Making Music with MY PIANO!

When picking up MY PIANO! from the salvation army thrift store today, I expressed *hopeful* optimism that the piano can be tuned somewhat. Or, at least enough for my tin ear. I'm not musical at all. I know this very well having grown up in a family with a musically inclined older brother, and parents that could differentiate between musically inclined and not. The instruments I tried as a kid were piano, guitar, banjo, french horn and bass violin. The bass violin is something I played in grade school. There are no pics of that wonderful juxtaposition, unfortunately. I wonder if I had my black horn rimmed glasses at the time. ;) *oh. I think I looked into harmonicas at one time too.*

*The moment of greatest impact of my french horn career was when I decided to exercise my eyes during band practice. This involved making big circles with my eyes and looking out the corner of one side and then the other. That the clarinet section, which I was visible to, had difficulty playing was due to my ernest pursuit of visual health.*

But I've always felt that I'd never be really grown up or living somewhere until I owned a piano. It's sort of the fine wine of life. You have to understand. I don't own a stereo and have never owned a stereo. I've gone many years without a microwave or telephone or computer. Stuff is not a big concern of mine *unless you're talking tools.* There's just something centering about pianos, like a wooly mammoth in the room. Also, like the salvation army guy admitted about himself, I just like being around pianos. I have no illusions of making beautiful music, I just enjoy thinking about it. Here's MY PIANO!

----------

And onto other matters. I must admit I've been starting my New England Patriots games watching at the easy neck bad beer bar. Which didn't make last week any less painful. I ended up at the bad neck good beer bar... with an Austrailian asking me "what's the local team?" when the Pats are at 4th and 2. And I'm explaining its them... them... "F*** ITS THEM!" Well. As just a fan, what can you do but have another brew. *As an aside, I'm learning to meditate.*


Here are a couple of other pics. One is the pin I finished for my Mother. The other is of a piece I've posted about before. I'm just happy with new the pic!

A Penny Pendant

1965 was a good year, I suppose. Here's my first penny pendant, sterling silver with a pink tourmaline stone.



*I was tempted to use a penny to show size.*

"I Drink Beer"

"to clear my mind..."

**lol. not to celebrate overindulgence, as it were, though it is a bit unclear. This being after a New England Patriots game and all. One in which I had a career high of 2 spilt beers in one half of play. Understandably, it was the second half. I do not remember a previous incidence of spilt beer, including falling over a couch, beer in hand and not one drop wasted. There was one (sad) sack moment of me pouring a glass of wine on a guy's head. But that's wine. And after a play play, not a football game.**

**I'm of that time frame where bouncers would laugh at fake ID's, and as long as the hair color was okay so were you. I think. I never was of the officiating crew but they seemed to be motivated by number of players in the field, and the longer the hair the better.**

**I have fallen off a barstool. Which could count as a false start, but was totally unrelated to football or overindulgence or beer spilt. And it was in the theatre district of Boston, not a sports bar.**

**Maroney (39) had a good day today. And I do believe he counted an assist of one of the beer spills. So did Moss and Watson and Tully Hyphen. What I like about Tully Hyphen is, he lost his Super Bowl ring in the Providence Place Mall and it was returned to him. That's a kick, for sure.**

Getting back to beer. Here's the thing. I was finishing up a penny pendant this weekend, and listened to Dan Reeder's "Sweetheart" album.

The Small Things

*I am writing this with my new Cincinnati pen. If you tilt it a river boat floats up and down. I choose it over the horsey Kentucky pen. Because this feels like Cincinnati, even though the airport may be in Kentucky. That's its name, after all.*

Its the small things.

I've noticed my walks are producing less found change (off the sidewalks and streets.) Currently I am gainfully employed. Not sure if that effects my road change finding ability, or whether fall leaves hide the orphaned coins too well.

I still enjoy the walks. Particularly this time of year. Nothing feels harsh including the cool, the evening darkness, the eddy of leaves at street edges. I enjoy the sound of my feet on the pavement, the swish of the leaves and my jeans, a porch light pooling on a front door.

My meandering walk startles a girl cupping a cellphone. She breifly looks up, then stares back at the communication device. I can't tell her what she is missing. Up the street a kid is going "Oooo oOOO" in an aimless but not unmelodious fashion.

I have heard a prediction that by 2045 the interface of computers will be within us. (At that time, hopefully, cars will be fully automated. Driving while googling is not a good idea.)

I don't remember whether I've ever dove into piles of fall leaves. *I think that's more for cartoon characters without dogs in their strips.* But I recognize the desire for saturation in an evening fall walk.

Thanksgiving Comes First!

lol. *I feel so declarative with that title. Like, don't mess with me!*

Thanksgiving comes second, really. Halloween comes first. And it is a fall party time, associated with walking in the leaves and eating lots. Okay, the food doesn't come close to Thanksgiving. Not even in the same realm. Halloween is mostly eating and drinking stuff that makes you feel bad soon thereafter. Thanksgiving is ranked by how great the left overs are.

What's fun as far as Halloween memories go are the costumes. One Halloween I and 2 friends dressed up as "Squoinks," which was a cross between a pig and a mouse. ;) It involved large papermache heads that were yellow. And no, it wasn't based on any cartoon character. I don't know where that brilliant yellow idea came from. But we were entertained and that's what counted.

Another Halloween, when I was 6, my brothers rigged up a haunted maze in our garage composed of moving boxes taped together. They would make spooky noises as the poor trick or treaters crawled their way through. I stood at the end of the masterpiece with a bowl of candy. The totally predicable thing happened when one scared kid surged out of the end of the maze, punched me in the eye and ran. Its the only time I've ever been socked in the eye. I feel experienced somehow.

This Halloween I'm planning on nothing more rambunctious than trying hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps at my parents. Though, some papermache might be fun. ;)

Two Penny Pendants

*These are my newest models. More text later. Maybe. Its just one of those days, ya know?*

Good Fun

Well. The title of this post had me stumped for all of 2 seconds. I'm sure everyone out there has seen "Major League," a 1989 pic with Charlie Sheen in it. I hadn't until the other night. I highly recommend it. It has everything I want in a film: unpretentious silliness. But if you don't have a couple of hours to waste, here's a best moment clip (and no, the film is in english, its just the clips seem to be in spanish. youtube has its quirks.)

That part had to be fun.