BUSY SIGNAL
I remember when Jimmy Carter's political aide, Hamilton Jordan, got kicked out of The Green Book, or national social register, for spewing ice chips down the blouse of the big-titted wife of the Egyptian Ambassador -- and he was contacted by phone, where he was heard laughing with friends as he told them the news -- he gave a teeny interview -- "My burden is heavy. I must pick up the pieces of my life and continue." And hung up laughing uproariously. That's my favorite political interview ever. Like on heehaw, only no banjo. Tell everyone in Athens I said to get off the telephone, I'm trying to call!
--Michael BirthdayBoy Zempter
Happy September 28th, Mikey!
Ed. Note: I ran across a PBS special that arrested my attention with the mention of some moon phases. They are called high and low extreme phases, and they are, if I caught the drift, the moments when the moon reaches its highest and lowest points in the sky. The cycle takes eighteen and one half years, or nine years and three months one way. The reason my attention was drawn to these observations, was because the monologue opened with a reference to the full lunar eclipse that occurred on March 3, 2007, which is the day after Michael died. He once told me the week of my birthday was ruined for anything else, and that whenever he heard that date in reference to anything, his mind automatically corrected that it is first and foremost my birthday. The first week of March, which month already scares the crap out of me for many decades' worth of reasons, is now permanently ruined to me as anything other than the time Michael died. So when I heard the reference to a total lunar eclipse on March third, I tuned in and began to listen in time to hear about these phases of the moon. Idly, I fiddled back through my mind to think what Michael had been doing on other phases of high and low extremes of the moon, and Boy Howdy.
In March, 2007, when the moon was extremely low, Michael died.
In December, 1997, when the moon was extremely high, Michael entered his PhD program.
In September, 1988, when the moon was low, Michael's final marriage exploded
In June, 1979, when the moon was high, Michael entered a line of work he enjoyed the most
In March, 1970, when the moon was low, Michael's first marriage exploded
In December, 1960, when the moon was high, Michael was preparing to move to Europe
For reasons he and I understand too well, there my calculations end.
Are we such fodder of the fates? I'm with Andrew Marvell. If we can't talk the Heavens into shaping our lives as we prefer, then still -- let us make them run to catch up and stop us from enjoying ourselves ANYWAY. ;-}
God Bless You All.