So, does this make me a snob?

Yeah; I was wondering as I wander aimlessly and most usually with a purpose when it comes to our 'hood, aka McKinley Park where I happened upon an old friend. Now, by no means am I Mizz North Shore La-dee-dah where I trot aimlessly and/or w/a purpose in designer clothes often...but I do have 'em. Nor am I judgemental if I happen to wear and notice Walmart, Target, etc...clothing. Actually, them there regular department stores have come a long way w/fashions. They don't last as long as say...you purchase them at Macy's or what have you...but they're nice! In fact, I found an exquisite pattern of fabric at the fabulous Jo-Ann's. It's that elastic type of top w/a decent length of fabric to just measure out, cut and sew together to make a rockin' sun dress...it's black w/huge cherries on it; V. Rockabilly, I tell ya! Anywho....It was well over $4 bones a yard...I put it into my mental file as I wandered over to Walmart who sold the EXACT SAME FABRIC for a buck .99!!!!! Groovy deal, dudes; I bought ten yards as I wish to make a mommy and me dress set for me and the wee bairn lassie...

But I digress:

So, trekking along w/the zoo I happened upon an old friend. We start yakkin' away when suddenly a couple of dudes walked up to us and were walking an enormous Neapolitan Mastiff. How do I know such details? Uh, that's Hagrid's dog from Harry Potter...anywho....the two dudes who were impressed w/my doggie knowledge and ended up being father and son were dressed......uh, how shall I say this delicately? Like a couple of homeless dudes...and they stunk. Badly....I felt like the snobbish dude at Chez Paul in the "Blues Brothers." "May we get another table from those...men? They smell. I mean...they smell...bad." That's how I felt. And the son who was well in his 20s had....no teeth, and as he spoke going on impressed with "how did you know" questions a-constant about my doggie knowledge...let's just say I just about fell over w/that stank. Whew...Now, I am NOT holding against him nor his father, who looked equally gross; but at least I go out in clean clothes; not stankin' all up and breathin' on folks! Come now; have a bit of dignity, peeps. Futhermore; the reasoning behind all this silly judgemental-ness (is that a word? Snicker....), the son had approached me on his bike last winter asking for $2 bucks or a smoke.....which I obliged (the smoke, not the moolah).

Anyway....just rambling...have a lovely day! It's going to be 85 degrees F in Chicago today....March 20th....2012. Crazy, baby!

BTW, thanks to all w/suggestions re: putting muzak on my new 'droid. Turns out our Toshiba is a chick, and was just tempermental. I had tried plugging her in....and no dice. All of a sudden she want's to cooperate.....

Perhaps she had her period.

All of us Monkee fans: we are in mourning.....

To think it was just after we moved into our fantastic new place where we were barely unpacked and at the last minute decided to go to Merrilville, Indiana to the Star Plaza Theater despite the threatening weather that lay both ahead and behind us. At the last minute, despite being financially challanged and not sure if it was really a good idea to do so, we went to take our son to see......

The Monkees.

So, with bad weather in our view either way, a dent in our pocket w/the fact that we had to rent a car to trek out to Indiana and the moolah to purchase the tickets, we went, service dog and all. The theater was incredibly accommodating for our needs, IE, our son w/his service dog and the show was just.....fantastic! Not quite from what I remember when I watched their TV show and their concert in 1997...and without the "Nez," aka Wool Hat; it was still a wonderful experience not only for me, but watching my son have an incredible time enjoying the music of the Monkees.

Why incredible? Well, I personally think despite the Star Plaza Theater is a bit small, it's seating is comparable to the Coliseum in Rome, IE, there ain't a single bad seat in the joint. Every seat in the place has a great view of the stage, accoustics aren't too loud and the seats are pretty roomy.

Plus, the fact that there were so many happy people there, having the time of their lives. You felt the joy and love the fans had still; mainly old, few young. It was like a PBS Doo-Wop special where there didn't seem to be a single person under the age of 30 there, but the joy on everyone's face was noticable. And I noticed it at this show.

And THAT'S what the show was all about! Joy. Fun. Good old fashioned clean fun. And seeing and feeling the joy of the fans; and going back in time even just for a couple of hours was amazing, IMO. Not having to worry about a single, darn thing for those couple of hours. Not even bad weather.

YES, I turn around and look around to see my surroundings or how people are reacting to a show, even in the movie theater; like Amelie.

Being a fan myself as my husband is as well since we both grew up w/the Monkees, I found us despondent over the news of Davy's death, which my husband broke to me at work on February 29th by calling me and saying "are you sitting down? I have bad news." I was shocked! I'm still shocked. No, I didn't expect him to live forever, but he's the age of my parents, so it's a shock, ok? And then having to tell our son as he's an enormously huge fan....was truly one of the hardest things to do.

And seeing his reaction? Just as difficult. He said "I'm so heartbroken." And I am too as I tear up typing, especially at my son's reaction.

I started crying watching an episode where they sing "Daydream Believer." To think that'll never be sung again by Davy. My husband made some interesting observations... funny ones too. He said with sadness, "it feels as if a bit of my childhood has died, as trite as that may sound. Plus, it's reminding me I'm getting friggin' old." He also said, "despite Whitney Houston just died, he's getting pretty much the same attention she did. So Davy's getting the "full Whitney," IE, news coverage, observations, comments, etc.. from the various gossip websites, channels, etc... They even showed some celebs reacting to his death, like Eddie Murphy, who was initially asked about his "relations" with Toni Braxton. When told Davy died, he was truly upset and shocked, saying "oh no! Davy? Seriously?" Will Smith, Al Roker, Eva Longora have tweeted about his death, stating how sad they are with Al mentioning the same thing my husband said, about losing a bit of his childhood.

???? Wow, my husband! He's funny, and very observant.

And how surprised I was to hear so many fellow minorities were into the "Monkees." In fact, funny thing is when we told younger people we went to see them their faces lit up and were excited, asking, "are you serious? That is so cool!" Such enthusiasm for such a fun band!

So, this weekend even though we do own the first season of "The Monkees" TV show, we vegged out in front of the boob tube with Antenna TV tuned to watch "The Monkees" all......day.....since Saturday afternoon. We watched every episode for both seasons and I'm about to tune in and drop out again to the movie "Head."

I wish for peace, love and light to all who know and loved Davy, especially his girls; his daughters and wife, Jessica. You're getting kind thoughts of love and peace from us and all your fans.... and hope you'll get through this with the love and respect you deserve.

Rest in peace, white knight on his steed.