Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Ramblin’ 7/24

“My hypocrisy knows no bounds.”

Doc Holliday from Tombstone

Yep! It’s 7/24/23. Makes me think of 24/7. I believe we ramble 24/7. Even when we sleep we ramble in our dreams. I assume y’all do too. My dreams remind me of the CCR song, ‘Ramble Tamble’. A great ramblin’ jammin’ song.

BTW, John Fogerty will be playing at Chastain Park Amphitheater Wednesday night. We probably won’t make it. That’s ok. I have seen John several times and he just kills it. The last time Me & Paul saw him was 8 or 9 years ago at AmerisBank Amphitheater in Alpharetta. Outstanding! At one point he said, “We’re gonna do another one just like the rest of them. Loud and fast.” Amen!

Chastain Park Amphitheater is now Cadence Bank Amphitheater, yadda yadda yadda. What’s up with all the bank named “sheds”? Reckon it has to do with money? 😉

At any rate. We will be at Chastain Amphitheater on 8/12, along with Leah snd Jim. Gov’t Mule! It’s been too long. They’ll be doing their Dark Side of the Mule stuff, which is a wide swath of Pink Floyd covers. There’ll also be a goodly number of Mule tunes played that evening. Opening for them? Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience. Rock and roll, Ladies and Gentlemen!

I recently completed reading a book for our new book club at Heritage Baptist in Cartersville. ‘Curveball’, she’s entitled, by Peter Enns. He also has a fine podcast called ‘The Bible for Normal people. Loved Enns’ book and the the four sessions of discussions our small group had about it. Quite interesting, challenging, inspirational, and funny at times. If you enjoy stretching and playing in the deep end of the pool, you will like it

And NCAA football season is rapidly approaching. Most teams will report to fall camp around August first. It’s the wild, wild west out there with the transfer portal opening, shutting, and banging like a screen door during a summer family get together. I’ll share my initial SEC 2023 blog either later this week or sometime next week.

So how about this heat wave?! Merciful Lord in heaven! As Miss Mabel Ratcliffe once said, when she walked her son Tommy and me into a roller skating rink housed in a huge tent with no AC, one summer in Camden, “It’s hotter than seven hells in here!” That’s about the long and short of it right now on the third rock from the sun.

Music? I continue to listen to jazz probably more than any genre. I love the traditional jazz masters just as I do traditional country music. John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Charlie “Bird” Parker, Thelonius Monk, and Charles Mingus, to name a few of the jazz greats.

We don’t get out to hear live music as much as we used to. A couple of weeks ago we boogied to a Grateful Dead cover band, ‘Frankly Scarlett’. They ripped it! Tight as a drum.

The best tv I’ve seen in a long time is ‘The Bear’ on Max (HBO). Seems like everyone in the brilliant ensemble cast was nominated for an Emmy except Jamie Lee Curtis. That’s a shame. A small tole that she knocked completely out of the park. Bob Odenkirk didn’t get nominated either. This one should clean up during awards season. Also loved ‘Redemption’ on BritBox. ‘Fatal Attraction’, the series, was pretty good but only got 37% on Rotten Tomatoes, whereas ‘Platonic’ (Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne) nabbed 92%. It is hilarious. It’s on Apple TV.Oh, Fatal Attraction is on Paramount+.

Take us home, Willie…

“I gotta go now
Guess I’ll see you hanging round
Don’t know when though, oh, no
Never know when I’ll be back in town…”

Holiday Ramblings

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, sports fans and members of the draft resistance! (And thanks for the patience with the 60’s stream-of-consciousness reference). That’s the way all columns are penned here at Bird’s Banter. Sit down. Face the computer. Type. Who knows what pithy profundities will avail themselves. I don’t, as I am only pawn in game of life. Break out the beans! Mongo is with us.

As you have, possibly, noted, the scribe has been low on inspiration here as of late, and the blogs have been few and far between (the devil and the deep blue sea). Apathy had begun to seep in and take hold. And then? Boom! The Christmas Spirit began to open avenues of joy, hope, peace and love and the Auburn Tigers made, IMHO, a home run hire in newly installed head football coach, Bryan Harsin.

And we are OFF!!!!!!

My beloved Tigers have found a winner. An intense, focused, driven, tough, humble man of passion and integrity. And win the Tigers will. Immediately. The cupboard is nowhere near bare. Everyone returns on the starting offense and the defense has many key components returning. Most assuredly, there are areas that need to be shored up in personnel. I trust that these concerns will be addressed and that the new head coach, and soon to be staff, will recruit with great agressiveness. I do not expect Auburn to win every game, but I can assure you that it will play with ferocity and purpose and make you proud every time they take the field.

