An untitled post (it is about time)

Time to retreat. Time to prowl. Time to wander. Time to vanish.

Wind-time, wolf-time ....

See you later. Eventually. Maybe. Probably. Hopefully. Ultimately. In time.

Fram is taking to the woodlands and the waterways and the ethereal regions again, for now, vanishing into the mist of timeless time.

The song, "I'm So Afraid," is written and performed by Lindsey Buckingham, accompanied by the 2009 edition of Fleetwood Mac. The lyrics are a bit over the top for my personal taste, but everyone has days when feelings and emotions reach this height, or depth, or whatever. The only question is how long such a day might last. The melody is fabulous, and the guitar work is utterly fantastic.

This performance took place less than a month ago in Paris. This song was first sung in concert by Buckingham in 1975. He actually wrote it in 1971; been around a while. Listen to this music and, if you have any magic within, you will see behind the curtain to the existence of eternal youth and everlasting love.

For me, it also seems to be a particularly good song to hear in the distance while waving goodbye.

Seriously, take care, see you around and, in the words of Mary Shelley: ".... and when I shall be no more, the very remembrance of us both will speedily vanish."

Let me see you write a better one

Michener 1,515 / Hemingway 308

My reading dry spell ended abruptly a week or ten days ago when I picked up one of my copies of "Centennial" by James Michener and began reading it for the sixth time. I frequently write inside books I own, even some old, first editions. Book values? Who cares? Inside a paperback copy I have this written:

"Re-read this book December 21-26, 1978. First read it two or three years ago. Been re-reading a lot this fall." Other re-read dates are 1980, 1984 and 1998. In addition, I have read my favorite chapters, three through seven, three additional times. Some books become a part of you.

This book is not a minor project. The paperback version is 1,086 pages. The hardback is 909 pages. I began this time by making myself read for a mere thirty minutes a day. Sort of like an exercise routine and, just like exercise, putting in an extra half-hour here and there is not a sin.

I am not certain when I first began reading Michener. Probably in high school. I had read an even dozen of his books (at least once) before he finally wore me out. He could write more than I could read, and published about forty books altogether, including both fiction and non-fiction.

My favorite genre is the historical novel, and by that I do not mean books where the emphasis is on wizards or knights wearing tights or fairy tales. Michener is an excellent example of a legitimate historical novelist. His success as an author gave him the ability to hire dozens of historical researchers and to visit the geographic locales (actually to live in them for a few months) he wished to write about and to interview people whose ancestors had been history incarnate.

Once the bait is tasted, the hook is swallowed. I had a very explicable urge to re-read Ernest Hemingway's "Across the River and Into the Trees." This came after, I might add, someone told me she was reading some of Hemingway's first forty-nine short stories. I joined in long enough to grab my copy and to fall under the spell of "The Snows of Kilimanjaro."

My selection of "Across the River, etc." was the result of wanting to tour Venice through the eyes of Hemingway -- to hunt ducks, to pursue young ladies, to eat and to drink and to soak in the Venetian atmosphere as it existed in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Many consider this to be Hemingway's weakest novel. To which I say, let me see you write a better one.

Once upon a time, I had a copy of "Across the River, etc." It has now vanished, disappeared, been swallowed up by time -- whatever. So, I turned to our ever-present ally to find anything and everything, the Internet, and in four-days received a first edition copy in fine condition (other than a very tattered dust cover). Let the reading begin.

The tale opens with duck hunting, which I no long do or even like, but I am able to identify with Hemingway's protagonist, Colonel Cantwell, and with the sights and sounds of being in a marsh covered with thin ice as the sun rises. His (Hemingway's / Cantwell's) marsh is a salt marsh just outside of Venice. Mine, for the most part, were in Minnesota. Other than location, everything is the same -- the sights and the sounds. These are the things that are most remembered from the experience of a hunt.

Most events which are near-identical in nature, such as hunting ducks in a marsh, are little different no matter where they occur, I think. Only the geographic location is different; all else is the same. I am not certain how much changing the location affects the event itself. Anyway, back on subject: I am enjoying the book, which at 308 pages is tiny compared to the works of Michener.

Finally, if this were not enough, I decided I need more and more and more, so I returned to the Internet and ordered a copy of "Poland" -- another book from the wandering Michener which doubles as a paper weight. This one is sort of brief for him, only 616 pages in the hardback edition.

