Okay, gang.

Yesterday, I finally watched that (recorded) Zoom class that I missed recently, about how to use the new Substack recording studio and, wow — is it easy!!

I basically wanted to learn how to use it in order to promote the upcoming novel, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder (available now to pre-order in print on Amazon US).

And I will definitely do that, but I also decided it would probably be fun to take one blog post per week and do it as a video (short — 10 minutes). But I also decided it would be fun to promote my best friend Valerie in Brooklyn’s paintings, as well. Have her co-host a short podcast with me a couple times a month. I love her art!! And when I chatted with her about it yesterday, she was actually willing to do it! Yay!

So that will be coming soon. (Honestly, I can’t believe how easy Substack has made it, gang. I have, of course, taken webinars in the past about how to produce podcasts and it just seemed way too much of an expensive headache to deal with , but now. Wow.)

The weekly videos will be posted here, and probably on my YouTube channel, and also to my Substack page!

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And here’s something I only found out about yesterday on Instagram.

It is a charitable organization, dedicated to Mickey Ruskin, the founder of the legendary NYC rock club, Max’s Kansas City — the Max’s Kansas City Project:

“We are 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…

“We are also 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, offering an ongoing process to aid them in building the personal skills needed to inspire them to lead healthy, productive lives. MAX’S FEARLESS YOUth Program is characterized by a positive skills building approach, 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 find out about them and donate HERE.

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All righty.

Perhaps not the best segue, but here’s this!

Keith helping Marlon learn how to smoke while leaving the Heathrow airport with Anita and Mick, in September 1970!

And for some reason, I really liked how Keith’s feet looked in this photo. (I’m thinking this was around the time that Brian Jones died? Brian’s photo is in the magazine in front of Keith.)

And contrary to what Keith has maintained for well over 50 years now — about how he “needs a love” to “keep him happy”…

Apparently, in a pinch, an airplane will do!!

Keith! Happy!!

And here’s a really great official lyric video!! In case you never knew the words to “Happy”:

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And here’s a lovely photo from a few years ago–

Nick Cave in a chair not smoking at home!

And, of course, Nick in his Blue Period, while his piano was in its green-yellowish period…

Nick Cave also sent out a Red Hand File today, wherein he gives hope to songwriters and musicians, young & old — but also gives a chilling take on AI and music. He says, in part:

“…at the same time I believe we musicians and songwriters are sleepwalking into a situation where we allow this technology to strip the world of one of the last genuine transcendent experiences left to us – man-made music – by surrendering our souls to a machine. What does this say about us, that we so passively acquiesce?”

You can read it in full here.

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So yesterday was actually a nice day, even though I didn’t get a whole lot done besides watch that Zoom class and chat with Valerie. (Oh, and I chatted briefly with Wayne, too!)

However, my neighbors had a big dumpster dropped off in their backyard (they had so much wind damage done to their backyard recently, it is frightening to look at it).

Anyway. I went out to talk to the guy who was dropping off the dumpster, and long story short — I might finally be getting rid of all that stuff the young married couple left in my barn almost 2 years ago…

They just never came back for it. (And in case you’re new to this blog — they never came back for their cats, either. They simply abandoned them here, all 5 of them. 2 years ago.)

It will be a relief to have my barn back. Not that I use it for much, but all that stuff has been a fun place for raccoons to go crazy in. It’s sort of a disaster now.

The guy said that as long as I pay for the dumpster rental, he and his partner will load it up for me (and haul it to the dump) for free. I thought that was really nice.

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Okay, and that is it for now.

I have to head out soon for my shift. It’s really cold out today but very SUNNY. It should be a nice drive.

Have a terrific Tuesday, 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!

I was telling Valerie about that great film I saw on Metrograph the other night, “Downtown 81”, with Jean-Michel Basquiat and all that great music and art from NYC in 1981.

SHE (looking it up online as we spoke): “Wow. Definitely gotta see that!!”

Here’s Kid Creole & the Coconuts, “Mister Softee”. From the film, “Downtown 81.” An incredible long ago world… Enjoy, gang.

Well, not really.

But I’m trying.

It’s still windy here and now it’s cold and grey again.

And when I came back upstairs from the 2-hour breakfast routine this morning, I discovered that some of my cats had relieved me of that awful burden of having that really beautiful Ten Commandments scroll hanging on the wall over my bed!!!

