summer is definitely wrapping up....

and I can't really say that I like that. The down comforter goes back in the duvet cover tonight! And I am pulling the long-sleeved things to the front of my closet today.....and thinking of soup...with dumplings for dinner.

We had a lovely dinner party the other night...a goodbye to Dukie and family. It was fun to have the house full of people, and laughter and food, and love. I reckon there won't be so many of these moments for a while, the house crowded with dogs, elbows knocking into elbows, the good-natured teasings of good friends come together. I will miss them so much.
It certainly has been a summer of change...my emotions have run the gambit, and still are. My pack of plenty is down to just Eem-er and I most of the time now. Thank goodness she loves the U-Dog. At least she will be part of a pack still. Thank goodness I have work now, as well, and that I love it.
Well, it's time to get out of here for a bit...there is sunshine out those doors, even if the wind is chilly...and smells for Ee-mer to smell, and sights for me to see, pictures to take and discoveries to make. Tomorrow, I will download some of the photos off the camera and give you all a little update on the Hood. Some cool haps down this way...of course, lots of the same old crap, too! Talk to y'all later.

Ditto what Allium(Life in the Bathtub Racing Capitol) said...and the best friend the south end ever had

November 15th
Elect to Council
Gordon Fuller
Building Community
An Alternative to Vested Interests
In running for Council for the third time Gord believes he would bring a balanced perspective with both personal and professional experience around social issues as well as his involvement over the years with various community groups. A long time Social and Community activist Gord knows it is critical to recognise the importance of a healthy diverse economy in providing meaningful employment and the necessary tax base from which to run our fair city. “We need a strong advocate on council representing the interests of the South End, an advocate who also understands the issues in other areas of the city as well. There is much to be said for the Ward system as opposed to the at large. This becomes even more apparent when we consider South of the Hospital area has seen no elected representation for years.”Gord is a third generation Nanaimoite, himself having lived in Nanaimo for the past 27 years most spent in the South End and Downtown areas. In 2002 he completed a degree in Child & Youth Care at Malaspina University/College while working full time as manager of Samaritan House Emergency Shelter. Gord is currently employed with Nanaimo Youth Services Association as coordinator of their 20 unit Youth Housing Complex.Active in the community Gord Fuller is currently Co-Chair of the Nanaimo 7-10 Club Society, President of Friends of Plan Nanaimo, Vice President of the South End Community Association and Vice Chair of the Nanaimo Neighbourhood Netwerk. He is also an active participant on the Board of Citizens Advocacy as well as with the Downtown Nanaimo Partnership – Housing Design Development subcommittee, Working Group on Homeless Issues, Neighbours of Nob Hill, Nanaimo Old City Association and Mid Island Coalition for Strong Communities. Gord’s past community involvement has also been extensive including participation with the Nanaimo Crystal Meth Task Force, Nanaimo Alcohol and Drug Action Coalition, Working Group on Downtown Social Issues, Mental Health Advisory Council, City of Nanaimo Nuisance Property Committee, Nanaimo Social Development Strategy, S.A.F.E.R Downtown Nanaimo Project, Community Food Connection, Food Link Nanaimo, Action for Diversity Team and Nanaimo Food Share Society.“I believe Nanaimo is a unique city that still has an opportunity to work collectively towards not repeating the mistakes other cities have made in the past. We need to focus on the preservation of Nanaimo’s heritage with development that works in harmony with the waterfront and mountain vistas, maintaining the unique character of neighbourhoods and the community, Citizen Driven and Not Developer Driven. Smart Growth not rapid growth should determine Nanaimo’s future.”“We need to implement sustainable small-scale social programs that move away from the institutional and towards community integration. We must work towards Social Equality and the elimination of the endemic poverty that exists in Nanaimo. This process can be accomplished in part through innovative sustainable affordable housing options that do not place a greater burden on the already high taxes that exist in Nanaimo. It is imperative that we, as a community, recognize and value diversity and the potential of all citizens in contributing to make Nanaimo a vibrant and inclusive community.”In keeping with a vision of a healthy community Gord believes, “we must look towards the environment both urban and rural. Initiatives towards green energy, environmental protection and public ownership of our drinking water must be given priority.”Other Comments:Parks: “ From recreational to Tot Lots we need to ensure all of Nanaimo’s Parks are safe from rezoning in the future.”Water: “We need to ensure that privatization of water never comes up on the agenda of the municipality and Regional District. Nanaimo needs to look to the purchase of the watersheds surrounding our drinking water.”Planning: “Nanaimo is fast becoming a laughing stock, among communities across Canada, when it comes to urban planning. We need to implement smart growth principals creating density within, rather than by expanding, the urban containment boundary.”Development: “Neighbourhood involvement needs to be the first step for developers before taking their projects to the city for approval. “Housing & Homelessness: “The City of Nanaimo must lobby provincial and federal levels of government to work with the municipality in the provision of affordable/social housing and other means to end homelessness and poverty in Nanaimo.”Concentration of Social Services: “Most communities work from the adage that you put the services where the people are. This has tended to concentrate services in the downtown or bordering neighbourhoods and results in urban decay and the ghettoization of the community. Poverty is not located in any one area and as such we need to look at creating smaller scale services outside of the downtown areas. We need to move away from large scale all-in-one institutional settings.”
Food Security/Policy: “The City of Nanaimo must adopt a food charter coordinating municipal strategy that will encourage greater support for local food producers as well as allowing for the development of community gardens that would help provide food security to those in need in Nanaimo.”
Conflict of Interest: “If there is even a remote chance of conflict or perceived conflict of interest councilors must make it known.”Councilor behaviour at council meetings/public hearings: “The denigrating of people speaking to council must stop. All citizens coming before council must be treated with respect.”City Council Terms of Office: “Too often this has become a career, many having sat on council for 25 years or more. I believe we need to limit the number of terms a person sits on council to 2 or 3 at the most. This would allow for a quicker turnover to fresh ideas and enthusiasm on the part of newly elected municipal officials.”A strong believer in an open communication process you can feel free to contact Gord at:Ph: 250 754 6389e-mail: gorfathome@yahoo.ca
Posted by Allium at 8:04 PM
Tags: City Council, Community, Community Gathering, Homelessness, Nanaimo, Natural Living
3 comments
Sunday, September 7, 2008



