Tag Archives: family

Yeah, well, so guess what happened??

August 5, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

Does this give you a clue?? (1 min):

You perhaps recall that yesterday, I was heading into town to run my errands and thought that maybe I’d stop in at the Honda dealership and see if I could get a better rate on the final year of my current car lease —

OR —

Perhaps even trade in the current lease, on my beloved 2025 Honda Civic, for a new lease altogether…

Holy shit, gang.

I know I have said it here many times before — that the Honda dealership in town that I’ve used for the last 9 years is super nice.

But yesterday was off the charts.

Not only was the sales rep who greeted me super friendly, it turned out he and his little family had been my neighbors 9 years ago, when I briefly lived in town and rented a house from one of my friends. (I thought I was on my way back to NYC back then, but I wound up buying a house and staying out here.)

Anyway!

Within a nanosecond, they basically had me set up with a new 3-year lease on a brand new 2027 Honda Accord — it had 7 miles on it. Just came in from the factory, like, that moment.

Inside the car, it was a little overwhelming because it is like the car from the future. It does all kinds of shit that is, like, scary. And it even has a tiny red button at the top of the rearview mirror that calls 911 when you so much as tap it…

All kinds of stuff I don’t need but now it’s all mine for 3 years. And if you thought it was hard for me to drive less than 95 mph in the Honda Civic…

I don’t know — I guess re-watch this!

Shit. That new car goes fast.

And the most highly improbable part of it all? It will cost me less each month than the Honda Civic did. And it now includes all oil changes, tire rotations, new battery (if needed), and new windshield wipers when needed.

So I guess that’s a better monthly rate…

It felt like God and a whole big bunch of angels led me to that Honda dealership yesterday, gang. Wow.

I was kind of in shock all evening: I’ve got a brand new car. (This is actually the 5th brand new car I’ve gotten from Honda in the last 9 years…Kind of interesting when you consider how much I hate driving.)

****************

Okay.

Also yesterday, I thought I was starting a new habit of going to town on Tuesdays to do the grocery shopping–

But last evening, I finally got that call from the courthouse that my jury duty starts nextTuesday morning at 8:45AM.

Oh well.

I might not get put on a jury. We’ll see. But if I am, at least I’m getting it over with (and I’ll get paid). But if I am on a jury, it will be really hard to post to the blog. We shall see how it goes.

***************

Okay.

Well.

Since I got held up at the Honda dealership for quite a while yesterday, it took me a lot longer to get my actual errands done and come back from town. So I didn’t have enough time to read an entire poetry book yesterday, but I did read half of it–

And in case I didn’t make it totally clear yesterday that I actually know both Madeline Artenberg and Iris N. Schwartz (authors of the above book from 2006)– well, I do. And not only that, Iris has been a close friend for a really long time.

But it’s been 20 years since I’d read this specific book. What a fucking delight. All those years of living in NYC and going to poetry readings to listen to Iris, in particular, read her poems — it all came back to me last night. She could really control a room with her poems.

She is such a great writer. Succinct, emotional, honest, funny.

She’s had a few poetry & fiction books out since 2006, and has a new chapbook coming out in October. I will keep you posted!!

****************

And speaking of the Sealey Poetry Challenge for the month of August (read one book of poetry a day) —

This poem was sent to me from a reader last night! (1 min 23 secs) (Thank you, Martha!!):

******************

All righty.

Here’s this!

The Rolling Stones in 1964, looking extremely well behaved!!

**************

And if looks like Johnny Depp is heading to Shanghai at any moment, getting ready to open his Art Exhibit there!

***********

And it looks like that first show in Croatia last night was awesome! Lots of videos of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds making a lot of people happy!

I did not have enough time to save many photos yet, but here’s the set list:

And here’s a photo of Nick Cave that I liked!

Tonight’s show in Croatia is SOLD OUT. I should have more time today to hang out on Instagram and scroll through photos…

Meanwhile–

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds play Belgrade, Serbia, next — on Friday, August 7th. You can buy tickets here!

**********

And, during my illustrious dinner hours, I am currently watching the Joe Strummer documentary from 2008, “The Future Is Unwritten.” It is very good, but really intense.

Here’s the trailer:

And that is it for today!!

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

**********

Let’s close with this!

A real gem from Bill Wyman, and it is so fun to drive to!

“Drive My Car”, 2024. Enjoy, gang!!

“It’s funny how that weather app on her phone never resembles the actual weather outside! She should probably, you know, just look outside.”

July 26, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

Yes! We have yet another gorgeous morning here today, gang. That rain & thunderstorm stuff still hasn’t happened yet — and now they’re saying tomorrow…

I guess we’ll see.

But this means I get to take another gorgeous walk out there again today.

This village is so fucking pretty in the summertime. There are a few mobile home-type houses here, but most of the houses are really old yet really well maintained — so much character, no 2 houses look alike here — and the village itself (population around 1,354) is surrounded by tall cornfields this time of year. And beyond the cornfields, are the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. Tons of really green trees extending up the horizon, wherever you look, for miles and miles and miles.

When the sky is blue, and it’s not too hot & humid, it just takes my mind to a whole other place.

I really, really love walking. And even in NYC, I loved walking. And even though I really miss NYC, and even though while I’m walking here, I really have no clear idea of how I got here — it still sort of rescues my entire soul.

***************

Okay, first.

Today is the 5th anniversary of the passing of one of my dear friends, Kent. He and I met when we were 12 and became fast friends for life.

