This song is as personal as it gets for me. I heard “Black Friday” in the car coming back from wandering Sesquicentennial State Park with Kevin Wolff. It was 13 June 1980, and, yes, Friday. Kevin and I laughed when the song came on because we both knew about the deteriorating situation where I was living with my parents. Was this song an omen? Was this the day they finally kicked me out?
Right after dinner when I got back home, as it turned out. Black Friday 1980 was the day my 18-year-old self left home for the first time, on an adventure that would take me through various living situations and two years alternating between the banding pit and the cold shears in the Pony Mill at Owen Electric Steel in Cayce, SC. One of these days, I swear I’m going to write that novel.
Meanwhile, let’s groove to the timeless and timely track that opens Steely Dan’s 1975 Katy Lied album. Remove your hats and raise your glasses/cigarette lighters for Walter Becker, who musically articulates a building anxiety attack and nervous breakdown in a way no other name-brand guitar “god” would ever imagine to do. If you’ve ever felt on the edge of your last nerve, if you’ve ever wondered if you shouldn’t take advantage of your Darkest Hour and light out for the territories...
When Black Friday falls, I’ll be on that plain—
I guess I’ll change my name
...this song is for you. Happy Friday the 13th.
Oh, and before we sign off here—this meme, aside from showing up in several places on my Facebook timeline today, is a message pertinent to superstitious souls. The tl;dr: Be like that cat. Have someplace you’re going to. Try not to get hit by a car.
I’d love to celebrate tonight but I have a 7 a.m. show-up time for work. I have the corrected galleys of a novel to turn in by Sunday, too.
It’s just another Day in the Life, and I’m glad for it.
Right after dinner when I got back home, as it turned out. Black Friday 1980 was the day my 18-year-old self left home for the first time, on an adventure that would take me through various living situations and two years alternating between the banding pit and the cold shears in the Pony Mill at Owen Electric Steel in Cayce, SC. One of these days, I swear I’m going to write that novel.
Meanwhile, let’s groove to the timeless and timely track that opens Steely Dan’s 1975 Katy Lied album. Remove your hats and raise your glasses/cigarette lighters for Walter Becker, who musically articulates a building anxiety attack and nervous breakdown in a way no other name-brand guitar “god” would ever imagine to do. If you’ve ever felt on the edge of your last nerve, if you’ve ever wondered if you shouldn’t take advantage of your Darkest Hour and light out for the territories...
When Black Friday falls, I’ll be on that plain—
I guess I’ll change my name
...this song is for you. Happy Friday the 13th.
Oh, and before we sign off here—this meme, aside from showing up in several places on my Facebook timeline today, is a message pertinent to superstitious souls. The tl;dr: Be like that cat. Have someplace you’re going to. Try not to get hit by a car.I’d love to celebrate tonight but I have a 7 a.m. show-up time for work. I have the corrected galleys of a novel to turn in by Sunday, too.
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