Thursday, July 11, 2013

Johnny Yen's One-Hit Wonders: "Master Jack," By Four Jacks and a Jill


Four Jacks and a Jill were a South African folk group who had had a hit in their native land. They hit the US Top Forty with their song "Master Jack" in 1968, reaching #18 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number 3 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It was an international 
smash, hitting the charts in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and hit #1 in South Africa.

Their next song, "Mr. Nico," cracked the US Top 100, but they never charted in the U.S. They have continued to have hits in South Africa and have produced a number of educational and charity records there. 

Saturday, July 06, 2013

A Brief Breather

Tonight is a funny night. I'm on call at work, but haven't been called in. Chances are, if I'm not called in by 8 pm, I won't be called in. It's now 9:30 and I'm assuming I won't be. In fact, I'm counting on it-- just poured a glass of red wine.

My wife and my daughter are off at my brother-in-law's birthday party in Minnesota. My son, after having carry-out Chinese food with me for dinner, grabbed his basketball and ran off to hang with his buddies. It's just me and the cats, a glass of red wine and some good tunes.

There are a few anniversaries around this time. One was on July 4th. It was the 20th anniversary of my getting a call from the woman I'd been dating on and off around 1992-1993. She was pregnant. I was mortified. Flash forward, the kid who was on the way that day and scared me to death, hung out with me at my old friend Tim's house on the 4th, with Tim's wife and my and Tim's old friend Larry. It was wonderful. 20 years ago, Tim and Larry were guys who had been my friends for 10 years. My son was just someone I was trying to imagine. And it all worked out better than I could ever have imagined.

It had also been exactly 2 years before that I had finished moving into the place we all live in now. It was a scary time; I had just graduated nursing school, but did not yet have my nursing license (that would be earned 9 days later when I took the nursing boards and passed on the first try). I had my nursing school waitering job, but the place I had worked at for 11 years had just changed ownership and was foundering quickly. I was running out of money fast.

As it turned out, I got my nursing license, and then quickly got a nursing job, just days after I got my nursing license. Not all of my friends in nursing school got a job so quickly. It was a lifesaver. I also managed to get a job in a nursing unit that was, and still is, seriously understaffed. I make a lot of money, thanks to overtime. Which is a good thing when you've got a kid in college.

When the shit hit the financial fan, right after I finished nursing school, a couple of friends, as well as my family, helped me out. One of them was my friend Viktor Zeitgeist, who has helped out many times. I had been promising him, since getting my first nursing job, to come out and visit him in Seattle. I finally got to fulfill that promise last month.

He and his wife live right on Puget Sound-- see picture above. I took the picture while sitting on the futon I slept on, in their living room, while I visited. This is the view I woke to every day. I can't wait to go back.

I had a marvelous time. We had a chance to hang out, have coffee or a few beers and catch up. This was the first time neither of us had to worry much about money (he's an attorney now and I'm a nurse). We talked about a million things. He opened up, for the first time, about the bout of cancer he survived about 25 years ago. We talked about history, politics, economics, family. It was really, really good. And too short.

But it was just enough time to rejuvenate myself. I've got a lot to do in the next 7-8 years. Got two kids to put through college. Got some friends I need to spend more time hanging out with. And maybe a couple of other little projects here and there. And I need to start posting in this blog again more often. Miss that too. "I have promises to keep/And many miles before I sleep..."