Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Momma Moon She Rises...........

I was reading Jane Poe's critique of "Winter's Bone", a novel by Daniel Woodrell, and I truly believe that if she wants a job as literary critic at the New York Times, she has it. She almost had me wanting to read the book. It's no fault of hers, I can assure you. I just have a hard time digesting literature this deep. As a big fan of King, Chichton, and other like authors, I imagine you can get my drift. I suppose that plants me firmly in the garden of most easily amused, but I get by. I'll not apologize for it. Hell, just look at my own writing.

And now for more pedestrian concerns. My legs hurt. My back has barely recovered from waking this morning on fire, having (to the best of my knowledge) not slept properly on my side as I should have, since my back has been informing me of late that sleeping on my stomach can no longer be tolerated by this aging spine. Yes, I've gotten rid of the waterbed and replaced it with a construct of a pair of hospital bed mattresses (upon which numerous people took their last breathes). and foam mattress pads, but so far it hasn't seemed to cure what ails me. The next step is to shuck out about $130 for a memory foam mattress topper of the proper dimensions, but something tells me it's not going to allow me to continue to sleep on my stomach and avoid the painful consequences. Getting old sucks.

A bright shiny moon has risen this night and the air is rather frigid, dropping into the thirties and making one think that Florida actually has a winter. Well, yea, we DO have something resembling a winter, only in fits and starts, and one never knows from one week to the next what kind of clothing one should break out and have ready. If we hadn't worked so late tonight we would have prepared a nice fire out in the shade garden to enjoy the moonshine and sangria, soft pagan music, and each other's company. I still have enough wood from clearing this lot to last us for many more comfort fires to come.

And now Yule approaches, and the wife has our winter decorations out. Note I did not say CHRISTMAS decorations. Finally, that monkey is off my back. No more pressure on the budget, no more wading thru the crowded Walmarts looking for crap to buy, held hostage by some insane social obligation to spend money we don't have to get things for people they could damn well buy for themselves. Strangely, the idea of not getting gifts myself is refreshing, since I dreaded having to open those packages and see what kind of crap I was going to have to smile and look happy about getting, when in reality it was never anything I wanted and wouldn't have spent my own money on if I had it. The gifts we give, when we find a proper excuse to give them, usually involve sweat equity and would be something we would love to receive ourselves. So, out with "SpendSpendSpendMas", in with celebrating the turn of the year, lighting the Yule log, and toasting the rebirth of the Sun, true bringer of life and light to this world, no pits of hell or hail marys required.

My good friend Buffalo clued me in to a dear old man who, of all things, actually blogs, and by old I don't mean barely old like us, but OLD, as in having been around awhile, that awhile being like back when two nutcases flew a kite at kitty hawk and they had one big nasty war as well as a flu epidemic that killed even more people than the bullets and gas did. He is a wealth of aged outlook and observation, and I thirst for the wisdom he has braved the new tech to give to us free of charge. He's "Don to Earth" and he belongs on your links. Remember, it was our cherished elders who once were charged with passing on the wisdom of the old ways and the old truths, instead of university professors who think they know everything before they've lit 40 candles. LIsten to him; you WILL learn something worth passing on.

As for my own words of "wisdom", well, you all know how much they are worth. About two cents after a mail in rebate. You got eight weeks to wait for a rebate? I didn't think so. Blessed be.

10 comments:

Buffalo said...

Canada still has 3 WW I vets. 2 of them are 106. The other is 105. Don is a comparatively young 92. That would put him around 3 or 4 years old when The War to End War started.

Sympathy for your back. If all else fails, try an airmattress. You might be amazed and they fight nicely in a waterbed frame.

Footpad said...

Hey, Michael!

I love your posts...especially the ones that mention my better half. ;-)

I, for one, would never call you *easily* amused. I certainly can't fault your literary tastes, considering that SF forms a major portion of my casual reading list.

