Tag Archives: Sandra Caldwell The Guide To Being Fabulous

Okay! Back at it!

July 30, 2025 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

I tell you, gang, 2 days off in a row and I feel like I never want to work again….

To think that for something like 15 years, all I had to do each day was sit at my desk and write. I miss those days. Those heady deadlines.

However.

Back at it!

My favorite nearly-95-year-old Japanese client and I will be heading out for sushi and sashimi today. And I’m sure we will have great conversations. Laugh a lot. Revisit his amazing past a lot. And have a pretty great day. So, once again, I can’t really complain!

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Then I’ll head home, have my dinner while watching wonderfully silly reruns of” Frazier”, take my shower, head into the air-conditioned bedroom — and probably talk all evening on the phone with the eHarmony guy!

We chatted for 3 1/2 hours last night!

And it’s not like we ever have a moment of awkward silence or anything. We just talk on and on and on, and it’s been like that since the very first time we talked on the phone!

So here’s hoping, gang.

Tomorrow of course is the big day — we meet in person. We’ll have lunch at the glamorous Tequilaville. And if lunch goes well, we plan to take a walk in the park. Weather permitting.

I know I’m not allowed to write about him, but I’m guessing it’s okay to say that, even while he and I have had completely different types of lives, when we were both teenagers (we’re practically the same age), we lived in Columbus. So we have so many cultural memories in common from back then. And that feels so cool. I am so accustomed to being around people that I literally have nothing in common with from the past.

Okay. So I better stop right there before I start “writing about him”!!

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Wow, okay!

So yesterday — the Nick Cave and the AI thing was all over Instagram. And almost everyone was just as opinionated as I was, for the most part.

But what I forgot to say in my post yesterday — even though I linked to the Red Hand Files, I didn’t mention that Nick Cave’s post was about having a different perspective now — regarding AI images, at least — after seeing what his friend had done with the “Tupelo” AI video. (You can read it in full here.)

A few people on Instagram were actually really nasty about Nick changing his mind about (perspective on) AI. There are always those few who, no matter what topic Nick is writing about — they just go for his throat.

At that point, I always click the handy “unfollow” button!! (I am so totally NOT impartial when it comes to Nick Cave…)

Anyway!

This was really cool! The original lyrics to “Tupelo”, posted yesterday by RossAWaterman:

And here’s another photo from Arles, when Nick received his literary medal:

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And on a totally different topic!

I’m still awaiting one final quote regarding the home improvement loan, but I got the carpenter’s quote last night and, if for any reason, I can’t get the loan until next year, his quote was actually affordable so I might pay for it out of my own pocket — fixing the very ancient and very-giving-way-now basement stairs. In an effort to avoid THIS some day soon (wouldn’t be my best look, even if I were wearing a sundress!):

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Okay.

Just a reminder that tomorrow is the final day of the Smashwords Summer Sale.

You can download 4 of my older eBooks for free. The details & links are on my substack page HERE. (Adults ONLY.)

And another huge thank you to all of you who have already downloaded them!!

And don’t forget that since my books and eBooks are no longer in one handy place on the internet, you can always visit MarilynsRoomBooks. The prices might not be up-to-date all the time, but the links are.

And don’t forget!! If you need a deck of playing cards, my “1954 Powder Blue Pickup ” cards are really, really cool!!! Yay.

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All righty!

That’s it for now. I have time for one more cup of coffee before I gotta scoot.

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Am I allowed to post this?? Hmmm….

“Someone” sent this video to me yesterday and, wow, I just LOVED it!!

Enjoy, gang.

I Know, I Know!!

July 29, 2025 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

I’m late again!

This time, it wasn’t because I went back to sleep after breakfast –tempting as the idea was.

However.

MANY kittens and a couple of cats saw to it that “going back to sleep” was merely a pipe dream… (if I can sort of delightfully mix metaphors there and include opium in the heady mix!) (pipe dream — smoking opium, etc.)

Mainly, though, I took a walk over to the post office to collect a registered letter that contained belated birthday wishes AND cash money!!! Yay!!! “Happy Birthday”, indeed!

But I am here now!

And I have no more contractors coming. I am waiting on 2 remaining price quotes to be emailed to me, then I can mail the whole application off to my local USDA RD office and hope that they haven’t already run out of money for the season. We shall see, gang!!

I’m not asking for much, but the few things I do want fixed around here would really upgrade the safety of this beautiful old house.

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All right. Well.

