ABOUT ME 
 Persona Grata
Open window in the last years of the second millennium provided opportunity to cross borders between continents and countries like never before. The Cold War war ended. Apartheid died. Revived, passages dormant since the Dark Ages sprouted multitude new paths. Proprietors of privileged passport, of the sort I have just been granted with, were welcome everywhere.



CHINESE JOKE 3:11
Thugs sell oil. 
You are buying. 
In Darfur people are dying. Women raped.
Children slaughtered, 
Life set on fire.

Urgent to Panda. 
People republic of China.
Need your help. 
Stop evil.
Free Tibet 
Free your own people.


Melting Borders It had a picture aimed at easing the mind of customs borders officers and officials in general. I farewell the yuppie suit, yet maintained a short hair cut and clean shave. Keeping up appearances was crucial. Saluted by sycophantic bureaucracy, I'll be getting in and out countries carryings handcrafted creations produced on the streets, market, and remote indigence villages in Africa, Asia and South America then, selling it to shop owners and market venders in small towns and the biggest cities in the west. It was all legal. Result of perception. USA citizens are rich therefore legitimate. Routinely I witnessed other nations dreamers stopped at the border.



Maternal Trust Being born in Eastern Europe I was well aware of the extent of my fortune. Nasha didn’t know that. She had a burning desire (“brennende wunsch”) to see London and Paris. She wasn't an optimist.  It was something foreigners, undamaged by the East German regime Stalinestickly inspired brand of sadism, could envelope to be. Colleagues, friends and lovers were programmed to tell on each other. Information was gathered in unmarked building by anonymous officials on behalf of the supreme power. Capricious, impenetrable, incomprehensible maze. Kafka. There was no safety nor trust among the privileged party inner circle either. Alienating the core of humanity the East German secret police Stasi had mothers snitch on their children to the fatherland



BLOG Jon Ber TIMES

REPUBLICAN BLUES 2:49
Tear in the eyes 
she carries the torch.
Everybody can see what’s going on:
Rush in the Limbaugh. 
Gingrich in Georgia.
Delay in Texas.
Mississippi got the Lot
Mrs Lot Looked beck. 
Ended as salt.
I read it said.
In the book thy rave.

La la lies. 
P P poop. 
Ga ga gaga
Blah blah blah. 

America come back. 
Home of the free & competent.
Katrina.. Abu Grab...
The war doesn't end. 
Bin Laden not dead. 

Gulliver nor Giraffe We met on the train from East Berlin to Prague. Nasha was one of the few Rock band promoters in the Soviet block, hence permitted to travel within some of the Iron curtain’s constrains. I played  American songs while the train made its way under darkening evening sky. Her face was glued to my guitar. There were three armed Russians and an East German soldier in the compartment with us. They demanded more music. I pulled out A bottle of Scotch Whiskey. A singing party started with more passengers crowding the corridor, cheering and dancing as the bottle was passed on. Few years earlier I would have been arrested for spreading decadence. Being accused of spying was feasible. Even some of my friends in the USA were convinced that I worked for the CIA because of my peculiar languages skill and unconventional military background. My assertion that I'm conspicuously tall for a secret agent were dismissed as being part of the ploy. 

 
AMAZING GRACE 1:00
John Newton 1725 - 1807 
 Missed another Sign Crackles the barbed wired Berlin Wall steel enforced cement bricks, were as grimly grey as ever. Endless miles of rusted tanks, canons, trucks and other assorted out of commission mutilated heavy weaponry, piled on sparsely connecting railway tracks, matching the surrealistic atmosphere of dilapidation, in a country that forbade rejuvenation. But omen was given. Music allowed. Space will soon join eleven time zones across the USSR to give hundreds of millions of people, freedom of movement and expression. The positive waves will soon impact the rest of the planet. I couldn't imagine that, yet heard myself assuring Nasha that she will get to go wherever she wishes soon. There I sang a verse from John Newton's Amazing Grace . "How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me." Chill ran through my spine earlier that morning when I crossed at Checkpoint Charlie through the prison like gates from West Berlin in to the dreary East.



