soundboard de cheevo

Mom, left, and my Aunt Claudia -- circa 1948. Thanksgiving Day marked my mother's birthday. She was born in Nashville at St. Thomas Hospital, the same hospital where I was born. She is the first born, her sister Claudia is 13 months younger -- Irish twins they are called. I sent the card, posted below, to Mom on her birthday. I also sent it to many of her friends and mine. None of my friends can believe Mom's rock star 1970s hair. Mom's friends seem to recall that everyone had wild hair and fashions around that time.

My gray cat has always acted like he was meant for the life of a celebrity. I think Britney probably chose him because he's fixed.

The idea started as a solution to a problem: how to get our friend into a club where she used to work, where she would not be recognized, but could still enjoy the skull-rattling sounds of the Melvins -- a show not to be missed in Birmingham last Tuesday. It was my idea to dress her as a man. Clare gave her the name of Lil' Frank and we all helped with the costume. When Clare said she had some fake moustaches I was hoping for something a little better than black felt that looked like it had been ripped off an elementary school bulletin board, but that's all we had to work with. Clare and I decided to get a room at the historic Redmont Hotel for the special occasion of our official reunion with Rebecca, bka Mort. The last time I remember the three of us being together was about 12 years ago at the bar of another local hotel, The Pickwick, but that's a story for another post. Mort moved to Minneapolis and fell off our radar for about a decade, but now she is back and still he...

- For the character of Lil' Frank, Mort chose moustache #4 -- the sheriff, or she-riff, as we called it.

- When the moustache was actually applied we laughed so hard we all all thought there was going to be a three-way flood.

- Before the five o'clock shadow -- not a woman, yet not quite a man.

- The key to the beard scruff was to really smear it in.

- The five o'clock shadow emergeth. - Lil' Frank is born.

- Lil Frank gets ready for a hot night on the town with an individual known only as "Lil' Frank's woman."

- Straight down from the penthouse at The Redmont Hotel.

- The dudes with the lighters had a much better idea of how to show respect for the band, unlike the dumbasses who got up on stage with the band, pissing them off and almost ending the show.

- Lil Frank don't mess around when it comes to ear protection.

- Damn, the Melvins shook the foundation of Bottletree. Even with earplugs it was a complete sound blast through the skull. - - - -

- Lil' Frank is also into ACDC. - - LF rocks the 'boks.

- - - - Lil' Frank says, "Hey baby, you think Taco Bell is still open?"

Clare as good bad, mad cop - - Clare as a housebound Halloween hag. - - Codi Jane McGrann, 11, enjoys the time-honored tradition of The Robot. - - No one could resist The Robot once we got into the heart of Beck's new album. - - Shake it like a white kid. - - This freak-a-zoid blacklight mask reminded me of a mixture of The Grinch and The Exorcist. - - Codi Jane as the freakish girl with no pupils. I propose Halloween become the new holiday we celebrate for two months. It's fun, cheap and without a bunch of religious and family guilt. As a kid I always felt sad the day after Christmas, as an adult it's the day after Halloween. A few weeks ago a I got together with my best friend Clare and our long time friends Peter Wilm and Paul and Carrie McGrann, who just bought a great rancher in Alabaster, 30 minutes south of Birmingham. Their older child Dylan makes us realize how much time has passed since he was born in 1993 as he is now taller than his dad, despite what his dad sa...

I wish Fall could last a month longer. This past week I was at Cheaha State Park, the highest point in the state and the leaves were electric. Being in a hurry to pack all the necessities, I sadly forgot my camera and had to rely on a disposible camera. On the last day we were there, I picked these leaves off the ground and scanned them in. There is no month better than October. That much is for sure.