#so when he got back to the farm and we'd finished work for the day we went over and had happy hour with him

[deepwoundsandfadedscars]

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[freddiemercurylegendabovelegends]

Today, on October 31st, 1975 – Queen Story!

'Bohemian Rhapsody' released in the UK

👉 Freddie Mercury's masterpiece!

- Bohemian Rhapsody spent nine weeks at the top of the charts in 1975 -

🔸Roy Thomas Baker, the man ultimately responsible for assembling the epic, describes Bo Rhap's creation thus:

"Freddie was sitting in his apartment and he said, 'I've got this idea for a song.' So he started playing it on the piano - it had some words missing and there were some bits of melody he hadn't worked out - just the basic framework. Then he stopped and said, 'Now dears, this is where the opera section comes in' I went, oh my God..."

"It was going to be a brief interlude of few Galileos and then we'd get back to the rock part of the song. When we started doing the opera section properly it just got longer and longer, and we added more and more blank tape. Every day we though, 'It's done now', and then Freddie would come in with another lot of lyrics and say, 'I've added a few more Galileos here, dear,' and it just got bigger and bigger."

🔸One witness to the Queen recording process was Gary Langan, who later became a founder-member of The Art Of Noise, but who was then 20 and working as an assistant engineer at Sarm West Studios in Basing Street, jut off Ladbroke Grove. He worked with Queen from the mixing of Now I'm Here, on Sheer Heart Attack, through to the recording of News Of the World.

"I can remember the time when we played the mix back from start to finish. I stood at the back of he room and my jaw was on my chest. I just hadn't heard or felt or witnessed anything like this track. It was just amazing. You knew then it was destined for such greatness. It had this whole charisma about it."

- Extract from Mojo magazine 1999 (https://brianmay.com/queen/mojoaug99/mojoaug99c.html)

➡➡ Another Article ↘

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/queen-bohemian-rhapsody/

Pic: Summer 1975 - Freddie Mercury at Ridge Farm, Surrey, UK, where the band rehearsed for 'A Night At The Opera' album

📸 Photo by Watal Asanuma/Shinko Music

[invisibleraven]

Sick days for PeterPatterLina please and thank you

The first thing Julie thought when she woke up was how much every part of her hurt. It felt like a bone deep ache that radiated through her entire being. She didn't think she had pushed herself any harder than normal at the gym the day before, but maybe she had?

Only the ache didn't go away even after a long hot shower and some pain meds. Thankfully she didn't have anywhere to be, but still, she had hoped to be a little productive on her day off, not clutching a hot water bottle on the couch.

Worse was that the guys were both out today; Reggie had taken the kids to a farm outside the city to see the animals, maybe see if he could convince Danny to pet a horse. Luke was doing some guitar work as a studio musician for an up and coming band they had met at some function or another.

So Julie had the house to herself and couldn't even take advantage. Instead she got herself some of her favourite feel better snacks and turned on the cheesiest rom com she could find.

She eventually drifted off, but woke up still hurting all over and started to worry. What if something was really wrong? She dragged herself up, and grabbed her phone.

Julie: Don't want to worry either of you, but I really don't feel well, gonna get papi to bring me in to get checked out.

Reggie: We're on our way home now anyways angel, sit tight and I'll drop the kids off to papi and bring you in myself.

Luke: I've got one last track to finish up, just let me know where you end up and I'll be there as soon as I can boss.

Reggie was home soon afterwards and froze when he saw Julie laying there on the couch. "Hey darlin', not feeling too hot?"

She shook her head, hissing a little when he scooped her up, patting him gently on his chest when he started to apologize non-stop. "It's okay cariño, I just hurt everywhere."

"You didn't do that at yoga yesterday though," Reggie commented, securing her in the passenger seat of their sedan.

"It's probably nothing, but I'd rather know then not," Julie said. "Now distract me with stories of the farm."

Reggie offered her a smile, even if it didn't reach his eyes, regaling her of how Danny now wanted a horse and Luna had almost caught a chicken. "Apparently they have a 4H club at their school, I'm gonna see if they can join, they'd love it."

"And see if they need parent volunteers while you're there?" Julie teased. Reggie flushed but she knew that meant yes. They were in between albums now anyways, it would be great for him to get involved in something involving the great outdoors before they missed daylight once they got stuck back in the studio.

They registered at the local hospital, and Luke joined them after a half hour, clutching Julie's hand in his, Reggie's in the other. None of them were fans of the hospital, and more than a little worried. Especially after all the tests they ran on Julie with no answers.

Finally they were called back, the doctor not even reacting to there being three of them. But nothing could prepare them for what he said next.

"We found a tumor in your ovary Mrs. Molina," the doctor said. "We are hopeful that it's benign, but we'd have to do a biopsy to make sure. If it is, it'll be a simple surgery to remove it. If not..."

"I know," Julie replied. "My mom... she went through it all. She didn't make it."

"I'm sorry to hear that," the doctor said. "But let's not dwell on that right now. We'll schedule your biopsy, and take each step as it comes, okay?"

Julie nodded, hands clenched, barely feeling her husband's hands on her. The words were muffled, the world sideways. She couldn't register anything, not even being guided home, two anxious faces sat beside her as she started to cry.

