I guess it’s officially summer!

Leave a comment

Okay!

The Agency has given me my new schedule at least until the end of July and I will have no shortage of money or hours.

And most of my shifts will be in the afternoons/evenings. And I’m even picking up some Wednesday afternoons with the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat!!

So as much as it broke my heart to have to part with my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man (entirely because of extreme changes brought on by his family), it has all worked out for the very much better.

Honestly, it is like having a whole new life. (Waking up when I want to and going to sleep when I want to…which also means more time to write.)

Today, I sort of have the day off, except that I’m going in to the Agency for the Hospice training this afternoon. And then stopping in at the bookstore in Granville that has agreed to carry my new novel when it comes out in September — The Curse of Our Profound Disorder — pre-order here!!

I’m going to the bookstore with more than a little trepidation, because I want to see if that staff member has read the review copy yet that I dropped off for her. If she has read it already, depending on her reaction to the book, that will make up my mind about whether or not I will do a book launch party for it in Granville when the book comes out.

If she responds in a similar way to how my dear pal Wendy responded (Wendy had a lot of trouble with some of the subject matter, and really only finished reading it because she’s my friend; and Valerie still hasn’t finished reading it and probably never will, because she was worried it was going to give her nightmares). Anyway, if she responds along those lines, I will forego a book launch entirely and just let the book come out.

If I were still living in NYC, I wouldn’t hesitate to promote it, but life and people can be so different around here.

*********

Okay!

Before I forget–

Wow, did Simon Parkes have a VERY interesting update this morning! All INTEL.

You can only view it if you are a member of Connecting Consciousness, but it is free to join and you can join HERE.

However, what Simon had to say was very, very encouraging! Especially about the 4th of July.

*************

Since I worked a long double yesterday and didn’t post here, my “here’s this’s” are mostly from Monday.

I thought this was really interesting. The difference in the music business nowadays and what it was like in the not-so-old days. It’s safe to say that the Internet, with its trickle-down effect, basically ruined everything…

***************

And a couple of days ago, it was Ray Davies birthday!(He turned 82!)

From his brother, Dave:

And how about this, while we’re at it??

I was almost 10 years old the first time I heard this song — it was in music class at my elementary school in Cleveland. We had such a cool music teacher that year, Miss Collins!! (And, yes, she eventually got fired… but not just because of the records she played for us, but because she was white and living in sin with a black guy.)

The song really just fascinated me. I never forgot it!!

Anyway. Thank you, Miss Collins!! I never forget you, either!! You turned me on to such great music. From 1970 — the incredible “Lola” by Ray & Dave Davies and The Kinks!!

“Lola”

I met her in a club down in old Soho
Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry-cola
C O L A cola
She walked up to me and she asked me to dance
I asked her her name and in a dark brown voice she said Lola
L O L A Lola la-la-la-la Lola

Well I’m not the world’s most physical guy
But when she squeezed me tight she nearly broke my spine
Oh my Lola la-la-la-la Lola
Well I’m not dumb but I can’t understand
Why she walked like a woman and talked like a man
Oh my Lola la-la-la-la Lola la-la-la-la Lola

Well we drank champagne and danced all night
Under electric candlelight
She picked me up and sat me on her knee
And said little boy won’t you come home with me
Well I’m not the world’s most passionate guy
But when I looked in her eyes well I almost fell for my Lola
La-la-la-la Lola la-la-la-la Lola
Lola la-la-la-la Lola la-la-la-la Lola
I pushed her away
I walked to the door
I fell to the floor
I got down on my knees
Then I looked at her and she at me

Well that’s the way that I want it to stay
And I always want it to be that way for my Lola
La-la-la-la Lola
Girls will be boys and boys will be girls
It’s a mixed up muddled up shook up world except for Lola
La-la-la-la Lola

Well I left home just a week before
And I’d never ever kissed a woman before
But Lola smiled and took me by the hand
And said dear boy I’m gonna make you a man

Well I’m not the world’s most masculine man
But I know what I am and I’m glad I’m a man
And so is Lola
La-la-la-la Lola la-la-la-la Lola
Lola la-la-la-la Lola la-la-la-la Lola

c – 1970 Raymond Douglas Davies

************

And here’s this from Father’s Day!!

From Tom Petty’s eldest daughter, Adria:

************

And here’s this.

Just a photo I liked from the Sid Vicious account:

*********

And Joe Satriani did a photo dump from the recent tour with Steve Vai, and he included a photo from Cleveland!!

*********

And here’s yet another intense photo from the Bad Seeds show the other night in Austria:

Tonight, they play Athens, Greece. You can buy tickets here!

***********

And someone I occasionally text with on Instagram who also loves music sent me this link yesterday and I really loved it:

From 1969, “Superman,” by The Clique:

************

And I think that’s it for now.

