Waiting for Willie-san...Part 7

Dear Willie Nelson-san,

Hello! I just wanted to clarify a few items from yesterday's post, and get in touch with you as to how many folks we will be needing to feed and re-hydrate when the Honeysuckle Rose drifts into the squishy yet ever-so-solid wall we have built to welcome her when she begins descending into the cradle of Katuah.

Yes, the wall I promised you is already in place! I don't know how it happened, but Aunti's heart got mended all of a sudden yesterday, and her household, along with her ikigai mill, got up and running again, and the next thing you knew a massive wall of What We Do Best Here went up.

But I digress. My main reason for writing to you today is to comment on my "old and crinkly" comment of yesterday, since I am concerned about it being misconstrued to mean that "old and crinkly" equals "ugly, un-love-able, and unworthy of jealousy".

For the record, I would like to say right now that Old is awesome, and crinkles are beautiful. Anybody who disputes this should just reflect on Katuah! Every year, and every day, young men and old become smitten anew with this elegant lady, whose charm is in no small part due to her great elder-ness as well as her ultra-crinkled topography.

And as far as crinkles on humans goes...sure, not everyone takes care to collect crinkles in a manner which will ensure that memories of smiles, and not frowns, are traced on the face, but for the most part, no crinkle is a bad one if the owner regards it as a sort of a trophy upon which the word

SURVIVOR

is engraved.

Now I would like to clarify one last thing. And that has to do with the way I signed my missive yesterday:

"A young moneyless relative of Aunti Nantoka"

Lest the Bat Crap Trader tabloids run wild with this claim, I wish to issue the following statement:

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I am currently in the process of ridding my lair of all traces of United States currency as a means of complying with the Six Grandfathers divestiture project. However, a thorough search of the Traces Library in which I dwell MAY turn up an odd coin or two.

These remnants of Babylon Empire do not belong to me! These are the new Caesars' property, not mine.

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Thanks for taking the time to read this missive, Willie Nelson-san! I hope you are enjoying your 1-27, and I hope all of your relations are feeling genki and creative.

Waiting for Willie-san...Part 6

Dear Willie Nelson-san,

Nantoka O-ba-chan* has an utterly broken heart this morning. Can you please, please fix it?
Rumor has it that stories of a 14-year-old Gazan heart attack victim left her devoid of all ikigai.

The good news about Nantoka the Elder and her ikigai profile is that if you should decide to help her out this morning by writing the ultimate Country and Western Anti-Holocaust Song, you will probably fix many, many more hearts than just one.

Aunti N. has a heart whose shape and size is rather typical of persons from Katuah. Writing her a song this morning, or perhaps later this afternoon, just might inject enough ikigai into this realm to ensure that by the time the Honeysuckle Rose crosses into Katuah this spring, she will run smack into a solid wall of What We Do Best Here.

Obviously, I do not possess the resources or strength to make good on this promise all by myself, but I have great faith in your ability to make music which will kick-start the great ikigai machine that is our Aunti Nantoka's household by putting a smile on the dear old lady's face. And once our Aunti's house is running like a top, it is all but impossible for it to churn out What We Do Best in inconceivable quantities.

Perhaps you are worried that the media will begin to speculate as to your romantic connections to Aunti N if you should write her a song. Now, if I were the most powerful artist in TX I would be utterly un-worried about crap like that. But the sad reality is that stupid rumors like those can really hurt, and cause mistrust, when they reach the ears of the artist's Valentine. So, if you like, I will tell your Valentine myself about how old and crinkly Aunti Nantoka is, so that your 2-14 date this year will not be spoiled by any ill-founded jealousy.

In any case, thank you very much for your time and consideration. And thank you for your work towards peace on our planet. May the Creator bless you and your dear ones abundantly.

