Soon I will be off and running to Day #2 at the health & wellness store!
I’m thinking that today should be really fun, since my favorite Q-following girlfriend in town works today, too! She wasn’t there on Monday, it was her day off. She texted me last night from her grandson’s football game — a bunch of happy smiley face emojis! “Looking forward to tomorrow!”
So I’m thinking it’s going to be a great day. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to have somewhere to go now that really makes me smile and feel energized, gang. It has been such a long time.
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Okay, here’s an interesting update. I guess we’ll find out soon enough if it’s true–
My new guy texted last evening from Florida, saying that trying to get to know someone through texting is making him crazy so he’s thinking of flying back to Ohio for a few days in early November!
Wow. It sounds serious!
I’ll keep you posted, of course.
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All the houseplants that were outdoors have now been brought back inside. And so far, there have been only two incidents between the plants and the cats –and one of them was a pretty BIG one!!
An absolutely gigantic spider plant toppled down onto tiny little Calico and scared her to death!!
So maybe they’ll give it a rest for a while and leave the houseplants alone… we shall soon see.
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All righty!!
Here’s this!
Nothing says “Keith Richards on a European tour in 1990” like a good wholesome game of dominoes!! (It almost even looks like he’s keeping score!!)
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And here’s this!
From my wee bonnie teenage “I’m dropping out of college after about only 12 weeks” girlhood!!
The First Time Tom Petty Ever Played “Refugee” Live | Winterland 1978:
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And here’s this!!
Smoking & drinking with Iggy!! Yay!!
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And this!! From Facebook!
Nick Cave sitting on stage somewhere!! And smoking!! And looking at something or other that has to do with Blind Lemon Jefferson!!!
And I guess here’s this, while we’re at it!! Almost 100 years ago!! Shit.
BLIND LEMON JEFFERSON – One Dime Blues [1927]:
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And this was on Nick Cave Official yesterday–
From July — a few photos from just before the Bad Seeds did that surprise gig on the rooftop of the Resident record store in Brighton!
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And I guess that’s it for today!
I’m making steady progress on editing the M. Christian tribute anthology — and getting a sense of how I want it to feel, overall.
And I will soon be proceeding with the audiobook version of The Guitar Hero Goes Home, so I’m looking forward to that!
Other than that, I’m still sort of astounded by how much my life has turned around in only a handful of weeks.
Okay!
Have a wonder-filled Wednesday, wherever you are in the world, gang!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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Let’s close with this!
A short with Nick Cave, a long time ago!! (1 minute):
We’re getting awfully close to Thursday around here, gang!
Thursday being the day my birth mom arrives to take care of my cats while I’m gone.
All the dusting and furniture polishing is already done, and the mirrors are sneeze-free! (Meaning, where the cats sneezed on them; not that the mirrors actually sneeze…)
So starting today, we’re doing all that heavy duty laundry that you only do when houseguests are coming — all the sheets, blankets, the bed skirt from the guest room. All the extra bath towels.
Then I’ll do the final vacuuming, too.
AND– I’m even gonna touch up the paint on the walls, where the kittens scratched at it when they were younger and totally delighted themselves while making me not quite so delighted.
It’s also time to cut back the rose bushes for autumn. I’ll do that probably tomorrow. Or whenever it stops raining.
You know, just try to not only make everything look like 15 cats don’t live here, but also take away ANYTHING that would tempt my mom to undertake the tasks herself!!
I just want her to be able to relax!
Yes, even though my mom is 79 years old now, she is still a brunette… (And oh yeah, trust me — she imbibes!!)
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Okay.
Well, this happened last night.
I discovered that in 11 days, reruns of the old TV show “Castle” are leaving Amazon Prime.
I loved that show when it first came out. And I only recently re-discovered it on Prime. I always watch it during dinner now and it totally makes me calm down. I love everyone in the show, but I especially love the interactions between Richard Castle (a writer) and his mom and daughter, up in his duplex apartment in Manhattan.
I had purposely been making myself only watch one episode a night, because I wanted it to last…
Now, I can’t possibly watch all the episodes in the next 11 days, unless I watch it around the clock. (It ran for 8 years.)
Dang! I will probably just buy the whole show from somewhere online and keep watching it. Honestly, it settles down all my anxiety.
A clip from 15 years ago, Castle with his teenage daughter (1 minute):
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And then this happened last night, too.
While I was doing yoga yesterday afternoon, my eye caught site of that children’s book Keith Richards and his daughter Theodora wrote. (Theodora illustrated it.)
Keith wrote it about his grandad, Gus, who taught him how to play, and to love, the guitar.
I’ve had the book since it came out in 2014. I did read it, but that was 12 years ago. So I took it down from the shelf and saw that it had a CD inside, attached to the inside back cover! I never even opened the little pouch! Never played the CD! It’s Keith, doing the audiobook reading of it!!
Wow. I thought it would be nice to listen to it in bed, in the dark!
So after everything was done yesterday, and I was in bed in the dark, and with the CD in the retro boombox next to my bed —
I turned it on and Keith’s amazing voice filled the room.
I was so delighted!!
But since it’s a children’s book — it lasted about 6 minutes. Shit.
