It was hard tonight stopping by the local pizza joint. Not just at the sight of the owner’s son (who I call “Mr. Visa”), or Brooke, one of my favorite waitresses (whose boyfriend recently broke off their engagement), but knowing that I can’t say when the next time I’ll be stopping by there for take-out, or what condition I’ll be in when I do. After all, next Friday Tracey and I will be off to Carmel, California to continue our “treasure hunt” (more on that later); the following Friday I doubt I’ll be in any frame of mind to yak-yak with my fellow bar flies and the hired help given that I’ll be just two days removed from my prostate removal surgery.

It’s all so closing in. The days are getting shorter (tonight I had to put on my lights for the first time bringing take-out back), and this whole surgery thing is really screwing up my brain and peace of mind. Fortunately, today was the first day I was able to buy Sam Adams Octoberfest - my favorite beer in all the world (this year complete with a new label featuring trees with orange trees that almost made me want to cry at the thought of missing autumn in New England) at the local Fry’s. But you take what comfort you can get.

My internal time clock tells me I should be thinking about Fall, but that’s nothing but fallishnessness around here. Even though the pool lost another degree today (it’s now down to 87), it’s still damned hot outside and there’s really no indication that Fall is on the way. Were I living back in New England, my musical tastes would have already started gravitating towards Fall-like music like Pink Floyd, Gordon Lightfoot, and Enya; instead, here in AZ, the late afternoon sun boring a hole in my forehead, I just threw some Gary Usher and the Super Stocks on the computer, since, the sun and heat and all, it might as well be June. But that’s OK, it is what it is, and one can do a hell of a lot worse!

…So the word on the street is that our main man in Afghanistan, General Patraeus, likes Enya. That’s OK by me, her CD “A Day Without Rain” remains one of my all-time favorite CDs; you just have to be in the proper mood and locale for it. And living in Arizona does NOT promote the right mood and locale. As a New Englander there’s a part of me that right now aches to be back home. As a cancer sufferer, there’s a part of me that knows there’s some serious work to be done, in a very short amount of time.

Our friend Jana will laugh at my admitting to liking Enya - I guarantee she’s one of her favorites. But like I’ve always said, I’m a sensitive guy - hell, I’m “Mr. Sensitive”! Don’t believe me? Here are two faves from “A Day Without Rain” - “Wild Child” and “Flora’s Secret” - that I consider amongst her best and amongst my all-time favorites. Enjoy!

A final word about Enya: I love the poetry in her songs. Consider the lyrics for “Flora’s Secret”:

Lovers in the long grass
Look above them
Only they can see
Where the clouds are going
Only to discover
Dust and sunlight
Ever make the sky so blue

Afternoon is hazy
River flowing
All around the sounds
Moving closer to them
Telling them the story
Told by Flora
Dreams they never knew

Silver willows
Tears from Persia
Those who come
From a far-off island
Winter Chanterelle lies
under cover
Glory-of-the-sun in blue

Some they know as passion
Some as freedom
Some they know as love
And the way it leaves them
Summer snowflake
For a season
When the sky above is blue
When the sky above is blue

Lying in the long grass
Close beside her
Giving her the name
Of the one the moon loves
This will be the day she
Will remember
When she knew his heart
Was…

Loving in the long grass
Close beside her
Whispering of love
And the way it leaves them
Lying in the long grass
In the sunlight
They believe it’s true love…

And from all around them
Flora’s secret
Telling them of love
And the way it breathes
And…

Looking up from eyes of
Amaranthine
They can see the sky
Is blue
Knowing that their love
Is true
dreams they never knew
And the sky above is blue

Like I say, I’m a sensitive guy.

—

Pool temp: 87 degrees