beginning to look a lot like autumn

I now know three people who have caught SARS-CoV-2, developed COVID-19, and survived after a month of recovery.
The first was my dear friend Danny Torres, who is about half my age and a police officer; his case is the most amazing to me, as he had brain tumors and was in surgery much of last year.
The second was my brother Smitty, who is two years younger than me.
The third was my cousin Bobby, up in South Carolina, who mentioned it on fb during his travel by air to Florida to visit his mom.
Bobby is in his late 50's; Aunt Linda is in her early 80's.
As I had no idea that Bobby had been ill, I have to wonder: who else do I know that has tested positive for that infectious respiratory disease?

I know that my blood test for the presence of COVID antibodies came back negative.
The test was a service from the American Red Cross during my donation on August 4th.
I had hoped it would show that the respiratory illness I had in November was related to the pandemic, as I had managed to struggle through that that.
No, that was 'just' influenza b,
no relation to this coronavirus.
I had thought the nonstop bouts of coughing would kill me.
Damn.
That means this bug-a-boo is still a threat to my pneumonia-damaged lungs.
Anything that threatens my lungs is a threat to my life.
Forewarned is forearmed, so what does the data show at this last day of August?
Well, it shows what we would expect now that summer vacations are over and people are no longer traveling willy-nilly all over the country to theme parks.
I have a new ditty, naturally, to commemorate the occasion.
This one is set to the music for "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas".
Feel free to hum along!

"It's beginning to look a lot like autumn,
leaves are everywhere,
baseball is nearly done,
the kids are all back in school,
and Labor Day is just a week away!

It's beginning to look a lot like autumn,
summer has come and gone.
COVID cases are on the wane
and masks are to thank for that,
yes, now we seem to have a small reprieve!"

I think I have the melody pretty smooth, but suggestions are welcome, as always.
So, what's that data showing?
There's a decrease???
What information do I have to back up that claim?
Let me tell where that dip is showing up: in the 7-day totals of new COVID cases, that's where.
And the states with the largest decreases?
Those would be Florida, California, and Texas, home for multiple theme parks and big destination draws for those wanting a vacation from life.

See what I mean?
Those reaching up, up, up, would be Florida (orange), California (yellow), and Texas (purple), with Florida surpassing California at one point with more than seventy-thousand new cases for two weeks running.
Florida is now leading that trio in amount of decrease, having successfully navigated its way down to a mere twenty thousand new cases per week.
Good for that state!
I'm sure its citizens are overjoyed that folks from other states are no longer traipsing over its borders to cavort and make merry.
That's certainly a benefit from school having resumed that second week in August.
Even if the kids aren't physically leaving home, they're still having to 'show up' online for classes at appointed times.
Georgia (dark blue) had been boasting more than twenty-five thousand new case per week, but that sweet peach has seen those numbers steadily decline the past two weeks.
Let's hope changing fall foliage in north Georgia's mountains don't cause those numbers to climb back up.
Remember folks: no new cases is the goal.
Alabama (light green), Louisiana (black), and Tennessee (dark purple circles) have also been on the mend, showing steady declines in their weekly sums of newly infected people.
Pennsylvania (pale blue), Michigan (dark green), and Oklahoma (yellow-orange) have a slight increase going on, so slight, but steady.
I hope they can get that under control before ski season comes around.

By the way, the data for that previous graph, as well as that shown in this one, was collected from May 20th through this evening.
That pretty well covers all of what we regard as "summer", regardless of when the calendar or custom proclaims the first day of that season to be.
So, what data is displayed for the ten states this time?
Well, remember where the rate, or number of COVID-infected people per 100,000 in population, was in early June?
That's down at the lowest point of these curves now.
Michigan and Pennsylvania have the most moderate rate of increase, as noted last month.
Here's the bad thing about that: their rate has doubled over the last three months - and, yet, that is the most moderate rate of the ten states.
As shown here, Louisiana was the only state that started the summer at a higher rate of infection per population than the other nine states I track.
The majority went into the summer with a rate of 500 cases per 100,000 people, or less.
By the time that first post-school, summer vacation time, month of June had ended, a bit of separation was afoot.
By the start of school this month, the other eight states, including poor Oklahoma, had forsaken linear growth and opted for exponential, boasting massive rises in their per capita rate of infection.

