Who goes there? Please leave comments so (An Aries Knows)!
“With nothing left, she would … cling to that which had robbed her, as people will. ”
I was preparing to put away the Halloween decorations for the year when I felt compelled to let these two hands clasp. Perhaps I was reminded of William Faulkner’s story “A Rose for Emily.”
Just a snippet of something I’m working on.
No. 2580: Would you rather have unlimited coffee from Starbucks or unlimited burgers from Wendy’s?
Oh, fare the well, red meat. There is a correct answer to this for me, for always.
Small vessel. Giant bliss.
From The Tiny Book of Tiny Pleasures, “A Page to Color.”
I realized today that I haven’t colored any pages during the month of October. I think it’s because I use coloring time to think about what I want to write, and instead, I’ve been actually writing. It’s slow, but it’s happening.
Just in case I need to put colored pencils or pens to paper, I chose my next page from Paris Street Style: A Coloring Book. It’s one of my favorites. I had a whole stack of coloring books that accumulated during September in the Writing Sanctuary, and I finally reshelved those on the craft side of the home office. Uncluttering moment: accomplished.
Little bracelets.
Limits remain for what I want to revisit on the topic of Dennis Wilson. There are interviews online behind paywalls. I still own magazines with interviews. I’ve got lots of books with quotes or partial/full interviews. Considering the (just over) twenty years of his work as a Beach Boy and a solo artist, Dennis really didn’t give a lot of interviews. From my perspective: He didn’t talk about music, he made it. He didn’t talk about relationships, he had them. He didn’t pontificate about life, he lived it. Everything we need to hear from Dennis is in what he wrote, either lyrically or instrumentally: fun, energy, celebration, sex, soul, passion, tenderness, rowdiness, and love.
The times he came alive the most in interviews were when he talked about his brothers. When I read those, I’m reminded of a hot Houston night when I had the chance to meet and talk to Carl Wilson. At that time, it had been less than a decade since Dennis’s death; my own losses had taught me how raw grief can remain years later. Despite how huge a place Dennis had, still has, in my thoughts (he is my Muse, after all), instead, I asked about Brian, and Carl lit up. He smiled, he was infused with new energy, and he spoke freely and glowingly about his oldest brother. It was moving both because of Carl and because of how it reminded me of Dennis’s love for Brian.
Dennis and Carl are both gone now, but I believe that for Brian, they’re never gone. And the music… always the music. Here’s where I find a favorite “interview.”
September 28 — Favorite interview: My Love Lives On ©Dennis Wilson
ETA: I’ve returned to add a link to this 2008 article, because it has a lot of insight from people who knew and worked with Dennis as well as many quotes from Dennis himself.
Tiny selfie sisters.
Ah, the selfie. Will this be a notable or regrettable advance that twenty-first century technology brought us? Once everyone from kindergarten-age up had the ability to use a phone camera and reverse it, selfies became ubiquitous. The WORST development was possibly brought about by Miley Cyrus, who could not keep her tongue in her mouth when a camera was pointed her way. I’ve seen enough protruding tongues from ‘tween and teen and twenty-somethings (who should know better) that I felt like I needed a glass jar of tongue depressors next to me and a compulsion to bark, “Say aaaaahhh.”
Camera self-portraits were a lot harder in previous decades, unless you had a good camera with a timer, and back then, you had to focus the damn thing on something approximately where you’d be before you ran to the spot and sat for 15 seconds feeling like an idiot while you tried and retried different facial expressions and smiles or
poses.
I don’t know that this 1983 shot was a self-portrait, but judging by my memory of the room I was in, the photographer would have had to be standing where my dresser was. So I think I stuck the camera on said dresser, set the timer, and darted to my bed to sit down. Then waited until I could afford to have the film developed before I sent the photo to whoever wrote and asked for a photo. I can’t believe there was ever anyone in my life who wanted photos of me, but it happened, and I can think of two of them immediately. One has since died and one disappeared long ago. My photos may have sinister powers. There’s a book in that.
These days, you just open your text messages or social media accounts and say, “Oh, good, another photo of Aunt Edie and her (fill in pet species of choice).”
When I saw today’s idol challenge, I was relatively sure I’d never seen a photo of Dennis taking his own photograph, though I saw plenty of photos of him holding a camera. I think he liked shooting pictures.
I certainly would have liked shooting pictures of him.
(still looking for copyright attribution)
(still looking for copyright attribution)
© Michael Ochs before Hollywood Bowl concert, 1965
The photo below is among my favorites and is at least Dennis looking at himself while he plays (privately, not publicly) and is aware he’s being photographed by a friend. It’ll do.
