do some huggin' & lovin' at the county fair

i'm certain i've posted this before, but turns out james helped write that song, one of my favorites from phil alvin's county fair 2000 LP, being reissued without the names of ppl who helped on the project, such as james... we love county fairs. we went to the kern. a tiny fallow bell pepper sat in the soil at the outdoor ag exhibit. i put it in my bag, we got back to the gias', sliced & ate it, james, me & the gias... we will soon i hope go to the biggest fair in the country. we shall see what happens.

grateful!!!

still alive! over the latest bad cold! sun is shining! not too sore! still sober! loved ones are healthy! my new job is swell! there is always a chance for better! life is good! these pix: my 57th bd with dear parents & sister; dear james with sister sherri in seattle; happy visit with funny aunt pam & my favorite uncle ralph near seattle; dear mrs lorenza hughes, santa rita nm native, my mentor teacher, a gentle & admired nonagenarian, with mom & dad at dwk luncheon; 94 yr old dolores huerta leads the crowd in cheers for madame president; my former student matthew, who as a little boy looked like john belushi-meets-pugsley, returns from army leave to visit his old teacher; daisy the hyper lovebug takes a nap in sherri's lovely washington home.

happy birthday to me

happy birthday to me happy birthday to me happy birthday to me happy birthday to me (tho without the other one, the sobriety bd, i likely wouldn't be having this one anymore.)

blablabla & then some of the things we remember

james doesn't want me to write about any of the snaky underhanded crap that happened, so i will just go blablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablalbablablablablablablabalablablabalbalablabalbalablabalbalbalabalbalabalbalablabalbalablabalbalbalablabalbalablabalbalablabalablabalablabalbalbaalalabablaalabablababalablablablalalalbabalablalbabalalablablaalalbalablababalalabalalalaalalalalablabalbalbalaba
hahhhh
aaaahhhhhhh....swamp cooler... the smell of my childhood...
what are the senses of your childhood?
the sounds:
jenny: crickets, mourning doves, & trains.
james: the train going by. we lived in paramount & compton, & the train went right by our house.
jenny: we lived right by the train in fresno when we lived there for a year when i was a baby. and trains were everywhere i lived in bakersfield, on the east side & downtown. 42 years.
the music:
jenny: dad would sing songs with us & teach us to sing along: the union maid, billy barlow, & the gettystone light. & the christmas coke commercial with i'd like to teach the world to sing, so i was 2 & a half.
james: cartoons, bugs bunny & stuff. one of the earliest ones i saw was the one when cab calloway was the walrus. i didn't know who he was, but i remembered the hi-dee ho & the way he moved.
both: bad, bad leroy brown!
james: jim croce, you know he got drafted, & he met leroy brown, & leroy brown was a street hustler from the south side of chicago. he was like 6'9" and weighed 300 lbs, & he didn't wanna be in the army, it was just something to do, so when he got his pay, he just went back home. when my mom used to have me go to the bar to get my dad when he'd been up too long, he would have me up on the bar singing songs, & that was one of the songs. and then later, everybody went, bad bad whiteboy james cause i had two diamond rings, i had the custom continental & an el dorado, too, i had a 32 gun & a pocket full of fun, i had razors in my shoe, i liked to shoot dice, leroy brown liked to shoot dice...
the smells:
jenny: the swamp cooler, fideos & beans, & the burning smell of the wall heater. also what i now know is called petrichor -- the smell of the rain when we would get it.
james: produce at the market. the rotten produce, the fresh produce, the meat section, just all the food smells going on at little farmers.
the tastes:
jenny: fresh ripe delicious figs from grandma mary's and the ramirezes' trees. bottle cap candy from woolworth's. and tortillas with butter.
james: berries from the berry tree in the field by my house. there were the red ones & the blue ones. i used to sit in the tree and pretend i was a monkey. and we had a huge avocado tree in my yard. i used to sit in the tree & eat avocados all day. i have the perfect method. i can get the whole avocado out without making a mess. every once in a while i would put toothpicks in one & watch it sprout.
what did you see?
both: comic books & mad magazine. and the train caboose.

