He remembered the time someone he loved told him that she hated him.
Burned like a hot knife across his back. Sickened like food poisoning. He thought she loved him.
The hatred on her face.
The way she crushed the words.
Friday’s Theme Music
We have safely reached the familiar territory called ‘Friday’. Of less familiarity is the date, April 7, 2023. April has been logged in the past, so we have some expectations sunk into us. 2023 has been going long enough to see how the pattern might be shifting. But humans, you know. They make things change.
It’s 44 today in Ashlandia, with rain expected off and on throughout the day. Clouds have been assembled to make it so. Daylight hours are from 6:43 to 7:43, AM/PM respectively, Ashlandia Time. High temperature will find the thermometer licking the mid fifties.
Much U.S. news is about the different elections held across the nation this week and their results, and what’s it all mean, along with former POTUS Trump’s arrest, and what it means, and Supreme Court Justice Thomas and the gifts he received from a wealthy conservative donor, and what it means. Some columnists and talking heads are suggesting that if the former president is convicted, President Biden should pardon him. One columnist cites former President Ford’s comments about impeached President Nixon:
“Our nation is under the severest of challenges now to employ its full energies and efforts in the pursuit of a sound and growing economy at home and a stable and peaceful world around us. We would needlessly be diverted from meeting those challenges if we as a people were to remain sharply divided over whether to indict, bring to trial, and punish a former president.”
A noble thought. I’m not sure it’s the wisest idea. First, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other countries flexing their military muscle, I don’t know that I’d call the world stable and peaceful, though was it when President Ford pardoned the former president? Richard Nixon didn’t have a base threatening violence while flying NAZI and Confederate flags and pursuing a fascist agenda. Nor was the Republican Party of that era busy stripping the government of regulatory oversight in multiple areas, trying to remain in power through gerrymandering and limiting voting to favor their ranks and candidates. The cultural rollback which the GOP fronts is not supported by the nation’s majority, but they are determined to do it.
Coffee shop eavesdropping once again — Writer 101 — found two young women speaking with an older women. Young = twentyish, older = fortyish. Had me wondering about relationships as I often do watching people meet in the coffee place. They were within my immediate circle, ten feet away. Like everyone, they were noticed, catalogued, and then dismissed as full-bore writing mood was engaged. Their voices were loud, reminding me of one family group we have who have booming stage voices employed non-stop, and a like friend, who was always attracting attention (and counseling at work) because of her loud voice. Two of these women were loud voiced, and their statements kept puncturing the writing barrier. As part of that, one said, “Well, the reason is you.”
Oh, damn. The Neurons immediately dialed up Hobostank with their 2004 song, “The Reason”, because their main refrain is, “The reason is you.” The song gained strength when I was walking later, and now occupies the morning mental music stream. I believe sharing is needed to dislodge it. Here you are. I find this recorded ‘live’ version very engaging.
Stay pos, and storm Friday like it’s a pivotal day for you, because it could be. I’m gonna storm a cup of coffee now. Here’s ‘stank and their tune. Cheers
Monday’s Theme Music
It’s snowing. Snowed last night, too. Snow accumulated, slipshod in the quantity and depths. Two inches on the house’s northern side. Barely there on the south. Nevertheless, snow in an accumulation has the floofstamp of disapproval. Wind has picked up, too, a double bogey for the cats. There is sunshine but feels like an imitation of actual sunshine, not much glow to its shine, and little heat.
I watch the dogwalkers shuffle past, dogs on leashes behind them. The dogs seem to want to continue smelling and investigating but their stony-faced people want none of that, tugging on leashes, urging the pooches, come on. The dogs particularly like my front bushes, where the cats go in and out of the yard. I see dogs draw up and turn back, expression lively as they hustle back, asking themselves, hey, what’s that smell? That smells interesting. But the unsmelling people pull them on before more than a few olfactory cells can be indulged.
It’s April 3, 2023, for the record. Monday. Up to 34 F now. 28 was our low last night, a very un-Ashlandian spring night, what with snow gently covering the plants. Clouds throng like coeds on a spring break beach. Rain is expected, and a high of 42 F before the sun sashays over the horizon at 7:40 this evening.
A song emerged from people watching while shopping yesterday. A young blonde girl in big rubber boots followed Mom as Mom shopped and talked about what she needed. The girl, who seemed about six in this reporter’s guess, had a blank stare and was totally unengaged. This prompted The Neurons to power up Mick and the Stones with a 1978 country-western song they wrote and performed called “Far Away Eyes”. I heard it off the album, Some Girls, when it was released. Over twenty years later, I discovered a video of it and had a good laugh at Mick’s performance. Found it for you this morning.
