Some called him Frank Lloyd Wrong. Pioneers generally do have to overcome obstacles and this genius never looked back.

He identified with Beethoven and like the great composer, Frank Lloyd Wright created his own symphonies in the form of architecture.

“Mankind needs both shelter on the humble level, keeping the rain off oneself~also having somewhere to go and offer up a kind of worship and every mystery that exists beyond our lives” – FLW

The concept of a building which has great significance to an individual, in effect, extends the normal limits of one’s life. Photo above: Falling Waters

His were temples; monuments which characterized a place where a man and his family could expand their own creativity within the design features of the building. In Frank Lloyd Wright’s case, attention to every detail was put in place so that if one were attached to a memento, there just wasn’t any place for it. You would have to surrender to the master.

Initially, only wealthy people could be a part of his world but eventually in the mid-30’s he designed 60 houses he called “Usonian”, for $5000. It was a single story built on a monolithic concrete slab and joined to a carport – not a garage. He believed he would pull the masses above themselves by enlightening them and lifting them up.

During troubled times he conceived of the Fellowship program and invited apprentices to learn his ways.

In 1937, he made his annual pilgrimage to Arizona and built Taliesin West for an expansion of his Fellowship program.

John Lautner, the man who but the house I am living in, was one of his apprentices.

Living in a Lautner brings forth an energy that gives me inspiration every day. So it is true! And everyone can make their home a temple with awareness. A simple gesture of a freshly cut rose in a vase or a house plant that speaks to you every time a new leaf appears. A mood change such as adding color to a wall can and will affect your attitude.

This mortal experienced devastation when his mistress and her children were murdered at his first Taliesin in Wisconsin. Horrific story of he being gone while an ex employee burned the house down. What did Frank do? Rebuild it!!! He never looked back, even with a broken heart. When he was laid to rest he chose to be next to her grave.

When interviewed by Mike Wallace at age 88 he said, “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind”

Frank Lloyd Wright’s final accomplishment is designing and overseeing the construction of the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. He achieved his dream of incorporating a spiral design juxtaposition to the ‘law abiding’ buildings all along 5th Ave in 1956. He died 6 months at age 92 before the Guggenheim triumph opened its doors. And so his life is extended through his legacy!

“You Don’t Own Me” and “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows”, originally sung by Lesley Gore, are my two new videos for the 2015 Unplugged series… the relearning  of 100 songs I sang in the 60’s!

Stunning news rang out when Lesley Gore vanished from our Earth. I sang “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows” on Shindig as well as the Milton Berle Show so relearning this Marvin Hamlisch tune was on my to-do list. “You Don’t Own Me” is a whole other animal. I ‘get’ it after singing it as a tribute to her.

My way of expressing emotion in the healthiest way is through singing. It’s wonderful to have been gifted with a tool to communicate. Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me” captures that very essence. In her passing I pay tribute to her through song.

Quoting Ms. Gore, “As I got older, feminism became more a part of my life. I don’t care what you are – whether you’re 16 or 116 – there’s nothing like standing on the stage and shaking your finger and singing, ‘don’t tell me what to do'”.

Oh yeah, that’s the spirit! We ALL have issues in this Big, Wide, Wonderful World that are demeaning and extremely challenging. My beliefs don’t necessarily match or harmonize with those who oppose, but the question is: Do we not have the right to express our beliefs without persecution?

When I think of Racial issues that are pervasive today, omg! In my own lifetime, being born a Jewess did not always serve me… especially in grammar school when I was called out in class and asked, ” I thought You were green. Where are your horns?”

Basically, the lies are born from fears taught to us by society and our community; including an intimate home environment. How to separate from this fear-driven way of life is really challenging but in reality, possible… inevitable, if we as a planet are to survive. The only fear that any of us should be focused on, is will we have enough clean air and water to sustain life on Planet Earth? And that initial fear-driven question can transform into a positive action by Unifying over a Cause that we ALL must face. No one is above or below these basic necessities… even though, in the past and unfortunately in some cultures today, a superior attitude prevails.

Like the Beatles song says, “Come Together” and to quote from “You Don’t Own Me”, “Don’t tell me what to say, don’t tell me what to do. Just let me be myself, that’s all I ask of you”.