Car Seat by Blind Melon Written by Shannon Hoon Recorded February 11, 1995
Tongue tied, nerves as big as boulders Why Mom, I thought I was your soldier My brother sits by me Buckled into the car seat
Feel the thirst, it’s time for pulling over Into the truckstop on my daddy’s shoulder Out back where they plant all the trees ten feet away my daddy buries me…
God’s Presents
by Blanche Bridge on February 11, 1884
If my path be smooth or rugged If with thorns or roses strewn Where I go the Father seeith And He will leave me not alone
If I take the wings of morning far within the giant sea Even there His hand will lead me Even there my God will be
Though the gloom of night be round me Though I cannot see my way Yet the Lord will see and guide me Because unto Him the night is day
If my thoughts are good or evil Set me think to hide them not There is One above all seeing And He beholdeth every thought
And ever more my eyes beholds me And all my ways to Him are known And His loving arms enfolds me He will leave me not alone
The first part of the song was inspired by the deaths of 3-year-old Michael Daniel Smith and 14-month-old Alexander Tyler Smith, the sons of Susan Smith. Her children were buckled into their car seats when she steered her vehicle into John D. Long Lake and watched as the car sank. The tragedy moved Shannon.
Blanche Bridge was Shannon Hoon’s (Blind Melon front man) great great grandmother. He so loved the poem, he it tattooed to his left forearm.
Posted by tata on Friday May 29, 2009 Under Events, Media
Since returning to Louisville, it’s been harder than I expected to reconnect with my old friends. I’ve made a slew of new friends through knitting and recently made a new pal at the gym. But particularly special to me is Jenni, the new wife to an old friend, Phil, who plays for the band Common Ground. I finally got the opportunity to meet her when Common Ground reunited for a show back in October last year and we’ve recently gotten better acquainted on Facebook since she and Phil live in Tennessee. I simply adore her.
So, about a month ago, Common Ground announced another show for May 28th at Headliners Music Hall here in Louisville. P, being my absolute best friend in the whole wide world, and the only friend I’ve really been able to reconnect with since moving home, agreed to watch the kids so Husband and I could go out for the show. I later learned that Nappy Roots was headlining the show, which made it all the more exciting. (Last week, I was helping Big Rob out at the show and he had this poster of Nappy Roots. I inquired about it, wondering if he was a fan. He says that he grooms the dog of Ron Clutch. Yeah, that impressed me. Pretty fuckin’ cool.)
As the date neared, Jenni and Phil decided they were going to stay in town for the night. I offered them digs here, which Jenni accepted, but they ended up elsewhere. I was bummed about it, ’cause I’d really hoped to hang with Jenni as much as possible, but I was gracious. By the time Thursday rolled around, I was prolly more excited about seeing her than the show! She and Phil got us on the guest list (a tremendous help, considering our recent financial issues) and we had an outstanding time.
I, being under the influence of some serious drugs (I’ll rant about that in another post dedicated specifically to the dentist and my many apprehensions thereof), as well as being pretty broke, decided to have a couple shots of Woodford Reserve before heading out. We dropped the kids at P’s place and my understanding was that it went pretty well for Buddha (who is usually very unhappy about Mama and Daddy leaving him anywhere. P, feel free to correct me if I’m wrong!).
J, the singer, was feeling a bit under the weather, but not a soul in the house could tell by the amazing performance he gave. He even busted out the didgeridoo. He has such phenomenal stage presence.
During CG’s set, I saw Ron Clutch walking by and approached him. I told him that my brother Big Rob grooms his dog and that I’m a long-time fan. He asked if my brother was there, but he wasn’t. He shook my hand, thanked me for being a fan and showing my support.
I also FINALLY got to meet Deowick! We have been online friends since 2000 or 2001 and it was so absolutely wonderful to meet and squeeze him. I hope it’s not another 9 or 10 years until we can kick it again. He totally rocks.
I’m pleased that the videos turned out so well in spite of being pretty wasted! Most of the pictures turned out great, too. I can’t pick a favorite. I really love them all.
On our way home, Husband stopped to get me a bite to eat, drop me off then go get the kids from P’s place. I kept falling asleep trying to eat and finally gave up and went to bed. I do think I brushed my teeth beforehand, though. Ultimately, I am a bit relieved that Jenni and Phil opted to stay elsewhere, as I woke up quite early to vomit twice. I won’t swear that I didn’t embarrass myself at the show last night, but it would have been much worse for us all if they had to hear that.
I had a superbly wonderful time. I am so glad that Common Ground is doing shows again (even if they are few and far between). I’m grateful that I have such an awesome friend who will sacrifice her own fun so that Husband and I can have a break from our kids. And I’m really quite smitten with Jenni, who I plan to hang onto for the rest of my life as my newest step soul-sister!
