Odetta: House of the Rising Sun

 

 

New Orleans? What happened there?.  Years and years later, her songs are in my mind and I can make connections. And then, I learn of Odetta, and her rich interpretation of many songs.  

Being a farm girl who knew nothing of such houses, I was struck by the sadness of those poor boys. What led them there?

 We are heading from California to Illinois to visit our son and his family.  So I am posting this and I hope you leave a comment.  I'll read them after we return.

A collection of Odetta

On the Way to Vegas

 

During a blistering summer day in Victorville, California, a white convertible eased up to the gas pump.  Not just any white convertible, this was a 1960s long lean Cadillac convertible, with white leather interior and red trim. 

A lean tanned young man leaned out and swaggered to the gas station interior.  He was Steve McQueen cool, and he knew it. 

The white blonde woman stepped out the passenger side, swinging white leather boots onto the oil stained pavement.  She stretched a long cat stretch.  Every inch of her white leather pants clung to her, white film on lean legs.  The silver studs on the white leather jacket glinted sun, crying out defiantly, “Money!  I got loads of it!”

 

She shook her long white blonde hair out, combing through it with flame red finger nails and ringed fingers. 

The young man jogged out and kissed her.  “This’ll just take a minute, Baby.  Then we’ll be on our way to ‘Vegas.”

The white blonde woman turned and got back in the car.  For just a moment, just long enough, her face was fully visible. 

An old face, brown with too much sun, and pursed with lines.  Heavy rouge, heavy lipstick, heavy black long eyelashes, heavy makeup--all were creased into the lines of a face that had been to ‘Vegas many times.

The white convertible pulled back onto the I-15.  Her hand caressed the back of his neck.

 

This is a repost from 2014. We lived in Victorville, California for many years, and it was a place to get gas.  The long hot desert miles lay ahead.  This was something I observed while I was getting gas, too.  

 

Klingons on the Starboard Bow

 

                                             Air and Space Museum

In 1966, life as I knew it changed. 

 A script for "Star Trek" had been rejected by many production companies.  And then, Lucille Ball saw its potential, and Bob's-your-uncle.  It gave me a vision of something that would happen sometime, maybe while my great-great-grand-children were still alive.

Klingons on the Starboard Bow

                                                Carole Burnett took on James T. Kirk

YouTube world has such amazing offerings.

A series knows it has arrived when parodies are made about the characters. Rather than insulting the show, these showed how famous this and the actors would become. Who knew?  I was 14 at the time; anything and everything seemed possible.

Now?  Lots of things are possible, but not necessarily good. Wait and see.

Miss Marple: Agatha Christie

 

Source

 

Disappointment is a painful burden, especially when there was a great expectation.  Any fan of mysteries can understand this sentiment.

I remember the Agatha Christie books and how my white-haired grandmother would devour them.  Devour them!  Then those books came to me, and I became a Christie fan.

14 seconds  "Nemesis"

In 1985 or so, BBC released the Agatha Christie Mysteries starring Joan Hickson.  She was an amazing Miss Marple, perfect to the letter.  T

 

The excellent filming, charming settings screamed “England!  Right here!”, as well as the accuracy of clothing and times presented all the engaging drama one has come to expect from BBC mysteries. Agatha Christie advised Joan Hickson long before she was given the part, that Christie saw her as the next Miss Marple.

 

Dame Margaret Rutherford had a different take on Miss Marple.

 

19 seconds "Miss Marple meeting Hercule Poirot

Disappointment, indeed.  Agatha Christie would have wept.

 

Note: Sadly, American murder/drama/police dramas have gone down a dark, predictable road. Why?

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction

 

Mick Jagger is seventy nine (79) years old. Worth $350 million. Yes, yes he is.

