AARP??? You have GOT to be kidding!!?!?!?!?!

So, the Vickster is reading something or other online yesterday, and come across something about memberships that pay you back well for what you spend for them. And she shares the following tidbit...

"They say an AARP membership is really worth it. And hey - they let you get one when you turn 50. So you could get yours next year." She then kept chattering about how you can get a card for your spouse, so she could have one too, but I'll admit she lost me there.

I qualify for AARP membership NEXT YEAR. May 21st, 2009.

Yikes-a-roni.

If anyone wants me, I'll be in my room, packing some dreams that I won't be needing anymore. 'Cause obviously touring with Cirque, clowning with Ringling, or hitting the road with a jazz trio won't be happening anytime soon. Cancel the order for the tour bus, put the craft booth on hold, and I won't be needing that rear-projection system for telling stories in front of a screen with projected "scenery" on it.

I know - 50 is the new 30, or 40 or something. :-D But my dad died in his 50's. My mom only made it to 69. My great-grandmother was in her 70's, and my grandmother was in her 80's. So it would seem that the days ahead do really number less than the days that have come before.

And yet my mind keeps going. So many ideas for performances, for songs for CDs, for other creative outlets. A mind that's full-steam ahead with a body that's way past warranty.

If you'll excuse me, I've got some contemplating to do. :-D

It all goes splat at home...

The votes are in, and it's been decided that vacation was worth all the stuff that happened when we came home. It was relaxing and fun, and we had a blast.

So, upon arrival at home, we found...

A leaking hot water heater.

A cold house, needing a new line run for power to the furnace.

A dog who destroyed a very expensive something belonging to our friend. (we're SO sorry, dear!!)

Now, the dust has settled. The hot water heater is replaced, blessing us with lovely hot showers, and the damage in the basement wasn't as bad as we first thought, or anywhere near as bad as it might have been; the electrical work was done yesterday, so as soon as we sweep out the ducts, the furnace shall ride again; and as for Ezri, we'll have to see if Hannah ever wants to come back. I'll bribe her with red cake - that should do it. :-D (or maybe not...)

Perspective. It's all a matter of perspective. :-D

Cool stuff I learned in Tennissee

To be totally fair, here's some stuff I discovered in Nashville... there are less of them, because we weren't there as long as we were in Missouri.

1) I like Bison. It was really tasty!

2) Having a bookshelf collapse right next to your bed will cost you in sleep. And make you dream of falling stuff.

3) Nashville has a lot of cool stuff, but it's hard to see it. All the coolness kind of blends in to the other stuff, so it's either all cool, or just well hidden.

4) The Country Music Hall of Fame is a big ol' building. Next time I intend to enter it.

5) Same with the Grand Ol' Opry.

6) Did I mention the Bison? YuMMM.

Thanks to Matt & Sam (and the perpetual motion machine they call Ethan) for a great time. We'll be back. :-D

Cool stuff I learned in Missouri

1) Vicki and I are unsinkable... we've survived both the traveling Titanic exhibit that was in Chicago some years back, and we both survived the Titanic Museum in Branson. (short backstory: they give you a boarding pass when you come in, and at the end you can see if you "lived." Both times, we both lived.)

2) I really wish we had a Sonic drive-in in W. Michigan - GOOD STUFF!

3) Vicki and I like sorghum. Especially on a big ol' warm dinner roll that was thrown at you from across the room. (a restaurant called Lambert's, "the home of Throwed Rolls")

4) I could get used to Missouri. Pretty place - mountains when ya want 'em, flat places too, nice folks... Vicki and I will be back there -soon. :-D

5) Branson is a crazy place - crazy cool, crazy weird, and crazy crazy. I like it.

6) Seeing the arch in St. Louis at night was an amazing experience. Wish we could have stopped for pictures, but that'll have to wait for the next time we go through.

7) The Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World in Springfield makes Cabella's look like an empty parking lot. Whoa!!!

8) Sometimes you find the coolest stuff in the most unlikely places... Bought a CD called "Illuminate" at the aforementioned Bass Pro Shop,and I love it. It's Gregorian Chant with some cool nature sounds and instrumental backgrounds. Beautiful!

9) I really liked the Hollywood Wax Museum in Branson, but the displays took a weird theme change near the end...

And the last thing I learned in Missouri?

10) If you turn someone down who offers you "healing and the Words of Life," it confuses the HECK out of them. :-D Ask one of us about this in person - telling it here just wouldn't do the story justice.

Thank you, Andrew & Shantel - we had a GREAT time, and can't wait to come back!!!

Blogus Maximus

Fair warning - there's going be a whole lot of blog posts in a row...

Of course, this warning will be buried by the time the others get here, so it's a moot point, but it's the thought that counts.

Wow.

I'm not a "pass it on" kind of guy. When someone sends me an email that says "pass this on," I generally don't. I figure my inbox is overstuffed, so I'd rather not fill up someone else's.

However, every once in a while, something comes along that needs to be shared. My friend Suzie posted this on her blog, and I was very moved by it. So, I'll pass it along. Besides, I've never tried embedding a video before. :-D Thanks, Suzie!

A moment of perfect beauty...

Very brief music lesson here...

Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings is one of the most haunting pieces on the planet. If you've never experienced it, run (don't walk) to the library, the store, iTunes, wherever you get your tunes and listen to it. I'll wait...........

Cool, eh? I thought you'd like it.

What you may not know is that Barber also scored a vocal version of this piece, "Agnus Dei." Gorgeous, and tremendously hard, considering the voices are doing the work of the strings, but strings don't have to breathe. I've heard a few renditions of this work, and it's equally as chilling as the string version.

But the one I listened to tonight took my breath away. Found it on iTunes, by Richard Marlow and the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge from the album Allegri: Miserere. Slower than any vocal version I've heard, with massive chords and amazing voices. The climax of the piece (starting about 6:20 and on) left me speechless, especially the almost dead silent chord following the big one. Whoa...

A moment of perfect beauty indeed. :-D

Is it REALLY worth it???

Lovely vacation, off to Missouri and then to Tennessee. Caught up with family & friends, and listened to a really great book in the car.

Then the homecoming:

1)Our furnace is not working, but we knew that when we left. Came home to a COLD house.

2) Dog gate broken - very old, so no biggie there.

3) Dehumidifier broken, also already known.

BUT>>>>

4) Hot water heater failed, resulting in much water in basement and no hot water for a much-needed shower upon getting home. And it's Saturday, so who the HECK do we call to get it fixed. And we now have a LOT of wet stuff to clean out of the basement. And hopefully we didn't end up with a colony of mold to live with.

So, I ask you - was vacation worth it?... :-/