so, hey, it's me now, Dilling. If you are reading this in Nanaimo...get out and vote...and make your vote count....make it count for something you believe in... You do have a voice...USE IT!

her first day of school....

Where does the time go?

I should start saving for her college tuition, eh?

moo

whew...........

Two years ago today we adopted Sylvan-Charlotte-Emma-Eemer from Beaglepaws....and life has been a learning experience ever since...for better and for worse. She starts U-Dog University this week...so that she learns something or, more likely, we do. However it works out, we still have "issues" to address, but we love her, all the same. That's why she starts University.

Back from another whirlwind camp trip to Nanaimo Lakes. We saw all the lakes, fished some, didn't catch a thing, and still didn't see any elk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, gotta go get to work...it's gonna be a busy week so if you don't hear from me, don't think too much of it. Should be quieter around here next week. Maybe.

Hope y'all had a good weekend and we'll talk soon?!?

ps....check out this!!!!!

reveries

So we headed off camping a few days ago....no major trip, just out of Here...I don't have much to say about it, other than it was just so good to get away...my mind is full of daydreams, Mellancamp lyrics, plans that could happen, things that might be, politics(let's NOT talk politics, though)....remember how I said that my brain has lots of noise a few posts ago? That's going on right now. Mostly, it's music, but not all of it. So, photos of camping and thoughts of random, sometimes shiny things..... Why is 40 such a big deal? There have been YEARS of my life where I didn't remember how old I was...for real. I don't remember being 24 at all. Is that weird? I don't feel much different than I did in my late 20's(mentally...physically, DAMN!!!!) and I think I should. Shouldn't I? Sometimes I think I should be further along than I am...more at peace, more comfortable in my skin...I actually think sometimes I am going backwards in those areas....but then I realize how often I laugh out loud...and feel, really FEEL things now. Even the uncomfortable things.

We set set the alarm to get up and watch the sunrise over the lake and then went back to bed. How funny are we? It was beautiful, though.

