Welcome
Thanks for tuning into my latest Deep Dive. These essays are a labor of love. I never know where my next inspiration will come from or where it will lead me, I just try and go with it, letting the words flow from my brain, through my fingertips and onto the page. Sometimes these stories write themselves, other times it feels like pulling teeth. I’m glad you found your way here. Pull up a chair, sit back, relax and enjoy!
~ Louie
Dad and Me and Sports
My dad Ray Ferrera passed away quietly last week, he was 95. Here's my tribute to him. On Father’s Day in 1965 I was eight years. My dad was taking my older brother Ray and I to see our first baseball game at legendary Yankee Stadium. I’m sure I must have been super...
The Phil Zone
The word of Phil Lesh’s passing at the age of 84 came via a text message last Friday from an old Deadhead friend of mine in New Jersey. It was a bit of a shock as I wasn’t aware that Phil had been sick. Most of the musical heroes of my generation are in their late...
It’s Ok
It's ok to just sit here, right? It’s ok to watch the green fingers of the apple tree sway in tandem with the singing of the wind chimes, right? It’s ok to watch the sky-blue scrub jay hop from tree branch to lawn to fountain. It’s ok to marvel at the stillness and...
Old Friends
Q: When are 50 year old jokes the funniest? A: When they’re told among the same three friends 50 years later Of all the blessings in my life, and there are many, I count my friendship with Tim and Benji as one of the most blessed. And those 50 year old jokes? They’re...
Found Feathers
The hike I went on today was all about feathers. It seemed like everywhere I looked, there they were: A 12 inch long, steel-grey wing feather from a Great Blue heron, a tail feather from a crow; coal-black and broadly rounded at the end in two heart-shaped humps. I...
Song In My Head
Research has shown that the most effective way to conjure up an old memory is through the sense of smell. Well, the researchers never got around to my house because for me it’s always been music. Growing up in a house where music was always playing in the...
Imaginary Glances From Behind Green Facades
I get the feeling that someone or something is watching me. Am I being paranoid or are those just imaginary glances from behind the green facade of the forest? The canopy in here is thick and nearly impenetrable, what light that does make it through is green and...
Finding Peace on a Foggy Morning
The fog is quiet as a dream. Sunny mornings sing, foggy mornings whisper. The sky today is a grey blanket, the diffused light deepens the infinite shades of green and colors become more saturated. The air is absolutely still. A couple of tiny songbirds occasionally...
Deep Dives
One of the readers of this blog recently commented on how much she enjoys the "deep dives" I do when I write about music. This got me thinking; in pretty much all of my essays, I really do dig in and get to the heart of the matter, I "go deep" as it were. After four...
Ms. Sunshine
I put a smile on my face and I keep it on all day. Joy Keawakapu Beach is a mile long slice of paradise in the little town of Kihei on Maui’s south shore. It was Day #2 of our recent two-week trip to Hawaii and Carol and I were just settling into our Tommy Bahama...
Point Reyes: 8/16/24
Yesterday was as picturesque a bluebird sky day as there could possibly be, the temperature Goldilocks perfect. Summertime, and the livin’ is definitely easy. It was Multiples of Eight Day (8/16/24), a day not to be repeated for another hundred years! Carol, Denali...
Musical Merlins: The String Cheese Incident In Santa Cruz
I just spent the past three days dancing at the center of a swirling vortex of bliss. Tie dye, rainbows and glitter burst forth from its center and up into the air creating a vortex of its own. There were hugs and kisses and smiles, dust and sweat and joy…so much joy!...