tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70289112713489915972024-03-13T16:05:52.455-07:00"Crayfish" is gender and color-blind.Music brings us together.HAPPY IN NEVADAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17214341069801731994noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028911271348991597.post-24131084470810396342008-06-19T15:53:00.000-07:002008-12-11T13:13:09.126-08:00Hello, hello, hello - what have I found on this grand day?<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJrN-oH6IosnMIfaUzUE5ZHJY2q28UqWkSUYHZktdandABn3yl8KDjjiGL_SbY4MEOKxgXj4jQt9oIOIcSp5K_gqV2cNrFxdDNyd-B2SjISP0dHGEtm1wDTRC6GpQjvrQUA5TThy70Jg4/s1600-h/SECOND+HEART+OF+TOILET+TISSUE+001.JPG"><span style="color:#cccccc;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213730254782251858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJrN-oH6IosnMIfaUzUE5ZHJY2q28UqWkSUYHZktdandABn3yl8KDjjiGL_SbY4MEOKxgXj4jQt9oIOIcSp5K_gqV2cNrFxdDNyd-B2SjISP0dHGEtm1wDTRC6GpQjvrQUA5TThy70Jg4/s400/SECOND+HEART+OF+TOILET+TISSUE+001.JPG" border="0" /></span></a><span style="color:#cccccc;">I found I was running low on toilet tissue. I found I could make something with that dwindling roll. I noticed I could 'squeeze' my 'Charmin', just right and make a lovely heart that 'reaches out'....... Out, I went to get more tissue; came back, and had a pile of e-mails to read.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="color:#cccccc;"></span></div><div align="center"><span style="color:#cccccc;">Well, 'hello', a beautiful lady wrote me a terrific e-mail. Now, I've never really promoted too many people on any of my blogs - a few, but they are rare because I'm not always so 'struck' by kindness; genius, or sincerity. Today I was very fortunate. I visited 'Justice's blog and website; found the most appropriate poem for this 'blog', and am adding the poem and link to her book. I think you'll enjoy it as much as I did, and do. Here it is:</span><br /></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#9999ff;">Atmosphere for Blues<br /></span></strong><br /><span style="color:#ccccff;">Here we are living by new rules;<br />Taught by a mortal who says "I rule"!<br />Learn us to work and serve you by means anything but smooth.<br />Learn us to pray to your god fervently, while you sit in your pews and snooze.<br />Learn us to read the words you write and mislead us with the terms you use.<br />Let us go and now we're free, but only good enough to shine your shoes.<br />Let us go and now we're free to protect and defend your rules.<br />Let us go and now we're free to die in battle when we were just trying to get money to attend your schools.<br />Taught by the fields and the streets; you lock us up 'cause we don't obey your rules.<br />Let us out and now we're free to be in your streets<br />Surrounded by stores you fill with booze.<br />Freedom and justice...a nice sounding phrase, but to us it's just a ruse.<br />Put on the stage in roles played for your pleasure like puppets only to amuse.<br />So, here we are living by these ill-fated rules.<br />Free at last! Free at last!<br />At least that's what we presume, but our security is shattered,<br />Our faces battered and again before you we stand<br />In another one of your court rooms.<br />"Away with the key-his face we don't wanna see out here on our streets"!<br />So, here we are and deep inside we know the truth.<br />We're put in a place where we're not accepted, always rejected,<br />And for all our services--our just compensation remains neglected.<br />So, here we are and this is why in low soul-full keys<br />We sing, hum and chant the low down dirty blues.<br /></span><br /><span style="color:#cccccc;">To order your copy of The Breadth of Love by Justice Jones, go to:<br /><br /></span><a title="http://www.buybooksontheweb.com/" href="http://www.buybooksontheweb.com/"><strong><span style="color:#ffcc99;">http://www.buybooksontheweb.com</span></strong></a><span style="color:#cccccc;"> keyword: Breadth<br />Or call toll-free (877) 289-2665</span></div>HAPPY IN NEVADAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17214341069801731994noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028911271348991597.post-77577190065745907382008-06-18T10:38:00.000-07:002008-12-11T13:13:09.306-08:00"Hello - my goodness your 4th husband looks like"....well you know who.