davidcedillo.com

“Between the people of eternity and the people of the earth there is a constant communication, and all comply with the will of that unseen power… between the spiritual world and the world of substance there is a path upon which we walk in a swoon of slumber… we and they are two spirits wrapped within one spirit”
- Kahlil Gibran

I’ll see you in my dreams, Dad

When I get to work most weekdays, I am NOT full of energy.  I usually feel like this version of Dr. Johnny Fever before he starts his shift on WKRP.  However, if I send a message to my friends that ends in exclamation points, attach the following image, and say something like “aaaaaaaaaaand we’re back!!!!”…there’s a chance that I will channel that energy and fool myself into thinking that I did get enough sleep, my neck isn’t stiff, I will break out into song, and maybe there is a dance party happening just around the corner!  Oh, and I just realized this is blog post #1600.  Hello November!

The people waving back at her are jerking their hands down before anyone else notices the faux pas.  Almost everyone waves back here in the Midwest, but this one-armed woman is not real.  She belongs to our neighbor, Barb.  If anyone asks why she only has one arm, I am telling people that she used to have both arms… but one night, her left arm dislodged itself from the shoulder and went on a hunting spree around the neighborhood.  Some nights you can still hear it crawling around in the leaves, or scaring the squirrels who run away from it up in the trees.  It’s still out there looking for someone to prey on… maybe YOU!

I don’t want gore, I don’t want evil, when Halloween rolls around every year, I look for old-fashioned, classic, not so scary, slightly creepy entertainment. The following shows fit my bill:
It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown – Linus waits for a Great Pumpkin and Charlie Brown goes home with a bag of rocks.
Fat Albert Halloween Special – Fat Albert & friends wreak small havoc and befriend an old lady.
Happy Days – ‘Haunted’ episode: Richie sees a headless mannequin
Mork & Mindy – ‘A Morkville Horror’ episode: Mork is possessed by Mindy’s deceased relatives in her childhood home.
Monster Chiller Horror Theater – SCTV’s Count Floyd tries to elevate the definition of “scary”
Mad Monster Party – Rankin & Bass gather claymation versions of the Wolfman, the Mummy, Dracula, and a 1967 skeleton band.

Lights are dim in a dank cellar as the camera pans to a coffin.  Cue the ominous music & stormy sound effects. Scary? Not scary… and that’s just fine with me.  Count Floyd (played by the late Joe Flaherty) would slowly emerge from the coffin every night SCTV aired Monster Chiller Horror Theater, a low budget horror program that couldn’t afford scary movies.  The funny part happened when the host still had to howl, leer, and project a vampire’s presence every time he was handed movies like Dr. Tongue’s 3D House of Stewardesses, The Odd Couple, and Heidi.  I think I’ll tune in this Halloween for old time’s sake.

It’s hard to tell from the photo above, but it’s raining outside.  This is the view from my desk at the hospital, and when the weather gets like this I feel like listening to Steely Dan.  There is something about Donald Fagen’s voice that evokes wood panel walls, old car contours, and sidewalk puddles in my brain.

In an alternate universe this show would have the swagger of Dean Martin, the otherworldliness of Brian Eno, the nasality of Sonny Bono, and the rhythmic screech of Yoko Ono… and if you still have an appetite after THAT – you can hit the free buffet and catch Shecky Greene.

As stated in the last post a few days ago, one of my original songs got played on KKFI here in Kansas City.  I’ve been listening to Marisa host The Mixtape every Friday morning for 4 years, she has excellent taste in music — and I’m not just saying that because she played Alien Elvis Baby on her show.  She plays new music that I can appreciate that’s jangly, raw, and immediate.  Bands like Dead Tooth, The Okmoniks, and The Quantic Soul Orchestra have a home on The Mixtape every Friday morning from 6-8am.  When I sent Marisa a link to my music and she picked Alien Elvis Baby as one of the first songs last August, I was honored to be on the playlist.  Here is her intro and my song.

A few things have happened since the last blog post: Robert Redford died, Jenny & I are treating Max (our cat) for diabetes, and one of my original songs (Alien Elvis Baby) got played on the radio. I’ll post the archived audio soon, along with bonus audio from the following week when I got an unexpected shout out on the same radio station.