“I'm the piano player, down at Eddies' bar / And Rachel she's the waitress who want to be a star / She swears she's gonna make it, make it big someday / And she'll send me picture postcards from L.A.”

This is how the song Picture Postcards from L.A. begins, a song by Joshua Kadison from 1993. Every year I write Christmas cards to friends, acquaintances and people who are important to my wife and me. This small gift in the form of handwritten Christmas cards is intended to show that we think of them, appreciate them and like them. Every year when I write these cards - it has already become a ritual - I clean my Montblanc fountain pen, refill the plunger with fresh ink and write the cards while a candle burns next to me and my study shines in the pre-Christmas glow.

Picture Postcards from L.A. has been with me since 1993, the year it was released. There are only a few songs that have stayed with me over the years and convey more than just their lyrics. These songs are linked to a feeling, a mood that evokes old memories and enriches them with new ones. «Send me postcards from L.A. signed with love forevermore / Picture postcards from L.A. to hang on my refrigerator door» So much melancholy resonates here - wishes for the future, the longing for love and to be loved. The melody of the song helps us to indulge in melancholy thoughts of days gone by. Christmas is also a time to pause, look back and reflect.

We are currently living in a world that I have never experienced in this way before. I often think about the present, but I'm only partially able to grasp it mentally in such a way that the overall picture can be put into words - at the moment, I'm only just beginning to succeed. Writing in general, be it poetry or these columns, is also anything but predictable at the moment. There are too many topics coming thick and fast. A hullabaloo wherever you look. But there is also the other side: peace, idyll, calm, balance - and harmony.

This year, my wife and I took part in singing courses. Singing in a choir, in a group, quickly gives me a feeling of harmony and joy. In recent weeks, we have attended various events on Saturday evenings where we sang together in a choir with lots of people, some of whom were strangers. Last Saturday we sang: “Wir sagen euch an den lieben Advent” (https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/track/7ecY721m2ngmkdB0bih4mK?si=fd88b756d51d4136), and I was deeply moved by singing together. In that moment, full of connection, I thought: if people would sing more together again, we wouldn't have so many problems in this world. I very much doubt whether wars could then last for weeks, months or even years. - So: Turn on the song: “Wir sagen euch an den lieben Advent” (https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/track/7ecY721m2ngmkdB0bih4mK?si=fd88b756d51d4136) and sing along. You can find the lyrics here: https://www.erzbistum-koeln.de

Now is Christmas time. The time for family. The time when we snuggle up by warm fires and seek the closeness of our loved ones. Soon my Christmas cards will arrive to the people we care about. The pianist in Eddie's Bar is still waiting for Rachel's postcards from L.A. That's almost the end of the song: “She'll even buy a ticket and pack her things to leave / Though we all know the story we pretend that we believe / But something always comes up, something always makes her stay / And still no picture postcards from L.A.” 

Perhaps Rachel has snuggled up to her pianist by the fireplace and is dreaming of a future together with him. Even in 2024, the song brings the melancholy of the end of the year to life. We are all just travelers in life and long for a warm place by the fire to share with our loved ones. I wish you all a happy and reflective Christmas season - a place by the fire with your loved ones. And if you are together with your loved ones, feel free to turn on my playlist. You'll find many of my lyrics set to music - because sometimes I'm also the sound poet: https://www.ganjingworld.com/s/4ZB7jmQ07O

Sapere aude!

S.

PS: Link to the song “Picture Postcards from L.A.”  
https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/track/4MNSdVgRmPVraQ1eqNoVg2?si=6dcbd0c882ca4ec2

The link to the original German text: https://www.ganjingworld.com/s/z8V9xBqWm2