wedding planning for the elderly

the browned eyed girl has been running around trying to deal with stuff for our upcoming nuptials.  i’ve sorta been collateral damage on a few of the shopping trips.  which is fine.  don’t get me wrong.  it’s her first and hopefully only wedding.  it will be my second and hopefully last.  i’ve been telling her she can do what she wants, after all she’s the bride to be.  thankfully, it’s going to be low key.  at any rate, shopping for just about anything makes me cranky.  though i have tried my best under the circumstances and she’s been vaguely impressed. 

low key is a good thing.  older folks probably shouldn’t get to crazed over getting married.  i mean crazed is ok but a wedding party for several hundred folks ain’t our idea of fun.  we have better things to spend our money on.  don’t get me wrong, there will be a wedding party after the ‘i dos’ but it will be a week or so later and for well under several hundred folks.  we have a couple of local places in mind for the party, both of which are nice italian joints serving up outstanding italian grub. 

we’ve also been dealing with a local jeweler who doing a nice custom ring with some old stuff of ours.  plus he’ll add a new stone as well.  we go see him today to get a look at the mold and what hopefully will be the final time before he pours the gold into the mold and makes the ring.

as for the wedding itself it will be a civil ceremony either here at the county recorders office or on a trip to las vegas.  with the info we got today it looks like it’s going to be las vegas.  a mutual friend of ours made us an offer this morning, which we couldn’t refuse, of a very famous place in vegas in which to have the ceremony.  i’m talking top of the line famous and for free.  i don’t want to let it out yet as it may not happen.  as in, shit happens.  but he’s having dinner this friday with his partner, the guy who can make it happen.  so we should know by the weekend if the deal is going to go down.

yes, it’s been a pretty fast trip for us but i’ve said it before, the brown eyed girl is the love of my life and if we had met long ago we would have had a bushel basket of kids.  well, that didn’t happen.  now, we just have to make the best of it and make the rest of our lives as happy as possible.  stay tuned.

jmh

water water everywhere & nary a drop to drink

the water crisis here in the great state of chaos continues as it begins the long slow slide into somebody actually doing something about it on a local and statewide basis.  oh yeah.  though the bread basket of the nation has been jumping on the farmers for a year or so, cutting back on their water rations.  i guess lawns are more important than feeding a vast portion of the nation.  but then what do i know?  not much i’m sure.

the water infrastructure here is in total disarray.  the main point of the whole fragile system is up in the sacramento/stockton delta area.  billions need to be spent to fix it.  the problem is a bi-polar mess.  the dems and gop are both sad culprits in the chaos.  we pay those hacks good money to take care of stuff.  they take the money and don’t do anything other than piss everyone off.  it’s been so for many a year.  the last great water projects happened back in the early 60’s thanks to jerry brown’s dad, pat.  i could tell you a story about the two of them but i won’t. 

on an other note, i was talking to a local water guy this morning and he told me a tale of the current stimulus package dole out courtesy of uncle sam.  the man has been involved in the water industry here in socal for a number of years in a supervisory capacity and a very bright guy as well.  he told me trying to just figure out the whole convoluted process was mind numbing and stupid.  no idea what was what or just how to go about it.

in my thinking that would, of course, figure.  government gobbly goop to the nth degree brought on by those that would love nothing better than to make it the official language of a once great nation.  but i digress.  my water guy has no idea if the local water folks will get the modest $2.5 million grant.  none.  zip.  zilch.  nada.  if a check shows up then the deal went down.  if not.  sin loi, charlie.  a rather dumb ass way of doing biz but that seems to be the nature of the feds these sad end of times days.

ok.  here’s a nice 180 turn.  however, still water related.  the current crop in power down dc way have their collective panties in a knot about the way the cia has been dealing with the current crop of terror dip-shits.  fine.  though i have no problem with anything they do in trying to find shit out.  nothing.  yep.  deal with it. 

let me harken back to that doomed and failed vietnam experience.  failed for many a reason.  but that ain’t why i’m here.  nope.  the langley boys had a way of dealing with the cong and nva regulars.  terrorists to be sure.  rape.  kill.  pillage.  tax.  impose will.  scare.  and otherwise totally fuck over folks.  your ever friendly troops of mr wonderful, uncle ho.

the drifts pile up don’t they?  the company guys had a way with the usual suspects.  take a few of em up in a chopper to several thousand feet and ask em a question.  no answer.  toss one of em out.  ask the question again.  you get answers.  if not, take a couple more of em up. 

i personally have no problem with that action.  none what so ever.  they were women and children killers.  pure and simple.  just as the current crop are.  sad little shits.  fight fire with fire.  simple as that. 

whether it be water or a chopper way up above the trees, all is fair.  it’s us or them.  there is no compromise.  we limp along in these end of times days.  but then what do i know?  not much i’m sure.

the stockton delta with crops.

the delta again and what usually happens after days of heavy rain.

vietnam and a chopper above the trees.

jmh

saddling up

it’s been awhile since i’ve sat down here at the computer and pounded something out.  well, today is the day.  i’m feeling the need to yammer about some music that’s been playing a lot in the car since i picked it up last friday.  now, it’s on here and jamming out over the jbls.

i stumbled onto an old austin city limits last thursday evening.  one from 2006.  van morrison to be exact.  van morrison doing his country thing.  yeah, van does country.  that show was amazing.  jaw dropping amazing.  some of the finest country i’ve heard from a non country artist in a good long while.  thankfully, i got into it from the beginning.  an hour of van’s wonderful voice and a band that kicked some serious ass.  steel guitar to die for played by a lady i’ve never seen before and i have no idea what her name is.  if anyone reading this can help me out in that regard, please do so.  she was playing licks off a triple neck steel that at one point made me cry.  yeah, that’s right. 

the next day i was having some java with my friend, jwfh.  as usual i went into rhino records and wandered around for 45 minutes or so cherry picking this and that.  an otis redding dvd with all the good stuff on it.  and a stones live dvd from 1975 recorded here in la la land.  sweet to be sure.

as far as i know there isn’t a recording of the van morrison austin city limits show.  the closest you can come to it is his 2006 lp ‘pay the devil’.  i picked it up as well.  as jwfh said, it isn’t one of his best and the band isn’t that good.  but i’ll tell you what, the band is adequate and satisfying.  the steel player on the lp isn’t the steel player on the show but paul godden does a good enough job for me.  as does everyone else on the lp.  bob loveday, violin; geriant watkins, piano; mick green and johnny scott on guitar; paul riley, bass; ian jennings, double bass; and bobby irwin, drums.

this lp is sorta an ode to his dad who was a big country fan.  i like it. you might too.  though at one point yesterday the brown eyed girl told me enough of van and his country we need to listen to something else.  no, she’s no fan of country but she puts up with me up to a point.  you can’t always have it all.

at any rate, there’s some nice covers of some old standard country stuff from, ‘there stands the glass’ to ‘your cheatin’ heart’ and ‘half as much’.  if you like country this is an adequate and satisfying lp.  an lp done by probably one of the few singer and players that you can pretty much be assured you need ALL of his stuff in your collection.  folks, there ain’t very many artists out there that you can say that about.  the stones.  maybe john lennon.  otis redding.  and there just isn’t anybody else.  count on it.

jmh