I do like to think that I know how to do math, gang.
And while a 6-hr shift is still a lot better than a 10-hr shift, that 10-hr. Tuesday is not a 5-hr shift now, it’s a 6-hr shift.
I didn’t figure this out until yesterday afternoon, when it felt like the “5-hr shift” was dragging on and on and on…
At one point, I looked at the clock in the client’s kitchen and saw that I still had 3 more hours to go, and I thought: How come this day isn’t going anywhere? I feel like I’ve been here forever.
And then I did the math. And I had been there forever. And that’s when I realized it was a 6-hr shift!
And needless to say, I’m exhausted this morning. But I think that part is psychological.
However, the highlight of yesterday! I stopped in at the Rural King around 10:30AM, and there he was again!! (And, YES! He flirted with me AGAIN. And it was basically the only seriously good thing about my day yesterday.)
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Before I forget– I forgot to post this yesterday. It’s great!
“In this video I relate the remarkable discovery in 2000 of a forgotten Cave west of Jerusalem, at Suba, that has what might be the earliest art work related to the John the Baptist-Jesus movement–right outside John’s village of Ein Kerem.”
James Tabor — Exploring the Lost Cave of John the Baptizer (48 mins):
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Okay.
Today it’s sort of mild out there, grey, not too windy. Snow and ice are gone. And so this is in my very near future!
OOPS! My mistake. That’s what I do everyday, regardless of the weather! This is what I’m doing today!
With my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man. We haven’t been out for sashimi and sake since before all the ice and snow!
You know, I can’t remember if I posted it here, but last week, he had his annual physical. (He sees an osteopath, not an traditional MD.) And he is now on only one mild pharmaceutical, the rest of his “meds” are OTC supplements, and the difference in his clarity, his conversation, his alertness. Wow.
He still has serious short term memory issues, but the difference was just incredible. It was like how he was last year, when I first met him. Before he started to sort of dramatically decline.
Anyway. It’s wonderful. I hope it lasts for a while.
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All right.
I have no idea if all the cool accounts I follow on Instagram are taking these first days of January off, or what. But I still have no cool photos to re-post here!!
However, Cave Things announced this morning, that if you’re a subscriber to the site, you get 30% off of anything in the store!!
So maybe you should go subscribe, if you haven’t already. And then you can get a great deal if you feel so inclined to buy a gift for me!! (Plus, it looks like you get free pencils with your order, too!!)
Perhaps a simple prayer card! Only $6 before the discount! And it’s timely! And sort of auspicious. (I thank you in advance.)
And don’t forget–
Only 10 more days until this!!
And here’s this from yesteryear, just because I love it.
Nick Cave, combing his hair. With a retro boombox by his bed, before they were retro. And, well, other stuff.
And now I seriously gotta scoot because I am gonna be late!!
Have a wonder-filled Wednesday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
***********
I leave you with this!
This came on the Oldies FM radio station on my own retro boombox, as I finally got out of bed this morning! I hadn’t heard it in forever.
As a weeny bonny lass, I loved this song. Today was probably the first time I actually understood what it was about…
It was about 6PM last night before I was finally able to just sit down at my desk and re-read the original screenplay for “Tell My Bones: The Helen LaFrance Story.”
I had spent a chunk of the afternoon yesterday just trying to get everything organized — all the original notes, photos, original signed “Life Rights” paperwork, signed by both Helen LaFrance and Wanda Stubblefield. Get a current address on file for Wanda, and make sure she’s still alive (she is). I also had to re-register the script with the WGA because the original registration had expired.
And then separate which notes were from the original screenplay and which were from the theatrical version. (The folders from both versions, when stacked together, weigh about 40 pounds! Not joking. And this doesn’t count an entire briefcase full of stuff that Gus Van Sant Sr gave me regarding Helen.)
When I was finally able to just sit and focus on the script, I was worried about how I was going to feel. There are so many things I love about the theatrical version. But the screenplay version is totally 100% family-friendly and meant for general TV viewing. I was worried that the writing wouldn’t hold up after all this time.
But, wow, gang. Except for a couple of words that need to be capitalized, I would not change a thing.
I sat there for almost 2 hours, just reading. I was so caught up in it. It’s just a beautiful script.
Not that a director won’t want changes (and they might want to pull in aspects of the theatrical version), but I’m totally 100% okay with shopping it as it is. (Back when I first wrote it and sent it around, the feedback was great. And it scored very high at the Austin Film Festival and it won in its category at the Cleveland International Film Festival.)
I had been worried that I would feel too critical of it now, since it’s so “G-rated”, but I absolutely wasn’t. And of course, Helen LaFrance has long-since passed away, but I felt her spirit last night filling my room, wanting her story to finally get told.
It was a really incredible feeling. So I’m excited. And just feeling so blessed.
With Sandra attached, there are producers at both streamers and cable TV channels who will want to read it, but there is also a director I want to pitch it to, first. I will probably do that on Thursday. He’s not known for directing TV movies but I’m going to pitch him anyway.
**********
Okay!
Well, if you saw my quick post from yesterday afternoon, you’re well aware of how excited I am about the publication of my upcoming novel, too! (The Curse of Our Profound Disorder.)
What a thrill that was to find her official “Welcome” announcement in my Instagram feed!
And I was not kidding about needing some help with filing! And a filing cabinet!!
But for now, I stacked everything in the bottom drawer of the dresser in the guest room. At least everything from the last 5 years is in the same place and the cats can no longer get at it.
************
Okay.
And another WOW!
My drive on those backroads to go to the Social Security office yesterday morning — just spectacular. The same roads I took to that mall to ostensibly “see a movie” back in the Fall (I ended up walking out on the movie). There was still some snow out on the fields and the trees and rolling Appalachian foothills, but the SUN was just everywhere. It was so beautiful.
An actual painting of that area from about a hundred years ago
And so now the Social Security stuff is off my plate. (After about 2 years of them taking money out of my retirement check every month.) (And now all they do is take an even larger chunk of money out of my retirement check for Medicare…)
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Well, I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t had time to be on Instagram much or what, but I still found nothing cool to share here today, so I’m back to the private desktop stash!
