Espresso, Oyster or Salsa

IN A FEW WEEKS, it will be two years since I went public here at About Pops with our dream to take to the open road in a shiny Airstream travel trailer. The potential of being judged as “impulsive” is eliminated.

Over the past two years, we’ve been to RV shows, visited dealerships, called on classified listings and even visited an Airstream rally. We’ve read blogs and forums and interviewed Airstream owners. Choosing the best model and size has been fun and formidable.

I’ve fretted over the wisdom of the expense at this stage of life, and have been haunted by the excess of it, making it a moral dilemma. Do I really have to justify everything?

Finally, for better or worse, we’ve made the decision. We’re gettin’ hitched (as in trailer to pickup). We have a couple of dealers offering us special deals on new trailers that are the model we’ve chosen. That’s the good news.

The other news is that we now face another big decision. We don’t want this one to take two years, so we are asking for your vote. That’s right. Here’s your chance to share your opinion, to help design the interior of a new Airstream. Normally, I wouldn’t throw an important matter like this onto the table of public opinion, but we are very lucky to have a lot of friends who are artists, designers, who have good taste and who know us well enough to help us with this decision.

As you ponder your vote, keep in mind that we really like modern design aesthetic, otherwise we wouldn’t be considering this Airstream model. Oh, and don’t forget this important factor: we have three Grand-Girls, ages 1, 3 and 6, who will be traveling with us from time to time.

There are three choices. Espresso, Oyster, and Salsa.

Espresso

Oyster

Salsa

Here’s how you can vote: You can leave a comment here in the comments section at About Pops. You can also leave your vote as a comment on the post on the About Pops Facebook page. Or you can tweet your vote on Twitter @AboutPops.

Please vote. And, when the Airstream finally arrives, maybe we’ll come stay in your driveway for a week or two.

All Along The Watchtower

The burden of the desert of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south pass through; so it cometh from the desert, from a terrible land. 
A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease. 
Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it. 
My heart panted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me. 
Prepare the table, watch in the watchtower, eat, drink: arise, ye princes, and anoint the shield. 
For thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth. — Isaiah 21:1-6 KJV

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According to Amazon.com, the book I pre-ordered months ago is set to be on my doorstep July 14, 2015. I’m like a kid on Christmas morning. The anticipation is higher than in the days leading up to a new season of Downton Abbey.

The book is Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee. It is a manuscript reportedly written years ago, even before To Kill A Mockingbird, but unpublished until now. I’ve tried not to read too much of the advance speculation about the book, wanting to savor it on my own. But, I do know that it is written in the voice of Scout (probably my all-time favorite literary character) from the story To Kill A Mockingbird (probably my all-time favorite literary work).

If you haven’t read the book, maybe you’ve seen the movie. If not, stop what you’re doing and read it and watch it now. It may be more timely and important today than the day Ms. Lee wrote it.

Speaking of the South, moral dilemmas, justice, judgements, history, politics, traditions, and the like; you know how the adults in the Charlie Brown TV specials talk? Well, I was listening to Neil Young’s “Southern Man” song the other day, you know the one that starts:

Southern man
better keep your head
Don’t forget
what your good book said

For years I had listened to the song and heard this arrangement: Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Verse.

Today I heard it differently. I think it goes (and Neil, if I’m mistaken, give me a call and let’s talk it through):
Chorus, Verse, Verse in a Charlie Brown adult voice
Chorus, Verse, Verse in a Charlie Brown adult voice

I don’t know what the Charlie Brown adult voice is saying, but I’m imagining it is answering Neil’s question at the end of each verse: “How long, how long?”

[DISCLAIMER: It’s not actually a Charlie Brown adult voice. It’s actually a Neil Young guitar solo. But I’m confident he’s playing it as if to say something. But what?]

Maybe the voice is saying… “A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth… Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth: I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it… Go, set a watchman!”

Back to Monroeville, Alabama, home of the very reclusive Harper Lee. Big celebrations are planned in town for the release of this new (old) book. Apparently Ms. Lee who lives in an assisted living center in Monroeville is sort of cranky and not expected to make any public appearance whatsoever. 

“Charming second-hand anecdotes about Lee circulate through the town. A HarperCollins employee told the story of how Lee was given a mock-up of the forthcoming book’s cover earlier this year. ‘She (Ms. Lee) looked at it and said, “There should be no comma after the word ‘Go’.” It was then pointed out to her by one of the editors that in the King James Version of Isaiah 21:6 there is a comma.” Lee responded, ‘That’s the Lord’s Book. This is my book. And there is no comma.’ 

