"Tides" by Bodhi Smith

Sep 08, 2023

 
R.I.P. Jimmy Buffett---Rest in Paradise...
 
the tides pull my dreams out to sea
but they soon bring them back to me
this night sitting on the beach
seems nothing's out of reach
with the ocean and milky way above
i deliberate about my life and love
the tides again carry me away
on a beautiful hope of my one day
to exactly where i need to be
just me, the tides, and the sea
 
MY THOUGHTS
If there's a heaven for me, I'm sure it has a beach attached ― Jimmy Buffet
 
I kick off my flip-flops, stick them in the ground, and sit down on the beach. Got my toes in the sand, and the sea breeze in my hair. I'm looking out to sea, the Milky Way is gorgeous tonight out over the ocean, I contemplate about my place here in the universe, trying to make sense of my life. I think about how the recent Tides have taken away some of those souls I dearly love. I know there's a reason for everything, and I know there's no need to find the answers tonight. All I need is this moment, this night, the waves coming to and fro, me and my doggie on the beach under the stars...and the faith that the Tides will bring back to me new souls to love, and put me at ease once again. I breath in. I breathe out. I move on, with a sigh and a smile...
 
Witness the Seas
Hear its Motion
Feel the Breeze,
Smell the Ocean, 
Be at Ease
Taste the Life
 
Still I search the constellations​ for the tiny​ cosmic grains of sand, where the sand of the ocean, meets th​is salty piece of land ― Jimmy Buffett, Salty Piece of Land
 
Released almost exactly 10 years ago in August of 2013, this first song today has the same exact title as my impression, Tides... It sports poignant lyrics which really evoke the same feeling and deeper message as what I feel my image conveys. And it's written and performed by Jimmy Buffett with simply beautiful lyrics backed perfectly by his guitar. And even though it's one of his less well-know songs, I cannot think of a better tune to accompany my image and blog today ...  "Tides" by Jimmy Buffett. ... (just click on the blue links to listen to any of the songs)

Every sailor's son
Is taught when they are young
That the pull of the moon lingers on
Something we can't escape
From Bimini 'round the cape
Mix in the wind and the sea and sing along.
To whom it may concern
I've always tried to learn
That the good days need to last
Season with a lot of laughter
Here and in the ever after
With poetry and painters from my past
So I follow the tides
On currents far and wide
Chalking up the stories and the miles
Yes, I follow the tides
Big blue rides
And that's the reason I will never lose my smile
Hoping to catch a wave
Looking to misbehave
As my lucky stars still shine above the sea
Watching the ships roll in
I play that Otis song again
For the tourists and some mermaids by the sea
And I follow the tides
Down my song lines far and wide
The world to me should still be free and wild
Yes, I follow the tides
Give me more, big blue rides
And that's the reason I will never lose my smile
Every sailor's son
Is taught when they are young
That the pull of the moon lingers on
Something we can't escape
Is it salt water or just fate?
Mix in the wind and the sea and sing along?
And we'll follow the tides
Down our song lines far and wide
It seems to me my life's still free and wild
Yes, we'll follow the tides
Give us more big blue rides
And that's the reason I will never lose my smile
And that's the reason you should never lose your smile

A now here's another perfectly written tune to go along with my words and impression today--this song is about slack tide, which is the short period of time in the ocean when the water is completely unstressed, and there is no movement of waves either way in the tidal stream. It occurs when the direction of the Tides reverse--low becomes high tide or high becomes low tide. In a metaphor of life, it's the perfect place to live, times when you're perfectly relaxed and there​'s no stress​, anxiety, or pressure what​-so-ever on you​ ...  "​Slack Tide" by Jimmy Buffett. ... (just click on the blue links to listen to any of the songs)

I've got a fish on the line
But there won't be a feast
We've got too much in common
And he shall be released
I've seen day turn to night
And watched the changing of seasons
Things don't just happen
They happen for a reason
Maybe we'll meet in Exuma
Or down in the Keys
If I catch the right current
Or capture a breeze out here conflicts and
Chaos completely subside
Sailin' back to where I came from
Back to slack tide
Well, I think it's time to
Put some snorkels on
Turn your feet into flippers
Have some primal fun
Dance with a stranger in a Mardi Gras parade
Find an empty hammock
Take a nap in the shade
You can't hold back the moon
Can't stop the ebb and flow
The water still comes and
The water still goes
It turns mountains to sand
Gave ol' Noah his big ride
Then he dropped off his passengers
Down at slack tide
I can't control anybody other than myself
Leave those half empty thoughts
High up on the shelf
If you cut me some slack
I'll return the favor
Open that bottle of fine rum
That together, we will savor
Well, we could use some quiet
We could use a little calm
Find the good in everybody
Share that "one love" balm
Watch the predators and prey
Swim along side by side
'Neath the blue sky and mangroves
Down at slack tide
I wish the whole wide world could swim along
At slack tide
Swim along, swim along, swim along
Swim along at slack tide
Swim along, swim along, swim along
Swim along
 
the tides carry me way out to where i need to be, and then always bring me back home where i belong ― bodhi, tides
 
 
 
 
TODAY'S IMPRESSION IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF JIMMY BUFFETT
Some of it’s magic and some of it’s tragic but I had a good life all the way ― Jimmy Buffett
 
You always think there will be one more day, but nothing is guaranteed, another reminder to make every moment count, because you never know which one will be your last…my favorite musical artist, Jimmy "Bubba" Buffett, passed away unexpectedly this past week late in the evening on September 1st, 2023 after losing his battle with Merkel Cell Carcinoma, a very rare and highly aggressive form of skin cancer… From his website:
 
