Monday, being a day off for me, is probably my most favorite day of the week!!

And even though I generally feel super relaxed when I wake up at 4AM on a Monday, I also have so much energy, because the whole day is MINE.

By 5:49AM today, I had cleaned 5 litterboxes (twice), fed and watered and generally catered to 18 cats (!!) (indoors and outdoors, but mostly indoors), made and ate my own breakfast, washed and put away all the dishes, finished one load of laundry, started a second load, said my prayers, then went back up to bed with a cup of coffee and, before actually getting back in the bed (for an hour), I hit the “easy” button!

I actually still have the “easy button” and I love using it! After doing something that is usually fucking endless, I hit that easy button and that guy’s voice sort of resets my energy level.

Honestly. I love it. And it always sort of startles the cats…

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In the More Good News Department!

The plumber just called about setting up a time to get in here and update all the old pipes and fixtures in my upstairs bath and in my kitchen!!

It’s really happening gang.

All these repairs are gonna get done. And it’s gonna be a grant that I don’t have to pay back! Yay! (Long time readers of this lofty blog might also recall that this includes getting Central AC installed in this old house, too!) (And new basement stairs!!)

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When I was with the retired Minster last evening, his lovely wife told me about this and I think it is so cool!

Go to this web site:

America250.org

And search for your State. If you live in Ohio, the direct URL is:

America250-Ohio.org

Through the websites, you can find out all the various festivities that are scheduled to go on in your area this July 4th, to celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary!! Historical tours, art, theater, concerts, fireworks, etc.

You can also sign up to volunteer, or make a donation, or attend local fundraising events before the summer.

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Okay.

Here’s this!

Honestly, gang. I talk to Jack Kerouac in my head all the time. Mostly, I say, “Help me get through this, Jack.” In terms of my various novels, novels-in-progress, memoirs getting underway, etc. Because it seems like every single word that comes out of my head and hits the paper, has the potential to provoke people somehow.

When I was 35, 40, 45 — I had no problem with this. It didn’t even register with me, you know? I wrote what I had to write. I still write what I have to write, but now I get so stressed when I think about how many people there are in the world nowadays who want to be confrontational.

Anyway.

I loved his book, The Subterraneans.

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Every Sunday on Instagram, Gered Mankowitz has a “Stoned Sundays” post.

He took tons of now very famous photos of the Rolling Stones in the mid-1960s. And he posts a few of them every Sunday.

From yesterday — Keith in the recording studio. I think this was 1966.

Also, this book is GREAT!

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And we are now FIVE days away!! Buy tickets here!

And here’s this!! A photo of Nick Cave from last night yesteryear that has absolutely nothing wrong with it!!

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Okay.

This was interesting. If you’re into the Old Testament and how Hebrew words and translations evolve over the various thousands of years and gradually come to mean something else once they reach the New Testament…

Ross K. Nichols Sunday School class from yesterday – The Satanic Scriptures (1 hr 14 mins):

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Before I forget–

Gold and silver are CLIMBING today, gang!!

As of right now:

Gold: $4,616.53 per troy ounce

Silver: $85.53 per ounce

And this is in constant motion this morning.

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Now I gotta scoot.

One more load of laundry to do. Then I gotta sign all the paperwork for my home repairs GRANT and get that off in the mail. Then work on the projects with Sandra!!

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!!

Tom Jones’ fantastic version of “She Drives Me Crazy” — a duet with Zucherro –from the fantastic album, Reload, 1999! Enjoy, gang.

Sadly, late yesterday afternoon, just as I was walking in the door from my shift and getting ready to relax and have a great Saturday night…

I got an email from my new publisher at Parisian Phoenix Publishing, asking me if I wanted to contribute to an upcoming tribute anthology to M. Christian.

I had absolutely no idea he was dead, gang. But it turns out he died of heart failure on New Year’s Day.

Chris and I go way, way back. I first started working with him when Masquerade Books asked me if I would publish an excerpt of Chris’s new book on my website, Other-rooms.com. Back in 1997. He and I were both 37.

I was delighted to and from then on, Chris and I were not just colleagues but friends. In fact, as did most out-of-town writers stopping in NYC back then, he came to visit me and Wayne at our apartment on West End Avenue. We went out for lunch, etc.

Many, many, many anthologies, book reviews, interviews later… suddenly, we were both 65 and now he’s dead.