“In To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout remarks of a tea party: ‘Ladies in bunches always filled me with vague apprehension and a firm desire to be elsewhere,’ — and the feeling in town is a little like that tea party, according to local Crissy Nettles, ‘Everyone from here who has ever met Miss Lee is sure she won’t be in the public eye.’” (LA Times)

I’m wondering if, in this new book, Scout and Neil Young might meet, maybe in a coffee shop in Monroeville. Neil would say, “Scout, you’re a Watchperson, aren’t you?” And Scout would reply, “I hope so Neil. Atticus certainly was. I hope both of us are.”

By the way, and speaking of coffee shops, there’s a great little place I know of that would be the perfect setting to meet and talk about these two Harper Lee books, once we’ve all read them. Let me know if you would be interested in that.

POPS AND KARLEE PLAYING SOME BACKGAMMON IN A COFFEE JOINT PERFECT FOR A BOOK DISCUSSION

Getting The Band Together

The other day I was looking through a spare closet for something when I ran across a cymbal bag full of Zildjan cymbals. There were rides, crashes, and splashes and a lovely set of hi-hats. Then I tried to remember what I had come to this closet to find, but that train had left the one track of my mind.

I did have this thought: I have cymbals, drumsticks and even a set of drums. I should start a band!

It’s been years since I last played in a band, but other old guys do it (whether they should or not). And with casinos popping up all across our great state, there seem to be a lot of venues wanting musical acts of old, past-their-prime musicians.

If you’ve never started a band, you many not know that the first thing you do is think of a good name. Without a great band name, you might as well leave the cymbals in the closet.

"Pops & The Geezers" has a nice ring, but it eliminates any chance of cross-generational appeal. Remember that band from the early 60s with the visionary name, "Gerry And The Pacemakers"? I bet back when they were recording their big hit, Don’t Let The Sun Catch You Crying, they had no idea their band name would be as relevant in the 60s as it would be for them in their 60s (albeit with a different sort of connotation).

I do like the idea of a “coming of age” sort of theme to the band’s name. In fact, I think it would be cool to have a band made up of kids in their first coming-of-age and more senior members like myself in our second coming-of-age. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

How about "Puberty & Senility"? "The Young Punks & The Old Pharts"? Hmmm, I can’t really picture either of those in the bright lights of the Forked Feathers Casino and Buffet.

There’s actually an app for that. Yes, a website with a band name generator. You give it a key word and it spits out some suggestions for band names. So I entered the word “age” and got these recommendations: 

• Unified Age
• Age Pony
• Timely Age
• Godless Age And The Exiled Groove
• Yard Of Age

No, no, no, no and nope.

Then I found an acronym generator. Here you put in your keyword and…

AGE = Advancing Gravity Era

So much for the help of technology. How about “The Slowly Rolling Stones”? Maybe something edgier: “The Angry Republicans”? Not musical enough. “The Old Spice Guys”?

I need more input, so let’s talk about adding band members and see if they have some ideas. First, I need some really good singers. We must have tight harmonies. How about killing two birds with one stone (not as a band name but as a phrase meaning taking care of more than one matter at a time). There’s that two-sister band called “First Aid Kit”! I love their vocals and seamless harmonies and they obviously are fearless when it comes to naming a band. Heck, throw some Lipitor and Viagra into that first aid kit and it’s multi-generational.

Since the band, “The Civil Wars” broke up (I guess their name was a self-fulfilling prophecy), maybe they’re looking for a new gig. I would take one or both of them.

On guitar: Hendrix is dead (and I don’t feel too good myself). Ha. (Thanks to Lewis Grizzard). James Taylor is timeless and wonderful. You not only get the guitar, but great vocals too. For me the choice for bass is obvious: Esperanza Spalding! And on piano: Diana Krall. Who else? 

I’ve often thought, if there is one jazz pianist I would love to see play live, it would be Diana Krall. But she hardly ever tours in the U.S. so what are the chances. Turns out, chances are 100%! She’s coming to OKC this fall and I already have tickets for My Amazing-Missus and myself. I sure hope "Pops & His Pals" don’t have a gig that night. (Sometimes you have to try a name in a sentence to see how it feels.) (It doesn’t feel right.)

The melody of our first song is already running through my mind. It will be a cover of the Leslie Gore song from the early 60s, but with a twist. Our’s will be “It’s My Party And I’ll Cry And Complain If I Want To.”

Check out this music video of the girls of “First Aid Kit”. They could be the new lead vocalist of “Pops & The Pups” (Not to be confused with “Gladys Knight & The Pips”).