War Damn Eagle!

Christmas. It has truly been a most blessed holiday season. I can feel a renewed sense of inspiration and purpose on a daily basis. 2020. What can one say? What a challenge! There is no need to reiterate the many pitfalls and disasters of the past year. They have been plentiful and often cruel. With the help of God and The Grateful Dead, I have survived a prostate scare/biopsy, an abnormal ECG and a positive echo stress test leading to a heart cath, recurring bladder infections, double hernia surgery and COVID-19. 2021 is in clear view and I can feel myself turning the corner and embracing her with open arms. I hope and pray that is the case with each and every one of you.

Peace on earth and good will to all men, women and children across the globe.

What’s been happening in the world of music, sports, politics, et al?

You know the Auburn story. Alabama is on the verge of playing for, yet another, National Championship, as is Clemson. I do think those two will meet in the title game. Kentucky has the worst record of all SEC teams in men’s basketball. Pitchers and catchers report in the not-too-distant future and things are looking good for the Atlanta Braves. The World Series? Finally? Who knows.

Bob Dylan sold his music catalog. Let that sink in a minute.

He has also gotten into the wine business. “Planet Waves 2002, a blend of Montepulciano and Merlot, pairs the legendary singer with Antonio Terri,” From Wine Spectator. Truth is stranger than fiction.

Hopefully, we will once again have live music in 2021. I feel strongly that we will. I could use a good “ass kicking” from Gov’t Mule and a dose of Dead and Company.

America will have a new president and a female VP. And I will leave it at that. We do not get into the black hole of politics on Bird’s Banter. We do touch on religion occasionally. There is a deep sense of spiritual hunger out there and, in here, from my point of view. One day at a time, an AA mantra, and a great way to live for all of us. As Ray Wylie Hubbard states, “And the days I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations, well, I have really good days.”

Entertainment. We enjoyed both Flight Attendant, on HBO, and Hillbilly Elegy, on Netflix. The Undoing, with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant was also very good and quite intense, as were the aforementioned titles. Something lighter, maybe? Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee is hilarious.

In books, I completed all of Michael Connelly’s catalog this year, after beginning it in 2019. I loved every one of them. His latest, The Law Of Innocence, was excellent. It was the sixth installment of the Lincoln Lawyer series. I also read the first three novels of the Tana French Dublin Murders series. Brilliant writing and true hand wringing, heart pounding thrillers. Read a couple of more books on The Grateful Dead. My hunger for all things Dead is insatiable. The Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast if glorious if one is so inclined. The reissues of their classic albums, Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty are sublime.

What else? Ah! 2021 begins with a feast of football games on New Years Day. It begins with the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Cincinnati vs. Georgia), followed by the Citrus Bowl, pitting Auburn against Northwestern, more on that in a moment. Next come the College Football Playoff semifinals. First, Alabama plays Notre Dame. The last game of the day has Clemson and Ohio State locking horns. Oh yeah!

Back to the Citrus Bowl. Auburn needs to win this game. I do hope much of the enthusiasm and intensity of our new head coach wears off on the team. Kevin Steele will coach the team along with our 2020 staff, They will have to be hitting on all eight as Northwestern will be chomping at the bit to topple an SEC team and Pat Fitzgerald WILL have them rarin’ and ready. You can count on that. The Wildcats play excellent defense and I expect a low scoring game. Once more with feeling, Tigers. Auburn 23, Northwestern 21.

Y’all continue to have a wonderful holiday season! Be safe out there and be sure to always love your neighbor as yourself.

Dare We “Ramble” Once More?

I haven’t written anything for a long while. I did not do much writing during football season. Just a handful of articles. I made an attempt to pen a column before the Auburn-Georgia SEC Championship Game. I got two paragraphs in and quit. Motivation at an all time low. And I didn’t care. Bone dry.

So here we are.

It’s January 24th and me and my wife, Melodye, have been battling this sinus infection/upper respiratory thing for weeks. It gets better. It comes back. I think we’re moving toward complete recovery now. I certainly hope we are. Many of you have experienced this. I’m sorry. As you well know, it’s exhausting.

(Jonny Lang’s “Lie to Me” playing on a Genius created setlist, Mannish Boy 1. There is no Mannish Boy 2. Hmmm…)

I suppose we’re “Ramblin.” Last one was May of 2017. Yep, bone dry.

I completed James Lee Burke’s latest novel, just released on January 2nd. It’s entitled “Robicheaux” and continues the life and times of his beloved Dave Robicheaux character. It’s marvelous. Sunday it was number five on the New York Times best seller list for fiction. But now, the problem is, I’m all out of James Lee Burke books to read. I have devoured them all.