Jimmy passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs. He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many ― Website of Jimmy Buffett

Easily my favorite artist of all time, Jimmy self-labeled his style of music as “Drunken Caribbean Rock-N-Roll”…to me his style is like no other, and is alway beach bum island music that can always take me away to a happy place and make me smile…

I’ve been to 20 Jimmy Buffett concerts in my life, guess I can be considered a true Parrothead…so many wonderful memories (some of which are a little blurry of course) with so many friends and loved ones over all these years, and I even got to meet him in person in flip-flops in Cleveland, Ohio…
 
Oh, yesterday's over my shoulder, so I can't look back for too long. There's just too much to see waiting in front of me, and I know that I just can't go wrong ― Jimmy Buffett, Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes
 
Jimmy's wonderfully written songs set to his island style of music, truly has been a staple of my life, all the way through college in my twenties, into my thirties, into my forties, and remains a staple well into my adult years, with me now being “A Pirate Looks at 55”...his words to the perfect song at any given minute could always be found to accompany any mood, any weather, any place. Jimmy's music is always there, through good and bad times, regularly playing on my car and home stereo. His music has always been there for me and always will be until I breathe in and breathe out my last breath and move on to my next astral plane…
 
Let those winds of time blow over my head, I'd rather die while I'm living than live while I'm dead ― Jimmy Buffett, Growing Older But Not Up
 
In one of his last interviews done by his daughter Delaney, Jimmy sings to his doggies, and you really see his personality come through: https://youtu.be/MAr3jNz1Vrw?si=RL1SEvyzfYDNRho5
 
 
I knew my dad my whole life but in his final days, I saw who he was: a man whose spirit could not be broken. Despite the pain, he smiled everyday. He was kind when he had every excuse not to be. He told us not to be sad or scared, but to keep the party going. And as much as I’d like to use that as an excuse to drink myself into oblivion worthy of his literary heroes, I know it’s not what he meant. Yes, he loved his weed and his wine, but the truth is, most of the time, he was just high on life, and that is what he wanted for everyone: to enjoy the fantastic trip that life can be ― Sarah "Delaney" Buffett (Jimmy's 31 yr-old daughter)
 
But now he's incommunicado​. Leaving such a hole in a world that believed​ that a life with such bravado​ was taking the right way home ― Jimmy Buffett, ​Incommunicado
 
I was at his last concert, my 20th to see him, here in May as his San Diego show turned out to be his last ever…pure irony that his last concert would wind up being in a city of his name…Diego is Spanish for James…San Diego is Spanish for Saint James…
 
And, I got to be at the last great Parrothead party ever held as it turns out on May 6th, 2023 here in the Snapdragon Stadium parking lot in San Diego …never in my wildest dreams did I ever think it would be a farewell party…this week the town has been Sad Diego, mourning the loss of such a kind and fun-loving person…so many of us are all missing Saint Jimmy...
 
Fun is about as good a habit as there is ― Jimmy Buffett

After 27 studio albums, ​5 New York Times bestselling books, a Broadway play, numerous movie and television appearances, Grammy nominations and Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association awards, it was still the music that inspired Jimmy. He was just as likely to pop up and play an impromptu set alone at a Caribbean beach bar as he was to be on stage in front of 30,000 ​of us loyal Parrothead fans. And after logging millions of miles on the road, on the ocean​, and in the air, distant ports still beckoned and the same unbridled curiosity drove him to keep looking for that next story to share via song.

“One Particular Harbor” will be playing and Margaritas will be flowing the world over for some time to come, remembering and honoring Jimmy Buffett and his beautiful legacy…

And there's that one particular harbour, a most mysterious calling harbour. So far but yet so near. Where I can see the day when my hair's full gray, and I finally disappear...― Jimmy Buffett, One Particular Harbour

Thank you Jimmy, for all the great music I’ll always get to play until that last breath, ​and looking forward to your new album, Equal Strain On All Parts, filled with new tunes on November 3, 2023...but Really gonna miss all those great songs you’ll never get to write, RIP Jimmy--Rest In Paradise

J​ames William "Bubba" Buffett Official Obituary

Now I'm knee deep in the water somewhere. got the blue sky breeze blowing wind through my hair. Only worry in the world: is the tide gonna reach my chair. Sunrise there's a fire in the sky. Never been so happy, never felt so high. And I think I might have found me my own kind of Paradise ― Zac Brown Band with Jimmy Buffett, Knee Deep
 
 
 

​And this next song has beautiful words to live by, its message straight and clear, right from the center of Jimmy's spirit like it was his mantra ... ​"​Live Like It's Your Last Day" by Jimmy Buffett. ... (just click on the blue links to listen to any of the songs)
 
