Thinking about time passing us by...usually without a turning signal to give me a heads up about where we're going to go.  But time doesn't always give us direction, we need to steer our own ship while to clock is ticking.

Sometimes I am really grateful that time is moving on, leaving old scenarios behind and introducing us to new ones with fresh excitement and cheerful tunes.  These new melodies have a warmth and a pleasant light that brighten our path and lead us to new experience.  And yes, for these I am very grateful...the balmy breeze of  a summer's evening, the splash of cool water in the ocean waves, the morning songs of beautiful birds at the feeding in our back yards.  These gifts help to keep a balance with daily tasks of the material world: car repairs, light bills computer freeze-ups and so on.  

Time passing by gives us new eyes and new ears each day to catch a glimpse previously little-recognized events that were waiting for us as the hours, days, years go by.

 

SO, my question is, what is a lifetime?  do each of us have a ticking alarm clock ??

I purchased a nice little vacuum cleaner at
a very LARGE retail store a while back with a $2 a "Protection Plan".   Well that was on 9/6/2018 and the vacuum cleaner just broke, so I contacted the protection plan company and "chatted" with their very nice helper, and after typing in some receipt numbers (which I had saved) and some login information, "she" informed me that my plan expired on 9/6/2020 - at the end of the "TWO year plan".   So I asked, wasn't mine plan a lifetime plan - not just 2 years??  She said, only some plans are “”. So I asked, why wasn't mine a lifetime plan?  She said only refrigerator water filters are lifetime!!! well that was that, I thanked her for her time and assistance (I really wasn’t that upset – just perplexed) and I really don't need a refrigerator water filter that badly!! Not ever?  And not today anyway!

  SO, my question is, What is a lifetime?  do each of us have a ticking alarm clock or a blue ribbon somewhere at the finish line? Can we actually “buy” time somehow? Or is it “preordained”? Do we have any “control” on how long a lifetime might be? Billy Joel sang, “Only the good die young” as did Neilson in Abraham, Martin and John. Maybe this age-old (no pun intended) query is striking me now because I just crossed the 7-decade threshold and have been collecting Social Security for almost 10 years (Is it really that secure?)  But say, if we adhere to a very healthy diet regime, daily exercise, practice meditation, prayer and charitable service to others, does this give us a longer warrantee? Do vegetarians live longer? Do star athletes have guaranteed physical health until their last(??) breath?  Do saintly lives mean actual longevity?

    I think this is a subject well-worth pondering.  How long is a day and how valuable are the hours and minutes?  Could we all have more “meaningful” lifetimes if we asked these questions. In a wonderful impromptu interview on VH1 back around 1998, George Harrison proposed that inquiring about the “lifetime to come” gives us a much- needed sense of purpose and direction as we move on towards the “finish line” – from this life to the next, however we perceive it.

    So, I guess the moral is, if you buy a small lightweight vacuum cleaner, please, yes,  buy the 2-year protection plan, save your receipt and feed it lots a fresh vegetables if you want to use it for a long time!

The Prophet Muhammed said it best (paraphrased), “Trust is God and have Faith, but tie your camel”. So Please take care of yourself and those around you, as we all move steadily to a finish line somehow, sometime, somewhere.  And just to point out, this is the Baha’i month of Masa’il – meaning Questions!

          

The Long Walk Home

                                                  

I measure the distance

By cracks in the sidewalk

The number of houses

The minute hand on my watch

The worn out soles of my ten dollar sneakers

Or the puffy white clouds that pass me by

The ocean of space in the deep blue sky

The notes of the songs that play in my ears

These are the landmarks that I've seen though the years

But not the real markers that guide my way

These are much deeper - not of water and clay

These are the yearnings that I feel in my heart

Seeking some solace and to make a new start

“Dreams and schemes and Circus Crowds”

My inner spirit cries aloud

For meaning and purpose – just why and how?

