Serving Others

I am realizing things in my life as I look back. I’m not sure really what I intended when I started this journey. In some ways I was very sure of my path and in others I was totally oblivious. I think that’s part of youth. You have to be fairly self-assured or you don’t have the gumption to set out into the unknown. I had a good heart and a little bit of awareness that I would come into later in life, but I was arrogant enough to blunder often. I had musical gifts that I knew how to use, and I was fortunate to find outlets that benefited others. Musical talent like all talents can often be misused. Anything that draws adulation and admiration can really mess a person up if they aren’t mature enough to handle it gracefully and responsibly. I’m sure I didn’t always deal with the attention in a good way. But like I said, I was fortunate that some of the gigs I got were playing for folks who really needed the boost and reassurance that a little music could give them. Luckily I had enough awareness to realize that this was a good thing, and over the years I’ve come to know that this is a worthwhile service I can give to others. So while I never set out to serve others, I now dedicate most of time to this. There is still a dose of pride in there that I can’t let go of, but for the most part I can succeed if I concentrate on each situation in the right frame of mind. It’s even harder as I contemplate retirement because I know I’ll be finding different ways to serve as I let go of my current service. That will be necessary though as I can’t keep up the pace with age and the need to dedicate more time to family. Isn’t life interesting as we progress through it?

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What have I been up to?

Last week I had 8 senior facilities, and I enjoyed every one as I sang mostly songs for summer and Father’s Day. This is a great time of year for music with all the sweet topical tunes.

My Wednesday online show was doing summer songs too, and it was so much fun that we’ll do it again this week. Everyone had a blast!

Thursday I played the first barbecue of the season at Yellow Pine Guest Ranch. We had a good crowd and perfect weather for some great barbecue food and music. I got several requests, and I got to meet several new families. I look forward to the rest of the summer!

I had a 60th anniversary party on Saturday at a winery in Penrose that went great! The anniversary couple were very sweet and danced to several tunes. I hope to play there again.

My Sunday online show was favorites and requests, and there were some great requests and friendship shared. I love this group.

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What am I up to this week?

I have 15 senior facilities this week, and I’m sure I’ll sing some songs for dads and have some good memories with the folks. This is part of my service to others.

My Wednesday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be summer songs again because there are so many good summer songs we haven’t gotten to yet. It should be a really good time, and I’d love to have you tune in if you can.

Thursday night 6:30-8 I’m back at the barbecue at Yellow Pine, and I know it’ll be great time. The old historical barn is so picturesque and so welcoming, and we always have such a good time. I’d love to have you come out too if yummy barbecue and roasting s’mores and dancing to my music sounds like fun to you. Call 719-742-3528 to make a reservation now. 

My Sunday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be favorites and requests as always, and I always get such great songs requested and such kind folks and good vibes for these shows. You’re always welcome too! Just log on and tune in.

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That’s it for this week. I have so many great gigs coming up, and I’ll let you know about them as they approach. I hope you have a great week ahead!

Best always,

Tom

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Details this week:

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of summer songs

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Wednesday, June 17, 7-8:45 pm mountain time

Who:  Tom Munch

What:  playing & singing at the barbeque

Where:  Yellow Pine Guest Ranch, Cuchara. 719-742-3528

When:  Thursday, June 18, 6:30-8 pm

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of favorites and requests

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Sunday, June 21, 7-8:45 pm mountain time 

Summer

I like to wait to play summer songs until the summer solstice, but this year our June has started out really hot so I’m going to celebrate summer this Wednesday for my online show. Summer has always been the crazy season for me. I’ve written about it before. I love all the activities and the warm weather that lets us get out into nature - especially in the mountains, but the fast pace and the heat really beat me up. I’ve always risen to the occasion and have run as fast as I can to enjoy it all, but sometimes I wonder what a tropical beach with a cool drink and a nice spot in the shade would be like. We had a trailer on a lake in Nebraska when I was a kid, and my folks had a porch built across the side facing the lake with screened windows that could all be opened. Some of those evenings and nights when we’d open those windows and sit on the porch to play cards or listen to the frogs and birds down by the lake with the waves gently lapping the shore were pretty magical. I think I’ve mentioned before that we would even walk down to the point at the end of the peninsula in the moonlight some nights. Alternately I can remember sitting out in the evening on a porch in the evening to watch the sun go down over the mountains in the summertime. Summer has all that crazy activity juxtaposed with peaceful moments of warm beauty. Not to mention all the wonderful trips and opportunities summer brings. It makes all the extra work tending to lawns and greenery and all the running worth it. So let’s welcome summer with gusto and get to the running!

What have I been up to?

I had 8 senior facilities last week, and they were all loads of fun. I was singing summer songs, and I think everybody had a good time. I say it all the time, but I love playing for these folks.

My Wednesday online show was songs of 1976, and it was a continuation of the good times we had the week before with this year of tunes and memories. I think everyone enjoyed it.

Saturday night I did an online show of songs from my days at Philmont Scout Ranch for a bunch of folks I’ve known for decades. It was a great time of reminiscence and stories with all the good music we sang back in the day. 

My Sunday online show was a special one at my friends Deann and Matt’s house. They always do such a great job of hosting, and it’s so great to play in front of a live audience as well as my online audience. The added energy and presence there couldn’t be beat!

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What am I up to this week?

I have 8 senior facilities to play for this week, and I’ll be playing summer songs and some Father’s Day songs as well as we approach Father’s Day. It’s about time to play some these outside on nice mornings.

My Wednesday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be summer songs as I wrote of above. This should be a really good show with all kinds of enthusiasm. I love riding the wave! Come on out if you can!