Live, relive, learn to forgive
Time just keeps slippin' away
Live, relive, learn to forgive
Live like it's your last day
Cats have nine lives and eons to play
Planets and stars are light years away
Their cosmic clock ticks and it tocks
Here in the Milky Way
Just like a whirlpool, the universe has rules
There's no rehearsal or cosmic reversal
You can pray or stand still
Or grab one last cheap thrill
But here's all I have to say
Live like it's your last day
Sing karaoke and sip some Rosé
This won't last forever
But if you're clever
You just might sail away
And live like it's your last day
Fuel the jet now, don't delay
Bucket lists are just cliché
No acts of contrition
Or asking for permission
You'll have lots of options this way
Live, relive, learn to forgive
Time just keeps slippin' away
Live, relive, learn to forgive
Live like it's your last day
What you want, what you dream
What you might have heard
Was beyond your reach
(Oh, live)
On the water, on the wind
On the move, on the edge, or maybe on the beach
(Oh, just live)
For the chance or the dance
Or the new romance in every single day
(Come on and live)
For the joy, or the buzz, or maybe just because
I can't think of a reason not to
Live, relive, learn to forgive
Time just keeps slippin' away
(Time just keeps slippin' away)
Live, relive, learn to forgive
Live like it's your last day
Time just keeps slipping away
 
If you do decide to wander, please leave a bit of room in your heart for me. For if I live in your hearts, I really have not died ― Jimmy Buffett
 
 
 
 
SOME MEMORABLE QUOTES BY JIMMY BUFFETT
Planets and stars are light years away, their cosmic clock ticks and it tocks here in the Milky Way. Just like a whirlpool, the universe has rules, there's no rehearsal or cosmic reversal. You can pray or stand still. Or grab one last cheap thrill. But here's all I have to say: Live like it's your last day ​― Jimmy Buffett, Live Like It's Your Last Day.
 

I've seen day turn to night​ and watched the changin​g of seasons​. Things don't just happen​, they happen for a reason​...I wish the whole wide world could swim along at slack tide ― Jimmy Buffett, Slack Tide.
 
​I bought a cheap watch from a crazy man​ floating down canal​. it doesn't use numbers or moving hands​, it always just says now​. Now you may be thinking that I was had​, but this watch is never wrong​. And if I have trouble, the warranty said​: breathe in, breathe out, move on​ ― Jimmy Buffett, ​Breathe In Breathe Out Move On
 
 
Some people never find it, Some only pretend. But I just want to live happily ever after, now and then ― Jimmy Buffett
 
Only time will tell if it was time well spent...I'll make a resolution, that I'll never make another one, just enjoy this ride on my trip around the sun ― Jimmy Buffett, ​Trip Around the Sun
 
 
My mind's on a permanent vacation, the ocean is the only medication. And I'm wishing my condition ain’t never gonna go away ― Zac Brown Band with Jimmy Buffett, Knee Deep
 
One of the inescapable encumbrances of leading an interesting life is that there have to be moments when you almost lose it ― Jimmy Buffett, A Pirate Looks at Fifty
 
 
Indecision may or may not be my problem ― Jimmy Buffett
Be good, and you will be lonesome, be lonesome and you will be free. Live a lie and you will live to regret it. That’s what living is to me ― Jimmy Buffett
 
Lust for the future, treasure the past ― Jimmy Buffett
 

​Women and water are in short supply​, there's not enough dope for us all to get high  ― Jimmy Buffett, ​Mañana

​Relationships, we all got 'em​, we all want 'em, what do we do with 'em?  She said you gotta do your fair share​, now cough up half the rent​. I treat my body like a temple​, you treat yours like a tent​. But the right word at the right time​, "hey give me a little hug​", that's the difference between lightning​ and a harmless lightnin' bug― Jimmy Buffett, ​Fruitcakes
 
 
Everybody's on the phone​, so connected and all alone​. from the pizza boy to the socialite​, we all salute the satellites​ ― Jimmy Buffett, ​Everybody's On The Phone
 
I studied the language tapes​ and I read all the books​. Still nothing prepared me for my​ very ​first ​look​. It was my ​first ​look​, when I swallowed the hook, baby​, that's all it took​ was my ​first ​look​ around​ ―Jimmy Buffett, ​First Look
 
 
With the price of oil,​ the war of the spoils.​ Where's your bucket for the big bailout?​ Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan,​ we've got a​ lot, a lot to drink about.​ So pour me some Tennessee whiskey​. Pour me a fine Jamaican rum.​ That loud mouth soup​ can get ya kinda looped​. Tequila, of course I'll have some!― Jimmy Buffett, ​A Lot To Drink About

I have been drunk now for over two weeks. I passed out and I rallied and I sprung a few leaks. But I got to stop bitchin', got to go fishin' down to rock bottom again​,​ with just a few friends, just a few friends ― Jimmy Buffett, ​A Pirate Looks At Forty
 

On a patch of sand where the warm wind blows, not a tv set, not a radio, just an old guitar when the sun sinks low, down at the lah de dah. When the stars come out, it's the place to be if you're all alone needing company. it's a lovers' bar where the fun is free, down at the lah de dah― Jimmy Buffett, ​Down At The La De Dah

The weather is here, I wish you were beautiful. The skies are too clear, life's so easy today. The beer is too cold, the daiquiri's too fruitful. No place like home when you're this far away, I don't care what they say​ ― Jimmy Buffett, ​The Weather Is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful
 

I’m getting old, don’t wear underwear, I don’t go to church, and I don't cut my hair. But I can got to movies and see it all there, just the way that it used to be ― Jimmy Buffett, Pencil Thin Mustache
 
Reading departure signs in some big airport reminds me of the places I've been. Visions of good times that brought so much pleasure, makes me want to go back again. If it suddenly ended tomorrow, I could somehow adjust to the fall. Good times and riches and son-of-a-bitches, I've seen more than I can recall. These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes, nothing remains quite the same. Through all of the islands and all of the highlands, if we couldn't laugh we would all go insane ― Jimmy Buffett, Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes
 
 
 
 
 
