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Holly Rabalais's avatar

“...these days when my brain is trying to yell ‘Calamity!,’...”

OMgoodness! (Because we couldn’t say “Shut Up” or “OMG”--the words not the acronym because I’m not that young) My brain was trying to yell “Calamity!” at me last Friday! All day. The merry-go-round in my mind kept going faster and faster, and I felt I was losing my grip on that metal bar and might be flung off at any minute. Calamity. I like that word. She is now a person, and I’m going to tell her to “sit down and stfu” often.

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T.B.D.'s avatar

I very much like that approach. I also like speaking truth to power. When my brain starts pushing some outlandish conclusion on me, I'll point out that watching "Battle for the Planet of the Apes" was also it's idea--so maybe not worth taking all that seriously.

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Fleur Alys Dobbins's avatar

I am very happy to have found you through the Substack office hours. I can tell you, too, are a storyteller. Keep ever going. Thank you for your grateful heart. ♥️

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T.B.D.'s avatar

Thank you so much and I'm really glad, too!

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Raphy Mendoza's avatar

I'm grateful that you show up in my inbox everyday, and that you do so regardless of whether you feel like it or not. :)

And I'm grateful for the occasional gaps between my thoughts where I find peace and nothingness. And when I come out of that gap, the next thought that seemed so important a moment ago is... well, nothing more than a thought.

Hanging around long enough to experience those gaps is half the battle!

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T.B.D.'s avatar

That is so brilliant! Those gaps are priceless. Was it Miles Davis who said it wasn't the notes but the spaces in between? Thank you so much for sharing all of that!

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Raphy Mendoza's avatar

He also said something about there being no mistakes in jazz. It's not the note you play that's wrong, its the note you play afterwards that makes it right or wrong.

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T.B.D.'s avatar

Mr. Fernandez, the creative force behind the Northwest Junior High Jazz Ensemble, definitely believed there were wrong notes.

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