Too bad there’s not an audiobook out there of Keith reading War and Peace or something equally indescribably long….
Anyway.
Here’s the audiobook version of the book, but it is not Keith reading it.
Gus & Me by Keith Richards (6 mins 29 seconds):
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Okay!
From Phyllis Stein!!
Richard Hell wearing his heart on his sleeve in London in 1977!!
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And back to Keith!
Looking intense! In black & white!
Also intense, and equally black & white, but also smiling in 1981!!
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And some more great photos from Facebook! (To be honest, it’s basically the only thing I do on Facebook now.)
Nick Cave! Singing, smoking, sweating!! (Apparently, I chose 3 words)
Nick Cave smoking!!
I loved this one!!
Nick Cave and Blixa Bargeld, smoking!! Near some alcoholic beverages!! Full color!!
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And that is actually kind of it for now.
I have a ton of stuff to do around here today.
However!
Enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world!!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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Okay, this stuff has got to STOP!
I am already having way too much trouble dealing with TIME passing!!
That said–
Apparently, yesterday was the 22nd anniversary of the release of the phenomenal Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds double-album, Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus !!
22 YEARS!!! WTF??!!
Well, anyway.
Let’s close with this gem!
“Breathless”, by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, from the above-mentioned double-album with the very long title!! 2004!! Enjoy, gang. (I sure have — for 22 years…)
“Breathless”
It’s up in the morning and on the downs Little white clouds like gambolling lambs And I am breathless over you And the red-breasted robin beats his wings His throat it trembles when he sings For he is helpless before you The happy hooded bluebells bow And bend their heads all a-down Heavied by the early morning dew At the whispering stream, at the bubbling brook The fishes leap up to take a look For they are breathless over you Still your hands And still your heart For still your face comes shining through And all the morning glows anew
Still your mind Still your soul For still, the fire of love is true And I am breathless without you The wind circles among the trees And it bangs about the new-made leaves For it is breathless without you The fox chases the rabbit round The rabbit hides beneath the ground For he is defenceless without you The sky of daytime dies away And all the earthly things they stop to play For we are all breathless without you I listen to my juddering bones The blood in my veins and the wind in my lungs And I am breathless without you Still your hands And still your heart For still your face comes shining through And all the morning glows anew Still your soul Still your mind Still, the fire of love is true And I am breathless without you
I did indeed wake-up this morning, and I am still here.
Why I am — is anyone’s guess, at this point.
But since I am still here, I’m going to try to make the best of this day.
Starting here, as usual…
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Yesterday afternoon, I did decide to at least put in an online application for that part-time job that appealed to me. We’ll see if they call me for an interview.
Mostly, I just want to be around people. Noisy people, even. People who aren’t dying. So we’ll see.
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And sadly–
I did finally get a chance to talk on the phone with my old school friend yesterday — the one that I’ve known since Jr. High School (1972), who reconnected with me on Facebook the other day.
It was very sad. She is now confined to a nursing home, waiting to be transferred to Assisted Living — none of it is really her choice. But she is very ill and it won’t get better. And her family made the decision for her.
I am going to try to visit her before I leave for North Carolina, but definitely as soon as I get back if I can’t get to Columbus this week.
If you live in the US and you’re on Medicare, I am 100% confident to share with you who handles my Long Term Care insurance, in case you want to look into them where you live:
The more I see what friends go through as they age, at least out here in Ohio, the more grateful I am that an agent from the company found me when I turned 65. They are honest and they really help you make decisions that are based on the reality of your age, your income, and where you live.
Where you live is key for Medicare and Long Term Care insurance, gang.
A couple of older people I know here in Ohio switched over to Bankers Life, when they told me how unhappy they were with their insurance companies, and they were really glad they switched.
For my girlfriend who is now confined to a nursing home/Assisted Living, and forced to be on Medicaid, it is too late. At least here in Ohio, once you’re on Medicaid, they take everything from you and your life is as good as over; your freedom, gone.
So just, you know, find someone you really trust to help you make your Medicare plans.
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All righty!
Let’s try to get on a cheerier note!
Here’s this!!
I loved Hunter S. Thompson so much, gang. He was one of my very favorite writers. (And being a hardcore conspiracy theorist, I don’t believe he “committed suicide”…)
Anyway.
My dear (and now dearly departed) friend, Kent — the one who was a geologist and used to work for NASA, and who once told me, “Those rocks didn’t come from any moon!” — was the friend who first turned me on to Hunter’s work by giving me his copy ofFear and Loathing in Las Vegaswhen we were 15.
I was familiar with Hunter’s name because I was an avid reader of Rolling Stone magazine back then. But this was the first book of Hunter’s that I read (and afterward, I proceeded to buy & read everything he wrote.)
And here’s something I loved: The one and only book that was ever stolen out of my apartment on E. 12th Street in NYC, was Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas!!
When I discovered it was missing (I don’t know who stole it, but people came and went constantly back then), I thought: “Wow! They really needed that book!”
I thought it was so cool! And I went out and bought another copy. And YES!!! Eventually, it got stolen, too! (What a great book! Everyone had to have it.)
But the 3rd time was the charm. Here’s my current copy:
And here’s the inside cover!!
