T'was the third of June, another sleepy dusty Texas Day-
(Pardon, Bobbie Gentry, for the paraphrase- Guess she's 81 now, and no forwarding address- Tenn? L.A.?- A recluse- I dig-
I forgot, but Derb did not- Reminded us that June 3rd has a place, in the pop/rock canon- Along with the day the music died:
The day that Billy Joe McAllister jumped off, etc- See link below)-
KN-
I used to hate this song- I've come to be hypnotized by it- If Proust never wore shoes, he'd have written stuff like this-
And great arrangement-
Compu's being weird- Like I needed this- Slower than Xmas, it is-
And my avian buds are no shows today- Tells me summink-
I did enjoy yr notes- Sorry for the super size neglect- I'll try to do better-
Good Z Man podcast, this AM- Ck it out-
Our poli syst as WOLF OF WALL STREET- More I think mebbe that fine, funny, obscene flick is the template, for everything going on these days, in the seats of power- Give a look/ listen-
Now, it's the waiting, yes? Surg happens, June 27?- Plans are afoot, J has spoke w/Rissa- And the beat goes on-
And the wait continues, albeit with an endgame-
And we think little, how- Brittle we get- The days of trying to be upbeat, and 'strong', how draining those poses are-
I have not a lot of probs, with that, day to day- But cumulative?
And J is an actress- So her- Distress?, bearable so far, thank God- Will always have that tinge, of- Performance?
46 yrs of wedded bliss prepared me little, for this-
A thing I s'pose I should be thankful for-
A life of making it up as I go along has it's payoffs, I guess-
(Spoke w/Father Bruce earlier this wk- He is in, God help him, an 'intensive' rehab, in Atlanta, after wks in hosp, for various ills- Sounded, well, weak- Keep his lovely soul in yr thoughts)-
Think on something Paul Simon said, recent- Our generation's time is about up-
Um, yeah- Arn as harbinger?
We'll all be along, soon-
And-
Rissy's cell service was out all wk- Iowa, banished to the cornfields, ala Twilight Zone (creepy episode, seen it?)- ‘It’s A Good Life’- See pic below-
(Guess it upset some people, when first aired- Not enough of them, is my take)-
Not knowing details of the cell dark- Back now it is-
Life in the cell dark? Heavens!
Father's Day? Meh- Prolly won't see Rissy til she comes back for J's surg-
And Matt will have a good Dad's Day- Got his girls about him- Hope the big guy doesn't get lost in the shuffle, down there amid the threshers-
For meself, lotta blah, of late- Dad Day, sans Rissy? Just another number on my Lab Dog calendar-
Not that I've been greatly invested, yrs past- Poll the Dad's otherwise- And a brass banana to the guy who remembers what he got, last Dad's Day- Yeah-
Hallmark would be in dire straits, depending on the likes of me-
Now, Jackie- Another story- Had I known her proclivities, I'd have bought stock in Hallmark, yrs ago-
And I tell myself, even titans like us two will have their fallow periods- Wish this one would pass- We'll see-
God lets us know, when the batteries need a topping off- Guess I was/am due-
Left, a bit earlier, to do a library/Rx/PO/Dol Gen run- Miss Jackie was abed- About ten mins out, I said, feck it- And came back, to write you, and- Gather- Mebbe tomorrow…
And here we are-
Mavs, on the ropes- Tonight might tell the tale- Still- A good run- Ditto our hockey Stars- So close-
Sure J Jones and his foul ilk are relieved- Still- Look to thyself, Jerry- As if-
And I'm 'bout done-
Over to you, and a brighter day-
And I’m feeling a bit more- Relieved- Such is the effect, of writing you-
Yours,
Marcel Dunwoody
ps Factoid- ODE TO BILLY JOE is the album that finally knocked SGT PEPPER
from the top spot on the Billboard 200, in '67- After 15 wks!
pps- Some Ray Davies now- In A Moment-
Well, one way to look at it…
Tell it, Ray!
Hey Ed!
A million pardons for not having gotten back to you. I'd lately been in a lock of procrastination.
I have been following your letters and have been meaning to respond. Things are O.K. in Aberdeen,
Maryland. You mentioned surgery last week. I hope you're O.K.
I've been fooling around with song writing, with very slow progress. I've got a few hooks that I'm
exploring. I remember when you were living in a house on Rosedale Road between Briarcliff Rd.
and Virginia Highland, I paid a visit and during our conversation, you made a remark that "stopped
my world"--that it is easier to write music than it is to write song lyrics. Having invested so much time
into practicing piano, I didn't want to believe it. But I have from time to time tried to write songs,
and I think that you're probably right.
I called and talked to Bruce Schultz a few years ago when I was still in Atlanta. We spoke briefly,
but at the time we never managed to get together. I'm very sorry that Bruce is having health problems.
I'm going to send Dana a watercolor that I painted for her; my brother Mark very generously
offered to frame it so I need to get that done. I'm slow about getting things done.
Anyway, that about wraps things up here.
(As a postscript: The first time that I heard "Ode to Billy Joe" was driving up Monroe Drive
in a driver's ed course. It was eerie. I had never heard anything like it. I've never read any
Faulkner, and I don't regret the lack. Hearing "Ode to Billy Joe" is the equivalent of reading
an entire novel.)
Keep on Truckin"!