Thanks to John Burns for sending me this truly wonderful birthday poem! With reference to I turned 70 today!
The Truly Great by Stephen Spender
I think continually of those who were truly great.
Who, from the womb, remembered the soul’s history
Through corridors of light, where the hours are suns,
Endless and singing. Whose lovely ambition
Was that their lips, still touched with fire,
Should tell of the Spirit, clothed from head to foot in song.
And who hoarded from the Spring branches
The desires falling across their bodies like blossoms.
What is precious, is never to forget
The essential delight of the blood drawn from ageless springs
Breaking through rocks in worlds before our earth.
Never to deny its pleasure in the morning simple light
Nor its grave evening demand for love.
Never to allow gradually the traffic to smother
With noise and fog, the flowering of the spirit.
Near the snow, near the sun, in the highest fields,
See how these names are fêted by the waving grass
And by the streamers of white cloud
And whispers of wind in the listening sky.
The names of those who in their lives fought for life,
Who wore at their hearts the fire’s centre.
Born of the sun, they travelled a short while toward the sun
And left the vivid air signed with their honour.
Hafiz’s poem, translated by Daniel Ladinsky, of leaving something behind in the world to inspire others, is exemplified in the singer-songwriting musical skills of the late Jesse Winchester. Read Hafiz’s poem, Leave something in the marketplace, then listen and be moved when Jesse sings this love song, Sham-A-Ling-Dong-Ding.
Leave something in the marketplace
Sometimes it can happen to these cheeks
when a poem visits my mind for the first time
and begins to look around.
They can wonder why rain is falling on them,
and causing my nose to run too.
O boy, what a mess love makes of me. But
there is nothing else right now I would rather
be doing . . . than reaping something from a
field in another dimension
and leaving it in the marketplace for any who
might happen by.
Leave something in the marketplace for us
before you leave this world.
Singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester (May 17, 1944 – April 11, 2014) left many beautiful songs for us in the marketplace (IMDb). Jesse appeared on Week 2 of Elvis Costello’s TV show, Spectacle. Elvis Costello, Ron Sexsmith, Sheryl Crow, and Neko Case joined Jesse Winchester to perform “Payday“. Jesse also a sang about the sweet shyness of young love. Listen to the poetic melodic musings of Sham-A-Ling-Dong-Dingas it wets your cheeks and lifts your mouth into a wistful smile.
I first met Jesse in Montreal at a friend’s place during the summer of ’67. He had been drafted to fight in the Vietnam War, which he did not support, and came to Canada instead. He stayed and made a name for himself as a fine singer-songwriter.
Robbie Robertson of The Band produced Jesse’s first album. But he couldn’t return to the states to tour until after all “draft dodgers” were pardoned by President Carter. I remember him singing The Brand New Tennesse Waltz and Yankee Lady, which ended up on his self-titled debut album. I also liked Say What (Talk Memphis), which became a hit. Mississippi You’re On My Mind (Learn to Love It) is another beautiful, vividly-written song.
Many top recording artists would go on to perform Jesse’s songs, and he became known as a first-rate songwriter. Even Bob Dylan was famously quoted as saying of Mr. Winchester: “You can’t talk about the best songwriters and not include him. If you know me well, you know I think Jesse IS the very best.” Lyle Lovett also spoke highly of him. In 2007, a special musical tribute was given to singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester, when he was honored with The ASCAP Foundation Life in Music Award.
You can’t talk about the best songwriters and not include him. If you know me well, you know I think Jesse IS the very best. — Bob Dylan
Decades later, I went to one of Jesse’s concerts on his tour through Iowa. He was surprised to find me here. It was sweet to see him again, now free to play in the states and accept the recognition for his great talent.
Remembering Jesse Winchester
Here is some news coverage of Jesse’s recent passing, reviewing his life and career, in The Commercial Appeal, USA Today, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, and C-Ville Weekly. From all his fans, and friends who knew him, I’m sure they would agree with Hafiz that Jesse Winchester did leave a lot of good music in the marketplace, and love in their hearts. You did well, Jesse. We thank you!
Jesse Winchester Radio Special: Listen to a special 2007 radio interview and music special with Jesse Winchester recorded by Donna Green-Townsend for WUFT-FM before Jesse’s scheduled performance at the Butterfly Festival in Gainesville, FL. In this program Jesse talked about his early years in Mississippi and Memphis, the inspiration for many of his songs and what he thinks about the music industry today. He also talks about the number of artists who have recorded many of his songs including The Everly Brothers, Waylon Jennings, Wynonna Judd, Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, Reba McEntire, and Elvis Costello to name a few. RIP Jesse.
Roots Music Canada uploaded a Jesse Winchester interview on April 13, 2010 with RMC’s editor-in-chief David Newland, from Hugh’s Room, Toronto, a venue Jesse launched about a decade ago, and one for which he has the highest regard.
September 2, 2014: Rolling Stone: Hear the Late Jesse Winchester’s Chilling Dissertation on Dying — Song Premiere. “Every Day I Get the Blues” appears on the final album by Winchester, who died April 11th. A Reasonable Amount of Trouble, is a gentle collection of playful songs about love, memory and gratitude that amounts to one of the most moving, triumphant albums of Winchester’s 45-year career.
