Make Mine Music

Hello World, Happy Memorial Day weekend! This is another one of those years where the observation of the holiday is as early as it possibly can be, since June starts on a Monday, so Memorial Day is practically a whole week earlier than usual. Of course, for the purists among us (and you know who you are!) the old-fashioned concept of Decoration Day never changes, and doesn't squirt around like a cat burglar on the lam, but stays put right where it's supposed to be on May 30th, year in and year out, so you always know where to find it, and no mistake. In any event, I hope that everyone has a chance to enjoy a nice relaxing long holiday weekend, while still paying tribute to our brave troops, past and present. Failing that, why not take advantage of the huge holiday discounts, incentives, and blowouts - so hurry on out there with wallets wide open and plenty of plastic, and the President's economic advisers will thank you, I'm sure. And speaking of movable feasts, last week Christians all over the world celebrated the festival of Ascension on May 14, and our church had a very nice evening service that was extremely earnest, if not particularly well attended, alas. I admit that the whole thing took me by surprise, because although I was prepared for it to come along in May, I expected it to be much later in the month, as it was last year, when it was on the 29th. Not so fast! I forgot that it's based on a certain number of days after Easter, and Easter was late last year (April 20) while this year it was April 5 instead. So while I was entirely ready for Ascension on May 28 this time around, suddenly popping up on May 14 was certainly not something that I had planned for, and brought about a whole slew of last-minute details and adjustments, thanks not. Oh, for those halcyon days of yore, when the Druids could build an astronomical placeholder like Stonehenge, and everything stayed where it was supposed to be. And while we're on the topic of things going according to plan, last weekend saw the favorite, once again, come in first, this time at the Preakness Stakes, to the surprise of practically nobody. Unlike the thundering herd at the Kentucky Derby, at Pimlico there was a tiny field of only 8 horses, 5 of which had already raced in the Derby, plus 3 newcomers to the scene. In an impressive showing, American Pharoah ran away with it by 7 lengths over the 2nd place horse, Tale of Verve, while Derby darling Dortmund finished in 4th place and 15-1/2 lengths back, so that tells you something right there. It started out as a nice day at the track, but by post time, there was a pelting rain coming down in sheets, so that you basically couldn't see anything right in front of your face, much less across a massive muddy racetrack. According to racing officials, the race would have been called, if there had been actual thunder and lightning, but not if it's only raining, so as they say in the theater, the show must go on, in spite of it all. Obviously, with American Pharoah winning the Derby and now the Preakness, it sets up the potential for a Triple Crown, by winning the third leg at the upcoming Belmont Stakes. It doesn't take a superstitious person to imagine what effect that's going to have on the evil spirit of Affirmed, defending his claim to the last Triple Crown in 1978 from the great beyond, and not giving it up easy, that's for sure. Someone may think they're going to dig him up and pry it from his cold hard horseshoes, but if we've learned nothing else in 37 years, at least we all know better than to turn our back on his nefarious shenanigans at this point, so don't say I didn't warn you. In other sports news, of course in the NHL, the playoffs continue, and true to form, the Rangers are not making it easy on their legion of devoted fans, not by a long shot, I can tell you that. After a grueling series with the Washington Capitals, they have their hands full now with the plucky Tampa Bay Lightning, in a see-saw match-up that could go either way. Meanwhile on the hardwood front, the NBA is also down to the final four, and there are still high hoops hopes in Atlanta, Cleveland, Houston and Oakland, which is actually where the Golden State Warriors play, and I can only suppose that they figured the name Oakland Warriors was just too ridiculous, for some reason. (Because after all, the name "Utah Jazz" makes perfect sense.) (NOT!) A finals battle between the Hawks and Warriors would at least make the airlines happy, while the Cavaliers and Rockets might get the Midwest to sit up and take notice, but tune out everyone else on both coasts. Either way, it will all be over soon enough, and people can finally get on with their summer plans, once we've gotten the winter sports out of the way at long last. Let's face it, you know that Affirmed can't just keep hanging around sabotaging the playoffs, with