Wednesday’s Theme Music
Mood: uncertain
It’s morning in Ashlandia, where the children aren’t sure but the parents are very confident. Current temp is a little warm for the AM, 74 F. Low 90s are kicked around as the high although one source says it’ll only be 89 F. Like, where do they get that? Well, we’ll see, won’t we? Cool breeze just started kissing my neck, trying to coax me into a better mood. I’ll see what they have to offer.
Another battle of the dreams for my night. Long dreams but once again, I had the one about the house flying through space. Wakin’ from it, I argued with myself. The dream self was worried ’bout the cats being out in space again. Wakin’ self told dream self, relax, we’re not in space. Real tug of war as The Neurons would take one side and then the other.
In world news, things are bad and getting worse. Over to you, David.
Well, that’s how it feels with so many weather disasters underway, along with the war in Ukraine. In good news, many companies are seeing excellent sales. Because that will really matter in the long run, yeah?
Sure. The world will be burning and flooding, almost devoid of glaciers at the poles, and the news headlines will be, Amazon had record sales. And everyone will be like, thank god they can deliver by drones.
Of course, I still write. The world is burning and flooding, but I write on. Just like everyone else, pursuing my own agenda. It’s all crashin’, so what will help me cope and get on by? Well, give me a cuppa coffee and let me write a tale.
See, that’s the thing. While a greater mess happening to the whole of us and our world, each of us are dealing with our private addictions and desires. The big stuff happening is so big and abstract in many ways, so debilitating and demoralizing, we respond by turning to something which we can try to control. At least, that’s my theory. Probably wrong as the decision to end “Firefly”.
Writing has inspired The Neurons’ song choice today. I’m like, what happens now, all the while, entertaining different directions in me head, worrying about where I’m at with it (this feels like a box), trying to bring it all together and to an end without losin’ the plot. Out out that came the James Gang with “Walk Away” from 1971. Makes sense if you look at the song words. Think they’re called lyrics.
“Takin’ my time, choosin’ my lines,
“Tryin’ to decide what to do.”
And that’s what I’m doing, trying to decide what to do, searching for the words and sentences. They’re there, just waiting for them to emerge, kind of worried because they’re not what I expected.
Stay pos and be strong. Here we go, another day in the life of (insert your name here). Coffee is up; let’s go. Cheers
Felix Floofa
Felix Floofa (floofinition) Originally an expression to convey a ‘lucky animal’, the meaning has changed to reference an animal who brings luck to others.
In use: “Surviving COVID but losing her job, on the verge of homelessness, Sylvia found herself feeling hopeless, but then a little mutt of a brown dog was found at the animal shelter. Despite all logic, she adopted the fellow. It seemed like he was a felix floofa, for she was suddenly offered a job which was a promotion, paying better, and the landlord abruptly grew benevolent, forgiving her the back rent owed and reducing her rent. Naturally, she named the dog Felix.”
Tuesday’s Wandering Thoughts
He encountered someone driving out of the in exit. Third day in a row this had happened. Not the same people or car, but…
They had to be given some latitude and space to let them finish driving out, annoying him, because it was his nature to get annoyed by others. He wondered how they’d managed to miss seeing the one way signs and arrows, along with the DO-NOT-ENTER sign. Surely, they hadn’t ‘missed’ them, but had decided to ignore them. Three drivers, three days in a row.
Such a small matter but it was the kind of thing that fed his growing disenchantment with society.
Tuesday’s Theme Music
Mood: speculative
It’s Tuesday, July 18, 2023. A waxing crescent moon wins the night sky tonight, if you look for it.
Cool, quiet morning. A train unleashes long blasts of warning as it crawls through town. Mildish summer continues in Ashlandia, where coffee is brewed fresh and new pastries are baked every day. 67 F now, we appear to be due a high temperature of 92 F, 33 C. Sunrise was 5:49 AM, and sunset will be at 8:45 PM.
Our weather situation is better than many. Flooding in Korea today, joining the disasters of Vermont, India, and Japan. Heat dome fixed in place over the southwestern US. Hawaii on a storm watch. Wildfires are burning in Canada, causing breathing problems there and in the US. Parts of Iran are blazingly hot, China is described as ‘searing’, and extreme heat is threatening health and safety across Europe, and they’re battling wildfires in Greece. Will something be done on the human side to try to address these things? Probably not. A large percentage of folks prefer not to be woke about these things. Denying it and burying facts about things they don’t like is their M.O. until it reaches the point where there’s no where to hide, apparently. “Less taxes,” they cry. “Voter fraud.”
