Yesterday, I was supposed to go see Livingston Taylor at Humphreys Backstage Live in San Diego. This blog was going to be about that show with a Livingston Taylor playlist. On March 24th, I was supposed to see Joan Osborne with the The Weepies in Edmonds, Washington. Both shows were of course cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic as any public event or activity has been cancelled or postponed in the last couple of weeks.
In May, I'm hoping to see The Rolling Stones, Sting, and Sheryl Crow. I wrote the previous sentence a couple of days ago and now those concert dates will be probably cancelled as well. I've now tried to see the Stones twice in my life, and both shows cancelled...
Today, maybe finds you at home. Most of my family in San Diego and in the Seattle area are home today with their children. I have three children who are teachers who will be teaching from their laptops at home using online communications and apps with their students and staff this month and possibly into April. I have other family members in various jobs able to work with their colleagues from their laptops as well. Safe to say, people are close to home these days.
These next several weeks may be a good opportunity to retreat into your album or CD collection. It may be a good time to take a deeper dive into your music streaming service. It may be a time to look to music to either calm or rock your soul, maybe both.
Greenbelt trail a mile from my house
This is also a good time to get outside and take a walk or run everyday. Find places away from a crowd. Your neighborhood sidewalk is right there and not filled with people. There literally is no better time to get out there and expand your lung capabilities. The great outdoors is calling. When you get back home, those books you've been meaning to read are also calling. I guess the dust devils are calling too and maybe some time spent spring cleaning?
I was going to save this week's playlist for the last Monday of this month but decided to go ahead and put out this collection (56 and counting) of new music releases from January - March now. Maybe you need the comfort of hearing some old tunes right now, but maybe it's also a good time to spend the time to hear some new stuff as well.
So enjoy this new playlist my friends as I wish you and your family well in the weeks ahead.
Note- I'm sure you can't help but appreciate the irony of Mike Campbell's band being named, The Dirty Knobs as much as I do. The Dirty Knobs kick off the playlist with a very Rolling Stones-like song, Wreckless Abandon (new album expected March 20th). Now wash your hands.
p.s. The last two songs on the playlist are for Vinny.
This is the fourth article in a mini-blog series about walking, running, diet and of course, music. Like a streaming TV show, you may want to go back and quickly recap the series from the menu at the top, before proceeding with this latest installment.
In April 2018, I started this team tortoise blog series to motivate myself to achieve three goals.
My 3 BIG GOALS (with no timeline restraints attached)
To slowly lose 30 pounds (from 215 to 185), and keep it steady at 185 for the foreseeable future.
To run a 12 minute mile for 5 miles (12x5= 60 minutes), and keep that as my new pace and distance for the foreseeable future.
To listen to new and old music while running to inspire my writing for Monday Monday Music.
I knew Goal #1 would be the hardest for me as 185 was setting a high mark to get down to. As of this writing- having gotten down to 199, back up to 210, I'm currently settled at 205. My current short term goal is 200. Losing weight and keeping it off is just a damn hard thing to achieve. These last sentences are hard to write, but I stay persistent to accomplish this goal and (mostly) practice what I have written.
Goal #3 is basically a ringer as I knew it would be a no-fail proposition for myself. I do listen to music on most every run where I can simply lose myself and move into a meditation-like state that is active, thoughtful and peaceful. I truly believe music has saved my life and is an important part of my well-being. Music and running, individually or together are free therapy sessions in themselves.
Goal #2 is why this #IV blog is written, because I promised myself to write this article when I achieved- To run a 12 minute mile for 5 miles (12x5= 60 minutes), and keep that as my new pace and distance for the foreseeable future.
My greenbelt up and down trail run- elevation starting at 394 ft. up to 509 ft. during Mile 2
Goal #2 actually evolved into two distinct objectives using the greenbelt trail run by my house.
From my RunKeeper App,
I'll explain further down...
1. Run 5 miles in 60 minutes. I accomplished this a couple of months ago after finally getting through a number of calf pulling injury setbacks (originally sustained from a severe knee to ankle calf muscle tear injury ten years ago). Two things have sustained my success in this area - Compression Socks (Amazon), and a deep tissue massage by a professional masseuse at least once a month to prevent future muscle pulls and tears.