Kent loved books and music — in High School, he turned me on to people that I instantly just loved. For instance, Hunter S. Thompson and Tom Waits. To name just two.

Kent had a PhD in Geology and primarily worked for NASA most of his adult life. (And if you think that I’m a conspiracy theorist, you should have known Kent! For instance, he studied the actual moon rocks as part of his job. He said, “Those rocks didn’t come from any moon…”)

Anyway. Kent was wonderful. So smart, so funny.

Kent was also very good friends with my friend Steve — the guy I’ve known since we were 11. We texted yesterday, sort of unable to believe that Kent’s been gone 5 years already.

RIP, Kent. We still miss you so much.

Kent, visiting from Texas — holding one of Steve’s kids. (Steve has 4 children.)

*************

Today is also this!

Happy 83rd Birthday, Mick Jagger! (Below, he is about 27, in the era of Exile on Main Street.)

And here’s this, from 1985! This record was really popular back then –when I was working with my best friend Valerie at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC! “Lucky in Love,” from Mick’s solo album, She’s the Boss:

***************

Okay. This happened yesterday and sort of stunned me.

I was looking through a bunch of old photos that I found stored in the chest of drawers in the guest room.

There was one big envelope of family photos — and it was quite an assortment, between my adoptive family and my birth family.

A lot of the photos, I’d forgotten I even had.

There was a photo of my birth dad from 1954, but on the back of the photo, I discovered that the address of the house they lived in at the time was written on it. (My dad was 9 years old in 1954.)

I decided to Google the address!

I knew that by the time my dad and his family had moved to Ohio from Kentucky, my grandfather was a serious alcoholic. My great-grandparents had moved my grandfather to Ohio and bought him some land, to try to give him one final chance to start over. Instead of starting over, though, my grandfather died from complications with his alcoholism, leaving my grandmother alone with 5 kids.

As an adult, my birth dad had told me that they had been very poor because of his dad’s drinking. But seeing the actual house yesterday online, still just stunned me.

Built in 1901. 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. Absolutely tiny, although it still sits on a decent amount of land. And the house is not far from where my birth mom lives now, I could easily go there and see it. This is the house my dad lived in when I was conceived:

And just FYI, this is a school photo of my dad that same year I was conceived (he was 14, my birth mom was 12):

By the time I was born, he was 15 and in jail for stealing. He was put in the women’s jail, though, because — as you can see– he was a little too young to be thrown in with a bunch of grown men.

However, even though my dad went on to be a US Navy SEAL, serving in Vietnam for the entire duration of that war — even getting injured by a flame-thrower on the Mekong Delta during the TET Offensive — he still maintained that being stuck in the women’s jail for 6 months when he was 15 , was the worst time of his entire life.

***********

Okay!

Here’s this from that FB page yesterday! Nick Cave!! Adorable!

************

All righty!

I guess I’m going to get started around here. I’ve already had an interesting morning — watched the Sunday Catholic Mass from a church in Ireland. Then suddenly felt inspired to read some poems by Vladimir Mayakovsky in a book I’ve owned for about 40 years that was totally falling apart– what a trip down Memory Lane.

Later today, is the live Zoom call for Ross K. Nichols’ private Yachad Group, which promises to be very interesting. And in the meantime, I guess I’m going to go take a walk and think about my life.

I still have a list of things to do, writing-wise, but I am making really great progress with it. By this coming week, I should be able to make some real time to sit and get that memoir underway.

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

**************

Let’s leave with this.

A great video Kent sent me about 8 years ago. It’s beautiful. (This is a song by New Order, the video is from 2012.)

“To celebrate New Order headlining the first year of the UK’s newest festival, the Brythoniaid Male Voice Choir were commissioned by Festival No.6 to record their own unique version of ‘Blue Monday’. The 60 members of the Brythoniaid Male Voice Choir, formed in 1964 in Blaenau Ffestiniog, recorded their interpretation of the seminal track in the studio, then filmed the video on location at the stunning Portmeirion, location for Festival No.6 . Surely the most unique setting for a festival the UK has ever seen?”

Kent’s comments to me: “Apparently everyone in Wales can sing.”

Festival No.6 presents the Brythoniaid Male Voice Choir – ‘Blue Monday’ . Enjoy, gang.

Off to great start!

July 21, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Yesterday was wonderful, gang.

I got so much done right here at my desk!

And I took that walk — wow, what a gorgeous morning it was around here. It was one of those perfect summer mornings that sort of seemed unbelievable — the birds were singing, the sky was so blue & the smoke haze was gone. Everywhere flowers were blooming and the trees were so green and the corn is getting really tall out in the fields now.

And I did get a lot of stuff done at my desk but I also had a great chat with Wayne on the phone. And I got some promising updates regarding reprint rights I am hoping to secure for the M. Christian tribute anthology from the estates of both Simon Sheppard and Bill Brent.

AND– I got an email from Amazon’s Kindle that a royalty check is on its way to my bank account, so thanks again everybody!! I really, really appreciate that you keep on buying my books and eBooks.

I also discovered yesterday that my reprinted books at Kindle (which are no longer banned or blocked!!) appear to be eligible for Audible audio books now, too! So I am going to be taking care of the paperwork for all 7 of the reprinted titles, so that those can get underway.

So, yay. A great day yesterday.

***********

All right.

I have a phone chat scheduled for 10AM today so I need to get moving —

So, here’s this!!

This artist lives here in Ohio, although I don’t know her. But I always love her pet illustrations (she and her family have lots of dogs and cats). These 2 from yesterday really jumped out at me — big surprise!