Stay pos. Hope your day has begun well and just keeps getting better, and that’s not meant in a sarcastic way. I have coffee, so I’m pretty set for the next five minutes. Here are the Stones. Cheers
Sunday’s Wandering Thought
He was at the coffee shop. Two men of his age were at the next table. They were trying to remember war movies and their stars, and struggling. He passed on telling them who was in The Great Escape, The Longest Day, Where Eagles Dare, and The Bridge at Remagen. Surprising that he could easily remember all that stuff, he remarked to himself, pleased. Just one of those days.
But he had to step up to the other table when they couldn’t recall the name of the movie with Clint Eastwood, Donald Sutherland, Don Rickles, and Telly Selvales. “Kelly’s Heroes,” he finally called out.
“Thank you,” they answered.
He nodded. “Welcome.” Just doing his civic duty.
Friday’s Theme Music
Ordinarily, I love this time of year. The air smells fresh after the winter scrub and temperatures are moderate. Blooms crack out of the ground and raise their heads, unfolding their colors. We’re still waiting for most of that. We’re on winter/spring seasaw, and winter has the better of spring on most days. High and low temperatures are ten to twelve degrees (F) below normal for this period. It’s 37 F now. Clouds are positioning on the western horizon.
Earth’s orbit still brings some reasons to rejoice, like sunshine. This time of year, it floods the master BR through the massive slider on the eastern side. Out in the dining room, sunshine steals in through the dining room southern windows and grows bolder. Back in the MBR, the sunshine fills the room and then slides south into the living room’s eastern windows. Finally rising above the trees and mountains, sunshine fills the living room’s eastern and southern windows, along with the dining room’s windows. Fabulous.
The blinds are raised. The floofs absolutely adore finding those huge stretches of sunshine. We have mixed flooring — bare hardwood, rugs, and then carpets. The floofs find their warmth intoxicating. They settle in spots. Synchronized grooming commences. Then, naps.
Today is March 31, 2023, March’s last day, and Friday. Winter storm watches and advisories are up for Ashlandia from tonight at 11 PM through Sunday night. Saturday through Tuesday calls for snow and rain. Up to 24 inches of accumulation, depending on your elevation and location. I think we’ll see some snow around my Ashlandia hood, but not much.
Watching and reading the political news in wake of the Nashville murders of six people and the D.C. debt ceiling talks and Jordan’s performance at his committee hearings, The Neurons punched up a 1972 Steely Dan song, “Only A Fool Would Say That”. Echoes my comments about what I was hearing and reading: only a fool would say that.
Stay pos., and enjoy whatever you can. I’m enjoying waffles and coffee, watching the floofs sleep in sunshine, and the build-up to shifting into the writing day. Kind of like getting ready for a championship game, with less commentary and commercials.
Have a better one. Here’s the music. Cheers
Tuesday’s Theme Music
It’s Tuesday again. Seems like it was just last week that it was Tuesday. The way these days just keep coming around can drive you nuts if you think about it. Answer from friends and wife: don’t think about it. snort
It’s March 28, 2023. 2023’s first quarter is coming to an end. Time to close the books, take stock of how ya did, and make adjustments. It’s a spring-winter day here — sprinter — with snow and cold temperatures refusing to stop threatening us. Dropped to 36 F last night, which is warmer than we’ve been having at night, but lower than Ashlandia’s typical nighttime temperatures.
It’s 37 F now. No blue sky, just a white plain illuminated by sunshine from behind, and a few small flurries sometimes spilling down. Sunrise was a little before seven and sunset will come at 7:30 PM.
Papi was out enjoying this for about four minutes and twenty seconds before beating on the front door. He’d been let out the back. Usually, with our eaves, he can walk around the house without getting wet but today’s winds have the rain slanting in from the east — the backyard, so he stepped out into it. Upon his return inside, the ginger floof galloped around the living room, through the dining room and down a hall and back three times. I believe he was trying to air dry himself by running fast.
Big new today: they changed Wordle.
I have a song out of 2009 called “Check My Brain” by Alice In Chains going round and round (you know, like the Ratt song?) in my morning mental music stream. When I first heard it on its release, there was no doubt it was AIC. They have interesting indelible vocal mixes. Today’s song came from my wife’s comment last night because she couldn’t remember something, announcing, “Check my brain. Is it still there?” The Neurons were all like, “Ooo, ooo, I know that song,” and commenced playing.
