Jazz

 Don't hate me or judge me for what I am about to confess.

I hate jazz.

Really.

I know right now you are screaming at me JAZZ IS A TRUE AMERICAN ART FORM!   WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU??

Well, I am not saying that Jazz should be tossed on the trash heap or banned in public places, just that Jazz is not MY thing.

Well, maybe Dixieland, which was my Dad's preferred music. I learned to listen to individual instruments with my Dad and still do that sometimes and think of him asking me to repeat what the clarinet was doing in a particular song.  He loved Dixieland and Glen Miller.

But Jazz, especially "smooth jazz" is NOT my thing.  You know how some companies use "Smooth jazz" as their "hold music" to sooth the customer while they are waiting? Yeah.  If I have to listen to that for more than three minutes, I am SO agitated by the time the customer service person comes on the line, I have to take deep breaths before talking to them.

It does the opposite of calming me down.

Now the reason for this is really a question.

My husband loves Stanley Clarke.

Mr. Clarke is playing at the Hollywood Bowl this Summer. 

I know my husband would like to see him- even if we do not like the Hollywood bowl ( I think I detailed our problems last Summer when we had a heck of a time getting there and back again. The bus drive actually told us we should "run")

I would like to make my husband happy, but the thought of a an evening of jazz makes my skin crawl.- and YES I know Mr. Clarke is amazing , I am not discounting his virtuosity I am just repeating that jazz is NOT my jam.

I would like Chris to go, but  I value my sanity and wonder if I should buy tickets and ask someone to go with him.

Any takers?  

In the meantime, I will be avoiding malls and calling companies that use smooth jazz as a panacea. Give me thrash metal instead.

Moment ( a poem)

 "My grandmother loved bougainvillea" she said

apropos of nothing

as she looked out the window

at the late Spring garden

But I knew a storm was coming

that would destroy the remaining purple blooms

making them slick on the garden path

sticking to my shoes

like onion skins

But she was lost in her reverie

I murmured assent

and drank my tea. 

For Julie

  Poem

You were in my dreams last night.

I was searching for you

along a beach that suddenly

burst into flames.

I was told it was bonfires

but I knew it was you

creating one last beautiful flame

before you transformed

into the whisp of wind

that blew the sand

and the flames

into the air

I hate being sick

 So, I picked up a weird bug.  No fever, no anything except chest congestion.  That always scares me, as I have lung issues and any "cold" generally defaults to bronchitis and I had a serious fight a few years back with pneumonia . That almost killed me, I was really, really sick.

I don't ever want to do that again.

Chris is taking wonderful care of me.  He went out and got me soup and meds.  I had one of those "stop breathing" episodes, where my vocal cords slam shut, but I was able to do the "dog panting" exercise that relaxes them and I never got to the gasping for air part that is just not fun

So I am taking it easy this weekend.  I foolishly signed up to review TWO books that sounded good- Spoiler alert they almost always sound good. I started the first one and I thought to myself. Gosh I hope this is a murder mystery and that the main character gets killed.  It is written in the first person and I am NOT enjoying being inside her head.  My Kindle tells me it is a six hour read.  I hope it gets better.  I have only a few DNFs on this project. On at least one of them, I  wrote my promised review indicating that I would rather have had a root canal with no meds than finish that book.  I believe my review on that one  on Amazon is titled DON'T  JUST DON'T.

Last night, I had a dream that I was seeing a doctor who told me I have some kind of disorder , where I use the word "thing" far too much. This might have been related to an article I was reading about Alzheimer's. My mother died from Alzheimer's and I worry that it is in the DNA.  So I just went back and  edited my third paragraph and replaced the word "thing" with other nouns.

I need to do that more often.  It is easy to slip into a pattern that I learned from my mother.  I always understood what she meant when she would wave her hand and say "you know... the THING" I think of myself as a writer-unpublished, sure but a writer nonetheless, after all YOU are reading this, aren't you?    ( and thank you, I love that people are actually reading what I am babbling on about) Mostly, these days, I write for me. To keep my chops up, to release whatever is bothering me and just to feel better.

Like I said, I hate being sick.

America is in an abusive marriage

 Women who escape an abusive- either physical or emotional-relations ship are often pressured by friends and family (who never saw the abuse happening) to "forgive him and get back together with him for the sake of the family".  the pressure can be quite intense and a woman in a toxic relationship has already had her confidence and decision-making undermined and often goes back to the abuser for Round Two.

Some women realize that forgiveness often gives the abuser, especially a narcissist, permission to do it again, if the woman does not "behave" and do what she is told. In these instances, the abuser will try to harm the woman to get even.

This is where America is now.

You took him back.

Felon47 was an unfit President the first time around. But he managed to either convince or connive his way back into office and with the current crop of sycophants doing his bidding in Congress, impeachment is off the table for the moment.

