Category: memories

Monday’s Theme Music

Greetings! Happy Labor Day in America! This is a holiday in the U.S. It’s one of the three-day weekend holidays. This was Congress’ gift to the country — particularly the travel industry — in 1968 as part of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.

It’s September 6, 2021. Monday, of course. We’re not doing anything special for the holiday. Wildfire smoke and COVID-19 (and the current Delta variation that’s so virulent here in southern Oregon right now) have muted it for us. Might be different if we had family close to us.

Sunrise arrived at 6:41 AM. Sunset, when the Earth turns away from the sun, will come at 7:36 PM. And I think I need to go back and fix an assertion I made on a previous post that we’ve gone below twelve hours of daylight per day. Blame it on a lack of coffee. Or a lack of cogent thinking. Or poor math skills. Temperatures continue to rise but we’re not hitting crazy levels, topping out in the low nineties. AQI for this morning is 163, Unhealthy. We haven’t had a day rated as Moderate since August 25. They’ve all been unhealthy or extremely unhealthy since then, a fact known in many areas out here in the U.S. western states.

Rickie Lee Reynolds died. 72 years old. Heart attack. He was the Black Oak Arkansas guitarist. Black Oak Arkansas was a southern rock band with some glam influences in their stage performances. They came out with a cover of “Jim Dandy” in 1973, while I was a high school junior. Weirdly, I’d encounter this song often on diner and NCO Club jukeboxes for many years. And I’d play it. Which exasperated my wife. She doesn’t like the song. But it’s a throwback, innit?

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask, avoid crazy cures like ivermectin, and get vaccinated. Have a enjoyable Labor Day, if that applies to you. Gotta get my coffee. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Sunday’s Theme Music

Welcome to Sunday, September 5, 2021. It’s September’s first Sunday, which means tomorrow is September’s first Monday, and that rhymes with Labor Day weekend in America. Yes, it’s the day when summer is considered done. The season is yet to change for a few weeks. That doesn’t matter. Summer is done. Vacations are wound down. Children return to class. Grills are fired up for one last hurrah.

Back east, my family has the grand cookout planned. Sister #3 is coordinating the effort. She is the hostess. Sixteen are attending. Mom is taking dessert: an apple pie, chocolate peanut butter bars, and tuxedo cake. She made the bars, purchased the rest. Yes, it’s overkill. Food overkill is the family tradition on these holidays. My brother-in-law will be at the grill. He’s a master. Wish I cold be there but it’s several thousand miles east of here. Takes a day of flying or several days of driving. Where’s a bullet train when you need it?

They’re two degrees south of us at home in Penn Hills, PA. About 1500 feet lower in elevation. Makes a difference with sunrise and sunrise. Temperatures. Sunrise locally was 6:41 AM. Sunset will be 7:38. Yep, less than twelve hours of sunshine today mitigating the smoke today. Our high will be in the mid-eighties. Mom says it’ll probably be in the seventies at their place. So, cooler there, with a lower AQI. Ours is 237 now. Purple. Very unhealthy to breathe. Penn Hills has an AQI of 16.

My dreams have summoned The Police and their frenetic ballad from 1983, Synchronicity I, to the morning mental music stream (McubedS, patent pending). My dreams didn’t come out wholly baked today. Only mutterings and glimpses in the fog remain. The strongest sensation was of dancing. I was going to a dance or dancing somewhere. Yes, something about a dance but what? No other elements would return.

The thinking sequence stirred me to recall “Synchronicity I” lines: A sleep trance, a dream dance, a shared romance, synhronicity. That became the day’s theme music for me.

Stay positive. Test negative. Wear a mask as needed. Get the vax if you haven’t already. Try to remain somewhat sane. I think it’s a spectrum myself. Fluctuating by the hour. Sanity, that is. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Friday’s Theme Music

TGIF. Though working on my own schedule for years, the thought that it’s Friday still gives me a mental boost. Energy jumps. So does happiness. Anticipation. Friday!

Today is September 3, 2021. We have a smoky one here in Ashland. Yep. The sun furtively stole in past the mountains and trees at 6:38 this morning. Temperatures continue the cool trend. Highs around here will be in upper seventies or low eighties. Then here comes sunset about 7:42 in the evening.

For something different on this different Friday (yes, but aren’t they all?), I went with “Icky Thump” by The White Stripes (2007). (I keep wanting to call it the Icky Shuffle cuz of football. You either understand or you don’t.) Another of those songs where I listened because my ears were asking, “Wait, what is he singing?” Plus, I liked the beat and Jack’s gi-tar. Part of the song marks American immigration policies and white’s attitudes. “We’re here, this is our land,” denying others entrance when, after all, we’re not the originals who were here. We came in, killed and destroyed, driving out the people who were here. That’s the past, people say, trying to turn their heads away. Uh-huh.

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the vax. Here’s the music. Good day. La la la la la la la

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Thursday’s Theme Music

September flourishes. Not. Yet, maybe. I feel like a pet chasing the little red dot as I pursue time and life. Damn if it isn’t quite elusive.