YES! On the eHarmony front —

We talked for THREE hours last night. And I’m guessing we could have talked on and on, if it weren’t for the fact that I now, more than ever, need my beauty sleep!!

Because we ARE, indeed, meeting for lunch on Thursday. And I’d like to look a little bit better than in this memorable photo!

(Me, in my hotel room bed in NYC, 3 weeks ago, at 5:03 AM) (And ditching the nightgown and wearing a sundress instead will likely be a big help!) (Oh! I might comb my hair, too!)

And in case you’re wondering where we’re meeting for lunch…

YES! Why wouldn’t we meet here? I always wanna go here!

The super glamorous Tequilaville!!

Even though I like the food at Tequilaville — only because it’s better than any other Mexican restaurant I’ve tried around here (which qualifies as “damning with faint praise”) — it turns out that my new friend lived in Texas for 3 years… so. You know. No comparison to Texas Mexican food. But, well, we’re a long way from Texas. We gotta make do with what we have out here in the Hinterlands.

(I know, I know. That’s kinda like “writing about him” which I’m not supposed to do…)

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Okay.

New topic!

A brief excerpt from a recent interview with James Tabor.

And this is the very topic (or quest, as it were) that caused me to decide to continue studying Jesus the man, rather than pursuing a congregation of my own after I graduated from Divinity School and became an ordained minister.

How Historical Methods Get us Closer to the Real Jesus (8 mins):

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I’m making some little strides here with The Curse of Our Profound Disorder, but I’m at a point where a few very important storylines come to a resolution (and the novel itself comes to a close), so it takes an unbelievable amount of concentration.

Thank God, yet again, for that AC, gang. At least I can think. Slow as the process currently is. (I hope I don’t get to the final paragraph and then discover that I need another 26 years to properly finish it….)

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All righty.

Nick Cave sent out a Red Hand File this morning.

Apparently it is FORTY YEARS (!!) since the amazing masterpiece, “Tupelo”, was released by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds.

How I love that song, gang. I will never forget the first time I heard it, in my tiny little hellhole apartment on E. 12th Street.

In fact, I will never forget riding the PATH train from Hoboken NJ (where I had bought the album The First Born Is Dead in a small record shop) back into Manhattan, and reading the lyrics to “Tupelo” that were printed on the back of the album cover. The lyrics blew me away. I couldn’t wait to get home and play the record.

I loved the whole record (it was my first exposure to Nick Cave), but I particularly loved that song “Tupelo”. I was astounded by it. And, as I’ve posted here before, every single person who came into that apartment after that, was forced to listen to “Tupelo” on the record player in my tiny, godforsaken, hellhole bedroom!!

ME: “Have you heard this song yet??”

EVERYONE ELSE IN MY APARTMENT: “No.”

ME: “Listen to it!! It’s incredible!! It’s about Elvis!”

Well, in honor of the 40th anniversary of this song, a filmmaker friend of Nick Cave’s created a video using Artificial Intelligence, which, as you know, I am not a huge fan of. (That’s a nice way of saying “I despise AI and whoever invented it should be publicly executed in a 1984 doomsday sort of way…”)

Anyway. You can of course watch the video yourself and come to your own conclusions, as I include it here! But I did not like it at all. I found it incredibly creepy and just sort of a violation of so many images from Elvis’s career that, at this point, are practically sacred to me.

I think I’d rather be forced to watch the eye scene in Luis Buñuel’s “Un Chien Andalou” than watch that “Tupelo” video ever again.

But, alas, that is only my over-reactionary opinion and I’m guessing not many people share it.

So, here it is, for your viewing pleasure:

And here is what I much prefer — the audio, as I heard it 40 years ago:

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And on that lofty note!!

I suppose I better get started around here.

Have a terrific Tuesday wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys! See ya!

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I leave you with this gem!!

Merle Haggard and Marty Robbins do a great duet of the all-out C&W classic by George Jones, “She Thinks I Still Care”. (1970) Enjoy, gang!!

She thinks I still care

Just because I asked a friend about her
Just because I spoke her name somewhere
Just because I rang her number by mistake today
She thinks I still care

Just because I haunt the same old places
Where the memory of her lingers everywhere
Just because I'm not the happy guy I used to be
She thinks I still care

But if she's happy thinking I still need her
Then let that silly notion bring her cheer
But how could she ever be so foolish
Oh were would she get such an idea

Just because I asked a friend about her
Just because I spoke her name somewhere
Just because I saw her then went all to pieces
She thinks I still care
She thinks I still care

 c- 1962 Dickey Lee / Steve Duffy

Sorry I’m late!

