Lord, have mercy! If you were in a romantic relationship with me, you’d have broken up with me by now, I imagine. Please to forgive. I don’t even know where to start with the last couple of months, much less if I actually should. I have been d.i.s.t.r.a.c.t.e.d. Even as I start to beg for forgiveness, I let myself get diverted by some packages being delivered by UPS. Let no box go unopened, I say. It might be a puppy.
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Pup would be a good place to start here. A friend who was watching me grieve for my beautiful Remy sent me a link on Petfinder. Even while protesting that I wasn’t ready for another dog, I was a goner before you could say “roll over,” and was driving the back roads to Monroe one beautiful October day. Max (a four-year-old mix of bearded collie and PBGV = Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen) was rescued and came to live in the little red house. He’s a nut ball and he makes me laugh every time I look at his furry face.
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As the leaves were turning and I was falling in love with Max, I was trying to find my wobbly footing in another love that was going off-track faster than I could correct the steering, or apply the brakes. It was bad NASCAR 
without a pit stop, or even a wall to stop the motion. When love is new everything in your field of (and peripheral) vision is stunningly clear. Sharp. Gleaming. And achingly fragile … like an expensive Riedel wine glass. You’ve never been surer about anything in your entire life. But when, and if, the shiny wears off and the cracks spider off into everywhere and nowhere, suddenly everything is muffled, dull, pillowed. And achingly fragile. When someone’s talking, you nod like you’re listening, but you’re not really. Suddenly you’re trying to walk through pudding or Jello® wearing 6” spike heels. Which in my case meant my flip-flops were skidding on every surface, every step I took. Downright treacherous, but that’s the thing about trying to make long distance love work. There’s all this empty space between in which to get trapped.
But ENFP says it best … me in love. I kinda think they nailed it.
“Puppy love” is a good term for describing your take on romance: fun, frisky, playful, cuddly, and young at heart. No matter what your age or how many times your heart has been broken, you are an eternal optimist when it comes to love. You are not someone who proceeds cautiously when you meet someone you find attractive. You are likely to fall passionately in love – or at least lust – quickly, spontaneously, and with total abandon. Holding something back for later is a concept you can’t quite grasp, especially when it comes to the joy of creating a new and exciting relationship. Yes, COMMITMENT can scare you. That one word may explain why you are still single at thirty, forty, fifty, or beyond. But you love, absolutely love, the concept of intimacy, sharing, and relationships. If only you could find that special one, you would be set for life.
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And then there’s that new job thing. Should have led with that, right? Landed upright and happy at what’s turning out to be the job that’s been looking for me, and I for it, complete with a dynamic and creative director. I can’t wait to get there every day. So all in all, life’s pretty good.
Diversions aplenty though!
Carrboro Music Fest – September, 2012.
Another year, another success. And a day spent with my sister from Vermont and two old guy friends I hadn’t seen since the mid-80’s. Kate, Ted, and Clay, thank you for such a day! Loved hearing Saints Apollo!
YR15! Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro – October, 2012. Wow! YepRoc Records throws a memorable party to celebrate 15 years.
Finally seeing Nick Lowe after all these years … delicious! Seeing Chatham County Line again … sweet! Discovering Jukebox the Ghost … exhilarating! Experiencing Los Straitjackets … perfectly fright’nin’!
Thank you, Glenn Dicker, for taking time to talk with me for Chapel Hill Magazine’s The WEEKLY! Read our Q&A here.
Now get outta here … I’ve got a Twelfth Night/Epiphany party to go to and then Downton Abbey! It’s all good in my world. _________________________________________________________
Music for cooking a pot of Irish Beef Stew:
Creatures of Love (Talking Heads)
And it Spread (Avett Bros.)
Tears Dry on Their Own (Amy Winehouse)
Keys to Paradise (Trampled by Turtles)
Are we in Trouble Now (Mark Knopfler)
I Wish I Was Your Mother (Alejandro Escovedo)
Home (Phillip Phillips)
Schizophrenia (Jukebox the Ghost)
simmer2sizzle 