The stars lay in a blanket above. A gentle breeze blowing in from the sea. The last light flickers from one lonely candle. Never before was a night half as perfect For you and me.
But there was a party last night. Yes there was a party nextdoor, ‘Cause there’s a boy sleeping on the back porch.
You would have noticed a pin drop that evening. The peace and calm when romance fills the air. Ambience oozing from Coltrane and Hartman. And barely twenty feet away, we’d no clue What was happening there.
No blaring rock and roll. No bottles on the walk. No screaming, shouting and no fight. Nobody called the law. No sirens in the night. Just one young man, stretched out on a chaise, Sleeping it off.
Occasions such as this should be savored. The combination of circumstance rare. You may just be the true love that I’ve searched for. I think though, that the folks in the house that’s next door Just don’t care.
". . . 50 ways the Trump administration has failed workers . . .
1. . . . failed to support adequate fiscal stimulus during the coronavirus pandemic
2. . . . diminished the integrity and accuracy of the 2020 U.S. Census
3. . . . stopped funding for Social Security
4. . . . dismantled fiduciary protections for retirement savers
5. . . . engaged in persistent efforts to take away workers’ health care
6. . . . narrowed the scope of ‘protected concerted activity’ under the NLRA
7. . . . persisted in attempts to end DACA
8. . . . suspended the issuance of green cards
9. . . . failed to act to protect the health of workers during the pandemic
10. . . . issued guidance that allows states to deny unemployment insurance (UI) benefits to workers who refuse to return to unsafe jobs
11. . . . issued an executive order that intimidated local health departments from closing meat-processing plants with significant COVID-19 outbreaks
12. . . . excluded millions of workers from paid leave provisions in the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFCRA), including 9 million health care workers and 4.4 million first responders
13. . . . ignificantly narrowed benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program
DOL issued guidance narrowing the framework for eligibility and duration of PUA benefits.42
14. . . . allowed poultry plants to increase line speeds during the coronavirus pandemic
15. . . . issued interim guidance that removed most employer responsibility to investigate or record workplace-related coronavirus cases in non-health-care workplaces
16. . . . pushed to lower wages for migrant farmworkers
17. . . . suspended all union elections
18. . . . completed the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s (anti-worker) wish list . . . (items) of which weaken workers’ ability to organize with their co-workers to bargain collectively with their employers.
19. . . . obstructed workers’ right to fair union elections
20. . . . narrowed the joint-employer standard under the NLRA
21. . . . encouraged offshoring
22. . . . denied workers more bargaining power on the job
23. . . . narrowed the joint-employer standard under the FLSA
24. . . . allowed states to privatize employment services
25. . . . decreased workplace safety inspections
26. . . . proposed a rule that would lower the earnings of tipped workers
27. . . . sought to expand the use of the fluctuating workweek method, which makes it easier for employers to avoid paying overtime
28. . . . undermined job security for service workers
29. . . . hindered workers’ ability to organize during nonwork hours
30. . . . sought to exclude student employees from the NLRA
31. . . . prevented millions of workers from receiving overtime
32. . . . put forward anti-worker DOL nominations
33. . . . neglected to address overvaluation of the U.S. dollar
34. . . . denied workers a minimum wage increase
35. . . . allowed misclassification of gig workers
36. . . . issued a rule allowing hog slaughter facilities to function at unsafe speeds
37. . . . proposed a rule allowing young workers to perform unsafe tasks in health care occupations
38. . . . undercut public-sector workers’ freedom to organize
39. . . . denied workers the right to class or collective claims by reversing the Justice Department’s prior position in Epic Systems
40. . . . eroded the collective bargaining rights of federal workers
41. . . . weakened standards for mine safety inspections
42. . . . appointed anti-worker NLRB members
43. . . . hid economic analysis on the ‘tip stealing’ rule
44. . . . allowed employers to gerrymander bargaining units
45. . . . passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—which benefits the wealthy at others’ expense
46. . . . removed the public record of worker deaths from OSHA’s homepage
47. . . . removed requirements that employers disclose their use of union-avoidance consultants
48. . . . repealed a requirement that employers report workplace injuries and illnesses
49. . . . delayed enforcement of a rule protecting workers from exposure to silica dust
50. . . . made it easier for contractors who violate basic labor and employment laws to be awarded contracts paid for by taxpayer dollars. . . "
(from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clavinet) The clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord that was invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to the early 1980s. Hohner produced seven models over the years, designated I, II, L, C, D6, E7 and Duo. Its distinctive bright staccato sound has featured most prominently in funk, jazz-funk, reggae, rock, and soul songs.
. . . in a 3rd mix of 'Going'.
(Is this starting to sound like a Christmas song, or is it just the tree?)
In theory, I like Christmas - any religious discussion notwithstanding. It's the practice, or at least what the practice has evolved into being, that bothers me. A couple of years ago, Jay (Graboski of OHO) came up with the catchy, festive-sounding tune and invited me to add some piano. I, most enthusiastically, complied. Below is the finished (at least for now) product which, for me, very much evokes a holiday-like spirit. Futhermore, there is NO PURCHASE REQUIRED.
