And I’m hoping that when I get back home, I’m gonna have the energy to put up that Christmas tree!! (It’s 9 feet tall so it takes several hours to do it.)
So there isn’t going to really be a post here today. I don’t have time.
Oh — I did try to get a photo of the earrings Kara gave me for Christmas, of Elvis singing into a microphone. But I can’t get a clear photo of the details. But here they are anyway:
Lousy photo
Have a beautiful day, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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The first song that came on the Oldies FM Radio Station on my retro boombox when I turned it on this morning!!
Wow, I hadn’t heard this song in decades!!
Enjoy, gang!!! Belinda Carlisle, “Heaven Is A Place On Earth”, 1987.
To make you wish you’d already put up your Christmas tree!!
I am so hoping that I have the energy to put the tree up tomorrow, gang. The snow we got yesterday was a pain in the ass to drive around in, but, WOW, was it beautiful to look at.
The perfect dusting on the hillside and on all the trees, for miles and miles. It really put me in the mood for Christmas.
The other day, I bought a couple of cute Christmas floor mats at the Dollar Store. I put one in front of the front door (on the inside), and one in front of the downstairs bathroom.
And YES! The cats have already ruined them!
BUT! They did not destroy them, so I’m gonna just try to stay positive about getting all the decorations up! We shall See!
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So!
If you stopped by here on Monday night, you saw that my 26-years-in-the-making new novel, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder, has SOLD!!
I’m still kind of stunned because, you know — what a journey this novel has been. And I still see it as a book that could, well, if not outright offend a lot of people, at least disturb people.
But the publisher is 100% behind it. She said things like: “I know I want this manuscript” and “something in my gut says Yes Yes Yes”.
But even she knows it is not an easy book, gang.
Which was why no publisher would touch it 26 years ago — even though it won 3 literary awards back then (for novel-in-progress).
I am very happy about her position on publishing this book. And I am very happy that the journey for this book is finally continuing. But I am having sort of uneasy dreams at night, you know. Mostly about book signings and readings.
In the old days, I had no qualms whatsoever about going to readings and reading my stuff out loud, about being there in person to sign my books.
My short-short story, “I Like Boys” became a sort of instant classic because I read it aloud in several venues in NYC, including at a launch party in 1998 for Marilyn’s Room Inc. , my multimedia production company — wherein staid (male) journalists from the NY Times, the WSJ, and the Village Voice were in attendance — and you could honestly hear a pin drop.
And then, at the end, everybody loved it. Everybody had so much fun.
But I cannot emphasize enough how different those days were back then. A whole different world. You could say anything, propose anything, challenge anything — it was about ideas. And you didn’t have to fear that you would get totally and completely attacked for your ideas.
Anyway. (Oh, if you never read “I Like Boys”, it’s on my substack page here, but it is absolutely for adults only. “Thank you for your attention to this matter.” DJT)
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Well, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder is not erotica. But it is not politically correct in any way shape or form. Plus, it is pretty brutal in some chapters.
Anyway. A huge part of my life is in that book.
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Okay!
Speaking of my erotica from yesteryear–
Another shot of the Parkside Lounge from Instagram! Lower East Side, NYC.
This is the bar where I met Mikey Rivera one fateful night in 2001. (It is now a trans bar, but it wasn’t back then.) And the rest is history — although, in my (award-winning!!) novel,Freak Parade, it is called the Sidecar Lounge.
The Parkside Lounge
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Okay.
And here’s this!
Keith without a shirt on!
And Charlie, Keith, and Ronnie, backstage in 1998! (Photo by Ronnie’s then-wife, Jo Wood.)
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Okay.
Johnny Smoke has been VERY active in Tokyo!!
Not only did his “A Bunch of Stuff” art exhibit open there recently (and it was exceedingly well-received — as it should be!!!):
His film “Modi: Three days on the Wing of Madness”, premiered there the other night, as well:
I’m guessing that at some point, I am going to be able to see this movie!!! I’m thinking it starts streaming on Amazon Prime US on Dec. 12th but I’m not positive.
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On another note!
Wendy and Kara and I had a really wonderful time at our Christmas lunch on Monday. It was so great to see them. (And YES!! Kara gave me a pair of gold dangling earrings in the shape of Elvis with a microphone!! Amazing!!)
