Well, not so much.

But the electricians were here for about 4 hours yesterday and they did GREAT work. And by that, I not only mean that they gave me a new breaker panel–

OLD one (fire hazard):

NEW one:

They also gave me a new outside meter. I wasn’t expecting that, gang. But they took out my recently installed “smart” meter, which I hated because not only are those smart meters fire hazards, too, but it made my head ring & buzz like crazy!

Now the constant noise in my head is gone. What a relief.

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So they did great work. And they were really friendly. And I sat at my kitchen table and worked on my short story (the old fashioned way — pen and paper! Since all the power was shut off for 4 hours.)

And then I suddenly decided to call Sandra. When she picked up her phone, a man in the background shouted out, “Hello, Marilyn!!”

Shit! It was Wayne! Such perfect timing! (If you’re new to the blog — Sandra’s new NYC apartment is one block away from Wayne’s.) (Yes, the home I used to share with Wayne when we were married.)

In fact, in this building on West End Avenue, 10th floor:

Anyway. More good news about “The Guide to Being Fabulous” in NYC. I can’t talk about the details yet but it gets more exciting every day.

I think it is okay if I at least say this– this fantastically talented women is onboard now and really helping us move things along:

“…Singer, songwriter, actress, composer, pianist, raconteur, Barsha is just as comfortable fueling the grooves on a George Clinton album as she is composing the score of an off-Broadway musical about pop-art icon Keith Haring (RADIANT BABY). With a career that includes television soundtracks, one-woman shows, children’s musicals and international tours with post-mod British pop-stars (Thomas Dolby), Barsha manages to put the undeniable stamp of her own musical personality on the full spectrum of her work.”

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And today, Sandra will be checking in with one of the producers we sent our TV proposal to, so I will keep you posted on that, too. I can at least say this — we already have a showrunner onboard!! He is incredible. This does not mean they have offered us a contract yet, but still!

FYI — “A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors…”

So, fingers crossed, everybody!!

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Okay, here’s this!

There is an upcoming tribute album to Shane MacGowan, coming in November. There are over 33 musicans included so far, including Johnny Depp and Tom Waits.

The announcement was all over my Instagram feed yesterday, but it was a reel and I couldn’t get a good screenshot of it yet. I will keep you posted, but here’s this for now:

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And here’s this!

The Stones in Manchester, looking out a window in 1965:

And 4 of the Stones in an airport wearing sunglasses!

And here’s Keith and Mick backstage somewhere in 1975:

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Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of this fantastic album!!!

Dwight Yoakam’s Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. from 1986!!

Let’s revisit some of it again, shall we??!! Fabulous video for this song, gang. I miss the 80s so fucking much!!

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And here’s this!

Tom Petty, when he was DJ-ing his satellite radio show, “Tom Petty Radio” (you can still listen to the archives of it on Channel 31, Sirius XM):

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And some Nick Cave news!!

Here’s this!

“The official soundtrack to Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is out now.
 The soundtrack features 36 tracks in total, including a newly recorded version of ‘Red Right Hand’ by Nick Cave.

“The film is out now in cinemas and on Netflix 20th March.”

And yes, I have my alert set for it for its release on Netflix!

Not only that, but I have THIS!!!!

On Monday, my favorite Q-following girlfriend and I have tickets to see “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert”!! At the the cineplex at the mall!

When I texted her and asked her if she wanted me to buy tickets to see the movie with me–

SHE: “Yes!! Don’t forget to get the Senior Citizen discount!!”

Crimony, gang! I never ever even think of myself as a Senior Citizen, so I never think about getting a discount… but one was gotten by me yesterday!

And here’s this!!

Just gorgeous, I’m speechless.

Nick Cave, smoking, with “Elvis” hair!!

And here’s this!!

Today is the 36th year anniversary of the release of this incredible song.

I don’t know if it’s my absolute #1 favorite Nick Cave song of all time, but it actually might be. “The Ship Song”:

Let’s — I don’t know — bow our heads and listen again:

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And I guess that’s it for today!!