Okay, since I opened that can of worms, just how many people have fallen prey to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus thus far?
Okay, here goes: be sure to sit down to read this.
California has had more than seven hundred thousand and will likely have a cool million for Christmas.
Florida and Texas each have more than six hundred thousand that have had COVID or that currently have it.
Georgia is working on getting three hundred thousand, and should reach that with the help of the upcoming Labor Day weekend.
The other six are lagging far behind, thankfully, and I hope they will continue to lag.
The United States of America will pass the six million mark tomorrow.
The total number of newly-infected people, nationwide, for a 7-day span was almost three hundred thousand.
Let me say that again.
The total number of newly-infected people, nationwide, for a 7-day span was almost three hundred thousand.
That's the total number of cases that Georgia alone has had for a five-month span that started at the beginning of April.
It's a truly horrifying thought that the number of new infections per week for the entire country is the equivalent of five-months of infection in a single state.
Horrifying.

Definitely time for me to shake this out of my head so I can sleep tonight.
I'm going to choose to believe that life will be well on its way to a new normal for Christmas.
As Jim Croce would say, "tomorrow's gonna be a brighter day".
I truly have to believe that.

i got the pink flamingoes rockin' on my lawn

"Oh, c'mon, girlie, tell me you're kidding, right?"

But it's for real!
They've been out there for three mornings in a row!

"Get serious!"

I am, I promise!
And how nice of you to remember the song title I referenced!
The ex did not, which was odd.

"Now what are you on about?
What song and what reference?"

"Get Serious", silly!
The post title I used is straight out of their lyrics.

"What group, dear heart?
Is this another of the bands that Jeff introduced you to when he was 'your radio'?"

Exactly correct, ma'am!
Which is why it surprised me when he didn't recognize at once the partial lyric I sent.
Figures On A Beach was a Michigan band, too, his homeboys.
True, the band has been defunct for three decades...
but, still.

"Well, the birds were only mentioned once in the song."

True, true.

"So, just what does that sign in their midst say?"

'You have been flocked
by Rusty's Regulators
for the fight to end
Alzheimer's Disease!'

"Oh, that's cool...
wait, isn't that the same group that had the bingo game last year?"

Ah, how sweet!
Proof that your memory works!

"That was with that first niece, wasn't it?"

You know it!
She was the one who had me flocked!
Her hairstylist, Tricia, happens to be Rusty's niece.
Kind of a full-circle twist right there, n'est-ce pas?

"That the uncle sent you, the aunt, all those birds?
Yes, dear.
I know how much you like those coincidences.
How long will they stay?"

I'm hoping forever!
I really like knowing they're out there, the shiny pink dozen, brightening my yard and my world!
And I've shared them on at least 20 pages on fb!

"Well, that sounds like they've brought you much delight."

Oh, they have, they have!
Christina said I was 'the first person she thought of' who would enjoy having the flamingos!
As the sign says, I can pay to have them removed, but why would I?
I could also pay to have them migrate elsewhere, but for now, I'm going to continue to enjoy having those pink flamingoes rockin' out.

"That girl loves you so!
Hey, you spelled the plural two different ways.
Is that to reference your 'g that g looks odd' stage?"

No, it was not, though that was fun!
(smile)
The bird is one of those that pluralizes with either just an '-s' of with an '-es'.
I looked it up.

"Good for you!
Now, what say you get dressed, eh?
Or is this a nudist camp day?"

Nope, heading for the shower right now!
Later!

starz featuring kevin and dancing tina!

