Yes!

Not only am I shampooing all the carpets today, and doing whatever spring cleaning is left (not much), it’s also going to be around 86 degrees Fahrenheit! And sunny! Yay!

But I don’t want to turn on the AC while all the carpets are wet. So I’m probably gonna collapse from the heat by late afternoon.

We shall see!

I’m just happy that the house is going to be really clean, at least for a while. Especially since there’s gonna be a little 2-year-old crawling around here next weekend while I’m in NYC!

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

And yesterday, my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s daughter had to take him to a Physical Therapy appointment for his new leg, and so —

Unexpected surprise!!

I was back here at home yesterday, 2 hours early. So I got the rest of the flowers put in the fabric planters and hung on the window sills on the barn.

Now that everything’s done in the “flower department” it makes me feel really happy when I look outside. I just love seeing flowers everywhere.

However.

On the topic of my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man and his new Physical Therapy appointments…

His daughter texted me last night, to see if I’m willing to take him to his next appointment, which is next Wednesday — one of my normal shift days with him.

Of course, I said, yes. But guess where the PT is??

Yes!! If you said:

YOU (guessing correctly): “All the way in fucking Columbus??!!”

Then you are, indeed, correct. So it not only lengthens my shift, it also allows me to deal with that horrible traffic to Columbus and back. And gives me a total of about 150 miles of driving to do that day. (And for however long he needs to get the PT.)

But, you know.

It’s going to make it easier on him if I’m the one taking him there. So of course I’m going to do it. (Plus, it turns out his physical therapist’s name is Marilyn and she’s half-Japanese, so how weird is this?? Sort of like I have to go…so fucking weird.)

So, my hours get cut here & there, and then added back on, here & there.

The two of us, perhaps all summer:

And, of course, here’s this — I used to play this song over & over & over on the record player down in our basement in Cleveland, when I was 9 years old… Now, I’ll be singing it to him, on our drives home from Columbus!! “Two Of Us”, The Beatles. 1970. (Hey, you gotta get your joy somewhere…)

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

Okay.

I will not be working on the play today, but hopefully, I will be processing it in my head all day, while I’m shampooing the carpets.

The problem I’m having with it is not about Caiaphas, but how best to treat Jesus’ character, since he is the other guy in the play.

As soon as I can make up my mind about that — you know, how to be funny but also make a few key points and not offend half of the Western world (or myself) — then the play will be pouring onto the page.

***********

All righty.

Here’s this!

Johnny Depp wished Ian Hunter a Happy Birthday yesterday!!

And here’s this, while we’re at it! A record I played over & over & over in the basement when I was 13!! Ian Hunter/Mott the Hoople do a great cover of Lou Reed’s “Sweet Jane”!! 1972. Produced by David Bowie:

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And here’s this:

Keith and Mick leaving the airport in Nice, France, in 1971!!

**********

And here’s this–

Gram Parsons is second from the right:

***********

And I loved this.

It totally captured how I felt in those years when I was obsessed with reading everything Kafka wrote (including all those amazing letters).

And this book was incredible, gang — a letter to his father; it takes up an ENTIRE book! (They had “issues”.)

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

Okay!!

A few great photos of Nick Cave to help us calm the fuck down!!

And then this, just because I love it–

The Birthday Party on the stairs somewhere — oddly, very calm!!

And from Nick Cave Official this morning–

Buy Tickets HERE!!!

*********

And I think that is it!!

I’m gonna get started around here! And I’m planning on being really happy with the results…

Enjoy your Thursday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

***********

Let’s close with this.

No snow in sight!! Yay!!

But I love this fucking song — and this video is one of my all-time favorite videos ever!!

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, “Fifteen Feet of Pure White Snow”, 2001. Enjoy, gang!!

Who knew, gang?

Even though. apparently, it’s been sitting right there on my schedule for a couple of weeks already —

But I finally noticed last night that my Tuesday shifts have been cut back by 1 hour for the rest of the summer!

