Last weekend saw me sail through another birthday unscathed, just about. There was a gathering to celebrate this one calendar year closer to the worm-filled sod, and the photo attached bears witness to my joy at the occasion. And it was joyous. It happens all too rarely these days that a group of friends gets together without falling into the pit of politics or the price of the meal, and just has a good time. And it seems more and more that these occasions must be linked to the passing of time or the celebration of some collective enterprise.
I made a birthday resolution, and I know that, really, these things should happen at New Year (another contrived calendar event), but I have decided that I will meet up with friends at least once a month (another contrived, etc., etc.) just to celebrate the joy in our friendships. We are all different from different backgrounds and ethnicities, but we are all human and friends. Seems so simple, doesn’t it? I haven’t been told on X to dress in black and wear a mask by some lunatic with a God complex or some small-minded expat bigot. None of us wants to harm anyone or set fire to things, or have to leave our houses in the dead of night, fearing for our lives. Not too much to ask, is it? WTF is going on?
We must remain clear-minded that the massive majority of people have been appalled by recent events and continue to be so.
Musically, some really great new stuff again this week. From Harrisonburg, VA, I give you Dogwood Tales, and from Manchester, England, Westside Cowboy. The radio show featured Jason Kent, Gil Scott Heron, Dan Mangan, Simon Joyner, Tom Petty, and many more. As ever…
