• Blog
  • Bio
  • Tunes
  • Travels
  • Journalism
  • Wisdom
  • Diversions
  • Cool Guitars
  • Links
Guitar Dad

Seaside Getaway

11/29/2008

1 Comment

 

My family just returned from Amelia Island, where we spent a relaxing Thanksgiving away from home and away from the familiar, the humdrum, the predictable. My wife, the kids and I were joined by my Mom and Dad, who agreed that getting away was a good idea and made the drive down from North Carolina.

Amelia Island proved to be a terrific gathering spot for the Guitar Dad clan. This barrier island off the coast of northeast Florida is a quiet, relatively out-of-the-way destination of refined resorts, wide beaches, lots of golf and tennis, and the enchanting historic district of Fernandina Beach. We enjoyed our well-appointed oceanfront accommodations at the Amelia Island Plantation, and savored a bountiful Thanksgiving feast at the Florida House Inn, a comfortable "old Florida" B&B with a friendly staff and seriously delicious cuisine.

It was wonderful to get the kids together with their doting grandparents – and great to unplug from our routine and take in the tranquil surroundings. If you've never ventured to Amelia Island, consider adding it to your travel wish list. At the risk of sounding like the local visitors bureau, I'll tell you that it would be hard not to enjoy the natural rhythm of Amelia Island, a place of serene beauty, abundant charms and extraordinary calming powers.


1 Comment

Thankful Through and Through

11/25/2008

2 Comments

 

Giving thanks comes easily for Guitar Dad. I'm deeply grateful for all I have, for all I've ever had, and for all I hope to have in the days ahead.

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them," instructed the oh-so-quotable John F. Kennedy.

In other words, feel the love then show the love. That makes a lot of sense.

Happy Thanksgiving.


2 Comments

Pondering Pollock

11/20/2008

0 Comments

 

For many years I've been an admirer of Jackson Pollock's awe-inspiring abstract art. He dripped, flung, poured and otherwise cleverly applied paint to large-scale canvases in seemingly haphazard ways, although in reality his method was highly calculated.
 
Displayed in my home and office are particularly expressive Pollock prints, their piercing lines, squiggles and layers of vivid color delighting some viewers while assaulting others. "It looks angry," one colleague said recently upon spotting the Pollock over my desk. Long ago my sweet little niece saw the Pollock print hanging in my house and wondered aloud, "What is that splitter splatter?" Clearly she was unimpressed, and I didn't have a good answer for her.
 
I realize his audacious style doesn't float everyone's boat. But in my mind Pollock created stirring works of genius using an approach no one had contemplated or been bold enough to attempt before. On top of that, his paintings are just downright lively and fun.

"There was a reviewer a while back who wrote that my pictures didn't have any beginning or any end," the artist once said. "He didn't mean it as a compliment, but it was."

Pollock said abstract art "confronts you," and I believe that's a good thing.


0 Comments

World's Most Wonderful Wordsmiths

11/13/2008

1 Comment

 

Occasionally I'm the privileged recipient of a drawing or succinct note from one of my kids. Usually "To Daddy" is scrawled in the corner of a uniquely brilliant illustration that only my talented offspring could create.

Their handwritten notes are what I treasure most, and the direct and powerful "I love Daddy" is my absolute favorite sentiment. More heartfelt than Byron or Keats, more meaningful than Shakespeare, more moving than anything ever penned by the masters.


1 Comment

Never Enough Gotham

11/7/2008

0 Comments

 

I just returned from a whirlwind business trip to New York: 24 hours of back-to-back meetings and appointments in the name of commerce, with just a few of those hours allotted for sleep.

I've probably traveled to Manhattan 15 times or so since I was a kid, and I can never get enough of the place. As a first-time visitor at the age of 8, I sensed the city's intensity and frenetic speed. Later, in my 20s and beyond, I set out to explore Manhattan's unique neighborhoods, its bars and bookstores, the dark and foreboding subways, the ubiquitous musical and literary history, the world's coolest skyscrapers.
 
This week's trip was all too brief and focused on work, although my colleagues and I did manage to squeeze in a couple of nice meals and a late-night excursion out of Midtown into the colorful world of Greenwich Village. The trouble with traveling to New York for business is that you're keenly aware of the limitless possibilities of the city, the extraordinary options for fun and excitement, yet are bound to the task at hand. Heading to the airport so soon after arriving, it's hard not to feel just a bit cheated.


0 Comments

    THIS WEBSITE

    Levelheaded perspectives on
    music, fatherhood, travel,
    writing, the good life and other pressing matters.
    More >

    MY SONGS

    Click here for a selection of
    Guitar Dad's recordings.


    MY VIDEOS

    Click here for Guitar Dad's
    YouTube Channel.



    POSTS OF NOTE

    Blues in the News
    Suburban Anglers
    Pondering Pollock
    Authentic Orlando
    Kudos for Guitar Dad
    Hard to Get
    Jazz Genius
    School Pizza
    Gonzo in the Islands
    Poppin' Wheelies
    Cosmic Curiosity
    Master Wordsmith
    Kiddie Concert
    Aging Skate Rat
    Bukowski's Back
    Greatest Rock Bands

    ESSENTIAL SOUNDS

    Picture

     

    REQUISITE LIT

    Picture

     

     SIGHTS TO SEE

    Picture

    Chateau Marmont,
    ​West Hollywood

     

    ARCHIVES

    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    February 2009
    January 2009
    December 2008
    November 2008
    October 2008
    September 2008
    August 2008
    July 2008
    June 2008

     

    RSS Feed

     

    Find Guitar Dad on Facebook.



Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
✕