Pink Asparagus

In March 1988 I and a friend went to a concert. At a major venue. Clearly it was a different time because I can tell you I’m not planning to drop my 14-year old son and his 12-year old sister off at a concert and LEAVE. Yet, we were left there alone. Well, not alone exactly. We were with 20,123 other people. We were all there to see Michael Jackson.

That’s right, I saw the Bad tour. How cool am I?

There were a lot of years I wouldn’t have acknowledged that I even knew who Michael Jackson was. Like 1989-2005. For no particular reason other than Thriller might have been his last good labium. And the child molestation charges. And that weird hanging his kid over the railing incident in Berlin.

No matter his crazy personal life, he did change music forever. A reviewer on NPR, and I’m sure there are others, called him a genius. I’m no a music aficionado, but I do know he had an impact - and not just on a bunch of girls in the 80s. He took us from disco to pop. Even as I was driving, I couldn’t help but sing along. His songs are ingrained in our generation.

He also taught us all to moonwalk. And to wear only one glove.

Now I need to go get some Jackson 5 for the pre-schooler set. Their music history lessons need to begin.

Audrey, her BFF Madeleine, and their respective families spent the afternoon at the zoo celebrating Father’s Day. Happy Father’s Day Peter & Morgan.

I still haven’t read the manual to my new camera, so I can’t take credit for this picture; it was just luck. Thankfully Joshua will be here in two weeks, he can give me a crash course in intentional, as opposed to accidental, prettiness.

We’re having the most bizarre weather here. It’s wet. And there are tornadoes. Our sprinkler system and A/C haven’t come out of hibernation.

The good parts? Our lawn is green, our plants are lush and the fire danger is low.

The bad parts? Peter has to mow the lawn every week and I have allergies for the first time in my adult life.

For months Elliot has lamented the losing of teeth. When will he lose them? Will he be 5? 6? Will it hurt? Will it take long? When will it start?

It started.

Tonight at dinner he says that his tooth hurts. So, I reach across the table fully explecting to pull corn kernal out from between his teeth.

His tooth wiggled.

I wiggled it again.

My eyes welled up.

When I told him what was happening a huge grin spread across his face.

Here’s Elliot, in what might be the last photographic evidence of this particular smile. An all-baby tooth smile.

Somehow it has escaped my noticing that I have aged. I guess I thought that I looked the same as the day Elliot was born (nearly six years ago). Or maybe the same as when Audrey was born (nearly four years ago). I know that doesn’t make any sense. But really? the changes were gradual (maybe?) and constant, so only by looking at pictures can I see the changes.

The picture of me and Elliot is one of a few all taken at the same time. And with a few, I really was taken aback at how young I looked. I mean not like a teenager or anything, but I wouldn’t have guessed that girl was approaching 30.

Also? I am not enjoying the grow-out phase of my hair. I’ve decided that after three years of varying short-short I want my longer hair back. It’s not as graceful a prospect as I had hoped.

Any tips for stylish hair while growing it out? Your favorite headband or product? Or did you just wear really big jewelry to detract from what was going on on the top of your head?

Hmmm, I think I am wearing the same earings in all three pictures. I should branch out a little more often.

Poor kid came home early from school today because he was sick. Sick enough that he wanted to lay down and rest. Sick enough that we went to the doctor. Strep. Totally should have bought that stock in whoever makes amoxycilin six years ago.

Thankfully the folks over at Huffington Post are scouring YouTube for us!

Did you know that the people of MN still only have one senator representing them in Washington, DC? The votes were certified in January. Al Franken, formerly of SNL, had won. However, his opponent was a sore loser and has sued - it’s in the MN state supreme court currently.

Here’s Al Franken’s opponent talking with a supporter during the Conservative Heartland Leadership Conference in St Louis, MO earlier this week. Pay special attention beginning at :40. Feel free to turn it off after the gaffe.

When I was in high school I had the good sense to make friends with kids with much better tastes in music than myself (they were also older and had cars - I was no dummy). Thanks to them I grew up listening to Robyn Hitchcock, Tom Tom Club, Bauhaus, The Jesus and Mary Chain … ooh! I saw The Cure on their first farewell tour in 1989 (sad, they didn’t play Love Cats - my favorite Cure song), Love and Rockets opened for them.

Anyway.

Time went by and I started listening to whatever was on the radio. No more mix tapes for me. I had sort of forgotten about my fantastic taste in music.

Then maybe 4 years ago I bought a copy of Queen Elvis , put it on my iPod and cheerfully listened to it. I rediscover it every year or so. Put it back on my iPod. Listen more. And louder. Each time I think, I really like this - I shouldn’t delete it. Then I do. Then I rediscover the CD. Rinse and repeat.

You cannot imagine my surprise when I got an NPR Song of the Day email with Robyn Hitchcock’s I’m Falling. Surely he’s OLD by now? I mean, I was in high school way back in the early 90s. And he wasn’t young then. But he’s not dead. You know who else is not dead? Iggy Pop. Go figure that one out.

Anyway.

New Robyn Hitchcock song: it’s good. Go listen. Subscribe to the NPR - I was going to say email, so you could be old school like me, but there’s an RSS feed, yay for the Web 2.0 - subscribe to the RSS feed. You might even rediscover someone from your youth. Again.

Who were you listening to in high school? Are you still listening to them? Is your taste better or worse now than it was then? I expect Laura to comment - she’s always so shocked by my music collection. Like I’m too square to listen to anything other than the Andrews Sisters.

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While getting the Love Cats link for you it reminded me that I also love Stray Cat Strut (my tap dance class did a routine to this song when I was 8 or 9). You’re welcome for all the YouTube links. But what is it with me liking songs about cats? Weird.

And while this does read like I’m posting while drinking, I am not. There’s a lot going on in my real-world so you get the stream of consciousness end of the stick. Again, you’re welcome.