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And speaking of Johnny Depp!!
(He did a fantastic job playing Hunter in the film version. I still have my VHS copy of the movie. Maybe I’ll re-watch it on the VCR later!)
Here’s this!
From Johnny’s production company IN.2 Records — Johnny plays guitar on at least one track.
The album The Great Behind, by Glenn Richards & the Venus Lakes will be released Oct. 9th 2026. Pre-order it HERE!
Glenn Richards & The Venus Lakes – 1990Never (Lyric Video):
Great song. I am already anticipating having it on my driving-to-town playlist!
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Okay!
If you thought I was just kidding when I posted recently that “tiny Richard Hell heads” used to be very popular….
Here’s Richard Hell!! With — you guessed it! Another “tiny Richard Hell head”!!
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And here’s Ric Ocasek, on a smoke break and leaning against a trailer!!
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Oh!
This was GREAT!!
I watched it during breakfast this morning. She really gives a thorough explanation about why any gospels concerning Mary Magdalene did not make it into what became the New Testament.
“…dive deep into the enigmatic and often misunderstood Gospel of Mary Magdalene with renowned scholar Dr. Elaine Pagels. In an episode that promises to challenge traditional narratives, Dr. Pagels sheds light on the mysterious texts that reveal a different side of one of Christianity’s most fascinating figures.”
Myth Vision — Mary’s Lost Gospel ROCKS Christianity! | Dr. Elaine Pagels (14 mins):
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And from Bad Seed George Vjestica yesterday!
(My answer was: May 2, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio, USA!)
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And as much as he said he is going to relax now, I’m afraid Nick Cave is going to have to go back on tour! Pronto! The photos are really getting to be slim-pickings!!
From Facebook:
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And, yes, that’s it!!
The other day, when I was supposed to go shopping at Kohl’s with my girlfriend — she had to cancel at the last minute. Her daughter had to work late and so my girlfriend had to pick up her grandson from football practice.
But she texted this morning, and we might try to meet up at Kohl’s this afternoon. It really has been such an intense week for me, gang. I could probably use a mindless sort of outing of shopping today — a sunny day, a good friend, a store that has happy memories for me.
So we shall see!
Meanwhile, enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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Let’s close with this!!
It’s been a while! But in honor of a possible trip to Kohl’s with Cathy!!
The Sandpipers!! “Come Saturday Morning”!! 1969. Enjoy, gang.
Again, I really want to thank those of you who contacted me privately the last couple days, to just send your good thoughts and prayers.
I truly, truly appreciate that. It helped me a lot.
I am in a much calmer place now, for sure. And I’m trying to just move forward.
I have decided to set up a GoFundMe drive later today, to try to get donations to help me recoup $1700 that was earmarked for the audiobook productions. All of that money is gone.
The recent book editing job I had, and the check I got from Honda last week, would have covered all my production costs, but that, of course, was in my bank account, which got wiped out Monday.
And again, just FYI — I didn’t know this, maybe you do, but don’t answer your phone if the caller ID is from your bank. Call your bank back instead, and ask if they were trying to reach you. That way, you know for certain who you’re talking to.
Also, be alert to anything concerning CHIME online bank. Not that CHIME bank is a scam, it’s not; but the police officer who was taking down my report said that CHIME bank is used a lot in banking/phone scams. And even Wayne said that he had a $45 scam involving a CHIME bank account recently.
So just be aware.
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I also have 2 pairs of vintage Gucci high heeled shoes, from the 1990s — one, a pair with those silver mirrored sequins designed by Tom Ford, that is reasonably valuable.
The shoes don’t fit me anymore because my feet got too wide. But I have such great memories of wearing those shoes in the 1990s! (And that is an understatement.)
Even this photo is an understatement…
However, I have the memories. I don’t need the actual shoes, so I’m going to offer them for sale online. Maybe get as much as $800, combined.
We shall see.
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Okay.
Later today, my Q-following girlfriend in town is meeting me at Kohl’s! Not that I can afford to go shopping right now, even though they’re having a huge sale. But we decided it would be good for me to get out of the house for a few hours and just have fun.
I’m looking forward to it. The store has changed a bit over the last few years, but it used to be my favorite store, so it has good memories for me.
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Another totally mind-blowing thing happened to me yesterday, gang.
Another “I didn’t see that coming” thing — but this time, in a really good way.
I can’t go into all the details yet, but I can say that an older gentleman who lives across the road, who chats with me frequently when I’m outside watering the flowers or getting my mail, was chatting with me yesterday afternoon.
He is very friendly, very chatty. And he suddenly said, “I hope you don’t mind me asking this, but how come you’re not married? You’re so beautiful.“
Long story short, he asked me if I wanted to go out to lunch sometime. And I said, “Yes!!”
He is just so nice. (He’s a widower.)
So we decided that when I get back from James Tabor’s conference in North Carolina, we’ll go out to lunch. That made me really happy, gang.
We love lunch!!
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All righty!
If you missed this last night, here’s the replay! (I really enjoyed this because he is so much younger than me — his take on the whole literary world now is so different from what my experiences were.)
