now living across town, on the west side, out of Portland, Oregon, and into suburbia. boxes and bags all over the place, but that’s alright. the new neighbors brought us cookies and said, and i’m quoting here, “We wanted to welcome you.” there are kids running wild all over, and you can hear the frogs at night and see the stars.

we could not often see the stars at our old place, due to the neighbor’s big-ass vapor lights, light pollution, and bad air quality. it is a trip to be able to see the stars. also there are woods all around, greenspaces, nature preserves. wow wow wow. people riding bikes, walking their hounds, running… wow.

we like it here.

— wm

“Children by the million sing for Alex Chilton when he comes ’round/They sing ‘I’m in love. What’s that song?/I’m in love with that song.'” — the Replacements

http://youtu.be/6RYQ8Y-ObMw

yeah, yeah, yeah, there goes my youth. again.

Steve, on the biggest assholes he ever did sound for: “The Replacements. No, the Del Fuegos! No, they were both assholes, it’s a tie.”

The nicest guys? “The bigger the star, the more gracious the are. Billy Bragg — super-nice guy. Nicest bloke you could ever meet. I asked him, ‘What do you want in the monitors?’ he says, ‘Just the vocals, mate!'” And all the Chicago blues guys — Willie Dixon, Koko Taylor… all good. You know, Al Collins was just always nice, Clarence Gatemouth Brown, Taj Mahal, John Lee Hooker…”

You know what I want? I want to say a big f.u. to politics and I want to write again. Really write — here, and fiction, too. I’d like for someone to publish my damn book, cuz it’s good. It’s the story of a girl, and there’s a lot of suicide, not by the girl, and art, some by the girl, and some by other people, and funny situations.

“Well, that was just a situation.” — my Dear Granny, when she didn’t want to give up details

It’s not chick lit, but you’d like it anyway, ha. I want to finish my Dear Granny’s cookbook, too. I want to concentrate on my kids, and my students, my library work and the flowers and vegetables in my garden. I want to plant some asparagus and a kiwi vine at the new place.

And I want my husband getting back to music. He hasn’t played sax in I don’t even know how long. We’ll have space for a studio for him, at the new house. The piano can go in there. And we’ll have a library/studio for me. Also an office for both of us to share. And the new kitchen? Righteous. So we can cook up all the vegetables we grow in the garden.

“plant a little garden/eat a lot of peaches/try and find jesus/on your own.” — John Prine

happy first day of spring, y’all. here’s to some goodness for all of us, and some art, in the new season.

— wm

What better way to celebrate spring and International Women’s Day than to throw a nice little peace rally over at the Portland Public Schools World Headquarters? So my friends and I are doing that, next Monday, March 8th at 6 p.m. in beautiful North Portland, Ore., at the BESC, 501 N. Dixon (2 blocks from the east end of Broadway bridge).

My friends, and the rally’s supporters, include (but are not limited to) a bunch of exceptionally cool and smart moms and our friends (yeah, as a matter of fact, they blog, too), Jobs with Justice, Whitefeather Peace House, Students United for Nonviolence and the Oregon Peace Institute.

Also the American Friends Service Committee’s Peace Building Program is endorsing our rally.

And the vets are speaking out, too.

(Add to the list of supporters: Recruiter Watch PDX; War Resisters League, Portland Chapter; and The Military & Draft Counseling Project. And my husband, Mr. More Hockey/Less War, himself.)

Everyone? Thank you for the support, it means a whole lot to me. Dear readers, I think it’s important to have friends and allies who love peace as much as I do, y’know? You want a little speech? OK, ready? I think that peace is something that people shouldn’t just want “in theory,” I think it’s something that people should practice and fight for every day, even if it’s just a little bit. And yes, I see no small amount of irony in “fighting for peace,” i mean, how ridiculous is that? I will, though. I will fight for peace.

I will also light my candles every day for our soldiers, both abroad and at home, and pray that they come home safely. I want us all safe.

So for me, “fighting for peace” sometimes means nothing more than raising my hand and saying, Our country is at war, children should not be on military bases.

I really don’t think it’s smart for anyone to try to get between mamas and their babies. A person could get in trouble doing that. Just sayin’.

So… so, so, so. It’s not enough I’m fighting my own demons, now i’m fighting other people’s demons, too. Wacky Mommy, Super-Hero at large. Uh, yeah. What are you scared of? Don’t be scared, hon. Work it on out.