So, um, yes — my Friday evening shift was totally cut and now an additional hour each week has been cut. But rather than freak out and think about my bank account, I’ve decided that — YAY!! — more time to myself all summer long. (Except that I have that early morning shift out on that farm this coming Saturday.)

Anyway.

It has cheered my mood considerably. I have time to do the blog today and also work on the play a little bit, before heading to town.

And it’s another beautiful day today. So, yay.

Wayne and I had a great chat yesterday!

We talked for about an hour and a half, and not just about his recent trip to Australia and Vietnam. Since it was his birthday yesterday, we also talked about how he feels, being 72. (He was 38 when we met, 39 when we got married.) We talked mostly about how so much has changed in the world.

And we talked about NYC — we’re going to try to meet up while I’m there, but it always depends on his work schedule at the Union Club.

Anyway. It was a great chat.

The update on my best friend Valerie in Brooklyn, though — I finally got an update from her yesterday morning and it was not good.

It’s not life-threatening, but the doctor is strongly urging surgery on both of her hands and she is very depressed (and still having a lot of pain, so she still can’t do much of anything, let alone draw or paint).

It’s also looking like I’m not going to be able to see her in NYC this trip, which really sucks, since she’s literally my best friend in the world and I only get to see her about once a year, if I’m lucky.

***********

Okay.

On to happier things–

From Keith’s birthday wishes to Ronnie Wood yesterday:

*********

And Johnny Depp has some new limited edition art launching with Castle Fine Art — “Yesterday’s Flowers”:

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

And today is Charlie Watts’ heavenly birthday!!!

Happy heavenly birthday, Charlie!

And in my opinion, nothing says “Charlie Watts” like this song!! Such an iconic intro!! The Rolling Stones, “Honky Tonk Women,” 1966!!

**********

And here’s the Stones in NYC in 1980, photo by the legendary Annie Leibovitz! (Charlie front & center, Keith not going to let go…)

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All right.

EIGHT more days, gang, until stuff like THIS starts happening again!!

Buy tickets HERE!!

*********

And that is actually it for today.

I’m gonna spend a little time on the Caiaphas play, and then head out.

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

**********

I leave you with this!

The Oldies FM Radio Station was only playing disco this morning, so I switched on the CD that’s currently in the retro boombox beside my bed–

So, here’s this!!

From 1956, the fucking classic “Hallelujah, I Love Her So” !!! Enjoy, gang. We sure did.

“Hallelujah, I Love Her So”

Let me tell you about a girl I know
She is my baby and she live next door
Every morning ‘fore the sun comes up
She bring my coffee in my favorite cup
That’s why I know, yes, I know
Hallelujah, I just love her so

When I’m in trouble and I have no friends
I know she’ll go with me until the end
Everybody asks me how I know
I smile at them and say she told me so
That’s why I know, oh, I know
Hallelujah, I just love her so

[Bridge]
Now if I call her on the telephone
And tell her that I’m all alone
By the time I count from one to four
I hear her [knocking] on my door

In the evening when the sun goes down
When there is nobody else around
She kisses me and she hold me tight
And tell me “Daddy, everything’s all right”
That’s why I know, yes, I know
Hallelujah, I just love her so

[Sax solo]

[Bridge]
Now if I call her on the telephone
And tell her that I’m all alone
By the time I count from one to four
I hear her on my door

In the evening when the sun goes down
When there is nobody else around
She kisses me and she hold me tight
And tell me “Daddy, everything’s all right”
That’s why I know, yes, I know
Hallelujah, I just love her so

[Outro]
Oh, hallelujah
Don’t you know I just love her so
She’s my little woman waiting across town
Baby, I’m a little fool for you girl

c – 1956 Ray Charles

Yes!

Happy 79th Birthday to Ronnie Wood!!

One of the most exemplary role models of my wee bonny teenaged girlhood!!