<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3NH0_csUf9pJXgHi9FReUO4kLrI8q0-sqKGzjgx1DDlraxa8yOgAn_hyphenhyphenAnxzkPfOyIjaBSTPSjJJFmf6KlpO_XUopGlwypDYQjfa7WPxTEZD-_ZSmG8Mp5FMQKSLqHN37z_vIWoZX_v0/s1600-h/GALLERY+OF+MISFITS+019.JPG"><span style="color:#cccccc;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213277533358449842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3NH0_csUf9pJXgHi9FReUO4kLrI8q0-sqKGzjgx1DDlraxa8yOgAn_hyphenhyphenAnxzkPfOyIjaBSTPSjJJFmf6KlpO_XUopGlwypDYQjfa7WPxTEZD-_ZSmG8Mp5FMQKSLqHN37z_vIWoZX_v0/s400/GALLERY+OF+MISFITS+019.JPG" border="0" /></span></a><span style="color:#cccccc;"> Let's see my first husband reminded people of 'no one famous' (nice). My 2nd husband looked like Burt Reynold's twin brother; that got him into a few places that without 'Burt's name', I doubt he'd have been so 'slick'. My 3rd husband looked like Marlon Brando - more 'favors'...thank you Marlon. Oh did I fail to mention they were alcoholics; ended up using drugs, and having affairs - including fathering 2 children by other women during my marriages to them?</span></div><div align="center"><span style="color:#cccccc;"><blockquote><span style="color:#cccccc;">My 4th husband - well you have that picture right above this<br />entry. Sad to report, he ended up with the 'in crowd', and in lots of trouble because of 'being in' - I had to file for divorce because of his<br />newly-adopted cocaine habit.</span></blockquote></span></div><div align="center"><span style="color:#cccccc;">My 5th husband was 6'5"; blond-haired, blue-eyed - strong, and strikingly handsome. What I noticed about him when I met him, was 'just his winning smile'. I can tell you he sang like an angel; drank like a fish, and beat me like a master beats his slave. </span></div><div align="center"><span style="color:#cccccc;"><blockquote><div align="center"><span style="color:#cccccc;">Let's see, now who wants to be married to<br />a person who 'looks like' someone famous (because of t.v. and movies); or might<br />be handsome or pretty to look at, but it's hard to see all that beauty when<br />you've got one black eye; and the other one is purple and swollen shut. We need to<br />learn to see with our hearts, and not with our eyes, and because mine were blackened a good deal of the time, I learned even faster....</span></div></blockquote></span></div>HAPPY IN NEVADAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17214341069801731994noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028911271348991597.post-45609666231919141782008-06-18T10:35:00.000-07:002008-12-11T13:13:09.582-08:00"Hello Willie - this is the IRS"<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYrNAE7a-YsQXfji7uLvjXbm6kvZqQuB6OP9agnTo3UfZ4f5Gn3U8maCRkDxKrqeHDGuCyrQ6l49btcZs92B_cJLKVhn2WqR41pq0MeJ86YSsTXujMCIG4hcVnLUiBcjG-vog59mnmcSA/s1600-h/GALLERY+OF+MISFITS+018.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213277095769777490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYrNAE7a-YsQXfji7uLvjXbm6kvZqQuB6OP9agnTo3UfZ4f5Gn3U8maCRkDxKrqeHDGuCyrQ6l49btcZs92B_cJLKVhn2WqR41pq0MeJ86YSsTXujMCIG4hcVnLUiBcjG-vog59mnmcSA/s400/GALLERY+OF+MISFITS+018.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="color:#ffcc99;"> ...and Wesley Snipes is next!</span><br /><br /></div>HAPPY IN NEVADAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17214341069801731994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028911271348991597.post-74501358742616106922008-06-18T08:16:00.000-07:002008-12-11T13:13:09.710-08:00Frank would call me in the morning; sing a few of the lyrics from 'Hello'<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-WFikXsRt0LlWzZ9sjHrWXPPYZI7P6-PCbEhDF2I49E21vdCZZJ8BPIG9NDOvbfKylrzwuxSiYyzzZwHmzcVncuUy7U0bUg68ZOK5ziqGz7IS1HBQP8W2yoydJSYi2SSv-oFsydLIgMo/s1600-h/A+beautiful+sunset+by+Fran.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213241041391408274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-WFikXsRt0LlWzZ9sjHrWXPPYZI7P6-PCbEhDF2I49E21vdCZZJ8BPIG9NDOvbfKylrzwuxSiYyzzZwHmzcVncuUy7U0bUg68ZOK5ziqGz7IS1HBQP8W2yoydJSYi2SSv-oFsydLIgMo/s400/A+beautiful+sunset+by+Fran.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="color:#ffcc99;">Then Frank would call me at noon; sing some of the words from 'Three Times A Lady". We'd have dinner; put the moon-roof back - turn up his favorite cassette (back then it was cassettes), and drive for an hour or so, with the moon-light shining on us - singing....