Like Smoke Through a Keyhole

And other stories

This week I play the harmonica on Elliott’s Podcast. I had bought a new one for the episode, and on the way back from the music store I took it out of the case and started tooting into it while I was driving.

I had wondered if the police could pull me over for a distracted driving charge, but even better I had imagined doing a video edit to the next scene which is an exterior camera shot of me driving the car, and then it gets wrapped around a telephone poll.

Thankfully that didn’t happen, and I proceeded to record this week’s show in Cedervale Park. This place is ground zero for strollers, and it’s no surprise that on the way to do this piece I ran into my old friend Mickey L. who was walking with his young family.

I would say it’s one of the top parks that I know of in Toronto. The scene is always quite peaceful and it’s spacious.

But man, it was hot in that sun. I ended up in it because the ground was wet otherwise. So watch this week’s show to find out how I found a cool spot to record in so I could give my talk.

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The first release I did under the name Elliott Fienberg uses a photograph as the artwork which was actually taken in Cedervale Park. Looking at it again I can see the photo is not straight (the bench is pointed upwards). It was taken with an old Canonet 28 on 35mm film.

You can listen to Stars Fall below.

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Story Time

When I was a small kid, I killed a caterpillar in the backyard with my hands. It was a typical stupid thing that a kid does, and I paid the price for it.

That night I had “nightmares”, but the more accurate description of what happened is I was hallucinating because I was awake and seeing all these terrifying things happen around the house. It’s possible that something in the caterpillar entered my bloodstream similar to how people lick toads in the Amazon.

But the point of this story is not about my early experiences with psychedelic venom, it’s to show you that the mind can play tricks on you. Strategies for what you want to do in life and bold visions for the future are often just a form of fiction when it comes down to managing your day-to-day.

I think you need a bit of hallucination to form “the big picture”, but beyond that, it comes down to consciously removing distractions or easy ways out. The mind is sadly both our greatest asset and the most destructive force in our lives when left unchecked.

I heard a new age song this week that had the title, “Like Smoke through a Keyhole” (Ann Sweeten). I thought that is a good description of how much activity the mind should take up in your whole day. A small amount of energy, just enough to help you figure things out but you don’t want the room full of smoke or you won’t be able to see anything.

Alright thanks for hanging out with me today and have a great week…

Elliott