Oh Boy, I wish I was going to be home for this! Amazingly, this is the first time I’ve ever heard of it. The Lone Star Pirate Festival. Wow. Right here in Houston, how lucky we are. 😉
It looks like so much fun. You get to dress up like pirates, drink lots of pirate beverages, listen to maritime/pirate music (the Bilge Pumps, Blaggards, etc), and go around saying ‘arrrrgghh’. And everybody around actually ‘gets it’. 😉
They’ll also have food trucks and vendors and according to their Facebook page, a real life mermaid. 😉 It’s also inside so you don’t have to worry about the weather. I’d love to go!
I can’t wish too hard though, since I am supposed to be working during that time period. It’s scheduled for July 20th and I should be shipboard by then (it’s not a pirate ship 😉 ).
I was thinking about it this afternoon and until this job I will have only worked 5 weeks out of 36! I can’t hope for anything else other than that I actually get to go do that job! So many have been cancelled this year at the last minute.
Maybe they’ll have another one of these festivals that I can go to. I hope so. I hope they come back to Houston. I don’t like driving all the way up there, but it’s not too far for something like this. If anybody get’s to go, I hope you’ll let us know how it went.
I haven’t been out much, so haven’t been listening to much new music on my favorite radio station (KPFT). It only comes in good in the car. I did stay up late last night to watch Saturday Night Live and the Texas Music Scene. Got me in the mood to look into some music today. Here’s one I think I already mentioned, but it’s worth another play. 😉
Big Blue Sea- Bob Schneider
Woke up in a stupor Guess it’s time to face the pooper Sometimes I feel like superman Sometimes I’m just recuperating, yeah
My head is twisting in it’s cage My mind feels like a twenty gage I hope it’s just a passing stage My heart’s not red, it’s Beige
And it’s days like this that burn me Turn me inside out and learn me Not to tell you anything I think I know But I think I’ll tell you all that I know
Try to tell you all about it Thought you might’ve, Lord, I doubt it Everyday’s a waste, I know And everyday’s a funeral
Cutting out I’m feeling lost Lost my mind I’m Mr. Frost Collected all the evidence I’m off the edge, I’m on the fence
And it’s days like this that burn me Turn me inside out and learn me Not to tell you anything I think I know Well, I think I’ll tell you all that I know
I don’t want to be alone, I want to be a stone I wanna sink to the bottom of the ocean And lie there with you ’til I’m gone
At the bottom of the big blue sea, just you and me At the bottom of the big blue sea The bottom of the big blue sea, just you and me At the bottom of the big blue sea
I know I’ll never know nobody Better than I know myself But I can’t even figure out Just what the fuck I’m all about
I’m sinking, I’m swimming, no wait a minute I’m drowning, no I ain’t kidding around Sometimes I think I’m gonna make it Sometimes I fake it
And it’s days like this that burn me Turn me inside out and learn me Not to tell you anything I think I know Well, I think I’ll tell you all that I know
Anywhere and everywhere Made up my mind it’s getting weird It’s queer to think it might not Get much better than today I fear
Won’t know true happiness I tried so hard, I did my best My best wasn’t good enough Oh God, I hate this stuff
And it’s days like this that burn me Turn me inside out and learn me Not to tell you anything I think I know Well, I think I’ll tell you all that I know
I don’t want to be alone, I want to be a stone I wanna sink to the bottom of the ocean And lie there, laugh there with you Laugh there with you till I’m gone
At the bottom of the big blue sea, just you and me At the bottom of the big blue sea The bottom of the big blue sea, just you and me At the bottom of the big blue sea
And it’s days like this that burn me Turn me inside out and learn me I said, it’s days like this that burn me Turn me inside out and learn me
And it’s days like this that burn me Turn me inside out and learn me And not to tell you anything I think I know
I finally got my CD player in my truck the other day. For months now, I could only listen to cassette tapes and one decent radio station (KPFT) since the radio dial didn’t work anymore and neither did my 6-CD player. I bought a new radio the other day. had to wait a few days for the installation. Sad to learn they don’t make cassette players or 6-CD players anymore. I had to settle for just a radio and 1-CD player 😦
I was listening to some new CD’s I’ve had for a while but haven’t been able to listen to. I really loved this song by Mark Knopfler. It’s called “Sailing to Philadelphia”. The album has the same name and the whole thing is really nice.
