Halloween is so safe & sane, these days...we were in a decorated, heated garage complete with puppy dog barrier, lights, spiders and pumpkins. We were so ready to rock & feed the kiddies chocolate & sugar. Ready w/35 baggies of candies, and got a sparse 12 trick-or- treaters. We crashed by 8:30 p.m. Not like in the old daze...When the ex & I went to our favorite bar in the Haight Ashbury, his costume was that of a business man who had forgotten his pants-you know, suit coat & tie & boxer shorts. I just wore silk n' satin Fredrick's of Hollywood w/too much eye make-up...you know...enough to make you wonder...After my adventures in divorce, and subsequent round about return to SF as a single girl in tye-dye, I returned to said bar in the Haight to really celebrate Halloween while styl'in. I had befriended Lisa, a young girl working for the Fire Dept. She agreed to go with me. We got professional costumes-mine as a magician, w/top hat, bow-tie,'n tails... Lisa got a Playboy Bunny outfit, and she came as the rabbit that popped out of my hat. We showed a lot of leg. Wore too-high heels, and lots of eye make-up...enough to make you wonder. You shoulda seen my magic wand! We won the costume contest, and were gently forced to use the bar as a runway so the packed bar could see why we deserved THE trophy. No one argued at all. I think it was the leg. Next blog-if you are lucky, I could, if you want me to, tell you about working the medical clinic for San Francisco's Hooker's Ball. I didn't go to that bad boy in costume, but cannot wait to tell you about the costumes I saw there...

Gotta say, if there is 1 favorite tune of all, just maybe, Marvin Gaye's Ecology Song...the "Mercy,Mercy,Me" song...or anything that Carlos ever did...Done w/shower & gotta run for da rounds...running late as time changed everywhere except my lil section of the Midwest & I had to wait longer to see Carlos on da tube this AM...where he stole my heart AGAIN!They can call him cosmic, but I think he is a gift...cosmically speaking." A Whiter Shade of Pale" was Lennon's favorite tune? I could never figure out what Procol Harum was wailing about, but Iceman cleared that up. What about the" left the cake out in the rain" song...what does it all mean? I gotta go do the adult responsibility gig...tuff when that happens. I'm really not the type.

later on "Sunday Morning"." I got chills just hearing the intro...Carlos has a new CD that will challenge the success of "Supernatural." "All That I AM", he has entitiled it. This is my #1 favorite artist who was my favorite long before he was kind enough to grant me a dance..

Indulged in "the leaf", I mean...the herbal essence of the '60's,70's,and beyond...what's your story? One of my favorites, is when I was 19ish walking along the pier on Coranado Island's Naval Air Base w/my best friend, Roxanne. All the pedestrian traffic was @ an aircraft carrier that had come into port on the far side of the docks and Roxie & I were ambling around the pier near a mostly deserted oiler that had an extremely small crew who were for the most part nowhere to be seen. Almost all ships have an Admiral's Launch- a kind of classy lil boat that would go to shore w/crew &/ or Officers back and forth when ships were moored further out @ sea, but still close enough to need a water taxi to get to there from here. Here, as they were tied up @ port, the Launch was hoisted high on a kind of scaffolding where it would stay until they put out to sea again and found the need to taxi about. As we were sporadically running into a sailor here and there, we decided to climb up high into the Launch to indulge in one of Bob Marley's favorite things. After some smoki'n 'n jokin, we looked over the side of the launch amazed at how high we had climbed, and found that we were overwhelmingly paranoid about getting back down again. Helplessly giggling at each other, we finally decided we would require assistance to return to the dock. We had no choice but to flag down a couple of the aforementioned sporadic sailors to help us get down. They were gentlemen, and kind, and cracking up as they knew what we'd had been up to. Roxie and I were breathless, and grateful, but we made it clear that as we appreciated the help but, at the time we were already in steady relationships, and they'd just have to be content with being our rescuers that day. Mostly, we just wanted to get back to our rooms and laugh and maybe drink some wine-just the two girlfriends, not the guys. But they were smooth talkers and thought they could make the rescue a romance, despite our excuses, They just would not give up and kept pestering us, while walking us back to the dorm. This dates me, but I 'll cop to it. There was a popular dance tune, probably a harmless bit of humorous disco fluff on the charts then. You could not go anywhere, without hearing it...something about "Betty and Bertha Butts, the Butts sisters..." The smooth talkers who would not take "No, thanks" for an answer were bugging us for our names, and I just quipped back that we were Betty & Bertha Butts, the Butts sisters...That night, they came back and paged Betty and Bertha Butts over the intercom to come to the front desk for visitors. We'd hit that wine, by then and were rolling on the floor with laughter...how could they not have known we were jiving them with the obvious well-intentioned joke? It was fun to be young in the 70's. Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional.

On the mend from yet another bout w/the flu. So relieved to end inventory for another month. Spent the AM watching chick flicks on loan from Angel Sister, Jan. The afternoon, watching the Hobbitses Trilogy in 1,2,3 order as I never tire of watching what has it's gots in it's pocketses, my precious... I've always been a nerd & always enjoyed it to the max. Reading blogs, as I glance at the tube, sometimes wandering out to the kitchen to fill baggies w/candy for the kids come a trick or treating on Monday. Every goblin that stops by our decorated garage Monday night will get 4 lil candy bars, 3 different lil suckers,and a couple of those Smartees. This is my favorite time of year-the bestest holiday-no stress on my part just lovin to see the kids enjoying being kids. Bubba spent $30 on candy...and the dogs have so much fun having so many visitors in one night. We have no kids together, and his two boys are grown w/children of their own, now. It's cool they are so nice to me. I know they find me amusing, so obviously an old hippy and him the total opposite, an old country boy...he was so good to me when I was sick-he's always good to me, and for me. How did I luck out there? I don't deserve him, but I will never let him go if I can help it. Our Saturday night ritual is burning the trash in a big ol bonfire w/ the dogs wandering about smiling, mooching, listening to our (mostly mine) talking and laughing. This is how to heal...thinking good thoughts, loving living in the 21st Century, w/all these technological luxuries at our command, looking forward to exhausting myself tomorrow visiting the fam. Lil bro & wife in town from Northern IN w/loving nephew, and I just have to find time to fit in a visit w/them in addition to the ususal Sunday rounds. Everybody is about 1/2 hr drive from the next relative, all in a circle, then 1/2 hr back home. Hope to weather & love them all with Rex @ my side to lighten up the sad moments when the Mom'n, Dad 'n Rene inevitably become the topic of conversation. These are difficult times for the 5 kids of Doris and Larry. When we are happy, we are very, very happy, and when we are sad, it is horrid. As we do not have pay TV, I am missing out on the monster movie marathons I've been reading other bloggers are indulging in...but as I never tire of Wargs, Goblins, Orcs and Gandalf, I am suffering beautifully once again. Hooked on hobbits, great rock n roll from today and yesterday...I am even nerd enough to boast of taking a course in Science Fiction @ a local college in Oakland when I was young. All the other nerds loved laughing at me for digging the works of Robert Hienlen... I don't see how anyone can have any real fun unless they just go for it, regardless of how nerdy they appear..Lots of folks find me amusing, but really, I'm just curious and involved in enjoying life, whenever I can muster up the energy. And when my energy dwindles, I do enjoy telling stories to anybody who will listen...