this evening i saw the spfld jazz band “real time” perform outside at Cheddar’s. cheddar’s has a new outside patio, and there is a row of bushes along one wall, at least sort of giving the illusion of nature, as opposed to only being separated from vast amounts of parking spaces by a wall. the music was great, and it was even better that i didn’t have to travel 100 miles on a sweltering bus to get there.
there’s something pretty perfect about listening to live music outside. i wish i could do it all the time, or at least more often. real time will be at robbie’s downtown tomorrow night from 5:30-7:30, but of course that won’t be outside, but still, they will be good.
tomorrow night i’ll be enjoying outdoor entertainment again, this time “ragtime” at the spfld muni. i missed the first show, “the sound of music,” which is too bad, because i heard it was really good. i’m looking forward to ragtime because i’ve never seen it or even heard any of the music. margaret b. gave it a glowing review, and basically ordered everybody to go see it, so i’m doing my duty tomorrow night.
i don’t have any more outdoor music planned, but i’m sure it wouldn’t be so difficult to find.
after the music tonight, i took gizmo and shortie for a ride on my parents’ pontoon boat. just me and the dogs, a beautiful night for it, the sun was setting in a spectacular way. i passed a guy in a prety big sailboat, the kind with a cabin underneath, and he beckoned me over. nobody has ever beckoned me while i’ve been in a boat before, so i steered over to him. did you see the weather? he asked me. he was alone on his boat, and i could see the cabin down below, which looked inviting. i didn’t quite understand him – did he mean, did i see the weather forecast, was it supposed to start storming? i said “no,” and he shrugged and gestured over his shoulder, where the sky was all deep pink and purple. “oh,” i said, “the weather, yep,” and cruised away.
shortie and gizmo didn’t care about the sky. i’m not sure exactly why they love to go on the boat so much. they’re mad for it, though. sometimes they just sit there looking up at me, waiting for me to give them a treat. other times they sit on the arms of the chairs in front, looking out over the water. lots of times they’ll just lie on the back seat, lolling about as they do wherever they go. maybe it’s just the change of pace. i’ve said it before, but i really think that if dogs had more to occupy their time, they wouldn’t sleep so much. shortie and gizmo certainly couldn’t do something like being seeing-eye dogs, but i’m sure there’s something they’d be useful for. besides their daily eating/barking/sleeping/begging for treats.
they’re kind of good watch dogs; maybe they need more to watch. they’re always crazy to hunt for the dog living next door to my parents. the poor old crabby dog, maggie, is old and can’t see or hear very well, but she is the mortal enemy of shortie and giz. whenever i’ve taken them for a walk, they stop at the neighbor’s yard, peering around, looking for maggie. they bark like crazy if they see her, and sometimes even if they don’t. mom has big cuts all over her legs, because she took shortie and giz for a walk and maggie was out and mom’s dogs were so frantic to try to ATTACK MAGGIE that they twisted their leashes all around mom’s legs and cut them up.
they’re small but ruthless, those dogs.
tomorrow, friday. plus, coming up, the 4th of july, where we celebrate fireworks.
ok then,
grace outside as much as possible except i guess i could take a sleeping bag and sleep outside any time if i wanted to, and i’m not sure why i haven’t, and maybe i’ll start tomorrow night.