Check it out. It’s pretty mellow. There’s another song on it I loved, called the Last Laugh. Mark had Van Morrison join in on this song and it was fantastic. Van Morrison is another of my all time favorite musicians. You can find out more about the music at the links. Enjoy. 🙂
I am Jeremiah Dixon I am a Geordie boy A glass of wine with you, sir And the ladies I’ll enjoy All Durham and Northumberland Is measured up by my own hand It was my fate from birth To make my mark upon the earthHe calls me Charlie Mason A stargazer am I It seems that I was born To chart the evening sky They’d cut me out for baking bread But I had other dreams instead This baker’s boy from the west country Would join the Royal Society
We are sailing to Philadelphia A world away from the coaly Tyne Sailing to Philadelphia To draw the line A Mason-Dixon Line
Now you’re a good surveyor, Dixon But I swear you’ll make me mad The West will kill us both You gullible Geordie lad You talk of liberty How can America be free A Geordie and a baker’s boy In the forests of the Iroquois
Now hold your head up, Mason See America lies there The morning tide has raised The capes of Delaware Come up and feel the sun A new morning has begun Another day will make it clear Why your stars should guide us here
We are sailing to Philadelphia A world away from the coaly Tyne Sailing to Philadelphia To draw the line A Mason-Dixon Line
I just ordered the album from this band. I saw them last week on the Texas Music Scene and really liked this song. I find a lot of great new music from watching that show (the other place I like is KPFT radio). That show is one of the very few things I watch on TV anymore.
It comes on right after Saturday Night Live (which I still like to watch- even tho they’re not nearly as funny as they used to be). They still come out with some really good stuff occasionally. I make it a point to watch it.
The Bluewater Highway is also a favorite place for me. It runs up the beach from Surfside to Galveston. I’ve had a lot of good times along that road. 🙂
I wonder if thats where they got their name? Just checked, I guess it is. Turns out they’re from right here in Lake Jackson, TX. 🙂
Well honey, here I come, I got a wagonload A million different words I’m putting on for show I’m peddling my heart
It sees your careful walk hiding a gypsy stare And I know just the thing, woman if you dare Step right on through
And I’ll do it all for you I’ll do it all for you I am the Medicine Man
I traveled all the land in a depression line I bought and sold my love one too many times But now those days are done
‘Cause under the things I own, I am the one you need And in your snake oil smile, the cure for my disease I’d break my heart in two
And I would do it all for you (c’mon girl, c’mon girl) I’d do it all for you (c’mon girl, c’mon girl)
‘Cause I can see your fever rising And I got all you need inside You’re out on a ledge with your head in your hands You got a bleeding heart honey, I am the Medicine Man
You (c’mon girl, c’mon girl) I’d do it all for you (c’mon girl, c’mon girl) I’d do it all for you (c’mon girl, c’mon girl) I’d do it all for you (c’mon girl, ohh)
I can see your fever rising And I got all you need inside You’re out on a ledge with your head in your hands You got a bleeding heart honey, I am the Medicine Man
It’s been a while since I’ve shared one of these Songs of the Sea. I’ve just been busy and haven’t had the time to go poking around the internet (or my music library). Here’s a song from the Lumineers, a band I really like. Have you heard them before? Let me know how you like the music…
I stood alone, upon the platform in vain The puerto ricans they were playing me salsa in the rain With open doors and manual locks In fast food parking lots
I headed west, I was a man on the move New york had lied to me, I needed the truth Oh, I need somebody, needed someone I could trust I don’t gamble, but if I did I would bet on us
Like the dead sea You told me I was like the dead sea You’ll never sink when you are with me Oh, lord, like the dead sea
Whoa, I’m like the dead sea The finest words you ever said to me Honey can’t you see, I was born to be, be your dead sea
You told me you were good at running away Domestic life, it never suited you like a suitcase You left with just the clothes on your back You took the rest when you took the map
This song is an old favorite. It was a #1 song in 1971. Three Dog Night had a lot of good songs we listened to a lot. Joy to the World, Just an Old Fashioned Love Song, Never Been to Spain, etc. I remember a lot of really good times with good music growing up back then. I remember belting out the lyrics to this song with my friends.