It was because of Chris, in fact, that I even pitched Parisian Phoenix Publishing about maybe publishing The Curse of Our Profound Disorder. He was already publishing with them and asked if I would review one of his books.

So, of course, I am working on a tribute to him to include in the anthology. I will keep you posted.

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All right.

Well, I’ve just come from my new church, and today’s sermon was all about the crucial need now for discernment, that everything and everyone in our world today has a hidden agenda, to watch out for the dangers of AI.

All topics that I agree with, but none of them topics I want to dwell on in church, since I dwell on them 24/7 already, so that was sort of frustrating.

However, I’m still glad I went. And I got that seat in the 3rd pew, right by the stained glass window. And everyone was still really friendly and seemed happy to be in church.

So onward.

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But first!

A tiny bit more politics.

I try to keep politics off the blog these days, however. If you’ve followed my blog long enough, you know that I have posted many, many times about how you should try to buy gold and silver if at all possible, and only keep enough cash in your bank account right now to cover your bills.

I just wanted to post this video because if you are still not aware of what’s going on with silver, worldwide, and now with the imminent return to precious-metals-backed currencies, please take a moment (well, 12 moments) to watch this. It is concise and very easy to understand:

And just FYI, I buy and sell gold and silver through SD Bouillon because that was the company my dad used forever. I have found them to be incredibly trustworthy, reliable, fair. So if you don’t have your own preferred company, you can try them.

As of this morning, they still had plenty of silver. (And they also have plenty of gold.)

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Okay!!

On to non-politics!!

After I had sort of recovered from the shocking news of M. Christian’s death, I got back to work on that logline for the TV project with Sandra, and I think I got some really good stuff!

It will still need tweaking, but I’m awaiting Sandra’s response before getting back at it.

And I also managed to wash my hair, do yoga, take another one of the lectures in James Tabor’s new course, “Christianity Before Paul.” AND have a delightful dinner, in the company of many delightful cats. AND watch another 30-minute streamer TV show, taking notes on how they develop the Acts and weave them through the A & B plots , etc.

A lot of work, but I do believe I will not have to watch any more episodes of that particular show. Yay. Because I’m not crazy about it, although it is extremely popular. (I thought “I Love LA” was interesting, but I wasn’t crazy about that show, either. So I’m also done with that show, too. The 3rd and final show is fucking intense, gang. I do not know how I am going to stomach more than 2 episodes of that one, but, wow, I believe it will be very educational as far as how certain key topics are presented on streamer TV shows nowadays.)

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Well, I just got up from my desk, turned around and saw this, so I had to share!!

(In no particular order: Cuddles, Queenie, Princess, Goldie, Calico, Freddie McFee, and Bobbie McGee, and a stuffed animal…)

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Okay!

And here’s this.

I liked this tribute to Sir Rod Stewart’s birthday yesterday, from Muscle Shoals Recording Studio:

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And I liked this!

Posted by Jo Wood yesterday. Ronnie, at home in NYC, in 1978!!

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And this!

From Keith’s “deep blue period”….

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And if you can believe it, gang–

Only 6 more days until Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds return to the stage in Australia and New Zealand! Buy tickets HERE. (And you can also start buying tickets there to see them in Europe this summer but I’ll spare you those updates until much, much closer to summer…)

And here’s this!

We don’t often see Nick Cave in ruffles anymore, but maybe he will consider revisiting that look while in Australia…? We shall soon see!!

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And I suppose I better close this and get some lunch before heading out to see the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, wherever you are in the world!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this.

I was listening to this hymn on my retro boombox at 6:30AM this morning. While lying in bed and thinking about M. Christian. With a few beautiful cats laying with me on the bed in the dark.

It was incredibly peaceful. Enjoy, gang.

Yes, I’m fucking TIRED!

But at least I’m getting everything done, little by little, every evening after my caregiving shift is over.

Currently –working on the logline for the new TV project. And watching those streamer shows that Sandra wants me to watch (it’s not easy, gang — as you know, I’m not super crazy about the type of shows that are popular these days).

But I’m the one who does the “math” as I’m watching the shows — how long is their Teaser, how many minutes for Act One, Act Two, Act Three — which equals how many estimated pages per Act? Where’s our A plot going, our B plot, our super short C plot/Tag…

But, you know, once all that is mapped out, it is relatively easy to drop the story into the framework. And then, voila! A 30-minute-drama, streamer-TV script is born.

Anyway!

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Okay!!

Great news!! I finally got all the paperwork from the USDA yesterday about my grant to get all the repairs done to the house!!