I will still wait awhile before posting about my friend Jeffrey who died. I am in a better place about it today, though. Meaning, I’m focused more on how great our friendship had been and not on the fact that he’s dead now.

I’m hoping to have a great day, even considering the upcoming bookstore visit. And tomorrow, I have the day off!

Meanwhile, have a wonder-filled Wednesday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

*********

Let’s close with this!!

From that wonderful yesteryear before the Internet!!

Backstage Rolling Stones 1976 Mick Jagger Keith Richards Ronnie Wood Charlie Watts Bill Wyman (6 mins):

Changes at the last minute!

2 Comments

Well, gang, I was lying in bed, cup o’ Joe nearby, sort of meditating, sort of planning the day ahead, when to head out to Granville for lunch, etc.–

When a text came in from Wendy. A huge disaster at her house and now they’re waiting on the plumber. So we had to cancel our lunch date for today.

Alas.

And so… what was my first thought?

Yes!! I can get a little vacuuming done…

But I’m also hoping to sit at my desk and at least ponder the beginning of the memoir. The beginning I began last year — or whenever it was — I didn’t like from the start, but at least it had gotten started…

I’m hoping that maybe today I will find my way into it in a way that I actually like. We shall see.

***********

Well, this is going to be brief today. Not too many “here’s this’s”. Also, there is something going on here that I will post about, maybe sometime this week, but I’m not ready yet. (A dear friend, Jeff, from NYC turned up dead. And the “processing” of that is huge for me. Too overwhelming to write about, yet.)

Anyway. I know for certain I won’t be posting tomorrow because I have to head out to a client at the crack of dawn.

So, for now, here’s this:

Alexandra Richards posted this for Father’s Day yesterday (a couple of the photos were of her husband and child), but here, she’s with her sister and “Princess” Keith (and I love Patti’s comment!):

And Oliver Ocasek posted this about his dad, Ric!

And meanwhile, here’s this! My first favorite song by The Cars!! “My Best Friend’s Girlfriend”, 1978. Lead vocal/written by Ric Ocasek (from Cleveland, btw!!) I loved this album:

************

Here’s this from Ross K. Nichols’ Sunday School yesterday–

“A queen seizes the throne. The house of David nearly disappears. One child survives.

Hidden away in the Temple for six years, Jehoash emerges from secrecy to become king of Judah. His story brings together Athaliah, the house of Ahab, the royal line of David, Jehoiada the priest, and one of the most dramatic rescues in the Hebrew Bible.

But the story does not remain on the page.

A mysterious inscription surfaced, claiming to speak in the name of King Jehoash and describing repairs to the house of YHWH. Some have called it a modern forgery. Others have argued that it may be ancient.

Who was Jehoash? Why was he hidden? And did this contested stone really bear his name?”

Jehoash Inscription: PROOF of David’s Hidden Heir? (50 mins):

*************

The Bad Seed’s show in Austria looked intense. Again, plenty of videos were posted but not that many photos. But the photos I did find were, well, intense!

And the next show is in Athens, Greece, on Wednesday. Buy tickets here!

And that is it for now.

I’m gonna finish up the laundry and then get that vacuuming underway!! And then — we HOPE — settle down with the memoir and give it a way out of my head and onto the page.

Have a good Monday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

**************

I leave you with my breakfast-listening music.

This morning, when this song came on the CD in the kitchen jukebox, I found myself relating to the lyrics in an entirely different way than I ever had before.

I think that means I’m getting old, but, well, I don’t know.

Written by Van Morrison in 1989, but the version I have is on Playback, a live version by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers from 1991.

“I’m Tired Joey Boy”. Enjoy, gang. See ya on Wednesday.

“I’m Tired Joey Boy”

I’m tired Joey Boy
While you’re out with the sheep
My life is so troubled
Now I can’t go to sleep
I would walk myself out
But the streets are so dark
I shall wait till the morning
And walk in the park

This life is so simple when
One is at home
And I’m never complaining
When there’s work to be done
Oh I’m tired Joey Boy of the makings of men
I would like to be cheerful again

Ambition will take you
And ride you too far and
Conservatism bring you to boredom once more
Sit down by the river
And watch the stream flow
Recall all the dreams
That you once used to know
The things you’ve forgotten
That took you away
To pastures not greener but meaner

Love of the simple is all that I need
I’ve no time for schism or lovers of greed
Go up to the mountain, go up to the glen
When silence will touch you
And heartbreak will mend.

c – 1989 Van Morrison

A Happy Father’s Day To One & All!

2 Comments

What a gorgeous day it is out here in the Hinterlands. Mild and really sunny.

A perfect day for dads to get out there and get that grill going!!

Before I get off on a tangent and forget–

Happy 70th Birthday to Chong!!

Yes, my first husband is 70 today!!