Good old days for sure. 🙂 I thought since I was posting about fish recently, this would be a good follow up. 😉
Hope you have some fun with it like I did. 🙂
“Joy To The World”
Jeremiah was a bull frog Was a good friend of mine I never understood a single word he said But I helped him drink his wine And he always had some mighty fine wine
Singin’ Joy to the world All the boys and girls, now Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea Joy to you and me
If I were the king of the world Tell you what I’d do I’d throw away the cars and the bars and the wars Make sweet love to you
Singin’ now Joy to the world All the boys and girls Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea Joy to you and me
You know I love the ladies Love to have my fun I’m a high night flier and a rainbow rider A straight-shootin’ son of a gun I said a straight shootin’ son of a gun
Joy to the world All the boys and girls Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea Joy to you and me
Joy to the world All the boys and girls Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea Joy to you and me
Joy to the world All the boys and girls Joy to the world Joy to you and me
Joy to the world All the boys and girls, now Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea Joy to you and me
Joy to the world All the boys and girls Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea Joy to you and me
They say the 2 best days in the life of any boat owner are the day he buys it and the day he sells it. Here’s a song for those who are getting to that 2nd best day!
Getting into the Christmas spirit around here. It’s Christmas Eve already- wow! Here’s a fun little video by Tom Mason & the Blue Buccaneers. It’s another Song of the Sea too. 😉
It’s been a busy couple of days around here. I got an email last week about today’s Sunset Sip going on tonight in Freeport. I was interested in entering some of my art in the show. I found out the information I needed a couple of days ago.
I spent all day yesterday getting my photos ready. Signing them, matting them, and framing them. I met the lady in charge of the operation (Jennifer) yesterday afternoon in her Freeport office. She has some stunning artwork from previous events decorating the place.
She kindly showed me to the Heritage Ballroom, and then helped me set up in the entry. I brought my big painting of the underwater scene I had painted one winter when it was too rough to go outside on the tanker. I’ve had it hanging on my living room wall ever since. I do really like it. I think it turned out pretty good, especially considering I was using the ships deck paint (and a little wonky from the fumes on the last part- after I had to move it to my room).
Most of the rest I’m bringing are photos. I’m also in the show at the Brazosport Art League Gallery next to the college. I’ll pick up the ones I have there now and bring a few more to enter there.
Once I do the trade at the BAL Gallery, I’m headed to a photo shoot with the Brazoria County Models & Photographers out in West Columbia for the Day of the Dead. That should give me some awesome photos! The models are all great to work with and I always have a lot of fun. I hate to cut it short, but I’ll have to, in order to get back to Freeport in time for the Sunset Sip.
I’m looking forward to this event. I’m sure to meet lots of interesting people. I hope I get a chance to wander around and check out everyone else’s work. They’re having a zydeco band, a brewery, a winery, and all kinds of food.
I’ll have to tend to my booth, so not sure how much time I’ll have to look around. After all, I do really want to sell some things too.
In honor of awarding the Nobel Prize in Literature to Bob Dylan, here’s a video. Bob Dylan plays along with Keith Richards and Ron Wood. It was taped during the big Live Aid concert back in 1985 (did anything really come out of that? did anything really change?).
I’ve heard better versions of this song (it’s been covered by quite a few bands). Hard to understand the words when Bob sang it on that video, so here are the lyrics…
“When The Ship Comes In”
Oh the time will come up When the winds will stop And the breeze will cease to be breathin’ Like the stillness in the wind ‘Fore the hurricane begins The hours when the ship comes in.
And the seas will split And the ship will hit And the sands on the shoreline will be shaking Then the tide will sound And the wind will pound And the morning will be breaking.
Oh the fishes will laugh As they swim out of the path And the seagulls they’ll be smiling And the rocks on the sand Will proudly stand The hour that the ship comes in.
And the words that are used For to get the ship confused Will not be understood as they’re spoken For the chains of the sea Will have busted in the night And will be buried at the bottom of the ocean.