I gotta scoot because it’s Friday and I want to celebrate that fact. So I’m stopping at the gas station on my way to my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house to pick up these, so that he can celebrate Friday, too!!

And with that —

I hope you have a celebratory Friday, too, gang, wherever you are in the world!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!

So funny. (2 mins. 40 seconds) Enjoy, gang!!

It’s looking like I’ll be able to post today, after all.

All the many cats are in their closed-up bedrooms upstairs.

I’ve got the world of Marilyn’s Room transported down here to the kitchen table. A sort of piping-hot cup o’ Joe next to me.

I have about 45 minutes before the electrician arrives, and once the power goes out, I’ll still have a full battery charge on the laptop.

So we shall see!

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First off!

Happy heavenly birthday to Jack Kerouac. He would have been 104 today.

Let’s all just say “the hell with it!” and become really creative at last… free, basking, wandering, idly stopping here and there, tasting, enjoying.”

— Jack Kerouac
(From Outlaw Poets substack post today.)

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Before I forget!

If you saw my post yesterday about the Franz Kafka House Museum in Prague, and then the (fake) news about my own house becoming a museum here in Crazeysburg…

I believe I’ve posted here before that the house my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man grew up in in Tokyo, really has become a house museum.

His father designed it and a famous architect built it, back in 1934, after they’d moved back to Tokyo from Ocean City, NJ.

While I was with my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man yesterday, I decided to take a photo for you of the front of the brochure from his House Museum. Some neighbors of his went to Tokyo recently and took a tour of the museum and brought him back the brochure. (Well, they also took actual photos, but I thought it would seem kind of weird if his home health aide knocked on their door and asked to take pictures of their photos in order to post them to her blog…)

Anyway. Here it is!

My favorite 95-year-old Japanese man has many very old photos of the house from the 1930s and 1940s, when he was still living there as a boy. It is a really beautiful house. (And it was often occupied by various military officers during the war, while he and his family were still living in it.)

And I find this next bit astounding. Literally, astounding.

I knew that when he was living back in NYC in the 1950s, he had seen the original version of “South Pacific,” starring the legendary Mary Martin, on Broadway.

I would have loved to have seen Mary Martin onstage in anything she did.

I also knew that he and his wife had seen “My Fair Lady” on Broadway, with Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews!! I had the record of that musical and I played it over and over and over, on the record player down in our playroom, when I was a wee bonny lass in Cleveland.

But yesterday, I found out that he had also seen the original “The King & I” on Broadway, too!

ME: ” You mean, with Yul Brynner???”

HE: “Yes.”

ME: “He was right there, live, on the stage??”

HE: “Yes.”

ME: “Was he incredible??”

HE (pausing a moment, remembering, then smiling): “Yes. Very powerful.”

Wow, gang. I would have loved to have seen that!!

(From the movie version)

It really just blew me away.

And as I have said here before, my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man has very little short term memory left, but his long term memory is flawless, which is why we never run out of things to talk about when I can get him focused on the past.

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Okay!

Here’s this!

The Rolling Stones at some point in 1968!! (Honestly, I wonder what Keith is thinking about here.)

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And here’s this!!

Nick Cave, with grace beside him, outside somewhere, smoking!

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From Ross K. Nichols’ Sunday School this past Sunday:

Iran and Israel: The Ancient Persian Prophecies (1 hr 27 mins):

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And last night, I started re-watching the “Archer” cartoon series. It is now on Tubi. It is so wonderfully politically incorrect, filthy dirty, and so funny. I can’t believe we have come so far from these days. It was not that long ago... (2 mins):

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I guess that’s it.

I seem to have completed the post before the electrician has even arrived!!

And now I’m gonna get back to work on the short story. I’m guessing Sandra will call today but we shall see.

Other than that–

Enjoy your Thursday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!

In honor of Mickey Dolenz, the last living member of The Monkees, turning 81 the other day!!