I kinda can’t believe it — I now have a first husband who is 70, and a second husband who is 72…. I’ve decided not to process these numbers and just have a happy day!!

Me, having a happy day!! And not just because I love to clean, but weren’t those pink porcelain bathrooms the BEST??!!

Okay!!

Back to Father’s Day!

I’ve posted all these photos to the blog before, but here they are again!

My birth dad, Don May.

At Midway Island, in 1973, during the Vietnam War:

Me and Don in his double-wide trailer-home in Fallon, Nevada, in May of 1993. He settled in Fallon, NV, because there is a US Naval base there, and he continued working there even after he retired from the Navy:

Photo by Wayne

A photo of my adoptive dad, Alan, and my grandma in the mid-1980s, a couple years before she died:

Me and my dad, in Cleveland, celebrating our birthdays together (our birthdays were one day apart). My mom baked the cake:

***********

Okay, that’s the Father’s Day stuff!! If you want to know anything else about me & fathers & father figures, you’ll have to read my almost-in-progress memoir, Joy: The Shortest Season!! Because there is a TON of stuff to say in there about all that!!

And, to prepare for it, here’s this! Again!! From 1972:

Well, and okay, here’s this–

One of my most favorite father figures of all time– Keith Richards with his daughter, Dandelion Angela Richards:

And I guess, here’s this, too:

*************

Okay.

Here’s this!

From the Jack Kerouac Estate:

**********

And the Bad Seeds show in Prague looks like it was off the charts, gang!

People started posting photos and videos yesterday, like immediately.

First, here’s the set list:

And that encore of “The Weeping Song” looked incredible. Quite a few people posted videos of it — which I can’t post here — but the energy was just amazing. So much joy, both onstage and in the (huge) audience.

And here are a couple of photos:

And here’s this — but from the other day in Lingen — “The Weeping Song”:

Tonight’s show in Austria is sold out.

Next up, though, is Athens, Greece, and you can BUY TICKETS HERE!!

On an entirely different note, though–

Nick Cave sent out a Red Hand File yesterday morning that absolutely broke my heart. Partly because it was so well written. But mostly because I deal with aging all the time now because of my job as a home health aide to the elderly, and also because I, too, am also aging. But Nick answered this question from Daffo in Australia: “What’s the worst thing about having become a really old rockstar?” Jesus. Nick answered in part:

“The worst thing about being an old rockstar is that the old rockstar’s old fans don’t know how to work their fucking phones.”

But the rest of his answer just, I don’t know. It was so vivid. You can read it in full HERE but it broke my heart.

**************

Okay.

Well, I am TOTALLY digging my new schedule, gang.

Last night, at 8PM, I was still down in my kitchen, having my dinner!! And watching another old ridiculously funny re-run of “Black Books”. And the sun was still up, and I could see all my flowers out there on my porch. And the cats were still frisky and the neighbors were out and about in the summer street.

It feels so great to not have morning shifts anymore — except for Fridays. And, this Tuesday, I’m covering a morning shift for someone else. But, overall, my mornings are free again and, wow, it feels so great.

And I’m excited to see the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat this afternoon because I haven’t seen them in 2 weeks.

And tomorrow at noon is my lunch with Wendy at 3 Tigers Brewing Co. in Granville!!

Not usually this many kids there!
They also have live music, but not on Mondays at noon…

All right.

A very happy Father’s Day to one and all, especially to those 2 of mine in Heaven.

I’m gonna listen to another lecture in Bart Ehrman’s course, “The Greatest Controversies in Early Christian History” while doing some yoga. Then water all the flowers. Have lunch. Etc.

Enjoy, your Sunday, wherever you are in the world, gang.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

**********

Let’s close with this!!

For my birth dad, who, in 1973 and unbeknownst to me, moved to Monterey, California, while I was sitting alone in my room in Ohio, listening to this song on the Top 40 radio, dreaming about who my “real dad” might be and if one day I might find him…

The Beach Boys, “California Saga”, 1973. Enjoy, gang.

“California Saga: California”

On my way to sunny California
On my way to spend another sunny day

Water, water
Get yourself in the cool, clear water
The sun shines brightly down on Penny’s place
(The sun shines brightly down on the bay)
The air’s so clean it’ll just take your mind away
(Might take your mind away, take your mind away)

Have you ever been south of Monterey?
Barrancas carve the coastline
And the chaparral flows to the sea
‘Neath waves of golden sunshine
And have you ever been north of Morro Bay?
The south coast plows the sea
And the people there are of the breed
They don’t need electricity

Water, water
(Get yourself in that, get yourself in that)
Cool cascades of clear, clear water
(Get yourself in that water)
The sun dance final scene sets the hills ablaze
(Get yourself in that water)
Horizon edges quick up the mountain’s way
(Up the mountain’s way, up the mountain’s way)

