don't drink, don't smoke, what do you do?

in santa monica, i took a quick vid of elviss simmons & the memphis strutters singing "blue suede shoes" into "goody-two shoes" (heretics!!) for art fein (lover of the king of rocknroll, as are all who have heart) & my sister (long-time lover of adam ant) -- it was crazy fun (tho blasphemous, maybe) stuff, "the ultimate party band," quipped memphis mike: a plus-sized, hairy, hammy elvis impersonator w/gene simmons facepaint; a hepcat doghouse bassist; FOUR horn players -- two slender women playing saxes bigger than their own selves, even! -- in fedoras, shades, & gold lame; a hessian-hard rock guitarist; & three femme backup singers in rockabilly pinup-dia de los muertos getup... anyways, the vid won't upload here, so look for the band elsewheres... :) this wkend i found out 1) the beach ain't bad (that could maybe sound weird, but i've had a fear of the mighty, mighty ocean for some time); 2) i could get used to it, mebbe (new idea: the ocean's power is awe-inspiring, not terrifying, perhaps), & it sure is great to be able to be outside at any time, under blue or cloudy skies, w/perfect ocean breezes cooling the body & soul; 3) i LOVE, LOVE BOOGIE-BOARDING, which works the body & feels like flying!!!; 4) what fun it is to be outdoors, meander, adventure, not plan, walk forever, explore; 5) how lucky it is to be in mid-age & still physically mobile, even agile; 6) i must always, w/o fail, take my "happy pills" (actually, pill) cause when i do, life's light, happy, so swell, but w/o it, i'm the titanic, a timebomb, a highway pile-up, pompeii... & so are all around me.
the perfect, crowded, suntanned, privileged, beautiful sta monica beach, & its funky messy colorful 420-heavy venice counterpart, are cool, balmy memories affixed now to my head. places i'm grateful to've settled for the week... now it's time to get ready for bakersfield, & this wkend, for big manny's benefit (read below). he's back to playing the guitar, so things're looking up for the  gentle rockin' giant... & today's news is that guitarman eddie's eyes are on the heal (benefit TBA), so there's much to be thankful for, yes indeed. if you're in bakersfield, or someplace else hot, stay cool, brother... the cool within can cool the without, so use it, don't lose it, & may all be copacetic for you & yours. semper ad meliora, friends. :)

let's help big manny. + "i've been waitin a long long time, just realized it's true, that my heart will always be in love with you."

this eve at practice scotty mentioned this video... what a delight to see it! this was the song where i really felt the music soar... to be in the middle of such a thing is quite a feeling!
al, dear man, threw us a curve ball toward end of song, as in his happy enthusiasm he tends to do, but laraine, his wife, shut the video player off right after that. :) i remember we caught the ball & brought it all home just a moment later... w/no video evidence, you'll just have to believe me. :)
time for bed, for tomorrow the gias bring chorizo & egg breakfast to the scores at SVDP & then i will get to hold peoples' sacred trust again, reading & writing & chatting w/them, as i got to do last wk.
life, o life, where will you take us all next?

upcoming: sat jul 9, noon-4 pm, al hendrix backed by canadian band six gun romeo at ethel's old corral... also, please spread word about the below event, taking place to help my dear friend, gentle man, & monster of powerful, melodious rocknroll american-roots guitar:

i know we'll meet again some sunny day

a friend of mine, i think, is suffering. i hope my friend, whom i no longer see, will be better sooner rather than later. let's both & all remember, if possible, that this, too (& all, & everything), shall pass.

