Tag Archives: The Curse of Our Profound Disorder

What a great Sunday in the Hinterlands!

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Yes! I am going to do everything possible to make this day drag on forever! Because tomorrow is my last day of vacation.

But on a happy note — chances are that my next “vacation” will be because I’ll have to go back to NYC to work with Sandra.

So. Yay! For the next vacation!

I sat at my desk for quite a while yesterday, trying to focus on all the notes for the primary characters in our TV project, and bring them into some sort of organized paragraph(s), but it did not happen.

However.

When I awoke at 3:12AM this morning!! It was all there in my brain and starting to take shape. So that was exciting!

I know today is going to be really productive.

Overall, it has been a really productive vacation.

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I found this online yesterday — I was only about 2 weeks late in seeing it.

The publisher of my upcoming novel, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder, made an announcement all over social media about contracting the book.

This is taken from their official website, where they said, in part:

“Something about her writing style drew me in and mesmerized me. In general, I cringe at first-person stories, passive voice and dialect, but in Marilyn’s hands, something magical happened as I read.

I stood uncomfortably in the middle of her grand boudoir while I watched her light a cigarette. Her room was filled with furniture, most of it white, and on every available table, bureau, and shelf, there were pretty things. Things made of crystal or porcelain, things that looked old and expensive. It was a huge room with a very high ceiling. Even with all that furniture and all those pretty things, the room didn’t feel crowded.

“Main character Jemima always knew that she was the illegitimate offspring of the local married preacher. Her mama, impregnated in the backseat of a Plymouth at age 15, explains lust and sexual pleasure as the presence of God. Jemima has a hard life, but sees the world pragmatically, with beauty at times.”

Coming soon, gang!

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Okay!

A couple of heavenly birthdays today!

First, one of my favorite rebels of all time!

Happy heavenly birthday, James Dean. RIP.

If you’re too young to have ever seen this movie, here’s a great clip. I still get chills and some tears in my eyes. “Rebel Without A Cause,” 1955 (3mins):

James Dean was killed 5 years before I was born, but back in the old days in NYC, there were plenty of retro movie houses where you could go see all the great old movies.

So I was able to see all of James Dean’s movies on the big screen. Incredible.

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Apparently, it is also Neal Cassady’s heavenly birthday today:

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And speaking of NYC (well, I sort of was, up there above)–

One of my legendary abodes there, the Camelot Bldg. on W.45th & 8th Ave, was only a few blocks away from the infamous Peppermint Lounge!!

By the time I lived there, though, the Peppermint Lounge had closed and then briefly re-opened (still on W.45th Street), and in that immortal & fleeting time, I saw many bands play there, including many of my friends’ bands.

And here’s this!!

From Phyllis Stein’s re-booted Instagram page!! Johnny Thunders at the Peppermint Lounge in 1981:

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And here’s this!

The New York Dolls in LA, at the Whisky A Go-Go in 1973!

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Okay, gang. Who knew??!!!

I sure did not!

But it turns out that the Orient Express has an Instagram page!! Yay!!

I immediately started following it. And then noticed, with overjoyed excitement, that the Orient Express is also followed by Marlon Richards’ wife, Lucie de la Falaise!!

This ad was in my Instagram feed yesterday. Yay!!

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And speaking of Keith Richards, smoking and barefoot! (sort of…)

Here are Marlon Richards’ illustrious parents, Keith and Anita:

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And here’s Keith, smoking but probably not barefoot, but I’m not 100% certain:

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And here’s this!

Nick Cave in London in 1982, in no way interested in getting up to get an ashtray!! (I think he actually quit smoking because he was tired of having to always get up and get an ashtray, but I’m not 100% certain. That might just be part of the myths & legends.)

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Okay, so is anybody in the US going to watch the Super Bowl tonight??

I probably will not. Only because, well, I don’t have a huge interest in football, but it also has sad memories for me now. Especially with my favorite client, Molly, passing away last year right after the Super Bowl, which we were supposed to watch together but she was taken to the hospital and then she died.

And now of course with my dad being dead now, too. He was a big Super Bowl watcher. Well, football, in general. The Cleveland Browns were always on our TV in the 1960s.

Our humble abode in Cleveland, 1963-1966

And Wayne, who is still very much alive, always had his guy friends over on Super Bowl Sunday, and they ordered in pizzas, and drank beer and smoked Camel cigarettes and got rowdy and had fun.

I usually sat in the back bedroom and quietly drank Saint-Émilion and smoked a Chesterfield or two and watched an old movie, but it was still fun having all that noise in the apartment.

St. Emilion, my most favorite wine ever.
My most favorite cigarettes, ever. Chesterfield Kings, no filters.

So I miss all that.

Here’s this, from back when my wee bonny girlhood life was actually sort of good:

Cleveland Browns win the 1964 NFL Championship (1 min):

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And now I’m gonna get this very productive Sunday underway!

Enjoy yourselves, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Okay!!

In honor of James Dean, I leave you with this.

The Crystals’ smash hit, “He’s A Rebel,” 1962. Enjoy, gang.

A Saturday off in the Hinterlands!!

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When was the last time I had a Saturday off where I didn’t actually have to do anything at all, but write???

It feels really great, gang.

