Reading this week:

“I (heart) you bear-y much, Miss Librarian.”

awwwwwwwwwwwww…

it is my trademark.

also, happy sixth anniversary to my blog, i love you, blog.

you know who’s funny? Bossy, that’s who.

that’s all I can come up with. I’m trying to write (fiction), the kids are asleep (but not for long) and Steve’s banging on the drums like he’s Hitting Birth or something. Completely Grocery or something. (joke! insert “Completely Grocery” joke here. Or check out Nero’s Rome, dressed in bunny suits.)

OK, sometimes I miss Steve playing his saxophone and piano (he’s mostly playing drums and clarinet now) but you know what? They’re loud, too. All music is loud. So I’ll just focus and write, eh? We need some soundproofing, cuz our daughter plays, too. Our son is next…

and i bid you, adieu…

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

— wm

what if your band released four albums in four years and they were these four: Aerosmith, Get Your Wings, Toys in the Attic and Rocks? hahaha. Yeah, we’re watching Steven Tyler, JLo and Randy J. on American Idol every week, Steve and the kids and I. (Note to self: Get Steve hooked on American Idol. Check!) And all I think when I see Steven Tyler is, His first album came out in ’73 and I remember when it was released. OK, that’s bad enough, I’m so freaking ancient. Not as ancient as him, but still.

But my copy? We didn’t have a lot of money when I was a kid, so buying a new album (or 45, more like, more in my price range), it was a big deal. When my friend gave me a copy (I was 12 by then) it was such a gesture of love. He’d been carrying this album with him everywhere (his family moved a lot, including back and forth across the country, between Oregon and Washington, and Oklahoma and Missouri). It was broken right in half — just the very edge, maybe three inches or so into the record? He was heartbroken and couldn’t afford another copy. And they didn’t have a record player by then. When your dad likes to play the dogs and the horses, food and rent and everything else come last place in the family budget.

And you can sell a record player and buy a few drinks. So he gave me his copy. When I played it, I’d just snap the edges back together and rock out. We both liked Movin’ Out and Mama Kin. “Living out your fantasy/sleeping late and smoking tea…” And Dream On, of course, but who didn’t? And One Way Street. Who am I kidding? We just loved the hell out of that record, but those were our favorites.

Oh, my God. Our childhoods, growing up in that neighborhood. Whenever my kids kvetch, I ask them, Do you know how to drive yet? (They’re 8 and 11.) Get on it, because in my old neighborhood, we all learned to drive by the time we were 12.

(Let’s say, for example, you’re at the track with your dad. Not my dad, he was long-gone, but my friend’s dad. Drunk dad = you better know how to drive his drunk ass home.)

“You’re lucky you don’t have to drive your drunk daddy home! You’re lucky you don’t have to go get a job helping the guys at the gas station, cuz your mom doesn’t have enough money to support you! I started babysitting when I was 9! We all worked!” At that point they’re all, Here, I’ll set the table, OK? Calm the cuss down, Mama.

So Aerosmith meant a lot to this little rocker. And still does.

The End.

Reading this week:

All Oregon Battle of the Books titles. Check out the lists — really good this year, as always. The state competition will be 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on Saturday March 5th at Sunset High School in Beaverton, Ore. (Check here if you’re looking for OBOB book recommendations for next year — including confirmed titles.) Happy reading! — wm

“The players make the manager. It’s never the other way.” — George “Sparky” Anderson, who died Nov. 4, 2010, at age 76

“Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well-warmed, and well-fed.” — Herman Melville, novelist and poet (1819-1891)

“Libraries are far from the rarefied cathedrals of secular humanism they pretend to be, while librarians are the shadiest creatures this side of the Russian mob. Scratch the adamantly bland demeanor of any librarian and you’ll find trails of broken hearts, bathtubs full of meth fixings, and covert careers in porn.” — David Schmader, Last Days, 17 October 2002

Quote of the day (from one of my girlfriends):

“May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.”

one guy to another, at Starbucks this morning: “To her credit, my wife is a good mom.” (big pause… I’m thinking, Wait for it, wait for it…) “She’s sometimes too good a mom, if you know what I mean.” (yeah, there it was.)

they exchange meaningful looks.

well, no, I don’t know what you mean, will you please explain?