Mon, 20 Apr 2009
We are The Storm Generation
www.tappingmyownphone.com
From: Jkwsb@aol.com
Subject: Re: This Man Called Dad by Edwin Whitehead
To: tmopinsight@yahoo.com
Date: Sunday, April 19, 2009, 11:39 PM
Ron...Norb lent me a few books on Easter Sunday,
said I really should read them, by Yevgeny Yevtushenko.
Well, I have never been able to tolerate, let alone enjoy,
any Russian Writer's writing. But. But but but but but...despite
not liking the guy's poetry, I was wowed and awe struck by his
opening passage to the intro to his autobiography...and
I figured you would appreciate this, if not for the first
time seeing it, seeing it again....and wouldn't it be nice
to be a featured reader (or better, during open mic) at the
INKY Spaulding University Sewing Circle Friday Night Club at
the Rud and simply read this out loud....ahem
From A Precocious Autobiography by Vevgeny Yevtushenko:
"A Poet's autobiography is his poetry. Anything else can
only be a footnote. A poet is a poet only when the reader
sees him whole, with all his feelings, all his thoughts,
and all his actions, as if the reader held him in the
hollow of his hand. To be entitled to write with merciless
truth about others, the poet must be mercilessly truthful
when he writes about himself. Splitting the poet's personality
in two, into the real man and the poet, leads inevitably to
artistic suicide. When Arthur Rimbaud became a slave trader,
and his life clashed with the ideals he had held as a poet,
he stopped writing poetry. At least this was an honest way out.
Unfortunately many poets, when their lives clash with their
poetry, continue to write, passing themselves off as different
from what they are. But they are only deluding themselves when
they think they are writing poetry. Poetry is not to be deceived.
And poetry deserts those who are false to her. There are
people who pride themselves on never having told a lie in
their whole lives. But let them ask themselves how often
they have failed to tell the truth, preferring a safe silence.
Such people use as an excuse the ancient saying invented by
their kind: 'Silence is Golden.' But if silence is golden,
the gold is not pure. This applies to life in general and
to poetry in particular, because poetry is life in a
concentrated form. Reticence about oneself in poetry becomes,
inevitably, reticence in writing about others--about their
sufferings and sorrows. The work of a true poet is not only
a moving, breathing, sound-filled portrait of his time--it
is also a self-portrait, just as vivid and just as comprehensive.
There are people who bring to a society their own original ideas
and make that society stronger through these ideas. Theirs is
perhaps the highest form of creativity, but I am not of their number.
My poetry is only the expressions of moods and ideas already
present in society but which had not so far been expressed in verse.
In my opinion, only in a person with a strong and well-defined
personality can what is held in common by many be combined and fused.
I should very much like to spend my life expressing the so-far
unexpressed ideas of many, while remaining myself. Indeed, if
I ceased to be myself, I would not be able to express them.
Who then am I?"
In a message dated 4/19/2009 10:17:37 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
tmopinsight@yahoo.com writes:
thanks Rob!!!! hope all is well with you.
have fun
Brother Ron
We are The Storm Generation
www.tappingmyownphone.com
--- On Sun, 4/19/09, Jkwsb@aol.com wrote:
From: Jkwsb@aol.com
Subject: Re: This Man Called Dad by Edwin Whitehead
To: tmopinsight@yahoo.com
Date: Sunday, April 19, 2009, 9:46 PM
Beautiful piece of craftwork, brother Ron...thanks for sharing...bro Rob
In a message dated 4/19/2009 7:59:04 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
tmopinsight@yahoo.com writes:
This Man Called Dad
by Edwin Whitehead
Listen to me now and I will tell about a
man you all know well. He worked like
a mule and was strong as an ox. And
on his fellow man he never did knock.
To all his friends who knew him
well they called him Doc. But to
his eleven kids who admired his
strength and grit he was just Dad.
He worked on the railroad. He
worked in the mines. I've seen him
hew cross ties for the railroad. I've
seen him cradle wheat by hand. This
powerful little man called Dad.
His vocabulary was limited. He wasn't
too educated. One word he never did
learn was quit. This man called Dad
he could set a railroad spike
with one powerful lick. He could
carry 400 pounds in his hand. This
man called Dad. He helped the
needy. He helped the sick. He
made a living with a shovel and
a pick. This powerful man called Dad.
copyright (c) 2009 Edwin Whitehead
Daddy wrote this poem bout his Dad,
my grandfather, Jasper "Pappy" Whitehead,
who died when I was 12. I found the poem
this past week while looking through Daddy's
ragged falling apart old scrapbook of
Whitehead history, photos, and other documents.
We are The Storm Generation
www.tappingmyownphone.com
Sun, 12 Apr 2009
Velocity: My daughter wants to quit college and go work on a
fishing boat in Alaska. I think she's crazy. We've invested a lot
in her education. What would you do?
Ron: Let her go. What do you want most for your daughter?
Happiness or a good job? A duty bound life or a life of adventure?
Yes much can be said about the peace of mind derived from material
well being, but there is no measure for finding and living your dream.