And in similar news — tomorrow morning, I am meeting a new friend for breakfast. I can’t wait, gang. We’ll see how it goes. But I can say that for some inexplicable reason (the holidays, maybe?), I am suddenly getting a lot of men contacting me through my totally & completely inactive eHarmony profile.
I hadn’t been on the app since meeting Dennis. And Dennis and I are still friends, but there’s stuff going on in his private life that I can’t discuss on the blog. Still, I had no interest in eHarmony. I had other stuff I was focused on.
But then, suddenly, a bunch of traffic on my profile. 99% of which, I just ignored. But for some reason, this one jumped out at me. So we started texting. We chatted on the phone. Decided to meet for breakfast. And we shall see.
We have almost nothing in common but he is so nice. So we’ll see. (We’ll be here –but now picture it when it’s freezing cold outside and covered in a dusting of snow.)
Tomorrow morning
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And I think that’s it!! I seriously gotta scoot now and head back to town to see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man!
Have a wonder-filled Wednesday, 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’ve been singing it a lot the past couple days!
A true classic. John & Yoko, “Happy Xmas (War is Over)”, 1971. Sing along and enjoy, gang.
I finally get to see Wendy and Kara again, and have lunch at Snapshots with them, again.
We text one another all the time, but the last time I actually saw either of them, I was wearing a brand new flowered sundress, had my first pedicure of the summer, and was wearing long dangling hippy-chick earrings…
Today, I’ll be wearing a parka, black jeans, a red Christmas sweater and little gold and pearl earrings in the shape of little snowmen…
Ridiculous how long it’s been. But I am definitely in the Christmas spirit now, and I can’t wait to give each of them their Christmas presents!!
And driving back into my neighborhood from my shift last night, it was of course dark so I was able to see all of my neighbors’ Christmas light displays and it really got me in the mood to get my house decorated….
I’m still aiming for Thursday to be the day. We shall see!
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Here’s this!!
It’s a screenshot from some great footage of Keith onstage with the Stones. This screenshot doesn’t do it justice, but here it is anyway!!
And this is the song they were playing!!!! (I fucking never get tired of this song, gang — Lo! these 50 years later…) “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It)”
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And here’s this!
Another great one from Phyllis Stein’s Instagram page. The NY Dolls in NYC in 1971. I have never seen a photo of David Johansen with his hair this long before!!
Photo is by Lee Black Childers:
And speaking of David Johansen…
Last evening, during my shift with the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat, we watched the movie “Scrooged” from 1988. Starring Bill Murray and a ton of other folks, and shot in that era of NYC that I really loved (the 80s).
AND, David Johansen plays the Ghost of Christmas Past — a totally insane NYC taxi driver. I absolutely love him in that role. It was so much fun to watch it again (and, well, get paid to sit there and watch it, to be brutally honest!) A 2-minute clip:
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And if you’re going to be attending the Wild God Tour of Australia & New Zealand next month, the Nick Cave official site released this news yesterday about adding a supporting act — Aldous Harding:
Other than that, I’m in the middle of doing laundry right now. And then I get to make an exciting phone call to my insurance agent about that loose gutter that’s dangling down from the edge of the roof because of those crazy high winds we’ve had. I’m hoping he can recommend someone local and affordable to come fix it ASAP, before it totally blows off and sails away…
Oh! But some good news — it is not supposed to snow today after all. It is really cold, but sunny!! And NOT windy for a change!! Yay!!
And since Snapshots isn’t too far from where I do all my grocery shopping, I’ve decided to run errands after our lunch today and that way, after my 10-hr shift tomorrow, I can just come straight home. Yay!!
So it’s looking like this could be a really nice day, all the way around.
I guess that’s it for now, gang.
I want to get those presents wrapped, then finish up the laundry. And try to do yoga before I head to town. And maybe even — I don’t know — try to get some writing done before this day is over?? We’ll find out.
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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!
Yesterday I practically had a heart attack. I got into the car to drive to my shift and discovered that the playlist I play almost all the time, had suddenly disappeared from my phone.
This was the playlist I began building when I first started to go visit my dad when he was dying. It was a 3-hr trip each way, so my playlist was long. And it isn’t that I can’t find all those old songs again, but what a colossal amount of work!! And those memories of seeing my dad before he died would kind of disappear… I was so heartbroken.
Anyway, miraculously, it was back on my phone when I double-checked it this morning!!