There she is, right there, shaking all that fringe and sparkle like she means it!
It's the incredible dancing Tina!!!
One might think I'd selected that movie because I knew that lil' fictional character was there - but I had not remembered that name.
The Universe gave me STARZ this weekend for free, as I discovered yesterday when I went in search of a movie On Demand.
i thank You, God.

I'd hoped for a distraction from the "is it REAL or a dream" dilemma that I've had since the pandemic began here in March.
Seeing "Inception" made it worse.
The flamingoes enhanced it more.
But I knew what I had to do as soon as "The Mask" came up in the listing of films: I needed to immerse myself, via this gift of STARZ, into a Film Festival of Masks.

This 1994 vehicle with Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz was the perfect one to drive home the point.
(Get it? My little pun of a joke?)
Stanley Ipkiss awakened each morning with the face covering on the pillow beside him - so it was just a dream after all! - and the police pounding on his door - oh, wow, that was REAL?!
(smile!)

I knew the ideal chaser, too: "Venom", about an alien creature that inhabits a human as a disguise.
Eddie Brock didn't know if the voice in his head was REAL or a dream until he saw the creature bouncing on the MRI room walls.
Oddly, this Tom Hardy film came up at the Thursday outing at that Tom Hardy film, so this one was front of mind for me.
Perhaps it was The Universe giving me a gentle nudge?

Perhaps my angels were providing clues for me to construct this themed cinematic therapy as a balm to soothe and restore my spirit?
I choose to believe that.
I do know I absolutely perked up when I saw Stan Lee, the one-and-only 'dapper dog walker" - simply marvelous!
I went to bed Saturday with a lighter heart and sweet dreams awaiting on my pillow!

Sunday morning, when I peeked out the living room window, the flamingos were still scattered about, standing on my front lawn.
Hahaha, they were evidently REAL and not a dream after all!
Okey-dokey, they were not a figment of my imagination, but a sure sign,
in living color, of my first niece's love for me!
Speaking of that 1990's show, I knew the third movie for my film festival.

It would have to be the one powered by three of the five Wayans brothers!
Written by Keenan, "White Chicks" featured Shawn and Marlon as FBI agents who favored disguises for their undercover work.
That would be 'Kevin' on the left and 'Marcus' on the right, wigs in hand, making a bust... on REAL ice cream men, not the drug dealers they expected.
Whoopsie - bad move, guys!

Their next move was no better.
Tasked with babysitting two spoiled heiresses who are a kidnapping target, they wreck the car leave the women with a broken lip and bloodied nose.
Whoopsie - so the guys go to Nantucket in disguise as 'Brittany' and 'Tiffany', with hair to every inch of skin transformed.
I actually laughed out loud during this rare new to me movie!
Quite a coup!

REAL white chicks was a logical next move for me, and the 2019 "Charlie's Angels" was ideal!
Women hiding in plain sight, with and without wigs, as nearly invisible baristas and janitors... and a high-security employee whose bowl-cut hairdo highlighted profiling.
Most excellent to see again!

Time for a break to stretch my legs and move around!
Fortunately, the summer heat had dulled its edge and the mower battery was fully charged.
Out to the back yard I went, hoping to finish the job I started yesterday.
Glory, hallelujah, I did!
Sure, there are still bushes and such, around the birdbath and perimeter, waiting for a trim.
But, look - nary a dandelion in sight!
Just lush, low-level, green!
(smile!)

What was next on the film roster?
Well, how about another one with aliens in disguises as well as a buddy flick featuring a woman and a man?
Sounds like last year's "Men In Black: International" is the only choice for those parameters!
In fact, there's the probationary Agent M and Thor-like agent H trying to rescue Vungus the Ugly (the alien Jababian prince) from two other aliens.

Yes, this would be them.
As Dynads, they are able to take on multiple forms, ranging from break-dancing humans at a nightclub to beings of pure energy in the street.
Quite impressive shape-shifting, though those glowing blue orbs they used as eyes were a bit of a giveaway of their identities.
(smile!)