And I finally had a chance to chat with Sandra yesterday afternoon. She’s been in NYC this past week, moving into a friend’s apartment so that she doesn’t have to stay in so many hotels. Her primary home, with her husband, is in Rhinebeck, NY, about an hour’s train ride up the Hudson. And she’s having to be in NYC a lot right now.

Oh! Before I forget.

If you have the BET+ streamer channel, Sandra has a special guest role on a 2-part episode of “The Ms. Pat Show” sometime next week. It promises to be excellent!!

Anyway.

We had a good chat. And we have both signed off on the synopsis (yay!), so today I begin working on the 2 character breakdowns/arcs for our TV project.

Ever closer to turning it in, gang!!

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Before I forget–

Last night, I started listening to a free audiobook of James Joyce’s 1916 novel, A Portrait of the Artist as A Young Man.

I first read this book back in 1982 and absolutely loved it. I became a diehard Joyce fan from then on.

But as I was listening to the audiobook last night, I found it incredibly peculiar that I could very clearly remember reading the book, and how much I loved it, and where I lived at the time (W.45th Street) and where I worked and who I worked with and I even recalled reading the book while standing in line at the bank and I recalled that a lot of my co-workers were also in line at the bank so it must have been payday–

Anyway, I remembered all that stuff, but I had no memory of what the book was about anymore!! I found that so weird.

And then also, early in the book, one of my favorite lines ever — well, I still knew the line by heart but I had forgotten it had come from that book! (“one time it would come because the earth moved round always.”)

I remembered perfectly lying on my bed in the afternoon and reading “a book” and then reading that line and stopping dead in my tracks. I was so moved by that line that I immediately put down the book and copied the line in the front of my journal, then went back to reading the book!

I remembered all of that stuff, but I had not remembered which book it had come from.

Anyway. James Joyce. Wow. He was definitely a big influence on me, gang.

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And Dennis sent me this yesterday! In honor of the upcoming Super Bowl and my love for Tom Petty —

In Remembrance of Tom Petty: Super Bowl XLII Halftime Show – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (12 mins):

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If you are not aware of the Nag Hammadi Library —

It is “a collection of early Christian and Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945.” There were 52 texts discovered, and they date to around the mid-2nd century AD.

The religious texts, essentially, became illegal after the New Testament was established, so it is assumed these 52 texts were buried to keep them safe.

The texts, collectively, are also considered “the secret teachings of Jesus”. The “Gospel of Thomas” is probably the most well known one.

Here is a free audiobook on YouTube but it had a lot of commercials.

The Gospel of Thomas Full Audiobook (No Commentary) (38 mins):

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And here’s this!

The earliest known photo of Neal Cassidy, from the Allen Ginsberg Instagram page:

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And here’s this!!

If you don’t know who these two are, that’s David Cassidy (R) and Danny Bonaduce (L) from “The Partridge Family” TV show, which was super popular in the early 1970s (I never missed a show and I had all their albums!!):

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And I thought that this was really interesting.

I’d never heard of her before, and I was sort of thinking that gender surgeries didn’t start happening until the early 1950s (in Europe).

The anniversary of her death was yesterday.

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And here’s one more great photo of Nick Cave from the Wild God Australia/New Zealand tour, but I don’t know from which city:

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And I’m thinking that is it for today, gang! I’m gonna get to work now.

Enjoy my Saturday off, wherever you are in the world!!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Yes, I leave you with one more!

From the Special Deluxe Re-issue of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ 1982 album, Long After Dark, Disc 2.

This song is one of the songs that did not appear on the original album. I really like it.

“Never Be You”. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, 1982. Enjoy, gang!!

“Never Be You”

Take a look at my eyes
It’s been a long, long time
I used to feel so strong
When I knew you were mine

But since you let me down
I’m hard to be around
I don’t know what I’m gonna do
She could never be you
She could never be you

Uh-uh, uh-uh, huh
She could never be you

I guess it all comes around
Baby, please don’t cry
Love is gonna be a little reckless
Oh, lovers all have to stand trial

But since you let me go
There’s nothing going on
I don’t know what I’m gonna do
She could never be you
She could never be you
Uh-uh, uh-uh, huh
She could never be you

Yeah, she knows the rules
She plays the part
But she only has me
She don’t have my heart

She could never be you
She could never be you

So take a look at my eyes
No, you can’t hide the truth
No, you don’t get by on pride
It’ll run over you

But since you let me down
I’m hard to be around
I don’t know what I’m gonna do
She could never be you
She could never be you
Uh-uh, uh-uh, huh
She could never be you
Uh-uh, uh-uh, huh
She could never be you
Uh-uh, uh-uh, huh
She could never be you

c – 1982 Tom Petty, Benmont Tench

Yes!! To Town I Go!!

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And yes, it is snowing again!

But the plumbers were here until the middle of the afternoon yesterday, and I just didn’t feel up to the 30-mile trek to town and back for the groceries after that.

So I stayed at home and did yoga, and listened to the rest of James Tabor’s private zoom meeting with the Tabor Research Group, then made dinner and had a really nice evening.

I absolutely LOVE the new fixtures on the upstairs shower and on the kitchen sink, gang!! (I’m guessing I also love the updated pipes but I can’t really see those…) The plumbers did a great job.

And this also means that I can once again take a bath in that upstairs bathroom! The tub spigot hasn’t worked in several years; only the shower head worked upstairs. But that upstairs bathtub is from the late 1940s and is HUGE!! Which means my long legs can actually fit in there! So I’m really excited about being able to take baths again!

