Keep a-Knockin, Lucille

My ultimate career goal is, and always has been, to be sucked back to 1955 and be asked to play saxophone for Little Richard. For some reason I last night devoted my heart and soul to the dilemma that I would face: To play first tenor or baritone sax. To make the best decision, I listened to all 33 Little Richard songs on my mp3 player. In my heart of hearts, I would choose to play the bari. With a day to reconsider, I am sticking to that decision.

More interesting is what that says about me, or at least what it might mean. I have always been something between willing and eager to forfeit the spotlight and the glory. Not that I fear the attention... I relish it when it is thrust upon me. I think what I really love about the bari isn't even the chance to be brilliant and conspicuous for a fraction of a second at the end of every 8 measures, nor the rare solo where the "buffoon on the bassoon" might surprise the listener with my mere competence. Rather, it is the workaday ethic required to be an effective bari player. Get lazy and you become a nuisance and occasional comic relief. Work it hard, attack and release with a sense of precision and somehow at the same time, reckless abandon; you become the vital heart and lungs of a vibrant saxophone section, framing the harmonies and tasty licks of the legit saxophones with sighs, grunts and growls. My tenor player would be aware of what I was doing for him, and isn't the praise of one's peers what we all really crave? The audience's oblivion to my gift would fuel me with a certain superiority. Sure, I'd only know the pleasure of occasionally getting laid from the tenor saxophonist's stories. But wasn't the prospect of casual sex always much better than the casual sex itself?

While we're on sex, isn't the extra curvature on the bari ultra ultra ultra sexy? What the tenor has over the alto, the bari has over them all, to the nth degree. I am sure this is universally observed to be true and incontrovertible.

So, instead of being sucked back 54 years to be non-star in Little Richard's band, why not opt for 20 years back and play for Morphine? Certainly, all the things I love about my Little Richard gig apply to this gig as well plus I'd get to be the man, too. Tempting. It's kind of like pitching and playing center field and shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals at the same time. Who says you can't have it all? Not me.

I just say be careful what you ask for. Dude works his ass off constantly. Hey, I've got a lazy streak. I'm sticking with my original plan, regardless of what anyone might think of me.

Another peer bites the dust and Fistbaby

My company is hemorrhaging money. Guys like me are getting canned every day. For the first time in my career, my numbers verge on stellar, so I feel a little more secure than I would have say any other time. Still... The boss is coming to town next week. I reminded him today I am leaving town next (the same) week and he said "have a nice trip." I am safe for a week.

I forgot to return the chess coach's call. I feel rotten about that. Dorry, Dude.

"Abort Obama" guy should do time. "Kill presidents, not fetuses" is not speech I think worthy of protection. He probably upgraded to a "lynch Obama" emblazoned on a rebel flag before the Secret Service returned his sign anyway. Perhaps I'm a bit hipocritical. My "Waterboard Bush and Cheney" sign isn't exactly Christian.

I do not really have a "Waterboard Bush and Cheney" sign.

Yes, I do.

No, I don't.

Not yet.

PJ ('Pea Junior) is the size of a fist. PJ seems to be very robust and SweetPea Sr. (mama) is frequently ill. I am a laundry / kitchen machine. I can't believe Geezer Saxer will be Geezer Saxer Daddy.

I put a new HDD in my IRiver Jukebox and restored my music library. I have done every repair conceiveable to that thing. If anybody needs technical help or things to avoid when using an IRiver H10 20GB, I'm your man. It's an amazing device. I still have around $100 invested all told and have a massive music storage device. You can pick them off eBay for unter $50. The HDD and the battery are available for $20 each. That's a steal. But do not use Rhapsody. I don't know how, but they don't like each other at all.

It's spring time. Time to refurbish the stunt kite and get ready for the warm, spring winds.