And here’s this! (And I guarantee you I was not thinking about anyone gettin’ old when this album came out back in 1979!!) “We All Get Old,” Ronnie Wood. From his album Gimme Some Neck. Happy birthday, Ronnie!

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

And recently of “the Australian Outback and Vietnam” fame–

Wayne Lewis turns 72 today!!!

Happy Birthday, Wayne!! (We will be chatting on the phone later today, so that I can get the full story about his recent trip. He’s back in NYC now.)

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

Well, regarding the play. (See previous posts from the last 10 days.)

The opening zoom meeting with the Dramatist’s Guild happened last night, and now I have a completely different feeling about the whole endeavor.

I lasted about 30 minutes on the call because the moderator didn’t silence everyone’s mics, and even though she said to hold all questions until the end of the meeting, people just kept on asking mostly un-related questions anyway. (There were 200 writers on the call.)

So that was frustrating, because I’d already worked all day and really just wanted the necessary information to get started on the whole write-a-play-in-30-days thing, and then try to just relax.

But what I did manage to learn from the call kind of disappointed me, too.

For instance — there is no pressure whatsoever to get an entire play written in 30 days. You set your own daily goals, whatever they may be, and there is no “failing” — the point is to simply be “creative”. And to “reach out” if you “get stuck.”

I thought the overall stakes would be a little higher than that, because those are essentially my writing goals every single day and have been since about 1973…

But I am grateful that this whole thing brought the Caiaphas play back to my desk. I am still going to work on it, but with absolutely no stress, and I’m certainly no longer worried about taking off for NYC in the middle of all that.

So, I’m disappointed but it also freed up my stress-load enormously, while still putting a project front & center on my plate.

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

Let me say something about social media now.

I find it to be 99.9% just a waste of time.

I’m still almost always on Instagram but all the other sites that I recently re-joined because of the new book coming out, are so different from how they were in the old days, that I just don’t connect with any of it.

It seems to be just a feeding frenzy of constant information. I have no room in my brain for it.

I’m really glad I re-connected with Iris N. Schwartz on Facebook, though. I cannot wait to see her again when I’m in NYC. (We’re getting together for dinner on Saturday night, then I fly back home early Sunday morning.)

So that was a great reconnection. But other than that, it’s just tedious — although for some reason, I still love Instagram. I am on there constantly.

Granted, I mostly follow cute dogs and alpacas and goats, and painters and photographers, musicians — most of whom, you know, aren’t with us anymore.

Oh!

But for the last few days, I’ve been texting on Instagram with a musician/radio guy in Boston! He plays good old rock & roll. His sense of humor is right up my alley, plus I think his music is great!!

From a couple of years ago, with his band The Thigh Scrapers, their song “8 Ball Shifter”. He’s the singer/songwriter. I really love this song (they also have a full album on Spotify):

Anyway.

I digress just a little, but my point is that I prefer Instagram and real life over all that other social media. But on we go.

***********

So!

Speaking of Instagram–

From the fantastic Phyllis Stein!

First –Lenny Kaye, David Johansen, and Richard Hell at CBGBs in 1975!! A little drinking & smoking, a little not drinking & smoking!

Followed by just David Jo and Richard Hell at Max’s, then CBGBs — 1976, 1977! (Ditto on the drinking & smoking thing!)

(All photos by Bob Gruen)

**********

And here’s this!

David Jo and Johnny Thunders, onstage. Photo also by Bob Gruen! (And I actually got to meet Bob Gruen once, outside some sort of event in the East Village. I was with the late great Holly Lane, who was the head of Joan Jett’s record company back then — she knew everybody. Bob Gruen was really nice.)

Anyway!!

*********

And I love this.

A little drinking. A little smoking.

But the expressions on their faces!! They couldn’t be more different.

Keith Richards obviously has something on his mind, whereas Marianne Faithfull trying to get something off her mind — in Morocco in 1967! (Photo by Michael Cooper.)

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

And way back in 1963, when the Rolling Stones were just starting out in London–

Brian Jones and Bill Wyman!! So fucking young!!