ME, soon!!

OOPS! Of course, I meant: ME, soon!! (I always forget that I’m actually glamorous when I’m in the bathtub.)

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Okay!

So today will be my first day out since Sunday. Even with the snow, it’ll be nice to get out of the house.

I’m planning on stopping HERE first — my favorite Health & Wellness Center! (And this means I’ll actually get to see some of my friends today, too!) (They work there.)

And then it’s off to this place, to buy more cat food than you can possibly imagine!

And with any luck, I’ll be leaving there singing this!! (We shall see. I have no idea if ‘Wild Thing’ works there on Fridays or not…)

And then I’ll swing by the grocery store for some actual food. And then head back home and probably not leave the house again until I head out to see my clients on Tuesday! (When, sadly, my vacation will be over.) (Although I have to say I have actually been missing my favorite 95-year-old Japanese Man. I think about him a lot and I hope it’s going okay with him and the other caregiver.)

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A quick word about the James Tabor private research group (mentioned above).

Assuming all is well, war-wise, he is planning to resume his guided trips to Jerusalem in mid-May. The trip goes to certain Jesus-related archeological sites that James Tabor has personally excavated.

It has always been my dream to go on one of these specific trips — the “Tracking Jesus” tour. With James Tabor. But I just don’t know if I can afford it by May.

There is also a weekend conference for the Tabor Research Group in North Carolina in late September that I am absolutely going to — more archeological stuff about Jesus, John the Baptist, etc. So I am finally going to meet James Tabor this year. (And maybe even Ross K. Nichols, too. There’s talk that he might be coming to the conference, as well. I don’t know.)

But I really want to do that Jerusalem trip, so we’ll see how much it actually costs once he opens up the trip for reservations.

But I know I also have to be available to go to NYC with Sandra for the TV project. Obviously that has to come first, and I can actually afford to go to NYC.

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Anyway!

A guy I interact with on Instagram sent me a photo of the new Tom Petty Valentine early this morning, so I told him I’m accepting it as an actual Valentine!! (I’m guessing it’s the closest thing I will get to a Valentine, but it works for me!)

And speaking of Valentine’s Day…

Over at Nick Cave’s Cave Things, they are having a Valentine’s Day Sale. Up to 20% off certain items. Including, but not limited to, THIS!!

Only $6 after the discount! (Plus something like $24 in US shipping)

The complete Cave Things Valentine’s Collection is HERE.

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In a really wonderful surprise–

Yesterday afternoon, Parisian Phoenix Publishing officially released the cover art for my upcoming novel on social media!

So now I can officially share the cover art, too — which, as you know, I just love:

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And here’s this!

Johnny Depp posted an announcement today about his latest artwork with Castle Fine Art, “Accidents & Underdogs 2026“.

Limited Editions are for sale. And if you order any artwork before 8AM GMT on February 9th, you get a complimentary and signed ‘A Bunch of Stuff’ book (from the “A Bunch of Stuff” exhibit that Wayne & I saw in NYC, which was incredible.)

If you scroll down this page, there is a brief overview about Johnny himself, but it does not mention if he still smokes or not.


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Here’s this!

Yesterday was William Burroughs’ heavenly birthday. There were tons of photos of him on Instagram with various famous folks, but this one, where he’s all by himself, was my favorite — taken by Allen Ginsburg in NYC, 1981:

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And here’s this!!

Keith and Ronnie, smoking and relaxing in Argentina in 1998! (You have to seriously enlarge the photo — which I did– to ensure that they are both, indeed, smoking.)

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And I’ve posted this before, but here it is again!

I just love how Keith looks when he’s looking at Uschi!! (His expression helps my mind fill in the more private interactions that weren’t photographed.)


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And another photo from Keith’s recent birthday, back on December 18th 2025:

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And, yes, the Bad Seeds’ Wild God Tour of Australia & New Zealand is over!

And, no, I am not going to start posting about the Bad Seeds’ upcoming tour of the UK & Europe, which starts in June and you can buy tickets here…

I did find this beautiful photo this morning, though. Nick Cave relaxing, or shopping, or maybe both, in Toorak Village — a commercial shopping district that is not too far from Melbourne. (Yes, I had to google that.)

I’m guessing that Nick is no longer standing right there, but apparently, if you want to go find out, Toorak Village is “easily reached via the No. 58 tram (stop 132) from Melbourne” !

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And that is it for today!!

I’m going to get all my arctic gear on now and head to town!

Enjoy your Friday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Last night’s listening-music, in bed by candlelight!!

Yesterday was JD King‘s birthday!

In honor of that, I listened to The Olms‘ self-titled first album, from 2013, and had a splendid end of my evening.

Here’s “Someone Else’s Girl” from that album. Enjoy, gang!!

Wow!

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Okay, gang.

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.

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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.

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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!

This might be of interest!

Here in the US, public schools have the Scholastic Book Club.

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.)

So that is in lieu of my Keith photo for today.

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And it is now 11 days until this! (Buy tickets here.)

And here’s this!

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!

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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

A great day, all the way around!

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Even though I also think it’s a great day for popcorn (!), I still think it’s a really great day for the world, any way you want to look at it. (When oh when are people gonna stop hating DJT???)

I guess we shall see.

