How can I be in two places at once?

How can I 1) watch how well Jeff Gordon races in Charlotte and 2) dance to the music of Claire Lynch and friends at the same time?

Life is a series of happy dilemmas!

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A special nod to Greg and Carolyn at Cook & Company; the friendly folks at L’Rancho Restaurant; Travis and cooks at Broken Clock Gastropub; whomever I’ve forgotten to mention lately in my rush through life.

Cathartic post of the day

Seems like my past exposure to teen pop music is a fun mental exercise these days of reflective middle age.  Lyrics from two songs I intermixed as I woke up this morning while contemplating a new short story to pen/type:

“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”

It was twenty years ago today
Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play
They’ve been going in and out of style
But they’re guaranteed to raise a smile
So may I introduce to you
The act you’ve known for all these years
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

We’re Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
We hope you will enjoy the show
We’re Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sit back and let the evening go
Sgt. Pepper’s lonely, Sgt. Pepper’s lonely
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
It’s wonderful to be here
It’s certainly a thrill
You’re such a lovely audience
We’d like to take you home with us
We’d love to take you home

I don’t really want to stop the show
But I thought that you might like to know
That the singer’s going to sing a song
And he wants you all to sing along
So let me introduce to you
The one and only Billy Shears
And Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Writer(s): John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Copyright: Sony/ATV Tunes LLC

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Songwriters: TREVOR RABIN, JON ANDERSON, CHRIS SQUIRE, TREVOR HORN
(Rabin/Anderson/Squire/Horn)

Move yourself
You always live your life
Never thinking of the future
Prove yourself
You are the move you make
Take your chances win or loser

See yourself
You are the steps you take
You and you – and that’s the only way

Shake shake yourself
You’re every move you make
So the story goes

Owner of a lonely heart
Owner of a lonely heart
Much better than – a
Owner of a broken heart
Owner of a lonely heart

Say you don’t want to chance it
You’ve been hurt so before

Watch it now
The eagle in the sky
How he dancin’ one and only
You lose yourself
No not for pity’s sake
There’s no real reason to be lonely
Be yourself
Give your free will a chance
You’ve got to want to succeed

Owner of a lonely heart
Owner of a lonely heart
Much better than – a
Owner of a broken heart
Owner of a lonely heart

Owner of a lonely heart

After my own decision
They confused me so (Owner of a lonely heart)
My love said never question your will at all
In the end you’ve got to go
Look before you leap (Owner of a lonely heart)
And don’t you hesitate at all – no no

Owner of a lonely heart
Owner of a lonely heart
Much better than – a
Owner of a broken heart
Owner of a lonely heart
(repeat)

Owner of a lonely heart

Sooner or later each conclusion
Will decide the lonely heart (Owner of a lonely heart)
It will excite it will delight
It will give a better start (Owner of a lonely heart)

Don’t deceive your free will at all
Don’t deceive your free will at all (Owner of a lonely heart)
Don’t deceive your free will at all
Just receive it, just receive it (Owner of a lonely heart)

Owner Of A Lonely Heart lyrics © CARLIN AMERICA INC, DCTM BLVD OBO TREMANDER SONGS, DOWNTOWN MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

What is artful thinking?

Today, I held in my hand all of my life’s savings in one check (well, most of it, anyway) — millions and millions (of pennies, at least).

I walked into an office building and handed the check to a woman I’ve seen maybe five times in my life for a total of 10 or 15 minutes.

She kindly made a photocopy of the check and wrote my phone number down.

I turned and walked out of the office building.

What that an act of artful thinking?

Guess it’s time to start thinking ahead now that I’m fully into the second year of the second 50 years of my life, virtually penniless.

My second childhood is in full bloom.

Waaaah!  Smack me, Abi, I’m being a bad boy!  😉

Time to memorise some dance moves — my inexperienced description of them below —

lead’s point-of-view (thanks to Matt Auclair for putting them together with Abi):
  • Horse-and-cart whip
  • Left-side pass to stop her in basket position
  • Walk behind, pass her right side, stop in front, turned to the side
  • Left-side pass with right hand, inside turn, then he goes under
  • Her walk around him, underarm turn
  • Quarter turn to his left
  • Sweetheart with his left hand, underarm turn to her right
  • Right-side pass, whip with over/underarm turn
  • Behind-the-back pass with double outside turn, change hands
  • Right-side pass with basic salsa move, end with her turning complete circle on left foot, right leg extended, ending in split
  • Overarm turn, start walking on left leg, she taking two steps and turning, he taking two steps with her and two more
  • Sugar with two-hands, swaying toward/away from each other
  • “Pretzel” — turn her, then him, turn her out with right hand
  • Right-hand pass behind back, turn back around her left
  • Left-hand pass with turn into sweetheart
  • Walk forward in sweetheart hold

 

Retro lyrics for today…let’s go crazy!

Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today
To get through this thing called life
Electric word life it means forever and that’s a mighty long time
But I’m here to tell you there’s something else
The afterworld, a world of never ending happiness
You can always see the sun, day or night

So when you call up that shrink in Beverly Hills
You know the one Dr. Everything’ll Be Alright
Instead of asking him how much of your time is left?
Ask him how much of your mind, baby
‘Cause in this life things are much harder than in the afterworld
This life you’re on your own

And if the elevator tries to bring you down
Go crazy punch a higher floor

If you don’t like the world you’re living in
Take a look around you at least you got friends
Come on lady for friendly word
She picked up the phone, dropped it on the floor
Ahh, ahh is all I heard

Are we gonna let the elevator
Bring us down, oh, no let’s go
Let’s go crazy, let’s get nuts
Look for the purple banana
‘Til they put us in the truck, let’s go

All excited but we don’t know why
Maybe it’s ’cause we’re all gonna die
And when we do, what’s it all for
Better live now before the grim reaper
Come knocking on your door

Are we gonna let the elevator
Bring us down, oh, no let’s go
Let’s go crazy, let’s get nuts
Look for the purple banana
‘Til they put us in the truck, let’s go

Come on baby let’s get nuts
Yeah, crazy

Let’s go crazy

Are we gonna let the elevator bring us down
Oh, no let’s go, go crazy
I said let’s go, go crazy
Let’s go, let’s go, go, let’s go

Dr. Everything’ll Be Alright
Make everything go wrong
Pills and thrills and daffodils will kill
Hang tough children

He’s comin’
He’s comin’
Comin’

Take me away

Songwriters
NELSON, PRINCE ROGERS

Read more: Prince – Lets Go Crazy Lyrics | MetroLyrics