When we travel across the country at harvest time, we think of our Nation’s hard-working farmers as we view the results of their hard work and worry. We see acres of farmlands ready to be harvested and we see the celebration of harvest time in pumpkin patches, corn mazes, apples orchards and all things Fall!
Soon, many of us will be sitting at a Thanksgiving table with friends and family. Many will bow their heads in prayer and thank God for all that we have, and for those that we love. Jim and I are thankful for our family, and the friends we’ve made and the people who’ve touched our lives on our journey as tribute performers of John Denver music. We feel that our journey began, not just to perform John Denver music, but also to find the people who enjoy John’s music and message as much as we do. Live music performances bring us a connection to others, and it brings us all together to celebrate the music we love.
As ‘city folk’ Jim and I have our own tiny farm in our backyard. – We have scaled back our gardening quite a bit because of our busy touring schedule, but we still have a few things ‘growing on”. Most of you already know I’m growing cotton, because it grows very well without a lot of attention or fuss. Cotton harvest time starts in the fall, so I am busy with my part of our little farm. The big surprise this year came from our dwarf banana trees. Jim has been tending them for 5 years and has had very little results. Suddenly, this year, the banana trees decided to get with the program and load us down with bunches and bunches of bananas! We’ve been freezing bananas and baking bread as quickly as we can. Plus, our avocado tree gave us a few more avocados than last year. It’s a young tree, and every year it gives us a few more than the previous year. We made guacamole and some amazing avocado chocolate mousse (well, I thought it was amazing….Jim maybe not so much).
Harvest time is the time of year when the growing is done and the cycle is over. The earth will rest when winter comes and the farmers will rest when the harvest is done. Harvest time is the best time to look at your life and see the results in the hard work you’ve put into whatever you do, no matter how big or how small. You don’t need a garden to harvest, all you need is a loving and thankful heart.
Well folks, I have to say, “Never Say Never” again…….
If you recall, in a past blog https://jimcurrymusic.com/never-say-never/ I said I would never own an electric vehicle…but lo and behold, I am now the owner of that very thing.
Here we are in 2026, and I have another “Never Say Never” confession to make….and it’s a BIG one, and here it is: I kinda, sorta, think cats are okay, and I might go so far as to say I almost like them.
Whew! I’m glad to get that off my chest! I have a long and jaded history as far as cats go, starting as a young child who was told to beware my Aunt’s cat, who would hide and hiss at me from under the furniture. I didn’t see the purpose of having a cat, since I never witnessed affection or appreciation coming from a cat…just claws and teeth. My childhood distain was further enforced as a teenager working at an animal hospital. I quickly learned to dread the sound of a howling, growling cat waiting for me to reach my arms inside the attack zone.
Now, as a senior citizen and a confirmed “dog person”, my total dislike for cats extends to the neighbor’s cats, who use my beautiful garden for a toilet, hunt for birds and eat my lizards. All I need is a dog to keep the cats away, but alas…I travel too much to provide an adequate home for a dog, so our dog-free backyard is cat Heaven.
One cat liked our yard so much that she left a kitten there and didn’t come back. Jim and I waited nervously for a couple of days while the kitten cried for mom. It looked like it was old enough to wean, so maybe mom-cat was coming back at night, we didn’t know, so we weighed the kitten and put it back where mom left it, then, when we realized it was losing weight and we took it inside.
I was going to take the kitten to our city animal shelter. I did NOT want a cat, and (as previously stated) I wasn’t home enough to have a pet of any kind, but FIRST, I decided to make sure the kitten was weaned, litterbox trained, friendly and had the best chance of getting adopted. I had 2 weeks to achieve this goal before leaving for our next job in Kentucky, and I got some expert advice (thanks Jennifer and Brian!) In the meantime, I posted to my Facebook friends, in the very remote chance that someone was thinking about getting a cat, and if they did, the kitten could bypass the whole shelter experience.
Edit: Hey! I just had to edit and add this after posting: Special thanks to my friend Valerie who got me through an issue that required veterinarian advice – you were so generous and kind to help me, then I promptly forget to put you in the post! SHAME ON ME!!
