Monday, September 13, 2010

"Well I tried to make it Sunday, but I got so damn depressed/That I set my sights on Monday and I got myself undressed."

The Song: "Sister Golden Hair," America. Words and music by Gerry Beckley. Track 10 of Hearts, 1975.
How/when acquired: Downloaded MP3 single, December 2008
Listen/watch here. (This is a concert version at a faster tempo than the studio version I have. I like the studio version better.)

Born Yesterday closed on Saturday night. After a strike that went faster and more smoothly than I dreamed it could, most of the cast and crew went over to the Liberal Cup and closed it down. I hadn't planned to do much yesterday, but even those small things wound up neglected; I wouldn't say I was depressed as much as exhausted.

This morning I got up full of good intentions, and took Dizzy for a walk to our usual place, Gardiner's Oak Grove Cemetery — only to find a brand new sign:

NO DOGS ALLOWED
POLICE WILL BE NOTIFIED

A sad, unfriendly way to start the day. Dizzy and I have been walking in the cemetery since we moved here; it's one of Gardiner's few open spaces, especially now that Waterfront Park is closed for construction "until further notice." Now I'll have to put him in the car to take him to the woods or the reservoir in Hallowell, or the new dog park in Augusta. It makes me feel unwelcome, and will probably speed up my decision to leave Gardiner. Well played, town leaders.

This song is an old favorite, and was one of the first things I learned to play on the guitar. (I no longer own a guitar, which is bad. Maybe I'll pick one up in a pawnshop over the winter.) Somehow or other, though, I never owned it, an omission I remedied a couple of years ago when my brother James mentioned it over the holidays. While I miss albums, I do love the convenience of 99-cent downloads.

1 comment:

Thomas Hogglestock said...

That is really frustrating about the sign at the cemetery. No doubt one bad apple ruined it for everyone. Of course early cemeteries (as opposed to church-adjacent graveyards) were used as parks all the time.

John and I have been looking at dogs. More than a few have tugged at our hearts, but no matches yet.