Okay, time to dial it back a notch, back to the REAL instead of science fiction dreams.
"Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins" proved to be the right one for that, plus it was "new to me" - win win!
On the surface, no masks, no make-up, no wigs.
Just a man who had created a fictional version of himself for television, but reverted right back to the insecure, jealous teen he had been when he goes back to Georgia for a family reunion.
Hey, that makes want to write a poem!

Yes, you can run, but you can't hide,
from the person you are inside.
You can don a new persona as a disguise
when out in the public and strangers' eyes.
But your baggage is always open when family is around
and they've certainly got your number
and know the buttons to bring you down.
So don't think you can fool them, they never slumber
when it's one of their own, finally come back to town.
(smile!)

Speaking of slumber, time for me to get some in just a while.
My boys of physics will soon be on, so I need to settle down and chill.
Later!
(yawn!!1)

catching up with the psychotronic

Sometimes I don't actually get around to watching the PFS offerings for a while.

Take "Bill And Coo", an adorable little film from 1948, starring a nice variety of birds.

That's Bill, on the left, separated by the minister marrying him to orange-breasted Coo.

It reminded me of the Popovich show in Las Vegas!

I saw it on August 1, though it was the movie-of-the-day for May 24.

Thanks, Jim!

The other PFS movie I watched on August 1 was "Mitchell", a 1975 flick starring Joe Don Baker as a fairly rough-and-tumble detective a la 'Dirty Harry', but less neat and tidy.

I found myself really enjoying it, surprised by how much the man resembled Elvis Presley.

Had he ever been an ETA?

After the movie, I looked it up.

Why, yes, yes he had, when he was in high school!

I was just a week late watching it - 

thanks, Jim!

Now, this one I actually watched on its appointed day!

I think that made my third time of ever seeing it, with the first during my college days at Armstrong, at a festival of 'bad' movies.

"The Terror Of Tiny Town", a 1938 western musical, was novel for featuring an all dwarf cast.

It actually is quite charming and was meant to be taken as a serious endeavor.

The second time I'd seen only part of it, starting with this scene.

 

I'd not realized the movie was a musical because I never got to see this part, with the hero and his lady love singing during their picnic.

And why had I missed that point?

Because the tv channel had been changed by the barkeep at the now-defunct restaurant.

Some switch in Hai had been changed, too, causing him to dismiss our eight years of friendship.

Odd the things that get jumbled together by the mind!

Still, I'm so glad I could watch this again and know it for the sweet movie it truly is!

Thanks, Jim!

 

Then, there's this.

Titled "The Chase", the 1946 film noir concerned a war veteran plagued by nightmare thoughts that he couldn't distinguish from reality.

This scene, though, really broke the tension for me!

On the door is a warning: "Quarantine: Virus", yet both the veteran and his pursuer have opened the door anyway and entered.
Seriously, they did!

I couldn't help laughing out loud!

Thanks, Jim!

hey, Sam, here's a guy you'll really like

Dear Blaxstone,
I was checking on fb to see what the final score was in that baseball game I was at tonight.
Yeah, I left early, but you would have, too.
They were going to have fireworks tonight, which normally wild horses couldn't have dragged me away from, but in this year of COVID-19 pandemic, with the announcer urging everyone into the aluminum bleachers or the third-base picnic area...
well, I had been at both places, and I didn't want to be in a mob scene with a bunch of unmasked children and their siblings and parents.
No, no, thank you.
So, like I said, I was looking to see if the Bananas had managed a last-minute win.
I doubt it, as it was bottom of the 9th when I left and the Bacon was ahead four runs.
I never did find out the score.
While checking on friends in the path of Hurricane Laura, I got sidetracked.
I don't even remember whose page blared the headline at me, I just recall the shock and disbelief.
Sadly, the twitter feed was correct: Chadwick Boseman is dead.
He was right at your age, too, kid.
It's hard to say exactly, as one place has him born in 1977, and the other in 1976.
So, he was either 42, like you, or 43, which you were just a month away from.
I think y'all would get along very well, so see if you can find him, okay?
He played T'Challa, aka Black Panther, in four of the Marvel Avengers movies.
I wish you could have been here - physically, ya know - to share those movies with me!