Right now in Washington State, they are trying to pass a Doctor Assisted Suicide Bill for people with terminal disease. My brother-in-law, whom I adore, is completely and vocally against it...with very convincing arguments that have nothing to do about God or sin....but I still intend to vote in favour of it, all the same. Wait...I wasn't going to talk politics...though there is nothing political about the time we all go Home. Sometimes, I gotta really, truly believe we all know when the time is right to just, simply, go Home. Somehow, I feel my time in Olympia next month will be nothing but political, at every turn....and I dread that. But I still love my family.

I spent 2 hours with an accupuncturist today. It is the first time in months without some remarkable pain....but somehow, I don't trust this reprieve. I can still feel where the pain is supposed to be. Does that make sense?

It's 9/11 then...I am still sitting alone on the floor of our house in Vancouver watching the towers fall through my tears, barely able to breathe, alone in a foreign country, unable to cross the closed borders even though I should be home, part of the collective pain, part of the collective suffering.....bleeding.

It's 9/11 now, and I feel we've learned nothing.

But the sun still rises and feels good on my skin....

and I can still find something magic just about anywhere, if I remember to take the time.

Eem-er's boyfriend, Dukie, is moving back to Ontario this month with his mom and dad. This neighbourhood seems so empty now. Except for the crack hookers.

"This getting older ain't for cowards."

And, I have felt like a bad country music fan...y'all know that we lost Jerry Reed on August 31, don't ya? Some of you may only recognize him as Burt Reynold's sidekick in Smokey and Bandit. If that's all you know, then look him up. He was so much more than that. We lost an artist, a musician, a songwriter...a good ole boy and a poet. Goodnight, Guitar Man, one sure can get lost in the Louisianna Bayou. Hope you found your way.

"I have worried about many things

most of which did not come to pass...." yeah, that's me, quoting Mellencamp. Maybe it's it is this whole coming up on 40 thing, thinking about how my life is(very good) and how it might have been(let's not go there, see earlier post)...if any one thing had been different, if I had not been strong enough, or brave enough, or crazy enough...or if the colour blue of the sky in Colorado had been something I had seen before... This post isn't about such introspection...at least not mine. It is about John Mellencamp's, though. And it's full of heel-stompin', emphasis marking statements about getting older , being tired and dying one day, about the eyes of heaven, about not being a coward without being a hero(not that he's not one of my heroes, cuz he absolutely is!!!!) As much as this music is about getting older and dying, it's about LIVING, about being a better person...something I can work on. How about you?

Yeah, I know, I told you about it before, but EVERY time I listen to this album, it just gets better. Like life-altering, jaw-dropping, holy-shit-that's-deep-and-I-wish-I-could-have-said-it-that-way better. Don't you love a real life songwriter? Just look up the lyrics...read them like a poem...read them like someone's secret diary....read them like it's your life. Read them like it's my life. Read them like it's your neighbour's life. Or someone you have never even met....now add the music....

"I realized our country has written some sad motherfuckin' songs. I wanted to see if I had it in me to write like that....I see darkness everywhere, and I have to write about it. I don't care if I just sell six records. All I can do is keep on writing songs and singing."
-- Mellencamp on Life, Death, Love and Freedom in Rolling Stone magazine's 2008 spring music preview issue.

You should buy this album. I doubt you'll regret it...and if you do regret , hold onto that cd until you're old enough to get it. He should sell at least seven albums. Don't you think?

The Rapture

All summer

I wandered the fields

that were thickening every morning,

every rainfall,

with weeds and blossoms,

with the long loops

of the shimmering,

and the extravagant-

pale as flames they rose

and fell back,

replete and beautiful-

that was all there was-

and I too

once or twice,

at least,

felt myself rising,

my boots

touching suddenly the tops of the weeds,

the blue and silky air-

listen,

passion did it,

called me forth,

addled me,

stripped me clean

then covered me with the cloth of happiness-

I think there is no other prize,

only rapture the gleaming,

rapture the illogical the weightless-

whether it be for the perfect shapeliness

of something you love-

like an old German song-

or of someone-

or the dark floss of the earth itself,

heavy and electric.