I began reading Burke’s brilliant prose as a road into fiction. I’ve always been a non-fiction guy, primarily biographies and auto biographies, and I truly wanted to get lost in some great fiction. Bingo!

Burke is done. Now what? Well, as fate would have it, Pat Conroy has received the nod as my next potential obsession. (Whiskey and Wimmen’, John Lee Hooker, now doing the boogie).

Ok, Pat Conroy. I’ve seen the movies. Now it’s time to immerse myself in the books.

I was In Rome, GA, back late in the year 2017, and wandered into Dogwood Books after I completed my lunch at Harvest Moon Cafe. Be sure to check it out if you’re ever in Rome. Anyway, almost a soon as I entered this marvelous old bookstore, a small copy of Conroy’s “The Prince Of Tides” practically leapt off a table of paperback novels and into my awaiting hands.

Oh my! The hands of fate, destiny, God, or what have you, have touched my soul once again! The question now is, will I obsess over South Carolina the way I have over Louisiana and New Orleans? I don’t know, but I am prepared if that be the case. It’s lowcountry time! Shrimp and grits anyone?

War Damn Eagle! Auburn reeled off a 14 game winning streak recently, in basketball no less, and now stands at 17-2. They are ranked number 19 in both the AP and Coaches polls and are neck and neck with Florida for the SEC lead! ESPN Bracketology  has the Tigers as the number four seed in the South region and playing number 13 East Tennessee State (16-4). That is, obviously, subject to certain change. But ain’t this fun?! Mizzou tonight in Columbia!

Seen any movies lately? If not, ramble on over to your nearest cinema and take in Steven Spielberg’s “The Post.” A shoo-in for Oscar nominations, it tells the story of the Washington Post’s rise into the big time of the newspaper worlds with its coverage of the Pentagon Papers. Wow! Yes! Go!

Sad though. I fear we’ve seen the last of great journalism along these lines. The Post. The New York Times. The Boston Globe, et al. Heck, we’ve actually seen the death of true journalism, I fear. Studying journalism at Troy, I was mesmerized with the tales of William Randolph Hearst, Horace Greeley, Joseph Pulitzer, and the like. There remains some decent investigative reporting out there, but the halcyon days of great newspapers are behind us.

This just in! Oscar nominations out! The Post HAS been nominated for Best Picture! Spielberg and Hanks snubbed!

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

 

 

 

 

Ramblin’ 5/10/17

I’m currently working on a Dum Dum. The sucker! Some call these tasty treats lollipops. We did not refer to them as such in Lower Alabama when I was growing up, We called them suckers. That’s what they shall remain in my frame of reference.

We did not call our tasty carbonated beverages soda or, God forbid, pop, either. They were “Co-Colas.” It didn’t matter if the drink was a Pepsi, RC, Dr. Pepper, or “Big” Orange. It was a “Co-Cola.” I will have to admit that I picked up on the term soda while we were residing in the beautiful Hudson Valley area of Upstate New York. My fellow Southerners can penalize me for that.

Speaking of colloquialisms, as some of you know, I have immersed myself in the crime mystery novels of the incomparable James Lee Burke. And I will continue to lavish praise on his brilliant prose and stunning imagery every chance I get. “Hit” don’t get no better.

Anyway, the Louisiana and Cajun colloquialisms I’ve learned in his Dave Robicheaux series are just wonderful. “Podna,” “Cher,” “Making groceries,” “Dat,” “Dem,”  “Neutral ground,” and “Fais do do” among them. (Look, ’em up, you!)

The omission of the letter “H” in Cajun speech is something I love. Thing becomes “t’ing” and mouth becomes “mout’,” for instance.

And now we have Canned Heat’s “Goin’ Up the Country” playing on this setlist composed by Apple Music.

It takes me back to an early scene in the Woodstock movie. When that song comes on  my mind immediately see’s  thousands of hippies descending on Max Yasgur’s farm in New Bethel/White Lake, New York. Volkswagen vans, peace signs, tie dyes, head bands, joints, and nuns flashing peace signs.

The power of association.

By the way, BTW in today’s texting/desrtuction of the King’s English world, the setlist is entitled “What are Earth’s Favorite Songs?” Some of its features… “Mother Nature’s Son,” “Big Yellow Taxi,” “Green River,” “After the Gold Rush,” and “Paradise.”

The one that really struck me, thus far, is one by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole. It is a medley of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World” with “When You Wish Upon a Star” and some other stuff thrown in there. He plays the ukulele. And it brought tears to my eyes.

