GJ Willis' Art Notes

Today, I again spent my Saturday at the library. I went there to drop off the cd’s I borrowed a couple of weeks ago. The CD’s that were due today were: Buddy Holly’s Greatest Hits, Television’s Greatest Hits; Volume 7 Cable Ready, CBS: The First 50 Years, and Television’s Greatest Hits Volume II. So for the past couple of weeks I’ve been listening to the themes to TV shows and Buddy Holly.

From doing this I’ve learned that Jesse Frederick has a real knack for composing a hook. Frederick sang and composed the themes to Full House and Family Matters. When the show’s were originally on I never payed that much attention to their theme songs. However, listening to the CD I found their themes to be both hummable and instantly memorable.

I also liked Rockapella’s, Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego? I have never watched Where In The World is Carmen Sandiego? so the tune was new to me. I also loved hearing an old favourite of mine, Joey Carbone’s theme to, It’s Gary Shandling’s Show. I’ve always loved the fun simplicity of that song.

I was stunned to find that Ann Hampton Calloway did the theme to The Nanny. If you can recall I saw the very energetic Ms. Calloway in concert at the BSO last season. She was simply fabulous!

Anyway, the CD’s I took back were soon replaced by new cd’s : The Great Depression: American Music in the 30’s, Enya - Memory of Trees, The Golden Age of American Rock ‘n’ Roll: Hot 100 Hits from 1954-1963, Volume 7, and Nipper’s Greatest Hits:The 50’s, Volume 1.

As you have probably surmised from my public library CD choices I have a snowball’s chance in hell of ever finding them on iTunes. The music that iTunes offers is usually new. They seem to rarely to back track and offer golden oldies.

THE COMMUTE HOME:
It was an absolute miracle! I saw absolutely no one on the #8 bus headed towards UMAB Transit Center who looked like they were on heroin.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a turquiose blue short sleeve t-shirt and a brown patterned circle and square georgette skirt. I feel classy yet street!

NEW GOAL

My new monetary goal is to save up enough money to buy a new Mac computer. I’m, doing this because quiet frankly, I feel it’s high time that I got a new one. With a little luck I might have a new one by Christmas or early next year.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a flowery short sleeve buttoned down cotton shirt along with green slacks and tan flip flops.

rolling_stones_tourdaten, originally uploaded by willisgirl.

Recently, I just recently learned that the legendary Rolling Stones will be coming to Baltimore sometime next year. They will be playing at the very tiny 1st Mariner Arena which is where I was lucky to have seen U2.

You see not too many big rock groups bother to tour Baltimore. Instead they either go over to DC, Virginia, or Pennsylvania figuring that the people of Baltimore can go to either of those shows because they are geographically near by. I’m sure that in the past and in the present many Baltimoreans have done just that. However, this Baltimorean can’t because I don’t own a car. So I am ecstatic over The Stones! Since they are The Rolling Stones I know that the ticket prices will be steep. I don’t care because I would really love to get a ticket to their show just so that I could say, “Yep, I saw The Stones way back when...”

Besides, I’d love to see them before either Mick or Keith go off to that happy tour bus in the sky. Also I kind of get the feeling that if longtime group member Charlie Watts kicked the bucket while on tour he would be quickly replaced and the tour would carry on. However, if Mick or Keith permanently left the building eg. died, the band would dissipate.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a heather grey short sleeve henley along with blue slacks and beige flip flops.

Yesterday, the Man, the Myth, the Legend, Josh Spiegelstarted work at 98 Rock as there new morning news man. I always knew that eventually he would be hired to replace the late Lopez. It was all just a matter of time. I believe I even said it somewhere in this blog. It’s like when Pierce Brosnan was finally hired to play James Bond. The only thing you could say was, “Yep, they hired the right guy!” Here’s hoping that all goes well with Josh on 98 Rock.

