Raining on Thanksgiving.

As Thanksgiving is approaching, I am reminded of my Thanksgiving memories.  Namely, that the winter duck hunting season started on Thanksgiving.  It gave hunters a chance to bring home a duck for Thanksgiving dinner.

Since my Dad was a mailman he worked six days a week.  One of the few holidays he had off was Thanksgiving.  So it was the one day we could go hunting. 

We would always hope for bad weather since ducks seem to love bad weather.  Seriously, the worse the weather is, the more duck hunters show up.  It really is the opposite of good decision making. 

So a typical day would be getting up at 4 AM, head out the door at 5 AM, make it to Cockroach Bay (Yes that's it real name.  It's in Ruskin, Fl.)  by 6 AM, take the boat to our spot, and have the decoys set up by 7 AM.  Then we would sit in the rain and wind with guns on our laps hoping some ducks would fly into the decoys.

What's funny is that it was usually really active from 7:15 AM to 8 AM, and then maybe a few up until 9 AM.  Then, nothing.  It was like all the wildlife would stop from 9 until 10 AM.  Once 10 AM came around you might get a few show up until 11 AM.  But once 11 AM hit, it was over.  The ducks day was over until sunset. 

So we would then pack up at 11 AM.  We would then pick up all the decoys, and make it back to the dock at 12 Noon.  Then we would make it back to the house at 1 PM where the two of us would clean all the saltwater off of everything.  This also included making sure the guns were oiled really well.  Saltwater is really rough on guns.  And if we actually did manage to hit any ducks, this would be the point where we would clean them.

Then it would be time for Thanksgiving dinner between 3 and 4 PM.  That would be the perfect time to eat, and start watching the Detroit Lions get their butts kicked on TV. 

So you can see just how eventful Thanksgiving was for us.  And for the photographic evidence, feast your eyes upon this:

Yep, that's me in 1991 with a blue wing teal.  I was 15 at the time.  And I still use that same shotgun to this day.  In fact, I still have that same coat.  It's the coat I use when it's just a bit cool out hunting, but not overly cold.  Although, I do have better choice in headwear these days.

Unwind

You may want to read this to understand this post a little better.

http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-worst-ripoff-my-musical-failure.html

I've been thinking about this song I wrote this past week called, "Unwind." It's not my usual kind of song, but maybe I'm mad because it's a bit "too true" to what's been going on in my life.

Maybe I'm also mad because it actually seems to be a well crafted, and above average song to listen to. I'm just not sure I should play it out. Of course, what's the worst that could happen? People ignore it or gently clap?

I mean, I'm glad I finally wrote a song after not writing one for a long time, but this is not the song I expected to write. Maybe I just need someone to play it for. That's what was so great about Josh. He could see what was good and bad in a song. He could pick up on a song, and know where to go with it.

John C. was also like that. He was a bit more finicky, but he was kind of like my creative writing teacher, in that, he wanted to do repeated drafts, which is what you are supposed to do.

I remember reading that Professor Dumbledore once said, "People can be madder at you for being right than being wrong." Well, I think I'm madder at myself for the fact that I wrote a song calling me on all my bullshit. Which makes me think....

Lady Gaga once told Howard Stern that it was completely nerve-wracking for her to make a song public. She said (her words) that, "It was like showing my vagina to everyone." And I get that. I don't have a problem showing my giant scar on my stomach to everyone. However, showing my soul? Well, that's another story. That's a bit difficult.

Since I have been sick for the pass two months, I have basically dropped all human contact outside of the house, and that's not good for me. I don't have a realistic measuring stick of reality.
Now that I am checking this post over, I probably should have added it to my blog instead of posting here. But, oh well. It's not going to hurt anything.

Maybe I need to write a new song. The problem is I haven't been getting out, and I get my best ideas from weird things that happen to me. Maybe I need to join a support group for weird people, and ask them about things that have happened to them for song inspiration?

(Side note:  This post is kind of split into two parts.  Kind of a before and after.  What I wrote above is the "before."  And the next part is the after.)

So, I finally got to play my song "Unwind" for a person/victim. I got to play it for my friend Danielle. 

She gave me some really great feedback. Namely, people know that I do silly, "out there," songs, as well as some serious songs.

Since this is a serious song, I was not sure how it would go over. However, Danielle felt this was a personal and honest song, and she liked it better than my silly stuff.

Maybe it comes off as a more "professional" song? Maybe it "speaks" to people? Or maybe it's just honest? Either way, I'm going to have to play it out to get more feedback.

Songs In The Key Of C...anadian

Back in 1987 I was 10 years old (going for 11) when an interesting song came on the radio.  Now you have to remember this was the 1980's, and radio was probably the strictest it had ever been in what songs were actually played on the radio.  This song was about sex.  And you have to remember it was released years before George Michael's "I Want Your Sex," which was pretty darn controversial.  Some radio stations wouldn't even play it George Michael.  So imagine my surprise when I hear a song with the following lyrics, in 1987, and on radio.

Boom, Boom, Boom
Let's go back to my room
So we can do it all night
And you can make me feel right

The song was called, "Boom, Boom (Let's Go Back To My Room) by Paul Lekakis.  Have a listen to it right here:

Again at the time I was 10 and my sister was 7 when we heard this.  So, we had to ask our Father what the song was really about.  He said that he knew (he knew!) that "Boom, Boom" meant "watching TV" in Canadian. 

This made perfect sense to me as far as I knew.  Remember, that we lived in Florida and the country of Brazil was closer to us than Canada was.  Canada might as well have been on another planet.  I wasn't sure what language they spoke in Canada, but it was all starting to make sense.

So years later I was listening to the 80's station.  I'm pretty sure it was Sirius Radio's 80's channel as they play more deep cuts.  It brought back the memories of my Father telling my Sister and I what the song was about.  So I asked my Father about the whole, "Boom, Boom" thing.  He just kind of laughed, and that's when I remembered that my Father comes from a long line of smartasses. 

And here's the weird part.  Even though "Boom, Boom" on went up to #47 on the U.S. music charts, it went to #2 in, get this, Canada.  True.  Look it up.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boom_Boom_(Let%27s_Go_Back_to_My_Room)