A song will lift As the mainsail shifts And the boat drifts on to the shoreline And the sun will respect Every face on the deck The hour that the ship comes in.
Then the sands will roll Out a carpet of gold For your weary toes to be a-touchin’ And the ship’s wise men Will remind you once again That the whole wide world is watchin’.
Oh the foes will rise With the sleep in their eyes And they’ll jerk from their beds and think they’re dreamin’ But they’ll pinch themselves and squeal And know that it’s for real The hour that the ship comes in.
Then they’ll raise their hands Sayin’ we’ll meet all your demands But we’ll shout from the bow your days are numbered And like Pharaoh’s tribe They’ll be drownded in the tide And like Goliath, they’ll be conquered.
Wow! Another week’s gone by and it’s time for another Song of the Sea. This week, I found this old classic Guantanamera. I remember singing it along with my friends in school as we traveled around the world on the Ariadne.
It’s really a traditional song, from Cuba, but it’s still a good one to listen to and to sing along with.
I’m not actually sure why it’s considered a sailing song now that I understand the lyrics. But it’s one I’ve heard in a lot of sailors bars around the world, and it does make me think of those good old days, so I’ll include it here.
Guantanamera
[Estribillo:]
Guantanamera, guajira guantanamera
Guantanamera, guajira, guantanamera
Yo soy un hombre sincero, de donde crece la palma
Yo soy un hombre sincero, de donde crece la palma
Y antes de morir yo quiero cantar mis versos del alma
[Estribillo]
Cultivo una rosa blanca, en julio como en enero
Cultivo una rosa blanca, en julio como en enero
Para el amigo sincero, que me da su mano franca
[Estribillo] (2x)
Mi verso es de un verde claro, y de un carmín encendido
Mi verso es de un verde claro, y de un carmín encendido
Mi verso es un ciervo herido, que busca en el monte amparo
[Estribillo] (2x)
And since I still don’t know Spanish well enough, here’s the English translation…
Guantanamera
Chorus))
Guantanamera, guajira* (Peasant) guantanamera
Guantanamera, guajira, guantanamera
I’m a sincere man , I’m from where growing palm (leaf), I’m a sincere man , I’m from where growing palm leaf
and before I die I want to sing my verses of my soul
Chorus
I cultivate a white rose, in july as well as January
I cultivate a white rose in july as well as january,
to my sincere friend, who give me sincerity
(2 x)
My verse is like a light green colour and also carmine
My verse is like a light green colour and also carmine
my verse is an injured serf which looks for refuge/protection
Chorus 2x))
It goes much better in Spanish (IMHO)!
I’ve known this song for a long time, but this is the first time I’ve actually seen any explanation of the story…
the lyrics to the song relate to a woman from Guantánamo, with whom he had a romantic relationship, and who eventually left him. The alleged real story behind these lyrics is that she did not have a romantic interest in him, but merely a platonic one. If the details are to be believed, she had brought him a steak sandwich one day as a present to the radio station where he worked. He stared at some other woman (and attempted to flirt with her) while eating the sandwich, and his friend yanked it out of his hands in disgust, cursed him and left. He never saw her again. These words are rarely sung today
Another history behind the chorus and its lyrics (“Guantanamera … / Guajira Guantanamera …”) is similar: he was at a street corner with a group of friends and made a courteous pass (a polite pick-up line, like “your mother made you good” or “you came from a star”, piropo in Spanish) to a woman (who also happened to be from Guantánamo) who walked by the group. She answered back rather harshly, offended by the pass. Stunned, he could not take his mind off her reaction while his friends made fun of him; later that day, sitting at a piano with his friends near him, he wrote the song’s main refrain.
