September 2024 – The Elephant's Trunk

Written for Kymber Hawke’s Get To Know You #36.
Here are her three questions and my answers.

What type of food would you NEVER eat?

Capozzelli di Angnelli, an Italian delicacy which translated into English means “Head of the Sheep”. This is a dish of baked sheep’s head that is considered a macho ritual. It is made by lopping the sheep’s head in half, topping with tomato sauce and sprinkling with breadcrumbs seasoned with rosemary, salt, garlic and oregano, and then baking it in a slow oven for four or five hours. I’m sure brains and other parts of an animal’s head are eaten by other nationalities besides Italian but that doesn’t make it any less disgusting to me. There were certain Italian treats which my father liked to eat such as tripe (the first or second stomach of a cow), and eels. I’ve had eels and thought they were very tasty but I could never bring myself to try tripe. Thank goodness, my mother never made Capozzelli di Angnelli nor did any of my relatives. All I can think of is that scene from Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom where the people sat around eating monkey brains!

2. What is your go-to movie?

Easy …. well, sort of. If I’m channel surfing and land on any of the Godfather movies, I will always stop and watch. I’m one of those people who insists on watching a movie from the very beginning. Even if we put a movie on five minutes after it started, I won’t watch. Hey, a lot can happen in those first five minutes! The Godfather is one movie I will watch regardless of where the action is when I put the movie on.

Another all-time favorite is The Wizard of Oz. That classic holds a lot of sentimental meaning for me. It’s also a great film for its cinematography and musical numbers.

Also, let’s not forget Mel Brooks .… the last of the comedic geniuses. I adore Mel and all his work and will watch any of his movies anytime. My favorite Mel Brooks film is “Young Frankenstein” with “History of the World” a close second.

What’s the last thing that made you laugh out loud?

Not a thing but a who … and that would be our 4 ½ year old granddaughter Colette. That child makes me laugh a lot … especially during my recuperation; she has a finely developed sense of humor and she cracks me up with her facial expressions and many of the things she says and does. The other day was my husband’s birthday and he asked for (and received) the Duck Vacuum … a mini personal vacuum cleaner. The day it arrived happened to be one of the days we watch Colette. She was excited about a package being delivered and when we opened the box, she wanted to use the vacuum immediately. This kid loves to clean! Of course, she also happened to be wearing every piece of jewelry from her collection that day! I took a video of her vacuuming our bedroom; it’s hilarious. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to post videos here so I settled for a couple of still photos. I had a great laugh watching her that day! 💜

Well, this was fun! Hope you all enjoyed getting to know me just a little bit. Thanks to Kymber Hawke for a very enjoyable prompt.

Get to Know You #36

This is “Like To Get To Know You” by Spanky and Our Gang

Music Blog

The Big O

September 29, 2024September 28, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Song Lyric Sunday. This week Jim Adams has asked his
readers to write about a song by an artist who is no longer living.

Sadly, there’s an endless list of artists who fit the bill for today’s theme from Jim Adams, aptly (and brilliantly) titled “Turn Me On, Dead Man”. There are so many greats to choose from, I decided to go with someone who consistently touches my heart every time I hear him sing …. The Big O.

Roy Orbison was born April 23, 1936, in Vernon, Texas to a working-class family, growing up immersed in musical styles ranging from rockabilly and country to zydeco, Tex-Mex and the blues. His dad gave him a guitar for his sixth birthday and he wrote his first song, “A Vow of Love”, when he was 8 years old. In high school, Orbison played the local circuit with a group called the Teen Kings. When their song “Ooby Dooby” came to the attention of Sun Records’ producer Sam Phillips, Orbison was invited to cut a few tracks. In addition to a highly collectible album called Roy Orbison at the Rockhouse, their collaboration yielded a re-recording of “Ooby Dooby” that became Orbison’s first minor hit.

After Roy Orbison landed a record deal with the Nashville-based label Monument in 1960, he began perfecting the sound that would define his career. His big break came after he tried to pitch his composition “Only the Lonely” to both Elvis Presley and the Everly Brothers and was turned down by both. Deciding to record the song himself, Orbison used his vibrato voice and operatic style to create a recording unlike anything Americans had heard at the time. Reaching as high the #2 spot on the Billboard singles chart, “Only the Lonely” has since been deemed a pivotal force in the development of rock music. Between 1960 and 1965, Orbison recorded nine Top 10 hits and another ten that broke into the Top 40, including “Running Scared,” “Crying,” “It’s Over” and “Oh, Pretty Woman“.

As distinctive as his three-octave voice was, Roy Orbison’s unglamorous style has been described as “geek chic.” Stricken with both jaundice and bad eyesight as a child, Orbison had sallow skin, a shy demeanor and wore thick eyeglasses. On a fateful day during his 1963 tour with the Beatles, Orbison left his glasses on the plane before a show, which forced him to wear his prescription sunglasses for that night’s show. Although he considered the incident “embarrassing”, the look became an instant trademark.

Roy Orbison’s unhip underdog look suited his music well, as his lyrics were marked by incredible vulnerability. At a time when rock music went hand-in-hand with confidence and machismo, Orbison dared to sing about insecurity, heartache and fear. His stage persona went a long way toward challenging the traditional ideal of aggressive masculinity in rock & roll.

Although the first half of the 1960s saw the rise of Roy Orbison’s star, the second half of the decade brought harder times. Tragedy struck when Orbison’s wife, Claudette, was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1966, and again when his two eldest sons died in a house fire in 1968. Following those incidents, a devastated Orbison failed to generate many hits and with the rise of the psychedelic movement in rock & roll, the market for rockabilly had all but dried up.

In 1980, however, Roy Orbison experienced a return to his musical career when the Eagles invited him to join them on their “Hotel California” tour. That same year, he rekindled his relationship with country music fans by performing a memorable duet with Emmylou Harris on “That Lovin’ You Feeling Again,” which went on to win a Grammy. When Van Halen covered “Oh, Pretty Woman” in 1982, rock fans were reminded that gratitude for the song was owed to Roy Orbison. By the late 1980s, Orbison had staged a successful comeback, joined the all-star supergroup The Traveling Wilburys alongside Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, George Harrison and Jeff Lynn, was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and initiated into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

On December 6, 1988, Roy Orbison died of a heart attack. His posthumously- released comeback album, Mystery Girl, reached #5 on the charts, becoming the highest-charting solo album of his career. Although he was only 52 years old when he died, Roy Orbison lived to see his rightful place in music history restored.

My featured song for today is Roy Orbison’s deeply moving hit “Crying”. Recorded and released in 1961, “Crying” tells the story of the one who got away, that old flame that’s so very hard to forget. It’s a beautiful song with a haunting melody, perfect for Orbison’s octaves-spanning voice. “Crying” reached #1 on the US Cashbox chart for one week on October 7, 1961. On the rival Billboard Hot 100 it peaked at #2 where “Hit the Road Jack” by Ray Charles kept it from #1. Despite not reaching the summit in the latter publication, Billboard ranked the record as the #4 song of 1961. In 2002, “Crying” was honored with a Grammy Hall of Fame Award. In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it 69^th on their list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

There’s no other song by Roy Orbison that touches my heart and soul as deeply as “Crying”. There are also a number of videos for “Crying” but none quite like this.