Freed hostages. Wars over.

If you missed Phil’s urgent video on telegram last night, it’s here. And he says, in part, that after Oct. 19th, silver will begin to skyrocket.

Loyal readers of this lofty blog will no doubt recall that back in late 2022 thru early 2024, when I was making a lot more money, I bought whatever silver I could afford every month. Yay.

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In other celebratory parts of the world — here in the Hinterlands…

If you missed my post from yesterday afternoon, I did indeed finish my final read-thru of The Curse of Our Profound Disorder and this morning, I will be sending the file off to the publisher in Pennsylvania. And from there, we shall see what she thinks.

I am so happy that it is done (at least the first draft). And I am still really happy with the book, but I still think it is a really strange, often brutal and intense book, with an oddly simple message: Family is everything. (And I actually really believe that.)

This picture has nothing to do with the book…

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In other celebratory news (at least for now)–

I saw my caregiving schedule for the rest of the year, and after this month is over, I am scheduled only 24 hrs a week, 2 days off each week, I have Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day off, and I get home mid-afternoon on the night before Thanksgiving, and on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve!

Can you believe this, gang?? Wow. All it took was a little polite complaining to the regional supervisor (twice).

This doesn’t mean they won’t ask me to pick up extra shifts along the way, but I can always say no to those if I want to.

This is such a relief to me psychologically, gang. You have no idea.

I bought these shoes in a thrift store in Manhattan — vintage Gucci. Aren’t they cool??

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Okay, here’s this–

The final installment of James Tabor’s series about the disappearance of Jesus’s family from the New Testament.

The Fading of the Jesus Family: Finale and Summing Up (38 mins):

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And here’s some more fading-away news that I’m actually really excited about:

MTV is over, gang. It, too, is quietly fading away…Well, not from the New Testament, from the world.

Wow. Did I used to love MTV….but that was a really long time ago. (Like, 40 years ago.)

“Money For Nothing”

I want my, I want my MTV
I want my, I want my MTV
I want my, I want my MTV
I want my, I want my MTV

Now look at them yo-yos, that’s the way you do it
You play the guitar on the MTV
That ain’t working, that’s the way you do it
Money for nothing and your chicks for free
Now that ain’t working, that’s the way you do it
Lemme tell ya, them guys ain’t dumb
Maybe get a blister on your little finger
Maybe get a blister on your thumb

We got to install microwave ovens
Custom kitchen deliveries
We got to move these refrigerators
We got to move these colour TVs

See the little faggot with the earring and the make-up?
Yeah buddy, that’s his own hair
That little faggot got his own jet airplane
That little faggot, he’s a millionaire

We got to install microwave ovens
Custom kitchen deliveries
We got to move these refrigerators
We got to move these colour TVs
Hoover mover, uh

Got to install microwave ovens
Custom kitchen deliveries
He’s gotta move these refrigerators
Got to move these colour TVs
Looky here, look out

I should a learned to play the guitar
I should a learned to play them drums
Look at that mama, she got it sticking in the camera
Man, we could have some
And he’s up there, what’s that? Hawaiian noises?
He’s banging on the bongos like a chimpanzee
Oh, that ain’t working, that’s the way you do it
Get your money for nothing, get your chicks for free

We got to install microwave ovens
Custom kitchen deliveries
We got to move these refrigerators
We got to move these colour TVs

Listen here
Now that ain’t working, that’s the way you do it
You play the guitar on the MTV
That ain’t working, that’s the way you do it
Money for nothing, and your chicks for free

Money for nothing, chicks for free
Get your money for nothing, chicks for free
Money for nothing, chicks for free
Money for nothing, chicks for free
Money for nothing, chicks for free
Money for nothing, chicks for free
Ow, money for nothing, yeah
And the chicks for free
What’s that?
Get your money for nothing, and your chicks for free
Look at that, look at that
Get your money for nothing (I want my, I want my)
Bozos
Chicks for free (I want my MTV)
Money for nothing (I want my, I want my)
And chicks for free (I want my MTV)
Get your money for nothing (I want my, I want my)
Chicks for free (I want my MTV)
Ah, money for nothing (I want my, I want my)
Chicks for free (I want my MTV)
Easy, easy money for nothing (I want my, I want my)
Easy, easy, chicks for free (I want my MTV)
Easy, easy money for nothing (I want my, I want my)
Chicks for free (I want my MTV)
That ain’t working

Money for nothing, chicks for free
Money for nothing, chicks for free

c – 1985 Gordon Matthew Sumner, Mark Knopfler

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Okay.

I have today off. I might be hearing from Sandra but I’m not sure yet. If I do, that alone could make me suddenly very busy. We shall see.

I have a couple quick chores to do, but other than that — all I need to do is think about which work-in-progress I want to tackle next around here. What a great feeling. Making progress on everything.

***********

And that is it for now.

I’m gonna finish up the laundry, get another cup o’ joe, and then get that manuscript off to the publisher.

Enjoy your very happy Monday, wherever you are in the world!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

***********

Here’s hoping for a beautiful day

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Yesterday was — I don’t know — intense?

I didn’t really move from my desk yesterday, except to do yoga at the end of the day. I forced myself to even do that because I knew my body needed it. I was not 100%. (I am fine today, so I think the yoga helped.)

