Well, you know there’s an old sayin’, “careful what you wish for.” Well, for years I’ve heard people claim that they were really tired of career politicians in the White House. Well, guess what? We got what we asked for! And now that we have a guy with no political experience, it seems all we hear is how much disarray the president-elect is in, with cabinet appointments and all the different advisers that go with the position.

In the third Star Wars movie, “Return of the Jedi,” we were introduced to the Sarlacc, a creature that swallows its prey whole and then spends an entire millennium digesting the newly acquired nourishment. I feel as though last Tuesday’s stunning presidential election has turned many of us into Sarlaccs who will spend at least a millennium trying to digest the implications of what just happened.

In applying for any job, there are obviously records that one has to make available to substantiate one’s qualifications for the job. The more important the position, the more extensive the records required. For anything as important as a position of CEO for a major corporation, for example, the background of the person applying will be scrutinized in great detail.

Jazz musicians hear music differently than casual listeners. We hear the underlying chord structures that support the melody. For example, when we hear the TV show theme from “The Flintstones,” we immediately think, “That’s George Gershwin’s ‘I Got Rhythm.’” When we hear George Russell’s, “Ezz-Thetics,” we think, “That’s Cole Porter’s, ‘Love for Sale.’” The melodies may be completely different, but the harmonics are identical.

It is time to face up to the fact that winter is just around the corner and I can’t stall off any longer putting all my gardens and flowers to bed for the winter.