2. Run each of the five miles at a 12 minute mile or faster split time pace. This was the much harder objective, just accomplished by me this past week after almost two friggin' years!
Okay Tortoise Yoda, how did you make your miracle breakthrough in just... TWO short years?- like you're now going to be some social media influencer or something...
An Old Dog with Some New Tricks Through Running Iterations
Iteration is the act of repeating a process, either to generate an unbounded sequence of outcomes, or with the aim of approaching a desired goal, target or result. Each repetition of the process is also called an "iteration", and the results of one iteration are used as the starting point for the next iteration. Wikipedia
Iterations are not about repeating the same patterns and expecting to get different results. It's about planning-implementing-and evaluating your progress, and then getting back out there to make it better the next time. If I was going to improve my running as I approached my 65th birthday, I would need some reflection and research, specifically on my body mechanics. I would need to go way back to the beginning and think about when I started running regularly at 18 years of age.
We all grew up wearing Converse sneakers. I had the black high tops and also the white/beige low tops which I preferred for running during early adolescence. The model shown here is a Nike remake of the Chuck Taylor All Star shoe of the 1970's. This shoe is commonly referred as a "flat shoe" with a flat insole cushion and flat bottom sole.
The 1972 Nike Cortez
In 1972, Bill Bowerman created "The Cortez" and Nike was born. At some point in 1973-1974 I got a pair and loved them straight out. Again, look at the flat bottom design. A flat bottom shoe is designed as- Most runners should land close to midfoot with their foot parallel to the ground. From Altra Website
Striking at the midfoot is essential, it's where the heel is naturally cushioned from the blunt strike force to the ground, and is closer to how humans run without shoes.
Hoka One One Stinson Running Shoe
Think of running shoes prior to the 1980's as vinyl records, more of an authentic feel.
Most running shoes manufactured today have a widened cushioned curved heel designed to basically force the runner to strike heel first and then roll the foot forward. Sometime in 2018 or early 2019, I purchased my first pair of Hoka Stinson running shoes and thought my feet had landed in the clouds.
In actuality, the extensive cushioning and forced heel strike were creating a strong and painful case of plantar fasciitis in my right heel. By tricking my brain to not feel the ground, my heels were being driven straight into the ground absorbing the force of all my weight.
Born to Run blew my mind and fixed perceptions! Chris McDougall basically opened my eyes as my body started to break down age-wise in my 40's through a long succession of buying expensive hi-tech heel striking running shoes. One might could call it, The Low Spark of the High Heeled Boys...
On the left side of my body: I've had constant lower back pain, meniscus knee surgery, and left foot plantar fasciitis surgery, not to mention my 2010 severe calf tear while... wait for it... dancing to Lady Gaga at my step daughter Abby's wedding party. As a musical side note- This past Monday, I took a treadmill heart stress test for my cardiologist (heart attack 2/17/02). When I told the three nurses administering the test how I injured my left calf, they all burst out in gut-belly laughter, and I think I made their day.
Altra Timp 1.5 - My favorite running shoe in memory,
not to mention the cool Seattle Seahawk color scheme
After reading Born to Run, I started researching running technique and finding shoes with a 'zero drop' design that promote a mid-foot strike while running. I found a shoe manufacturer, Altra that makes a wide (Birkenstock) type toe box for my 4EEEE wide feet. In the last 6 months of running, my right heel plantar fasciitis is slowly going away, I have no back pain, and have had only one minor left calf strain.
The following chart is from Altra again, hey maybe I am an influencer... without the pay.
This chart is me in my back-to-the-future running form from the left- 1980's to my current right- striving to recapture the form of that 18 year old running at Waller Park in Santa Maria, CA. In blog Part I of this series, I called myself a Scottish Clydesdale. Now I think of myself as an old thoroughbred (maybe not quite put out to pasture)- a bit worn for wear but still ready to go at a slower pace with a balanced forward posture.
A Couple of Technology Tips
In this past couple of years, I've found a couple of cool product for runners that I highly recommend.
The free Smartphone Asics Runner's App - RunKeeper. (I originally used an app call RunTracker, but found the GPS to be rather inconsistent on the same 5 mile course and switched to RunKeeper.