The power of association. Words. Tunes. Sounds. Smells.

Let’s play some “first word(s) that come to your mind.”

Okay! I’ll provide the words and you make the association.

Music… Love… Hate… Sucker… Rain… Work… Bun… Peace… God.

How’d you do wid dat, you?

Is it summer at your locale yet? It is here at 116 Sundown Way in beautiful Acworth, Gawja. The high is expected to hit around 86 today and 89 tomorrow. 80% chance of rain Thursday, though.

And last weekend? The most miserable night I’ve ever attempted to spend outdoors at an event. And it wasn’t Legion Field in December. It was Hotlanta in MAY!

A dear friend came up from Alabammy, got the four of us a driver for the evening, an Escalade SUV, and took us to see Chris Stapleton. It was 40 something degrees (don’t know what it was with wind chill) with swirling winds and rain that cut us down to the bone!

We got there at the end of the second opening act’s last couple of songs and could only make it through one song by Chris and his band. “Might As Well Get Stoned.” Tell me about it.

But, we wound up at Wild Wing Cafe, in Alpharetta, and then back to 116. A good time was had by all in spite of the brutal “cold and damp” ($1 to Simon and Garfunkel).

Wow! There’s a song I wouldn’t have necessarily thought I would like. It was will. i. am’s “S.O.S.”

And now here’s one by the Friends of Distinction! For all of you out there in radioland. “Grazing in the Grass!” Can you dig it?

That’s my last one for you good folks!

Laissez les bon temps roulez!

Peace out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ramblin’ 4/20/17 (And the Summer of ’73)

Have mercy! It’s been far too long since we rambled! The truth of the matter is that I have been doing a whole lot of reading (James Lee Burke) and very little writing. I need to do both. We shall strive to do better.

It’s April 20th or 4/20. 4/20 is a huge day for many who partake of cannabis sativa. Here is an article that seeks to trace the origins of  this “high” holy day.

*Disclaimer*  The editorial staff at Ramblin’ in no way condones the use of mind altering substances. But if one chooses to do so… be cool. My apologies to Jeff Sessions.

And what has Apple Music conjured up for us today? Rock Hits: 1973.

1973. Whew! That was the year that was. It started with my second attempt to master an academic agenda at Auburn University, which also failed for a second time, and ended with the University of Alabama being upset by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Sugar Bowl on 12/31. Yes, the Tide was a 7-point-favorite and there were many of us in Wilcox County who lost a goodly sum of money on that contest. I won’t name names but you know who you are.

Sigh.

From mid-March through mid-September of ’73 I was a disc jockey at WMFC AM radio in the “Hub of Southwest Alabama”, Monroeville. Six days a week. Sunday through Friday. I went on the air at 6AM and completed my shift at “high” noon.

We opened with gospel music and a Church of Christ preacher and then news, weather, and sports. At 7:08 AM we went to pop music. Suffice it to say, the powers-that-be did not care for Led Zeppelin at 7:08. Fine. Next day, ‘Shout Bamalama’ by Wet Willie. They didn’t like that either.

They also didn’t like me smoking cigarettes in the control room, speeding away, while I drummed my fingers and waited for the preachers to conclude their devotionals. There was also a Southern Baptist minister at 9 AM. I don’t think he liked me. His daughter did, though.

I was summarily dismissed from my position in September. I won’t go into details. You’ll have to speak to me personally about that little “misunderstanding.”

Sigh.

To my knowledge there was no official “4/20” celebration in the “Hub City.” If you came to 328 Lazenby St. during those days I can assure you there was one. There would have been on 4/21, 6/22 and 7/23, as well.

Also there were cattle owners in Peterman and Tunnel Springs that were puzzled by a few “long hairs” so interested in their pastures in those times.

Again, details will have to be obtained form moi.

The Psychedelic Summer of ’73 she was.

*See disclaimer above*

Some of those songs from that eventful time? Money, Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting, We’re an American Band, Kodachrome, Live and Let Die, Tie a Yellow Ribbon, and Stuck in the Middle With You.

And so, late September found me running hard on my $35 per week unemployment check, falling for a young lady down there, and, then, back to Camden, AL and reuniting with my homies. As one, now prominent citizen, said as we were riding around and sipping Schlitz one October afternoon, “Welcome back to society.”

Auburn went 6-5 that fall. It was the year they went to an 11 game schedule. It was also the first year that freshman began to play, again, on the varsity. I attended the Chattanooga, Ole Miss, LSU, Houston, and Florida games. They went 3-2 with the losses coming to LSU and Florida.

