An April Fools’ Day song

by Odd Man Out
I’ve seen the bright lights of Memphis and the Commodore Hotel/And underneath a street lamp I met a Southern belle/ Well, she took me to the river where she cast her spell/And in that southern moonlight she sang the song so well

If you’ll be my Dixie Chicken, I’ll be your Tennessee Lamb/And we can walk together down in Dixieland…

Little Feat specialized in California-style New Orleans funk, and I mean that in a good way. These guys could play. “Dixie Chicken,” a short story in verse form, is by Lowell George, the heart of the band, a singer/slide guitarist who died way too young. Check out the guest stars on this live version.

Thank heavens for baseball……

by Boohunney
Spring has come early down here in Spruill County.
But, “base games” are in full swing for the young. The recreation park behind the house in the other valley is rockin’. The public address system at the park doubles as our tornado siren. I just think that is cool.
Chipper Jones is going to retire after this season. That’s time moving on. Some of us down here have cards of Chipper from when he played on the farm team in Macon.

No matter, baseball is cool. I love going to “Six Flags Over Baseball,” AKA Turner Field in Atlanta. One can actually get in for a dollar. It’s for the people.

I think “Annie Savoy” sums it up well…..

I believe in the Church of Baseball. I’ve tried all the major religions, and most of the minor ones. I’ve worshipped Buddha, Allah, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, trees, mushrooms, and Isadora Duncan. I know things. For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I heard that, I gave Jesus a chance. But it just didn’t work out between us. The Lord laid too much guilt on me. I prefer metaphysics to theology. You see, there’s no guilt in baseball, and it’s never boring… which makes it like sex. There’s never been a ballplayer slept with me who didn’t have the best year of his career. Making love is like hitting a baseball: you just gotta relax and concentrate. Besides, I’d never sleep with a player hitting under .250… not unless he had a lot of RBIs and was a great glove man up the middle. You see, there’s a certain amount of life wisdom I give these boys. I can expand their minds. Sometimes when I’ve got a ballplayer alone, I’ll just read Emily Dickinson or Walt Whitman to him, and the guys are so sweet, they always stay and listen. ‘Course, a guy’ll listen to anything if he thinks it’s foreplay. I make them feel confident, and they make me feel safe, and pretty. ‘Course, what I give them lasts a lifetime; what they give me lasts 142 games. Sometimes it seems like a bad trade. But bad trades are part of baseball – now who can forget Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas, for God’s sake? It’s a long season and you gotta trust it. I’ve tried ’em all, I really have, and the only church that truly feeds the soul, day in, day out, is the Church of Baseball.

Play ball!

Comfort and joy

by Susie
I was in the drugstore and passed by an entire section of “As Seen On TV” merchandise. Compression socks… hmm. I bought a pair, cut some holes in them for my fingers and thumb and voila! My arm doesn’t hurt when I type.

Now if only there was a compression sock for my shoulder.

Pushing wages down

by Susie
Remember: Cheap disposable labor with no legal protections. The Republican Holy Grail!

HARRISBURG — State legislators are caught in a squeeze between conservative groups that want to repeal Pennsylvania’s 50-year-old “prevailing wage law” and construction unions, which are fighting hard to retain it.

The first step toward repeal is expected this week, when the House is to vote on a measure that would narrow significantly the number of publicly funded construction projects covered by the law.

The law, enacted in 1961, requires school districts, counties and towns to pay prevailing wages, which often means union wages, to employees hired for public construction projects.

Critics complain that the law — which is supported by many Democrats and unions — unnecessarily drives up the labor costs on projects and thus the financial burden on taxpayers. The law requires prevailing wages to be paid to workers on all public construction projects costing more than $25,000.

Yes, I was just thinking we needed to lower wages on the few jobs we have left. Way to represent, state legislature!