July 28, 2025 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

I have today and tomorrow off, plus I was up kinda late (for me, anyway), chatting with my eHarmony guy after I got home from my shift last night!

So after the many, many cats and I had breakfast this morning, I went back to bed for a while and it felt FANTASTIC!

It wasn’t too hot (yet). The windows were open and the birds were singing. Most of the kittens and cats were downstairs somewhere, or otherwise being peaceful. So it was great.

And I’ve already had my chat with Sandra regarding the play — I won’t have any real work to do on it until August 1st – 15th. But some of the things Sandra wants to add to the script are terrific. I’m really excited. This play (which I love) just gets better and better and better, gang.

The carpenter is coming to give me a quote today, but that’s not until the day is basically over. (When the heat should be at its hottest and a thunderstorm should be underway!)

So now I have the AC on, the laundry is almost done, and the day is wide open in front of me!!

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Okay!

For those of you who were not able to get me a gift in time for my birthday last week [HINT: That was every single one of you…] —

The Summer Sale over at Cave Things is still going on until TOMORROW morning at 10AM, UK time!

So there is still time to get me this! On sale! And help feed my addiction to dishes! I only have SIX creamers in the house, so clearly I need one more!!

Up Jumped The Devil Milk Jug — $39 (plus shipping to the USA).

“An immediate sellout when it first appeared on Cave Things in 2021, the Up Jumped The Devil Milk Jug finally returns in a slightly updated form. A delicate glazed ceramic milk jug with blue watercolour painting, it echoes a refined Victorian teatime object, but carries a disturbing motif – the Devil himself.“

Hurry! Time is running out….

And lest we forget!! One of my all-time favorite songs by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, “Up Jumped the Devil”, 1988:

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Yesterday’s shift was yet another easy one with the retired Minister and his lovely wife! After we were able to persuade him to do his Physical Therapy exercises, we spent the rest of the evening watching old reruns of “The Love Boat,” Daniel Boone”, and “The Andy Griffith Show”!

And, yes! I got PAID to do that! So what’s not to love?

But seriously, it was a very pleasant shift. And as always, I am super glad to be back home.

I think that’s really it for now. I wish I weren’t under an ironclad mandate to not write about my new friend, but such is life. I can at least tell you that it continues to amaze me — the things we have in common. And how considerate he is. And unpredictable. And straightforward and funny.

I will say that he said, when he sits out on his porch, he can hear the train when it’s passing through Crazeysburg! That gives you an idea of how close he is — and also how LOUD that fucking train is! (You wanna see cats & kittens scatter? Wait ’til that train starts approaching!!)

The ~~ACTUAL~~, OOPS! NOT the actual train that comes through my town!

And here’s this!! Because I love it and WHY not??!!

“Folsom Prison Blues”

I hear the train a comin’
It’s rolling round the bend
And I ain’t seen the sunshine since I don’t know when
I’m stuck in Folsom prison, and time keeps draggin’ on
But that train keeps a rollin’ on down to San Antone

When I was just a baby my mama told me
“Son, always be a good boy, don’t ever play with guns”
But I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die
When I hear that whistle blowing, I hang my head and cry

I bet there’s rich folks eating in a fancy dining car
They’re probably drinkin’ coffee and smoking big cigars
Well I know I had it coming, I know I can’t be free
But those people keep a movin’
And that’s what tortures me

Well if they freed me from this prison
If that railroad train was mine
I bet I’d move it on a little farther down the line
Far from Folsom prison, that’s where I want to stay
And I’d let that lonesome whistle blow my blues away

c- 1955 Johnny Cash

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And that’s it for today!

Enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Happy Days, All Around!

July 27, 2025 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Okay, lots of cool stuff today!!

I’ll start with this:

Alice Cooper participated in a tribute concert for Ozzy Osborne in London on Friday, and Johnny Depp made a surprise appearance! (They are both, of course, bandmates in the Hollywood Vampires).

From Johnny’s Instagram page:

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And after I posted to the blog yesterday, Keith Richards posted a Happy Birthday post for Mick’s birthday on Instagram. Here are some of the photos!!

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And in AWESOME news!

I saw this while I was with my favorite 94-year-old Japanese client yesterday and wanted to post it right away!! But I’m not allowed to fool around on my phone when I’m with a client…

Anyway!

Awesome news.

Yesterday, in Arles, France, Nick Cave was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres — for his significant contributions to the arts and literature of France!!! (I think that’s what it’s called — I had to piece that together from several different Nick Cave fan accounts on Instagram.)

