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Behind Blue Eyes

  Week Thirty-nine: Behind Blue Eyes …and if I swallow anything evil put your finger down my throat and if I shiver, please give me a blanket keep me warm, let me wear your coat —The Who, Behind Blue Eyes, from the album Who’s Next? On a warm Saturday in July I sat with our dog Leon on a bench provided for old guys or old guys with dogs while our granddaughter, her mother, and Gwaz searched the various buildings of the craft village we were visiting. From my vantage point I could see the tourists coming and going from one building to the other and between them to the petting zoo stocked mostly with goats. Strategically located near the entrance to the goat enclosures was a vending machine swallowing quarters in exchange for a handful of  goat munchies. It was popular to say the least. I couldn’t help but notice one particular grandma who seemed to have an endless supply of quarters, of which she was more than willing to part. She called to her granddaughter who was intent on rushing pa
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Roy Rogers

  Week Thirty-eight: Roy Rogers Sometimes you dream, sometimes it seems There’s nothing there at all You just seem older than yesterday And you’re waiting for someone to call You draw the curtains and one thing’s for certain You’re cozy in your little room The carpet’s all paid for, God bless the TV Let’s shoot a hole in the moon Oh, Roy Rogers is riding tonight Returning to our silver screens Comic book characters never grow old Evergreen heroes whose stories were told Oh the great sequin cowboy who sings of the plains Of roundups and rustlers and home on the range Turn on the TV, shut out the lights Roy Rogers is riding tonight   —Elton John, Roy Rogers , from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road I heard Roy Rogers a while ago and coincidentally just after a discussion I had with our eldest granddaughter about my opinion of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road . My opinion, of course, is that GYBR is Elton John’s masterpiece. Along with lyricist Bernie Taupin, they created start-to-finish, a singular mu
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I've Seen That Movie Too

  Week Thirty-seven: I’ve Seen That Movie Too So keep your auditions for somebody Who hasn’t got so much to lose ‘Cause you can tell by the lines I’m reciting That I’ve seen that movie too — Elton John, I’ve Seen That Movie Too, from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Whenever I hear a lyric that I might want to use, I compose a draft, which might eventually become an entry. Entries are put at the end of the queue, which means they are prepared weeks ahead of when they are used. With this particular post, I heard Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne and it seemed perfect. I then heard Lunatic Fringe by Red Rider. The line Lunatic fringe I know you’re out there seemed even better based on what I’m about to tell you. But eventually I heard Elton John sing a song I’ve heard many, many times, and I decided that the line I’ve seen that movie too was too good to ignore. The five most common reasons for road rage are… Driving at dangerously high speeds. Following another driver too closely (tailgating) Hon
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Good Lovin'

  Week Thirty-six: Good Lovin’ I was feeling so bad I asked my family doctor just what I had I said Doctor Mr. M.D. Now can you tell me what’s ailing me? He said yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah —The Young Rascals, Good Lovin’, from the album Young Rascals On Sunday July 15, 1984, just eleven days after my fortieth birthday, I had a heart attack. I didn’t exactly know it was a heart attack. My decisions in the initial, critical period of time would indicate so. I’ll explain. I started to make pancakes, but the indigestion that I had experienced for the past seven days made eating seem like a revolting idea. I tried anyway. Taking a break and sitting alone in the living room, I heard our 10 year old daughter tell her mother that “Dad is overreacting.” Ordinarily that would have been more than likely the case, but in this instance I was just trying not to spit up. Deb suggested we go to the emergency room, which in hindsight would have eliminated most of the really bad choices I made in the
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Old Folks Boogie

  Week Thirty-five: Old Folks Boogie Try and get a rise from an atrophied muscle, And the nerves in your thigh just quivers and fizzles So you know that you’re over the hill When your mind makes a promise that your body can’t fill. — Little Feat, Old Folks Boogie, from Time Loves a Hero Aging is like a senior slow-pitch softball league: Knowing the rules and playing the game are very different things You remember how to play, and you still want to play, but the schedule of games is not published You aren’t as good as you once were You might not be in the starting line-up  “Riding the bench” means at least you get to sit down Cramping up is expected You seldom score Your favorite player isn’t always ready to play Reaching first base can seem like a home run back in the day You used to play various positions, but not so much any more You no longer practice just in case it wears you out for the actual game You can no longer turn the double play https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHcGkGdiEHc
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Lay Lady Lay

  Week Thirty-four: Lay Lady Lay Stay, lady, stay, stay with your man a while Until the break of day, let me see you make him smile. His clothes are dirty, but his hands are clean, And you’re the best thing he’s ever seen. —Bob Dylan, Lay Lady Lay, from Nashville Skyline Much to the embarrassment for my wife of 51 years, whenever the opportunity arises I am prone to asking a total stranger to guess the number of years we’ve been married. Now mind you, I am not inclined to approach people on the street to ask them to guess, but in certain well-timed circumstances it seems cool...to me; not Deb so much. I suppose that if I were to be somewhere in a leather-rich office, lying prone, and staring skyward revealing the far reaches of my cluttered mind I could figure out why I do that. Perhaps I am mining for compliments; you know…”Wow, 51 years! You don’t look old enough to be married 51 years!” or “That’s awesome! It takes a special couple to make 51!” I’m pretty sure I don’t need an overpa
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Instant Karma

  Week Thirty-Three: Instant Karma Instant karma’s gonna get you gonna look you right in the face Better get yourself together darlin’ Join the human race Who in the hell d’you think you are? A superstar? Well, right you are. We all shine on Like the moon and the stars and the sun —John Lennon, Imagine, from the album Imagine Just ten days after John Lennon wrote Instant Karma it was available in stores! Urban legend has Lennon saying something like, “I wrote it in the morning, recorded it in the afternoon, and sold the records in the evening.” In any case, there has never been another example of a song being produced so quickly. Most people my age are at least familiar with the song, even if we never bothered to learn the backstory. As Lennon predicted, “Instant karma’s gonna get you!” Karma is the notion that something deserving but unexpected happens when a person’s actions backfire. As my dear, departed mother used to say, “You’ll get your just desserts.” I think Lennon was shootin
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