Talk about exhausted!

September 18, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

Okay, I’m not actually exhausted.

However, I woke up with the idea that I might want to take on a part-time job and get back into the world again, starting next month. (There’s a specific part-time job that I’m interested in. )

I figured I should put some sort of a resume together. I haven’t done that in a zillion years.

I found an old resume in a Documents file on my laptop. It’s from when I lived in NYC! And that is what exhausted me, gang — reading it!!

I have to share some of it with you!!

And FYI — in the jobs I had in the 1990s, I was also a full-time writer at the same time.

This one was my first management position in NYC. It was when I was 20-23 yrs old!! WTF!

1980-1983 Manager, Le Café Restaurant, New York, NY

I was the Daytime Manager of Le Café, a health-food/fast food counter- service style restaurant in Times Square. I worked the 5:45 AM – 2:15 PM front-of-the-house management shift, overseeing an average of 800 breakfast transactions and over 2,000 lunch transactions daily. In my area of the restaurant, I had a staff of 9, and oversaw 7 cash drawers in a high-volume, extremely rapid transaction environment. In my capacity as Daytime Manager, I was instrumental in keeping my staff focused, calm, efficient and enthusiastic under all forms of duress associated with a Times Square environment, including in-house thefts and armed robberies, one of which resulted in the killing of the Night Manager on the premises. I scheduled all breaks and daily cleaning assignments, and balanced 7 cash drawers at the end of my shift.

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During that unbelievably exhausting job, above, I was also a budding singer-songwriter in the West Village. So many of the folks who worked in that Cafe were also musicians!

And here’s what I was doing on W. 57th Street, from age 23-25, when I worked for Ralph Ginzburg :

1983-1985 Department Manager, Avant-Garde Media, New York, NY

I managed Avant-Garde Media’s mail order book club department and was in charge of all communications with book club members, specifically handling and bringing to a satisfying conclusion all cases involving the N.Y State Attorney General’s consumer complaint division.

And my “higher education” back then consisted of a 2-year degree in 24-track recording/audio engineering… Mind-blowing that I even got that job.

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This was interesting!

This is what I did at MoMA part-time for 9 years! At this point, my singer-songwriter career was in full swing, and I drank like a fish and took drugs occasionally and generally stayed out all night…and then by 1988, I shifted into publishing, as well.

1985- 1994 Shop Steward, in-House Catering Services, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) New York, NY

In addition to being the museum’s Assistant Pastry Chef for 1 year, I worked in in-house catering for the museum and was the Union Shop Steward for 8 years. I handled all complaints between the 30 union members and Catering Management and had a reputation for diffusing volatile situations in the workplace. I oversaw all in-house Union meetings and helped set-up and manage picket lines during Union strikes, ensuring that all protests remained peaceful and well-organized.

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Jesus Christ, right??!! I remember drinking a lot at MoMA and fooling around with Valerie constantly. I’d forgotten about all that other stuff!

And then when I was full-time into the publishing business, this was my final “job”, while also being a full-time writer.

2000-2006 Founder & President of the EAA, New York, NY

As President of the EAA, an international writers’ association, I oversaw the handling of daily publicity for the careers of several hundred genre fiction writers and small presses in the US, Canada, the UK, and France. I oversaw all details of the EAA’s online publishing company, including tracking and payment of monthly royalties to all writers. I testified in United States Supreme Court in support of the First Amendment rights of several American EAA writers, as well as the EAA at large, in the case of U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft vs. American Civil Liberties Union, case 535 U.S. 564 in Philadelphia. I also oversaw high-profile book-launch parties and curated related art gallery exhibits in New York.

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Yes, Supreme Court and art galleries…

I guess it’s no wonder my mind is wandering toward some sort of part-time job where I can interact with busy people again.

Not only do I feel really isolated out here in the middle of nowhere, but I am very disheartened by the publishing world these days. Especially the onslaught of AI in every area of it. And impersonal social media apps in every area of it, as well.

