Memorial Day, 2023

I lost my little boy

This lady said to me

I asked if she'd like me to help her find him

Is he like me?

A little older than you, she replied

A little older, she repeated in a softer voice

This time to herself

I was only eight, but thought

Brooklyn kids like me never get lost

And I asked her again, as my mother came up

She greeted the lady and took me by the hand

We said goodbye and parted

A step or two and my mom said

Her little boy is now in heaven

How do you know?

The lady has a gold star on her window

Her little boy was a man

For all the other little boys and girls

Who became men and women that way

Take care, and say thank you to them

This Memorial Day, 2023.

- HK -

Continued Emergence

“The Act of Acting”

Take a look behind you

There stand the people

Who have not reached success

Nor degrees of acclaim

What poor bastards they be

Thinking they are burdened by life

While all the while

Remaining burdenless

The "what’s missing": No audience offering applause

When life presents an opportunity, say yes or no

Either accept or decline

It’s your choice to make

No time for lingering

Earth continues to move

Chanced possibilities

Are rare without design

Preface each night's rest with a page read

Then dream each dream in contemplation

Welcome tomorrow's gospel

You’ve earned the good tidings

Enjoy the applause

-

Harvey Kalmenson

That's Life

Life can be a rim shot

“That’s Life”

Please don’t let it pass you by

You may have noticed as time fleets by we folks experience some vagaries which manage to jump out at us. Some can actually be mild blips that become merely a momentary bumpy swatch on our road toward success. Others come as unforeseen rearmament needed to safeguard one's family or friends.

Years ago, a standup comedian named Henny Youngman used some of his personal life stories while telling about one or more of life’s incidents depicting in a rapid-fire comedic fashion, ending with “rimshots”.

A rimshot [a snare drum technique] when used to accent the punchline of a joke being told by a live comedian may or may not simultaneously be played with a small cymbal crash. This was popularized in standup comedy by comedians performing at the resorts in the Catskill Mountains region. Many of these comics were known as "Borscht Belt comics".

The best illustration of how a rimshot might be applied to a comedy routine is to look at the classic style of Henny Youngman who in addition to playing a violin would tell fast-paced, one-liner type of jokes. His most famous line was "Take my wife… please!"; after he said "please", it was the drummer's duty to play a rimshot to punctuate the humor and generate laughter from the audience.

A Blessing On His Soul

It was this past Tuesday, April 25th, that Harry Belafonte passed away from us. He was ninety-six years of age. And though I never had the pleasure of meeting the man, his work will remain with me emotionally forever as an activist. Harry was a man amongst men.

Shari, our love goes out to you. Your picture with Harry will remain in my library forever. Please convey to Harry, our love and respect forever!

Cathy and Harvey Kalmenson

Global Gadfly

"Global Gadfly, That Would Be Me"

Hello everybody,

Today, as you may assume by my erstwhile title of the latest attempt at logic, this is coming at you regardless of the part of the world you happen to be in at this very minute. What you haven’t been told, or explained, I’m here to learn with you all as well. I discovered many, many years ago, a good and accomplished listening learner will ultimately have a chance to become a member of the hierarchy of human attainment.

If you ain't learning, you are effortlessly chipping away at your own personal skills. Build, don’t chip. Read, don’t skip a day. Ask a question. Listen and pay attention to the answer.

And each day, at least attempt to exchange conversation with another human being in person! Human caring and conversation will prove themselves as the ultimate keys to the kingdom. Warmly shaking hands and exchanging a greeting will almost always supplant all else, especially with children. The human voice creates miracles, if you learn from what its sender has to say!

Harvey Kalmenson

P.S. Shake hands like you mean it. It will surpass any language barriers.

"Try Bracing Yourself"

Today, I happen to be wearing a back brace. Some pain to complain about, but, an awful lot to be happy and prayerful about as well. It could have knocked me on my ass except for a couple of facts always there to battle, whomever and whatever it is, whose solitary goal was taking da harv down.

Thanks to, of course, the queen of casting, Cathy Kalmenson. Our beat goes on. Each and every day we’re thankful for what we have achieved together, and continue our plans for the future. I’m at my desk looking forward to the next, and the next, and, of course, the next day.

Luciano Pavarotti and Liza Minelli - New York, New York

It was many years since I saw them together in person. And each time I may be a little low, spiritually, I turn to people both past and present who help me to snap out of it. You, as well, I pray will do the same, if you require a genuine shot of joy from New York.

Please be well!

Harvey Kalmenson

Source(s): YouTube

"Sh*t Happens"

As they say… “In life, sh*t happens!” And when you become an aggravated recipient of the same, you might often feel like a receptacle for what a higher being ordered up for you. The older we become, the greater our chances are of having any number of games recklessly thrust upon us. For any of you out there who find yourself in the position of being life’s first-timer, familiarize yourselves. Believe me, it will most likely happen more often than you might expect.

Physical or mental, pain is pain. It is what it is. Often a person may experience a double dose, both forms of pain inflicted at the same time, and many times in various geographic locations, mind, or body.

"The Rain in Spain", performed by Rex Harrison, Wilfrid Hyde-White, and Audrey Hepburn (partially dubbed by Marni Nixon), from the musical film "My Fair Lady” (1964). The song is a turning point in the plotline of the musical. Professor Higgins (Rex) and Colonel Pickering (Wilfrid) have been drilling Eliza Doolittle (Audrey) continually with speech exercises, trying to break her Cockney accent speech pattern.

Mental or physical, or both at the same time.