He was pretty amazing in those films, but I already knew of him from a baseball movie.
He played Jackie Robinson in "42" and he was phenomenal!
Seriously, he was so true to the real man that it put him on my radar.
That movie came out in 2013, but I only got to see it once on the silver screen.
School responsibilities, ya know.
But it really made an impact.
The next time that I was in Daytona Beach guess where I went?
Jackie Robinson Ballpark - and I even caught the fireworks show!
You know me, I was down there to celebrate my birthday, as I am wont to do, and it happened to be Memorial Day weekend... bonus for me!
That happened to be the last year for the Daytona Cubs, who I'd been watching since 2011, at least, but not the last year for Single-A baseball at that stadium.
Hallelujah for that!
The next year, 2015, I was right back there, even catching a complete baseball game with the new boys of summer, the Daytona Tortugas, to go along with the fireworks!
And somewhere along the way, in 2016 - at least, I think it was for birthday58 - or maybe it was 2017 - I even signed up for a Silver Slugger membership, with several free games for those over 55... mostly because I wanted the t-shirt!
Hey, I didn't mind that it branded me as an 'older' woman - I acknowledge all my years...
and all my gray hair, too.
(smile!)
Anywho...
I seem to have wandered off topic.
I know, I know... again.
(smile!)
As I said, I just wanted to let you know one of the good guys had made it over to your side of the universe.
Hope y'all manage to find each other - and Stan Lee - and talk about comic books.
Excelsior!
(smile)
Miss ya, kid.
with my love, always

bananas, bacon, and ... flamingoes?

By the time I was through the gate and seated, the game was in the bottom of the fifth inning.
That was fine, though - my data-gathering 'COVID homework' was done and my evening was free.
Time to enjoy one last bit of fun with the boys of summer!
That's right.
This was my final game of the season, even though they still have a few more in this Breakfast Bowl.

Macon Bacon had two runs at that point, while the Savannah Bananas was scoreless.
Clint Hardy came up to bat and got a solid single, but that proved of no help and the inning soon ended.
Good thing there was such a magnificent sky to enjoy!
Right place, right time.
This vantage point gave me a better view of the first-base coach dancing, so that was a bonus, too.

The sixth inning came and went for the Bacon, and I stood for the "Salute To The Troops", along with one other on the aluminum bleachers.
The bottom of that inning saw the bases loaded with Bananas!
Were the guys beginning to rally?
Um, no.
The Bacon pitcher was wild and was giving out walks like candy, even walking in our first run.
Thanks, fella!

Top of the eighth found a wild one on the Bananas' mound.
The Donut guy was walked, stole another two bases, and made it home - good for him!
Then we had Bacon, Bacon, Bacon, and one on the griddle!
No grand slam here, either, but the Macon team got another three runs, thanks to a bad Banana or two, bringing their total to seven runs on the board.

I chose that break to head for the picnic area.
It was a fireworks night and my 'gators needed more space.
A far-reaching double to center field brought two Bananas over the plate, amping up their score to three runs.
Two outs later, the 8th inning was over and so was the game, as per Banana Rules, like the last one.
No, apparently not.
With kids being urged to flood the picnic area, I left.

I nearly drove right past my house.
If not for the absolute knowledge that it had to be my house, since it was between Diane's and Jessica's, I would have.
After all, I don't have a flock of flamingos nesting in my front yard - or did I?
After last night's movie, real and dream are merging states for me.
If the 12 birds are still here at sun up, then I'll know they're real.
I rather hope they are!

somebody pinch me

I still feel like I must be dreaming.
I actually sat in a cinema...
and watched a movie...
with real movie popcorn and real fountain Barq's...
in the presence of the real Kevin...
but on a Thursday...
or was it just a dream?
I do have a very active imagination.
I have been known to pretend someone gave me a gift, when that item was actually something I bought for myself.
I have even had dreams that seemed so real that I wanted to return to them again and resume the romance in them.
Ah, yes, dreams keep me going some days, especially those with kissing and dancing.
(smile)
So, I could have dreamt the whole thing up...
I could have...
but I didn't.
i thank You, God, for photos i take to keep reality separate from dreams.
Given the movie tonight, that's important.

