MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas -- From my family to yours (CLICK HERE FOR CHRISTMAS PICTURES).


Luke 2:1-14

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Got It Made

Hera
Near Bismarck, North Dakota
December 2006

People say I'm no-good,
And crazy as a loon.
I get stoned in the morning,
I get drunk in the afternoon.
Kinda like my old blue tick hound,
I like to lay around in the shade,
An', I ain't got no money,
But I damn sure got it made.

'Cos I ain't askin' nobody for nothin',
If I can't get it on my own.
If you don't like the way I'm livin',
You just leave this long-haired country boy alone.

"Long Haired Country Boy"
Charlie Daniels

Ceremonies of the Horsemen

She reminds me of a chess game
with someone I admire
or a picnic in the rain
after a prairie fire
her heart is as big
as this whole goddamn jail
and she's sweeter than saccharine
at a drug store sale.

"Christmas in Prison"
Sweet Revenge
John Prine

Market Street, San Francisco, California
November 2006

The cloak and dagger dangles,
Madams light the candles.
In ceremonies of the horsemen,
Even the pawn must hold a grudge.
Statues made of match sticks,
Crumble into one another,
My love winks, she does not bother,
She knows too much to argue or to judge.

Love Minus Zero/No Limit
Bringing It All Back Home
Bob Dylan

You Don't Know Me?

Man is least himself when he talks in his own person.
Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Ghost Dancers, United Tribes Powwow,
Bismarck, North Dakota (September 2004)

Sometimes people carry to such perfection
the mask they have assumed
that in due course they actually become the person they seem.

W. Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965), The Moon and Sixpence

We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others
that in the end we become diguised to ourselves.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613 - 1680).

A Cautionary Tale

Rural Burliegh County, North Dakota,

The yellow-haired lady came down to the tavern,
An' looked up the stranger there.
He bought her a drink, an' he gave her some money,
He just didn't seem to care.
She followed him out as he saddled his stallion,
An' laughed as she grabbed at the bay.
He shot her so quick, they had no time to warn her,
She never heard anyone say:

Don't cross him, don't boss him.
He's wild in his sorrow:
He's ridin' an' hidin his pain.
Don't fight him, don't spite him;
Just wait till tomorrow,
Maybe he'll ride on again.

The yellow-haired lady was buried at sunset;
The stranger went free, of course.
For you can't hang a man for killin' a woman,
Who's tryin' to steal your horse.
This is the tale of the red headed stranger,
And if he should pass your way,
Stay out of the path of the ragin' black stallion,
And don't lay a hand on the bay.

The Red Headed Stranger, Willie Nelson

Everything Is Broken

New Town, North Dakota, March 2006

Broken bottles, broken plates,
Broken switches, broken gates,
Broken dishes, broken parts,
Streets are filled with broken hearts.
Broken words never meant to be spoken,
Everything is broken.

NPRA, Bismarck, ND, February 2005

Bridge: Seem like every time you stop and turn around
Something else just hit the ground

Atlantic City, New Jersey, January 2006

Broken cutters, broken saws,
Broken buckles, broken laws,
Broken bodies, broken bones,
Broken voices on broken phones.
Take a deep breath, feel like you're chokin',
Everything is broken.

"Everything is Broken," Bob Dylan from Oh Mercy (1989)

Naked as the Eyes of the Clown

Bismarck Folk Festival Parade, September 2006

I was sitting in the bathtub counting my toes,

when the radiator broke, water all froze.

I got stuck in the ice without my clothes,

naked as the eyes of a clown.

I was crying ice cubes hoping I'd croak,

when the sun come through the window, the ice all broke.

I stood up and laughed thought it was a joke

That's the way that the world goes 'round.

That's the way that the world goes 'round.
You're up one day and the next you're down.
It's half an inch of water and you think you're gonna drown.
That's the way that the world goes 'round.