“She believed she could so she did … She rescued every animal that came her way.”

“Enjoy the little things in life for someday you will realize they were the Big Things”

****************

And here’s this!

Yesterday in Boston! Peter Wolf dropped in on Jim Lauderdale before the gig!

***********

And here, well, I’m thinkin’ Charlie’s not so sure about that balloon on Keith’s guitar…

***************

And here’s this — from all the way back in 1976!

Richard Hell and Voidoids in a photo taken by Blondie’s Christ Stein!

************

A couple more great ones from Phyllis Stein!

Johnny Thunders in NYC in 1981 (photo by Kathy Findlay):

And the Sex Pistols in London in 1977! (Photo by Adrian Boot)

*****************

It looks like Johnny Depp has a new Sauvage ad campaign coming soon from Dior (perhaps just in time for the Hollywood Vampires’ tour of the UK and Europe, starting in August??) (BTW– you can BUY TICKETS HERE!):

***********

Over at Nick Cave’s Cave Things, they’re having a 2-for-1 t-shirt sale!! You can check it out HERE!

And although it won’t reach me by my birthday, which is tomorrow, I am still in need of this one — lyrics to “The Mercy Seat” (thanking you in advance):

And speaking of Nick Cave!!

From that FB page yesterday!!

And, while on break before the upcoming SOLD OUT homecoming bash in Brighton, George Vjestica was getting caught up on his photo-posting yesterday!

Including–

And George with Larry (although George seems sort of shocked that Larry would say that…) —

***********
And that is it for now!

I’m gonna scoot downstairs and snag another cup of coffee, and get all my notes and thoughts ready for my upcoming phone call.

Have a terrific Tuesday, wherever you are in the world, gang!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!!

**********

Let’s close with this!

From the Rolling Stones’ new one, Foreign Tongues — “Side Effects” lyric video! Super catchy, in my opinion. Enjoy, gang.

Oh no! Look what we missed!

July 16, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Even though I’ve been a fan of Joe Satriani’s for 40 years….

I never knew when his birthday was.

It turns out that not only was it yesterday (see yesterday’s post wherein we didn’t wish him a happy birthday), but more importantly, he also turned 70 yesterday!! Wow!

Happy belated 70th Joe Satriani!!

**********

And speaking of yesterday’s birthdays–

Phyllis Stein wished Johnny Thunders a really lovely Happy Heavenly Birthday!

And she also posted a great photo of the New York Dolls at the Waldorf Astoria in NYC in 1973! (Photo by Richard Drew)

************

Here’s Bill Burroughs not smoking in a bar in Paris in 1962!!!

***************

Yesterday, I discovered that over at that really beautiful, newly restored Historic Arcade in Newark (where my friends have that beautiful Art Gallery)–

Historic Arcade — oh, and note that bookshop at the left there. That’s the bookshop that said I could drop off a review copy of my new novel.

It turns out, that on Thursday evenings, from 5:30 – 7:30, they have live acoustic music in the Arcade! Since I’ll be on “vacation” starting next week, I’m planning to go over and check it out!

************

I just wanted to add that I continue to hear from writers & publishers regarding the upcoming M. Christian tribute anthology and the amount of love people had for that guy is really just a joyful thing, gang. I am so glad that I am involved in this project.

*************

This was very interesting– about Flock cameras.

From yesterday, 1 hr.

Tucker Carlson:

Whistleblower Reveals the Largest Mass Surveillance Operation in History and the Coming Slave State

*****************

And I guess we can now focus on Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds!!

You know, even though it seems like every show they’ve done since this current tour started has been incredible, the shows seem to somehow be more & more amazing every night.

First, a couple more from the show in Nimes–

From George Vjestica:

And Nick Cave–

And Nick with a couple of Bad Seeds–

And the rest are from the show last night in Vienne, France.

First, the seste list! (Often spelled “set” but since they are now in France, we decided to spell it differently!!)

Some of the Bad Seeds!

And Nick Cave!!

And tomorrow, they play Carhaix, France. You can buy tickets HERE. And then that will be it until the SOLD OUT extravaganza in Brighton!

******************

And while we’re at it, here’s this!

While the movie, “The Bad Seed”, came out in theaters in 1956, before I was born, there was always a big buzz whenever it showed on TV in the 1960s.

I was a very young girl when I first saw it on television and it scared the bejeezus out of me. It was SO CREEPY!! (The little girl turned out to be a psychopathic serial killer…) Here’s a 4-minute clip:

***************

And I guess that is it for today!

I will not be posting here tomorrow because I have my final early client tomorrow. (And then only 2 more clients after that, and then Sunday is my final day before retiring.)

Today, I’m going to try to focus on just making myself happy — probably here at my desk. But I also want to take a walk before it gets too hot out, and do yoga. Anything to take my mind off how difficult it is to tell each of my clients goodbye. But, wow, do I feel loved, gang. And I know that I’m going to be missed. But I also know that I have to focus on my own life again before time gets completely away from me.

Have a good Thursday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

***********

Let’s close with this.

I woke up singing it to the cats this morning.

I loved these guys so much, in all their various styles.

The Bee Gees. “Too Much Heaven.” 1978. Enjoy, gang.

“Too Much Heaven”

Nobody gets too much heaven no more
It’s much harder to come by
I’m waiting in line
Nobody gets too much love anymore
It’s as high as a mountain
And harder to climb

Oh you and me girl
Got a lot of love in store
And it flows through you
And it flows through me
And I love you so much more
Than my life..