SOME MORE JIMMY BUFFETT TUNES
H​ere are just a few of my all-time favorites by Jimmy...but honestly, this blog would be a mile long if I included all of his tunes I love today (click on the blue link of the song title to listen to the tune/video)
 
Play ball (one two three four)
Where's my per diem?
Ladies and gentlemen, the Carl Reiner Band
Hey Bobby, where's the keys to the rent-a-car?
Jimmy, Jimmy, can I open the show in Atlanta please?
Warning! Don't ever start a band!
He worked hard all year
Just wanted a few weeks alone
But his old lady's into modeling
She can't get away from a phone
Besides, she bitches about the mosquitoes
She says, down there, there is nothing to do
Her goddamn phone never stops ringing
He'll try the service in a day maybe two
Well, he's on his third drink
Before the wheels of the plane leave the ground
Makin' points with the stewardess high over Long Island Sound
She's also spending some time on the island
Too much city madness gives her the blues
They make a date to go dancing and dining
It seems neither has that much to lose
The weather is here, I wish you were beautiful
My thoughts aren't too clear but don't run away
My girlfriend's a bore, my job is too dutiful
Hell, nobody's perfect, would you like to play?
I feel together today
Well, now that's just the start of a well-deserved overdue binge
Meanwhile, back in the city certain people are starting to cringe
His lawyers are calling his parents
His girlfriend doesn't know what to think
His partners are studying their options
He's just singing and ordering drinks
The weather is here, I wish you were beautiful
The skies are too clear, life's so easy today
The beer is too cold, the daiquiri's too fruitful
No place like home when you're this far away
I don't care what they say
He's goin' back to New York pack it up and let everyone know (back to New York)
It was something that he should have done such a long time ago
Still, time to start a new life in the palm trees
Ah, Billy Clyde wasn't insane
And if it doesn't work out, there'll never be any doubt
That the pleasure was worth all the pain
The weather is here, I wish you were beautiful
The skies are too clear, life's so easy today
The beer is too cold, the daiquiri's too fruitful
No place like home when you're this far away
Time for to play
I need time for to play
Time for to play
I need time for to play
I need time for to play
I need time for to play
I need time for to play
 
Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei
Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei
I know I don't get there often enough
But God knows I surely try
It's a magic kind of medicine
That no doctor could prescribe
I used to rule my world from a pay phone
Ships out on the sea
But now times are rough
And I got too much stuff
Can't explain likes of me
But there's this one particular harbour
So far but yet so near
Where I see the days as they fade away
And finally disappear
But now I think about the good times
Down in the caribbean sunshine
In my younger days I was so bad
Laughin' about all the fun we had
I seen enough to feel the world spin
Mixin' different oceans meetin' cousins
Listen to the drummers and the night sounds
Listen to the singers make the world go 'round
Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei
Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei
Lakes below the mountain
Flow into the sea
Like oils applied to canvas
They permeate through me
And there's that one particular harbour
Sheltered from the wind
Where the children play on the shore each day
And all are safe within
Most mysterious calling harbour
So far but yet so near
I can see the day when my hair's full gray
And I finally disappear
Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei
Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei
Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei
Ia ora te natura (ua pau te maitai no te fenua)
E mea arofa teie ao nei
Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei
Ia ora te natura (ua pau te maitai no te fenua)
E mea arofa teie ao nei, hey now, hey now, hey now
Ia ora te natura
E mea arofa teie ao nei
Ua pau te maitai no te fenua
Te zai noa ra te ora o te mitie
Ua pau te mai​ tai no te fenua
Te zai noa ra te ora o te mitie
 
Jimmy Buffett, ​Down At The La De Dah.
On a patch of sand where the warm wind blows
Not a tv set, not a radio
Just an old guitar when the sun sinks low
Down at the lah de dah
When the stars come out, it's the place to be
If you're all alone needing company
It's a lovers' bar where the fun is free
Down at the lah de dah
Down at the lah de dah
There's a perfect margarita in a mason jar
At the end of the world in a sea of dreams
Where the ocean smiles and the seagulls scream
We all know just how lucky we are
Down at the lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah
Lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah
Lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah
Down at the lah de dah
When you're back at work at your 9 to 5
And it's pourin' rain on your mornin' drive
You'll remember when you were last alive
Down at the lah de dah
Down at the lah de dah
There's a perfect margarita in a mason jar
At the end of the world in a sea of dreams
Where the ocean smiles and the seagulls scream
We all know just how lucky we are
Down at the lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah
Lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah
Lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah
Down at the lah de dah
Lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah
Lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah
Lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah
Down at the lah de dah
When the band strikes up and the sun is down
The pirate king buys another round
And the rumors fly mermaids are in town
Down at the lah de dah
Down at the lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah
Lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah
Lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah
Down at the lah de dah
Cha, cha, cha
 
