Tag Archives: writing

Today It Begins!

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I spent a good chunk of yesterday taking down all the Christmas stuff, packing it up and putting it back in the storage closet.

So the holidays are officially complete around here! (And even though those few days between Christmas and New Year’s ended up being really challenging for me emotionally — see the end of yesterday’s post — it still was one of the happiest Christmases I’d had in a long, long time.)

At the end of the day yesterday, I chatted with Sandra for about an hour and we decided that today, after my shift, we BEGIN!!

Meaning — we begin working on all 3 of the huge projects we have on our plates right now. “The Guide to Being Fabulous” going to Off-Broadway; getting the original TV-screenplay version of “Tell My Bones: The Helen LaFrance Story” packaged for streamer TV; and then tackling the enormously time-consuming task of packaging the proposal for our new TV project for a producer who is waiting for it in Atlanta.

(The screenplay version of “The Guide to Being Fabulous” that we have already written Act One of and submitted to a producer at HBO (which could be Netflix now?), is on the back burner because we have, you know, way too much fucking stuff to do! Plus, we don’t want to move forward with the movie version until the play actually opens Off-Broadway.)

Anyway.

All 3 projects star Sandra, so the chances that all 3 projects will move forward at the very same time are actually sort of high, gang. So Sandra very compassionately and tactfully told me yesterday that even though I have decided not to cut back any of my caregiving shifts, so that I don’t stress about money, I need to switch my focus from now on and put my writing first and the emotional attachments to my caregiving clients second.

She is correct. So today I begin that, too. Which means I no longer have the luxury of coming home emotionally burnt out after a job because I need to be able to focus on the writing after my shifts.

Me, as a brunette, focusing again.

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I’ve also decided to switch up my Saturday evenings now to include washing and doing my hair! Because I am really hoping that I am going to like this new church that is 3 minutes from my house and that I will be attending it every Sunday morning from now on! (Not that Jesus cares what my hair looks like but I do!!)

Here’s hoping I like it, gang. I will be going there for the first time this coming Sunday morning and I am really looking forward to it.

What the church will look like once all the neighborhood cats discover that I’m going there…

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And I have not lost sight of the fact that I have a NEW NOVEL coming out this year!! Yay! And I will need to participate in PR stuff for that, which will involve travelling.

Plus, I have that memoir that I really, really, really want to get started on, too. And that 12th Street Project I started on recently.

So I’m doing that thing where I turn over Time Management to the Universe and just let everything flow….

And maybe some coffee.

I’ll keep you posted!

Me, flowing that energy without it dramatically enhancing the power of my tits in any way whatsoever!!

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Okay, here’s this!

WAYNE! Getting the punch ready for the New Year’s Day brunch yesterday at the Union Club in NYC!

If you’re new to the blog — for many, many, MANY years, Wayne was a professional actor in NYC. Mostly live theater. A ton of Shakespeare, downtown. And, yes, I did spend many, many years hearing him say around the apartment: “Sire, hear me butt speak!!” Followed, perhaps, by the passing of the occasional gas…

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All righty!!

Ronnie Wood is offering 20% off all his art, site wide!!

Visit HERE!

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Okay, today I head back to my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house.

We were planning on going out for sashimi & sake today. It is very cold but very sunny with no wind at all!

However, if his back porch is covered with snow and ice from Wednesday night, I don’t think we will be able to go out today. (He has a wooden leg, a cane, and, well, he’s 95.)

I’m hoping that some sort of miracle took place yesterday and that someone shoveled his back porch, and that we can still go out. We shall soon see. (His neighbors are really nice, so it could have happened.)

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Other than that —

After my shift today, I come straight home to another phone call with Sandra, as we begin the undertaking of the beautiful insanity.

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

Thanks for visiting!

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s leave with this today.

Yesterday was the anniversary of Hank Williams’ death. (Someone on Instagram even posted a photo of his open casket back in 1953, which I’d never seen before, but it was creepy so I’m not reposting it.)

“Hank Williams’ official cause of death was a heart attack, but it was heavily influenced by his chronic pain from spina bifida occulta, severe alcoholism, and drug use, including morphine and chloral hydrate, which combined to create a deadly mix, leading to his collapse in a car on New Year’s Day, 1953, at age 29. “

I have always loved Hank Williams’ music. So let’s depart with this. I know I posted it recently, but here it is again!

The original demo from “Long Gone Train,” a song I wrote about Hanks Williams in 1992. Just me and my guitar in my room back then. Enjoy, gang.

LONG GONE TRAIN
(for Hank Williams)

There are men who were doomed to the legend
Of their own despair
Who linger like an echoed moaning
On a cold black air
They were lean high-rollers in the shadow
Of a ball and chain
Who were beckoned to their call to glory
From a long gone train.

Men who had railed at the virtue of their own reward
Who smothered in the lonesome comfort 
Of a long black Ford
And the Sheriff who was called to the scene
In a driving rain
Sent the body home on the rails
Of a long gone train.