“Rob Macaisa Colgate is the author of the poetry collection Hardly Creatures (2025), winner of the Chicago Review of Books Award and longlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize, and the verse drama My Love is Water (2025). Currently based in Chicago, he serves as managing poetry editor of Foglifter Journal and was the inaugural poet-in-residence at Tangled Art + Disability. A graduate of the New Writers Project at University of Texas at Austin, he is a recipient of fellowships from Creative Capital, the National Endowment for the Arts, MacDowell, and Fulbright.”
Webinar with Rob Macaisa Colgate, Author of Hardly Creatures (51 mins):
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Okay.
Here’s this!! It brought a smile to my face.
From Phyllis Stein.
Sid Vicious and friends!! In 1976. (Photo by Bob Gruen)
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And I loved the blonde hair…
Again, from Phyllis Stein.
Iggy in the East Village, 1976 (Photo by Roberta Bayley)
(And when I lived in the East Village in the 80s, Iggy lived 4 blocks from me!!)
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And here’s this!
From Dior!!
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And I loved this!!
Blixa Bargeld! Smoking!! In London!! With great hair!! In 1987!! (Photo by Andrew Catlin)
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And speaking of Bad Seeds….
My stash from Facebook!!
Nick Cave!!
Great hair!! Weasels or not!!
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And speaking of Nick Cave ( as if there were ever a time when I’m not speaking of him…)
He sent out one of those great Red Hand Files yesterday, wherein he answered 40 questions with very short answers. (He was celebrating the Red Hand Files turning 8 !!)
This was my favorite!! (It took me a minute to get it, I have to confess.)
“Fuck you & fuck Isreal from MICHAEL, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
“Daer Micheal, a raelly graet plaesure to haer from you again.”
It’s a gloomy and rainy morning so far, but that often unreliable weather app on my iPhone says that by noon it will be sunny and remain sunny for the rest of the afternoon!!
Yay!!
So I’m going with that thought today, gang! Nothing but sun up ahead!
And since Sunday has become my go-to-town-and-get-groceries day, I’ll wait until noon before heading to town.
I’m hoping I can persuade these guys to go with me again today —
It’s always so much more fun driving anywhere with them!
So, we shall see. (They’re probably in church right now, so I’ll wait a bit before calling them…)
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Okay!!
Wow, you know? What a morning. The first 2 things I saw on Instagram, very early today (5AM), were 2 of my favorite accounts having huge troubles with Instagram & Facebook — the various algorithms there were making them very unhappy.
One was our beloved Phyllis Stein — I so hope she doesn’t leave Instagram, but it was actually Facebook that was threatening to block her awesome account for no valid reason.
The other account was for 2 cute little dogs that I follow in Germany —
Me, following a dog in Germany…
I have followed the account for years and the woman who runs the account is around my age and we interact all the time (luckily she speaks perfect English since my German consists of about 4 words — and I count “gesundheit” as one of them). But she is so fed up with Instagram interfering with her posts now that she is actually leaving Instagram as of today.
I really can’t stress enough how much I do not like Facebook (I recently rejoined it). It has gotten so different now and it is very difficult to post over there.
I don’t interact much on fb at all. I have about 5 followers. Literally. And all of them are people I have known for a long time and, except for Iris N. Schwartz, I also follow them on Instagram. So fb seems sort of pointless to me.
It seems like the only thing I really do on fb is look at Nick Cave photos!! Like I needed another app on my phone to look at more Nick Cave photos!
But here’s one I liked on fb yesterday!!
But as far as Instagram — I love Instagram. I have been active on it every day for about 8 years.
Once in awhile I post something concerning my writing career, but mostly I post photos of my cats. And I just love looking at everybody else’s photos.
I mostly follow other cats, and dogs, birds, alpacas, goats, donkeys, cows! From all over the world!
And a few people in Finland and Norway who take unbelievably gorgeous photos of nature.
And a bunch of Punk and rock & roll musicians — most of whom, sadly, are already dead.
But I just love Instagram, so it makes me sad that people I enjoy following are being bullied by the algorithms now — and enough to leave the platform altogether.
I don’t have a lot of followers on instaramg — sorry, that’s a different app I also use. But on Instagram, I have about 1600 followers.
But I only really interact with about 12 of them on a daily basis. So for me, it’s just fun.
I can’t imagine how awful it must be to try to rely on those apps for career-related stuff. It must be a nightmare.
I am so glad that I have my blog, gang.
You know, even though it is totally old school — no bells & whistles — I have about 100 people a day, sometimes as many as 200, from all over the world, who stop in and read my blog!
That’s about 3,000 views a month, and about 36,000 views a year now!
And I’ve had this same blog for 12 years already. In fact, a few years back, WordPress was after me to update it to a different layout. They wanted to retire the layout I use because it was too old-fashioned. But I love this layout because it is SO easy to use.
So I think I am the only blogger left on WordPress who uses this layout.
Anyway… I digress.
I am really glad that WordPress doesn’t resort to a bunch of terrorizing algorithm stuff.
And I really want to thank you guys so much for stopping by every day to read the blog.
It still means a lot to me, even after all these years.