Jimmy Buffett, Pencil Thin Mustache.
Now they make new movies in old black and white
With happy endings, where nobody fights
So if you find yourself in that nostalgic rage
Honey, jump right up and show your age
I wish I had a pencil thin mustache
The "Boston Blackie" kind
A two toned Ricky Ricardo jacket
And an autographed picture of Andy Devine
I remember bein' buck-toothed and skinny
Writin' fan letters to Sky's niece Penny
Oh I wish I had a pencil thin mustache
Then I could solve some mysteries too
Then it's Bandstand, Disneyland, growin' up fast
Drinkin' on a fake I.D.
Yeah, and Rama of the jungle was everyone's Bawana
But only jazz musicians were smokin' marijuana
Yeah, I wish I had a pencil thin mustache
Then I could solve some mysteries too
Then it's flat top, dirty bob, coppin' a feel
Grubbin' on the livin' room floor (so sore)
Yeah, they send you off to college, try to gain a little knowledge,
But all you want to do is learn how to score
Yeah, but now I'm gettin' old, don't wear underwear
I don't go to church and I don't cut my hair
But I can go to movies and see it all there
Just the way that it used to be
That's why I wish I had a pencil thin mustache
The "Boston Blackie" kind
A two-toned Ricky Ricardo jacket
And an autographed picture of Andy Devine
Oh, I could be anyone I wanted to be
Maybe suave Errol Flynn or the Sheik of Araby
If I only had a pencil thin mustache
Then I could do some cruisin' too
Yeah, Bryl-cream, a little dab'll do yah
Oh, I could do some cruisin' too
 
Jimmy Buffett, ​Mañana.
She said I can't go back to America soon
So goddamn cold it's gonna snow until June
Yeah, they're freezin' up in Buffalo stuck in their cars
And I'm lyin' here 'neath the sun and the stars
Customs man tells her that she's gotta leave
She's got a plan hidden up her shrewd sleeve
Wants to find her a captain, a man of strong mind
And any direction he blows will be fine
Please don't say mañana if you don't mean it
I have heard those words for so very long
Don't try to describe the ocean if you've never seen it
Don't ever forget that you just may wind up being wrong
Tried and I tried but I don't understand
Never seemed to work out the way I had it planned
Hangin' out at a marina when Steve Martin called
Singin' anybody there really want to get small
But women and water are in short supply
There's not enough dope for us all to get high
I hear it gets better, that's what they say
As soon as we sail on to Cane Garden Bay
So please don't say mañana if you don't mean it
I have heard your lines for so very long
Don't try to describe the scenery if you've never seen it
Don't ever forget that you just may wind up in my song
Alright, let's reggae, Reefers!
Called all my friends on those cheap nightly rates
Sure was good to talk to the old United States
While the lights of St. Thomas lie twenty miles west
I see General Electric's still doing their best
I got to head this boat South pretty soon
New album's old and I'm fresh out of tunes
But I know that I'll get 'em, I know that they'll come
Through the people and places and Caldwood's Rum
So please don't say mañana if you don't mean it (don't mean it)
I have done your lines for so very long
Don't try to describe a kiss concert if you've never seen it
Don't ever forget that you just may wind up being gonged
And I hope Anita Bryant never ever does one of my songs
No, no, no
 
Jimmy Buffett, Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes.
I took off for a weekend last month just to try and recall the whole year
All of the faces and all of the places wonderin' where they all disappeared
I didn't ponder the question too long, I was hungry and went out for a bite
Ran into a chum with a bottle of rum and we wound up drinkin' all night
It's those changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
With all of our running and all of our cunning
If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane
Reading departure signs in some big airport reminds me of the places I've been
Visions of good times that brought so much pleasure makes me want to go back again
If it suddenly ended tomorrow I could somehow adjust to the fall
Good times and riches and son-of-a-bitches I've seen more than I can recall
These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
Through all of the islands and all of the highlands
If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane
I think about Paris when I'm high on red wine I wish I could jump on a plane
So many nights I just dream of the ocean, god I wish I was sailin' again
Oh, yesterday's over my shoulder, so I can't look back for too long
There's just too much to see waiting in front of me and I know that I just can't go wrong
With these changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
With all of my running and all of my cunning
If I couldn't laugh I just would go insane
If we couldn't laugh we just would go insane
If we weren't all crazy we would go insane