The scroll itself is fine, but the really cool scroll hanger that I’d bought for it is now useless. So I gave up and put the scroll away in a drawer. (But only after shouting at the top of my voice: “You fucking fuckers! Why can’t you fucking leave my fucking stuff alone??!!“)

THEM (staring blankly at me, blinking): No reply. (The f-word does not phase them, no matter how many times I am capable of using it in a sentence.)

However.

I guess me and the Ten Commandments are sort of dicey anyway. There were only about half that I was ever any good at keeping. (And the half that I broke, I really excelled at breaking.)

But at least I have another day off today, and I did indeed finish the final edit of the proof of The Curse of Our Profound Disorder yesterday (and the publisher did a beautiful job, the formatting is really nice).

And I did get to take a quick walk yesterday — it was in the low 80s Fahrenheit and sunny — but super-duper windy, so I didn’t last long.

But anyway, today is wide open for working on completing the short story. So I’m going to focus on that, not on the weather.

AND — I went to pick up a registered letter at the post office just now, and in it was a very nice & unexpected Easter gift from my first husband out in Seattle. I put it right into my “going to NYC” stash. And now, suddenly, I have enough money to go to New York. So cool. He is an incredibly generous human being.

And as an aside– in a couple of weeks, it will be the 45th (!!) anniversary of our marriage at City Hall in downtown Manhattan.

45 years, gang. And even though we’ve been divorced since 1990, we still email each other on the anniversary date — lots of silly emojis, etc.

A photo Chong took of me in our apartment on W.45th and 8th Ave. I’m 21:

Our first Christmas together!! Sort of symbolic of how we usually looked together — I drank copiously, he did not:

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Okay!

Not too many “here’s this’s” today, but–

Here’s this!

The Rolling Stones in London for the release of their album Dirty Work, 1986!

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And here’s this!

Also in 1986, but in Berlin —

Nick Cave looking, I don’t know, green-yellowish?

And Nick Cave just sent out a Red Hand File, stating that he’s taking a rest because he is sick. You can read it here.

(Apparently, he even wears a suit when he’s home sick in bed):

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And that is it!

I gotta get started on the short story here.

Enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world!! (And get well soon, if you are feeling under the weather!!)

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys.

See ya!

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Let’s leave with this!

This song came on the radio one afternoon, when Chong and I were sitting in the living room of our apartment in the Camelot building. We’d been married maybe a year by then.

I don’t remember what we were talking about, but he lit a cigarette and I said, “You smoke too much.” And he turned up the volume on the radio as this song came on, and said: “Here, this is for you.”

We laughed so hard over that!

Anyway. Enjoy, gang.

You know what happens when I miss a day of posting to the blog — I have too much stuff to try to catch up on!

Before I forget–

The electrician is coming here tomorrow morning at 9AM to replace the breaker panel, and the power will be shut off the whole time.

So chances are high that I won’t be posting here tomorrow, gang, but we shall see!

(I’m guessing that if I help him, it will go much faster!)

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And speaking of all these repairs and upgrades that I’ve been getting done to this old house on a grant from the USDA (my mortgage company)–

Guess what came in yesterday’s mail??? The annual statement for my mortgage. And guess what was on there??

Starting in May, my mortgage payments are going down!!

How the heck does that happen, gang? I was so thrilled to see that.

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Okay, here’s a big bunch of “here’s this’s” for today!

Ronnie Wood will be in concert in Amsterdam on September 7th, and tickets go on sale today!

You can buy them HERE.

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Sadly, this past Saturday, Augie Meyers passed away. And with his passing, now all of the Texas Tornados are gone, gang. What a great band they were!!

Loyal readers of this lofty blog perhaps recall that the Texas Tornados were a huge part of the soundtrack to our honeymoon, when Wayne & I got married and headed across the country in a rental car! Best song, EVER:

(RIP, everybody.)

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Okay. Here’s this.

And no! I am not jealous. At all. Why on Earth would I be? I have a perfectly good Honda Civic, I don’t need to ride on any fucking trains….

Nick Cave the other day, not smoking on a train:

And speaking of Nick Cave…

Why do I even bother to exist if I can’t get Sky TV??? I don’t get to see any of this stuff…

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Let’s be serious for a moment.