Here's the physical proof about the trip to the cinema.
There's still popcorn in my 2020 AMC Cinema popcorn bucket.
I last had it filled with their tasty treat back in March.
That's right - March 12th.
That was exactly one hundred sixty-eight days before today,
twenty-four weeks earlier.
Seems absurd, I know, to go so long without the buttery taste and delicious crunch of movie popcorn.

But that's the way it's been since the cinemas all shut down, closed for pandemic.
2010's "Inception" was the perfect movie as my first one sitting in a real cinema screening room, in a real cinema seat...
but I felt that it was a dream the entire time...
even while wearing my real mask.
If not for Kevin sitting beside me, periodically commenting on some event onscreen, I might have lost touch with my tether.

In a way, the mask served as my token of reality, even though I had not consciously chosen it as that before leaving home.
No, tonight I had taken care to be color-coordinated for a change, something I rarely do.
The ocean-themed mask, one of two I designed and bought (from snapfish) for my birthday62, has that lovely starfish that exactly matched this shirt from a past Gray's Reef Film Festival.
Those are both very real to me -
and this photograph, with today's date, from my phone, is also very real -
as is the dated receipt from El Potro for dinner -
as is the dated receipt from AMC Cinema Classic 11 for the movie -
as was the unique smell in Kevin's car, Opal, as I rode from the restaurant to the cinema and then back to the restaurant to retrieve my car and return to midtown.
All were so real...
but those three hours in the cinema still feel like a dream.
Maybe I'll believe in the morning, with the movie ticket still on my coffee table.
Maybe.
I have found the light of day to be excellent for dispelling dreams.
(smile)

if wishes were horses...

So, with brunch this morning, I was going to watch an episode of "Friends" On Demand (sounds like a joke... but it wasn't intended that way - lol).
Instead, I bopped down the line-up to "Seinfeld" and selected the one where Jerry has a softball game that gets delayed because of rain.
Sounds bad, but that was good as he had to go to a funeral for a cousin of his mom (or was it his dad, he can keep up with those shenanigans).
Sounds bad, but it was good, since he felt like the guilt trip his mom would have given him for not being there would have turned into a bone of contention that might get gnawed for years.
Sounds bad, but it was good, as he ended up pleasing his mom with his presence.
Which sounds good, but it was bad because he thought the cousin's ghost put a hex on him and made him lose the softball game.
Which sounds bad, but it was good, as it assuaged his own guilt: he thought his comment at the 50th anniversary dinner for that couple was the factor that killed her.
And what had he said?
"I hate anyone who ever had a pony!"
And guess what?
In Poland, Manya had a pony as a pet, a pony that she absolutely adored, a pony that she still spoke of with love, so she was quite miffed by Jerry's remark and even left the table.
Then, the next day, she's dead of a heart attack and Jerry puts the blame on himself.
So... i thank You, God.
I needed that reminder that I have been taking recent events too much to heart.
I needed that reminder to not take on unearned guilt, this time for fear of what others might think because I'm not in deep mourning about recent deaths.
I hardly knew the guitarist who died last week -
or my high school classmate Joe Kerr, who died in March -
or my high school classmate Lorene (Milledge) Richardson, who died last month -
or my high school classmate Robin (Mixon) Crosby, who died this month.
I hardly knew any of them beyond an acquaintance stage.
They were all people who were on the periphery of my world, folks I interacted with rarely, if at all.
Had any of the classmates attended the reunion three years ago?
I honestly could not say.
They were not friendly to me in high school, so I had not sought them out.
None of them had ever had me over for dinner, nor I them.
To me, that act of inviting another into my haven, or being invited to theirs, is the single-best sure sign of friendship.
That reminds me: I have some folks I regard as dear friends, but I have never been to their house, nor them to mine.
Let's hope this pandemic will eventually pass so I can remedy that situation.
How does that phrase end?
Oh, yes... then we'd all ride.
I think it's time for a drive - I need milk.
My coffee had not a drop of milk this morning.
I can certainly remedy that situation right now.
(smile)

tina tuesday with real kevin and dinner!