Luckily, my brain was fine yesterday so I was able to do some tweaking to the final chapter of the novel (like, about 6 hours’ worth of tweaking on 5 pages). I will take one more look at the ending this morning, before beginning the process of reading the manuscript from start to finish.

This is it, btw! 253 pages, just under 75K words.

As I was editing yesterday, I kept looking at the clock because I was worrying about my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man. I had called in sick yesterday, and I kept wondering how his day was going with a different caregiver (he doesn’t usually do too well with strangers). But I was convincing myself that everything was going okay with him.

And then, after what would have been about 2 hours into my shift with him, the Agency called me. Apologizing for calling me when I’m home sick. But the new caregiver couldn’t get my client to answer the front door. She couldn’t get in. For over 2 hours. He won’t answer the phone. They are ready to call Welfare Services to go in and make sure he is all right…

For fuck’s sake. The caregiver hadn’t even read the client’s case notes. He never, ever, EVER answers the front door. You have to let yourself in the backway. He was probably still sound asleep in bed, and without his hearing aids in, he can’t hear anything — not the doorbell, not the phone ringing.

Instead of standing there and panicking for 2 hours, read the fucking notes! Jeez.

Well, anyway. That kind of upset me…

And I had to keep reminding myself that I have my own life, too, and to re-focus on the manuscript.

When an hour went by and they hadn’t called me back, I knew everything was fine and I could just move forward. But it is hard for me — especially with that specific client — to create a line where my private life starts.

But I am at least that much closer to sending the manuscript off to the publisher. I am really, really curious to see how the book reads now, from start to finish.

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

Okay.

Here’s this!

Keith, backstage in Kansas City, 1981!

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

And here’s this!!

In case you forgot!!

Yes. The coolest fucker.

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

And here’s this.

This is actually part of what James Tabor talked about in his lecture during the New Testament Conference on the Historical Jesus last weekend.

Did Jesus Predict His Suffering and Death Or Was that Added After the Fact? (44 mins):

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

And honestly, I think that’s it for now.

I want to get back to the ending of the book before I have to leave for my shift with the retired Minister and his lovely cat & wife! (But I have tomorrow off again (!!), and then after that, I begin a really insane month of caregiving.)

Oh! But I texted my Q-following friend and told her: help! I need something fun to look forward to! So on Saturday, Oct. 18th, after my shift, she and I are meeting for lunch HERE!! Yay!

Okay! Enjoy your Sunday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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

I leave you with this, for a beautiful slow moving Sunday.

From the album, Hypnotic Eye, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, 2014.

“Full Grown Boy”. Enjoy, gang.

“Full Grown Boy”

I like to move on sure and easy
Like a cat creeps through the grass
And the full moon seems to know me
‘Cause I’ve found myself at last
And I’m a full-grown boy

And there’s laughter on the hillside
From voices far away
How am I gonna tell her that I love her?
When this might not be the day
And I’m a full-grown boy

Yeah
My mind floats away
Yeah
And I’m changing every day

Can you see her in the firelight
Hear how soft and low she sings
How am I gonna tell her that I love her?
When words don’t mean a thing
And I’m a full-grown boy

c- 2014 Tom Petty

An Unexpected Saturday

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Yesterday was strange as heck, gang.

If you saw my post from yesterday morning, I mentioned being really tired.

Well, it spiraled down from there. And even though my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man had an INCREDIBLE time at our lunch at the clubhouse, the shift absolutely wore me out. Plus, driving to his house, then the drive to the clubhouse, then back to his house, then back to my own house — 100 miles of driving for me. (On top of being responsible for the wellbeing of a 95-year-old man for 4 hours…)

By the time I got home yesterday, I could barely move and I could barely think straight. (Oh, and LUCKILY (!) my lawncare guy was here when I got home, trimming my hedges for the end of the season. And I was then forced to try to converse with him coherently for a few minutes. Yay!)

Anyway. Luckily, he’s spoken to me before, so he knows I’m not usually out of my fucking mind.

Well, as the evening went on, and after I had dinner, etc., I still wasn’t any better so I decided last night that I’d better call off for today and give the Agency time to find a replacement for me for this morning.

So I have today off.

I feel a lot better today, but I’m moving really slowly. Trying to regain my focus. My life beyond being a caregiver. And I think the “feeling better” part comes from knowing I can just sit at my desk today and do some tweaking on the novel.

Now I don’t have to be anywhere until late tomorrow afternoon, when I go to my shift with the retired Minister and his wife (and cat).

Oh, and remember how, yesterday, I had made up my mind to tell the Agency next week that I need to drop that one account that I just don’t have the stamina for?

Guess who contacted the Agency, saying what a wonderful caregiver I was? That I was so gentle and patient? Yes. The very same client.

Ack!!

So, obviously, that’s beautiful. But now I can’t really tell the Agency to remove them from my schedule…

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

So on we go.

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Okay, well at least there is THIS!!

From Instagram this morning!! Wow.

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And now I’m going to go down to the kitchen and get another cup o’Joe —

–and take a look at this novel that’s on my laptop!! (and btw — I got an email from the publisher yesterday, saying that she was “very excited to review this manuscript”, so I really wanna get at it. And get it off to her!)

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

Thanks for visting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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

I leave you with this. Just’ cause it still keeps me hanging in there. Okay. See ya.

What A Relief!