Back when I was in the 7th Grade (12 years old), you didn’t have to join it or anything, the magazines came to our classrooms and you ordered whatever you wanted through the teacher.
I practically died and went to heaven when I was able to buy THIS poster through Scholastic!!
The Rolling Stones!!!
And when it finally arrived (the packages were delivered to us at school), I was so excited that I went to the Nurse’s office and said I was sick and needed to go home.
Since I never, ever went home sick from school, she called my mom and let me go home right away.
I went directly up to my room and stuck the poster on my wall, then got in bed (pretending to be sick) and I turned on the radio, and stared at that poster for hours!!
I usually post a cropped version of this photo here on the blog, but in the actual photo you can sort of see the poster!! (The photo of me was taken over a year later, though.)
This is from when Bob Dylan saw the Wild God Tour here in Crazeysburg. Oops, of course I meant in Paris.
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And I guess I better get going, gang.
Have a terrific Tuesday, wherever you are in the world!!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
***********
I leave you with this!!!
This cassette tape is currently in my retro boombox next to my bed. (I can’t believe I saved all these cassette tapes, gang. I must have known this retro boombox was in my future…)
And this morning, when I pressed the PLAY button, this was the song that came bouncing out!!
(I actually sort of knew Fred Schneider when I lived in NYC, gang. Enough to say “Hi, how ya doin’?” whenever I saw him on the street down in Chelsea and he would smile back and wave and say, “Hey!”)
“Dry County” from that terrific album, Cosmic Thing, by the B-52s!! 1989. Enjoy, gang!
“Dry County”
It’s one of those lazy days I’ve got nothing to do Let the wind blow round my head Let a cloud be my bed When the blues whomp you up on the side of the head Throw ’em to the floor and kick ’em out the door When the blues kick you in the head And you roll out of bed in the morning Just sit on the porch and swing Sit on the porch and swing
The heat of the day’s got me in a haze Those lazy days of summer are here
When the blues whomp you up on the side of the head Throw ’em to the floor and kick ’em out the door When the blues kick you in the head And you roll out of bed in the morning Just sit on the porch and swing Sit on the porch and swing
Just let the breezes flow, Through your mind, I feel so fine
When the blues whomp you up on the side of the head Throw ’em to the floor and kick ’em out the door When the blues kick you in the head And you roll out of bed in the morning Just sit on the porch and swing Sit on the porch and swing
Here come the girls up the road What they want to do they can’t do Cause it’s a… Dry County
Kicking stones and laughing low Nowhere to go. It’s a dry, dry, such a dry, dry, Dust devils blowing in your hair but what do you care When there’s nowhere to go It’s a dry, dry, county
c – 1989 Julian Strickland, Catherine Pierson, Frederick Schneider, Cynthia Wilson
So far, 2026 has been a really good year for me. I am hoping that you feel the same — drastic as things may seem — wherever you are in the world.
Oh, if you aren’t already doing it, Charlie Ward has a daily, very short video early in the mornings, on YouTube. And if you’re into the Q-thing, I would suggest listening to it. It is so great to have Charlie back. (11 mins):
And if you combine what Charlie has really been saying the last few days, with Simon Parkes’ update from the weekend, and this, from il donaldo trumpo yesterday (link below), then you are probably preparing for a really, really good year as the movie goes on. And on. And on.
Even though my life is going pretty darn good today, there is an odd lack of cool things on Instagram!
So I gotta go to my stash for everything this morning!
Keith and Jolie Jones (Quincy’s daughter) smoking on the Stones’ airplane in 1972:
Keith and Jolie Jones (still Quincy’s daughter) smoking backstage in 1972:
Keith and Jolie Jones smoking in that OTHER way, backstage in 1972:
And, hey, why not this as a sort of soundtrack to that photo above??? “The Kind of Girl I Could Love”, 1967, The Monkees:
“The Kind Of Girl I Could Love”
Girl, you look mighty good to me And I know that you’ve got to be The kind of girl I could love.
You’ve got the sweetest pair of eyes And your kiss would be paradise You’re the kind of girl I could love.
You do something to my soul That no one’s ever done. If you’re looking for true love Then let me be the one.
Girl, deep in my soul I’m sure And my heart has no doubt that you’re The kind of girl I could love. The kind of girl I could love.
c -1967 – Michael Nesmith, Roger Atkins
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And here’s this!
Nick Cave smoking (and drinking). Don’t know if he was waiting on Jolie Jones and she didn’t show up, or it could be that it had nothing to do with Jolie at all, but he was the coolest fucker in the place:
This morning, he sent out a really thoughtful Red Hand File, as this New Year gets underway. It was all about what and who he’s praying for, basically, everyday. He said in part:
“Setting aside questions of whether there is a god and, if so, whether that god is actually listening, I believe it is at least beneficial to dedicate some time each day to silence, reflecting on those closest to me. This focused devotion becomes a form of worship, an unspoken spiritual bond that enriches my relationships and gives the prayer genuine value and utility beyond mere wishing….”
And here on the home front (in my room, basically)–
I cannot tell you what a difference it makes in my stress levels, knowing that I no longer have that 10-hr shift to deal with on Tuesdays!! (It goes down to a 5-hr shift, starting tomorrow).
It just feels like everything opened up, psychologically, because of that simple change in my schedule.
And I know you guys will really appreciate being able to log on here on Tuesdays now and find that I’ve posted something a little loftier than: “I’m not posting today. See ya.”
Today, I have to make another one of those really gorgeous drives along the backroads here in the Hinterlands, because I have to stop in at the Social Security office, in order to give them back some of my own money that they gave me a couple years ago only to be told by them later that they gave me too much of my own money and so I need to give it back…
Just FYI: This is why my grandparents hated FDR. I didn’t understand why back then, but I sure do now:
“Socialism” = give us your money, it’s safer with us, and then at some point we’ll give you some of your own money back, maybe
And then I have to run a quick errand at the bank, and, as always, a quick errand at the Dollar Store. And THEN!! I will re-read the original screenplay for “Tell My Bones: The Helen LaFrance Story” and get caught up with Sandra.
