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 ...
January 28, 2006 - 11:46 a.m.
Yesterday was a good day. Even though it was a bit chilly I took my mother for a walk in her wheelchair. She really loves that. First I gave myself a good workout. We took a long walk with lots of hills. When the weather turns nice I might take my mother on one of my five-mile walks. I wonder if I can do that pushing a wheelchair. The most I've done so far is about two miles.
Near the end of the walk my mother got her exercise. I had her get up and walk most of the length of our block. It is the furthest she's walked since she got sick. I'm going to see if she can work up to walking all the way around the block.
Alison came last night, which meant that not only could I go out, I could stay out late. By design I asked her to so I could go see The Kennedys at the Minstrel Coffeehouse. The earliest I can get home from there is midnight and sometimes it is quite a bit later. That is tough for Penny.
It is something of a trek getting there. The shows start late, 8:30 but I like to get there by 7:30 after having dinner at the Morristown Diner. This is at rush hour on a Friday night so I need to leave lots of time. The latest I wanted to leave was 5, which was just when Alison showed up. I went to the diner, had a blackened chicken sandwich that couldn't be beat, and arrived at the Minstrel at 7:30. How's that for timing?
I got out of my car and saw Phyllis getting out of the car next to me. I didn't expect her to be there since she doesn't drive. She got a ride with some friends. She was doing the Kennedy's merch.
We went in and I was the first one online to go in. The second people on the line were Dan & Marianne and their daughter. It was their daughter's 13th birthday and she wanted to spend it seeing the Kennedys. The really impressive part is that they live four hours away in Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania. You have to tip your hat to the parents of a kid that wants to go through all that trouble to see the Kennedys. I found out that they run their own small coffeehouse, the Aerie. If it wasn't 5 hours from my house I'd go. When I asked them who has played there they said, The Kennedys, We're About 9, and Dave's True Story. What are they odds that they'd mention three bands that I'm friendly with? They also run the Forksville Folk Festival. Maybe I can find a way to get to that next year. We exchanged cards and when I gave Marianne the The Budgiedome card she said, "I've heard of that." I always find that gratifying.
When the show started I got my usual seat down front. It was more than a sellout. People were standing in the back. There were two chairs on the stage and the Kennedys invited anyone who wanted to, to sit on them. Nobody took them up on their offer. I was tempted to just so someone could take my seat. I didn't because I had doubts about the sound.
The opening act was James Ralston. Till I got there I was wondering if it was my friend Jim from WFUV. I could just see him being cagey and trying to surprise me. It wasn't, he was a local musician from Morristown. Most of his songs were covers. He did one that I really love, The Ballad of Eddie Klep by Chuck Brodsky. It is one of his baseball songs. Here are the lyrics:
The Ballad Of Eddie Klepp
The war had finally ended and America had changed
It had beaten back the nazis but the Jim Crow laws remained
There was talk of staging marches & talk of civil rights
There was talk about a Negro playing baseball with the Whites
He walked into the clubhouse and the card players quit playing
Everybody stopped in the middle of whatever they were saying
It was just like when the sheriff walks into the saloon
He said, "My name is Eddie," as he looked around the room
"This man's here to play baseball," the manager said to the team
"We're all gonna have to live with this...aw, that's not what I mean...
You know what I mean" - and they all did...it went without saying
The card players looked at their hands and they went on with their playing
They ran him off the field before a game in Birmingham one night
Made him sit up in the grandstand in the section marked "For Whites"
In his Cleveland Buckeyes uniform, it was a new twist on the law
The marshalls kept their eyes on him and the hecklers ate him raw
Eddie Klepp, he should've run the bases in reverse
A White man in the Negro Leagues, that had to be a first
He could not ride the same busses, or stay in the same motels
He could not eat in the same restaurants, you couldn't have mixed clientele
So while Jackie played for Brooklyn and wore the Dodger Blue
Eddie crossed the color line, the one without a queue
A White man in the Negro Leagues, might as well have been a Jew
Now you mention the name of Eddie Klepp and most everyone says, "Who?"
It is a true story; how cool is that?
Chuck Brodsky knows that everything you need to know in life you can learn from baseball.
It is always hard to keep thinking of new things to write about Kennedys shows. You know they are great, you know I had a good time, those are givens. Last night was the first time that Pete has played his uke on stage. He's been carrying it around since December but hadn't used it in their act. There aren't many people that would attempt to play lead guitar parts on a ukulele. You haven't lived till you've heard him play Rhapsody in Blue, or Rhapsody in Uke as Maura called it. I think they've discovered they have more room in their car than they thought. Pete is now bringing a collection of instruments to the show. In addition to his acoustic Gretch guitar and his uke, he brought his electric Rickenbacker, and electric sitar. I could never figure out what made the sitar a sitar since it doesn't have the sympathetic strings. I asked him after the show. The key is that the bridge doesn't have notches on it like a guitar so the strings slide. It gives it a tres cool sound. He is getting a new electric sitar with sympathetic strings. I can't wait to hear that.
After the shows at the Minstrel they always invite the audience and the artist to go out to a restaurant. I usually don't go because it ends at 11 and I have a long ride home. It was the Kennedys and Dan and Marianne said they were going, and I wanted to take advantage of being able to stay out late so I decided to go. First I helped the Kennedys pack up their car. I'm angling to get a career in the exciting field of being a roadie. I can be the next Tobey.
I had a map of where the restaurant and I know the town well enough that I didn't think I needed to follow Pete and Maura who were following a volunteer. I found it with no problem but missed the parking lot so I was a bit late. They were worried about me.
I wish I had time to go to more of these. The post concert get-together was great. There were a lot of fun people with common interests talking about music and other things. OK none of that really matters. I had peanut butter mousse. I don't really need more of that to be happy. I'd have been happy without the mousse, it was just so much fun.
Pete and Maura sent me an email when they got home. There was an accident right behind them on route 3 and they knew I left right after they did and there were afraid I got caught in it. I assured them I wasn't. I don't take Route 3 home. My ride home was uneventful. It took me an hour and 45 minutes to get there but only 50 minutes to get home. There isn't much traffic at 1 AM.
Wow this is a long entry. I'm on page four. I have one more note to write up but I think I'll save it for tomorrow. I'm not doing much more this weekend. Alison is going back home today. I'm just going to read Northanger Abbey, do laundry, and burn a CD that Christine asked for last weekend.
I signed the Pro-Truth Pledge:
please hold me accountable.
Memories: Not that Horrid Song - May 29, 2018
Wise Madness is Now In Session - May 28, 2018
The NFL and the First Amendment - May 27, 2018
On The Road Again - May 26, 2018
Oliver the Three-Eyed Crow - May 25, 2018
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Horvendile January 28, 2006
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