At the edge of sweet sanity open such wild,

blind wings.

(Mary Oliver)

Up to the Challenge?

CindyDianne has challenged us.... without cleaning it, we were to take a photo of our bedside table. And to tell what the "to do" list is regarding the stuff there. I don't know what that is supposed to tell you about me, but I am not afraid. And seriously, CindyDiane, I did not clean it for the photos. You may remember that I am that person who wanted a mop for her birthday last year(this year I want the Dexter book series, hint hint). This is just how it is...my "to do" list, at any given time, is to finish reading whatever four or five books I have on the go at the time. My bedside table is tiny for a reason...so that it can't collect stuff. There is a method to my madness, after all. A battery operated clock so that if the power goes out, the clock is still going. I used to have a glass of water bedside, but the kitty likes to put her feet in it while I was sleeping and taking a swig out of kitty foot flavoured water at 3am is disgusting...so bottled water it is(sorry, Al Gore.) The silver thing is my reading glasses case. I know I paid a good chunk of change for 20/20 vision, but sometimes the tiny print books are just TOO TINY of print these days....which brings me to my books. Yup. Usually four at a time...right now, it's five although the fifth one is on the living room bureau since it's about training dogs, and I am not training Eem-er at bedtime. Here, though, you will find I am reading this, and this, and this, and, finally, this. What are you reading???

Just to prove it's not a staged shot, CindyDianne, I'll add this one....note the bed is not even made and my ginormous stack of pillows is on the floor. I am currently sleeping with only pillow now, an ortho pillow, at that. I hate it. I miss all my pillows....oh, yeah, see the blue ball on the nightstand? It is for rolling along knots in your neck, back, etc....been having some neck and back pain lately...so on my to do list, STRETCHING exercises and possibly an accupuncture treatment....and maybe someday actually find out what causes this pain. And if you think my bedside table is boring....look at Michael's!

Just the remote for the fan/light fixture....what is it about men and remote controls?

K, that's it. The phone just rang and they are down one person at work...cold and flu season seems to have started.

bye now.

two days off....

and I am sick....go figure. Two days and all I have to show for it is two clean loads of laundry. Sigh. Snoozing on the couch watching Bob Ross painting happy little trees in his happy little world on public television...Fishbone tucked behind my knees and Eem-er curled against my belly kind of makes my little world a bit happier, even though I am mostly miserable...

ah well....

life happens.

I watched a flock of Canadian Geese from the back deck this morning. I think they were already heading south.

Talk to you all later.

Catching up.

Well, where to begin? It seems like it's been so long since we've walked together, doesn't it? I have been walking, though, but finding the time for photos, photoshop, putting together a post and thinking of what to say seems impossible lately. Even today...I have got to be out the door in about half an hour...it took so long to load these photos that I ran out of time...again. Yesterday, the rains returned but mostly the past couple of weeks have been hot and dry...really hot, some days. Not that I would ever complain about that. You know how thin my blood is. The arbutus and garry oaks out at Piper's Lagoon looked stunning against that summer sky, and the grasses are just now turning that delicious shade of yellow that glows so heartbreakingly golden in the sunsets. You know the yellow I mean, right? And the sunsets have been gorgeous lately, too.

At Bowen Park, we stumbled across this dapper fella. He wasn't too worried about us following him around with the camera. Lucky us.

Harewood Mines Road is stunning right now, too. The last of the huckleberries are getting wrinkley on the bushes, the grasses make the sound of a rattle when you walk through them. Eem-er and I have been walking up there in the early mornings before work to try and wear her out while I am gone. There are rabbits EVERYWHERE up there at 6:30 am...and the thing is this, Eem-er doesn't get worn out and the seperation anxiety is still very worrisome, ....today we meet with the U-Dog guy here in Nanaimo to begin working on this(and other) bothersome behaviour(s). Fingers crossed.

Got these chairs at the thrift store...hate that Southwest materiel, love the chairs. So off to the fabric store where I found this stellar materiel that matches the dark wood and my blue wall. Not too shabby, eh?

