Top Five-Songs that Make Me Laugh

With all the political talk going on in this house and on the news, I decided it was time to think about something else for awhile. So, in the spirit of the movie High Fidelity, which I watched again last night, I'm instituting a weekly Top Five. Now this Top Five will cover a broad range of genre gems-from popular culture to the great outdoors-and hopfully it will entertain and enlighten you as much as it does me.

I had a great work out this morning singing out loud and dancing on my treadmill as I contemplated today's Top Five category: What five songs always make me laugh? I'm not talking a little te-he here and there, but a full on, make me blush, throaty laugh. So here they are, my go-to songs when I need a quick lift. Enjoy.

Top Five Songs that Make Me Laugh

1. Tribute, Tenacious D, Tenacious D -This song rocks in so many ways.
2. David Duchovny, Cheap and Evil Girl, Bree Sharp -She sings a personal anthem here.
3. Tommy the Cat, Sailing the Seas of Cheese, Primus -Um, wow.
4. Her Majesty, Abbey Road, The Beatles -Short and sweet.
5. Vincent of Jeresey, Midnight Radio, Big Head Todd and the Monsters

It's the box of Camels that does it for me on number five; even now I laugh thinking about the iconoclastic nature of that brand. Besides a one time date with Lucky Strikes, they were the only cigs I ever smoked. Between this song and Still Life with Woodpecker, what other choice was there at eighteen?

Now, if you have songs that get your gullet moving, pass them along. And please know that I did consider a great many Ween and Spinal Tap songs, but will reserve a few of those beauties for another Top Five. Good Times-I'm out.

Blessed Reflections

Today I was sent the obituary of a colleague. I didn't know him well, we'd worked together a handful of times, but he seemed like a decent enough guy. His death was sudden and unexpected. I learned so much more about him in his obit...things that surprised me and things that made me smile in rememberance of past conversations. It made me think about how I'm so thankful for this, my simple, beautiful life. It also reminded me to say that I cherish you, my friends and family, because truly, I am blessed to know and be known by so many of you.

Eye of the Beholder

There is a picture of my son on our desktop right now; it is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. He is wearing a green striped shirt and has wrapped a green dishtowel around his neck as a cape. He wears a smile full of pure joy, his eyes wide open and unreserved, his enthusiasm right there on his sleeve. He is still innocent and free from guile, though worry does creep in now and again. He cries as if mortally wounded when he loses a game or race, and right now, everything from the climbing of stairs to the eating of food is a contest that must be won. I'm sure somehwere in his heart a part of him does bleed for these losses.
Recently, I have stopped letting him win. It's time, I say to myself, to have him learn how to lose, how to be a good sport, and how to shake off these percieved setbacks. I push him to grow beyond his heart, and that perhaps is not fair. Still, we deep breath and shake hands and say "good game" when things get rough, and we move on. Yet I know even now, this photo of my three year old dervish in green will be one I forever hold close. I'll remember this sweet make-believe moment that caught up his grin and remind myself, when he is older, that there were times when nothing else mattered except flying.

Morning Sky

Lucas and I looked out the window this morning as daddy left for work and there it was, the familiar blue steak above the mountains...as if God had taken his finger and decided to erase some of the night away. It's a cold blue that outlined the eastern sky. A blue that promised the rising of the sun and washing away of winters grip. I remember walking to school at this time of year, seeing that pale streak widen as the mornings grew longer and knowing that we'd turned another seasonal corner. It was a familiar comfort. One of the reasons I returned to Alaska was because of these mountains and the skies that wrap around them. They have been a place of refuge, adventure, inspiration and even solace on days when when the world seemed to much for me. When I think of home, they are the first things that come to mind...the hectic scramble of Flattop, the ballpark of O'malley, the childlike trinangualr peak of Wolverine, Beerbelly's dusty cap...they are home as much as anything else I've known. They keep me grounded, sane even, and I'll be hard pressed to leave them again.

sunnny day

It is a beautiful sunny day here. The mountains are bathed in the pink frosty light of this cold February day. I am always amazed at their glory. These mountains have always brought me back to a place of peace and contentment. Their mere presence a reminder of things steadfast, solid and calm. I took baby out for a walk in the backpack, our first outing like that together and walked my street. The air redenned our cheeks and helped me keep a brisk pace. So good to get out even for a few minutes and be apart of our little pocket of the world.