Here’s another in my Songs of the Sea series. This one’s by Madonna. I really love the video someone made to go with it. I love watching the waves roll by. It’s nice that it has the Spanish subtitles too, so all the people who speak Spanish can understand it better. Enjoy. 🙂
“Swim”
Put your head on my shoulder baby Things can’t get any worse Night is getting colder Sometimes life feels like it’s a curse
[Bridge:]
I can’t carry these sins on my back Don’t wanna carry any more I’m gonna carry this train off the track I’m gonna swim to the ocean floor
[Chorus:]
Mmmmm Crash to the other shore Mmmmm Swim to the ocean floor
Children killing children While the students rape their teachers Comets fly across the sky While the churches burn their preachers
[Bridge2:]
We can’t carry these sins on our back Don’t wanna carry any more We’re gonna carry this train off the track We’re gonna swim to the ocean floor
[chorus]
Let the water wash over you Wash it all over you Swim to the ocean floor
So that we can begin again Wash away all our sins Crash to the other shore
Mmmmmm
[bridge] [chorus] [bridge2]
Crash to the other shore Swim to the ocean floor Mmmmmm
Another for my Songs of the Sea series- Life’s An Ocean by the Verve. It’s kinda bluesy, and I went to the Bikes and Blues fest in Freeport yesterday. I haven’t got the post done for that yet, but here’s one about it from a couple of years ago. Still on a blues kind of kick. 🙂
“Life’s An Ocean”
Life’s An Ocean Too much commotion, too much emotion Dragging me down Living for today, don’t have time to pray Ready for the game Take a line of fickle flame
Imagine the future Woke up with a scream I was buying some feelings From a vending machine Say that I will see Something more than I have There’s something inside of me Crying out for something else And if someone hears my scream Put it in a letter to me Slippery slimy road down
Life’s an ocean too much commotion Not enough emotion to satisfy me Slippery slidy road down It’s slippery slidy road down
Hold my hand and we’ll walk down Dry those eyes and we’ll walk down
Slippery slidy road down Life’s an ocean, life’s an ocean Too much commotion, too much emotion
Here’s another one for my Songs of the Sea series. It was filmed at the HoustonFest last year (2015), with the Church Sisters. It’s a good one for today. It’s been storming all night and most of the day. I just got back from a short delivery job and it was stormy pretty much the whole voyage.
It’s an old bluegrass song. I like bluegrass a lot. My dad used to rent an apartment to a couple (hi Roberta and Eddie), who played around town in a bluegrass band. I used to love hanging out with them, trying to learn how to play guitar and singing along. I really do miss my music. Just somehow never have time to play anymore. 😦
“The Storms Are On The Ocean”
I’m going away to leave you, love I’m going away for a while But I’ll return to you some time If I go 10,000 miles
The storms are on the ocean The heavens may cease to be This world may lose its motion, love If I prove false to thee
Oh, who will dress your pretty little feet Oh, who will glove your hand Who will kiss your rosy red cheeks When I’m in the far off land
The storms are on the ocean The heavens may cease to be This world may lose its motion, love If I prove false to thee
[Instrumental break]
Oh, papa will dress my pretty little feet And mama will glove my hand You can kiss my rosy red cheeks When you return again
The storms are on the ocean The heavens may cease to be This world may lose its motion, love If I prove false to thee
[Instrumental break]
Oh, have you seen those lonesome doves Flying from pine to pine A-mourning for their own true loves Just like I mourn for mine
The storms are on the ocean The heavens may cease to be This world may lose its motion, love If I prove false to thee
[Instrumental break]
I’ll never go back on the ocean, love I’ll never go back on the sea I’ll never go back on the blue-eyed girl Till she goes back on me
Here’s another one for my Songs of the Sea series. The Lumineers play ‘Dead Sea’. I really love this band. They have a lot of great songs -most have nothing to do with the water. 😉
I haven’t been spending as much time as usual listening to music. My mind just hasn’t been in the right place. I listen to the radio (KPFT) when I go to work (which hasn’t been nearly enough lately). At home I just haven’t been ‘in the mood’- for music- or anything else.
I’ve been spending more time on the computer than anything else lately. The last couple of days I’ve been seeing a lot of stuff to do with ‘just do it’. Even the song. Is it the universe trying to tell me to get off my ass and just DO it?
I think it probably is.