From Susie Cave’s Instagram account yesterday:

So how beautiful is that, gang?? He seems to be having a TERRIFIC summer!

And from the sold out Arles concert last night — not many photos to choose from, but the outdoor venue looks like it was really cool.

The Solo Tour will continue in early August, for 3 nights in Bergen, Norway, but they are sold out.

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Okay!

In the eHarmony department….

Truly sad news for you guys!! But he and I chatted on the phone again last night and he told me — in no uncertain, no vague or hard-to-understand way — that he doesn’t want me writing about him. He really values his privacy.

I think I said something like: “Oh nooooooo!!!”

So there you have it!!

But, wow, gang. At least on the phone, he and I get along spectacularly! And it’s looking like we are going to try to meet in person later this coming week.

But OMG. even while we have had entirely different lives, our personalities are so similar.

And he actually listens to me when I’m talking to him. And he also makes me laugh.

AND–

He also makes me CRY. In the best way!!

This video was waiting for me on my phone this morning. He could not have picked 2 more perfect singers. I adore them both — and they are also both connected to my birth dad, in the best way.

When I watched this video in my bed, first thing, my little heart beamed with JOY and I started to cry.

Merle Haggard and Marty Robbins – Today I Started Loving You Again (1969) (5 mins):

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And if you will forgive me for perhaps jumping the gun a little — but I can’t help it…

The chorus to THIS wonderful song from 1987 keeps popping up in my head here this morning, REALLY LOUDLY (play it loud and sing along to the chorus, gang!!):

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And I think that’s it for now.

I have a few hours here before I have to head out to see the retired Minister and his wife. So I want to get some writing done.

Tomorrow, the carpenter comes to give me an estimate for replacing the 126-year-old basement stairs… and then I think I’m working with Sandra on the play. We shall see.

Have a blessed Sunday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!!

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James Tabor is starting a new series — one that is really, really close to my heart– how any mention of Jesus’ family rather quickly gets removed from the New Testament in the various gospels.

The Fading of the Jesus Family–Phase One (17 mins):

Another beautiful morning!

July 26, 2025 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

But it’s going to be another scorcher of a day.

But do I really care????

NO!! My little window AC unit works fantastically, gang. What a gift from God!!!!

However, I was gone for 12 hours yesterday, and I had left the AC on, with the kittens closed up in the room. And when I got home, they were sort of like: “What the fuck is your deal??We’ve been locked up in this refrigerator the whole damn day. Where the hell have you been??”

And then they went zooming out into the hall and got all the other cats riled up and no one settled down for about 90 minutes after that, so I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep last night.

Still. I’m so happy. I love my AC!

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No real update on the eHarmony front today, since I had to work back-to-back shifts yesterday. But we did have a few nice texts!

Hopefully, this evening, we will get to chat on the phone again!

But, wow, both shifts yesterday were incredible, gang.

My favorite 94-year-old Japanese client, and then my other favorite client — the retired Chaplain who is back from Florida. I had a really long shift with her and it was amazing. The stuff we talked about.

And I had cause to read part of her CV yesterday because it was out on the table. Wow. She did unbelievable stuff as a Chaplain. Always going into the heart of horrible places, to work mostly with rescued infants and children. I don’t know how she did it — for decades. The horrific stuff she’s had to witness. Her faith in Christ is absolutely unshakable.

And even though I was there forever, the time just flew. She really helped me get some clarity on that memoir I’m writing about the 1970s and my various father figures. She said something like, “God gave you your voice to express through your writing. Use your voice. You must write the memoir. Be honest and be brave with it. You will help people.”

Something like that. it was just what I needed to hear.

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Okay!

Here’s this!!

From Wayne this morning. He leaves Cambodia on Monday and he is not ready to go back to NYC. He has had a great time — this was his second trip to Cambodia.

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And here’s this!

Keith and Charlie in the mid-1960s!

Oh, and a happy 82nd birthday to Mick Jagger:

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And tonight, Nick Cave’s Solo Tour with Colin Greenwood on bass continues! A music festival in Arles, France. And, yes, it is SOLD OUT.

Here’s this, from the show in Cannes!

Next, they play 3 sold out shows in Bergen. Norway. (I cannot believe it is almost August, gang. Where did the time go???)

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I think that’s it for now. I’m still kinda worn out from yesterday, so I want to try to just lie down for another minute, before I have to drive back to town.

Enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Absolutely Happening!

July 24, 2025 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Yes, it’s a great day.

