Searching again for the eternal flame ....

How could anyone ever forget Gillian Holroyd? Is she Ms. Perfect?

But I just know I've seen her somewhere before!

"I want to love you but I better not
touch (Don't touch)
I want to hold you but my senses
tell me to stop
I want to kiss you but I want it too
much (Too much)"

Alice Cooper

From his song: "Poison"

Where, oh, where does Ms. Perfect reside? Who, oh, who might Ms. Perfect be? When, oh, when will I encounter Ms. Perfect? What, oh, what will Ms. Perfect be like?

As you may have guessed, my thoughts are returning to my quest for the eternal flame, otherwise known as the "ideal woman."

I seem to remember one particular movie with one particular witch that I couldn't turn my eyes away from .... yes, Gillian. Yes, "Gil" Holroyd. The movie was "Bell, Book and Candle." Very attractive. Very bright. Very witch-like.

The idea of setting up camp with a witch is compelling. If you want to go canoeing and it's raining, just produce a box of chocolates and trade it with her for a sunny day. If you're overworked and underpaid, just ask her to plant an idea in the boss' head -- like a million dollar bonus -- and offer to split the cash. If you have an urge to eat Russian caviar, she'll probably go for the idea and there would be no necessity for an exchange. In fact, instead of snapping her fingers and bringing it to us, she probably would twirl her wand and instantly transport the two of us to a place such as Derbent. There, we could enjoy the "real" Russian caviar, chased with a (very large) sniffer of the local brandy. There, we could spend the day searching for the Gates of Alexander. There, we could sail the Caspian .... whoops, I'm allowing my mind to wander unfettered .... but, well, who knows? I might even start smoking again long enough to indulge myself with a cigarette or two of Russian tobacco.

All through the movie, I kept wondering if Gillian had a sister. I knew I'd seen someone who looks just like her somewhere before. The question still is nagging me. Did Gillian have a sister?

I know. She looks just like Madeleine Elster. You remember, don't you? Judy Barton. The woman in "Vertigo." Yes, remember the movie, "Vertigo?" Gillian and Madeleine/Judy just have to be sisters, maybe even twin sisters. I wonder if they're both witches ....

Well, back to the discussion at hand. I suppose finding a real witch would be pretty difficult these days. I suspect they have to lead sheltered lives and remain in the shadows to avoid the politically correct epidemic. Probably not a good idea to settle down with a witch, anyway. If she ever were to get angry at you, she might decide to transport you up the creek without a paddle.

Hark! Do I hear the Sirens singing their song?

More than one-half of February has come and gone. Spring is approaching (finally), and my thoughts dwell more and more on a change of scenery. At minimum, a lengthy vacation. At most, relocation to a sunnier clime. And, the direction I seem to be drifting is toward making a very large leap.

I've visited a few other countries, but never resided in one. (Military occupation does not count as residency, in my book.) Beyond the obvious, major news stories about this and that in foreign lands, I really do not know any details regarding the current state of affairs anywhere other than in the U.S.

I do know that I absolutely dislike what is happening inside the U.S. Economic conditions like those occurring right now do not develop overnight. Many people blame eight years of George Bush in the presidency for the problems America is facing, but anyone who actually has a sense of history knows we have experienced 16 consecutive years of fiscal irresponsibility, practiced both in the White House and in the halls of Congress, all the while with pretty much the same grandiose tax and spend policies being displayed by elected officials in state and local governments. Add to that corporate thievery and corruption, over-saturation of the market place, union greed and avarice, unlimited credit for any idiot who has any job, and two foreign wars to siphon away money needed at home -- well, add it all up and the course for economic collapse was clearly being chiseled in stone years ago.

Not since the Jonestown episode in Guyana has mass suicide been so popular. Fortunately, this time, so far, it only has been economic suicide. But now, with the Pied Piper in charge, my instincts tell me that the worst is still to come. Spending money that does not exist hardly is a viable solution for creating economic, political and social stability. All anyone who requires a road map need do is to pull out a copy of Edward Gibbons "... Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" to find one. Sounds corny, I know, but the truth often does.

Enough, enough. So, I'm more than a little dissatisfied with the "change" being initiated by the new administration to combat the problems created by the past two. So what? So, to borrow from the old cliché, "love it or leave it" -- I believe that I will, at least for a long, long vacation from it.

But to where, to where? That is the question. Somewhere with a distinctly more pleasant climate -- and, I'm not just referring to the weather. Somewhere around the Mediterranean? Those words have an appealing ring to them. Is that the call of the Sirens I hear?

Music Note: Once more listening to a classic rock station on the radio ....