you better watch out, you better not cry...

i volunteer at the local thrift store, "name your price," the brainchild of dave, r.i.p., a hardworking man resembling a jolly old elf who hinted he had been a bad man in another life & was doing his scavenging/junking/thrifting as life amends (the store benefits the kern county boys & girls club). a drawing of dave beams from the store's sign & the 1st time i saw it, i kinda choked up: i didn't know dave well, but enough to know he'd helped lots & lots of ppl on & off the mtn here when he could've just decided to stay bad. i get to organize the books there, which i just love, & jaw w/friends who amble in to shop, & find great bargains, too... anyways, just cooling my heels here waiting to make the next move. last weekend was fun, 1st heading out to my own gig (IT HAS BEEN FAR TOO LONG!!) w/the big manny band at a big party in east LA. i haven't seen so many beer can empties in a long while! - also, so many friendly faces i hadn't seen in decades, since the old days of the blazers & shows at the palomino in north hollywood. my former dance partner, rudy, was jovial & burly as ever, & tho in those days i carried on like a drunken underclothed mark-waiting-to-get-hit, the males who remembered me from that time were gentlemanly to the one. "manuel attracts a nice crowd," james commented, "so that makes sense." manuel beamed ear to ear a lot that night, & i was so happy & warmed by the kindness & enthusiasm we band members seem to have for one another, hoping to get more gigs together in 2015... we'll see!
that night james played gallaghers in LBC, arriving back to the mtn late that night, then next we traipsed to bakoland for a show in oildale. james played the pants off the place, & his rhythm section pretty much killed it for most of the night! john clifton of fresno's mofo party band showed up to visit his friend james & sat in on several numbers; he brought james a special coin, then i traded necklaces w/steve james's wife, who goes by "roadie" &'s been ill for many yrs. i don't know her well, but enough to know she's a real survivor; the trade & gifts touched us... we got to mom & dad's & dad greeted james at the gate like EYEgore; we sat, them in their robes, eating a late night snack & chatting a bit before they tucked into bed & i realized i'd never come home from a gig to the folks like that, waiting up, cheerful & sleepy & happy to see us & us to see them. quite special. :)
almost done w/holiday shopping. it's the wrapping task that brings me dread. gift mountain just sits there day after day, but i know i'll get it all done. both niece maddy & son-in-law james jr are home from college, we've been watching christmas movies & singing holiday songs, today we mailed off over 60 christmas cards (better late than never!), & i expect this will be as nice a christmas as ever... may your days be merry & bright...