DAY HAS COME 3:41
(Hebrew)
Once destiny told me: 
Fear not mistaking. 
I'll guard you at night. 
Day will come. 

Fallen soldiers playing  flutes. 
Orphans refugee camps. 
Sing a song longing for peace. 
Day has come. 

(Arabic) 
Forgive me child, sir, leader. 
My heart wishes peace, 
but my head is crazed. 
Thousand nights and a night...
Peace. Day has come. 
Really. My child really. 
Positive. Yes.


Happy Fool In tandem with the wondering one, I was born under an optimistic star. Still a pre-schooler I comforted a girl I had a crash on: “anybody can achieve their wishes if they really wanted them hard enough”. She laughed. I wore blue short trousseaus. Her name was Mia. She was , six years older. It was hopeless. 

Prague Flamenco By morning, we were in the Danube wonder city of Prague. It was twenty years after its spring was crashed by Russian tanks. The colors were brightening. The city was humming with local activity and mostly Eastern European travelers. Fresh paint was applied by a matriculate master to magnificent gate decoration of a busy beer garden where we joined other patrons at one of the long massive wooden tables. My guitar found itself in the hands of a gifted young Flamenco player from Cuba She played Malaguena. Nasha cried. I have never seen here again. 


POLISH J0KE 3:08 
Jan Brzechwa
A certain frog lady felt weak.
So she went to the doctor 
and said: I am sick.

The doctor put on hiss glasses.
Cause he was getting a bit old. Then, he examined her precisely. And at last, said this:Lady. Dear Lady: You must sit on a pump. You must exhale and inhale, 
because you must be dry. The Frog left the doctor and said to herself: I am sick. 
And a patient listens to a doctor. 
I have to be dry. 
I will be dry. The frog took care of her health 
The frog dried herself dry. She did it step by step. But instead of being dry,
She turned into dust. And the doctor scratches his ear:
Dry, didn’t work for the dear.


Soon Africa Gleaming eternal light came to shine on Africa. It illuminated Earth. His name was Nelson Mandela. He called upon traders to come to the the new Rainbow Nation of South Africa. And I went. I was doing Austria...at the time (More about my three years in Africa soon.) 

Tora Shanty Traveling became significantly more affordable as the nineties unveiled. Infant that it was, the Internet transformed information - momentarily accelerated flourishing global trade and leisure industries - consequence of rapidly growing middle-class. One was no longer in the hands of self-serving, incompetent travel agents. Though there was not much choice beside Tarom, the Romanian Airline, or the Soviet Union’s, Aeroflot. Both were using the same notorious, mid air rattling planes. There were not many other choices of getting into Nepal & India where TORA TORA, (slowly slowly) after surviving the initial few years shock - I started feeling SHANTY. (Inner peace.)


I travels to:
Africa: 
Botswana, Egypt, (Sinai) Grand Canary Islands (Spain), Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, (Zanzibar) Zambia, Zimbabwe. 
Americas: 
Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, United States 50 states. 
Asia: 
Cambodia, India, Indonesia, (Bali) Israel, (Palestine occupied West bank & Gaza strip) Japan, (three southern Islands) Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, (Burakay) Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, (Ko Chang. Ko Phangan, Ko Samoi) Turkey. 
Europe: 
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, (now split into north and south) Czechoslovakia (now split into two countries) Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, (East Germany now reunited with west) Greece, (Corfu, Crete) Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, (Majorca) Sweden, Switzerland, Wells, Yugoslavia 
Oceania: 
New Zealand (North & South Islands)  Australia.


One Bag Visa requirements were cancelled or dramatically liberalized everywhere. There I was. One bag, a guitar and a USA passport that magically opened each door I chose entering. There was no room to keep in touch with the past. I vanished. Thus it came to be known, among my family and friends that I have expired. They should have known better. I've been doing thin air imitations since childhood. 