Sorry to hear about the aches and pains. We recently starting using a memory foam mattress topper and JP says it's helped a bit. If you can, try to get one from Costco. (That way, you can return it if it doesn't help.)

Am definitely going to be checking out Don To Earth. Very happy to learn from the experience of others. (You tend to get that way after banging your heard against the wall for a while. Amazing how it helps open the ears.)

Of course, Tim is our local expert on ears. Wonder if his are burning.

Also, I really appreciate your pagan views. Blessed be, indeed.

Hope you're feeling less rickety soon!

JP (mom) said...

Dear The Michael,

Wow, my friend, thank you for the generous compliment!! Although I caught up on your blog this morning, L told me you have to read M's blog tonight ... what a pleasure, not only for the mention of me and my literary critiqueness, but also the words of wisdom you post on some of the ridiculousness of Christmas "gift-giving" ... buying stuff for people that they may neither want nor need, simply to fill an obligation. L & I have slowly drifted away from those silly obligations. If a gift is to be purchased, it has to mean something.
Thank you for mentioning Don to Earth ... since there wasn't a link, L did find him at www.dontoearth.blogspot.com - we shall start reading. I truly appreciate the wisdom of elders.
Finally, dear friend, as you know I have significant back issues & dear L bought me a memory foam topper at Costco and it is a huge help. Sorry to hear that weary, aging joints, bones, disks are plaguing you. Brother, I feel your pain.
Anyway, that's about all for tonight. Much peace & love to you and the wife (do tell, what is her name??!!!!) anyway, if I knew her name, peace to you both in equal, huge doses! Fondly, JP

Whitesnake said...

Your man after me own heart. If only I could write about things the way you and Buff do I would be a better man for it.
However........if I could then I wouldn't be me and that would be a bad thing .......well maybe........
The more senior members of our community have a wonder of stories to tell and tales to share and also ideas that are not out of place in our world.....God Bless em,
God bless em one and all........

Now I got that out of MY system....

Alex Pendragon said...

You guys.....blush.......I'm glad you enjoyed the mention, and thanks Buf. Most 92 year olds I deal with lost their minds years ago, so it's great to meet one relatively intact.

Snake, I like ya just the way you are, mate!

Romeo Morningwood said...

Sorry to hear about your back but I am pleased that you said that you have plenty of 'wood' left..wouldn't want that to happen.
I shall check out don to earth..with a depository of knowledge like that it has to be insightful..geez I hope that I even know my name when I am 92!
Huzzah for your Winter Solsticity..humbug on the great unwashed and their ridiculous vapid season of getting..what a charade. I am putting the finishing touches on my scathing tirade of discomfort and joy known as Christ's Mass...although I do like the visiting part.
And finally let us not get into cold nights..dropping into the 30s?..try the reciprocal negative interger my floridian friend..it is the price we pay to keep the riff raff out.
Great post THE...and thanks for the sound birthday advice.

Paul said...

Michael, sorry to hear about your back. Hope things improve. I agree with you concering christmas. The older I get the more I resent the excess and marketing feeding frenzy.

Alex Pendragon said...

I really appreciate you guys stopping by. Thanks Paul. I loved your photos of the not-so-flat desert you get to climb over.

HE, I know all about temps in the negative regions. I lived in Alaska when Alaska really WAS cold. It was interesting to hear years later how a killer cold cell caused havok with a Cananian National Guard exercise in the same temps that I used to walk home from school in. Makes one wonder.

Kindness said...

I, too so enjoy reading your blog.

I can speak to the bright shiny moon and frigid weather, being from Arizona. We too, have a chiminera on our front porch. We light it and say hello to the neighbors as they walk their dogs. Nice to feel the coolness of a chilly Arizona evening.

Take care of your back.

Anonymous said...

mattress toppers are a short term remedy for what sounds like a recurring problem. I myself know how traumatic back pain can be and therefore may i suggest a full memory foam mattress or a tempurpedic bed. You can buy pretty cheap memory foam mattresses from the internet these days.

good luck and i hope this has been of some help