Have you ever been down Salinas way
Where Steinbeck found the valley?
And he wrote about it the way it was
In his travelings with Charley
And have you ever walked down through the sycamores
Where the farmhouse used to be?
There, the monarch’s autumn journey ends
On a windswept cypress tree

Water (Get), water
(Get yourself in that, get yourself in that)
Get yourself in that cool, clear water
(Get yourself in that water)
The sun shines brightly down on Penny’s place
(Get yourself in that water)
The air’s so clean that it just takes your mind away
(It takes your mind away, it takes your mind away)

Have you ever been to a festival
The Big Sur congregation?
Where Country Joe will do his show
And he’ll sing about liberty
And the people there in the open air
Are one big family
Yeah, the people there love to sing and share
Their newfound liberty

c – 1973 Alan Jardine

Welcome to the weekend!!

Leave a comment

Although mine will look nothing like the picture above, I can still dream…

Well. Wow. Did I have a great time with my client last evening! We were both so glad to see each other again.

And here’s something that rarely happens when I go for awhile without seeing a client — she was actually in better health than she was in the last time I saw her!! And she’s in her mid-80s.

She looked great and felt really good. And, wow, her home! One of the family’s private caregivers had been in to clean and dust before my client got back from Florida, so it would be ready for her after having been gone for 5 months. It was sort of jaw-dropping how perfect everything looked — not a speck of dust — especially since it is such an enormous and really, really old farm house (1800s), that’s filled with antiques.

Anyway. It just felt so good to be back in that incredible love-filled home and to chat with her again. 5 hours absolutely flew by.

I’ll be back with her again this evening — and then every Saturday evening for the rest of the summer.

One of her sons was at the house — he lives out of state but had flown back with her from Florida. And he gave me the rundown of all the places where my client likes to eat, including the country club where she has an account, and he said, “Feel free to take her out for dinner! She’ll pick up the tab.”

This is so different from how it was the previous 2 summers, which shows how much better her health is now. But anyway, it should be a good summer!

**************

Okay.

I guess the way to really get a podcast off the ground is to do it with the 83-year-old Rolling Stones!!

Anyway. The Rolling Stones’ podcast launches on Thursday, June 25th.

The Rolling Stones – Speaking In Tongues | The Official Podcast Trailer (1 minute):

************

And from Nick Cave Official yesterday — priority booking for this talk begins June 23rd at 10AM:

***************

This is from Metrograph Weekend — in addition to vintage films, they also have a really cool quarterly journal.

It is an interview with Ira Sachs, the director of that movie I posted about yesterday, Keep the Lights On:

“…But perhaps the film in the Sachs oeuvre which The Man I Love most recalls is Keep the Lights On (2012), his hushed and devastating study of a relationship marked by deep attraction and mutual need, but marred by dishonesty and addiction, which is currently streaming on Metrograph At Home. …” [interview is by Mark Asch]

Director Ira Sachs. Photo by Jac Martinez

**************

And from Ross K. Nichols last evening– the video touches on the James Ossuary scandal, the Shapira Scrolls, and the Jehoash Inscription. (Ross will be going into more detail about the Jehoash Inscription in his Sunday School class tomorrow.)

From the Times of Israel, 2022. Into the Land: The Forgery Scandal (17 mins):

*************

And here’s this!

From June 17th!!

Bob Dylan and Eric Burdon, at Bob’s concert this past Wednesday at the Santa Barbara Bowl:

And from a mere 41 years earlier…

The first time Bob Dylan and Tom Petty played onstage together (which led to a lifelong friendship, recordings, and many tours together).

Bob and Tom at Farm Aid, Sept. 22, 1985!!

*************

And from Facebook (yes, I really have no clue why I’m back on Facebook… but anyway):

Nick Cave and Mick Harvey, smoking on a bed!

And don’t forget, tonight the Bad Seeds play Prague!! (Which is truly the one city I would really love to see before I die, since it has that intense connection to Franz Kafka.)

Buy tickets here. Tomorrow’s show in Austria is sold out.

***********

And that is it for today.

As I continue to get accustomed to my new schedule — wherein I have so much more uninterrupted time to sit and write…

I came to a sudden decision early this morning that I will wait on continuing work on the Caiaphas play until after I attend James Tabor’s conference in late September, in North Carolina. That conference will cover all the most up-to-date archeological news on topics that underscore my play.

And, instead, I felt like I really wanted to begin work on my memoir about my life in the 70s. Finally. (Joy: The Shortest Season.) And, wow, gang, that feeling felt really good. To finally sit down with it and let it come out. So we shall see!

Meanwhile, enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

*************

From the drive home last night– speaking of getting ready to write that memoir…

Neil Diamond, “Shilo” live, from Hot August Night, 1972. Enjoy, gang.