Plus, it’s sunny today!
So things are looking good.
***********
And I have to say, gang, that I cannot wait to get back on track with “Tell My Bones”.
Just looking at all the photos Gus Van Sant Sr gave me of Helen’s paintings, makes my heart spring open all over again. (He was her Business Manager, and I worked in his home office, which was where I first saw her paintings and then Gus arranged for me to go meet Helen in Mayfield, Kentucky, in order to write a movie about her life.)
“Canning Peaches” — one of my favorites; the painting goes on forever outside that window!
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Okay!
I’m gonna get started on all that now, so I will close this!
Enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visitng.
I love you guys. See ya!
*********
I leave you with this!
“Wade in the Water”, performed by Ella Jenkins.
A traditional Spiritual that is also part of my screenplay for “Tell My Bones”.
I really liked the new church. And all the people in it.
Very friendly, with tons of kids — who had a little prayer circle at the front of the congregation, before going off to Sunday school. They were incredibly adorable.
And I chose a pew that was right next to the big stained glass window, and the sun came through it, right onto my pew, right as we started singing the opening hymn, so I’m guessing I’m always going to sit there in that pew, every Sunday. That alone was sort of cosmic.
I sat in the 3rd pew from the front, right next to the window
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Okay.
Before I forget–
If you don’t follow Simon Parkes in the UK, you can’t access his update from yesterday, but it was a really, really good one. You can follow him, and watch his monthly updates, by joining Connecting Consciousness — it’s free.
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Well, I got a lot done this morning, before church, gang!
I typed up all those notes that Sandra needed by tomorrow morning, and was able to get everything off to her a day early!
All I have left to do before our next phone call is re-read the original screenplay for “Tell My Bones: The Helen LaFrance Story” and then send that over to Sandra, as well.
So we’re sort of off and running, gang.
New year, new everything. Oh, and here’s this from yesterday:
New year, same cats!!
And, last evening, I was also able to do Lesson 2 in James Tabor’s new course, “Christianity Before Paul”. (An in depth look at John the Baptist — historical rather than theological — another incredible lecture.)
And I did wash my hair!! I also did yoga.
And I was even able to watch another episode of one of those shows Sandra wanted me to watch (“I Love LA” on HBO).
So it is sort of remarkable that I can get so much done, even though I’m still working all the caregiving jobs, once I entirely shift my focus.
**********
All righty.
Here’s this–
Keith and that one cigarette he had in 1979:
And a great shot of Johnny Thunders with a cigarette in Athens, Greece, in 1989:
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And–
13 more days, gang!! Before this:
So here’s this — from the private desktop stash!
Nick Cave, not smoking. Not sure why. (Oh, wait! Because he doesn’t smoke anymore…)
********** And in a little while here, I head out to see the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat. And I’m sure they will be happy to learn that I’ve finally found a church I like.
They know about my ministerial training and my Degree from Ohio Christian University, etc. (The Minister’s wife studied at a different seminary in Ohio, so we have talked about it a lot.)
I have to say, gang, that it gets frustrating, having to always separate my ministry world from my professional world, keep it all private, since my professional world is so extensively “for adults only”. And just by looking at me, people assume I’m this really nice, harmless white lady. They’re usually very surprised to even find out that I lived most of my life in NYC — unless they have the great good fortune of hearing how often I use the “F” word!! And let’s not mention that FBI record I had that followed me around at international airports. Or when I was looking at possible prison time in a federal penitentiary and a huge fine, for allegedly making it too easy for children to access porn online…)
This new church — since they are “under new management”, as it were — is looking for people to get involved with things like leading group meetings in Bible studies, etc. They need help doing it all, getting it all started.
I am so trained in that stuff. My knowledge, as you can guess, is extensive. And I’m certified/trained in congregational care, and hospital visitations, and grief counseling, and marriage counseling, and home communion for the elderly.
I’m pretty sure that if I showed up at the Minister’s office and told him all that stuff, he’d jump up from his desk and say, “When can you start??” Because they need help.
But all that other stuff in my world — I really, really need my privacy. And I don’t like to intentionally mislead people about who I am. So I’m guessing I will just show up for Sunday services and go back home.
I was thinking during the service this morning that it must be a lot easier to be Nick Cave. He can show up at a church on Sunday but everybody already knows who he is.
Nick’s Room, Berlin
(Yes! It is easier to be Nick Cave in church than to be Marilyn Jaye Lewis!! You heard it here first!!)
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Well, anyway.
I’m still really glad I finally found a church I like that is a 3-minute walk from my house!
And on that happy note, I gotta scoot and get ready for my caregiving shift. But then — I have tomorrow off!
Have a beautiful Sunday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
********
I leave you with this on this sunny winter Sunday!
That huge hit from the Broadway show, “Godspell”, 1971!
But I always, always, ALWAYS feel 12 years old inside.
Anyway.
No, I’m not dead yet. But, wow, writing just makes me so happy, gang.
The phone call with Sandra late yesterday afternoon was just so energizing.
To be back at work with her. And to even have a completely overloaded plate from the word go. But, wow, do we have some incredible projects going on.
It is going to be really hard work, but it is just so fucking exciting.
And even though I could get stuff done a lot more quickly if I could have retired from caregiving, just the thought of finally moving forward again with projects I truly love — it makes everything bearable and it always has.
And I have to add that, yesterday afternoon, I got two emails– one from each of my regional supervisors at the Agency. (Since I live in Muskingum County, but work mostly in the next county over, I have a supervisor in each county).
Each of them said how happy they were that I was not retiring. It was bittersweet for me, but also just very nice to receive those emails. The Agency is extremely good at making me feel appreciated.
And meanwhile, I did go ahead and put in for a week off in the beginning of February. Just to stay home and do nothingwrite (probably). (And NO! So far, I have NOT gone on the Expedia app to search for flights to NYC… No one in their right mind goes to NYC in fucking February!! It’s FREEZING!!)