Plus I am reasonably convinced that one of the narrators/producers I entered into a contract with to produce one of my audiobooks, has indeed already scammed me and was likely the perpetrator of the scam on my bank account on Monday, too. (I can’t prove that last part. It’s just what my bones tell me when I piece it all together.) Yes! He has vanished. And it was ALL done on banking apps!

I’m not going to give up being a writer, but I’m kinda disillusioned with what “publishing” has become, gang. So we’ll see.

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On the happier front!!!

Friends continue to help me out financially!! Including some cash from my ex-husband in Seattle. And Wayne in NYC, just now donated to my GoFundMe!!!

And Sandra called last evening to say she could either send me some cash, OR pay for my airfare and hotel room in NYC when I go there in late January!! Wow!!

As of just now, thanks to Wayne, I have officially gotten ALL my money back — in the space of 4 days — from friends and former husbands. It feels so incredible.

And I guess I can at least say this much: On January 20th, at The Laurie Beechman Theatre on W.42nd Street, in NYC, Sandra will be doing a special “birthday cabaret” one-woman show that will be a pre-runner of our play, “The Guide To Being Fabulous.” It will be Sandra’s 75th birthday!! I cannot wait!!

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Okay.

This broke my heart.

From Phyllis Stein.

September 16th was the anniversary of Marc Bolan’s passing. 49 years! I remember it so vividly, gang, the day he died.

And this was the first T. Rex 45 RPM single that I bought– “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” 1971! It is still fantastic!!

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And here’s from Facebook last night!

And I don’t know if this was taken at Susie Cave’s 60th birthday book party on Wednesday night or not — the fan is wearing a Susie t-shirt, so I think it might be:

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And, YES!! I got a ton of housecleaning done yesterday, so I don’t have more than this to post today.

However.

Enjoy your Friday, wherever you are in the world, gang!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!

Keith Richards’ wonderful contribution to the upcoming “Grand Theft Auto VI” soundtrack!! The blues classic, “Bright Lights, Big City”!!! You can stream it now on your favorite platform! Movie is coming November 19th. Enjoy, gang!

A cool update

September 17, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Just got this promo from Holland’s Book Nook, where my book signing will be.

I love it and had to share!!

What I’m Not Doing Today!!

September 17, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Answering my phone.

In fact, I might never answer my phone again!! But we shall probably play that one by ear…

I have been on my phone nonstop since the bank fraud thing on Monday afternoon, changing over every account imaginable.

And here is something I want to point out: Only 2 accounts had actual human beings that you could speak to, and the customer service lady on the Best Buy credit card helpline, was the nicest person imaginable!!

She gets my customer service award for the entire year!!

She really cheered up my morning.

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Yes, I have been either on my phone or on my laptop for the last 2 hours, trying to take care of final various loose ends with bank account updates, and I believe I am finally DONE!!

Yay.

And before I forget, I just have to say that the other day, an audiobook audition came in for my novel, Twilight of the Immortal, and wow, gang — did she nail it!! In 3 minutes!

I cannot believe she is willing to undertake narrating the entire novel (it’s a really long book). And I cannot wait to hear what she does with it.

Wow.

So, as of now, it looks like I have audiobook narrators/producers lined up for all 4 novels. (1 contract in place, 2 negotiating, 1 we will revisit soon)

Thanks again to all my friends for donating money yesterday to help me get back on a firm footing with these audiobook projects. It was such an incredible feeling, knowing that my situation mattered to people.

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Okay.

I am going to try to just take it easy today and get “back to normal” now.

And by taking it easy, I of course, mean this!

OOPS! Sorry, no — I meant this:

Yes, my birth mom should be arriving a week from today, so I want to get some serious housecleaning done — stuff I don’t do every week, like polish all the mirrors that the various cats have sneezed on, polish the furniture, really clean both bathrooms, etc.

If I do NOT do this, my mom will do it while I’m gone and I don’t want her to clean my house!! (Although she is incredible at it.) I want her to try to just relax…

With 15 cats….

So, today, I’m going to clean the house, and then I also have a live podcast with 2 writers that I want to listen to this afternoon, and then there’s another one this evening, over with the writers at Lambda Literary.