Thursday night 6:30-8 I start the summer season at Yellow Pine Ranch in Cuchara, Colorado, for the barbecue. This is one of the premier things I get to do in the summer, and I so look forward to seeing all the familiar faces in Cuchara and playing in the old barn for the listeners and dancers. I’d love to have you there too if some Texas-style barbecue in a beautiful barn in the mountains with my music and a little marshmallow roasting around the fire sounds good to you. Call 719-742-3528 to make a reservation now. 

Saturday night I have a private party at a winery in Penrose, Colorado, that I’ve never been to. This sounds like a wonderful event.

My Sunday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be favorites and requests as always, and I know it’ll be a good time with good folks. These Sunday nights never disappoint! Come on out and join in the fun.

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That’s it for this week. Take a couple deep breaths and let the summer begin!

Best always,

Tom

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Details this week:

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of summer songs

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Wednesday, June 10, 7-8:45 pm mountain time

Who:  Tom Munch

What:  playing & singing at the barbeque

Where:  Yellow Pine Guest Ranch, Cuchara. 719-742-3528

When:  Thursday, June 11, 6:30-8 pm

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of favorites and requests

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Sunday, June 14, 7-8:45 pm mountain time 

Done

I’ve had a weird compulsion all my life that I’ve never been able to understand. It’s the feeling that I want to be done with whatever my current activity is, whether that’s a short project or a trip or, I suppose, life’s journey in certain ways. I don’t know know if that’s because I want the satisfaction of having finished something and checked it off the list, or alternatively because I’m lazy and don’t want to continue to work hard to finish something. I know that the journey (and then the reflection) is the important part of every goal we set. That has born out in my own life countless times, and yet I still have the desire to be done with almost everything I take on. Is that strange? I have always kept to-do lists, and I think this is a good practice, but I also know that those who let life flow without being enslaved to a list are often much more happy. It’s like taking a road trip where you don’t really have a destination. You have a general plan, but if you see something interesting along the way you can stop and having a totally new and wonderful experience. In some aspects of my life I will do this. For instance, I usually figure that people are placed in my path for a reason, and I take the time to find out what they’re about and how that relates to my life. Often this allows me to have more empathy for every person in the world, and I see something special about each person. In general I guess that I could have accomplished more in my life if I had a defined plan that I stuck to, but I have taken some detours that have enriched me although they limited my “success”. So as I explore this idea of “doneness” I see that even though I desire it I still often am willing to stop and smell the roses. I’m just one big contradiction! How about you? Do you want to be done?

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What have I been up to?

I had 10 senior facilities last week, but one ended up being a double-booking so I had an unintended day off which was a pleasant surprise that let me get some stuff done. I enjoyed all of the facilities I did play, and there were some wonderful moments. I love these folks!

My Wednesday online show was playing songs from 1976, and there were so many good songs. Everybody kind of assumes that 1976 was mostly disco music, and disco is not everyone’s favorite genre, but there were so many other types of songs that we all loved. I still have many great songs left from that year to do, so we’ll do 1976 again this week.

Saturday I had scheduled to play an online concert for Philmont folks, but I had mistakenly booked a gig in Cuchara for June 30 that was supposed to be for May 30. I explained my mistake in the update I put out when I realized it. I’m grateful that the event contacted me on Friday to confirm or I would have missed it. So I played in Cuchara at Cuchara Mountain Park for their Green Chili Cook-off. I had friends come down from Colorado City and up from Trinidad to see me, and it was great to see them as well as seeing all the fine folks from Cuchara whom I haven’t seen since last summer. The green chili was great, and the vibe was really special. I got to do songs on my Favorites list that I haven’t played in a long time.

My Sunday online show was favorites and requests, and it was a huge variety of really neat songs. The Munch Bunch really knows how to request a wide swath of song styles!

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What am I up to this week?

I have 8 senior facilities this week, and I’m sure I’ll be playing summer songs and songs for Father’s Day as well even though it’s 3 weeks off. I’m looking forward to seeing everybody.

My Wednesday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be songs from 1976 as I wrote above. I love diving into these years and reliving the era through memories that the songs bring back to life. Come on out if you can. The bicentennial year was a good one!

Saturday 7-9 mountain time I’m doing an online show (again) of Philmont songs for Philmont alumni to celebrate the start of another season at the scout ranch. This is what they call “Scatter” when the staff goes out to the backcountry to set up for the summer. It’s an exciting time for the staff and for us old alumni who remember our time there fondly. If you’re Philmont alumni and would like to relive some of those times you are welcome to join me at my Tom Munch Philmont Songs Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1176893032692370/ or on my website tommunch.com/online-concerts. 

My Sunday online show 7-8:45 mountain time will be favorites and requests as always, except this week I’ll be doing it live from my good friends Matt and Deann’s house. It’s so different doing these shows with folks in the room where I’m recording it, and Deann always does such a great job entertaining and hosting the show. She’s making a playlist based around the theme of “life” and is taking requests from the Munch Bunch to help put it together. It should be really entertaining, so tune in if you can!

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That’s it for this week. Next week I start playing the Yellow Pine Barbecue on Thursdays, and I start doing parties and other fun events. I can’t wait! I hope you are healthy and happy.

Best always,

Tom

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Details this week:

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of 1976 songs

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Wednesday, June 3, 7-8:45 pm mountain time

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing an online concert of Philmont songs

Where:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1176893032692370

When:  Saturday, June 6, 7-9 pm mountain time

Who:  Tom Munch 

What:  playing and singing an online concert of favorites and requests from Matt and Deann’s house

Where:  facebook.com/tom.munch and tommunch.com/online-concerts  

When:  Sunday, June 7, 7-8:45 pm mountain time