Here is Roy Orbison with “Crying”.

LYRICS

I was alright for a while, I could smile for a while
Then I saw you last night, you held my hand so tight
When you stopped to say, “Hello”
You wished me well, you couldn’t tell

That I’d been crying over you
Crying over you then you said, “So long”
Left me standing all alone
Alone and crying,

Crying, crying, crying
It’s hard to understand
That the touch of your hand
Can start me crying

I thought that I was over you
But it’s true, so true
I love you even more than I did before
But darling what can I do?
For you don’t love me and I’ll always be

Crying over you
Crying over you
Yes, now you’re gone
And from this moment on
I’ll be crying, crying, crying, crying,
Crying, crying, over you

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Joe Melson/Roy Orbison
Crying lyrics © Barbara Orbison Music Company, BMG Rights Management, Orbi-Lee Music, R-Key Darkus, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Turn Me On, Dead Man

Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week. Be sure to follow the link and check out Jim’s site.

Thanks for stopping by. See you on the flip side. 😎

Short Story

Coulro Saves The Day

September 28, 2024September 27, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for The Unicorn Challenge where we are
asked to get creative in 250 word or less using
the photo below as inspiration. This is my story.

My whole life has been nothing but one big joke. I don’t know why I expected otherwise, considering I was raised by a couple of clowns, but I did. Oh, don’t get me wrong; I’m not being derogatory. Not in the least. My parents are clowns .… literally. They are circus clowns and so am I.

Raffles and Mittens are my parents. Some of my aunts, uncles and cousins are Poodles, Flopsy, Jingles, Pogo and Skippy. Rumor has it that my great-grandparents were Bozo and Clarabell but we never know what to take seriously in this family.

We all live in a rinky-dink circus trailer and if you think walking into pantyhose drying in the bathroom is annoying, try existing with a squirting flower, a megaphone, a pop gun and a seltzer bottle every day of your life. This clowning around life ain’t that easy!

Anyway, we needed some mode of transportation to get around town for shopping and appointments so we went to the used car lot. Of course, the used car salesman tried to talk us into a clown car, which was terribly condescending. Clowns are people, too, dammit!

That’s when my boyfriend, Stumpy, had an idea. Stumpy is a coulro* and the best clown on stilts there ever was. Everybody looks up to him! With bicycle parts salvaged from the junkyard, he assembled the Clown Limo. With his long legs, Stumpy can drive us anywhere at all.

People say it’s the coolest ride in town!

NAR©2024
250 Words

*Coulro is a Greek word that means “stilt walker” or “clown“. It may come from the ancient Greek word kōlobathristēs, which means “one who goes on stilts“.

The Unicorn Challenge-27/09/24

This is “Take The Long Way Home” by Supertramp.

Flash

Punch Drunk

September 27, 2024September 27, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Friday Fictioneers where our host Rochelle
has asked us to use the photo below as inspiration
and get creative in 100 words or less, making
every word count. Here’s my flash.

Punch – that misogynistic bastard – was out cold, spent from guzzling booze and pounding Judy like a side of beef. She slipped him Valium to keep him zonked and shackled his wrists.

Policeman Jack, Judy’s lover, stood guard outside; Punch would never escape before the tide washed him away.

Judy’s long gone now on a slow boat to a podunk beach town called Atlantic City.

A year went by; nobody asked about Punch or Judy. How quickly they forgot.

When Policeman Jack received a letter from the States, inside was a ticket to Atlantic City. Judy was true to her word.

NAR©2024
100 Words

For more info about Punch and Judy click HERE.

27 September 2024

This is “Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)” by John Fred and His Playboy Band

Music Blog

Sultry Rhythm Redefined

September 26, 2024September 25, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

This is Week 39 of Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag and we are
being asked to choose a song by a group or solo artist whose
name begins with the letters Q or R. This is my choice.

Roxy Music became a successful act in Europe and Australia during the 1970s with the success of their 1972 self-titled debut studio album. The band was formed in England in 1970 by Bryan Ferry … who became the lead vocalist and principal songwriter … and bassist Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone and oboe), and Paul Thompson (drums and percussion). Other members included Brian Eno (synthesizer and “treatments“) and Eddie Jobson (synthesizer and violin).

In 2011, Roxy Music played a series of 40th-anniversary shows and in 2019, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In 2022, the group re-formed for a tour to mark the 50th anniversary of their debut studio album.

My featured song today is “Avalon” from their final studio album of the same name; it was certified Platinum in the United States on December 2, 1992 … exactly ten years after its release in 1982.

On the cover photo of the album Avalon, we see the back of a knight’s helmet; resting on his hand is a falcon. They look out over clouds and what seems like the rising sun to a strip of land in the distance – a goal so prized it might as well be Avalon, the paradise where the knight could find rest. And comfort. Even, perhaps, love.

Bryan Ferry was always a ladies man, that is, a man who lived for love. The dark suit, the white shirt, the hair cut just so across the forehead. It’s all atmosphere, all sensuality. The ethereal saxophone. The rhythm that redefined “sultry”.

This is “Avalon” by Roxy Music.

Lyrics

Now the party’s over, I’m so tired
Then I see you coming, out of nowhere
Much communication, in a motion
Without conversation, or a notion

Avalon

When the samba takes you, out of nowhere
With the background fading, out of focus
Yes the picture’s changing, every moment
And your destination, you don’t know it

Avalon

When you bossa nova, there’s no holding
But you have me dancing, out of nowhere

Avalon

Avalon
(Ooh, ooh, yeah)
Avalon
Avalon (Ooh)
Avalon (Ooh)
Avalon (Ooh)
Avalon (Ooh)

Avalon (Ooh)
Avalon
Avalon
Avalon (Ooh)
Avalon

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Bryan Ferry
Avalon lyrics © BMG Rights Management (UK) Limited

Mixed Music Bag 2024 – week 39 – In the picture

Big thanks to Glyn for hosting Mixed Music Bag every week. Please be sure to follow the link and check out Glyn’s site.

Thanks for joining me today and spinning some tunes.

See you on the flip side. 😎

Dectina Refrain

1968: A Dectina Refrain

September 26, 2024September 25, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for dVerse Poetics: Fall (in) Love,
this is my Dectina Refrain.

I
met him
in the fall,
tanned from summer.
He was a bronzed god,
hair as gold as the sun,
eyes like burnished copper glowed.
He warmed the chill from out my bones,
thawed the late Autumn frost in my heart.
I met him in the fall tanned from summer.

Happy Birthday to my husband Bill. We met in the fall of 1968. 🤎

Poetics: Fall (in) love

This is “Bill” from Showboat performed by the Rebecca Trehearn

Haibun

As Days Grow Short

September 25, 2024September 24, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for dVerse Poets Haibun Monday where
the theme today is “equinox”. This is my haibun.