My mother talked me into going back to school at Troy and I applied there and was accepted late that autumn.

It was there, in the dog days of the summer of ’75 (which was becoming far too similar to the summer of ’73) that I found myself, late on the night of August 1, prostrate at the altar of the Episcopal church in Troy begging God to forgive me and come into my life.

He did.

I was, five years later, ordained as a Southern Baptist minister. As one of my fraternity brothers told me several years after the ‘event’, “Bird, they still talk about it down in Troy.” I wonder what those long-suffering preachers who, patiently, tolerated my presence in the WMFC control room would think about that. God bless them.

Amazing Grace… truly.

May that same grace be yours today.

 

 

 

 

Time to Let It Ramble

Sit down, turn on the computer, and write. That’s the system today. I have no preconceived course, agenda, or axe to grind.

Just be.

“Let it grow, let it grow,
Let it blossom, let it flow
In the sun, the rain, the snow,
Love is lovely, let it grow”

This from the Eric Clapton ‘461 Ocean Boulevard’ album. ‘Let It Grow’.

That record released in 1974. Great record. ‘I Shot The Sheriff’, the Bob Marley song, was my intro to it.

And this train of thought leads me to, ‘Let It Be’.

“When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom
Let it be”

We, too often, want to force the action don’t we? Push, shove, cajole, manipulate, etc. We generally see time or a timetable as liner. That is a Western concept. Eastern thought sees time as cyclical.

But, what is time? Here you go.

Ecclesiastes has this to say.

War Eagle! I like that!

And how about this one from Chicago?

“As I was walking down the street one day

A man came up to me and asked me what the time was that was on my watch, yeah
And I said

Does anybody really know what time it is (I don’t)
Does anybody really care (care about time)
If so I can’t imagine why (no, no)
We’ve all got time enough to cry

And I was walking down the street one day
A pretty lady looked at me and said her diamond watch had stopped cold dead
And I said

Does anybody really know what time it is (I don’t)
Does anybody really care (care about time)
If so I can’t imagine why (no, no)
We’ve all got time enough to cry

And I was walking down the street one day (people runnin’ everywhere)
Being pushed and shoved by people (don’t know where to go)
Trying to beat the clock, oh, no I just don’t know (don’t know where I am)
I don’t know, I dont know, oh (don’t have time to think past the last mile)
(Have no time to look around) And I said, yes I said (run around and think why)

Does anybody really know what time it is (I don’t)
Does anybody really care (care about time)
If so I can’t imagine why (no, no)
We’ve all got time enough to die

Everybody’s working (I don’t care)
I don’t care (about time)
About time (no, no)
I don’t care”

Let it grow. Let it be. Let it all hang out. Let it go. Let go and let God.

let1
let/
verb
  1. not prevent or forbid; allow.
    “my boss let me leave early”
    synonyms: allow to, permit to, give permission to, give leave to, authorize to, sanction to, grant the right to, license to, empower to, enable to, entitle to;

    archaic suffer to
    “let him sleep for now”

I would love to stay here and chew the fat with you this afternoon, but, “Time won’t let me.”

Grace and peace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ramblin’ 1/19/17

I found myself “Googling” the nutrition information of Krystal products the other day. And AFTER my next round of blood work was completed, yesterday, I stopped by one of those franchises to chow down on two or three of those 130 calorie, 2 grams of saturated fat babies. It would have been my first “cheating” episode since our trip to the Big Easy.

As fate would have it, they were still in breakfast mode and it would have taken too long to put together those little square devils to suit me. Solution? Down the street to Hardee’s and a smoked sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit combo. War Eagle!

Back to being “good” last night, split pea soup courtesy of our dear daughter, Leah.

And this AM? Multi grain toast with a bit of honey cinnamon spread.

The life of a heart patient, should be impatient, wrestling with food demons.

Funny, today’s scripture passage was from Luke 4. Jesus was just beginning his ministry and was in Capernaum casting out demons and healing folks, droves of folks.

Come out of there you mean ole Krystal demon! Come out of there potato chips, hot dogs, rib-eyes, pizza, and fried chicken! Come out! (In my best Ernest Angley).

In the verses prior to his work in Capernaum, Jesus preached his first sermon in Nazareth and was run out of town on a rail. The “church people” even tried to throw him off a cliff. You don’t hear about that one too often.

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga on Apple Music. “Anything Goes” “Cheek to Cheek” “Let’s Face the Music and Dance”, etc.

Music recommendations. Margo Price, Maren Morris, Iry LeJeune’s cajun music, Lukas Nelson (yes, Willie’s boy) and The Promise of Real, and Doug Sahm.

