Art posted here previously was of The Fool, 1997, acrylic on canvas, Rolf Eichelmann, artist.
Happy April Fool’s Day, and happy birthday to our friend Geri! I hope her day is full of mischief and celebration, if those are what she seeks.
Are you in a foolish mood in honor of the date? Did you know that Mercury goes retrograde today? I hope that planet doesn’t toy with you.
Today, instead of shenanigans, I have the first section of the seventh book in the Neverending Saga to edit: around 82 pages, so that I can pass it to my two readers for comments and criticisms. Then I’ll shift from this brooding character’s point of view to a more lighthearted character–lighthearted FOR NOW. Can’t be fiction without conflict!
Today’s song challenge is “a song someone sang to you once.” How about sang to me too many times to count? If I was in a bad mood or just feeling playful, and Riley was there with his guitar, I made the same request: “Play ‘Rocky Raccoon,’ please!” I’ve shared on here before how one time when I made that request, he gave me a reproachful look.
If I’ve never shared this before, it’s a picture from one of our high school yearbooks. I don’t have that yearbook, but Lynne does. I snapped a photo with my camera phone when I was at Half-Acre Wood a couple of years ago. Riley in his 1950s era raccoon coat.
Riley and other musicians were doing a tribute in a local bar to John Lennon in December 1980, days after the former Beatle was murdered. As much as everyone there loved playing and hearing the music, there was such a pervasive feeling of sadness among us. I couldn’t take it anymore and mouthed my request: “Rocky Raccoon.”
“That’s a McCartney song,” he answered off mic, not wanting to embarrass me.
“I know,” I said. “Please play it anyway. For me.”
He couldn’t refuse me. I don’t know about anyone else in the bar, but hearing Riley play and sing a song that always made me laugh was what I needed to keep my equilibrium that night. Whether or not John Lennon liked the song, as he once told us in a different song, Whatever gets you thru the night/It’s all right, it’s all right.
I thank Riley, always, for all the days and nights he got me through with his music and poetry, all the other artists’ music he introduced me to, his friendship and love, for sometimes testing me almost to the ends of my patience and endurance, his emotional support during my hardest times, and his ability to make me laugh.
In 2022, on the 42nd anniversary of John Lennon’s death, a group of musicians and fans gathered at the Strawberry Fields/Imagine memorial in Central Park, and there’s a video of them doing the song. I guess I’m not the only one. =)
Today’s song challenge is “a song by an artist whose voice you love.” I was watching some television show one night a long time ago–I mean like 1970s or 1980s long time–I feel like it could have been a cop show–and they played Sam Cooke’s “You Send Me.” Even though the song was already familiar to me, maybe because of the show’s plot or the scene they showed while it played, who knows, it grabbed my attention that night. Despite all those other details having vanished, I’ve never forgotten how the song felt new and became a favorite from that point on.
I can’t say anything better about Sam Cooke’s voice than this quote from Wikipedia: Cooke is widely considered one of the greatest singers and most accomplished vocalists of all time. His incredibly pure tenor voice was big, velvety and expansive, with an instantly recognizable tone. His pitch was remarkable, and his manner of singing was effortlessly soulful. He could go as high as high C without losing purity or volume, and his upper mid-range was coated in a unique rasp. His vocal style was very adaptable, adopting a rather classical sound on jazz and pop songs while maintaining his trademark stylistic soulful hold on R&B, gospel, and soul music.
Happy birthday to my friend Lisa K, she of so many talents (she sings! she paints! she’s a computer wizard! she’s funny! she’s smart!), a tiny dynamo packaged inside a beautiful smile, mesmerizing green eyes, and striking red hair. I’m dedicating today’s song challenge to her.
The theme is “a song that moves you forward.” It’s time I showed the Foo Fighters some love and also reminded myself that “Something From Nothing” expresses how the creative spark and process are often motivated by an underlying rage. Use it; don’t let it drag you down.
