Little Things Said in Passing

It is amazing how such little things said in passing made such a huge impression ....

... the singer "Pink"....
... Karma Chameleon ...
... hard cider ....


Did You Happen to See the Most Beautiful Girl in the World, Charlie Rich

You're the reason God made Oklahoma -- every time I drove through Oklahoma City, I thought of you -- I drove through the City at least three times a year for four years taking our younger daughter to and from college in Sioux Falls, SD (we lived in San Antonio at the time).

You're The Reason God Made Oklahoma, David Frizzell and Shelly West

I Wonder Where You Have Retired?

I assume you are pulled between your family in St Louis, and where you spent so much of your life, the Washington, DC, area.

My gut feeling is that you will end up in St Louis. I don't think you would do well retired. You would need something to keep you going. Would you continue to work at least a bit in the civilian world?

I fly much more than I ever expected I would at this point in my life. I fantasize every time passing through an air terminal that we our paths would cross. How close would our paths have to be for us to recognize each other? If close enough, who is more likely to recognize the other? First? How awkward would it be? Would I change my flight plans? Probably. Would we get into a serious discussion of options? Hopefully.

You said it would take eight years to get over a love affair. I say it ended in 2004 -- the reality, but not the love affair -- ended in 2004. Eight years means that 2012 will be the end of the memories. Perhaps for you; not for me.

Not a particularly good version, but the words, oh, the words ... time has passed us by ...

First of May, Maurice and LuLu

Three Lives, Three Loves

Three lives, three loves.

A ballroom dancer, a walker, and a fencer.

Three lives, three loves.

In 1975, I was with the love of my life and this was one of the songs that I associate with her:


Do You Know Where You Are Going To? Diana RossShe passed away, a few years ago, way too soon. She spent most of her life spent in education, becoming a physician, but I remember her first love, ballroom dancing.

They say men are the sentimental ones, growing more sentimental with age. Women are the pragmatic ones, growing even more so with age.

Do you know, do you know where you are going to? In 1975, I most definitely did not. Now, 35+ years later, I'm still not sure.

Back on Boogie Street -- No One Has Told Me Yet What Boogie Street Is For

Some years ago, not really all that long ago, I spent some time in Yorkshire, England. I was treated to some wonderful home-cooked meals while deployed with the US Air Force to a remote station.

I always helped clean up after dinner, and enjoyed washing the dishes. Once the dishes were done, I had to leave quickly ....

Whenever I hear this song, I am reminded of those wonderful, halcyon days in Yorkshire ...


Boogie Street, Leonard Cohen

O, Crown of Light, O Darkened One,

I never thought we'd meet.
You kiss my lips,
And then you're gone:
I'm back on boogie street.

A sip of wine,
A cigarette,
And then it's time to go.
I tidied up the kitchenette,
And tuned the old banjo.
I'm wanted back at the traffic jam:
They're saving me a seat.

I'm what I am
And what I am
Is back on boogie street

And, oh my love, I still recall
The pleasures that we knew;
The rivers and the waterfalls --
Wherein I bathed with you.
Bewildered by your beauty then,
I kneeled to dry your feet ...

Was it all a dream?

Music and Memories

It's absolutely incredible how music affects my emotions, stirs memories.

Tonight, for no reason other than it popped up randomly, I was listening to Diana Ross, "Do You Know Where You're Going?" Wow, I found myself transported to the wild highway 110 from downtown Los Angeles driving up to Highland Park, and then up to South Pasadena. I had not expected that. I experienced momentarily an out-of-body experience, feeling myself floating through the turns of that very old highway, and the taking the very short exits to get home. As I write, and listen, the memories get stronger and stronger. "Touch Me In the Morning" by Diana Ross prolongs the feeling.


The Diana Ross videos are here.

It's bittersweet how life turns out. Friday night. Alone.

Great Memories -- St Louis Cardinals in Game 7 -- World Series

AND THEY WON! 

Link here.

Hours after David Freese's home run plunked down on the grass patch beyond the center field wall, long after the ballpark emptied, a message still burned bright on the scoreboard: "See you TOMORROW NIGHT for Game 7 of the World Series!"

Whatever happens, whether the St. Louis Cardinals or Texas Rangers win, they'll have a hard time topping Thursday night.

"You had to be here to believe it," St. Louis manager Tony La Russa said.

In one of the greatest thrillers in baseball history, the Cardinals twice rallied when they were down to their last strike of the season. First, Freese saved them with a two-run triple in the ninth, then Lance Berkman delivered a tying single in the 10th.

And when Freese led off the bottom of the 11th with his shot to beat Texas 10-9 and stomped on the plate, this Game 6 had already been stamped forever.

"Turned out to be one for the ages," said Daniel Descalso, who keyed a Cardinals comeback.