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Wow, even though I know I will need to tweak the pages I wrote yesterday, it feels incredible to have finally finished that novel!

I already alerted the publisher that I will be sending over the manuscript soon, but first I will have to read through it again from start to finish, and make sure it all holds together by the end.

And I’ll also be sending it over to Wayne. And I will be eager to hear his response, since he is always honest with me. And has basically read everything I’ve ever written.

Wayne, reading basically everything I’ve ever written.

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

And not only did I spend about 7 hours on the novel yesterday, I spent an additional TWO HOURS on the phone with Sandra.

Things in that part of my world are going to get really busy soon, and that is a double-relief — regarding finally having finished the novel. I am really going to need the brain-space to be able to focus.

(I will talk more about that incredible project when I can, gang.)

Meanwhile, she has a quick theater piece that she’ll be doing at the end of October, but I didn’t get enough notice, so I can’t get to NYC to see it. So I’m a little disappointed.

But I have decided that next week, I’m going to talk to my supervisor at the Agency again and, even though I really hate to do it, I’m going to ask to be removed from one of my accounts because it takes too much time and energy for me. I just don’t have the stamina for it. I have to be able to focus on the writing now, too.

***********

I don’t really have much to say today, gang. I’m sort of wiped out from yesterday — but in a good way. I’m wiped out but I feel such a sense of relief.

And pretty soon here, I have to leave for town and get my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man ready for our adventure at the clubhouse!! (I’m hoping that his private nurse had him shave yesterday, because he really hates shaving and he really needed a shave when I was over there on Wednesday. We shall soon see!)

But it’s a perfect fall day here today and I feel pretty confident that we’re going to have a really great adventure!

The glorious clubhouse!!

***********

I want to mention here — if you’re a long-time reader of this lofty blog, you might remember this episode in my life during the vax crisis a few years ago, when I was the night manager at the old train station-turned bar/coffee shop.

I met a young woman there who had recently had a miscarriage after her mom had forced her to get the c*vid vax. And then after that, her menstrual cycle was totally screwed up and she could not get pregnant again. She was devastated and when she went to her doctor to tell him (rather emotionally) that the vax had killed her baby and totally fucked up her body, he wound up committing her to a psych ward for 72 hours (!!). (They literally carted her away against her will.)

By the time she and I met, she was in a really bad place, emotionally. But when she told me what had happened to her, I got her on an intensive natural supplement protocol to detox her body from the vax right away.

Within 2 months, her menstrual cycle got back to normal and she was thrilled. Just really, really happy.

And yesterday, I’m very happy to say, she gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl. Yay.

(I think this guy is smiling with me right now, from wherever he is.)

Jack Red Eagle, Lakota Sioux Medicine Man

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And I think that’s it.

And in the back of my brain, I’m waiting to see which project I will undertake next — aside from my work with Sandra, that is. I have 2 memoirs in progress, 3 additional novels in progress, and a memoir that I haven’t even started yet, but that I’ve been making notes on for over a year already.

So we shall see.

Enjoy your Friday, gang, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

**********

I leave you with this!

Strange as it may seem, but in its own way, it fueled the final pages of The Curse of Our Profound Disorder.

Michael Jackson, “In Our Small Way”, 1972. From his wonderful album, Got To Be There. Enjoy, gang.

“In Our Small Way”

Maybe you and I can’t do great things
We may not change the world in one day
But we still can change some things today
In our small way

Empty words are not enough
Where there’s hurt, we’ll be a crutch
When there’s thirst, we’ll fill each other’s cup
Because we care, we love
Enough to share (Enough to share)

[Chorus]
Maybe you and I can’t do great things (Do great things)
We may not change the world in one day
But we still can change some things today (Today)
In our small way

In despair, we’ll be the hope (Be the hope)
And the prayer that frees the soul (Frees the soul)
We’ll be there to share each lonely road (Lonely road)
Because we love, I know (I know)
We care enough, yeah (We care enough)

[Chorus]
Maybe you and I can’t do great things (Do great things)
We may not change the world in one day
But we still can change some things today (Today)
In our small way

[Bridge]
Just a little time is all it takes (Just a little time is all it takes)
What a difference just a smile can make, you’ll see (We’ve got)
Love is all we need (We’ve got love, yeah)

[Chorus]
Maybe you and I can’t do great things
We may not change the world in one day
(But we still) But we still can change some things today
In our small way
(La-la-la la-la-la-la-la) Ooh
(La-la-la-la la-la-la la-la) Ooh
(La-la)
(La-la la-la la-la-la-la-la)
(La-la-la-la la-la-la la-la)

c – 1972 Elliot Willensky, Christine Yarian, Beatrice Verdi

Let’s Get this Party Started!

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Somewhere. please. Let’s have a party already. So much cool stuff is happening! (But we’re not supposed to talk about it…)

Anyway.

I will just quickly post again that I am doing my very best to NOT TOUCH this current psyop. It seems exceedingly apparent that they want to push the chaos as far as they possibly can. The world over.

Hence, Phil’s really strange and (IMO intentionally) frustrating livestream last night. (You can watch it here.)

Personally, I am relying on Mike King right now, because he is quick and to the point (i.e., his latest: Fake Bibi Denies Fake Murder of Ch*rlie K**k). And Mike King doesn’t seem to be invested in this seeming mandate to push the chaos instead (although he does indeed acknowledge it.).