I can see beyond forever
Ev’rything we are will never die
Loving’s such a beautiful thing
Oh you make my world a summer day
Are you just a dream to fade away

Nobody gets too much heaven no more
It’s much harder to come by
I’m waiting in line
Nobody gets too much love anymore
It’s as high as a mountain
And harder to climb

You and me girl got a highway to the sky
We can turn away from the night and day
And the tears we had to cry
You’re my life..

I can see a new tomorrow
Ev’rything we are will never die
Loving’s such a beautiful thing
When you are to me, the light above
Made for all to see our precious love

Nobody gets too much heaven no more
It’s much harder to come by
I’m waiting in line
Nobody gets too much love anymore
It’s as high as a mountain
And harder to climb

Love is such a beautiful thing
You make my world a summer day
Are you just a dream to fade away

Nobody gets too much heaven no more
It’s much harder to come by
I’m waiting in line
Nobody gets too much love anymore
It’s as wide as a river and harder to cross

Nobody gets too much heaven no more
It’s much harder to come by
I’m waiting in line
Nobody gets too much love anymore
It’s as high as a mountain
And harder to climb

c – 1978 Barry, Maurice, and Robin Gibb

A Happy Father’s Day To One & All!

June 21, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

What a gorgeous day it is out here in the Hinterlands. Mild and really sunny.

A perfect day for dads to get out there and get that grill going!!

Before I get off on a tangent and forget–

Happy 70th Birthday to Chong!!

Yes, my first husband is 70 today!!

I kinda can’t believe it — I now have a first husband who is 70, and a second husband who is 72…. I’ve decided not to process these numbers and just have a happy day!!

Me, having a happy day!! And not just because I love to clean, but weren’t those pink porcelain bathrooms the *BEST*??!!

Okay!!

Back to Father’s Day!

I’ve posted all these photos to the blog before, but here they are again!

My birth dad, Don May.

At Midway Island, in 1973, during the Vietnam War:

Me and Don in his double-wide trailer-home in Fallon, Nevada, in May of 1993. He settled in Fallon, NV, because there is a US Naval base there, and he continued working there even after he retired from the Navy:

A photo of my adoptive dad, Alan, and my grandma in the mid-1980s, a couple years before she died:

Me and my dad, in Cleveland, celebrating our birthdays together (our birthdays were one day apart). My mom baked the cake:

***********

Okay, that’s the Father’s Day stuff!! If you want to know anything else about me & fathers & father figures, you’ll have to read my almost-in-progress memoir, Joy: The Shortest Season!! Because there is a TON of stuff to say in there about all that!!

And, to prepare for it, here’s this! Again!! From 1972:

Well, and okay, here’s this–

One of my most favorite father figures of all time– Keith Richards with his daughter, Dandelion Angela Richards:

And I guess, here’s this, too:

*************

Okay.

Here’s this!

From the Jack Kerouac Estate:

**********

And the Bad Seeds show in Prague looks like it was off the charts, gang!

People started posting photos and videos yesterday, like immediately.

First, here’s the set list:

And that encore of “The Weeping Song” looked incredible. Quite a few people posted videos of it — which I can’t post here — but the energy was just amazing. So much joy, both onstage and in the (huge) audience.

And here are a couple of photos:

And here’s this — but from the other day in Lingen — “The Weeping Song”:

Tonight’s show in Austria is sold out.

Next up, though, is Athens, Greece, and you can BUY TICKETS HERE!!

On an entirely different note, though–

Nick Cave sent out a Red Hand File yesterday morning that absolutely broke my heart. Partly because it was so well written. But mostly because I deal with aging all the time now because of my job as a home health aide to the elderly, and also because I, too, am also aging. But Nick answered this question from Daffo in Australia: “What’s the worst thing about having become a really old rockstar?” Jesus. Nick answered in part:

“The worst thing about being an old rockstar is that the old rockstar’s old fans don’t know how to work their fucking phones.”

But the rest of his answer just, I don’t know. It was so vivid. You can read it in full HERE but it broke my heart.

**************

Okay.

Well, I am TOTALLY digging my new schedule, gang.

Last night, at 8PM, I was still down in my kitchen, having my dinner!! And watching another old ridiculously funny re-run of “Black Books”. And the sun was still up, and I could see all my flowers out there on my porch. And the cats were still frisky and the neighbors were out and about in the summer street.

It feels so great to not have morning shifts anymore — except for Fridays. And, this Tuesday, I’m covering a morning shift for someone else. But, overall, my mornings are free again and, wow, it feels so great.

And I’m excited to see the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat this afternoon because I haven’t seen them in 2 weeks.

And tomorrow at noon is my lunch with Wendy at 3 Tigers Brewing Co. in Granville!!

They also have live music, but not on Mondays at noon…

All right.

A very happy Father’s Day to one and all, especially to those 2 of mine in Heaven.

I’m gonna listen to another lecture in Bart Ehrman’s course, “The Greatest Controversies in Early Christian History” while doing some yoga. Then water all the flowers. Have lunch. Etc.

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

**********

Let’s close with this!!

For my birth dad, who, in 1973 and unbeknownst to me, moved to Monterey, California, while I was sitting alone in my room in Ohio, listening to this song on the Top 40 radio, dreaming about who my “real dad” might be and if one day I might find him…

The Beach Boys, “California Saga”, 1973. Enjoy, gang.