Now I turn the corner and what do I see

The end of my journey just ahead down the street

Decisions I make for today or tomorrow

May well provide me with great joy or some sorrow

So I watch my feet as they step along

Then look up at the trees as I hear a new song

Not made of notes or rhythms or chords

But angelic voices coming straight from the Lord

Guiding my steps as I find a new way

Urging me onward to greet the new day

Though I may no longer   measure each stride

I just picture the ocean and the roaring tide

For the inner journey is not on the ground

But deep in my soul where true life is found

So now I’m nearing my welcoming door

And the long walk home has been traveled once more.

Larry Hosack  October 2013

Winter… Where hath gone thy fury?

Winter… Where hath gone thy fury?

What has become of the ice and snow that chilled 

               our limbs to the bone?

Where is the mantel of white that covered even the 

               roughest of landscapes?

When will you revisit our humble clime and once again 

               reveal your icy beauty?

Is there even a hint of your wrath as the winds die down 

              and the sun grows warm?

Can my chilled ears adjust to the refreshing sound of 

              warblers and jays and children outdoors at play?

Can the rushing waters of melting snow gradually become 

              the pleasant gurgling of a bubbling brook?

And now will the once-tired muscles from the shoveling  

              of the storm be replaced by the April task  of raking 
              away the old layer of lawn with its winter debris?

Is the frosty breath of a winter’s morn soon to be transformed 
              to the sweat of the brow on a quick morning run 
              or neighborhood stroll?

Questions, only questions.  And more queries to ponder…

               as the days become longer and brighter…

But the warmth of the Spring sun has once again 
               begun to erase the memories of 
               the harshest season in our fair land...

Filling the void with a joy and a glow that sinks deep
               into the heart of every true New Englander…

Hush now, the peepers are singing once again….
               and the crocus in all its tiny glory has 
               burst into the sunlight of the New Dawn…

Y'all come back now - but not for a while!

Bailey and Phaedra - happiness defined!

                                                                            

Memories of yesteryear often leave me dry

Hoping for the future, can make me kind of high

The mysteries of creation, keep me asking, “why”?

And living in the present is something that I try.

Worrying about money, can be a foolish thing

Learning another brand new song, always make me sing

Sanity is a treasured prize to which I firmly cling

And when hugged by my little granddaughters – I might as well be king!

Trying to stay healthy – is always a daily task

When wishing for divine assistance, we only have to ask.

I’m waiting for the summer sun, so in it I can bask

I‘m trying be open and truthful and put away my mask.

Although I’d like to rhyme all night – I have some things to do

Like cleaning up my basement space – but I haven’t got a clue

Of what to throw away or keep – and what to fix or glue

And send this little poem on Facebook for all of you!

With lots of smiles and joy!  Larry (the artist formerly from Lyman)

I Walked a Mile at Wal-Mart

    I walked a mile at Wal-Mart tonight, not inside but out -- in the parking lot.  I measured it with the van’s odometer, put on my hat and scarf and my $16 knock-off mP3 player from Hong Kong and stepped out into the night, flashlight in hand so I wouldn’t get hit with parking lot traffic.

    I do this because I need to, I’m diabetic, type II - and exercise, mainly walking, is the best thing for it, cardio-workout and all that.  And besides avoiding chocolate candy, ice cream, cookies and other no-no’s it helps to keep my blood glucose level down and shed some pounds at the same time.   But the fresh night air makes it all worthwhile with my favorite tunes playing in my own ear buds’ music studio.

   But what I really want to say is what’s inside my head and heart while all this is going on outside.  A warm sense of gratitude comes over me at times like this and my mind flashes from one moment in my life to another with emotions churning and filling me with wonder that I’m still alive at all!   Not to mention being happy with my life, my family and friends, my work, my music, my hobbies and always trying to learn about and practice more of the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith.  I have several Bahá’í prayers in my mind and heart which well up within me, giving comfort, clarity and direction, sorting out all those moments from the Past and present with all their bittersweet recollections of people and places from bygone times.