**********

AND!

Here’s this!

The Bad Seeds apparently ostracizing Blixa for smoking while the rest of them abstain–

And Nick Cave, yet again with GREAT hair, choosing to not abstain!!

And here’s this (again)! From 1986!! Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, “Hard On For Love,” from their EP, Your Funeral… My Trial:

And do not forget!!

In just 9 days, this begins!! Albeit, with almost a totally different lineup from 1986! However!!

Buy tickets HERE!

********

Okay. I’m gonna scoot.

It is a glorious day here again and it is MY DAY OFF!

The laundry is done. I’m gonna go outside and quickly check on all my many flowers!

And then work on the Caiaphas play free from any pressure whatsoever, and then wait for Wayne to call.

Enjoy your Monday wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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

Let’s close with this.

Fucking great version, gang!

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, live on the show “Soundstage”.

Their version of Ray Charles’ classic, “I Got A Woman”. Enjoy, gang!

This will probably be a short post today, gang — and, I’m not sure, but I might not be posting at all tomorrow.

I’m still working on the outline for the Caiaphas play — it’s nowhere near done. And tomorrow evening, when I get home from the home of the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat, I will have just enough time to grab some dinner and then log onto a zoom call with the Dramatist’s Guild that officially starts the month-long insanity of writing the actual and entire Caiaphas play.

But yesterday was really beautiful.

I did get to take my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man out for sashimi & sake — his new leg is working great!! And here are our fortunes:

His is the top one —

HE (regarding it distastefully): “This is for a girl.”

Mine, beneath his, oddly managed to sum up my entire life.

His daughter has extended her visit for another week, so we are still not back to “normal”.

But the weather is gorgeous again today so he and I are going to go to that park we love that is filled with trees and just sit on a bench and stare at everything and smile!!

That’s the plan, anyway.

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

Well, the most amazing thing happened last evening.

I suddenly got an alert from Expedia, congratulating me and letting me know that the airfare to Charlotte, NC, had jumped up to $368, each way! Wow. (See yesterday’s post, wherein the airfare had suddenly plunged down to $107, each way, for about 10 minutes. literally, and so I was able to get that plane ticket to Charlotte for James Tabor’s conference there in late September.)

So that made me really happy. Not that the airfare had gone up, but that I had bought the tickets already. This conference will probably be the most exciting weekend of my life. In all honesty.

And each night, after the day-long conference indoors, we will all be gathering outdoors to chat and discuss all the various archeological things about the historical Jesus, the Talpiot Tomb, the historical John the Baptist, Suba Cave, and the James Ossuary — all that 1st Century Christianity stuff. This is where we’ll be doing that:

I honestly am so in awe that I will be able to attend. (This is a private gathering for Tabor’s Patreon Research Group.) There will be about 50 of us attending.

**********

Okay.

Moving along because I’ve got an outline to write!!

Here’s this!

Keith with Eric Clapton backstage at Madison Square Garden in NYC, 1999!

I’m thinking “totally sober” — but what do you think?

***********

And I loved this!!

The Birthday Party, when they were like, what — seventeen??? Jesus. They are so young here! (Actually, perhaps they are still The Boys Next Door. )

And here’s this fucking gem, while we’re at it! “Mr. Clarinet”, 1979. From the Birthday Party’s album, Hee Haw:

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

Okay, that is really it for now.

I got 17 trillion flowers to water around here and an outline to write…

If I don’t see you here tomorrow, I will be back on Monday.

Have a great Saturday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

***********

Yes!

More fantastic making-the-bed music!! It’s like we’re on some sort of streak around here.

From that Oldies FM Radio Station on the retro boombox next to my bed this morning–

From 1982!!

By this time, I was well into my life in NYC. Working for the incredible Ralph Ginzburg in that high rise office on W. 57th Street, overlooking Central Park!!

The radio was always playing in those days, gang. Music was everywhere. I loved this song from the moment I first heard it.