CHORUS:
Cold as the steal rail line that delivered him to fame
Beaten by the hustler’s dream that had robbed his name
Driven by the fury in a heart that was real as rain
It all disappears in the slow procession
Of a long gone train.

There were men who concealed their condition
From the broad daylight
Who would rage it wild and reckless
At the cruel limelight
And while the sane bystanders at the apron of the stage complained
How they wept at the mournful passing
Of a long gone train.

REPEAT CHORUS

There are men who will rail at the virtue of their own reward
Who will smother in the lonesome comfort of a long black Ford
And the Sheriff who is called to the scene in a driving rain
Will send the body home on the rails
Of a long gone train.

REPEAT CHORUS

© 1992 Marilyn Jaye Lewis
FIRST OF MAY SONGS, BMI

What A Difference a Day Makes!

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Happy 2026 everybody!!

I am having the best New Year’s Day, so far.

I slept in until 5AM. Got up to find more powdery snow all over the world outside my windows. Yet the black skies were completely clear — brilliant stars for as far as my wee bonny eye could see.

The cats got special yummies for breakfast — many thanks to Johnny, for buying them a type of yummy cat food for Christmas (beef with gravy) that I rarely let them eat!! They were sort of in cat ecstasy this morning.

Oh, and when I opened the kitchen door to let Kon Tiki in for her breakfast, she wasn’t there but in trotted a totally different cat! We all sort of stopped and stared at her, but since she was in, I fed her beef with gravy, too! And then let her right back out…

And then I decided to take my own breakfast upstairs with me, got back in bed in the dark, and as fate would have it — I felt like listening to an Abraham Hicks video while I had my breakfast in bed, and lo! & behold!, this one was in the top of my list!

Ignore the title — it’s click bait. But it has to do with allowing the Universe to manage Time for you, so that you can get everything done without stressing!! One of the top things that’s been on my mind, regarding continuing to work the caregiving jobs, and trying to get all the writing projects done (15 mins):

And then, after that, when the sun finally came up, here was the view from my bed:

And this — across from my bed!! I always bring the spider plants indoors for the winter, and this one is just doing crazy-good!

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Okay.

Probably the best New Year’s Eve photo I saw yesterday.

Warren Ellis, apparently channeling the NY Dolls circa, like, 1973!

And here’s the song that goes with the post — from my wee bonny 13-year-old girlhood!! “Personality Crisis” by the NY Dolls (performing live on The Midnight Special — a TV show I watched religiously back then, much to the chagrin of every adult in my extended family!! And probably my Rabbi, too, if he’d known I was watching it…):

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Okay.

Let’s tone it down a little!

Keith by the fire!!

And the Stones in LA, in 1965:

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I thought you might like this.

The one and only time I saw Mink DeVille perform live, it was in the mid-1980s, at the incredible Lone Star Cafe.

The Lone Star is long gone now, but it was a great club. And it was on E.13th and 5th Ave, just around the corner from where I lived on E. 12th Street. (And for the record, gang, Mink DeVille performing live blew me away!! God, he was good.)

The NYC clubs back then were just so cool, gang. You could usually get so close to the performers. And all that energy was just aimed right at you.

I saw Johnny Cash at The (new) Ritz in midtown, and I was in tears through most of the show — he was so close; he was right there, you know? I could not believe it.

Ditto with Dwight Yoakam, although the first time I saw him was at the old Ritz, downtown, and it was truly one of the most amazing live shows I ever saw. He burst onstage in all those spotlights, wearing that sparkly, rhinestone Nudie suit, and singing “Guitars, Cadillacs & Hillbilly Music”. It was like a version of heaven I could never have even imagined.

And the first time I saw Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, it was also at the old Ritz (on E.11th Street — again, right around the corner from where I lived). It was kind of staggering. The audience was probably the most frightening audience I had ever gotten stuck in. It was full of what we called Neo-Nazis, back then. Really violent white guys. But when Nick came on the stage, I could not believe how fucking tall he was!! And his energy was just insane — it exploded. It is a moment that is absolutely seared into my memory forever.

Anyway.

There were some incredible clubs all over NYC back then.

(Oh and Susie Cave had a really fun video on Instagram of Nick Cave’s New Year’s Eve celebration last night, but I can’t re-post Instagram videos here. But there was nary a Neo-Nazi in sight!!)

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Okay.

Speaking of things being seared into my brain forever–

I forgot to mention that, very early Tuesday morning, when I was heading to my (final) 10-hr shift, I stopped in at the Rural King to buy cat food. It was maybe 8AM (?) and what to my wondering eyes should appear???

You remember that guy who sometimes works the check-out that I privately call “Wild Thing” because — yes!!– he makes my heart sing!?!? And I am old enough to be his grandmother but he flirts with me anyway??

There he was — all that long dark hair, and all skinny and tall and looking like absolutely nothing but trouble. And there was, like, one other customer in the check-out lane. And then it was my turn!! And, yes, he flirted with me again!! And I felt about 14… in the best way, that is.

I just love that guy.

(And I love this version of that song! I think it’s better than the original.)

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Okay.