    At this particular moment I’m feeling a bit overly serious about all this reflection, so maybe it’s time for a little relief.  A reporter from the big city asked an old-time Mainer sitting out on his porch, “Have you lived all your life in these parts?”  And the gentleman responded, “Not yet…”

    And that’s’ about how I feel at this moment.  Looking forward as much as back, knowing that in December, coming up later this year, I’ll be singing, “Will you still need me, will you still feed me…?” and feeling like it’s a true miracle how rich life has been and seems to continue to improve.

  We did have the “empty nest” for a short while and happily our daughter and two beautiful grandchildren have made sure that we always remember our child- rearing years!!   I can’t say that our home was quiet before - we always have had music playing either live or recorded, and Leona has learned and perfected playing the 5-string Banjo in the past five years,  and we have the piano, a keyboard and guitars are always handy - but there’s nothing quiet like the laughter and unabashed playfulness of tw young girls, 3 and 7 – to keep things lively!!!

     Lastly tonight as I review this epistle, I have been strangely moved by the reading of a very special Biography of the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, Shoghi Effendi, who did more in a short lifetime (he passed away at just 60 years of age in 1957) for the future of humanity and our beloved planet Earth, than anyone will ever know until future historians can get a clear perspective on the evolution of Unity among all the races and nations of our world, still enveloped in the painful birth pangs of a New World Order that Shoghi Effect propelled with a “quantum leap” into a viable, functioning and divinely ordained Administrative Order, outlined by the Prophet-Founder, of the Bahá’í Faith,  Bahá’u’lláh and His Son, the Perfect Exemplar of His Teachings, ‘Abdul’-Bahá during the past 150 years – with very few of our world’s leaders,  religious or political have even begun to peruse.

    So tonight I am a grateful man, with so much to be thankful for and so much to look forward to.  Please God may I walk the straight path and keep my sights on the beautiful sun-lit horizon of the Dawn of Peace and Unity for our beloved earthly home….   ‘night all

Larry

South Berwick, Maine

PS - these are my own thoughts and reflections not official viewpoints of the Bahá'í Faith, for further study of the Bahá'í teachings please check    <www.bahai.us>

Birthday Poem Number 02102012

Birthday Poem Number 2-1-2012

I promised I would write a poem

Strictly from the heart

Also a month has passed us by

I think it’s time that I should start

Leona, my better half, was born on February 10^th

And our son Adam 38 years later

So on the 10^th we went out to dinner together

And a cake that was brought by our waiter!

It was a cozy restaurant up in Portland

That goes by the name of Silly’s

And as we sat and enjoyed our meal

We all had a case of the dillies

Now you probably haven’t seen a full case of dillies

But they’re packaged with smiles and laughter

It seemed that there was no end to the jokes

The came with the entrees and continued thereafter.

We sat together Leona and Adam

Who of course were our birthday stars

And Anisa also joined the occasion

After finding a place to park our three cars.

We missed the “girls” Phaedra and Bailey

And Jason was caring for them both

And we also missed Catherine and Greg

Who live many miles to the south.

But while thinking of everyone in our family

We shared some really good eats

And when the cake arrived we all sang the song

That came with the birthday treats.

So I say to you wherever you are

To share birthday joys with each other

Get all the gang and go out together

Whether father or mother or sister or brother.

Now Adam and Leona are one month older

And I’m grateful for our night on the town

But any family outing is really great

So celebrate your loved ones the whole year round

Larry Hosack

March 2, 2012

Happy Birthday Greg!

Dear Greg   Happy Late Birthday 2011  !!

At first I couldn’t think of what to say

That would make a difference in your day

Although you are now a full grown man

I’ll always be your biggest fan

‘Cause when you told me about your gig

I knew that this was something big

All those buttons, faders and wires

Have lifted your station to someone I’d hire

I know your new job is something great

And you will be a high-tech teacher first rate

Helping kids and teachers alike

You’re finding a niche that suits you just right.

Years ago I started to play --

Guitar in public, sometimes for pay

And now you’ve discovered this great avocation

You’ll never need another vacation!

‘Cause “doing sound” and “singing out”

Bring such joy - there is no doubt.

You’ll meet new friends and play great songs

With audiences everywhere singing along.