I’m happy to report that Bobbi, my good friend in Arkansas, wanted the kitten and she lives right on the way to Kentucky – so Jim and I dropped the kitten off on the way. Now the kitten has road experience, a clean bill of health from Bobbi’s vet, a 10 year old cat named Valentino for a friend, and a good and loving home. His name is Cali, and his eyes are turning green.
So…..Another episode of “Never say Never” has come to an end. This confirmed dog-person has softened up her feelings for kittens, and maybe that will lead to a better tolerance for cats and MAYBE someday a pet cat in the future. I miss Cali, but I’m SURE he got a better deal with Bobbi. Cali and I both got lucky when Bobbi decided she had room in her heart for one more…..
P.S. The week after Cali went to Kentucky – our city shelter took in 300 kittens, after a hoarding situation was discovered. I can’t get over how very lucky it was that Cali wasn’t one of 300 + kittens waiting for a home!
Anyone who has traveled to New Orleans knows of its rich history and heritage. Heck, even if you haven’t visited NOLA, you probably have heard and seen a lot about it. New Orleans is well known for unique food (creole), music (jazz) festivals and parades (Mardi Gras and many others).
In one of my more recent trips to the city this past April, I noticed the beaded necklaces. It seemed to be an important part of a visit to New Orleans to be walking the crowded streets with several necklaces around your neck and a drink in your hand. Did I want beads? Did I need beads? How do I get them? Well I did a little bit of research over coffee and beignets at Café Du Monde.
Here’s what I learned about the tradition of “earning” beads:
During Mardi Gras and other parades, social groups (called Krewes) ride the parade route in very large, decorated floats. Most of the floats are 2-tiered, 16 to 18’ tall, and about 50 feet long. The Krewes on the floats throw candy, beads and trinkets to parade spectators. Beaded necklaces are by far the most frequent item thrown from a float. Catching a thrown item symbolizes good luck and joy!
Here are the best ways to “earn” beads:
Make eye contact with a Krewe member and say politely, “Throw me something mister” or “Throw me something lady” Most likely you will have to SCREAM politely…the music blasting from the floats is extremely LOUD!
Bring a child – children are favored for throws from Krewe members.
Buy them at a store – No parade? No problem. All the local stores have loads of beads for sale.
I discovered another way:
If you look up into the trees, you will see many beads growing at their source. Most are ripe and ready to pick and just a little bit of effort will bring rich rewards. If you don’t believe me, look at the close-up of the tree in the photo. You might have to zoom in, but you should be able to see the beads growing on the tree. You will need a ladder or a very tall friend, but the beads are there, they are organic and they are free! Getting them this way will still bring you joy and good luck, as long as you don’t fall off the ladder!
That is how you “earn” beads .
For those of you “Naughty Nellies” that thought I was going to tell you another way to acquire beads… I’ll have you know that it is mostly frowned upon (and still illegal) to “flash” for them.
I am probably not alone when I say that I am a dental chicken.
I am THAT person. I clench my fists, wiggle my foot nervously, and I tighten every muscle in my body into “fight-or-flight” mode. When I hear the dentist coming into the exam room (they always sneak up from behind) I imagine myself rolling sideways off the exam chair and sprinting towards the exit, ripping off the bib and throwing into the air like a glorious flag of freedom!
Who knows where the fear began? As a child who was told to stop squirming? As a teenager with braces? As a young adult with impacted wisdom teeth? I don’t know where it began, but it evolved from general fear to a real issue of delaying proper dental care. As a more-than-middle-aged-grown-up adult, I found it was nearly impossible to voluntarily drive myself to a scheduled torture session. The chicken inside me thought someone should be dragging me in kicking and screaming!
I suppose I thought if I ignored them long enough, my dental issues would go away…. But they didn’t.
Finally, my loving husband convinced me to visit HIS dentist. I was so reluctant, I was absolutely dreading it, and I began reliving every bad dental experience I’ve had in the past and projecting it into my future. Hubby drove me to the DNTL STUDIO (to make sure I didn’t drive myself to an undisclosed location) and he introduced me to the staff. From that moment on, I began to understand what a difference a good dentist can make.
Fast forward several years of excellent care.… My dentist is Dr. Amin. He is thoughtful, gentle and kind. He is perfectly suited to handle a dental chicken like myself, but he also does the same for normal people! Now I go to regular appointments without fear – something new after 60+ years. If I must go in for an emergency issue, I am still fearful, but I’m also confident that I will be treated with compassion (important) and all the up-to-date technology that modern dentistry has to offer (super important).
