Roger Holzheimer: Blog

Happy Thanksgiving from "beautiful downtown Rostov, Russian Federation". Doesn't matter if you are in The States we all have a lot to be thankful for. When I look at the job market in the good ol' US of A I am pretty damn thankful I have had the opportunity to work overseas but also include some "guitar playing time" here. A little early but last night we celebrated Thanksgiving here. Around the table we were represented by Holland, Slovakia, the UK, Germany, Cuba, Canada, and of course America. Having that many countries represented, breaking bread, telling stories, and just damn enjoying each other's company made me very thankful for all the journeys I have taken which led me here to meet such wonderful people. We didn't solve any of the world's problems or even any of our individual ones for that matter, but it did show what a very, very small world it has become. It also shows the world is just a lot people and too much of the time governments just get in the damn way . . . . But I digress . . . . .

So, we ate in an Italian Restaurant in Russia cooked by I believe an Italian chef who did his best to make an American Thanksgiving turkey dinner. I must say, the turkey was one of the best I have had. The "fixin's" left a bit to one's imagination. I imagined the boiled potatoes were mashed, the rice dish was stuffing . . . . well, you get the picture. But, it wasn't about the food, it was about the friendship and fellowship. And believe me, there was plenty of that.

Now, dessert. The pies were gigantic. At least four inches thick. Once again though, the concept was grasped 90% of the way. Imagine a big dough pie with cut up bug chunks of pumpkin spread sorta on top and within. Interesting. Now, it worked with the apple pie, big tasty chunks of apple in the same type of big dough pie, the pumpkin just din't come across the same. But, like I said, it wasn't about the food . . . .

Last year at this time it was just a coincidence that my work visa needed to be renewed so I HAD to go back to renew it with the Russian Embassy. Now with the three year visas no such luck this year. BUT . . . . December 20th is just around the corner and my trip will be Rostov-on-Don to Moscow, Moscow to JFK, JFK to Denver and home until the fourth of January. The first half of the year I was here for 5 months before heading home, this time will be six months without. Talk about missing and loving family . . . . it goes without saying. I am so thankful they support me in my endeavors and love me more than I deserve.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to "play out" again. Great little venue where my songs seemed to reverberate with the crowd. Some understood the lyrics but whether they did or not all seemed to enjoy the "old crazy American" with his guitar. I was lucky to be able to jam with the full band that played after me. Picture that "crazy old American" doing the last song of the evening with that great band with me wailing "Blue Suede Shoes", and a six or seven minute version at that, eat your heart out Elvis!  Then it was to another venue a little ways away where a nice quiet acoustic set ended the evening, even a little a cappella Four Tops. Yeah, I can definitely be old school, hell, I am old school.

Anyway, no big news, just wanted to wish everyone around the world (and there are like 40 countries represented on this mailing list of mine) a Happy Thanksgiving. Take a moment to reflect on what is good about life, how each of us is blessed in so many ways. As always, share a kind word with a stranger, slow your life and world down a bit, don't be ashamed about crying over something sad or happy, tell those you love how you feel, tell those who are special to you just how special they are, remember the words please and thank you, and always remember how special all of you who read these spontaneously typed messages are. Here is a very cool video for the day from Don Henley "My Thanksgiving"

http://www.livevideo.com/video/587F8186339C4A2C8DFDFEB43D964D8F/don-henley-my-thanksgiving-.aspx

Be well my friends, play nice, and don't forget to look in both directions when crossing the street . . . . .

Roger

http://www.rogerholzheimer.com

http://www.itunes.com/rogerholzheimer

http://www.cdaby.com/cd/holzheimer

Oh, if you are on Facebook and feel like it, stop by and "like" my band page at

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Roger-Holzheimer/52057053321

and of course, please feel free to share this or any of the sites with anyone who may be the least bit interested (my true shameless self-promotion) . . . .

Be well . . . .