NOT ME!!! I never wear hats!! (Or green shoes!!)
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So.
I’m happy, gang.
And, as usual, Sandra asked me to watch two different shows for reference, this time to get a feel for the writing style she is aiming for with the TV project.
One on Netflix, one on HBO. Both of them current, popular shows. Neither of them anything at all like 10-year-old reruns of “Mrs. Brown’s Boys” — but I suffered through them!!
Actually, I tend to stop watching “Mrs. Brown’s Boys” once the holidays are over, so I need something to fill the post-dinner evening void!! And Sandra always turns me on to streamer-TV stuff that, at the very least, captures my complete attention.
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Okay!
Speaking of happy, here’s this!!
Keith at Madison Square Garden in July of 1972:
And here’s this.
Richard Hell. I love how Phyllis Stein captioned it:
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And YES!! It’s right around the corner now. So I might be up to that “stash photo” thing I always do!! I’m not sure yet!
But, in 14 days, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds begin their Wild God Tour of Australia and New Zealand!! (Buy tickets HERE!)
And while we wait — here’s this! AGAIN!!
Nick Cave just waiting. And being fucking beautiful in the process.
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And on an extremely different note — (and, no, I haven’t forgotten that somehow I have to also fit in taking that great new course with James Tabor!!):
2,000 Crucifixions: The Christmas Story You’ve NEVER Heard (1 hr 34 mins):
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And on that note, I gotta scoot. I’m back with my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man today. (And, yes! Someone had indeed shoveled a little path on his back porch, but it was still too cold and icy to take him out for sashimi & sake yesterday. And since it’s been 16 degrees Fahrenheit since yesterday, I’m guessing we’re staying in again today!)
And tomorrow — I will try to post to the blog early, before I head out for my first Sunday morning at the new church(!!), but I’m not 100% certain I will be able to do that. We shall see! I have a ton of stuff I need to type up and get over to Sandra by Monday morning.
Okay.
Enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
************
Let’s part with this today!
I feel reasonably certain they will NOT be singing this song in Australia — well, maybe privately, alone in their hotel rooms at night.
But here’s this anyway! (I love this song!!) I do not know when it was originally recorded — what it was a B-Side of or why it was rare…
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. “Opium Tea”. 2005. B-Sides & Rarities. Enjoy, gang!
“Opium Tea”
Here I sleep the morning through Till the wail of the call to prayer awakes me And there ain’t nothing at all to do but rise and follow The day wherever it takes me
I stand at the window and I look at the sea And I am what I am, and what will be will be I stand at the window and I look at the sea And I make me a pot of opium tea
Down at the port I watch the boats come in Watch the boats come in can do something to you And the kids gather around with an outstretched hand And I toss them a diram or two
Well, I wonder if my children are thinking of me ‘Cause I am what I am, and what will be will be I wonder if my kids are thinking of me And I smile and I sip my opium tea
At night the sea lashes the rust red ramparts And the shapes of hooded men who pass me And the moan of the wind laughs and laughs and laughs The strange luck that fate has cast me
Well, the cats on the rampart sing merrily That he is what he is and what will be will be Yeah, the cats on the rampart sing merrily And I sit and I drink of my opium tea
I’m a prisoner here, I can never go home There is nothing here to win or lose There are no choices needed to be made at all Not even the choice of having to choose
Well, I’m a prisoner here, yes, but I’m also free ‘Cause I am what I am and what will be will be I’m a prisoner here, yeah, but I’m also free And I smile and I sip my opium tea
I slept in until 5AM. Got up to find more powdery snow all over the world outside my windows. Yet the black skies were completely clear — brilliant stars for as far as my wee bonny eye could see.
The cats got special yummies for breakfast — many thanks to Johnny, for buying them a type of yummy cat food for Christmas (beef with gravy) that I rarely let them eat!! They were sort of in cat ecstasy this morning.
Oh, and when I opened the kitchen door to let Kon Tiki in for her breakfast, she wasn’t there but in trotted a totally different cat! We all sort of stopped and stared at her, but since she was in, I fed her beef with gravy, too! And then let her right back out…
And then I decided to take my own breakfast upstairs with me, got back in bed in the dark, and as fate would have it — I felt like listening to an Abraham Hicks video while I had my breakfast in bed, and lo! & behold!, this one was in the top of my list!
Ignore the title — it’s click bait. But it has to do with allowing the Universe to manage Time for you, so that you can get everything done without stressing!! One of the top things that’s been on my mind, regarding continuing to work the caregiving jobs, and trying to get all the writing projects done (15 mins):
And then, after that, when the sun finally came up, here was the view from my bed:
And this — across from my bed!! I always bring the spider plants indoors for the winter, and this one is just doing crazy-good!
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Okay.
Probably the best New Year’s Eve photo I saw yesterday.
Warren Ellis, apparently channeling the NY Dolls circa, like, 1973!
And here’s the song that goes with the post — from my wee bonny 13-year-old girlhood!! “Personality Crisis” by the NY Dolls (performing live on The Midnight Special — a TV show I watched religiously back then, much to the chagrin of every adult in my extended family!! And probably my Rabbi, too, if he’d known I was watching it…):
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Okay.
Let’s tone it down a little!
Keith by the fire!!
And the Stones in LA, in 1965:
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I thought you might like this.
The one and only time I saw Mink DeVille perform live, it was in the mid-1980s, at the incredible Lone Star Cafe.
The Lone Star is long gone now, but it was a great club. And it was on E.13th and 5th Ave, just around the corner from where I lived on E. 12th Street. (And for the record, gang, Mink DeVille performing live blew me away!! God, he was good.)
The NYC clubs back then were just so cool, gang. You could usually get so close to the performers. And all that energy was just aimed right at you.
I saw Johnny Cash at The (new) Ritz in midtown, and I was in tears through most of the show — he was so close; he was right there, you know? I could not believe it.