LOVE IS FREE 
Sensing cloud hugging mountain. 
Shortly lived affair. 
Love is free. Does what she wants. 
Comes and goes.

Misty clouds kissed the valley. 
Stirring life from despair.
Love is free. 
Can't be imposed. 
Comes and goes.

All is not what it seem. You know what I mean, maybe.
Undistinguishable fringe of a dream.
Love is free, nobody knows,
when she comes or goes. 

Literal Resurrection It was few years ago, while at one of my favorite palaces on Earth, a desert oasis Hindi holly town Pushkar, Rajastan, India, that Yo'av, the Sitar player, notified me that "actually everybody back home knows" that I am dead. "Been like that for years." People eagerly spread sad news. It makes them feel wonderful. In my case however, 
disappointing the update may be to some: "The rumors of my demise were highly exaggerate:.." Mark Twain. 

WOMEN IN BLACK
I, Yo, E'yo, beg of you: 
Give them a chance 
to live in freedom, dignity, hope. 

Women in Black. Silently defiant. 
In between madness alone. 

Collecting darts of pain. 
Fragile souls in horror. 
Humbly plea emancipation. 
For tortured generations. 
A current situation in Jerusalem. 

I, A'ny, A'na, beg of you: 
Share with them your luck,
to live in freedom, 
dignity and hope. 

Sarah, remember: 
"Lion will lay down with lamb" 
It won't be always lonely in Jerusalem
 
Sunset Cruises Jane had the same information in Los Angeles, California, where I affectedly ended the years of deadness, by showing up at her place in Hollywood. The house number was unforgettable: 414 and a quarter. Husky, brisk animated, she gave me a summery of the time I lost. One sentence that lasted well over an hour, during which, without missing a beat she summoned Karen by phone. In the early eighties Jane rumbling caused us to be kicked out of a Sunset avenue restaurant. Ah the good old days. Jagermeister with beer chasers and Irish coffee to boot. Cruising between the Barney's Beanery on Santa Monica boulevard and Molly Malone on Fairfax, with early morning breakfast at Canter’s. 

Scientific Evidence Later that evening, Ron whom I just met, decided after listening to my reasoning for not contacting anyone and consulting a dictionary, that Vagabond is most suitable way to describe who I am. He was Karen's boyfriend and a movie director at that. I was flattered. Somehow it sounded a bit more romantic than being called a bum - which was the way I thought of myself. After almost three years on the roads in the USA, I went back to the Pushkar and wrote the music and lyrics for VAGABOND. Bar Harbor and Carolina Greens - were added later in my travels - to a soundtrack based on the same theme. 
 
SEEN THE LIGHT 1:45
He seen the light. 
It was too late. 
It knocked him out. 
But he wasn't dead.
Instead he said: I've seen the light. 
Its a big one. 
It shine so bright. 
We've seen the light. 
It was too late. 
By now he was the president 
who've seen the light 
Its a big one. 
It shines so bright.


Ass’s Sunglasses The very last day of 1999 seen America in a bit of hysteria due to a computer related millennium doomsday theory named Y2K. I accompanied an actress friend to a Los Angeles, Rodeo Drive, bookstore were she loaded herself up with fancy cover books about such and other catastrophe predictions. "One has to surround themselves with books so they can sponge the knowledge." she explained. I remembered a newspaper cartoon I've seen when I was a teenager. "An Ass carrying books is still an Ass." I said grinningly. “Never mind that.” She smirked, waving her credit card to pay for a $380 sunglass pair. She received movie royalties pay that day. “I’ll never ware cheap sunglasses again” she declared in a true Vivian Lee - Gone with The wind - fashion. Next morning I woke up in a Bell-Air mansion after a new year’s party. It was 2000. We were all alive. I flew back to India where most families couldn’t earn $380 annually. 