I’ve mentioned it before on Facebook but’s it’s worth another promo. James Lee Burke’s series of Dave Robicheaux novels. I’m on number seven and I can’t stop. Latest obsession. Seriously considering attending the Dave Robicheaux Literary Festival In New Iberia, LA (where most of these books are set) on March 31-April 2.

Gobble gobble, yum yum, slurrrrrrrrp! Eat everything on your plate. Listen to John Prine’s “Fish and Whistle” for more on that.

Follow the thread, exhaust your possibilities, retain or summon your curiosities, and follow them wherever they may lead. God is in the little things. You are you for a reason.

National Signing Day for college football is February 1.

Also on 2/1… In 1861, Texas voted to secede from the Union. Puccini’s opera “La Boheme” premiered in Turin in 1896. 1900, Eastman Kodak introduced the $1 Brownie camera box. And Grand Central Station Opened in New York City in 1913.

Birthdays on 2/1 include Ronda Rousey, Clark Gable, and Lisa Marie Presley.

Setlist change. ‘Inspired by Beatlemania’. “I’m a Believer,” The Monkees, was first up. Mercy! I love that song! Do you know who wrote it? Jeopardy theme song. Time’s up! Neil Diamond. Neil is embarking on his 50th Anniversary Tour. Go if you’ve never seen him. Red, Red Wine is my favorite of his.

Mony Mony was just on. I saw Tommy James and The Shondells at the Big Bam Summer Spectacular back in the late 60’s. Neil Diamond was also there, oddly enough. I miss those shows. Lightnin’ Lou Christie, The Beach Boys, Tony Joe White, Boyce and Hart, Paul Revere and the Raiders, and Porter Wagoner were just a smidgen of other acts I caught there in the Garrett Coliseum. Saw a few rodeos and the circus there too. Also Disney on Ice.

64° here in beautiful Acworth, GA. temperatures are expected to rise to 69 with mostly cloudy skies. A l0w of 58 tonight. The chance of rain rises to 85% at 11 PM. Winds SE at 8 MPH.

I’ll never stop my DJ and play-by-play yammerings. Melodye is one patient soul. And my breaking into a song and/or dance with no perceptible provocation. God bless her sweet soul.

And now Nirvana’s “About a Girl.” Sweet!

Their “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is an all-time favorite. What genius lyrics!

Well, I’ve got a column I’m struggling to get completed due to technical difficulties. It’ll publish next Friday. ‘The Best and Worst of 2016 – SEC Edition.’

Lunch? Oikos Triple Zero Yogurt. Wheeeeeee…

Reading Buddies at 2:30 today.  There is not much that warms the heart like Josue, pronounced Ho-sway, running across the library, with his arms outstretched, yelling, “Mr. Bird!!!!”

Yes, God is in the little things.

Grace and peace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ramblin’ with Neil Young

I was listening to a podcast, today on my walk, of Marc Maron interviewing Neil Young. It was great hearing Neil again. Like an old friend you haven’t seen or heard from in years. And Neil is still Neil. Thank God. He continues to rail against corporate farming, Monsanto, and the pillaging and plundering of Mother Earth in general.

Give ’em hell, Neil!

Since I sat down here and began to write, I’ve been sweeping away at a dusty corner of my mind in an attempt to recall my first memory of Neil and/or his music. I’m pretty sure it would be from the CSN&Y album Deja Vu. That record came to me from the old Columbia Record Club, as did many other great records of that day.

Helpless was on Deja Vu and it remains near the top of my favorite tunes of Neil’s. A great song.

His After The Gold Rush album was back somewhere in that time frame, as well. Another good one. What lyrics on that title cut.

Please click here to read them.

Whew! Man! And the french horn on there!