Lost In A Masquerade

Did we, like the Emporer, assume that we were grandly dressed in our new clothes? And now, somehow, an ugliness has been exposed as we’ve seen ourselves in the mirror of South Carolina and Birmingham before that. Now social media is lit up like Vegas over a Supreme Court decision. Loaded words and vitriol.

I’ve been trying to find my own words, but are they needed? It seems like there are too many out there already. So maybe this is just for my own peace of mind and soul.

Early this morning I was out for my walk. My earbuds were in and my playlist reached the letter T. The list was:

• Take Five by Dave Brubeck
• Teach Your Children by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
• That Spirit of Christmas by Chuck Brown and Eva Cassidy
• Things Have Changed by Bob Dylan
• This Land Is Your Land by Woody Guthrie
• This Masquerade by Leon Russell
• Tight Rope by Leon Russell
• The Times They Are a-Changin’ by Bob Dylan
• Try A Little Tenderness by Florence and The Machine
• Turn! Turn! Turn! by The Byrds
• Turpentine by Brandi Carlile

As I listened and walked and thought and cursed the neighbor’s yippin’ little dog, I was struck by the poetry of each of those songs, and each held words that helped me find mine, making some sense of all this. Especially the first few lines of Leon’s masquerade song:

Are we really happy with this lonely game we play
Looking for words to say

Searching but not finding, understanding anyway
We’re lost in a masquerade

Both afraid to say we’re just too far away
From being close together from the start

We tried to talk it over, but the words got in the way
We’re lost inside this lonely game we play

Are we “just too far away”, too polarized? Does it seem like when we do try to talk it over the words get in the way.

Not to point out the obvious but polarization leads to isloation, and isolation to aloneness, and Leon is right: “We’re lost inside this lonely game we play.”

So I’m an old guy with a blog; which is just more words. Most of my words come out of me feeble attempt to accept growing old with some style and grace. Sometimes though I see the telltale signs of geezerhood. Like the other day, I think I actually said out loud, “Looks like we’re all going to hell in a handbasket.” Another of those signs of senior adulthood is to blame it all on the next generation, i.e.: they keep changing everything and screwing everything up.

As I’ve recorded here on this blog, our youngest son just finished infantry training. As we visited Fort Benning for his graduation, I asked him if everyone he started training with finished. Unfortunately, no. Some were injured, some dropped out. “You can do that?” I asked. “Yes, their ‘less than honorable discharge’ is called ‘Failure to Adapt.’”

Maybe that’s my state: “failure to adapt”. Dylan’s song is still right: the times are a-changin’. The pace of the change is such that it is hard to adapt. But adapt we must. All of us. We live together. All of us. On this big ball.

Several years ago, a guy named Robert Fulghum wrote a book he called, All I Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten. [Spoiler Alert] Here’s his list:

These are the things I learned (in Kindergarten):

1. Share everything.
2. Play fair.
3. Don’t hit people.
4. Put thngs back where you found them.
5. CLEAN UP YOUR OWN MESS.
6. Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
7. Say you’re SORRY when you HURT somebody.
8. Wash your hands before you eat.
9. Flush.
10. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
11. Live a balanced life - learn some and drink some and draw some and paint some and sing and dance and play and work everyday some.
12. Take a nap every afternoon.
13. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
14. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Stryrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
15. Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
16. And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.” 
― Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

Maybe we could put that on a monument in front of the Oklahoma State Capital. (Get real Pops. Even that would piss off at least a few people.)

Sometimes I think I learned all the theology I will ever need in Sunbeams. For those unfamiliar with southern baptist tradition, Sunbeams was a community for little baptists, where we learned that “Jesus LOVES the little children! ALL the children of the World! Red and Yellow, Black and White, they are precious in His sight. Jesus LOVES the little children of the World.”

See this picture? The one of the beautiful little African-American girl holding her homemade poster? A few days ago, I stood in a museum in Memphis, inside the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King, JR, was shot. This photo was on the wall there and I stood and stared at it for a long time, pondering her question. The answer is blindingly obvious—isn’t?! The answer is an unequivocal “NO!” Right? If there is any doubt about that; then I have a failure to adapt.

If Jesus didn’t really mean it when he said, he greatest commandment is this: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself,” then I have a failure to adapt.

If we’re going to reduce everything to black and white to the point where someone can’t fly a rainbow flag, where African-American churches are being burned, where Righteousness for some means inhumanity for other… Are we “lost in a masquerade”?

That's it. I’m out of words.

So, let me leave you with someone else’s. This is from an interview with Mallory Ortberg and Carvell Wallace following the slayings at the church in Charleston:

These folks were praying for peace and expressing forgiveness by letting this dude into their church when they were slain. Their pants were pulled up and they weren’t “challenging authority.” And they still got killed.