And they called it Monkee love…Remembering Davy Jones

Davy Jones Photo: REX

I was, as others were, in shock when I heard Davy Jones of The Monkees had died due to a heart attack at age 66.  My generation had grown up with Micky, Mike, Peter and Davy… I could sing just about every song and recall almost every episode of The Monkees…and my first celebrity crush was Davy Jones.

Davy’s twinkling eyes, warm smile and great hair…some really great hair….and of course a soothing voice…which made you melt inside. I was not alone in being a Davy Jones fan…there were thousands of other screaming girls wanting to see Davy. He was a teen idol to many. He was the Justin Bieber of his day. Davy even made Marsha Brady’s day by going to the prom with her. Oh to dream.

When I was about 8 years old, I remember wanting a Monkees album that was advertised on TV. I wanted it so much I attempted to mail about $8.00 in small change from my piggy bank. My grandmother stopped me from mailing the overstuffed envelope, much to the relief of my mail carrier. I was over the moon when Santa Claus brought me the album that Christmas.

I was never lucky enough to see The Monkees on tour, but my friend Gavin was able to see them perform in Cardiff, South Wales, UK. It was one of the few shows Micheal Nesmith performed in, which made it extra special. A fellow Monkees fan he said it was one of the best events he has been to. Davy also continued to perform solo, thrilling thousands of us screaming fans, young and old.

No one would have thought a group created for TV would become a pop culture icon. They sold more albums than The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined. The Monkees will forever be comic heroes and singing sensations. They will never age, and they will continue to bring pleasure to thousands, young and old…forever.

Davy Jones was well loved and will be missed terribly. My heart is broken. The youngest Monkee is gone, but not forgotten. I hope Davy is looking down on all of us, and can feel our love for him and he knows how much joy he has brought into our lives. Rest in Peace Davy Jones…We Love YOU.

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

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Massholes…A New Breed of A**holes in New England

As a former California Police Officer I worked traffic enforcement almost on a daily basis.  I can honestly say I’ve seen it all, both while on duty and especially off duty. I’ve watched people trying to text on their blackberries all the while serving back and forth similar to a drunk driver, even slowing down to 25 mph on the freeway cause they are so into their text they apparently forgot that they were driving on the freeway. I’ve seen people make turns from the fast lane (the speed lane here in New England) across 4 lanes of traffic, cutting of vehicles which are moving at between 65-80 mph,  to make the exit there were about to miss. I guess the thought of just driving to the next exit and turn around in a safe manner never occurred to them. I even watched one morning in horror on the way to work a vehicle who missed their turnoff, turn around on the ramp, drive against the flow of traffic so they could take the exit. The funniest would be when I was stuck in stop and go traffic, northbound Highway 101 in the San Francisco Bay Area one morning, as I look over to my left, I observed a teenage boy…around 16 or 17 years old, practicing his trumpet while he was driving…somehow I don’t believe playing musical instruments while driving was offered in drivers ed. Now I’m out here in New England, just a regular citizen driver, but my training never prepared me for the level of lousy, rude and downright scary drivers Massachusetts has.

I was shocked when I first drove in Boston and its surrounding suburbs on how drivers totally ignore the basic driving laws. Laws, such as no left turn on Red. Stopping on red or for a stop sign. Turn signals don’t exist and if you are a pedestrian, good luck..its open season on you…because crosswalks don’t mean anything! I went so far as to ask a State Trooper what the deal was with the drivers. He point blank said “red lights don’t mean nothing, stop signs don’t mean nothing, speed limits don’t mean nothing!”  And what about the pedestrians running across the street like a flock of wild game? “oh, the drivers expect to get sued if they hit someone!” WHAT?!?!?!?

I’m in New Hampshire now, which is definitely more laid back than other places I’ve been to in New England. What stuck me as odd when I first drove here was a sign that greeted me on the state line…it said “Drive with courtesy, its the New Hampshire way!“  I remember thinking “odd, but OK.”  Then I got my lesson on why they have that sign there. New Hampshire got tired of the lousy, rude and obnoxious drivers from Massachusetts.  To be honest, I can’t blame them.  I am used to the rude driver who won’t let you into the lane, as if being 10 feet back behind you would me a major incident and ruin that person’s day.  We have the same issues in California, however, they also shoot people on the freeways and highway because of people cutting you off or not letting you in.  Those who live in New Hampshire talk about what’s it like to have drivers from Massachusetts drive into the state because of the no sales tax and cause accidents or road rage incidents. This is when I learned a new word MASSHOLES.

Massholes are what everyone who calls drivers from Massachusetts. It does pretty much sum it up. I never really used that word until this past weekend. I was driving from Pheasant Lane Mall on the NH/MA border heading towards the highway. It was a merge lane, 2 lanes into 1, no big deal right, except if you are from Massachusetts.