Very sincerely yours,

Suzy "Nantoka Nei-chan" Nees
(A young moneyless relative of Nantoka the Elder)

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O-ba-chan = "Aunt"

Weekend news from the desk of the Black Twig Pickers

Friday 1-23-09

...the Black Twig Pickers haul the fiddles, washboards and many, many banjos up the Floyd plateau for the Country Store's venerable Friday Night Jamboree's stomping dance frenzy -- we've said it before, but there's no better way to fight frostbite, at least not in, you know, public places. The Twig slot is at 7:30 p.m. -- Statement Gospel is playing beforehand and Patrick County fiddle ace Clyde Williams and his band are up after. Come out early and hear it all --------

Saturday 1-24-09

...the Twigs have the high honor of playing up in Marlinton, W.Va., at the Pocahontas Opera House. Showtime's at 7:30 p.m. in this ancient and gorgeous pile of a building -- come out if you're in the area, or if you know anyone that-a-way, please pass this along to them. The program is for a varied and rambling exploration -- a couple members of Shawsville's Thornton family are on the hook to help out, so expect flashes of banjo-uke and dulcimer, some multi-fiddle numbers, maybe some a capella stuff if the moment's right ------

and really, is there a moment that's truly wrong?

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Waiting for Willie-san...Part 5

Aloha Willie Nelson-san! Warm greetings from the frosty slopes of beautiful Brush Mountain.

I hope that you and your dear ones have been staying warm and feeling well and un-persecuted. The Ayuwa’sifest mood is still lingering here after an extremely successful performance at Kirk Avenue Music by Charlie Parr, the Black Twig Pickers, and the Rootstone Jug Band.

The events of the past few weeks leave me at a loss to know where to begin to prepare you for your upcoming visit to the Magic City. The sheer volume of family news is just one element of this news sharing burden I carry. Alas, things here have not been easy at times. I cannot lie to you about this.

Since my wish is not to depress you, and since the order in which I present recent Bat Crap Trader Bulletin headlines to you could mean the difference between breaking your heart and getting you back the dog, lady, truck, job, etc. that you never knew you had, the news today will be very brief and cheery. If you choose to pass along this news to persons who help to develop policies for the appraisal of real estate in Virginia PLEASE make sure to follow up with them later, once you have a fuller picture of life in our area, so that Tax Harvesters will think twice before eyeing the assets of landowners in the counties of Roanoke, Floyd, Pulaski, and Montgomery and saying, "My, my, what a wonderful quality of life we have here, don't we? You are rich, give us money."

So here is installation 1 of today's headlines:

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A 1-21 pack walk turns into a herd walk in the Ayu'wasi Ginza

"Mr. January" chosen for "Boys of the Lending Industry Apocalypse" ninja school fundraiser calendar

A “Katuah-rific” winter vision by Nantoka about the Blue Hole begins melting into the local arts scene

Pele-sama and the Antrolana People still guarding the Bear Skeleton Cavern

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I am sorry I cannot give you more info than this today about events in Ayuwa'si. BUT I can tell you about the Twig Pickers shows happening tomorrow and Saturday in Virginia and West Virginia. I can ALSO tell you the intriguing story by which I came to find out that Jello Biafra and I are practically kin!

I will transmit these news etc. items to your tribe's news harvesting team as soon as time permits. I must go see to the needs of the working animals at this library and plan to re-transmit some news in short order IF the long-term food security planners at work on this mountain have seen to it that our news team members will be safe from bears, bobcats, etc. this morning.

Really, there is just an outside chance of this since our branch has recently made MASSIVE expenditures in the bear-and-bobcat proofing department.

Very warm regards,

Suzy Nees
Shouseki Library Artist Relations

Fast facts on four heavy metals

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Arsenic facts

- Headaches and lightheadedness can be symptoms of arsenic toxicity.
- One to three cloves of garlic per day may help move arsenic out of the body.

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Mercury facts

- Sensory impairment and a sense of disturbance may occur as a result of mercury toxicity.
- A medical preservative called Thiomersal has drawn scrutiny from many for its mercury content.

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Cadmium facts

- Flu-like symptoms may be a symptom of cadmium toxicity.
- On average, folks who do not smoke cigarettes will have 4-5 times less cadmium in their blood than smokers.

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Lead facts

- Cognitive abilities can be reduced as a result of lead toxicity.
- Vitamin C has offered promise in past lead poisoning treatment regimes.

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