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Home of Michael Perry – Author, Humorist, Singer/Songwriter, Amateur Pig Farmer

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Archive for May, 2010

For the Bride and Groom

Welcome.  Bienvenidos.

This morning on the farm we fly the American and Ecuadoran flags in honor of my sister-in-law and her husband-to-be who will be married in a matter of hours.  She grew up in lil’ ol’ Fall Crick, Wisconsin, and he and his family came to this country from Ecuador.  Today both are freshly-minted doctors and about to be married.  Tonight in the Chippewa Valley you will hear the mingled echoes of polka and salsa merengue!

In David Letterman’s Hands

On June 22, Oh Boy Records will be releasing Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine.  I had a tiny part in the project, collaborating on the liner notes with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver.  So when I saw the video below, I admit I got a little thrill knowing that the cardboard Dave was holding in his hands had our names on it.

I’ll have more on the details of the album and the liner notes nearer the release date.

Why Does…

…the tape measure blade slip off the end of the 2×4 when you don’t want it to, but clings tight when you try to shake it loose?

The Limits of Neil

Some of you have met Chris, the guitarist/keyboardist of the Long Beds.  He lays down the majority of our twang, despite the fact that his musical background is not so much country.  I attribute this to his general openness and omnivorous intellect.  Pretty much whatever y’got, he can play it or appreciate it.

Turns out he has his limits.  We were at a gathering of mutual friends discussing the joy of playing old vinyl records.  I started ticking through what I’ve been spinning on my grandma’s old console stereo recently: Waylon Jennings, Herb Alpert, Frank Sinatra, Charlie Rich, Neil Diamond…

At Herb Alpert his eyebrows bounced, but still he nodded along.  Until I mentioned Neil.  At which point his face screwed up like he just got a bad piece of brie.

I sang him a few heartfelt bars:

And the radio played like a carnival tune
As we lay in our bed in the other room

Peered deep into his eyes, now:

When we gave it away for the sake of a dream
In a penny arcade, if you know what I mean

Nothing.

Up a notch, and from the heart:

…If y’know what I mean, babe, if y’know what I mean.

Now he looked like someone hawked a loogie in his flan.

Imagine: Living life impervious to Neil…

Can you hear it, babe?

Big Ol’ Honkin’ Flagpole

When we moved to this farm there was a giant fiberglass pole lying in the weeds down by the old feed bunk.  My stepfather-in-law said it was a flagpole.  I didn’t give it much thought.

I like to fly the flag.  Never been much of a Stars-and-Stripes chest-thumper, but I am daily grateful I was dropped in this country.  Been around just enough to know I owe much to those who arranged it and do their best to sustain it.  Thus we often fly the POW/MIA flag as well.  When my daughters ask me about it, I have a built-in starting point to discuss history and service and those relatives and neighbors serving at this very moment.

We also have friends and relatives from other countries, and we use the extra pair of clips below the American flag to honor them.  When my brother-in-law (born and raised in Panama, now a naturalized American with dual citizenship) visits, we hoist the Panamanian colors.  When my dear friend Tim died in his native England, we flew the Union Jack.  This weekend, when my sister-in-law marries my brother-in-law-to-be, we will welcome him and his family with the colors of their native Ecuador.

So, I enjoy a flagpole.  And for a long time we had a modest model stuck in the ground over by the lily patch.  It was white and weathered.  Once during a windstorm the rusted-out base snapped and the pole fell flat.  I farmer-repaired it by sinking a steel t-post and then dropping the pole over the post.  But with the wedding coming up, I wanted something better.

Well, jiminy.  Sunday my stepfather-in-law was visiting, and when I mentioned that I was going to put up another small pole, he said, “Why don’t we put up the big one?”

And so we did.

Corn Up, Oats Up

The corn I was concerned about is coming right along now.  Our oats is doing well also (although I think it’s time to get a cultipacker), and best of all, the winter wheat I planted a little too late last fall is now heading out just fine.

Here’s hoping by October we’ll have grain in the granary.

It’s not a given.

“Oops” in Person

Spoke at an event in Green Bay and got to meet a guy named Guy, which was fun because thanks to Guy, the new paperback version of Coop contains two less [fewer] errors than the hardcover.

Guy’s a professional, and on page 117 of the Coop hardcover, he suggested the following change:

[an extraneous "is" six lines up from the bottom of the page] This is only forces her…

On page 335 he suggested the following change:

[top line] …often enough now that it sometimes it takes me…

Done, and done.

Thanks, Guy, and nice to meet you the other night.

As regular visitors know, I happily post my oopses.  As long as everyone remains civil.

For a sampling of other errors, flick back and forth through the Oops! tag  pages.