Stay positive. Hope your weather is lovely where you’re at and you have a chance to enjoy it. Seize the day! I’ve seized the coffee. It’s a start. Here’s the music. Cheers
Sunday’s Theme Music
It’s a beautiful December morning outside the window. Snow graces the ground and plants. Clouds promise more clouds. 32 F out there but a comfy 68 in here, thanks to the heating industry. All that would be great, but this is March 26, 2023, and we’re beginning another week of spring. Someone pass the message on to the weather deities, please.
Although the Mt. Ashland ski resort is pleased, the rest of us are more perplexed than happy. Snow was not in our end of March plans. Leading the list of the dissatisfied are the cats. The in/out game is in play each morning and afternoon. Fortunately, yesterday, after the morning’s snow, sunshine bulled through the cloud cover, delivered us from the snow, and shared some shine, pushing temps to the mid-forties. The weather conductors tell us the same will be the case today. Despite the wintry scene, we will have over twelve hours of daylight, and that’s a good thing.
Today, I have “Metal Guru” by T. Rex from 1972 bubbling in the morning mental music stream. I first heard it on some late-night music show on AM radio while driving my 1965 Mercury Comet home from my girlfriend’s house. The car was a hand-me-down from the period’s stepmother, a forest-green sedan with a solid 289 V8. My girlfriend lived out in the country on twenty-some acres with no neighbors within shouting range. I lived back in a small town, Daniels, 10 miles away, about twenty minutes by the Comet late at night. I found the lyrics and its nuances mesmerizing and picked them up, singing to my girlfriend. She didn’t know what the hell I was going on about but she was used to that. I was considered a bit out there. Despite that, she married me, and we’re still together, a half century later.
I haven’t thought of this song in years. Nor have I heard it. The Neurons dusted it off after the cats and I were talking about their breakfast preferences. For some reason, The Neurons thought this intersection of action and conversation should be noted with the lyrics, “Metal guru, is it you?” Except I was singing, “Little kitty cat, is it you?” Then the rest flowed in and I realized, oh, yeah. T. Rex.
Ah, sunshine is exploding in through the eastern windows. Looks like spring is returning. Winter is melting away…again. Stay positive. Hope you have a lovely day underway whatever you’re doing out your way. I’ve just kickstarted my heart with some coffee. Breakfast awaits. Here’s the tune.
Cheers
Saturday’s Theme Music
Morning salutations. It’s Saturday, March 25, 2023. Tucker used a querulous old man filter on his morning meow, forcing me up earlier than wanted. You know how persistence a querulous old man can be? Tucker has learned it. Anyway, the blinds were pulled up and there it was, two inches of snow. Well, they’d warned us. Snow was still falling. At 33 F, it’s not the thick stuff, but a wet slush piling up. Piling up is too dramatic; it’s just edging up. Supposed to reach 44 today, the weather masters say. So snow will stop and rain will commence. The temp will crash back into the high twenties tonight, and snow will commence again.
Sunrise was at 7:05. I can’t swear to that, because, clouds and snow. It’s just one big white slouchy pillow up there, draped down over the mountains. Pretty yesterday after the snow because we had a dramatic scene to the northeast, blackening clouds plopped on top of unkempt white and gray clouds, crashing an the snowy mountains all the way down to the snowline, where it went solid green. That’s all gone today.
About this snow, though, it graciously doesn’t stay on the pavement and asphalt, so those are clear of snow but wet. So, we’re muttering abut the snow because this is spring, thanks, and, like white shoes, snow is supposed to have its season. But we’re are pleased that driving is not impacted…much. The snow adds to the bank and we’ll need that this summer. Probably. I’m guessing.
The cats saw the snow, felt the cold, ate, and announced, “Screw this,” and went back to sleep.
Shelters are open for the homeless but it’s not a clean scene. Hot meals are served twice a day for them but at another location as the shelters are basically churches and the library. Some homeless are camping in the parks. I’m fine with it in principle but locals around those areas complain about the smells that end up arising because of people using alleys and areas around the parks as latrines. That also makes it a health hazard.
