R.I.P. DAVY JONES

Recently we were all saddened to hear of the death, at only 66 years of age, of  Davy Jones, the sole Englishman among the members of the 1960's pop quartet, the Monkees.  The 1960's coincided with the first decade of my lifetime.  Everyone who knows anything about me knows about my lifelong obsessive love affair with the music of that era.  To this day I still enjoy their TV show in reruns.  They were originally intended as a variation on the Beatles but they seemed, right away, to have taken on a life & perosonality of their own.  Jones, Peter Tork, Mike Nesmith & Mickey Dolenz were a jovial quartet, at least from the looks of their public persona.   It was nice to see all the outpouring of interest in Jones & sorrow for his death.  Women in my age range have reminisced about how he was their first crush in grammar school.   I was especially happy to hear about his connection to both New York & Pa.   I can still remember the Monkee Halloween costumes my  Jackson Heights friends & I used to wear during the band's heyday.  Over the cours of the several decades since then, the band's members had often gotten back together for reunions, most notably in 1986, & they very recently went on a concert tour to celebrate their forty~fifth anniversary.   Etta James, another famous 1960's singer, & Whitney Houston, also died recently, but as far as I'm concerned there is something especially sad about Jones' death.  He was a part of the world in which I grew up. 

TWO DOLLARS

Uncle Frankie's home from Fran's house. Aunt Lauren is visiting Noreen. Advent yet again beckons. As of today we have only three weeks until Christmas. Besides the slight snowfall on Thanksgiving we got some more last night & this morning. The weather's been very bitter cold but not unbearable. Tomorrow I shall have to lector at 11:00 a.m. Mass at O.L. Sorrows/St. Monica's. I need a haircut. I should suppose I could track down Rose Chairge's new place over on Luzerne Avenue in West Pittston but so far I haven't bothered. There are several other places that are much closer. A few days ago when I went to a neighborhood stationery to get the Citizen's Voice, they guy in the store gave me two two dollar bills for change from a five. Two dollar bills have been around since I was a kid in the eleventh grade & I don't usually get to see them in circulation. Unfortunately four days from now will mark the thirtieth anniversary of the murder of Beatle John Lennon in Manhattan by Mark David Chapman. It still seems as if it were only last night. So far I have yet to see an entire episode of the show "House". I've seen half of each of a few episodes though. It's not so bad so maybe I shall continue watching it. Vinnie & Michael like "Burn Notice". I like it too but it's not on until 10:00 at night. Perhaps I shall watch the reruns. They're on much earlier at a time when civilized human beings can see them.