Sarturday October 4th in Northampton with Jimmy from the block.

What a gorgeous day...to sleep until noon. Do you ever create entirely new people in your dreams? With names and faces and characteristics and feelings? I woke up in love this morning. I had "that feeling" in my chest and the contentment, and that as long as we've got each other we can make it excitement. But it was for a woman I created out of my own mind while I was unconscious. (That seems to be where I make most of my better decisions anyway.) But this woman was not the fawning girlfriend one might assume a man would conjure given the kingdom of dreams to rule over. She was intense and smart and impressive and was confident in the situation in the dream. She was not "mine" per se but I sensed she was committed to me and that made me feel stronger. We were near the ocean and our families had been scattered or gotten lost. Something had gone wrong, had been misplanned, and it put our relationship or vaction or something at risk. There was a sense of an ultimatum at hand. A choice, maybe between locating our families or forgetting about them. But we were already on our own. No one was offering answers or guidance. I suggested we get out of there. It felt like the wrong place to be. I remember wondering where my old Frye boots were and it made me a little panicky. But she had them in her bag and showed them to me. We decided we would ski away. The rest gets kind of fuzzy but it was the feeling I woke up with that was the extraordinary thing. Until I became fully aware that it was a dream, I felt like a different person. As if my body, heart, mind, etc. needed to feel it. Knew how to. Was good at it. But hadn't had any outlet or opportunities in my conscious life. So my dream stage managers got me a fix in the night, snuck all the chemicals in and shot me up with love. Is it just chemicals? Wow, it was overwhelming and powerful and it felt just like "it." Do you feel the same way every time it happens? I mean, aside from the circumstantial differences, when you fall in love, is it the same feeling you had when you were a kid or a teenager or even just a few years ago? I'm asking you. I experience something like that. Like I'm in a plane flying out over the ocean with just enough gas to go 100 miles out, turn around and fly 100 miles back to shore. But going 101 miles out and not noticing the odometer until it's too late.

These two girls are Katie and Allie. They let me take a picture of them for the blog. I didn't tell them about the TV show. They're almost certainly too young to know about it and I certainly didn't want to be another oldster saying, "Hey did you ever see that show...."


Bonnie's never done. She sweeps and she sweeps. It is her life's work. In a few weeks, the leaves will come down and Bonnie will be in a state of euphoric panic. I may buy her a rake. There is no stopping her so she should at least have the proper tools for the season.








Well Mark, it looks like our dreams of a new cafe on Market Street have been shattered. But hey, Sticks and Bricks.









They're just so darn cool and cute I have to run the other photo I took. Ladies and Gents, give another round of applause for Katie and Allie. "And now for our next number, War Pigs." 1-2-3-4- Generals gathered in their masssessssss....."