“California Saga: California”

On my way to sunny California
On my way to spend another sunny day

Water, water
Get yourself in the cool, clear water
The sun shines brightly down on Penny’s place
(The sun shines brightly down on the bay)
The air’s so clean it’ll just take your mind away
(Might take your mind away, take your mind away)

Have you ever been south of Monterey?
Barrancas carve the coastline
And the chaparral flows to the sea
‘Neath waves of golden sunshine
And have you ever been north of Morro Bay?
The south coast plows the sea
And the people there are of the breed
They don’t need electricity

Water, water
(Get yourself in that, get yourself in that)
Cool cascades of clear, clear water
(Get yourself in that water)
The sun dance final scene sets the hills ablaze
(Get yourself in that water)
Horizon edges quick up the mountain’s way
(Up the mountain’s way, up the mountain’s way)

Have you ever been down Salinas way
Where Steinbeck found the valley?
And he wrote about it the way it was
In his travelings with Charley
And have you ever walked down through the sycamores
Where the farmhouse used to be?
There, the monarch’s autumn journey ends
On a windswept cypress tree

Water (Get), water
(Get yourself in that, get yourself in that)
Get yourself in that cool, clear water
(Get yourself in that water)
The sun shines brightly down on Penny’s place
(Get yourself in that water)
The air’s so clean that it just takes your mind away
(It takes your mind away, it takes your mind away)

Have you ever been to a festival
The Big Sur congregation?
Where Country Joe will do his show
And he’ll sing about liberty
And the people there in the open air
Are one big family
Yeah, the people there love to sing and share
Their newfound liberty

c – 1973 Alan Jardine

Welcome to the weekend!!

June 20, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Although mine will look nothing like the picture above, I can still dream…

Well. Wow. Did I have a great time with my client last evening! We were both so glad to see each other again.

And here’s something that rarely happens when I go for awhile without seeing a client — she was actually in better health than she was in the last time I saw her!! And she’s in her mid-80s.

She looked great and felt really good. And, wow, her home! One of the family’s private caregivers had been in to clean and dust before my client got back from Florida, so it would be ready for her after having been gone for 5 months. It was sort of jaw-dropping how perfect everything looked — not a speck of dust — especially since it is such an enormous and really, really old farm house (1800s), that’s filled with antiques.

Anyway. It just felt so good to be back in that incredible love-filled home and to chat with her again. 5 hours absolutely flew by.

I’ll be back with her again this evening — and then every Saturday evening for the rest of the summer.

One of her sons was at the house — he lives out of state but had flown back with her from Florida. And he gave me the rundown of all the places where my client likes to eat, including the country club where she has an account, and he said, “Feel free to take her out for dinner! She’ll pick up the tab.”

This is so different from how it was the previous 2 summers, which shows how much better her health is now. But anyway, it should be a good summer!

**************

Okay.

I guess the way to really get a podcast off the ground is to do it with the 83-year-old Rolling Stones!!

Anyway. The Rolling Stones’ podcast launches on Thursday, June 25th.

The Rolling Stones – Speaking In Tongues | The Official Podcast Trailer (1 minute):

************

And from Nick Cave Official yesterday — priority booking for this talk begins June 23rd at 10AM:

***************

This is from Metrograph Weekend — in addition to vintage films, they also have a really cool quarterly journal.

It is an interview with Ira Sachs, the director of that movie I posted about yesterday, Keep the Lights On:

“…But perhaps the film in the Sachs oeuvre which The Man I Love most recalls is Keep the Lights On (2012), his hushed and devastating study of a relationship marked by deep attraction and mutual need, but marred by dishonesty and addiction, which is currently streaming on Metrograph At Home. …” [interview is by Mark Asch]

Director Ira Sachs. Photo by Jac Martinez

**************

And from Ross K. Nichols last evening– the video touches on the James Ossuary scandal, the Shapira Scrolls, and the Jehoash Inscription. (Ross will be going into more detail about the Jehoash Inscription in his Sunday School class tomorrow.)

From the Times of Israel, 2022. Into the Land: The Forgery Scandal (17 mins):

*************

And here’s this!

From June 17th!!

Bob Dylan and Eric Burdon, at Bob’s concert this past Wednesday at the Santa Barbara Bowl:

And from a mere 41 years earlier…

The first time Bob Dylan and Tom Petty played onstage together (which led to a lifelong friendship, recordings, and many tours together).

Bob and Tom at Farm Aid, Sept. 22, 1985!!

*************

And from Facebook (yes, I really have no clue why I’m back on Facebook… but anyway):

Nick Cave and Mick Harvey, smoking on a bed!

And don’t forget, tonight the Bad Seeds play Prague!! (Which is truly the one city I would really love to see before I die, since it has that intense connection to Franz Kafka.)

Buy tickets here. Tomorrow’s show in Austria is sold out.

***********

And that is it for today.

As I continue to get accustomed to my new schedule — wherein I have so much more uninterrupted time to sit and write…

I came to a sudden decision early this morning that I will wait on continuing work on the Caiaphas play until after I attend James Tabor’s conference in late September, in North Carolina. That conference will cover all the most up-to-date archeological news on topics that underscore my play.

And, instead, I felt like I really wanted to begin work on my memoir about my life in the 70s. Finally. (Joy: The Shortest Season.) And, wow, gang, that feeling felt really good. To finally sit down with it and let it come out. So we shall see!

Meanwhile, enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

*************

From the drive home last night– speaking of getting ready to write that memoir…

Neil Diamond, “Shilo” live, from Hot August Night, 1972. Enjoy, gang.

