Aretha Franklin ...

Here is my favorite quote by this great lady:

"Soul is something creative, something active.  Soul is honesty.  I sing to people about what matters.  I sing to people who accept it like it is.  There are tears when it's sad and smiles when it's happy.  It seems simple to me, but to some, feelings take courage". 

Amen.  

Loft Office –

Clarence III and Dexter March and all their peripherals have been moved and are now located in my loft office, which is also known as "Dixie Towers" because my dog, Dixie Lee, loves to hang out up here. Jerry calls my office "Cape Canaveral" because he thinks it’s techy-looking. It is office-y enough, though also a quiet place with a nice, soft, creative vibe. Another plus is that my bedroom (where the computer equipment formerly was situated), now looks like a bedroom (a girl’s BR). And I love it!

Dennis, My Prison Pen-Pal –

Can you picture a flute made out of five cardboard cores of toilet paper rolls and scotch tape? He has fashioned the instrument as a close-to-exact replica of a real longitudinal (ala Native American) flute. He says "It was tuned to C , with the embouchure hole 48 mm from the closed end", adding "I took off (with a nail clipper!) about 1.5 cm to bring it up to a D". The five cardboard cores were saved and accumulated over a period of time, probably while the concept formed in his mind. A while back, he was attempting to root orange seeds in dampened paper towel, but he had to scrap the project because prison policy did not allow it. Imagine what life must be like for a prison inmate who, like Dennis, is a creative and talented musician. The tedium must be very difficult; yet, he’s come up with some remarkable art work, too (see picture of treble clef). I’ve been exchanging letters with him now, through a church program, for almost a year; I’m sure I get as much out of it as he does.