The Culture that has been here all the time

This is worth my breaking my silence. My cat Sunny Day loves it when I play my guitar and sing to him LOL.

Even when I was young and throughout some of my adult life, I learned about the harsh realities of creative people. Since I was brought up mostly with encouragement in my artwork and songwriting, it was a jarring shock to learn that everything in this world has a political side. True, many can attain something equivalent to making a living, punctuated by times of just getting by. To become more than that requires more than luck but someone you know.

I learned "the ropes" in New York City's Greenwich Village by visiting centers for the performing and creative arts. I didn't like "prid quo pro."  The dislike of it stemmed from its seeming unfair and biased. And of course it was. Like it or not, that is how the world works.

I turned down chances to advance my songs and artwork because the people willing to back me had questionable backgrounds. Even some of my professionally successful compatriots warned me about some of them. 

So I have all my works and all of the pieces of the pie, but had I accepted the real-world solution, I would have had a smaller piece of a much bigger pie. Maybe.

No regrets, the negative side left many former friends in a bad place, even if they are still living.

My favorite artist is Vincent van Gogh, and his fame and success were established after his death through the efforts of his sister-in-law.

Johanna van Gogh-Bonger (1862–1925), the wife of Vincent’s brother Theo, was the primary promoter responsible for Van Gogh's posthumous fame. After inheriting his paintings in 1891, she organized key exhibitions, sold works strategically, and published his letters, building his legacy over 35 years and establishing his global recognition.

I just reawakened. I didn't survive three marriages, several jobs, and failed businesses. I gained strength, knowledge, and self-control. I removed the cloak I was willing to keep wrapped around me to honor the commitment to my late wife because I was with her until her last moment. I now see that that is a definition of one of my successes in life, and I am glad that I have made it so and become this strong. It is time to exert my power and grasp life with a new fervor.

I resumed guitar playing and singing, and even wrote two new songs. Now to work on them for publication, as I had before I willingly became a caregiver. I still collect royalties and hold a publishing license. I write, arrange, produce, and master using my abilities and skills.

I dusted off some of my artist materials and supplies (even bought a couple of things I needed). Sketched a charcoal face of my late wife, plan an oil color project of tiny wild flowers, and intend to draw and paint nudes now that I can without complication.

This past week, I overcame the loss of money because I made the mistake and let nefarious and devious people take advantage of me(thinking they were women, but they may actually have been men masquerading). 

My childhood should have warned me, as I ran away from home at 15 and became streetwise in New York City. Still finishing High School, tech school, and even most of College with honors. I even enlisted and served with honors in the US Army. I managed stores, led music groups, and supervised a technical staff at a university media center. Survived a failed heart without a transplant, and at 78, ready to start everything all over again.

I am not bragging I am voicing a commitment to rise from the ashes once more like a Phoenix. (pixabay images) (Yes I am a Leo)