the Belmont coming up just around the corner, after all. In other entertainment news, last month we traipsed into the city to see Vienna Teng at The City Winery, and lived to tell the tale, which is always my favorite way to travel. Unlike her usual shows, this was a solo, all-request performance, and it was interesting to see and hear her do things so markedly different from what her fans have come to expect. The concert venue is way downtown in the Tribeca area, below Bleecker Street, and practically in the Hudson River, with nothing but Route 9A standing in the way, and a good thing too. They feature live music and a lively bar scene, but also pride themselves on their cuisine - and not just pub food and snacks to nosh during the show, but actual meals like steak, lobster, and roast lamb. Their claim to fame is their extensive beverage selection, including craft beers and literally hundreds of wines from around the world, taking up almost 50 pages on their colossal wine list. "But that's not all!" as they always say on late-night TV infomercials, and they're not kidding. On top of everything else, they also assure me that they are a fully functional winery, where they promise, and apparently without a hint of irony, that I can savor the finest wines made on Varick Street in New York City. [I would ignore the ill-mannered snickering from our old friends the dinosaurs in The Peanut Gallery, but I find it necessary to pause here to insert some elaborate eye-rolling as befits the situation.] I have to think that those little old winemakers in France and Italy (and heck, even California) would have something to say about the "finest wines made on Varick Street," but far be it from me to rain on their parade, if that's the star they want to hitch their wagon to. On the other hand, they obviously couldn't call themselves "The Irony Winery," because nobody would be able to say that five times fast, especially after some of that famous Varick Street wine, I dare say. Speaking of music, alert readers may recall a few weeks ago when I mentioned how new doorbells are not the same old tired ding-dongs from yesteryear, but pre-programmed marvels - and for homes like ours with resident felines, "Alley Cat" is one of your choices. Our crack research team here did a quick Internet search to see if the actual name of the song was "Alley Cat" or "The Alley Cat," since everyone knows that pinpoint accuracy is our byword here, where our last two poor addled brain cells (Dumb and Dumber) are hard at work. It turned out to be way more interesting than I had any reason to expect (including LYRICS, believe it or not) and which, thanks to our friends at www.songfacts.com, I can share with the wide world. ================================ Alley Cat by Bent Fabric This won the Grammy Award for Best Rock & Roll Recording, 1962. Bent Fabric is a man, not a group. His real name is Bent Fabricus-Bjerre, and he wrote this under the pseudonym "Frank Bjorn." Fabric is a piano player from Denmark. The Danish title of this is "Omkring et Flygel," which means "Around the Piano." This was the theme song of popular Danish TV show of same name, hosted by Fabric. An instrumental, this used to be very popular at weddings. It has a goofy dance that speeds up with the music. A later vocal version features lyrics by Jack Harlen. [Now we've all got the tune running through our heads, so here are the words to sing along with.] He goes on the prowl each night, Like an alley cat. Looking for some new delight, Like an alley cat. She can't trust him out of sight, There's no doubt of that. He just don't know wrong from right, Like an alley cat. He meets them (meow), And loves them (meow), And leaves them (meow), Like that "Casanova" does. That's no way to treat a pal, She should tell him "Scat!" Aren't you sorry for that gal, And her alley cat. ( instrumental interlude ) He meets them (meow), And loves them (meow), And leaves them (meow), Like that "Casanova" does. He don't know that faithful means, There's no doubt of that. He's too busy makin' scenes, Like an alley cat. And that's the sad, sad tale of a lonesome quail, And her alley cat. ============================== I'm afraid I'm going to have to wrap this up, because the temptation proved just too strong, and I couldn't help but get up and actually do the iconic dance while I was singing, thus causing our collection of kitties to flee at the very sight of me, and in fact, even the dinosaurs are gawking at me like a 3-headed polka dot space alien, and they didn't just fall off the turnip truck, believe me. (One asked me for directions to the La Brea Tar Pits, but even I thought that was over-reacting to an extreme degree.) Even my last two poor addled brain cells are advising me to settle down and chill out with a cool drink. I figure some Varick Street bathtub bubbly should do the trick. Elle