In the RunKeeper settings, I get audio feedback every 1/4 mile for: Distance, Average Pace, Average Speed, and most important, Split Speed. The Split Speed reading every 1/4 mile keeps me sharp and kicks my ass in gear. I hate to admit it, but this app works like a musical metronome to keep me in time. Here is the download page for iPhone and Android.
Bone Collection (Run Tie) Running Armband Phone Holder, Lightweight Sports Cell Phone Armband for iPhone and Android. I've tried a couple of brands that keep slipping down my arm once I start sweating, but this product has the best armband on the market and simply does not slip. It's $25 but well worth it!
Christopher McDougall in addition to being a fantastic storyteller is also a wonderful person. I got a chance to see, listen and meet him at an October, 2019 book reading and overview backstory of Running with Sherman in San Diego.
me with Christopher McDougall at his Running with Sherman book signing in San Diego.
He signed my copy - "To Doug and Team Tortoise, Run Wild!"
Now for the Playlist this week
Over the past couple of years, I've added a bunch of videos to my Born to Run Playlist created with mostly upbeat songs to keep you rocking on that walk or run. Enjoy my friends!
Well, I guess I'm standin' in a hall of broken dreams
That's the way it sometimes goes
And every new love never turns out like it seems
I guess the feelin' comes and goes
Faithless love like a river flows
Like a raindrops fallin' on a broken rose
Down in some valley where nobody goes
Faithless love has found me
Thrown its chilly arms around me
Faithless love, faithless love like a river flows
from Faithless Love, JD Souther
Many rock fans may have never heard the name John David (JD) Souther, the singer-songwriter with a fantastic singing voice matched by his mastery of lyric and rhythm in crafting haunting love songs mostly made famous by other people including, the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, and James Taylor. In relation to the Eagles and Ronstadt, Souther directly participated as a songwriter or co-songwriter of some of their biggest hits, not to mention being a close friend, confidant and essential collaborator for two of the greatest acts in rock 'n' roll history.
In 2013, Souther was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and called "a principal architect of the Southern California sound and a major influence on a generation of songwriters." Wikipedia
JD Souther was born in 1945 in Detroit, grew up in Amarillo, Texas and like so many of his contemporaries moved to Los Angeles in the 1960's. During this time, Souther was Linda Ronstadt's boyfriend and lived with her, and was also roommates or close neighbors with Glenn Frey, Jackson Browne, and Don Henley in the Hollywood hills. In 1969, Frey and Souther formed the band Longbranch Pennywhistle and released one album with the same title as both were at the forefront in creating country rock as a genre in the 1970's.
In 1972, Souther released his first solo album, John David Souther and in 1974 formed the super country rock band, Souther-Hillman-Fury Band that made two albums and broke up in 1975 as the three continued to pursue their solo careers.
JD Souther (second from left)
If you've followed the Eagles from the beginning with their first album in 1971, you've probably wondered or even wished like I did, why JD Souther was never a formal member of the band? With co-writing credits on Best of My Love, James Dean, New Kid in Town, Victim of Love, Heartache Tonight, and How Long, this guy should have been in the starting lineup. I've read that Randy Meisner the original bass player in the Eagles rejected the idea of Souther joining the group, but I think, like Jackson Browne that their solo careers were their primary focus. Also, I think Souther's life-long friendships with Henley and Frey were more important than being another chef in the Eagles kitchen.
Eagle's Desperado Back Album Cover - Photo Henry Diltz
Jackson Browne (dead guy far left)
JD Souther (dead guy far right)
I have a tendency to play- Should've Could've, but I personally think if JD Souther had been a full-time Eagle that band would have soared even higher, maybe even into the 80's? And, when Glen Frey died in 2016, I think JD should have become an Eagle and not Vince Gill. Don't get me wrong, Gill was a wonderful choice, but he is a country star and not part of the Eagles rich history like Souther. Who knows the private conversations that took place between Henley and Souther, but that's just me being a fan...
Now if you're a fan of Linda Ronstadt and who isn't, JD Souther is so much more than a former boyfriend and duet singer on some of her albums. In fact, Linda recorded ten songs by Souther, three of which are bonafide rock 'n' roll ballad classics and all-time favorites of mine- Faithless Love, Prisoner in Disguise, and Silver Blue. In this week's playlist I've included Linda's versions of these three songs with JD's stellar backup vocals on these classic tracks that never get old.
