Exile to the Shuffle/One Heck of a Senior Discount

In Lou Schuler’s blog this morning, he made mention of a Rolling Stones album, Exile on Main Street. That album has long been one of my favorite Stones albums, and according to the Wikepedia article linked on Lou’s blog, it’s widely considered the best Rolling Stones album ever recorded. What I didn’t know was that the album was recorded while Keith Richards was becoming mired in heroin addiction. And, the entire recording process, it seems, was marked by friction and uncertainty. A fair portion of Exile on Main Street was recorded at Richards’ villa in France, and during the sessions, a rift grew between Richards and Mick Jagger. Keith, it seems, along with hangers-on such as Gram Parsons, preferred to approach the sessions as an excuse for a prolonged drug orgy, while Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman, and Charlie Watts stayed relatively clear-headed. (Gram Parsons, who's widely considered the father of "country rock," would soon die at the age of twenty-six, felled by his own perennial overindulgence.)

It’s amazing those guys stayed together through the seventies. Hell, it’s amazing they’re all still alive. (Of course, founding member Brian Jones isn’t. He died in his swimming pool in July, 1969.)

I was ready, after making my morning blog cruise, to head off for the gym, but now I feel compelled to load Exile on Main Street onto my shuffle.

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If you're hosting a party, and some guests are staying too long, what do you do? Here's what: put on Pat Boone's CD In a Metal Mood. Nothing clears out a room faster than Pat Boone singing Deep Purple, Metallica, and AC/DC covers. (Although Golden Throats: The Great Celebrity Sing Off comes close.)

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If you're an older guy living in Germany, here’s something to cheer you up. According to a Reuters article, a brothel in Germany is offering a sizeable discount for patrons over the age of 66. The brothel tried a test run of sorts by offering half-price services to seniors one day a week. The test run ended up being so successful that the brothel extended its “Senior Afternoon” offer to every afternoon, every day. Proof of age is required.

My guess is that the “if a cat can scratch it” test won’t be accepted for proof of age.

Life in the Country, the Draw of the City

We were lucky to find the place we live, really. We bought it in ’94, during a buyer’s market in Shasta County. It was what we were looking for, with a rustic yet comfortable log-sided house, privacy, wildlife, and space for our planned-for purchase of llamas. (Rhonda and I have long been enthusiastic fans of backcountry camping, but an auto accident years ago made carrying a backpack a non-option for Rhonda. That’s where the llamas came in.)

We probably couldn’t afford to buy our own place now, since the Redding area has “happened.” (Damn Sunset magazine.) And, I love it here, with the creek, the wildlife, and the overall appeal of living in nature.

Everything comes with a price, though. Our “price” is inconvenience. If we need something from a hardware or grocery store, it gobbles an hour and a half of the day, minimum. There’s no high-speed internet access here; I rejoice if the dial-up speed exceeds 28.8. I love the setting we live in, but sometimes I miss life in town, with its opportunities for a spur-of-the-moment dash for a cup of coffee or to browse through books.

We do a lot of consolidating when it comes to running errands.

And then there’s Dylan. He’s six going on seven now. Driving him to school is no big burden, since his school is close to Rhonda’s office. He’s not really interested in organized sports as of now (I think he’s interested in sports, but not the organized), but that could change. I’ve worried a lot about him growing up in quasi-isolation as compared to living in town.

I’ve lately thought about talking to Rhonda about moving into town. But then, Dylan said something that brought it all back into focus.

We were walking around the property, looking for an imaginary grizzly bear that had been stalking the llamas. After Dylan had his fill of his fantasy world (he dispatched the grizzly with a Bowie knife), we took a break to feed the chickens and llamas. When we got to the llamas, Dylan, as usual, grabbed a handful of hay to hand-feed Benny. (I’m not sure if Benny is Dylan’s favorite llama of the five we have, but Dylan is definitely Benny’s favorite human.) We cleaned out the water containers, filled up the hay feeder, then walked to a little rise in the llama’s area. From the rise, there’s a clear view of Shasta Bally peak, towering over the town of Redding.