“Oh, and then I saw a photo of Keith Richards smoking in London back in 1968, It was just SO COOL…”
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All right.
Well, after listening to the new auditions for audiobooks that came in yesterday morning, I have decided that for now, I’m removing the short story collections from the audition queue.
Those are just going to be too complex, since some of the stories are from the female POV, and some from the male POV. I’ve decided to just focus on the novels for now.
But other than that, we are moving forward with perhaps THREE novels to turn into audiobooks! 1954 Powder Blue Pickup, The Guitar Hero Goes Home, and possibly Freak Parade.
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Okay!
Since the Bad Seeds’ tour is over now, I am resorting to a photo of Nick Cave from the desktop stash!!
Singing and smoking!! In black & white!! (He looks so, I don’t know, energetic here!)
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And here’s this!!
If you look REALLY carefully, Keith is smoking — and walking & carrying a package in London in 1986. In full color!! Heavy on the blue!! (Photo by Richard Young)
I can’t say for sure if Keith is smoking here, you have to do your own research on that. But it does seem to be the 1980s, and in black & white.
And if you don’t really know much about Keith–
Back when he was a heroin addict, his teeth started rotting really badly. After he quit heroin for good, around 1978, he had all of his teeth replaced.
But here’s one of the photos from the not-so-great-teeth days. But he still looks so sweet here:
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And that is what I have for now.
The laundry is just about done! I’m gonna check in on the 2 cats outside and see who wants to be fed (again) before I head to town.
Have a great Sunday, wherever you are in the world, gang.
And THANKS for visiting!! I really mean that.
I love you guys. See ya!
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Let’s close with this!!
Since I have been reading that book, Conversations With Tom Petty (2006) at night now, and we are now up to when he was recording his triple multi-platinum Wildflowers solo album, I put that CD in the kitchen jukebox player this morning!
So let’s listen to “You Wreck Me”. I hadn’t heard it in awhile!! A real rocker.
From the Wildflowers album, 1994!! Enjoy, gang.
“You Wreck Me”
Tonight we ride, right or wrong Tonight we sail, on a radio song Rescue me, should I go down If I stay too long in trouble town
Oh, yeah, you wreck me, baby Yeah, you break me in two But you move me, honey Yes, you do
Now and again, I get the feeling Well, if I don’t win, I’m a-gonna break even Rescue me, should I go wrong If I dig too deep, if I stay too long
Oh, yeah, you wreck me, baby Yeah, you break me in two But you move me, honey Yes, you do
I’ll be the boy in the corduroy pants You’ll be the girl at the high school dance Run with me, wherever I go And just play dumb, whatever you know
Oh, yeah, you wreck me, baby Yeah, you break me in two But you move me, honey Yes, you do
You wreck me, baby Yeah, you break me in two Oh, but you move me, honey Ah, yes, you do
The windows are open, the house is cool, the skies are sunny for as far as the eye can see!
I am in a much better mood this morning about everything.
Oh! I forgot to post this, in case you or someone you know was having the same problem– about the wireless printer no longer working right with a new fiber optic Internet connection.
Since I don’t really like wireless printers, in general, and since I could not for the life of me understand the written instructions online about how to fix it myself, and since the HP printer tech support line involves NO HUMAN BEINGS WHATSOEVER and I was ready to tear my fucking hair out….
It finally occurred to me to check the back of the printer for a USB cable port and VOILA!!!! It had one. So I went and bought a USB printer cable and then carefully did this very complicated procedure:
I plugged one end of the cable into the printer and the other end into my laptop and in 0.2 nanoseconds, suddenly the printer was working just fine….
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Okay, gang!
It is official!
On Saturday, October 3rd, from 1-5PM, at Holland’s Book Nook in the really lovely Historic Arcade in downtown Newark, Ohio–
I will be singing — well, I won’t be doing a whole lot of singing, mostly I’ll be signing copies of my brand new novel, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder!
2 other local writers will also be there, but I don’t know who the writers are yet.
If for some inexplicable reason you will be in the area that day, please stop by!!
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Okay, I don’t have a lot to post about today since I spent a good chunk of yesterday in town, running errands. And then the remainder of the afternoon working on the new MEMOIR… and I finally found a way to approach it without totally depressing myself.
But here’s this!
From the wonderful Phyllis Stein!
Richard Hell in NYC in 1977!! (Photo by Stephanie Chernikowski)
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And here are 2 great ones from that Nick Cave/Facebook account that I love!
Absolutely SMOKING!! (Nick Cave, and then The Boys Next Door)
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And honestly, that is it for today, gang.
I’m hoping that I have a productive day of writing ahead of me here. We shall soon find out.
Meanwhile, if you live State-side, have a fabulous Labor Day. Otherwise, have a great Monday, wherever you are in the world.
Here’s something else I can’t believe — for the next 7 days, I have no appointments on my schedule.
I get to do whatever I want to do. (Including, I hope, have lunch with one of my girlfriends.)
I’m not sure I know how to handle that — all that free/me time.
The appointment with the Medicare Insurance Nurse yesterday was very interesting. We seemed to have a lot of opinions in common about things like vaxxes and pharmaceuticals vs. supplements, etc.