“I’m A Believer”! Written by Neil Diamond. A smash hit by The Monkees, with Mickey on lead vocal. 1966. Enjoy ,gang!!

Perhaps you may recall that a couple of months ago, a cat came in from the cold and I named her Lulabelle:

I had a vague understanding of what her history was — that she had been abandoned by her owner a year and a half ago. But I thought another neighbor had been taking care of her.

So I was surprised when she darted into my kitchen early one snowy morning and then did not want to go back out into the cold.

So she’s been here with us since then, however, she had parasites really bad. I have made progress in helping her get rid of those — and she’s pretty good at using those puppy training pads that I put out all over the floor for her. But I was getting to the point where I was thinking of taking her to the vet.

Aside from worrying about Lulabelle’s health, I was wondering how on Earth I was going to ask my birth mom to stay here when I have to travel again, with this added cat now that is very high maintenance.

I was doing a lot of praying that Lulabelle would just get well.

Then last evening, after my shift, and after I was done taking care of all the cats, I was toying with just going up to my room and calling it a night; but since we jumped ahead an hour yesterday, I was absolutely not tired yet.

So I sat down at the kitchen table and turned on a rerun of Poirot — “Death On the Nile” — yay!!

On the table before me, I had my teriyaki seaweed snacks, organic tortilla chips and salsa, some mixed nuts in sea salt and a glass of organic coconut water with a dash of fresh lime ….

(I know, your mouth is watering over my idea of “snacks”…)

Anyway, I glanced up and saw someone coming up onto my kitchen porch. It was already dark outside but I could tell it was a young woman.

I paused Poirot and went to go see who it was.

I opened the kitchen door and it was a stranger.

She had a huge bag of cat food and a huge bag of cat litter.

And she was very nervous, but very pretty and very polite. She said: “I heard you took in my cat.” She was near tears.

Wow, gang!

Not only was it Lulabelle’s mom (the cat’s name is actually Rasha), but her brother was one of the guys who installed my Central AC and he had recognized Lulabelle/Rasha and told his sister I had taken the cat in during the bad snows.

The young woman was so grateful and I invited her into the kitchen, wherein Rasha recognized her immediately and was so happy to see her.

They had a wonderful little reunion in my kitchen while the woman told me the story about what had actually happened and why she had had to leave the cat behind. (An intense story, having to do with her family and with having just had a baby and her husband had left them.) But she had in fact left the cat with another neighbor down the street, but in an outside cat house thingie. But suddenly, the bad snows came and Rasha was gone.

The young woman said that within a couple of months, she and her son will be in their own place and she will be able to take Rasha back. In the meantime, she borrowed one of my cat carriers because she wants to take Rasha to the vet herself. (Rasha is 10 years old and has been with the young woman a long time.)

Anyway. Wow. So Rasha will be back with her mom in a new home before I have to do a ton of traveling. But the relief that woman felt, the gratitude, when her brother had told her that a woman had taken Rasha in from the cold.

It is so incredible how God works, gang.

I thought I was just helping a sick cat. I had no clue the cat’s owner was going through such a trying time and missing her cat so much.

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Of course, now the whole village will refer to me as the Cat Lady who lives in that house on the corner. As if they didn’t already….

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All righty!

Tonight, the Biblical Archeological Society’s Scholar Series is having a cool online seminar about synagogues in post-Second Temple Israel. I’m really looking forward to that.

And tomorrow night, is that virtual screening of “acclaimed writer & visual artist Rachel Eliza Griffiths’ Green Room presentation at the Honolulu Museum of Art, which coincided with her recent residency at The Merwin Conservancy”.

I’m looking forward to that, too! (I don’t know if I will be snacking during these seminars, but if I am, you will already know what taste-tempting morsels I’ll be eating!)

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Meanwhile, I will be at my desk on this truly Spring-like, beautiful day today, working on at least one short story. So I’m feeling pretty happy, gang.

And —

Here’s this!!