“Daddy?” “Yeah, Punkin’?” He looked at me. “I love living here.” He went back to gazing at Shasta Bally. He looked so serious, so wrapped up in the moment. “Me too, Punkin’,” I said, with a little catch in my throat.

Move from here? What the hell was I thinking?

My Ringtail Visitor

A couple of weeks ago, I woke up at midnight, and immediately knew it would be one of those nights. I went to the dining table, turned on my laptop, and began writing an email. With no moon, I could see nothing out the window. I was halfway through the email when I was startled by the sound of something climbing up the house. Then a shape appeared, and a creature lit upon a bird feeder attached outside of the window.

It was a ringtail, sometimes called a ringtail cat. (Although it's most closely related to the raccoon.) I remained motionless as he looked through the window for a couple of minutes. Then he scrambled back down. I forgot about my email, and sat for several minutes with a smile on my face.

We've lived here in this wooded setting for nearly thirteen years. I've seen coyotes, foxes, raccoons, red-tailed hawks, bald eagles, a bobcat, and a black bear, but until that night, I'd never before seen a ringtail. He was a cute little fella.

I learned about ringtails at our own little natural history museum, Turtle Bay Exploration Park. Ringtails are fairly numerous in the western U.S., but due to their timid, solitary nature, and the fact that they're nocturnal, they're seldom seen.

Two nights ago, the ringtail came back for another visit. He looked through the window, and actually seemed to make eye contact with me for a moment. The next day, feeling lucky, I bought my first lottery ticket in three years.

Return of the Tree Man

About three years ago, we hired a guy to trim some trees, and take down some that were severely damaged by a series of storms. His name was Dave. He was a recovering alcoholic who’d hit bottom, embarked on the recovery road, and started his own tree service. He was quiet and painfully shy, but we noticed that our two dogs immediately liked him, and our cat, who would normally hide when anyone strange came around, actually came up to introduce himself.

Dylan was three then, and he loved watching Dave work. We’d keep him a safe distance away, which wasn’t close enough for Dylan’s liking. It was clear that Dave felt more comfortable around animals and children than other adults.

Dylan started screaming, “The Tree Man’s here, the Tree Man’s here!” when Dave drove up. Dylan would then walk up to Dave and quiz him as to what his plans were for the day, what equipment he’d use, and how long the job would take. Thus, Dave would begin his work day with a "this is what I'll do" briefing, and end his day with a "this is what I did" briefing. Dave seemed to genuinely enjoy his morning talks with Dylan, and would only stop when Rhonda or I insisted that Dylan let him get to work. I think being a hero to a three year-old meant a lot to him.

Dave once told Rhonda that he had several nephews and nieces who’d lived in the area, but had moved away. He missed them.

Dave was about 90% done with our tree work when he didn’t show up one day. He called, saying he was feeling poorly, and would be by in a couple of days. He called a couple of days later to say he’d be by the following week. Then he simply quit calling.

We heard through the grapevine that Dave had started drinking again. His business and his girlfriend had left him.

Several weeks ago, Rhonda drove up to our front gate, and spotted a shape covered by a tarp sitting aside the driveway. Underneath the tarp was a chainsaw sculpture of a dinosaur, four feet tall, carved out of a solid piece of oak. There was a note. “I’ve been sober again for three weeks. I wanted to do this for Dylan because he talked so much about dinosaurs. Sorry I didn’t finish your work. Dave the Tree Man.”

"You think he knew?" I pondered Rhonda's question. "I don't see how," I replied. "I know I never mentioned it to Dave." "Me neither," said Rhonda.

The Tree Man had delivered the dinosaur on Dylan's birthday.

Three years had passed since Dylan and Dave had their series of morning briefings. I hope he’s doing well. Dylan loves his dinosaur.