Today is Thursday, September 2, 2021. Sunshine began its warming, illuminating trend, red, gold, and orange through thin gray smoke, at 6:37 AM. The sun’s flight away, if like yesterday, will be a dirty peach at around 7:43 PM. The cooling trend given us by the seasons changing continues. High yesterday was only seventy-nine in my niche of existence. Today should be just 80 F. The cooler weather brings the cats in. That pleases me. I don’t like them being in the smoke. They have their own minds about where they go and what they do, though. They know how to floofnipulate me.

I’m reading of a number of disasters this morning. Flooding. Ida. New abortion law in Texas. SCOTUS ruling on it. Caldor Fire. Other wildfires. Smoke pollution. Tornados. COVID-19 deaths. Just the U.S. news so far. Well, it includes accusations about Afghanistan. Yes, we’re leaving a screwed up country after twenty years of war, many lives, and a huge chunk of money. Somehow, though, that becomes Biden’s fault. I mean, he has been in office for almost eight months. Eight months out of two hundred and forty, give or take. Yes, I see the reasoning.

Anyway, I end up with “Wasteland” by 10 Years (2005) in my morning mental music streaming. It’s a song about intentions. Inspired by someone dealing with drug addiction. We could easily make the case that the U.S. — even the world — is dealing with addiction. Addictions to greed. Money. Power. War. Addictions twist and malign intentions. Inculcate bad habits, policies, and practices. Bad results follow.

Stay positive. Test negative. Wear a mask. Get the vax. Unless your addictions to death, suffering, and hatred stop you. Here’s the music. Gonna go get some coffee. Don’t call it an addiction, though. Just a friendly relationship. Cheers

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Wednesday’s Theme Music

Adieu to August. Hello, September! So many September songs dive straight into the mental music stream. Amazing.

Yes, this is September 1, 2021. 9/1/21. Wednesday. Hump Day. Some interesting holidays are observed on this date.

  • Building and Code Staff Appreciation Day 
  • Chicken Boy Day 
  • Emma M. Nutt Day 
  • Ginger Cat Appreciation Day 
  • Global Talent Acquisition Day – September 1, 2021 (First Wednesday in September)
  • National Cherry Popover Day 
  • National No Rhyme Nor Reason Day 
  • National Tofu Day (UK) 
  • Pink Cadillac Day 
  • Save Japan’s Dolphins Day 
  • Toy Tips Executive Toy Test Day 
  • World Letter Writing Day 

Each one has a story. Like Chicken Boy Day. How did that get started? Ginger Cat Appreciation Day. I do have a ginger cat. Papi, aka Meep, aka Youngblood and the Ginger Blade. I will show him my appreciation. It’s not a choice. He demands it. I willingly surrender.

Sunrise overtook us at 6:36 AM. Sun fade will be at 7:43 PM. Our smoke is back and blah, blah, blah, it sucks. High temperatures will be in the low 80s so a cooler day again, if only we had the air to go out and safely breathe.

The musical mental stream kicked things off this morning with Doris Day singing “Sentimental Journey”. Listened to Bob Dylan’s cover of it. It’s just too mellow for me this September AM, ya know? I wanted something head thrashing. My mind responded with, stop wasting my time. Words which naturally flowed into the song by Default, “Wasting My Time” (2001). No, not head thrashing, but it’ll do. (Did anyone else channel a little of Babe there, and say, “That’ll do, pig. That’ll do.”? No? Hmmm.)

Stay positive. Test negative. Wear a mask as needed, like when it’s smoky as hell or you’re in contact with others outside of your house, like in a store. Get the vax. And be safe. Here’s the music. I’m gonna go get more coffee. Cheers

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Monday’s Theme Music

The changing season was seen in today’s sunrise at 6:34 AM. The light angled in a different angle. Struck another part of the wall. Was strong and fresh — we’re relatively smoke-free this morning, again, knock on wood — and warm but not hot. A low moved in overnight, dropping temperatures. Today’s high will be in the seventies before the sun bows out at 7:48 PM. Last night’s low was in the upper fifties. The cooler, fresher air is as welcomed as returning heroes.

Today is Monday, August 30, 2021. A dream about a musician friend is on my mind. He played with Janis so a Janis song is in order. He didn’t play on this song, though. Today’s choice is “Mercedes Benz” from 1970, the last song she recorded.

Stay positive. Test negative. Wear a mask as needed. Get the vax. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Friday’s Theme Music

Sol’s magic numbers for the Oregon coast for Friday are 6:26 and 8:13. That’s AM and PM. If you had those times in the pool, you may already be a winner.

Hello. Today is August 20, 2021. In the news today, COVID-19 vaccinations, cases, and deaths are all up. Locally in my county, the vaccination rate jumped to 2.1% a week. Yeah, progress. Probably because people are becoming woke. ICUs filled. Hospitals running out of beds and staff. Greater reports of people who said, “I’m healthy. I’ll survive it.” Then they succumb. In one case, it was a forty-two y.o. mother and her forty-eight y.o. spouse. They left four orphaned children. Mom’s final request was that her children get vaccinated. Why didn’t you go get it, Mom? Why?

