Is it because it’s Holy Week???

Probably not, but it’s nice timing anyway.

First off — for some reason, the SUN is out!!!! And it’s my day off! (It was supposed to rain all day.)

Second — when I opened my laptop this morning, THIS fantastic photo awaited me on my Welcome screen: NYC!! (It has never been on my screen before. I usually get photos of jungles or forests in faraway countries whose names I can’t pronounce.)

And when I went to check sales ranks of all my various books that are still somewhere out there online…

It occurred to me that this was pretty fantastic. On Amazon. This specific edition of Neptune & Surf has been out of print for about 17 years. And even though it ranks #400,519 in Erotic Fiction Best Sellers, it’s still at least ranking and it was published 27 years ago!! (This was my first book. And when it was published in 1999, it opened at #7 in FICTION!!)

And most miraculous miracle of all!!

Yesterday, my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s daughter let me go 45 minutes early — with full pay — because her dad was sound asleep in his recliner.

So my 7th shift in the 7-shift run ended early!

And not only do I have today off, but she’s taking her dad to an appointment in Columbus on Friday, so now I have FRIDAY off, as well. Yes! 2 days off in a row!!

And even though when I got out of bed at 4:38AM this morning, the toilet paper roll in the upstairs bathroom was completely unspooled and shredded in a heap on the bathroom floor….

And even though I then discovered that the toilet paper roll in the downstairs bathroom was ALSO completely unspooled and shredded in a heap on the bathroom floor…

And even though when I went outside onto the kitchen porch in the dark and the rain to see if Kon Tiki had shown up for breakfast yet, she had not only shown up, but had THREE furry friends in tow!! (Yes, I fed TWENTY cats, in total, this morning…)

And even though when I went back upstairs 2 hours later and discovered the cats had yanked about 25 Kleenex’s out of the brand new box of Kleenex next to my bed… (yeah, okay, so I did holler a little about that),…

I’m still so fucking happy that the sun is out and I have 2 days off.

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Okay.

Here’s this!

Joe Strummer, with a cuppa and a cigarette!

You know, I had forgotten about this movie. I remember, though, that I really liked it a lot :

(I just bought it on Amazon Prime so I can watch it again!!)

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Here’s this!

Just nice to see it, after about 120 years!

Franz Kafka and his dog, somewhere in Prague:

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And I love this!

Although it is actually the Rolling Stones getting ready to be on the David Frost TV show in London in June 1969…

It looks like they’re learning how long their prison sentences are going to be:

And here’s this!

Probably the sole reason why you don’t want to leave Keith unattended on your family room floor —

Look how close that lit cigarette is to that rug!

The Stones, backstage at the Forum in LA, Nov. 1969:

And Keith, in an empty arena somewhere, doing what he does best!! (Oh, and plus, he looks really nice wearing a guitar!)

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And here’s this!

The most unqualified, unparalleled, absolute BEST Hair Day EVER!!

Nick Cave, only yesterday!! Oops! I meant, of course, “yesteryear”. But, honestly, check out that hair!!

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And I think that might be it for now.

I’ve got laundry going already. I’m hoping to get in a walk today, too, now that it’s not raining. And do some yoga later. And, oh, they did indeed record the Zoom meeting from yesterday about how to use the new recording studio on Substack. So I’ll check that out today, too.

And maybe even do some writing… but I don’t want to get carried away.

Have a really great Maundy 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 today!

In celebration of everything.

The Edwin Hawkins Singers, 1969: “Oh Happy Day”!! Enjoy, gang.

And it was actually such an easy 7-shift run. It really was. (This is assuming that the final shift today goes as smoothly as all the others did.)

And tomorrow is my day off. Yay.

I still have a short story to finish (still those same 4 paragraphs or so). But, wow, gang — do I have a TON of vacuuming to do.

Me! Doing what I do best!!

WAIT! NO! I meant– ME! Doing what I do best!!

