Peace and love and rock'n'roll from a hillbilly, hellbent on saving the world.
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By the time I got to Paris, Man Ray was gone. Kiki, too. Long gone. Of course it's a beautiful city, just not the magic that I dream of. Key West is certainly a gem. A tropical paradise, indeed. Plenty of debauchery to go around and the fun never stops. I missed the days before waiters could no longer afford rent and Mercedes outnumbered rusty bikes, though. I love New York and the place has…
Bing had to make way for Sinatra just like ol' blue eyes had to vacate the premises for Elvis. Old dogs get moved out for puppies. Yeah, it's a sad fact of life, especially if you're an old dog. The world doesn't really care what I think about AI. The fact that I find most new cars ugly isn't going to rattle the automobile industry. Wealth inequality? What's new? My opinions matter. They matter to…
Sometimes I get weary of boasting about my quality of life. I'm guessing that if you're back reading this drivel, you've had a bellyful, yourself. If I don't run short of my Crest toothpaste stash, I've got enough of everything that I could possibly want or need to last the rest of my days. While I've never learned to accept the suffering in this world, I have figured out how to embrace the beauty…
It's hard to take any of it seriously, isn't it? Grownups with nuclear weapons waving their holy books, threatening annihilation of civilisations. If one of these lunatics drops the big one and ends it all, so be it. There really is nothing that I can do about any of it. None of my worrying, and I've done plenty, has ever prevented anything. Now, of course, worry and dread and fear don't always…
What I haven't seen at this point hardly matters. I haven't been everywhere, boy, and I surely haven't seen everything. Doesn't matter. It's a perfect world when you know it is and you're lucky when you know you are. I've always shown up in the Key Wests of the world just in time to be told that I should have seen it before. I always wanted to live in Paris, but the Paris of 1930. Not this time,…
It's past time to say anything and everything that I've ever wanted to say. There's really no sign that time is running out other than the calendar, the clock. The concept of Eden or heaven or some utopian fantasy is, more or less, a constant for me. The details bend, stretch and shrink, but the big picture stays pretty much true to form- everybody's kind, everybody's happy. Plenty of four-legged…
It occurs to me that every breath is different from the one before. Under a microscope each grain of sand is a completely unique, fascinating work of art, exquisite in its originality. Ants enslave aphids and we have no idea of the scale of the universe, this one or any other. Yet, I met Elvis. I've known all these dogs. I'll have dinner with Kate again. If this isn't nice, what is?…
Oh, I live a lazy man's life. Folks back home ask if I've retired. From what? I haven't played since a house concert in Tampa, next to last visit. I picked up a guitar this morning. Felt about as familiar as if I had fondled an oboe. Now, for whatever reason, I'm thinking about writing a book. Actually, I've had this story idea for several years- I've just run out of excuses to keep from writing.…
Another one of those stories that I've told you a hundred times- my mom took me to the armory in Tampa to see The Biggest Rock'n'Roll Show of '56. Biggest event in my nine year old life! Bo Diddley. Big Joe Turner. The Drifters, who happened to bring along Clyde McPhatter, home on leave in his army uniform. LaVern Baker. Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers. The Platters. The Teen Queens. Great goodness!…
So often I feel like Charlie trying to kick the football that Lucy's holding. I fell, totally, for the peace and love thing. I find myself hopeful every time any peace agreement is announced. Oh, I'm not complaining, not really. Lose hope and you're done, I suppose. Give us peace on earth and end this dreadful, dreadful war. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK7dNU_8myA