We chatted about a lot of things, there at my kitchen table. She was here for half an hour, even though her actual “work” was completed in about 10 minutes.
Anyway.
That’s done for another year!
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Even though Summer doesn’t officially end for 3 more weeks, everyone in the village seems to think that since school is back in session, the Summer is over and we should be putting all of our Fall decorations out…
WTF??!!
I feel like I’m the only one left who has “Summer” all over her front porch.
So, sadly, I’m going to at least take the Summer stuff off the front porch today. Move all the flowers to the kitchen porch, and try to conform to everybody else’s calendar…
But I refuse to put out my actual Fall decor until the last week of September. (Here’s hoping I don’t incur some sort of fine for that — you know, the Sherriff showing up on my kitchen porch, saying, “You’re neighbors have been complaining that this porch here still looks a little Summery…”)
I’m actually feeling kind of sad about all this — time racing away. But on we go.
So long, Summer…
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Okay.
As far as having a little window of free time to get some of my own writing done…
That feels really strange, too! My own writing?
We’ll see how that goes. It’s all about focusing and detaching from whatever is going on in the world around me. It’s been a while since I’ve allowed myself to really do that, without feeling sort of guilty about it.
That’s leftover from the caregiving.
But I’m working on moving those feelings out. Last evening, I suddenly decided to delete all the texts on my phone that I was still hanging onto from clients of mine who have since died.
I deleted any texts relating to caregiving at all. It felt like the right thing to do, because my heart needs to move on and I need to get fully back into my own life, while I’m still alive in it.
I hope to make some true progress with all of that this week.
Me, at the end of the week
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All righty!
Here’s this!
Keith, on a boat on the water! Getting plenty of “Keith” time!
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And here’s this!
From the last show of the Bad Seeds tour — Nick Cave in Paris!
And Nick Cave sent out a Red Hand File today, responding to an inquiry about his favorite painting. He actually got to see his favorite painting while in a museum in Germany recently. He said, in part:
“… I had heard that they had the Lochner (painting), but once inside I couldn’t find it amongst the museum’s unbelievably beautiful collection of sacred art. In my mind, the painting had become so monumental that I guess I expected it to be huge, to have its own wall, or something.
“As I was leaving, disappointed not to see it, I walked into a small, annexed room and in the far corner, in the half-light, was the Lochner, only twelve inches tall, and rendered with such tender restraint and humility that I found myself overwhelmed….”
Made the phone calls I had to make — you know, to alert Honda that I paid nearly $1200 in car lease payments over the weekend…
They took care of it. (Oops! Forgot to close out your Honda Civic account!) So now I’m just waiting to get a good chunk of that money back.
And I vacuumed the whole house.
Watered all the flowers.
Took care of the many cats…
And now I’m just waiting for the Medicare Insurance Nurse to arrive. And once she gets here, the checkup takes maybe 15 minutes, since I’m not on any prescription drugs and don’t have any health problems.
SHE: “Do you have any questions?”
ME: “No.” (Well, I have a lot of questions but none of them have anything whatsoever to do with my health, so I don’t even bother to ask.)
And then off she goes until next year…
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Speaking of taking care of the many cats, though–
Some really great news!
My birth mom called me yesterday afternoon and said that she’s going to be able to come here to take care of my cats when I go to North Carolina at the end of September!
Apparently, when my younger sister found out that I would be away and that cat sitters were going to be here, she told our mom: “No. I’ll take you to Marilyn’s and you can take care of her cats. And while you’re gone, I’ll look after your garden.”
So, wow, gang. That made both of us so happy. (My mom had been worried that she’d lose her tomato harvest if she came here to look after my cats.)
I much prefer it when my birth mom is here. The cats love her and she’s really good with cats. Plus she takes such good care of my house, too.
Not my actual birth mom
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Actually, my birth mom is still a brunette, even though she’s 79 now. I am the only one in my birth family whose hair went totally white by age 40.
Johnny Depp has MORE art in ANOTHER country (Germany) at another gallery! (Or, um, palace…)
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And here’s this!
Keith and Dr. John. One smoking, both laughing:
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Bad Seed George Vjestica posted some great end-of-tour photos.
Here’s one of them! (Photo by fellow Bad Seed, Colin Greenwood!)
And here’s the soundtrack to George’s photos!! The beautiful Rolling Stones song, “Moonlight Mile”! From their legendary album Sticky Fingers, 1971:
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And, yes, it’s sad but true — now that the tour is over, here is my one & only photo of Nick Cave for today.
But it’s a good one!!
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And I guess that is it for today.
The rest of my week looks pretty nice, gang.
The book editing project is complete. So I can now focus on my own (new) writing for a little bit, and then on Thursday, I will probably head to town to have lunch with my Q-following girlfriend that I haven’t been able to hook up with for lunch for a couple of months!!
And then I’m also going to stop in at both of those bookstores in town that will be carrying my book (in 12 days!!).
Maybe I can find out the date for when the book signing will be, too.
Other than that–
Enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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Let’s close with this!!
And dedicate it to Nick Cave and his fantastic tour of Europe and the UK, 2026!!
Barry Manilow, “I Write the Songs”!! 1975. Enjoy, gang!!