It’s now one month post op. I have spent a lot of time looking out my bedroom window contemplating the healing transformation of my body and the seasonal metamorphosis as we gently slip from summer into autumn. I had been facing physical limitations as I aged; they have now been compounded by my back surgery. On bad days I curse myself for agreeing to this procedure but I know it was the right choice. Getting back on my feet is taking longer than I anticipated. Like the brittle tree branches that come with autumn, my bones are not what they once were. But now I have a chance to walk among the fallen crimson and golden leaves instead of simply watching them drop from the trees and for that I’m grateful. I am better today than I was two weeks ago and in two more weeks I’ll be better than I am today. It’s a process.

warm burnished tones of autumn
as days grow short
the earth prepares for new life

Haibun Monday 9-25-24: Equinox

This is “Autumn In New York” by Billie Holiday

Miscellaneous

And The Music Goes Round And Round

September 24, 2024September 24, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Keith Allen’s Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian
and his new blog “The Toy In Your Life”. Here’s what I had to say.

For as long as I can remember, music has been in my life in one form or another. There was never a time when I was not singing in a choir or choral group, either in church or school. My family was musical and the house was always alive with radio music, records playing, someone practicing the piano, someone else playing the mandolin, someone tinkering with the guitar, recorder, squeezebox, drums, and everyone singing, singing, singing.

I will always remember my Christmas present when I was 12 years old … a portable record player which my parents repeatedly made very clear was not ‘a toy’. I knew that! The toy phonographs came with Howdy Doody decals or Mickey Mouse ears and were made out of cardboard painted to look like leather or plastic. I had those toy record players which didn’t last very long; this was the real deal. To me, my teal blue General Electric Solid State record player was ‘the Holy Grail’! My parents spent “good money on that thing” and expected me to treat it with respect. What they didn’t predict was how I would worship that suitcase phonograph every day of my life.

This baby had built-in speakers that really blew! And a real diamond tip needle. My older cousin Joseph taught me the proper way to raise and lower the arm and how to safely get the dust off my records. My parents gave me and my sister a weekly allowance and I used most of my money to buy records.

The first 45 to grace my record player was “Da Doo Ron Ron” by the Crystals (which was prophetic because “his name was Bill”!). The early girl groups were my idols; I loved their sound and their lyrics were perfect for young girls with hormones working overtime. Then the Beatles invaded the US and my life was changed forever.

That GE teal blue record player became my best friend and I took very good care of it. After I was married, we had a hi-tech stereo system in the living room but I still kept my phonograph upstairs in the bedroom where we’d listen to romantic tunes like “A Million To One”, “Daddy’s Home”, “I Only Have Eyes For You” and “Ooh Baby Baby”. When our sons were old enough, I handed down my record player to them and now our 15 year old granddaughter has it in her bedroom. Her latest purchase was the soundtrack to Guardians of the Galaxy which is pretty damn cool.

Thanks to Keith Allen for the invitation to write a little something on his new blog. I hope you enjoyed what I had to share today.

I’m Nancy, The Sicilian Storyteller.

See you on the flip side. 😎

Be My Guest – More Info (For those who asked…)

This is “Da Doo Ron Ron” by the Crystals

Haibun

Crop Invaders: A Haibun

September 24, 2024September 23, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge and
Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge where the
required words are “wrong” and “hoarding”. This is my haibun.

The exact year escapes me but it was a long time ago, to be sure. It was the summer we returned from vacation to find our tomatoes had ripened into gorgeous red orbs ready for eating. I could practically smell that grassy-green, spicy-sweet summery aroma. But something seemed wrong, off somehow. I felt like I was not alone in my garden, like I was being watched. Taking a closer look, I discovered disturbingly large caterpillars feasting on our lovely harvest. The bloated green creatures blended in so well with the underside of the leaves, it took a few seconds to register why our crop was full of gaping holes. Probing, boring, ravaging, gorging, hoarding. No tomato was salvaged that summer. Not one. That was the year I stopped planting tomatoes.

garden interlopers
devastation
signaling summer’s end

Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge – Wrong

Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge – Hoarding

This is “End of Summer” featuring Katie Melua and L.U.C. from The Peasants soundtrack

Flash

Eat Me!

September 23, 2024September 21, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Sammi’s Weekend Writing Prompt #382
where we are asked to get down in exactly 22 words,
using the required word “please”. Here’s my flash.

Now that Autumn is here, I’m thinking Brown Butter Pecan Pancakes with a side scoop of butter pecan ice cream. Yes, please!

NAR©2024
22 Words

Here’s the recipe link: https://naturallyella.com/brown-butter-and-pecan-pancakes/

Weekend Writing Prompt #382 – Please

This is “Harvest Moon” by Neil Young

Music Blog

Remembering Roberta

September 22, 2024September 22, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Song Lyric Sunday. This week Jim Adams has asked his
readers to choose a song that makes them think about life. Here’s mine.

To talk about my featured song, I first need to tell you about my friend, Roberta. She and I had been friends since our sons attended nursery school together, some 44 years ago. Even back then in her early 30s, Roberta had a shock of gorgeous silver-white hair that was always perfectly yet casually coiffed. Just like my grandmother, Roberta’s hair color changed when she was in her 20s and I never saw her with a different color or style.

Roberta’s laugh was one of a kind …. some might call it a cackle …. and you heard her long before you saw her! She rarely took life too seriously and was very forthcoming with her opinions, whether you wanted to hear them or not. I guess you could call her a ‘free spirit’; she lived very much in the moment, often arriving late for appointments because she ran into someone who needed a friend to talk to.

There was never any doubt where you stood with Roberta. If she was pissed off about something, you knew it. She’d speak her mind, clear the air and never mention the issue again. Done and forgotten. But not just forgotten …. forgiven as well. She didn’t hold a grudge; I always thought that was an admirable trait. And she didn’t lie. If anything, she was too honest and her ‘bluntness’ could turn people off. She really didn’t care what people thought about her; life was not a popularity contest. As I said, people always knew exactly how Roberta felt.

She was a devout Catholic, attending Mass every weekend, but she was never showy about it. Roberta and her husband Martin were in charge of the church’s food pantry …. collecting food for families in need …. and not just during the holidays or when a crisis hit but every day of the year …. however, the holidays were very important to Roberta, especially Christmas. That was when she amped up the drive for food, clothes and gifts for needy families in the area, especially the children. In all the years I knew Roberta, I don’t remember anyone else heading up the food pantry except her. She and Martin were special people, far from saints but doing God’s work in an unassuming way.

It came as a terrible blow to everyone when Roberta became dangerously ill almost overnight in August 2014 and was diagnosed with West Nile Virus (for which there is no vaccine or cure although most people recover with proper care). Roberta had an extremely virulent case and within days she lapsed into a coma and never regained consciousness. At one point, she was the only documented case of “death by West Nile Virus” in Westchester County, NY.

The day I visited Roberta at the nursing home was one I will never forget. Had it not been for her name on the door and her glorious mane of white hair, I would not have recognized my longtime friend; the virus left her body terribly swollen, facial features almost fused together. I sat by her bedside, held her hand and sang a song I had sung many times before. And as I sang to my friend, I saw her eyelid barely flutter and her finger quiver ever so slightly and no one will ever convince me that she was unaware of my presence. Four months later, during Christmas week, Roberta died. It was the perfect time for her to take her leave.

