flashingreds...
crooked piece of time
(2002-10-10, 3:21 p.m.)
Last night was gorgeous. It seemed perfect, sitting in the Target parking lot, listening to Todd Snider do an in-studio appearance on the beloved Whip, hearing him say lovely things about lovely people (like John Prine, who I like a bit more in theory than actuality, based solely on that duo with Iris Dement that the aforementioned beloved radio station seemed to play 20 times a day for a few years), singing along to his cover of Prine�s �Crooked Piece of Time� (very difficult to sing along to, perhaps due to Prine�s background vocals). Somehow that�s the song that�s been running through my head today.

You know, whenever I wasn�t obsessively singing a line from �Highland County Boy� (�one died at Manassas sir, one at Malvern Hill�) by Scott Miller. Sigh. Waking up to the news on the radio this morning was shocking. Worse was the not really waking up and having the news integrated with my dreams.

Where were we? Did you see the sky at sunset last night? It reminded me of an artist friend�s micrograph photos, as if he�d done one with a lovely gray feather, magnified on low power, with a lovely warm light illuminating from below. Nothing better than driving home, watching a sunset, singing along to Webb Pierce and Homer and Jethro songs, courtesy The Old Timer. Not to be confused with The Old Dude, whom I ran into at the grocery before leaving town. But I digress.

In addition to these lovely things, I�ve been terribly wrapped up in the House hearings on the proposed amendment (which passed today) regarding conflict with Iraq. This morning I sat in my car after arriving, listening to the wise words of Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, a fellow who�s been around long enough to see signs of history repeating itself. I�ve said it before�I can�t understand how this is happening, how this makes sense. Yes, UN weapons inspectors should be allowed in, but the jump to war and replacing the regime with a democracy is exceedingly unnatural.

Between this and the new season of �West Wing� (don�t mock me�stop it right there!), I�m fascinated. It�s nearly election time. It�s harvest time. It�s concert month. Let�s hunker down with some spiked cocoa or spiced cider and warm blankets and watch it all go down.

I mean, GET OUT THERE AND VOTE! Next month.