No, no, this lad atop the rearing beast is not the real Kevin!
He's a Kevin, but not the bfrb.
Playing 11-year-old Billy Hastings is 15-year-old Kevin Zegers
(Four years earlier, he was in "The X-Files" as a character named Kevin Kryder - how cool is that!)
Plus, there's this lovely nugget: 'Nico' is really named Augusto.
So appropriate for my final Tina Tuesday in August, n'est-ce pas?
Oh, that brings up a cute story!
He contacted me the day after his birthday celebration, in delighted response to the photo I'd posted on his fb page, saying what a good time it was.
I texted back: "Most def. :-) We should try to do that more often, n'est-ce pas?"
He came right back with: "Did you just call me a horse thief?"
"Hahaha! No, it's my fav French phrase. It roughly means 'don't you agree?', but I like the way it feels in my mouth. Nay pa is about how to pronounce it. So, I guess if you'd heard it, you could have thought I was calling you a horse's father!"
Now that I think about all that, I have to wonder if he was having a laugh on me?
Otherwise, why would the subject of horses even been brought to bear...
by a running bear...
hahahaha! Hahaha!
And now, tonight, I had a movie with two horse breeds: ponies and unicorns!
That means I was exactly where I should be tonight!
Right place, right time!

Here are the basics of the movie.
Lonely boy meets the sad pony.
The poor animal has a concrete horn affixed and is part of a side show near the mall.
The boy has a lame leg due to the car wreck that killed his dad.
He and his mom have moved to Vermont for a change of scenery and the kids are school are being jerks...
well, all except Caroline.
She's pretty cool, for a girl.

She's especially cool a few days later, when she helps the boy.
The pony was pregnant, so now he has a baby unicorn, too!
here's the think, though: that type of baby matures very quickly - like, within a day it's the size of the mare!
That little bony knob is develops into quite a lovely horn, with a golden sheen, mesmerizing both children.
But what to name the little colt?
Well, when 'unicorn' is rearranged, 'Nico' is the result!

Then trouble starts.
A mountain lion kills the mare, the girl tells the other kids about Nico, those kids tell the newspaper man, Billy runs off to hide Nico in the mountains, his mom and the cops come after Billy, and the side-show owner hears tell of the beast and wants it.
And the race is on to see who gets Nico first!
The 1998 "Nico The Unicorn" was just perfect for me tonight!
i thank You, God!

Another meal with the bfrb, in one of our usual haunts, was perfect, too.
We each chose something different this time, him going for the fajita nachos, me choosing Combo Catorce (with the tamale in memory of my Daddy).
Just sharing company, over a meal, with a real person is something different these days - and, as Phil said in "Groundhog Day", "Anything different is good".
Amen to that!

jack

Last night, the Psychotronic Film Society of Savannah had a memorial tribute for one of our own.
The film chosen was "Kingdom Of The Spiders", starring William Shatner at a pretty low time in his career, just before his star again began to shine.
The science fiction piece was a warning of a future ecological disaster if DDT use was not stopped and also a nod to equal rights, with a woman as lead scientist.
In the world as it was in 1977, that was perfect fodder for drive-in movies.
I should know: I was 19 then and had been to plenty of those movies.
The guitarist had also been to plenty of those, as he grew up just two years ahead of me.
He had been a big fan of cheesy movies.
When PFS was barely more than a thought, he was right there to cheer it along.
And when Jim Reed had screened this film one night, the guitarist talked with him about how much he had liked the movie, not just that night, but when he'd seen it before.
He would have been just 21 years old that first time.

