Saturday, January 8, 2011

Raving But Not Mad


Quiet this morning and I slept late, Keith Richards dancing through my dreams all night. I am up to the heroin years and his friendship with Gram Parsons and he came from Winter Haven where I lived a long time as a teenager- those dating years.

Mr. Moon gave me a little reading light that clips onto your book and I have never used it until now.
I swear- I haven't been as captured by a book as I have by this one in a long time. It helps that I have been observing and listening to guitar players my entire life and now I will listen to the old, old Stones songs in a different way because now I know how Keith tuned his guitar and that may not be of significance to you but it is very interesting to me.

We are going to Thomaville today and Lily and Owen are coming with us. I am excited about that. I love being around Owen and his mama and we shall have adventures. Everything is new and exciting with Owen, even the old streets of Thomasville. I hope that horse is still there. I need to get dressed and here I sit, still half in Stones world, still half in this one.

It's a funny world, how there are ties and circles and circles within circles and rays expanding out and this touches that and changes this, and that, in turn circles around and changes this other thing or at least encloses it. For instance, I discovered a while back that one of my forefathers, a man, who, by his picture, looks exactly and eerily like one of my brothers, moved to Thomasville after the Civil War and lived on a plantation there with his bride and so there are probably relatives of mine there, in that beautiful little Southern town up the road from us. He is buried in the old cemetery there and I have never been to his grave but my brother has.

I had a friend who turned out to be a very twisted, tortured soul (as Truvy would say) and who has spent most of his life in prison and he used to tell us that Gram Parson's parents and his parents were very close and that back in the old days, those Winter Havenites were swinging people and that he always suspected that perhaps he and Gram were brothers and I never gave it much thought but then I got to the part in the book where Keith R. describes the effect of Gram on women and I thought of this guy, this criminal who, before he was a criminal, could charm the pants off any woman he wanted and his brother was just like that, only a thousand times more. He bedded every woman I know except for me.

One wonders.
Those eyes.
That proclivity for addiction.

Well. Dark thoughts on a bright, Saturday morning and I should be getting ready to go play with my husband, my daughter, my grandson, instead of sitting around here entertaining what-if's and could-it-be's.
But there you are- and it says something about Keith Richard's voice which up until now I had only heard through those guitar strings and about how he has used it in writing about his life and it's a strong one, it's an honest one, it's a story-telling one and who knew?

Not me.

I really don't know much, do I? It rather astounds me how much I do not know.

I do know that I stole that beautiful picture via google images from a website HERE.

Check it out for more.

Now go learn something and tell me about it!

Thank-you very much.

Love...Ms. Moon

12 comments:

  1. Boy, you're really selling me on that Keith Richards book - I think I'll have to go get it.

    Hope you all have fun in Thomasville. I'm sure you will :)

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  2. I love that you notice how there are ties and circles and circles within circles, changing around this and enclosing that. A bit of the heartbeat of the world, don't you think?

    Hope you had a good visit.

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  3. Thomasville is a nice town. Keef is a cool dude.

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  4. You know, that book didn't interest me at all but now I think I might try it. I am definitely an early Stones fan but I know nothing as well. About anything. I know a little bit about Gram Parsons and how he died and how much he loved Emmylou or she loved him. And isn't Emmylou a goddess herself?

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  5. I'm going to have to check out that book as well, you make it sound too interesting to resist.

    I sure hope that horse is there, and that you have a great day with your family.

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  6. yes...i am here...but so quiet.
    just assuring you that although nearly speechless
    smitten with you to the core.

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  7. The Richards book had not called to me until reading about it here. And Gram Parsons, for whatever reason his song, "Return of the Grievous Angel" plays in my head most days. Themes you peered into here remind me of life and men of the late 60s, early 70s.

    I once worked with a woman, a tightrope walker, whose parents had their blood washed at the same Swiss facility as Keith. Or so I was told.

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  8. Ms. Trouble- You think so? Good.

    Ellen- We did! And I don't know if you'd like the book as much as I do but boy, I sure do like it a lot.

    Perovskia- Yes. Got to add a bit of the heartbeat. Have you ever commented here before? If not, thank-you for doing so and please come back and visit anytime.

    Syd- You should read this book, man.

    Elizabeth- Emmylou IS a goddess, no doubt. My god. And she did love him. Maybe you could get the book out of the library or borrow it so that if you don't like it as much as me you're not out the money and hate me? Not everyone knows about Gram Parsons and few realize the huge effect he had on music in his short life.

    Mel- The horse was there and we did have a wonderful day.

    rebecca- I love you dear. Rest, let yourself be quiet, get better.

    Marylinn- Gram Parsons wrote some beautiful songs. And I haven't gotten to the bloodwashing clinic part yet. I'll see what he says about it.

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  9. A new book to add to the list of 'To reads'....and may I add that your story of that guy is interesting too...hhhhhmmmmm.....

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  10. Most welcome. I've commented once, just that I had found you and read back a bit and enjoyed. I lurk and not comment as often :)

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  11. I was all into that Russell Brand autobiography (both parts) - and even though he seems to be an impossible person to live with (as he will probably be the first to admit), he has this amazing writing style and wit and humanity that kept me reading until too early in the morning.

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