Ditto with Dwight Yoakam, although the first time I saw him was at the old Ritz, downtown, and it was truly one of the most amazing live shows I ever saw. He burst onstage in all those spotlights, wearing that sparkly, rhinestone Nudie suit, and singing “Guitars, Cadillacs & Hillbilly Music”. It was like a version of heaven I could never have even imagined.
And the first time I saw Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, it was also at the old Ritz (on E.11th Street — again, right around the corner from where I lived). It was kind of staggering. The audience was probably the most frightening audience I had ever gotten stuck in. It was full of what we called Neo-Nazis, back then. Really violent white guys. But when Nick came on the stage, I could not believe how fucking tall he was!! And his energy was just insane — it exploded. It is a moment that is absolutely seared into my memory forever.
Anyway.
There were some incredible clubs all over NYC back then.
(Oh and Susie Cave had a really fun video on Instagram of Nick Cave’s New Year’s Eve celebration last night, but I can’t re-post Instagram videos here. But there was nary a Neo-Nazi in sight!!)
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Okay.
Speaking of things being seared into my brain forever–
I forgot to mention that, very early Tuesday morning, when I was heading to my (final) 10-hr shift, I stopped in at the Rural King to buy cat food. It was maybe 8AM (?) and what to my wondering eyes should appear???
You remember that guy who sometimes works the check-out that I privately call “Wild Thing” because — yes!!– he makes my heart sing!?!? And I am old enough to be his grandmother but he flirts with me anyway??
There he was — all that long dark hair, and all skinny and tall and looking like absolutely nothing but trouble. And there was, like, one other customer in the check-out lane. And then it was my turn!! And, yes, he flirted with me again!! And I felt about 14… in the best way, that is.
I just love that guy.
(And I love this version of that song! I think it’s better than the original.)
******
Okay.
I’ll close this New Year’s post with this.
I am in an absolutely incredibly good space, gang. But the past several days were just hit or miss for me. It was very rough.
I have posted here about how, when my (adoptive) dad died a year and a half ago, he and I were in a really good place. Just the best it had ever been in our entire relationship. But from, like, 1975 up until that final year (2023-24), my relationship with my dad was usually extremely rocky. He could be really nice, and then, when you’d least expect it, he could be unbelievably mean.
But during that last year, he told me a lot of stuff about his private life during my teen years that I had known nothing about. And it caused me to privately forgive him for absolutely everything that he had ever done to me in the difficult decades that had followed that.
And then, a few months ago, when the Trustee of my dad’s Estate finally gave me access to all of my dad’s financial stuff, his Will, etc. (there were hundreds and hundreds of pages), it became apparent that he had left me a small fortune that I’d known nothing about. By way of a Family Trust fund.
However, last week, right after Christmas, when the Estate was completely probated and closed and the checks were sent out —
Well, long story very, very short — it turned out my dad had changed his Will and I had not yet seen that final version. And he left the entire Family Trust — 100% of it — to his step kids instead. And taken me completely out of it.
There were residuary funds that I got, instead. I am not complaining. I will be okay, and he also took very good care of me that final year he was alive.
But seeing, in print, what he had done with that Trust, gang — it devastated me. It was just so like the old him to do something like that. And I didn’t want to un-forgive him. How could I do that?? I don’t know how to un-forgive.
My adoptive mother did a similar thing to me — I was heir to $30 million dollars, that upon her death, she ended up giving, in its entirety, to one of my cousins instead. Although, during the final years of her life, my mother gave me many advances on my inheritance, which helped me enormously when all of my publishers, except for one, went out of business during the financial crash of 2008.
However. It’s that process, you know? Going to the expense and time to actually change your Will in order to exclude someone before it’s too late and you’re dead. What the fuck is that, right?
Anyway.
I had been in such a good place with my dad when he died, and I didn’t want to lose that feeling. Especially since I am preparing to write that memoir of my father-figures in the 1970s. I don’t want to go into that memoir with a headspace of trying to manage so much heartbreaking cruelty and alienation.
And even though I can no longer comfortably retire at this point, well miraculously — I mean that literally — after a lot of prayer and Source/God alignment, I awoke this morning in the best mental and psychological place. And I am right back to feeling just really grateful for everything my dad did for me during that last year of his life.
I actually just feel like a stronger person than I’ve been in a long time, and I am really looking forward to all the writing projects ahead of me in 2026.
So let’s get started with that, okay??
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Have a terrific 2026, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting!
I love you guys. See ya!
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I think I’ll leave you with this!
Dennis sent it over to me this morning, as part of his Happy New Year text!
I had not seen this video of this song before. I really loved it.
Norman Greenbaum – “Spirit In The Sky” (1970). Enjoy, gang!!
Although, culturally, it’s also likely to be in the 60s around here today, since I started my glorious morning with this fantastic cassette in the retro boombox next to my bed:
And I have to add that I did not want to get out of bed this morning. By that, I mean, get out of bed again, since I had already been out of bed for 2 hours before getting back in it at 6:15AM…
Anyway.
So today: rain all day and a balmy 60-something degrees Fahrenheit.
Followed by tomorrow and Tuesday: More snow!
So fucking weird.
But I’ve decided to keep all the Christmas stuff out until Thursday, since we’re going to have more of that “festive” snow. Even though it doesn’t feel like Christmas at all anymore, because I’ve had the darn tree up for almost a month already.
But I was just lying there, listening to surf music and thinking about how much I love that style of guitar playing. And I was getting wistful, thinking about all the things in my life that are gone now and all the things that are upcoming (if you can get wistful about something that hasn’t happened yet).
But since I have yoga, shower, zoom class with James Tabor — before leaving for my shift with the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat… I finally forced myself to get out of bed.
And here I am.
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So, I’m sure you know that Brigitte Bardot died today at age 91.
There were tons of photos and tributes to her all over Instagram, but Susie Cave’s page was the only page (that I saw, at least) that posted photos of Brigitte with her beloved pets.
All the other pages had photos of Brigitte with her beloved breasts…
Anyway.
I absolutely love this song and it is always the first thing I think of when I hear the name Brigitte Bardot!
And sort of speaking of Nick Cave (by way of his wife, that is)–
Here’s this!
