Aperock Purveyors Gig, New Dryer, October And Missing A Reunion

September 22nd my band Purveyors such as it is these days played a small bar in the 11th called Aperock Cafe with our new friend, the amazing Andy Guthrie who doesn't really need us but he sure made what we do sound amazing.... It was the first time I'd played in a Parisian bar since 1977 so it was really cool for me. Most of the Parisians were somewhat nonplussed by us but we had a blast as you can see in the photo here which has all of us in motion and that was the way of it the entire evening. Honestly, we didn't much notice who was there for most of the night until the end of the show.

Veiled threats offered as "wolf tickets" to the management company who gets paid by Cassie's company for our apartment here in the 16th and who manages the apartment for the absentee owner, finally produced a new clothes dryer after over 100 days without one and constant foot dragging by everyone concerned save us. The implied threat involved withheld money in substantial amounts finally produced the desired result although it was unfortunate that it had to come to that. So it goes managing things here in France.... We DO love living here and there are many things the French do really well but customer service usually isn't one of them unfortunately.

This month in fact yesterday evening there was a 1971 St. Joe class reunion in Atlanta that I missed but helped out a bit with a bunch of music in MP3 form which I hope added to the festivities. I fondly remember the reunion I attended in 2006 that was really really fun for me and served as a huge reconnect with a whole bunch of folks I hadn't seen in many decades. I wish I could have been at the one last night but did see photos on Facebook today that made me smile. I need to get back in touch with as many of them as I can in the future. It's nice to reconnect and I love seeing those folks. I hope they do it again soon so I can attend.....*

Love to all everywhere....*

Sid

Brian Wilson, MIA Dryer, And The Rash Of Rashes

I know it's September and I haven't been back in here in a while. It's been a busy time. Kian and Niall are now enrolled at Kaplan University as Strayer University cancelled all of their Liberal Arts Programs earlier this year. Suffice to say that accomplishing that took many many hours and days and for the most part has been accomplished but is still a work in progress. As with last year, Fall started in August after a very temperate Summer with very few 90 degree days. I have of course really enjoyed that and the weather continues to grow cooler and more Fall like every day. The leaves here don't really change colors at least not so much in the city and just drop off the trees onto the sidewalks.

My amazing cousin Bruce Boyd Raeburn was back again a week or so ago and we had a great visit with him and Cassie got to spend some time with him too. The week culminated in another musical party here with 20 plus folks in attendance and Bruce got to hear Cassie and I sing together for the first time. For me it was like a circle closing as Bruce is truly a music expert who's the curator of the Hogan Jazz Archive at Tulane University in New Orleans. Let's just say that the level of discourse on just about everything here was elevated again while he was here which is something we always welcome. We DO love Bruce Boyd and his wife Linda and again welcoming him into our family circle has been like finding gold in the back yard...... Knock me over with a feather......a relative I actually like.....*

We are now 90+ days without a clothes dryer and things are becoming a bit restive here over that. The French do many things very well but again customer service isn't one of them. Now we are hopeful that we'll have a dryer by the holidays but are not holding our breath.

My illness continues with modest improvements but again there are skin rashes literally all over me or I look continuously flushed (red.....). A good example of how I look is the way the folks at the American Library commented on how much sun I must have gotten while on vacances..... which of course was very little as I'm supposed to stay out of direct sunlight whenever possible so I look like I'm sunburned. I just smiled and said thanks........* Of course my doctor thinks I'm improving......

We saw Brian Wilson at Casino de Paris last night and had amazing seats (7th row off center a bit). He's touring with his band (who are amazing......*) performing the Gershwin album he released last year. The arrangements were tight and the band crack but Brian didn't look like he was truly enjoying himself and wasn't in good voice. It was bittersweet to finally be able to see him live and watch someone who's down the road a bit too far to continue with things like this.
He is still a legend and after the Gershwin set they took and break and came back to play some very old deep Beach Boys songs the best of which for me were "In My Room" and "God Only Knows" which both always make me cry. It was indeed moving to see him sing those and know that I was in the presence of who actually wrote them as Brian Wilson has been a music part of my life since the early 60s when I listened to and purchased every record they released. Those old songs also brought back many of the memories of living in Faulkton, South Dakota in the early 60s some of which are not so good. None the less, it was brilliant to actually see him in person and I loved the band which is one of the best in the business.

It's starting to look like we'll be coming back to Virginia sooner than we thought but I can't elaborate on that fully yet. It'll be in another post very soon.

I hope all who follow this are happy and well........

