Had the weather at least been halfway decent Tuesday night I would have likely ventured out with my camera again, but alas, it was windy, cold, and miserable. I could have read for a while but since Kelly's passing, I seem to have lost my interest in reading. Television rarely holds any interest for me anymore either. Occasionally a documentary or something like that. And I definitely do not like watching news of any kind anymore. Not even the local news. But, one thing has remained stable through the years and that is my love of music. If I lost my interest in music, that would be the last straw for me. Life's over, time to go.
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I sometimes sadly lose myself in my own blog archives and last night was an example of that. Occasionally in my blog, I will go back in my archives maybe looking up a specific date or memory, or just having a look at what Kelly and I were doing a year ago on this day. And, when I do this, a sadness often comes over me. When I read my own words describing the medical difficulties Kelly was going through these past number of years, it brings it all back in not only words but photos too. The courageous fight she put up against the onset of the liver disease right from the beginning to the end. The terrible itching, the nausea, the weakness, the weight loss, the abdominal pains. Heartbreaking. And then I look back ten, and fifteen years ago and see a healthy gal enjoying life. Our travels to the southwest in the winter. Our adventures, our early beginnings with all our hopes and dreams. So many memories, so many good times. I sometimes think it best not to look back to those days in my blog. It makes me sad. And then one day not long ago, my best buddy Richard was gone too. Sometimes the sadness is too much, but I know tomorrow is a new day and it's best that I don't spend too much time reading my posts from the past. Too many wonderful old memories and too many sad heart-wrenching recollections for my mind to understand and cope with anymore. I have to keep looking and moving forward regardless of the known and unknowns of the future. I do know that it will all come to an end one day, and now in my later years, I look forward to that. An ending of the old and a beginning of the new. I, like Kelly and Richard, will return home again. And, I look forward to that day.........
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Weather-wise wise it was a miserable morning with skiffs of snow on the ground and for a while, snow in the air being blown around by an icy cold wind. Pheebs was on her doggy bed having a big snooze, so I quietly slipped out the door, fired up Subie, and headed for Goderich. I had income tax papers to drop off. What a hassle for me, any kind of paperwork there is. Picked up a double buddy burger at A&W, then popped into Walmart with a few grocery items to flop into my cart. 'Bang-Zoom' another hundred-dollar bill done gone, Home again, it was way too cold to stay in, so I got myself busy with the vacuum cleaner.
My day brightened when Woodsy rolled in later this afternoon. She's a positive, forward-thinking Gal with a sense of humor too. And, I miss her laughter, encouragement, and giggles when she's not here. We seem to work well as a team. No idea how long she will stay, but when she gets tired of me, she'll head back home again for a few days.
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Al's Music Box:)) The Twist by Chubby Checker is an American pop song written and originally released in 1958 by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters as a B-side to "Teardrops on Your Letter". It was inspired by the twist dance craze. Ballard's version was a moderate hit, peaking at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960. By 1962, the record sold in excess of one million copies, becoming Ballard's fourth million seller. Chubby Checker's 1960 cover versionof the song reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 19, 1960, where it stayed for one week, setting a record at the time as the only song to reach number 1 in two different hit parade runs when it resurfaced and topped the popular hit parade again for two weeks starting on January 13, 1962. This would not happen for another song for nearly 59 years until December 2020, when Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" reached the summit after previously topping in another separate chart run in December 2019. The song by Chubby Checker became popular on a Baltimore television dance show hosted by local DJ Buddy Deane; Deane recommended the song to Dick Clark, host of the national American Bandstand. When the song proved popular with his audience, Clark attempted to book Ballard to perform on the show. Ballard was unavailable, and Clark searched for a local artist to record the song. He settled on Checker, whose voice was very similar to Ballard's. Checker's version featured Buddy Savitt on saxophone and Ellis Tollin on drums, with backing vocals by the Dreamlovers. Exposure for the song on American Bandstand and on The Dick Clark Saturday Night Show helped propel the song to the top of the American charts. In July 1960, Checker performed "The Twist" for the first time in front of a live audience at the Rainbow Club in Wildwood, New Jersey, and just weeks later, on Aug. 6, 1960, the song became a national sensation after Checker performed it on Dick Clark's American Bandstand. In late 1961 and early 1962, the twist craze belatedly caught on in high society. Sightings of celebrities doing the dance made the song a hit with adults, particularly after a report in the Cholly Knickerbocker gossip column. Soon there were long lines at the Peppermint Lounge nightclub in New York, the most popular celebrity twisting spot. This new interest made "The Twist" the first recording to hit number one on the United States charts during two separate chart runs, and marked a major turning point for adult acceptance of rock and roll music. In 2014, Billboard magazine declared the song the "biggest hit" of the 1960s.
GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man walked into a lawyer's office and inquired about the lawyer's rates. "$300 for three questions." replied the lawyer. "Isn't that awfully steep?" asked the man. "Yes,"the lawyer replied, "What was your third question?"
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- A friend of mine got kidnapped by a group of mimes...They did unspeakable things to him!
- "I believe in dragons, good men, and other fantasy creatures."
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Al's Doggy World
Meanings::
Kelly's Corner
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LOOKING AT LAPTOP COMPUTERS IN A 'BEST BUY' STORE EITHER IN SIERRA VISTA OR YUMA ARIZONA |
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AT OUR RANCH SITTING JOB NEAR McNEAL ARIZONA |
In many ways, as I approach the final years if my life, I feel exactly as you do. I do not watch TV, or follow the news. I too have lost loved ones over the past few years, family members, including my animal companions. And I feel certain that there is life after death, and possibility of being able to see our loved ones again. I wonder if this is what everyone thinks........ I remember what I felt like when I first got out of high school, with my whole life ahead of me..... and now, my previous 78 years have vanished..... gone so quickly.....
ReplyDeleteAl, I hope you don't stop looking back at those wonderful pictures and memories of the people and places you loved. You can still move forward but with new appreciation for what you've experienced. And I got a tear in my eye reading your nostalgic statements today. I am glad Woodsy puts a spring in your step and you can laugh again.
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartedly with this sentiment. Never stop remembering and reliving. Just change the "channel" briefly when it becomes a tad emotional. Those memories remind one of how full and rewarding life has been. The sadness fades, the smiles never do. And darn it if I didn't say to my wife a while ago, "Al seems to be writing with a spring in his step". Thanks Woodsy.
DeleteI loved your thoughtful post tonight. So many of us can relate to it... past good memories along with sad ones and a hope of sunshine in the future. That's what you really need right now.... the warm sun! Your winter and cold spring is enough already! It'll get better......
ReplyDeleteI totally get what you're saying about the loss. The reading as well. Used to read a lot. Now, it seems like drivel. Waste of time when life is shorter. I want truth and authenticity, love & caring & as much serenity as I can gather. Looking inwards to find the peace. I long for the day we're together again, knowing he's there waiting. Seems long to me, but short for him. Time. Home. Love. Still more to learn before we go, Al. You're doing real good.
ReplyDeleteGoing into the blog posts from over the years is a blessing not everyone has. I too get sad and then grateful when reading about all our adventures over the last ten years. Nothing the two of us can return to, but how wonderful that we were able to see and do all that we did when we could!
ReplyDeleteDo not fear or apologize for looking over your post and photos from the past. If you weren't supposed to look at them again, what was the point in taking them in the first place?
ReplyDeleteIf things of the future are vastly important to things of the past, as you seem to imply, then why not make your blog easier to comment on, for the sake of your friend of the present, who are still alive. Your blog has always been difficult to comment on!