I’ll close this New Year’s post with this.

I am in an absolutely incredibly good space, gang. But the past several days were just hit or miss for me. It was very rough.

I have posted here about how, when my (adoptive) dad died a year and a half ago, he and I were in a really good place. Just the best it had ever been in our entire relationship. But from, like, 1975 up until that final year (2023-24), my relationship with my dad was usually extremely rocky. He could be really nice, and then, when you’d least expect it, he could be unbelievably mean.

But during that last year, he told me a lot of stuff about his private life during my teen years that I had known nothing about. And it caused me to privately forgive him for absolutely everything that he had ever done to me in the difficult decades that had followed that.

And then, a few months ago, when the Trustee of my dad’s Estate finally gave me access to all of my dad’s financial stuff, his Will, etc. (there were hundreds and hundreds of pages), it became apparent that he had left me a small fortune that I’d known nothing about. By way of a Family Trust fund.

However, last week, right after Christmas, when the Estate was completely probated and closed and the checks were sent out —

Well, long story very, very short — it turned out my dad had changed his Will and I had not yet seen that final version. And he left the entire Family Trust — 100% of it — to his step kids instead. And taken me completely out of it.

There were residuary funds that I got, instead. I am not complaining. I will be okay, and he also took very good care of me that final year he was alive.

But seeing, in print, what he had done with that Trust, gang — it devastated me. It was just so like the old him to do something like that. And I didn’t want to un-forgive him. How could I do that?? I don’t know how to un-forgive.

My adoptive mother did a similar thing to me — I was heir to $30 million dollars, that upon her death, she ended up giving, in its entirety, to one of my cousins instead. Although, during the final years of her life, my mother gave me many advances on my inheritance, which helped me enormously when all of my publishers, except for one, went out of business during the financial crash of 2008.

However. It’s that process, you know? Going to the expense and time to actually change your Will in order to exclude someone before it’s too late and you’re dead. What the fuck is that, right?

Anyway.

I had been in such a good place with my dad when he died, and I didn’t want to lose that feeling. Especially since I am preparing to write that memoir of my father-figures in the 1970s. I don’t want to go into that memoir with a headspace of trying to manage so much heartbreaking cruelty and alienation.

And even though I can no longer comfortably retire at this point, well miraculously — I mean that literally — after a lot of prayer and Source/God alignment, I awoke this morning in the best mental and psychological place. And I am right back to feeling just really grateful for everything my dad did for me during that last year of his life.

I actually just feel like a stronger person than I’ve been in a long time, and I am really looking forward to all the writing projects ahead of me in 2026.

So let’s get started with that, okay??

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Have a terrific 2026, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting!

I love you guys. See ya!

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I think I’ll leave you with this!

Dennis sent it over to me this morning, as part of his Happy New Year text!

I had not seen this video of this song before. I really loved it.

Norman Greenbaum – “Spirit In The Sky” (1970). Enjoy, gang!!

Here it comes!

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The end of a rather intense year!

And I am very eager to see what unfolds in 2026 and, while I don’t want Time to gallop away from me any faster than it already does, I don’t mind saying farewell to 2025!

ME (waving): “Bye, see ya!”

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Here’s this!

The other day was the anniversary of Rowland S. Howard’s death. He passed in 2009:

And here’s this, because I’m in that kind of mood today. “Autoluminescent,” Rowland S. Howard, from his album Teenage Snuff Film, 1999:

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And Phyllis Stein does it again!

She posted yet another great photo of Willy (Mink) DeVille!

And here’s this! “Cadillac Walk” from the album Cabretta, 1977:

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And I loved this photo–

Marc Bolan, in 1971:

And why not this?? From the above-mentioned album, the legendary “Bang A Gong (Get It On)”:

(And knowing me, gang, can you imagine me in my bedroom at age 11, hearing this amazing song for the first time??? Yes, I was only 11 when songs like “Brown Sugar,” “Maggie May,” “Walk On the Wild Side”, and “Bang A Gong,” among hundreds of other amazing songs, were on the fucking radio in my room!)

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Okay!! Anyway.

You are lucky ducks today!

James Tabor posted an edited version of the lecture from Sunday on Theophilus of Antioch to his YouTube channel.

Why You Probably Have Never Heard of Bishop Theophilus of Antioch! (47 mins):

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And another interesting read from Dr. Eli’s blog if you’re into it. This one is a 7-minute read:

Galatians within First-Century Judaism: Rethink Apostle Paul’s argument for Gentile Inclusion without Proselyte Conversion.

“In this article, we reread Paul’s letter to the Galatians—one of the earliest New Testament writings—from within the diverse landscape of first-century Judaism, avoiding later Christian supersessionist (replacement theology) assumptions. The letter addresses a crisis in the Galatian communities, where certain Jewish Christ-accepting evangelists were persuading Gentile believers that full membership in the people of God required adopting Torah observance in the manner of proselytes, including markers such as circumcision and kashrut. Paul vigorously opposes this view, arguing that Gentiles are incorporated into the Abrahamic promise through faith in the Jewish Messiah alone, without needing to become proselytes….”