Most of the rest of that night was a blur to Julie. she was sure at some point her dad showed up, Victoria with food in tow, not that she could even think about eating. She tried to be normal for Danny and Luna, but she was also sure they could feel the tension in the air, and they treated her like she was made of glass.

Luke carried her to bed that night while Reggie tucked in the kids, the three of them eventually gathered in a tearful huddle in the bed as they made plans. Discussed what would happen if the worst should happen.

None of them slept very much that night.

The day of the biopsy, Julie was wide awake long before dawn, staring out the window. Luke and Reggie were curled around her, Danny and Luna down by their feet, the whole family wanting to be together the night prior.

"Mami," Julie prayed. "Please... look after them if I can't."

"Don't talk like that," Luke murmured. "It'll be alright."

"And if it's not, there's lots of options," Reggie said, yawning around the words. "You're not going anywhere, we won't let you."

"I don't think you have any control over that hun," Julie chuckled.

Reggie and Luke just clutched her tighter, as if that would keep her there. Like their love would make it all better, and Julie sorely wished it would.

She doesn't remember much about the trip to the hospital, or going under. Only awakening in a private room with four anxious faces holding flowers, balloons, and stuffed animals. Hugging her family close and starting the next part; the worst part-all the waiting for the results.

The next few weeks were fraught, and Julie jumped every time her phone rang. She tried writing song after song, with the guys helping when she broke down or screamed in frustration, tossing the notebook at the wall.

Finally the call came, and Julie was sure she cracked her phone screen from how tightly she was gripping it.

"Mrs. Molina? The tumor was benign."

"Oh thank God," Julie breathed out.

"We're very happy to report that we found no pre-cancerous signs either, so we can schedule a time for us to get the rest of it out and that should take care of the pain."

Julie thanked the doctor profusely, setting up a follow up appointment and turned to her family, full of smiles.

"I'm okay," she breathed out.

There was a lot of cheering, crying, and hugs that night.

And Julie slept surrounded by her family once more, not wanting to be apart from them any longer than she had to. They clung to her, and maybe there was something to their love keeping her there. So Julie hugged them back just as tight, determined to stick around for as long as fate would let her.

[wifeofbean]

Just life ramblings

I have three different little one-shot fics I want to write, plus I need to write the last chapter of "there's rue for you". And I'm a combination of stuck and exhausted.

My mother (who has dementia) has been in the hospital since Monday after having another stroke. Only one person is allowed up there per day (and my dad refuses to let anyone take over for him), so I haven't seen her, but I've been cleaning their house in her absence (because a combination of her dementia and her inherent stubbornness means she will never let me clean when she's there, I have to SNEAK AROUND cleaning behind her back and it's so tiring).

I've washed and ironed and put away so much laundry. Over the past couple of months she's kept a suitcase packed (because she thinks she's on vacation somewhere that's not her house and wants to be ready to go home) and keeps putting her dirty clothes into grocery bags instead of the laundry (because that's what we'd always do on vacation). I've tried to sneak home a bag at a time to wash, but it was kind of a relief to just be able to do ALL the laundry home. And to be able to bring it to my house, where there's a working dryer, instead of hanging it all up on the line at her house.

I've cleaned out the freezer. Cleaned the bathrooms. Replaced the showerhead in one bathroom because it was barely functioning. Bought enough easy food for my dad to fix for himself (the man is 81 and still actively farms, on top of taking care of my mama). Got her a bag packed for the rehabilitation center she's going to for a week. Reorganized her closet, and the linen closet, both of which are enormous.

Last night I was so tired, my fingernails ached. And I'm pouty because I want to write, writing helps me feel better. But right now it's all just scattered scenes without cohesiveness. Some of it fanfic, some of it a play that I'm working on. It just doesn't feel satisfying because I can't seem to get my brain together to finish any of it.

I haven't even really begun to deal with how emotionally taxing all of this is. I've just been sort of dealing with some of it for a long time, anyway. For at least the last six months, my mom has been searching for her own mother (who died almost twenty years ago). She'll be having a perfectly normal conversation, then throw in something like "my mama's going to be so mad at me, I was supposed to go home the day before yesterday." Christmas Eve at my cousin's house, she left twice because she couldn't figure out why her mom wasn't there. She dials Grandmother's old phone number several times a day (thankfully it doesn't belong to anyone now, it's just disconnected). It's all hard.

Add to all that, next week I start nannying again for 3 mornings a week (I tell myself it'll be good, I need to get out of the house more, my youngest kid needs more friends since he's not in school yet). And in two weeks I have to hold callbacks and cast the production of As You Like It that I'm directing. I've been looking forward to it, and I'm so honored that I get to direct the 50th anniversary production of the first play our local Shakespeare company ever did, but I still don't have a stage manager because everyone is already booked (one of my partners STOLE MY FAVORITE STAGE MANAGER from me for a show he's directing, the nerve!), and I already know the overwhelm that will come with this production (especially without that particular stage manager on my team, she's the best). And I selfishly wish I could JUST focus on the theatre aspect of my life, since that brings me joy, but there are responsibilities and obligations and...

Sometimes it's so hard to just manage to be your own person when there are so many other people depending on you.