“Shilo”

Young child with dreams
Dreaming each dream on your own
When children play
Seems like you end up alone
Papa says he’d love to be with you
If he had the time
So you turn to the only friend you can find
There in your mind

Shilo, when I was young
I used to call your name
When no one else would come
Shilo, you always came and we’d play

Young girl with fire
Something said she understood
I wanted to fly
She made me feel like I could

Held my hand out, I let her take me
Blind as a child
All I saw was the way
That she made me smile
She made me smile

Shilo, when I was young
I used to call your name
When no one else would come
Shilo, you always came and you’d stay

Had a dream and it filled me with wonder
She had other plans
“Got to go” and I know that you’ll understand
I understand

Shilo, when I was young
I used to call your name
When no one else would come
Shilo, you always came

Come today
Shilo
Shilo

c- 1967 Neil Diamond

Getting back to normal already

June 16, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Well, getting close to normal, anyway.

Last evening, the Agency assigned me a new client for Friday mornings/afternoons beginning next week. She seems like a really sweet lady, and she’s only about 20 minutes away. (Only a few blocks from the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat.)

Plus the Agency has me signed up for Hospice training (paid training) next Wednesday — a one-time class.

So, you know, my schedule is filling up.

And on Monday, my beloved pal Wendy and I are going out for lunch (!!) at one of my favorite spots in Granville —

3 Tigers Brewing Co. It has a lot of Vietnamese food, but other stuff, as well. It’s inside an old fire station:

This Thursday morning, my insurance guy is coming over to just check up on all my policies. But in the late afternoon, I might head over to the Historic Arcade again in Newark, because my friends who own that new art gallery there are sponsoring a Heisey glass & crystal collectors thingie in that center walkway (below).

I don’t collect Heisey, but my grandparents had a huge collection when I was growing up. It might be nice to see if I recognize any pieces that they used to have, too. Just to get out and see people and do something. I just don’t want to slide back into that depression.

************

Yesterday, I tried to take it easy and keep my mind off of everything that’s been going on around here during my vacation.

I’ve been reading this, and I really love it:

I Wanna Be Yours, an autobiography by John Cooper Clarke. From 2020.

It is so easy to get lost in this book, even though I didn’t actually know anything about him or his varied career in the 1970s punk literary scene (in England). But I saw the book on someone else’s page on Instagram and it looked really cool. So I ordered it. And I really like it a lot.

So that kept my mind off things.

And today, I head back to my Tuesday afternoon clients. So I’m feeling kind of “normal.”

*********

As far as “here’s this’s” for today, here’s this–

From Phyllis Stein, it was in a group of photos she posted of Johnny Thunders with his daughter:

But there was nothing that really caught my eye in the “Keith” department — which is odd, considering there are like 10 trillion photos of him floating around out there.

So here’s a favorite from the desktop stash — Keith wearing Marilyn and setting a good example!!

And there wasn’t anything more from the Bad Seeds show in the Netherlands that stuck out for me, either. There were a lot of good videos, but I can only post photos here.

So here’s one from the desktop stash, too — Nick outside of a gig with fans, but I can’t remember where or when. Not too long ago:

We will see what emerges from tonight’s show in Germany!! You can still get tickets, even though it probably starts in, like, 5 minutes… And the next show is Thursday, in Denmark. Buy tickets here!!

********

And from James Tabor yesterday — a new interview.

Study the Dead Sea Scrolls! Dr. James D. Tabor (20 mins):

Okay, well, here’s this!

The Agency just texted and asked if I can go work with my new Friday client tomorrow morning! So I likely won’t be posting here tomorrow.

I’ll close now and get this day underway.

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

********

Let’s close with this!

I love this short — it makes me think of me and Valerie! (about 5 seconds. From the “Black Books” TV show):

What’s Wrong With This Picture??

June 9, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 6 Comments

Well, mostly, it’s raining here again!

But other than that — yes, it’s going to be another day of driving hither & yon. And I am determined to just be in a good mood.

Yesterday was insane, gang. It didn’t resemble any kind of a day off that I’ve ever had. I already had a few errands I’d wanted to run yesterday — locally. Which I did do. But yes, I added a 60-mile drive to go see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man, fix him some breakfast and a cup of coffee. And then quickly train a substitute caregiver to take care of him yesterday.

And then back home I came — only did SIX loads of laundry yesterday. I’d been planning to do all the bed linens for when the cat sitters would be here, so I went ahead and did all that anyway, even though my trip is cancelled. And then, yes, I vacuumed the whole house!! Again!! (But, wow, does it look great now that all the carpets have been shampooed.)

And I took care of all the flowers outside, and all the cats, both inside and out (got the outside cats ready for flea season). Cooked up some dinners to have in the fridge through Thursday. Etc., etc.

I was absolutely wiped out by 4PM.

And, yes, I did get a text from the Agency at 5PM, asking if I could quickly go back to my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house this morning, before my regular Tuesday shift in a different (nearby) town, to quickly train another new substitute caregiver…. (His regular caregiver that works on my days off is still sick, and I think the woman I’m training today is going to cover my shifts on my upcoming days off.)

And the worst part is that he is still having trouble with his new artificial leg and he fell on Sunday and gashed his head and the paramedics were called in.

It doesn’t stop….

Anyway.

So, yes, I’m driving back out to his house this morning, then over to my regular Tuesday clients, and then after that, the Agency has their annual caregiver appreciation gathering! So I have to go to that before finally coming back home.

*************

Meanwhile!

Happy Birthday Johnny Depp! I think he’s 63 years old today.