My garden...remember my garden? The passionflower is going nutters. Smells like candy. The kiwi vines are crazy but still not producing any fruit. Pretty much, the whole garden was a big disappointment this year. Such a late start to good weather, so few bees....we got some blueberries, a handful of raspberries, the lettuce is bonkers and the carrots are coming on...but the cukes didn't cuke, the pumpkins are dismal, no eggplants, no cantaloupe....sigh.

We did get peaches though!!!!!! Right now, I am finishing up an Apricot/Peach/Cranberry Chutney on the stove. We'll break it out for Thanksgiving. Although I will be in Washington for the Canadian Thanksgiving. I gotta get home and see my folks and friends. It's been too long. I'll just have to make my turkey when I get back. Also today, gotta make up another batch of Rhubarb Nectar to freeze for the winter months, AND get to the farmer's market to buy two pounds of Basil to make enough Pesto for the year....after meeting the U-Dog guy...sheesh, my days off are busier than the days I work.

I did sleep in one day, though.

Been falling in love, too. My next-door neighbour just got two puppies....one is for her mother-in-law, though I pleaded with her to tell her in-law that he(the pup) got lost in the shipping or something....

Nom nom nom....ooooooooooh, I lovers him so.

Eem-er discovered a rabbit living in the yard up the end of the block. Now she is obsessed and I have to be so very careful that she doesn't have any way to escape the house anymore. AAAiiiieeeeee!!!! As if we needed one more behaviour issue!!!!

And, of course, the Hood. There is an alley across Nicol Street that has become the new hangout. And, of course, the crackheads are congregating in groups of 20+ again. Same old mob mentality coming across, intimidating the folks that live there, harassing the residents. How bad will it have to get? How much garbage and filth will they leave behind and the city won't clean it or do anything about it? Anytime I go out on my porch, I can see them there. At night, the glow of crackpipes is like some sick, twisted Christmas tree. The drug deals and the open use of drugs happening right there just like it had been up here last year....deal after deal after deal being made. It's ridiculous.

And a whole new batch of hookers out now, too. It just never ends.

Well, looky that! Had enough yet?

My time is up and I am at the last photo. Go figure. So, I gotta go now, walk the dog, run a couple of errands, pick up some cash for U-Dog guy and the farmer's market, get home, meet the U-Dog guy, do Eem-er's evaluations, go to the farmer's market, come home, make two+ pounds of pesto, dinner, have a drink, collapse into bed and be back to work in the morning. I had four days off and I am exhausted!!!!

Talk at you later?

miss me yet????

Two more working days, then four days off.
We'll go walking, and I will tell you about the neighbourhood b.s, and maybe we'll go out to Coomb's(I am out of Key Lime Juice!!!)....I'll sleep in at least once. Sigh.

Still here.........

Working lots these past couple weeks....things should quiet down after the coming weekend and I will try to catch up. Michael just got home on Saturday night(so good to have him home) and back to work today, which is my day off...so I had a nice lunch on the patio of the Fox and Hound Pub with just girls... and Pimms. Cheers, Tod. I had to to try it. I was so curious. It was yummy...but could be a dangerous drink....you hardly know you're drinking!
So, I have stuff to post and photos and all, but time gets away from me these days. Who knew the days could be so short?!? I had all the time in the world a few months ago. Yesterday was spent catching up a week's worth of chores. Today, after some errands this morning, a walk with Eem-er and then lunch....it's after 3 already!!!! Yikes.
So...don't give up on me yet. Next week should be much quieter. I may not even know what to do with myself!

sssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhh,,,,,,

not found on any maps....don't get lost.

yeah, hey neighbours....so sorry about today

Sigh. My fears were not unfounded. Today, home alone, Eem-er apparenty scaled the shelves in the plant room(and didn't knock anything over!), flipped the latch on the push open type window and got out onto the deck....which would have been a few foot drop from the window. So, it goes without saying, she was out there ALL DAY LONG cuz she couldn't climb back in. Apparently, she was howling the entire time. Sweet. Eight hours or so. Yeah, my neighbours love me today. Lots.
It was 31 degrees Celcius today...nearly 88 Farenheit, for those of you south of the border... stuck on a hot deck with no water, little shade, all day, no stairs to the yard(thank goodness or she would have picked the lock on the back gate and disappeared, or whatever, the little escape artist)...I feel like the worst doggie mom ever.
And no dog sitter again tomorrow, either.