So while I was lying there, back in bed after breakfast, doing that thing I do, with a cup of coffee near at hand (that thing I do is mostly convincing myself to get out of bed again and start the day…), I listened to some of the songs on the playlist and got sort of wistful, but while also feeling oddly complete about my life.
So I share one of those songs here! I’ve known this song for over 50 years, but now it always makes me think really, really fondly of my dad.
CSN&Y, “Teach your Children”. 1970. Enjoy, gang.
“Teach Your Children”
You, who are on the road Must have a code That you can live by And so become yourself Because the past is just a goodbye
Teach your children well Their father’s hell Did slowly go by And feed them on your dreams The one they pick’s The one you’ll know by
Don’t you ever ask them, “Why?” If they told you, you would cry So, just look at them and sigh And know they love you
And you of tender years (Can you hear and do you care) Can’t know the fears (And can you see) That your elders grew by (We must be free) And so please help (To teach your children) Them with your youth (What you believe in) They seek the truth (Make a world) Before they can die (That we can live in)
Teach your parents well Their children’s hell Will slowly go by And feed them on your dreams The one they pick’s The one you’ll know by
Don’t you ever ask them, “Why?” If they told you, you would cry So, just look at them and sigh And know they love you
Another dreary cold day with HIGH winds — and a little sleet!! Who the heck is in charge of the weather these days?
Whoever you are, could you quit with the high winds already??? It’s been something, like, 5 days in a row now. (“Thank you for your attention to this matter.” DJT)
If I didn’t have to go back to town later today and then drive home after dark tonight, I wouldn’t mind so much.
And I don’t really care that much that it’s supposed to snow tomorrow, when I’ll be out having an early Christmas lunch with Wendy and Kara. It’s those high winds I can’t handle.
Anyway.
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Okay.
Sad news yesterday.
The playwright, Tom Stoppard, passed away at age 88.
He wrote one of my favorite plays of all time — “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” (1966). From my POV as a writer, I thought he achieved something completely spectacular with that play. It’s really funny but it also totally fucks with your head — especially if you are reasonably familiar with “Hamlet”.
“The play expands upon the exploits of two minor characters from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the courtiers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and the main setting is Denmark…”
RIP Tom Stoppard
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And today marks another sad occasion.
The magnificent Shane MacGowan has been gone TWO YEARS now, as of today. I can’t fucking believe it, gang.
From The Pogues’ Instagram page this morning:
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Well, as long as we’re at it–
From Phyllis Stein’s Instagram page — another great photo of Willy (Mink) DeVille, from 2000.
I had no idea he ever had a horse farm in Mississippi!
Here’s another song of his that I used to love listening to on my Sony Walkman while walking alone around NYC at night in the early 80s! “Just to Walk that Little Girl Home”, 1979.
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And here’s this —
Another gorgeous photo of a Native American. I have no idea from which tribal nation, or when the photo was taken–
(Oh, and, NO, I have not heard anything more yet from Wayne on the manuscript for The Curse of Our Profound Disorder. Nothing since his comments about Jack Kicking Eagle. I’m not tapping my toe and glancing at my watch or anything, because I know he’s busy…. but come on!!!!) (And the publisher has at least been in touch but she hasn’t finished reading it yet, either…)
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Okay– back to Instagram…
And a veritable bonanza of Nick Cave photos on Instagram this morning!!
Mostly from photographer Ross A Waterman:
And Nick in furry ears!!
And Nick in Berlin, in 1987. I don’t know who photographed it:
I could look at this photo all day. Unfortunately, I have to do a bunch of other stuff…
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And an update on how Christmas is progressing here in Crazeysburg!
This morning, I put the Christmas flannel sheets on my bed!!
Jesus, gang. I just can’t emphasize enough how overwhelmed I feel about the potential of getting all the Christmas stuff out with all these frisky young cats in the house now.
But, on Thursday, I am having breakfast with a friend here (oddly enough, NOT in Granville, but only about 2 seconds away from Granville…):
Don’t let this empty parking lot fool you. There is usually not a single solitary place to park!!
And then I think I will spend the rest of Thursday getting the Christmas stuff out.
I’m at least trying to psyche myself up for that outcome, anyway. We shall see!
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Other than that, I have 28 more caregiving shifts until 2026!
(I don’t think I’m going to do a daily countdown, but I guess you never know.)
