Tuesday, July 14. My niece Corinne was born in the 80’s on this day. I can’t really say what the exact year was but I got the date right thanks to social media reminders. It was my niece Kasey’s birthday the other day. I wished her a happy birthday from my file of birthday greetings and I will do the same for Corinne when I get home tonight.

Some families are closer than others. My family is not like that. Distance, time, and life keep us apart. Other families are not like that. They are tight and always in each other’s business. Bill’s family was like that, though the previous generation have faded away, as my family had.

We weren’t close and did not see much of each other. Sometimes, years had gone by. I have no recollection of most of my grandparents. My mother’s father stayed with us for a few days in 1973? 1974? It was around Th

anksgiving. He was an alcoholic and did not have much to do with me. I was assigned to watch him while everyone had their post dinner naps. I fixed him a cup of coffee which he filled with booze once my back was turned. Everyone thought it cute and funny. I was just glad I was not in trouble.

I don’t think my grandfather lasted much after that. A wake in the Bronx, a funeral in Valhalla Cemetary in Westchester. I know I have not gone there since then. I do not even go to the grave of my parents. Annemarie did and Brian has. Not me though. I usually only think of my mother anyhow. I have been driven past it more than I had ever visited.

Today is supposed to be the first day of yet another heat wave. I wore jeans today, though tomorrow I am certain I will be wearing shorts. Yancy will be here once again in the morning. I think he will have a few things to say regarding mistakes that I had made yesterday. Mistakes that were corrected in a minute or two after they were made but the whole rationale is that they should not have been made in the first place.

I tried to cover up and explain as things went on and I hoped that no one from my team took notice of it but the voice in the back of my head tells me, of course they know and I am in big trouble, in danger of losing my job which would be awful.

Now I keep my head down. I had a major request of a couple of dozen names and it was mainly all copying and pasting and that leaves no room for mistakes but knowing me I will always find a way to make a mistake.

I just finished listening to Pink Flag from Wire, a group that sort of resembles the Jack Chicks that I wrote about yesterday. I have to say the comment posted about yesterday’s post was a little bit better than the original post.

It is time to have lunch but I am not hungry. I ate because it was time to eat.

Then a two hour online class about sexual harrassment. Apparently, I’ve been doing it all wrong (insert rimshot) https://instantrimshot.com/
That’s about it. 105° is expected for tomorrow.

I was looking forward to the upcoming shows, a triple bill with The Peppercorns, The Penelope Tree and my favorite, the Jack Chicks.
I had seen the Peppercorns and the Penelope Tree a few times and they were enjoyable but my favorites were the Jack Chicks.

They came out in the early roll out of punk and new wave. Post punk hadn’t been invented yet. They were hugely influential to a lot of bands that followed. The Peppercorns were contemporaries of the Jack Chicks. The Jack Chicks broke up in 1979 and reunited in the mid 80s.

The lineup remained the same but this time the Jack Chicks were determined to get paid for their efforts. The reunion was a big deal in the alternative scene.

Having paid their dues on the underground circuit in the 80s,The Peppercorns earned their spot opening up for the Jack Chicks. Some thought their songs were a bit twee, but if the Jack Chicks picked them out, then all the doors were opened on their behalf. I enjoyed the Peppercorns, I was friends with one of them, Stuart Errols.

I admit having a crush on Stuart. Not a sexual thing, just found his spoirit and talent so warm and inviting and we jammed a few times, one song we called ‘Driving in Arabia’ which was a blatant rip off / homage to Pylon.

It never went any further from my apartment, Stuart made his way back to the Carolinas after the Peppercorns took a break, only to reawaken when the Jack Chicks tapped them to open the tour.

The Peppercorns in turn asked the Penelope Tree to open for them on the tour and while the Penelope Tree were still somewhat wet behind the ears, they were game and willing to take a chance. I enjoyed them, their music was very much chill out music, perfect for a 3AM hang out after the bars had closed.

In fact that was what was playing that night on Jane Street when I was with the Patricks and our collective coats toppled a chair causing much alarm in the beds of Pattie and Fred Kleinke. The Patricks soon left after that, after the powders had been inhaled and come down was approaching and Pattie and Fred Kleinke were sharpening their knives to jab me in the direction of the exit.

I canot blame the Peppercorns for that. So the Jack Chicks. Sometimes melodic, sometimes abrasive, sometimes like a detergent removing sink stains on a rainy day. That was an actual line from a review during their heyday.

A few documentaries of the Jack Chicks pop up every now and then on the You Tube but the Jack Chicks are very private and somehow get them taken down almost as soon as their are put up.

Friends have recorded the videos directly off the screen of their computers so as to have their own copy that will not be taken down. It works for them.

Who knows what will unfold for the Jack Chicks, much less the Peppercorns and the Penelope Tree? Anything is possible I reckon, though the world has changed considerably.