Some Nights Are Tougher Than Others

Don't Forget to Remember Be, The Bee Gees

I'm Not There Yet -- He Stopped Loving Her Today

I heard this on the radio while driving into work at 4:45 a.m. today. Perhaps one of the greatest songs ever. This is not the best YouTube music video of George Jones singing this song, but it may be the only that allows embedding:



He Stopped Loving Her Today, George Jones

I think HL Mencken had it right: men are sentimental, whereas women are not.

I find it incredible how perfect some songwriting is. What a genius -- the genius who wrote this song.

I'm not there yet -- I haven't stopped loving her yet -- but the day will come -- and a wreath upon my door.

*************

I'm gonna have to drown myself in music tonight:





 I associate this song with my tour at Grand Forks AFB. I don't know why. I don't remember.


Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under? Nothing special, except I love it.


I don't particularly care for this one, but the previous song drove me to this one.


Simply one of the best songs ever.


There is no better music video. Period. Dot. Can anyone say "mirror" better than Rod? I don't want to talk about it. How you broke my heart. If I stay here, won't you listen to my heart? Amy Belle is having the time of her life. I was listening to Rod Stewart when I was in college. Thirty years later, forty years later, I'm still listening to him. Who wudda thought?


Favorite song in college.


Is this not simply incredible?

Drowning slowly in music.


And then I'm draw to Queen and northern England, and Yorkshire.


I fell in love with Queen during my first tour to Yorkshire.


I first saw this in Yorkshire. Just one reason why I love England.

And with the following, we will quit:

Stuck In Time ... Faded Love Again Tonight

Ray Price and Willie Nelson
"... I remember our faded love ... I miss you, darling, more and more every day...

as heaven would miss the stars above ...

with every heart beat I still think of you..

and remember our faded love..."

Crystal Gayle, I am told, backs them up in this song.

Eight Years ...

I was once told that it would take eight years to get over a "faded love."

I see that someone from where my faded love was last known to have settled has visited the site. It is unlikely ... but I can hope and dream ...

It may take eight years for my faded love, but for me, it will take a lifetime.

I miss you darling more and more every day 

As heaven would miss the stars above.

Sunday Night, Eight Years Later

How coincidental, my favorite movie on cable tonight: Casablanca.

I watch Casablanca at least once a month when I'm home. When traveling I miss it. Tonight it's on 'TCM' -- Turner Classic Movies?

I could enjoy watching it with a certain someone. Smile.

You know, every time I watch it, I catch something "new." Wow. 

And, of course, this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo2Lof_5dy4

Faded Love

Seven years ago or so I would have been walking the beautiful Yorkshire countryside on the weekends.

Among the best days of my life. I will never forget them.

I miss you, darling, more and more every day
As heaven would miss the stars above.
With every heart beat
I still think of you,
And remember our faded love.

Faded Love, LeAnn Rimes
Some prefer Patsy Cline's version:


Faded Love, LeAnn Rimes

Some Nights Are More Difficult Than Others ....

... this is one of them.

And in my dreams I saw her again last night ...

I Saw Her Again Last Night, The Mamas and The Papas
Hmmmm.....

Poetry -- I"ll Talk To Your Eyes That I Love So Much...

If I were teaching poetry for high school students, I would choose "If You Go Away" -- see earlier posting.

One needs to listen to it several times; the couplets, the metaphors are awesome ... I posted some of the couplets on the earlier post ... but I am listening to the song again tonight and I am blown away by it ... how much joy to listen to it with someone special by my side ...

... but if you go, I will understand,

but leave me just enough love to hold in my hand...

... but if you stay, I will make you a night, like no night has been or will be again,

I will sail on your smile, I will ride on your touch, I'll talk to your eyes,

that I love so much...

but if you go, I'll cry, though the "good" is gone from the word "good-bye" ...

Wow, listen to it a dozen times and each time I will guarantee you will hear something new ...

Back to Black -- The Midnight Walks -- Pateley Bridge, Yorkshire, England

Some nights I literally run out of steam. This is one of those nights. A melancholy midnight walk around Pateley Bridge is in order.



Back to Black, Amy Winehouse

Wow, this is THE walk. I challenge anyone to take this walk on a moonless night at midnight.

If You Go Away ...

.... on a summer day,

Then you might as well take the sun away.
(You might as well take away)
All the birds that flew in the summer sky
When our love was new and our hearts were high
When the day was young and the night was long
and the moon stood still ...

But if you stay, I'll make you a day, like no day has been...

But if you stay, I'll make you a night, like no night has been ...
I'll talk to your eyes that I loved so much.

But if you go away,
Leave me just enough love to hold in my hand

If You Go Away, Shirley Bassey
Without question, the couplets were every bit as good as anything Shakespeare ever wrote.

