An Invitation

Hello Nice People,

This is to invite you to a presentation -- "Selected Writings: Language of Celebration" -- I'll be doing at the UU Church of Spartanburg on August 8. Many of you have seen and read my journalism but you may or may not know poetry is my first love. I've been writing for years: it and mother nature are the only things keeping me sane.

I will share works from different eras, some profound, some personal, some downright goofy and some, well, I don't know what you'd call it. It may or may not be your cup of tea but I can guarantee you that you will not have heard it before! This is all original, mostly never-before-published work. My challenge is to narrow it down to a manageable number of works.

Now, some people hear "poetry" and they think of the maudlin I'm-so-miserable-let-me-count-the-ways, wrestling-with-my-personal-demons stuff churned out by so many college students. All honest poets will tell you they have at some point penned some of this stuff, myself included. I won't be reading you any of it though. That is best saved for use on unwanted house guests: "Let me read you some poetry," I say and whip out the anguish laden cauldron of college verse. It's more effective than telling them you've got a case of swine flu!

August 8, 11 a.m. UU Church of Spartanburg. See you then, or not...

Peace & light,

Janice

Fog

One Foggy Morning

How beautiful is the fog!?!
Luscious gray tongues licking dew-kissed bottoms,
curling silent in the trees,
sacred breath of the divine,
moving on the world as a lover’s whisper,
right and ancient as a baby on its mother’s bosom.

Janice Baynes, July 2010

What a show!!!

Pilley Bianchi rocked the house! The show this morning was off the hook, a most memorable service. Pilley has such a beautiful voice, such skill at the piano, and a delightful stage presence. She had us eating from her hand! Speaking of eats, the class and grace of the service was matched by the elegant champagne reception that followed. Hope to have some photos of both to put on the blog soon. There were several photographers in attendance. I kept waiting for Pilley to put the back of her hand to her forehead and say in faux exasperation, "Ah, the paparazzi!" An all around splendid affair.

In the News

The story I wrote about Pilley Bianchi and her appearance at the UUCS this Sunday is supposed to run in the Spartanburg Herald-Journal tomorrow, Thursday July 15, in the entertainment section. I am very excited and anxious to see how closely what they run resembles what I wrote...

I've no doubt that the off-the-hook photography, by Pilley's sister, Robin, was a big factor in the paper's deciding to run the story. These photos are dynamite. We sent a batch so it will be interesting to see which ones they run.

Robin's gorgeous pix and Keith Plumley's finesse have got this cow to market! Wahoo. We'll see how it looks in print tomorrow... I wonder how early the carriers get the newsstand boxes filled with the hot-off-the-press papers. I guess it would be sort of sad if I pitched a tent in the post office parking lot waiting for the paper boy. But then I've always loved camping! :)

Jay Bianchi

Pilley Bianchi's husband, Jay Bianchi, a gifted jazz pianist, producer, and educator will also perform during the service at the UUCS this Sunday, July 18. Jay holds degrees from State University of New York and the University of Miami, as well as a Performance Certificate from London’s Guildhall School of Music. He currently teaches at the New School University in Greenwich Village and travels and performs with his trio.

He is shown in this photo, taken by Pilley's sister, Robin, with Pilley and their son, Aidan. As captured in the picture, he is an easy going, laid back fellow and they have a fun family life with lots of friends and a free-flowing style all their own.

On the Saturday I was at their Brooklyn home, piano notes drifted through the house as Jay practiced for two gigs he had that day. In the afternoon, he played a private party at the Metropolitan Club, where he was instructed to play only cheery music for three hours straight without a break. In the evening he played a wedding in Long Island.

He and Pilley met at the University of Miami. Jay is originally from Buffalo, NY. Sunday's performance is set to begin at 10:50 a.m.

Our own Bonnie-Lee...

Violinist and UUCS member Bonnie-Lee Mizzell will join local cellist Ted Lucktenberg in accompanying Pilley Bianchi when she plays at the UUCS this Sunday, July 18. Bonnie-Lee is the granddaughter of Clarence Guthrie, who, although he never formally joined, was among the founding members of our church in the mid 1950s. Her parents, Mary Ann and Herman Mizzell, were very active in the church until her mother’s death in 1985. Herman returned, with Bonnie-Lee, in recent years prior to his death in 2007.

Bonnie-Lee, who recently re-joined UUCS, took violin lessons as a child with several local music teachers, the late Jerrie Lucktenberg among them. Jerrie was Ted Lucktenberg’s mother, who first came to UUCS with her mother, Sara Cadek, in 1960.

“Music has always been close to my heart,” said Bonnie-Lee, a pre-school teacher at Cannon’s Elementary. “Ted and I were buddies in high school and I haven’t seen him in 30 years so this event will also be a fun reunion.”

“Bonnie uses great interpretation in her playing and has this glowing personality--what a gift,” said UUCS Music Director Keith Plumley, who has compelled her to play for Sunday services in recent months, using what she refers to as his “musical gravitational force.”

She sometimes also provides music for local weddings.