I apologize in advance.

four minutes and counting

until bedtime...actually a late bedtime, considering. I am working lots the next two weeks and there is lots of peripeheral stuff going on, too. I wish Michael were home now, but it's okay. It's just cuz things seem to be gettin out of hand, and I worry. I worry about Eem-er home alone, and the heat with this weather. My dog sitter is unavailable for the next couple of days but I still feel guilty even though I KNOW all is well, and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people, leave their dogs to go to work every day. And meeting friend(s) in some sort of crisis a-couple-of -few-times this week is cutting into what dog time I do have. Why is everyone always in crisis mode at the same time? Why do things always work out like that?

Anyhoo, four minutes is up...and then some.

gotta get up early and get out for a long dog walk(instead of my run) in the morning...and should have been in bed a while ago...

i miss taking pictures, ya know?

and i miss all of you out there, too.

well, nighty night, then.

sweet dreams

wow

So, yeah...home alone...it's been a while. You forget things...like eating alone, doing things alone, sleeping alone....
last night i was trying to sleep and a damn truck was parked outside idling....checked the window and the old fucker was sending his young buck down to the crackhouse. I went outside in my pjs and took two flash photos and the guy took off like a bat outta hell in his big shiny new red truck with no front plate(illegal in BC so he's from somewhere else....hmmm, where might that be?). this morning i saw his young man still wandering the neighbourhood lost...maybe i should feel bad, but i don't. not really. i live here.
today i went to see the X-Files movie...in a theatre....by myself. yeah. i am THAT nerd, but the nerd down the row from me(also there by himself) was laughing out loud at little quips the movie made about the series, the little homages, as if he was the only one who got the joke...at least i wasn't THAT nerd!!!!!!!!! whew.
i bbqed!!!!!!!!!! yep. i did. by myself. and? it was edible!!!!!
got in an arguement with a crackhead hooker out front, too, today....she moved on, though. And another stand off with crack heads in the alley. Those ones are gone, too. Though it is getting real busy around here again...no thanks to the crackhouse down on Finlayson. If the RCMP are reading this...that house is BUSY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And nobody is smart enough to hide what they're up to so could you do something about it?!?! Please?!?!?!?!?
Crazy, isn't it????

Happy Birthday, Maggie.

I can still feel you curled up at my feet at night...so can Eem-er, apparently. She won't lay in your spot.

I still miss you so very much.....how can I still miss you this much?!?

I hope you are feeling better there....hope you are chasing rabbits like a whirlwind.... I hope you and Crook are still together.

Before you know it, we'll be talking again(cuz that's just how it's gotta work wherever you are, right?)...I have so much to tell you.

and you can finally tell me about all those things you read in the wind....and I will finally be able to hear you again.

I love you, my bestest. Be so very good.

Sleep well and sound, Mr. Solzhenitsyn. "One word of truth outweighs the whole world."

just rambling on................

Michael left on his trip this morning...a week + of camping without me....it is pouring down rain right now, AND the route he intended to take has been buried the other night under a rockslide. His overnight stops on the way to Hat Creek must be on his mind as he drives the Frasier Canyon route instead of the Pemberton route... I hope he finds somewhere as pretty as where he had been going to go. And I hope the rain stops soon so that he can have a comfortable camp.
Today I haven't done too much. Just cleaning up after the Pest Control people who came and gassed the house for carpenter ants....damned things! We could hear them munching the wood in the ceiling of the basement!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!! Just can't seem to get ahead on the bills...we finally got a month with money left over in the bank only to have call in pest control. Go figure.
Anyhoo, trying to figure out some fun things to keep myself from missing Michael and this trip too much. Going to go see the new X-Files for sure, since Michael didn't want to see it anyway...planning a movie and mojito with my friend Michelle...so far, that's all I got. I doubt that's enough to keep me from missing him and missing this trip(to see old friends and family), but it's alright. Having the house to myself for a while is kind of a treat, too. I can order pineapple on my pizza, don't have to share my ice cream and I get ALL the pillows AND all the blankets AND can take up as much bed as I want.
Sigh.
Obviously my attempts at distraction will have to be better!
Talk to y'all later.
Maybe I'll have more to talk about.
G'nite.