Michael Jackson. “Billy Jean”. Enjoy, gang!!

And it’s supposed to last all day.

But you know what?

On my way home yesterday, I got all my flowers for the summer! It was sort of on impulse, since I was driving past the place where I usually buy all my flowers and I’d gotten off my shift a little bit early.

So I stopped in and they still had tons of healthy flowers, even after the Memorial Day weekend sale, which I’d missed. So I got everything I needed and now it’s all sitting out on my porch.

Tomorrow is my day off, and it’s supposed to be really pretty all day tomorrow. So! I might actually have my whole yard ready to go by tomorrow afternoon!

I’m really, really happy about all this. And so I don’t care that it’s still raining…

Plus, today — I’m only working for about 2 hours, because my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s daughter is taking him for a medical appointment in Columbus.

So I’m going to be taking a trip down Memory Lane!

Online, over the weekend, I bought some very much needed new bed pillows at Kohl’s.

I used to shop at Kohl’s all the time. I loved that store. But I haven’t been there in years — I usually just order stuff online from there and have it shipped to me. But since I’ve become so incredibly bored with how repetitive my life has become lately, I decided to go to the store and pick up my package instead! Wow!

This is about 30 miles from me, but not too far from my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house! So I’m gonna go there today and have a nostalgic stroll around Kohl’s! Be sort of like the shopper I used to be, before I ordered 99.9% of everything online!

And since it’s grocery-shopping day anyway, I’m going to the Aldi’s around the corner from Kohl’s, instead of to my usual Aldi’s.

This other Aldi’s by Kohl’s was the one I used to shop at all the time, when I lived in the rental house in town, before I bought This Old House, out in the middle of nowhere.

I have not been to the old Aldi’s since the lockdowns. It will be very interesting to see how it feels in there now:

Even though these are 2 really simple things, it adds up to not only a huge change of pace for me — instead of just driving to & from client after client after client — but I’m also really curious to see what kind of memories will spring up. My life was so different back when I shopped at those 2 stores all the time.

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

Okay, so last night was a little weird.

At 2AM my time — I was sound asleep — my iPhone on my night table rang and it was Wayne!! WhatsApp-ing me from Vietnam!!

WTF!?

Right away, I was alarmed. I answered it, but his voice was all garbled. I could not make out what he was saying.

If he wasn’t in Vietnam while he was calling me, I wouldn’t have felt quite so alarmed. I’m thinking: Oh no, he’s in some kind of terrible trouble! Something really bad has happened!

But he kept on talking, not realizing that I couldn’t understand him. So I disconnected the call and texted him on WhatsApp to let him know I could not understand what he was saying.

HE (texting back): “Oh, sorry. I’m just sending you some photos. I must have hit the call button by mistake.”

So he was really just strolling around Saigon with his brother , having a fun day, not realizing that I’m hanging out with them on the phone… at 2 in the morning, in a panic.

Anyway!

Wayne sent over these photos at 2:01AM —

About this one, Wayne said: “He’s everywhere!!”

And here are some little friends Wayne made in the park:

And a not-so-little friend his brother made in the park, as well! (Wayne added that he was not jealous at all, since he had his own friends…) (Wayne’s brother below.)

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

All righty!! Time for another one of these!

Happy Birthday, Stevie Nicks!!

And here’s this fantastic duet , while we’re at it! I was just listening to it at breakfast this morning!! “Insider,” from Hard Promises, 1981. Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks — & the Heartbreakers:

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Here’s that photo of Keith from his pinup calendar that year!! (Whenever it was…)

**********

Here’s Steve Vai, in flames!!

***********

Tom, George, Gary, and BB, at the Hard Rock Cafe in NYC!! (They invited me to drop in but I was busy that day…)

***********

And here are a few photos of Nick Cave with interesting hair!!!

If you want to see what his hair is going to do next–

Buy tickets HERE and go see him this summer!!

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Okay, I gotta scoot and get this Brand New Day underway!!

