2 AM Moon and the Tie That Binds Us To Our Homes

My Paw Paw had a few decks of Squeezers cards when I was a kid.  I probably learned most of the card games I know on a pack of Squeezers.  The picture side had two bulldogs, straining at their chains, each attached to a doghouse. At the bottom of the card it read, "There is a tie that binds us to our homes."  I still have those cards, mostly because I'm a sentimentalist and I save things that are important to me.  Especially family things.  Not everyone that's from New Orleans played with a deck of Squeezers cards, but all of them understand the tie that binds us to this home.  New Orleans has a strange magic about her. Strangers come to visit and are often enchanted, never again to leave.  Natives who venture to move across state lines in pursuit of sandy beaches or mountains will inevitably feel the pull, like a riptide in the Gulf of Mexico, pulling us back home to her briny, humid shores.

Near the end of 2020 I was inspired to put together another book of poetry, culled from the last ten years of my writings.  My first book, I Wandered From New Orleans was first published in October of 2010 and it included works that spanned a greater period of time. From my own perspective, I feel the two books together are a coming of age story.  I see my own continuing evolution as a human as well as the inevitable patterns that repeat.  It's an interesting process, to look at one's self through the lens of time.  I can say I have come a long way, and I still have a fair journey ahead.  There is always so much to learn.

I discovered that even when I journal for myself, I sometimes write cryptically.  In retrospect, I don't always recall exactly what I was talking about because of how I describe things symbolically and less directly.  I'm always in awe of poets like R.M. Drake, who can write conversationally and have such a great impact with their words.  My words are often visual and symbolic, with an intent to convey layered  interpretations.

I wanted to make sure that the two books were somehow connected by more than just my name.  I like how it turned out.  Even just comparing the two covers, one could say that they are like night and day.  The cover photograph from, I Wandered From New Orleans was taken at the corner of Esplanade Avenue and Bayou Road.  My favorite unknown ancestor lived at the corner of Bayou Road and North Broad, a number of blocks down the street.  It was because of this, my appreciation for the Peace Monument, and the fact that Bayou Road is the oldest road in the city of New Orleans, that I chose this location for the photo.  The cover for 2 AM Moon is designed in layers.  If one looks closely, there are stars, behind the stars there is a map of New Orleans from 1854.  The Mississippi River is near the bottom where the moon is reflecting on the water in an unconventional perspective.  Esplanade Road runs from bottom to top of the cover, between the two O's in 2 AM Moon.  At the very top of the cover, Bayou Road crosses Esplanade on the map at the same location where the photograph was taken for the first book cover.

I don't know if anyone else will find this kind of intentional weirdness to be interesting, but I feel like it's just more layers of hidden meaning, perhaps akin to my fascination with secret compartments and all things standing hidden in plain sight.

I feel it is important to pay tribute in some small way to those who have come before me, not only my ancestors, but the community, the people of the city.  Historically, the people who lived and worked together to make New Orleans into the cultural melting pot we all know and love, and miss.  No one knows what it means to miss New Orleans more than we do, and I'm missing her spirit right now.

Thank you for stopping by!

Signed copies of my books 2 AM Moon and I Wandered From New Orleans are currently For Sale at my website, as well as a discounted book bundle package.

The Kindle version, or unsigned books may be purchased at Amazon.

Auld Lang Syne

It's interesting to see where your mind takes you when it is lulled back into familiar routine.  Today at my job I had the old song, 'Auld Lang Syne' stuck in my head.  At least, I had the melody and some of the words.  I decided to look it up, to learn a little about this 'Auld' song to see what it's origins were.  I was surprised to find that it dated back at least to the 1600's in Scotland.  A gentleman named Robert Burns found some of these old verses and translated them into the song we recognize today.  Of course Burns' version has been Americanized, almost brutally some would say.  I prefer Burn's version especially when provided with the definitions of certain questionable words and phrases.

The main idea that I gathered from this song, and why it is so popular on New Year's is the sentiment that we should honor and recognize old friends and the experiences that we have shared together.  We should be thankful for those times from long ago and honor them in the moment, and all year long and for a lifetime!  How easily we forget the connections we have created with each other, how thin become the ties that once bound us together in friendship.  There are many friends who are taken from us cruelly, there are some friends we have let pass us by and out of our lives.  I have friends like this.  Friends who have drifted, who have allowed a misunderstanding or unkind moment to fester into the distance of years.  Time spent apart with a complete communication breakdown.  Because of this particular misunderstanding to which I am referring, I do not like to speak of politics and I tread carefully around topics of religion.  We all have our differences and it is in our best interest to honor the opinions of our friends and not judge them or call them rednecks in a social networking forum for not supporting certain presidential candidates.  I still can't believe that I lost a longtime friend over political differences and pride.  For this friend I wrote a poem that is in my new book, I Wandered from New Orleans called 'Water Cools the Earth.'  She has never read it and I no longer believe that she ever will.  Still, it serves as a reminder to me to speak to someone when I would rather turn away.  To resolve a small difference before it becomes a massive, destructive sinkhole of despair.  This is why we are here on this earth, isn't it?  To build our relationships, to inevitably make mistakes and learn from them to strengthen our ties with each other and ourselves.  To swallow our pride and know that an apology isn't coming, take the high road.  Most of us always speak of New Year's Resolutions; quitting some bad habit, or starting a new, productive project.  This year, I am including in my own resolutions, to work on communication, to continue to listen and communicate real feelings and to ignore the ass holes that crop up like unwanted weeds in a beautiful garden.  Ok, that was harsh... Was it?  Hell, I don't know what to do about those ass holes.  I'll cross that Piranha pit when I come to it. 