Meanwhile, I have to go wash my hair now, then do some yoga, then feed my lovely self and then head on out in the sleet and cold and wind… to go look after the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat.
Enjoy your 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.
The classic “A Rainy Night in Soho” by The Pogues, 1986. As always, just beautiful. Enjoy, gang.
“A Rainy Night In Soho”
I’ve been loving you a long time Down all the years, down all the days And I’ve cried for all your troubles Smiled at your funny little ways
We watched our friends grow up together And we saw them as they fell Some of them fell into Heaven Some of them fell into Hell
I took shelter from a shower And I stepped into your arms On a rainy night in Soho The wind was whistling all its charms
I sang you all my sorrows You told me all your joys Whatever happened to that old song? To all those little girls and boys
Sometimes I wake up in the morning The ginger lady by my bed Covered in a cloak of silence I hear you talking in my head
I’m not singing for the future I’m not dreaming of the past I’m not talking of the first time I never think about the last
Now this song is nearly over We may never find out what it means Still there’s a light I hold before me And you’re the measure of my dreams, the measure of my dreams
Sometimes I wake up in the morning The ginger lady by my bed Covered in a cloak of silence I hear you talking in my head
I’m not singing for the future I’m not dreaming of the past I’m not talking of the first time I never think about the last
Now this song is nearly over We may never find out what it means Still there’s a light I hold before me And you’re the measure of my dreams, the measure of my dreams
I’ll just say up front here that the agency managed to find a GREAT substitute caregiver for whoever it was that called off on Thanksgiving Day, and my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man had a really good holiday!
And he ate a TON of food! Yay!
And my shift with him yesterday went reasonably well. (I say “reasonably” only because with or without the food, he’s still sort of rapidly declining.)
I’m heading back over there soon and I am trying to keep a sort of “positive” outlook.
I can’t help it, gang. The more I think about work, the more I think about retiring. I don’t want to say that I’m “counting the days”, because I don’t know the exact day yet that I’m retiring, but let’s just say I have 29 shifts to go before 2026….
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Okay!
I don’t really have much to post about today, but here’s this–
From the Jack Kerouac Estate Instagram page, from left: John Cohen (back of head), Larry Rivers, Jack, David Amram, and Allen Ginsberg.
And in case I never posted about this before…
Back in April 1993, Larry Rivers turned 70 and his wife had a small birthday party for him at their loft on E. 14th Street , and I was invited to come to the party and sing!
I don’t remember what I sang — no more than 2 or 3 of my songs. I only remember that it was so cool to meet Larry Rivers!!
Me at Larry Rivers loft April 1993
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And speaking of so cool…
Nick Cave sent out a really cool Red Hand File yesterday! It was ostensibly about a woman who’d had a dream about the spirit of her dead son. But it was more about how a lot of human beings these days dismiss their spiritual side. He said, in part:
“…Sadly, the world we live in now has largely abandoned the mystical and sacred side, treating it as an unserious and unnecessary impediment to human progress. We now dwell in an essentially materialistic age, and weird experiences that disturb this rational world are often met with scepticism and derision. Unloved, this aspect of our nature can wither and die. I believe we ignore this strange and otherworldly activity at our peril….”
I’m working on a little project about E.12th Street and I am really enjoying it. It stems from those photos I recently posted here, showing how my “hellhole” apartment there was “renovated” after I moved out in 1992, and is now a sterile over-priced cubicle. And it has made me see those Alphabet City days of the 1980s in a whole different light.
Yep. Hard to believe, but it was actually better back then.
Okay.
Enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys! See ya!
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Okay.
I leave you with this!
One of those songs from my wee bonny 12-year-old girlhood that helped lure me to NYC… (and I’ll point out here that several people he sings about here, were photographed by Peter Hujar and I eventually saw those iconic photos in Peter’s apartment!!! See yesterday’s post.)
Lou Reed, “Walk on the Wild Side” 1972. From his legendary album Transformer. Enjoy, gang.
“Walk On The Wild Side”
Holly came from Miami, F.L.A. Hitch-hiked her way across the U.S.A. Plucked her eyebrows on the way Shaved her legs and then he was a she She says, “Hey, babe, Take a walk on the wild side.” Said, “Hey, honey, Take a walk on the wild side.”