John Prine, Thats the Way the World Goes Round

Mandan Rodeo, July 2005


Strasborg Rodeo, Strasborg, North Dakota, July 2005

Always Trust Your Cape

Eight years old with a flour sack cape
Tied all around his neck
He climbed up on the garage
Figurin' what the heck
He screwed his courage up so tight
The whole thing came unwound
He got a runnin' start and bless his heart
He headed for the ground

Atlanta Hawks v. Toronto Raptors, Philips Arena
Atlanta, November 2006

Well he's one of those who knows that life
Is just a leap of faith
Spread your arms and hold your breath
And always trust your cape

All grown up with a flour sack cape
Tied all around his dreams
He's full of piss and vinegar
He's bustin at the seams
He licked his finger and checked the wind
It's gonna be do or die
He wasn't scared of nothin', Boys
He was pretty sure he could fly

Well he's one of those who knows that life
Is just a leap of faith
Spread your arms and hold your breath
And always trust your cape

Old and grey with a flour sack cape
Tied all around his head
He's still jumpin' off the garage
And will be 'till he's dead
All these years the people said
He's actin like a kid
He did not know he could not fly
So he did

Guy Clark
“The Cape,” from Dublin Blues, 1995

Mooses Come Walking

All Moose pictures:

Grand Teton National Park

September 2006


Mooses Come Walking
by Arlo Guthrie

Mooses come walking over the hill
Mooses come walking, they rarely stand still
When mooses come walking they go where they will
When mooses come walking over the hill



Mooses look into your window at night
They look to the left and they look to the right
The mooses are smiling, they think it's a zoo
And that's why the mooses like looking at you

So, if you see mooses while lying in bed
It's best to just stay there pretending you're dead
The mooses will leave and you'll get the thrill
Of seeing the mooses go over the hill

©1993 Arloco Music, Inc. (ASCAP)

Holes In My Pockets

Golden Gate Bridge, November 2006

I got the blues when my baby left me
by the San Francisco Bay,
The ocean liner's gone so far away.
I didn't mean to treat her so bad,
She was the best gal I ever have had,
She said goodbye, made me cry,
gonna lay down my head and die.

Well I aint got a nickel
and I ain't got a lousy dime.
If she don't come back,
I think I'm gonna lose my mind.
But if she ever comes back to stay,
it's gonna be another brand new day,
Walkin' with my baby
down by the San Francisco Bay.

San Francisco Bay Blues, Jesse Fuller

Thank You

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was "thank you," that would suffice.

Meister Eckhart, Christian Mystic (1260-1328).


For Family and Friends.
Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco
November 2006

For Beauty in All its Forms
Street Musician, China Town, San Francisco
November 2006

For Fortune -- Good and Bad.
Fortune Cookie Factory, China Town
November 2006


For Having All I Need and Not All I Want
(and Knowing the Difference).

Butcher, China Town
November 2006

For Hope In Times of Despair.

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco
November 2006

For the Promise of Tomorrow.


Sunrise, Golden Gate Bridge
November 2006

I Miss the Hands . . .

At my door the leaves are falling
A cold wild wind has come
Sweethearts walk by together
And I still miss someone

I Still Miss Someone
Johnny Cash

Roads of Battles, Paths of Victory

Photos: Highline Trail
Glacier National Park
September 2005

Step by step the longest march, can be won, can be won
Many stones to form an arch, singly none, singly none
And by union what we will can be accomplished still
Drops of water turn the mill, singly none,singly none

Step by Step
Pete Seeger

It's a long and dusty road
It's a hot and heavy load,
And the folks I meet ain't always kind
Some are bad, some are good,
Some have done the best they could,
And some have tried to ease my troublin' mind.

And I can't help but wonder where I'm bound
Where I'm bound
No, I can't help but wonder where I'm bound

Can't Help But Wonder
Tom Paxton

The evenin' dusk was rollin',
I was walking down the track.
There was a one-way wind a-blowin'
And it was blowin' at my back.

Trails of troubles,
Roads of battles,
Paths of victory,
We shall walk.

Paths of Victory
Bob Dylan

Ladder For My Returning

Glacier National Park, September 2005

The spider, dropping down from twig,
Unfolds a plan of her devising,
A thin premeditated rig
To use in rising.