BAR HARBOR 4:08
Winds from the north came suddenly. 
The sky opened-up, it started to snow. 
When white swept the soil, 
contemplation evoked: 
maybe you and I? You were shy in Augusta. 
Brave in Bangor. Aloof the moon had lit up 
the welcome post to Bar Harbor. It was known all along, 
that rivers somehow return to the sea. I've no one to return to. Loveless yet free, I keep moving on. Never fearing that my restless soul, 
will forever be wondering on. The ways of the nomads, 
Troubadours. 
I'm a Vagabond.

 Childish Fantasy I got stuck penniless, just about everywhere I went, while learning to do business on the road. Uncontrollable desire to see the world and nothing to miss, helped me overcome hurdles and luck showed up again just when it seem I could go no further. It was  an idea from a mind of a child: Get to the countries I dreamt about - Find handcrafted merchandise I liked and could afford developing with the artists that made them, to fit international standards - Peddle the final product, to shop owners in a different area of the same country, or other parts of the world. And so I came to be a traveling trader. 



VAGABOND 3:47
Winds came suddenly, 
the sky let it go it snowed.
As white swept the soil, 
for a moment we thought: 
maybe you and I?

You were shy, wanted to know.
I no longer lie, so I told you 
that In the morning I'll be gone.

I no loner lie. 
Loveless I'm free to be walking off.
Doesn't daunt me, that my restless soul, 
will forever be wondering on.
Code of the nomads, 
a Troubadour, I'm a vagabond.

Winds came suddenly, 
the sky let it go it snowed.
As white swept the soil, 
contemplation evoked, 
maybe you and I? 

Harmonious Solitude I fell in love with Pushkar, where time stroll lazy, on my first trip to India. It was the local friendly, Shanty life style. The colors, parades free roaming monkeys, camels, cows and donkeys, the daily morning salute to the sun and evening sunset  rituals by the lake with Bangalassy at the Teahouse and a chance to enjoy the company of other travelers - while been mesmerized by ever changing circus, for months at a time. Playing guitar quietly, singing whispery in my rooftop room at the Mona Lisa hotel, I joined the echo of drums and singing from passing processions, wishing harmony in solitude. Around the corner Pawan have just opened his silver shop. 


SILVER STORY
India’s brutal streets reality demanded to be the cheapest or your children won't be eating tonight. The crippling poverty prevents ocean of talent from being given a chance to uplift their lives whilst benefit society. I was lucky to afford investing few more Rupees in labor cost. This will make all the difference in the world for hundreds of master silversmith their families and communities. 
 During the years I visited Pawan in Pushkar every time I ran out of stock. Our jewelry was selling very well in Europe, Japan, Australia, South Africa and the USA.


Now, I designed collections at home in the North Carolina, USA and published them on the web immediately. It included specifications of quantities, gemstones choice, dimensions packing and labeling instructions. My regular rumbling about the importance of quality workmanship and final inspection, are inevitable. Pawan doesn't mind. He agrees. We became “brothers” when we first started working together.

 Next a 15 kilo silver bullion was acquired by Pawan in Jaipur, Rajastan, and the gemstones arrived promptly from suppliers located at the joining allies of Evergreen market. It is the largest hand stone cutting and hand crafted jewelry creation and trading post on Earth. From Diamonds to Agate Carat to kilo, Platinum to bronze everything sells by weight. 
 By evening time our Master Silversmith friends where invited to discuss the new styles with Pawan at the shop in the heart of Evergreen. I imagine them watching the pictures on the computer with some skepticism. Most probably needed few Chai (Hindi for tea to digest the new styles. Perhaps they were tilting their head from side to side in a movement the means: "This crazy man. I don't know what inside his mind going?" 
 Couple of weeks later, the rings earrings and pendants went back to Pawan for inspection and packaging. 


