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This is a great second opportunity for those newer to the Hive space to share a slice of themselves, having gained a little more "know how" around here.
Most importantly it is a way to HUMANIZE the person behind the keyboard. It is all too easy to forget that behind the writing, photography, art, cooking and so forth - is an actual person... living a life in the "real world". Yes, many of us here share snippets of our daily lives in our blog posts... but this does not normally entail the fundamentals of what makes us who we are, where we came from - our life experiences and so forth. I also think this will be a fantastic way for all of us to connect and "re-connect" on a more personal level which is greatly needed in this day and age.
So here goes.
I joined STEEMIT in 2017, not so much as a way to make money, but as a place where I could post my original poetic writings, in a format that would allow me options that FB and others did not offer (at the time).
Things like Bold, Italics or Both, with TINY TEXT or
text
of
varying sizes
Here I can include more than one image per post, I can include .gifs and (as long as it can be posted as a link) a video.
So that is why I started here on the blockchain. And I HAVE made some real Fiat Currency along the way (USD)
When I started here, I was 62, my physical health declining, my only income was from ♫♪Music♫♪ That I played for senior citizens in Nursing Homes, Assisted Living and Retirement Community venues.
Here is an example:
Since that time, my right hip has been replaced:
I've had Umbilical Hernia Repair surgery
TMI?
I would have been playing music all this time to add to my meager income, but also because that is my joy, my gift, and it gives me great pleasure to share that with others.
It is said that a candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.
When I am performing, and I see the enjoyment that the folks in my audience (who are almost without exception older than I am) smiling, tapping their feet, or god bless 'em, DANCING, it makes my heart sing in harmony with them.
But it has not always been like this.
First, in High School, I played for the Chorus as they sang
I joined the US Air Force a year after I graduated, did really well in my job
We'd been Awarded SAC Combat Crew of the Month
I lost my mind after suffering some abuse, got discharged and spent the next 27 years spiraling downwards into a pit of despair, lined with other drug and alcohol addicts.
source
In 2007, I began clawing my way out of that pit, moved to the Atlanta Ga Metro area, where I began my new dual careers, as a Certified Nursing Assistant working in a Nursing Home and for Home Care agencies, and as a 'Musical Clown" playing for those same venues
Due to the "Plandemic" I have not played at all since February, and due to the isolation
(I am a bachelor, with PTSD so I have NO friends to speak of; no one wants to spend time with me, and I don't blame them)
I have started having a drink now and then. I've quickly discovered that I am no longer
Young, and cannot tolerate much drinking.
The day after my 65th Birthday this past Aug, I tested positive for Covid.
I was never sick, never had any symptoms, but the blood test now shows I have the antibodies.
In all the time since the quarantine began, I never left my apartment but to go to the grocery store (Always masked), 4 times to sit down and eat (where all the staff were masked) and yet, I got it.
Go Figure!!
(and when you figure it out, please let me know)
So now, FINALLY one of my longest musical clients has called me to come play for them
TOMORROW AFTERNOON.
They can do this because they have an enclosed courtyard, where I will be under a tent.
Those residents who have balconies facing the courtyard can sit and enjoy, and I am assuming there will be others sitting in chairs, socially distanced on the grass.
Well the gig is done and past. It was dismal
No one on the balconies, no one sitting in the grass, I was alone outside
Outdoors, all by myself. About 1/3 the way through, I had TWO people come from the building to my right, across the leaves/grass and sit about 8 ft away behind me.
The other (no more than) 10 people were inside these doors
Back far to the right (behind the trees). The door was open, a wide door to be sure, but still.
I had to turn up my gear far louder than I am accustomed to, there was clipping and deadening. Seemed fine until I tried to play my keys along with the midi files.
They said they had a good time, and I got paid but on a personal level, I am disappointed.
I love to cook, but cooking for one is a total bore. If I cook a big pot of veg/beef stew or chili, it is delicious, but I eat for several days, freeze the leftovers which are never as good once thawed at a later date.
Now, I am back to cooking ONE piece of meat, small portions of veggies or salad.