“Dead Sea”
I stood alone, upon the platform in vain The Puerto Ricans they were playing me salsa in the rain With open doors and manual locks In fast food parking lots
I headed West, I was a man on the move New York had lied to me, I needed the truth Oh, I need somebody, needed someone I could trust I don’t gamble, but if I did I would bet on us
Like the Dead Sea You told me I was like the Dead Sea You’ll never sink when you are with me Oh, Lord, like the Dead Sea
Whoa, I’m like the Dead Sea [Video version:] The nicest words you ever said to me [Album version:] The finest words you ever said to me Honey can’t you see, I was born to be, be your Dead Sea
You told me you were good at running away Domestic life, it never suited you like a suitcase You left with just the clothes on your back You took the rest when you took the map
Yes, there are times we live for somebody else Your father died and you decided to live It for yourself you felt, you just felt it was time And I’m glad, cause you with cats, that’s just not right
Like the Dead Sea You told me I was like the Dead Sea You’ll never sink when you are with me Oh, Lord, I’m your Dead Sea
Whoa, I’m like the Dead Sea The nicest words you ever said to me Honey can’t you see I was born to be, be your dead sea
I’ve been down, I’ve been defeated You’re the message, I will heed it. Would you stay, Would you stay the night?
Dead Sea, You told me I was like the Dead Sea I never sink when you are with me Oh, Lord, I’m your Dead Sea
Whoa, I’m like the Dead Sea The nicest words you ever said to me Honey can’t you see I was born to be, be your Dead Sea
I was reading the latest National Geographic Traveler magazine and I happened to notice an ad in the back for the Johns Pass Seafood Festival.
It caught my eye because I grew up there. They just started having the festival when I left to go to school and then moved to Texas.
Johns Pass Florida
It looks like it’s grown quite a bit. I wonder if any of my old friends would still be around? I used to know all the fishermen. I wonder how many of them are still left? The city was doing an awful good job of clearing them out when I left. Not ‘appropriate’ for the tourist trap they wanted to create. 😦
The Seafood Festival is kind of like the St Patricks Day Parade is here, everybody comes back from wherever they’ve been to have a good time and catch up with old friends. At least we do still have a real community to gather together at Surfside. I can’t say the same for Johns Pass. They destroyed what we had- a REAL community, of REAL fishermen- to replace it with nothing but condos and fake shit! All for the sake of the tourists.
I’m glad someone’s making money off it. (NOT)!
It’s from October 27-30 this year. I don’t have anything planned then. I keep hoping like hell I’ll get some real work, so I’m not planning much very far ahead of time. Also, I’ve already planned a couple of budget busting trips. I think I’ll skip Florida again this year. It makes me more sad than anything to go there now anyway. 😦
Here’s another one for my Songs of the Sea series. I know I’ve skipped a couple of weeks, but here’s a good one to get back in the groove. 🙂
I’ve never heard of Bob Schneider before, but if this song is a good idea of his work, I’ll definitely be checking him out further.
I love all the beautiful photographs of the underwater world in this video. I hope you enjoy it too. 🙂
Warning: ‘explicit lyrics’ for all the PC types out there- don’t play it if you’re easily offended by a couple of cuss words. 😦
Big Blue Sea Lyrics
Woke up in a stupor
Guess it’s time to face the pooper
Sometimes I feel like superman
Sometimes I’m just recuperating
My head is twisting in its cage My mind feels like a twenty gage I hope it’s just a passing stage My heart’s not red it’s Beige
And its days like this that burn me Turn me inside out and learn me Not to tell you anything I think I know Well I think I’ll tell you all that I know Try to tell you all about it thought you Might’ve lord i doubt it Everyday’s a waste I know everyday’s a funeral
I’m cutting out I’m feeling lost I’ve lost my mind I’m Mr. Frost I’ve collected all the evidence I’m off the edge I’m on the fence
And its days like this that burn me Turn me inside out and learn me Not to tell you anything I think I know Well I think I’ll tell you all that I know
I don’t want to be alone I want to be a stone I want to sink to the bottom of the ocean And lie there with you til I’m gone
At the bottom of the big blue sea Just you and me At the bottom of the big blue sea The bottom of the big blue sea Just you and me At the bottom of the big blue sea
I know I’ll never know nobody Better than I know myself But I can’t even figure out Just what the fuck I’m all about
I’m sinking, I’m swimming no wait a minute I’m drowning no I ain’t kidding around Sometimes i think i’m gonna make it Sometimes I fake it
