It’s A Beautiful Day

Posted: May 18th, 2025 | Filed under: Rock & Roll Rewind, Ruminations | 5 Comments »

Triple entendre, that.

The title, that is.

First, simply literally.

As I was taking care of errands, motoring about the other afternoon, it was a poetic spring day.

Sunny. Short sleeve warm. Not too humid.

And, oh my, that sky.

Azure to infinity.

Lazy billowy Cumulus. Layered. Textured.

The sort of visual, like the Pacific at Big Sur, the verdancy of Cherokee in full bloom, or an August field of tall sunflowers in the Périgord which causes you to stop and marvel at the beauty of Spaceship Earth at rest in its natural state.

And figuratively.

I’m at the stage of life that while savoring the day, I had successfully completed two of my triad of medical appointments last week. Not that many over the norm for an octogenarian. Good news at both. Blessings. All that’s left is annual eye checkup. Easy peasy.

So, it would have psychologically been a boffo day even were Mark Weinberg on the telly huffin’ and puffin’ about some rotation hovering over my condo.*

It is with full comprehension of the irony I note that between the gorgeous day I first drafted this, and the similarly beauteous one when I’m tidying it up for posting, Mother Nature came with her wrath, assaulted us. As if we need to be periodically reminded she’s in charge. During which meteorological attack, I thought said weather dude was going to explode from excitement explaining the gravity of the events.  

Then of course, because it is where my rock and roll heart always leads me . .

. . . that sky reminded me of my favorite album cover of ever. One that literally dazzled me, stopped me in my tracks, mouth agape when I saw it for the first time in the bin at Karma Records.*

*The original location at Bonnycastle and Bardstown Road, in the building that was Votteler’s Drug Store in my youth. Where I’d go almost daily after school, and gorge my husko gordo self with a chocolate soda. Where the fella behind the counter and I listened to Milwaukee best the Yankees in the ’57 Series.

It’s A Beautiful Day. The band.

From Frisco. Summer of Love era.

David and Linda LaFlamme. He on rock violin. She on keyboards.

Their music as significantly a paradigm of the peace and love movement as any.

Aspen Trees. Golden cages.

White Bird must fly.

Still sweet after all these decades.

— c d kaplan

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