Jimmy Buffett, ​Fruitcakes.
You know I was talking to my friend Desdemona the other day
She runs this space station and bake shop down near Boomtown
She told me that human beings are flawed individuals
The cosmic bakers took us out of the oven a little too early
And that's the reason we're as crazy as we are and I believe it
Take, for example, when you go to the movies these days, you know
They try to sell you this jumbo drink
Eight extra ounces of watered-down cherry coke for an extra 25 cents
I don't want it, I don't want that much organization in my life
I don't want other people thinking for me
I want my Junior Mints, where did the Junior Mints go in the movies
I don't want a 12 pound Nestle's crunch for 25 dollars
I want Junior Mints
We need more fruitcakes in this world and less bakers
We need people that care
I'm mad as hell and I don't want to take it anymore
Fruitcakes in the kitchen (fruitcakes in the kitchen)
Fruitcakes on the street (fruitcakes on the street)
Struttin' naked through the crosswalk
In the middle of the week
Half-baked cookies in the oven (cookies in the oven)
Half-baked people on the bus (people on the bus)
There's a little bit of fruitcake left in everyone of us
Paradise, lost and found
Paradise, take a look around
I was out in California where I hear they have it all
They got riots, fires, mud slides
They've got sushi in the mall
Water bars, brontasaurs, chinese modern lust
Shake and bake life with the quake
The secret's in the crust
Fruitcakes in the kitchen (fruitcakes in the kitchen)
Fruitcakes on the street (fruitcakes on the street)
Struttin' naked through the crosswalk
In the middle of the week
Half-baked cookies in the oven (cookies in the oven)
Half-baked people on the bus (people on the bus)
There's a little bit of fruitcake left in everyone of us
Speakin' of fruitcakes, how 'bout the government?
Your tax dollars at work
We lost our Martian rocket ship
The high paid spokesman said
Looks like that silly rocket ship
Has lost its cone-shaped head
We spent 90 jillion dollars trying to get a look at Mars
I hear universal laughter ringing out among the stars
Fruitcakes in the galaxy (fruitcakes in the galaxy)
Fruitcakes on the earth (fruitcakes on the earth)
Struttin' naked towards eternity
We've been that way since birth
Half-baked cookies in the oven (cookies in the oven)
Half-baked people on the bus (people on the bus)
There's a little bit of fruitcake left in everyone of us
Religion, religion
Oh, there's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning
Here we go now, Alright, alter boys
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa
Where's the church, who took the steeple
Religion is in the hands of some crazy-ass people
Television preachers with bad hair and dimples
The god's honest truth is it's not that simple
It's the Buddhist in you, it's the Pagan in me
It's the Muslim in him, she's Catholic ain't she?
It's the born again look its the WASP and the Jew
Tell me what's goin' on, I ain't got a clue
Now here comes the big ones, relationships, we all got 'em
We all want 'em, what do we do with 'em?
Here we go, I'll tell ya
She said you gotta do your fair share
Now cough up half the rent
I treat my body like a temple
You treat yours like a tent
But the right word at the right time
May get me a little hug
That's the difference between lightning
And a harmless lightnin' bug
Fruitcakes in the kitchen (fruitcakes in the kitchen)
Fruitcakes on the street (fruitcakes on the street)
Struttin' naked through the crosswalk
In the middle of the week
Half-baked cookies in the oven (cookies in the oven)
Half-baked people on the bus (people on the bus)
There's a little bit of fruitcake left in everyone of us
The future, captain's log, stardate two thousand and something
We're seven years from the millenium
That's a science fiction fact
Stanley Kubrick and his buddy Hal
Now don't look that abstract
So I'll put on my Bob Marley tape
And practice what I preach
Get Jah lost in the reggae mon
As I walk along the beach
Stay in touch with my insanity really is the only way
It's a jungle out there kiddies
Have a very fruitful day
Hey, Fruitcakes in the kitchen (fruitcakes in the kitchen)
Fruitcakes on the street (fruitcakes on the street)
Struttin' naked through the crosswalk
In the middle of the week
Half-baked cookies in the oven (cookies in the oven)
Half-baked people on the bus (people on the bus)
There's a little bit of fruitcake left in everyone of us
That's right, you too, yeah, those crumbs are spread all around this universe
I've seen fruitcakes
I saw this guy in Santa Monica rollerskate naked through the crosswalk
Down in New Orleans in the French market there are fruitcakes like you cannot believe
New York, forget it, fruitcake city, Down island, we've got fruitcakes
Spread them crumbs around that's right
We want 'em around
Keep bakin' baby, keep bakin'

Jimmy Buffett, ​A Pirate Looks At Forty.
Mother, mother ocean, I have heard you call
Wanted to sail upon your waters since I was three feet tall
You've seen it all, you've seen it all
Watched the men who rode you, switch from sails to steam
And in your belly, you hold the treasures few have ever seen
Most of 'em dream, most of 'em dream
Yes, I am a pirate, two hundred years too late
The cannons don't thunder, there's nothin' to plunder
I'm an over-forty victim of fate
Arriving too late, arriving too late
I've done a bit of smugglin', and I've run my share of grass
I made enough money to buy Miami, but I pissed it away so fast
Never meant to last, never meant to last
And I have been drunk now for over two weeks
I passed out and I rallied and I sprung a few leaks
But I got to stop ​bitchin', got to go fishin'
Down to rock bottom again
​With just a few friends, just a few friends
I go for younger women, lived with several a while
Though I ran 'em away, they'd come back one day
Still could manage to smile
Just takes a while, just takes a while
Mother, mother ocean, after all the years I've found
My occupational hazard being my occupation's just not around
I feel like I've drowned, gonna head uptown
I feel like I've drowned, gonna head uptown
 
Jimmy Buffett, ​First Look.
Fun tickets in my pocket, visions in my brain
Grand father always told me it I went down
I might never come back again
I studied the language tapes, and I read all the books
Still nothing prepared me for my very First Look
It was my First Look, Baby that's all it took
Was my First Look around
I think I want to go flyin', but I don't want to leave the ground
So I'll just cruise on my landing gear, and taxi round ​the old town
Up to the mountain, down to the sea
Take me to Leblon where the samba queen waits for me
It was my First Look, that's when I swallowed the hook
On my First Look around
Amor​ a premiera vista
Voce no ​quer que​ o insisto
Amor​ a premiera vista
Reacion quimica
Amor​ a premiera vista
Voc​e no ​quer que​ o insista
Amor​ a premiera vista
Reacion quimica
Six days later, I was felling like a missing link
When my friends told me hey Jimmy
It must have been the hoodlum drink
Now it's time for siestas, and a belly full of rice and beans
And figure if I'm brave enough to repeat the whole crazy scene
On my First Look, that's when I swallowed the hook
On my First Look around
Amor​ a premiera vista
Voce no ​quer que​ o insisto
Amor​ a premiera vista
Reacion quimica
Amor​ a premiera vista
Voc​e no ​quer que​ o insista
Amor​ a premiera vista
Reacion quimica
 
