Best-Laid Plans, Etc.

'Tis the Season

So, after walking five blocks in bitter wind and cold Thursday night to get to the Des Moines
Civic Center from the closest parking I could find, then mingling in a small, warm, confined environment with around 2,000 Joe Bonamassa fans, then walking back to my car in a wind chill of around 15 degrees, I was pushing my luck...




It appears that I may have pushed it too far, as by the time I went to bed last night
I had a fever, muscle aches and weakness, and assorted other health issues that may
or may not be the actual flu.

There may also be some connection between the way I feel and the way my Thursday ended and my Friday began, but all I know for sure is that I'm still sick as a dog this morning. Flu or no flu, it's a miserable feeling...

"What about the road trip to Kansas City?"

Canceled...sorry about that, old friend...

A Sure Sign of Spring

Never mind groundhogs, or sightings of robins or squirrels. The surest sign that winter is almost over is when local retailers begin having clearance sales
on snowshovels, rock salt, windshield scrapers, and other necessities for dealing with midwestern weather during the winter months.

My local Hy-Vee is basically selling its remaining inventory at cost, judging by what I saw on my last visit...

Foolish Optimism

From the incisive pen of Michael Ramirez, whose editorial cartoons you should read often, as I do.

Until Next Time...

All of my life I have struggled to deal with separation and loss, and I haven't gotten
any better at it with age. It doesn't help when movies or TV shows I watch for escapism incorporate such themes into their storylines. The Season 7 finale of Criminal Minds, one of my favorite shows, did just that when dealing with the departure of my favorite character from the show.

"Run" was originally broadcast on May 6, 2012. Although it was kind of a downer to watch, it did introduce me to a piece of music that I quickly purchased and added to my "Tearjerkers" playlist on iTunes.

Singer-songwriter Lily Kershaw released Midnight In the Garden, her debut album, in the fall of 2013, to good reviews. Well before that, though, her music had come to the attention of the producers of Criminal Minds, who selected an as-yet unreleased song from her album to help them send off a beloved character from the show.

"As It Seems" was the song used at the conclusion of "Run," and I liked it enough that I used it as the curtain call music for my last play production at Atlantic.

The song's lyrics tied in with that play's theme, but also with the fact that everyone knew it was my final AHS production. It was "curtain call" music in more ways than one, and even all these years later still moves me to tears.

Today's send-off is a "lyric video" version of Kershaw's song. Most of the time I'm not a fan of such productions, but I think this one is pretty well done. Enjoy...