Are you living your dream? How many people do you personally know who
are living their dreams? There aren't many. Our culture doesn't
encourage dream fulfillment. Culture endoctrinates us to do what
we're told i.e. to comply with the consumer status quo: work buy pay die.
How often do you go on an adventure? When you live your dream,
as I've been blessed to do for twenty years, every day is an adventure.
Happiness is attainable in this lifetime. One of the best ways to
find a dream is to take risks, do things you've never done, go places
you've never been. How often are you happy? How many more opportunities
for happiness will you have? How do you measure success? Life is a
fleeting moment. We wear these garments dwell in these temples briefly.
We are short lived temporary sun worshippers. We are delicate pale
pink blossoms on Van Gogh's almond tree. Our fine attire covering bones,
dancing bones, the bones of life, loving bones, bones in love.
The dance, a waltz. Fragrant spring wind carries us to the end of
the night. Send your daughter with love and blessings. Encourage her
to find and live her dream. She'll thank you forever.
Ron Whitehead
4/12/09
We are The Storm Generation
www.tappingmyownphone.com
Fri, 27 Mar 2009
paragraph from Ron Whitehead's
The Process of Artistic Creation (from his THE THIRD TESTAMENT: Three Gospels of Peace)
Are thought and language one or separate? Thought comes first.
Language is matrixed to thought by the necessity of communication.
Thought and language are so closely linked they seem one but thought is Self,
language is Other. Language is the shadow of thought. Internal language,
interior monologue is then nearer, more closely matrixed to thought, closer
to its source, than externally verbalized or spoken language. Internal
language is diaphanic. External language is adiaphanic. Can, does, the
Poet Prophet take language through the diaphane? Yes! One way, and only
one way, she or he does so is by removing punctuation. Once the diaphonous
boundary is crossed a different logic is enacted: the logic of hallucination,
of the surreal, the language of dreams (not the same as the language of
Postmodern chaos). Is the stream of consciousness, free association, narrative
as close as we can get to the expression of pure thought? Any form of language
is slower than thought but one thing is certain: Language is a dark but beautiful
cynosure for the blind cripple.
“No ideas but in things." William Carlos Williams
"Never Give Up." His Holiness The Dalai Lama & Ron Whitehead
We are The Storm Generation!!!!!!!
www.tappingmyownphone.com (site will be completely overhauled soon)
Fri, 20 Mar 2009
hello family and friends! please vote for my dear friend Colin Shaddick.
he certainly deserves this honor. as i would, if similar competition held in USofA.
thanks!
Ron, left coast sin eater poet
Dear friends,
A big thank you to all who voted for me in
The Greatest British Eccentric of the Year Competition. I'm up
against some big names on the list, but am doing quite well!
There's still time for your friends and neighbours to vote, so
please give 'em a nudge.
Here's what it's all about again:
For some unknown reason, I’ve been shortlisted as one of nine
candidates for the title of ‘Greatest British Eccentric’ of
the Year Award, and I’m still scratching my head and wondering
if this is a good thing or not?
As you all may know, on the 1st of April the Eccentric Club
will revive yet another good tradition and hold it's First Annual
'Greatest British Eccentric' Award Ceremony.
The panel of judges is expected to include some of well known
experts in eccentricology: they have invited Lyndon Yorke - a winner
of The Great British Eccentric Award in 2001, Henry Hemming - a celebrated author
of bestseller "In Search of the English Eccentric", Ben Le Vay - author of
many works on eccentricity and eccentric guides to towns and cities across the UK.
To help them in their judgement, they will offer for their consideration
results from two independent online polls - one held amongst general members
of the public, and the other - consisting exclusively of the votes of the
Eccentric Club members and candidates for the Club's membership.
They invite you to have a look at the nominees proposed by the members of
the Club Committee: http://www.eccentricclub.co.uk/greatest-eccentric-award.php
and vote for the one you believe to be most eccentric of them all!
Non-members can vote here: http://eccentricclub.blogspot.com/
Best wishes.
Colin.
My web: www.inclusifolk.com
"Part of an eccentric slice of the British way of life" - BBC Radio 4
"We recommend Colin's book" - The Eccentric Club http://www.eccentricclub.co.uk
Design with bite: www.tigerplum.com
Date: Friday, March 20, 2009, 1:47 PM
From: tmopinsight@yahoo.com
Subject: Ron´s Velocity advice column for 3-25-09
“No ideas but in things." William Carlos Williams
"Never Give Up." His Holiness The Dalai Lama & Ron Whitehead
We are The Storm Generation!!!!!!!
www.tappingmyownphone.com (site will be completely overhauled soon)
Velocity: I'm in a long-distance relationship with a woman who
lives six hours away. She is pressuring me to move there.
I love her but I also like living here. What should I do?
Ron: Follow your heart. How much do you love her? How much
does she love you? How much do you value love? What are your
life priorities, goals, dreams, visions? Are you living your
dream? Is she? Is the love you two share a dream come true?
When thinking of her, of your love for her, of your possible
lives together as one, what do you feel in your heart? If you
feel peace in your heart you´ll know you´re on the right path.
