Interrupting Scheduled Posts: Davy Jones is Dead



David Thomas Jones
30 December 1945-29 February 2012

It is the worst text I've gotten in my life. And the only one that is worse will be the one that says Spock is reached his optimal life span. We do this thing at work that we call Celebrity Death Watch. And we only do it because once in a while I get on a roll and can call them well before they pass. I did not see this coming. There was a bit of a scare this morning with Matze. But that was a false and unfounded rumor. And I was a little nervous because I have a friend who is going under the knife today. But I thought that my world of Heroes and Inspiration was safe. I thought wrong.

Davy Jones, the cute Monkee [don't even argue cause I'll win] died today. I can barely see through my tears to type this. I'm trying to find something humorous to cheer myself up. All I've come up with is the fatefulness of the day: the last day of the shortest month or a leap year, an encore day. It is not even a well crafted joke. And it is not helping.

My heart hurts so badly right now. It's been years since I have had to have an imaginary friend to console me after a rough day on the playground or to remind me to keep my chin up when the home life got tough. And he was the person that my child-like mind latched on to for support. Spock was the one I aspired to be. But Davy was the one that made everything okay. I can not tell you why, exactly.

I could guess with what I know about psychology: Davy was an adult. With his pint sized stature and impish charm, he was the only one I trusted to tell me that things would be okay. He seemed young enough to understand what I was going through but old enough to know it really would be better. And the persona he had on the Monkees TV program really made him seem like an angel.

When they took on the hard luck cases and the tough-skinned antagonist, it was Davy's warmth and charisma that won everyone over. No matter who's idea it was to champion a cause, it was Davy who was the last one to give up. I am thinking of a Christmas episode in which a young boy grew up too fast and was a mini miser at a very young age. Mike wanted to make his Christmas better and brought him home to show him a good time. But by the midpoint of the show they were all frustrated enough to give up on the kid. But not Davy.

I could relate to that little kid. And that is how, I think, Davy got into my psyche as a guardian angel. My first celeb crush was also my imaginary friend, my best friend. And my best friend is gone now.

http://youtu.be/U7_vvrc8TIU        I heard this song from my bedroom one Saturday morning. As soon as I heard his voice I made a beeline for the TV. And this song has been with me since then. Listen. Really listen. This should be the anthem for all the kids who hurt. It kept me sane. And alive. Because when I thought about giving up and giving in I would hear this in my head. When my life choices were doubted, I'd repeat to myself "I know the place where I am going. And the place where I am going is just around the bend."

What I did on MY Winter Vacation...

Smokey (upper right) and Precious,
temporary studio mates.

Mostly yelled at cats. The Internets were down due to a bit of random sabotage. Though there is speculation that it was not terribly random. The cats' family dropped in on Thursday. Completely unannounced and right smack in the Middle of Big Bang Theory. So I have absolutely no idea what happened in the only episode that I will be home to watch for the whole season. And last night Castle was nearly pre-empted by my brother... he has figured out that I am always up for Castle. What he has not figured out is that I know not to answer the phone.

I've done some painting, writing, spring cleaning, resting and watched way too much Turner Classic Movies. It is Oscar month and I did manage to watch a lot that was on my movie bucket list. And a few of those movies have inspired posts. It'll take a while to transcribe and post since I have a hard time reading my own handwriting.

And I will have to spend some time updating the art blog with the new stuff. It would have been nice to have the Internet for the last 4 days. I was going to work on the setting for my game too. Oh well.

Oh, I also had a date. Didn't plan on it. Nice looking guy, reminded me a lot of the last boyfriend in the face. And unfortunately in the logic versus emotion department too. He started talking about the ex way to early in the conversation. And I took enough out of that to be unaffected by the "good luck and good night" email I got in the morning. And I did learn, all over again, that there just are not going to be many people that I am going to want to be around in the capacity of boyfriend. I could have gotten on great with this guy in the classroom. But that is about it. And that is about how it goes with me. I love to have lots of casual friends to chat with, talk arts and geek with. But when it comes to the "long term committed thing" I'm pretty picky. And that does not leave me with a very large pond to fish in. And it just made me miss my ex-boyfriend to the Nth degree. And it kinda made me wish that I was someone other than who I am because there would still be a relationship. Curse my stubborness!

Had a friend stop by on lunch which sparked a conversation that is going to be a post too. As a teaser I will say that being interested in the wild and fantastical is not the same thing as believing in the wild and fantastical. Belief and Interest are two different things.

And for Oscar Sunday I did go into work to have a drink, use the spa and wisecrack with a Brittish-accented guest that lives in Florida. It was nice not to be there for a while. But it was also nice to be there and not feel compelled to fix everything or check up on my department. I need to do that on a relatively daily basis to keep my sanity.

All in all a good vacation. I have to do laundry tomorrow. I save that for the typical back to work routine. And I have decided that Cappi is the espresso machine and Fra Aviano will be my next bird illustration. So...

From Cappi, Phaelen, Smokey, Precious and myself.... Weeeeeeeeeeeeer'e baaaaaaack!