Seriously? Yes. Seriously. I am upset about Starbase, about the need to throw a little peace rally/protest, it kind of pisses me off. I think it’s nice that it will be on International Women’s Day, but that isn’t, like, a comfort to me. I think it’s bullshit that women have to keep saying, No you can’t have our sons (and daughters, nowadays, too), no you can’t have access to the children. That is the bullshit that’s been going on since time immemorial, no?

Also, I’m speaking out in honor of my late friend, Terry Olson, who was just the coolest dude; my late father, who was a big ol’ 6 foot 4 pacifist (my mom jokes that he didn’t have to fight, “He just stood up and that ended it”); and my late friend David Johnson, who signed up to be a cook in the Army and instead died being a gunner in Iraq.

God rest all three of their amazing souls.

Anyway, if you are in or near Portland, Ore., USA and would like to join us, please do. Send me an e-mail or leave a note in comments if you want more details.

Peace, always, peace, love, peace,

— WM

(For more on the military’s recruitment of our students, see this article by David Goodman in Mother Jones.)

The Beechers are so nice.

(because you knew i had to say it.)

steve took me out for a bite to eat. and vodka, cuz we’re moving and it was the middle of the afternoon and I was having an “episode.”

steve, looking around the bar (because where else would you go, in North Portland, in the middle of the afternoon on Valentine’s Day?): “I won’t miss the ironic North Portland hipsters.”

me: “yes you will.”

then i eyed four sets of lesbians making out at the bar. four sets. that’s sixteen breasts, for those of you who are counting. i gave a little sigh.

“I’ll miss that.”

i was thinking, i’ve lived in North/Northeast Portland my entire life, right? Then steve asks, Didn’t you live in New York? (my son, suddenly impressed): “You lived in New York?” me: “yeah, for awhile.)

and i lived in Southeast (off Hawthorne, and in Ladd’s Addition, in an old church; also in a heinous apartment complex in Southwest for awhile; and in chi-chi Multnomah Village — Southwest PDX — and in chi-chi Westmoreland — Southeast PDX).

I’ve lived other places.

i’ll be fine.

house on market asap; will keep y’all posted. It stinks like cleaning products in here, gives me headache and sneezes. am glad i’m not frantic mad housekeeper; it can’t be good for your brain cells.

xo

your little hunny,

wm

because i don’t wanna, that’s why. start with January 2009 and read away, if you feel so inclined. I am now fighting 2 (two!) infections with 2 (two!) kinds of antibiotics because the little dose they slipped into my IV was not enough and the first round i took last weekend was not enough either. Drama queen over here, as always.

Ouchy Owie Wacky Mommy.

i will tell you that i’m excited that 2010 will be Year of the Tiger because I like tigers. Meow. Here, kitty, kitty. And that this year, finally, oh for the love of God will they ever just commit and do it, that we move to the west side. (The UrbanMamas — or as I prefer to call them, The Pioneers Who Saved the Ghetto — in unison, Oh thank God I hate that bitch.) (Honestly. Cannot believe that someone said “circle jerk” and they never pulled the comment. You kiss your babies with that mouth? hahahahaha.)

We’ll be closer to Steve’s work, we’ll get out of the asthma-fest that is North Portland and hell yeah, we won’t have to deal with the school b.s. anymore. Hell. Yes.

This will be the first time in 10 years that we have moved. That’s a lot of Legos, i’m just saying. Also, due to the fact that all four of us have too many hobbies (writing, music, gardening, art, for starters), we have a lot of junk.

So wish us luck on the whole packing thing. First up? The classroom guinea pig. We’re sending her a-packin’ next week, back to school.

thank you and good night. hope you have a grand, glorious, peaceful and healthy new year.

— wm

“When you come to the end of all the light you know, and it’s time to step into the darkness of the unknown, FAITH is knowing that one of two things will happen: Either you will be given something solid to stand on or you will be taught to fly.”

love you, L, you are an amazing woman.

— wm

“Virtue is performance,” I said to Danielle Westerman on Wednesday when we had lunch in her sunroom. “A form of acting. Someone said something like that, but I can’t remember who.”
“Yeats, I think,” she said dreamily, stretching in her chair.
“Yes, Yeats.”

— “Unless,” Carol Shields

the wedding was today and it was just perfect. lovely, flawless, no snow, no ice (except in the drinks), lots of cupcakes, yummy food, great company, love and hugs and kisses.

steve married them, how funny is that? he’s Universe Life Church certified, who knew? (he did.) (i am, too. i sent away the form in the back of Rolling Stone magazine when i was 16. but i was the matron of honor and couldn’t very well officiate, too, y’know? hahaha.)

i’m feeling kinda weepy and wistful and excited, all at once. really special day.

best wishes to both of you, today and always.

— nancy