And I Don't Mean Alexander Graham Bell's Invention

Here's another job kids in the future will only know through song:

And I Said To Myself "What's Going On?"

From the golden age of synthesized drums and horns.


"I'm going west."

Of course. West was the way everyone went.

"You could come with."

I could have. But everyone was going that way. Why not North?

"Too cold. West."

Too soon. Someday it will be West. But for now it's North.

"That's gonna change everything."

And it did.

And One Day It Was Gone

Yesterday's Oatmeal Day After Day

The store was on the corner.

Near a shady tree.

On a block where you could sometimes park. If you were lucky.

Across from the coffee shop that was always crowded and served huge pots of tea.

And the Thai Place.

And the other Thai Place.

It was one of those places people who liked spirituality and paganism and Druids would speak about in hushed tones.

She went in all the time. Bought books. Drank green tea. And breathed in the incense.

I waited for her. Outside.

Until that one day that I ventured inside. Smelled the Patchouli. Looked through the many different types of massage therapists whose cards were up on the cork board.

And in the back of my mind, I heard this song.

And thought of monsters. Dancing.

And while I could tell you I found her in the metaphysical section, anyone who ever went to that store knows the whole store was the metaphysical section.



I went back there today.

The bookstore's gone.

The Thai Place is now a trendy boutique. The other Thai Place is now a shoestore. The coffee shop closed, reopened as a different coffee shop, and now is a different coffee shop with hookahs at the tables on the sidewalk.

The shady tree fell down and the street is now permit-only, so you can't even park there.

The monsters no longer dance there. They've moved somewhere else.

I'm pretty sure they'd want me to find them.

And maybe she'll even be there. In the metaphysical section, naturally.

Government Shut Down

And so the federal government is shut down.

Proving again that a small group of dedicated idiots can wreak havoc on the world.

Meanwhile, from the bad old days:

Pour Your Misery Down

And then there's this.

Live McCartney

I hope I can rock this hard when I'm in my 70s.

Seriously, this is so great it makes me take back half the mean things I've ever said about Sir Paul.

Paul McCartney Live Stream from Jimmy Kimmel Live on Myspace.

Snowfall

It snowed today in Anchorage.

I'm told that's the earliest snowfall there since 1947.

And while it probably won't stick -- not yet anyway -- but it reminds me of how much I miss Alaska.

And how the world just keeps turning no matter what happens.

Seasons change.

But in change there is hope.

And promise.

Of something. Even if we can't be sure of what.