[full article here]

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All right.

And it is with a heavy heart that I have come to the following decision!

I had a long conversation with Sandra on Monday about the best way to approach everything we need to focus on in 2026 and while it is going to take a TON of concentration and time to move forward with all 3 projects at the same time…

I also had a talk with my accountant on Monday and, even though, technically, I could retire if I really, really want to, I really will have to live frugally. More frugally than I had anticipated.

And while it’s doable, I’m worried that that’s going to cause me more stress than simply trying to juggle everything the way I always do. And it could put a serious damper on trips to NYC whenever I feel so inclined to go.

So, for now, I’m going to keep on working part-time, and just try to focus on everything at the same time — until I’m actually getting a significant paycheck again from something besides being a caregiver.

However!

Although I make no money from it at all, I still want to say thank you AGAIN, for all the downloads of my FREE erotic eBooks in the Smashwords Christmas Sale!

Today is the final day of the sale, and you guys have been just amazing. I think there have been more downloads during this sale than there have been in a couple years. So thank you, again, for all of the interest in all these really, really old books and stories!

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In other good news…

Loyal readers of this lofty blog no doubt recall that I have had trouble finding a church out here in the Hinterlands that I actually want to attend.

Some of you know that there is a (200-year-old!!) Methodist Church literally 3 minutes from my house. You can see it from my window. And the woman who works at the local Dollar Store has invited me a few times over the years to stop in at the Wednesday night suppers.

But for some reason, I have always felt hesitant about going there. I didn’t really know why. My Ministry Degree is in an evangelical denomination, so Methodist is a cake walk compared to that. Still, for some reason, I had an aversion to going in. Although the little church is quite lovely:

Well, also on Monday, I was in the Dollar Store, as usual, and for some reason, I asked the woman about the Methodist church and she was very excited and said it’s no longer Methodist. It’s just a Christian Church. They have a brand new minister, and she was just very enthusiastic about all of it.

So I decided to finally check it out! After living 3 minutes away from it for almost 8 years…

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Okay, I think that’s it for now. It’s snowing out there and I have to head to town to see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man!

Have a happy and healthy New Year’s Eve, wherever you are in the world, gang!

Thanks for visiting! (And, yes, for some reason I have gotten more visitors to the blog in 2025 than I’ve had in about 10 years… not joking about that!)

Anyway. Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s leave 2025 with this!!

I know I’ve posted it here just recently, but here it is again, gang.

From my wee bonny girlhood, and the sort of “theme song” from my upcoming memoir, Joy; The Shortest Season.

“Joy” by Apollo 100. Enjoy, gang.

Gotta Love Those High Winds, Gang!

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Jesus, it’s ridiculous out there.

The winds are so strong that I can barely push the kitchen screen door open to get out to the porch.

So far, though, my PTSD is totally in check.

AND–

It’s looking like the snow they predicted has disappeared, so we’ll see how that goes.

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MEANWHILE!

So the escalation of silver seems to have finally toppled one of those “big banks” we’d been warned about (BOA? I don’t know!).

Check out Phil’s post from yesterday (plus he seems really happy in his car video…)

Also, as you might have already seen, a lot of stuff going on with Shanghai silver the last several days…

All of this together, well —

Don’t quote me on it, but it seems like everything they’ve been predicting is finally happening.

It looks like 2026 will indeed be the start of some really great stuff — in the US, for sure, but likely world-wide. I’m hearing NESARA by Jan.1st, gang. We shall see!!!

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Okay!

In other good news.

Regarding Brigitte Bardot (see post from yesterday)–

Warren Ellis also posted some nice photos of Brigitte with her beloved pets! Here’s one of them:

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And here’s a few of Keith– mostly stuff people posted around his recent birthday:

Not certain, but I’m thinking that Johnny is finally Be-ing Goode!!
Keith in 1965. Photo by Bent Rej
On fire again…
Wearing an additional shirt in 1972

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I’m posting this late because I was notified that the post office had a package for me — my dad’s stuff!

So I went over there to take care of collecting that.

It turns out it is not really anything that my dad was saving for sentimental reasons. It’s documents — passport, birth certificate (!!), etc. But the birth certificate stuff is fascinating. It has my grandfather’s signature on it, for one thing, and I never got to meet him. He died in Cleveland, a month before I was born/adopted. But I have always felt oddly close to him anyway.

(And I was named after him — in Hebrew. Meaning my Hebrew name, Moshe (מֹשֶׁה – Moses), is in honor of my grandfather. My English name, as we all know so well by now, was in honor of Marilyn Monroe.) (Yes, I’m oddly named after both Moses and Marilyn Monroe.) (And since my grandfather ran the local movie house in Cleveland, and also built/owned a drive-in movie theater, he would probably be oddly satisfied that I was named after a leader of Judaism and a movie star.)

Anyway.

