thanks justine

my friend justine invited me to see spiritualized tonight at bimbos. i wasn't so sure, but it was a near perfect show. i didn't even feel old as there were many greying folks in the audience sitting at their candlelit tables, amongst the many inpsired hipsters. they played with three stringed instruments and 3 gospel singers, the 2 spiritualized guys facing each other playing keyboard and guitar, bringing me way back when with their songs about jesus, drugs, and love. the whole audience was listening and paying attention! my mind wandered to days on dallas avenue falling asleep to 200 bars over and over,my cool roomate chris making me spaceman 3 tapes covered with tiny handwriting, and blasting the sound of confusion as i drove to work at auclair school after a night of many adventures and about 30 minutes of sleep.

sad as it sounds kindergarten also popped into my head as i watched the show and i thought that we need to send miles to a school where art is important.

i thought about how great artists and musicians are not necessarily the ones with great talents but the ones who persist with their vision. made me think of all the musicians i have known and loved from delaware and out here too, and how much i miss being part of music. and how life has swept even the most talented away from their art.

made me want to fly cassie back here so we can start a cover band of all our old songs, rich can play guitar and kim the keyboard and we can be beautiful and inspiring like spiritualized just was.

well, maybe the jameson and coke is talking a little bit here. don't worry out there, justine brought me home safely in her prius.

and today was sunny, and therefore pretty much destined to be better than yesterday. a bright warm birthday for dear little jonah at douglas playground. who needs the suburbs? in a bouncer on a lawn surrounded byt the tree-covered canyon the boys jump jump jump for hours. then they moved on to an elaborate game that involved collecting hard objects in the woods and pushing them down the slide to make a huge splash in the mud puddle at the bottom. all barefoot. a homeade pinata and well-mannered kids waiting their turns to attack it. a noe valley bakery cake with jelly beans to decorate. who could ask for more? maya got to swing for a long long time, and peek a boo in a discarded plastic playhouse, and dig in the sand,and was very huggy. i tried my best to avoid kindergartenland conversation and did pretty well, even if i had to sit on a picnic bench by myself in the sun for a little while to do so, just watching my son with his little boy tribe and my daughter playing with her daddy rich.

lord it is midnight i'm in trouble tomorrow.

love,
j