Harrison 2015-2022
We loved you so much
Happy birthday mom
My mother (1938-1997) would have been 83 years old yesterday. I miss her every day, but I can smile now when thinking about her. Not always, but usually.
My mom’s favorite musical artists were Simon & Garfunkel or Paul and Artie as she called them. She owned every album they released both together and as solo artists up through 1997 when she died. I grew up listening to their music. I know every word to every one of their songs as a duo and many of their solo songs. Almost all songs performed by Simon & Garfunkel are written by Paul Simon.
My mom played her music at full volume. We kids could hear it playing outside across the street. No one ever complained to my knowledge. My parents owned a motorhome in which our family took vacations every year. We owned a Ute Liner which is green and white. Simon & Garfunkel have a song called “Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine. Our parents led us to believe that our Ute was a BBGPM. In our naivete we believed it. It’s a fun song, but we didn’t understand most of it. At least, I didn’t.
In honor of Mom on her birthday, I will share some of our favorites here.
Talk about name dropping! With this song, “A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara’d Into Submission)”. I had to learn who all these people were. And what desultory and philippic meant.
Funny, but a touch risque. The song is called “Baby Driver”.
I Do believe it’s true……
Blessed are the….. an updated 60s version of the Beatitudes.
This short, intense song is wonderful.
“Punky’s Dilemma” might make somebody smile.
This is a song that is often called “Feelin’ Groovy”. It’s actual name is “The 59th Street Bridge Song”. I hope some of these songs made some of you feel groovy.
Most people have heard the song “Cecilia”. At our house this song was turned up to 11. I picture my Mom dancing around the house, listening at top volume while doing laundry or cooking dinner. Always smiling while listening to Paul and Artie.
Happy birthday Mom. I sure miss you!
Within You, Without You
Reading these lyrics with today’s issues in mind make George sound like he knew a thing or two.
WITHIN YOU, WITHOUT YOU
We were talking about the space between us all
And the people who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion
Never glimpse the truth
Then it’s far too late
When they pass away
We were talking about the love we all could share
When we find it, to try our best to hold it there with our love
With our love, we could save the world, if they only knew
Try to realise it’s all within yourself
No one else can make you change
And to see you’re really only very small
And life flows on within you and without you
We were talking about the love that’s gone so cold
And the people who gain the world and lose their soul
They don’t know
They can’t see
Are you one of them?
When you’ve seen beyond yourself then you may find
Peace of mind is waiting there
And the time will come when you see we’re all one
And life flows on within you and without
youSource: MusixmatchSongwriters: Harrison George
My golden slippers
I love the musical Into the Woods. It’s a story about a childless baker and his wife who try to break the curse of the vindictive witch who lives next door. It’s her curse keeping the couple childless. In the process of looking for a cow as white as milk, hair as yellow as corn, a cape as red as blood, and a slipper as pure as gold in order to break the curse, they come upon many characters from nursery rhymes and children’s stories who help and hinder the couple’s search. It’s a fun musical. Chris Pine is in the movie. Ahh, Chris Pine…..
Anyway.
I recently purchased my own golden “slippers”. Now all I need is the cow, hair, and cape as red as blood. I have two capes, but they’re both gray. I don’t really need to break a curse and both my closest neighbors are great. Still, I liked these golden slippers.
I ordered them and waited the alloted time for them to be delivered. The day they arrived it felt like my birthday! Not quite like the day the new phone books were here and I was SOMEBODY, but still a great day as days go. They were so shiny! And GOLD!! Pretty flashy and fine. I was just going out and I put them right on.
I was looking great! Black capris, nice top, and my beautiful golden slippers.
I got some looks. Obviously, people liked my shoes. They probably were thinking, Hey, I wonder where I, too, can get her cool look. No one asked, but they’ll probably look it up online.
Yep, that’s me, Ms. Cool. I’m not sure why my grown children don’t see me that way…..
If you like musicals and haven’t seen Into the Woods, you might like to give it a gander.
Peace, Love, and Happiness all.
My own room
I recently came home from a wonderful, week-long trip out of state to visit my aunt. I had a lovely time.
My husband stayed home with our two cats, since he couldn’t get time off work. While I was gone, we made video calls. Something new for us oldies.
Every night I asked him how things were going and what he was up to. He told me the cats were fine and he wasn’t doing anything except hanging around. He had promised me that while I was gone he was going to clean out some space in our upstairs room so I could sew there. He kept saying he would get to it; don’t worry. Since he volunteered to do this, I wasn’t going to nag him. If he got it done, great, if not that’s okay, he would soon.
What a wonderful person! When I got home I discovered that my husband had put together a beautiful room for all my hobbies. I now had my sewing machine, cutting table, places for all my yarn work and cross stitch, a table for model car building, books, stereo, tv, dvd player, and a portable, powerful air conditioner to keep me cool(er). I’m already cool.