As my vehicle moves to the left and is in the middle of the now 1 lane I suddenly hear a loud vaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrooooooooooom coming from what I know is a v-8 engine. All of a sudden I look to my left and see an older model 4 door vehicle illegally passing me on the left. Within inches of striking my pickup truck. Shocked and dismayed, once the vehicle was directly in front of me, i raised my hand and flipped him the bird, just to let him know I thought he was #1 in my book. The driver, seeing this, merely raised 2 of his fingers together and saluted me with a boy scout salute and just continued on his way. Where was this driver from? You guess it, Massachusetts.

Perhaps if law enforcement would make a better effort in policing these massholes, not only would we all be safer out there on the roads, but  with enough moving violations, high fines and the loss of their driving privileges, it would make them think twice about doing something so stupid as to risk the life of someone else because they want to get home 30 seconds earlier.  I’m just glad I had emergency vehicle course training as a cop, at least I have better odds out there driving with these guys on the road!

Living with the Dead

I knew when I moved out here to New Hampshire the house I would be living in had a spirit there. After all, I’m also next to a graveyard, so I just figured ok…goes with the scene I guess. When I arrived, I would hear the traditional foot steps up in the attic or the feeling as though you are being watched, no biggie. From my understanding, several people of the years have passed away in the house, and apparently one wants to stay.

My friend who is a “professional psychic” and who’s house I’m living in while he is away, explained to me he and his partner made an agreement with the spirit, he is welcome to stay in the house, but he is to stay out of the bedrooms…fair enough…but I would also hope this would include the bathroom as well. The last place I would want to have a strange feeling someone is there with me is in the shower!

Now, I am a practical person, a former police officer who is used to justifying things, but I do have a belief in spirits and the afterlife. I have a saying “you will believe it when it happens to you.” I am the first to say there are logical things that happen at a residence, normal noises or bangs, however there are times which a person can not explain things away. Plus working the graveyard shift as a cop, you begin to have experiences which you can not logically or rationally explain.

Here at my house, I have seen shadows moving about, and a golden/white light ball coming and going from time to time. I even had a kitchen cabinet door open by itself. Today’s incident I found cool but a little un-nerving.

I was sitting at my computer, getting ready to play my daily slots game on Facebook,  when I kept hearing something that sound a lot like papers moving about. I looked around and thought at first it was coming from outside but I didn’t see anything. I kept hearing something, but for the life of me I didn’t know where the paper moving sound came from.  I was soon to find out though…Less than a minute later, I noticed my pen/pencil holder, which is next to my computer monitor on my desk,  was moving…by itself!

I have a flower pen inside this cup along with a clear plastic ruler and numerous automatic pencils and highlighters in it. There are also several business cards and such stuffed inside the cup so I wouldn’t loose them. I saw that the pen with the flowers was moving to the right. Now, I honestly thought it may be just shifting, as it could have been placed in there wrong or off center. But  it moved back to where it was, then the whole cup twisted back and forth. It did this several times. I have to admit, it startled me and I could feel my heart race and a chill go up my spine. Believe me when I say its takes a few seconds to register in your mind of not only what is going on, but what you are actually seeing is real.

Being at first taken aback I said “do you mind” and I started laughing. Then I quickly realized it was only the spirit’s way of not only letting me know he is here, but saying a hello to me. So I quickly said “hello, good morning to you too!” I also told him that he put me off just a bit as I was not expecting the cup to move like it did, but thank you.  I also told him that it was kinda fun and cool he did that with the cup.

Now, the reason I refer to the spirit as a him and not a her (besides what my friend said) is that of the people known to have died here, they have been both males. The noises I hear, such as the footsteps have been heavy, like with boots rather than the sound of heels…and lastly when I was outside in the back yard walking Ruthie one morning not too long after I arrived, I saw an old man staring down at me from the window in the attic. (Its just me and the dog living here).

As a child, I thought it would be cool to live in a haunted house…guess this is a case of be careful of what you ask for. But as far as hauntings go, I’m glad I have a pleasant, amusing, respectful spirit to live with.

Feeling like a kid again

Have you ever woke up and dreaded what the day holds? I know I have. Being unemployed and looking for work is not fun or the reality of paying rent, bills and taxes. At one time or another we have said “oh I wish I were a kid again.” Ahhh, wouldn’t that be grand indeed! Having no responsibility, no fears, no worries…even for just a few minutes, it would be awesome. Well, today I got to have that chance!