In other news, there are still wildfires burning and a drought going on. Politicians and columnists are wringing their hands over the evacuation out of Afghanistan. Yeah, they apparently didn’t see that coming. Perhaps I’m too cynical but it’s exactly what I saw coming back when George Bush and his administration made their promises in 2001. War was going to pay for itself. A cakewalk. Wasn’t that the gang that said they’d always have an exit strategy? The ones who weren’t into nation building? Yeah, so, sorry, not surprised by this disastrous end to a disastrous war. Should have never been there. In drone news…

Yeah, not going there. Just revving you up a little.

Turning to weather, it’s partly cloudy and cool here on the Oregon coast. Low sixties. High will be in the mid sixties. Breeze of about ten MPH blowing. Clear air.

My mind began playing “Love Hurts” for me this morning. I don’t know why. Decided to go with it. Nazareth. 1975. Stay positive. Test negative. Wear a mask as needed. Get the vax. Let’s be careful out there. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Wednesday’s Theme Music

Another day on the coast. Sunshine shouldered in at 6:24 AM. Clouds took note of Sol’s mood and sauntered off oh so casual, not really going because he was there but just ‘cuz. Temperatures perked up. They swear it’ll be in the mid sixties by the time Sol strolls out at 8:16 PM.

Today is Wednesday, August 18, 2021. Our housesitter back home said smoke is gone. AQI sits at 105 this morning per the Innertube. Still not healthy. Yesterday’s high in Ashland, she said, was in the mid-seventies. It’s going to be in the low eighties today, is the claim. We’ll see.

Nice to be indulging in a little vacation. Sharing a condo with friends. Two couples. It’s enough space but my energy veers away from the spectrum’s social end. I’m more internal. Like my writing. Routines. Those are all unintentionally trample by others. Because, to be normal in America means you stop what you’re doing. Socialize. ‘To have fun’. Just shut off one thing. Turn on the other. Doesn’t work like that for me. While the wife knows, she suffers it. So I suffer because she suffers. There.

My mental music today is “Push” by The Cure. Picked it up from my friend yonks ago. Think it came out in 1986. At least, that’s when I associate the song with my life. Could be wrong. Wouldn’t be the first. Could attempt to hunt down the correct year but I’m a little lazy this morning, sitting by the water in the shadows as the sun’s presence grows.

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask, and get that vax. Even talking a third shot. At least 99% of those encountered in stores and restaurants are masked. Bit reassuring. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Tuesday’s Theme Music

On the Oregon coast for today, Tuesday, August 17, 2021. Sunrise was at 6:20 AM. Sunset is at 8:09 PM.

Cool, here. Rained this morning. Ahhh. Rain and coffee. Is there a song for that? We expect a high of 64 degrees F. Brilliant, walking along in the cool, fresh air, going to a coffee shop in the early hours while the sun is still clearing its eyes behind a bank of clouds. Going into a funky coffee shop. Fantastic art by local artists on the walls. Fresh coffee. Fresh pastries. Fortunate to enjoy such things.

Back home, the woman staying in our house and taking care of the three amigos told us the smoke blew away after we left town. Yes, we’re taking it personally. The heat dome wandered on. Temperatures dropped by twenty degrees. Yes, we’re taking it personally.

Talking with friends about their lives, medicines, treatments, and ailments. Friend visited Pompei back in the mid seventies. I’m listening to the Bangles’ cover of “Hazy Shade of Winter” in my head. You know, “Time, time, time, see what you’ve done to me. While I looked around for my possibilities. I was so hard to please. Look around. Leaves are brown. And the sky is a hazy shade of winter.” It’s another terrific Simon & Garfunkel composition. Paul and Art released the original in 1966. The Bangles did their bang up in 1987. Here I am, thirty plus years later, listening via technology’s assistance. Do you have a preference between these two versions, or another?

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask, get the vax. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Monday’s Theme Music

A cool one is expected today, in the mid to upper eighties. Had some wind yesterday. The heat dome shrugged its shoulders. Smoke lessened. The sun became familiar, ah, sunny hues instead of a red hole in hell.

Sunrise today, Monday, 8/16/2021, will come at 6:17 AM. Sunset will bless us at 8:12 PM. For music, I’m stuck on a 1970 song, “The Rapper”, by The Jaggertz. “So he starts his rapping. Hoping something will happen. He’ll say he needs you, a companion, a girl he can talk to. He’s made up his mind, he wants someone to sock it to!”

Ha, sock it to. Have you heard anyone use that recently. It’s like, “Where’s the beef?” Or, “Mama mia, that’s some spicy meatball.” “Oh, he likes it. Hey, Mikey.” Or, um, twenty-one skidoo. Or groovy. Or even, “Who let the dogs out? Who, who, who?”

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask, get the vax, you know? Enjoy the music. Cheers

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