Curiosity might be my downfall some day. I latch onto events or people or places because I want to know them and to experience them first-hand. Michener was hired to do a documentary of any country in the world of his own choice. He chose Poland. Why? Why Poland? I know inside myself that I have to read this book if I ever hope to discover his reason.

What evolved from this project were years of research, several trips to Poland and four years spent writing the novel. Why? Why? Why? "The devil drives," as some character in some novel once said.

In the instance of Fram Actual, Nicolai Gogol might have discovered a more logical explanation and described it in his short novel (or long short story -- take your pick), "Taras Bulba." If I seem to speak in riddles and your curiosity matches mine, read our ascetic, Ukrainian friend's book and, possibly, discover the answer to the riddle while enjoying a story our narcissistic, Michigan buddy, Hemingway, once proclaimed to be among the ten best books in the history of literature.

Life is a non sequitur.

Go Your Own Way

Ever see a Fleetwood Mac concert way back when? Here is a sample of the band's sound once upon a time, and on this occasion playing undoubtedly its greatest song, "Go Your Own Way." This is from a 1982 performance in Los Angeles. Most definitely chair dancing music.

Back then, drummer Mick Fleetwood and bass guitar player John McVie appeared to have just arrived from an audition to act the role of Grigori Rasputin in a horror film, but look like kindly, old grandfathers today. Lindsey Buckingham was and still is a fine song writer and singer, and a virtuoso on the guitar. Stevie Nicks was a great singer and, in my mind, the most beautiful woman on the earth. Now that she is about 60, I think it would be only fair to move her down to the No. 3 or No. 4 position among the most radiant women in the world. Ah, yes, the allure of mature women. Other band members have come and gone.

You might note that an occasional stuffed animal is tossed upon the stage or handed to Stevie. This was a tradition, and probably still is, for her and for many Fleetwood Mac concert-goers. She took these stuffed toys, as well as others she purchased herself, and personally distributed them to kids who were undergoing medical treatment in children's hospitals.

Two thoughts:

(1) Anyone can quietly make a positive difference in the world without disrupting the lives of others or shouting, "Look at me." Someone should advise politicians of this fact.

(2) And, the type of music an individual prefers -- whether it be classical, jazz, country, rock and roll, gospel, Broadway and show tunes, pop, Christian, blues or whatever -- tells you absolutely nothing about the inner nature of that individual.

Life can be fascinating when it is read between the lines.



Go Your Own Way

Loving you
Isn't the right thing to do
How can I ever change things
That I feel

If I could
Maybe I’d give you my world
How can I
When you won't take it from me

You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can call it
Another lonely day
You can go your own way
Go your own way

Tell me why
Everything turned around
Packing up
Shacking up is all you wanna' do

If I could
Baby I'd give you my world
Open up
Everything’s waiting for you

You can go your own way
Go your own way
You can call it
Another lonely day
You can go your own way
Go your own way

Let's Tango, pay our taxes & keep on writing

I keep the dream in my pocket
Never let it fade away
Inside, outside
No loneliness in this dream

Lindsey Buckingham
Some lines from his song: "Tango in the Night"

Time to Tango .... the night away ....

One of my favorite movies is "Sunset." It is a fictional piece about Wyatt Earp and Tom Mix joining forces to fight evil in Hollywood, California, on the eve of the first-ever presentation of the Academy Awards. How could anyone ever beat that story line?

James Garner plays Wyatt, and Bruce Willis plays Tom. There are elements of truth here. A few years after Tombstone and the gunfight at the OK corral, Earp moved on to California where he and Mix, cowboy turned actor, became friends. Several years after that, Mix was a pallbearer at Earp's funeral.

I am not going to tell you every single reason why I am into this movie, but one reason is the Tango that Willis and actress Miranda Garrison perform during a scene set in a "south of the border-type" night club. Other than the pistol play (yeh, sure), I think that is the best part of the movie. I want to learn to Tango whenever I see the movie. This is coming from a guy who ordinarily needs two drinks before moving onto a dance floor. (The words, "fear nothing," do not apply to dancing.) And, put me down on your list of idiots, because I think there actually is something profound to the Tango. Something beyond sexy. Something beyond grace and beauty when danced by a couple who know what they are doing. I think this is one dance that does have a real story of its own to tell, and movements which reveal insight into the psyche of the dancers. I will now return to reality.