Love to all everywhere.....*

A bientot,

Sid

Vacances Redux And Into Fall.....*

Almost the end of August here and the twins will be starting at a new college (Kaplan University) as Strayer University decided to eliminate all Liberal Arts Programs and classes. Cassie is back to work and I'm back to writing my book and working on new music. Guests will be coming soon in the month of September and big changes are in the air for us in the somewhat near future but there isn't any way to address that in here yet. We're still amazed at the wonderful vacation (vacances in French...) we had and closed out with a week in Burgundy (pic posted on the blog is from our front porch there....) which really rearranged our molecules in really good ways. We played for the "Fete de Passions" in Chevagny again with our friends Fred, Xavier and David and ate great food and drank great wine. The cows mooed and the sheep baaaddd and the hawks in the quiet skies sreeched while Cassie laid in the sun and relaxed. It was and still is great to be alive in France.
Our clothes dryer is still broken after over 2 months and 3 repairmen although the word on the street today is that another guy is coming tomorrow. We still don't have a cleaning lady (me and the twins have been doing it for months now) and the Guardian is still on vacances which means that we get our mail sometimes. My illness is still somewhat less than out of control which is better than it was but not better than it should be. I continue to hear that I could be a better communicator and will endeavor to become one. I'll need to consult with some experts.......*

Love to all everywhere!

Sid

Burgundy Photos

Vacances Continued - Chevagny 2011

Ahhh......La Bonnette in Burgundy, and The "Fete de Passion" again in Chevagny with our dear friends Fred and Claudia, David, Jean Francois, John and Naida, several Michels and one Christine, Gerard and Marie Rose, Jacqueline, and the entire village of Chevagny who always take us in like we're part of the village. To add to the final part of our "vacances" this year Fred and Claudia purchased an entire week at La Bonnette which is the house in the picture on a hilltop where you could see miles into the distance from the front terrace.......* As we told our friends there, whenever we are in Chevagny we are all always changed in good ways that will stay with us a lifetime. Both Cassie and I would love to retire there and just might one day. A little later this week I will add a link to our Shutterfly page so all who read this can share in the photos which (there are over 400 at present) I'll endeavor to make some sense out of and upload. The best way to describe the overall experience was as Elmer Fudd so aptly put it, "west and wewaccation".......*

I will write more later on this week also but wanted to get this initial post up. The twins and Cassie will also post about this I'm sure.

Love to all everywhere.....*

Sid

Frontignan

Welcome to "vacance" which of course is vacation in French. I'm currently in Frontignan la plage which is on the beach so to speak in far southern Provence near Montpelier but around 200 km from Aix. I'm here with my old friend Christine who's a bit like the Energizer Bunny and is the ever present tour guide and cheerleader when it looks like I might be getting a little too relaxed. When we arrived Saturday night the wind was howling at a brisk 35 kph pace and it was in the high 50s which is uncharacteristic for this time of year here. It's Thursday now and it's shaping up to be the first day that it's not going to rain since we arrived. No complaints though as I've seen a lot of the countryside (we rented a car) and have eaten lunch and dinner in some very nice restaurants sampling some really good seafood. Christine's house here is quite nice and very new but there is still work taking place here and I've been a little in the center of that too while here this week. Fortunately that's starting to wind down and this Saturday we travel up into the hills around here to visit some friends of Christine's that I will probably end up playing for Saturday evening.

I've attempted to do some writing here but the lighting in the apartment we're staying in which is downstairs is poor in the evening and that has made it difficult for me to focus. Other things have entered into that too but I'm letting them go. I have played some since getting here but never ventured in DADGAD which is something I very much want to do eventually. I'm also preparing here for our show in Chevagny on the 15th with our friends Fred and Claudia and Xavier. We'll be in Burgundy for that entire week which should be a better place for me to write.

I'm still very much enjoying being surrounded by the French with all of their drama and nuance which still pleases me very much even when I should be annoyed by it all. This is the most time I have spent with Christine and she is marvelous as I remember her but also quite vulnerable and I've reminded her a lot since getting here that she's fine and needs to concentrate more on first things first and not try to do everything all at once. Like it is for all of us, sometimes when we continually wring our hands about things we can and can't control everything usually works out in spite of that.

I head back to Paris on the TGV (high speed train.....WOW, 300 kph) Monday afternoon and then will be home for a week until Cassie and the twins return from their USA sojourn. I intend on doing some writing and recording that week also. Christine is and will remain a great friend of mine and this has been a good escape for me from the crowded and polluted streets of Paris. I will endeavor to post again before leaving on Monday.