So, apparently, money is moving through the Government once again. I am so excited about this, gang. Among other things, the filter in the furnace will need changing soon and, as loyal readers of this lofty blog no doubt recall, my 126-year-old basement stairs are collapsing!

And this will soon be ME, attempting to go down those stairs to change the furnace filter!

So I am super excited that things are proceeding with the repairs on my beloved, very old, home.

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Before I forget!!

Again!!

I was halfway to town yesterday morning when I realized I’d forgotten to post this to the blog yesterday:

It was David Johansen’s first heavenly birthday yesterday.

Here’s one of the photos from Phyllis Stein’s post to David on Instagram yesterday:

Apparently, it was also Jimmy Page’s birthday yesterday, too.

I’m not a big Jimmy Page fan or anything. Well, I don’t dislike him, I was just only a moderate fan of Led Zeppelin.

But I saw this photo yesterday and I thought it was fantastic! So I post it here!

Ross Halfin’s photo of Jimmy:

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On a sadder note–

It was ten years ago today that one of my wee bonny girlhood heroes left this plane.

And here’s this as a sort of odd tribute. “Golden Years,” from 1976:

“Golden Years”

Golden years, gold, whop, whop, whop
Golden years, gold, whop, whop, whop
Golden years, gold, whop, whop, whop

Don’t let me hear you say
Life’s taking you nowhere, angel
(Come get up, my baby)
Look at that sky, life’s begun
Nights are warm and the days are young
(Come get up, my baby)

There’s my baby, lost that’s all
Once I’m begging you save her little soul
Golden years, gold, whop, whop, whop
Come get up, my baby

Last night they loved you
Opening doors and pulling some strings, angel
(Come get up, my baby)
In walked luck and you looked in time
Never look back, walk tall, act fine
(Come get up, my baby)

I’ll stick with you baby for a thousand years
Nothing’s gonna touch you in these golden years
Golden years
Golden years, gold, whop, whop, whop
Come get up, my baby

Some of these days, and it won’t be long
Gonna drive back down where you once belonged
In the back of a dream car twenty foot long
(Come get up, my baby)
Don’t cry my sweet, don’t break my heart
Doing all right, but you gotta get smart
Wish upon, wish upon, day upon day
I believe, oh Lord, I believe all the way
(Come get up, my baby)
Run for the shadows, run for the shadows
Run for the shadows in these golden years

There’s my baby, lost that’s all
Once I’m begging you save her little soul
Golden years, gold, whop, whop, whop
Come get up, my baby

Don’t let me hear you say life’s taking you nowhere, angel
(Come get up, my baby)
Run for the shadows, run for the shadows
Run for the shadows in these golden years

I’ll stick with you baby for a thousand years
Nothing’s gonna touch you in these golden years
Golden years
Golden years, gold, whop, whop, whop

c – 1975 David Bowie

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Okay.

Before I forget!!

I find this utterly amazing, gang.

Yesterday, I got the final blog stats for the year, and in 2025, over 20,000 of you (!!) stopped in to read the blog.

I really, really thank you for that.

Yes, in the early days, when blogs themselves were brand new (27 years ago or so — they weren’t even called blogs yet), I averaged about 5,000 readers a day, but things were so different back then.

Not just my career, which was basically on a rocket to the moon, but the internet was young (dial-up) and there weren’t that many people on it yet, and once you were on it, there wasn’t that much to do. So my blogs on Otherrooms.com and MarilynsRoom.com got tons of traffic. (I also lived in NYC back then, and I was also heavy into PR and marketing back then, too.)

Nowadays, people mostly do podcasts, not blogs. Blogs are for selling stuff, or for news updates, etc. But my blog keeps me writing everyday. Keeps my brain focused outside myself for a little while each morning.

And people don’t hit the “like” buttons very often, and very rarely interact with me in the “comments” anymore, so I don’t get a good feel for how many readers are actually showing up, even though I knew the blog was getting more traffic than it had in a long time.

But over 20,000 readers last year really just blew me away. So thank you, thank you, thank you!

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All righty!

7 more days, gang!! Buy tickets HERE!

And here’s this from the desktop stash!

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And here’s this again! Just because!

Charlie, Keith, and Ronnie, backstage in 1998! Photo by Ronnie’s wife back then, Jo Wood.

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And now I gotta scoot and go see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man!

Don’t forget, since tomorrow is Sunday and is now “church day” for me, I won’t be posting here until later in the morning.

Enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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

I leave you with this!!!

Today is Sir Rod Stewart’s 81st Birthday!!

Let’s celebrate with this!!

From way before the “Sir” thing — my very first favorite song by Rod Stewart (I was 11 years old), “Maggie May”. 1971. A total classic now. Enjoy, gang!!

Yesterday, that is.

Although I am expecting today to be a really great day, too.

Regarding yesterday, though —

I had another great afternoon with my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man. And we did indeed finally get to go out for sashimi and sake. And his clarity, focus, appetite (!!), stamina, were still doing great.

And while at the Peony Bistro, having our sashimi, the son of one of my favorite client’s was there having lunch with two of his own sons. The client was the woman that I adored, who lived in that beautiful split-level home that was filled with so much love, it was palpable. Just the most amazing experience I had ever had with a client.

She passed away unexpectedly a couple of months ago and I was heartbroken. The son and his wife are the owners of that love-filled home my client lived in.

When they saw me in the restaurant, the son and his two sons all came over to me at my table, and the son shook my hand. In his thick German accent, he said, quietly: “It is so nice to see you. I hope you have a very good New Year.”

There was so much emotion in his face, you know? My heart just sort of melted. I tried my best to introduce him to my Japanese client, but my client is easily confused by strangers.

Still, as I was leaving the restaurant, I was really sort of amazed by the world I have over there in Granville. Especially since I don’t — and never have — lived there. But my life intersects with so many people in such a meaningful way (after being in and around it for 8 years now), that it is getting a little breathtaking.

It was Gus Van Sant Sr who convinced me to move permanently to this area of Ohio and not move back to NYC. (He had very fond memories of Granville from his boyhood.) What a blessing that turned out to be for me.

Anyway.

After my shift, I came home and had a really great chat with Sandra about the TV project we’re developing (she had just had a really productive chat with the producer who is waiting on our completed proposal).

This recent photo of Sandra is just a small hint, gang. I can’t go into any details yet on the blog!

But it was exciting.

And during my dinner, my accountant in NYC called me and we also had a great chat.

It was the first time he was able to touch base with me after all that stuff happened regarding my dad’s Estate during the holidays. But, since my accountant specializes in the entertainment industry (he is also a theatrical producer, and a lawyer), we focused instead on the 3 projects I have going on right now with Sandra.

And that ended up also being a very, very good chat.

And today, I am still planning to pitch the “Tell My Bones” screenplay to that director who doesn’t direct TV-streamer movies, but I’m going to pitch it anyway and see if maybe he will at least read the script! I will keep you posted… (I will have to go through the usual gatekeepers out in Los Angeles, but I’m hoping they will at the very least say, “Okay, send the script.”)

Also, yesterday, before we left for sashimi & sake, the Minister from my new church called me!

He and I are having a brief meeting at the church later this morning. I met him briefly on Sunday, but since I want to join the church, he wants to find out more about me.

I am really looking forward to the meeting — but I am hoping I don’t leave that meeting having agreed to teach a Sunday School class or something like that. (Fingers crossed, gang…)

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Okay!

Today is this guy’s heavenly birthday!!

And in honor of his birthday, I am wearing those really cool Elvis earrings that Kara bought me for Christmas!!

Oh, and that means that I will be wearing “Elvis” earrings during my meeting with my new Minister!! Perhaps that will be auspicious? Yay!

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All right!

Here’s this:

In an interesting connection to James Tabor’s recent video about John the Baptist, Ross K. Nichols Sunday School class from this past Sunday–

“This class examines ancient sources on El Elyon’s enigmatic priest and his ‘eternal’ priesthood, from the Hebrew Bible and Josephus to Hebrews and the Dead Sea Scrolls, to ask what can responsibly be said about Melchizedek based on the surviving sources.”

Melchizedek: El Elyon’s Eternal Priest (1 hr 21 mins):

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And, wow, here’s this!

From Instagram yesterday, just gorgeous, right? I don’t know if it’s AI or not but I still love it:

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And here’s this!

Another gorgeous photo — this photo was used as the back cover for Keith’s autobiography, Life.

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And I liked this photo, too!

From Robert Earl Keen’s Instagram page yesterday:

And here’s this: “The Road Goes On Forever”, 1993:

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And last but absolutely not least!!

From Nick Cave’s Official page — 9 more days, gang!!

Buy tickets here!