******************

You have no idea how the couplet ...

When the day was young and the night was long
and the moon stood still ...

... hit me. I remember how dark it got by 4:00 p.m. and how late we walked into the night. And how the stars were so bright, and how, yes, the moon stood still. Every night that was to be the last night, I stayed awake all night, looking at the clock. Time, they say, moves so much more slowly if you watch the clock. Those last nights, even when I watched the clock, did not move any slower. Dawn came too soon. I would not do anything to have those young days and long nights back, but I would do a lot ...

Stand By Your Man

I'm alone tonight, watching yet another repeat of a DVD aired by the public broadcasting network for their quarterly fundraiser. It's a DVD of "country legends," and I think I'm watching it for the third time in the past 72 hours. I guess I don't really watch it, but it's on in the background, and when something comes on that interests me, I will go over and watch it.

One has to admit that it really is something to see singers like Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn perform. They were really something. They rose to the top the hard way: lots of singing for local venues, and then somehow getting discovered. "American Idol," on the other hand, seems too contrived, manufactured.

Be that as it may, it started off with Tammy Wynette and her classic, and one of my favorites. I hope you can enjoy it.

Stand By Your Man, Tammy Wynette

Save the Last Dance for Me

I don't quite remember how I got to this video -- what led me here -- but when I saw Emmy Lou dancing a bit near the middle, I thought of you. 


Save The Last Dance For Me, Emmy Lou Harris

The following doesn't belong here; it should go to one of my other blogs, but oh, we would have fun watching it together:


Save The Last Dance For Me, Carole Laure

Carole Laure is French-Canadian; her birthday is almost the same as ours, August 4, 1951.

Tend to leave my sleeping bag rolled up and stashed behind your couch ...

It's knowing that your door is always open
And your path is free to walk
That makes me tend to leave my sleeping bag
Rolled up and stashed behind your couch
And it's knowing I'm not shackled
By forgotten words and bonds
And the ink stains that have dried upon some line
That keeps you in the backroads
By the rivers of my mem'ry
That keeps you ever gentle on my mind


Gentle on My Mind, Glen Campbell

The writer says "your're" gentle on my mind. You're not. My mind is completely wracked. I am shackled, not by your words or bonds, but by memories of your smile and your willingness to listen.

I'm Down To Hurtin' Once a Day --

Once a Day, Loretta Lynn

Obituary -- Craig Oksol -- Williston, North Dakota, USA

Link here.

In case the link is broken:

Funeral services for Craig B. Oksol, 55, a longtime Williston insurance agent and current president of Manger Insurance, will be at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 12, 2011, at First Lutheran Church, Williston. The Rev. Chris Swarthout, of New Hope Wesleyan Church and the Rev. Ben Loven, of First Lutheran Church will officiate and interment will be at Riverview Cemetery.

Craig Byron Oksol was born to Carl H. and Ruth (Flessner) Oksol in Williston on Sept. 28, 1955. He was raised in Williston in a family with five siblings and was raised at First Lutheran Church. He attended Wilkinson Elementary and graduated from Williston High School in 1973. Craig continued his education first locally at UND-Williston for two years of general studies and then he continued his education at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks where he earned his B.S. degree in business.

After his formal education, Craig returned to Williston, where he stepped into the business of his father, Carl H. Oksol at Manger Insurance; here he found his niche in serving the insurance needs of many in northwest North Dakota and northeast Montana. His career would span 34 years at Manger Insurance. Craig and his sister, Karla Osborn, purchased the stock of the closely held family business in 1999 and Craig took on the role of president. This vocation allowed him to serve others and during the ebb and flow of his time at Manger, many people in Williston and the surrounding communities were thankful for years of insurance coverage and the peace of mind he brought to business owners. Craig was well respected in the community and in the insurance arena.

Craig believed in Williston and this greater area and he helped in the community’s growth by serving on many area boards. He served faithfully and with a calming presence. Some of the benefactors of Craig’s time were the Mercy Hospital Board and Williston State College Foundation Board. He was an active member of the Local Rotary Club, a past Rotary Club president, and he truly lived by their motto: Service above Self. Craig is also a past Toastmaster and gave back to his vocation of insurance by serving in many capacities with the local and state insurance associations.

After being reintroduced at their 30th high school class reunion, Craig was united in marriage to Kathryn Larson of Williston on Feb. 4, 2006. To this union, two daughters entered his life, Vanessa and Victoria whom Craig adopted. Craig cherished life and his family and friends every opportunity that he could. He especially loved taking drives in the country where the wide open prairies always unveiled something new. Craig enjoyed hunting, riding his motorcycle, horseback riding, singing (especially with the Dublin Boys), reading a good book, canoeing or hiking the North Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Craig also loved spending time with his close-knit Bible study group from New Hope Wesleyan Church and traveling to areas of interest such as Jamaica, Portugal, China and his favorite place to visit, New York City. Had Craig survived, his new mission in life was to spread the Gospel of salvation through his Savior Jesus Christ.