The song I sang to my friend that day in the nursing home was “What A Wonderful World”.

According to Wikipedia, “What A Wonderful World” was written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released as a single in 1967. In April 1968, it topped the pop chart in the UK but performed poorly in the United States because the president of ABC Records disliked the song’s arrangement and refused to promote it. (There’s more on Wiki about that and it’s pretty interesting.) After the song was heard in the 1987 film Good Morning, Vietnam, it was reissued as a single in 1988 and rose to #32 on the Billboard Hot 100. Louis Armstrong’s recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

Every time I hear this song, I remember Roberta and our last visit together. This is “What A Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong.

LYRICS

I see trees of green
Red roses too
I see them bloom
For me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

I see skies of blue
And clouds of white
The bright blessed day
The dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
Saying, “How do you do?”
They’re really saying
I love you

I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more
Than I’ll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Yes, I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Ooh, yes

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: George David Weiss/Robert Thiele
What a Wonderful World lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Concord Music Publishing LLC, Kanjian Music, Tratore

Existential Thoughts

Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week. Be sure to follow the link and check out Jim’s site.

Thanks for stopping by. See you on the flip side. 😎

Short Prose

When Push Comes To Shove: The Continuing Story of Harvey and Fiona

September 21, 2024September 20, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for The Unicorn Challenge where we are asked
to get creative in 250 words or less using the photo
below as inspiration. This is my 4^th story about Harvey
and Fiona; for my previous stories, please click here.

Early each morning on her way to work, Fiona passed the busy bakery in the heart of town. She loved the shamrock-green storefront and the delicious aroma of baked goods, and imagined herself working there.

Maneuvering the heavy pressing machines at her job took its toll on Fiona; she was exhausted and complained of backaches. Harvey barked that she better toughen up because no way was she quitting that job. And for the first time, he slapped her.

On Sunday morning Fiona asked Harvey to bring down the mixing bowl from the top shelf in the kitchen so she could make an apple pie. Grousing, but inwardly delighting at the prospect of dessert, Harvey took a long swig of his beer and got the stepladder out of the closet. As he started to climb, Fiona managed to hoist a five pound sack of apples, grimacing at the awful pain in her back, and bashed Harvey as hard as she could on the back of his head. He fell backwards onto the kitchen floor, vacant eyes staring at the ceiling. He would never slap her again.

Fiona tore open the sack of apples, dumped them into the colander on the counter and shoved the empty sack into the trash. She looked at Harvey’s dead body; blood had pooled under his head and she felt sick to her stomach. Fiona vomited in the sink, then washed her face and hands; she lifted the receiver of the wall phone and called the police.

NAR©2024
250 Words

The Unicorn Challenge-20/09/24

This is “Push Comes To Shove” by Van Halen.

Flash

Who’s Kidding Who

September 20, 2024September 19, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Friday Fictioneers where our gracious host,
Rochelle, has asked us to use the photo below as inspiration
to get creative in 100 words or less, making
every word count. Here’s my flash.

Sue was excited as she showed her husband Ron her purchase.

“Isn’t it gorgeous, Ron? My latest acquisition from the Mystical Emporium. It’s supposed to…”

Ron cut her off. “Not again, Sue! You’re so gullible!”

“Ron, wait! It really works!” But Ron left, slamming the door behind him.

Sue would have to wait until Ron returned from work to show him how the pitcher set glowed whenever someone lied.

As usual, Ron was late and Sue was waiting for him.

“Not now, Sue! I’ve had a grueling day at the office!”

And the magical pitcher set glimmered like a supernova.

NAR©2024
100 Words

20 September2024

This is “Lies” by the Knickerbockers

Quadrille

Shall We Dance? (Part 2)

September 19, 2024September 19, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for dVerse Poets Quadrille #208 –
“Undead To The World”.

You put your right hand in
you put your right hand out
you put your right hand in
and you shake it all about…

At this rate we’ll be here all night!

Vamp on over here, Sugar,
and give me some of that neck!

NAR©2024
44 Words

Quadrille #208 – Undead to the World

This is “The Time Warp Scene” from Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Quadrille

Shall We Dance?

September 19, 2024September 18, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for dVerse Poets Quadrille #208 –
“Undead To The World”.

Heaving breasts beckon
A throbbing vein divine
Come to my side, darling Vampira
On your body I wish to dine

Eyes like burning embers glow
Skin smooth as fine alabaster
Waltz across the dance floor, my Vampira
Into the lifeless arms of your master

NAR©2024
44 Words

Quadrille #208 – Undead to the World

This is “Vampire Waltz” (clips from Van Helsing and Phantom of the Opera)

Music Blog

Girl Power

September 18, 2024September 18, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

This is Week 38 of Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag and we are
being asked to choose a song by a group or solo artist whose
name begins with the letters Q or R. This is my choice.

L to R: Nedra Talley, Veronica Bennett, Estelle Bennett

Perhaps the best remembered of the “girl groups” of the early ’60s were Veronica (Ronnie) Bennett, her sister Estelle and their cousin Nedra Talley, also known as the Ronettes. In towering black beehive hairdos and dark eye makeup, the Ronettes were a classic mid-sixties girl group with a sultry twist – vulnerable but tough, sexy but sweet.

A trio of sassy, glamorous young women from the Washington Heights section of New York City, the Ronettes exemplified the girl group ideal, exuding both youthful innocence and worldly sensuality. They were the perfect vehicle for the eccentric, visionary producer Phil Spector, who combined his innovative “Wall of Sound” production techniques with the Ronettes’ rich voices to create such teen classics as “Be My Baby,” “Baby I Love You,” and “Walking in the Rain”. To attain the “Wall of Sound”, Spector’s arrangements called for large ensembles (including some instruments not generally used for ensemble playing, such as electric and acoustic guitars), with multiple instruments doubling or tripling many of the parts to create a fuller, richer tone.

Lead singer Ronnie’s romantic relationship with Phil Spector began in 1963 as an affair while Phil was married. He divorced his wife in 1965 and married Ronnie in 1968, becoming controlling, paranoid and abusive during their relationship. Notorious behavior included making Ronnie drive with a life-size dummy of himself alongside her; he kept her imprisoned in their house and threatened her with murder. She eventually escaped in 1972 and he eventually did commit murder, shooting actress Lana Clarkson in 2003 (click the link for the sordid details). On May 29, 2009, Phil Spector was sentenced to 19 years to life and died in a prison hospital in January 2021.

Ronnie Spector and her bandmates spent 15 years battling Phil for royalties they were owed, eventually successfully; in 2000 a New York court ruled that Phil owed them $2.6m. This decision was reversed in 2002 after judges found that the record deal the group initially signed meant that Phil Spector had rights to the recordings, but in 2006 the New York state supreme court awarded the group a lump sum and ordered Phil to continue paying them yearly royalties. There were further legal complaints later that decade, with Phil accused of withholding royalty payments.