“Shilo”

Young child with dreams
Dreaming each dream on your own
When children play
Seems like you end up alone
Papa says he’d love to be with you
If he had the time
So you turn to the only friend you can find
There in your mind

Shilo, when I was young
I used to call your name
When no one else would come
Shilo, you always came and we’d play

Young girl with fire
Something said she understood
I wanted to fly
She made me feel like I could

Held my hand out, I let her take me
Blind as a child
All I saw was the way
That she made me smile
She made me smile

Shilo, when I was young
I used to call your name
When no one else would come
Shilo, you always came and you’d stay

Had a dream and it filled me with wonder
She had other plans
“Got to go” and I know that you’ll understand
I understand

Shilo, when I was young
I used to call your name
When no one else would come
Shilo, you always came

Come today
Shilo
Shilo

c- 1967 Neil Diamond

Wow! Gonna be busy for the next 6 days!

Leave a comment

But one of those days includes lunch with Wendy over in Granville. Yay!! And one of those days is that Hospice training at the Agency. (Good — but I wouldn’t go so far as to say, “yay”.)

The rest of it — mostly new shifts. Wow. And none of them more than a 20-minute drive from here.

And only one of those days is in the morning (a new double on Tuesday).

I’m still trying to wrap my mind around how much everything changed in my life overnight. And I really, really, really needed it to change, gang. My depression was off the charts.

And me and depression — not a good combination. It honestly feels like I woke up this past Tuesday, and God said: “Here, have a new life.”

And part of the changes around here – I’m trying to make myself sleep in until 5 AM. No more of this getting up at 3 o’clock anymore and scrolling around on my phone. And now that I’ll be working some evenings again, I’m making myself stay up later at night again, just generally.

Well, perhaps not THIS late…

Just those 2 simple changes — feeling like I have more time, just for myself — stress level went way down.

Okay!

Yesterday I had a nice phone chat with Wayne, because when the insurance guy came for the bi-annual meeting, the guy felt that I really, really didn’t need the life insurance policy.

Have you ever heard of an insurance guy not wanting to sell you life insurance?!

“What did you just say??”

It was actually for a good reason (I have to say that I really love my insurance guys). He felt that since I was paying only for a cremation, and since I have more than enough in my savings to pay for a cremation out-of-pocket, the money I spend every month on life insurance would be better spent beefing up my Long Term Care options.

Wow. What a great idea. Since I work in the Long Term Care field, I see what people go through first hand, and I would not want to be without Long Term Care options.

Since Wayne is the one who will handle all my end-of-life stuff, I just wanted to make sure he was comfortable with me giving up the life insurance — he was. (And he even said that if for some reason I had no money at all left when I died, he’d just pay for it himself. Wow. So nice.) (I know. You have to sort of wonder why we’ve been divorced now for 19 years…)

Anyway!!

After the cheerful topic of cremations and money, we had a really nice chat!

And since it was my day off — I did yoga. Did some prep cooking for the next few days. Started reading the new book for James Tabor’s Research Group– it is very interesting. It makes a very good case that the Gospel of John is actually a synoptic gospel:

(I’m still reading John Cooper Clarke’s autobiography, I Wanna Be Yours, and still loving it!)

And I also started re-listening to a lecture series I took from The Great Courses about 12 years ago — taught by Bart Ehrman: The Greatest Controversies of Early Christian History.

You can browse through the course here. (It costs $25 and you can listen to it on a phone app.) It is really fascinating. Some of this stuff, I’d actually forgotten. (But all of it was part of why I gave up pursuing my ministry after I graduated from Ohio Christian University, wanting to study the Historical Jesus, instead.)

And then, last night, I started watching a really great movie on Metrograph — part of their Pride Month collection — Keep the Lights On, directed by Ira Sachs, 2012. Wow, is it good.

Great acting. Deep story — whether or not you’re gay, if you’ve ever been in love with an addict, you will relate to the authentic emotions in this film. And of course it takes place in NYC, in 1998-2008, so I related even more. But it is not over the top in any way. Just very well done:

**********

Okay, while checking in with all my various new and out-of-print books available online, I discovered this today: you can buy a used copy of my short-story collection from 2004, Lust: Bisexual Erotica, for a mere $110.13 plus shipping.

I had to look twice at that price.

So I wanted to remind you that you can read Lust online for free at the Internet Archive! It is like an online library.

Just follow the above link. I would recommend clicking the icon for “full screen” and also the icon to read it on a single page, rather than a double page, and voila! The book is right there. Free. (Adults only, though, please.)

*************

Okay.

Some “here’s this’s” for this sunny Friday!

I thought this was so cute!

From Steve Vai yesterday:

And I also had a really cool little private text exchange with Billy Sheehan on Instagram yesterday, too. About Yngwie Malmsteen. But I won’t repost it here.