I am taking care of a very adorable chihuahua mix named Ruthie. She is a little over a year old and was a rescue from Tennessee. Ruthie is a spitfire for sure. She has way too much energy for a 10 lb dog! Little Ruthie, as I like to call her, has such an innocence about her. She fills my heart when she is around.

Ruthie likes to sleep on my bed. Sometimes she hides under the covers, other times its some weird spot that I don’t find until I either roll over her or sit on. This morning, she was right next to my head, partially under the covers. Now I should explain that when Ruthie gets up, that means I have to get up.  After Ruthie did her big morning stretch-which makes her foot long body grow to two feet, she decided I needed some puppy love.

Ruthie started to lick my cheek, then my lips (ick) and my ear. She then moved to smelling my hair, then back to licking my face. I couldn’t help but laugh.  Ruthie obviously thought this was a game because she kept doing it more. The more I laughed, the more she loved it and continued to give me licks and kept jumping around. For several minutes I played with her like this. For this short time, I felt as though I was 5 years old, playing around with no care in the world. It was a fantastic feeling.

I forgotten what It is like to be a kid. Waking up this way, I got a chance to live it again. I also realized something about life too in this simple act of puppy love. Despite what is going on in our lives, that we can all take a few minutes to be free, without worries…to just be a kid again. If we allow ourselves just to laugh and take pleasure in something simple, the world won’t feel so heavy around us.

What can you laugh about today?

Yes, I know it snows in New England

Last fall, I decided to make a change in my life. This change would involve a major move from the coast of California to the mountains of New Hampshire. The drive itself was not that bad. I found it fun to see the sights of America that I only heard about via books or in movies. My mind began to wonder, thinking about the first settlers coming in covered wagon, looking for a new life. I was no different. I may have been in a pickup truck towing a trailer, but the hopes and dreams of a new life were basically the same.

I enjoyed seeing the natural beauty  of our country. Driving through the mountains of Utah, the breath taking views of Wyoming, where i spotted an American Indian, sitting along side of the highway, staring out over the hills, hands palm up, in meditation. He had no vehicle with him, no backpack as if he was hiking, just him and the view. His image was stuck in my mind for many miles. He was on his spiritual journey as I felt I was on mine. I continued through the heartland of America, with endless corn fields, seeing how many states i could drive through before I would have to stop for the night. Until finally, I made to my destination, New Hampshire! After five days, I made it…in the pouring rain!

Not soon after my arrival in my new town I got to meeting my fellow New Englanders. The first person was at the U-Haul where I had to drop off my trailer. After my warm hello, how are you today, he asked where was I from. I told him I just came from California. He said “Really! You do know it snows here in New England?” I of course looked at him like he had a tree growing out of his head and said “Yes, I know it snows here, it also snows in California too!”

No too long afterward, just about every New Englander, once they found out where I was from, all kept saying the same thing…”you know it snows here in New England.” This is when I learned that most people here believe that all of California is like an episode of Baywatch. That Californians spend their time running up and down sunny beaches in our red swimsuits with Pam Anderson (or someone who looks like Pam Anderson) on a daily basis then head off to the club scene. While I know that in Southern California has the best weather, sunny most days of the year, I myself was from San Francisco where cold, damp and foggy was more the norm. Not to mention there was no way that I was ever going to get into one of those Baywatch swimsuits!!

But soon those comments stopped, once the snow started to fall. By this time I had started a seasonal job with the postal service in town. My nickname was California and my coworkers couldn’t wait for me to learn about snow. The first snow of the season I thought was so cool! I enjoyed it and thought it was great. I drove to work with no problems as the plows had already done their thing so no issues there. But as soon as I stepped foot into the building- “Hey California! How do you like the snow?!?”  Everyone that night kept asking me about the snow. I couldn’t help but think there isn’t anything for New Englanders to do but to wonder what the Californian was going to think about the snow? This was now the new phase I get to hear for the rest of the winter.

I did learn however, that the all season tires I had on my truck were all season for California – NOT New England.  I learned this when I had to drive on the roads before the plows arrived. While I thought I was doing OK by going slow  that was before I tried to stop. I went to hit the brakes, but I kept going…and going…and going…then turning around and around…and around….I was on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.  Unfortunately, this would not be the only time I would go on this not so fun ride over the next couple of months. While I finally had to come to the realization that I need to replace perfectly good tires for the all season snow tires, I reluctantly did. Much to the relief of my neighbors, though amused, they did get tired of me spinning into their front yards when I tried to turn into my driveway.

That’s a Californian for you.

Hello world!

Hello Everyone! This is my new blog…I moved here to New England from California. I decided after being unemployed for a year and a half I needed a new start so here I am. New coast, new hopes, new dreams. Oh yeah, and new weather…hahahaha

I hope you enjoy reading my entries. Until next time!