First off, happy birthday to our friend Steve C. When Tom, Tim, and I played cards with Jim last night, we reminisced about several other visits we’ve shared since we met in 1997, including one in which Jim, Tim, and Steve were all in Houston. A photo we mentioned was one in which Steve wanted to pose with our dachshunds Pete and Stevie to duplicate a photo we took of them with Tom’s brother Jeff once. Why? Because Pete had a tendency to dislike and nip strangers, but he was always fine with Jeff. Steve wanted to prove that Pete would be fine with him, too. It worked, and he got his photo.
But my favorite photo is one in which I asked them to pose like the Valley of the Dolls publicity shot. The original:
And Valley of the Dolls: Becky’s Version.
Today’s song challenge is “a song that has many meanings to you.” Dionne Warwick’s “(Theme From) Valley of the Dolls” does have many meanings to me. It’s in my iTunes library and I hear it a lot in my car.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Are you wearing green today? I’m not sure how much writing I’ll be doing while Jim’s here, but I’m in the final stretch of the first section of the book which is all presented through the voice of one character. The good news is that the next character up (who’s half Irish–I can stay on topic!), has already been nudging me about how to kick off his section. It’s always a relief to have a plan.
For now, I’m simply going to enjoy the few days Jim will be here. I also committed to a small project (small for me; big for him) for someone who I’ve long enjoyed interacting with online. I once wrote a short story for an anthology he was putting together (hope remains that collection will one day be published; I’d love to see that story in print). I’ve started my part of his current project and need to get it to him as soon as I can.
The song challenge for today is “a song you’d sing with someone at karaoke.” I’ve mentioned on here more than once that I’ve had a single adventure in karaoke, when I was pulled into a group of women to sing Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle.” I’m not sure I sang as much as I laughed, because one of the women took the lead and owned it. It was such a surprise, because she was normally a reserved person; it was great to see her cut loose and enjoy herself so immensely. I don’t think that experience could be replicated, BUT… with the right group of women friends, I might be persuaded to play air guitar and pretend to be as cool as Joan Jett in this video (I would provide BACKING VOCALS ONLY) on the Runaways’ “Cherry Bomb.”
Today’s challenge is “a song that’s a favorite from any genre.” R.E.M. is one of my top bands. I respect them for disbanding when they thought it was time, but I miss them. They have so many songs I never get tired of listening to. Though “Losing My Religion” was probably overplayed on music television, both the song and the video are classic.
Jim arrived here around noon today after Tim picked him up at the airport. We haven’t seen him since the month before the flood in 2017, so this visit is long overdue. Just as always, it’s like those years never happened. As the four of us sat at the table and talked, it was easy to remember why we started writing together. Just missing Timmy from the group!
Photo of painting previously posted here was of Morning Guitar Painting, oil on canvas, date unknown, by artist Elaine Fleck.
Riley, date and photographer unknown
From my earliest years, I liked the Beatles, as I like many artists and bands, but because of Riley’s talent for playing their songs on guitar and piano/keyboards, I learned to love the Beatles. I could listen to him play either instrument for as long as he’d let me, or until my parents made him leave. =) (And with that memory, let me note that today is my late mother’s birthday, and Riley was one of the few boys I knew who she kept liking through the decades.)
No matter how many songs Riley played, there would always be one for me, every time, on guitar. Though in this photo, he’s performing on keyboards, my mind will always go to that one song, one guitar, one boy. Any time this song (and a few other songs special to both of us) comes up in my Instagram feed, whether or not those are accounts I follow, I think of it as a message and leave a four-character comment on the post that’s meant to convey, Yes, my friend, I’m thinking of you, too. Riley’s birthday is in four days. How I’d love to be able to say those words in person or even on the phone. I will never stop missing him or appreciating everything we did and said and felt and wrote and listened to in all those years of friendship. I will love him always.
Today’s challenge is “a song that reminds you of someone.”
Yes, it’s been two weeks since Valentine’s Day. Yes, I understand the perspective that it’s a manufactured holiday meant to make people spend money on flowers and candy and jewelry and dining out and trips, etc. And it makes some people feel lonely and alone, or resentful for being expected to feel lonely and alone, when they are actually quite content with their lives. So here’s a message from the bottom of my heart–or the bottom of my Hershey’s Kisses.
Love is love. Celebrate it any day or every day with friends, family members, family pets, and romantic partners. Or just celebrate because Snoopy was created, and he’s amazing.
