themercurycomet

[themercurycomet]

Hello to those of you that are "Night Owls" like me. It has been a long time since I've posted here. Somehow when I'm feeling melancholy I turn to writing down my thoughts and sending them off into the night - lol. If you've read one of my prior postings, you'll have learned of my love of music and of Gustav Mahler, a classical composer. I was just now listening to his Adagietto from Symphony No. 5. Such a beautiful piece of music. Listening to it reminds me of the dear friend that suggested it to me. It comforts me somehow as I lie here in the dark waiting for sleep to capture me. Music has a way of making my worries go away. Takes me back in time, depending on the song and where or when it became a part of my music history. Do you find that certain songs bring up certain times or events in your life?? I do. I guess I'm a romantic, I love the past, the good ol days, happier days. As an adult, sometimes "adulting" becomes such a drag. Going to work, paying bills, keeping appointments - its all so mundane and makes me feel old. Good music helps lift me out of that funk of "adulting", allows me to recall the joy of being young, of being irresponsible - lol. Never accept being old, fight it by getting out there, doing things that make you feel young. Stay up past midnight and toast the moon with a glass of wine and some special music. Drift off to sleep with a happy memory......

The M.C.

[themercurycomet]

Hello to those like me that prowl the dark hours, waiting for sleep to claim them.

On this eve of Thanksgiving 2020 I've been pondering all the weird stuff that is going on in our world today. If someone were to announce that I would never have to hear the words "pandemic" or "social distancing" or "virus-anything," I would be over the moon estatic!! This plague upon our world is more than just the virus itself. It is the economic struggle, the social isolation, the misinformation from the media, the political manipulation and the fear of the unknown that's as equally damaging to our well-being as the virus itself. I work in the mental health profession and we are already seeing the damaging effects of Covid-19 on people's mental health - even those who haven't been sick with it yet!!! I pray to God that vaccines will become available soon; and that life can somehow return to some semblance of normal. But for those who have lost loved ones to this virus, life will never be the same. Tomorrow will become another holiday that in the future people will recall it and say, "Thanksgiving 2020 was the first without Dad or Grandpa to carve the turkey." Or "I sure miss Granny's pumpkin pie, the way she used to make it," or Aunt Sally's green bean casserole" etc..... Almost every family will have that empty chair at the table.....

Ok, enough of that... new subject!

If you've read any of my earlier posts you will recall that I have a penchant for the mechanical and appreciate the beauty of a hot or fast car - even classic cars, regardless of top end speed capabilities - lol. My current daily model is not what I'd call a hot car as in sleek looks or muscle, but Maybelline - yes, that is her name!! Maybelline is endowed with some very fine mechanical abilities and is like a wild pony - she has a fast get up & go. She's also very good on gas, and for a daily commuter like myself, great fuel economy is a definite plus. Sadly while parked the other day, minding her own business, a fellow driver did not guage his distance very well and scraped a bit of paint from her front quarter panel while trying to parallel park 😖 Thankfully it was only cosmetic damage for which his insurance company sent a check for!! So poor Maybelline is now sporting a scar, but that won't hinder her from helping me blow out the proverbial cobwebs on Friday afternoons at five-o'clock - as we hit the open road with speakers blasting our fav tunes!

Speaking of music - which I love in almost any form - I've been on a 60's & 70's kick lately, searching and listening to tunes from those two decades. With the easy availability of music through services such as YouTube and Spotify, just to name a few, one can search for just about any song or group. From classic groups like the Doobie Bros, The Grateful Dead and Three Dog Night, to solo acts like Cat Stevens, Don McLean, Jim Croce, Dusty Springfield and Janis Joplin. Times of crisis, like the current pandemic just make me long for simpler, safer days when the future was a long ways off!! Going back in time with yesterday's music is my best mental health prescription 🤗

Goodnight and God Bless 🙏

M.C.

[themercurycomet]