However, let’s listen to this! I first became aware of both Billy Sheehan (bass) and Steve Vai (guitar), when they began playing with David Lee Roth after he left Van Halen. I saw this particular tour in NYC, at Madison Square Garden. But this is from Detroit — but in the days before cell phones, when you weren’t allowed to bring cameras into the arena!! (Can you imagine???)

************

And here’s this. Just because I like the photo. And Dwight’s music in the 80s was just incredible:

And here’s this, again!! Talk about hillbilly twang!! Yay!!

***************

Okay!!

Nick Cave was honored with another (!!) Lifetime Achievement Award in the Arts, somewhere between the shows in Germany and Denmark!!

And while the show in Denmark looks like it was really great, there was sort of a lack of photos. (Almost makes you think you’re still not allowed to bring cameras to arenas in Denmark!!) Well, there were a few videos. But still. Not a whole lot. At least, not yet.

Here’s the official set list, although I saw another handwritten list that included a REALLY long encore.

Even though I find Facebook really boring now, I do follow Nick Cave fan pages there! This was posted early this morning:

And this was on Instagram:

Tomorrow, the Bad Seeds play Prague(!!) and you can buy tickets here.

The show in Austria, on Sunday, is sold out.

**********

And I guess that is it for today!!

Gonna go water my flowers. Then do yoga. take a shower, wash my hair… have lunch… and then leave for my evening shift with the retired Chaplain who is finally home from Florida!!

Enjoy your Friday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

*********

Let’s close with this!

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, live in Denmark, 6 years ago!!

The absolute gem, “Into My Arms”. Enjoy, gang.

Yes, I’m already booked all summer!

2 Comments

It’s been kind of amazing gang, to watch everything transform into this really positive thing so quickly.

I absolutely adore my new client, gang. She is amazing. I’m, of course, not allowed to discuss what her health issues are, but NONE of them involve any type of cognitive problem. Her mind is 100% THERE, and she has had — and is still having– an incredible life. (Plus, she has 2 gigantic and incredibly happy dogs!)

And not only is her home beautiful (and only 20 minutes away), but the property itself is just jaw-dropping. Tucked deep into hundreds of tall trees that have to be going on 200 years old.

Mid-morning, I took the kitchen trash down to the end of her front drive to put it in the trash bin and it was like walking in Paradise. Of course, it was a really beautiful day, which added to the feeling. But wow. It was just so beautiful.

Starting next week, I will be seeing her every Friday morning for the rest of the summer. (Which also means I likely won’t be posting to the blog on Fridays, after tomorrow.)

And then!!

If you are a long-time reader of this lofty blog, you might recall that for the previous 2 summers, I had another wonderful client — a retired Chaplain. And she also lived in a very remote setting, surrounded by tall trees, in a huge farmhouse that was built in the 1800s.

I adored her, too. We would talk for hours about the Bible, the history of Christianity, her experiences of being a hospital Chaplain, working primarily with very poor abused children and newborns in critical situations. She worked here in America, and also in other countries (with her husband). She had several Degrees from Yale Divinity School. She began studying at Yale just after WWII, and she spent a lot of time in NYC back then, with friends who were in professional theater there.

She lives in Florida during the cold months. But she is BACK now!!! And she is on my schedule A LOT for the rest of the summer!! Mostly on Saturday nights — but I’m with her for 5 hours starting tomorrow evening.

It will be so great to see her again.

So, as of now, I’m already back to having 19-22 hours a week, 5 clients, every morning off except Fridays. Yay! And all of my clients live within 20 minutes from me. AND, as of right now, I have 3 days off a week! (I’m guessing that will go back down to 2 days off, over time. We will see.)

But this gives me so much more time for writing, and, overall, a lot less time driving.

Yes, basically everything changed that quickly. And it all worked out for the better. How I am feeling now — it’s like night and day, the difference.

**********

Okay, I have the insurance guy coming at 11AM, so I have to kind of be quick here today — I have a lot of “here’s this’s” to fit in.

But first–

Another great interview with James Tabor–

Ebionites, Nazarenes, Essenes, Nasareans Sorting out the Names! (54 mins):

*************

And now, here’s this!!

From Phyllis Stein!!

Jerry Nolan (drummer for the NY Dolls and for Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers), a guy named Steve, and Richard Hell!! Photo taken by Chris Stein, founder/guitarist for Blondie — NYC 1975!!

*********

And here’s this –about 20 years BEFORE Chuck Berry punched Keith in the eye backstage at Madison Square Garden in NYC–

Chuck Berry, Keith smoking, and Mick, backstage, 1969:

Photo by Ethan Russell

And here’s Keith smoking on a boat, with what was left of the Rolling Stones —

Announcing their first tour without Bill Wyman, NYC 1994:

And Keith, not smoking on some sort of runway(?) in a ruffley shirt!

***********

Marty Stuart talks about his guitars!!

And here’s this, while we’re at it! Marty Stuart, 1992, “High On A Mountain Top”, some serious hillbilly twang going on here!!