Takes me back to 332 W. Glenn St. in Auburn and the fall of 1970. But I won’t bore you with  any nostalgic ramblings of my freshman year at Auburn again. Not right now at least.
It wasn’t until 2003 that I saw Neil in concert for the first time. I missed catching him in Tuscaloosa in 1973. Some friends of mine were going to make the trek over there from Auburn. I think this was the Harvest tour. I thought I had to study for mid-terms so I declined the invite. Dumb, as I flunked out anyway. And I didn’t do a whole lot of studying that week. For the most part I was amped up on speed and cannabis, and chain smoking cigarettes. I went from Tuesday to Friday without sleeping a wink.
I’ll leave it at that other than to say,  *WARNING! DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!*
Back to the first time I saw Neil. 2003. Bonnaroo. Neil closed the festivities that opening evening. And that set, that he and Crazy Horse did, sits at the very top of Bonnaroo shows that I’ve seen. I mean they rocked! In the free world as a matter-of-fact.
The second time Me & Paul saw Neil was later that summer at a Willie Nelson Picnic.This was in Willie’s back yard, literally, about 30 minutes outside of Austin in Spicewood, TX . That was a wonderful two days of music. A few of the other acts beside Neil and Willie? The Dead, Billy Joe Shaver, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Pat Green, Leon Russell (RIP), Billy Bob Thornton, and Los Lonely Boys.
That brings me to our last encounter with Neil in a live setting. It was at Radio City Music Hall in the spring of 2004. The day before Melodye’s birthday. March 18th. I think she turned 35 that year. Wink wink, nod nod, know what I mean?
Neil and Crazy Horse performed his Greendale album, all of it, as a stage play. They then did about another 1 1/2 hours of Crazy Horse music including Powderfinger (another favorite), Rockin’ In The Free World, Cortez the Killer, All Along The Watchtower, Cowgirl in the Sand, and a couple of others.
Yes ma’am!
The next night, on Mel’s birthday, and the following night we caught shows by the Allman Brothers Band at The Beacon Theater.
Friday morning followed the Thursday night Neil & Crazy Horse show. We were staying at the Hotel Le Parker Meridien about three blocks from Central Park, and about a five minute walk from the Museum of Modern Art. We did  them both.
The walk in Central Park was especially memorable as it began snowing before we departed our room and it evolved into one of those special moments. All of it was really. The entire three day trip. The time we spent at Strawberry Fields was a highlight. We miss you, John.
I better call it quits for today. Gotta shower, get the dogs, and our, dinner ready.
I am very, very fortunate. I feel the word blessed has become a bit cliche, but that is certainly the case with me and my dear running mate. Blessed beyond comprehension.  I cannot imagine any life other than the one we have spent together, thus far.
I say thus far, because we ain’t done yet. Not by a long shot.
Peace.

Ramblin’ 11/2/16

We are now at “exceptional drought” level here in north Georgia. I can hear Johnny Carson attempting to elicit a response from his Tonight Show audience. “It is so dry here in ____. How dry is it?” Feel free to create your own answer. But it’s not funny, is it? Pray for rain.

I sincerely hope I don’t have to end up doing a rain dance, but I will.

Which segues nicely into the old Guess Who song, Rain Dance.

I really love the Guess Who. They were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1987, and it is yet another stunning omission from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Not even nominated.

Play/download the long version of American Woman. That song rocks!

Undun, These Eyes, No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature, Share The Land, No Time, Laughing, Hand Me Down World… Come on!

And, trust me, you don’t want to get me started on Jethro Tull having yet to be nominated.

I’m very curious to see where Auburn lands in the initial 2016 College Football Playoff poll tonight. My guess is nine or ten. WDE! Lotta football left to be played, though, and all fans from the great state of Alabama have much to be proud of. (I checked the grammar. It’s okay to end a sentence in a preposition in a note to friends.)

How was Halloween for everybody? We had very few ‘trick or treaters’ here in our neighborhood. Maybe a dozen. I gave them Dum-Dums which is what I give the kids at our church when it’s my turn to do the children’s sermon.

Children. I was a member of the Pied Pipers children’s theater group when I attended Troy State University. (Now Troy University). We did such stories as The Three Little Pigs, The Tar Baby, and Jack and the Beanstalk, among others.

My favorite role was that of Brer’ Fox from The Tar Baby. Never failed though. Brer’ Rabbit always “out-foxed” me and Brer’ Bear and we wound up throwing him, or her, as Brer’ Rabbit was most often played by a female, in the briar patch. EVERY single time.

Brer’ Bear was stump dumb. I would hit him and chastise him severely. Over the years I’ve thought about that story a good bit and created PG13  and R versions of it in my mind. I think that would be pretty darn funny.

Vanilla Fudge’s eponymous first album, from 1966, is now pounding away on Apple Music. Dang that’s good stuff! These guys aren’t given enough credit for their impact on hard rock, heavy metal, and prog rock.

Ah yes, those psychedelic days of yore.

The groups that truly catapulted me headlong into that arena were Cream, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Steppenwolf.

There was a band from Tallassee that would occasionally play the National Guard Armory in my hometown of Camden, AL. The fist time I heard the song Fire, by Hendrix, it was done by by that group, The Fantastic Playboys. After a couple of set breaks, which resulted in subsequent trips to the car, I was primed and ready to bust a few moves to Fire, Proud Mary, and my favorite of their covers, Devil With The Blue Dress>Good Golly Miss Molly. That was a song popularized by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels.

Those were the days.

