I saw this flower at Coonamessett farm, up in the Hatchville section of Falmouth.
Today is the 14th anniversary (I refuse to use the current idiotic formulation “14 year anniversary” which implies that an anniversary could exist not based upon years) of the day we met. We are not married, and have no intention of getting married. We are happy together, well beyond child-creating age, and so there. On our 10th anniversary we both came up with the idea of buying rings, which we did. So, I buck the trend of married men going about without their rings on: I am unmarried and go about with mine on. I don’t say that in some self-congratulatory way, I just mean that, at least for me, legal and religious ceremonies do not a marriage make.
I got a phone call Saturday. A little voice said, “Poppy?” I answered, “Yes, it’s me Babycakes.” Her, “I read a book!” Me, “That’s great!” She, “All by myself!” Me, that’s super great! I miss you Babycakes.” She, “I miss you too Poppy. Bye.” This wonderful 5 year old keeps making me happier. Her telephone style is similar to mine. Say what there is to say, and sign off. My honey says she expects me to start answering the telephone thusly: “Hello. State your business.” I’ve considered it. Pet peeve when telephone rings: I pick it up and say hello. The person on the other end says hello. Silence. I do not speak again (unless it is one of the 3 or 4 people I talk to regularly and know their voice). Voice on other end: “Hello?” I repeat: “Hello.” Another pause. Then, quite often, the person says: “Who is this (or words to that effect).” I say: “You called me, identify yourself.” You get the idea.
Whenever I call someone who probably won’t know my voice, it is my habit to say, as soon as the phone is answered, “This is Gerry Rosser, and I’m calling about . . . ” Truth is, I’d rather not talk on the phone most of the time, and find inspiration in the supposed line from the famous golfer Fred Couples. When asked why he didn’t like answering the phone, he said, “Because there might be somebody on the other end.”
Music, I’ve been pondering the next song to add to my list of favorite 100. No shortage of candidates. We were riding through the back roads of Falmouth, beautiful day, top down, when a song I hadn’t heard in a while came on. It was Manfred Mann’s cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Blinded by the Light.” We cranked it. Wow! I always liked this better than Bruce’s version, and, if fact, I think I originally heard it before the Boss’s original recording. It’s a really swell arrangement. At home, I went to iTunes, and there were three or four instances of this song by Manfred Mann, but I’m not sure any of them was the original. Nevertheless, I’m putting it on my list (as always, this list is not ranked, every song on it is sui generis and holds its own place in my heart).
A Twofer today. One song which has been on my iPods since I started loadin’ ‘em up: “Talk to You Later.” The Tubes. If this song doesn’t quicken your pulse, you just ain’t a rock ‘n roller. On iTunes there are a couple or three takes of this, maybe a couple of them live, I forget. With a frontman named “Fee Waybill” how could they go wrong?