My new room also has most of my different fandom items and posters displayed. My Harry Potter, Futurama, “Weird” Al, Doctor Who, Star Trek, and a few Beatles items (the majority of my Beatles things are in their own places downstairs) are all displayed in my new room, along with pictures of all “my” kids and a digital frame that has pictures of my new grandson’s ultrasounds. He’s arriving in November.
While I was at my aunt’s, I loved watching the birds come to her bird feeders. When I came home, I was telling my husband how relaxing it was to watch them.
The next thing I know our bird feeder is hanging outside my upstairs window. He had climbed up on the garage roof to put it up. It attracts birds all day for my cats and I to enjoy.
Since the feeder went up We have added a bird bath and second feeder. Looking out my window is never boring. I’ve seen wrens, finches, and twice I saw a woodpecker.
I got myself a National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds (Eastern Region). It’s very helpful in identifying the birds. Very easy to use.
This is the first time in my 58 years of life that I have had a room truly my own. I’ve always shared at least part of whatever room I happened to have. This is really nice!
“Weird” Al
I tried picking one “Weird” Al Yankovic song for a post, but like Lays potato chips (sort of) betcha I can’t pick just one.
My son started listening to Al sometime before 1996. I can’t remember exactly when. After my divorce in ’96, the kids and I listened to Al quite a lot in the car from a cassette my son had made and I really began to appreciate Al’s genius.
I’ve seen Al in concert every time he’s come to Cleveland except twice since 1996. This year we were VIP and got to attend a meet and greet!
These songs are several, but by no means all, of my favorites. The only songs of Al’s of which I’m not a huge fan are the food songs.
1. The name of this song is “Bob”. It’s from the album Poodle Hat from 2003. The video just happens to be a fantastic parody of Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” video.
2. This next song is called “Tacky” and it’s from 2014’s Mandatory Fun. I love tacky loud clothing. It’s fun!
3. This song, “Close, But No Cigar” is an original, non-parody song. It makes me laugh. I think about this song now every time I see or hear about Charlize Theron.
4. My favorite of Al’s two Christmas songs, “The Night Santa Went Crazy”. “Christmas at Ground Zero” is the other more popular song.
5. This video of “eBay” is a great one for this parody of “I Want It This Way” by the Backstreet Boys. I looked that up. I don’t know any Backstreet Boys songs
6. I included this song because 1994!! This stuff was “Headline News” in 1994! I remember all these stories vividly as I was 31. Where has the time gone?
7. My “Weird” Al post wouldn’t be complete without one of his polkas. I chose “Angry White Boy Polka” from 2003’s Poodle Hat. I know only two of the original songs in this Polka. Disturbed and Eminem.
The Angry White Boy Polka tracks:
1. Papa Roach-Last Resort. 2. System of a Down-Chop Suey. 3. The Vines-Get Free. 4. The Hives-Hate to Say I Told You So. 5. The White Stripes-Fell in Love with a Girl. 6. The Strokes-Last Nite. 7. Disturbed-Down with the Sickness. 8. Rage Against the Machine-Renegades of Funk. 9. Limp Bizkit-My Way. 10. Staind ft. Fred Durst-Outside. 11. Kid Rock-Bawitdaba. 12. P.O.D.-Youth of the Nation. 13. Eminem-The Real Slim Shady
These are just a very few of my favorites from “Weird” Al Yankovic.
My not “PC” 🙄 Post
This post isn’t bipartisan. It also isn’t “PC”, or Politically Correct, as many conservative people describe using racist, anti-LGBTQ, and just downright disrespectful language. The post doesn’t consciously use racist or anti-LGBTQ language or theme, but it might get a tad disrespectful. I will do my best to keep it civil.
I discovered the song “I Hate Republicans” back in 2003 or 2004. While I agree to all points made, I do my best to avoid hating. I prefer the lyric, “I Can’t Stand Republicans”. I know, that sounds a tiny bit “PC” there. But, after all, I’m not (nor have I ever been) a Republican.
The video here is the one I saw originally. Eighteen or so years later and many people will recognize a large number of these folks. One in particular stands out. Nothing has really changed, not even the players.
Maybe something has changed. Republicans are meaner, less caring of others, cruel, heartless. Their policies tell us this. They are the party of restricting rights, of taking away protections for oppressed citizens, for money over people. They are worse. Many are traitors, in my opinion.
And if lies were money, those already rich GOP bastards would be multi-gazillionaires. Looking at you Moscow Mitch McConnell.
Okay, on that note enjoy.
Random
•I LOVE the Beatles. They are the best group ever.