Carolyn called me, near midnight, in tears, with news of his death last Wednesday.
It must have been as the discussion of that night's PFS film was waning.
Jim had told her the news and she had reached out to me.
We talked for almost two hours.
It wasn't because we were both such good friends with him, but that he had been such a fixture on those Wednesday gatherings at the Sentient Bean.
He had a loveseat that he had claimed for his own, years ago, even going so far as to have a sign that marked it "Reserved", much as Sheldon on "The Big Bang Theory" had a seat on the couch that no one but him could use.
That was the puzzle piece that marked him as like my middle brother, Ronnie.
That brother expects - no, demands - that other people obey the rules in his world, whether he has shared those rules with them or not, and is not shy about voicing his displeasure when one of his rules is broken.
Moreover, that brother believes the laws are meant for others, not for him.
See where I'm coming from?
I already have a person of that type in my family and in my life; I was good with keeping the guitarist as an acquaintance, nothing more.
That's what I told Willie yesterday.
I also told him of the hours I spent last night and today online, searching for videos of the guitarist in action during his fifteen minutes of fame.
That was during 1984, when Jack Sherman was a replacement guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, as shown in this press clipping from February 1984.
The band had mistakenly opened for Oingo Boingo in Los Angeles and the crowd had actually booed them.
I might have done the same.
The drug-fueled antics of Anthony Kiedis and Michael 'Flea' Balzary on stage, in conjunction with that band's music at the time, were not my cup of tea.
I much preferred the indie flavor of the band with Danny Elfman (whose music I still love and who shares my birthday).
As it would turn out, the drug usage became a major point of contention between the guitarist and the lead singer, eventually leading to Jack's dismissal at the end of the 1984.
(Note: All told, RHCP has had an incredible seven changes to its guitarist position and almost that many in the drum department.)

That year of heavy touring to promote the fledgling band, which had not yet released an album, led to their appearance in the media, including television.
That man in the gray and black suit, to the left of the host on "Thicke of the Night"?
That's Jack, on March 16, 1984, almost two months past his 28th birthday and fourth month of touring with the band.

They played two songs on that episode, including "True Men Don't Kill Coyotes".
Jack must have been thrilled!
As a young man, he had to think he was truly living large!
There he was, on late-night tv, playing a song he had co-written with the other three guys!
(Later, it ended up as Track 1 on that first RHCP album.)

Then, more television appearances, this one from the August 1984 interview on MTV as part of "I.R.S. Records Presents The Cutting Edge".
Each member of RHCP was allowed to say a few words and Jack talked about playing funk music, a style he had introduced to the band.
(That elemental change he brought to the band's sound was acknowledged in a recent article celebrating the 36th anniversary of the first album's release.)

Chances are pretty good that I saw Jack in action on MTV.
I used to watch every music video the show had, much like I do with youTube now.
So, after the video for "RMDKC" was released August 10, 1984, I'm sure I watched it.
However, I did not rush out and buy RHCP's first, and newly-released, eponymous album.
Like I said, that flavor wasn't my kind of music.

And, yes, that's definitely Jack Sherman in that video, fingers flying and fringe swaying!
Had I not mentioned that the black on that gray suit was long fringe?
Yep, on the jacket and on the pants - I love fringe!
But why was he wearing that horrid curly-haired wig?
Because the writing was already on the wall of his departure.
The wig would allow a seamless transition of the video when the original guitarist returned a few months later.
That face, though, is 100% Jack.
He may not have been included as a member when the band was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2012, but his year with them led to his reputation as an excellent guitarist and many gigs with diverse other artists over the past 36 years, including Bob Dylan as well as George Clinton.
He absolutely loved playing, and did it well and with his whole heart.
In the end, it was his heart that finally gave out.
If there's a rock and roll heaven, I'm sure he's jamming right now.
That's a good thought.
Maybe he's even wearing that fringed suit that he liked.
(smile)