On a personal note, I didn’t think I liked violin music until I heard Bonnie-Lee play. One Sunday we were sitting in the sanctuary when from somewhere behind us blossomed this beautiful music, which swelled and filled the room with luxurious sound. Then I saw Bonnie-Lee slowly walking up the center aisle playing the violin. I have no idea what piece she played. All I know is that it was beautiful and lush and I will never be the same.

Local Players and NY Pilley

Two local musicians with deep roots in the UU church will accompany New York pianist Pilley Bianchi when she performs at UUCS on July 18.

Ted Lucktenberg grew up in a musical family. Both his parents, Dr. George Lucktenberg and the late Dr. “Jerrie” Lucktenberg, made music their profession, both teaching at Converse College for many years. Ted, a cellist, often performed with his parents; they were known as the Lucktenberg trio and enriched Sunday services with their talent in the 1970s. His grandmother, Sara Cadek, who joined in 1960, helped establish the Unison newsletter. Jerrie, who died last year, taught violin at Converse College and the Governor’s School for the Arts. George Lucktenberg, distinguished forte pianist, at age 80 is still performing and also teaches at a Georgia university.

In April, Ted and his father joined Ted’s daughter, Hope, in a performance at the Governor’s School, where Hope, now graduated, was a senior violin student. UUCS Music Director Keith Plumley attended that performance. It was beautiful, Keith said.

Ted, an engineer with Lockheed Martin, and his wife, Karen, established the Lucktenberg Family Music Fund to benefit the music department at the Governor’s School in memory of his mother. He is shown here with his wife and their children, Hope and Stuart.

Stay tuned to read about the other local musician, Bonnie-Lee Mizzell, who will also accompany this performance, which will feature two pianos, one played by Pilley and the other by her husband, Jay. Case Brothers of Spartanburg is providing a Steinway & Sons grand for the event.

Freedom 365

Every July 4th there is always a lot of talk about saluting our women and men in uniform who defend our freedom. And we do owe them our gratitude. Each of us, however, military or civilian, has a role to play. Gaining and protecting our freedom is best done off the battlefield, picking up arms being our last resort.

Our freedom as individuals and as a nation has it roots in understanding and basic civility. When I say understanding, I am not referring to some maudlin, soap opera, bleeding heart kind of thing. I am talking about being interested enough in our neighbors, fellow citizens, and people with whom we share this planet, to make it our objective to see things from their point of view. Ignorance is at the root of war. Ignorance of other cultures, and ways of doing things that are different from our own. It is far easier to close our minds and coast on assumptions than to engage with people we don't understand. When we close our minds to other perspectives, we seal our fate, entombing ourselves in mistrust and misunderstanding that crystallize into raw hatred, which drives us to commit unspeakable acts in the name of freedom.

Universe, let us put down our guards and our guns and love our neighbors as ourselves by opening our minds and hearts to understanding and civility, to the possibility that ours is not the one and only right way. (I've heard it said that war is an acronym for We Are Right.) It is a noble goal, to free our minds from the chains of ignorance not just today but 365 days a year. May it be so. Amen.

Broke Week

At our house we have instituted "Broke Week." It's sort of like Bike Week only different. We are not broke, thank goodness, but, in order to maximize our grocery budget and free up some space, we are in BW mode. BW means we eat like we're broke, creatively putting groceries together that we already have on hand. Most of us have never truly been hungry and when we say we don't have anything to eat in the fridge/freezer/cupboard, we really mean we don't have anything in there that is particularly appealing to us at the moment. Obviously, though, at one point it did appeal or it wouldn't have found its way into our fridge/freezer/cupboard in the first place.

Did you know that frozen, pre-seasoned chicken breasts can be used to make fajitas and, as it turns out, green beans do go with fajitas. We've had Voila, the meal in a bag that husband kept refusing but, as it turns out, he likes it. Squash casserole, fried okra, succotash, stir fry, pot pies, hot pockets, tuna salad, homemade chili from back in the winter -- we've had a little bit of everything. It's like dressing yourself from the lost & found bin; it's something different all the time!

A fish tale

Just came back from a few days spent at my mother's house in the country. She lives on a 96-acre farm where I grew up. One evening we had a fish fry. Funny story about those fish. A fellow my brothers know is an avid fisherman, as is his father. The duo are all about the sport and not so much about the eats, which works well for us, who are about fish fries and hush puppies and not so much about the sport of stalking them with a hook and line. They fish, we take the fish off their hands. This system has worked fine until recently when things went terribly wrong between father and son.

The father, who it seems hasn't discovered AA yet, is out at a bar one night and locks his keys in his car. Maybe that was the Universe's way of trying to keep a drunk off the road, maybe not. He calls his son late in the night to come help him get into his car -- apparently the father hasn't discovered Pop-A-Lock yet either. The effort does not go well and the father becomes irate, breaks the car window, retrieves his shotgun from inside, and shoots his son in the leg. Now the son is laid up in the hospital and may lose his leg while the father is in the county jail. In an odd testament to family loyalty, the son gets very upset to hear that officers tazered his father, who, suffering a bad case of DTs, tried to escape.

For our part, this is not good at all as we see our fish supply going down the river! Just when we had a good thing going...