It’s gonna be a scorcher, though, so here’s hoping I am able to install that window AC unit because I’m going to need AC later, for sure.

I’m guessing it’s easy to install, but the thing is fucking heavy. It was kind of astounding that I was able to get it out of the car, carry it into the house and up the stairs (on my 65th birthday, no less!). Of course, the guy at Best Buy — who was maybe 19 years old and, well, a guy — made it seem effortless when he loaded it into the trunk of my car…

Anyway! It’s in my room and I’m going to tackle it today — while waiting on a different plumber, because the other plumber never showed after 3 days in a row of waiting.

My clients who have been in rehab, and who were supposed to come out this month, but didn’t — I got word from the Agency yesterday that they will still be in rehab for the entire month of August. Which means I’m going to have to live close to the bone around here.

But at least I got everything worked out about my retirement money with the Social Security office yesterday. (Another glitch in the system because of putting me onto Medicare now.) I should have my money for July in a couple of days.

But this is that double-edged sword thingie: less shifts to work but more days off! More time to work on the novel (and/or the play). So that makes me really happy, gang.

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Okay. The eHarmony thing is making me REALLY happy, too. So we shall see. We’re supposed to chat on the phone today — for the first time. So far, we’ve just been texting on our phones.

And if the chat goes well, then we’ll meet.

I can’t really go into any details yet about why I am so happy, because we don’t know each other and I don’t want to violate his privacy — I try only to violate the privacy of people I know really well!!! (And then their privacy becomes an utter wasteland. So you’ll just have to wait…)

However, I will share this. But I won’t say why. I’ll just say it sparked a really happy evening around here. I have always loved this song.

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Okay.

I’ve never been a Black Sabbath fan, and I didn’t have an opinion of Ozzy Osborne, one way or the other, but of the hundreds of photos on Instagram yesterday, I loved this one, so I share it here.

From the Whiskey a Go Go in Los Angeles:

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Just a reminder!

The final week of the Smashwords Summer Sale is now under way.

Check my substack page for all the details about my 4 eBooks that are free to download during the sale! (Adults only!! Graphic erotic fiction!! And these are OLD books & stories — from the 90s through 2011.)

And thanks again to all of you who have been downloading these eBooks all month long. I really appreciate it!!

Absolutely 100% positively ME! Oops, sorry. NOT me.

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Here’s this!

Wayne, earlier today, at Beng Mealea, Cambodia (dating back to 928 AD) (Well, Wayne only dates back to 1954 AD):

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Tonight! In France! (A music festival in Cannes.)

The Nick Cave solo tour with Colin Greenwood on bass continues. Yes! It is sold out!!

No photos yet, obviously, but here’s this again!!

And here’s this –Nick with fans; it was taken the other day in Pompeii:

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And I guess that’s it for now.

Gonna tackle that AC unit and pray for a spectacular result!

And I’m hoping that, this afternoon, the new plumber shows up on time. (Allegedly 1 or 1:30. We shall see.) Then the carpenter comes on Monday, and I should be all set to submit my application for the USDA RD home improvement loan!!

Okay. Enjoy your Thursday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Here’s this again! Great driving to town music!! Now, especially, I love this song…

From my wee bonny girlhood! “Peaceful Easy Feeling,” The Eagles, 1972. Enjoy, gang!!

What a Glorious Day!

July 22, 2025 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Yes! It is my birthday today!

Officially on Medicare — the big 6-5!

And, of course, tomorrow would have been my dad’s birthday. There were tons of photos of us sharing our birthdays together as I was growing up, but for some reason, this is the only photo that remains.

I’ve posted it here before, but here it is again! In our first house in Cleveland. I’m 2. My dad is 32. Summer of 1962.

And later today, I’m heading into town to meet up with my favorite Q-following girlfriend and we’ll be going out to dinner. I can’t wait.

It is another STUNNING day! And it was only 59 degrees Fahrenheit when I woke up this morning!

Wow, gang. Usually, on my birthday, it is ungodly HOT. But I guess God had other ideas this year. I’m so happy.

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Well, the plumber was not able to get here yesterday so he’s supposed to get over here before I have to leave for town. We shall see! But the HVAC guy came and his quote was indescribably reasonable. I kinda couldn’t believe it!! I am so hoping that I can get all this paperwork turned in before the USDA RD runs out of funds for the season.

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Okay!

So. On the eHarmony front —

The guy I mentioned briefly the other day — the one who sounded interesting and who only lived about 10 minutes from here?