Craig leaves to mourn his early departure his wife, Kathryn, and daughters, Vanessa (Matthew) Massey and Victoria Bastian, all of Williston; his father, Carl H. Oksol and mother, Ruth Oksol; brother, Bruce (May) Oksol, San Antonio, Texas and their children, Kiri (Josh) Nevin and Laura Oksol; sister, Yvonne (Terry) Braun, West Fargo and their children, Eric (Alicia) Braun and Jennifer (Greg) Poziembo; sister, Karla (Bob) Osborn, Williston and their son, Rob (Toby) Osborn; sister, Kathy Oksol, Tucson, Ariz., and her children, Anna and Sophie Ochoa-Lions and sister, Jan (Dave) Greenwald, Portland, Ore., and their boys, Cameron and Connor; his mother-in-law, Gwen Larson; his sisters-in-law, Marilynn Baker, Judy Nevell and Janet Melugin and several great-nieces and nephews.

Craig peacefully passed away on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, Minn., where he received the best possible care and had the loving support of his wife and family at his side. He was able to live long enough to again wish his bride of almost six years a happy birthday!

Craig was preceded in death by his maternal and paternal grandparents.

I Fall To Pieces --

I Fall To Pieces, Patsy Cline

Summer of ...

... I was never to see her again ... nor was I ever to learn what became of her ... we were different ... life is made up of small comings and goings ...

Summer of '42

An Obituary

Link here.

In case the link breaks:

Craig Oksol, 55, a lifelong Williston resident and local business owner, died on Thursday evening, Aug. 4, 2011, at the St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, Minn.

Funeral services will be announced. The Fulkerson Funeral Home, Williston, is caring for the family.

Friends may share condolences and memories with the family online at www.fulkersons.com. 

A full obituary will follow.

Craig is survived by his wife, Kathryn, and daughter, Victoria; his brother, Bruce; his sisters, Yvonne, Karla, Kathy, and Jan; and by his parents, Carl and Ruth Oksol. Craig would have celebrated his 56th birthday in September.

If you go to this site, scroll to the bottom, you will see a photo of the view outside his front door, with his niece, Kiri, on his horse, Buck. The photo was taken many years ago, perhaps 20 years ago. Craig, among so much else, was also a great horseman.

Amy Winehouse and Deborah Harry (Blondie)

This post seems a bit out of place, but it didn't fit any of my other blogs. I decided this was as good a spot as any, and as we will see in a moment, perhaps better than all.

There has been lots of talk about Amy Winehouse's death these past few days. The question for me is not so much why her, but how have so many escaped a similar tragedy?

I thought of that tonight after watching a documentary of Blondie, which featured Debbie Harry. Blondie was one of my all-time favorites, along with Bee Gees.

I was aware of her drug use during "the day," but didn't think much about it, until last night when I watched a documentary of Blondie again in light of Amy's death.

The question is: how did Blondie, who was probably exposed to as much of the drug culture as Amy, escape the same tragedy that Amy did not.

If, someday, someone puts a documentary of Amy's life on film and then one plays the two documentaries back to back, one might come to some conclusions.

Back to Black, Amy Winehouse



Denis, Blondie

All I See Is A Man Too Old To Start Again

If only you knew ... it must have been the wrong rainbow ... I don't see any pot of gold ... all I see is a man too old to start again ...




Wrong Rainbow, Peter Yarrow

There's a very interesting story behind this video. To the best of my knowledge this album was never released stateside. Some years ago I started searching for this song on the internet, and was unsuccessful until one evening I happened to get lucky, finding in on a South Korean website. It was the song but just the one still photograph. Tonight I started looking for that site again; I found it, but the song would not play. On an outside chance that it might be posted at YouTube I checked, and, lo and behold, there it was. I was blown over.

Since I Don't Have You, I Don't Have Anything

Wow, doesn't this say it all?

Since I Don't Have You, Don McLean

Always Wanting You

I would have been better off had I turned away and not looked at you a second time.

I'm too tired to format this correctly; maybe tomorrow.

Love.


Always Wanting You, Merle Haggard

Don't Know Why

I don't know how, on such a melancholy evening, Norah Jones can help me get through the night.


I Don't Know Why, Norah Jones


Cold, Cold Heart, Norah Jones

'Tis The Season -- Darlene Love -- Please Come Home ...

I know it's not the season, but I can never get enough of Darlene Love and her signature song.

Baby, Please Come Home, Darlene Love, 2000

The Dark End of the Street, James Carr

I spent the day cleaning out the garage.

