I don't want to smell you and lose my senses

I may not have to go to work tomorrow. If the weather shapes up like they expect it will, the roads are going to be dangerous venues lousy with snow. Maybe up to a foot in some parts. We'll see, but I'm guessing I'll be using one of my vacation days tomorrow. Fine with me. There are songs I need to rehearse, a room for rent ad to compose and post, books to read, yoga to practice. And more. A whole menu of activities to entrance my mind, body, and spirit.

I spent a good portion of the day with my mother on Saturday. We drove up to Guitar Center and picked out a digital piano for my nieces. I found out from our salesman, a gentle giant with squinty eyes, that one of my coworkers from the Music Mall days worked there. He wasn't in, which was too bad; he and I got along well.

After Guitar Center we ate lunch at The Olive Garden. I had never been to one before and found it to be a little classier than I expected it would be  (I'll leave it to you to determine how classy I expected it to be). It was a nice lunch. We talked about how excited we hoped the kids would be at being surprise gifted with a digital piano. ( They were thrilled. I spoke to my mother earlier and she told me she drove up to their house yesterday and asked the kids to help her get something out of the car. Kiley and Shannon, especially Shannon, who is more devoted to playing piano, were elated when they saw what they were unloading. When the piano was set up, Shannon remained glued to it throughout the rest of my mother's visit, oblivious to Colleen's frequent demands to have a turn. Nothing like a surprise gift; they taste the sweetest. Mom, you are a thoughtful, caring woman. I know how happy this made you feel. It boosted us all.).

Yesterday, I ordered a couple of books through Amazon. I was pleased with the results. I had initially intended to purchase some at the used book store up in Nashua, but it was no longer there. I asked my mother if we could stop by the one near her house, but that store was gone, too. Into the ether they go. Yesterday, I stopped by the used book store a couple of blocks from my house. I carried over my vision from the day before of purchasing a respectable passel of books - maybe some Vonnegut, maybe Ulysses, maybe Saul Bellow, maybe The Great Gatsby.

The store was still there, which I took to be a good sign, but it didn't carry any of the books I was interested in. That place was being an asshole. Having had it with the used bookstore scene, I reluctantly made my way to Porter Square Books, where the inventory is shiny and new and more expensive. I held Ulysses and Vonnegut's Mother Night in my hands at different points and let Reason have the floor. Reason said: "Think for a moment. You have plenty to read at home. There is The Dark Tower re-read (almost through The Wastelands) and the wonderfully academic The Road To The Dark Tower: Exploring Stephen King's Magnum Opus to accompany it. And you've been reading from Dubliners, too (your only nod to St. Patrick's Day ), which you can look at as part of your training for your bout with Ulysses. So hold off on immediate gratification and go visit Amazon. You will save money, son! And don't forget, you've got The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe scheduled to arrive in the next few days. You're set for a while, child. Maybe now is not the time, but at some point we should workshop a plan to curb all this book buying. I'm just saying."

So I followed Reason's advice and purchased some Saul Bellow and Kurt Vonnegut for dollars cheaper than what I would have paid for one of the books I was considering at Porter Square Books. Uh.....yeah, books.

Oh, I don't know. Look, it's been terrific hanging out with you this evening. You make me want to be a better man and all, but it's time for me to jettison your sorry ass and go do other stuff. Don't hate the player, hate the game.

Amen.