Hilary Moon Murphy

Dem Blues

Thank you to everyone who wrote and checked up on me. Yes, I am alive. No, writing a depressed entry and then disappearing for a week was probably not the best way of handling things. Am I still depressed? No. But I am exhausted. Both my spouse and I have had several weeks of 50+ hours at our respective works. Ugh. This must stop.

I think part of my blue funk was work related -- everytime I fall behind in my to-do list, my writing becomes that much harder. Part of it was also chemical. I had missed breakfast, missed lunch and then topped the day off with too much sugar and an unbalanced dinner. I don't always eat that badly, but sometimes I'm so busy that I fail to take care of myself. Poor nutrition comes with a hefty price, though. I become irritable, spaced-out and prone to moodiness.

I’m hoping that there is an end in sight. I had an interview last week for a part-time job at my dream branch, Franklin Library.

Isn't it cool? It's in the most ethnically (and linguistically) diverse neighborhood of the city: Native Americans, Hmong, Latinos, Somalis, African-Americans... You name it, it's there. And the library has been so pro-active in this community. We have a free neighborhood computer center, the busiest homework help program in the city, and a literacy center in the basement with ESL and citizenship classes.

All that bilingual activity that you see listed on Franklin's schedule has been out of my department, so I've been working with Franklin's staff for almost two years now. It's a good group of people, dedicated to making a change in people's lives.

Can you tell I want this job? It would be half time -- two days a week plus alternate Fridays. A part-time job with challenge, a liveable, predictable schedule, and great colleagues. The only downside is that I would have to take a demotion to do it, but I think that a little downsizing at this time of my life is okay.

Frankly, I'm tired of overtime and work that comes home with me. And I'm not certain that I would have wanted to continue on the fast-track even if I hadn't had Cassie.

I’m going to leave you with this song, courtesy the amazing and versatile Frank Tuttle:

Speaking of dem blues. . . .
(guitar riff, still shot of tin-roofed shack south of Coffeeville, MS)

"Ain't got agent
(dah da da da dah)
can't pay no rent
(dah da da da dah)
my novella's rejected
(dah da da da dah)
and it ain't even been sent
(dah da da da dah)
Ol' Gordon Van Gelder
(dah da da da dah)
alas, he say no
(dah da da da dah)
I'd submit to Realms O' Fantasy
(dah da da da dah)
but they just too damned slow
(wild guitar riff)
Oh, I got the blues
(Chorus: "Oh, he or she got the blues")
them hard down mean blues
(Chorus: "Hard down mean blues!"
them cold as ice blues
(Chorus: "they are rather cold, these aforementioned blues")
Yes, I got them blues
(Chorus: "we reiterate, he or she has the blues")
Them hard down mean blues
(Chorus: "hard down mean")
Them knock you down blues
(Chorus: "blues of immense power, we stress")
Them cold as ice . . . cold as ice ...
c-c-c-c-cold as ice hard down mean writin' blues!
(Chorus: "you know those blues...
What's that word count for today, chile?")

Dah da da dah!

(bows)

Hugs to all of you. I’m proud to call all my readers friends…

Hmm