Track 12

Damn it(s),  got so/too much going on in my head at times—>  Concurrently–>
It’s vivid in there.   So imagine Jane’s Addiction and Mike Ditka co-hosting a soul food cooking show with a Mediterranean bent       +   some visuals.    Thoughts and memories can be shaken up like a snow-globe. Yesterday’s mistakes heckle today’s progress.   There’s a tidge of leftover jargon floating about.  And sounds, like every middle-school band all playing at the same time in the same gym while a trapeze act corresponds with the square root of G in the rafters.  You know what I mean?         Maybe no not.

It doesn’t matter too much, because at other times it’s crystal silent clear inside.  Like not yet formed mist.

Track 11

Moon and I are headed to Walla Walla this weekend.  We both spent a few (trans)formative years there respectively, and just outside of town met for the first time. I haven’t been back in 10-12 years I think, maybe not this millennium.
Way back when/then–> Diddy was Puff, a smart-phone wasn’t, and I myself was just learning who these guys Buddha and Coltrane were, not really yet knowing about prostates or how to run a rice-cooker. I fondly recall the horizons out there, much lower & more trustworthy than I’m used to. I can still smell Pangea black coffee. I remember the music shop Hot Poop.  It’s a long drive. There are mountains in the way.  I’m expecting to see some significant differences, I hear it’s wine country now. I trust the wide sky and golden hills will still be there, but I’m not sure about Hot Poop.

You or Me Walla Walla?    I wonder who’s changed more since we saw each other last.

jamiroquai1

Track 10

I still make mix tapes. The mixes don’t come/go as often anymore and have crossed over into digital format (as these things do) but I still make them. I get overly excited for the Olympic torch and anagrams. Last year you could find me listening to Sklarbro Coutry, now I listen to Maron. There’s a lot of artisan pizza pie out there, but I just want Pizza Pipeline. I can go week long stretches just listening to country. I glanced through a People magazine yesterday. I choose the worst line at the border. Some days I don’t feel like playing. I dig sarsaparilla and old matchbooks from places I’ve never been. I’ve tried but never quite got The Kids in the Hall. Some times I lose my fo-cus, sometimes I’m superfocused. I miss The Far Side and the Sonics. I’ve got tee shirts and pictures I can’t get rid of.
I have been the last to know. I started reading Papillon, but never finished it.

Track 8

Whenever I visit the bay area, I gain weight, brain & soul matter.   A listing of our most recent visit:

-saw a friend
-MUNI
-dim sum
-dim sum playdate
-circus sideshow
-pasoli
-transport to Barcelona via story
-ran the park
-bee hivin’ -model trainin’ – rock wallin’
-El Toro burrito*
-burned in Dolores Park
-heard a theory
-ice cream
-hidden steps tour
-bellied up to bar wt an eight-month old
-Marnee Thai
-late night college football
-farmer’s market
-foggy bridge
-Withrow BBQ laughing with/at each other
-kid gazing, picture taking
-Arizmendi
-got some good advice
-a breath at Ocean Beach
-gazpacho
-BDAY(S)
-Tapas Fest—>oh the meatballs
-not my Red Bull in not my Hat
-“free rosemary, lavender”

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Track 6

The other day Tayen was trying to describe an activity involving a Frisbee and Dreams. I  could decipher it occurred at her pre-school, but with a three year old it can be tough to pin down “exactly” what’s “real” “imagined” or “consumed.”  I  did gather at least in this description the Frisbee was playing the part of stick.

Tayen:   “We passed around the Frisbee and said what we all wanted to be.”
Me:        “Oh, you mean like a talking circle?”
Tayen:    “Sure.”
Me:         “What did Victoria say?”
Tayen:    “She wanted to be a princess, they all wanted to be princesses.”
Me:         “What did you say?”
Tayen:    “I want to be a train driver.”

I was delighted. Talking circles, real or imagined can be healthy.  Fact, I’m facilitating one in my head right now.  Certain personalities crave the space and authority the stick can bring to the circle.  I also had to smile because deep down inside I think I want to be a train driver too.  Not the Amtrak variety or the kind at the mall during Christmas, but a steam locomotive engineer barreling up the foggy pass, trying to get em’ home, with quick wit and seasoned eyes that can see around the corner before anyone else.

Track 5

What is it about Creedence?  Everyone loves them.  Coast people, inland people, kiddos, temple monks in Nepal and cabin monks in Glacier.  Stoners, priests & school teachers dig CCR.  Four seperate musicians who can clearly be heard.  Sound layered even in the absence of stereo.  The Revival. I feel they could be sampled in heaven or hell.  Style.  Swamp.  Fogerty.  Still not sure what makes them so universal.   I want to be Creedence, minus the breakup, lawsuits & familial fallout.  I want to be born on a bayou.  I want to sound amazing from your shop radio.

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Wesley Withrow

Track 4

It’s amazing/shocking how fast you think/thunk you got smart.  Last week’s excursion to Vancouver Island = spectacular.  So much fun(s).

Thing is though, I noticed this weird phenomenon happening inside my brain around day four or five   –>

I started thinking I knew the place, I fancied myself a seasoned islander.  I could blindfold navigate the condo property + I knew what color bill a twenty-spot was + I was an Oceanside expert who could convert litres to gallons. Yes we had the beach gear and cooler scene dialed to perfection, we understood how to get takeout and work the DVD player.  We had poutine and liked it. After awhile, I found myself judging the new arrivers, chuckling to my inner self at the lost look in newbie’s eyes as they searched for the 200 unit, or wandered aimlessly looking for ice. I got mad when someone parked in “my” spot.  I gave three people directions in town. I told myself I was a canyon river aficionado.  I looked down on those without proper footwear.
I was local.           Course, I realized soon enough even the locals weren’t local. I caught myself misinterpreting the legend of Englishmen River Falls, getting lost in Nanaimo, and misjudging the tide at least twice.  I found out I never knew how to properly say “Tsawwassen”, and after some digging, I began to understand just how little I did know about the island and its landscapes, its peoples and stories.
I’m smart, but not that smart.
My family is cool, and we are growing.
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