well, i ain't up to my baby tonight, cause it's too darn hot

when we went thru santa clarita the other day, the temp read 118 fahrenheit.
gadzooky!!! that is an all-time high for me.
the hottest i recall during my life in bakersfield was 114. thought that was bad!
today i read a comment: we are experiencing the unintended consequences of our actions. el cambio de clima es aqui!!!
james said in the middle east the mercury would hit the 120s. americans in combat gear would pass out from the suffocating & unrelenting conditions. on this occasion, a scary story once again was breezily relayed by mister james, who's lived thru more of those than any bless-ed pack of humans i've ever met.
today i did so little, just sapped, i guess, by the torporous [sic] heat. i managed to lay some tile in the bathroom & cleaned & read, but it not much compared to the usual 24-hours. focusing on the animals, wetting them down, giving them lots of water, kept me busy. after all, i'm not wearing a fur coat while going thru this.
the tiny home named bluey, our new one, now features a kick-butt little a/c, but james & his buddy were working on the little blue one, so i stayed away. that will be a cool retreat for the family during upcoming hot days.
lately have watched a few german horror/sci-fi films of note: anatomie (2000) & (a better film) anatomie 2 (2003). creepy, cautionary premiseeees, to be sure. i also recommend the thoughtful & devastating fiction continental drift by the great russell banks. today i started joe gould's teeth by jill lepore of the new yorker. that one looks to be a deep but snappy read. as for music lately? there's been bupkis since i subbed w/james's band.
on a few nice notes, however, we celebrated my 29th sobriety bd at a peaceful motel in 1000 oaks & enjoyed a wonderful meal at pickle's deli ("want some pickles?" the polite mebbe-owner asked, appearing out of nowhere, & yes yes, we did!) & yesterday i got to visit my friend marjorie finally. she left the hill when her family placed her at kingsley manor in west hollywood, an expansive 1939 brownstone where she can eat well in an art deco dining hall with white tablecloths, enjoy a community of friends, & gaze upon the los angeles & hollywood skylines from a gorgeous rooftop. so happy my beautiful friend is now safe & cared for.

the saga of antoine pearl

i got antoine from a yard in santa barbara X years ago. don't remember if it was before or after the pandemic! we fixed him up, then my folks decided they would not want to stay in him. he was named after fats domino and the little girl from night of the hunter. (those are names i'd thought of for the children i never birthed.) then a big storm came & ripped the skylight off the bathroom & caused a living room leak. then we bought bluey, so antoine was pulled to the 2nd driveway. then there was an earthquake & he nearly came off his moorings. then angie sister said she would like to have him for a sewing/art studio. then her husband had some crazy idea of lifting antoine over their house with a crane & setting him down in their backyard. then of course that never happened because they would've had to contact the city, shut down the street, pay large fees, & why not just clean off the driveway & put antoine there instead? but oh well. now bluey is about to really, truly get his electrical installed. then all i have to do is turn the stairs so they are safer for mama to climb (well, actually, it will be a helluva job bc the stairs are really heavy) & hook up the water. then bluey will be ready for visitors. and now antoine pearl is for sale on ebay. i am afraid to look at the seller ratings bc i think someone put bad feedback from when i was selling books yrs back. and maybe for something james sold, like a record player. but anyways, here is the link. au revoir, antoine. i loved you for a while. https://www.ebay.com/itm/166842297418?itmmeta=01J1AWPY0ZPDTB43KF8J9127DK&hash=item26d8936c4a:g:ObwAAOSwR7RmfEhL&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4EqH9%2B8Tct7BOoalIgLABglayO6W0VwqfVBtwnLPB3HEFMGOaMe31H5Yp%2Fn%2FMd67eHi7yJgcVWxTLWyQpZPEWx0sbB6M5LOKW2zuKyc%2BdXO%2F%2BByYpOJQcxVE1Q%2BWt%2FtYv62FkH0gzgOLjIbPCbRt0HozRoumvsyFQIasFhSJrnSeFKZ2bi1k%2B%2FCa4h2QepUPGmSOc76GUB%2BzQTc2bOhw52eqHS6pXC80Kl2%2Bq3BERgEsxMIumJvDudYhpK1yvpH5tuzi5MFTxwo2%2BSqKPBk5imERT9QyeF5itbQ8Kf%2FT%2BzrV%7Ctkp%3ABFBMzuDb3Ipk

tcb!

we are having a productive and positive summer so far! here is a pic from the other day. i filled in on "bass" and afterward thought, now why didn't i just practice some & then bring a bass? thank you to paula b for the pic. happy summer to all. :)

ps, the biggest bummer of late is the squirrel living in our kitchen.