This is marginally related to tomorrow’s Music Friday post. How you ask? Go ahead. Ask nice. What’s the magic word? Anyway…I’m not telling. You’ll have to come back tomorrow to find out. Meanwhile – enjoy some of Paul McCartney’s home movies:
You’re Welcome!
Prologue: A Puppy’s Tale – a Fortunate Encounter
Life was good for the three dog family – for the people and the dogs. As the black puppy matured, she assumed a dominant role over the other two dogs, despite their being male, older and at least as large as she. But their realationship was harmonious for the most part aside from occasional agressive play.
Some years passed as the wheel of life turned. The boys grew into young men, which is a circumstance that is both natural and completely expected . Yet other circumstances came to pass that while natural, were completely unexpected and most unwelcome: the Teacher developed a serious disease. For several fearful months a fight for her very life ensued, but thankfully it was a fight from which she emerged alive and regaining her health. It was at this time that the first dog, the oldest male who was ever at the Teacher’s side during her illness then took ill himself. The dominant black female lessened her assertive behavior toward the aging white muzzled male while his afflictions advanced. Too soon though, it was time and with their hearts breaking they performed their final duty of euthanizing their friend. The pack was reduced to two dogs now.
The assertive black female – long since a puppy – and her remaining “sibling” a male German Shepherd mix a few years her senior bickered like siblings do. She wanted to dominate despite the male’s advantage in size, and since the male had always had a bit of a chip on his shoulder, the relationship sometimes got interesting. But soon enough larger events overshadowed all others. The teacher’s disease returned suddenly. Before much defense could be mounted, and to the family’s deep shock and despair she could not recover and passed away. She who had acted the part of savior could not herself be saved by any act of man or science. And so there were a husband and two sons along with many other family and friends who were left with only their questions for God or their anger. And…their sorrow.
And their two dogs. Did the dogs grieve? Did the black dog pose to God a question of “Why?” This seems unlikely but then there are facets to this existence of which we have no knowledge or understanding. As unlikely as it seems that the dogs may have grieved or questioned their creator, it seems as just unlikely that the disappearance of a person with whom they shared a bond would pass unnoticed even at whatever rudimentary level they live their emotional lives. And so, with their world now irrevocably changed, the men, the families, the friends…and the dogs…carried on nonetheless.
To Be Continued….
We can close the books on another year – I hope 2014 treated you all well enough. For me it was not the best of times, nor was it the worst of times and so I can’t complain too loudly. It’s not that I don’t like to whine, you’ve all heard it often enough. I’ll try to save it for when it really counts. So here’s to a hopeful look forward to 2015 – may it be a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous year for us all!
Thanks for waiting two weeks for the latest post in my quest to determine my “Peak Music Year”. Get more background here and here if you wish. My task is to examine the BillBoard Hot 100 music charts for the years 1965 through 1975 to see if I can pinpoint the year that most influenced my taste in music. This installment brings us to the year 1970. And awaaaay we go!
You can see the 1970 BillBoard Hot 100 Chart for yourself here. My first impression is that Pop Music, or what we used to call “bubblegum pop” seems to be emerging as a dominant genre, with more than half the #1’s fitting that description. Indeed the group with the most #1’s in 1970 are the poster children for pop music, with one of those children eventually earning the title “The King of Pop”. They are the “winners” of 1970 with four #1’s, The Jackson 5 which of course featured Michael Jackson. The runners up with only two #1’s in 1970 are – no surprise here – The Beatles. I’ll show you the four #1 Jackson 5 songs, but before I do I have to say that right off the bat I think I can eliminate 1970 as my peak music year. Chronologically it might have been a good candidate as it was the year I entered High School and was well into my adolescence which seems like a good time for a person to bond emotionally with music. However, after perusing the chart I find no songs that really made an impression on me. Even the Beatles’ #1’s that year, including the iconic Let It Be, aren’t among my favorite tunes though there are some tunes whose titles one would recognize, including Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel.
OK, back to The Jackson 5. They had four #1’s in 1970:
First up – it’s got a good beat and you can dance to it – I Want You Back
Next up – bubblegum, anyone? ABC
Third up – The Love You Save. Huh. Forgot about that one.