Candy came from out on the Island In the back room she was everybody’s darling But she never lost her head Even when she was giving head She says, “Hey, babe, Take a walk on the wild side.” Said, “Hey, babe, Take a walk on the wild side.” And the colored girls go “Doo do doo do doo do do doo…”
Little Joe never once gave it away Everybody had to pay and pay A hustle here and a hustle there New York City’s the place Where they said, “Hey, babe, Take a walk on the wild side.” I said, “Hey, Joe, Take a walk on the wild side.”
Sugar Plum Fairy came and hit the streets Looking for soul food and a place to eat Went to the Apollo You should’ve seen them go, go, go They said, “Hey, sugar, Take a walk on the wild side.” I said, “Hey, babe, Take a walk on the wild side.” All right, huh
Jackie is just speeding away Thought she was James Dean for a day Then I guess she had to crash Valium would have helped that bash Said, “Hey, babe, Take a walk on the wild side.” I said, “Hey, honey, Take a walk on the wild side.” And the colored girls say, “Doo do doo do doo do do doo…”
I managed to get out 2 Christmas potholders. The snowman spoon-rest for the stovetop. 1 Christmas placemat for the kitchen table. A Christmas dish towel.
And a Christmas coffee mug from my stupidly large collection of Christmas coffee mugs…
And that was it.
I just wasn’t up for anything more than that yesterday. I figure I’ll wait until I am truly in the Christmas spirit and also have a ton of energy.
Well, I didn’t exactly watch it. It was on the TV in the kitchen while I made a big pot of soup for the weekend.
But that was about as festive as I got.
And now I’m getting ready to head back over to my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house and I am really dreading it, gang.
I’m not dreading seeing him, I’m just dreading what I will find. I am really, really hoping the Agency was able to find a good last-minute replacement for him yesterday — a caregiver that would be able to persuade him to get out of bed and to EAT. (I can’t stress enough how difficult he gets when he has a caregiver that he doesn’t recognize.)
One of his far-away family members texted both me and the private nurse yesterday, to wish us a Happy Thanksgiving. And of course I was polite, etc., but I really wanted to text back to the private nurse and say:
ME (texting furiously): “Why didn’t you fucking TELL me you were fucking going away??!! He ran out of FOOD!! He didn’t eat for TWO FUCKING DAYS!!”
When I wasn’t NOT decorating for Christmas, I did some yoga. Then started yet another new course! I finally finished the course on the Protestant Reformation last week (wow, what an intense course, gang), and while I wait for James Tabor’s new course on Christianity before Paul, I started a 36-lecture-course on Alexander the Great.
I really have no idea why this course jumped out at me, but it did. And I listened to the first lecture yesterday and I was instantly fascinated by it. It’s not just on Alexander but also on the era of Greek history in which he lived. And the sharp divide in people’s opinions of him back then.
I knew none of this stuff so I think it’s going to be very interesting. However, the moment James Tabor’s new course becomes available, I will set the Alexander the Great course aside until later.
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Meanwhile —
This was so cool.
From NYC LGBTQ historic sites on Instagram!! Peter Hujar’s old apartment in the East Village has just been made an LGBTQ historic residence site!
(Here he is in his living room. I remember this room so well, gang. It is where all his most iconic photographs were displayed.)
(If you are new to the blog, back during the AIDS crisis in NYC, during the mid-1980s, I was a volunteer with the Visiting Nurse Services of NY, and Peter Hujar was one of my patients up until he died.)
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And I think that’s it for now.
I need to sort of get myself together for today’s shift and then head into town.
Enjoy your (Black) Friday, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for visitng.
I love you guys. See ya!
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I leave you with this.
James Tabor posted this video to his private Patreon group yesterday.
“The roads of the Roman Empire restructured mobility in the Mediterranean area. This animation movie reveals the diversity of Roman roads, from paved roads leading to major ancient cities, over wide camel tracks in the Egyptian desert, to steep roads in mountain passes.”
Travel the Roads of the Roman Empire (8 mins). Enjoy gang.
If you live State-side, I hope you have a great holiday!
Oddly enough, I woke up at my usual 4AM this morning, but WASN’T exhausted at all!! Funny how that works when I know I don’t have to get up and go to work…
However, I’m still not 100% sure I will get that Christmas tree up today. We shall see how it goes. It feels a little overwhelming right now, but my mood could change as the day goes on.
That terrible wind we had all day/night yesterday damaged part of my new gutter, so I’m super excited about that! I sure was so hoping I would have to find yet another handyman — this one who can go up on my roof and re-attach part of my new gutter… for, you know, a nominal fee.