“I Write the Songs”
I’ve been alive forever And I wrote the very first song I put the words and the melodies together I am music, and I write the songs
I write the songs that make the whole world sing I write the songs of love and special things I write the songs that make the young girls cry I write the songs, I write the songs
My home lies deep within you And I’ve got my own place in your soul Now when I look out through your eyes I’m young again, even though I’m very old
I write the songs that make the whole world sing I write the songs of love and special things I write the songs that make the young girls cry I write the songs, I write the songs
Oh, my music makes you dance And gives your spirit to take a chance And I wrote some rock ‘n’ roll, so you can move Music fills your heart, well, that’s a real fine place to start It’s from me, it’s for you It’s from you, it’s from me It’s a worldwide symphony
I write the songs that make the whole world sing I write the songs of love and special things I write the songs that make the young girls cry I write the songs, I write the songs
I write the songs that make the whole world sing I write the songs of love and special things I write the songs that make the young girls cry I write the songs, I write the songs
For some reason, I am super tired this morning. I don’t really know why. I think it’s emotional because I actually got plenty of sleep.
Okay. Here’s something that bugs me:
I recently switched to fiber optic internet, after having about 30 years of cable. It doesn’t matter to me that it’s faster than cable, it was a lot cheaper. So I switched.
But now my brand new wireless HP printer 99% of the time cannot be found by my laptop or my printer phone app. And vice versa!
But don’t worry! The HP chatbot assures me it’s fixable!! And sent me to the page online that explains everything and what I need to do…
First, though, I need to take time out to get a college degree in “Understanding What the Fuck You Are Talking About”.
Then we should be good to go…
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Remember those faraway days when you had your non-wireless laptop and/or desktop computer and you set up your non-wireless printer and everything just worked?
Or better yet, how about this??
Pen and paper!
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In fact!
Let’s just pause for one minute and 40 seconds to take this in again, and remember how much more FUN life was back when “the wireless” meant the fucking RADIO… (CAUTION: Kleenex might be needed):
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Okay.
Let’s come back to 2026…
Yesterday, this happened!
Happy heavenly birthday PeeWee Herman!!
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All right!
Milkweed Editions and Orion Magazine invite you to a special virtual conversation with celebrated writer Helen Whybrow, author of the beloved memoir The Salt Stones: Seasons of a Shepherd’s Life, and bestselling author Pam Houston, whose new book Animals Taught Me Everything reflects on a lifetime of learning from the creatures who have shaped her life.
Moderated by Neal Thompson, publisher of Orion Magazine, this wide-ranging discussion will explore memoir, place, belonging, and the lessons animals teach us about ourselves, one another, and the living world.
Special thanks to Torrey House Press, publisher of Pam Houston’s Animals Taught Me Everything.
Here’s Freddie McFee in the family room yesterday!!! (Notice that it’s beginning to look a little bit like Fall around here?? How the fuck did that happen??)
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All righty!
Here’s Keith!!
When he was younger!!
Smoking!!
Less younger!!
Not smoking!!
And a great shot of Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman!
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And it looks like Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds were taking it easy and/or keeping a low profile in Paris, as they awaited the final show of their summer tour TONIGHT!!
There were a ton of recent concert videos on Instagram, but almost no photos and fewer candid photos.
But here’s this! Unusual as it may be!!
Nick Cave in Bonn, Germany!
And in the event that you are maybe on the Metro in Paris right now, heading to Rock en Seine and you don’t have a ticket yet…. you can BUY ONE HERE!
Other than that, gang, the tour ends tonight. And I’m betting that final show will be incroyable!!! We shall see!
Headin’ there now…
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Okay.
That’s it!
I am reaching the homestretch of the book editing. I am hoping to have it completed by tomorrow morning. Then the author and I will do a final overview of the entire book next week.
However, the James Tabor end-of-the-month Zoom meeting for Tabor Research Group starts at noon tomorrow. Our final Zoom meeting before our conference in North Carolina at the end of September!!
So there could be a chance I won’t actually finish editing until Sunday. But we’re going to do our best!!
Meanwhile, enjoy your Friday, wherever you are in the world, gang!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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Let’s close with this!!
For today, and today only, I did something I used to do throughout the entire month of September, back when I was in my 30s, 40s, 50s…
I listened to Frank Sinatra’s incredible album, September of My Years (1965), during breakfast today.
But now that I am actually IN the September of my years, the album is almost too bittersweet to handle anymore.
But I’m gonna at least try to keep listening to it maybe once every year from now until, well, you know, I transition to that glorious other side… it truly is such a beautiful album.
What a gift Sinatra gave to us back in 1965 — a wonderful album to underscore our sunset years…
Here’s the title track, “September of My Years”. Enjoy, gang.
“The September Of My Years”
One day you turn around and it’s summer Next day you turn around and it’s fall And the springs and the winters of a lifetime Whatever happened to them all?