He's even worse now, since he has his best bro telling him what to do, a "bro" who is even more toxic and hell-bent on vengeance than Felon47 is, if that is possible. 

They are destroying everything this country was built on.  They worship dictators and Nazis and pretend to be faithful Christians, but honestly, if Jesus showed up today, preaching the Beatitudes, they would deport his brown Jewish ass to Gitmo. 

Fun Fact- Jesus was born in the Middle East.   And a question-What are the chances he was a blue eyed blonde, like the depiction in the churches of my childhood?  The answer is Zippo, but I am sure the Christians rationalize it that Jesus was made in our image or some other type of nonsense.   

Felon47 is doing the classic abuser move in limiting what we can know, limiting our access to our friends and telling us what we see is not real. HE is the best thing that ever happened to us and if you don't believe it, just ask him.

We must rise. We must fight back.  remember every accusation is a confession. Gather your tribe close to you. Protect the vulnerable. Demand better of local elected officials, because the ones in DC are either powerless or "turned" by the Dark Side.

Remember the first words of the Constitution,  Written BOLDLY in larger letters than all the rest are   WE THE PEOPLE. NOT The  President. Not Congress. Not God or Jesus. THE PEOPLE.

The Current Administration would like you to forget that.

Don't.

Weekend Part 3

Last Sunday was Superbowl Sunday. I forgot that( I like football) when I agreed to go with a friend to see Noises Off at the Geffen Playhouse.

It was an absolute delight.  The play is a British Farce, complete with people coming in and out of doors in split second timing.  The play is in three acts, a not-so-wonderful troop of actors is rehearsing a play in the first act and it all goes sideways.  The second act is behind the stage, where you see the play, farther along in the run, where the relationships between the actors and the director have gone totally off the rails, but they are committed to getting the show on. The third act is an attempt to put on the play one final time.

The actors were wonderful.  I was HOWLING during the second act, where the actors, mindful of the play going on on the other side of the wall, express their feelings silently but LOUDLY with their facial expressions and pantomime.

Great play , just what I needed, to laugh like that!

We went to dinner afterward- Chris' back is still out AND my car is in the shop (yes AGAIN) So he picked me up and we went to a place I had heard raves about but have never gone, Versailles. It's Cuban food and YEARS ago there was this great place in NoHo- the name escapes me and it is gone now anyway- The specialty of the house at Versailles is garlic chicken, but I make that myself and and I remember loving the Cuban version of Arroz con Pollo at the place in NoHo  I was looking forward to it.  It was.. meh.  I was missing something in the rice and the chicken was way overcooked, almost to the point of dry even though it was cooked in the broth.  I was underwhelmed. 

Still there was enough leftover to make a meal for both me and Chris on Monday, so I can't really complain.  Not a big fan of plantains which were part of the dish.

Weekend Part 2

 After we got home from the Zoo, Chis told me that his back was MUCH worse and he would not be able to make it to the House Concert we had both been looking forward to.  I called my BFF and she was available at the last minute so off we went.

Most House concerts ask you to bring something to share, so I double checked with the artist and she said her friends were providing "some food" and to bring what I wanted to drink.  My friend and I decided to get food beforehand and stopped at the White Harte in Woodland Hills.  I had a lovely beet, brussels and  cauliflower "Salad" the cauliflower and the brussels were warm and the beets were cold and placed on a bed of Spring mix.  She had a really nice sausage roll.  Excellent meals.  The funny thing about beets is, I refused to eat them as a child. Ok so maybe my mom making HOT pickled beets did scar me, they smelled and tasted horrid.   Tried them again as an adult- not pickled, nor heated- and I found I really liked them. My friend had a similar aversion but tried these and was also surprised that they tasted...good!   Nice little pub, good food, decent prices, good service. 

The House Concert featured Bernie Barlow (please visit BernieBarlow.com to hear her!) and Little Days.  They were- and probably are- trying to get funds to cover their upcoming East Coast Tour (and if you are reading this and can see them PLEASE DO!)  I "found" her when she sang background vocals for the wonderful Cindy Alexander.  I picked up her solo CD " redeemed" and will be writing a more comprehensive review for this and other sites, suffice it to say I really like it!

The House Party crowd was warm and welcoming and the "some food" appeared to be a table FULL of goodies.  We found comfy chairs on the patio near the heater and settled in.  

The band was great.  they were test running the set they will do on the road and it  was great. I really got lost in some of the music. Little Days was particularly intricate.  

We left soon after the show ended.  It was a lovely night.

Check out both bands  

https://www.littledays.net/

https://www.berniebarlow.com/

And stream Bernie Barlow's new single "Stay Right There" on whatever platform you listen to!

More about Sunday's adventures later today.