Wow. He wrote again yesterday. And we texted on the site for quite awhile — even while I was out taking a walk in yesterday’s gorgeous weather. I’m sure I looked like one of those people I always feel sorry for — they can’t just enjoy a nice walk, they keep stopping to text someone on their cellphone…

Anyway. Yes, well, that was me! And then eventually, we moved the texting off of the site and onto our own phone numbers. And we texted on into the evening.

He is so cool!! About a year older than me. With a lone “Desperado” tattoo that was also quite cool (even though I’m not a fan of tattoos. It was totally old school. I loved it!)

Well, I don’t want to violate his privacy so I won’t say more. But I hope we meet! And I will add this!!

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And speaking of Desperados!!

Here’s this– more cool photos of Keith in aviator shades!! Late 1960s.

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In case you didn’t see this yet —

More documents on Martin Luther King’s assassination are going online at DNI.gov. You can read all of it HERE.

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And here’s this!

The swimming pool and jacuzzi this morning at Wayne’s hotel in Siem Reap, Cambodia!

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And my friend Roger in the Netherlands sent me this article from The Guardian last night!

Nick Cave fans swarm charity bookshop in UK after musician donates thousands of books

“Nick Cave fans have descended on a charity bookshop in Hove, in southern England, after the musician donated 2,000 books from his personal collection….” [full article here]

(So, what is up with Nick Cave??? First, that amazingly HAPPY guy in Lucca, Italy? Then he unloads thousands of his books??? Hmmm….)

Meanwhile–

In Rome, yesterday, at the sold out show!

Nick Cave and Colin Greenwood continue to move people beyond belief.

I wish I could embed some of the videos I saw on Instagram from the end of the show. So many people got onstage with them!!

They return to Rome tonight, but is is also sold out.

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And I’m thinking that’s it for now.

So far, no word from Best Buy regarding my window AC unit. But since it’s right by the restaurant where we’re having dinner later, I’m going to stop in the store anyway.

Another heatwave is coming this week…

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Okay!!

Enjoy my birthday, wherever you are in the world!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this!

Hank Snow’s classic, “The Golden Rocket”, 1950. Enjoy, gang.

“The Golden Rocket”

From old Montana down to Alabam’
I’ve been before and I’ll travel again
You triflin’ women can’t keep a good man down
You dealt the cards but you missed a play
So hit the road and be on your way
Gonna board the Golden Rocket and leave this town

I was a good engine a runnin’ on time
But baby I’m switchin’ to another line
So honey never hang your signal out for me
I’m tired of runnin’ on the same old track
Bought a one way ticket and I won’t be back
This Golden Rocket’s gonna roll my blues away

Hear that lonesome whistle blow
That’s your cue and by now you know
That I got another true love waitin’ in Tennessee
That midnight special is burnin’ the rail
So woman don’t try to follow my tail
This Golden Rocket’s gonna roll my blues away

Hear her thunder run through the night
That Golden Rocket is doin’ me right
And that sunny old southland sure is a part of me
Now from your call board erase my name
Your fire went out you done lost your flame
And this Golden Rocket is rollin’ my blues away

That old conductor he seemed to know
You done me wrong I was feelin’ low
For he yelled aloud we’re over that Dixon Line
The brakeman started singin’ a song
Said you’re worried now but it won’t be long
This Golden Rocket is leavin’ your blues behind

Then the porter yelled with his southern drawl
Let’s rise and shine good mornin’ y’all
And I sprang to my feet to greet the new born day
When I kissed my baby at the station door
The whistle blew like never before
On the Golden Rocket that rolled my blues away

c – 1950 Hank Snow

Strange Day

July 21, 2025 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

The energy feels strange today, although the weather is STUNNING!! And I slept great.

And I have the day off, which — right there — is always a great thing.

Upstairs, the kittens are running around like maniacs.

Downstairs, the youngster cats are running around like maniacs.

While the surviving oldsters sit downstairs perched on various pieces of furniture, staring quietly at all the zooming madness but clearly thinking: What the fuck is going on?

The laundry is underway. And, in a little while, I have 2 contractors coming over — an HVAC guy to give me a quote on installing central AC, and a plumber to give me a quote on replacing all the upstairs pipes and shower & kitchen fixtures that have been completely corroded by the hard water around here. (I already got the quote for the water softener installation.)

The eHarmony thing, so far, is really kind of going nowhere. The only truly interested man writing to me lives halfway between here and NYC, and that’s not really going to work for me. So I guess I’ll just hang out and see what, if anything, eventually happens. I really want to give this eHarmony thing until the end of the year.