Was it so long ago that I listened to him and The Rolling Stones in my room on the farm?  Can’t get no……can’t get no……can’t get no…Satisfaction…

I was standing at the top of the stairs, listening to my brother’s radio in his room, humming along.  “Satisfaction?”  What the heck does he mean?  I even looked it up in the dictionary to make sure that I knew what he meant. 

State of being satisfied; reaching a point of feeling completeness; satiated

Being all of thirteen or so years old, it occurred to me that the singer should have been satisfied.  I mean, after all, here he was, from England!  England!  And, he had a record that was playing on the radio all the time.  Plus, he and his English  band had been interviewed on television.   The interviewer asked him if he had gotten 'any satisfaction', and Mick said NO. This man, this Mick Jagger, should have been very happy, very complete.

 

                                                        About 7 to 8  min.

Years later, when I had learned more about Mick Jagger and  The Rolling Stones, it again occurred to me that these people should have been satisfied.  But, they were not.  Drugs, alcohol, lots of sex, fame, money—they had it all.  One of their band died from an overdose.  Each struggled with addictions of some sort.  Why weren’t they satisfied?

Now, at age 79, Sir Mick Jagger should be able to have a perspective of his life.  I wonder how he would answer the question:  Am I satisfied?

Great Grandfather Mick Jagger, Great-granddaddy himself

Chicago Tribune 1934 and then....

 Political Cartoons say so much with just a pen, creativity, and personal beliefs.

Chicago Tribune 1934

Latest spring style

 

 1947

 

Cold War

  

Dr. Seuss Anti-semitism 

Well, what do you think? What DID you think when you read these? Things change, things remain the same.

The Quick Rip

 

Quick!  You can do it!

James heard Dan’s voice.  He trusted his friend and followed him blindly.  Whatever Dan said was the law.

Dan shifted from foot to foot, his breath coming out quickly.  “Come on!  We gotta go!  Just do it!”  Dan watched as the backs as his pack of boys disappeared around the corner.

James hesitated.  He heard Dan hiss, “Coward!”

James stared up into Dan’s eyes.  Without breaking contact or even blinking, James grasped the loosened edge of the band aid.

This is part of my collection from "In Preacher's Creek".

View of Paris

 

 

There are some basic physics when it comes to mass and space. A certain amount of mass can fill only the same amount of space and no more.

At one of the many award ceremonies held by the world of entertainment, Dolly Parton’s ample chest burst through her snug dress.  When her dress mishap was repaired, Dolly said something to the effect of “My daddy always told me that you can’t fit five gallons of mud into a one-gallon bucket.”

That is true in every situation, including the Eiffel Tower.

Tourists wander around on the lower level of the Tower before taking an elevator to the second level. There is one elevator that is specifically for people. The other four are for operations to maintain the Tower. 

One would think that someone would think I’ll take the next one…no, you go on…  No, all crammed in to the elevator #5 with the space decreases as the mass increased.  

In 1985, My husband and I were part of that mass which also included a tourist bus of tall Swedish men…no, tall and big Swedish men. My husband was pushed away with the flow of people, leaving me in the middle of the elevator without him.

As the elevator shrank and the mass remained the same, it became obvious to this 5` 4” female would soon be crushed in a vice of handsome muscular tall Viking giants.

Daily Mail UK: 1 in 33 Britains share Viking DNA

One giant peered down at my desperate face and placed his massive arm over my head to the shoulder of another towering giant, who looked down at miniscule female (me).  He braced his hand on the other man's shoulder, chuckling while saying something in Viking language. 

The elevator opened, spewing its occupants out onto the top level of the Eiffel Tower.

The Vikings deserted me to gaze at the city they had once conquered, when my 5` 9” husband found me.  We held hands, viewing Paris from the heights of the Eiffel Tower.

The Eiffel Tower will always hold a unique memory for me.

The Butchering of Books

 

What do "Seuss, Goosebumps,   Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,   The Holy Bible,   Diary of Anne Frank,   The Giver,   A Wrinkle in Time,   Where the Wild things Are"  have in common? They are being banned by some greater minds with better understanding than the readers. Banned Books 2023 has a bigger list of Banned Books. 

