To Get Next To You is one of my recent ones. In a miraculously prolific year (thank you 2023, for this part, anyway), I’ve written eight new songs - music and lyrics - and six instrumentals. For perspective: I hadn’t written a complete song in more than two decades. (Which is another story for another time.) I also taught myself to play the electric guitar – my now-beloved Fender Stratocaster, Dolphin Gray. (At least for me, playing an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar are two very … [Read more...]

When I was a kid, I used to hang out in my parents’ den and I was fascinated with my mom’s extensive collection of paperback books that were stacked side by side along the back length of my dad’s beautiful dark wood bar. Without a photographic memory I can’t bring to mind all the titles, but one particular novel stood out – Call It Sleep by Henry Roth. It’s a story about a Jewish immigrant child growing up in the tenements of New York City. I never read it, but the intriguing title and subdued … [Read more...]

                        I live with a person who struggles with the next, or even the first, step. His pile of things he needs to get done keeps growing higher and higher, and now the messy tangle of to-dos is too daunting to even know where to begin. So he sits there in a very dark place, berating himself for his lack of progress. He calls it, “self loathing.” I am a person who can’t let things … [Read more...]

1-30-21 Sometimes I’m that kid in the photo: I go outside and twirl with my arms outstretched, in awe, and gratitude of a particular gorgeous day. It always raises a smile from my wife, Gina, so – job done. Sometimes I express my gratitude into a Gratitude Journal. It prompts: “What are you grateful for today?” and “What are you grateful for in your life?” To the first, the responses vary, though there are definite themes: the birds singing; the author who wrote this excellent book I’m … [Read more...]

A New Year Goodbye 2020, and good riddance. We will not miss you, nor ever forget you. You are indelibly stamped on our psyches and through our losses, our dis-ease, our months upon months of isolation. Here comes our chance to have a better year, though the harsh realities of 2020 will not fade soon, or soon enough. I propose some New Year Resolutions. Realistic ones, like, I will endeavor to: Eat better and healthier foods Be more patient with my children, spouse, parents, … [Read more...]

  11/16/20 Many of us are willing to extend a helping hand, but we’re very reluctant to reach out for help when we need it ourselves. It’s as if we’ve divided the world into “those who offer help” and “those who need help.” The truth is that we are both. – Brené Brown, from The Gifts of Imperfection This year has not been the best of years. I think most would agree, even though most of us agreeing on something is pretty rare these days. But during this year of dis-ease and … [Read more...]

Just pause. It sounds simple, but in many situations, it’s very hard to do. I am an implementer. If I’m asked to do something, I’m on it. Lickity-split. Pronto. Edit a document? Already doing it. Write a letter of recommendation? Give me an hour. Email in my inbox? Answer sent. Voicemail? “Hello, this is Ned Andrew, returning your call.” My natural anxiety has not allowed me to pause. To wait. To consider. To reflect. To look before leaping. To give the universe a chance to chime in. (My wife … [Read more...]

  The birds in our backyard know the right thing when they see it, or feel it. Landing on the tube feeder filled with a blend of white millet, black oil sunflower, striped sunflower and safflower seeds, they select one, determine its weight, and decide whether its nutritious enough to ingest. If not, it gets tossed aside. But that’s okay too, because a different breed of bird, who scavenges primarily on the ground, will discover a treat waiting there. As I set out to write my … [Read more...]