Just as the US was on the brink of its Civil War, the poet Walt Whitman wrote his short poem "I Hear America Singing". Some say he wrote it on the 3rd of July 1860 as he listened to the streets and open windows of his neighborhood in my hometown of Brooklyn NY. He was 39 years old, unemployed and living in a basement apartment with his mother and two sisters when he wrote this poem.

He also spent some time that summer in Boston working on the first edition of "Leaves of Grass"- an iconic collection of his poetry.

Walt worked on "Leaves of Grass" right up to his "Deathbed Edition" which was the version of Leaves that he wanted to be his legacy. Yes, Mr. Whitman, by the end of his life in 1892, he was sure of his talents. May we all be so insightful, eh?

Anyhow, this is a powerful tribute to human work, done with high intent and purpose as the connective tissue of the great social-economic compact that we all participate in, however varied nation by nation it might be.

Thanks and next episode will drop on Monday 7/7/25........Maybe we'll go to Germany for that one.....

One of my promises to my listeners is to bring them thoughts from minds greater than my own. That said, today it is the mind of Tom Waits.

If you've never listened to his music- you are missing out on a talented unorthodox songwriter/singer/and more.

Today, I read/perform the lyrics to Mr. Waits song "Step Right Up".

Step Right Up" is a song written by Tom Waits and included on his 1976 album Small Change.

The song is from the point of view of a snake oil-like salesman asking potential customers to "step right up" and purchase an unnamed miracle product.

Waits guarantees that the product will "mow your lawn", play a "rhythm master", "deliver pizza", and locate lost slippers, among other miscellaneous things. Waits sings the song in the style of a carnival barker attempting to entice business. Waits wrote the song as a satire of products that claimed to do more than they advertised.

For live performances of the song, Waits would use a cash register for the percussion!

Thanks for listening, liking, subscribing, sharing, commenting, etc.!

Next episode of "Confessions of a Mid-Centurian" will drop Friday July 4th!

It has been said that history goes in a straight line and human beings run in a circle. Seems there has always been a war happening, a war ending, a war rumored, a war wanted, a war feared, a war won, a war lost.

Well, let's go back to autumn 1969 and see what happened to me then.

Thanks for liking, subscribing, following, commenting, sharing, etc. Means a lot!

Next episode of Confessions of a Mid-Centurian will drop on Monday, June 30, 2025. Wow- where did June go?

Well folks, looks like we're at it again!

Let's climb into our wayback machine to May 1970. 4 college students were killed on the campus of Kent State University in Ohio and America was embroiled in the Vietnam War- they say (sadly) that every American generation has its own war and mine was the Vietnam War.

Anyway, this is my story of me as a Brooklyn College upper sophomore, my dear dad's advice to me and my tiny involvement when Brooklyn College students surrounded the administration building to protest that war.

Not being political here, just remembering a time 55 years ago that echoes right up to today.

When are we going to learn???

Thanks for listening, subscribing, liking, commenting, sharing and all that. Next episode of Confessions of a Mid-Centurian will drop this Friday, June 27.

The Great Dictator was Chaplin’s first film with dialogue. Chaplin plays both a little Jewish barber, living in the ghetto, and Hynkel, the dictator ruler of Tomainia. In his autobiography Chaplin quotes himself as having said: “One doesn’t have to be a Jew to be anti-Nazi. All one has to be is a normal decent human being.”

Chaplin and Hitler were born within a week of one another. There was something uncanny in the resemblance between the Little Tramp and Adolf Hitler, representing opposite poles of humanity.

Providence was in an ironical mood when, fifty years ago this week, it was ordained that Charles Chaplin and Adolf Hitler should make their entry into the world within four days of each other. Each in his own way has expressed the ideas, sentiments, aspirations of the millions of struggling citizens ground between the upper and the lower millstone of society. Each has mirrored the same reality – the predicament of the “little man” in modern society. Each is a distorting mirror, the one for good, the other for untold evil.

Chaplin spent many months drafting and re-writing the speech for the end of the film, a call for peace from the barber who has been mistaken for Hynkel. Many people criticized the speech, and thought it was superfluous to the film. Others found it uplifting.

Regrettably Chaplin’s words are as relevant today as they were in 1940.

Thanks for listening! Next episode drops Monday June 23!

One hot Brooklyn Night in the Summer of 1963 while working the night shift counter at a Wetson's Hamburger walk-up restaurant, my night cook, Johnny and I served a customer the two-piece dark meat chicken basket he ordered- then things got very interesting very quickly.

Listen and discover what went down in this episode: "The Man Who Wouldn't Eat Chicken Ass"!

Thanks for listening, subscribing, liking, sharing and commenting.

Next episode will drop this Friday June 20, 2025- just as our Summer begins!

Strawberry Moon before Friday June 13th! We dive into the historical origins of why Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day and then we go back to late last mid-century Brooklyn NY for the Legend of Dr Max B Kaplan- or at least what my confessional memory calls The Legend of Dr Max B Kaplan.

Thanks! Next episode will drop on Monday, and this one is called "The Man Who Wouldn't Eat Chicken Ass"!

The classic rock band I play bass for gigged on Sunday at a small-town Illinois restaurant/bar from 2-5PM.

Every gig has its own DNA- its unique DNA that is stamped with the time, the place, the music, the musicians and the audience sharing the experience.

So, this episode is this humble bassist's near real-time thoughts about the DNA of this gig.

I've played over a thousand live gigs in my musician's lifetime so far and so far, each has been unique indeed!

Give a listen and then dance on into your own life!

Thanks, and next episode will drop this Friday the 13th of June.

Enjoy this week's Strawberry Moon- ("Strawberry Moon" is a great song title if there ever was one!)