I know that music is more than “cords”,

And you have to remember a lot of words

But songs like yours go right to the heart

And this is where your true value starts

Sharing with others your joy of life

With melodies strong and support for your wife

I know that line doesn’t quite make sense

But I have to give Catherine her due recompense!

Your 31^st birthday now has come and gone

And the future is yours to enjoy from now on

Remember that a soundboard can be a big pain

But if you mix it just right you will certainly “gain”!!

Love Dad,   December 4, 2011

Green and Gold - Memories of Old

May 11, 2011

Dear Honeyhill Friends –

This writing brings me way back to yesteryear to my old hometown and neighborhood on Midrocks Drive,  the names, Tony Murphy, Fred Ehrlinger, Jack Richter, Sue Barish, Judy Sugarman, Fulton Li, John Elger, Johnny Saddler, Eric Warner, Joe Demaine, Andy Hatkoff, Michael Toobin, Betty Dell, Deidre Smith, Cheryl Wragg, Barbara Fife and others that may come to mind as I am writing.

My memories don’t seem to be in any order,  some pop up sooner than others, not sure why,  but they do.

I have vague recollections of playing around in the foundations of the school as it was being built, or course we weren’t supposed to be there, but it seemed like fun!   I also can still smell and feel the window putty we used to

gouge out with our fingers after the school was finished - for some reason?

I think we all can still hear Principal Mr. (Phillip) James, click his pen or pencil on his wedding ring as he walked down the hall – we could always tell when he was coming – like the crocodile in Peter Pan.

And if I’m correct, the 5^th and 6^th grade watched Alan Sheperd go up on the first 15 minute Mercury space flight in the Spring of 1961 on two fairly large black and white TV’s in the gym/auditorium  I think we also performed a version of  My Fair Lady on that stage at some point – and I remember my pre-puberty brain not getting any of the adolescent jokes the girls were making about the lyrics of some of the songs!!

And, those wonderful ballroom dance lessons in that same gym, where the boys sat on one side and the girls sat on the other and they “forced” us to mingle and chose partners to dance, I still can’t do anything but a simple 2-step.  Square dancing too I think.

And Ed Farris, are you reading this???  After a loud classroom session where everyone was talking out of control, you made us sit down the next day and listen to the song “You Talk Too Much”!!  We got the message.  Or the time that a “stink bomb” went off in your classroom and no one would fess up to the deed – so we ALL had to stay after school.  Does anyone know to this day who the culprit was?  It probably was an accident of some kind…

Way back around 3^rd grade – Miss  (Anna) Zanazzo was my teacher - We voted and chose the  Green and Gold Colors for our school – I remember we were all really proud, I still love those colors.  Did we have a school song?

Now Mr. Silva (Joseph) was one of my favorite teachers – it was in his class, (remember we had 4 rotating classrooms between Mr. Farris, Mrs. Olmstead Sawyer, Mr. Silva and another teacher) – in his class was where we had our first Atomic Bomb drills !!!   “Just hide under the desk, close the blinds and we’ll be safe!” sure…everything would be fine and we would be safe!!!! Did anyone ever question that??  Hello!!

We had some great field trips – memorable was the trip to the United Nations in New York – I think I sent Judy a few photos and I have a few more to send also – I’m going to try and upload them to an album on my facebook page…

One of my favorite friends was neighbor Freddie Ehrlinger, he was a fabulous baseball player, even at a young age, I think we saw Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris play at Yankee Stadium in the early 1960’s with the Recreation program out in the back of the school in the summertime.  We also used to have boxing matches in our back yard with real boxing glove s, no one ever got hurt  but we got in some good jabs…Later, in Jr. High, he started to fade out of social events and sports and for a long time no one told us why.  Turns out he had Hodgkin’s Disease and was undergoing intense radiation therapy – After high school I came back to Norwalk for Christmas break and visited Freddie in the Hospital, he was quite ill but we had a really nice visit.  He had earned his driver’s license and was taking courses at Norwalk Community College, but only lived a month or more into the new year.  His mother Vilma, brother Skippy and sister Jeanie were still around when I was back home to visit on several occasions.  I seem to recall that Vilma was a very jovial person and had a “crush” on Tom Jones in his platform shoes because he was so short – really…