Another friend's birthday celebrated tonight in wonderful fashion - good food, great company, awesome wines and pleasant conversation - life doesn't get much better ❤ During this uncertain time in our world, it's nice to know some things never change. Celebrating birthdays always brings back wonderful memories of past birthdays. I love that I was able to grown up in the '70's with a lot of family close by. Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, etc.... All of my best memories involve family events at my Grandparents' houses - on both sides of the family! And even though many of those older folks are gone now, their lives are permanently etched in my memories. My Grandpa Elmer was a big prankster and I think his entire goal in life was to make us kids laugh until we cried, or nearly pee in our pants - LOL!! Now my Grandma Dorothy was the serious one, she ruled her kingdom with a wooden spoon, and was not afraid to apply it liberally if necessary. She made the best pies and homemade bread and rolls. Another special treat for Halloween was her famous hard candy coated apples. Such a beautiful shimmery red - they were almost too pretty to eat......almost - LOL. I've always felt especially blessed to have grown up knowing both sets of grandparents. My Grandpa Harry was much more reserved than Grandpa Elmer and we kids didn't go tearing through their house like wild children. But he was kind and gentle and he liked us to visit, but we just knew he didn't care for any hijinks in the house. I do recall once that a rooster on their farm chased my younger sister until it made her cry in fright, and Grandpa - who never had much dealings with chickens, as he thought that was women's work - Grandpa caught that rooster and quick as a flash, had wrung its neck and carried it into the house calling out to Grandma that he thought chicken & noodles would be good for supper! Now my Grandma Pauline never raised a fuss, instead she just set about taking care of the chicken in preparation for the cooking pot! We could tell she wasn't happy about it, but she wasn't raised to cause a scene or lose her temper in front of others. Somedays I wish I had more of her temperament. Grandma was a great believer in "Waste not, want not". Looking back, she was the Queen of Recycling. Of course, she lived through the "Dirty Thirties" and the "War Years" of rationing, Victory gardens and doing without!! After she passed away and we were cleaning out her kitchen cabinets and drawers, we found a clean, plastic bread sack FULL of other neatly folded, clean bread sacks!! Totally crumb free, most likely even washed out in the kitchen sink and drip dried. AND a small zip lock bag containing at least 100 or more bread sack twisties!! I admit I have 2 or 3 bread sack twisties in my kitchen junk drawer (everyone has a kitchen junk drawer, right??!!) But not a 100 or more. Still I gotta love my Grandma for her "make do" attitude. She raised her family, clothed & fed them and did so on an extremely tight budget. Meals were always delicious, guests were always welcome and love was plentiful. Just goes to show "money doesn't always buy happiness."

Well my fellow bloggers, it is time to say Goodnight. The M.C.

[themercurycomet]

Sitting here listening to music in the early dark of the night. I'm an habitual "night owl." If I "turn in" too early, sleep eludes me. I end up tossing & turning. So, over the years, I've learned that the best thing is to wait for sleep to chase me. Music is a great companion in the dark of the night! Music in general is just such a necessity for me, I need it like the air I breathe. I consider myself a fan of almost every kind of music. Within each genre, I have many favorites. If I had to choose my absolute number one, all-time favorite, hands down, best ever, most listened to, song.....it would be Van Morrison's "Into The Mystic". There is just something about that song that speaks to me in a way that no other song does. I can even tell you the first time that I heard the song - which is something I could never do with any other song. The song was played in a scene from the 1989 movie, "Immediate Family" starring James Woods & Glenn Close. (Which btw, is a great movie!!) The very next day I began searching for the name of the song and the artist, which in 1989 was a bit more difficult than just using Google or YouTube to solve the mystery - LOL! I've since become a huge Van Morrison fan and his music always makes me nostalgic for "the good ol days", days when it seemed like a person's lifetime stretched further into the future, than it does now. But no use crying over spilt milk, as they say.....

My second favorite piece of music is from the classical genre; Gustav Mahler's Adagietto from Symphony No. 5. A very good friend introduced me to the talent of Mahler and I have been grateful ever since. This piece of music is like fine art, and should be enjoyed with a great wine and chocolates! Which probably sounds strange, coming from a self-professed "car chick" who loves fast cars! My music playlists are arranged by era and genre. I am a daily commuter to work and spend over 45 minutes twice a day in the car, going to and coming from work. Thank goodness for music streaming services and creativable playlists, because I would go crazy during that commute time if I had to rely on what the radio DJ's think is "good music" LOL.

Many of my friends would probably be surprised if they knew I liked "Nickleback" and yes, I know, admitting that might make me a target for some mean comments, but Hey, they make some kick-ass tunes for 5 O'Clock Friday commutes down the open highway!! I love cranking up the volume on Buck Cherry, Skillet, Halestorm, Saving Abel, Seether, Black Stone Cherry and my new found love, Dirty Honey.

Of course there's good ol southern rock, Allman Bros, Lynryd Skynyrd, Creedence, Marshall Tucker, ZZ Top and another all-time favorite, Blackberry Smoke - Charlie Starr is a magician on guitar!! BBS and Charlie are definitely on my "Live N In Concert" bucket-list!!

Well, more about great music next time......Goodnight.......M.C. 😉

[themercurycomet]

I like cars! Hot cars, fast cars, old fashioned muscle cars.

I was born in the late '60's, when muscle cars were "hip!" Cars made a statement back then, not like the automobiles of today. Today's vehicles all look the same. SUV's aren't cool, I don't care what anyone says, they just aren't.

As a self-proclaimed "car chick" getting her first driver's license in the 1980's, my first car was a dark green 1972 Mercury Comet. Ok, so it was not exactly a coveted muscle car, but it WAS a 2-door hardtop with bucket seats and a bitching 302 engine. It went from zero to 60 like a dragster!

It was a hand-me-down from my 2 older brothers. And believe me, if cars talked, this one would have some stories to tell. LOL

They say you never get over the loss of your first love, and they're right! If somehow I could resurrect that 1972 Comet, I'd be "over the moon," if you will pardon the celestial pun - LOL

Sadly at the bitter end, it was like a worn out racehorse, it ran until its heart just gave out. I'm sure some major dollars could've resurrected it, but at the time I just didn't have that kind of money.

But I've never forgotten all the happy memories and miles spent in that car......

More memories to follow, next time 😉 M.C.