One thing’s for sure I will be listening to 98 Rock’s Morning Show now that Josh is on air. So far I’ve listened two days in a row! I admit I haven’t listened since Lopez passed away. Hopefully, Josh’s awkward presence will liven the show to it’s past brilliance.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today is business casual day at work. We have to dress like grown ups today because we have visitors in the building. I have on a short sleeve v-neck purple top and a purple plaid mini skirt along with black slides.

This afternoon I saw the saddest sight that I have ever witnessed while aboard a bus. First off it was around 1:30pm in the afternoon when I got on the #8 bus headed for the UMAB Transit Center. The number on the inside of the bus was #04049. It was one of the new German made Neoplan buses. I hate those buses because they don’t have enough seats on them. My all time favourite buses are the NABI’s. I find there design to be more passenger friendly than the Neoplan AN440LF buses that you see on the streets of Baltimore.

Anyway, it was at the Timonium bus stop when they got on. It was these two dark skinned black women with a baby stroller. Their hair was pulled back in a ponytail. One wore a tan top, the other a dark brown top. I thought it was just a sweet harmless mother with her friend maybe coming back from the mall.

Throughout the ride, I found myself becoming deeply concerned as I noticed that they were both falling into the very noticeable stupor that junkies fall into. This concern was deeply punctuated when one of them tried to change the baby’s diaper. The woman kept nodding off in between the diaper changing. Her mouth was gaping wide as though she was about to say something. It frightened the hell out of me. It made me worry for the safety of the baby. It was a newborn baby girl judging by the scarcity of hair on it’s head and the pink ribbon it wore around it’s noggin. The sight was so sad and pathetic it made me want to cry. In fact I did cry when I got home. I cried because there was nothing concrete I could do to save the baby’s life from it’s junkie mom. I know that it would be an absolute miracle if that baby lived to see it’s 1st birthday.

Throughout the long bus ride I became sick with worry. Did anyone notice those two? Did anyone care? Would anyone call the authorities? I couldn’t make a cell phone call because I don’t own one. Maybe I was just over reacting? Maybe Junkie Mom’s are perfectly ok to care for newborns? No one else seemed to care.... Why should I?

I asked this woman who was sitting behind me, “If you saw a woman who was obviously strung out on drugs with a newborn infant is it best to ignore the situation or report it?” This was a very unusual act for me, as I rarely initiate conversations. I just had to know from a normal non-autistic person if my feelings for wanting to report the situation were out of line. The woman went on to tell me matter of factly that, Yes, she also noticed the woman. So she knew that I wasn’t talking hypothetically. Then she said, but who do you report it to? What would they do about it? Then she went on to say it was a crying shame. She told me that she was shocked by the shear number of junkies she saw in Baltimore. Apparently, she had returned home for her sister’s funeral. She told me it wasn’t like this when she left Baltimore many years ago.

I felt a relieved after talking.... well listening.... to the woman. So not everyone on the bus cast a blind on the junkie mother and her new born! They did see what I saw but wasn’t sure what to do or if they should get involved.

When I got home I immediately called the police. I wasn’t sure what good that would do because the Junkie Mother and her strung out friend got off the bus before I did. I just had to report it to somebody to clear my conscious.

When I talked to the police on the phone they asked me why I didn’t say anything to the driver. I told them that the driver knew about the situation. Every now and then he would look back at the two of them to see if everything was OK. I though that maybe he would call the police. I supposse in the end he didn’t want to be bothered. Besides the two of them were sitting right up front by the driver. I would not have felt comfortable talking to the driver right in front of them. They might have started a fight with me. Who knows they might have been carrying used hypodermic needles infected with God knows what. They were junkies after all....

In the end the police said that there was nothing they could do because the women had left the bus. I told them they were on the newer buses that have surveillance camera’s on them. That didn’t seem to interest them much.

Oh, well... All that’s left for me to do is to keep the baby of the junkie mother in my prayers. I pray that she will be safe and live to see her 1st birthday and many more birthdays after that.