I was looking for some books that I had put away for later.  I guess today was "later."

I ran across books I had forgotten I had, including Dave Marsh's The Heart of Rock and Soul.

The book is a collection of 1,001 essays writing about 1,001 of the best rock and roll / soul songs ever. And then for good measure, the author adds another 100.

It is incredible to page through the book, find an interesting song / essay, and then listen to it on YouTube while reading the essay.

This one caught my eye: "The Dark End of the Street," by James Carr.


Dark End of the Street, James Carr

Very special meaning. 

I think Tina Fey enjoyed this one: "Karma Chameleon," by Culture Club.


Karma Chameleon, Culture Club

I Would Trade All of My Tomorrows ...

... for just one yesterday. (Merle Haggard)





I'd Trade All My Tomorrows For Just One Yesterday, Merle Haggard

Wow, country music certainly has great lyrics, great hooks, as they say.

And that feels so right, so true tonight, that I would give up all of my tomorrows for just one yesterday.

I would want to pick "that" yesterday.

Remember When, Alan Jackson.

Finding Our Tongues: Mothers, Infants and The Origins of Language, Dean Falk

If we had a free three-day weekend together, and it was typical English weather, we could enjoy Dean Falk's Finding Our Tongues: Mothers, Infants and the Origins of Language.

Besides being just very interesting reading, it would provide a bit of background to the bonding that goes on between mothers and their infants.

I am traveling and I picked up five books to read; one of them was Dean Falk's but in addition four others that I would enjoy sharing with you. So much to talk about.

Something New?

I happened to come across this earlier tonight. Very, very nice.

No New Tunes Tonight

I've lost the energy to even look for a new YouTube video.

Thank goodness for Pandora.com.

I can plug in "For the Good Times" by Ray Price and get a whole "radio station" built on that song.

And bring back some wonderful memories.

I used to bring this site up and down the first three days of each month, but no longer. It's pretty much up all the time.

I guess if I had one song for you tonight, it would be Crystal Gayle's "I'll Get Over You."[Crystal Gayle -- another angel born in 1951. Smile.]

OK, one more: "Near You."

Bede

Just Another Rainy Night

It wouldn't matter whether it was a beautiful North Dakota evening or the mildly wet, overcast evening it is.

This is the song/video that haunts me tonight. It is the one most perfect song that ....

YouTube no longer allows embedding, so here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW7oNpzBSGc

In My Secret Life.

Touch Me

Yesterday while driving through the wonderful, beautiful countryside of North Dakota, listening to old hits on the radio, this song came on:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PECk9A-07Pw

And memories of Yorkshire flashed in front of me.

Will You Remember Me?

I first heard this song at a high school graduation ceremony the other day. I don't know how I missed it before.

Something tells me it has become a graduation standard.

I will remember you. Will you remember me?

Let's Just Be Glad We Had Some Time To Spend Together

I truly wish YouTube would allow embedding. Open another window, listen and read ...

Lay your head upon my pillow,
Hold your warm and tender body next to mine.

Hear the whisper of the raindrops blowing soft against the window,
And make believe you love me one more time
For the good times.

I'll get along,
You'll find another.
And I will be here if you find you ever need me.
Don't say a word about tomorrow or forever
There will be time enough for sadness when you leave me.

Let's just be glad we had some time together ...

Parting Ways Way Too Soon

I'm reduced to watching "Rockford Files" every evening at 10:00 p.m. on RetroTelevision!

Laugh out loud.

Last night I came in a bit late and was surprised to see Kathryn Harrold again. I thought I just saw her last week on the "Rockford Files." Thank goodness for the internet and Internet Movie Database (http://www.imdb.com). It turns out that, yes, I did see her earlier on a two-part episode, the 1978 season, and the episode I caught in the middle last night was from the 1979 season when she was brought back. Wow, what a tear-jerker.

Here's part of a review of this episode from IMDB:

This is one of the more mushy episodes of this great series, as the entire show revolves around Rockford and Megan's supposedly ending relationship, as she informs Jim she's about to be married. James Garner's acting skills are obvious during this scene, which takes place in the Firebird, as he perfectly displays his emotions and is almost reduced to tears after hearing the news.

Kathryn Harrold also starred earlier in the 5th season as the same character, Dr. Megan K. Dougherty, a blind psychologist who enlisted the help of Rockford then also.

I thought they had very good chemistry together, and that may've been a reason she was brought back for this episode, which has a sad tone throughout.

I have to wonder if Garner was also saddened to know this series was almost over as well, as only a few episodes remain.

This is a tamer version of the usual script I'm used to, as Megan is with Rockford for just about every single scene, and it's more of a sadder tone with two people parting ways, even though there's still strong feelings on both sides. 

Kathryn Harrold reminded me of someone I once knew. Someone with whom, I, too, parted ways, too soon.