(Whatever it is that I do best, I do it in black & white!)

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But, seriously. I’m tired.

However.

I have to say that my annual review at the Agency yesterday afternoon kind of blew my mind. I wasn’t worried about it, because I knew that I hadn’t broken any rules, or called in sick excessively, or gone to ANY shifts without wearing the required uniform. (Nor did I steal any Lawrence Ferlinghetti poetry books from the staff library.)

I always worry at least a little bit that I don’t work enough shifts.

But I just wasn’t expecting my review to be so, well, incredible.

I did not know that the review included input/feedback from front desk staff, client coordinators, schedulers, clients and clients’ families.

The Supervisor went over every detail of what everybody said, and then summed it up:

SHE: “Everybody loves you.”

In all honesty, I think the only reason I’ve lived this long is to finally hear somebody say, “Everybody loves you.” But, you know, actually hearing it, and knowing the people, faces, lives, that this encompasses… I left the building kind of stunned.

She also gave me a new shirt — which I really needed. Yay. (Polo-style, dark green, with the Agency logo on it — this new one fits great.) AND– she gave me a huge glass coffee mug!! (With the Agency logo on it.)

Loyal readers of this lofty blog know so well by now that I am a dish-aholic and that I already own about 763 coffee cups!! But, yay!! I now have about 764!!

But seriously. It takes so much out of me every day, to get in my car and drive 30 miles to go to a client’s home. I would always much rather be sitting at my desk, working on a book like in the old days. I live about 99% of my life in my head now, because my career has changed so much since 2020.

So, hearing something like that was just, wow.

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All right!

I loved this! Proof that it’s still legal in this country to talk to your therapist.

From The Western Journal:

“…At issue was a 2019 Colorado ban on counseling practices aimed at challenging a child’s expressed sexual orientation or gender identity.

“Violations of the law can lead to fines and put licenses in jeopardy for counselors…

“The lawsuit was brought by Kaley Chiles, a licensed counselor in Colorado, who argued the state was censoring her private conversations with minor clients…

“Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the majority opinion… Gorsuch wrote that the law attempts to silence a particular viewpoint.”

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All right.

Here’s this:

Johnny Depp is taking that Rum Diary seriously!

He was in LA yesterday, launching his new brand of rum — in specially-designed bottles. (Visit Three Hearts Rum)

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And here’s this.

From 1979, Keith in the studio with a member of reggae band, Black Uhuru:

And here’s this, while we’re at it! “Shine Eye,” by Black Uhuru, featuring Keith Richards on guitar:

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From Simcha Jacobovici, in Israel this morning:

Passover: The evidence! (7 mins):

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And here’s this!

Nick Cave, a long time ago:

And I loved this!

You know — learn the difference! (Don’t get your holiday background music all fucked up.)

CHRISTMAS:

HALLOWEEN:

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And I think that’s it for today. I need to sort of find some energy somehow before I head out for shift 7.

I actually have a Zoom meeting scheduled for later today (“How to use the New Substack Recording Studio” — not that I’m planning to switch to video podcasts, I just think I might want to use it when my new novel launches in the Fall). But Methinks I will probably skip it today and hope that they record it so I can watch it at some point when I have a functioning brain.

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s leave with this today!

Just something so beautiful from yesteryear.

Simon & Garfunkel – “El Condor Pasa (If I Could)”. 1970. Enjoy, gang.

“El Condor Pasa (If I Could)”

I’d rather be a sparrow than a snail
Yes, I would
If I could
I surely would

I’d rather be a hammer than a nail
Yes, I would
If I only could
I surely would

Away, I’d rather sail away
Like a swan that’s here and gone
A man gets tied up to the ground
He gives the world its saddest sound
It’s saddest sound

I’d rather be a forest than a street
Yes, I would
If I could
I surely would

I’d rather feel the earth beneath my feet
Yes, I would
If I only could
I surely would

c- 1970 Jorge Milchberg, Daniel Alomias Robles