“Distant Fingers”

A happy Thursday to you, friends!  I hope you are having a lovely day.

Not too much to report from my corner of the world since I last checked in.  However, I have found a new source of subsidized housing information, so over the next several days I’ll be identifying more possible rentals, visiting neighborhoods with which I’m not yet familiar & filling out more applications.   No one said this would be easy, but as long as there are tangible steps to be taken the waiting game moves more quickly.

I’m anticipating another influx of belongings from Idaho at the end of the weekend: my electric guitar, my plectrum banjo, my Fluke brand tenor scale uke & my mandolin, as well various & sundry other items.  My Peavey amp will probably be arriving as well, tho I expect I’ll sell this.  Although I’d hoped to replace this with a Fender Pro Junior amp, that’s not in the budget; but I do have my eye on a small Fender tube amp that would probably fit my current circumstances much better than the large Peavey.

Other thoughts:

• I need to get out & do some performing, & this probably means open mics for awhile.  Portland has no shortage of these!
• Sometimes I think I’d like to be playing in a band again as well as performing as a soloist.
• Poetry—still not writing—still having only the vaguest urges to do so.  But stay tuned to this space on Saturday for an upcoming Jack Hayes poetry-related announcement!
• I’m thinking very much today of an online friend who’s been going thru some hard times, & hoping that some events in a far distant land will clear those up soon.
• The gray & rainy season is starting.  As November & December are always difficult months for me I’m thinking of ways to keep my spirits up.  One thing to focus on: while this may not be true yet, by December the weather here should be a big improvement on what I’d be experiencing in Indian Valley.  Although they are rainy, Portland’s winters are relatively mild, while Indian Valley’s are quite harsh—cold & prone to inversions.

Otherwise: thinking about the past & the future & trying to connect with the emotions of the now—these are complex enough!  In that spirit, a song about longing that takes me back to a past time, & that also helps me to connect with these emotions: “Distant Fingers” by the Patti Smith Group.  Patti Smith has been an inspiration to me musically, poetically & otherwise since I first heard her perform “Gloria” on Saturday Night Live in the mid 1970s.  “Distant Fingers” is from her second album, Radio Ethiopia, & was co-written with Allen Lanier, also of Blue Oyster Cult fame.

Enjoy your Thursday & enjoy the music!