Midnight Walk to the Village Church

I would give (almost) anything to re-live those moments -- the midnight walk to the village church. Moonless nights so dark we made our way by memory.

Midnight, Yorkshire. Crisp midnights.

Riders on the Storm --- and a Vision of You Flashed for a Moment ...

YouTube no longer allows embedding, so here's the link.

While surfing through some old songs, at the moment I heard the opening lyrics of this video, a vision of you flashed in front of me for a split moment ... I have no idea why. We never listened to it.

I think the days get worse for me. I remember your smile.

Not a Day Goes By ...

Think of me.

Christine:
Think of me, think of me fondly,
when we've said goodbye.
Remember me once in a while -
please promise me you'll try.
When you find that, once again, you long
to take your heart back and be free -
if you ever find a moment,
spare a thought for me

We never said our love was evergreen,
or as unchanging as the sea -
but if you can still remember
stop and think of me . . .

Think of all the things
we've shared and seen -
don't think about the things
which might have been . . .

Think of me, think of me waking,
silent and resigned.
Imagine me, trying too hard
to put you from my mind.
Recall those days
look back on all those times,
think of the things we'll never do -
there will never be a day,
when I won't think of you . . .

Raoul:
Can it be? Can it be Christine?
Bravo!
Long ago, it seems so long ago
How young and innocent we were...
She may not remember me,
but I remember her...

Christine:
Flowers fades,
The fruits of summer fade,
They have their seasons, so do we
but please promise me, that sometimes
you will think of me!

From Afghanistan ...

.... this is a comment on YouTube:

I'm 19 years old. I am deployed to Afghanistan now. I am in love for the first time with a girl who has no idea. This song is way before my time, but really tells my story. I will probably die here and she will never know. What a waste. Well, here I go again. Duty calls. Semper Fi.

I'd Love You To Want Me, Lobo (Kent Lavoie) -- February, 2011

Won't You Sometimes Think of Me?

... but when you're happy with another, won't you sometimes think of me?

... I'll always keep your picture, it means so much to me...

... but, won't you sometimes think of me?

Yellow River -- The Conversations Never Ended

The war is over ...

Takes me back to Westfield, New Jersey ... 1971 ... 1973 ... 1975

Two lovely women I would like to talk to again ... our conversations never ended ...

It is amazing how fleeting life is. The one received "straight A's" throughout middle school, high school, and college. Medical school, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General residency ...

Not even 20 years of medicine before her life was over ...

Sometimes one wonders if "it" is all worth it ... "straight A's" throughout middle school, high school, and college. Medical school, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General internal medicine residency ... studied or worked virtually 24/7 from age 15 to age 57 ... sometimes one wonders if "it" is all worth it.

The other ... about the same ... same song ... different verse ... the conversation never ended ... did she mention my name ...

I Drove All Night To Get To You

Roy Orbison.

I had to escape ...
But I was dying to get to you ...
I was dreaming while I drove the long straight road ahead ...

I drove all night to get to you ...
Is that alright?

Nothing erases this feeling between me and you.

I drove all night to get to you ...
Is that alright?

All I've Got Is A Photograph

Photograph.

Every time I see your face
It reminds me of the places we used to go.

But all I've got is a photograph
And I realize you're not coming back any more.

I thought I'd make it the day you went away
But I can't make it til you come home again to stay.

I can't get used to living here while my herart is broke
And my tears I cry for you.

I want you here to love and hold
as the years go by,
as we grow old and gray.

Now you're expecting me to live without you
But that's not something I'm looking forward to.

I can't get used to living here while my heart is broke
And my tears I cry for you.

I want you here to love and hold
as the years go by
as we grow old and gray.

Dr Zhivago

Home alone, watching Dr Zhivago, parts of it. I first saw it when it first came out. I didn't understand it then, or if I did, I have forgotten many of the scenes and subplots. Another movie (and book) that should only be watched by those with life experiences.

What an incredible movie; what an incredible story. The balalaika. Americans are very, very fortunate.

Lara's theme.

It appears YouTube.com no longer lets one "embed" their videos into other sites. Sad.

Yes, Sir, I Can Boogie -- I Don't Feel Much Like Talking

I have posted this many times on this blog, but every time I hear it, I think of the halcyon days in Yorkshire.

The song puts me in a very melancholy mood, perhaps better, a most pensive mood. (Embedding not allowed.)

Have a glass of wine, listen to the song, and think back on those halcyon days of Yorkshire.

No, sir, I don't feel very much like talking,

Nor neither walking, 

You want to know if I can dance.

Yes, sir, I already told you,

But I will give you one more chance.

Yes, sir, I can dance,

But I need a certain song.

And yes, sir, I can boogie

I can boogie, if you're staying, nothing will go wrong.