If you feel chaos then ask yourself where that feeling is coming from.
Is it related to your relationship with her or with your fear of
uprooting from your home and establishing a new home in a new place
with her? Is it related to stepping off the edge into the unknown?
I recently fell in love with Lorena Lobita. It was a long-distance
relationship, she in Oakland, California, me in Louisville, Kentucky.
I love Kentucky. Lorena visited Kentucky. We agreed that I move to
Oakland. I arrived three days ago. I´ve lived many places and Kentucky
always calls me home. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I´d live
in East Oakland ¨the hood¨ California but I made the leap. I uprooted
cause of love. I´ve always chosen to live on the edge. Sometimes it´s
necessary to jump off the edge and freefall into mystery paradox
uncertainty not-knowing. Life is an adventure. There´s no time to
lose. Love is all there is. Find courage. Be fearless. Act now.
Thu, 19 Mar 2009
hello my dearest Family and Friends (my friends are my family too)!!!!!!!
in my wildest dreams i never imagined i´d live in East Oakland California
hood but lo and behold Lord have mercy here i am with beyond amazing Lorena Lobita.
i´ve met my match. and she has too. and it´s about time!!!! our address is:
Lorena Lobita and Ron Whitehead
2406 65th Avenue
Oakland, California 94605
Ron cell 270 403 6941
home number 510 553 0511
Lorena has created beautiful peaceful harmonious creative home. Lorena,
since birth, has traveled the world. her Dad (God bless him, crossed over 15 years ago)
was an archeologist. her Mom (God bless her, crossed over 2 years ago. she, Marianne,
is still close, guardian angel) was an anthropologist. Lorena spent her early growing up
years in Mexico City. Spanish is her first language. she´s masterful at both S
panish and English.
Lorena and I want all of you to know that no matter where we are you are welcome.
some of you know that plan is for us to homebase here till June 2010. in mean time
we´ll continue to travel world, more than ever. in next few months Lorena plans to
purchase land in Kentucky where we´ll establish International Creative Healing Arts Center
(Storm Generation Headquarters) mid to late 2010. plus we´ll have a 2nd retreat
getaway home base (apartment or small cottage) somewhere on Mediterranean. all the work
we´ve done all our lives will continue but not only continue it will (as it is already)
rapidly grow.
Lorena is an administrator at Children´s Hospital Oakland. been there many years.
she also has a rich lifelong history in creative healing arts. from this June to next
May she´ll complete Tamalpa Teacher Training for Creative Healing Arts program. i´ll
find college-university teaching job somewhere in area plus continue, as always, to write.
plus Lorena and I will be giving readings/performances/workshops etc here there
everywhere round world.
then summer 2010 we´ll make our move to Kentucky/Mediterraean.
this is most dramatic move of my life (and most of you know how significant that
statement is cause there have been so many dramatic moves) pulling up Kentucky
roots to move to California and join forces with Lorena. if this wasn´t the most a
mazing connection of our lives neither one of us would be on this path together.
as Michael said, i´m happy for you my brother, you´ve finally met your match.
i agree. as does Lorena.
i already miss everybody but know that we are all together always. love never dies.
but in this rapidly transitional transformational time (nothing like what is
happening and what is going to happen in history of planet) we must all find the
courage to accept and embrace the precious gifts the realizations of years lifetimes
of hopes dreams prayers. we are now being given the greatest gifts the greatest
opportunities for growth in the history of our souls. we are here to grow our souls.
through fearlessness we come to know love to know soul growth to know all the gifts
we have been promised all the gifts we have hoped and prayed for all the gifts we have
boldly tenaciously worked for. the time has come to step into our blessed gifts with
grace with integrity with forgiveness (of ourselves and everyone) with compassion with
wisdom discernment peace harmony patience with unconditional love.
i love all of you
Ronnie Paige Whitehead
march 19, 2009
East Bay, California
p.s. i want SOUTHSIDE to live on!!!!
“No ideas but in things." William Carlos Williams
"Never Give Up." His Holiness The Dalai Lama & Ron Whitehead
We are The Storm Generation!!!!!!!
www.tappingmyownphone.com (site will be completely overhauled soon)
Thu, 5 Mar 2009
SOUTHSIDE & THE HONEY HIGHWAY
an evening of Outlaw Music and Spoken Word
featuring Scott Mertz, Sarah Elizabeth, Lisa K, Michael Pollock (Iceland),
Myron Koch, Jyn Yates, Rani Newman, Helina Berryman, Austin Oldfield,
Rachel Kapitan, Joe Pasquale, Lorena Lobita (California), Ron Whitehead
plus Honey & Slim & Freddy & Rob
this Sunday, March 8th, 9pm to 3am
The Hideaway Saloon, Bardstown Road (near Leatherhead), Louisville KY
$5 cover
for info email/call Ron Whitehead, ron@tappingmyownphone.com, 270 403 6941
We refuse. We will not bow down.
We never give up.
We are The Storm Generation!!!
www.tappingmyownphone.com