So, it’ll still be about “writing” today, just not my own!

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Oh!

And this just in!

The first “Story of the Week” of Season 2 over at Brown Hound Press has just been posted!! It is:

“I Am Coming to Asheville to Kill You” by Pearl Reagler.

You can read it HERE!

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And here’s this.

It is a screenshot of a reel that I absolutely LOVED, but it was so tightly edited that it was nearly impossible to grab a good shot.

But here’s what I could get!

Johnny Smoke has returned!!

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And here’s this!!

From Facebook!!

A bunch of framed Christian art!!

Oh wait, I mean — Nick Cave!!! Leaning on a steel guitar!! In color!

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And that is all I have today because I have been living on another planet the last few days.

I am hoping that once all the housecleaning is done, I can focus on getting the tribute anthology for M. Christian ready to be front & center on my desk.

The deadline for submissions is Oct. 1st — right after I get back from North Carolina. And if everyone contributes who has said they are contributing — I’m going to be a busy gal in October.

So I want to be ready for that.

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All righty. I’m gonna get started here.

Enjoy your Thursday, wherever you are in the world, gang!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!

There is a Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers 50th Anniversary collection coming soon!

Celebrating the first 7 years of their career, specifically: Origins 1971-1978

This has some great little interviews of Tom from a LONG time ago, as well as snippets of interviews with the remaining Heartbreakers today.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Origins 1971-1978 (Official Album Trailer) (5 mins). Enjoy, gang!!

I could not resist a 3rd post today!

September 16, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Well, gang.

Between friends who donated directly to me today because they did not want to use GoFundMe because of the fees, and one friend who did use GoFundMe to donate–

I am already HALFWAY to my goal!!! In just a few hours.

I just want to thank everybody for all the help, generosity, and encouragement today.

These are going to be terrific audiobooks, gang. I really mean that!

And I also wanted to share this incredible thing, too.

A poet/friend in NYC, Ron Bass, received an advance review copy of my new novel a while back, and this afternoon, he submitted his review to Amazon. He sent me a copy of it:

“The Curse of Our Profound Disorder is extremely hard to put down. I read through it in just a couple of sittings. I found myself completely wrapped up in this first-person narrative of Jemima Callahan’s life. The author, Marilyn Jaye Lewis, is such an astute observer of human nature. The characters Jemina encounters, both good and bad, as well as those who are a combination thereof, ring totally true and serve to pull the reader further into the story. How to properly classify the novel in the terms of genre could be a bit tricky unless you take the expansive view that it can be shelved in a number of different categories. It’s definitely a coming-of-age novel describing not only the pitfalls facing the young narrator but also her strong will to survive her adverse circumstances. It’s also a spiritual journey in which the narrator’s own very real religious orientation is tested repeatedly. And it’s a worldly exploration of a young woman’s sexual encounters while trying to stay alive, and her later involvement in a love relationship that changes her way of looking at the world. In a sense, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder is three books in one, and all three of them fire on all cylinders. I could not recommend it more highly.”

What a great day. Thanks, everybody!

Go Fund Me update

September 16, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Okay, gang.

I did set up a GoFundMe account. It turns out it’s really simple to do.

THIS is the link.

I posted about this in my earlier post this morning (this is the link to that post).

If you’re not inclined to contribute, it’s not a problem at all. If you are inclined to contribute, any amount will help. Thanks everybody!!

“Hi, I’m Marilyn Jaye Lewis, a writer in the USA. I was in the process of negotiating with narrators and producers to create audiobooks of 4 of my novels, when I became the victim of a banking/phone scam and my bank account was wiped out. I am seeking to raise $1700 to cover what was stolen that was earmarked specifically for my audiobook projects. If you can contribute and help me move forward with these projects, I would be so appreciative. Any amount will help! Thank you!”

These are the novels that are currently in audiobook negotiations:

Thanks, gang!

All right! Getting better!

September 16, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

Again, I really want to thank those of you who contacted me privately the last couple days, to just send your good thoughts and prayers.