A Woman On My Mind -- A Woman Who Holds Me From the Past -- And I Wonder If It's Worthwhile

Under the Spell of Highway 1, Slim Dusty
Under the spell of a woman who holds me from the past. -- Slim Dusty

Last of the Summer Wine

"When in the end, the day came on which I was going away, I learned the strange learning that things can happen which we ourselves cannot possibly imagine, either beforehand, or at the time when they are taking place, or afterwards when we look back on them." -- Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen), Out of Africa, 1937.

How I miss you.
Last of the Summer Wine

Lord, I'm 500 Miles From My Home ...

500 Miles, Joan Baez

Help Me Remember You

Wurlitzer Prize, I Don't Want To Get Over You, Norah Jones and Willie Nelson
 Just the way I'm feeling tonight.

Yes, it's been posted before.

I'm Never Gonna Dance Again

I'm Never Gonna Dance Again, Wham

I'm never gonna dance again

The way I danced with you.

Memories Bring Diamonds and Rust

The album came out in 1975. I was in my 2nd / 3rd year of graduate school -- like Mark Twain I had my Laura Wright. Diamonds and Rust, Joan Baez

Sunday NIght -- The British Comedies -- It's Cryin' Time Again

It's Cryin' Time Again, Ray Charles


September Song, Walter Huston

Postcards From the House on the Hill -- West Yorkshire

Purple heather -- but I will never forget the yellow flowers of the gorse ...





It was at Robin Hood's Bay I was first shown the yellow flowers of gorse. It was where I bought a small chunk of the cheese with the currants, and it was from where we started a long walk ... and where a rolled up "bandaid" was mistaken for a blister.

Last of the Summer Wine and My Days in Yorkshire

My life now revolves around only a few things.

I live for the weekends, so I can watch the British comedies on television.

If anyone wonders how I could fall so much in love with England, all one has to do is watch the British comedies. For the scenery, Last of the Summer Wine cannot be beat for reminding me of the English countryside.

Summer Wine is set in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, England, in the heart of the Pennine Hills.

Over the course of four years or so, back in 2000 - 2004 time period, I returned to Yorkshire, England, numerous times. By my count, I was probably there for a total of nine months. Truly, I cannot recall when I was ever happier than when I was in Yorkshire.

Every weekend when I was in Yorkshire, I would hike the Yorkshire hills, sometimes hiking for twelve hours before I finally got back "home."

"Every time I come up here, the spirit soars."Last of the Summer Wine, by Roy Clarke

A Lifelong Memory

There is one component of a relationship I have never been able to understand. It is the lifelong memory of that first love, or the memory of any singular love for that matter, a memory that one can never shake.

When I was in eighth grade, I met a six-year-old girl to whom I was so attracted, I could not get her out of my mind until well into college. We knew each other for less than three days and never saw each other after that first and last time together.

As an adult, I have suffered the same experience and she still floats in and out of my mind daily (no, not the six-year-old; I finally got over that).

I don't know if women have these memories, but certainly among men, if not universal, these memories are certainly very, very common.

I am reminded of that by a passage in Ron Powers' very, very good biography of Mark Twain, c. 2005. Since I can't say it any better than Powers has already said it, here is that passage from that biography:

The young girl with plaited tails and white frock was named Laura Wright. She floated into Sam’s enchanted vision, as he recalled it, on a spring night in 1858 on the New Orleans waterfront, and transported him to a forty-eight-hour tour of heaven that he re-created in his mind, compulsively, for the rest of his life. He paid for this interlude with a session in Hell less than a month afterward, which he also revisited, faithfully. The two episodes resonate eerily with one another. Each involved the same steamboat; a permanent parting; deep love interrupted at the point of its discovery. Each shaped his literature, and his views of mankind, fate, and God. Fourteen-year-old Laura Wright was the daughter of a Warsaw, Missouri, judge who had allowed her to go down to New Orleans on her first trip away home, accompanied by her uncle, William C. Youngblood, one of the pilots of the sprawling freight steamer John J. Roe. Sam knew the Roe and all her officers very well and was delighted to find it in the adjoining slip when, on the evening of May 16, the Pennsylvania, the fast packet on which he was then working, put into port at New Orleans. Sam jumped onto the Roe’s deck from a rail of this boat, and began shaking hands with old friends. The, the young girl appeared, almost chimerically. Sam moved toward her and wangled an introduction. She became his “instantly elected sweetheart out of the remotenesses of interior Missouri” for a brief idyll that enlarged itself in his imagination at least until four years before his death.

Mark Twain was in the presence of Laura Wright on only two occasions. After their parting, they continued to correspond but that ended fairly soon.

Laura Wright eventually married. Mark Twain never saw her after those two initial visits.

