gospel & rock

We saw The Kinks at the Town Hall yesterday. Okay, it was former Kinks singer-songwriter Ray Davies performing with The Dessoff Chamber Choir, but still, THE KINKS! It was a baby boomers concert, I think I was the youngest person there, and that never ever happens anymore. When legendary Mr. Davies ran onto the stage, the audience went wild. I was a bit apprehensive about the choir’s involvement, just because it was a difficult concept to wrap my brain around. As it turns out, 60s rock and choral arrangements work together perfectly. Who knew? It was a fabulous concert. Really brilliant. 

Here are The Blind Boys of Alabama, progressive southern gospel music superstars, whose wonderfully harmonious concert we went to a few weeks back. When spirituality meets humor, magic happens.

I was sitting so close to the stage I could have reached out and touched their patent leather shoes.

apples & cleansing

Yesterday was Day 10 (aka the last day!) of the grand Master Cleanse experiment. After Day 3, it just kept getting better and easier, and I always had plenty of energy, just as I had expected. Today, I’m easing in with only raw fruit and vegetables, freshly pressed orange juice, water and herbal teas. On the way to the hospital early this morning, I ate a banana, which practically made me break out in a sweat. Drinking only liquids, my stomach has shrunk a bit and this rather small banana was almost more that it could handle. Later in the day, I was at an orchid where I picked many juicy dark red macoun apples and sampled one. (I LOVE picking apples!) It’s extremely satisfying that a banana and an apple (plus lots of liquids, of course ) can be so filling. For dinner I’m planning to have some fennel and a carrot. This cleansing fast has been a great and very liberating experience for me and I have been recommending it to curious friends. Maybe I will even make it a yearly custom.

happy pumpkin

I’m not a big fan of Halloween. I don’t  slip into a fabulous costume and run from one party to the next. I last wore a costume (punkette; think mid-eighties: teased hair, dark lipstick, dramatic eye make-up, safety pins) and went trick-or-treating at age 11, many many years ago. Of course I think trick-or-treating is fun for kids. However, I’m astonished at costumes I have been seeing in stores lately. Everything seems so… inappropriate. Slutty cowgirl, slutty fairy, slutty witch, all in children sizes. Who buys this stuff? I feel nostalgic. Whatever happened to the homemade unpolished clown or robot costume?

charlie & cleansing

I am doing the Master Cleanse. This is my first detox cleanse ever. I have been feeling a bit blah and listless lately. When a friend did this detox a few years ago she felt great and  praised this particular cleanse enthusiastically. I am on day 4 and I feel good. Not great, just good, and that is good enough for me. This cleanse is a difficult challenge. But it’s totally doable. The Salt Water Flush is not as bad as I thought it would be, and this morning I drank it in about 10 minutes. It undoubtedly helps that the “Lemonade” (a mixture of water, maple syrup, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper) is really delicious. It’s so tasty that when my husband tasted some of my concoction, he decided to do it too, which helps a lot. He actually feels great, not good. Days 2 and 3 were difficult for me. The second evening I told him he smelled like yummy fried chicken. 

Food is important to me. I go to the Farmer’s market at least once a week, I cook all the time, I love to eat delicious, healthy food. I miss the ‘ch’ foods I eat daily (cheese and chocolate). All I’m ingesting during the detox is the “Master Cleanse Lemonade”, water and the occasional herbal tea. As I said, this is a challenge, but it’s also extremely empowering and satisfying. Days 2 and 3 are the worst for most people, and then it gets a bit easier every day. So I fully expect to feel great in a couple of days.

dog walker 2

Mr. Dog Walker, you made my day.

poetry & travel

on a big metal bird all alone

standing in line with hundreds

on an unhurried dark blue train

grateful for a musty seat

a stone and a blossom in my heart

murmur of voices

nervous tap-taps of a pen on a desk

soap and sweaty palms

uniforms and bare toes

hearts pounding hearts abloom

butterflies in my tummy

knowing where to go is a curse

arriving anywhere is an adventure

arriving anywhere is nostalgia

joyful to see mountains and cities

searching for something better faster

contradictions and hope

 

(An very talented artist asked me -and many others- to write about travel, departing, arriving… for a project she’s working on. This is what I sent her.)