Speaking Of The Past Present

  The same night that Maria and I took a break to see the Alvin Brothers (here's a link to a good Terry Gross interview  Fresh Air with Phil and Dave Alvin -at least until the link is removed), we also went to see our friend Ben play a gig at the Mason Social House, downtown.  We got there a little early, just early enough to wander back outside to encounter an enthusiastic street man tell  Maria that she is still very pretty. He crooned to her and I said he could sing with Smokey Robinson, he acted as if I had slandered and denigrated him for decades.  "Smokey aint got nothing on me!! was the nicest thing he yelled as we walked away.  Oooh baby baby.

    Ben, with his sardonic comments, notable man hugs and  guitar playing that adds to the living room settings we are used to visiting the Cohens in was back on stage with friends and family.  He seemed to have a good time and the band sounded really good. A good live performance provides a sustaining energy; how a band interacts with each other,  how the musicians interact with the audience.  It's nice to see Anne singing too. Decades ago my memories of her exploring her voice possibilities had an occasionally eerie effect as I was scooping ice cream. Digging into the freezers had a type of sound proof quality and backing out, you might be surrounded by the swirling sounds of O'Leary .  Here's a nice write up of Ben's recent record,  Digging The Past To Mine The Future , this was a successful Kickstarter venture.

    I could play Nothin' Gonna Turn Me Around as a daily anthem and also especially enjoy the sound and feel of St.Francis and Milkalove.  It is a fine album, something someone could feel very proud of completing and sharing.

Beginning to Sink In

   Howdy. I've been feeling very tired and looking forward to being in one place, freed from the deadline we've placed over our heads to get this moving business done.  29 years in one home accumulates a lot of stuff.  It's so much and the task is daunting.  We might spend an evening cleaning and sorting, tossing and recycling, saving and storing and still feel that there is so much more to be done.  We clear out what seems to be a mass amount, take in a moments satisfaction- then feel the reckoning of what we still need to do. Completely exhausting.  At work- what ever happened to ordering small packages?  Well, there's plenty of those but it seems that lately bikes, generators, shelves, 1/2 ton of books are in great demand.

    When I ride the cable car up the hills of SF with the views of California Street, I feel sad.  Nearing the end of time in San Francisco- sure, I'll still work here and yes, we will spend time here but we will just be visitors.
It's a feeling of being caught in between with giant amounts of nostalgia and memories with the flip side of the mess that still is.  I realize that once we are done, and can fully embrace our next as now, a certain amount of peace and content will be present.  Plus it wouldn't hurt to get that jukebox back and functioning.

     For now I enjoy the comfort of our bed (old friend) and count the days we have left in San Francisco.  Hey, will someone just take a crap in front of the building one more time?  I'd count faster then.