And Miss Olmstead (at the time) our 5^th grade teacher, assigned us to write a report on what happens to a ham sandwich when we digest it…

Back to 2^nd grade, can’t remember the teacher – it was Miss Beladeau (I just found my old report cards in a keepsake box which my Mom had saved for me over many years – thanks Mom) Miss Beladeau made me stand out in the hall because I talked too much, humiliation itself.  Now I earn my living talking!!  Also in 2^nd grade we had a reading group out on the lawn in the fall or spring and I got stung by a bee on my lip – ouch. My Mom always put ammonia on bee stings – not sure why but it seemed the thing to do…

And something very meaningful happened to me in Mr. Silva’s class one day, the class was making various jokes and comments about something without giving it much thought, and I said something innocently about someone being a “guinea pig” and was quite taken aback when Mr. Silva called me out with him into the hall for a talk.  He informed me that the use of that term is sometimes offensive because the word “Guinea” sometimes referred negatively to Italian immigrants..  I apologized because I did feel bad but I also learned the importance of learning what words may mean before using them, and about the context of the words as well.

Now how many remember Winnepauk School, down the hill on Route 7.  We used to walk down Linden Street and cut in over a stone wall down a grassy slope to the playground and the back door of the school. Where my Kindergarten class was, complete with sandbox. I remember the teacher wrote in my report card that I ought to “swallow” more (drool less).  She was Miss Tomaselli and our first grade teacher there was Miss Della Russo.

We stayed at Winnepauk until after the Christmas vacation and then our whole class with Miss Della Russo moved up to be the first first grade at Honeyhill and we were the first “graduating class” five and a half years later who went all the way through Honeyhill.

 

Well it’s time to come back to the present and get some other work done, but this has been a pleasure and I hope it brings back memories and stories for everyone else…

I’m scanning some photos now, hope they come out nicely….

They got cars, I got boots!

Hi Everyone, these are some of the last traces of winter in our neighborhood, the first two even look like little puppies "Patches"!!!  the last one, I'll just call "Spot".  I've been walking to and from work for several years now, not every day but almost. Rain, snow, wind, heat or shine.  It's been an educational experience, observing the weather, feeling the fresh air, saying Hi to joggers, fellow walkers, or bicyclers.  Thinking about the day ahead or the day that just passed.  or What I'll be having for my lunch (I walk home for lunch break too - and most the of the time I walk back to work after 35-40 minutes)  Sometimes I figure out difficult problems, musical, financial, familial, creative, technical, psychological and so on. 
    Recently I've added a new feature to my daily footwork routine, a small inexpensive mP3 player that I bought on the internet for about 15 US dollars a few years ago. It's great! - I can put dozens (and dozens) of songs on it, of my choice, oldies, reminiscing songs, new hits, rock, country, classical,  folk - etcetera etcetera - - great fun to help pass the time without worrying as much about being tired, or the cold, snowy or hot weather (yes we do have summer in Maine).  And I arrive at work (or back home) with great tunes in my head that help (I'm sure) my endorphins to lift my mood or raise my HDL, even on the coldest days, at times this winter it was 10-15 degrees below on some mornings - I wear a coat (or two) with a nice warm scarf, a cool gray felt cap with a visor and flaps for my ears (that also help me hear the music "earbuds" better - a nice perk!) - gloves or mittens are not mandatory as I like my hands free to feel the air or plunge them into my pockets on the windchill mornings...
    Now many of you who might be reading this, already know how far it is to my work here in South Berwick, I was going to reveal that distance now - but decided to have anyone who would like - to make their best guess on my daily treks to and from work.  A hint would be that I did not walk 5 miles in the deep snow to go to my elementary school when I was younger, and I still don't walk that far!  By the way, we went back to my Mom and Dad's hometown of Bellevue (Pittsburgh suburb) PA many times over the years and found that my Dad's grade school was less than a mile from his house!!  So some memories aren't that accurate (or honest!!!). 
   Meanwhile, it was in the 40's today, and as the above pictures show, most of the snow melted this week, a few icy patches left, and the crocuses are pushing up everywhere and blooming, as a strong protest to the lingering winter weather.  So by the time people come to visit us this summer it will most likely be in the 70's or 80's, but not me, I'm only in my early 60' - really....  the ocean temp however will also be in the low 60's - too cold for anyone but the most avid tourists who want to get their money's worth after driving all the way up north to see our beautiful Maine, as the greeting sign says on Interstate 95 - "The Way Life Should Be".
     Thanks for reading this epistle, I'm very grateful for the beauty of this land, and if you every get the chance, my beautiful wife Leona has written and recorded with her group, "Salt River" - her song, "Livin' on the Coast of Maine".    Night night all!  and keep those sidewalks clear!!