My grandma always kept a beautiful framed black & white photo of my grandfather on an end table next to “his” easy chair. The chair is long gone but the photo is in my room…

In the box, there are also some very old home movies that were transferred to a VHS cassette! It will be cool to watch it but I don’t think I am on it. I think the home movies pre-date me. I want to watch it and see what’s actually on there. It will be cool to see all the old relatives that have been gone such a long time now. All of them were Jewish refugees from Poland. They came over to America in the early 1900s and settled in Cleveland, Detroit, and NYC.

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I want to quickly mention that the Zoom class with James Tabor yesterday, for his new course, “Christianity before Paul”, was amazing. Wow. I am just loving this course.

The class was a little over 2 hours. It was mostly about Theophilus of Antioch, a Bishop from around 180 AD, and it was really just kind of staggering. Along the lines of the Didache, which pre-dated him by about 120 years (?).

I was sort of shaking when the class was over. Only because when we see all this stuff from before the Council of Nicaea, we get closer and closer to what Jesus was actually teaching before they put the New Testament together and made Christianity “official”.

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Anyway. Sorry this is so disjointed but as of right now, that’s it!

Keep your eye on the banks.

And enjoy your Monday wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this.

In honor of the James Tabor course, I think.

It oddly (!!) came up on my playlist last night, on my way home from being with the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat.

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

From my wee bonny girlhood in Cleveland, my absolute favorite song from Hebrew School. “Hinei Ma Tov (Behold How Good)”, this version by Paul Wilbur. Enjoy, gang.

“What is the deal with this WEATHER?”

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Okay, so it’s going to be in the 60s today.

As in Fahrenheit.

Although, culturally, it’s also likely to be in the 60s around here today, since I started my glorious morning with this fantastic cassette in the retro boombox next to my bed:

And I have to add that I did not want to get out of bed this morning. By that, I mean, get out of bed again, since I had already been out of bed for 2 hours before getting back in it at 6:15AM…

Anyway.

So today: rain all day and a balmy 60-something degrees Fahrenheit.

Followed by tomorrow and Tuesday: More snow!

So fucking weird.

But I’ve decided to keep all the Christmas stuff out until Thursday, since we’re going to have more of that “festive” snow. Even though it doesn’t feel like Christmas at all anymore, because I’ve had the darn tree up for almost a month already.

But I was just lying there, listening to surf music and thinking about how much I love that style of guitar playing. And I was getting wistful, thinking about all the things in my life that are gone now and all the things that are upcoming (if you can get wistful about something that hasn’t happened yet).

But since I have yoga, shower, zoom class with James Tabor — before leaving for my shift with the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat… I finally forced myself to get out of bed.

And here I am.

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So, I’m sure you know that Brigitte Bardot died today at age 91.

There were tons of photos and tributes to her all over Instagram, but Susie Cave’s page was the only page (that I saw, at least) that posted photos of Brigitte with her beloved pets.

All the other pages had photos of Brigitte with her beloved breasts…

Anyway.

I absolutely love this song and it is always the first thing I think of when I hear the name Brigitte Bardot!

Serge Gainsbourg & Brigitte Bardot, “Bonnie and Clyde,” 1968 [in French}:

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And sort of speaking of Nick Cave (by way of his wife, that is)–

Here’s this!

Nick Cave, holding up his eyebrow and looking at something, but we will likely never know what…

And here’s this handy reminder!!

“The Wild God Tour begins in less than a month in Australia and New Zealand. These unforgettable shows are the band’s most celebrated live production to date, and their first shows in the region since 2017. Renowned for their exhilarating and unforgettable performances, The Bad Seeds are widely regarded as one of the most thrilling live bands in the world. Acclaimed New Zealand singer-songwriter Aldous Harding will support the band at all shows.“

Buy tickets HERE!

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And in her uncanny ability to never, ever fail us (unless she goes on vacation)–

From Phyllis Stein’s Instagram page:

Willy (Mink) DeVille! 2008:

Photo by William Coupon

And here’s another song of his that I absolutely loved, and it was indeed part of the soundtrack of my early years living in Manhattan, since I used to also listen to him on my Sony Walkman a lot while riding the A train:

“A Train Lady”

Everybody’s own line
Written for the subway
It’s just another train ride
Hey, why you walking that way
Hey hey hey

You’re looking for a good time
Then you could look-a this way
You’re sippin’ on your lemon-lime
Hey why you lookin’ that way
Hey hey hey

I thought you were a sweet thing
When I saw you riding on the A train

I saw you in the window
Checkin’ out my mohair
I follow far as you go
I believe I’ll find a song there
Hey Hey Hey

I thought you were a sweet thing
When I saw you riding on the A train

So when you’re riding on the A line
And when you feel the backbeat
Lady lookin’ so fine
Wish you’d sit by my seat
Hey hey hey hey

Falling over my feet
Following you all the way to High Street

Yes all the way to High Street
And I wish you were my baby
All the way, all the way
All the way to High Street

c – 1978 – Mink DeVille, Dave Forman

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If you’re interested in this kind of stuff–

Dr. Eli’s Blog has a lot of keen insights about how to understand the New Testament, by way of explaining the translations of the original Greek and/or Aramaic:

Jewish Studies for Christians

Today’s topic: “Why Jesus Called Gentiles Dogs”

“…The Greek word Jesus uses, however, is not the harsh term for stray dogs (κύων / kyōn) but the diminutive κυνάριον (kynarion—’little dogs’ or ‘puppies’). Most scholars see these words as deliberately softening the image… Jesus is drawing a theological, covenantal boundary. The ‘children’ represent Israel, God’s covenant family. The ‘bread’ symbolizes the blessings of salvation and healing. The ‘dogs’ signify Gentiles—those outside the household yet close enough to receive scraps. …”

[full article here. 5-minute read]

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And here’s this–

Loyal readers of this lofty blog know that I’m a big fan of nicotine (not cigarettes) and it’s many health benefits.