Ronstadt & Souther in the 1970's
Last Thursday, I got to see JD Souther live at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach. It was a great show and I spotted Jack Tempchin (Eagles songwriter, Peaceful Easy Feeling, Already Gone) coming from backstage to sit down for the show. Souther performed solo and moved between acoustic guitar and piano to play a great setlist for the mostly boomer faithful crowd who were respectfully quiet during the songs. JD is also a great storyteller and I appreciated his setup stories between many of the songs- like the drunk Australian who was driving on the wrong side of the road and hit Souther's Lotus sports car stopped at a Stop sign. Souther had a split second to turn the car a little left so that it wasn't a straight head-on collision that probably saved his life as the fiberglass shell disintegrated around him. He got out, staggered to a lawn as Don Henley drove up from behind a minute later. He tells Don, "Go look inside the glove box and make sure there's no cocaine," before the police showed up. There was no cocaine, but another interesting story from the high flying 1970's in the hollywood canyons.
In putting together the playlist this week, I came across an absolute gem of an album that had escaped my attention during my many years working a day job. This is Souther's 2011 album of new stripped down acoustic versions of many of his hits by to other people or his personal favorites. I've included most of the recordings in the playlist, but I highly recommend you go out and buy JD Souther Natural History immediately, it is that good my friends!
I think I'm like many people who finally heard about the Drive-By Truckers as the band that kicked out Jason Isbell in 2008 for his heavy drinking.
It's that kind of back-asswards approach to getting into a band as I started to follow Isbell and then played my way to the Drive-By Truckers and started streaming their albums into my favorites on Amazon. Time after time, I'd be on a trail run with shuffle mode on and I'd have to stop and look at my iPhone screen in the sun and say, "Who are those guys?"
Well those guys are Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley who co-founded the Drive-By Truckers in 1996 in Athens, Georgia. The Unraveling is their 12th studio album. After a couple of listens, I realized it's a sobering album best experienced in its entirety rather than picking a few songs for a 'best of' playlist (which I of course will do in a later blog). This album rails against a 'Trump America' as some of the song titles are literally taken from our current headlines. As one of the Youtube comments say under one of the songs, [if this album is not for you simply] "don't listen." But hey, at least dig the very cool album cover.
These southern rockers are writing their lyrics from their hearts and I'm hearing the message on this very current and downbeat album. I encourage you to give it a full listen.
Sweet Baby James, the second studio album by James Taylor was released on February 1, 1970. The photo above was taken by Henry Diltz as a black and white photo promo. Diltz instantly saw that the picture would look great in color and wisely got out his color camera quickly and snapped what would be the iconic album cover after James slightly adjusted his pose.
The first single, Fire and Rain reached #3 on the Pop 100 Billboard Chart and James has been a household name ever since.
My friends and I wore out the grooves on this album. The title song, Sweet Baby James is viewed by James himself as his best song. Personally, it is one of my top ten songs of all-time and I currently have it in the #1 spot on My 100 Songs YouTube Playlist in honor of the album's 50th anniversary.
Here's the Sweet Baby James Album Playlist along with a funny update to Fire and Rain by James and Stephen Colbert.
As for 2020, James has just released his audiobook titled, Break Shot: My First 21 Years: An Audio Memoir. I just got a download copy by doing the free 30 day trial on Audible, click here for details. I recommend you take a hour and a half of your life and sit down in a quiet place and listen to this fascinating story mixed with song. I simply loved it!
James' new Album, American Standard will be released February 28th. I've already started the new playlist below with a couple of songs pre-released on Youtube plus a new Jane Pauley piece on James that recently aired on the CBS Sunday Morning TV show. 2/28/20 UPDATE - I've just completed the playlist below this morning!
If you live in the San Diego area, James Taylor and Jackson Browne will be playing the Pechanga Arena (old Sports Arena) on May 29th. James will be touring with Bonnie Raitt for his Canadian shows and then Jackson will join him for his tour dates in the States.
James is simply timeless. My ol' buddy Paul Hobbs got me listening to Sweet Baby James 50 years ago and I've followed him ever since. Last Friday, Paul and I had a nice run at Grover Beach on the California Central Coast. It wasn't exactly walking on a country road, but we could feel it. Being outdoors with an old friend is the past and present all rolled together in a familiar bundle of emotion and rhythm. The conversation picks up from where you left off the last time together, a 50+ year journey down a road where muscle memory takes over, effortless. Having the time to be with one another again and again is the reward in itself. James would identify and has been a master of telling such stories in song for a long time. I can't wait for the new album.
