MY CHRISTMAS STORY

THE REASON OF THE SEASON -

BSC, CA – This story is barely three days old but it finished yesterday, the day before Christmas. It involves two other people besides me, in belief, one a Mormon and one a Muslim. Both religions believe in Jesus and both start with the letter 'M', but is that the parting line of reality for the two? The following is a real event and you, the reader, have seen this story develop here in the last few days. A homeless man who was known in the neighborhood died a few days ago. That story was a second embedded in the Keenwild music review of their new album release, FATE.

The spot where the man was last, whose name was known as 'Lee' but was longer in the actual French version, stayed on the front lawn by the donut shop under a huge shade tree. He had moved there when they viciously trimmed 90% off the tree tops at his former spot, which was by the tire shop at the opposite end of the small plaza mall parking lot. The donut shop lawn is between another small outdoor two store building area. The donut shop lawn was the site of a balloon release on Saturday, noon, December 22^rd. I went.

It must be noted that this balloon release wasn't a funeral, but a celebration of Lee's life. I had seen the flyers attached to the trees around his present lawn spot so I made a special note not to miss this gathering. It wasn't that I really knew him but it also wasn't like I didn't know him. He called me 'Reverend' and I knew him as Lee. I had his cell phone number and we talked usually when I walked by, unless he was asleep. Obviously Lee wasn't like the majority of the homeless that you see, if you notice them, and you do if you walk or take public transportation.

SHAME & EMPATHY to Music

The Latest From Our Local Punk -

BSC, CA – If you're sandwiched between the themes of death & acceptance on one side, what can be on the other side? What else, shame & empathy of course. It's the same local music scene but a different artist and music style. If you are from around back in the day, you have to remember Nice Day Vince from the scene. That Vince is now Alex in Xuper Punktonix and their newest 5 song EP comes out tomorrow. Follow this link to check things out.

Like Keenwild, Vince was around long before he became a name in the music scene, and once again, I was there. This time almost goes back as far as Bill and starts with the valley's Best Buy, still a powerhouse for appliances to the area. Vince and I were part of the Best Buy team who opened the place. What a three day weekend. It started with a Friday the 13^th and has never stopped. Vince played one of the last Madlins show that Bill put on there.

From there Vince developed as a solo artist and later with a band called Nice Day. However today I got a close haircut to reflect the punk that V, er, Alex has become. The five songs show Alex has a world view that runs with today and everything being a bit lop-sided when compared to how things were once thought of. The three piece Xuper Punktonix is featured in our lead in graphic.

KEENWILD'S NEWEST EP – FATE

DEATH & ACCEPTANCE -

BSC, CA – For most of us, the word FATE conjures up a deep question to life and what's it all about, Alfie. The new album title for Keenwild actually explains their existence, their beginning, and this present EP concept. Even the magical valley Keenwild calls home shares the word title of their latest album release. Although many confuse 'fate' with 'destiny' the two are really different in meaning. We are all destined to die or perish, but we do not share the same fate because we don't all have the same hopes and dreams. Bill & Jeney of Keenwild met because of shared hopes and dreams – music.

The new album themes are death and acceptance, illustrated beautifully by artwork showing the music's lyrics run from thoughtful to somber, not to be sandwiched in between Celebration [Kool & The Gang] and Disco Inferno [The Trammps]. Keenwild and the music made by the two piece group follows the soundtrack of tunes crafted outside the Top 40 and their past releases reflect songs that are serious,‘Dievercity’, ‘The Long Road Home’, and ‘Sunsets’. This latest 6 song release started with a death in the family.

Keenwild's Jeney Kingsbury hails from Kansas and so shares a Midwestern outlook with me, being from Iowa [see Memoirs of Mr. Pete & Mary Jane Green]. Jeney is the voice of Keenwild and has a signature sound that is strong and vibrant, regardless of sound level. Bill Gould, her band partner [husband] is a So Cali native and has always had a thing for music, as in being a part of it and more than a talent. Now he is both.

MY SPECIAL DAY

THIRD TIME IS THE CHARM -

BSC, CA – Since today is Pearl Harbor Day, my hope is that somewhere a comic book fan is using their autographed picture of Bill Maher to set his NIKEs ablaze. For most people in this country, this is a day of infamy, but not for me. Or at least not after the third marriage. Knowing how bad a memory I have for birthdays, the third wife had a son by me on this very day, now special for another reason separate from the vast majority today.

The picture above comes from Los Angeles, of course. It gives a contemporary look at the start of a war – any war. Today's historical date is the start of a war. This war gave us the United Nations, a global entity that wants to control the world under one unelected control, with one money system, one religion, one language, and one thought. But as Gen. MacArthur once said, “Our country is now geared to an arms economy bred in an artificially induced psychosis of war hysteria and an incessant propaganda of fear.” - Douglas MacArthur

Was he a prophet or just seeing the truth to war, old [rich] men talking and young [poor] men dying. Regardless of the outcome, the Men in Uniform bravely deserve this day of Honor. My father was an officer in WWII, Army, and two of my sons have Armed Forces experience, with the youngest active in the Air Force. A picture of the two comes out of my family album, a collection that resembles a war torn flag, a lot of it is missing.