Monday, April 22, 2013

Woodstock ,Jack Casady, Jefferson Airplane, Richie Havens and me

Today is one of those days when I realize the tapestry of life is woven deeply thru so many of us, connecting us in ways that we could have never imagined.

In my senior year at my hippie high school I was introduced to Richie Havens, his music, his poetry of song and sound was ever etched in my mind and heart. He embodied to me the essence of  a real man. His tonality struck me, his words moved me, how I heard him, in my own way, gave me hope. And I needed hope during those years, thank you for that Mr. Havens.
I also viewed the images from that famous event called Woodstock, for the first time during my  senior year. Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, Mountain, Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Their  music, created a road to freedom for me. They fed into a sense of freedom that I longed for. I ate it up.
Many years later , I reflect on that freedom, the style of life that I led then, and the incredible need to be true to myself,  still year after year. By following my heart and lots of hard work I find myself full circle with a few of those individuals that gave me that sense of hope, thru their music, when I needed it most.
Jefferson Airplane, and in particular Jack Casady from the Jefferson Airplane band is a person who is currently woven into the tapestry of my life.
Organic full leaf green tea with chia for Jack Casady
I am working closely with Jack to create a custom Green Tea blend  specifically for his tastes.
Yes, that's true!
I met Jack thru his friend Jorma  Kaukonen years ago, down at Jorma's Fur Peace Ranch. Seems that music camp that Jorma and his wife built is close to Herbal Sage Farms...go figure.
Jack and I have worked on other organic tea blends and now I have the pleasure of creating another tea for him. Jack loves full leaf organic sencha green tea, I do too. It's a mild green tea, yet full bodied a with just the right amount of astringency. Jack is into chia seeds right  now, so I added some organic chia seeds with the sencha leaf. Its an amazing blend actually smooth tasting and very ,very healthy.

So we never know how things will work out, or how folks will work into our lives. I for one, feel blessed and grateful for this twist of fate.

Like Richie Havens who sang so often about Freedom, I feel  I can only be free when my heart is open to experience whatever it is that is put in front of me. How my life  has evolved to this place in time, where I can share my art of blending  with someone who shared their art of music, with me so many years ago, is a mystery to me.
All I can say is , YES, and clap my hands, clap my hands... RIP Richie Havens

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