Aarrrgh!
No! Not THAT kind of handyman…. Although, you know. Anyway!!
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Okay. Yesterday.
Jesus, gang. I will at least say, upfront, that the day ended very nicely once I got home from my shift.
But the minute I arrived at the home of my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man, I discovered that he hadn’t eaten in TWO DAYS!!
His private nurse was away on vacation. I had no clue she was leaving town or I would have done his grocery shopping on Saturday, when I was last there. (The nurse usually does all the grocery shopping, but I leave her a grocery list on Saturdays.)
There sat my grocery list on the counter. And there sat his fridge with almost nothing in it. Not even cream for his coffee.
I was super excited about the thought of getting him out of bed immediately and heading to the grocery store in the rain, the plummeting temperatures and the high winds — the day before fucking Thanksgiving! (When you can’t find a parking spot that’s anywhere near the store!)
Not exaggerating at all in any way!
He’d also had a caregiver from the Agency at his house on Monday & Tuesday, who did not know that you can’t prepare food for him and leave it in the fridge. It has to be on the table beside his chair in the living room where he can see it, otherwise he will forget to eat. And that’s what happened. For two fucking DAYS.
Her notes said that he was being really, really difficult on top of not eating. He hates when he has unfamiliar caregivers. And reading over her notes made me, of course, feel guilty about planning to retire. I realize the Agency will have me train someone before I leave for good, but still. I pictured him starving to death and dying in short order.
Anyway, I was so fucking upset from the minute my shift started. Mostly because the private nurse had not texted me that she was out of town. She’d only texted, asking me to pick up his Thanksgiving dinner.
So I got him out of bed and off we went. He was so disoriented and weak, which of course made me more upset. I stopped in at the Agency, which was on the way to the store, and I politely vented to the receptionist about the client not having eaten in 2 days!
I didn’t want anything in writing/typing on the Agency app, where the family in Seattle could read that their 95-year-old dad, who lives alone and has no short term memory left, hadn’t eaten in TWO FUCKING DAYS!! Meanwhile, the family pays the Agency a fucking fortune to make sure that their dad fucking EATS…
Jesus fucking Christ, I was so angry. But luckily, the receptionist at the Agency is just incredibly efficient and really nice, and she started emailing the right people, right away. So I felt a little bit better when I left there.
And I ended up taking him out for breakfast at the same place where I was picking up his pre-ordered Thanksgiving dinner. So that saved time. And the day wasn’t totally ruined.
And he collapsed in his recliner in the living room the moment we got back, and he slept there for the remainder of my shift until I woke him to say goodbye and have a happy Thanksgiving….
….wherein, as I was preparing to leave, a text came in from the Agency: Could I possibly work with him again on Thanksgiving because the scheduled caregiver had just called off sick…
ME: “FUCK! “
ME (also): “NO. I CAN’T.”
(But I said it a lot more politely than that.) And then I left post-it notes written with a big black sharpie all over his kitchen in hopes that the caregiver who gets sent in there today will have some sort of chance in hell of getting him to eat his Thanksgiving dinner…
AAarrrgggh,,,,
Then I got in my Honda and drove away…
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However, when I got home. I got texts all evening from friends, hither & yon — old and new — wishing me a Happy Thanksgiving (and other stuff). Which was so nice.
And then my birth mom called! Right at a moment when I was actually holding my phone! So she didn’t go straight to voicemail!
We had such a great chat.
I ended the evening just feeling great about everything–
(except maybe about work…).
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Okay!
Here’s this!
Back when the Boys Next Door really were Bad Seeds!!
A reminder that their new “LIVE GOD” album will be out December 5th!
“Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds announce their new live album Live God, a stunning testament to The Wild GodTour, which wowed audiences across the UK, Europe and North America in 2024 and ‘25, and which travels to Australia and New Zealand in 2026.The album will be released on 5 December 2025….”
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And I think that is it for now!
I’m gonna go have another cup of coffee and try to decide if I want to just relax today (i.e. — watch classic Yogi Bear cartoons??)
Or put up the Christmas stuff.
Or perhaps BOTH!!
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Have a great holiday and/or Thursday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guy. See ya!
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I leave you with this!!
As my CD player in the kitchen prepares for that most wonderful season to get underway!!
Andy Williams, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”. Enjoy, gang.
