That girl's a Superfreak.

December 1983, Mid-South Coliseum, Rick James Street Songs tour, Memphis, TN.  Ed Slaughter always had money.  He always had tickets.  And he always asked me out.  Natch, I was in the "Just friends, RIGHT?" mode with the kid, but what a gent.  Funny, smart and a 40-year-old in a 14-year-old's body.  He was the pill fiend teenager before there was such a thing and I don't even really know if he actually used pills, but I thought he did, even then, when I had probably--by the time this picture was taken--had smoked marijuana about 10 times, MAYBE.

Anyway, this was a fabulous evening.   Rick and the Stone City Band tore it up and the Mary Jane Girls were real and hot where Vanity 6 were weird and hot (not the same show, just comparing/contrasting).  Rick pulled a screeching woman out of the audience that night and laid her down on a brass bed he had on stage, poured champagne on her and licked it off.  I don't think I even did drugs that night but well, you didn't have to be high to feel high watching that man!

I had my heart broken by My First True Love, Steven Pittman, about a month before this night and when I look at this photo now, I am so relieved to see a true smile on my face.  Ed,  you always showed  me a supremely good time.  And I'll always love you for it.  I hope you are alive and happy somewhere out there and I wish I'd run into you so we could go get drunk together again and laugh it up.

Ladia Yates is my heroine.

Just watch this and tell me if it doesn't cheer you up. Hope for our youth.

Bye Wicked Annabella.

April 21, 2007, Tampa, Florida-August 7, 2008 Memphis, Tennessee.

Fucking dumbass thieves. It won't even unlock or start without the key. I hope all four of you burn to death after your house catches fire from faulty wiring. I will wish your children and babies mamas to escape unscathed, however.

I'm Sleeeeeepy.

I owned a doll just like this one as a wee child; it was a Mattel popular favorite called "Drowsy". Note the pajama-clad body and narcoticized eyelids. Well, Drowsy also spoke if you pulled a cord coming out of her flank and my favorite thing she whined was, "AHMMMMMM SLEEEEEEPYYYYYY." I can still hear it today. And naturally, I still say it; far too often these days.

We are in Memphis and both working our pants off but in a much better mindset than we have been in quite some time. I wish I wasn't so damn tired, but them's da breaks.

Thank you, and Good Night.

Going Home.

Well, its done been decided. Instead of running off to yet another hip, happening locale with the hopes that it will provide us with utter happiness via constantly replenished consumer cornucopias, Ryan and I decided late last night that Memphis, TN--place of my birth, youth and grad school years--will be our next home come Summer 2008 (quite possibly the worst time to try to wrangle friends into helping you unload a Uhaul in that city).
Flawda just hasn't been "it" for us. I feel sad in admitting it as we have only been here 9 months, but it has just felt bizarre to me and well, painful for Ryan. I am glad to have met the great people we have met and to have had the beach 15 minutes from my home, but the other things just aren't catching our fancy.
Memphis has its own issues, but I don't feel like getting into it now as Ryan says I am being too contrarian and warning too much about the bad and not enjoying what is going to be really great about living there again. So, if anyone is reading this, remind me to stay nice and keep my head about me...and go to the beach as much as possible in the next 8 months!