I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity.
The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.
Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so
What I have been telling you, from alpha to omega, what is the one great thing the sigil taught me — that everything in life is miraculous. For the sigil taught me that it rests within the power of each of us to awaken at will from a dragging nightmare of life made up of unimportant tasks and tedious useless little habits, to see life as it really is, and to rejoice in its exquisite wonderfulness. If the sigil were proved to be the top of a tomato-can, it would not alter that big fact, nor my fixed faith. No Harrowby, the common names we call things by do not matter — except to show how very dull we are ...
December 09, 2015 - 11:24 a.m.
I think I need to get out of here earlier than usual so I better write this now. It’s 10:05. I have been typing since high school but I never learned to touch type the number keys. On all my other computers I had a number pad and I can touch type that. So now I attempting to learn the top row. I typed this without looking. Actually I type most things without looking. My room is dark now and I can’t see what’s written on the keys.
Don’t you love when I start with the mechanics of writing? I didn’t think so but right now it’s my trigger mechanism for writing. That evolves unconsciously over time. It’s just like Ed Norton playing “Swanee River” before he plays a song. Did you know the real name of that song is “Old Folks at Home?”
After I posted yesterday I came up with a brilliant topic to write about today. I was quite excited about it. By the evening I had totally lost it. It’s still lost. It is very hard to not have a brain.
Good thing that I actually did something last night, I went to On Your Radar with Jessy Carolina & the Hot Mess, Rupert Wates, and Amy Soucy. My plan is always to get to On Your Radar before Doors open to make sure that the front row is reserved and to hang with whoever is performing before doors. I’m always allowed in, I don’t even say anything, I just point down the stairs and go. Sometimes I’ll say, “I’m with John.” But the thing is I don’t know the woman, it’s almost always a woman, at the door, how do they know me? It’s not like Mel at the front doors to Rockwood 1 & 2, we know each other. I think it’s just that I look like belong.
I always sit with Fred at On Your Radar except for the winter when he’s too busy with school to come. Last night I sat with Peter who texted me to save him a seat. I used to sit with Lori not LORi but now she hates me so much that she sits at the very furthest corner of the room. It is so hard being me. And she drags Bob and Rona with her. It’s so sad. I did walk back to say hi because I’m just that forgiving. Give me a cookie.
Socializing is always an important part of On Your Radar. It’s a music appreciation club. Who else was there? John & Sheila of course, Richard and Viki, Marty, OK after that it gets tough as I couldn’t see them from where I sat but I’ll try, Sharon and Fred who sang with Amy, no not that Fred, don’t be silly. Please try and pay attention. Now you distracted me with your question. Where was I? Oh yes, Scott and Linda and and who was it that I didn’t see till the show was over? I talked with somebody after almost everyone left. Oh well that’s gone along with my brilliant idea of what to write today.
Oh I know what I forgot to tell you, Jessy Carolina hurt herself and had to cancel. John said it was only the third time that happened. Oddly another time was last year when Rupert had to cancel due to a death on the family. I forgot the third, it was ages ago. Michael Laureanno almost missed it and had a shortened set when his train was delayed. I’m surprised that doesn’t happen more.
Amy went on first, I know her far better socially than musically. She’s one of the Chicks with Dip and sometimes subbed at the Joni Mitchell’s Blue shows. Thinking about her I realized that it’s just automatic that I am a friend of all Chicks and there’s no real getting to know you phase. We just start talking.
What does Amy do? John said she came out of folk but it’s not from Woody Guthrie. I’d say more from the singer/songwriter personal tradition. I was going to say her songs were spiritual but spiritual is a genre of music which is not what she does. How about this, she’s a yoga teacher and her music is what you’d think would be made by a yoga teacher as long as you don’t think that means Indian. It was not raga time. It’s peaceful, soothing for the soul. Ok that sounds right.
Rupert on most of his songs sounds akin to 1960s pop not rock. I was getting more specific, Burt Bacharach when he did the intro to a song that he said was inspired by the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Who wrote the music for that? Yes, Burt Bacharach. Sometimes I got it. He has one song about George Carlin and on that one he sings like Richard Thompson. Not 1952 Vincent Black Lightning RT but light funny RT as in Alexander Graham Bell Rupert is English too and their accents come out strong in those songs.
Oh, I remember more people that I stopped and talked to. They were in the middle of the room, Mark, Beth, and Lisa. I actually spent more time talking to them than anyone. Why did I forget before? Because I had to get up to talk to them, I didn’t see them from my seat. My memory is geographic. After the show I was talking to Amy and her memory works the same way.
I hadn’t eaten before the show and didn’t have anything interesting to eat at home so I figured I’d grab pizza after the show. I was walking to the pizza place when I passed Amy packing her car. She was going to eat with her friends Scott and Mary and invited me to join them. You know I can’t say no to that. After a few false starts we ended up at the grilled cheese place. It might have a name but everyone calls it “the grilled cheese place.”
Hey now I remember who I talked to after the show! It was Ina May and Kay! And I had a good talk with them yet I still had trouble remember. Why? It was not where in the room I was expecting. How did I remember? Ina May just posted something on Facebook. If there were no music and just a meeting of the gang I’d still go to On Your Radar. That’s a lot of great people in one room
Now on to dinner. They are doing something new at the grilled cheese place, live music It’s not a good space for it. One person with a guitar playing made a third of the table space unusable. We were forced to the counter by the window while there was a large unused table unused. We couldn’t really sit there as we were too close to her to talk. It was a her right? I think so. The second act was two men. That I remember as one was named Samuel Jackson and I was disappointed it wasn’t the actor.
Eating with friends is always a treat, I eat the vast majority of my meals alone. The mechanics were a bit difficult as I found it hard to hear Scott and Mary and visa versa. Any had to translate. But it was still fun.
The ride home was noteworthy. I took the 
and when it got on the Manhattan Bridge the conductor became a tour guide. “We are now on the Manhattan Bridge the second of the three East River bridges connecting Manhattan and New York. … .“ He gave the history of the bridge and told us what we could see out of both sides of the train. The only part I objected to was calling The World Trade Center, the Freedom Tower. I’ll put up with that for such an entertaining ride. When we went back underground he didn’t talk about the stations but said them with such enthusiasm, “DeKalb Avenue!” The sound was unusually good and he enunciated very well. I posted about him on Facebook and knew it would resonate; 34 people have liked it so far. We enjoy the world being personal.
OK let’s see if can remember what I wanted to write about before tomorrow. I’m having a busy day so if I don’t Wise Madness will still go well.
I signed the Pro-Truth Pledge:
please hold me accountable.
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On The Road Again - May 26, 2018
Oliver the Three-Eyed Crow - May 25, 2018
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Horvendile December 09, 2015
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