Have you noticed how home projects always take at least three times as long as planned?
I am currently in the process of remodeling the enclosed porch on the rear of my house (okay, it’s a mud room). A project that began in late fall and, at this point, with luck, might be done by the next election.
I have no one to blame for this delay except myself. Granted, the recent holidays and publishing deadlines did put a crimp in the work schedule, but it seems I can always find other things to occupy my spare time; laundry, house cleaning, snowshoeing, visiting with friends, eating … time that could be spent in my grubbies, the radio turned up, clutching tools, getting this project completed.
So why am I bringing this up here?
It’s all about love.
Ideas often come out of the blue when I’m doing repetitive manual labor, such as spackling and sanding walls. Loud rock and roll music also helps. About a month ago, when I thought I was nearing the end of this remodel project, I donned the aforementioned grubbies, got my tools lined up and, finding nothing of value or stimulation on the local radio dial decided to peruse my collection of vinyl. Yes, I still own a turntable – and it still works. Sure, I listen to CDs, MP3s and all those bits and bytes that make up modern recordings, but every so often I like to go to the “archive” and unsleeve an actual record, gently place it on the spindle, press the “phono” button on the amp and crank it up.
In this particular instance, I choose the first 33 1/3 LP I ever purchased, back at the tender age of nine. It was the Beatles Rubber Soul. I turned it up – clicks, ticks and all, and had a revelation when one line jumped out at me … Love has a nasty habit of disappearing overnight … Well, there’s a thought, why not devote the next issue to the topic of love? After all, it is February and we can all use more of that these days, right? But not just romantic love – love in its many forms; love of family, pets, even inanimate objects. So I sent notice to our regular and not-so-regular contributors for essays on this theme. I also solicited art and poetry on the topic and I was blessed with an abundance of material to choose from. After the difficult process of narrowing all this down to fit our pages we offer this issue to you … in the name of love.
– Mike Rosso