I’ll just let you guys presume from now on that I am so fucking TIRED!
Jesus. Those 10-hr Tuesdays kill me. Not so much the amount of hours, but the fact that I never stop moving the whole time I’m there.
Getting the meds sorted out 3 times. Cooking two meals, then cleaning up after that. Help with the showering (while I get just as wet from the handheld shower sprayer spraying everywhere), and then help with the getting dressed, and the Physical Therapy exercises. Then tracking it all, in writing, in the notebook. Then tracking it again, in typing, on the Agency’s phone app.
Then, yesterday, we went to the hair salon. (Male/female). And guess what? It was a Christian hair salon. I’ve actually never seen anything like it. It was really tiny and really cool. They had so much pretty stuff, including one of those fake fireplaces that are totally hypnotizing. And the people who work there, and the other customers, were so friendly.
The salon had a lot of Christian/Christmas stuff for sale. My favorite was a tee shirt that simply said “Forgiven” across the front of it. How cool would that be? To walk all over the world, with a shirt that tells everyone you’re forgiven? I really loved it.
Anyway. It was raining and cold yesterday, so I had to deal with getting the walkers, folded and unfolded, then in and out of the SUV, etc., in the rain. So that was fun, too.
However!
Just as we got home from the hair salon, out-of-town family members arrived who are visiting for the holiday, so the client said, “Have a great holiday, Marilyn! You can go ahead and go home now.”
Wow! That meant I was able to get to the grocery store before dark and get home a whole hour early.
But probably the best part was , as I was leaving, the client and the client’s family (who I’d met before) all hugged me goodbye and said, “We love you, Marilyn.”
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That’s still the hard part for me — knowing that I’m getting ready to retire and nobody knows yet.
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Today, it’s not so cold, but it is still raining. And more of those high winds that I absolutely LOVE…
I’m heading out soon to see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man. We’re not going out for sashimi & sake today. But I do have to go out later and pick up his pre-ordered Thanksgiving dinner for tomorrow. He just stays in the car, though, when I run errands for him. So hopefully I can just dash in and dash out —
I don’t mind doing any of this stuff, but I am just so — well, you know!!
Yes, I need a vacation!!
And first thing this morning, as my eyes opened at 4AM, I thought about tomorrow, and how I have one day off to spend lugging out all the Christmas stuff. Put up that enormous tree and decorate the whole house–
–with 723 frisky cats, getting into everything!!
However.
Once it’s all done, it is so worth it, gang.
Christmas Eve 2023
And Monday afternoon, I’ll be with Wendy and Kara, at Snapshots in Granville, for an early Christmas celebration! I am so looking forward to that, and I am already getting into the Christmas spirit.
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Okay.
Here’s this!
A great shot of the Rolling Stones, in Chelsea, 1971:
And Keith, in color! From back when he was called “Keith Richard” — no ‘s’.
It’s weird to see him in color back then. So many of the photos of them from that era (the 1960s) were in black & white. I have seen photos of him in those pants so many times, and I had no idea what color they were…
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All right.
I suppose I better scoot and get a little more coffee and then get ready for this day!
Have a terrific Thanksgiving Eve, if you live Stateside, otherwise, have a wonder-filled Wednesday, wherever you are in the world!!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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I leave you with this!
Boy, am I really loving this Oldies FM radio station that I have the retro boombox in my bedroom tuned to.
This morning, as I sat up in bed (again), holding my nearly empty coffee cup, stared at the rainy streets outside the window and tried to convince myself to finally get the day underway, I switched on the radio and lo! & behold!
Fucking-A!! What a great song!! Suddenly, I was singing and getting up out of bed…
Enjoy, gang.
“Free Fallin'” from Tom Petty’s massively successful first solo album, Full Moon Fever, 1989.
“Free Fallin'”
She’s a good girl, loves her mama Loves Jesus and America too She’s a good girl, who’s crazy ’bout Elvis Loves horses and her boyfriend too
And it’s a long day, livin’ in Reseda There’s a freeway, runnin’ through the yard And I’m a bad boy, ’cause I don’t even miss her I’m a bad boy for breakin’ her heart
And I’m free, free fallin’ Yeah I’m free, free fallin’
All the vampires, walkin’ through the valley Move west down Ventura Boulevard And all the bad boys are standing in the shadows And the good girls are home with broken hearts
Marilyn's Room 