But then uunexpected problems occur. Maybe you have to rethink your design, or maybe you have to keep going assured that it's the best plan. Thumb your nose at failure and make the adjustments you have to make. Then proceed. As you get close to your goal the going gets very rough. It's painful. It's quitting time? No. Remember Roger Bannister who broke the 4 minute mile barrier. He said "The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win."



So you win and you have the right to claim the joy of accomplishment. You carry the blazing torch of achievement. But this one happy fact I can tell you that I learned from my unpredictable vagabond life. No matter how much you do there is always more to be done.



Dana Bate - Vagabond Journeys

Never Give Up

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Attention Must Be Paid

Ordinary lives of ordinary people can be made into high art.




Russell Banks

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Hello Lily

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It all began with Figaro. He was a character invented by the French playwright Pierre Beaumarchais (1732 - 1799). He wrote three plays on the subject of Figaro who was essentially a barber, a simple but clever man with wit and intelligence who eventually worked his way up to a position of power and influence. Beaumarchais' plays were originally produced prior to the French revolution in which he was involved and also in the American. revolution.



It was said that the French aristocracy would come and see the plays and laugh at the preposterous idea that a simple man, a commoner, should attain such power and be so capable of wielding it. Soon however the revolution came and the aristocrats had stopped laughing. Figaro was a prophetic character. Which makes one stop and pay attention..



It took some time before Beaumarchais' idea caught on. French and Italian opera was still being written about kings, queens, nobles and holy men until

Giacomo Puccini whose characters were ordinarily people with real stories. One of his most famous operas is Madama Butterfly about a Japanese girl who marries an American naval officer thinking he will return to her and the love affair will last forever.. When he finally does return, with his American wife, the poor girl kills herself. That opera is very popular in the US even though it doesn't paint a good picture of us. It makes one stop and pay attention.



One of the greatest American plays is "Death of a Salesman" written by Arthur Miller and first produced in 1949 on Broadway It starred Lee J. Cobb and Mildred Dunnock. Willy Loman is a traveling salesman, he, his wife and two sons are trying to make a go of it in an uncertain world and it's a desperate struggle. It is a prophetic ploy for sure since it is the recessions this country has suffered that has created many Willy Lomans. Vacillating between useless bravado and depressing failure he eventually kills himself just as the mortgage is paid off and they are"free and clear." Willy says through the play "attention must be paid."



Aristocrats may lead extraordinary lives, but it's the ordinary people who tell the true stories of life.



Dana Bate - The Vagabond

Never give up.

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Young Again

There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.

Sophia Loren
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Hello Lily
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Sophia Loren, one of the finest artists of the 20th Century, rarely makes appearances on TV interview programs. I suspect, like many actors, she has a private life that she cherishes and protects. But she did make one exception years ago and allowed herself to be interviewed by a well known evening TV personality who will mercifully remain nameless. He was apparently so stunned by her beauty, her charisma and her magnetism that he was basically tongue tied. She wasn't there to talk about a recent film but that's all the host seemed to think about.

I was thinking to myself that if I had Sophia Loren sitting across a table from me no doubt I would be dazzled by her beauty but I hope I would be able to scramble up enough courage to engage her in a conversation. The first question I think I would ask her is "When did you know you were an actor?"

Her quotation above points at and labels some of the most important sources that exist in any person's life. We are thinking creatures if we choose to be. The thoughts, ideas, dreams, visions that the human mind is capable of are rich ores to be mined and used. They re the stuff of life.

You don't have be an artist to use them, but along with them come your talents, whatever they may be, and the combination is revivifying. Putting imagination to work on any venture is likely to provide one with a sense of purpose and future, a carriage ride into agelessness.

It isn't necessary to describe yourself or what you do. One who is involved in many things without rushing around just being busy but who can calmly and creatively take up the challenges that occur or that one makes for oneself is living a vigorous and productive life that lends much joy to you and other people. When there is something going on that grabs your interest and keeps it, there will be no telling how young you are.

DB - The Vagabond
Never give up.
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Look Into My Eyes

Doubt whom you will, but never doubt yourself.

Christian Bovee
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Hello Sue
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There is no such thing as an absolute sceptic, or so I am told by first year philosophy students. They have sure arguments all lined up to prove it. I believe them. But I also think it is probably a sensible thing to be a sceptic in moderation. After all one doesn't want to believe everything one reads and hears. It goes beyond just determining if a thing is right or wrong. One should also determine the relative value of something, relative to its usefulness in its area of operation and also to its claims to value.

Moderate scepticism is healthy at most times. Mild scepticism may miss important flaws and extreme scepticism may lose sight of values, "throwing out the baby with the bath water" as the saying goes. Nevertheless, all thoughts, ideas, theories, facts, reports, beliefs, opinions and particularly politicians claims all deserve to come under the scrutiny of an honest doubting mind. But there is a place where being skeptical has to stop.