Nick Cave, holding up his eyebrow and looking at something, but we will likely never know what…
And here’s this handy reminder!!
“The Wild God Tour begins in less than a month in Australia and New Zealand. These unforgettable shows are the band’s most celebrated live production to date, and their first shows in the region since 2017. Renowned for their exhilarating and unforgettable performances, The Bad Seeds are widely regarded as one of the most thrilling live bands in the world. Acclaimed New Zealand singer-songwriter Aldous Harding will support the band at all shows.“
And in her uncanny ability to never, ever fail us (unless she goes on vacation)–
From Phyllis Stein’s Instagram page:
Willy (Mink) DeVille! 2008:
Photo by William Coupon
And here’s another song of his that I absolutely loved, and it was indeed part of the soundtrack of my early years living in Manhattan, since I used to also listen to him on my Sony Walkman a lot while riding the A train:
“A Train Lady”
Everybody’s own line Written for the subway It’s just another train ride Hey, why you walking that way Hey hey hey
You’re looking for a good time Then you could look-a this way You’re sippin’ on your lemon-lime Hey why you lookin’ that way Hey hey hey
I thought you were a sweet thing When I saw you riding on the A train
I saw you in the window Checkin’ out my mohair I follow far as you go I believe I’ll find a song there Hey Hey Hey
I thought you were a sweet thing When I saw you riding on the A train
So when you’re riding on the A line And when you feel the backbeat Lady lookin’ so fine Wish you’d sit by my seat Hey hey hey hey
Falling over my feet Following you all the way to High Street
Yes all the way to High Street And I wish you were my baby All the way, all the way All the way to High Street
c – 1978 – Mink DeVille, Dave Forman
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If you’re interested in this kind of stuff–
Dr. Eli’s Blog has a lot of keen insights about how to understand the New Testament, by way of explaining the translations of the original Greek and/or Aramaic:
“…The Greek word Jesus uses, however, is not the harsh term for stray dogs (κύων / kyōn) but the diminutive κυνάριον (kynarion—’little dogs’ or ‘puppies’). Most scholars see these words as deliberately softening the image… Jesus is drawing a theological, covenantal boundary. The ‘children’ represent Israel, God’s covenant family. The ‘bread’ symbolizes the blessings of salvation and healing. The ‘dogs’ signify Gentiles—those outside the household yet close enough to receive scraps. …”
Loyal readers of this lofty blog know that I’m a big fan of nicotine (not cigarettes) and it’s many health benefits.
If it is a new topic for you, this is a great, in depth interview.
Alex Clark — Nicotine Is Not the Villain: What Big Pharma Hides From Parents | Dr. Bryan Ardis, DC (48 mins):
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Other than that, I’m still in that strange sort of mood that I was in yesterday. And I wish I had time today to just sit and stare.
Although I can’t wait to see the retired Minister’s wife later today, to thank her for that adorable Christmas gift she made for me.
And even though I’m actually very eager for that first zoom class in James Tabor’s new course to get underway today, I will be really happy when the day is behind me and it’s evening and I’m walking in through my kitchen door, and eventually collapsing on the couch in my family room with a couple of cuddly kittens and watching yet another episode (that I’ve already seen!!) of “Mrs. Brown’s Boys.” And then — having tomorrow off.
Moving ever closer to 2026.
Yay.
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So on that note — I gotta get moving here.
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!!
It came on my playlist in the car, just as I was exiting the freeway yesterday afternoon and heading home to the Hinterlands!
More vivid memories of my early days in Manhattan, gang.
It really made me smile. I cranked up the volume. (And FYI, the anniversary of Joe Strummer’s death was just a few days ago. He’s been gone now since 2002.)
The Clash. “This is Radio Clash,” 1981. Play it loud. Enjoy, gang.
And even though I have to go back out into it all today, I don’t mind. I had the best Christmas, gang.
Oh, and St. Stephen is my Patron Saint — he’s the Patron Saint of Ministers (deacons, etc.). So this I guess is my day! Yay!
(And yes, I have a minister’s collar just like that one above — I got it when I got my Ministry Degree from Ohio Christian University and then got ordained. But I haven’t worn the shirt in probably 10 years…)
Oh, and I think it is so cool that my birthday falls on the Feast of Mary Magdalene!! But that’s not related to my ministry at all. Just something I love.
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And on a similar note–
Yesterday afternoon, I finally began James Tabor’s new course with Myth Vision, “Christianity Before Paul”.
Wow, what a great course this is going to be, gang! I spent about 2 hours on it yesterday and still have about 30 minutes before I’m done with the first lecture. There are a lot of really great introductory materials in the first lesson. An overview of the Hebrews and Judaism, of Palestine, Israel, Judea, and the Galilee, the various Herods, various Kings and Emperors, Babylonia, Persia, Greece, Rome — from 2000 BCE up to about 400 AD and Constantine and the Council of Nicaea.
Just really great stuff. And that was all stuff you have to read before you start the actual first lecture.
Just so up my alley, gang. I have taken all of James Tabor’s courses so far, and I already know that this one is going to be my favorite, even though it has way more course materials than any of the other courses had, so it’s going to take a while.
Yes! Coffee and studying hard make your hair turn brown again!!
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And speaking of hot brunettes having great hair days!!
Rowland S. Howard in 1982:
Along with Nick Cave and Mick Harvey!! (I miss those great hair days!!)
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Okay, so back to Christmas….
I got many “Merry Christmas” texts from friends hither & yon yesterday, and my birth mom called me, and so did Wayne!
He and I had a really nice chat, and he also updated me on his opinion of The Curse of Our Profound Disorder. (My new novel.) He is ALMOST done, finally. He has about 12 more pages to go.
The novel is not that long, it’s just that he has been extremely busy. He works at the Union Club on Park Ave. in NYC, and it has been non-stop crazy-busy there since October.
The Union Club — Wayne has worked here as the maître d’ and head bartender for over 30 years. It only costs upwards of $50,000 to join the Union Club and the dues are about $10,000 a year… (not joking)
Anyway. Wayne is still liking the book, but I am very, very curious to find out what he thinks of the ending. So that should be any day now!!