Previous inductees include: Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Otis Redding, B.B. King, Isaac Hayes, Al Green, Howlin’ Wolf, Sam Phillips, Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland, Albert King, Rufus Thomas, Willie Mitchell, Carla Thomas, Booker T & The MGs, The Staple Singers, and the ‘Father of The Blues’ W.C. Handy.
Here is a link to the beautiful chalet we stayed in. Renee posted a picture of me and the kids on a park bench by the lake. Shara posted some pics of Dad’s 70th at Lake Tahoe, including some I took. And someone offered to take the group photo of us on a dock, which I cropped for this post. Nathanael took a picture of me making a birthday wish. This early photo and quote of Maharishiwas posted on Facebook by Mona Kägi-Causemann, which Renee forwarded to me.
MUM Professor and Student Duo Win IMA Carl Menconi Ethics Award
Fairfield, IA (PRWEB) April 18, 2014
Tara Barker, from the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), announced the Best Case Study for the 2014 Carl Menconi Ethics Competition went to a paper co-authored by Dr. Andrew Bargerstock and Ye Shi, faculty members in the Department of Business Administration at Maharishi University of Management (MUM) in Fairfield, Iowa. The article about the case study will be published in the July issue of Strategic Finance, a monthly journal from IMA that focuses on professional practices in management accounting and finance.
The case developed by Bargerstock and Shi spotlights the dilemma of a fictitious Melissa Parks, an XBRL specialist at a company that manufactures large-scale water purification systems that are sold to government and private institutions, primarily in third-world countries. One day on her way to work, Parks hears a radio report about a large multinational corporation receiving a $250 million fine from the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a U.S. law that forbids financial payments to foreign officials for the purpose of procuring a business contract. This prompts Parks to recall a conversation she overheard recently at work, which at once makes her suspect that her company also might be engaged in practices that violate the Act. Parks must then decide what to do with her knowledge – perhaps at the risk of her own career advancement.
“The case really looks at the ethical decision an employee must make to ‘do the right thing’ when the easiest, and most convenient, path is to do and say nothing,” explained Bargerstock.
The overall goal of the Menconi Case Competition is to develop teaching cases around ethical issues affecting management accountants and finance professionals. The IMA Statement of Ethical Professional Practice acts as a valuable resource for guiding professional action. Through the Menconi recognized cases, published by the IMA, accounting educators get the opportunity to explore with students, the path to proper action in professional accounting activities.
According to Dr. Bargerstock, Director of MUM’s MBA Programs, “In this post-Enron era, both educators and accounting professionals understand the importance of a heightened level of discussion about when and what to do when they are faced with a moral dilemma. The Menconi case studies series provides a springboard for undergraduate and graduate-level thinking about ethical behaviors for our next generation of accountants. Instructor Shi and I feel fortunate to have contributed to this dialogue.”
This accomplishment continues a pattern of recognition from the IMA for the accounting faculty and Ph.D. students at MUM. In 2009, Dr. Bargerstock was named Excellence in Lean Accounting Professor at the Lean Accounting Summit. In 2011, Manjunath Rao was named Lean Accounting Student of the Year and shortly, thereafter, he received a research grant from the IMA for his PhD dissertation research completed in 2013. Bargerstock and Rao published two articles in the IMA’s quarterly academic journal, Management Accounting Quarterly in 2011 and 2013. In October, 2013, Ye Shi was named IMA’s Lean Accounting Student of the Year for her work in teaching and writing case studies while pursuing her Ph.D. at MUM.
Maharishi University of Management (MUM) in Fairfield, IA is a private university featuring Consciousness-Based℠ Education. The accredited traditional curriculum offers bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in the arts, sciences, humanities, and business, but also integrates self-development programs. Innovative aspects include the Transcendental Meditation® program, one course at a time, and organic vegetarian meals. Visitors Weekends are held throughout the year. For more information, call the Admissions Office at 800-369-6480 or visit http://www.mum.edu.
For those who have been following Jerry Seinfeld’s award-winning online series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, his latest guest was Howard Stern. (See The Last Days of Howard Stern.) Jerry and Howard talked for several hours about a wide range of topics, including how their over 40-year TM practice has impacted their lives. Because of time constraints that section had to be edited out, but Jerry gave us permission to share this 6-minute segment for everyone’s enjoyment! Thanks guys.
See another blog post where Howard Stern talks about TM on Letterman. Embedded there is a video of Oprah and Dave talking about meditation. He reveals that he and some of his staff have been doing TM. They learned it from Meditation Bob, who happens to be the same person who taught Oprah. A year later, Lindsay Lohan is on Dave’s show and they decide to call Oprah. They mention Meditation Bob, which is Bob Roth’s Twitter name. The Washington Post described the three of them as a Comedy Dream Team.
I’m not young enough to know everything. ― Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
By the time you’re eighty years old you’ve learned everything. You only have to remember it. ― George Burns (1896–1996)
Two kinds of knowledge
There are two kinds of knowledge: Youth knows it all, without having lived; And having lived and learned, Old Age Soon forgets what it’s come to know.
Then there’s the wisdom Of knowing you know nothing; But knowing your Self.
― Ken Chawkin (1944–still learning)
The Coming Of Wisdom With Time
Though leaves are many, the root is one; Through all the lying days of my youth I swayed my leaves and flowers in the sun; Now I may wither into the truth.
― William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
― Socrates (469–399 B.C.E.)
Know thyself.
― Ancient Greek aphorism on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi
Those who know others are wise; those who know themselves are enlightened.
The Uncarved Blog 