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And on the home front today–

It is payday here, and when I checked my bank account at 4AM this morning, it turned out that even though I worked in the afternoons on both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, I still got holiday pay!! Yay!!

I was totally not expecting that, so that was nice.

And with that, I’m gonna get this day-off underway!!

Have a great Thursday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s leave with this today.

Although I was not listening to Elvis’s version of this hymn this morning, it was the first song I listened to on my retro boombox today.

I’ve always loved this hymn, but I was surprised, this morning, to discover that I relate to this verse these days, now more than ever:

Through many dangers,
Toils and snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace hath brought
Me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

But since it’s his birthday, here’s Elvis’s beautiful version of “Amazing Grace.” Enjoy, gang!

I really liked the new church. And all the people in it.

Very friendly, with tons of kids — who had a little prayer circle at the front of the congregation, before going off to Sunday school. They were incredibly adorable.

And I chose a pew that was right next to the big stained glass window, and the sun came through it, right onto my pew, right as we started singing the opening hymn, so I’m guessing I’m always going to sit there in that pew, every Sunday. That alone was sort of cosmic.

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Okay.

Before I forget–

If you don’t follow Simon Parkes in the UK, you can’t access his update from yesterday, but it was a really, really good one. You can follow him, and watch his monthly updates, by joining Connecting Consciousness — it’s free.

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Well, I got a lot done this morning, before church, gang!

I typed up all those notes that Sandra needed by tomorrow morning, and was able to get everything off to her a day early!

All I have left to do before our next phone call is re-read the original screenplay for “Tell My Bones: The Helen LaFrance Story” and then send that over to Sandra, as well.

So we’re sort of off and running, gang.

New year, new everything. Oh, and here’s this from yesterday:

New year, same cats!!

And, last evening, I was also able to do Lesson 2 in James Tabor’s new course, “Christianity Before Paul”. (An in depth look at John the Baptist — historical rather than theological — another incredible lecture.)

And I did wash my hair!! I also did yoga.

And I was even able to watch another episode of one of those shows Sandra wanted me to watch (“I Love LA” on HBO).

So it is sort of remarkable that I can get so much done, even though I’m still working all the caregiving jobs, once I entirely shift my focus.

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All righty.

Here’s this–

Keith and that one cigarette he had in 1979:

And a great shot of Johnny Thunders with a cigarette in Athens, Greece, in 1989:

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And–

13 more days, gang!! Before this:

So here’s this — from the private desktop stash!

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And in a little while here, I head out to see the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat. And I’m sure they will be happy to learn that I’ve finally found a church I like.

They know about my ministerial training and my Degree from Ohio Christian University, etc. (The Minister’s wife studied at a different seminary in Ohio, so we have talked about it a lot.)

I have to say, gang, that it gets frustrating, having to always separate my ministry world from my professional world, keep it all private, since my professional world is so extensively “for adults only”. And just by looking at me, people assume I’m this really nice, harmless white lady. They’re usually very surprised to even find out that I lived most of my life in NYC — unless they have the great good fortune of hearing how often I use the “F” word!! And let’s not mention that FBI record I had that followed me around at international airports. Or when I was looking at possible prison time in a federal penitentiary and a huge fine, for allegedly making it too easy for children to access porn online…)

This new church — since they are “under new management”, as it were — is looking for people to get involved with things like leading group meetings in Bible studies, etc. They need help doing it all, getting it all started.

I am so trained in that stuff. My knowledge, as you can guess, is extensive. And I’m certified/trained in congregational care, and hospital visitations, and grief counseling, and marriage counseling, and home communion for the elderly.

I’m pretty sure that if I showed up at the Minister’s office and told him all that stuff, he’d jump up from his desk and say, “When can you start??” Because they need help.

But all that other stuff in my world — I really, really need my privacy. And I don’t like to intentionally mislead people about who I am. So I’m guessing I will just show up for Sunday services and go back home.

I was thinking during the service this morning that it must be a lot easier to be Nick Cave. He can show up at a church on Sunday but everybody already knows who he is.

(Yes! It is easier to be Nick Cave in church than to be Marilyn Jaye Lewis!! You heard it here first!!)

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Well, anyway.

I’m still really glad I finally found a church I like that is a 3-minute walk from my house!

And on that happy note, I gotta scoot and get ready for my caregiving shift. But then — I have tomorrow off!

Have a beautiful Sunday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this on this sunny winter Sunday!

That huge hit from the Broadway show, “Godspell”, 1971!

“Day by Day”. Enjoy, gang.