But first, sliding sideways for a moment .... I think a "south of the border-type" location is a place where I could live for a while. I like the people. I like the music. Its boxers are the toughest in the world. Tequila is not brandy, but it works. The climate usually is warm. There are places to explore and waters into which to toss a canoe. Just a thought.

Beware, the mean tax man cometh ....

I own three adjoining, platted lots totaling about four acres in another state. Saturday, I received the "real estate assessment notice" for 2009 in the mail. The assessed value, reads the notice, has "increased over last year's value by 142.86 percent."

These lots are woodland, with no buildings, no improvements (no water, no electricity) and can be reached only by traveling a non-maintained, private road. Yet, the value of these lots for tax purposes supposedly has increased nearly 150 percent in the span of only one year, while property values all around the country are slumping and the housing market is in a recession?

I think I will ask the county director of tax equalization there if he wants to buy these lots from me. This is not "the change" I wanted, and yes, I am being sarcastic. Very, very, very sarcastic.

Still cold outside, so why not write more?

Last night, it was three degrees Fahrenheit above zero at this time. This night, it is an even zero. Better yet, the cold is accompanied by a brisk breeze. You don't need to be a weatherman to know which way the snow is blowin'. Sorry. Sometimes I lose it.

I usually measure winter as existing from the first of November to the end of March. There is more to it than those months, of course, but that time frame holds the greatest measure of true winter around here. I have seen snow on Labor Day weekend and during the last week of May on the shores of Lake Superior. That is not common, but that is the way it is. Like it or leave it.

I am feeling lazy and relaxed tonight. As I have said before, when I began this blog my intent was to write at least a few words every day for the first 30 days, then slide into a "when I feel like it" pattern. I passed that mark, and might go for 60 consecutive days. Why? Because the wind still blows cold, I guess.

I would like to be reading more about other people's lives and learn about them, their likes, dislikes and backgrounds, than to be putting out all this stuff about me. However, I will continue to do it. I would hope the reason is obvious. I believe in two-way streets.

Music Note: Listening to Fleetwood Mac ....
Specifically, "Tango in the Night" ....
(This band is in the Twin Cities Tuesday)

Daschle, Geithner & Holder. The same or different?

Like many, I have a difficult time being silent when it comes to politics. In a philosophical sense, I tend to be more conservative than liberal. In a human sense, it frequently is not difficult to like even those you oppose philosophically.

For that reason, I was disappointed when former U.S. Senator Tom Daschle withdrew his name as Barack Obama's nominee to be the next Secretary of Health & Human Services. I know Daschle and I like him. He obviously made some serious mistakes regarding his tax responsibilities. He should lose points in his standing on the integrity scale. But, the way I see it, that does not mean I should like him less. We all do dumb things and dishonest things. It is a matter of degrees.

There are flaws in my argument, I would admit, but we each are who and what we are, not characters in a novel designed to fit an author's narrow scheme of things. Two other Obama nominees, Timothy Geithner for Secretary of the Treasury and Nancy Killefer, for White House Performance Officer, also had tax issues. Geithner was confirmed by the Senate; Killefer, like Daschle, withdrew her name from consideration. Then, there is Eric Holder. When he worked in Bill Clinton's Justice Department, Holder, the new Attorney General, advocated pardons for convicted terrorists and for the No. 2 fugitive on the FBI's most wanted list, who had fled the U.S.

Neither Geithner nor Holder withdrew their names from consideration. The subsequent confirmation of their nominations by the Senate really does bother me. Geithner is a tax dodger whose duties now include leading the Internal Revenue Service. Holder, a man who promoted pardoning convicted terrorists, is now the head law enforcement officer in the country. This, to me, is not right. Daschle's confirmation to run Health & Human Services would not have bothered me to any great extent. Is this simply because I (probably most people) tend to excuse individuals I know personally, even politicians who are supposed to be "public servants," for their lapses in judgment and honesty? If so, I suppose this makes me guilty of poor judgment, too.

Music Note: Currently listening to Fleetwood Mac ....
Specifically, "The Dance" ....
"Go Your Own Way" is a fantastic song ....