But on a slightly different note — I found this next bit extremely exciting.

FakeNews7 reposted it from Derek Johnson yesterday. It is really long so I’m only copying the part I liked best (since, obviously, I have basically invested my entire career in protecting the 1st Amendment):

“…But the importance is this is an Emergency Power by the President.

Restricting Telecommunications.

Title 47: Telecommunications.

PDJT has posted twice the Appeals Court upheld the Ban on Associated Press from being at White House and MAR.

Schiff confirms this.

A confirmation is more than the confirmation of the AP.

That’s confirmation of the Wartime Order in place.

47 United States Code §606 is titled: WAR POWERS of the President.

If they’re upholding a ban in 2025… it means the ban was put into place long before.

PDJT has HAMMERED ABC, NBC, CNN, PBS, NPR, and now they’re working on MSNBC.

The only way employees can be fired via a Freedom of Speech / Press is under a WARTIME ORDER.…”

[the full post is here]

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

Okay. Onward.

Well, I’m a little bit frustrated because my new blue-light-blocking reader glasses already broke! The right side arm thingie snapped in two last night. And it turned out it was not easy to fix and now they are extremely uncomfortable to wear.

I’ve already ordered another pair — different company. Although I did read a lot of comments that these types of glasses, in general, break really easily.

I’m not going to get too upset about it, though. Because the main thing is that these blue-light-blocking readers have a made a HUGE difference in my eyes. And so quickly. And I’m just so glad to have them at all — even the broken ones. (And they are not expensive.)

***********

I’ve been wanting to post about this for a few days, but kept getting overwhelmed by my actual life. (As a caregiver, that is.)

Anyway.

It is a free online book event, one-hour. It will be recorded if you can’t attend the whole thing.

It is being offered by Internet Archives. It is FREE, 1 hr. Thursday, Sept. 25 at 1PM Eastern time.

Book Talk: After Disruption: A Future For Cultural Memory

“The digital age is burning out our most precious resources and the future of the past is at stake. In After Disruption: A Future for Cultural Memory, Trevor Owens warns that our institutions of cultural memory—libraries, archives, museums, humanities departments, research institutes, and more—have been “disrupted,” and largely not for the better. He calls for memory workers and memory institutions to take back control of envisioning the future of memory from management consultants and tech sector evangelists…” (more at link below)

Get your FREE ticket here.

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

This photo alone made my entire evening!

An update from Wayne’s outing with his brothers yesterday:

Honestly, I cannot believe these guys are all officially in their 70s now. When Wayne and I first got married, they were all in their late 30s…

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

And here’s this!

First–

Keith, in Berlin in 1973:

And second–

I kept forgetting to post this, too:

The Rolling Stones Have 13 New Songs Ready — A Mysterious Album Is “Nearly Finished” — (3 minutes)

“The Stones aren’t done yet. Insiders confirm that 13 brand-new tracks have already been recorded for their next album. Mick Jagger says they’re “three-quarters through,” while Marlon Richards insists it’s “nearly finished.” No title, no artwork, no release date — just the silence before the storm. When it drops, it won’t just be an album. It will be an event.”

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

And the good news on the caregiving front is that my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s family goes back home this morning.

So life gets back to normal today. (They’re coming back in October, but we’ll deal with that in October.)

I’m anticipating a quiet day with him today. We shall soon see.

The Agency asked me to pick up a new client on Monday, my day off, and since I need the money, I said okay. The drive there and back is on one of those really beautiful backroads here in Muskingum County, so that part will be nice, except that it’s supposed to rain on Monday. But we’ll see how it goes.

It will probably be pretty even in the rain, right?

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

And I think that is it for now.

Enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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

Driving to town music from yesterday!

Yes, I’m still playing the soundtrack to Pack Up the Planation LIVE 1985, by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.

They do a great live version of this song — written by John & Joan Sebastian, but the Everly Brothers had a hit with it in 1972.

“The Stories We Could Tell”. Live, by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, 1985. Enjoy, gang!

“The Stories We Could Tell”

Talkin’ to myself again
Wondering if this travelin’ is good
Is there something better we’d be doing if we could
And oh the stories we could tell
And if this all blows up and goes to hell
I can still see us sittin on the bed in some motel
Listenin’ to the stories we could tell

Remember that guitar in a museum in Tennessee
And the nameplate on the glass brought back twenty melodies
And the scratches on the face
Told of all the times he fell
Singin’ every story he could tell
And oh the stories it could tell
And I bet you it still rings like a bell
And I wish we could sit back on the bed in some motel
And listen to the stories we could tell

So if you’re on the road tracking down here every night
And you’re singin’ for a livin’ ‘neath the brightly colored lights
And if you ever wonder why you ride this carousel
You did it for the stories you could tell
And oh the stories we could tell

And if this all blows up and goes to hell
I can still see us sittin on the bed in some motel
Listenin’ to the stories we could tell
I can still see us sittin on the bed in some motel
Listenin’ to the stories we could tell

c- 1972 – John and Joan Sebastian

Yes, Today’s the Big Day!

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Wherein I drive to a really beautiful small town, 30 miles from here, called Coshocton. And I have my very first doctor’s appointment in 24 years….

Not the doctor’s office…just a random shot of Coshocton

And even though it is another really stunning day here and the drive will be gorgeous, I will be very, very happy when the appointment is over.

