“You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different
one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It’s just a matter of paying attention
to this miracle.”
-Paulo Coelho, best-selling author of “The Alchemist”
I can generally tell the diffence as I have a lot of variety in my life–travel, freelancing and performing will find you ‘changing channels’ on scenes, faces and locations a lot. And June has been no different— full of gratifying shows and performance opportunities, spiritual adventures (Amma or bust!) and a bit of travel. Sometimes it can be like a circus. One of the people at my show yesterday even turned out to be a flying trapeze artist and teacher!
I’m in NYC and PA for couple of weeks as I continue my flirt with the East Coast (as in will I ever commit and just decide where I want to be already, or just visit enough to keep the fascination alive-?). So while I don’t know that I’ll be traveling in a big tent anytime soon (though it could be interesting), the circus seems ripe as a point of inspiration, or at least consolation for nomadic tendancies:
Read: Circus Girl, by Nola Rae & Saibal Das
Eat: Honey Cracker Jacks Ingredients 1/2 c. Honey; 1/2 c. Vegan Margarine; 9 c. Popped popcorn; 1 c. Shelled peanuts. To make: Heat honey and margarine in a saucepan until well blended. Cool. Combine popcorn and peanuts in a large bowl. Pour honey mix over popcorn, stirring as you pour. When popcorn and peanuts are well coated, spread in a pan in a single layer. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 to 10 minutes or until crisp but not brown, stirring several times. Store in an air tight container.
Listen: Iron & Wine “The Trapeze Swinger”
Deborah Crooks (www.DeborahCrooks.com) is a writer, performing songwriter and recording artist based in San Francisco whose lyric driven and soul-wise music has drawn comparison to Lucinda Williams, Chrissie Hynde and Natalie Merchant.
Singing about faith, love and loss, her lyrics are honed by a lifetime of writing and world travel while her music draws on folk, rock, Americana and the blues. She released her first EP “5 Acres” in 2003 produced by Roberta Donnay, which caught the attention of Rocker Girl Magazine, selecting it for the RockerGirl Discoveries Cd. In 2007, she teamed up with local producer Ben Bernstein to complete “Turn It All Red” Ep, followed by 2008’s “Adding Water to the Ashes” CD, and a second full-length CD “2010. She’s currently working on a third CD to be released in 2013.
Deborah’s many performance credits include an appearance at the 2006 Millennium Music Conference, the RockerGirl Magazine Music Convention, IndieGrrl, at several of the Annual Invasion of the GoGirls at SXSW in Austin, TX, the Harmony Festival and 2009’s California Music Fest, MacWorld 2010, Far West Fest and many other venues and events. She toured the Northwest as part “Indie Abundance Music, Money & Mindfulness” (2009) with two other Bay Area artists, and followed up with “The Great Idea Tour of the Southwest in March 2010 with Jean Mazzei.