As a man who has always had the wand’ring ways Now I’m reaching back for yesterdays ‘Til a long-forgotten love appears And I find that I’m sighing softly as I near September, the warm September of my years
As a man who has never paused at wishing wells Now I’m watching children’s carousels And their laughter’s music to my ears And I find that I’m smiling gently as I near September, the warm September of my years
I decided to make a quick trip to the Dollar Store as soon as it opened today, get it over with so that I could focus on the editing later — I’m going to need to stop early today because of the live Zoom with Ross K. Nichols and James Tabor later this afternoon.
It was about 8:15AM when I ran to the store. And it was only 67 degrees Fahrenheit outside, a very light breeze, blue skies for miles, birds singing — and also for miles, everything was green! The trees, the hills, everyone’s lawns. And over where the Dollar Store is, the cornfields start. The corn is tall and just so green, too.
It kinda took my breath away, gang. Everything was just so beautiful.
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Okay.
Just a reminder — the week-long sale for my experimental novel, The Guitar Hero Goes Home, (2020) begins this morning at 8AM, Pacific time. The Kindle edition will be 99 cents, in Kindle Unlimited, until next Sunday.
You can buy it HERE. (Suitable for mature readers. This book is not erotica.) Thanks, gang! And if you do buy it and like it, please review it!! Thank you!!
Since yesterday morning, when it launched, they have raised $31,117 of the $40K goal!!
From bassist Sean Seymour:
“I’ve organized this fundraiser for Richard Lloyd, my friend and bandmate in the Richard Lloyd Group. For those who don’t know him, Richard is a founding member and guitarist of Television, the legendary New York band whose album Marquee Moon became one of the most influential records in rock history. In March 2026, Richard was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a serious form of bile duct cancer. He has tumors in his liver, including one located dangerously close to a major blood vessel. Because of its location, doctors cannot safely operate to remove it at this time. Since his diagnosis, Richard has been through an extraordinary amount. He has been in the ICU seven times, dealing with serious complications including sepsis twice, as well as complications involving his liver and kidneys. And through all of this, he’s fighting….”
Please donate! Any amount will help! (I’ve heard that Richard and his wife actually need way more money then they’re asking for.)
“As historical fiction, it is rich with detail and imagery, providing a strong ‘you were there’ experience for the reader…For me, the only disappointing part of the reading experience was reaching the end.” – MB Austen, BiWomenBoston.org
You can purchase Twilight of the Immortal in eBook or print HERE. Thank you!! (It is suitable for all readers.)
And, YES!, while we’re at it–
This is the very same novel that my agent said was my masterpiece, as we sat together, having breakfast out on the sunny patio of the Chateau Marmont hotel in Hollywood.
As she held the lofty manuscript that it had taken me ten years to research, she said, “I can only compare this to F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is just that good.”
Then she added, “Unfortunately, no one is buying F. Scott Fitzgerald right now…”
And she was 100% absolutely correct about that!! Every single publishing house turned it down!!
The self-published book is currently ranked at #2,037 in Historical LGBTQ Fiction on Amazon.
Not too shabby for a 16-year-old book that every publishing house turned down…
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OKAY!!!!
Speaking of not too shabby–
Check this out!
Congratulations, Johnny Depp!
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And from Phyllis Stein–
Another lovely photo of Willy DeVille! In Belgium, 1990. (Photo by Gie Knaeps)
And here’s this, while we’re at it!! “Cadillac Walk,” Mink DeVille, from his debut album Cabretta, 1977!
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And here are some more photos from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ show at the Cabaret Vert Festival in France the other night!
And I’m not sure if this was in France or at a different show, but I love this photo– Nick Cave relaxing with a few of the Bad Seeds!
They play Munich, Germany, tonight. You can buy tickets HERE!
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And I guess that is it for now.
I’m going to get back to editing that writer’s amazing book. (And by amazing, I mean an unbelievably intense memoir.)
And then I will get ready for that Zoom meeting, which promises to be so much fun– Ross K. Nichols and James Tabor discussing the various translations of the Bible — both Hebrew and New Testament — over the centuries, and who did it and WHY. (Because once you get into the various ways the Bible was translated, gang, it practically becomes a whole different book…)
Enjoy your Sunday, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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Let’s close with this.
For some reason, when I awoke this morning at 5AM, this song was going over and over in my head.
So maybe it can get stuck in your head now, too!
“Letting You Go,” by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. From their Platinum-selling album, Hard Promises, 1981. Enjoy, gang.
“Letting You Go”
I used to think that when this was all over You might feel different about me Yeah, I always knew one day you’d come around Now I wonder if dreams are just dreams
Whoa-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh I’m having trouble letting you go Whoa-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh I’m having trouble letting you go
Baby look out your window, it’s raining on your summer home You’re by the fire keeping warm and dry There’s no one as honest as those in pain Oh honey can’t you see me, will you let me inside?
Whoa-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh I’m having trouble letting you go Whoa-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh I’m having trouble letting you go
And it’s a restless world, an uncertain time You said hope was getting hard to find But time rolls on, days go by What about the broken ones? What about the lonely ones? Honey, I’m having trouble letting go
It’s off in the distance, somewhere up the road There’s some easy answers for the tears you’ve cried And it makes me uneasy, makes me feel different Do you get scared when you close your eyes?
Whoa-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh I’m having trouble letting you go Whoa-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh I’m having trouble letting you go I’m having trouble letting you go