My apologies for the extended absence. I have been very busy with life! This is my catch up post, but I’ll attempt to keep it to the abbreviated version.
We joined the YMCA on March 17. I did very, very well; going 6 days a week for no less than 45 minutes and increased my water consumption 1000%…. until I got sick with allergies about a month ago. I have been having a hard time getting back into it. I have lost some weight, but not enough to boast about yet. I’ve even made a new friend! And I’ve been keeping an online journal with my friend and confidant P.
As I stated in an earlier post, I applied to U of L and for financial aid to attend. I was accepted to the school. I immediately applied for several scholarships for which I qualified and today I got very exciting news: I received a $3,000 scholarship! Earlier, I received word that I qualified for and will receive a $1,000 grant from the state. Very exciting! I haven’t crunched the numbers yet, but I will when I find out about a Pell grant and the rest of the scholarships for which I’ve applied.
Even more exciting is that I may finally know what I would like to do with my life. I watched a show on the Science Channel called "Connected: The Power of Six Degrees" and learned about a developing science called Network Theory that absolutely intrigues me. Unfortunately, there are very, very few schools that teach it, so I need to find something similar to focus on in the meantime. It’s airing again soon, so try to catch it!
I have been spending unhealthy amounts of time on Facebook. I’ve tracked down all sorts of old friends! It’s a little funny since I’ve been feeling pretty anti-social in the real world. If you are on there, join me!
Husband and I have been helping a friend of mom’s to sell most of his and his now-deceased wife’s belongings. The wife was a bit of a hoarder and the widower is overwhelmed with the sheer amount of stuff. Between the two of them, they had somewhere in the neighborhood of a dozen kids and none of them have been very helpful in assisting their father.
We did manage to get out for Husband’s birthday last Friday: a nice, quiet dinner at the Olive Garden. This weekend, I’m taking him to see both the new Terminator movie and his mom, who is traveling to Ohio. We’ll meet her in Cincinnati for a day at the zoo or somesuch.
Besides skipping the gym, I’ve also skipped several weeks of knit night now. I’m just feeling rather uninspired lately. I made mom a nice pair of socks for Mother’s Day and started on another pair of socks, but I’m not digging how they are turning out. I should’ve frogged them a long time ago. This past weekend, I got my nephew B for a night and he accompanied Joy and I to the library. I’m hoping flipping through a book or two will help me become inspired to start something fresh. I’d love to make my soon-to-arrive nephew some booties or something.
I finished reading both So Long and Thanks for All the Fish as well as Your Heart Belongs to Me. The Adams book is likely my favorite in the series. I really, really enjoyed it. The Koontz book is likely one of my least favorites yet. It was very slow starting and a lot of the storyline went nowhere for me. Aside from getting knitting and crocheting books on our trip to the library, I also picked up B is for Beer. I haven’t read Robbins in a very long time and look forward to reading it.
I had a great time and the film surprised me with it’s wonderful cheesiness. There was this subtle humor going on and I wanted to laugh at so many different times throughout the film, but refrained since no one else was laughing. I kept looking over at Sonnie to see if she thought it was funny…
I met another one of the film’s stars and the director. It was a lot of fun. Thanks, Elevena!
Posted by tata on Thursday Oct 2, 2008 Under Events, Media
For weeks now, unbeknowst to me, I have been kicking it with a woman with her very own IMDb page! My pal from Tuesday night knitting, Elevena, is in a locally made movie called Someday, I Suppose wherein she plays a dead lesbian, who, as it turns out, is at the center of the movie’s plot. She has no lines, though - she is (after all) dead. How flarpin’ cool is that?! I have pictures of us together, a picture of Joy modeling one of her knitted finished objects, I even have her phone number. Now I just need to get her autograph!
It’s true, ANTM is one of my guilty pleasures. Y’all may not know this about me, but I aspired to model at one point in my life. I was in many pageants and even went to modeling school. Imagine that! It seems like more than a lifetime ago, and while I have trouble relating to that old self, I do still have a smidge of intrigue by the industry.
Last cycle, beautiful Whitney, the “plus-size” model won. I was tickled pink to see her take the title. I really look forward to seeing how she’s doing in the “My Life as a Cover Girl” segment of the show. I imagine her win is only going to have a small impact on the way the industry selects models based on their size, shape and weight, but every bit helps. We need more girls like Whitney, who have a healthy figure and - more importantly - a healthy attitude about food, to set the precedence and be role models for our daughters.
This season’s opener did have another potential “full-figure” winner, but unfortunately, she didn’t make the second cut.
Even there His hand will lead me 
I finished reading both 