Ueo Muite

Years ago, I'm old enough to say that!, there was a beautiful number One hit from Japan in the early 1960's called "Ueo Muite" - known for marketing purposes in the USA as the "Sukiyaki Song" - a sweet and beautiful melody with whistling and all - a song that was covered my several other artists over the years, all successful - and it was the only number one hit from Japan ever in the USA billboard charts.
     Another popular song from from Japan, usually sung by children in the schools, is a folk song called, "Sakura" - I woke up this morning singing this to myself and remembering the months I spent living with a Japanese family (Nihon no kazoku) in Sapporo, Hokkaido, with the AFS exchange student program, never knowing what effect it would have on my future.  As part of the experience I spent 3-4 days living with another host family in Sendai, yes Sendai.  How the name of that beautiful city comes back to me these recent weeks.  The harbor was a fantasy land dotted with green islands like dabs on a painting, with blue ocean waters all around - a National Park to be sure, but I'm also quite sure that much of it was overcome by the tsunami of late.  And yet the people find beauty within themselves and with each other, sharing warmth, water, food, prayers and shelter and triumphing over the tragedy around them.
    So as I remember these songs and others, such as "Kimito Itsumademo" for which I still have the lyrics in the original handwriting of my Japanese host Brother, Kotaro Uchida, in both Nihongo (Japanese - and
Eigo (English-Ramanji), I remember the beauty of their faces, their homes, their friendship, their hospitality and yes - their Food! (By the way, the best kept secret for Sushi - the real deal!- is at a restaurant in Newington, NH called "Great Buffet II" - during the week at noon, all you can eat buffet for $7.99 plus beverage - just a quick plug!). 
   So for many of us in many places, Japan is more that a Headline or a Tragedy, it is a place for beauty and love and caring and with international support they will learn with the rest of the world how to overcome this terrible situation which has come upon them.  So as the athletes in Japan say, "Gumbate!!"  Fight on!
Larry

larry lyrics

This is my first posting - lots of thoughts from over the years - maybe others might interested...

The Traveler

40 years have come and gone

Like a fleeting summer’s day

Learning lessons about my life

With loving friends along the way.

At the start, my heart was really lost

In a sea of false conclusions

Moving ever closer to the edge

And drowning in confusion.

Then a light appeared in the eastern sky

With a ray of hope it glimmered

Giving meaning to the empty days

The shining waters shimmered.

It gave me life amidst the fog

And led me to the fountain

With trails of light I came around

And found the misty mountain.

40 years did Moses roam

And 40 years He fasted

Praying to one God above

While strength and hope still lasted.

The Blessed Beauty walked this earth

With the lash and exile tortured

He gave the Word to all mankind

And planted the heavenly orchard.

For forty years He poured out His heart

His mind, His love and His Word

And back in time about 40 years

A glimpse of His beautiful voice I heard.

Now some have also walked this path

And traveled much further than I

But I remain so grateful and true

For the love and sweet friendship I see in their eyes.

So if you’re starting to travel this Way

His glorious gate is open wide -

Look down the path to where it bends

And take the one less traveled by.

leh    March 22,  2011