For some reason, Stairway to Heaven has been popping up in the jukebox of a mind of mine. It’s a song that I heard quite often growing up in the 1970s and at some point I learned how to play half of it. And by half I mean I would pluck the strings while someone else did the fretwork. That lasted for a few weeks in the summer, probably 1975 or 76, almost 50 years ago.

I did play Stairway to Heaven as a YouTube video the other day, but it was the Ann & Nancy Wilson Kennedy Center Honors version with Jason Bonham on drums. I saw the original broadcast and Ann and Nancy and Jason did a very good job.

Shane Fontaine played the Jimmy Page solo part. I met Shane Fontaine back in the 1990s at Right Track Recording. He may have been doing something with Bruce Springsteen at the time. I also met Shane’s then wife Mackenzie Phillips.

During the televised Stairway song, Robert Plant seemed moved to tears while Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones were grooving along nicely to it. I guess the televised version was more interesting and exciting compared to the original song that I must’ve heard at least once a week while growing up.

Stairway to Heaven did become a cliche, so much so that it became a pop culture joke, music instrument stores supposedly hanging signs implicitly stating ‘NO STAIRWAY’. I never saw such things but then again, how often did I hang out in musical instrument stores, besides Guitar Bar in Hoboken?

Back in the day, when in Manhattan, if my brother and I found ourselves on West 48th Street, what used to be Music Row, we would go into Manny’s and gawk at the photos of famous musicians that visited the store. Then years later I was a few doors down, working at Right Track Recording, for I think what may have been 4 years.

I don’t really remember the dateline but I did have a crush on Barry Bongiovi who was the studio manager and may very well still be a very handsome cigar-smoking man. Now all of those studios and musical instrument stores have been razed. As far as I know, there are very few, if any top tier recording studios in Manhattan these days.

Bill is currently in LIberty State Park, having driven a group to a wedding reception. I know exactly where Bill is as I have ridden though that parking lot numerous times. I have even taken photos of various buses and sent them to Bill, partly as a way for him to investigate bus companies and for the bus porn that he so enjoys.

I picked up yet another book from the Bibliotheque. This latest book is as thick as the Michael Palin 1969-1979 diaries, it’s called 1966 and it’s by Jon Savage, a British music writer that I enjoy very much. Michael Palin’s book is 650 pages and Jon Savage’s book is 653 pages.

And I’ve started Michael Palin’s book and I figure that where I used to announce the things in this here blog 9 years ago, nowadays I don’t do that. I write and if people know about it fine. If they comment on it, even better. If they don’t that’s fine too. I reckon it is a diary. Read if you will.

Another day and this one is my birthday. I wisely took off and slept in for an extra hour. Bill went out and bought birthday sandwiches before I woke up. He also made the coffee. Bill has been exceptional today. Everything that he could do to make sure I had an easy stress-free day, Bill did. He’s generally great year round but on September 12, he steps up.

And once again he hit a home run. I am grateful to benefit from his largesse. We mostly sat around the apartment, except for a stop at the library to pick up a tome which was Michael Palin’s diary from the last 1960s to 1979.

I returned the Edna O’Brien book, ‘Girl’ last week. Despite the blurb from Ian McKellan saying that it was a harrowing, yet inspirational book, I could not deal with the heaviness of it. Perhaps another Edna O’Brien book would be better, so if you know of one, do let me know. Donna, the librarian mentioned how heavy the Michael Palin book was, meaning weight, whereas the subject matter of Edna O’Brien was a slim novel, yet quite heavy.

Some grocery shopping was done at the supermarket where we saw Arti, a delightful woman from India who corrals shoppers to the self-checkout machines. It was a gorgeous day, definitely a good day to not go to work.

We watched various things on TV, I took a nap and we decided to go to Carpe Diem here in Hoboken. It was nice, Bill had Fish & Chips, and I had Shephard’s Pie, which I have to say was a bit lackluster. Two pints of Guinness for me and Bill had one. Those were quite good. Some Oreo Mousse cake was dessert, with no birthday song accompaniment.

We strolled back home, down Washington Street enjoying our time and the nightlife. We hardly ever go out at night so this was definitely out of the ordinary. Despite relieving myself before leaving Carpe Diem, I had to go again and knew I wouldn’t make it home.

So I stepped between two parked cars and did what I had to do while Bill stood watch. It was over in a minute, the only passersby were food delivery guys and they weren’t going to say anything. I’ve never done that before in Hoboken on the street. I have gone outdoors in Hoboken before but not between parked cars. A first for this 62-year-old ruddy gentleman, informally speaking of course.

Now, Bill and I are home, watching the second half of 2001: A Space Odyssey. We’ve seen it before, it’s great and there’s nothing else on at the moment. Plus it’s my birthday and I’ll HAL if I want to. HAL just killed the astronaut that isn’t Dave.

I have only seen 2001 on a small screen, I can only imagine how people felt when they saw it on a big screen when it first came out. It must’ve been overwhelming on so many levels considering nothing like it had ever been done before. And now here we are.