It looks like Keith may have had a boo-boo of some sort many years ago. He seems to be pointing at something that hurts:

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And here’s this!

Keith smoking, while accompanied by the Stones, somewhere at some point!!

And another shot from that great photo shoot in 1969!! (My whole girlhood is sort of encapsulated in that photo shoot, gang, even though I didn’t get my poster from it until late 1972.)

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Switching gears!!!

The New York Dolls on TV in 1973! I don’t know if they’re performing “Personality Crisis” here, but they very well could be:

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Another photo of a place I seriously dream of going to one day, gang!

Kafka’s house museum in Prague. Wow, I would so love to see this place!

(You know, the kind Board of Directors here in Crazeysburg stopped by my house recently and told me they’d like to turn my house into a house museum, honoring my long legacy of brilliant writing. They want to have all my books and papers and photos and furnishings on display. They thought the attraction could be a good money-maker for our tiny village and I was just thrilled!! I said, “Of course! Yes, of course!! I don’t mind the extra daily foot traffic!!” However, I wasn’t so happy with the fine print. In order for this to happen, I had to die. You know, like, soon.)

Just kidding.

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Okay!!

Nick Cave sent out a brief Red Hand File this morning that now requires that I go to the movie theater!! ASAP. Nick says, in part:

“And the answer was yes, angels do exist, in all their joy and fury.

“So, right now, my crucial question to you all is, ‘Have you seen EPiC, Baz Luhrmann’s new film of Elvis Presley in concert?’

“My best advice to you, Benny, and everyone else. Just go, truly, just go and see it…”

I have seen reviews for this film recently that said it was really great, but you know how I feel about movie theaters these days, gang. And all the movies I want to see end up being at a theater an hour away.

But after I read Nick’s Red Hand File this morning, I looked up EPiC online and it is playing at that theater in town that’s really close! It’s actually about 3 seconds from the Rural King. And it has plenty of show times, daily!! SO! I’m gonna go.

Meanwhile, you can read Nick’s Red Hand File in full here.

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And that’s it! I gotta head out to see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man on this rainy but delightful almost-Spring morning!

If I don’t see you here tomorrow, gang, rest assured I will be working on that short story. And thanking God for my new breaker panel that will not be a fire hazard to my humble, really, really old, home!!

Meanwhile, have a wonder-filled Wednesday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this beauty-filled gem!

The song wherein Nick Cave declared that he didn’t believe in the existence of angels, but he has now changed his mind!!

From one of my favorite albums of all time, The Boatman’s Call, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ “Into My Arms”. 1997. Enjoy, gang.

"In to My Arms"

I don’t believe in an interventionist God
But I know, darling, that you do
But if I did I would kneel down and ask Him
Not to intervene when it came to you
Not to touch a hair on your head
To leave you as you are
And if He felt He had to direct you
Then direct you into my arms

Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms

And I don’t believe in the existence of angels
But looking at you I wonder if that’s true
But if I did I would summon them together
And ask them to watch over you
To each burn a candle for you
To make bright and clear your path
And to walk, like Christ, in grace and love
And guide you into my arms

Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms

But I believe in Love
And I know that you do too
And I believe in some kind of path
That we can walk down, me and you
So keep your candles burning
And make her journey bright and pure
That she will keep returning
Always and evermore

Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms

c - 1997 Nick Cave

I thought I’d help out the electrician and practice replacing my breaker panel before he gets here!!

My actual breaker panel:

Easy-peasy!!

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Okay.

Sorry I’m late.

But it seems like every single one of my days off for the last several weeks has centered around a repairman of some kind — HVAC, carpenter, electrician, plumber — coming to do some work.

I’m not complaining AT ALL, this old house gets better by the minute, but it does sort of make my routine get a little screwy.

HOWEVER!

My cold is all gone and I’m sleeping through the nights now, so that is just making things feel incredible around here, day off or not.

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If any of you are writers, or know a writer, who would be willing to write a 2-3 paragraph review of The Curse of Our Profound Disorder in exchange for a review copy (probably digital), please email me!!

The review would be for any online venue who would be willing to post it — non-paying, but you’d get a byline.

ME: marilynjayelewis@protonmail.com

The book is set to come out in early September. So the review would be needed by summer.