If it is a new topic for you, this is a great, in depth interview.

Alex Clark — Nicotine Is Not the Villain: What Big Pharma Hides From Parents | Dr. Bryan Ardis, DC (48 mins):

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Other than that, I’m still in that strange sort of mood that I was in yesterday. And I wish I had time today to just sit and stare.

Although I can’t wait to see the retired Minister’s wife later today, to thank her for that adorable Christmas gift she made for me.

And even though I’m actually very eager for that first zoom class in James Tabor’s new course to get underway today, I will be really happy when the day is behind me and it’s evening and I’m walking in through my kitchen door, and eventually collapsing on the couch in my family room with a couple of cuddly kittens and watching yet another episode (that I’ve already seen!!) of “Mrs. Brown’s Boys.” And then — having tomorrow off.

Moving ever closer to 2026.

Yay.

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So on that note — I gotta get moving here.

Enjoy your Sunday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!

It came on my playlist in the car, just as I was exiting the freeway yesterday afternoon and heading home to the Hinterlands!

More vivid memories of my early days in Manhattan, gang.

It really made me smile. I cranked up the volume. (And FYI, the anniversary of Joe Strummer’s death was just a few days ago. He’s been gone now since 2002.)

The Clash. “This is Radio Clash,” 1981. Play it loud. Enjoy, gang.

Every speck of snow is gone!

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And now it’s just rain.

And now it totally doesn’t feel like Christmas. It doesn’t even feel like the New Year is coming up.

Not sure what it feels like, but I’m tired. I know that.

Yesterday, when I arrived at my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house, a Christmas card addressed to “Marilyn” in care of his address was waiting for me. From his kids in Florida:

“It was such a pleasure meeting you, Marilyn. Thank you so much for taking such good care of our dad. He is so blessed to have you. Have a very Merry Christmas.”

Wow.

It broke my heart in the best way, you know? How beautiful. But then right away I feel guilty because I know that I’m retiring… it is going to completely disrupt his entire world. At least for a while.

So that’s part of why I feel so tired today. I’m emotionally worn out. And I’m heading right back over to his house this morning.

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Okay.

I don’t really have much to post about today.

Well, there is this!

Just one from a bunch of photos I found on Instagram yesterday, of Keith and Patti’s recent wedding anniversary.

I liked this one best because it shows how sophisticated they are, and that means a lot to me!

Oh, and I also thought it was cool that I was number 909 who hit the like button!

I always loved this song when I was a wee bonny girl in Cleveland!! (The Beatles, though, not the Stones.) And it’s still fun:

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At some point after I get home today, I want to finish listening to Lecture One in the new James Tabor course “Christianity Before Paul,” because tomorrow at 12:30PM, right before my shift with the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat gets underway, the first live zoom meeting for the course will be happening and I don’t want to fall behind.

I’m hoping that this course can keep my mind busy until after the New Year, when I have my first real meeting with my accountant in NYC about how I actually go about retiring and then, you know, retire.

And Sandra is just sort of waiting there in NY, tapping her foot, looking at her watch, waiting for my retirement to begin so that she can send a fucking truckload of NOTES my way!

When we spoke a couple of weeks ago, she already had 60 pages of notes just on the TV project!

I’m excited, you know. I really am. This is the point of retiring, so that I can go back to my writing projects full-time.

But I am so tired, I need a vacation, but Sandra and I also need to get back to work. (And I need to get back to NYC!!! Just because I miss it…)

So that’s sort of why my energy is all screwy right now. I’m happy, I’m excited, I’m eager, but my heart is breaking all at the same time.

Meanwhile… smoking and drinking don’t actually exist for me anymore so that sorta sucks…

I have to rely on the power of my magnificent mind.

OOOPS! I meant:

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Okay.

I guess I’m gonna scoot and get this day happening.

Have a lovely Saturday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this!

Without getting too personal about it — I think I’ve mentioned here before that my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man used to know Yoko Ono, back in NYC in the early 1960s. His first wife, who was also Japanese, and Yoko were friends.

He was asking me about Yoko yesterday. He wanted to know if she was still alive. I said yes. And so I googled her and we looked at current photos of Yoko on my phone. (He was delighted to know that she was still alive.)

So let’s leave with this! “The Ballad of John and Yoko”, by The Beatles. 1969.