Although the Ronettes are now known almost exclusively for their work with Spector, they actually got their start a few years earlier. As young teenagers, the girls began harmonizing together and won one of the famed Apollo Theater’s talent contests. Ronnie said she, Estelle and Nedra liked to play up their hot image; in 1961, their looks and moves got them hired as dancers at New York’s fashionable Peppermint Lounge, ground zero of the then-current Twist craze. They got a record deal with Colpix and recorded their first single, “I Want A Boy”, credited to Ronnie and the Relatives. The next single “I’m On the Wagon”, listed the girls as the Ronettes. Between their other activities, the girls found themselves in the recording studio backing artist such as Bobby Rydell, Del Shannon and Joey Dee.

There are conflicting stories as to how Phil Spector and the Ronettes actually met but after hearing the girls, Phil was hot to produce a record with them. Spector was taken with Ronnie’s hard but sweet sound and saw the “bad girls” in beehives as an act he could build an image around. Up until that time, girl groups rarely had an identity and never had their photos on the sleeves of their 45s. That changed with the Ronettes.

The first single on Spector’s Philles label in July 1963 was a classic – the Barry/Greenwich/Spector “Be My Baby”. Ronnie’s seductive vocal delivery, along with her now legendary “woh-oh-oh-oh” and Spector’s “Wall of Sound” drove the single to chart success. By October, 1963 it was at #2 and became an international hit as it reached #4 on the English Charts.

The Ronettes’ career took off after they recorded “Be My Baby“. The following January, the group began its first tour of England, where they spent time with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The Stones opened for the Ronettes on that tour, and the Ronettes would open for the Beatles on their 1965 tour of U.S. stadiums.

The Ronettes split up in 1967, the victims of changing musical tastes and Phil Spector’s shifting interests and controlling behavior. After leaving Phil in ’72, Ronnie formed a new Ronettes lineup before beginning a solo career.

In 2006, the Library of Congress inducted “Be My Baby” into the United States National Recording Registry. It’s safe to say there was no other girl group like the Ronettes.

Ronnie Spector, 1943-2022. Rest In Peace, Ronnie. ❤︎

From 1963, here are the Ronettes with their classic “Be My Baby”.

Lyrics

The night we met I knew I needed you so
And if I had the chance I’d never let you go
So won’t you say you love me?
I’ll make you so proud of me
We’ll make ’em turn their heads every place we go

So won’t you, please (be my, be my baby)
Be my little baby? (My one and only baby)
Say you’ll be my darlin’ (be my, be my baby)
Be my baby now (my one and only baby)
Whoa-oh-oh-oh

I’ll make you happy, baby, just wait and see
For every kiss you give me, I’ll give you three
Oh, since the day I saw you
I have been waiting for you
You know I will adore you ’til eternity

So won’t you, please (be my, be my baby)
Be my little baby? (My one and only baby)
Say you’ll be my darlin’ (be my, be my baby)
Be my baby now (my one and only baby)
Whoa-oh-oh-oh

So come on and, please (be my, be my baby)
Be my little baby? (My one and only baby)
Say you’ll be my darlin’ (be my, be my baby)
Be my baby now (my one and only baby)
Whoa-oh-oh-oh

Be my little baby? (My one and only baby)
Oh-oh-oh (be my, be my baby)
Oh (my one and only baby)
Whoa-oh-oh-oh (be my, be my baby)
Oh-oh-oh (My one and only baby)
Oh (be my, be my baby)

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Ellie Greenwich / Jeff Barry / Philip Spector
Be My Baby lyrics © Abkco Music Inc., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group

Mixed Music Bag 2024 – week 38 – Quartz

Big thanks to Glyn for hosting Mixed Music Bag every week. Please be sure to follow the link and check out Glyn’s site.

Thanks for joining me today and spinning some tunes.

See you on the flip side. 😎

Flash

Going To The Mattresses*

September 17, 2024September 15, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Weekend Writing Prompt #381 where
Sammi asks us to use the prompt word “bungle” and
get creative in exactly 41 words. Here’s my flash.

Dio mio! I’m afraid I’ve bungled things quite badly.

While planning the seating arrangement for my son’s wedding, I inadvertently placed Zia Carmella at Table 1 and her sister, Zia Francesca, at Table 2.

An insult! Disgrazia!

This means war!

NAR©2024
41 Words

* In times of war or siege, Italian families would vacate their homes and rent apartments in safer areas. In order to protect themselves they would hire soldiers to sleep on the floor in shifts. The meaning of the phrase “going to the mattresses” symbolizes the association in Italian folk-memory of mattresses with safety in wartime. The phrase wasn’t well known outside the US and Italy prior to the Godfather movies. It was used there, and later in The Sopranos, to mean “preparing for battle”.

Weekend Writing Prompt #381 – Bungle

When Kay met Michael, scenes from an Italian wedding (Godfather, 1972) featuring Al Martino as Johnny Fontane. This is “I Have But One Heart (O Marenariello)”

Ovi Poem

Post Op: An Ovi Poem

September 16, 2024September 16, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Ovi Poetry Challenge 65:
“Expectations” is our inspiration.

Author’s Note: As most of you know, I had back surgery on August 22.
Recuperation is much tougher than I thought or expected. I have no idea
if I’ll ever be the same. What I do know is I’m not as bad as I was
three weeks ago and in another three weeks I’ll be better than I am today.
Thanks, D, for helping me realize that. ♡

One foot at a time
Try staying in a straight line
It’s ok, you’re doing fine
But everything really hurts

You need to take it slow
You have nowhere to go
Practice walking to and fro
One leg then the other

I didn’t expect this pain
Please let me go home again
And I’ll never complain
Just suck it up and walk

My hopes were to high
Like a big pie in the sky
Now I just want to cry
Grow up and stop the nonsense

You’re stronger than you think
Don’t make such a stink
Soon you’ll be in the pink
You got this, girl

Ovi Poetry Challenge 65: EXPECTATIONS is your inspiration.

From the movie A Hole In The Head, this is Frank Sinatra and the incredibly adorable Eddie Hodges singing “High Hopes”.

Music Blog

Flying … or … Volare

September 15, 2024September 14, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Song Lyric Sunday. This week Jim Adams has asked his
readers to choose a song they remember from their childhood.

Music has always been a huge part of my life since my days growing up in The Bronx. Every self-respecting Italian family has a finished basement … one wide open room with a kitchen, eating area, a space for family activities, a TV area, a bathroom and closed-off workshop. Our television was one of those big console units which also included a radio and stereo with a storage cabinet and looked something like this:

When my sister and I listened to our music, my mother would either be cooking or in her sewing area and Dad would be at the kitchen table working on a crossword puzzle. He claimed he didn’t like our music but he never actually left the room when it was on. However, on Saturday afternoons my father commandeered the radio so he could listen to his favorite Italian show called “Pasquale C.O.D.” I remember it being just like WMCA … the station I listed … only in Italian. Pasquale was the DJ who’d talk about everything from food to politics and play the top hits from Italy and the US.

