Going to see Ben Nichols (Lucero) tonight, solo, at the legendary Juanita’s.

Promises to be a large time.

Solid as a stone.

Drove a super-hybrid (don’t tell my brother) Toyota Prius here yesterday. All I have to say is “wow.” I was getting a little tired of burning fuel on the way down so I switched it to B (battery). It was like driving a Mac (no stalling).

Baby wait and see.

The Buick Riviera could be in her final death throws. The odor of burning oil is unmistakable rising from the manifold. I hypothesize that this is from the supercharger which is often the first to go on these cars. The charging computer) system seems to be failing too. The squeaking coming from under the hood is either the alternator, supercharger, or more than likely (thus explaining all of the symptoms), both. 190543 miles and counting. If this is, in fact, the end of the “Riv” and the signs I am reading tell me it could very well be, I will be sad to see this car go. I have owned and driven several different cars, arguably much cooler cars than this one. For a bit there I changed them often and drove with a fickle foot. Now, I am committed to a car and if they made them still, I would own a new one. As it is I am think I will look hard for a low mileage gem from the late 90’s.

Without you, baby there’s no me.

This car was 7 when I bought it and is still the newest car I have owned (1984, 1986, 1992, 1995, 1997, 1997). I did get incredibly fortunate with it in terms of maintenance–brakes, oil changes–for 110000 miles. And she isn’t going to win the Al Gore car of the year award for fuel economy but 22-26 on the highway is still decent.

I consider myself to be environmentally minded but this TOYota Prius isn’t for me. Brother Gabe called the other day with a smoking hot deal on a 2008 Pontiac G8. I should have snapped it up but stammered, hesitated, and said as politely as I could, “thanks, but no thanks.” While it would be all sorts of cool to own and drive a car like that, it also would displace a large sum of cash per month. Cheap cars are the (purple?) wave of the future.

Back to Little Rock and this conference. Wish me luck tonight getting into see Mr. Nichols. It is, after all, “Nights Like These,” that “make me sleep all day.”

g

Pretty much the best dollar I’ve spent lately.

The local Wafflizzle Hizzle looked like it needed a bailout plan. My jukebox shenanigan, for which has brought me great notoriety and infamy at Waffle House corporate meetings, nearly backfired this morning. Strolling towards the jukebox with that unfamiliar jingle in my pocket, I selected “I Walk the Line” as my escape song, then “Waffle House March” five times as my statement, and headed to the register to pay. It wasn’t all that long ago that WH only accepted cash. They finally caved but the existing structure, evidently, wouldn’t support such frivolousness as a second phone line, or (gasp) a cable/DSL modem through which they could process credit cards.

Not good.

The manager was on the phone. The phone line was occupied. A crowd gathered as I waited in disbelief. Cold sweat started to form under the waning peach fuzz left on my bald head.

Cash’s signature baritone belted out verse, chorus, verse, chorus and finally the manager ended his backroom 1-900 wake up call and the debit card transaction processed.

I told the hungover college crowd behind me who had watched me select songs on the jukebox while apparently leaving to, “Wait for the next song before you leave, it will change your life.”

They chuckled and as I pushed open the door the trumpets blared the opening notes of the Waffle House March. I marched on.

**********

Whatever happened to the jukebox? I often tell a story of a teacher friend of mine who bought a killer jukebox a couple of years ago only to see it fall on the deaf ears of his wired-in students. They had a jukebox the size of a credit card in their pockets containing at least 1000 times more, not to mention, their songs.

Whatever happened to main street? Take a listen sometime at www.myspace.com/chrisgoering

Whatever happened to capitalism?

Whatever happened to America?

Whatever happened to the neighbor down the street whose lawn is two feet tall?

Whatever happened to making plans?

Whatever happened to the five-paragraph essay?

Whatever happened to the white picket fence and living off the fat of the land?

**********

Waffle House Sunrise

Bar flies drank OJ by the carafe
Missed they are not by the wait staff
Whiskey and water, waffles and wine
Vomit and violence without a spine.

***********

Riddle

__________ +Grape Kool-Aid = Green

***********

Does anyone believe Fox News is fair and balanced? If so, they need to take a course in media literacy. Prey on the weak, it is the right wing way.

***********

Ryan Adams, excuse me, The Cardinals, in Tulsa tonight. They canceled the KC show last night due to the flu. At 47.50 a ticket, I must wonder if the flu=low ticket sales.

Here’s hoping the flu bug didn’t hit the Tulsa area yet,

G

Here is Tina Fey from last night. While this is funny, the striking similarity of the beliefs represented in this skit to the vice-presidential candidate’s beliefs is nothing short of terrifying. I am convinced that John McCain might have won the election if he hadn’t botched his choice for vp as badly as he did. He likes the proverbial hail mary, fine, but when the quarterback take the snap and the throws the ball towards the opposite end zone, we all must wonder about his competence.

g

Go Daddy.

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
-Benjamin Franklin

When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross.
-Sinclair Lewis

With those thoughts in mind, I direct your attention to the website www.wastelandofthefree.com

Folksinger Iris Dement makes McMurtry seem kind of tame. I heard this song on XM’s Cross Country a few weeks ago and thought I needed to hear it again. The website has a link to a YT video (of course) and an MP3.

“We got preachers dealing in politics and diamond mines/
and their speech is growing increasingly inkind.
They say they are Christ’s disciples
But they don’t look like Jesus to me
And it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free.”

-Dement