I saw this photo in my Instagram feed and wow, a whole bunch of great memories came flooding back! This was the cover photo for Combat Rock. I had this album while living with my first husband, Chong, in our apartment on W.45th & 8th Avenue in NYC. The Clash was so popular in NYC back then, it was insane:

And here’s this, from the legendary album Combat Rock, the song “Car Jamming”:

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And here’s this!

Richard Hell at CBGB’s in 1978!

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And this!!

David Johansen in 1974!! I love his T-shirt! It is so beatnik: “I made the scene in Greenwich Village”. (I did, too, baby, I did, too!! Just a few years later…)

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And here’s Joey Ramone, at home with his cat in NYC in 1978!

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And don’t forget– this was also going on in NYC in the late 1970s- early 80s:

Keith was falling head over heels in love with Patti!!

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And not in NYC, and from way back in 1967–

Janis smiling in her apartment in San Francisco!

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And last but not least!

I think I’ve posted this photo here before, but it showed up in my Instagram feed this morning. Yay!!

Nick Cave not smoking in another great shirt!!

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And with that, I guess I better scoot.

The laundry is almost done. The sun is shining like crazy. I’ve got lots to get down onto the page today, so I’m off.

Enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this!

I was driving to town yesterday and thinking how fucking exciting it’s going to be to go to that James Tabor’s Research Community Conference in late September (and there’s even a small chance that Simcha Jacobovici will be attending!!!! Fucking WOW!!) And then THIS came on my driving-to-town playlist!!

I’ve posted it here before, but it was just so perfect, gang. It made my whole heart smile.

From my wee bonny Sabbath School days in Cleveland, the joyous Hebrew folk song, “Hinei Ma Tov” !! It brought back so many memories and made me so excited about soon having some new ones, all these decades later. Okay. Enjoy, gang.

Okay, gang. I did it.

Got through the worst morning of the year and I am just fine.

And as I posted yesterday (post is here if you missed it), today I have indeed started a new life.

And I was indeed sitting at my desk at 7AM today, without going back to bed after breakfast, hanging out with my cup o’ Joe.

But it’s okay. Methinks I will be writing a TV pilot with Sandra pretty soon, so I gotta get 2 short stories written, and then the tribute to M. Christian, and then get ready to give 1200% of my focus to writing a new TV pilot. (And then still do all the things left on my “List of Things To Do” before the new novel comes out…)

But actually, I really am totally fine this morning. Which is usually unheard of for me on the first morning of Daylight Saving Time!

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Okay!

I don’t actually have much to post about today. Although, yesterday, I did a bit of texting with my dear pal, Wendy, and she is going to help me throw a very small book launch party in September, in Granville! (I’m paying for it, so it’s going to be very small.)

We’re thinking about having it out on the patio at the old train station, where I used to be the night manager.

I think the conversation with the owner will go something like this:

ME: “Hi!! You remember how I used to be the night manager here for a couple of years and then I quit, without giving you any notice whatsoever?”

HE (looks at me, says nothing).

ME: “Do you feel like doing me a favor?”

We’ll see how it goes from there…. (He still likes Wendy a lot, so I’ll have her stand in front of me.)

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All righty!

Here’s this!

Posted by Keith yesterday, in honor of Peter Wolf’s birthday!

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And here’s this!!

I don’t know when it was taken, but the photo is by Bleddyn Butcher.

Nick Cave! Not smoking in front of a piano!

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From James Tabor. An interview about his new book, The Lost Mary: Rediscovering the Mother of Jesus.

Evangelist Johnny Ova Interview: The Lost Mary (59 mins):

And that’s actually it.

Gonna get to work on some writing here, before I head out later to see the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat!

Enjoy your “Daylight Saving Time” Sunday!! Wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this!!

Yet another song that came on the Oldies FM radio station on my retro boombox, as I was getting ready to call it a night last night, that I recognized from the opening “ooh-oohs” and then launched into singing it out loud, remembering every fucking word!

