Author: brhythm

Labor Day Weekend Wrap-Up

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Friday night, and I didn’t have a gig. That felt really strange!I don’t thing anything spectacular went on; I just spent an evening home with the family! Susan didn’t feel like cooking, so we had Chinese. I think after that, it was some “Spiderman and his Amazing Friends.”

Saturday morning, and I was up at about 6:30. Susan implored me to sleep later, but I couldn’t. I left the house at 9am to get some errands done, then I was off to my 11am gig. That gig got over at 2pm, and afterwards, I headed to Blind Al’s house to pick him up for my second gig. Gig one was in Waldoboro, and gig two was in Portland. It didn’t really make sense to head home, only to leave again in three hours time, so I picked up the Blind Man. We went to P-Town, hit The Drum Shop, Buckdancer’s Choice, and Guitar Center. The Drum Shop had all kinds of stuff I wanted. Guitar Center had nothing but teens beating on the electric drums, making noise just to hear themselves make noise, I guess. I bought nothing at either place. Buckdancer’s is a guitar shop, so there wasn’t much for me there. My gig that night was at Brian Boru. It was hot and humid, even in the evening, and I played like dog meat during the first set. By the time the third set rolled around, there was a breeze, and I was plenty hydrated, so my playing improved. I think I had four pints of water! On the drive home, we complied with the sheriff’s road block “safety check,” and I crawled into bed at 3:15 Sunday morning.

It seemed like only moments until I opened my eyes at 7:30 Sunday morning. Coffee! Church had a really light turnout, as many people were out of town. Pastor Dave and I provided music for Sunday School on guitar and bass respectively. Having had so little sleep, I had a little trouble putting together cohesive sentences. We all had a good laugh about it. After morning services, we had leftover Chinese for lunch. My Mom was away on vacation (thus the need for me to provide church music instead of her usual piano), so we didn’t have lunch at her house.  Then, NAPS! Yeah! Church in the evening, then home again.

This morning, I slept late: 7:30. I made some raspberry/chocolate chip pancakes for everyone. I worked on a website for a little bit in the AM, and made lunch for the kids. In the afternoon, we went to Beth’s and went crazy! We picked up a flat of blueberries, some strawberries, leeks, corn, and beet greens. Oh, and cider. And beans. They had so much good stuff, we’re planning on going back again this Saturday! On the way back to the house, we stopped in a local antique shop I like to frequent. Once back in Rockland, we walked to the grocery store for a few more things. Supper was steak, grilled/braised leeks, corn on the cob (super sweet and yummy!), and mashed taters. The boys, dutifully washed and teeth brushed, are up in bed now. Julia and Susan are bagging blueberries for the freezer. I just finished some more web work, and took some time to post.

Jay’s MI-5

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Jay says: “It’s that time of year – back to school with the kids (that’ll learn ‘em to complain about being bored during summer vacation!).  Look back to your high school years & answer these questions five:”

1. Think back to the soundtrack of your high school years – what were you listening to then?
I was big into The Beatles then. Also, The Jimi Hendrix Experience. I can remember what albums I used to put on to play the drums along with: Skynyrd’s “Second Helping” and “One More From the Road,” Clapton’s “Best Of,” Peter Frampton’s “Frampton Comes Alive.” I was in a band, and we would listen to David Lee Roth’s “Eat ‘Em and Smile” all the time. Bob Marley’s “Rastaman  Vibrations” saw much play, as did James Brown’s “Gravity.” It was in high school too that I was first introduced to Tull.

2. It’s an average Thursday night– what’s on TV?
The Cosby Show, I guess. I don’t really remember the line-up.

3. What was playing at the local Bijou then?
Susan and I saw Arachniphobia in the theater. Really, in my home town, there wasn’t much happening by way of movies. The Strand had yet to be restored, and the big box movie house had yet to come to town. So if you didn’t like either of the two movies the Strand had, you had to wait until the following Thursday for two new ones. As a result, I don’t remember seeing many there. Movie rental places were all the rage then. I remember when you had to be a member before you could rent movies, and membership required money! I can remember a former girlfriend putting in reservations for “Dirty Dancing,” and having to wait for it to be returned.

4. What character from “The Breakfast Club” best described you during high school: Judd Hircsh, the brooding rebel without a cause?  Molly Ringwald’s pampered princess?  Ally Sheedy’s freak in need of a bottle of Head & Shoulders?  Emilio Estevez’s varsity jacketed jock?  Or Anthony Michael Hall’s dweeby dork?
I guess I was the dork. Not really, though. I think I was generally well liked, but I wasn’t the real popular kid. I was into music and drums, of course. (It was in high school I got the nickname “Billy Rhythm.”) I also did work in what would now be called the A/V club. We didn’t really have that back then; we had 3-4 guys who liked lights and sound.

5. Does looking back at your junior & senior high class pictures cause you to cringe, wondering why nobody stopped you from walking out into public looking like that?  Why?  Mullet?  Poodle perm?
My clothes were pretty normal, but I had some hair issues. I used to wear it way too long. It looked ok enough when short, but it didn’t stay that way for long. I used to part my hair in the middle, and did until about five years ago. Is that too ’80s?

Friday Fill-Ins #87

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1. When I’m sick I’m a bear. (I don’t get sick very often, and when I do, I just want to be in bed.)

2. When I take a walk, I think about the architecture of the buildings around me.

3. Money can’t buy happiness but it can sure help making sure the rent is paid.

4. Cotton makes me comfortable and leather makes me wonder who’s clothes I’m wearing, ’cause I don’t own any leather.

5. The strangest person/character I’ve had lewd thoughts about was actually so forgettable, I can’t really think of any.

6. My favorite color these days is purple because it’s been my favorite color all my life.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to an evening home with the kids, tomorrow my plans include two (!) gigs and Sunday, I want to just relax!

I’ve Put In a Bid

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I placed an absentee bid on that painting. Why? I’ll tell you. Last year, at this same guy’s auction, I found a French dry sink with a marble top that I really liked. Susan’s been keen on dry sinks for some time. Since we don’t have a big enough bathroom for a hamper, we put dirty clothes in a basket at the top of the stairs. I’d rather we had some piece of furniture that would hide the clothes, but haven’t yet found a piece the right size and quality. The dry sink would’ve worked just fine. The estimate was $500 – $800: too rich for my wallet. The selling price? $172. Now that’s in my budget. With that little bit of experience, I decided I’d put a sort-of “low ball” offer on the painting. I’m thinking of it this way: if it sells for an amount equal to (or less than) my offer, and I didn’t put a bid in, I’d be kicking myself in the pants. Now, I feel covered. If I win it, I win it for a price that I would consider a good deal, possibly even a bargain (depending on where it ends). If it goes over that, well, then it just wasn’t meant to be.