I truly, truly appreciate that. It helped me a lot.

I am in a much calmer place now, for sure. And I’m trying to just move forward.

I have decided to set up a GoFundMe drive later today, to try to get donations to help me recoup $1700 that was earmarked for the audiobook productions. All of that money is gone.

The recent book editing job I had, and the check I got from Honda last week, would have covered all my production costs, but that, of course, was in my bank account, which got wiped out Monday.

And again, just FYI — I didn’t know this, maybe you do, but don’t answer your phone if the caller ID is from your bank. Call your bank back instead, and ask if they were trying to reach you. That way, you know for certain who you’re talking to.

Also, be alert to anything concerning CHIME online bank. Not that CHIME bank is a scam, it’s not; but the police officer who was taking down my report said that CHIME bank is used a lot in banking/phone scams. And even Wayne said that he had a $45 scam involving a CHIME bank account recently.

So just be aware.

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I also have 2 pairs of vintage Gucci high heeled shoes, from the 1990s — one, a pair with those silver mirrored sequins designed by Tom Ford, that is reasonably valuable.

The shoes don’t fit me anymore because my feet got too wide. But I have such great memories of wearing those shoes in the 1990s! (And that is an understatement.)

However, I have the memories. I don’t need the actual shoes, so I’m going to offer them for sale online. Maybe get as much as $800, combined.

We shall see.

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Okay.

Later today, my Q-following girlfriend in town is meeting me at Kohl’s! Not that I can afford to go shopping right now, even though they’re having a huge sale. But we decided it would be good for me to get out of the house for a few hours and just have fun.

I’m looking forward to it. The store has changed a bit over the last few years, but it used to be my favorite store, so it has good memories for me.

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Another totally mind-blowing thing happened to me yesterday, gang.

Another “I didn’t see that coming” thing — but this time, in a really good way.

I can’t go into all the details yet, but I can say that an older gentleman who lives across the road, who chats with me frequently when I’m outside watering the flowers or getting my mail, was chatting with me yesterday afternoon.

He is very friendly, very chatty. And he suddenly said, “I hope you don’t mind me asking this, but how come you’re not married? You’re so beautiful.“

Long story short, he asked me if I wanted to go out to lunch sometime. And I said, “Yes!!”

He is just so nice. (He’s a widower.)

So we decided that when I get back from James Tabor’s conference in North Carolina, we’ll go out to lunch. That made me really happy, gang.

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All righty!

If you missed this last night, here’s the replay! (I really enjoyed this because he is so much younger than me — his take on the whole literary world now is so different from what my experiences were.)

“Rob Macaisa Colgate is the author of the poetry collection Hardly Creatures (2025), winner of the Chicago Review of Books Award and longlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize, and the verse drama My Love is Water (2025). Currently based in Chicago, he serves as managing poetry editor of Foglifter Journal and was the inaugural poet-in-residence at Tangled Art + Disability. A graduate of the New Writers Project at University of Texas at Austin, he is a recipient of fellowships from Creative Capital, the National Endowment for the Arts, MacDowell, and Fulbright.”

Webinar with Rob Macaisa Colgate, Author of Hardly Creatures (51 mins):

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Okay.

Here’s this!! It brought a smile to my face.

From Phyllis Stein.

Sid Vicious and friends!! In 1976. (Photo by Bob Gruen)

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And I loved the blonde hair…

Again, from Phyllis Stein.

Iggy in the East Village, 1976 (Photo by Roberta Bayley)

(And when I lived in the East Village in the 80s, Iggy lived 4 blocks from me!!)

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And here’s this!

From Dior!!

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And I loved this!!

Blixa Bargeld! Smoking!! In London!! With great hair!! In 1987!! (Photo by Andrew Catlin)

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And speaking of Bad Seeds….

My stash from Facebook!!

Nick Cave!!

Great hair!! Weasels or not!!

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And speaking of Nick Cave ( as if there were ever a time when I’m not speaking of him…)

He sent out one of those great Red Hand Files yesterday, wherein he answered 40 questions with very short answers. (He was celebrating the Red Hand Files turning 8 !!)