Jimmy Buffett, ​Breathe In Breathe Out Move On.
​I bought a cheap watch from a crazy man
Floating down canal
It doesn't use numbers or moving hands
It always just says now
Now you may be thinking that I was had
But this watch is never wrong
And if I have trouble, the warranty said
Breathe in, breathe out, move on
And it rained, it was nothing really new
And it blew, we've seen all that before
And it poured, the Earth began to strain
Pontchartrain leaking through the door, tides at war
If a hurricane doesn't leave you dead
It will make you strong
Don't try to explain it, just nod your head
Breathe in, breathe out, move on
And it rained, nothing really new
And it blew, seen all that before
And it poured, the Earth began to strain
Pontchartrain buried the ninth ward to the second floor
According to my watch, the time is now
Past is dead and gone
Don't try to shake it, just nod your head
Breathe in, breathe out, move on
Don't try to explain it, just bow your head
Breathe in, breathe out, move on
 
Jimmy Buffett, ​Everybody's On The Phone.
Message in a bottle
Rhythm of a drum
Smoke signals and telegraphs
Make the airwaves hum
But that's all ancient history
Like bongs and Lincoln Logs
Now we livin' like the Jetsons
In a wacky wireless fog
Talkin', squawkin', hawkin'
Who knows if anybody's gettin' through
Toasters talk to crack berries
Boston to Bombay
Teenage schemes and mobile dreams
As minutes tick away
We act like crazy people
Talking to ourselves
Crashing cars in conversation
Still that shit flies off the shelf
The information superhighways
Crawled up like a L.A. traffic jam
Everybody's on the phone
So connected and all alone
From the pizza boy to the socialite
We all salute the satellites
Won't you text me with your master plan?
You're loud and clear but I don't understand
I'm a digital explorer in analog roam
And everybody's on the phone
Do you remember dialing up?
Yes, I remember well
Now I just can't go anywhere
Without my sacred cell
I think that I might die
If I miss anything at all
Text me, send me an e-mail
Ring me up, give me a call
I'm ADD on AOL and tryin' to read
The writing on the wall
Everybody's on the phone
So connected and all alone
From the pizza boy to the socialite
We all salute the satellites
Won't you text me with your master plan?
You're loud and clear but I don't understand
I'm a digital explorer in analog roam
And everybody's on the phone
Now I'm a real jungle jump up, I'm a megahertz man
I swing from tree to tree on the very latest plan
On the download and the dropouts
On every major city across the land
I got my Marley on my ring tone
Get up, stand up, reach out
Touch somebody band
Everybody's on the phone
So connected and all alone
From the pizza boy to the socialite
We all salute the satellites
Won't you text me with your master plan?
You're loud and clear but I don't understand
And I'm a digital explorer in analog roam
And everybody's on the phone
And I'm a digital explorer in an analog roam
And everybody's on the phone
 
Jimmy Buffett, ​A Lot To Drink About.
Hey, have you noticed that the world has changed
That the news is all bad
Well, I think it's time for a song about that
Up on the East side of Manhattan,
They're still dancing with the stars.
While over in sub prime city,
It's getting ugly in the local bars
Watching the news only gives me the blues
There's too much going wrong.
It takes the likes of me to hit the reboot key
And write a high speed drinking song.
Millionaires losing everything.
Hey, welcome to the other side of life!
There goes the yacht, there goes the Rolls,
But you, you get to keep your wife!
And don't forget the automakers
Swimming up stream like a trout.
They let the shit hit the fan
And then they made a plan
We've got a, a lot to drink about.
There's the price of oil,
The war of the spoils.
Here's your bucket for the big bailout?
Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan,
We've got a, a lot to drink about.
Now, Madoff made off with all the money.
And his clients are down to skunk weed.
Repeat after me, it's so easy to see
We're only talking simple greed.
And those Somalian pirates are counting all the gold.
While Bush and Cheney ain't around
And all the good lookers seem to be Russian hookers
From Key West to London town.
With the price of oil,
The war of the spoils.
Here's your bucket for the big bailout?
Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan,
We've got a, a lot to drink about.
So pour me some Tennessee whiskey,
Pour me a fine Jamaican rum.
That loud mouth soup
Can get ya kinda looped
Tequila, of course I'll have some!
Well the family devalues
And little children plan their net worth
And the truth wherever it's hiding,
Can be found on Google Earth.
Citibank's buying jets with our money.
I wanna flog 'em with a buggy whip.
Let's hope Obama and Joe won't let the volcano blow
And patch the hole in our sinking ship.
There's the price of oil,
The war of the spoils.
Here's your bucket for the big bailout?
Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan,
We've got a, a lot to drink about.
Recession, op​pression, depression, good God
CNN keeps bumming me out.
I can't take another doomsday minute
We got a lot to drink, a lot to think,
A lot to drink about
 
Jimmy Buffett, Bubbles Up.
When this world starts a-reeling 
​From that pressure drop feeling​, 
We’re just treading water each day​. 
There’s a way to feel better, 
​Be well set to weather the storms 
​Till the sun shines again 
When your compass is spinnin' 
And you’re lost on the way 
Like a leaf in the wind, friend, 
​Hear me when I say
Bubbles up, they will point you towards home 
No matter how deep or how far you roam 
They will show you the surface, the plot and the purpose 
So when the journey gets long 
Just know that you are loved, there is light up above 
And the joy is always enough 
Bubbles up
To my friends who are jolly 
​When melancholy knocks, 
​Sometimes they let her in 
To sit and share stories of flops and of glories 
If ain’t half as bad as the bends 
Sometimes livin’s a struggle, multiplied double 
But they love it too much for the party to end
Bubbles up, they will point you towards home 
No matter how deep or how far you roam 
They will show you the surface, the plot and the purpose 
So when the journey gets long 
Just know that you are loved, there is light up above 
And the joy is always enough 
Bubbles up
Let’s pop a cork to the rough and the right 
To the bright plays and days 
​And the sweet starry nights
Bubbles up, they will point us toward home 
No matter how deep or how far we roam 
They will show you the surface, the plot and the purpose 
So when the journey gets long 
Just know that you are loved, there is light up above 
And joy, there’s always enough 
Bubbles up Bubbles up
 