I’m going to smile and be cheerful and cooperative, though, and not act like a Big-Pharma-Medical-Mafia-hating Conspiracy Theorist…

Me. Faking it.

***********

So, this morning has been interesting. Guess who I heard from for the first time in 17 months??

The woman who is the actual owner of 5 of my cats. The ones that I call the “foster cats”.

It was really good to hear from her, primarily because I had feared the worst — that maybe she had passed away. I won’t go into why I thought that.

But she and her husband are getting their lives together now and will soon have an apartment of their own.

It would mean that all of their stuff would finally be out of my barn. And it of course would also mean that 5 of the cats will be out of my home.

Of course it breaks my heart, because now I love all of them, but it would also be a relief. Obviously. I have way too many cats.

We’ll see, though. Just because I heard from her, doesn’t mean I will hear from her again.

Me, most days.

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

Yesterday was a rough one, gang.

I was with my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man, and if you’ve read yesterday’s post, you know that he has family at the house this week, pretending to “winterize” his house, when really they are trying to fix it up to get it easier to get the house on the real estate market basically the minute he dies.

It is astounding to me that they don’t see that he totally knows what they’re doing. They don’t see what they’re putting him through, emotionally.

The only thing that’s “wrong” with him is short term memory loss. He can still perceive things. It was so hard for me to not show the family how angry I was with how they’re going about all this.

When I got there, there was total chaos all around the outside of the house, but he was inside, dressed, and sitting in his chair in the living room. He smiled and quietly said to me, “Get me away from them.”

So off we went to Peony Bistro for sashimi and sake, then we went to the Nature Preserve and just sat in the car for an hour. And he told me everything that he fears is getting ready to happen. And most of his fears, I felt, were kind of right on the money…

I won’t go into all of it, but thankfully, my Supervisor from the Agency called me when I got home yesterday, so that I could “update her” while getting everything off my chest (and eventually calm down). She was so supportive.

Yes, he is losing his interest in living. But that doesn’t mean take his house right out from under him. (His house and property are worth a fortune.)

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

Okay.

This arrived in the mail yesterday!

In the recent zoom call with his private Patreon group, James Tabor spent some time going over this film from 2002.

It aired on the History Channel (2002), and it was directed by Simcha Jacobovici, who is a close friend and colleague of James Tabor’s, and whose work I really enjoy.

Even though a lot of things have come to light about this ossuary since 2002 (great things!), I am still looking forward to watching it.

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

But meanwhile, I am re-watching THIS and just loving it:

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers – Pack Up the Plantation Live! 1985 (1 hr 37 mins):

And I’m also listening to the soundtrack of it in my car. (Yes, I am no longer listening to “songs I played a lot 6 years ago” but that does not mean I graduated past 1985…)

When Tom Petty sang live he was incredible. He usually gave a whole different emotional spin to his songs than what came across on the studio recordings. And the songs still sound so immediate and personal — and like he hasn’t been dead for almost 8 years already.

This track, where he (and the audience) sing “Breakdown” is really well known, but I especially love all the stuff he says/sings at the end!

***********

And I listened to this while getting dinner ready last night and I thought it was fantastic. I especially loved the part about “Now.” (At about the 6-minute mark) (Ignore the title, that’s just click-bait.)

🌟 Get Ready for WILD Blessings – The Universe Is About to Amaze You 👑 Abraham Hicks 2025 (15 mins):

**********

And here’s this!!

For no reason. Just because!!

Nick Cave.

This will absolutely NOT be my attitude in the doctor’s office today!!

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

Phil is planning to go live tonight at 9PM, but check here later to confirm!

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

And that is it for now. I need to get some stuff done before heading out to Coshocton.

And then once I’m back from Coshocton, I hope to get some writing done!!

Enjoy your Thursday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

**********

Yes, as you saw yesterday, my breakfast-listening music is not too different from what I’m listening to in the car right now!!

Breakfast-listening music!!

From 2015. A collection of Live Radio Broadcasts from the 1970s. And I’m mainly listening to the 3rd CD right now, because it has a lot of live duets with Bob Dylan.

Since it is essentially Fall now, I decided it was time to move on from The Monkees and go back to Tom Petty.

When he played live, he covered a lot of songs that had been hits by other artists. Here he sings with Bob Dylan — a favorite song of mine by John Hiatt & Ry Cooder, “Across the Borderline.” Enjoy, gang.

“Across the Borderline”

There’s a place where I’ve been told
Every street is paved with gold
And it’s just across the borderline
And when it’s time to take your turn
Here’s a lesson that you must learn
You could lose more than you’ll ever hope to find

[Chorus]
When you reach the broken promised land
And every dream slips through your hands
Then you’ll know that it’s too late to change your mind
‘Cause you’ve paid the price to come so far
Just to wind up where you are
And you’rе still just across the borderline

Up and down thе Rio Grande
A thousand footprints in the sand
Reveal a secret no one can define
The river flows on like a breath
In between our life and death
Tell me, who’s the next to cross the borderline?

[Chorus]
And when you reach the broken promised land
Every dream slips through your hands
And you’ll know it’s too late to change your mind
‘Cause you pay the price to come so far
Just to wind up where you are
And you’re still just across the borderline
Now you’re still just across the borderline

c – 1982 John Hiatt, Ry Cooder, Jim Dickinson