In the meantime, I would like to leave everyone with Happy Wishes for the New Year!  May you enjoy it and spend it with your loved ones and good friends.   With this wish, I leave you with the 'auld' and new versions of  the Scottish song, 'Auld Lang Syne'   Sing it with fervor, with friends and a good ale!  Cheers and Happy New Year!

Auld Lang Syne - Robert Burns translation in 1788 from ancient Scottish verses.
Burns Original			Standard English Translation
Auld Lang Syne Chorus. And for auld lang syne, my jo, For auld lang syne, We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet, For auld lang syne, 1. Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And days o' auld lang syne. 2. And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp! And surely I'll be mine! And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet, For auld lang syne. 3. We twa hae run about the braes And pu'd the gowans fine; But we've wander'd mony a weary foot Sin auld lang syne. 4. We twa hae paidl'd i' the burn, Frae mornin' sun till dine; But seas between us braid hae roar'd Sin auld lang syne. 5. And there's a hand, my trusty fiere! And gie's a hand o' thine! And we'll tak a right guid willy waught, For auld lang syne. Meaning of unusual words: Auld lang syne = Former days and friends jo = dear stoup = tankard gowans = daisies braid = broad Gude willie waught = friendly draught Visit Tracy's website for more information on I Wandered from New Orleans: Poems from the South.  Auld Lang Syne from \"It\'s a Wonderful Life\"			Old Long Past Chorus. And for old long past, my joy (sweetheart), For old long past, We will take a cup of kindness yet, For old long past, Should old acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot, And days of old long past. And surely you will pay for your pint-vessel! And surely I will pay for mine! And we will take a cup of kindness yet, For old long past. We two have run about the hillsides And pulled the wild daisies fine; But we have wandered many a weary foot Since old long past. We two have paddled in the stream, From morning sun till noon; But seas between us broad have roared Since old long past. And there is a hand, my trusty friend! And give me a hand of yours! And we will take a right good-will drink, For old long past.

An introduction to the Indigo Girls

Just listened to the Indigo Girls' new CD "Happy Holly Days" and I have to say it was pretty good.  This is coming from someone of course who isn't a big fan of Christmas music.  If the Indigo Girls put out a CD there is no way that I can pass it up.  The girls have been a huge inspiration ever since I first heard them in Peni Lotoza's car after we got out of work at Terror on Church Street back in '93.  'Blood and Fire' was the first song I had ever heard and though many had tried to introduce me to them previously, it was that night with Peni and Amy Ray that started the fire.  Peni has since passed from this world, to the sadness of many.  In the book there is a piece written for her called 'Comedy and Tragedy.'  She was a happy and jovial person with a terrific laugh and a kind heart.  We all miss her very much.

I went out after that night and bought all of the Indigo Girls' CD's, at that time, Rites of Passage was their newest album.  I remember the day that Swamp Ophelia was released and I first heard Amy wail on 'Touch Me Fall.'  Those two women have written some amazingly diverse songs in their career.  From acoustic folk, to rock n roll to Amy even writing a semi hip hop song on her solo album, Didn't it Feel Kinder.  Amy and Emily inspired me to want to  move to Atlanta back in '94 when I needed a change from Orlando life.  "There'll be cider up near Helen off the roadside and boiled peanuts in a bag to warm your fingers and the smoke from the chimney meets its maker in the sky.  With the song that winter wrote his melody lingers, and there's somethin' 'bout the Southland in the springtime, where the waters flow with confidence and reason." --Emily Saliers 

It was this desire for change, the desire to see Helen, GA and the need to see Little Five Points where their career first took off that sent me shuttling to Atlanta with hardly any money and no plans except to see what happens when we get there.  If the best laid plans go wrong, I now know how it works out when you have no plan.  Not that it was all for naught, I wouldn't change that experience for anything in this world.  I thoroughly enjoyed the women's writers groups at Charis Books and More in Little Five.  Three copies of my book will soon be sitting on the shelves at Charis and, to  me, that is one of the biggest accomplishments I have had so far.  Charis is important to me, most  of the poems about Atlanta were written right there in the square across the street from  Charis.  Though I walked in the footsteps of Amy Ray, through stories from strangers on the street, I was never fortunate enough to meet her and Emily until they came to Tipitina's in New Orleans.  That was an amazing day and I'll never forget it!  I was inspired to include excerpts from four songs that seemed to fit in with my book at the start of each chapter.  I was very lucky that their manager, Russell Carter was able to grant permission to use those lyrics.  It was another  milestone in the creation of the book.  I have always been inspired by the Indigo Girls and I know that I always will be.   Another poem from the book, 'Tchoupitoulas and Napoleon' is about the concert and our Line Crew that are always waiting in line hours before the show is scheduled to start.  There's nothing better than a soundcheck through the front doors of Tipitina's, except the actual concert from the front row with a group of friends!
If you don't know the Indigo Girls, look them up and at least download some songs from them.  Better yet, buy a CD to get acquainted with them.  If you are an Indigo Girls fan, kick off your shoes and do a little jig to 'Get Out the Map!'  How can you bear to keep your feet still when you hear those songs?

Looking for a copy of I Wandered from New Orleans?  It's available at my website, signed of course, it's also available in eBook format at Barnes and Noble (NOOKbook), Amazon (Kindle) and at Smashwords.