Note - I will complete the American Standard Playlist shortly after the February 28 release date.
Here's some Liner Notes for American Standard by James.
And, if you got some kids or grandkids hanging around, buy this pop-up book of Sweet Baby James to explore and read together. I believe my personal copy will be a real collector's item among the kids I hang with long after I'm gone to think about such things.
My first thought about writing a blog about Van Morrison was that I was not going to include, Brown Eyed Girl orMoondancein my playlist this week. The reason, most people only know these two songs because they fall into a category I wrote about in a 2015 blog called, Great Songs Ruined by Radio. But, I also realized after spending a week on this week's playlist that the average Van Morrison song is over four minutes long and that's the round peg in the square hole known as AM/FM radio programming. For example the average current 'Classic Rock' radio listener doesn't know the 1972 Van Morrison hit, Tupelo Honey" because its 6 minutes and 55 seconds long.
Van Morrison is so much more than a prolific songwriter and musician, who at 74 has released 41 studio albums! His loyal fans know him as, "Van the Man" the master of many genres. Van Morrison born in 1945 is in the sweet spot of time of being a worthy representative of the greatest generation of songwriters and performers in the history of modern music. So putting the playlist together this week was a daunting exercise, as I should have started it before last week. So, if you are a loyal fan, let's just call this, "a good start mix" of 50+ songs. I have also included this screenshot from the Van Morrison Wikipedia of his very impressive discography.
This past Saturday night, I got to see Van Morrison live for the first time at his January 31 - February 8th residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The Colosseum is a fantastic venue and I picked it especially to see my first Van Morrison concert because of the theater's outstanding acoustics. The building and the man did not disappoint, not to mention Van's outstanding band which unfortunately (and a pet peeve of mine) did not get introduced.
Van is an interesting (okay, eccentric) guy. From the show's promotional picture above, you'd think he had just come from his best friend's funeral. As his legend of fans will attest, when you go to a Van Morrison concert don't expect him to be smiling and interacting with the audience. Van is all work, and man this guy loves his work. His "Celtic Soul" is a thing of beauty to listen and watch live. Van literally takes two seconds between songs and motors through 16 songs in a hour and a half. For most artists this would normally be a two hour show. During the show, Morrison reminded me of Bob Gibson, the master on the baseball mound and one of the fastest working pitchers, moving from one pitch to the next within seconds.
In doing the playlist this week, I was struck by the YouTube comments because usually that's something best avoided by those that actually take the time to push 'thumbs down' on a song. But, the comments for Van are almost 100% positive. Van Morrison simply touches people deeply. His music has such a spiritual quality in lyric, melody and beat that people have written how a song literally saved their life during a very dark time.
Oh, and I decided to include Brown Eyed Girl andMoondancein the playlist because of course he had to include them in the show. The crowd went absolutely crazy on these two songs and on the encore, Gloria. Really what do I know, nothing... but you'll get the jazz versions here because Van's sax and voice did the soulful talking last Saturday night. Enjoy my friends!
Rick Holmstrom & Mavis Staples • photo MK McIntosh
On January 16th, Mary Kit and I got to see Mavis Staples and her band perform at the Edmonds Center for the Arts in Edmonds, Washington. At 80 years of age, she commanded the stage like the gospel, R&B, soul and rock 'n' roll road warrior that is Mavis Staples.
Mavis started singing with her family at eight years old, and when you times that singing experience by ten, one gets to witness a rich full-bodied voice with the heart warmth effect of a finely aged glass of bourbon.
Combined with Mavis' powerhouse voice is her hybrid rockin' soul band lead by Rick Holmstrom's mastery on Fender Telecaster guitar along with bassist Jeff Turmes, drummer Stephen Hodges, and backup singers Vicki Randle and Danny Gerrard. Lordy, this band will take you there!
