Thomas R. Turner, May 23, 1942 – November 13, 2014
Today we are flying to Seattle to be with my brother’s daughters, Vanessa and Lisa and their families and friends to celebrate his life in words that communicate thoughts and feelings manifested in knowledge, experience and love.
My brother often shared and laughed about the closeness to home the following Woody Allen quote was for us:
“It reminds me of that old joke – you know, a guy walks into a psychiatrist’s office and says, hey doc, my brother’s crazy! He thinks he’s a chicken.
Then the doc says, why don’t you turn him in?
Then the guy says, I would but I need the eggs.
I guess that’s how I feel about relationships. They’re totally crazy, irrational, and absurd, but we keep going through it because we need the eggs.”
Saturday’s celebration of Tom’s (aka, Bobby) life will include a “sharing” program, because we need the eggs!
You may call me Tommy, you may call me Jimmy
You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy
You may call me T.R, you may call me Ray
You may call me anything but no matter what you say.
You’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed You’re gonna have to serve somebody, Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.
— minor changes to Bob Dylan’s “Gotta Serve Somebody”
Click to see a pdf file of “In Loving Celebration of Thomas R. Turner.” Tom’s Celebration
We just got back from Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula wine country and Pala Casino in southern California where we were spending time with Joy’s family. Pala Casino Spa Resort is a nice place in the Temecula wine country near San Diego. Being the non-gambler in the family, I spent most of my time outside near the pool area reading, and writing.
Pala Casino Spa Resort Pool Area
Pool Bar Cafe
Ode To The Gambling House of Worship
Buttons pushed Touching the screen Smoke in my eyes —
I play.
Grabbing a drink Easing the loses The game goes on —
I will be posting more on our visit to Houston later, but for now I share the following from Woody Allen on, “What drives you nuts?”
“The human predicament: the fact that we’re living in a nightmare that everyone is making excuses for and having to find ways to sugarcoat. And the fact that life, at its best, is a pretty horrible proposition. But people’s behavior makes it much, much worse than it has to be.”
Over the years, photography has become my primary vehicle for carrying me through the door to the world of art, all it’s beauty and expressions of our universal connections. The Internet has made my wish to connect and share easier and more profound. Hardly a day goes by that my existence isn’t extended in-depth and insight.
For sometime my blog has had a link to the blog, chasejarvis.com. Chase Jarvis is a well-known photography and filmmaker based in Seattle. I love his work, but more importantly, I’m impressed with his use of social media as a creative outlet to the world of art. For Jarvis, social media is not going away, “. . . I think it’s going to change a lot over the next couple of years, but it’s interesting how that integrates with a creative person or with creativity in general.”
Yesterday, Jarvis posted a short entry, titled, “Whatever Makes You Nervous,” where he references Michael Jordan’s response to his golfing friends wanting to know how much they’re betting against one another on each hole. Apparently, Jordan’s stock response is: “Whatever Makes You Nervous.”
For Jarvis, that’s what we should bet on ourselves, every time. “Not what makes you comfortable, but what makes you nervous.” His point being that we must push our comfort level to grow.
All of us who have ever experienced some degree of success, did so by our willingness to take risks. As a young adult, one of my biggest fears was speaking in front of a group of people. But, I knew I needed to take on the fear and face the risk of making a fool of myself, which I have done many times. The degree my skills have improved, and any level of success I have accomplished, has been due to my confronting and pushing the stress level.
The Jarvis posting is a great reminder of how to succeed in life. And, as one reply to the posting noted by sharing the Woody Allen quote:
“If you’re not failing, you’re not trying hard enough!”
Thomas R. Turner, May 23, 1942 – November 13, 2014
“The human predicament: the fact that we’re living in a nightmare that everyone is making excuses for and having to find ways to sugarcoat. And the fact that life, at its best, is a pretty horrible proposition. But people’s behavior makes it much, much worse than it has to be.”
kenne
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