<br /></span><br /></div>HAPPY IN NEVADAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17214341069801731994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028911271348991597.post-49189110884956555062008-06-18T07:56:00.000-07:002008-12-11T13:13:09.916-08:00I remember when my youngest son told me he was in love...<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgC4f0jaDgS1yKtAeZaB3UcqYArYRLpN3jblJIPoiJjn5EDj3jgw0XV0zDgKq5IupouVXrRBzy1VEYC-eqAx3PoujXxnPpD6RefIHGftbzDavW07-xs4pAXlkRr9evGl77skzY03hdbh4/s1600-h/184777~Diego-Rivera-1916-Posters.jpg"><span style="color:#ffcc99;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213235803575909026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgC4f0jaDgS1yKtAeZaB3UcqYArYRLpN3jblJIPoiJjn5EDj3jgw0XV0zDgKq5IupouVXrRBzy1VEYC-eqAx3PoujXxnPpD6RefIHGftbzDavW07-xs4pAXlkRr9evGl77skzY03hdbh4/s400/184777~Diego-Rivera-1916-Posters.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="color:#ffcc99;"><br /></span><span style="color:#ffcc99;">After telling me he wanted to marry a young lady who was Mexican, he said: "I knew you'd understand, after all you wanted to marry a black man - I remember Frank; he was so much fun to be around."</span><br /><span style="color:#ffcc99;"></span><br /><span style="color:#ffcc99;">I surely knew what he meant (and felt). It's easy to type these words as I listen to the first five songs I've picked. They were Frank's songs he'd sing to me - the voice of an angel. He loved Lionel Ritchie; his voice was even more beautiful, and he'd sing to me while I played the piano. I've never had such a 'closeness' or a bond with another who loved music the way I do.</span><br /><span style="color:#ffcc99;"></span><br /><span style="color:#ffcc99;">Now my son celebrates his 6th wedding anniversary next month; to his beloved Gabriella. It is a beautiful love - I could put their picture here, but he asked me not to, suffice to say they have made a beautiful life together - a perfect love - one they could both see was possible regardless of the outside world and their opinions.</span><br /></div>HAPPY IN NEVADAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17214341069801731994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028911271348991597.post-59874547195442577322008-06-18T07:33:00.000-07:002008-12-11T13:13:10.047-08:00In Memory of Frank Stewart; November 3, 1946 - October 11, 1984<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu850_2TDBtwEjuEnmCXkG801eMnXueOZ0a-iygEnDNgLVieykHb3jXayFYhWx5hSJJc4YwuFw8aGAm-kiipQMTFsVpEB1LsW2Db2I4UCjNWi6NBQyL_0Ji1wOnTJ9aXJ4XiDaCps1qKc/s1600-h/ADD+BILLY+TIPTON.jpg"><span style="color:#cccccc;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5213230135409810194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu850_2TDBtwEjuEnmCXkG801eMnXueOZ0a-iygEnDNgLVieykHb3jXayFYhWx5hSJJc4YwuFw8aGAm-kiipQMTFsVpEB1LsW2Db2I4UCjNWi6NBQyL_0Ji1wOnTJ9aXJ4XiDaCps1qKc/s400/ADD+BILLY+TIPTON.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="color:#cccccc;"> I completed a blog for Billy Tipton; a woman born in 1914, but because of discrimination she chose to pose as a man all her life. She loved music (so do I). She wanted to play her music with 'the guys' - back then, women just didn't frequent night-clubs where the type of music she loved to play. There were 'torch singers', but like most 'good' ladies who probably envied them - they were just 'hussies'.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="color:#cccccc;"></span></div><div align="center"><span style="color:#cccccc;">I thought about her masquerade; I remembered my own experience when dating and loving a black man, was just 'so wrong'. I remember Frank telling me that no one would accept a black and white couple. I remember a lot of things we did together; the joy and love we had, and I wish Frank were alive to see Obama as a candidate for president. I wish he could have seen Oprah and realized a black woman can be a huge success in this country of ours.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="color:#cccccc;"></span></div><div align="center"><span style="color:#cccccc;">Frank died of a heart attack at the age of 38; I'll put a few memories here, but for now, I wanted to create a place of 'music' that Frank would have loved - the kind we used to dance to 30 years ago.</span> </div>HAPPY IN NEVADAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17214341069801731994noreply@blogger.com2