***********

Okay.

Yesterday, Simon Parkes had a really great update. If you aren’t a member of Connecting Consciousness (it’s free — join here), you can’t watch the video. But it was very, very encouraging. I think good things are going to finally be happening later this summer, gang. We shall see!

*************

The Max’s Kansas City Project — a charitable foundation — is having it’s 60th Anniversary!

The NYC night club has not been in operation for decades, but the Project is:

“…dedicated to providing emergency funding and resources to financially distressed individuals in the creative and performing arts for housing, medical and legal aid. One time grants are awarded ranging from $500-$1000…”

“… committed to empowering teens through the arts with a focus on substance abuse and suicide prevention by mentoring and motivating them to make healthy choices…introducing teens to the creative arts as an outlet to meet the challenges of life in constructive ways, mentoring them and raising awareness on the dangers and consequences of substance abuse and addiction,”

You can donate here!

************

I was very happy to learn yesterday that I can still at least watch the Lambda Literary Awards live on YouTube on Friday night, since I won’t be able to attend the celebration in NYC (which was the primary reason for my trip).

You can tune in here if you also want to watch:

************

Legendary Country singer/songwriter/musician, Rodney Crowell, will be on TalkShopLive on Thursday June 11th at 6:30PM, Eastern Time.

He has a very interesting new album coming out on June 26th:

“I guess you could call it a lost album. I stumbled upon it in my vault at home. I’d forgotten about it completely. Largely recorded two decades ago, this record includes features by some of my great friends including Guy Clark, Lyle Lovett, Benmont Tench, as well as Emmylou Harris and Lera Lynn.”

You can pre-order it HERE.

*************

Something’s happening tomorrow but I can’t remember what…..

Oh! THIS!! FINALLY!!

You can still by tickets HERE, gang!!

And meanwhile…

I’ve been watching this documentary from 2011 on Amazon Prime the last couple of nights. “Autoluminescent” — about the late Rowland S. Howard.

“…featuring rare archival footage and exclusive interviews with the likes of Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, Phil Calvert, Lydia Lunch, Henry Rollins, Thurston Moore, Ollie Olsen and Bobby Gillespie.”

It’s really good:

And here’s this, while we’re at it! “Autoluminescent”, from Rowland S. Howard’s incredible album Teenage Snuff Film, 1999:

**********

And other than a bunch of other frustrating stuff that’s involved with trying to maintain a 125 year-old house out in the middle of nowhere all by myself…

I keep checking in on Tommycakes. She is still with us, but very much declining. Honestly, I didn’t think she would live through the night last night, but she did. And she’s still eating, so that’s an encouraging little sign.

Here’s a photo of her in the dining room from a couple of years ago. Weenie is on the chair under the table. The two were inseparable! He was her nephew… He passed away in May of last year.

***********

I’m thinking that is it for today. I have a lot to get organized here, mentally, before I get into that Honda Civic again and head back into town!!

Have a Terrific Tuesday, wherever you are in the world, gang!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

***********

Let’s close with this.

I don’t know if they’ll be opening their shows with this song again, but let’s get ready anyway!!

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, LIVE, “Get Ready For Love”! Enjoy, gang!!

No, Not Here!!

June 8, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 4 Comments

I mean, aside from the fact that the above is a depiction of a skyline that doesn’t really exist anymore…

Anyway.

I am really trying hard to not get depressed over not being in NYC this weekend. Aside from the fact that I love NY, I also really need some time away. I was looking forward to just being in the hotel room. Just being away from everything, if only for a few days.

But on we go.

And depending on what Sandra has to say when she gets back from Atlanta, I’ll find out if I’ll still be going to NYC in November. We shall see.

Meanwhile, Tommycakes is hanging in there. (See posts from the last few days if you have no idea what I’m talking about thus far.)

************

Okay.

Not positive, but it looks like Johnny Depp is back in the Bahamas! (Perhaps to celebrate his birthday, tomorrow??!!)

***********

And from George Vjestica (one of the Bad Seeds) over the weekend– the rehearsals are over!

And now it’s only TWO DAYS until showtime!!! You can still buy tickets HERE!!

***********

From Phyllis Stein —

Another great shot of Willy Deville in New Orleans, 1992:

**********

And today is the heavenly birthday of my most favorite person that ever lived.

I know I say this every year, when I post a photo of him either on his birthday or the anniversary of his death, but I’ll say it again– life on Earth has never been the same for me since he died.

We met in our Junior year in high school, in the theater department, and remained best friends up until he died from AIDS in October of 1999. Here, he is in my kitchen in the paradise apartment on E. 12th Street in the East Village — visiting for Thanksgiving. I think it was 1986 or 1987.

Happy heavenly birthday, Paul. I miss you so much.

***********

Okay. I’m gonna close with this today. Hopefully, my spirits will be better tomorrow, gang. The Agency just texted and begged me to go stop in at my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house and at least make sure he gets something to eat, because the caregiver who was scheduled called off. Jesus.

But here’s this — beautiful Nick Cave in beautiful color:

Have a good Monday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting gang.

I love you guys. See ya.

Here we are in the Hinterlands!

June 7, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 5 Comments

It’s a beautiful Sunday morning here. After thunderstorms all night long…

But the new Central Air Conditioning is unbelievably fantastic. What a godsend, truly. I slept really well. We ignored the thunder and lightning and high winds all night long…

Plus, I had moved all the outdoor potted plants and flower pots onto the kitchen porch yesterday, to keep them safe from sailing away on the wind, and when I went out onto the kitchen porch at 4:45AM this morning , not only was everything perfect, but Tiki was out there, sleeping happily in a veritable jungle of blooming flower boxes.