Banned by whom? And why?

Here is why:

"Books are being banned because some people or groups object to their content, which may be considered controversial, offensive, or unsuitable for certain audiences. 

Books can be banned for various reasons, such as racial issues, encouragement of “damaging” lifestyles, anti-religious magic, mature language, LGBTQIA+ content, or dissenting political viewpoints. 

Books are banned by removing them from school curriculums and/or public libraries, which restricts others’ access to them and the ideas they contain. The American Library Association tracks which books are banned and for what reasons". list of books so far, Purple Bookshelf club.

How far into the literary masterpieces will the bigger and smarter minds go?

What books did you enjoy? Do enjoy now? 

Does your personal library have any of the books that are banned?

 

 

Dr. Love: radio show

 

 

Radio Host:  Okay, you’re on live.  Let's speak to ...I don't know who he is, but here he is...Mr. Memphis.  Take it away, Dr. Love.

Mr. Memphis: Okay…I wrote this girl a letter…I gave it to the postman and he put it in his sack…

Dr. Love:  So he put the letter in his sack, and…?

Mr Memphis:  (sobs) Bright and early next morning, he brought the letter back…

Dr. Love:  So, the letter was returned?

Mr. Memphis:  …she wrote upon it:  Return to sender, address unknown…(quiet sniffling)

Dr. Love:  You had a quarrel?  A lover’s spat?

Mr. Memphis:  I wrote “I’m sorry!” But my letter keeps coming back…(indistinct nose blowing).

Dr. Love:  So, the letter was returned....What did you do next?

Mr. Memphis:  So then I dropped it in the mailbox, sent it special D (delivery)…( ragged weeping)

Dr. Love:  And the next morning…?

Mr. Memphis: It came right back to me…RETURN TO SENDER…

Dr. Love:  And then what, what did it say?

Mr. Memphis  ...and, ‘No such person…No such zone’! (sobbing)

Dr. Love:  What the heck?  Well then, what will you do next?

Mr. Memphis:  This time, I’m gonna take it myself! (determined voice)

Dr. Love:  And put it right in her hand?  Isn’t that stalking?  I mean, really?

Mr. Memphis:  …if it comes back the very next day, then I’ll understand the writing on it…(sobbing, intermittent nose sniffing,)

 

Dr. Love:  I think that's best.  Take a hint.  Move on, buddy.  Move on...Next Caller, line 2...something about "Your Cheatin' Heart" you're saying?...

This is a re-post from 2018. It was originally posted in the 2012 A to Z bloghop. "Quintessential Radio". You can't go wrong with Elvis Presley.

After the egg hunt is over

 

 

This event was before my brothers/bastards found my Superman comics collection , back before I learned just how low and evil my brothers were, and would become.

It was Easter, maybe 1960 or 1959.  Church was over.  Ham dinner was eaten and done. It was time for the egg hunt.  Hard boiled and dyed eggs had been hidden in our vast lawn after we all had in bed asleep.  It was never questioned by whom.

Source

It was a brutal competition, with lots of screaming, shoving and pushing. There may have been some scratching and punching as well. There are no memories about who garnered the most eggs; the hunt was not so much about speed—it was about who was most devious and/or violent. 

Then Easter was gone, baskets were packed away for next year, and deviled eggs were supper. With no holiday to anticipate, a veil of tedium settled over our farm in a pre-summer heat.

In the middle of the night, something woke me, something like a POP!  I rolled over, catching just a hint of chocolate.  Then a new smell came in waves---foul, recognizable, nauseating.

It was the distinctive odor of rotten eggs.  Rolling out of bed and looking under it, I spotted a lone Easter basket with the remains of an exploded egg.  One of my three brothers had placed it there before I went to bed. (My bedroom was that clean...seriously...even under the bed...)