But he was never able to get over her, not until at least four years before his death, according to Ron Powers, as noted above.

I Need Your Touch

Tonight I happened to catch the last half of "Ghost" on television. I have never seen the entire movie from beginning to end, but I have probably seen more than half of it in small snippets over the years. Tonight, I can finally say I have seen the entire movie.

Near the end of the movie, I was transported back to the house at the top of the hill.

The house at the top of the hill.Unchained Melody, Righteous BrothersSimply amazing what can be packed into three-and-a-half minutes.

Children Grow Up To Be People One Day

After I retired from the Air Force in 2007, I went back to school ... as a substitute teacher in San Antonio ... teaching at the middle school and high school level. And three years later I continue to substitute teach.

I think this video best captures my feelings tonight ... alone ... as memories flood over me ...

... children grow up to be people, as Lulu says, but some hold their childhood innocence forever ... I hope you are doing well ...


To Sir With Love, Lulu

Where Do You Go To When You're Alone, My Lovely

This is really, really cheesy. It is so 1969. But it sounds like the song could have been written by Leonard Cohen. But where do you go to when you're alone in your bed?



Where Do You Go To My Lovely, Peter Sarsted

From a House on a Hill

This is taken from my music site:


You Don't Own Me, The Blow Monkeys

I would love to share this with you.

Of course, this song has nothing to do with Hunter S. Thompson, but when I listen to the arrangement by The Blow Monkeys, I think of HST, and reading the poetry he wrote of the Hell's Angels. It makes no sense, I know, but that's what I think of when I have a couple of glasses of white wine and listen to the song. RIP HST.

[Listening to this again, it seemed I had heard the introduction somewhere before.  And then it occurred to me, Nina Simone's "I Put A Spell on You." Not exactly but the same haunting, bluesy beginning. Wow. And then I thought of an atrium in a farmhouse at the top of a hill in Pateley Bridge. Wow.]

Arvo Part Te Deum

Te Deum, Arvo Part, Berliner Messe

Reminiscing

This is a note I sent to someone when the subject of walking came up:

I've always walked; very weird. It isn't about the exercise; gives me time to think, I guess.

I remember late night walks growing up in Williston -- seeing the "northern lights" always fascinated me. Crackling, crisp snow underfoot. So very quiet when the wind wasn't blowing. No one out walking or driving. I was always the only one walking out there. Almost surrealistic (from on-line dictionary: Having an oddly dreamlike or unreal quality -- which is exactly the right word, I guess). (I can remember specific walks, but I don't recall why I would have been out there at that time, or in that specific part of town.)

In my hitchhiking days, also did a lot of walking. Among the most impressible walks was directly through the entire city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; took all night; started about 7:00 p.m. and got to other side sometime the next morning (I forget when; and I forget whether I even had anything to eat). I asked one policeman for directions before starting out; he pointed in the right direction (I assume) but he said I would never make it.

I substitute teach tomorrow: too far to walk on a regular basis -- six miles each way.

With regard to church / reading the gospel -- good for you. My favorite memories of church were when I was alone some years ago in northern England. I attended the cathedral in Ripon, Yorkshire, England. Very poorly attended. But very intimate. About 30 minutes by car from where I was stationed. A friend would take me. After a day hiking Yorkshire, I often ended up back at the cathedral for evensong. During that time became a great fan of Arvo Part, particularly 'Te Deum.'

Some nights I would walk to the local village church (the door was always open; I never met the vicar (?) but his house was attached); and about midnight I would be sitting in the pews (absolutely darkness, no lights; I had to feel my way into the chapel; the only light was the moon) and with my portable CD player and headphones would listen to Arvo Part. I think starting about 3:50 in "Te Deum" was most stirring.

When we were stationed in Turkey, I did not dare take walks as such, but when we visited the "outback" -- Cappadocia -- it made sense to me how Paul could have had the thoughts he had. It is so desolate, but there is something more than even that. North Dakota can be desolate but there was a special feeling that came over me when I was in Cappadocia. Maybe just an artificial feeling because I knew its history, but I don't think so. I think it was real. Weird.

Just reminiscing. 

A Borderline Personality

This takes me back to 2002 or thereabouts and Yorkshire.

I think a clinical psychologist would enjoy Diane Wood Middlebrook's biography of Anne Sexton, c. 1992.

I'm only a few pages into the book, so I may be premature in writing this, but to me Anne Sexton was a clear example of the borderline personality. So far, that diagnosis has not been mentioned or entertained in the book. (Okay, finally on page 65, I see the word "borderline" and it's possible it was mentioned earlier, but I don't recall seeing it earlier.)

It would be interesting to discuss this with a clinical psychologist, preferably a particularly knowledgeable, compassion therapist.

Maybe more on this later. For the time-being, one can follow my thoughts on Anne Sexton here.