The Neurons’ music choice came out of a memory track. The track began by generally walking and thinking. Somehow, Cream and “Badge” emerged from sleeping in the gray vaults to play in my head. After they played, I recalled that a female group had once come out with their version of “Badge”. The Neurons were sent to excavate the name. Eventually it came back, Fanny. I’d mentioned Fanny to several people through the years but nobody ever knew them. My mind questioned whether they existed in this reality or it was something I’d made up. Perhaps, gentle suggestions were made, I had the name wrong. All possible.
But with the net, I looked up Fanny this morning and confirmed they were real. Then I found some terrific videos someone had made of them. Time was spent listening to them, enjoying the sound. I played “Badge” but also several other videos, including, “Hey Bulldog”. I always enjoyed it, so here it is.
Already had coffee. Soon as I saw the snow, mind ordered it now, hot and black. Stay pos and take the day. Here’s Fanny – hope you enjoy them. Cheers
Friday’s Theme Music
Good mornin’. It’s Friday again, March 24, 2023, for the first time, we think.
Shakers of snow have spilled in several places. Tiny flakes laze from a pewter sky. Sun arrived a while again but the clouds have the numbers. 34 F now, the weather lizards explained with great showmanship it will reach 44 F.
Snow earned the cats’ disapproval. Tucker ate and found a warm space. Papi checked the front, back, front, back, front, back, front, back, and finally accepted that no comforting levels of sunshine could be found. Whiskers drooping in disapproval, he’s lounging on the sofa.
Meanwhile, I’ve retreated to the office with a cuppa coffee. With little solar energy feeding me, I needed a brew stat. Musically, The Neurons have imposed some Green Day in the morning mental music stream. I’m listening to “Holiday” (2005). Written in the aftermath of 9/11 and the retaliatory war started by Dubya’s administration, the songwriter was pissed and let fly his feelings. I shared them, because we were warned about WMD even though just months before, Colin Powell was reassuring us they weren’t there. Cheney had a different feel for it and added by Curveball, pushed for the war. They said it was gonna be a cake walk. Said it would pay for itself. Sure. Yeah, it was all dressed up very pretty in patriotism and UN resolutions, but it never made sense. Still does not.
Here’s the music. I wish you all a happy Friday. Stay pos. Cheers
Wednesday’s Theme Music
Today is Wednesday, March 22, 2023. That means it’s World Water Day! Children around the world celebrate as water fairies come to them at night and throw water on them. Parents don’t know about the water fairies and accuse the children of wetting themselves. “It was the water fairies,” the children protest. “Don’t lie to me,” parents reply. “There are no water fairies.”
The parents, sadly, are right. No water fairies exist. That’s why we have this international observance. From Wikipedia.org, “World Water Day is an annual United Nations (UN) observance day held on 22 March that highlights the importance of fresh water.” Many around the world don’t have regular access to fresh water, a number that the UN puts at 1 out of every 4. True in the United States, too, which many proudly claim as the world greatest nation. Drought, overuse, and pollution has damaged or destroyed water supplies in the U.S. We’re trying to build them back up and be smarter in our use, but it takes a nation, and we’re pretty divided on matters, even matters like water.
The sun climbed over the hills and mountains east of Ashlandia at 7:08 this morning and will disappear over the Earth’s curvature at 7:26 this evening. Puffy, flat, fragmented white clouds obscure the sun and blue sky. It’ll rain today, the weather fornicators inform us. Current temp is 42 — F, you know — and it’ll climb into the upper fifties, despite the clouds and rain. Not much rain will fall, less than a twentieth of an inch. Upon hearing this, the house floofs, Tucker and Papi, demanded to be let out to enjoy the day before the rain arrived. Smart cats. Yeah.
With talk about rain and water, The Neurons have poured a long list of songs about the subjects into the morning mental music stream. Think about it and you’ll probably find some favorites of your own about rain or water. Elvis P., Deep Purple, Simon and Garfunkel, CCR, BJ Thomas, Joey Bishop, Billy Joel, the Eurythmics, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton, the Beatles, are among the many who had rain or water songs. Those are performers from the first half of my life. Add to them the many, many performers who added more, such as Avril Lavigne, Billie Eilish, and Adele. Rain, water, etc., is a popular theme for music.
In the end, I went with Radiohead, “High and Dry”, 1995. Just like its vibe. Good reflective song, and a solid addition to a cup of coffee.
Stay pos. Begin with the end in mind and make Wednesday worth remembering. I have my coffee, thanks, but I might get a warmer. Stay strong. Here’s the beats.
SPECIAL NOTE: The clouds overtook the sun and the cats have returned to inside the house. Cheers
Michael Seidel, writer 