An absolute favorite picture of John in the hopes that it makes you smile. The pic was taken in Antigua in 2019, at a veggie restaurant after we toured their on-site gardens and John made instant friends with the chef/gardener … John was stoked to eat all this amazing food.

Hey there, family and friends, 

You are all still in my heart even if I haven’t connected directly with you as much as any of us would like. 

Among many, many other feelings and realizations, this past year has reminded me that music can be therapy. It can make you smile, laugh, sing-along, scream, and of course cry. Some songs will hit you every single time you hear it; others might be “background” until the time is right for you to REALLY hear that song. 

This week, for me, that song is “Keep Your Heart Young” by Brandi Carlisle. 

I’ve heard it hundreds of times – John really loved her music. It’s catchy and many will find it sing-along worthy but I was kinda putting it in the background each time I heard it this year. But this week, while driving through a particularly pretty section of NJ, as I was actually singing along, I busted out crying … and laughing. I was remembering how John would sing … a little off tempo and with a slight British accent (this ALWAYS cracked me up because he’s so not British!). Anyway, I really like the lyrics of the 3rd verse … they just seemed very “John”:

So take a picture of the one you love and put it in a locket

Go dig up your time capsule and the blueprints for your rocket

Keep in touch on a fake CB and that same old tic-tac box

Pack your snowballs a little less tight but in the middle: still put rocks

The take-away is kinda obvious (it’s the title of the song, LOL): 

KEEP YOUR HEART YOUNG

be silly

laugh

love

sing-along

pack your snowballs with rocks 😉 

I hope that you all are doing well and the best you can in these weird times. If it strikes you, do something in honor of John this coming weekend … ride a bike (motorized or not), stick your toes in the ocean, hike a trail, howl at the moon (it’s full tonight), drink a hoppy IPA, sing-along to your favorite music, eat something organic and green, laugh, and/or cry but try to embrace each day by keeping your heart young. 

If animal rescue is one of your “things”, Karma Cat + Zen Dog is still honoring John with the Ball-less and Flawless TNR fund … with the help of that fund, they “snipped and chipped” over 270 cats last year … the most the organization has ever done in one year. My sincere thanks to all of you that donated in John’s honor. 

As for me, I’ll be spending this weekend listening to John’s records, eating some black-eyed peas & collards, sippin’ a beer, and hiking with sweet Kona-dog. There will be tears, but I am hoping for some laughter too … he would definitely want the laughter.