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April 24, 2018

Writer's picture: Michael LabaMichael Laba

For the first time, I didn’t get one of these blogs done on the same day I’d written the monthly email. Usually I like to surprise myself with what I come up with after already expressing whatever it is I had to say in a separate venue; empty heads can occasionally stumble upon something slightly interesting. Or at least, that’s the hope, although I’m willing to entertain the notion that a majority of these blogs have proven the fallibility of this theory.


Maybe my lack of focus is due to the fact I happen to be in the process of writing a song to commemorate a friend from Vermont who went missing back in December and whose body was only recently found. I’m finding myself stretching for the right words, the proper melody… I’m thinking of recording the song and tucking it away in the basement section, in case any of her friends and family might find solace in that sort of thing. I’m starting to develop a much larger catalogue than wanted for these type of songs, I’m sad to say. Not that I’m not proud of them, but their underlying circumstances are beyond a reasonable definition of “worst nightmare”. There’s “Song for Brion” for my close friend Brion Hall. “Time” for my mother, “Dad” for, of course, my father. “Spring Has Come”, which was written after attending a very emotion-filled funeral for someone I actually didn’t know… And now “Rise”, for a truly wonderful woman, Patricia Rooney. I’ll be at the funeral on May 5th in Vermont, giving my condolences to her amazing sister Lo. I suspect I’ll see a few supporters of this website there, too.

RIP PR….


But there are other things happening as well to serve as an excuse for falling a day or two behind on the blog schedule… I spent a couple of weeks of the past month rereading “Infinite Jest” in its entirety, and maybe I wasn’t sure I wanted to admit that a second reading had been entirely necessary in my case… (but it was…) (and I ended up loving the book even more…) I also committed to going back to Martha’s Vineyard for another 5-month stay, and maybe I’m still not prepared to drop the “full-time writer/musician” self-description I’d silently grown to accept and believe these past two-and-a-half years… Oh, and do any of you know I’ve been the president of this COOP on West 87th Street for the past decade? Well, some weeks are more hectic than others, and I’m right in the middle of a flurry of assorted activities, even as I break away to type these overdue words.


I’ve also made a couple of concessions in preparation of my upcoming months-long change of scenery. I finally took the plunge and purchased a pair of prescription eyeglasses; there’s no way I’ll be able to read those little dupes for drink orders and see what I’m mixing at the same time without them, I fear. And I created a few michaelaba.com business cards, which I’ll be handing out to unsuspecting friends/patrons/relatives in the coming weeks. Maybe I’ll do a reading at some point, to take advantage of both items. I’ll keep you posted.


I’ll admit - I was THIS close to committing the rest of the year to focus on NEW writings, both songs and stories, but maybe I’ll be able to get something done while returning to the 40-hour work week. It’s possible - everything else was written under similar constraints. As for the immediate future, I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible during these upcoming road trips to VT, NYC and Martha’s Vineyard. Thanks again for all the support and I’ll be in touch next month!

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