She never tells me that she's sick of this house. 
She never says why don't you get off that couch
She don't cost nothin' when she wants to go out
I want you to love me like my dog...
She never says I need a new attitude
Her and your sister ain't always in a feud
When I leave the seat up, she don't think that it's rude
I want you to love me like me dog does baby
When I come home I want you to just go crazy
She never looks at me like she might hate me
I want you to love me like my dog...
She never acts like she don't care for my friends
She never asks me where the hell have you been?
She don't play dead any time I walk in
I want you to love me like my dog​ does honey
She never says I wish you made more money
She always thinks that pull my finger's funny
I want you to love me like my dog​...
She don't get mad at me and throw a major fit
'Cause I said her sister was a bitch
I want you to love me like me dog does baby
When I come home I want you to just go crazy
She never looks at me like she might hate me
I want you to love me like my dog...
Why won't you love me like me dog does baby?
 
Zac Brown Band with Jimmy Buffett, Knee Deep.
Gonna put the the world away for a minute
Pretend I don't live in it
Sunshine gonna wash my blues away
Had sweet love but I lost it
She got too close so I fought her
Now I'm lost in the world trying to find me a better way
Wishing I was knee deep in the water somewhere
Got the blue sky breeze and it don't seem fair
Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise there's a fire in the sky
Never been so happy
Never felt so high
And I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise
Wrote a note said be back in a minute
Bought a boat and I sailed off in it
Don't think anybody gonna miss me anyway
Mind on a permanent vacation
The ocean is my only medication
Wishing my condition ain't ever gonna go away
'Cause now I'm knee deep in the water somewhere
Got the blue sky breeze blowing wind through my hair
Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise there's a fire in the sky
Never been so happy
Never felt so high
And I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise
This champagne shore washing over me
It's a sweet sweet life living by the salty sea
One day you could be as lost as me
Change you're geography
Maybe you might be
Knee deep in the water somewhere
Got the blue sky breeze blowing wind through my hair
Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise there's a fire in the sky
Never been so happy
Never felt so high
And I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise
Come on in the water it's nice
Find yourself a little slice
Grab a backpack of lies
You never know until you try
When you lose yourself
You find the key to paradise
 
 
 
SPECIFICS ABOUT THIS PHOTO
Jimmy's music is always there, thru good and bad times, regularly playing on my car and home stereo, his music has always been there for me and always will be until I breathe in, and breathe out my last breath, and move on to my next astral plane ― Bodhi, Always Forever
 
The experience surrounding the creation of this image has been surreal for me, commemorating the late, great Jimmy Buffett in my one unique style.... I don't usually do any staged photos, but the deeper inspiration behind this one called for just that...my flip-flops in the sand on the beach with the Milky Way glowing out above the ocean at slack tide, my happiest place on this planet,...
 
In order to create my vision, two separate exposures were merged and blended into creating this composition...

In my photography, I always use filters to create longer exposure effects, saturate colors naturally, and balance the light in my composition in-camera...I often use as many as four filters at time, and I always use at least one filter in my completed impressions...

And to get the effects and balance I was looking for in this composition, I used one ProgreyUSA Filter. along with the ProgreyUSA G-120Z Antarctic Magnetic Holder. to secure the filter to my Nikon D850 with a Nikon Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. ... 
 
Camera settings for Stars: 
September 5th, 2023 at 10:10pm PST
f1.4@24mm for 13 seconds, ISO-1600
No filters were used because none were needed
 
Camera Settings for Self Portrait of Me and Besos under Corona Arch:
September 5th, 2023 at 7:15pm PST about 5 minutes after sunset
f11@24mm for 11 seconds, ISO-64
 
I wish to openly thank my sponsors who have always supported me through both the good and bad times...for truly this self portrait of me and Besos under the stars would not be possible without the use of my Induro PHQ3 Series 5-way Panhead with an Induro (now Benro) Stealth Carbon Fiber Tripod. in combination with any number of  ProgreyUSA Filters. which I use with every photo I take...
 
contemplate without thinking. be certain only in your uncertainty, content to be completely incomplete. stop the rush. slow down time. breathe and notice. slow down everything. let it all be. shut off the noise. hush. relax. seize this higher moment. reconnect. feel and sense what surrounds you. listen to all the colours of light whisper as they envelope you. see the melody and harmony that float about unnoticed. taste the solitude of all this wonderment. smell the beautiful silence. now discover your peaceful serenity. then, reach out and touch your faith with all your senses. this is my world. awaken! ― bodhi, my world
 
you were blessed with 84,600 seconds today, have you used one of them to say thank you? ― bodhi, blessed
 
I leave you today wishing that bright joy 
and spiritual peace fill your life...
imploring you to make every moment count, 
no matter what, always and forever, 
for that is the only thing that truly matters... 
 
And above all else,
I hope this message and impression find you well.
 
Namaste,
Bodhi
-------------------------------------------------
 
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