Wut, Wut

A blindingly brief and in no particular order, off the top of my head and shit, list of what I’m thankful for this morning:

1) The mindbogglingly brilliant 30 years I had with my spectacular hunny-pie, The Amazing Bob.

2) Jen and Oni – they are the bestest friends on the planet. They’ve seen me through insanely hard times.

dictionary.com defines friend as:
noun

1. a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.
2. a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter: friends of the Boston Symphony.
3. a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile: Who goes there? Friend or foe?
4. a member of the same nation, party, etc.
5. a person associated with another as a contact on a social media website: We've never met, but we're Facebook friends.

Cool but so very pale, It doesn’t begin to characterize the long amazing friendship that I share with J&O. Jen has said “we’re family.” I cringe at that but ya see, here’s the thing – Jen comes from a brill, wonderful, loving famiglia. Growing up wasn’t a sugar coated, marmalade unicorned, happy, Disney funfest – no. Even happy realities are still real versus Puppy Party, Tigger & Pooh works of pink buttercream frosted fantasy. My family, conversely, now and during the whole childhood thing was…emmm…we’ll call it bristlingly fraught and leave it as that.

I need/want a different term for who J&O are to me.

There’s a million words to describe who TAB was to me – husband, life partner, center of my universe, love of mi vida Loca, soul mate, kindred spirit, my heart, etc.

Any ideas on what to call Jen and Oni? Possibly I need to invent a new word. Thoughts?

And now, because my head is a vast ocean of randomosity, the John Sayles movie, starring très handsome Joe Morton, Brother From Another Planet comes to mind. I was wild for this flick. Must find it – need to see it again.

3) Hearing – I had 46 years of music.
To paraphrase my old buddy, Roy:

I've heard things you people wouldn't believe.
Tom Cora’s cello on fire off the shoulder of The Rat.
I’ve watched Leo Kotke’s magic in the dark of the Orpheum Theater

Yeah, the next line’s something about tears in the rain and lost and shit but that’s a step too poetically gloomy for me today.

4) Art.
In a couple weeks I’ll be in Dublin where, amongst other artists, I’ll get to see Cian McLoughlin’s work live, up close and in person. Psyched!

The Foundry Artists Holiday Show open next week and Jen and I will be there. I can’t wait to see what James Polisky and Belinda Gabryl are showing.

And, sometime next month, I’ll pick up Jim Innes’ painting of a nude riding a red bird. Not sure how I’ll get it from Western Pennsylvania to Boston (short of renting a car and driving it home //shudder//) but this beauty will soon be mine, mine ALL MINE.

5) Helen. Always.

I hope you're all with people you love today even if that's just yourself.