The novel is not erotica, so is not strictly for Adults Only, but due to potentially disturbing subject matter in parts, for “Mature Readers” is recommended.

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All righty.

Here’s this!

The Rolling Stones in London, in 1963!

And here’s something else they did in London in 1963!! “I Wanna Be Your Man” — their first single, written by Lennon/McCartney!

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And here’s this!

Leave it to Phyllis Stein to provide PROOF that Françoise Hardy was indeed photographed with absolutely everybody!!

Willy DeVille and Françoise Hardy, Paris, 1985:

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This was sad.

Today is the anniversary of this tragic death, back in 1963:

And here’s a truly great one by Patsy:

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Here’s this!

I loved how cozy and peaceful this looked. Especially after such a tormented life for Vincent.

Theo and Vincent van Gogh, brothers eternally side by side.

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And I loved this!

Joey Ramone:

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If you’re going to be in LA on April 4th, here’s this!

At the Whisky a Go Go — The Motels!

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And here’s Ronnie!!

Tuning up in 1975:

And a couple of great photos of Keith when he was a wee bonny lad!

Keith, with bike — not smoking:

Keith with umbrella — not smoking:

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I was surprised to discover this!

Nick Cave, long ago, with a very advanced review copy of The Curse of Our Profound Disorder!!

But speaking of Nick Cave–

He sent out another really beautiful Red Hand File this morning, wherein he was giving advice and encouragement to a songwriter, who is trying to write a song for his deceased son. Nick said in part:

“…While the idea is lovely, I wouldn’t worry too much about writing a song for your son, Mac. It might be counterproductive to try to impose too much influence on this creative stream you’re experiencing. I rather believe that Mac, in some strange but very real way I cannot fully explain, is the one actually writing the songs. He is the spiritual exuberance at the centre of this burst of activity. You are always writing about him…”

You can read it in full here.

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Well, if you can believe it, it is now 2 and a half hours since I first started writing this post!

The electrician arrived and is now gone! And will be back probably next Thursday…. Ah, well.

Meanwhile…

I’m gonna get the rest of this day-off underway!

Enjoy your Thursday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this!

In honor of yet another rainy day here in the Hinterlands.

This absolute gem from Shane MacGowan!

As usual, I can remember lying on my bed and playing this EP in my dark little hovel of a room in Paradise, on E.12th Street in NYC, back in 1986. I thought Shane MacGowan was such an incredible songwriter. He blew me away. It feels like yesterday.

From “Poguetry in Motion,” by The Pogues, produced by Elvis Costello. “A Rainy Night in Soho,” 1986. Enjoy, gang.

“A Rainy Night In Soho”

I’ve been loving you a long time
Down all the years, down all the days
And I’ve cried for all your troubles
Smiled at your funny little ways

We watched our friends grow up together
And we saw them as they fell
Some of them fell into Heaven
Some of them fell into Hell

I took shelter from a shower
And I stepped into your arms
On a rainy night in Soho
The wind was whistling all its charms

I sang you all my sorrows
You told me all your joys
Whatever happened to that old song?
To all those little girls and boys?

Sometimes I wake up in the morning
The ginger lady by my bed
Covered in a cloak of silence
I hear you talking in my head

I’m not singing for the future
I’m not dreaming of the past
I’m not talking of the first time
I never think about the last

Now this song is nearly over
We may never find out what it means
Still there’s a light I hold before me
And you’re the measure of my dreams, the measure of my dreams

c – 1986 Shane Patrick Lysaght Macgowan

Yes! The AC guys are supposed to come back this afternoon and complete the install of my Central Air-Conditioning!!

While I am not in need of Central Air-Conditioning today, it will be such a pleasure to have it this summer, if we get anther one of those god-awful heatwaves.

Normally, this old house does not really need AC because it has 21 windows and a screen door in the kitchen, and gets plenty of cross-breezes. However, some of you may recall that Little Blackie died from heat stroke last July because it was so unbelievably hot in this house. I could do nothing to save her. Thankfully, her kittens were basically weaned when she died, but overall, it was a summer from Hell. And at that point, I had to look into getting Central AC for the future.

Anyway.

With the AC guys here, it means I will be working at my kitchen table all afternoon, and the cats will be closed up in the upstairs bedrooms until they leave.

