Category: Orphans

Yesterday I finally managed to “sync” the 376 songs from my laptop onto my iPhone. These songs were courtesy of the numerous CDs owned by my friend Bruce and which I recorded  onto my laptop when I visited him a few weeks ago near Dallas. I wouldn’t care to guess what percentage of the collection I managed to copy mainly because Bruce and his companion Cindy have a vast number of discs ranging from the complete works of Led Zeppelin to more than one “Hits Of The 70s” compilations. I know I barely scratch the surface of my friends’ musical collections.

Although it might sound to the contrary, I am not a total technological idiot. But I did have trouble transferring the music from my PC laptop to my iPhone. Researching a way to do this task, I even read something which purported that it couldn’t be done. Well, it could, and it only took a few seconds while talking to an Apple tech support lady to do so.

I was about 20 miles out of town this morning, headed toward the Houston VA Hospital, where it seems I spend at least one day every two weeks, when I realized I had left my ear buds at home. I had looked at my iPhone music this morning, with an intention of listening to some of the songs on the nearly 120-mile round trip. It didn’t seem strange at all that the album up next was that space-glam-rock classic, David Bowie’s “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spider From Mars.” It wasn’t all that weird, that is, until I looked at Google News a couple of minutes later and saw the stories reporting that the musician-actor was dead.

Bowie died at age 69 after an 18-month struggle with cancer.

When “Ziggy” was first released more than 40 years ago, I was a long-haired country boy from East Texas. I had heard his “Space Oddity” (“Ground Control to Major Tom) from 1969 and it struck a cord since I had grown up with the U.S. space program and the triumph around that time of the first moon landing. A literal chord was struck during the next century by Space Station Astronaut Chris Hatfield.

Back in my little world, in the early 1970s, however, I didn’t know what to make of Bowie. Stories of him in all of his androgyny — all of this taking place during the days of the “glam rock” thing — was really not my cup of, well, Boone’s Farm.

As I grew older and experienced more of the world and musical tastes I became fond of Bowie’s music. I liked a number of his popular songs: “Young Americans,” “Rebel, Rebel,” “Changes,” among them. The album “Let’s Dance” in 1983 caught my attention in particular because Texas blues rocker Stevie Ray Vaughn’s guitar work on the album was mind-blowing. I saw Vaughn the first of two times in our dark-little college bar in Nacogdoches, Crossroads. From what I gathered, Vaughn had gone to Europe for work on Bowie’s LP, and it was in fact Stevie Ray’s big break. Apparently, Vaughn had made some prior commitments and there was Stevie Ray in this little club, the Crossroads, honoring his promise to play.

For all of its pitfalls, growing older has made me more appreciative of music and the genius behind it. It’s taken me many years to fully enjoy the whole of Bowie’s work, not merely a songster or writer, but whose life was one of performing art. Few like David Bowie come along. It’s cliche, but who cares — he will be missed.

 

I don’t think I can add to the statement below. I hope even those who support Trump realize that such a “policy” is xenophobic with a capital “X” or perhaps it is bigotry. Why quibble on words? It is wrong. It is wrong for a leading candidate for a party nomination for president of the United States to even float such a notion.

Read it. Think about it.

 

 

A proposal that would prohibit those of an entire religious group from entering the United States of America — a religion that is the world’s second largest. What if nations, our allies, like the United Kingdom  were to prohibit Episcopals ? What’s next Donald, a war with the Vatican?

If it comes to this, ISIS or Al Quida or whomever these people call themselves, have won.

What insanty!

 

Thanksgiving Day is tomorrow. I plan on getting together with some of the family for lunch — where I come from we call lunch “dinner” and the evening meal “supper.” Our meal will happen in my old hometown and in the house where I was raised.

Although Thanksgiving is rooted in religion, as in “giving thanks to God,” it has become a secular or even capitalist occasion.

I am thankful for a number of things, not really in a religious sense, but thankful nonetheless. One particular hope I have is that people can pray — or not if they wish — for all people living in peace. It’s always amazed me how some people who claim they are religious are in reality bloodthirsty, two-faced, liars. There are also others who are likewise pious yet they mock or become inflamed when it comes to people of certain religions. Case in point: Muslims today are the new pariahs. At the same time, certain people who claim Allah as their God pretend their Islamic religiosity is so deep that they believe it gives them the right to kill by the thousands men, women and children of their own faith. Oh they especially feel they have some special dispensation from Allah to kill all of those who are not Muslim.

I have several things to be thankful for, in whatever way I choose. My selection isn’t at all heady especially considering what I have just written on capitalism, religion and war. There are some things I will not share here. But, for instance, I still have my sense of humor.

Increasingly, I find that times when I “laugh my ass off,” a.k.a. in our Facebook world as LMAO. Maybe I don’t read the comics enough although what was the “funny papers” aren’t as funny as they used to be. But I am certainly thankful for Stephan Pastis, who produces the “Pearls Before Swine,” comic. His strip isn’t always funny as sometimes he makes some profound thoughts about life in this world. Maybe it isn’t funny but it is important.

Despite its shortcomings and its delivery of stupidity throughout the world I am thankful for the Internet. Facebook is surprisingly high in my book because one can communicate with people, or vice versa, that you might not otherwise contact. Google and other search engines, can lead me to various sites where I can find people, places and things. Google=Good noun.

I am also happy that I took a week of leave and made a trip for several days to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Perhaps it is a “redneck Riveria,” but I didn’t really go to Biloxi, Gulfport and Ocean Springs (and Long Beach and Bay St. Louis) to gamble or frolic in the Gulf.