Opened the window…threw the Basket out…and heard the muffled giggles from my brothers’ rooms.  They were waiting for my own explosion. 

Well, they did not get it.  I tiptoed down the stairs and slept on the couch.  The rotten egg smell did not limit itself to my room; it traveled to their room as well.

Justice and revenge would wait for another day.  I was the soul of patience.

Those bastards....


This was posted in 2020, rewritten and here it is now. 

My brothers (whom I love dearly now) were miserable bastards in my youth. They were harshly mean to me most of the time. Revenge would be mine, someday. 

Source etsy

The Path to choose

 

Isaiah 30:21

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying

left or right?

This is the way;

Walk in it.

Pretty clear directions

This is updated--found the photo of the path forking in the woods. Felt it illustrated more clearly the  turn left or right choices we make.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

                                            The Knights at Camelot, about 1 or so minutes

Monty Python entered our lives suddenly, with a giggle. 

Just saying Monty Python makes me giggle.

Basically, the cast of Monty Python is so talented that a single word could send them off.  Who can ever forever forget "Spam"?

But, today, I will remember "The Holy Grail".  It is simply too convoluted to give an accurate synopsis.  It is Camelot without horses, without competency in an way shape or form. Unimpressed with the French soldiers in the Keep.  "Ni?"

The knight of the "Ni" (nee) knights states they "keepers of the sacred words 'Ni', 'Peng', and 'Neee-Wom" To pass they must pay a tribute of shrubbery.  And so goes the rest of this incredibly stupid and funny movie. There is a monster to defeat, the rabbit of Caerchannog.  

 I understand that this is a private passion, and not many readers have a clue about my enjoyment of such simple pleasure. I have always been feisty, you know. 

That's the way I roll.

...but Sunday's coming

 

 

 Friday's here. But...Sunday's coming.

 

Low in the grave He lay, 

Jesus, my Lord

Up from the grave he arose;
with a mighty triumph o'er his foes;
he arose a victor from the dark domain,
and he lives forever, with his saints to reign.
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!.

 

Standing in Silence

Going to any grocery store these days means you have run the gauntlet of holiday themes.  It was St. Patrick displays for two weeks and now it is Easter.  If you like the marshmallow Peeps, you are in luck.  And, if you want Easter baskets, you have your choice.  

For the Jewish, Passover is coming, April 5-13th.  This is probably the most important reaffirmation of their struggles and survival.  The struggles will always be with Israel to keep their borders safe from the many, many nations that surround it. Survival goes without explanation.

The past will not, cannot be forgotten. Israel is a nation of prayer.  

Yizkor Prayer

May God remember the valiant men and women who braved mortal danger in the days of struggle prior to the establishment of the State of Israel and the soldiers who fell in the wars of Israel.

May the people of Israel cherish them in their memory; let them mourn the splendor of youth, the altruism of valor, the dedication of will, and the dignity of self-sacrifice which came to an end on the battlefield.

May the loyal and courageous heroes of freedom and victory be sealed forever within the hearts of all Israel, in this generation and forevermore.

Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaShoah

Perhaps the most widely recognized commemoration during Yom HaZikaron, as on Yom HaShoah, is the sounding of an air raid siren twice during the course of the day. 

 

During the two-minute blasts, all activity – including traffic on the highways – immediately ceases. People stand in respect for the sacrifice of those who died defending Israel. 

 

The first siren marks the beginning of Yom HaZikaron and the second is sounded prior to the public recitation of prayers in military cemeteries."

Sources of the above information

. Standing silent for honor

David Draiman "Hold on to Memories"

Normally, I don't cut and paste. But these are brave people who lost families and ancestors in that Holocaust. They have more to say than my humble brain could possibly comprehend.  "chag Pesach kasher vesame’ach”  

CHAG PEH-sach kah-SHER ve-sah-MAY-ach)

.Have a happy and rejoicing Passover.