This was my favorite!! (It took me a minute to get it, I have to confess.)

“Fuck you & fuck Isreal
from MICHAEL, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

“Daer Micheal, a raelly graet plaesure to haer from you again.”

You can read them all HERE!

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Okay.

That’s it for now.

If I do set up the GoFundMe drive, I’ll post it here later.

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!

I have learned so much from Elaine Pagels over the years, about Gnosticism, the Secret Teachings of Jesus, the Gospel of Thomas, etc.

This is a quick interview, with Myth Vision. I watched it during breakfast today. Enjoy, gang.

The Secret Teachings of Jesus | Dr. Elaine Pagels (11 mins):

Quickly touching base

September 15, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

This won’t be a regular post today, but I wanted to thank the readers who texted me yesterday to just reach out. I truly appreciated it.

I’m in a calmer place about everything this morning and I am just grateful that it wasn’t worse.

And I was once again impressed by how supportive and helpful the police are in this tiny village.

I’ll be back here to post tomorrow because I’m pretty sure Keith has had another cigarette, but I wanted everyone to know that I am feeling calmer this morning. Just knowing that there are people out there who care, helped me get some actual sleep last night.

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

I love you guys. Thanks for visiting.

(PS: I think Keith actually quit smoking a few years ago…) 💖

Distressing update

September 14, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

I do not have to report for Jury Duty tomorrow.

However, this afternoon I was the victim of a very elaborate fraud, which I will go into some other day so that it won’t ever happen to you.

But someone allegedly from my bank called and said that fraud was being committed on my bank account and we needed to freeze the account immediately.

Long story short, they wiped me out and left me with 85 cents.

I have to go get my phone cleaned tomorrow and make a bunch of phone calls.

I’ve already filed the police report and they were very supportive. So was my bank. But I won’t be getting my money back.

And I probably won’t be posting here tomorrow.

Stay safe and have a good night everyone.💖

What a great morning!

September 14, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

I’m trying to make the absolute best of it because not only is the weather perfect — and the rest of the week, we’re supposed to have a lot of rain.

But also, tomorrow morning is when I’m supposed to report for Jury Duty again. I will find out later tonight if I do indeed have to show up, so we’ll see.

But regardless of tomorrow, I am trying to just have a really nice morning here.

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Before I forget!!

Facebook is just so strange.

Yesterday, I got another really cool “friend request” from someone I’ve only known for 54 years!!

She was, basically, my best friend all through Jr. High, high school, and most of adulthood… It’s only been a few years since I last heard from her. But we’re supposed to catch up in the phone sometime today!!

We met in the 7th grade, in September of 1972.

Yes!! There is someone still alive on Earth who knew me when I looked like this and wore plaid palazzo pants to school!!

When she and I were teenagers, we had mostly the same tastes in music, movies, literature, theater. We were both really smart and we laughed so hard about so much insane stuff.

I don’t know, but if you’re familiar with the playwright Eugène Ionesco, and his Theatre of the Absurd plays, our lives were kind of like that. 24/7.

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Okay!

Let’s go straight to the “here’s this’s” today!

Apparently, I need to get back to Shanghai by Sunday! (Which is also the start of Yom Kippur, so that’s dicey, right there!)

But I’ve already bought all 150 of the available tickets, so it only seems polite that I make the effort to show up…

Johnny Depp will be appearing at the Modern Art Museum Shanghai, in connection with his exhibit there, “Figures of the Fringe”!

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And here are a couple of great photos of Richard Hell!

Again, from the fantastic Phyllis Stein!!

Here, Richard Hell is seen with the “tiny Richard Hell head” that was really popular back then!

And here he’s seen at CBGBs in 1978 with Elvis Costello, who was also really popular back then!!

And I can’t help it, gang — we gotta hear this one, one more time!! Elvis Costello, 1977, “Mystery Dance”!!

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And here’s this!

Warren Ellis and one of his dogs appear to be very excited by Sundays!!

