FRIENDS:Ships(Passing in the Night)

When I was a teenager my friend was writing an article for the paper about homelessness. She was all of 5 feet. For four or five nights I accompanied her Downtown as a protective escort while she Lois Lane'd it into shelters and dark alleys in the middle of where not to be at the wrong time to interview a variety of folks. Im honestly unsure of my thoughts on the subject before that night. Considering what a brat I now know I was most likely it was a pretty stupid-yet standard-uninformed flappinlipcrap. Its an experience I've treasured now for decades. There were the ladies working at the shelter with an heir of prisonguard like power and a collegiate confidence yet still humble. Turns out they were once in the situation as the population they now looked after and had stories of survival and the compassion of strangers that were lifechanging like lifetime movies of the week. They gave strong testimony to the power of will and human conviction along with being the posterboys for the not enough wonderful small private and govt resources to help one overcome such horrible hardships. There were the families of proud embarassed fathers and viciously protective mothers. There was the mentally incompetent and physically disabled who refused to be helped. There was a definate protective shield around them from the community as a whole. Still we were always informed that they usually always give in when the weather attacks, Unfortunately its still too late for dozens and dozens every year

NO MAN IS A FANTASY ISLAND

I simply just don't listen to the radio. Or watch MTV-or any TV for that matter. It sounds pretentious and I hate that it does. I don't mean anything like that. Its not that I am better than you for it-just I am better FOR me because of it. Because of some simple fundamental choices. I didn't say they were easy decisions but indeed they were conscious ones. I have a "friend" I've known for decades and she recently was telling someone a story about me that I don't remember as clearly(barely@all). She was impressed back in the 90's when she had come over to my house one time and I had masking tape criss crossing the television screen and written in lipstick on the screen itself was "Television is the Devil". So this isn't the impressive part but, she says, it was nearly six months later that it was still like that. I do remember at one point in my early 20's a Demon appearing in an old TV with a burnt out tube. Many of my friends saw it I made sure though it makes no difference because they are all dead or no longer my friend or cant remember shit.

I can't help but think about, or more or less realize really, that the life I was so comfortably enjoying in Waikiki is literally impossible  now, just a few years afterward. The  restaurant I ran is closed down, as is the last one I worked at. The apartment I was in my last years there is now a parking lot for that fancy private school behind it. And literally...tragically..but seriously-my whole ohana is dead. I wonder if these things are because of me are if I am who and where I am because of them. Wonder is all that I will ever be able to do so I put it all past, behind, deep down inside me and just hope I don't suppress too many of the billions and billions of thoughts.

Adele's long awaited third album finally debuted a week &1/2 ago. Its record breaking but more importantly its fucking wonderful. She is so talented clearly, yet something tells me she is a mighty mighty witch w/possible Bad Illuminati connections.  I fell under the spell if she is a couple of years ago after discovering on Youtube a beautiful moving rendition of what it seems was quite the hit already. Then just days later I popped in that tragic old beat up mystery disc I found one lovely afternoon walking Oprah, my beautiful Black Lab, in the park. The sun's reflection at that right time in the morning caught my eye from my window 50 yards away. And something reminded me on the walk so we went to retrieve it if it was still there. It was scratched to shit just lying by the side of the road. The only markings were scuff marks and some random titles I didn't know. Not sure if I came across it in the rapidly increasing discard pile of non mp3 ancient albatrosses that were in my preteen days the raddest and most important future of media. Or possibly I remembered or just saw it and thought "Oh yeah-need to check out this mystery", or if after my instant obsession and familiarizing of her catalog I then put the titles together.  Anyway a couple of weeks before randomly catching one of the all time best emotional performances on YouTube I was delivered by pure magic,  as if by fairies, a digital gift,  a mystical disc and I naturally rhythmically respected the forces rightly until the time was for it to be that I might could appreciate it with more of its most utmost attention .  This is after 21 was already establishing itself as one of the top albums ever critically and commercially.  I was, to be real,  totally late to that party.  The top vid is that concert footage, then the insanely popular and AMAZING 1st single fom 25, followed by a cpl of bootlegged faves, and just some yet many-plenty really-of her best press since(updated).

*I originally posted more but it quickly became an anthology. I didnt nclude much of some fun and glorious vids out there including the Radio City Hall Full Concert. Stay tuned....