Me, counting the minutes until the end of the year…

Other than that–

I should be excited because the weather is stunning and I have the day off, and tomorrow’s my birthday (!!) and I actually have plans to go out to dinner.

But I just feel strange today. I’m hoping that, either: A.) Someone drops by with some prescription amphetamines; or B.) I snap out of this without the help of illicit drugs and happily get back to work on the novel.

I guess we’ll see!

Keith’s version–

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Here’s this!

Wayne sent this over yesterday. On the river by his hotel in Phnom Penh:

And today, he heads to Siem Reap!! Should be incredible.

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And here’s this!

I think it’s from Pompeii, but it’s definitely from Italy. Posted by the store owner to Instagram earlier today. A store where I guess they make a lot of original Pinocchios–

(I think it’s a Gucci Pinocchio but I’m not 100% positive…) (Just kidding.)

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Other than that, gang, I got nothin’ — it is such a strange day.

I hope that you’re having a better Monday, wherever you are in the world!

If anything truly interesting pops up, I’ll stop back later.

Otherwise, thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

Hell is receding, even as I type!!

July 20, 2025 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Yes, the upgrade to the iPhone 16e is complete and done, but WOW was it a real nightmare, gang.

Thank God for online chat on my laptop, because at one point, both iPhones were blocked and I couldn’t call or text customer service (or anyone).

But, finally, it all got figured out and now I am officially on the new iPhone. (And I MIGHT at least CONSIDER upgrading more often, to avoid these little techno nightmares…)

Yes!! The AC window unit did NOT arrive!!

It is delayed!

But no less than FOUR really good-looking but alas really youthful Customer Service guys at Best Buy assured me that FedEx had it, it was enroute, and I should have it on Tuesday — my birthday. And, thank goodness, the break in the weather at night is still holding, and me and the little furry maniacs are sleeping just fine.

AND!!!!

Best news of all, gang!

I got a really lovely birthday card from my birth mom yesterday, so I called her after all the iPhone madness had settled down.

And in the course of the conversation, I asked her how she would feel about taking care of so many cats because I really, really need her here when I go back to NYC….

SHE: “Of course, I’ll take care of your cats!! I was wondering when you were going to ask me!”

ME: “I was just afraid it was too many cats for you.”

SHE: “Marilyn, when I had the house in Jackson, I had 13 cats! I have no problem with all the cats.”

So — wow. What a relief! We had such a great conversation about it and now my entire being can relax about having to go to NYC again. If I go anywhere for 1 or 2 nights, it is no problem having the day sitter come in, but having my mom here is always so much better. She takes really good care of my cats and the house.

So. Yay. I suddenly felt like my future was wide open again. (And I also feel like having all these cats now isn’t my fault — it’s genetics!!!!)

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Okay, today is the day I have my late afternoon shift with the retired Minister and his lovely wife. So Sundays have become good days again — I make a little money, I work for some nice people while watching a lot of TV, and I still have most of the day & evening to myself.

It not only reminds me of when I used to take care of the adorable Molly and her wonderful husband, late afternoons on Sundays — before she died back in February. But, also, this new couple only lives about 5 blocks from where Molly lived. So everything about the drive there and back has really good memories for me. It is so much easier on me than the usual emotions I have on my shifts.

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The nice guy on eHarmony continues to be really nice and continues to write. But another very interesting guy started writing to me yesterday. And he only lives 10 minutes from me! We’ll see if it develops.

But I don’t want more than 2 guys writing. That’s enough for now. And they live close by. Other guys are writing to me, but they live much farther away, and I really want to find someone I can hang out with, go out to eat with, go hiking with at Black Hand Gorge!

Which reminds me…

It wasn’t entirely legal to do it, but my long-time childhood friend, Steve, and I sprinkled some of Kent’s ashes over at Black Hand Gorge. And the anniversary of Kent’s death is on Saturday.

Our mutual friend Kent — my last photo of him, when we had dinner at the Granville Inn when he was visiting from Houston:

Kent, holding one of Steve’s babies:

And I heard from Steve yesterday — he’s at a music festival and was seeing Hot Tuna (!!). He sent me a short video from the show and the band actually sounded great. (Steve has always been a huge Jorma Koukonen fan — originally of Jefferson Airplane fame.)

Hot Tuna then:

Hot Tuna now:

Steve and I have been friends since 1971, when we were in the 6th grade. So we have some very, very interesting memories in common. And Steve and I had known Kent since the 7th grade.

Kent was truly one of my favorite people of all time.