And taking a cue from Warren’s t-shirt, how about this? An AI version of the other Elvis singing Kris Kristofferson’s song, “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” the way Waylon Jennings sang it… (that’s right, but it’s actually pretty good…)

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And here’s that other thing that Facebook is good for!!!

Old photos of Nick Cave!!

I don’t know if I posted this one here before, but I love this!

And here’s Nick Cave, either taking off his coat, or pretending to wear handcuffs — or perhaps both! A long time ago! In color!

And this wasn’t on Facebook, but here it is anyway!

Nick Cave on TV in NYC, in 1990!

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And here’s this — from my own life!

This movie came out in 1968, when I was 8, and my mom and I went to see it together in Cleveland and I just loved it.

Throughout my whole life, really, I wanted to have a huge family. I really did. I used to think about it all the time. (And by the time I was in my early teens, when things in my home life were getting really bad, I had a huge imaginary family in my head that I would retreat to all the time.)

In fact, the hardest part about leaving Wayne, in 2003, was knowing that I would never have even one child, let alone the 14 or so that I wanted…. I was 43 when I left Wayne and I was already in early menopause. Wayne had finally decided that he didn’t want to have kids. So that whole dream was all over.

Anyway.

I am currently re-watching “Yours, Mine, & Ours” on TUBI. From 1968. A glorious family with 18 wonderful children —

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And that’s it for today.

I will let you know early tomorrow morning if I have to report for Jury Duty again or not.

Meanwhile, enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting!

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this.

This was sort of magical, gang.

I’m still reading the Conversations with Tom Petty book (2006) at night.

And last night, Tom was telling the part where he was going through his divorce, and to pick up his spirits, Rick Rubin had Tom (and the other Heartbreakers) come onboard the Johnny Cash albums Rick was producing at the time, on his American Recordings label.

Tom had such an incredible time doing that — it was very detailed in the book. He loved Johnny Cash.

I knew I had all of those Johnny Cash American Recordings on my phone, but I wasn’t sure which ones I still had on actual CDs. So I got out of bed, went downstairs in the dark, went to one of the many CD racks I have and turned on the light — and the very first CD I saw was Johnny Cash’s American III: Solitary Man–– with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers!! (And others.)

It really felt like magic, gang. I still had it!

I hurried back up to bed, popped the CD in the retro boombox next to my bed, turned out the light and just listened. And, wow, was it good!!

And, oddly enough, it’s the CD that has Johnny Cash’s cover of Nick Cave’s classic, “The Mercy Seat”!

So, let’s listen! From 2000, Johnny Cash’s version of “The Mercy Seat.” So different from Nick’s version, but still so good. Okay. Enjoy, gang.

Totally thinking ahead here!

September 13, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

It’s a gloomy and rainy morning so far, but that often unreliable weather app on my iPhone says that by noon it will be sunny and remain sunny for the rest of the afternoon!!

Yay!!

So I’m going with that thought today, gang! Nothing but sun up ahead!

And since Sunday has become my go-to-town-and-get-groceries day, I’ll wait until noon before heading to town.

I’m hoping I can persuade these guys to go with me again today —

It’s always so much more fun driving anywhere with them!

So, we shall see. (They’re probably in church right now, so I’ll wait a bit before calling them…)

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Okay!!

Wow, you know? What a morning. The first 2 things I saw on Instagram, very early today (5AM), were 2 of my favorite accounts having huge troubles with Instagram & Facebook — the various algorithms there were making them very unhappy.

One was our beloved Phyllis Stein — I so hope she doesn’t leave Instagram, but it was actually Facebook that was threatening to block her awesome account for no valid reason.

The other account was for 2 cute little dogs that I follow in Germany —

I have followed the account for years and the woman who runs the account is around my age and we interact all the time (luckily she speaks perfect English since my German consists of about 4 words — and I count “gesundheit” as one of them). But she is so fed up with Instagram interfering with her posts now that she is actually leaving Instagram as of today.