My journey there was a trip back in time. Those were my days as a young Navy man when I was 19-turned-21 was spent there. It was a laid back time 1974-77. I went to sea in ’77 and was able to get out of the Navy back in Gulfport in 1978. This visit I went to the base and saw my barracks was still standing since the 70s. Some of the places I knew were gone or new places were standing. Some signs of Hurricane Katrina – it was a killer storm for the Mississippi Coast too – were there. And even though about a dozen casinos were open, the area wasn’t too much of a surprise.

Back when I was stationed at the Naval Construction Training Center, on the Gulfport Seabee base, was the time of transition from teenage kid to young man. It was, despite whatever shortcomings I felt about life back then, a fantastic part of my life. It was the 70s. I saw ZZ Top and the Rolling Stones, man! My uniform didn’t prohibit my having fun. Well, maybe sometime it did. My year at sea is another chapter.

I turned 60 last month. I don’t see 30 or even 40 years ago as a lifetime, although for some it really is a lifetime. Whether you are religious or not, whether you pray or not, you can be thankful for something, just be happy. I’m not going to say “don’t worry.” LMAO

 

 

 

“Eeeyeah,” ‘scuse me. This is just where I am.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yYokBLUVFo

“The only thing I knew how to do was to keep on keepin’ on like a bird that flew … ” Bob Dylan

You don’t have to sing like a bird, a crow will do.

Yesterday I hit the big 6-0. I suppose now that I am officially an old man means I should be grumpy. Well, I’ve got new for you. I’ve been grumpy for a long time now.

One matter which gripes me today that has pissed me off for a number of years now is the parking situation at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston.

It has been quite awhile since veterans who use the Houston VA hospital were told of progress in, if not alleviating the parking problems, making a dent in the chaos which now seems worse than ever. In 2013, the head of the Houston VA hospital crowed about how well the parking situation has been handled by instituting a valet service:

“First and foremost, we encourage all Veterans coming here for an appointment to take advantage of our free Valet Parking service,” said Adam C. Walmus, the Houston VA hospital director.  “The Valet allows Veterans to exit their vehicles in front of the Medical Center and come right in.  You really can’t beat that.”

Can’t beat it, huh? Why yes you can, Doctor. You can beat it all to hell and we will likely keep seeing the same old, same old problem.

When one walks up to the main entrance of the hospital a long line of non-moving automobiles is the first thing that is seen. That would be your valet parking. That sight, plus another vision greeting patients is the number of seemingly disorganized individuals who wander around like lost geese and who are looking for the car they are to take to the valet parking lot. Those would be your “valets.”

The parking situation confronted upon driving into the hospital complex is not “us vs. them” but instead, “patients vs. employees.” It appears that half of the parking spaces is for the employees with another area for various transportation and doctors close to the hospital. Then there is the valet parking in which the lost individuals seen at the entrance turn into dangerous-looking people who seem as if they would start banging on your car if you even thought about entering their lot.

Then, there is the patient lot. Actually, it is more than one lot, or so it appears, but nothing is in certainty there because there is usually only one gate with cross arms open. Most of the time, well, some of the time, a patient can take a ticket from the dispenser, the gate opens and you can park. Some of the time. And then after an appointment, the clinic where you see a medical person will validate that ticket. Some of the time. More often than not there is a VA police officer who will let you in so that you may park. Some of the time.

I give the preface “Some of the time” because it is honest. Prior to an appointment a couple of weeks ago, I spent 45 minutes driving around in circles within the parking lot. Luckily, the clinic I went to had understanding staff. It was at my appointment where a couple of nurses said patients were not the only ones doomed to a parking lot hell. These employees said they both will have to drive around for minutes at a time in order to find a space.

If the patients can’t find a place to park and the nurses can’t find a place, then who can park?

I became so upset driving endlessly around that day I finally called the VA police, who are over parking. I had once sent a complaint about the parking and a sergeant called and told me that things were improving. That was a couple of years ago. This time another lady, I don’t remember her name or title, actually came out to help me find a parking spot. I don’t know if her action came from actual concern or if it had anything to do with my statement that I was about to call the Houston TV stations and have them out here to do a story.

The unnamed lady finally had the police let me through a barricade and I was able to park in a spot that was set aside for emergency room visitors. There was a limit of 30 minutes of parking in that spot but I was told not to worry. That didn’t stop me from worrying, of course. But when I reemerged a couple of hours later, my truck was still parked there, unmolested.

I don’t know why parking has grown so out of control at the Houston VA. Maybe many more veterans are being seen, something I have heard but have not yet verified, or the person or persons responsible for the “improvements” in the department of parking affairs were incompetent. Maybe there is are a little bit of both factors at play combined with those forces of which I do not know. That is certainly possible because the VA has become a seemingly less transparent agency than in the past.

A new multi-space garage is supposedly under construction. It was seen some time ago as if it was the answer to all problems. Although, it might just be that the facility could become obsolete as soon as it is finished.

I don’t know if it ever occurred to those in charge of the hospital or its parking that having to drive around in circles for nearly an hour is definitely not helpful for one’s mental health. I am no doctor, but I would guess such stress can’t be healthy for a patient’s physical well-being either. Just as I am chewing on a piece of jerky right now, perhaps those folks in charge of parking or the hospital or both need to chew on this problem for awhile. Or might I say, may they might need to do even more chewing.