Enjoy, gang. I love you guys.

A Rainy St. Stephen’s Day in the Hinterlands!!

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And even though I have to go back out into it all today, I don’t mind. I had the best Christmas, gang.

Oh, and St. Stephen is my Patron Saint — he’s the Patron Saint of Ministers (deacons, etc.). So this I guess is my day! Yay!

(And yes, I have a minister’s collar just like that one above — I got it when I got my Ministry Degree from Ohio Christian University and then got ordained. But I haven’t worn the shirt in probably 10 years…)

Oh, and I think it is so cool that my birthday falls on the Feast of Mary Magdalene!! But that’s not related to my ministry at all. Just something I love.

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And on a similar note–

Yesterday afternoon, I finally began James Tabor’s new course with Myth Vision, “Christianity Before Paul”.

Wow, what a great course this is going to be, gang! I spent about 2 hours on it yesterday and still have about 30 minutes before I’m done with the first lecture. There are a lot of really great introductory materials in the first lesson. An overview of the Hebrews and Judaism, of Palestine, Israel, Judea, and the Galilee, the various Herods, various Kings and Emperors, Babylonia, Persia, Greece, Rome — from 2000 BCE up to about 400 AD and Constantine and the Council of Nicaea.

Just really great stuff. And that was all stuff you have to read before you start the actual first lecture.

Just so up my alley, gang. I have taken all of James Tabor’s courses so far, and I already know that this one is going to be my favorite, even though it has way more course materials than any of the other courses had, so it’s going to take a while.

Yes! Coffee and studying hard make your hair turn brown again!!

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And speaking of hot brunettes having great hair days!!

Rowland S. Howard in 1982:

Along with Nick Cave and Mick Harvey!! (I miss those great hair days!!)

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Okay, so back to Christmas….

I got many “Merry Christmas” texts from friends hither & yon yesterday, and my birth mom called me, and so did Wayne!

He and I had a really nice chat, and he also updated me on his opinion of The Curse of Our Profound Disorder. (My new novel.) He is ALMOST done, finally. He has about 12 more pages to go.

The novel is not that long, it’s just that he has been extremely busy. He works at the Union Club on Park Ave. in NYC, and it has been non-stop crazy-busy there since October.

The Union Club — Wayne has worked here as the maître d’ and head bartender for over 30 years. It only costs upwards of $50,000 to join the Union Club and the dues are about $10,000 a year… (not joking)

Anyway. Wayne is still liking the book, but I am very, very curious to find out what he thinks of the ending. So that should be any day now!!

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And I ate a lot yesterday!

Since I didn’t have to cook anything, it was really fun to just keep grazing on all the leftovers in the fridge! (Including ice-cold leftover pizza, which I’m actually quite fond of!)

And I sat in the family room and snuggled on the couch with a couple of sleeping kittens and a bunch of fleece blankets and I watched maybe three reruns of “Poirot” from Season 2 (1990). Another one of my all-time favorite shows.

And then I actually went up to my bed and took a nap, gang. An actual nap!! What a luxury. It felt so great.

But today, it’s back to the regular caregiving schedule.

I’m heading out here soon to my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house. And, YES!! On Friday, I did indeed stop off at the gas station and buy him one of those pre-mixed, single-serve vodka cocktails. A small bottle. (And before I showed him his fantastic gift(!!), I diluted it with water in the kitchen…)

But he was in paradise, gang. He was so happy. His face really lit up when I brought the bottle into the living room, along with a festive cocktail glass!

And I also brought him a little packet of those Pringles Mingles bowties, that I poured into a festive bowl:

Anyway, he really had the best time. Sitting in his recliner and feeling like he was in a private Christmas cocktail lounge or something.

Today, will be a lot more low key, though…

Oh, and I have to tell you about this.

The retired Minister’s wife gave me a Christmas present as I was leaving their house Sunday evening. I unwrapped it yesterday morning.

I knew it was going to be some sort of homemade craft — she is really, really creative and talented. But it absolutely blew me away! It is so cute!! A little stuffed snowman with a stocking cap — made from little Christmas socks. It’s weighted at the bottom, so he sits straight up.

My heart melts every time I look at it. It is just so cute. (I don’t want to post a photo of it because I don’t like to expose the private lives of my clients.) Oh, and she also gave me a handmade Christmas card that was just adorable, too. She is very talented.

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And I ended the evening watching still more reruns of “Mrs. Brown’s Boys” because I am, like, so totally addicted to that show during the holidays.

And then I went off to bed early, to sort of get my head back into work mode.

But it was such a great Christmas. I have not been that relaxed in a really long time.

But now I gotta scoot!

I hope you are enjoying a happy St. Stephen’s Day, wherever you are in the world!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this!!

My favorite version of this very old song — the song takes place on St. Stephen’s Day!

The Irish Rovers’ version of “Good King Wenceslas”. So fun. Enjoy, gang!!

Happy, Happy Christmas, Everybody!!

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Wow, has my Christmas gotten off to a really wonderful start.

