Autumn in Los Angeles

Winter arrives next week, but today it's Autumn. This house is around the corner from ours and on my way to work the other morning I was so taken with the beautiful colors that I stopped my car and snapped a picture. See? We really do have seasons here in Los Angeles - sometimes.

Merry Christmas Maybe

My twin grandsons, Rowan and Grant, spent the night last Friday night. We invited over their pal Sofia from across the street who is the same age and goes to their school. They had a blast decorating the Christmas tree and singing Christmas carols. I played lots of Christmas music, including my favorite "Merry Christmas Baby". Next morning the boys kept singing over and over, "Merry Christmas Maybe"! I finally sat them down and told them that the lyrics are actually "Merry Christmas Baby". They said, "Oh, are you sure?" Yes, I'm sure.

Charles Brown and me at the 1996 Long Beach Blues Festival. One of the most elegant blues guys I've had the pleasure of working with and the original and most beloved performer of "Merry Christmas Baby".

What the hell is this?

I follow Todd Levin on Twitter and he showed us this album cover with the following comment:

As you grow older, all of your guile is stripped away. This is what the end of that process looks like.

Patty-Cake Conversation

Lompoc, CA

Veteran's Day

Here's to all who are serving and have served, in recognition of Veteran's Day. Thank you.

My father William McDermott who served in Italy.

Hula Hoopers 1959ish

I'm not really sure when this ratty old Polaroid was taken in our front yard in Grayslake, Illlinois. That's me on the left, my half-sister Cathy the Dragon in the center and our friend Susan Harvey, who lived across the street, on the right. Hula hooping was all the rage then, but it really didn't do it for me. After about 10 minutes of seeing who could keep the hoop going around the longest, I was bored. I loved a good game of tag or hide and seek. If we had enough kids together at the same time, baseball was in order - there were plenty of vacant lots around that we could transform into a makeshift baseball diamond.

As a kid I usually had a scab on my knee or leg or elbow, (as evidenced by this snapshot). I used to wonder if I would ever be scab-free. I think I was around 12 when my limbs were finally unmarred, and that coincided with a change in interests. Tag, hide and seek, baseball, etc. were replaced by The Beatles, Herman's Hermits, The Kinks and Boys.

We moved to California in 1966 leaving the Dragon behind, as she was newly married by then. I returned to Grayslake only once - it was 1970. I saw Susan Harvey during my brief visit; after that we exchanged letters from time to time, and then lost touch altogether as we navigated through our various stages and dramas of life.

Sue and I found each other again on FaceBook. She lives in Florida and I'm here in California. Another childhood friend of ours, Jan Willis, is also on FaceBook. She lives in Wisconsin. I often think of the three of us meeting up in Grayslake one day. Together as kids we were like a paper bag full of grasshoppers - what would it be like now?