In 1958 there was a song we heard often and it became a family favorite; it got to be so popular, it wasn’t just limited to Dad’s Italian station. People all around the world could hear Domenico Modugno singing his hit “Nel blu, dipinto di blu“, more commonly known as “Volare”. Modugno composed the music and, along with Franco Migliacci, wrote the lyrics. The single was released on February 1, 1958.

The song spent five non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in August and September 1958, and subsequently became Billboard’s #1 single for the year. In 1959, at the 1^st Annual Grammy Awards, Modugno’s recording became the first ever Grammy winner for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year. For more info about “Volare”, you can click HERE.

Here is “Nel blu, dipinto di blu (Volare)” by Domenico Modugno. This one’s for you, Dad.

LYRICS

I think a dream like this will never come back
Penso che un sogno così non ritorni mai più

I painted my hands and face blue
Mi dipingevo le mani e la faccia di blu

Then suddenly I was kidnapped by the wind
Poi d’improvviso venivo dal vento rapito

And I began to fly in the infinite sky
E incominciavo a volare nel cielo infinito

Flying oh, oh
Volare oh, oh

Singing oh, oh
Cantare oh, oh

In the blue painted blue
Nel blu dipinto di blu

Happy to be up there
Felice di stare lassù

And I flew, I flew happily higher than the sun
E volavo, volavo felice più in alto del sole

And even higher
Ed ancora più su

While the world slowly disappeared far away down there
Mentre il mondo pian piano spariva lontano laggiù

Sweet music played just for me
Una musica dolce suonava soltanto per me

Flying oh, oh
Volare oh, oh

Singing oh, oh
Cantare oh, oh

In the blue painted blue
Nel blu dipinto di blu

Happy to be up there
Felice di stare lassù

But all dreams fade away in the dawn
Ma tutti i sogni nell’alba svaniscon perché

When the moon sets, it takes them with it
Quando tramonta la luna li porta con sé

But I continue to dream in your beautiful eyes
Ma io continuo a sognare negli occhi tuoi belli

Which are blue like a sky studded with stars
Che sono blu come un cielo trapunto di stelle

Flying oh, oh
Volare oh, oh

Singing oh, oh
Cantare oh, oh

In the blue of your blue eyes
Nel blu degli occhi tuoi blu

Happy to be down here
Felice di stare quaggiù

And I continue to fly happily higher than the sun
E continuo a volare felice più in alto del sole

And even higher
Ed ancora più su

While the world slowly disappears in your blue eyes
Mentre il mondo pian piano scompare negli occhi tuoi blu

Your voice is sweet music that plays for me
La tua voce è una musica dolce che suona per me

Flying oh, oh
Volare oh, oh

Singing oh, oh
Cantare oh, oh

In the blue of your blue eyes
Nel blu degli occhi tuoi blu

Happy to be down here
Felice di stare quaggiù

In the blue of your blue eyes
Nel blu degli occhi tuoi blu

Happy to be down here
Felice di stare quaggiù

With you
Con te

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Domenico Modugno/Franco Migliacci
Nel blu, dipinto di blu lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Peermusic Publishing

There were more than 100 different recordings of “Volare” worldwide but my favorite from 1960 was the version by Italian-American pop singer Bobby Rydell (Ridarelli). Even my dad thought he sounded pretty good! His recording reached #4 on the Hot 100 during the summer of 1960, #22 in the UK and #3 in Canada. Here is Bobby Rydell’s version.

Of course, we couldn’t go flying without the wonderful Il Volo (flight) and their rendition of “Volare”. These young vocal sensations came on the scene long after my father passed away; I wonder what he’d think of them. Here is Il Volo.

Childhood Music Hits

Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week. Be sure to click the link and check out Jim’s site.

Thanks for stopping by. See you on the flip side. 😎

Short Story

Bisnonna*

September 14, 2024September 13, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for The Unicorn Challenge where we are
asked to get creative in 250 words or less using
the photo below as inspiration. Here is my story.

The ambience in our house was different today, quietly busy as delivery men and acquaintances paying their respects came and went. My father and mother’s uncles directed the traffic of floral deliveries and positioned the many arrangements throughout the parlor. My mother and her aunts labored in the kitchen like silent worker bees preparing trays of food for the funeral dinner tomorrow.

We children sat meekly on the two enormous matching sofas along the side walls, eyes downcast, confused and uncharacteristically restrained. Occasionally we would glance toward the elevated casket in the center of the room and quickly look away. At 6:00 we were whisked off to the dining room where we wordlessly ate our evening meal, then returned to the parlor to continue our vigil.

There seemed to be a never-ending flow of people, a soft parade of mourners entering our house. Veiled women dabbed their eyes and men removed their hats, heads bowed. This stream flowed seamlessly from 2:00 in the afternoon until 9:30 that evening, many people lingering to reflect while caressing their rosary beads. A priest arrived shortly after 9:30; he spoke softly in our native Sicilian dialect, offering prayers and words of consolation. When he was finished, everyone except my mother’s aunts and uncles departed. My little cousins, some no longer able to stay awake, were carried home and my sister and I were shooed off to our bedroom upstairs.

It had been a long and sorrowful day. My great-grandmother, the family matriarch, had died.

NAR©2024
250 Words

*Bisnonna is the Sicilian word for “great-grandmother”.

Author’s Note: I was nine years old when my great-grandmother died. Much of that day is etched in my mind; in particular, I remember being unable to sleep that night knowing there was a dead body in a coffin downstairs in my parlor. Never ever will I forget the cold and waxy feel of my bisnonna’s skin on my lips as I, along with all the other children, lined up to place a kiss on her forehead … not something we did willingly.

The Unicorn Challenge-13/09/24

This is “Paint It Black” by the Rolling Stones

Flash

Just A Part Of Life

September 13, 2024September 13, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Friday Fictioneers where our host Rochelle
has asked us to use the photo below as inspiration
to get creative in 100 words or less, making
every word count. Here’s my flash.

Jenny looked around the no-frills room which was now her home. A shy girl, she’d never spent a single night away from home; now she was half-way across the country at an unfamiliar university with thousands of nameless faces.

At first she didn’t want her parents’ help moving but at the last minute she relented. They were on their way home now and all Jenny wanted was to grab her phone and beg them to come back and take her home.

The sound of girl’s excited laughter echoed in the hall; Jenny peeked out and someone happily waved her over.

13 September 2024

This is “What Is Life” by George Harrison

Music Blog

Over the Rainbow

September 12, 2024September 11, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

This is Week 37 of Glyn’s Mixed Music Bag and we are
being asked to choose a song by a group or solo artist whose
name begins with the letters Q or R. This is my choice.

Disillusioned and fed up with the chaotic state of Deep Purple in the mid-’70s, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore made the stunning announcement in May 1975 that he was quitting the group he had founded and led for over seven years in order to start from scratch.

Teaming up with up-and-coming American vocalist Ronnie James Dio, Blackmore built Rainbow around the singer’s former band, Elf. Featuring bassist Craig Gruber, keyboard player Mickey Lee Soule, and drummer Gary Driscoll, the group’s 1975 debut Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow was quickly embraced by European fans and yielded their first hit single, “Man on the Silver Mountain”.

