January 11: Thoughts for the Day

Posted on January 11, 2014 by John Swinburn

For me, early morning, before daybreak, is the best time to be alone with my thoughts, to look inward and express to myself my own appreciation for my place in the world.   That time is mine, alone; I have no incentive to bend the truth, no reason to put on airs, and no need to hide how I feel.   That time, early in the day, is my defense against all that follows.

About John Swinburn

"Love not what you are but what you may become."― Miguel de Cervantes
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8 Responses to January 11: Thoughts for the Day

  1. Trish says:
    January 11, 2014 at 5:07 pm

    Oh, lordy!!….just now all these video are just coming up here (they were in blank)….I was writing blind for a bit. “People Will Say Were In Love” just came up! Prefecto….I love it!! People can say what they want! 😉

  2. Trish says:
    January 11, 2014 at 4:36 pm

    Considering what a coffee lover I am, yes I need a french press, Juan! I need to search for one, and, pronto! I remember your coffee, and yes, it was dynamite!

    Trying right now to get into youtube, for some unknown reason I have had a hell of a time connection to that site since after Christmas…..yes, listening, after cut and paste, got it! Oklahoma! Indeed, a whimsical happy tune it is!!

    If I could (still technical difficulties from my end), I would also add ” Oh, What a Beautiful Morning”, from the same! 🙂

  3. juan says:
    January 11, 2014 at 4:30 pm

    Trish and John:

    People are thinking I’m 60 tomorrow, but it’s not true. I finally have to come forward with this inexactitude of my life: I lied about my age when I joined the military.

    Yes. It’s true!

    I was only 14 at the time, but I really wanted to go to Vietnam to fight for my country. In those days, I looked older for my age — even had a slight mustache — but still didn’t have a social security number. So, I said I was 18 and surprisingly they accepted me.

    Can you imagine — what was practically a child — parachuting into the jungles of Nam? I worked my way through that “green death” — I remember — a bowie knife in my right hand and a canoe under my left arm — plodding and pushing, facing Boa constrictors, gators. and several black widow spiders. A musical kept me going!

    It’s difficult to bring back those images for me. Ironically, I had a recording of the musical “Oklahoma” when under that green death.

    Naturally, later trying to change my birth date would be troublesome, so I kept it as it is today.

  4. juan says:
    January 11, 2014 at 4:01 pm

    My favorite song is “Surrey with the Fringe on Top.”

    Sing the song! We can get a little sunshine that way!

  5. John Swinburn says:
    January 11, 2014 at 3:54 pm

    I sang that song just the other morning, Juan! But I was singing it in jest as Janine and I were plodding slowly through a dense, early morning fog that concealed the ice that had collected on the bridges just west of Little Rock. We returned home today after four days in Arkansas…I could not have picked much worse a time to go. Ice, followed by fog, followed by heavy, heavy, heavy rain! Next trip I’ll sing a less sarcastic version of the song!

  6. juan says:
    January 11, 2014 at 3:52 pm

    Yes, my Trish…I am the proverbial chef who has little to work from 😉 Hey! but you gotta do coffee from a French Press. Saves time and the pressed coffee is exhilarating!

    Does this one come through for you?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEwVAV3VPw4

  7. Trish says:
    January 11, 2014 at 3:14 pm

    I shall join the ranks, for I too am an early bird. Not at 4, as Juan. But, 4:30-5….and yes, John & Juan, in those wee hours of the morn, its a good space to be in! Even the birds are still sleeping, its dark, quiet, and a smooth way to enter ones day, before the madness begins. I too, have my cups of java, though not as lucky as Juan, for I have no French press! Rats!!

    Juan, your video did not appear…at least not from where I am sitting.

  8. juan says:
    January 11, 2014 at 1:44 pm

    Here’s something to brighten your New Year. I played it on vinyl, then listened to it via Youtube! I’m an early bird, like you, often beginning the day at 4 a.m. with several cups of French pressed coffee!

    Onward through the fog!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C6J9gij5SQ

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