7/4 ... 2025
Hi folks ,
John Paul Monroe here .
I'm sitting in my Mazda .
The odometer is at
1900 73 .
That's the year Jim died … 19 73 .
I would not leave this spot until I typed
the f irst words of
this journal .
7/5
I received change at a
restaurant … $ 1 .08 .
There was a nickel from
19 73 .
7/6
A special day …
1 2 3 years since
my princess
Maria Goretti died .
We were in a library …
we created
thank you jim croce . org .
I saw a book on a coffee table .
It was What Do People Do All Day ?
I smiled .
Jim and Ingrid wrote
" What Do People Do ? "
I like that song .
7/7
We went to eat at our
Monday restaurant …
Dragon Buffet .
Surprise … it's permanently closed .
Instead we ate at Albany Buffet .
I told our waiter
Dragon Buffet is dead .
After much talk I asked
" What's your name ? "
He said "Michael ."
We were amused .
I reminded him of
Michael and the Dragon .
Jim Croce was raised a Roman Catholic .
Ingrid Jacobson was raised a Jew .
Jim converted to Judaism
before they were married .
7/8
We' ve been rehearsing nightly at
the amphitheater in
Cook Park .
Last night we sang only one song …
it was hot .
We met a man named Brad …
he was walking his dog .
He stopped to hear the
end of our song …
Jim's "Lover's Cross ."
We talked for half an hour .
I told him about
this website .
I directed him to Jim's video of
" The Hard Way Every Time" …
a tremendous live performance …
one of his best .
Brad's a guitar player … born in ' 6 9 …
the year I started playing .
His wife studied pharmacy at UB …
like my Bertha .
Jim Croce sings "The Hard Way Every Time"
7/9
Another special day …
we celebrate
the resurrection of our
Maria Goretti .
Last night we read news …
a computer program had
impersonated someone .
There's a video on YouTube that
claims to be an
audio recording of
Jim singing
" Song for a Winter's Night ."
To our ears
it's a derivative of
the Gordon Lightfoot record
released in
19 75 .
Gordon Lightfoot sings "Song for a Winter's Night"
"Faux Jim Croce" sings "Song for a Winter's Night"
7/10
Last night
as we slept
our odometer was at
190 366 .
There are
366 days in a
leap year .
We number them
1 through 366 …
beginning with 2 / 2 1 .
Ingrid was born on day 6 7 …
Pope John Paul II was canonized
6 7 years to the day after that .
Ingrid's son A . J. was
born on day 2 2 1 …
Pope John Paul I died
7 years to the day after that .
My birth name is
John Paul
Greschak .
I was born at
6 : 2 3 am .
When I was born
the pope was
John the 2 3 rd …
the next pope was
Paul the 6 th .
John Paul I
took his name from
these popes .
7/11
We began to eat our
breakfast‐ lunch combo …
we saw the time
1 2 : 3 7 on our
car clock .
The 1 2 th prime number is 3 7 .
Ingrid was born on day 6 7 …
it's the 19 th prime number .
My princess
Kristen Pfaff
was born in 19 6 7 .
Kris counseled rape victims .
Ingrid was raped .
7/12
Last night
as we began our
nightly rehearsal
two ladies
approached the stage
in a golf cart …
Cook Park workers .
They asked me to
sing a song .
I sang " On And On" and
the beginning of
"Lover's Cross ."
They were
saying the lyrics as I sang .
They offered me $ 5.00 … I declined .
They insisted … I accepted .
Day 500 is 7/ 3 .
On 7/ 3 of 201 2
Bertha and I visited a
Roman Catholic priest …
we had received news about
the Second Coming of Jesus .
We told him
we would be writing a
biblical text … an addition to
the New Testament .
By the end of the year
we had written
the f irst draft …
The Holy Eternal Gospel of Our Father .
Something else happened on
7/ 3 of 201 2 …
I Got a Name: The Jim Croce Story
was published …
it was written by
Ingrid and her husband Jimmy Rock .