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And I ate a lot yesterday!
Since I didn’t have to cook anything, it was really fun to just keep grazing on all the leftovers in the fridge! (Including ice-cold leftover pizza, which I’m actually quite fond of!)
And I sat in the family room and snuggled on the couch with a couple of sleeping kittens and a bunch of fleece blankets and I watched maybe three reruns of “Poirot” from Season 2 (1990). Another one of my all-time favorite shows.
And then I actually went up to my bed and took a nap, gang. An actual nap!! What a luxury. It felt so great.
But today, it’s back to the regular caregiving schedule.
I’m heading out here soon to my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house. And, YES!! On Friday, I did indeed stop off at the gas station and buy him one of those pre-mixed, single-serve vodka cocktails. A small bottle. (And before I showed him his fantastic gift(!!), I diluted it with water in the kitchen…)
But he was in paradise, gang. He was so happy. His face really lit up when I brought the bottle into the living room, along with a festive cocktail glass!
And I also brought him a little packet of those Pringles Mingles bowties, that I poured into a festive bowl:
Anyway, he really had the best time. Sitting in his recliner and feeling like he was in a private Christmas cocktail lounge or something.
Today, will be a lot more low key, though…
Oh, and I have to tell you about this.
The retired Minister’s wife gave me a Christmas present as I was leaving their house Sunday evening. I unwrapped it yesterday morning.
I knew it was going to be some sort of homemade craft — she is really, really creative and talented. But it absolutely blew me away! It is so cute!! A little stuffed snowman with a stocking cap — made from little Christmas socks. It’s weighted at the bottom, so he sits straight up.
My heart melts every time I look at it. It is just so cute. (I don’t want to post a photo of it because I don’t like to expose the private lives of my clients.) Oh, and she also gave me a handmade Christmas card that was just adorable, too. She is very talented.
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And I ended the evening watching still more reruns of “Mrs. Brown’s Boys” because I am, like, so totally addicted to that show during the holidays.
And then I went off to bed early, to sort of get my head back into work mode.
But it was such a great Christmas. I have not been that relaxed in a really long time.
But now I gotta scoot!
I hope you are enjoying a happy St. Stephen’s Day, wherever you are in the world!!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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I leave you with this!!
My favorite version of this very old song — the song takes place on St. Stephen’s Day!
The Irish Rovers’ version of “Good King Wenceslas”. So fun. Enjoy, gang!!
I hope you have a really Merry Christmas Eve, if you celebrate it!
Yes, as usual, I am absolutely EXHAUSTED — trying to do all the last minute Christmas Eve stuff last night after a 10-hr. shift, then literally forcing myself out of bed this morning at 4:33AM.
But I’m heading out here soon to see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man.
He sort of knows it’s Christmas, but I am probably the only person he is going to see today so I’ll try to make it a merry few hours… (I might stop off at the gas station and pick up one of those pre-made vodka cocktail thingies for him. I have another gift for him, too, but Methinks anything whatsoever with vodka in it will make his holiday a really merry one…)
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Here was the view this morning as the sun was coming up — this is at the bottom of my stairs, looking through the family room to the dining room:
Yes, the kittens have re-arranged all the lights on the Christmas tree, but at least they’re still on there!!
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So, I will have a few things to do in the kitchen the very moment I get home from my shift — a lot of scurrying around before Johnny comes over to celebrate Christmas Eve.
Since I’m working today, I don’t have time to make any type of traditional Christmas dinner. Just a bunch of fun holiday food that still allows me to — YES!!!! — get out all of my many Christmas dishes!! Yay!!!
Just something simple thrown together at the last minute…
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Another quick note about my dad’s Estate —
I got an email from the Trustee of his Estate late yesterday afternoon, saying that they had just FedExed me my “dad’s belongings.”
I did not know there was anything left. I’m guessing when I get the box I will open it and then cry! I have no idea what will be in there, but I’m guessing it will be things my dad had saved for a really long time.
But the timing of the probating of his Will is helping me have truly the best Christmas I could have ever imagined.
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Okay.
Here’s this!
Nick Cave in church?? Apparently listening raptly!
And Nick Cave sent out a Christmas Red Hand File today!
“Dear Red-hand-o-philes,
Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas, happy holidays, and a glorious New Year! See you in January!
Love, Nick“
And if you live in Australia or New Zealand, you will really see him in January!! Buy tickets here!
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And here’s this, just ‘cuz it’s Christmas and it makes me so fucking happy to look at it!!
Ronnie and Keith!! Eternal heroes from my wee bonny girlhood!
It serves to remind me that I have officially survived 51 Christmases since the worst Christmas, ever — 1974: Greg’s death, my nervous breakdown, the gang rape in my basement. BUT!! The Stones also released THIS!!! Yay. Worth living for, I guarantee it.
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All righty!!
Before I scoot, I gotta say THANK YOU once again!! You guys keep on downloading those old eBooks of mine over at the Smashwords Christmas sale and I really, really appreciate it.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Okay. I better scoot. I am so fucking busy it is ridiculous!!
Have a very, very MERRY Christmas Eve, wherever you are in the world!
It’s a clear, sunny — but cold — first day of winter around here!
When I stepped out onto my kitchen porch at 4:30AM this morning, the black sky was so incredibly clear. I could see all the stars for miles and miles. There was a really great feeling in the air.
And the raccoons had been by. They ate up every single solitary morsel of cat food that I’d set out for Kon Tiki & friends yesterday.
Oh, and also yesterday, at my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house, I encountered 5 beautiful deer in his backyard. And, later, while driving back into the village of Crazeysburg, there were about 8 swans in one of the de-frosting cornfields!! This morning, starlings are everywhere in the trees around my property and the cats are sort of glued to the windows. (This bit about the cats is, of course, a figure of speech. I do not allow my cats to get into the glue…)
Anyway, Happy Winter Animal/Bird Day everyone!!
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Okay.
Here’s this!