dads, dusk devils, prayers

angie & i are blessed to have the greatest dad, a father we could never have dreamed up. he is gentle, intelligent, humble, hard-working, a life-long servant of society (like mama, like angie), an iconoclast disguised as an astronaut, movie-star handsome in his youth & a head-turner still at age 70, & has ruined us both: we assume all handsome men are as good as gold, that is, good as dad.
they're not... tho i'm coming to realize in general they're not as bad as i've tended to think. if i live to be 100, i'll still not have much figured out, in other words...
today we celebrate our dad, as well as our wonderful, generous, voraciously bright mama, & it's a pleasant, balmy day in bakingfield, somehow not yet blazingly hot, &  this morning i sat in a meeting rm w/warm-hearted, brave drunks, one being my kind & dependable ex, & dusk devils somehow have shows upcoming tho tragedy befell our latest member several wks ago...
next, please send out kind thoughts of good health to eddie, candye, manuel, chet, terri, karen, as well as any whom you know are suffering or just needing support. there are so many! when i consider how things could be instead of how they are... well, again, wow... mustn't take any thing for granted, not anymore.
upcoming shows, dusk devils:
july 8 - big's fullerton w/karling abbeygate & other rockabillies
july 16 - mr t's bowl los angeles w/devil doll & other rockabillies & burlesquies
please surf the net for more details... happy pop's day to all. :)

happy.

you happy? it's very american (specifically, i think, united statesian) to consider "happiness" to be so important. what about love, usefulness, duty, power, freedom, filial piety, or, for pete's sake, dough?
i just feel happy. so here is my up-to-minute gratitude list.
please make yours.
sobriety- peanut brittle ice cream- birds flying, chirping, singing- 88 blacks & whites- reading (most recently, NYers, the week, runner's world, books first families, wicked plants, & off the grid)- restoration to sanity- wind chimes- family- dallas mavericks' win- talking with cousin jerry in tex about it - sweatshirt & flipflops- cold water- most amazingly, chuck berry & big joe turner on the restaurant radio- sunlight- friends - roscoe & gusgus- kind & noble ex- skittles the beautiful cat- fresh trout - good physical & mental health- refreshing breezes- sleeping- hiking home from the bus- quiet & calm- juicy burger- yucca, oaks, sage, & pine- dexter on netflix- visitors- amazing sister getting black belt- dad the cheery workhorse, mama the reading/cooking couch-cat- frazier park transit bus- my lovely home- safety- dusk devils- cattie ness & revenge- prayers for sick & injured friends & loved ones- st vincent de paul's gorgeous new facility & strong, good-hearted volunteers- nice bakersfield weather- crisp, clean frazier park weather- riding the 2-speed foldable peugeot all over bakersfield- kind, flirty emails from my piano teacher gene - my truck, ugly as sin, that runs like a clock- moolah in the bank- ability to have choices- contemplating road trips

wave at the bus, son!

this is the best ever. dad waves daily to teenage son
to get the full effect, scroll down & look at each & every picture of Dad: wave to the bus

"and my heart soars"

this is how i feel today.
no foolin. it's foreign, therefore slightly scary, tho calmly so... the top or at least heretofore most active layer of my mind, where the craziness, mania, jumpiness, hahaha, go go go, cry cry cry, fight fight fight, & – i fear – creativity resides, is gone for now. i am placid as a lake, a soft-boiled egg, a sleeping cat, my soft soft bed, the billowing, ever-drifting, sighing sea of clouds that fill the sky before me as i type at this amazing picture window, this green, expansive setting of trees & mountains & birds & nature & respite &, 5 miles away tho visible by way of a happy combination of elevation & view, trucks & cars traveling & twinkling along i-5... detached, not worrying, breathing deeply... is this serenity? how long will it last? for now, it's here – may you have it, too. a poem:
“the beauty of the trees, the softness of the air, the fragrance of the grass speaks to me.
"the summit of the mountain, the thunder of the sky, the rhythm of the sea, speaks to me.
"the faintness of the stars, the freshness of the morning, the dewdrop on the flower, speaks to me.
"the strength of the fire, the taste of salmon, the trail of the sun, and the life that never goes away, they speak to me
"and my heart soars.” (chief dan george)
if you were happy to read that, i highly recommend this: earth prayers from around the world ps - just realized this sense of peace might be due to having weed-eated (weed-ate?) the yard for 2 1/2 hrs (i have a big yard)... might just be too pooped right now to be a squirrel.
whatever the cause, i'll take it! :) feliz dia, queridos! :)