• I’ve been on an Alaskan cruise
• I got locked in the White House once while taking a private tour. An Act Up protester jumped the White House fence onto the lawn and everything went into lockdown. There were no barriers back then. We had to locate a guard who led us through the tunnels and out.
• I was the only girl wearing a tri-corner hat on a Williamsburg kids tour in 1973. I had to fight to get that hat! Girls were supposed to wear white caps.
• I’ve never ridden a horse.
• I had a “banana” bike with a medium height “sissy” bar when I was a kid.
• I saw the entire AIDS quilt laid out on the National Mall in 1992.
• I walked in Cleveland for the first Women’s March.
• I was on a competitive swim team for over 6 years.
• I live around the block from the house where I grew up.
• I’ve been married three times.
• I was a sign language interpreter for four years. It’s a beautiful language; I love it.
• I love pens! Especially fountain pens. I collect all kinds of pens.
• I love to read. All kinds of books except romance novels. I am reading 6 on my Kindle at the moment. Science fiction, classics, biographies, full transcripts of the Nuremberg trials, and the 4th book in Steven Kings “Dark Tower” series.
• I used to play the violin and then viola. Only up to when I was a High School senior.
•I don’t like chocolate or bananas.
•I love languages. I am currently using 4 apps to study Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian, Polish, and most recently, Urdu.
•I live with two cats and my husband.
•I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan.
•I have three grown children. My son is a Navy veteran, systems network desgner computer something something civilian working for the NEX. My older daughter is a lawyer working for the Dept. Of Labor and my younger daughter handles big clients for Amazon. I’m very proud of them.
•I recently started building model cars. It’s a lot of fun. My husband builds them and is helping me with hints and tips. I’m currently building Starsky’s “striped tomato” from Starsky and Hutch.
•I still send letters to people through the mail.
•Star Wars vs Star Trek? Trek overall, but the original SW three are the best.
•Room courtesy of my husband Bob
•I own all episodes of the shows Pete & Pete and Pushing Daisies. I have most of Futurama. All under-appreciated, but wonderful.
•With our love, we could save the world, if they only knew
I Me Mine
For a very long time most of my free time was spent centered on music. Oh, I have zero musical talent. I played the violin and then viola in school orchestra, but didn’t practice which did NOT add to my “talent” as you can imagine. No, I mean that I listened to albums, collected albums and 45s with and without covers, read Rolling Stone cover to cover with my subscription, hunted for imports and punk stuff during the disco days, listened to college radio. And concerts! I bought programs and t-shirts galore.
I lost my entire record album collection at one terrible point in my life. It’s taken decades to build it back, what I could, but my cat clawed up a bunch of the spines. I keep them as just music now. Both these happenings were painful, but losing that first collection took years to get over.
I still have my concert programs and t-shirts. Lots of them. I usually bought both at concerts in the 70s when programs were maybe $6 and shirts $10. I have programs at least back to my teenybopper 1977 (maybe ’78) Andy Gibb program. My shirts go back as far as 1979 with my Jan & Dean shirt. Those are the earliest I remember. My parents didn’t buy me a thing at my first concert in 1972 when we went to see Sonny & Cher though.
I’m listening to Who Are You by the Who at the moment. I remember how excited my friend Anne and I were when it came out. We were 15 in 1978. The Who was the first band we noticed when we started realizing that some people other than our beloved Beatles made music.
Keith Moon, the Who’s drummer, died only weeks after the album came out. It makes the album feel different being Keith’s last one. Just damn. I could still listen to it though. When John Lennon was murdered I couldn’t listen to some songs on Double Fantasy for a very long time.
It used to be that I could practically tell you what members of certain bands had for breakfast. Or what color the bathroom was on a given band’s 1965 tour bus. Ah, those fun simple days.
I’m going through my clothes to finally get rid of all those that don’t fit. I never get rid of concert Ts. I found that I have stacks of them. And those are only the ones in the bedroom! I can’t wait to go through the box of programs and the newer ones I’ve found so far!
Choice
I have a point of view about choice that people sometimes don’t want or like to hear. Me included.
I hear and see the phrases, “there was nothing else I could do”, “I had/have to do it”, and “I had no choice” all the time, by all kinds of people. I think all these statements are false. They all take responsibility (and credit) off the person saying any of these.
Everything is a choice, big or small. Except involuntary bodily functions, of course. Rarely, is there only one option. The second option might be awful and unacceptable, but it is an option. Doing nothing is a choice as most of us have heard.
Ridding myself of the phrases above makes me feel more in control of my life.
*I didn’t have to, I made the best choice for me.
*I don’t like this choice, but the other one was worse.
*I didn’t know what else to do, so I decided to do this.
No apologies necessary. Good choices are going to be made more often than bad.
We’re not victims of “no choice”. We’re choosers, in charge of our lives the best we can.
Within You, Without You 