Just like the sun over the mountain top, you know I'll always come again...

Not my typical goofy shit.....
Thoughts on Elite Hotel and Dean

I've had this Emmylou Harris LP since Fall of 1978. At that exact same time in my life, I met my best friend, Dean. The album and Dean was a package deal. Love me, love my Elite Hotel.
We were both in art department, at the JC. We were total fuck off pot heads. We had a lot of fun, and made a lot of really bad art.
LOL, I used to drive up to his house every day, and before I even rounded the corner and parked in front, I could hear him singing, no, wailing, at the top of his lungs, some Emmylou, Bonnie Raitt, or Jackson Browne tune!
Of course, then I'd have come in and join him. I swear the neighborhood must've all had earplugs, because noone ever complained about the noise.
Dean was my best friend, and he held me up through the most painful times of my life. He was there for me always.
And how lucky I was when he and Mr Ratburn hit it off right from the start! The three of us had some great times together, saw some fabulous music, and made some really great art!
Before we knew it, 15 years had passed, and we were still friends. The music was always along for the ride as well. What fun we had in all those years!
In 1995, Dean passed away from complications of AIDS. He would have been 46 this year. I miss him terribly. 35 years is such a short life......
But you know, the strangest thing happened the other day when I put Elite Hotel on....all those memories of Dean came rushing back to me, and, at first, it was a happy thing, remembering... and then, I just lost it in the middle of washing the fucking dishes listening to this song performed by the lovely Emmylou, Till I Gain Control Again, one of Dean's favorites.
Sheeesssssshh, I had the hugest cry...standing there scrubbing the teflon off of that poor little saucepan, missing Dean, and then you know what?
I looked out the window and the sun was setting, behind the trees, and, the sun was making this beautiful huge sparkly starlight thing throught the trees! .....wow.....and I knew that I was getting a visit from a very special spirit.
You know what else...another funny thing about Dean. One night, after hours, after gay bar danceathon, circa 1979...Dean and I were in some fast food joint in Hollywood. We were drinking very large cokes. Dean always had to have the lid off his coke so he could take a bit of ice and a bit of coke and chew it up! Crunch crunch crunch!....ok, so im sitting there, enjoying my post- shake-my-booty-all-night-coke, when I notice Dean has this evil, evil smile on his face...and suddenly he shoves the tray with the extra large coke with ice and NO LID, and the entire coke spills over my lap and drenches me. I was shocked! He laughed his head off, and I swore one day I'd get even with him. I never got the chance, but when I go, I'm bringing with me, an extra large coke with ice, no lid ...and I'm goin' after that guy!


Susie and Dean ~ Spring, 1993

Till I Gain Control Again
by Rodney Crowell

Just like the sun over the mountain top
You know I'll always come again
You know I love to spend my morning time
Like sunlight dancing on your skin

I've never gone so wrong as to telling lies to you
What you've seen is what I've been
There is nothing I could hide from you
You see me better than I can

Out on the road that lies before me now
There are some turns where I will spin
I only hope that you can hold me now
Till I can gain control again

Like a lighthouse you must stand alone
Landmark the sailor's journeys end
No matter what sea I've have been sailing on
I'll always roll this way again

Out on the road that lies before me now
There are some turns where I will spin
I only hope that you can hold me now
Till I can gain control again ...


**Hey, I forgot to pimp The Idiot's and Barefoot's Tropical Top Five over at the Idiots blog. Get on over there, today's topic is a bit of a challenge but I know you can do it!