And fourth, probably my favorite of the bunch, the ballad I’ll Be There
So in conclusion, 1970 is most likely not my peak music year, and possibly a year the marks a turning point in the culture away from the counterculture and rock music that dominated most of the 1960s to more commercial pop music. What do you think?
Macro photographer Alexey Klijatov knows where to look. Here is a Flickr gallery of his photos of snowflakes. Here’s a sample:
So beautiful! He explains his technique here at his blog.
I would like to take time to sincerely wish a Merry Christmas to all my friends and family, and to all my readers. May your Christmastime be filled with Peace and Love, and may your New Year be happy and prosperous.
My gift to you – from the heart:
Everyone who sees this has received a gift of Love….from me! Merry Christmas to All!
Once upon a time, there was a puppy – a medium sized female with all black fur – that was not treated well by the humans whose control she was under. One day she was tied up with an electrical extension cord around her neck, which turned out to be a bit of luck for her because she was able to chew through that extension cord and get away from those people who had mistreated her. After her escape, she wandered the neighborhood and discovered a space where she felt safe. This space happened to be a public school with some temporary buildings under which she could take shelter. After a few days passed. the school authorities became aware of the puppy’s presence. Since they believed it might be a hazard to the students, or at least a nuisance, they contacted the authorities to have her removed.
On the day that the animal control authorities arrived and were attempting to catch the puppy, one of the teachers at the school was watching. Apparently the puppy did not feel threatened by the teacher and she ran willingly to her and allowed the teacher to place her in the back of her car. The teacher informed the authorities that she would take responsibility for the dog and they agreed to let her do so. The teacher brought the puppy home with her that day.
When she arrived at her home with the puppy, the teacher’s two children were excited and happy to have another dog to go along with the two they already had. The teacher’s husband was somewhat less excited at the prospect of adding a third dog to their “pack”, so it was decided that they would take the puppy to the vet for her shots and to be spayed – and to be put up for adoption. The family took the puppy in to the vet and left her there for a few days while they went on a short vacation, expecting that by the time they returned, the puppy would have been adopted. But…the puppy was not adopted. And so when the family returned from their vacation, they picked up the puppy and took her home with them. The teacher’s husband remained skeptical of the three dog plan and still hoped someone would want to adopt the puppy. Then after only a few days, the husband found himself purchasing a pink plastic squeaky ball. The transaction was a confirmation of something he attempted to deny, but that he knew was true – he had come to love the black puppy and any thought of adopting her out was banished. The teacher and her children were happy, since they had wanted to keep the puppy all along, but they new that dad would have to be OK with it and now he was. So the puppy stayed and they indeed became a three dog family.
To be continued……
I have been struggling the last few weeks to find time for blogging. I will not give it up.
I had thought about starting a blog for many months (perhaps close to two years) before I actually buckled down and got it started nearly a year ago. During that time, I was unemployed. Two of my wife’s brothers were also unemployed and started an Amazon Storefront website to which they added a blog – The Men Out Of Work Blog – and I was invited to contribute, became and still am the primary contributor. Once I found myself contributing to someone else’s blog, I knew that I owed it to myself to start my own as I had been planning for some time.
The Birth of a Blog
Now nearly a year later, two out of three of the Men Out Of Work are no longer out of work – one of the newly employed being me. The new job takes a lot of my time – long hours – but I am grateful for the opportunity to earn and I do like the job and the people I work with. It’s a great environment. But it does leave less – way less – time for writing. I am dedicated to carving out the time to write. Perhaps there will be more free time after the holidays. Until then there will be new posts added here, though it may be sporadic. If you are a regular reader, please do not give up on the blog – I won’t.
I would be remiss is I did not note that today is the 73rd Anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, an event that brought the United States into World War II and changed the course of history. We should never forget:
Too many good songs on the 1969 BillBoard Hot 100 to cover in only two posts. So here’s the PS – which I could have entitled “Music Friday – Unrequited Love Edition”. This is dedicated – ala Casey Kasem – to the unrequited lovers of the world. You know who you are:
Have a great week! Love to all!