I am of course trying to just look at the positive stuff this morning, although yesterday was a really difficult one — having to decide to postpone the trip to NYC, which I was really looking forward to.

But now I have a total of 6 days off to just relax — and God knows, the house is CLEAN!!

I found out yesterday that the “trip insurance” is practically a scam. So I am out the cost of the airfare to NYC, but it wasn’t that expensive. Still. It was sort of the final straw (I also found out yesterday, by way of a “little bird,” that Sandra might be going into semi-retirement but hasn’t told me yet… She’s currently in Atlanta, shooting another episode of the “Ms. Pat Show” for Paramount+. So we’ll see how she’s feeling when she gets back.)

When I got home from my shift yesterday, I called Wayne to sort of vent about everything — he and I were going to be having dinner together on Thursday in NYC. He told me the same thing had happened to him once, regarding “trip insurance”, but it had ended up costing him almost 3 times as much money as I’d lost.

Later, during the night, Wayne sent me this on WhatsApp. It made me feel better because I had sent a REALLY nasty email to Travel Guard yesterday, and I hate sending nasty anything’s to anybody, but after reading this, I’m guessing mine was just one of millions they probably receive:

And then, around 3AM, when I got up to use the bathroom, I saw on my phone that my niece had sent me a friend request on Facebook! Yay!

Technically, we follow each other on Instagram but she hasn’t posted there in a few years. She is my half-brother’s daughter — the half-brother who is half-Cherokee and absolutely nothing but trouble.

Here she is at age 6 months, in 1997! I had bought her that little dress she’s wearing:

So that was a very nice alert to find when I looked at my phone at 3AM.

And late yesterday afternoon, I finally got an email from my best friend Valerie in Brooklyn. Mentally, she’s doing better, but she does have to have surgery on both hands on June 15th.

So here’s hoping that when I finally get back to NYC, she and I will both be back to normal.

And as soon as we can get everything sorted back out, we’ll get that mini-podcast up and running, finally.

*************

At least both of my shifts yesterday were really nice ones. And the torrential rains didn’t start until early afternoon, so my drive back out to that guy’s farm yesterday morning was just lovely.

And his home was almost an hour’s drive from my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house. And from a whole different direction than I usually take, so that was a lovely drive, too.

And, yes! Me and my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man had a great day!! Finally, we were alone! The house is back to normal!! And we went out for sashimi & sake and had a really lovely time (ALONE) together!

***********

As for Tommycakes, I’m just taking it moment by moment, and I hope she will last for the whole summer but when she goes, hopefully I will be here for her final journey.

For readers who are new to the blog — Tommycakes is one of my rescued feral cats. Meaning, she is not domesticated. Feral cats attack people, so they can’t be put into pet carriers– you have to trap them in order to transport them anywhere.

I have (humane) traps in the basement, but the traps are so traumatizing to them that at this stage, since she is so frail and thin, I doubt Tommycakes would survive getting trapped. And even then, no vets around here will handle feral cats. When Daddycakes (her brother) was dying, I found one vet 45 miles from here, who was willing to let me bring him in. He was so far gone and suffering at that point, that I just wanted him to be put to sleep. So the vet was willing to do that for me.

Otherwise, with the ferals, I have to just let God take them in their season. So far, Tommycakes is at least still eating.

Tommycakes with one of her kittens, 13 years ago

***************

Okay.

Speaking of trying to look at the bright side of things!

74 years ago today, my adoptive parents were married!

Their wedding day was a really happy one. And so was their honeymoon. I’ve decided to just think about that part of it today and let all the rest that came afterward just go…

Happy heavenly anniversary, Mom & Dad. RIP.

And on June 4th, Tom Petty’s 2nd wife, Dana. posted this:

They had gotten married earlier, in Las Vegas, but had their official Wedding Day on June 3rd. Little Richard (on the far right) was the Minister who married them.

*************

And here’s this!

My birth dad, Don May, and his older brother, Earl, were friends with the Country singer, Johnny Paycheck. They all grew up together in Greenfield, Ohio. My dad’s younger brother, Ralph, who was a professional Country singer as an adult in Nashville, was friends with Merle Haggard.

When Johnny Paycheck met my Uncle Ralph in Nashville and found out he was one of the May boys from Greenfield:

JOHNNY (to everyone in the room): “Those Mays were so poor, that when they had me over to lunch, they fed me mustard sandwiches!”

My dad later concurred that they’d been very poor…

And meanwhile, here’s my favorite Merle Haggard song — a song I first learned about in an interview Rolling Stone Magazine did with Keith Richards!

*************

And here’s this!

The Rolling Stones in London, 1971!!

And the Rollings Stones at some other time, backstage someplace!

And the Rolling Stones, nowadays:

************

And here’s this!!

The Birthday Party by a swimming pool!!

And don’t forget!!

THREE days away!! Buy tickets HERE!!

And Nick Cave sent out a really lovely Red Hand File the other day! Wherein among other things, he had some great things to say about Freddie Mercury!! I loved Freddie Mercury!! And I got to see Queen in concert in Columbus in the mid-seventies. Wow, what a great show!!

But Nick also had this to say about the upcoming live shows this summer — for the band and audience alike — a quote from the song “Rings Of Saturn”:

“This is the moment, this is exactly what we were meant to be“

To read it in full, visit HERE.