Mavis' career as a lead singer starts when her father, Roebuck "Pops" Staples forms The Staple Singers as a gospel group in 1948, along with sister Cleotha and brother Pervis. In 1969, Pervis gets drafted into the army, and sister Yvonne joins the Staple Singers to give the group it's classic line up with Pops and Mavis trading lead vocals, and Cleotha and Yvonne as backup vocals. From there the group evolves and transcends gospel to crossover into contemporary R&B and Soul, not to mention their heavy activism in the civil rights movement in the 1960's.
The Staples Singers who previously had many hits on the gospel, soul and R&B charts broke through on the pop charts and hit #12 in 1971 on the Top 100 Billboard with Respect Yourself and in 1972, their smash #1 hit, I'll Take You There. It is during this time that I began to love the Staples Singers and thought Pops Staples was possibly the coolest dad anyone could ever have. Pops born on a cotton plantation in Mississippi moved his family to Chicago in 1935 for a better life and worked in the stock yards, did construction work and the steel mills; all the while honing his unique Telecaster guitar skills and evolving The Staples Singers sound. Think of Pops as the creative force starting with his family performing at church services in the 1950's to arenas and stadiums across America in the 1970's. Along the way, Pops became good friends with Martin Luther King and Mavis herself became a lifelong champion for social justice.
What you have to love about Mavis performing today is her inherit faith and belief in people to do the right thing. Her music message of 'love and trust' still resonates in our current times as it did back in the day. Mavis is still on the Freedom Highway and as she says in song today, "We got work to do."
For my playlist this week, I mixed in some Staple Singer favorites along with Mavis's solo work mainly with Rick Holmstrom who I've now become a new big fan. You can see why Mavis and Rick just click together as Rick plays his own unique version of Pops style of Telecaster Rhythm and Blues with rocking country sensibilities. Together this pair and band create a very current Americana vibe that just must be seen live. Long live Pops, Mavis, and The Staple Singers!
On January 9th I got to see Art Garfunkel at The Magnolia in El Cajon, California. Artie, now 78 was well received by an adoring crowd who mostly ranged in age from 60 - 80 years of age themselves. One quickly realizes that this is going to be a 'memory concert' in that the audience is going remember Art Garfunkel's younger angelic singing voice while experiencing the current man, walking in with a severe limp, but trademark wrinkled white shirt, black string tie and vest.
I've actually put off this blog a couple of weeks before I wrote it this morning, because I try not to write anything negative about an artist, especially my musical heroes who are mostly all in their mid-70's now. I found a review from July 25, 2019 by John Mosier that describes my feelings of the show as he tells it with grace and respect- REVIEW: Art Garfunkel’s talent at Easton’s State Theatre is diminished, but seeing him’s still a good thing. In July 2010, Simon and Garfunkel had to quit their upcoming tour at the time because Artie developed vocal cord paresis. Later that year, Garfunkel explained that he had recently quit SMOKING, and his voice was getting better, what?
Well, I have a thing about SMOKING. It killed my father in 2014 and I'm still pissed about it. For my father's generation and the children born in the 1940's, everybody smoked. That includes almost all the great singers from World War II on. That kind of pisses me off too, because the effects of long-term smoking kills those wonderful singing voices before it actually kills the wonderfully talented people themselves. Okay enough said, just had to get that one off my chest.
One of my outstanding memories of the concert, was actually the woman in her 70's sitting by herself, next to me. At several points during the concert (like The Sounds of Silence) she leaned in, her hands clasped together and smiling face, seeing the man himself with that voice, sing that song. She gave me the perspective I needed and said to me after the show, "Artie doesn't have quite the voice he used to, but still has the passion to sing like he used to."
That was all I needed, and would concur, seeing Art Garfunkel sing is still a good thing.
Here's my Art Garfunkel playlist to start a mellow Monday.
Paul McCartney wrote When I'm Sixty-Fourwhen he was sixteen years old in the 1950's. It's an idyllic projection that he actually lived with wife Linda if not for her early death from cancer. It is also an early expression of love experienced in his own family upbringing and tapped into as a budding genius storyteller.
Paul would sing the song in early Beatle gigs at clubs between sets, or when some equipment broke down and the band had to stop for a bit. The song was recorded in 1966 for the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Bandalbum when Paul's father was sixty-four. Another fun fact, Paul's kids surprised him on his own sixty-fourth birthday with their recording of the song with altered lyrics. But the ironic fact that stands out for me was that when Paul was sixty-four, he had separated from second wife Heather Mills and later divorced, or as the English say, "a fine kettle of fish."