*************

And here’s this!

Serge Gainsbourg smoking in the Ritz in Paris! (100% NOT a hillbilly, ever, at all!!)

*********
And now some more great photos from the Bad Seeds show in Lingen the other night!

First, here’s this — the set list:

However, I’m not 100% positive, but I think a terrible, although brief, tragedy occurred onstage in Lingen.

But these photos were obviously from before the tragedy–

Nick Cave, oblivious to what was coming:

Nick and Warren Ellis, both happily oblivious:

And then, from, like, out of nowhere, and probably completely unprovoked, a microphone viciously attacked Warren’s eye! It was hideous!!

Warren completely lost that eye, but, luckily, it grew back right away, but you know, it was not without difficulty:

And then he spent the rest of the gig, just sort of dazed by the whole thing — and who wouldn’t be? Here, he is wondering if maybe Carly Paradis had anything to do with it, because she’s sort of acting a little callously, you know, like, nothing happened:

Again, I have to state that I am not 100% certain about any of this. I am just trying to logically piece it all together from the crime scene concert photos.

Tonight, if all goes smoothly between the band and their equipment, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds play Denmark. On Saturday, they play Prague!!! There are still tickets available to both shows (the Denmark show, though, happens in about an hour so you gotta hurry). You can BUY TICKETS HERE.

Sunday, they play Austria, but that show is sold out.

****************

And now I guess I should get downstairs and have a little more coffee and wait for the insurance guy!

Have a great Thursday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

************

Let’s close with this on this beautiful (although incredibly windy again) summer’s day!

Speaking of trees in Paradise…

From 1964, Chad & Jeremy’s huge hit, “A Summer Song”! Enjoy, gang!!

Getting back to normal already

Leave a comment

Well, getting close to normal, anyway.

Last evening, the Agency assigned me a new client for Friday mornings/afternoons beginning next week. She seems like a really sweet lady, and she’s only about 20 minutes away. (Only a few blocks from the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat.)

Plus the Agency has me signed up for Hospice training (paid training) next Wednesday — a one-time class.

So, you know, my schedule is filling up.

And on Monday, my beloved pal Wendy and I are going out for lunch (!!) at one of my favorite spots in Granville —

3 Tigers Brewing Co. It has a lot of Vietnamese food, but other stuff, as well. It’s inside an old fire station:

This Thursday morning, my insurance guy is coming over to just check up on all my policies. But in the late afternoon, I might head over to the Historic Arcade again in Newark, because my friends who own that new art gallery there are sponsoring a Heisey glass & crystal collectors thingie in that center walkway (below).

I don’t collect Heisey, but my grandparents had a huge collection when I was growing up. It might be nice to see if I recognize any pieces that they used to have, too. Just to get out and see people and do something. I just don’t want to slide back into that depression.

The Historic Arcade

************

Yesterday, I tried to take it easy and keep my mind off of everything that’s been going on around here during my vacation.

I’ve been reading this, and I really love it:

I Wanna Be Yours, an autobiography by John Cooper Clarke. From 2020.

It is so easy to get lost in this book, even though I didn’t actually know anything about him or his varied career in the 1970s punk literary scene (in England). But I saw the book on someone else’s page on Instagram and it looked really cool. So I ordered it. And I really like it a lot.

So that kept my mind off things.

And today, I head back to my Tuesday afternoon clients. So I’m feeling kind of “normal.”

*********

As far as “here’s this’s” for today, here’s this–

From Phyllis Stein, it was in a group of photos she posted of Johnny Thunders with his daughter:

But there was nothing that really caught my eye in the “Keith” department — which is odd, considering there are like 10 trillion photos of him floating around out there.

So here’s a favorite from the desktop stash — Keith wearing Marilyn and setting a good example!!

And there wasn’t anything more from the Bad Seeds show in the Netherlands that stuck out for me, either. There were a lot of good videos, but I can only post photos here.

So here’s one from the desktop stash, too — Nick outside of a gig with fans, but I can’t remember where or when. Not too long ago:

We will see what emerges from tonight’s show in Germany!! You can still get tickets, even though it probably starts in, like, 5 minutes… And the next show is Thursday, in Denmark. Buy tickets here!!

********

And from James Tabor yesterday — a new interview.

Study the Dead Sea Scrolls! Dr. James D. Tabor (20 mins):

Okay, well, here’s this!

The Agency just texted and asked if I can go work with my new Friday client tomorrow morning! So I likely won’t be posting here tomorrow.

I’ll close now and get this day underway.

Have a terrific Tuesday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

********

Let’s close with this!

I love this short — it makes me think of me and Valerie! (about 5 seconds. From the “Black Books” TV show):

Last Day of My Spectacular Vacation!

2 Comments

Wow. No comment.

I’m actually in a good place this morning, though. Finally.