Blackmore and Dio were dissatisfied with the album’s sound, however, and decided to re-vamp Rainbow (by then sufficiently established to do without Blackmore’s name) by drafting bassist Jimmy Bain, keyboard player Tony Carey, and former Jeff Beck Group drummer Cozy Powell. It was with this lineup that they entered Musicland studios in February 1976 to record the landmark Rising opus – once voted the greatest heavy metal album of all time in a 1981 Kerrang! magazine readers’ poll. Capturing Blackmore and Dio at the peak of their creative powers, Rising chronicled both the guitarist’s neo-classical metal compositions at their most ambitious and the singer’s growing fixation with fantasy lyrical themes – a blueprint he would adopt for his entire career thereafter. Following its release, the band embarked upon a successful world tour, culminating in a sold-out European jaunt which spawned a best-selling live album entitled On Stage, released in 1977.

By the time they returned with the equally acclaimed Long Live Rock ’n’ Roll album, Rainbow had established themselves as one of Europe’s best-selling groups and top concert draws. But the volatile relationship between Blackmore and Dio had already begun to deteriorate, as the American-born singer became increasingly frustrated with standing in the guitarist’s shadow. To make matters worse, Blackmore had been so impressed with Long Live Rock ’n’ Roll’s success as a single, that he began to consider altering the band’s sound in order to pursue a more mainstream hard rock approach … a change in which Dio was not interested. A chance meeting with Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath (recently split for good from unreliable frontman Ozzy Osbourne) helped Dio make up his mind and he officially quit Rainbow in early 1979 to join Black Sabbath.

Rainbow A.D. (After Dio) had two more frontmen … Brit Graham Bonnet and American Joe Lynn Turner; however that’s another story for another time … and no less tumultuous. Blackmore was a very difficult person to work with, or so I’ve read.

“Man On the Siver Mountain”, Rainbow’s first hit with Ronnie James Dio, has been described by Blackmore as “a semi-religious song with the man on the silver mountain as a kind of God figure people are crying out to. It’s about spiritual enlightenment, reaching the top and calling on your inner strength … like finding inner peace and confidence. The man on the silver mountain I think is finding my higher self.”

I wouldn’t know anything about that; I just think it’s an awesome metal track. Here is “Man On the Silver Mountain” by Rainbow.

Lyrics

I’m a wheel, I’m a wheel
I can roll, I can feel
And you can’t stop me turning
Cause I’m the sun, I’m the sun
I can move, I can run
But you’ll never stop me burning
Come down with fire
Lift my spirit higher
Someone’s screaming my name
Come and make me holy again

I’m the man on the silver mountain
I’m the man on the silver mountain
I’m the day, I’m the day
I can show you the way
And look I’m right beside you
I’m the night, I’m the night
I’m the dark and the light
With eyes that see inside you
Come down with fire
Lift my spirit higher
Someone’s screaming my name
Come and make me holy again

I’m the man on the silver mountain
I’m the man on the silver mountain
Come down with fire
Lift my spirit higher
Someone’s screaming my name
Come and make me holy again

I’m the man on the silver mountain
I’m the man on the silver mountain
Just look at me and listen
I’m the man, the man, give you my hand
Come down with fire
Lift your spirit higher
I’m the man on the silver mountain
I’m the man on the silver mountain
I’m the night and the light
I’m the black and the white
The man on the silver mountain

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Ritchie Blackmore / Ronnie Dio
Man on the Silver Mountain lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc

Mixed Music Bag 2024 – week 37 – A proper gander

Big thanks to Glyn for hosting Mixed Music Bag every week. Please be sure to follow the link and check out Glyn’s site.

Thanks for joining me today and spinning some tunes.

See you on the flip side. 😎

Prose

The Water’s Edge

September 12, 2024September 11, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for dVerse Poets By The Beautiful Sea.
This is one of my reworked pieces from 2022.

How I long to walk to the water’s edge,
to dip my toes and cool my burning feet.

There are times I think if I could just reach the water
all my pain would wash away.

Where are the days when I skipped along the shore
collecting shells and rocks and starfish?

My body would bake in the brilliant sun as I danced
like a gazelle from one end of the beach to the other.
I’d look back in amazement wondering how I walked that far.

Sometimes I would catch my reflection in the water
and see that young woman, vibrant and alive.

Hair of burnished gold, skin smooth and lustrous,
deeply tanned, and eyes as green as the ocean itself.

I smile at her but she does not smile back.
Perhaps she knows the hurt that lies ahead
and is already grieving.

I desperately want to be free from these chains of pain
but the key has long been buried in the sand.
I reach for it and again it eludes me.

Where is that young, desirable woman? Where did she go?
If you see her walking by the water’s edge, please send her home.

I have much to tell her. My heart is strong and my lust for life
and love has not diminished. Only my muscles fail me.

How I long to walk to the water’s edge, but my tired
and failing limbs will not support me. Oh, how they mock me!

Will someone carry me to the water’s edge?

How I long to walk there once again.

By the Beautiful Sea . . . .

From Concert for George, this is Sam Brown et al with “Horse To The Water” by George Harrison

Dectina Refrain

I’ve Given Up: A Dectina Refrain

September 11, 2024September 10, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Sadje’s What Do You See #253

Out!
Go on!
Take your stuff
and hit the road.
You are not wanted
around here anymore.
You broke my heart with your lies.
I abhor the feel of your mouth.
My bed is not big enough for three!
Out! Go on! Take your stuff and hit the road.

What do you see # 253- September 9, 2024

This is “Don’t Come Around Here No More” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Flash

Tears Come Easy

September 10, 2024September 9, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Weekend Writing Prompt #380 and
Weekly Prompts Colour Challenge where the required words
are ‘auction’ and ‘lilac’. In exactly 78 words, here is my story.

My husband came home from grocery shopping and after putting away the ice cream said to me, “I stopped by the Chatsworth Auction House. Look what I found.”

He handed me a small box; inside were vintage lilac gemstone and silver filigree earrings.

I started to cry … tears come easy … and he asked “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. They’re perfect” I sobbed. “Just like the ones I lost years ago.”

“I remember” he whispered and kissed my head.

Weekend Writing Prompt #380 – Auction

Weekly Prompts Colour Challenge – Lilac

This is “I Remember You” by Frank Ifield

Music Blog

Give Us A Smile

September 9, 2024September 9, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Song Lyric Sunday. This week Jim has asked his
readers to choose a song that reminds them of themselves.

When I read the theme for today’s SLS, I had a pretty good idea what my song was going to be. It’s been one of my favorite songs for a long time. And while it may sound melancholy, it’s message is one of the most uplifting ever written.

Who am I? Just an average person who has been blessed many times over in my life. I had so much fun as a young adult, going to concerts almost every weekend and meeting many extraordinary performers. I have a terrific husband, wonderful adult children and four grandkids. We live in a beautiful town with great neighbors who happen to be our best friends. The only thing I can complain about is the arthritis that has plagued me for the past 24 years. There have been times when the pain really brought me down and healing from surgeries seemed impossible but here I am, still standing. (No, that’s not my song!)