I did however turn Christine on to Cassie and my current favorite show "Falling Skies" last night which she enjoyed hugely and we'll continue watching this weekend so she's up to date with it. Ah, American TV, just can't seem to live without it!

Hope everyone is well and happy wherever you happen to be.

Love to all everywhere and bonne vacance!

A bientot,

Sid

The Dryer and Vacance.......*

Bonjour pilgrims,

After another extended absence (I know I keep promising not to do that....) I'm back this morning. Cassie and the twins left for the US Thursday morning and I leave for Frontignan in the South of France this afternoon to spend a little over a week there on the beach and in that area with my old friend Christine Holtzbauer who will be helping my write my book about my experiences with the twins in the schools which even on a slow day is quite a story. Christine is who talked me into doing this (I'm NOT a professional writer) and she wants to translate it into French in hopes that it might help others who have similar family situations to ours here. From what I know, France is about 25 years behind just about everyone else on all things that have to do with Autism and frankly, if our sons had been here when they started school they would have been lost in the system immediately. In any event, it should be an interesting 9 days.
Will keep everyone posted as to when and where the book will be published.

There is a really nice young British lady who will be tending to the cats while I'm gone which leaves me with little or no worry to take the trip. Of course even being at the beach will be interesting for me as I'm not supposed to be out in the sun very much so I'm curious how that's going to go. I will endeavor to post again while there and hopefully also post a couple of photos.

The photo above was taken on July 14th (Bastille Day) from a friend's apartment terrace in Saint Germaine but the camera I was using didn't have a wobble fix. It's the Tour Eiffel with fireworks going off around it.

We've been without a clothes dryer now for over a month and have had 3 repair persons come over the last 3 weeks all of who brought parts none of which ever fixed the dryer. Of course now they won't be back until vacance is over. Perhaps we will never have a dryer again while living here. There's no telling.

My illness is pretty much the same although it's migrated to other parts of my body which I will not share today. Needless to say I'm living with it but as life partners go I'd just as soon murder this one......*

Try and stay cool wherever you are. It's been an unnaturally cool Summer here with temps primarily in the high 60s the last 2 weeks and that won't be topping 75 even over the next 10 days. Fall arrives here in August......

Please keep the folks in Norway in your thoughts today and be happy wherever you are.

Love to all,

Sid

Happy Independence Day (But We're Still Not Free.......*)

Of course we all hear about things like this but we never think it will actually happen to us. Americans are famous for this and almost always slow to react until something bad happens to them personally. For those of you that read this blog, you know that in February of this year I was hospitalized for 9 days of intense invasive testing to rule out any damage to my internal organs due to my contracting Dermatomyositis which is a 10 on anyone's "Weirdshitometer".

My health insurance is courtesy of Carefirst Blue Cross out of Maryland through a contract with Cassie's company.

When one accesses health care in the US we pay a co-pay and then whichever entity we got service from would submit the claim for insurance reimbursement whereas here in France with American insurance, WE have pay CASH and THEN WE HAVE TO SUBMIT THE INVOICES FOR REIMBURSEMENT. Soon after that with Carefirst, the debasement and begging begins as we try and get reimbursed for the literally thousands of dollars we have out of pocket for my continued healthcare here. Let's just say that Carefirst has outdone themselves in elevating their "process" to the point that even their own customer service reps can't get answers from their various divisions none of which share information with each other to the point that even their own executives are sandbagged. Not sure how many of you have ever had over $6800.00 in doctors fees out all at once without reimbursement for over 120+ days but I'll bet you'd be hurtin if that happened to you. Once a company like Carefirst get's a hold of your claim you can just about kiss that money goodbye. The mistake that I made was to get sick in France.

Personally, I have never been so marginalized and that's after stints in both the Army and Navy.
So, even though it's American Independence Day, the Founding Fathers never could have imagined that they'd founded an entire nation held hostage by the insurance companies.

The longer I'm alive and see single payer systems in other countries first hand (IE: France) I become even more convinced that the words "profit" and "healthcare" = OXYMORON. Any thinking person knows that anytime the word profit is used humans get either hurt or ignored while the bottom line is worshiped.

So, I wish all of you fellow American hostages a happy Independence Day but with the caveat that if you're not living in a country with a single payer healthcare system you're actually enslaved in the grand tradition of the southern plantation owners and worse from our country's long and checkered history courtesy of insurance companies that are not checked at all by our government. Those of you who may disagree haven't yet had to debase yourselves enough but mark my words......your day is coming.........although I wish I could say that it won't.

Love to all everywhere......*

Sid