I hadn’t heard this song in decades, gang. It’s so weird how these songs just remain in the brain, somewhere. And then spring forth, in all of their completeness, the moment you hear them again.

So here it is!

The absolutely gorgeous “Being With You, ” by Smokey Robinson. 1981. Sing along. Enjoy, gang.

“Being With You”

I don’t care what they think about me and
I don’t care what they say
I don’t care what they think, if you’re leaving
I’m gonna beg you to stay
I don’t care if they start to avoid me
I don’t care what they do
I don’t care about anything else
But being with you, being with you

Honey don’t go, don’t leave this scene
Be out of the picture and off of the screen
Don’t let them say “we told you so”
They tell me you’ll love me and then let me go

I’ve heard the warning voice
From friends and my relations
They tell me all about your heart-break reputation

I don’t care what they think about me and
I don’t care what they say, no
I don’t care what they think, if you’re leaving
I’m gonna beg you to stay
I don’t care if they start to avoid me
I don’t care what they do
I don’t care about anything else
But being with you, being with you

People can change, they always do
Haven’t they noticed the changes in you?
Or can it be, that like love I am blind?
Do I want it so much ’til it’s all in my mind?

One thing I know for sure
Is really really real
I never felt before the way you make me feel

I don’t care what they think about me and
I don’t care what they say
I don’t care what they think, if you’re leaving
I’m gonna beg you to stay
I don’t care if they start to avoid me
I don’t care what they do
I don’t care about anything else
But being with you, being with you
Being with you
Being with you

I don’t care about anything else
But being with you, being with you
I wanna be with you
I don’t care if they start to avoid me

c – 1981 William Robinson, Jr.

Yes, a little bit of rain this morning, but this afternoon–

Partly sunny and going up into the 70s Fahrenheit!!!

Can you believe it, gang?

My favorite 95-year-old Japanese man is going to LOVE this weather and, obviously, we will head out for sashimi and sake posthaste!!

I’m guessing that when I arrive at his house, it’ll go something like this:

ME (running into his bedroom): “Get up! Get dressed! Get your wooden leg on! We’re hittin’ the road!!”

HE: Sleeps soundly. Until I repeat myself a couple of times and he finally wakes up.

But then…. Off we go!! Yay!!

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All righty!

James Tabor sent out the link to reserve our hotel rooms for the Tabor Research Community Conference in late September!

I booked my room yesterday! A king-sized suite. (I’ll be all by myself in a great big room with a wet bar — unless it’s “pet friendly” then I might bring about 17 cats…)

I don’t know if I’ll be flying down there or driving. I’d like to drive, because I’ve heard it’s a beautiful drive down to North Carolina from here, but we’ll see if I’m up for it. I don’t know. Because then I’ll also have to drive back.

But either way, I will be HERE on Labor Day weekend:

Getting all the updates on the Cave of John the Baptist news, the Talpiot Tomb news, the James son of Joseph/brother of Jesus ossuary news!! Finally getting to meet James Tabor and probably having the time of my life!

(I’ll be drinking Wild Turkey bourbon with Diet Coke on ice, smoking unfiltered Chesterfields, cranking the rock & roll and popping a little speed — Oh, wait! No!! That’s what I do in motels. This is gonna be a hotel. I behave totally differently in hotels.)

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Anyway.

I’m excited.

September is going to be a busy month. a fun month. 2 conferences. My new novel comes out. The Musical Director of our play “The Guide To Being Fabulous” needs me to be available to get back to NYC for the staged reading — no firm date yet, though. But I already know the venue and I’m fucking excited!!

And here’s this!

Also coming in September!

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I finished watching the final episode of Season 1 of “Riot Women” last night. I don’t know yet if there will be a Season 2, but what a great show.

Just so well written, but also extremely intense. And it occurred to me that most of the intense things that happened to each of the women, separately, also happened to me, to one extent or another.

It was a hard show for me to watch, to be honest, but they handled the storylines so brilliantly. With truth but also with compassion.