My featured song today is a real classic but some of you may think Michael Jackson was the one who made it popular; it’s much older than that. The music for today’s song was originally written and orchestrated by none other than silent film star Charlie Chaplin, starting as an instrumental for the soundtrack to his 1936 film Modern Times. And instead of being entirely a silent movie, it was the first time Chaplin’s voice was heard on a film. The idea for the movie came about from the Great Depression of 1929; messages of hope were essential to keeping people optimistic despite their circumstances. In 1954, John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons added lyrics to the song based on lines and themes from Chaplin’s Modern Times and gave it the title known around the world as “Smile”.

I know how fortunate I am; hell, Bill and I made it through a horrific rollover back in 2001 and he beat bladder cancer 6 years ago. 2024 hasn’t been a stellar year so far with my brother-in-law’s death and this god-awful spine surgery but we keep going and looking to each other for a smile. I’m an emotional person and wear my heart on my sleeve. Tears come easily but so does laughter. I love to have fun and make people laugh. And each laugh begins with a smile.

This is Tony Bennett.

LYRICS

Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though it’s breaking
When there are clouds in the sky, you’ll get by
If you smile through your fears and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You’ll see the sun come shining through for you

Light up your face with gladness
Hide every trace of sadness
Although a tear may be ever so near
That’s the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what’s the use of crying
You’ll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile

That’s the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what’s the use of crying
You’ll find that life is still worthwhile
If you just smile

Writer(s): Music – Charles Chaplin; Lyrics – Geoffrey Parsons, John Turner
Publisher: Tratore
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Here is a clip from Modern Times, Chaplin’s last silent film.

Music-Evoked Autobiographical Memory

Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week. Be sure to follow the link and check out his site.

Thanks for stopping by. See you on the flip side. 😎

Uncategorized

All The World’s A Stage

September 8, 2024September 8, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

I was coming up empty today, friends … uninspired, tired, and dragging my sorry ass around the house. Then I came across this brilliant post by my friend, Bluebird of Bitterness, and all was right in my little world. What’s that you say? You don’t like cats? Oh, FFS, don’t go getting your knickers in a twist; you don’t have to love cats or the theatre to appreciate these funnies. Blue always saves what is considered the best for the last. Let’s see if you agree. And while you’re here, check our what else is on Blue’s site; you’ll be glad you did!

Caturday funnies — theatrical edition

This is some guy and a group I never heard of with a song called “Bluebird” 😹

Short Story

With Friends Like Gonzo

September 7, 2024September 6, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for The Unicorn Challenge where we are
asked to get creative in 250 words or less
using this photo as inspiration. Here’s my story.

“Kevin! Wake up, man! You gotta see this. Wake up!”

“Quit it, Luke! I’m trying to sleep!” Kevin mumbled crossly. The disgusting smell of stale beer, Slim Jims and weed slammed Kevin in the face; gagging, he pushed his brother away.

“C’mon, Kev. Something heavy happened down at the beach, man. I swear it’s not of this world, bro!”

“The only thing ‘not of this world, bro’ is your breath. You’re stoned, Luke; go to sleep.”

“I swear on the Bible, Kevin. If you don’t see this, you’re gonna kick yourself.”

Kevin sighed deeply and swung his legs out of bed. “Alright, man. I’m up. Let’s get this over with.”

Kevin and Luke drove out to the Pacific Palisades beach where Luke had his sighting. Kevin recognized the beach right away.

“Hey, Luke … doesn’t your buddy Gonzo clean this beach?”

“Far out, man! I forgot about that. This is gonna blow his mind!”

When they reached Luke’s spot, he dropped to the sand and began to belly crawl to the top, motioning for Kevin to do the same.

“Check it out, Kev. Have you ever seen anything like this, man? They’re crop circles, like in that movie!”

“You got that right, Luke. This really is something else! Could be an alien vehicle way out on the left side. If I squint I can make out the words ‘GONZO’S LUNAR ROVER. I BRAKE FOR WEED!’ Brilliant detective work, Carl Sagan! C’mon, bro. I’m buying breakfast. I’ll explain it on the way.”

The Unicorn Challenge-06/09/24

This is a delightful video of a Japanese pufferfish creating underwater sand art. Photography by Yogi Ookata. Check it out, dudes!

Here is a rare rap song by Carl Sagan. Enjoy, yo! 😎

Flash

Sign Language

September 6, 2024September 5, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Friday Fictioneers where Rochelle asks us to
get creative in 100 words or less. Making every word count
and using Dale’s photo below as inspiration, here is my flash.

Since we was kids it was just me and Roxie. Nobody wanted us but we didn’t care. We was crazy in love, wild about each other. We didn’t need nobody stickin’ their noses in our beeswax.

Long as we was together, nothin’ else much mattered, y’know?

We got a gig flippin’ flapjacks, a tin roof over our heads, a bed, and a hi-fi for spinnin’ tunes.

We do our jobs each day, make mad love every night, and dance in the glittery moonlight.

We’re happy and there’s no hidin’ the signs. The whole shack shimmies.

That’s more than most folks got.

6 September 2024

This is “Love Shack” by The B-52’s

Flash

From Where to Eternity*

September 5, 2024September 5, 2024 Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Weekend Writing Prompt #379 and
Weekly Prompts – The One-Day Prompt. In exactly
82 words and including the required words
“timepiece” and “one day”, here is my flash.

The Sopranos, Episode 2.09. A post-surgery Christopher Moltisanti frantically pumps his morphine drip.

Those were my thoughts at 4AM after waking up in agony; my 8-Hour Tylenol had worn off two hours early, alerting the pain timepiece in my brain.

Clearly the Tylenol isn’t cutting it, but due to federal guidelines and crackdowns, a doctor’s ability to prescribe necessary painkillers has been seriously restricted and people like me living in the US are getting screwed.

Maybe one day they’ll get it right.

Weekend Writing Prompt #379 – Timepiece

Weekly Prompts -The One-Day Prompt (5)

This is the opening theme for The Sopranos, “Woke Up This Morning”, by Alabama 3.

Month: September 2024

Getting To Know Me – 9/24

The Big O

Coulro Saves The Day

Punch Drunk

Sultry Rhythm Redefined

1968: A Dectina Refrain

As Days Grow Short

And The Music Goes Round And Round

Crop Invaders: A Haibun

Eat Me!

Remembering Roberta

When Push Comes To Shove: The Continuing Story of Harvey and Fiona

Who’s Kidding Who

Shall We Dance? (Part 2)

Shall We Dance?

Girl Power

Going To The Mattresses*

Post Op: An Ovi Poem

Flying … or … Volare

Bisnonna*

Just A Part Of Life

Over the Rainbow

The Water’s Edge

I’ve Given Up: A Dectina Refrain

Tears Come Easy

Give Us A Smile

All The World’s A Stage

With Friends Like Gonzo

Sign Language

From Where to Eternity*

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