What a glorious day it is today, gang!!

Not just flawless weather!! BUT —

I also got plenty of sleep last night. Wow!

Around 2 PM yesterday, when I was still with my favorite 94-year-old Japanese man, the agency began texting and calling me, and practically harassing me to work a longer evening shift last night than I was scheduled for.

And I said repeatedly that I absolutely could not and would not do it. I was already completely exhausted at 2 in the afternoon… It got intense.

However–

ME: “If you can find someone who wants to work my whole shift and they can also work later, then I’ll give up the shift.”

YAY!! It worked!! They finally found someone.

As I was driving the 30 miles home from my Japanese man’s house, they called and said that they didn’t need me to work the shift and they thanked me for being willing to give it up.

It’s SO FUNNY how, when I arrived at my house and got out of my car on a truly splendid Saturday afternoon and realized I had the night off ….. I suddenly wasn’t tired anymore. At all. Not even one little bit. I had a great evening!!

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A very Happy Mother’s Day to my wonderful birth mom, Cherie!

Here she is with my Uncle Jim, in Greenfield, Ohio, somewhere around the time I was born. I love this photo! It’s straight outta yesteryear:

I loved my Uncle Jim so much. I only got to know him for a handful of years before he died, but — as I have posted here before — he was the one who helped me find my birth father.

I remember so vividly one evening, right when I first met him (and my birth mom), he took me aside in the kitchen and whispered in urgency to me: “I don’t know who your father is, but if I did, I would tell you. I swear it. I don’t care what the others say, I would tell you.”

From the moment everyone found out my mom was pregnant with me, she steadfastly refused to ever tell anyone who my father was. I have one of those heartbreaking birth certificates that reads: Mother, age 13. Father, unknown.

My Uncle Jim was in his hospital bed, dying, and he unexpectedly called me on the phone.

HE: “I just found out who your father is.”

ME (in my dark, hellhole apartment on E. 12th Street , the phone to my sweaty ear): “Oh my god…” as my voice trailed off into profound and utter gratitude to the entire universe. At last.

Anyway, I loved my Uncle Jim. It turned out that he also had an illegitimate daughter that few people knew about. Because while he was married to my Aunt, he was not allowed to have anything to do with her. Even though his daughter lived right there in their little town. And even worked in the only grocery store there, and so he would see her all the time — watched her as she grew up– but wasn’t allowed to speak to her. Or she to him.

But the moment my Aunt died, my Uncle bought a brand new Cadillac and went and picked up his now fully-grown daughter and drove around town with her right there in the front seat –letting the whole fucking town know, finally, that she was his.

It made the rest of my family crazy, but I thought it was so incredibly cool!!

I was still a folksinger back then, and of course I wrote a song about it. I only remember part of the chorus:

In this car of my old man’s / we’ll run as fast as the racing wind

It was through his daughter that my Uncle Jim found out who my father was, because she had gone to school with my mom.

Anyway. I digress!

Happy Mother’s Day to my wonderful birth mom, Cherie!!

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And speaking of fathers and of father figures, etc. Here’s this!!

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And on another equally lovely topic here’s this, from the Mission Ballroom, but I can’t remember which city that was.

And it looks like they blew the roof off in Portland last night, gang! It looks like it was such an amazing show.

There are only 3 more regular shows left of the tour and then one show at a festival. 2 of the shows are already sold out, but you can buy tickets here for San Francisco and the festival in Pasadena!

(I’m not positive but I think they’ve added one final show to the end of the tour, but it’s here in Crazeysburg and the house venue only seats one and that ticket is sold out…)

Anyway!!!

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Okay!

I was crazy kind enough to pick up someone’s shift today because they wanted to have Mother’s Day off, so I gotta scoot!

But enjoy your Sunday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Wow, gang. So after yesterday’s post with the Emmylou Harris song, I went on an all-out Emmylou Harris kick around here!

I can’t tell you how much I loved her, gang. She’s not dead, but she doesn’t make records anymore. And it was so cool to bring out all the old memories and sing along.

Her voice was absolutely right in my key, so I included a lot of her songs in my sets when I performed on the Folk circuit in NYC.

Anyway. Here’s this morning’s breakfast-listening music!

This goes out to the man I love!! He knows who he is!!

This is for all the hotel rooms in the world that we will never have!!! I love you, bambino. Enjoy your beautiful day, wherever you are right now!!

“I’ll Be Your San Antone Rose”

If they’ll play another love song
And if that Miller Hi-Life sign stays dim
And if you’ll keep my glass full of whiskey
I’ll whisper words I wish I’d said to him

Just ask me to dance all the slow ones
Hold me close and take me ‘cross the floor
I’ll gently lay my head on your shoulder
And pretend this never happened before

I don’t want to hear a sad story
We both already know how it goes
So if tonight you’ll be my tall dark stranger
I’ll be your San Antone Rose

I wish I could tell you I love you
I wish that he weren’t always on my mind
If wishes were fast trains to Texas
I’d ride and I’d ride, how I’d ride

c – 1977 Susanna Wallis Clark