Up to the mountain

I went up to the mountain
Because you asked me to
Up over the clouds
To where the sky was blue
I could see all around me
Everywhere
I could see all around me
Everywhere

-Bill Withers
-Up To The Mountain

I took that picture in 1993.  I was in Arizona.  At 5:30 in the morning, that mountain was bare - by noon, snow had started to fall, and by 5 pm, there were whiteout conditions.  We were a few miles away, and it was 91 degrees.  Nature sure does have a way.  I just wanted to post something beautiful…something that reminded of a time when I wasn’t broken.

I walked nearly 3.5 miles tonight…on purpose.  I’ll be paying for it for days.  But - I wouldn’t trade the company for a pain-free day.  She’s rocks, even though she has it on pretty good authority (and said on pretty good authority) that I am going to hell.  Fuck it - some days, i feel like i’m already there.

Not much to say tonight.  Everyone reading this (all 3 of you right now,)  should go find the song referenced above.  You can listen to the Bill Withers version, which is a little dated, but my personal favorite, or you can listen to a more recent Kelly Clarkson  version that she did live for something.  It’s on Itunes.  Don’t listen to the Patty Griffin version unless it’s the only one you can find.

 It makes me sad - and it makes me want Otis Redding and Ray Charles  alive and back in the recording studio.  And oddly enough - when I listen to this song…it makes me feel like it was written for them…for the masters who came before and paved the way for brilliant music.  I wonder if society would be as fucked up as it is, if Otis was singing “These arms of mine,” on radio stations across the country.

The percocet is starting to kick in.  My bags of ice are waiting.  I doubled up on the percs tonight.  If I don’t go to sleep now - i’ll sleep right through the alarm in the morning - so i’m out.

 Oh - it’s trendy to say “take care of your gums.”  I just want to say the hell with that.  They make blenders..you’ll always be able to eat.

I say “take care of your knees.”  The “rest of your life” lasts a very long time when you’re in pain every day.

-The Stranger