I really can’t stress enough how much I do not like Facebook (I recently rejoined it). It has gotten so different now and it is very difficult to post over there.

I don’t interact much on fb at all. I have about 5 followers. Literally. And all of them are people I have known for a long time and, except for Iris N. Schwartz, I also follow them on Instagram. So fb seems sort of pointless to me.

It seems like the only thing I really do on fb is look at Nick Cave photos!! Like I needed another app on my phone to look at more Nick Cave photos!

But here’s one I liked on fb yesterday!!

But as far as Instagram — I love Instagram. I have been active on it every day for about 8 years.

Once in awhile I post something concerning my writing career, but mostly I post photos of my cats. And I just love looking at everybody else’s photos.

I mostly follow other cats, and dogs, birds, alpacas, goats, donkeys, cows! From all over the world!

And a few people in Finland and Norway who take unbelievably gorgeous photos of nature.

And a bunch of Punk and rock & roll musicians — most of whom, sadly, are already dead.

But I just love Instagram, so it makes me sad that people I enjoy following are being bullied by the algorithms now — and enough to leave the platform altogether.

I don’t have a lot of followers on instaramg — sorry, that’s a different app I also use. But on Instagram, I have about 1600 followers.

But I only really interact with about 12 of them on a daily basis. So for me, it’s just fun.

I can’t imagine how awful it must be to try to rely on those apps for career-related stuff. It must be a nightmare.

I am so glad that I have my blog, gang.

You know, even though it is totally old school — no bells & whistles — I have about 100 people a day, sometimes as many as 200, from all over the world, who stop in and read my blog!

That’s about 3,000 views a month, and about 36,000 views a year now!

And I’ve had this same blog for 12 years already. In fact, a few years back, WordPress was after me to update it to a different layout. They wanted to retire the layout I use because it was too old-fashioned. But I love this layout because it is SO easy to use.

So I think I am the only blogger left on WordPress who uses this layout.

Anyway… I digress.

I am really glad that WordPress doesn’t resort to a bunch of terrorizing algorithm stuff.

And I really want to thank you guys so much for stopping by every day to read the blog.

It still means a lot to me, even after all these years.

“Oh, and then I saw a photo of Keith Richards smoking in London back in 1968, It was just SO COOL…”

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All right.

Well, after listening to the new auditions for audiobooks that came in yesterday morning, I have decided that for now, I’m removing the short story collections from the audition queue.

Those are just going to be too complex, since some of the stories are from the female POV, and some from the male POV. I’ve decided to just focus on the novels for now.

But other than that, we are moving forward with perhaps THREE novels to turn into audiobooks! 1954 Powder Blue Pickup, The Guitar Hero Goes Home, and possibly Freak Parade.

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Okay!

Since the Bad Seeds’ tour is over now, I am resorting to a photo of Nick Cave from the desktop stash!!

Singing and smoking!! In black & white!! (He looks so, I don’t know, energetic here!)

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And here’s this!!

If you look REALLY carefully, Keith is smoking — and walking & carrying a package in London in 1986. In full color!! Heavy on the blue!! (Photo by Richard Young)

I can’t say for sure if Keith is smoking here, you have to do your own research on that. But it does seem to be the 1980s, and in black & white.

And if you don’t really know much about Keith–

Back when he was a heroin addict, his teeth started rotting really badly. After he quit heroin for good, around 1978, he had all of his teeth replaced.

But here’s one of the photos from the not-so-great-teeth days. But he still looks so sweet here:

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And that is what I have for now.

The laundry is just about done! I’m gonna check in on the 2 cats outside and see who wants to be fed (again) before I head to town.

Have a great Sunday, wherever you are in the world, gang.

And THANKS for visiting!! I really mean that.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!

Since I have been reading that book, Conversations With Tom Petty (2006) at night now, and we are now up to when he was recording his triple multi-platinum Wildflowers solo album, I put that CD in the kitchen jukebox player this morning!

So let’s listen to “You Wreck Me”. I hadn’t heard it in awhile!! A real rocker.

From the Wildflowers album, 1994!! Enjoy, gang.