It’s like building a campfire, by yourself, outside in the woods. Right now it’s just warmth and light for me and maybe the occasional passer by. But I find it a comfort, I take delight in the flickering flames. Big into marshmallows….the perfect toast, the char crispy, each with charm.

I find no joy gathering at the Facebook flame…..somehow Instagram has dodged the Meta bullet, but only for now. It’s all tainted. They sold us out, the Gentlemen at the Dinner. Of course they did.

Everything is political. Nothing is political. Helene reminded us up here in Western NC that people are people - people who need help in an emergency are just folk. Help them. It is not about where you worship or how you vote. Help them. This is the truth between humans, between all critters and living things, really. This is also in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and those in the Government who say they follow his teachings would be wise to pay attention. (NB - I do believe kindness and charity are components of all the major religions. There’s no monopoly on generosity or selflessness.)

“Have Mercy, “ The Bishop said. This seems far from the reality. PEPFAR - a federal USAID program which saved millions of people from HIV/AIDS overseas has been defunded. Food kept from hungry children, all over the world. I could go on. We know the brutality….. if we can be real with it enough to not look away. It is hard to keep looking at Palestine, and Israel, to want justice, yes, and also peace. Network news has fully averted its gaze. The lead story last night on NBC News was BILLY JOEL’S ILLNESS. I love Billy Joel…I like him fine. I am sorry for his health issues. THE LEAD?!?!?!?!??!?

And yet we all need a place to be with the things that are real that transcend politics….MUSIC. FOOD, PLANTS, BOOKS. I know it is possible to have conversation and connection through these things. And I will try to keep my political thoughts and questions on a tab about politics. A tab that includes the Democracy Now! Livestream link. :-)

Right now I am building out the SWZZLSTK76 radio library so the Live365 Radio can shuffle without too much repeat. Over the past two weeks or so I have doubled it. It seems the shuffle does like to repeat things….but now it has a deeper reach??….you are welcome to ride the wild mustang of SWZZLSTK76 internet radio as we learn the algorithm together. Listening is free of charge. You need only push PLAY. The catalog includes Grateful Dead, Phil, Ani, Mule, Carole King, Beatles, Rufus Wainwright, The Cure, Nirvana, Frank Sinatra, Allman Brothers, Joan Armatrading, Coltrane, Mother Love Bone, Gladys Knight, the rare Sandra Bernhard cut, the occasional Sondheim, the random Britney Spears. lots of live recording excerpts but also studio tracks: rare one hit wonders and 70s/80s hits too. AM Gold. New Orleans Funk. My hope is it is the place you go when you can’t decide. Imo, it’s all good music, and if you don’t like this track, the next will most probably be VERY DIFFERENT. This may be somewhat tragique, but while I was uploading audio tracks I thought a lot about people here in Western NC impacted by Helene, and those in the Palisades Fires - people who have lost everything. I thought that if I had lost my entire music library in a disaster, tuning into SWZZLSTK76 Radio would bring me happiness. I’ve tried to avoid the truly jarring discordant stuff. I would like this to be, in general, a place of refuge.

So…….I need to collect more firewood for my blaze, and I do appreciate that folks’ attention spans are limited. I am glad to have shared more about what I am doing here. You are welcome to sit by the fire and stay a while. XO.