September 21 — Selfie ©Ed Roach
Back in business with the return of the Internet to Houndstooth Hall. I’m not complaining that losing electricity for ten hours, losing cable for twenty-one hours, and having scattered leaf and small limb debris is what Hurricane Nicholas delivered. Trust me, no one knows better than I do how it can be worse.
Favorite movie? There’s only one ****, but that’s one more than most drummers appear in as an actor.
September 14 — Favorite movie ©Universal Pictures
The Car who starred in 1971’s Two Lane Blacktop was a 1955 Chevy Sedan, and in honor of Tiny Tuesday, I modified what I could find at Walgreen’s, a tiny 1957 Chevy Bel Air. To give it a rough paint job similar to The Car’s, I blended charcoal, periwinkle, hunter green, sky blue, hippo grey, and ocean reef blue paints. Not an exact match, but just open the door to your imagination, and you can see The Driver and The Mechanic (aka, my Muse) putting in the miles before their next race.
ETA: **** How did I forget the beach movies?!? Dennis appears with the band in both of these, and I think there may have been another.
Film opening includes the Beach Boys with Annette.
Beach Boys appear at end of credits. At the very end of the song, Dennis has lines.
Another from Girls on the Beach
Third BB song from Girls on the Beach.
Not long after we moved into Houndstooth Hall, I spotted this Hot Wheels car next to our driveway. I’d hoped it was a Cobra (reason will soon be evident), but it’s a ’97 Mazda RX-7. Maybe my favorite part is the sticker with the 55 crossed out (hey, Sammy Hagar!).
If you’re familiar with the Beach Boys’ 1960s music, then you know they began with surf and moved to cars. A band of teenagers suddenly rolling in money and pulling in girls naturally bought the coolest cars, but Dennis, always a daredevil, liked to race his. His car exploits are part of the legend.
Dennis’s cars included: ’63 Corvette Stingray, Jaguar XKE, a yellow Cobra, Ferrari Lusso (former car of the late Sam Cooke), Rolls Royce, Ferrari 275 GTB long-nose, VW camper, 1955 Thunderbird, 1934 Ford… and who knows how many others.
All of that is why I chose the sporty photo I did for today’s 30 Days Idol Challenge.
September 7 — With a hat ©Ed Roach
Lyric from “Dreamer,” by Dennis Wilson, 1977
I have a couple of Van Halen pins. To give you a sense of how small they are, I shot them next to that smallest of candles, the tealight.
This first one, I don’t know. It’s dated 1991, and I saw them in 1992 on their For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Tour, so I may have bought it at the concert. But I tended to pick up Van Halen items at record shows, too, so I could have gotten it that way. Either way, it was a great concert, and I had a blast.
Like a majority of Van Halen fans, I’d have loved for the Kitchen Sink Tour to have come to fruition: a tour with the band that included Sammy Hagar, Gary Cherone, and David Lee Roth with Michael Anthony, and the Van Halens: Edward, Alex, and Wolf. It was in the planning stages when COVID shut it down, and then of course, EVH was sick and died in October last year. It would have been epic.
This wee one, I had to have it when I saw it in the etsy shop of pizzawednesday. They have so much of their art on things like stickers, pins, key chains, featuring musicians and pop culture icons, slogans, etc. Check out their store at that link.
The box came with instructions on how to turn it into a stage, plus they threw in a few stickers and the thank you note they wrote had me smiling SO BIG: “Hello Becky! Thank you SO MUCH for your order & support! EDDIE ROCKS!!! … and so do you! Enjoy your new pin! Best Wishes, Michael and Mary O”
Something so small, arriving with kindness so big–talk about rocking, Michael and Mary do! Will definitely order from them again.
We had something scheduled at Houndstooth Hall today, and I’d already decided I would use that time to run a few simple errands. Then I read the news that Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts had died, and it flattened my mood. Charlie may have lived a great long life, but as I said in an Instagram post, more decades wouldn’t have been enough. Talented, a gentleman, a husband to Shirley since 1964, rescuer of retired greyhounds, and despite a few hiccups along the way, a stabilizing, steady force for his bandmates: Charlie was one of a kind and one of the reasons I have so much affection for drummers. We were lucky as hell to see the Stones in Houston in 1989 and 1994.
While I was running errands, I decided to cheer myself up by checking my favorite part of Walgreen’s, the section with their model autos. They are the best value at $5.99 I can find in that store. =) Which is how I came home with a tiny UPS van.
/p>
When I was showing it to Tom and checking if the doors open, he said, “Wouldn’t it be funny if the back doors opened, too, and it had boxes inside?” Whereupon I answered, “Prepare to smile, Tom.”
Tiny pin, tiny van, but I’m about to work on the saga while listening to a major band that gave us the huge spirit and talent of Charlie Watts.