I’ve had some trouble piecing together what this was all about, but it seems to have been a fundraiser for a new church organ? Not sure. But it took place at St. Bartholomew-the-Great, the oldest parish church in London.
Nick Cave and Colin Greenwood performed by candlelight there on Friday night. (I believe this is the church Nick Cave actually attends?)
I can only imagine how moving this was, gang. Because these two could create magic together out back by a trash bin. And in an old church in London by candlelight??? Wow.
And speaking of Nick Cave—
There is still time to order something over at Cave Things and get it in time for Christmas!! (Maybe.)
For instance!!
Sex Pencils!! They are guaranteed to be sexual, unisexual, hip & sexy, and super sexual!! ($21 + shipping)
And right now, I believe you can get free pencils with every Christmas order. Click Here.
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Okay. I am loving this!
Outlaws, Revolutionaries, and Other Christians in Disguise
I found out about this podcast last evening on Instagram and I am halfway through listening to Episode 16 and I am really loving it:
“The Saint of Holy Groveling, the Hungover Mystic, and a deep, aching longing for God
Jack Kerouac is remembered as the voice of the open road, speed, freedom, and excess, yet beneath the motion lived a deep spiritual loneliness. He carried an intense longing for God that pleasure, travel, and rebellion never resolved. The party always ended in sadness. The road always circled back home. Formed by Catholic prayer, haunted by sin and grace, and bound to his mother in a small house far from the myth, Kerouac lived as a strange solitary mystic, restless for God and unable to escape the ache of faith that followed him everywhere.”
The podcast only started this past January, so there’s a chance I can actually get caught up on their previous episodes: Goethe, Dostoevsky, Chesterton, Solzhenitsyn, Blake, Pasternak, and more. Writers whose works I really love.
You can find the podcast here and then choose your preferred platform.
Subversive Orthodoxy: “Subversive Orthodoxy is a place for people who are burned by politics. We’re tired of culture wars and worn-out ideologies, but still have some hope that the Judeo-Christian story has something real to offer the modern world.”
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And speaking of Kerouac —
From the Kerouac Estate on Instagram:
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And here’s this–
Keith with one of his grandsons (maybe even the first one, judging by the color of Keith’s hair) (in the description below the photo, it said this is a grandson):
And Keith topless! Yay! (Adults only please!!)
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Okay!!!
Thanks again to Phyllis Stein for coming back from her vacation and for posting some more great photos on Instagram!!
Patti with the Patti Smith Group and TOM WAITS peeking in!! (mid-1970s)
And two of Patti and Jim Carroll in San Francisco in the 1970s:
(I loved this man so much, gang. I took a songwriting/poetry course with him at the West Side Y in NYC in 1984. You had to actually submit your writing to get into the class and when I got in, I hit the moon! There were maybe 12 of us in the class. What an incredible experience it was. The course lasted several months. And, wow, was Jim Carroll tall!)
Here’s this. Jim Carroll reading from his second collection of diaries, Forced Entries, in Cleveland, 1991 (1 hr):
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And here’s this!
I listened to it while making my dinner last night (and also texting with Johnny at the same time so it was a wee bit distracting!)
Abraham Hicks – Why Action Won’t Make you Rich (15 mins)
I especially liked the part about “Maintaining Your Vibration Despite Outside Influences” . (Ooops! Looks like you have to listen directly on YouTube. Just click in the box.)
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Phil seems to want everybody to have access to the Justice Department’s Epstein Library. It is searchable!
Word of warning, though. There is a TON of graphic stuff in these court testimonies and some of it will make you sick. (Especially if you’ve ever been trafficked or forced to have sex of any kind.)
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Other than that…Let’s switch gears!!
Wow, gang.
Christmas is almost here. Which means 2026 is also almost here. Which means that my retirement is also almost here!!
Johnny has asked me a couple of times:
HE: “What is the first thing you want to do the moment you know you are free from all the caregiving jobs and can do anything you want?”
ME: “Sit down at my desk and write.”
HE: (Looks at me sort of blankly.)
But that’s it, gang. Yes, I want to go camping (he already has a really long list… It includes cool places like Key West, the Adirondacks, and a place in Georgia). I do want to do that. But as loyal readers of this lofty blog know so well by now — I have a TON of half-finished and almost-started projects on my desk. I cannot wait to be able to give them my complete attention again.
PLUS!
Sandra is just basically sitting there in Rhinebeck NY, waiting for 2026 to get started so that she can send me all of her NOTES on the upcoming play Off-Broadway, the proposed new TV project, and our re-visitation of the screenplay for “Tell My Bones: The Helen LaFrance Story”.
I know this doesn’t sound like retirement for most people, but for me, it is finally getting to have my life back and I can’t wait.
Oh, and part of the publishing contract for my new novel includes: When will you be available to come out here and promote the book???
There is a chance that the book might be released by February, gang. But that’s not definite yet.
So, I wake up at 4 in the morning, and I stare at my dark bedroom and I just sort of think, Wow. And soon after that, I get out of bed.
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All righty!
I’ve got some yoga to do and then I have the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat later today! And some more Christmas movies, no doubt! (And while I do have to drive home in the dark, there is no SNOW, no ICE, no HEAVY WINDS!! Yay. Just things like the Ronettes singing “Sleigh Ride” over and over and over for 22 miles!!)
So I’m gonna get all that underway here.
Enjoy your Sunday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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I leave you with this. The most amazing Christmas song ever.
I listened to this several times while in bed last night with the lights out and the votive candles flickering and tried to keep my heart from galloping away from me .
I do not know where the years went to, gang. I only know that they flew by. And now both Shane McGowan and Kirsty MacColl are both dead. This song just breaks my heart now but when I listen to it, I am still inundated with all the love I had for this man and his gift for writing incredible, and now incredibly eternal, songs.
“Fairytale of New York,” The Pogues. 1987. Enjoy, gang. And let’s take a word from William Blake while we’re at it: He who binds to himself a joy / Does the winged life destroy; / But he who kisses the joy as it flies / Lives in eternity’s sun rise. See ya!
Marilyn's Room 