On the family front, a teenage nephew suffered a seizure. Terrified everyone. He recovered but tests are being run. Results are awaited. Fingers are crossed.
Also on the family front, a niece’s neighbor had three cars burn up. He had chemicals stored in his car for his work. The intense fire melted the siding on her home. She and her family weren’t home at the time. Nobody was hurt.
I have “Break On Through (to the Other Side)” circulating the morning mental music stream. By The Doors, the song was released at the onset of 1967, when I was ten and living in Penn Hills, PA. It was another of those songs which instantly seized my interest. It hasn’t let go. But why is it in the morning mental music stream (trademark — what?)? I put this to The Neurons, who shrugged and wandered off. I’ve enticed them back with the promise of coffee. The Neurons are suckers for coffee.
Stay strong and be pos. Time to begin the day. Here’s the coffee; breath deep the fresh aroma. Here’s the music. Cheers
Follow Up to Banned
This is all in reference to a post from last week where my preferred coffee shop banned a fellow customer because he told several baristas some things about his website, apparently among other things which happened.
I spoke with the manager about it briefly this morning. While she was reluctant to discuss it — I totally get that — she shared that there had been multiple incidents with the banned man. She said, “While we always try to work it out with our customers and try to accommodate everyone, unfortunately reached a head where we felt that we had to other choice. We know how serious banning someone is, and discussed it at length before we made the decision. It was a team decision. That’s how we always do it, so that we can talk out the pros and cons, and the impact. It wasn’t unanimous, and some were upset about banning someone. But the overwhelming majority felt it was needed.” She left that open-ended about why it was needed. Still, gaining a little more insight into it is useful.
Monday’s Theme Music
Mood: mellow
I love the mornings, when calm rules, before I get into the news, before the weather shifts. Life outside the windows is firing up on the human side. Machinery is doing its thing somewhere. Loud-voiced neighbors preparing for a trip talk things over, greet passers-by, that sort of thing. A cool breeze teases me into thinking better things are coming.
This is Monday, July 17, 2023. Gonna be in the low 90s again today, although it’s in the 60s F right now. A layer of thin clouds ruled in yesterday and cut our temperature and stirred a breeze. We barely touched 80 F and those breezes were wonderful gifts. Hope others under the heat dome get some breaks, along with those dealing with flooding in India, Japan, and parts of the US.
We were talking about “Sing Along with Mitch”. That would be Mitch Miller. Started as part of a Trivial Pursuit question. Cards were at the table when we were having brunch. My wife and I enjoy asking and answering those question.
One question was, what was the name of Mitch Miller’s backup singers? Neither of us knew. We vividly remembered the show. I looked it up later; it was on in the early 1960s. So, I’m thinking, how do I remember that show so vividly?
The Neurons posted three songs in the morning mental music stream (trademark — what’s that?) competing for Monday’s theme music. First was Tom Petty with “Runnin’ Down A Dream”. Know what that was about? Yeah, trying to remember a dream I’d had. Came after a bit of noodling. Second song was “Whip It” by Devo. Cause I’d gotten up and was organizing things to do in my head. Third offering, “That Smell” by Lynerd Skynerd, which came up when I brewed my morning java. I went with “Running’ Down A Dream” because I liked the energy it brought.
I sooo remember that song coming out in 1989. Stationed in Germany. We were a small flying unit, pretty relaxed and friendly with one another. Rockers dominated. Several officers swept by my office to ask me if I’d heard the new Petty song. Indeed, I had. Soon as, I popped over to the Main Exchange and procured my own CD. They — and their spouses — were a good group of folks.
Time to press on. Stay pos, stay strong, and work the day like it’s made of clay. I’m havin’ my coffee. Love how the hot brew slips into my mouth, chatting up the taste buds as it does its flow, exchanging excited greetings with The Neurons, then washing down, warming my gullet. Good times. Here’s the music. Cheers
Michael Seidel, writer 