So, even though it’s my day off, it will be a little bit screwy around here again. Still, I am so grateful that I am getting the Central AC as part of a USDA Rural Development grant!! No cost to me. Yay!

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So, today, I’m planning to make a little more headway in the reformatting of the eBooks stuff.

And just FYI — if you are new to this blog, most of my more recent titles are currently unavailable as eBooks.

You can visit LULU.com for a listing of all my titles published with them, but the eBooks are sold with disclaimers that they might not be compatible with your device.

4 of my older eBooks are available on Smashwords with no issues.

Any of my out-of-print paperback titles, in English & French, are usually available everywhere as USED books.

Hachette UK has a couple of my eBook titles available everywhere: Neptune & Surf, and The Best of Marilyn Jaye Lewis.

And the Internet Archive now has:

• Lust: Bisexual Erotica
• When Hearts Collide: An Erotic Romance
• In the Secret Hours
• Stirring Up A Storm: Tales of the Sensual, the Sexual, and the Erotic, Marilyn Jaye Lewis, Editor

All 4 of those titles are available to read and/or download for free in the Internet Archive.

I am working hard to get everything organized and back on track everywhere — including updating ALL the links at MarilynsRoomBooks.com — but it’s going to take a while.

Please remember that most of my books are for Adult Readers Only. Thank you!!

And my guess is that, the minute I’ve got the cats squared away, get the laptop setup at the kitchen table and start delving into the various how-to’s for re-formatting the eBooks and the AC guys arrive — I will get a text from Sandra, saying, “Can you chat?”

And, of course, I will have to say: “YES!”

We shall see!!!

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Okay.

Yesterday afternoon, as I was preparing to head to town to see the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat, I got a text from my favorite Japanese man’s private nurse. She said that he LOVES the rose I had brought to him for Valentine’s Day on Saturday!!

That just made my heart melt, gang. Every time I think of him looking at that rose, I just smile.

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All right!!

Here’s this!

I think it speaks for itself!

***********

And here’s this:

Joe Strummer in Japan in 1982:

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And here’s this!

Mick & Keith onstage, 1975:

I love any and all photos from that tour. Seeing the Stones for the first time, in Cleveland on June 14th 1975, meant so much to me, gang. I can hardly put it into words (although I will do my best once I tackle the memoir of my life in the 70s, Joy: The Shortest Season).

On July 14th 1975 — exactly one month later — because of my (divorced) adoptive parents doing their usual angry and hurtful stuff, I tried to kill myself in an effort to, you know, please them and disappear. I failed. And on July 14th, I was put into a mental institution for about 6 months.

To me back then, in 1975, photos of the Stones on tour made me feel like there was freedom and happiness somewhere…

The hospital is gone now, it was torn down. But back then, that first day, being driven through that entryway (below), was terrifying. My entire stay there was pretty terrifying. However, it taught me that I had the courage to survive a great deal of fear all on my own. That part, I never forget.

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Okay!!

And here’s this!!

Another great shot of Nick Cave in Melbourne last month:

And on a similar note…

Nick Cave sent out a Red Hand File this morning that was quite moving. He replied to a young man who was grieving over having recently lost his wife to cancer. Nick said, in part:

“…there will come a time when you discover a strength beyond imagining — I believe you already know this — a resilience powered entirely by the spiritual presence of the ones who have passed away. We are made of ghosts, we grievers, and those spirits are forever beside us, as a protective force, part of the web of consciousness that interconnects all things. We can find strength in our collective losses, as long as we can free ourselves from the gravitational pull of the trauma and move forward, all our ghosts in tow, into this beautiful waiting world. We learn to cherish the present moment in joy…”

You can read it in full HERE.

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And I think that is it for today, gang! I gotta get stuff organized around here and head down to the kitchen table.

Enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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

And speaking of the 1970s…

I leave you with this!

Oddly enough, the CD that is currently in my retro boombox next to my bed: Disc 1 from the 2-Disc collection, Once Upon A Song. Huge hit songs from the 1970s!

Here is but one!

From Janis Ian’s album, Between the Lines, her huge Top 40 hit, “At Seventeen,” from 1975 (yes, in September, when I was still in the mental hospital. I used to listen to the song on the radio next to my hospital bed — however, I was 15). Okay, a long time ago. Enjoy, gang.