And its days like this that burn me Turn me inside out and learn me Not to tell you anything I think I know Well I think I’ll tell you all that I know
Anywhere and everywhere Made up my mind it’s getting weird It’s queer to think it might not Get much better than today I fear Won’t know true happiness I tried so hard I did my best My best wasn’t good enough Oh god I hate this stuff
And its days like this that burn me Turn me inside out and learn me Not to tell you anything I think I know Well I think I’ll tell you all that I know I don’t want to be alone I want to be a stone I want to sink to the bottom of the ocean And lie there laugh there with you laugh Yhere with you til I’m gone
At the bottom of the big blue sea Just you and me At the bottom of the big blue sea the bottom of the big blue sea Just you and me At the bottom of the big blue sea
And its days like this that burn me Turn me inside out and learn me Its days like this that burn me Turn me inside out and learn me And its days like this that burn me Turn me inside out and learn me Not to tell you anything I think I know
Last Saturday I went up to Houston for the Zydeco Fest. I’ve been having a hard time getting motivated to do much of anything around here. Just too much stress to enjoy the time at home. Weird, isn’t it? When I’m offshore working, I can’t wait to get off and spend time at home. Now that I’ve been home for so long without work, I can hardly stand it.
If I wasn’t so worried about finances, I would be off traveling somewhere. Since I have to be here to jump on any job offer that comes by (no matter how bad), I can’t leave or do anything really.
I had finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel last week (or I thought I did), so I decided to go have a little celebration. I’ve always loved zydeco music, all kinds of music really- except rap and opera. I used to go up to Houston every couple of weeks. I’d go catch a live band, spend the night, and do a museum or something on the way home.
I got a late start last week and didn’t get to the show until about 5. They had it right downtown at Jones Plaza. I found a nice hotel only a couple of blocks away and not super expensive. The worst part was the parking fees! At least by the time I got to the show, it had cooled down a little. It was still hot! I didn’t bring anything to sit on and what few seats there were were already occupied.
I just walked around, looked over the little shops people set up- selling food, drinks, t-shirts, etc. They had a couple of food trucks parked by the entrance and more cooks scattered around the park. People were picnicking and enjoying the sunshine with their families. Old folks and babies, the whole range of ages loved the music. Everybody was dancing and having a good time.
I got there in time for the last part of Lil Nate and the Zydeco Big Timers. I saw Marcus Ardoin and the Zydeco Legend, and finished the night off with Step Rideau & the Zydeco Outlaws (all the pictures are of Step and his band).
I didn’t find out til I was leaving the Zydeco Fest, but they also had a Gay Pride parade that evening. All the crowds from that were thronging the downtown streets right around the time they were shutting down the Zydeco Fest. It looked like it must have been a lot of fun. Everybody was in a good mood and from what I could see of the costumes, they all had a great time.
Houston needs to get a better way to let people know what’s going on around town!
Here’s a little music to tide us over til next year’s zydeco festival. 🙂
I decided to have a little early celebration (hope I’m not jinxing myself). I had 2 prospective jobs last week. The first since last September!
I’m still waiting for confirmation and things change constantly in the offshore world, so I hope I’ll be going back to work soon. It’s a huge step down in both position and pay, but after more than 6 months out of work, I’ll take pretty much anything.
I’ve turned in applications at the Mathnasium, Hastings bookstore and Buc-ee’s in the last week. Tried to avoid applying to jobs like that as long as I could, but I need to do something to bring in some income. My savings are running down fast. 😦
I’ve been stuck hanging around the house so long, broke, stressed and a little depressed. I think I can afford to take a little break. I’m heading to Houston today for the Zydeco Festival.
Discover and re-discover Mexico’s cuisine, culture and history through the recipes, backyard stories and other interesting findings of an expatriate in Canada
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Discover and re-discover Mexico’s cuisine, culture and history through the recipes, backyard stories and other interesting findings of an expatriate in Canada
To participate in the Ragtag Daily Prompt, create a Pingback to your post, or copy and paste the link to your post into the comments. And while you’re there, why not check out some of the other posts too!
Capt Jills Journeys 