Everyone at the DNTL STUDIO is friendly, professional and caring. If you live in Southern California, PLEASE do yourself a favor and consider visiting them if you have a dental issue…..or better yet, go see them BEFORE you have an issue!
Fun Fact: Chickens don’t have teeth…..think about it.
If you read the blog last month, you already know that I’ve called attention to the acapella singing group called Home Free. I criticized them singing the wrong lyrics in the song, “Country Roads” (they sang “Blowin’ like a breeze” instead of singing the correct lyrics “Growin’ like a breeze”).
I called it a rookie mistake.
Yes…….I poked the bear.
There is some satisfaction for a ‘little guy’ like me to razz the ‘big guy”. It’s probably a little bit of envy,
and a little bit of spite….for instance, what’s so special about singing acapella?? Singing AND playing an instrument at the same time is TWICE as hard, isn’t it? Pfffft! They needed to get over themselves! I didn’t understand, with more than 6 million views, why no one seemed to notice that they sang it wrong.
So, while I was preparing my blog for this month, I was thinking I would write about another example where song lyrics were mysteriously changed over the years.. There was an odd change in the song “Goodbye Again” written by John Denver that didn’t make much sense. An early OFFICIAL John Denver songbook printed the words, “It seems a shame to leave you now, the day is soft and warm.” The words were actually: “It seems a shame to leave you now, the day is soft and warm.” What is the purpose of this change? The story in the song is about getting up and leaving someone at 5 in the morning….. why talk about the weather at that moment? Makes no sense, and I can clearly hear John singing, “Your lay so soft and warm”.
While I was pondering this….I got a phone call from a venue I was really looking forward to performing at. We had a date all set up in 2026, perfectly lined up with another good date, making travel easy and maximizing the profit margin. Well, it turns out that the venue made a mistake and booked another band (a REALLY popular band, they said, a band that’s hard to get, they said) and they bumped our engagement to 2027.
That band was HOME FREE.
Karma kicked my butt.
Here’s another really good version of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” performed by twin brothers Clint and Bob Moffat. Sounds like they got it right! With an astounding 46 million views…maybe the words of the song won’t be changed after all!
I’m gonna say, for Jim and I, MOST days are diamonds, but if you are familiar with the song John Denver recorded for RCA in 1981, you know that the song goes on to say, “Some days are stone.”
It would be absurd to think everything in life should be perfect and flawless (like a diamond). We do our best to make good plans and avoid as many problems as possible but….
Sometimes, life throws a big fat stone in our way!
Right now, we are in the middle of another cross-country road trip. This time our drive starts in California (our home) to Maryland, Pennsylvania, back West to Arizona, then Colorado, then back home to CA (whew!) When we get ready for these trips, we do everything possible to be fully prepared and anticipate any obstacle. We make detailed lists…everything is checked and double checked.
Off we go! June 16, 8:00 am… But our tally-ho suddenly turned into a tally-NO! 4 hours into our trip, driving through Havasu Lake (a balmy 113 degrees) when the air conditioner stopped working. We rolled the windows down and suffered. We stopped at an auto shop in Kingman, AZ, but our van is too big for his lift, so we went to the Ford dealer – they needed 2 days to work on it. We didn’t have 2 extra days; we HAD to get to where we were going….so we moved on.
Thankfully, with some midnight mechanics and a new compressor from Auto Zone, Jim was able to get the air conditioner working a little bit. The entire system eventually needs to be taken apart and flushed to get it to operate correctly, but Jim did the best he could do in hotel parking lots along the way….and we made it to our destinations on time. We sure appreciated the air-conditioned comfort of the beautiful theaters we performed in!
How did we ever survive without air conditioning? What is your experience in a car without such luxury? Share your experience in the comments!
"It was an amazing evening. We have had many different performers at our conferences; The Beach Boys, Tony Bennett, Three Dog Night, America. Jim Curry ranks among these acts. I would book Jim and his band again in a heartbeat."
Daniel Young Corporate Function, Keystone, CO
"I have to tell you I don't know when we've enjoyed a show as much as we enjoyed yours. It just swept us away and we did not want it to end! You are all so gifted. And the music of John Denver speaks for itself. It touches the heart."
