Skip to main content

Green Black-Eyed

Ever since I got a black eye in 8th grade on St. Patrick's Day, I've always had a superstition about not wearing green on St. Patrick's Day.

If you're looking for some dramatic story where I valiantly stood up to a bully, you will be let down. The real story is that a backpack, thrown by a friend of mine, accidentally fell onto my face. While that might sound like a domestic violence incident covered up a by a fall down the stairs, this is the whole truth. I can't remember why I was lying on the floor or why the backpack was flung in my direction, but I do remember the shiner I had to show to show to my relatives in Selma, Alabama during Spring Break.

Coupled with some moments of physical pain on other St. Patrick's Days where I forgot to wear green, I've always remembered to wear green on this particular day. That is, until this morning.

When I wake up at 4am (yes, 4am) Monday through Friday, I have a pattern. I must first turn off my clock radio, turn off my cell phone (so the back-up ringer doesn't go off), get dressed, have breakfast, pack a lunch, and walk Victory. And I leave my house before 4:30.

Sometimes, but not always, my brain is not fully functioning with all this movement. Unless I had laid out a green shirt to wear, I most likely would have not remembered to wear something green.

Maybe this is a sign of me letting go from more things from my past. But I must admit I plan on taking Victory out for a run, shower, and go out with Matt for a drink, and I plan to wear a green shirt. Green's my favorite color, anyway.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Catherine Wheel

Originally posted: Tuesday, August 29th, 2006 Despite managing to release five proper albums, Catherine Wheel was one of those bands that always seemed to slip past the mainstream rock crowd. Yes, they got some nice airplay in their day, but people seem to have forgotten about them. You may hear “Black Metallic” or “Waydown” on a “classic alternative” show on Sirius or XM or maybe even on terrestrial radio, but that’s about it. For me, they were one of most consistent rock bands of the ’90s, meandering through shoegazer, hard rock, space rock and pop rock, all while eluding mainstream pigeonholing. Led by the smooth, warm pipes of vocalist/guitarist Rob Dickinson (cousin of Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson), Catherine Wheel featured Brian Futter on lead guitar, Dave Hawes on bass and Neil Sims on drums. They weren’t a pretty-boy guitar band, but they weren’t a scuzzy bunch of ragamuffins either. Though the band hailed from England, Catherine Wheel found itself more welcome on American air

Best of 2021

  Last year, my attention span was not wide enough to listen to a lot of LPs from start to finish. Too much went on in 2020 to focus on 10-15 albums, so I went with only a couple to spotlight. Well, 2021 was a little better, as I have a list of top four records, and a lot of individual tracks.  (I made a lengthy Spotify playlist ) So, without further ado, here’s my list of favorites of the year: Albums Deafheaven, Infinite Granite (listen) Hands down, my favorite album of the year. I was not sure where Deafheaven would go after another record that brought My Bloody Valentine and death metal fans together, but they beautifully rebooted their sound on Infinite Granite. The divisive goblin vocals are vastly pared-down here, as are the blast beats. Sounding more inspired by Slowdive, the band has discovered a new sonic palette that I hope they explore more of in the future. It’s a welcome revelation. I still love their older material, but this has renewed my love of what these guys do.  J