But crimony, gang. It’s no wonder I’m a walking PTSD factory!!

Jesus.

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Okay.

Here’s this to lighten the mood!

Keith and Mick in LA in 1969!

And then Keith and Mick a handful of decades later:

Then Keith and Mick and Ronnie, onstage somewhere in 1975:

And Keith onstage in 1972, the summer I was 12 and fell in love with him and remained that way for the rest of my life:

And here’s this! The song that made my 12-year-old jaw drop that same summer, when I brought home the double-album Exile on Main St and put that first album onto my portable record player and played it for the first time!! Wow. My world was never the same. (And I wouldn’t trade it for anything, when it’s all said and done, gang.)

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Okay.

James Dean lassos Elizabeth Taylor!! (On the set of “Giant”, in Marfa, TX, 1955.)

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And I believe that’s it!!

I gotta scoot!

Enjoy your Friday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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

I leave you with this!!

Wow.

A friend on Instagram reminded me of this song this morning. I had forgotten all about it. I LOVE this song!! (And the movie it came from: “The Wonder Boys”.)

The song is now cued up on my driving-to-town music!

Bob Dylan. “Things Have Changed.” 2000. Enjoy, gang!

All right, gang.

Yesterday was great.

I can’t go into all the details about this part yet, however–

I had to take my client to the dentist yesterday afternoon. And while I was alone in the waiting room, waiting on him to be done with his appointment, Sandra called!!!

Since I was alone, I was able to take the call. And she has heard from the producers we sent our TV proposal to and they loved it!!!!

That’s all I can post publicly for now, but, wow, this is so exciting!!

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The other exciting news—

Yes, I went to the Rural King yesterday morning.

And, yes, ‘Wild Thing’ was there.

And since I had about a cart-load of cat food, I let the older man behind me in the line, who only had one item, go in front of me. And it turned out the older man knew ‘Wild Thing’ and they started chatting and I started eagerly eavesdropping!!!!

Wow! I got an earful!!

And everything finally became clear to me!

Why it is I behave like a crushing 14-year-old whenever I see ‘Wild Thing’. And why he reminds me of every boy I was crazy about in, like, 1974…

Anyway.

He’s a SINGER!!!!

He’s been singing in local bars for years. My guess is some type of Country music, since the older guy was a farmer and knows ‘Wild Thing’ from a bar he used to sing in all the time, but the bar’s been torn down.

The older man was kind of talking to me, too, so it wasn’t like I was being totally rude or anything. I was being included. And it made it incredibly simple for me to leap in and start asking questions of ‘Wild Thing’ when it was my official turn in line, no longer piggy-backing on the conversation by way of the older man.

Our (brief) conversation was very enlightening, gang. And it was like a whole door to everything sort of blew open. Finally. After all these months.

And no way on Earth is he as young as I kept thinking he was. I’m still old enough to be his mother, but now the vibe just got totally different.

I will keep you psoted. (That is pronounced: ‘p – soh- ted’ but it still means ‘posted’.)

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All righty!

Here’s this! More excitement!

Attention all artists! The winner will be welcomed into The Art of Elysium, will be featured in Art Forum, and will win $25,000! Visit this LINK for details!!

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And here’s this!

Keith and Anita, on one of Anita’s birthdays, long, long ago! Anita looks happy. Keith looks bewildered. I think that’s called love.

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And here’s this!

Yet another gorgeous Native American! (Created with Edits) (Please create one of these for me. Thank you.)

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And this!

Some info from Dwight Yoakam (and ZZ Top)!

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And here’s a different Anita altogether!

And I guess this is what true love looks like!!!

Nick Cave and Anita Lane!

And a handful of decades and lightyears later…

Nick Cave, waiting alone on a bench, looking splendid.

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And I guess I better scoot. I have to head to town soon to see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man.

So 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 the late, great Buddy Holly! (Who, apparently, still lives…)

“It’s So Easy” (to fall in love), 1959. Enjoy, gang!!