The Holy Eternal Gospel of Our Father
I Got a Name: The Jim Croce Story
7/13
Maury Muehleisen .
Jim pronounces Maury's name
7/14
A special day …
the feast day for our
Kateri .
We call her "Kat ."
There's a cat story in
I Got a Name …
it begins on page 26 5 .
Jim shot dead a cat
thought to be
bothering Maury …
it was a neighbor's cat …
Maury 's neighbor .
Jim has 3 things in
common with
Jesus .
Jesus died on a cross …
Jim's last name is
the Italian word for cross .
Jesus was crucif ied … Pontius Pilate .
Jim died in a plane crash … his pilot .
Jesus used a
scourge
to drive
people and animals out of a
temple …
Jim shot the neighbor's cat .
We hear our Kat was
born on 1 1 / 1 1 …
day 26 5 .
921 Things to Consider: No. 1
People say "What would Jesus do?"
I Got a Name: The Jim Croce Story
7/15
Two days ago
we listened to
Don McLean's song
"American Pie" …
we wanted to hear
" the jester stole his thorny crown ."
We noticed the question
"Can music save your mortal soul ? "
On page 1 1 1 of
I Got a Name
Ingrid says
Jim was a
mentor to Don .
1 7 9 pages later
Ingrid informs that at
Jim's funeral a
rabbi spoke of
jesters having a share in heaven .
We hear the meaning of 1 7 9 is
" Jesus ."
We hear
Bertha and I are prophets …
The Two Witnesses of
Apocalypse 1 1 . 3 .
6 months after Bertha died a
thought came to my mind …
"get your guitar out ."
On her website
Ingrid writes
" In the Croce home,
music is our religion ."
Judy Garland sings "Over The Rainbow"
Command Performance "Program 92"
filmed 11/13/1943
Elvis Presley sings "That's All Right"
Recorded in a studio 7/5/1954 ...
live with no postproduction
Elvis is playing acoustic guitar
Bing Crosby sings "True Love"
The Ed Sullivan Show first aired 11/11/1956
Frank Sinatra sings "All the Way"
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show first aired 1/26/1958
Bob Dylan sings "Mr. Tambourine Man"
Newport Folk Festival 7/25/1965
Dean Martin sings "Pennies from Heaven"
The Dean Martin Show first aired 1/27/1966
Janis Joplin sings "Me and Bobby McGee"
A demo recorded in a studio around 1970 ...
live with no postproduction (we expect)
Janis is playing acoustic guitar
Neil Young sings "Heart of Gold"
BBC In Concert first aired 2/23/1971
James Taylor sings "You Can Close Your Eyes"
BBC In Concert first aired 11/13/1971
Don McLean sings "American Pie"
BBC Sounds for Saturday first aired 7/29/1972
John Denver sings "Rocky Mountain High"
The Tonight Show first aired 1/25/1973
Jim Croce sings "The Hard Way Every Time"
filmed for WTTW PBS TV series
Made In Chicago 8/13/1973
first aired on WTTW as
"A Tribute To Jim Croce" 9/30/1973
Elton John sings "Daniel"
Edinburgh Festival of Popular Music 9/17/1976
7/16
A special day …
we celebrate
the death of our
Mary Todd Lincoln .
We ate at
Albany Buffet .
The cash price was $ 1 3 . 60 …
the card price was $ 1 4 . 1 4 …
we used cash .
I was
1 4 years and 1 4 days old
when Jim died .
We hear the number 1 4 means
" The Passion of Jesus ."
A pair of 1 4 s means
"a person who suffers the Passion of Jesus ."
One does this by
contemplating
the crucif ixion of Jesus
from his perspective .
When we read
I Got a Name
we see things from
Ingrid's perspective .
She was hurt repeatedly by Jim .
I Got a Name: The Jim Croce Story
Jim and Ingrid sing "Song for a Winter's Night"
at home ... see page 250 of I Got a Name
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