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He didn’t like getting his picture taken. His lower lip extended so far that birds tried to perch on it… and that one tooth was positioned so that he could chew food and pick his nose at the same time. This is what I saw on our formica countertop this morning. If you had to give this guy a name I think it would be Herb because his mouth is permanently shaped to pronounce an “R” sound.

Three years ago, Chris Mull and I wrote a song and made a music video for the Stay Home and Read a Book Ball. It was an event hosted by the local library. It’s weird that all Johnson County library locations are closed right now– BUT there are little free libraries all across the country. If you’re scratching your head and asking, “what’s a little free library?” They are basically outdoor stands in random spots with books inside that can be accessed at any hour. Just click on this link to find one that’s within walking or driving distance from you! Also here are the lyrics to Electric Florence Acoustic Lawrence:
We could climb a mountain
we could sail the sea
we could fly to Paris
or just stay home and read

The world spins ’round the right way
the skies are blue all the live long day
the birds sing sweetly in the trees
When you and I stay home and read

Whitney Matheson drew these comic panels on instagram a few days ago. She is an observer and correspondent of all things that are cool: a pop culture purveyor. And when she’s not passing along info on cool bands, movies, and books, she is drawing simple cartoons like the one above. She also has a website.

Social distancing feels like: close but no cigar, almost but not quite, oh I missed it by that much. This is the new reality for most of us. Homer’s was only open for carry-out orders when I worked yesterday. We got a new health mandate that basically said “no dine-in service for customers.” Sydney & I weren’t air high fiving because we were happy about it, we were doing it for a picture. Our boss posted it on instagram to let everyone know that we were still open… for now.

12 days ago I drove to Hoovie’s house and recorded a show in his kitchen. Last week I started editing the audio. Today I’m posting the final mix, and here it is: Episode #7 of THE EPILOGUE CABIN featuring Jeff Hoover! On your mark! Get set! Go! The pop of the starting pistol was still ringing in my ears when I crossed the finish line on this one. Whew!

Back in the 1980′s Jeff Hoover knew how to record phone conversations with a suction cup from Radio Shack. I didn’t start doing it until a few weeks ago. We recorded the show in his kitchen last week in Neosho. Afterward we played a few video games. On the next episode of THE EPILOGUE CABIN you can hear all of the subjects we covered. Here is a preview:

All those wires, knobs, and switches… at first glance it looks like a scene from a Terry Gilliam movie. Sometime in the middle of the night Reed Ghazala put one of his old photos on facebook. He found the phono-fiddle instrument that he is holding in a London antique shop many years ago. In his facebook post he explains: “The old crank-wound phonograph’s needle had at its top end a diaphragm, which it vibrated, and behind that diaphragm a big amplification horn. Here, the bridge rests against the diaphragm. So, half phonograph, half fiddle.” Now I really want to hear that thing!

Right before she left Homer’s, Sarah (one of the morning regulars) gave me this little fortune card. I don’t know where she got it. 7am is too early to eat a fortune cookie but I’m going to take it as a sign that the planets are in alignment, and fate has given a green light for THE EPILOGUE CABIN. I started working on the 7th episode featuring Jeff Hoover during a break between shifts at Homer’s yesterday.

The first thing we noticed was a grinding sound. When James’ car started to vibrate we both knew something was wrong. 35 years ago we slowly took the exit for Passaic on our way back to the dorms, and parked my roommate’s hobbled Monte Carlo next to the building pictured above. Back then it was a general store. We asked a group of guys by the register where the nearest payphone was. One of them pointed two directions and said, “the nearest payphone is 5 miles that way or 5 miles that way.” Then we asked if there was a phone we could use to make a collect call. The same guy said, “sure it’s right there on the wall behind you.” Last week I was on my way to Neosho to interview my friend Hoovie for an upcoming episode of THE EPILOGUE CABIN. I pulled over at Passaic again to respond to a text. The old general store is now an RV park. I still didn’t see any payphones.

We ate a good dinner. We had a great visit. She opened the door, and was just about to leave when I asked “have you seen my arcade machine?” A look of mischief and wonder crossed her face as she delayed her exit, and all of a sudden my 27-year-old niece was a little kid again. The last time Syd was this impressed she counted 500 records in my collection. This time we played Frogger. It’s one of 18,000 games at my disposal thanks to my old pal Hoovie.