Then the Indian customs papers were filled. Next the packages were taken to the Main post office and sent by Speed Mail ( the equivalent of the US post Global Express.) 
 Five days later the US postal service delivered it to my door in rural North Carolina. 
 
PEACE OF MIND

Peace of mind comes your way one day. 
Rivers run away from mountains. 

Query thoughts, splitting hair. 
C'est moi. 
On a fence. Detached. No Love no pain. 
But now it rains.

Peace of mind comes your way one day. 
Rivers run away from mountains. 
Unite with oceans. 
Curious water spreads forever. 
Merge with the sky, awaits stormy day. 
And then it rains.


Fulfilling Friends Coming back to the same villages & markets to upgrade quality, strengthen trust and improve communication was an uplifting experience I relieved on six continent. Even better. I returned to visit my best friends and their families. In some countries, I was sticking around for months, couple of years, coming back for years, or passing through just because I had to check it out. I was lucky to have worked with artists and master artisans. Got to meet and hang out with hundreds venders at their places of business and homes - while seeing the world and establishing fulfilling relationships.



CAROLINA GREENS 4:12

The moon couldn't sleep. 
Early in the morning.
Carolina greens unfold, 
the sun is waking up.
We've been through long ago 
but I still don't know why:
tears don't dry and the void 
lingers on and on?

If suddenly, 
out of thin air you pop back in town.
Don't cherish any hopes, 
we've been through long ago, 
thought I still don't know why.



Street Level Now, my life is quite. Peacefully green. There’s no need to shave in the morning. I am going nowhere. Birds, deer, woods fields, and cows for neighbors, my life style is completely opposite, from the days I lived on the road between somewhere and nowhere - moving on while getting to know Earth on the street level. 


PEACE OF MIND
Peace of mind comes your way one day. 
Rivers run away from mountains. 

Query thoughts, splitting hair. 
C'est moi. 
On a fence. Detached. No Love no pain. 
But now it rains.

Peace of mind comes your way one day. 
Rivers run away from mountains. 
Unite with oceans. 
Curious water spreads forever. 
Merge with the sky, awaits stormy day. 
And then it rains.


Ubiquitously Raw Thanks to the visionary geniuses who developed digital technological mind-bugling tools - you can read, watch and listen to what I write, play, sing, record and publish directly here, from my little house in rural USA. Unrestricted. Inedited, constantly changing. Still, for better or worse, master of my domain - I pilot solo in hyperspace, visible everywhere at all time. 



MAC Factor
For that my reverence and gratitude to the creators of my new Mac Leopard OS X 10.5.6. Magnificent, silent, nimble, reliable, multifaceted, suave operator - enabling anyone anywhere champion showcase to the world - seamlessly bypassing range of instantly archaic technical expertise, charlatans and gatekeepers. 



Easy Touch If by a chance you are one of the people I met during a lifetime of roaming on six continents - it will be a great pleasure for me to renew our friendship. I'd love to hear from you. Getting in touch is as easy as clicking Jon Ber 


 


Copyrights 2009 reserved 
jon ber 
BOX 264 CATAWBA, NC, USA 28609
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  1. GEMSTONES


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    MALACHITE


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    TURQUOISE



    ”A gem of a singer/songwriter has come to us in the form of  Jon Ber.  His work puts us in mind of such greats as Leonard Cohen or Nick Drake. Simple tools, words and strings. Nothing at all simple in using them to their utmost."  starlightstudios.net



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    CHINESE JOKE   WALLA   AMERICA COME BACK   CAROLINA GREENS   POLISH JOKE  SCARECROW  

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    BAR HARBOR    VAGABOND   LOVE IS FREE     SEEN THE LIGHT   PEACE OF MIND   USA COME BACK   WOMEN IN BLACK      KING SHARON    SHOMER NAFSHO   DON QUIXOTE   HEARTBREAKER    EYA    AMAZING GRACE  

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