Lou Reed Playlist

Lisa Says (specifically the version from the 1969 live album)
Coney Island Baby
Fistfull of Love
Oh Sweet Nuthin'
I'll Be Your Mirror (live with vocals by Lou)
Candy Says
Sad Song
Caroline Says II
Walk on the Wild Side
I'm Waiting For The Man
Love Makes You Feel
Vicious
Satellite of Love
I Can't Stand It
Hold On
Venus in Furs
Dirty Blvd.
All Tomorrow's Parties
Heroin
Femme Fatale
Perfect Day
Make Up
Sunday Morning
There She Goes Again
Pale Blue Eyes
Berlin
Ocean
This Magic Moment
How Do You Think It Feels
Sweet Jane

There are few artists I can think of who have written so many gloriously rich, inspiring, heartbreaking, and timeless songs. Lou Reed was most certainly one of them. As a teenager when I first heard the live version of Lisa Says I felt an instant connection to the author. That song became as close to me as my skin. It was 1995 and I only recently became free from the prison of high school, from constant put-downs and incessantly feeling shameful and embarrassed to be seen with myself. I was applying for a job at the Blockbuster Music in the next town over and they had a catalog on a stand where you could look up songs. I wondered to myself if anyone had ever written a song about a girl named Lisa. I found one by an old band called The Velvet Underground. Cool band name, I remember thinking. I went to the CDs and found the 1969: The Velvet Underground Live album which had Lisa Says on it. I went to the DJ booth and had them play it for me. I immediately felt a connection that I would not have had should I have selected any other version of this song. I started to look up more about this band and buy books about the members. Lou always came across as so kind and genuine. I liked knowing that he was once in a relationship with a transgender woman and that he wrote songs about women and gave them a voice that no other man had ever done. He was the sort of man I wanted to grow up and make my own. Someone who embodied so many characteristics that were atypical to the everyday man. I just loved him so much for that. He was an artist and a gift and he is missed beyond measure.

Karen Caught on Camera!

The People You Love

Mum
David
Stacey
Lucy
Wayne
Xavier
Mary
Syd
Zach
Jackson
Ashlee
Sean
Bailey
Avery
Amy
Bishop
Bryan
Terri
Juliette
Shane
Godmommy Gina
Aunt Berne
Lina
Anne
Kayla
Jaeden
Isabella
Natalia
Dr. Davis
Uncle Alan
Uncle Roy

Aunt Vicky
Uncle Phil
Rick
Karen
Maureen

Autumn
Maggie
Emily
Ana
Adam
Peter
Marina
Jason
Melanie
Lauryn
Nicole
MJ
MeMom and Pop
(honourable mention, since I don't know these famous people, but they still make this universe a wonderful place to live!)
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Martin Clunes
Kathleen Hanna
Bernie Sanders
John Waters

First Selfies of 2020!

Mama Rosie and I went to see Aunt Gina this morning and after eyeliner was applied, she let me take some silly selfies. These are the two best out of the batch:

The Old Family House

On my way to Baldwin's Book Barn (where I scored not one but TWO hugs from lovely Fred Dannaway who let me take Dominick Dunne's hardback copy of A Season in Purgatory for free because I donated a stack of books) I drove by Amy's first childhood home. I struggle to remember the exact layout of the inside, but honestly, we mostly just rode big wheels down her driveway and played on the swings and jungle gym out back. I was disappointed to see that the driveway is not nearly as steep as it was when I was a child. In my mind's eye it was always a near vertical drop and we'd go sailing down at top speed going all the way into the yard. It's still a lovely home on a quiet street and I was so glad to see it again.

Pins from Pier 1

I worked at a Pier 1 in South Jersey for about a year then transferred to one in Ardmore, PA for another year-ish. Both stores have long since closed and I read recently that the company will more than likely be gone soon. In my opinion, a lot of the furniture they sold was lovely (the Harlequin collection was always a favourite of mine) but very poorly made and way overpriced. The best thing they sold was their Cranberry Balsam candles. I remember vividly that once Thanksgiving would approach we would have people start asking when they would be in stock again. Permanently discontinuing them was a huge mistake. The best thing about working at each location was the people that I met. Loads of great memories.

What I Love About Godmommy Gina

- She is the real deal. There's no fake bullshit with Aunt Gina. Everyone knows exactly how she feels about you. This is a remarkable quality to have because when you feel like Gina loves you, you know for damn sure that she really and truly does.
- The bookend of her sister Berne, who we all considered the "fun aunt" whereas Gina was the "cool aunt."
- She is a ridiculously gifted Reiki Master and an intuitive Tarot card reader. She's a true healer.
- As a child, sleepovers with my Godmother meant sleeping in her spare bedroom in her super rad apartment in the city. We would stay up and watch Star Search and she served my milk at dinnertime in a wine glass. So fancy.
- Her laugh is completely infectious, especially when she gets going on a rip-roaring laugh and ends up doing a full-on pig snort.
- Among many other things she is mostly made up of  the following:
thoughtful
kind
caring
compassionate
warm
fun
hilarious
- She is genuine. Never is anything ever done for show or praise or any ulterior motive.
- Gina has always been considered the tough one in the family since she would never, ever let anyone walk all over her. In the early 90s Mum and I were dealing with a difficult situation, I'm thinking it was to do with a mechanic or someone who was condescending. We needed to call them back and mentioned the story to my father, hoping that he would call since men are always taken seriously by other men. True to cowardly form, Da said, "Geez, that's awful. Ya oughta get Gina to call him. She's the real butt-kicker."
- A fellow historical romance novel junkie!
- Adventurous in the kitchen and can cook up a storm. She loves nothing more than discussing, in depth, the latest recipe she wants to test out.
- Was the first person I ever knew that used popcorn and cranberries as garland on a Christmas Tree and I still think it's pretty fabulous.
- Is fairly tolerant but Xavier and I discovered that once pushed past her limit and into dangerous territory, her tolerance will actually carry over that danger zone. Example: in the 1990s on the first weekend in December, Aunt Berne, Alina, Xavier, Aunt Gina, and I would go to Windridge Tree Farm. Once around the time that Xavier and I were hooked on The Drew Carey Show, there was one episode where Craig Ferguson's Mr. Wick gave an odd gift to Drew which he (in his Scottish accent) said it was a "cubicle in a bot-tle." Xavier and I got on a weird tear in the fold of normal rational thought and started putting everything we could think of in a "bot-tle." We kept trying to one up the other and after at least 15 minutes Gina told us that was enough. We could tell she was annoyed with us and that it wasn't funny anymore. I don't know which of us said it but the next thing everyone heard was "it's an angry woman in a bot-tle" which made her crack up laughing all over again.
- She can talk to anyone and is super friendly.
- Un-apologetically who she is, love her or leave her.
- In the late 80s she saw an ad on TV about orphaned children in Romania. Most people would have thought, "how terrible" and maybe at best donated money. Not Gina. She was a regular single working-class gal but she put in motion the steps to get our Alina. Even though Lina doesn't like sweets or desserts of any kind (this is what truly sets her apart from the rest of us) she is the perfect fit in our family and it was one of Gina's best decisions.
In closing, I wish I'd spent more time with Godmommy in my 20s and 30s, just us, but I tend to think people will find me boring and dull and this kept me from spending quality time with a lot of people. Regardless, I have oodles of wonderful memories with her and plan on making more.