And all that journey down through space,
In cool descent and loyal hearted,
She spins a ladder to the place
From where she started.

Thus I, gone forth as spiders do
In spider's web a truth discerning,
Attach one silken thread to you
For my returning.

The "Spider's Web" from the Album Pete. Words by E. B. White (1929). Music by Pete Seeger (1982) (Original title : Natural History).

Glacier National Park, September 2005.

Dearly Beloved?

Wedding Party? Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada.

October 2006

If any man can shew any just cause, why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter forever hold his peace.
Prayer Book, 1662.

You see couples who seem happy
And wonder how they got that way
Are they blind or kinda stupid?
Or are they having a good day?

Standing here without illusions
You know I almost had a wife
Life is full of disappointment
Yes and I am full of life
Full of Life, John Gorka -- Land of the Bottom Line (1990).

Quite Early Morning

Sunrise, Nez Perce Creek,
Yellowstone National Park

Sunrise. Morning.
A time of rebirth, opportunity and hope.
A time to reflect and to atone.

Full many a glorious morning have I seen
Flatter the mountain-tops with Sovereign eye,
Kissing with golden face the meadows green,
Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy.

William Shakespeare, Sonnets.

Don't you know it's darkest before the dawn
And it's this thought keeps me moving on
If we could heed these early warnings
The time is now quite early morning
If we could heed these early warnings
The time is now quite early morning

So though it's darkest before the dawn
These thoughts keep us moving on
Through all this world of joy and sorrow
We still can have singing tomorrows
Through all this world of joy and sorrow
We still can have singing tomorrows

Pete Seeger, Quite Early Morning

Sunrise, Grand Teton National Park

Just like the sun over the mountain top
You know I’ll always come again
You know I love to spend my morning time
Like sunlight dancing on your skin.

Rodney Crowell, Till I Gain Control Again.

Sunrise, Missouri River at Bismarck, North Dakota

It's a restless hungry feeling
That don't mean no one no good,
When ev'rything I'm a-sayin'
You can say it just as good.
You're right from your side,
I'm right from mine.
We're both just one too many mornings
An' a thousand miles behind.

Bob Dylan, One Too Many Mornings.

Happy Halloween!

Welcome to my "new" photo blog. My old site was discontinued, without warning. So I am returning to this site, which is associated with Picasa, a great, free photo editing and photo management program. Its free from Google's home page.



The two pictures featured above were taken in a gift shop in Deadwood, South Dakota. The picture below is of my two older brothers and I. I'm Casper, the Friendly Ghost.


Stop back, I intend to post pictures a few times per week. 

Moving my Photo Blog

I am moving my photo blog to this site: http://photogblogs.com/blogs/monte_rogneby/default.aspx

Please click on the link and change your bookmark.

Thanks

Monte

Bull Riders Are Crazy

the entry fee to participate in a bull-a-rama is $100. The purse is $1500. Would you get on the back of one of these bulls for a guaranteed payment of $1500. I wouldn't. I think there is a greater chance of having a $1500 medical bill.

According to the NPRA website, the leading bull rider going into this rodeo had won almost $8,000. The bull rider in last place had won less than $200. I wonder, as a whole, whether bull riders pay more in medical bills than they collect in prize money.

I love football, but football players could learn a thing or two about humility from bull riders.

Of course, the danger doesn't end when the cowboy falls off the bull.

Cowboy Patriotism

This weekend I attended the NPRA rodeo at the Bismarck Civic Center. Each night the rodeo started with a tribute to our armed forces fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. At the start of the rodeo, a rider led a riderless, flag-covered horse around the arena and then handed it over to a lone soldier. Each night I attended the rodeo, the soldier selected was a vetran of the Iraq war.
During the Bull-o-rama on Thursday night, during an intermission, several new recruits took their oaths in the arena, in front of the rodeo crowd.
I wonder if any other sporting event is as openly patriotic?



Over the next few days, I will post more rodeo photos.