Here Comes the Sun
While the breakneck pace of my work week keeps my computer time next to nothing for a few days, I cannot go without giving a giant shout out to the sun. Starting tomorrow, we’ll be seeing more of it. Granted, it will only be a few seconds a day at first, but I’ll take it.
I never paid much attention to Solstice until I moved to Alaska, but here where the change in seasons is marked by less than four hours of light at winter solstice, and more than twenty hours at summer solstice, this day is a transition of spiritual importance. We begin another cycle, and nobody can think about it without taking a mental journey to the next solstice which will find us in boats, and on trails, and catching fish, and looking at a green world with blue sky and wildflowers at their peak.
I like the fact that this day happens despite anything we do. We cannot move the solstice to the nearest Monday to get a three day weekend. We don’t mark it at the first full moon after some other day. It isn’t always on a Thursday or a Sunday. It just happens, and we’re either paying attention or we’re not. It waits for no one. It hurries for no one. We are just left to marvel at one of those marks of the passage of time that we share with every generation of our ancestors, and with every generation to come. We cannot control it; we simply witness it. And smile.
And who better to sing us into longer days than my personal favorite Beatle, George Harrison…
Not only is it Solstice but it feels like Spring, temperature-wise! Happy Solar New Year to All! Our Antipodean friends view today as the beginning of their journey into the dark doldrums of winter, but us Northerners are celebrating the beginning of our journey into the realm of light and warmth.
Here’s wishing a Happy Summer Solstice to our friends to the South and a joyous celebration of things to come for us here in the North!
Here’s a great little website that lets you keep track of the travels of Mother Earth around our Sun.
http://www.gaisma.com/en/
thanks.
WoW! Thank you for that AND all you do! I forgot it was Solstice and leave to you, to ring it in, in such a wonderful way for all of us.
Thank YOU and Merry Solstice!
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Happy Solstice to AKM and all the mudpuppies! My hubby and i had our solstice fire; before that, a beautiful sunset. Now that it is getting lighter and lighter, I can deal with the fact thatit’s officially Winter. She giveth and She taketh away!
George is my favorite Beatle as well, and I love that song!
You have excellent taste in Beetles!
Beatles too, been reading too many SP texts methinks, my speller is all cockeyed.
Tantef:
The Beatles while being such a force of groundbreaking music there in the 1960′s and 1970′s also were very good as a group when broken into their individual parts of artists that would go onto become influential artists in their own right even without being in the band that they came from. Some of the most favorite music that I have listened to all these years would come from the Beatles when they weren’t the Beatles but the guys that were in the band.
Also I like them in their individual parts even if they sometimes seemed sort of socialist or communist. Taking that into consideration their music was still very pleasing.
(courtesy of another cockeyed speller)
Sorry, it’s just way to easy to warp into Palinese and sometimes I can’t resist! If I could write software I’d love to write the “translate into Palinese” website translator….someone must have thought of it already….
Happy solstice to all you Alaskans who should be in bed. We had it yesterday. Tantef, you must be reading too many of SP’s twitters!
Just listened to the Keith Olbermann program and he shows the clip of Sarah with Matt Lauer in the middle of the David Letterman fiasco when she says to Matt, “The comment he (D.Letterman) made about statutory rape of my 14 year old daughter – knowing that crossed the line.”
Whoa. First, DL didn’t use the terminology of “rape” – were his remarks in poor taste? Yes, and he admitted as much. But when, according to Sarah herself in her book, Willow was specifically targeted for gang rape – and then the threat broadened to include Bristol – do we see the then governor of Alaska raising cane on a national tv show (I realize this was before the vp nod) – but still; is there any reaction?
Nada. Zilch. Zip.
No one but no one in Juneau, Alaska, where these threats originated, ever knew anything about this. Sarah just silently slipped the girls out of Juneau and skirted them back to the safety of Wasilla?
I sure as heck hope people who wait in line tomorrow for a book to be signed will ask her about this – and will have recording devices with them. She can seamlessly go between playing the warrior and the martyr.
Sarah needs to answer for her duplicity on this matter.
Period.
George is my fave Beatle also , too.
Happy Solstice everyone!
George Harrison was always my favorite Beatle. I loved his gentle old soul.
@tantef – No more eggnog for you! LOL
Perfect song to go with a great post.
Happy Solstice everyone. Thank you for posting George’s uplifting song in these times of dark and cold.
Great choice of music, AKM. GH is my favorite Beatle as well. I just dusted off All Things Must Pass a couple weeks ago and gave it a listen – and I’m happy to report that after all these years, it’s still wonderful.
Love the choice of music!
One of the thing that amazed me in my brief stay in Maine was how quickly the sunrise moved across the horizon as the seasons changed. It must be a pretty amazing sight in the most polar areas of the world.
how funny.
I woke up yesterday (the day of this post) and my first thought was “yea!!! the days are going to start getting longer!!” that was my happiness theme the entire day. I live in georgia and these short days just suck for me!! I cannot imagine how in the world y’all do without your sun in alaska. MUST.HAVE.SUN!
“Sun King”-from the same LP!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPPEY9G6Y2w
Me too, emrysa! I must have mentioned it half a dozen times to various people.
This is one of my favorite versions of my favorite Harrison tune.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40yFvJujNzg
Here’s another version, with Harrison and Clapton – the two guys who vied from Patty’s attention.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi8tiqLWX6M
Once saw Art Garfunkel & George Harrison perform this song on a very old SNL. George played an acoustic guitar & Art just sang, what a beautiful voice. My 17 year old daughter ranks “Here comes the Sun” as on of her top favorite tunes, some music jumps right over those generational boundries. Regarding “Something” being for Patti Boyd from George, Layla was also for Patti from Eric Clapton. I miss George, he was an incredible musician & always seemed like such a good gentle man.
Winter Solstice, my favorite winter time date. I love the festivities and rituals.
George was HOT. He was my fav of the fab 4. Although each wrote and sang so many wonderful songs both during and after their Beatles days.
I have never been to Alaska, I cant imagine only seeing the sun for a few seconds. Wondering why? Well, it’s going to be 75F down here in sunny Florida Christmas Day. So much for a white Christmas…lol
Thanks for this incredibly uplifting clip. For all of you who love George, DO check out “A Concert For George”, either on CD or (recommended) on DVD, available on Netflix. It is a concert of George’s songs, performed by George’s best friends, and produced by Eric Clapton. It is a heartfelt, touching tribute to a great soul, and the music is INCREDIBLE. It will make you very happy – I guarantee.
Merry Meet – praise All for the Solstices!!
I saw blue skies this afternoon at work – so good!
Only about four months until we can ride motorcycles again!!!!