Valerie had her first surgery this morning — it’s already over, and she texted me that it went great. So, probably by midafternoon, she should be able to hold a can of beer again…

Yesterday turned out to be a really good day for me. (Oh, except for ANOTHER thunderstorm with really high winds that came late in the day, and lasted about 45 minutes…)

But yesterday, at noon, James Tabor had a private zoom call for his Tabor Research Group. It lasted over 2 hours. It was the first time in a while that I was able to be on the actual call and not have to listen to the recorded version later.

Then I did yoga while listening to the final lecture James Tabor gave in his class, “Christianity Before Paul” back in late May.

And then at 4PM, Ross K. Nichols also had a private zoom call for his Yachad group. I almost never get to be on his zoom calls live anymore. That one went over 2 hours, as well.

But all of it was so interesting. Archeological stuff, historical stuff, Biblical stuff — the zoom calls were things I can’t post about here, because the calls were private. But they really helped take me out of myself yesterday and really get my thoughts going in other directions that I really enjoy.

Then I had a Mediterranean-style flatbread pizza for dinner while watching a couple of reruns of “Black Books” on Britbox and laughing a lot.

So eventually I went to bed in a good place.

If you’ve never watched “Black Books”, it ‘s a British comedy, from about 20 years ago (4 mins):

**************

And the Post Office left me a notice in my mailbox that Chong, my first husband who now lives in Seattle, sent me a Registered Letter!! That means $$. Yay! (I emailed him and he confirmed that. He just wanted me to have it. He had no idea what was going on in my life right now.) So, in a few minutes, I’m heading to the post office, and then to the bank.

So, even though I have only 9 hours of work ahead of me this week, the flow between God and me and the Universe feels very, very positive.

Oh, and even though Jonathan Cainer passed away many years ago, I still like to visit his Astrology site. His nephew took it over when Jonathan died. And oddly enough, yesterday, when I was still having difficult feelings about having made such sudden changes to my shifts with the Agency, my horoscope yesterday said this:

“Since people naturally turn to you for support, you sometimes need to be reminded that support doesn’t have to mean self-sacrifice. Venus, in your neighbouring sign Leo, encourages you to focus on your emotional world and make space for your own needs and desires. Not every problem is yours to solve. And not every request requires a ‘yes’. By encouraging others to access their own strengths, you’ll reclaim yours. It’s important, because as we move towards the Solstice, you deserve to feel lighter, and free to enjoy the opportunities ahead. “

Wow. That sort of felt re-affirming, too. That these changes needed to be made because I have been losing myself and my mind for a while now. (And today’s horoscope was even better.)

*************

Okay.

Here’s Keith and Tom Waits during the recording of the incredible album Rain Dogs, in NYC, 1985!!

FYI– I would be very careful about taking any advice that Keith wears on a T-shirt…

And while we’re at it, here’s this again — “Clap Hands,” from Rain Dogs:

************

And here are a few more photos from the Bad Seeds show in the Netherlands on Saturday night!

Warren Ellis’ solo with boot!!

Another really lovely photo of Nick Cave!

And I loved the drama of both of these, meaning the Big Screen images.

Nick overseeing George Vjestica:

And then this — I thought it was such a great photo:

The next show is in Germany tomorrow. You can buy tickets here!!

************

You know, something else that’s helping me a lot around here–

Ever since I finally upgraded to the iPhone 16e, I have been having a lot of trouble with my eyes.

I turned down the brightness on the phone screen. I only turn on the Bluetooth when I’m playing music in the car. I try to wear the bluelight-blocking glasses whenever I’m looking at the phone.

Still, so much intense eye strain. Just awful.

I took the cell salts for 16 days and they worked great. But as soon as I stopped taking the salts, the eye problem came back every time I was looking at the iPhone.

Well, I finally found out how to tone the bluelight itself way down. (As opposed to just the brightness.) So now it is basically redlight.

Wow, what a HUGE difference. Immediately, my eyes felt the relief.

{In Settings, go to Accessibility, then select Display & Text Size, then scroll down and choose Color Filters, then select Color Tint, then Intensity.]

So between feeling a sort of spiritual relief now with the changes I’ve made with my schedule at the Agency, and now this relief in my eyes EVERYTIME I look at the phone (which is a lot), it all comes together to help me be in a better, calmer place.

We’ll see how any new shifts eventually pan out this summer. For now, I’m working tomorrow afternoon, and then not again until Sunday afternoon. But that could change if someone calls in sick. We’ll see.

Meanwhile, I’m gonna head out now and retrieve my Registered Letter! And then enjoy the final day of my vacation before I have a bunch more days off…

Have a great Monday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

************

Let’s close with this!

Mick Jagger Talks New Rolling Stones’ Album, Favorite Songs, More (8 mins):

The world of author Marilyn Jaye Lewis