Johnny left around 9:30 last night, so I got to bed a little bit late for me. And I was planning to sleep in — I have absolutely NOTHING to do today!! Yay!! No laundry, no housecleaning, no cooking, no meeting any friends in town for lunch, no errands. No nothing!! Yay!!

So I was going to sleep in a little late.

UNTIL–

At 4:33AM, I slowly awoke and just barely heard a teeny-tiny “meow meow” sound and realized that somehow Huckleberry had managed to get herself closed up in my bedroom all night.

And now she was either asking for a little water, a little food, the litterbox — and likely all 3!!

So I got out of bed, opened the door and let her out and about 10 other cats & kittens came barreling in!

So I got back in bed — with all of them happily pouncing all over me. And I just laid there for awhile, thinking about how happy I am.

(And something else really cool happened yesterday afternoon that it is too soon to post about on the blog, but wow, did it make me feel delighted, gang. I can only say that it has to do with my novel The Guitar Hero Goes Home.)

Anyway, I took my time getting out of bed, but, still, I was out of bed before 5AM. Took care of the many cats & kittens, indoors and out on the kitchen porch. It’s very mild today, so Tiki did not want to come inside, plus she had one of her fluffy friends with her.

But for the first time in weeks — perhaps months, really — I felt totally relaxed, happy, joyful, peaceful. All those great feelings.

And I decided to have my breakfast in the family room, all the Christmas lights on, and get snuggled into all the fleece blankets on the couch, and watch a rerun of “Perry Mason” on TV. One of my all-time favorite shows. While I took my time, for once, and had my breakfast.

It was just so nice. To have nothing to do but relax. I had one of my retro TV tables set up in front of me. A small glass of juice. My piping hot cup of coffee. My bowl of fruit and cereal with plenty of organic milk, on the little TV table…

And then–

Freddie McFee suddenly came leaping up onto the TV table!! Even if I hadn’t had a bunch of liquids on it, it isn’t big enough for him to leap up onto!

And yes!! Juice was in my lap. Coffee was everywhere. My bowl of cereal was a close save. I was so fucking pissed off!

I had to immediately change into a clean nightgown, a dry robe. Throw everything –including most of the previously snuggly fleece throws — into the fucking washing machine.

And begin again.

By now it was 5:50AM and Perry was showing Lt. Tragg and Burger the Prosecutor, who had really done it. So it all happened pretty quickly.

But wow. Merry Christmas. But on we went!!

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Last evening was very nice!

This was the table before the pizzas and salads (and before Johnny arrived), so there was plenty of food!

And as luck would have it, about 10 minutes before Johnny arrived, Saffie decided to go into heat!

Yes. Thank you very much.

She got along splendidly with Johnny but she did not stop her high-pitched yowling throughout the entire evening. (We basically stayed in the kitchen the whole time he was here.)

And then her brother, Cuddles, came into the kitchen. And Angie McGee came in — she liked Johnny, too. And then Bobby McGee came in and he was wild about Johnny.

Even Tiki came inside for a quick bite to eat.

So they were all getting along splendidly. Christmas music and cat-in-heat-yowling. And lit candles, and Christmas lights. And a ton of food.

And then, at the end of the meal, Johnny said the funniest thing:

HE: “Well, I guess I’ve met all the cats now.”

ME (loud guffaw): “Johnny, there are 15 cats in this house. You haven’t hardly met any of them.”

He couldn’t believe it.

That just cracked me up. But, literally, most of the cats hide whenever anyone comes into the house. Which I appreciate because it makes me look like I’m not some sort of crazy cat lady…

But, anyway. We had a really nice Christmas Eve.

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And there is a ton of food leftover, so I don’t have to even think about cooking until maybe Monday.

And this morning, after “Perry Mason,” I watched a couple more Christmas reruns of “Mrs. Brown’s Boys” before heading back upstairs to my totally comfy bed — with another cup of coffee– and I stayed in bed, reading and listening to Christmas music on the Oldies FM radio station, until 9:30AM!!!!

Can you believe that, gang?? It just felt so great.

And now I have no real clue what I’m gonna do, but it’s going to involve a lot of doing absolutely nothing. Upstairs and/or downstairs on the couch (where the snuggly fleece blankets are clean, dry, and snuggly once more!).

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Okay!

I hope that wherever you are, and however you spend this day, you are joyful, peaceful, and happily expecting something terrific to come your way!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I’m gonna leave you with this!

And I’ll dedicate it to my friend, “Shezaboss”!! When I unearthed this song again in 2023, he really helped me learn to just love this song all over again.

It’s a song I wrote in 1984, as an homage to the Rolling Stones, and all those great Glam Rockers that I loved so much in the early 1970s.

My original demo of “Since the High-Heeled Boys Came Home” .

(And the photo below was taken in the hallway just outside the door of my E.12th Street apartment, and the guys in the photo were my band at the time: Suri and Rubin, from Argentina, and Lloyd, from the East Village. And they’re playing on the demo.) (Photo taken by Valerie in Brooklyn!!)

It’s NYC in 1984 all over again. Enjoy, gang!