Early December, and brown as a sparrow,
Frost creeping over the pond.
I shoot a thought into the future,
And it flies like an arrow, through my lifetime.
And beyond.
If I ever come back as a tree, or a crow,
Or even the wind-blown dust;
Find me on the ancient road
In the song when the wires are hushed.
Hurry on and remember me,
As I'll remember you.
Far above the golden clouds,
The darkness vibrates.
The earth is blue.
And everything about it is a love song.
Everything about it.
Everything about it is a love song.
Everything about it.
Everything about it is a love song...
...lyrics from a song on Paul Simon's latest album, "Surprise." I didn't know if it would grow on me but indeed, it did.
Just had a couple of dear friends over, one old, one new. We dined, we drank, we shared, and laughed. We began with a vodka toast in the Airstream and moved back inside for stuffed grape leaves, oil-cured black olives, and some goat cheese loveliness with artichokes and red peppers.
The dinner menu:
Morroccan roast chicken with lemon and garlic
Rice with golden raisins and pine nuts
Grilled zucchini
Green salad with lovely, bright red pomegranate kernels and toasted almonds
Fresh oranges, pears, and hazelnut chocolates
We moaned. We licked our fingers. It was good. GOOOOOOD. Donnie gave me these words: We need priests to tell us what happens when we die. We need artists to remind us that we are not dead yet. He told me that he remembers he's alive when he has The Dinner Experience at my place. It's my ministry. My kitchen is my church. Call me Sister Coates.
I'm listening just now to Ray Charles and Cleo Laine singing "Bess, You Is My Woman Now." Purity, soul, a gorgeous rasp. Speaking of rasp, that's my favorite berry, hands down.
Life was sweet tonight.
Snow flurries are in the forecast for tomorrow. I pray oh how I pray oh I pray some more that it is magically true, but this is Nashville, and I'll believe it when I see it.
