ok, so i've been lying low of late. fixing to fix that. gonna get it back on track with the yoga practice... had to take an involuntary 30-day hiatus or so. anyway, the season's they are a-changing... fall in texas... ahh... the leaves are turning.... well, republican, and the skies a deeper shade of hue... the torpor of summer gives way to reveal the resurgent longing that hung in the balance last spring. i rejoice at my dental good fortune.

god, what am i gonna do? let's see:

rearrange the furniture
build a cd cabinet
play some music
clean the sink
think about what i'd do if i was in austin
shop for shirts
wear new shirts around the house
reorganize my cd collection
write song lyrics
try not to write music for songs
debate amplifier choices
position the speakers
go up on the roof
watch the baseball playoffs
write poems about the stoic nature of joe torre
study map of los angeles
anticipate the arrival of the new bob cd
listen to a bunch of old bob tunes
listen to live show tapes of bob shows

across the wondering prairie bleak,
words thunder past but do not speak
of where they've been
or done or seen,
nor do they tell who used them last,
or if the sound they make is past
or yet to surface
not surpass;
a breeze that rustles leaves at night
and leads us on this restless flight
will soon enough just disappear,
and will we ask it:
are you here?

if i was a tree i wouldn't have to sit around and describe stuff to myself, right? i could just experience the dwindling days of summer and perhaps feel something change in the internal workings somewhere. instead, i have to constantly reflect and contextualize, like "gee, i'm driving home now and it's much darker... the sky seems bluer too". at this rate i could be a greeting card when i grow up. i probably wouldn't care that much except that the allergens have gotten really high around here and it's affecting my body and my mind too. plus there's some new bob on the horizon... mmm.

August 26, 2008
5 am: get up
6 am: yoga x 1.5 hours
8 am: eat tacos for breakfast
9 am: drink coffee, lie around watch tv to get ready for flight
10 am: cab to airport
11 am: all checked through security, arrive at gate, prepare to relax
11.30 am: why does my stomach feel weird? am i nervous?
11.50 am: boarding call. i am starting to think i feel not good.
11.55 am: walk down jetway. feel like a small revolution happening inside me.
12.00 noon: seated at back of jet. extremely hot, smells bother me. locate barf bag.

soon we will experience what it's all about. that series of moments, standing around, perhaps talking to the people in the next seat, perhaps ignoring everyone, perhaps not even knowing we're there. a sense of wanting to get on with it, but not necessarily rushing things. maybe there'll be music, maybe just a lot of noise. then the lights go out, the fanfare cranks up... you know the rest. the curtains part. for one tiny fraction of a second it's like time is standing still, and holding us all in its grip.

public service announcement:

perhaps i am just 39 years late to the game, but i was intrigued to learn that director john schlesinger had Bob's "lay lady lay" in mind for use as music in the film "midnight cowboy"...see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_cowboy part on production... we recently had the privilege of viewing this film in the magnificent Paramount theater in downtown Austin... during intermission (after "The French Connection"), Nashville Skyline was played, seemingly on shuffle sequence mode... next to last tune was LLL. it was mesmerizing.