This past year I turned sixty-four, and as I write this (on January 2) it's my lovely wife, Mary Kit's sixty-fourth birthday! On this day, we'll be living Birthday greetings bottle of wine.
Life is such a mixed bag. When you reach sixty-four years of age, you've lived through some fantastic, good, bad and even ugly times.
Here's a 2020 random ying yang stream of thoughts to my wonderful wife and extended to anyone who's hit the sixty-four mark and beyond.
You're Sixty-Four (+)
Empathy supersedes sympathy.
You used to be the youngest person at a meeting.
"Until death do us part" has probably been officially said to you at least a couple of times by a minister or justice of the peace. Also, there were less people there the second time.
Ya go ahead and put it off, no rush.
In the 1950's or early 60's your mom or dad had to hit the breaks and then put out their arm to stop you from flying from the back seat and into the front dashboard or glass.
Grandchildren on your knee
'Surreal' is such an overused word by people who are being interviewed on TV.
The experience was NO dream or fantasy, shit gets real!
Some of your heroes in youth turns out were not heroes at all,
some even went to prison, some need to be.
You shout, "Putin pinko commie asset" at the TV,
while some old fart suddenly loves the Russians.
You get together with friends and talk about 'aches and pains' like it's an art form.
Insurance commercials must be banned from television.
You miss The Marlboro Man in sweeping vistas and the theme song-
(Elmer Bernstein's score for The Magnificent Seven"dum, da-da dum")
–minus the cigarettes.
Every summer we can rent a cottage
You now have a personal trainer.
No no, not a real person but a free iPhone runner's app with the synthesized female dominatrix voice, yelling, "faster faster!"
No regrets.
Remember rushing to finish writing assignments in school. Finishing was the only reward.
At some point editing became a friend, and the process a life-long reward.
The circle of life possibly now has you looking after your parents.
Work to keep the bond with your siblings and family strong.
In twenty or so years from now, you'll be where your parents were.
Pop quiz - Beemans, Blackjack, Clove - What are they?
Get off the concrete and asphalt and walk or run in nature.
You've been involved in a major accident, and lived to tell about it.
You don't give a rat's ass what anyone thinks about you. Anyone.
You watched the first SNL live.
44 years later, Eddie Murphy on SNL made you laugh through every sketch.
The Rolling Stone's recent No Filter Tour is the best name ever for a rock 'n' roll tour.
"Those kids are just standing on our lawn?"
Team Tortoise - slow and steady for the long run.
Tears now come like rain.
Retirement...
"Everyday is Saturday, and if not Saturday, Sunday." (thanks Jimmer for that one)
At some point, you thought Don Henley was writing about you.
You can count your true friends on the fingers of one hand, hold that hand.
Up at 4:20am for no reason on God's green earth.
If you're up because you have to go to your day job, hang in there,
there's a light at the end of the tunnel; or as Mary Kit would say-
"There's a light at the end of the tunnel as long as it's not a gorilla with a flashlight."
You're a close friend to your children.
John Lennon sang, "love is real." He should have added, "but sometimes illusive."
You've had a major medical condition, and you're still here.
Ok, when does the wisdom thing kick in?
A smiling child yells, "Grandma" or "Grandpa" and they are looking at you. The reason grandparents and grandchildren get along so well is that they have a common enemy. –Sam Levenson (thanks Bill for that one)
Life's a three act play.
The third act just started right after you got up to go to the bathroom.
Someone has taken credit for your work.
Elderly people who lived through World War II now have to watch some news report of some dumb ass kids at some picture ceremony giving white supremacist signs and the Hitler salute.
You watch young children play and think what a wonderful world!
You can't prove or disprove that there is a God,
but at some point in adulthood you realized that rock 'n' roll saved your life.
Vaping is... hilarious to watch.
You've lived to see Science in the USA treated like it's astrology.
Every hit song that you've ever loved on the radio has been turned into a TV commercial.
Friends have died.
In the 20th century, you thought recycling was the answer.
Today only 9% of the world's plastic is actually recycled.
The 'blended family' is now just, family.
You grew up wanting to stay at the Disneyland Hotel. You've done that.
As Billy Joel said, "We didn't start the fire." Our children think we did.
