Okay, so.

Day 2 in absolute mental overload — but the brain is still working just fine.

I am of course referring to the commitment I made to write an entire play about Caiaphas in the month of June (wherein I will also be in NYC for 4 days). (See yesterday’s post if you missed it.)

I have to say, gang, just going over the piles of notes — alone — will take an entire month, but I’m still moving forward. And I feel really good about it.

This bit of monologue floored me. (First, let me just point out that Caiaphas’ entire reputation for being the man behind killing Jesus is based on basically one line in the New Testament and it basically only states that the “trial” went on in his home. It was more the doings of his father-in-law and brothers-in law (also High Priests), but after 70 AD, Pharisaic Christians wanted to re-frame that. Hence, my desire to write a play about how a man’s horrific reputation, which, throughout eternity has basically been false, is seen from that man’s POV in the afterlife.)

Anyway. I digress.

I came across this scribbled bit of monologue in my notes from 2014 and I loved it:

(Caiaphas speaking): “The bounty I gave to the world because I gave it a picture of the crucifixion of God’s son.”

FUCK, right??!! Think of everything that has come from it: Religions, wars, art.

Anyway.

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Okay.

So I’m in a good place. I’m not losing my mind or living in overdrive. My only –albeit small — regret, is that I didn’t write the whole play back in 2016, when all the notes were fresh. (Most of the notes are historical and archeological, and now it’s looking like I gotta read all that stuff again.)

But I’m okay.

And yesterday, since it was Mother’s Day, I had a nice phone chat with my birth mom, finally.

Yes! I called her on the phone and she actually answered it.

But it appears that on Friday and Saturday, the other daughters, granddaughters and great-granddaughter, celebrated Mother’s Day with her in various lovely ways.

And my brother was going to be stopping by later in the afternoon yesterday, so she was sitting alone in her living room with nothing to do and so when the phone rang, she answered it.

She sounded in good spirits and that always makes me feel great.

Regarding all the caregiving stuff in my world, though, it is still a bit overwhelming and I have to make a dedicated effort to draw some sort of inner emotional lines for myself. We’ll see how that goes. But meanwhile.

Oh! I finally finished watching the Netflix film, “Je m’appelle Anjeta” last night, and I really just loved it, all the way through. It was so fun!

And, speaking — sort of — of France (the movie is in Swedish and French and takes place in Provence), I’m still studying my French every evening and, after studying French for something like 57 years now–

This past week, I learned 3 new words. Well, I’m always learning new words, but these 3 are for common, ordinary things, but I am JUST NOW learning them. I find that so weird.

The words are:

• Plafond (ceiling)
• Grenier (attic)
• Toit (roof)

I guess, you know, I’ve always needed to learn about stuff that didn’t involve looking up in any way. But I just find that so weird. After all these years. And I did not even realize that I did not know these words.

ME (all over Paris): “Excusez-moi, où est le toit ?” [“Excuse me, where is the roof?”]

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Okay!

Yesterday was not only Mother’s Day (here in the USA) — it was also this guy’s heavenly birthday!

Happy Heavenly Birthday to Sid Vicious!

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And here’s this!

Keith, doing something he’s really good at besides smoking– being HAPPY!

And here’s this!

Keith and Mick, not smoking at a soundcheck in Malmo, Sweden, in August 1970. (I think they are singing that classic Beatles’ song, “Help,” but I’m not 100% sure.)

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I loved these!!

Nick Cave not smoking in a brownish suit!

And Nick Cave not smoking onstage in Hamburg in June, 1982!

And don’t forget!!

If you missed the Hamburg gig in 1982, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds will be all over Germany this summer and tickets are still available! Buy them HERE!!!

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And I think that is it, gang!

It is, of course, my illustrious day off.

Laundry is already done!

No vacuuming is needed today!! (I will give you a moment to pick yourself up off the floor after that shocking remark!)

And all that I gotta do now is take a deep breath and, I guess, dive into a truckload of notes I made 10–12 years ago, sort them all out, and create a play!

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you witih this!

Morning-listening music!!

I had it on “repeat” through most of breakfast.

I love this song so much. (It reminds me of most of my family, on my birth dad’s side, going back 150 years…)

Recording the song caused Tom Petty a lot of problems:

Story of Tom Petty punching a wall in 1984 breaking his hand (2 mins):

Originally from the album, Southern Accents, Tom Petty & the Heartbreaker’s “Rebels”, 1985. (This is an alternate take, from his posthumous collection, An American Treasure.) Enjoy, gang!

“Rebels”

Honey, don’t walk out, I’m too drunk to follow
You know you won’t feel this way tomorrow
Well, maybe a little rough around the edges
Or inside a little hollow
I get faced with some things sometimes
That are so hard to swallow, hey!

I was born a rebel, down in Dixie
On a Sunday mornin’
Yeah with one foot in the grave
And one foot on the pedal
I was born a rebel, born a rebel

She picked me up in the mornin’
And she paid all my tickets
Then she screamed in the car
Left me out in the thicket
Well I never would’ve dreamed
That her heart was so wicked
Yeah but I keep coming back
‘Cause it’s so hard to kick it, hey, hey, hey

I was born a rebel, down in Dixie
On a Sunday mornin’
Yeah with one foot in the grave
And one foot on the pedal
I was born a rebel, born a rebel

Even before my father’s father
They called us all rebels
As they burned our cornfields
And left our cities leveled
I can still feel the eyes of those blue-bellied devils
Yeah, when I’m walking ’round tonight
Through the concrete and metal, hey, hey, hey

I was born a rebel, down in Dixie
On a Sunday mornin’
Yeah with one foot in the grave
And one foot on the pedal
I was born a rebel, born a rebel

I was born a rebel, down in Dixie
On a Sunday mornin’
Yeah with one foot in the grave
And one foot on the pedal
I was born a rebel, born a rebel

Hey hey hey

c – 1984 Tom Petty