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Okay!!

This is what they mean by SOLD OUT!

Look at that crowd at Nick Cave’s Pompeii show last night!

And here are a couple other photos I liked from last night!

Monday and Tuesday nights, they will be playing in Rome, but the shows are sold out.

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And I think that’s it for now.

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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All righty!

How about this really cool old one?? A hit by Ringo, but written by Ringo and George Harrison. Here, George is singing it to the same tracks Ringo did. 1971. (Back when I first met Steve… I can hardly grasp that, gang!)

Anyway. Enjoy!!

A new nightmare ensues!!

July 19, 2025 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

I think I mentioned here yesterday that I had upgraded to an iPhone 16e and that it was arriving yesterday….

And that I HATE upgrading iPhones because it is always a pain in the a**…

The newest pain is that they no longer include everything you need with the new phone, so I didn’t have the wall charger! Just the fucking phone! And it arrived with almost no battery power.

So today I am picking up the wall charger and a car charger at Best Buy, when I (hopefully) get my new AC unit.

Meanwhile, I am straddling 2 working iPhones at the same time and I have to say it’s a tad bit confusing, frustrating, annoying…

It’s one of those things I really hate about Apple — how they make everything you perhaps love and at the very least get comfortable with become totally obsolete.

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Okay, anyway. I am hoping that by later this afternoon, at least the iPhone thing will get straightened out.

Meanwhile, several days ago, I re-joined eHarmony — the dating site from yesteryear.

In the early days of online dating, I always used eHarmony and I really liked it. (Meaning at least 15 years ago…) But I stopped using it about 8 years ago, because my writing life at that point was constantly taking me hither and yon, and online dating became just totally undoable. Plus, I was still actually meeting real people at that point.

But over the last few years, I’ve tried the new dating apps and found them to be absolutely CRAWLING with scammers. Even the ones where they say that members are “verified”. It was so creepy and a little bit scary. So I gave up on that.

But living out here in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by cornfields and wildlife and general “antiquity” — you just can’t meet people. Especially of an appropriate age. (Okay, yes, I have an online friendship with a much, much younger musician in Turkey that I would “date” in a heartbeat if he weren’t thousands of miles away; and he’s not moving because he loves the town he lives in; and I’m not moving just because I’m inundated with responsibilities here, among other stuff. And there in that little bubble of reality lies a very unworkable dating situation…)

Anyway.

It turns out, though, that eHarmony is highly rated for seniors for various reasons — safety and large user base being 2 of them. So I re-joined.

I’m going to give it until the end of the year and see if anything develops.

As you can likely guess, being a woman chock full of extreme opposites, with a past loaded with baggage the size of steamer trunks, and a writing career that most people shy away from (to put it lightly), and then throw in the borderline autism, wherein I get along much, much better with animals than with human beings… I’m not what you would call hugely “datable”.

But I’m still going to see.

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In the meantime…

This is what freaks me out about one of Keith Richards’ grandsons turning 25 the other day…

Here’s Keith (gambling on the plane, during the legendary tour of ’72), when I first fell in love with him. It seems like yesterday. He is 28 years old here. A mere THREE years older than his grandson is now…. WTF??!!! I can’t wrap my mind around this aging thing, gang. Time just fucking flies.

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At least on the weather front — wow, gang, was yesterday incredible. It never got above 71 degrees Fahrenheit. And it rained, gently, ALL DAY, so the humidity was GONE by late afternoon. I did yoga with ease. And I slept like a wee bonny lass for 7 uninterrupted hours, even with THREE kittens curled up next to me all night.

It’s going to get hot again today, but right now, it is still just amazingly comfortable. And sunny. And just a perfect morning.

And I’m heading out soon to see my favorite 94-year-old Japanese man again.

We had another really great day yesterday. He’s retaining a lot in his short term memory right now. He even said, “You were gone forever. I missed you so much. I am so glad you’re back from New York.” And the fact that he knew I was gone, while I was in NYC, and had the mental faculty to “miss me” — what does that say about his mind? It’s curious, indeed, and it fascinates me.

Oh, and we did decide that next Wednesday, in honor of my birthday, and what would have been my dad’s 95th birthday, and my client’s upcoming 95th birthday, and also in honor his own father, too, who is always with us in spirit when we’re together — in honor of all that, if the weather report holds, we will indeed go to that wonderful clubhouse at the golf course again and have lunch.

Anyway. I gotta scoot.

I hope you have a great Saturday, wherever you are in the world —

Oh! Tonight, in Pompeii!