After a week of very unseasonably warm weather (highs in the 60s!), today was a slap back to reality. A crisp, chilly, late autumn morning. I was up relatively early (6:30 AM-ish) and read a bit more from Scattershot (yeah, I am a notoriously slow reader) and drank multitudes of strong, black coffee.
I was thinking this morning that coffee is the solution to everything, literally and figuratively (from a scientific standpoint, coffee really is a solution. And coffee is the answer to anything life can throw at you. Get it?). Then I started thinking ...hmmm... there is an essay there somewhere. Then I thought, nevermind. I'm sure that's already been done before.
Still, coffee and a good book. A near-perfect beginning to the day.
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| The perfect solution |
Because of Scattershot, I have gone down an Elton John/Bernie Taupin wormhole. I have been an Elton John fan for a long time. Many years ago, when I was lost and working at Fingerhut, I met a co-worker who was a huge Elton John fan. She let me borrow a four or six-CD (I forget how many) "greatest works" box set, which I promptly copied onto cassette (yes, cassette). I was exposed to all sorts of fantastic Elton John songs that were not hits; I felt I had a nice foothold on the deeper tracks.
[editor's note: I had to think for a long time, but I remembered that co-worker was named Michelle. I think she was the first person I ever met with one green eye and one blue eye. I don't remember Michelle's last name... in fact, I'm not sure if I ever knew it. But she was more than happy to share her love of Elton John with me and she trusted me with that magnificent box set, which was definitely not cheap. For that, I will always be grateful. I wonder what ever happened to Michelle?]
Anyway, last night I was up a little later than usual sifting through John's first few albums, listening to really deep cuts, some more than 50 years old which I've never heard before (the nice thing is if you've never heard the song before, it is new to you!). As expected, I discovered a pile of hidden gems. "Come Down in Time," "High Flying Bird," "First Episode at Hienton," "Amoreena," and the wonderful "Talking Old Soldiers" are just a handful of great lesser known songs that I was unfamiliar with, just waiting to be discovered. Of course, there are many, many more albums to go, so I feel like I have got a whole world waiting to be explored.
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Ah, Saturdays... when I don't have to work, I love relaxing weekends (who doesn't? I guess that was a stupid statement). Today there's an abundance of college football on the tube. I might even enjoy a delicious Romeo y Julieta cigar at some point today. The sun is shining and the sky is completely cloudless. Best of all, we still don't have any snow. Each week without snow means a another week less of winter in my mind. It is chilly, but I don't mind that. It is the snow and its debilitating effects that I hate.
It can snow in March and April all it wants. I know we need precipitation during the winter, nature has its needs, but spring blizzards are not the perma-snow we get in October/November... the shit that lasts six months.
We went to Fargo last weekend, but typical me, I didn't take any pictures. After the football game we went to Drekker Brewing, which we've been to before. However, Drekker has now built a brand new hotel/market/restaurant area called "Brewhalla" next to the original brewery. The shops are very interesting, each selling unique artisan works, from pottery to hand-made dog treats/toys to unique soaps, foods, plants, books, paintings and damn near anything else you can think of. Looking for Japanese mayonnaise? This is the place to find it.
Oh, and there's beer, too. And imbibing is highly encouraged as you browse the shops. Highly recommended.
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| One of the unique shops in Brewhalla (my daughter spent $100 here) |
Until next time...
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