Please click below and try NOT to bust a move with me.

 

Love y’all! Peace out.

(Photo from December 1975. The last day of Pied Piper tour. Me in my Tutu.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ramblin’ 10/11/16

Welcome back to Ramblin’!

It really feels like fall now. 71 degrees with a high of 75 on the way, and a low tonight of 47. Leaves are beginning to cover the side, fenced-in, yard. And Auburn is ranked. All is well!

I began reading Steve Spurrier’s autobiography, Head Ball Coach-My Life in Football, yesterday. A few chapters in and it is vintage Spurrier. Good stuff.

The book I completed last week, prior to starting on Spurrier’s, was one by crime-mystery novelist James Lee Burke. The Tin Roof Blowdown. It’s from his Dave Robicheaux series. Excellent writing. Brilliant prose. Intricate, compelling plot lines. Superb characters.

The Tin Roof Blowdown takes place in the aftermath of Katrina in New Orleans, New Iberia, Lafayette, and environs.

Highly recommended.

On the old Apple Music turntable, Lester Young and Billie Holiday. The album is entitled ‘A Musical Romance.’ Also brilliant.

Backing up to bring Auburn into the conversation again. They have an open date this Saturday. That will leave our focus on the SEC at Knoxville and Oxford. Alabama-Tennessee and Ole Miss-Arkansas.

Me and Paul will be having near and dear Bama friends over for for the occasion. I look forward to a great day and night of football, food, and music. An adult beverage or two might be consumed as well.

Birthdays today include Eleanor Roosevelt, Daryl Hall, Luke Perry, Elmore Leonard (speaking of great crime-mystery writers), and rapper U-God of Wu Tang Clan.

Yes, I have been to a Wu Tang Clan concert. They opened for Rage Against The Machine. How did I find myself at this event you might ask. It was 1997 and I took my son, Luke, to what was then Lakewood Amphitheater. It was an experience to be sure. People running around bumping into one another, et cetera. Old Dirty Bastard and all.

RIP ODB.

I was just scanning my Apple Music recommendations for today and under ‘Albums’ spotted one by UB 40.

UB 40 covered my favorite Neil Diamond song which is Red, Red Wine. UB 40’s cut was, of course, done in reggae style.

Another aside involving Luke. I was driving him to school at Lee-Scott Academy in Auburn back in 1989. I was then the retail store manager for Tiger Rags (shout out to Don, Charlie, and Jerry!). We were listening to a Columbus pop/rock station and they played the UB 40 cover of Red, Red Wine. The DJ followed the song with non-sensical lyrics of his own. “Red, red wine I can see your fanny. Red, red wine you got a hole in you panty.”

It’s all about those moments. Ain’t it?

Speaking of moments, I had one that knocked me for a loop back on September 15th. I had a bout of Transient Global Amnesia or, duh, TGA. Click the link and check it out.

It was scary. And I can’t imagine how awful it was for Melodye. I didn’t know what day it was or who the president was. I didn’t remember Auburn was playing Texas A&M in two days.

Mel had me on the phone and I asked her, “Paul, what is all this A&M stuff doing on the table? Are we playing football?” (I keep programs, cups, and paraphernalia from the coming Saturday’s opponent on the kitchen table the week of that game.)

She knew, then, we were in big trouble. It seemed so but all’s well that ends well. TGA is, essentially, harmless. ‘Twas NO fun though.

And thanks again for your thoughts and prayers. Your calls, texts, and well wishes.

Back in the saddle with ‘Ramblins’ again! It’s been far too long.

Ok! Apple Music now twangin’ out a ‘My Favorites Mix’ that they rustled up for me. All country. The last two songs were Hag’s ‘Somewhere Between’ and Conway’s ‘To See My Angel Cry’.

Now? Kristofferson’s ‘Why Me Lord’. That’s a great “hymn.”

Wow! How poignant!

“Why me Lord, what have I ever done
To deserve even one
Of the pleasures I’ve known
Tell me Lord, what did I ever do
That was worth loving you
Or the kindness you’ve shown.
Lord help me Jesus, I’ve wasted it so
Help me Jesus I know what I am
Now that I know that I’ve need you so
Help me Jesus, my soul’s in your hand.
Tell me Lord, if you think there’s a way
I can try to repay
All I’ve taken from you
Maybe Lord, I can show someone else
What I’ve been through myself
On my way back to you.
Lord help me Jesus, I’ve wasted it so
Help me Jesus I know what I am
Now that I know that I’ve need you so
Help me Jesus, my soul’s in your hand.”
Amen.
(Photo me & Paul with our Bama friends, Terry and Lyndie Sims)