Life is short, even in it's longest days

Been passing some time the past couple days with some old friends....

Oh my goodness, Peoples! Check out this album, Two Men With the Blues! You won't regret it!!!!!!!!!!!! Sweet, sweet New Orleans sound with Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis. It's brilliant. And not just cuz I love Willie. You will find your head bopping, your foot tapping...trust me. And Mickey Raphael on that harmonica???? Lordy, lordy. It's one VERY fine collaboration....and a must have.

And then?


Check out this juicy-ness, John Mellancamp's Life Death Love and Freedom. You gotta listen to the words...a few times...it's good the first time you hear it...by the third time, you're hooked. Really.
John Mellancamp AND T-Bone Burnett?
Y'all know T-Bone's last merge with rock, right? History in the making.

Is there anything finer than when musicians who love the music more than the notoriety find each other? When those with the story to tell forget there are such labels as Rock, Pop, County, Alternative, Blues, Jazz, Rap, Whatever...and all they can hear, and all they can say is that the it's the message and the telling of the story matters?
That is the stuff of legends.

Hello, Dolly

Everyone see the weather news the past couple of days? South Padre Island got hit, but good. And Brownsville, Matamoros, Harlingen, etc. If you all remember, South Padre Island is my old stomping grounds. It is where I finally found my "out loud" voice to match my "inside voice," it is yet another small town that I fell in love with(except during Spring Break), it is where I made many small and insignificant stands in my life that turned out to mean the world to me, it is where I walked the beaches every single morning and every single afternoon with my very best friend.... it is where Michael and I met and fell in love...it holds a special place in my heart. In the four years I lived there, I evacuated twice due to hurricane warnings, and sat through one storm, trying to hold my front door shut while the wind wanted to pull it off. It hit so fast, there were no storm warnings. Technically speaking, it wasn't even a hurricane, but a straight wind of 100+ miles per hour, creating a couple small tornados....and a whole lot of damage...once I watched a water spout hit the causeway, the only way off the island. Just after 9/11(so it barely got any news coverage), a barge ran into the support beams of that causeway, collapsing a large section of the bridge. 11 cars fell over the edge. 8 people died. Some of them, people I once knew.
And again, people I once knew are facing the hazards of gulf living...and I hope they are all well and safe. My prayers and wishes are with you all.
This was my first(short-lived) job in Padre...at the Radisson.

This is a couple blocks from my apartment on the bayside...although, it's hard to tell. It may actually be the corner of my street. It's been a while, and I don't technically "recognize" that building, but the docks look right. When I stayed through the one storm, those docks were flying debris in the air, and the guy who owned that building(which may be the same one with a facelift) had just brought in a pontoon boat for doing dinner cruises...literally. It had been tied at the dock for one day. That storm picked it up straight out of the water and put it back in....upside down.

This was Padre Boulevard yesterday, the main road. The whole island is a barrier island. Maybe 6-8 blocks wide, at it's widest point. Hightest elevation is about 25 feet above sea level. Obviously a lot less yesterday.
The hotel where Michael and I used to go watch Big Band Phil play once a week for date night got hit pretty hard. By the way, Sandyfeet, that's her photostream there with Big Band Phil, is a bit of a local celebrity. There's bound to be some good storm photos on that sight soon. Once the power is back up.

Anyhoo, I have been a little ocd with the news today... trying to catch of glimps of anything I recognize...or anyone.

So, you all take care out there.

Stay safe and dry.

Be well.

Mindful

Every day
I see or hear
something
that more or less
kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle
in the haystack
of light.
It was what I was born for -
to look, to listen,
to lose myself
inside this soft world -
to instruct myself
over and over
in joy,
and acclamation.
Nor am I talking
about the exceptional,
the fearful,
the dreadful,
the very extravagant -
but of the ordinary,
the common,
the very drab,
the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help
but grow wise
with such teachings
as these -
the untrimmable light
of the world,
the ocean's shine,
the prayers that are made
out of grass?
(Mary Oliver)