Speaking of furs (thinking of the old Hoover), I recall that my mother had a stole of some kind. It was satin lined and she wore it to the many evening events she and dad had to go to, in their roles as Base Commander and Wife. Many dinners and parties. Unfortunately Dad got smashed at every one and then Mom had to deal with him, but at least she was dressed to the nines. False eyelashes, teased coif, heels, fur stole — and she had some brocade, oriental-style dresses made when we were in Germany, by a tailor who went by the name of Hong Kong Sam. These are memories from perhaps ten and eleven years old. I had no idea then how trying their marriage was. I only knew that Mom had lots of pairs of pretty heels, and if I asked, she’d let me try them on.
They just don’t make shoes like that any more.
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Chris and Carol returned from a few days in Maine on Saturday with his brother’s family. For his birthday he managed to wrench his back. Though it seemed to be better, the five and a half hour drive home put him out of whack again, and Sunday morning as I was starting the car I got the call. “Now don’t freak out,” he said, laughing apologetically, “but I almost couldn’t get out of bed this morning.”
It was the first time one of us couldn’t make it to a gig. Fortunately it was only a service, so Carol and I managed the five songs and two hymns by ourselves. His voice was missed, mainly by us as most people hadn’t heard us before anyway. We did pretty well on sales — money in the pot for CD manufacture, thank goodness.
Afterwards, we drove the hour and a half back to their house and rehearsed for the rest of the afternoon. It’s coming together, in that way that it does after a break. My fingers don’t feel so bad but my arm strength still needs to develop.
And in the middle of my thoughts the time to go to work has arrived, so I must rise and get myself out the door. It’s a lovely morning. A bird I don’t recognize is singing away in the woods. I stepped out earlier and heard deer and turkeys rustling around under cover of brush and trees. I’m a little tired from a late night Sk*pe video chat with James, which was very gratifying and worth the lost sleep. We’ll see how well I manage to stay alert through the workday.
Healer, Musician, Bookmaker, Poet 
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