Have a wonder-filled Wednesday, wherever you are in the world (even if you’re just going shopping!!)!!

Thanks for visiting, gang.

I love you guys. See ya!

**********

Sorry to keep doing this to you, but–

Some very PRIME making-the-bed music, from the Oldies FM Radio Station on the bedside retro boombox this morning!!!

Tears For Fears, “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”!!! Yes!! 1985!!! Sing along and enjoy, gang. We sure did!!

It’s not raining.

It’s not totally cloudy.

No wind.

Not too hot.

But really high humidity, so the AC is back on!

And the laundry is already underway.

And around noon, Rasha’s mom and her baby — and (!!) her baby’s daddy are stopping over to meet the cats and see the house… (Rasha is the cat I’m currently cat sitting until her mom can get her own apartment again.)

I think that’s too cool. That there might actually be some frisky young people around here while I’m in NYC. (God knows, this house hasn’t seen anything like that since before the scamdemic….)

***********

After the meet & greet and house tour, I’m planning to get more work done on those Caiaphas notes today, including a general outline for the play.

Honestly, I’m really hoping to have a good day here. I just feel so different from how I felt yesterday. The depression has lifted. And I feel really rested, too.

I had a really enjoyable time with the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat yesterday, too, so that also helped pull me out of the doldrums.

Oh!

And the cell salts (also called “tissue salts” if you live in the UK) are really making some great progress with my eyes, so that is making me happy, too. (I’m taking #1, #3, #10 & #12.) (And an added bonus is that they’re also helping tame that free-floating anxiety stuff that was getting off the charts around here.)

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

Wow, so Wayne’s WhatsApp texts today were incredibel. (Almost as incredible as how the word “incredible” is actually spelled!)

He took a “Tunnel Tour” over there in Vietnam!

The tunnels are leftover from the war and you can actually go down inside them — if you can fit and aren’t totally claustrophobic.

But first–

Wayne, in Vietnam earlier today, doing what the Lewis boys do best!!

And here are some photos from outside the tunnel. About the insides of the tunnels, Wayne said:

“Mind-shattering. Took me 2-3 minutes to duck walk 20 yards. The tunnels are only about 1-meter high. They were dug by hand at night. Different levels, hospital rooms, kitchens, mess halls, attack bunkers up top, bamboo ventilation tubes to lower levels.”

An exposed cross-section of a tunnel:

The 5’7″-tall guide in the entrance to the tunnel. The slash on the tree marked the tunnels entrance:

A ventilation tube hidden in a termite mound:

Wayne added, “God bless Don for what he must have endured.” (Don was my birth dad who was a Navy SEAL throughout the entire Vietnam War. )

Wayne went off to have dinner but he said he will tell me more details about the tunnels later.

**********

Okay!

Yesterday was apparently Waddy Wachtel‘s birthday, too! He turned 79!!

Birthday wishes to him from Keith yesterday:

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

And here’s this!!

Some solid proof, if you ask me, that Johnny Depp was also heavily influenced by my 12-year-old Jewish girlfriend, Karen!!

(See previous posts recently about how Karen introduced me to Jack Daniels and smoking when we were 12…)

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

And, no, I haven’t had time to continue my scroll-through of the Kylie documentary on Netflix yet. (I’m pretty sure I will fast-forward through all the parts with Michael Hutchins because anything to do with him anymore makes me so sad.)

Mostly, I am looking for all the parts with Nick Cave.

And someone posted this lovely photo to Instagram last night, regarding having watched the Netflix doc. (I think that Nick and Kylie really adore each other so much — even now. They always look so freaking happy in photos together.)

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

And I’m thinking that is it for today. Gonna get this day started here.

Enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world (and if it’s SUNNY where you are, enjoy your Memorial Day!!).

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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

Let’s close with this!

From 7 years ago!

11 seconds!

Kylie Minogue and Nick Cave hug on All Points East stage! Enjoy, gang!!