Her name was Lisa. She was 18, a high school senior. I went to her class to talk to the students about theatre and acting in particular. They were a lively and intelligent group. They asked the type of questions that got me thinking about my answers. One girl sitting at the end was full of questions about what it was like to live as an actor. I decided she was probably interested in a show business career and so I asked her that. She said she didn't know but she was thinking about it. Then she said she didn't think she was good enough. I asked her why she thought that and finally got her to say she was very unsure of herself in general.

I picked up my chair and moved over to right in front of her and sat. I took her hands and stared into her eyes. I wanted to look past the pretty girl with the sweet voice. I looked past the meadows and lagoons in her eyes, deep into her being, where I saw the fire of life.

I said very quietly and slowly: never.....doubt.....yourself............promise me.
She answered in a whisper "yes."

I picked up my chair and went back to the rest of the group. I never saw Lisa again. I hope it worked.

DB - Vagabond Journeys
Never Give Up
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Take Your Time

Judge not your brother.
Walk a mile in his shoes.
You'll see he's doin' the best that he can do.
Like me and you.

Eric Bibb
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Hello Lily
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I confess that in my younger years I had little patience with older folks. I thought they were slow, ignorant, muddle headed and altogether a drain on society. I was a member of the never-trust-anyone-over-30 generation. By the time I was 31 I had realized the foolishness of that prejudice. I had simply ignored the fact that older people had lived longer than I and undoubtedly had lessons and life experiences I knew nothing about.

My education into the world of older folks began to grow as I worked with actors who were older and more experienced not only about acting but about life, love, success and happiness. When I heard about struggles, lost opportunities and lost loves I realized there were scars from wounds I never had and might not have if I was lucky and paid attention.

I'm grateful to say I didn't have to reach the age of 31 before I began to see the real gold in those who had lived twice as long or longer than I had. The old geezer sitting on a park bench feeding the pigeons, or walking haltingly down the street with a newspaper stuck under his arm, or the old lady on the bus with leggings tucked under her skirt, or being pushed in her wheelchair, may be the owners of amazing stories of adventure and survival.

I met such a woman one day. She had a story to tell. Her husband would push her around in her wheelchair every afternoon in good weather. I saw them frequently. One day I stopped to talk and found out that years ago she entered a contest for a new bread recipe. She won it, they gave her a chuck of money and named the bread after her. It can still be found on some supermarket shelves.

One day I was in a supermarket line and in front of me was a very old woman. When she reached the check out with her few purchases she fumbled in her purse for her money. The man behind me grumbled and told her to hurry up. I turned and said to him "She's an old lady, she's lived a long life and she has a right to dodder if she wants to." Then I said to her "You take your time sweetheart." She looked up at me with a big smile and said "Thank you sir."

Now that I have achieved senior citizenship (or, old manhood, if you must) there are those around me who think I'm a doddering old fool. I live alone, walk slowly, don't use dope or listen to rap. What good am I? But beware, if I'm at the check out and you tell me to hurry up you might get an earful you'll regret

DB - The Vagabond
Never give up.
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Flip The Dial

Fire can't be made with dead embers, nor can enthusiasm be stirred by spiritless men.

James Baldwin
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Hello Ernie
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I've spent much time and effort scraping through embers trying to find a spark to light up the spirits, other people's and my own. It's so easy to shut down the fire and settle for the hum drum. "Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear yo not?" (Mark 8) Why do we maintain the habit of looking at the world as if it was mainly uninteresting? Why do we not look for the invisible things, and listen to hear what may be inbetween the sounds around us? Have we forgotten or do we take for granted that we have a mind filled to abundance with thoughts, ideas, dreams?

Remember the radio with two stations? You don't? I bet you have the feeling right now that I am about to remind you. I wrote about it a couple of times. It's a Cabbalist idea. Imagine there is a radio and it plays only two stations. One of them broadcasts only good news, and the other one only bad news. Now image that you turn the radio on and set it at the good news station. But as soon as you turn your back and walk away it automatically flips over to the bad news station. When you realize it you have to go back and readjust the dial, until the next time.

Now imagine that this radio is your mind and the way it works. Right? How many hours a day do you listen to the bad news, the fear, worry, anger, resentment, doubt, depression, despair? Dial flipping is seriously needed there.

Believe me I know how difficult it is to get that dial pointed in the right direction, especially since the bad news station has given you something to worry about or to be afraid of. You don't want to let go of it. You would almost rather chew your head off than hear some cheerful news. You are enjoying the misery. And that's why you need an impulse, a reminder, a kick. And that's where the vagabond comes in.

I have just about typed my finders to the bone stirring up the embers, trying to get people to stay tuned to the good news station and to remind them that the human spirit when armed with the everything of good thoughts and not the nothing of bad thoughts is a powerful force, and when focused on the ins and outs, the ups and downs and the backs and forths of life it can perform miracles.

Remember, the opposite of good isn't evil.
The opposite of good is good-and-evil.

Dana Bate - Vagabond Journeys
Never Give Up