Greta Thunberg knows we did.
You've made When I'm Sixty-Four your new ringtone or ringback tone. This will last for only a few weeks before you go back to a standard iPhone tone.
Fuck cancer.
Giving exceeds receiving.
Back in the day, you've woken up on a friends dirty carpet with all your clothes on, and now wouldn't dare sleep on the ground in a sleeping bag. Camping!
Somewhere long ago you actually paid 25 cents for a gallon of gas.
You go to Las Vegas to see The Beatles' Love at the Mirage,
like it's a pilgrimage to Mecca.
Be a light for someone.
Roger Daltrey now hates people smoking dope at Who concerts.
Times change, but The Who still sounds fantastic live.
John F. Kennedy was assassinated, you were told at school by your teacher.
You cried- if not at school, some place where no one could see you.
Keto smeto - I'm not giving up pizza!
You've held her hair back, or you've rubbed his back...
while bending over the toilet and hurling Boone's Farm and Cheetos.
Opportunity and choice are the greatest gifts you can give a young person.
I miss it when someone doesn't initiate and say, "good morning" when you pass and you're the only person around. Or you initiate, "good morning" and they ignore you and just walk on by.
We shall scrimp and save
You don't put your head under water at the pool or ocean, c'mon man!
The weight is always there, it hangs like a dark cloud, but dammit you're really happy.
The maturation of hair loss on the top of head to then sprout like spring weeds in your nose and ears is just a cruel joke.
Create, express you passions.
A New Year's resolution is just a cheap setup for a fail. Actions not words win the day.
Houdini said that the hardest thing for him was to get out of bed. You love your bed.
Email title in my Inbox- Domino's Stuffed Cheesy Bread is calling your name.
"hey, Fat Ass."
You're on your third impeachment, however experience tells you this one is completely different. You realize we are living in an epic historical period in our government while many seem oblivious to the challenge to our democracy. You're watching and talking to people of reason, stay vilangent.
Got to have a current project going. After that... onto the next project.
Listen to music like you did in your 20's.
Pay-per-view turned out pretty well. You never realized there would be so many good stories coming out of your flat panel television.
Will you still need me, will you still feed me
You're in a position where you don't have to work with assholes.
If you are, at least you have an exit strategy.
You've had injuries and walked down that lonesome road all by yourself.
You've eaten orange slices with 7,000 people after the finish line.
A long time ago, a friend put a condom under the faucet
and filled it like a water balloon to show you it wouldn't explode.
BTW, have you seen those water balloon kits for kids at Costco, pure genius!
You know religion, you know spirituality. Think of retirement as a set of retread tires, you've got new tread on old tires for the road ahead.
Walking is one of the essential keys of life- walk, walk, walk.
Your spouse says at the restaurant,"Don't tell them it's my birthday." Mine for evermore
Your grandchildren play the song below on Alexia to you over FaceTime
while singing and dancing.
For my last blog of 2019, I'm going back to the 1969 well to celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of my favorite movies of all-time, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, released October 24, 1969.
The film won four Academy Awards: Best Cinematography; Best Original Score for a Motion Picture (not a Musical); Best Music, Song (Burt Bacharach and Hal David for "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head"); and Best Original Screenplay. It was also nominated for Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Sound. Wikipedia
As kids in high school, my friends and I would reenact favorite scenes over and over as it instantly became our favorite western. The John Wayne torch of the Western had moved over to a new generation of movie fans that would champion new Westerns like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Little Big Man with Dustin Hoffman in 1970.
I think what completes this perfect movie of script, cast and direction is Burt Bacharach's music. The score is a masterpiece that breathes so much life into the action and cinematography. For me the highlight of the soundtrack is the South American Getaway montage with Newman, Redford and Ross robbing banks and avoiding the Bolivian soldiers. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a quality video of the sequence but the audio track is classic Bacharach pop that should just take you back to the 1960's and start your Monday Monday with a little pep in your step.
Yesterday, I was supposed to go see Livingston Taylor at Humphreys Backstage Live in San Diego. This blog was going to be about that show with a Livingston Taylor playlist. On March 24th, I was supposed to see Joan Osborne with the The Weepies in Edmonds, Washington. Both shows were of course cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic as any public event or activity has been cancelled or postponed in the last couple of weeks.
