Sunday, May 27, 2007

MEMORIAL DAY '07

Buon Giorno. A shift of events has placed me in need of repairs again. This week I'm going in for a surgery to replace the neck of my right femur. What does this mean? In Italy it was my misfortune to fall to the ground resulting in a nasty fracture to my femur neck. That is the part of the very top of the leg that attaches to the joint in the pelvis where the leg rotates. The Italians performed a valiant surgery by inserting three titanium screws to stabilize the area. After one week in the hospital, I made the voyage home by the help of some Italian friends who assisted my arrival to the nearest airport in Turin. The entire medical experience in Italy was covered by Italian medical coverage which is a function of the state. When I asked how to pay for my care, I was shocked to hear that I needn't worry about it. And I must say, that care was unconditionally splendid. Since then I have struggled with mobility, and now having had a new x-ray of the injury, it appears that for whatever progress has occurred, the neck must be replaced with a prosthetic element. So that's how it goes. I'm anxious about it, but I also believe it will be ultimately the most efficient way to get my body back to good working order. Believe me, these last three years have been grueling, and I have serious doubts of the satisfaction of my ordeals, but I can't imagine not trying to correct the obvious defects when I had the opportunity to make the corrections. So for this end, I march on and hope once and for all, to be at optimum performance and continue on the road to Valhalla/Nirvana/Paradiso.
Two weeks ago I was in NYC. That was a difficult journey also, but I had the best time ever in that great city, thanks to my super friends, Adam and Mindy Williams, Dave Marsh, and John Sinclair. I mustn't forget my incomparable wife, Angela, who took great care to make certain I was comfortable and happy every single moment. What an awesome weekend! We ferried between the hotel and the Carnegie Deli via wheelchair. The sumptuous pastrami, stacked so thick, it was impossible to bite the whole sandwich at once, I shall never forget. But wait, I'm making myself hungry! We did Dave Marsh's Sirius Radio Show, "Kick Out The Jams" with John Sinclair. We talked for an hour about Music Is Revolution, and managed to recruit Dave to become a "Bored Member". Later, John and I, did an hour long TV interview, where we discussed our history as artists and the experience of the MC5 and it's history and ramifications. What a tremendous uplifting event that was, each of us recalling and detailing our lives together in the past and present. Finally, as a grand finish, I was invited to perform with John and his quartet of excellent musicians, that included two sax players and drummer, Dee Pop of the Gun Club and Bush Tetras, in a recitation of John's poetry, at Jimmy's in the Bowery for a great audience. I cannot tell you how thrilling it was for me to get to do this. I played with such peace in my heart and soul that it has to be one of my all time favorite performances in my entire career as an artist. So, folks let me tell you; it isn't the size of a venue, or the size of an audience, or the size of a paycheck that has value. It's the size of the feeling in the doing of what ever it is your doing. I was scared to even try to play at all. So scared that I was at first unwilling to make my way down the 15 stairs to the sub-sidewalk entrance of the club. I hadn't played the bass in 6 months, and I had never played this particular bass, But in the end, I did it, and it was so damn good.
So, there it is. If I haven't bored everyone to death by now, I should wrap up this segment of my story. Should everything go well in surgery, and a decent mending take place, I may appear somewhere in France in mid-summer doing what I love; playing bass guitar in a rock and roll band.
Ciao, MD

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good post.