Tonight is Christmas Eve. I'm nearly ready. I wrapped presents last night and made some cookies. Today I have to make the gingerbread cookies. Then I can coast.

Wishing you and yours a Happy Christmas!

--Mary

I just finished the Christmas shopping I have to have finished by Christmas. It means I'll have to finish the rest of my shopping after Christmas but before New Year's (when I'll see the kids I'm shopping for). Fine with me. The mall was actually fairly pleasant this evening. A little hot, but not crowded. I only lost my temper while I was driving, which is when I usually lose my temper.

So ... going backwards...

Ian Hunter

In October, Eric and I went to Hoboken, NJ -- a place called Maxwell's -- to see Ian Hunter & the Rant Band. I won't say I'm a huge Ian Hunter fan, but I like his music and I was figuring it'd be cool to see an "older" (he said he's 60) rocker.

We got to Hoboken and parked the car (no easy feat). We walked over to Maxwell's and, while passing the window on the side of the place, we saw Ian Hunter drinking beer at a corner table. Imagine that!

Of course, neither Eric nor I wanted to actually approach him, so a perfect opportunity was lost. I did smile at him as he walked past our table: he'd gone up to the bar to get a round for his table. I think he smiled back. God, I miss having pink hair. It's an ice-breaker. It compels people to talk to me, thus freeing me from the anxiety of approaching and talking to strangers.

Eventually they opened the doors to Maxwells' back room, which has a tiny stage. We were among the very first in and grabbed a spot right up at the stage. The music was deafening, but fabulous. Don't ever think a 60-year-old guy can't rock-and-roll. Ian Hunter didn't jump around like a lunatic or anything, but he put on an energetic show. The band played for over 2 hours. I didn't have my full hearing back until a few days later. Ear plugs are on my wish list.

A band called Radio Nationals opened for Ian Hunter that night. They were pretty good. I imagine they'd have been better if more of them had taken the stage. It seems some of the band-members were afraid they'd be boo'ed off the stage. Nah. So the lead singer got up there and did some songs. He's got a terrific voice. No one boo'ed.

After the show, Eric and I made our way back to the parking garage, which was closed. But we knew to go to the security guard at the front of the building. He let us get our car and get out of the garage.

All in all, a great night.

Then Eric found out that Ian Hunter was playing in NYC on Dec. 11 at BB King's Blues Club. (What an incredible place that is! They even have good food! Try the pulled pork sandwich.) Eric's friend Jim got the tickets and met us at BB King's on the 11th. We managed to get there early enough that we were one of the first 30 groups of people to arrive, which meant we were seated first.

I noticed that a lot of the people there were older than I am. It was kind of weird. Jim commented that he was afraid he was gong to have to show his AARP card. (Jim makes some funny jokes.) Certainly there were few people who were younger than I am.

Soozie Tyrell opened. She was talented, but it wasn't really my type of music. I was kind of glad when she stopped singing. That's how uninterested I was. Just not my thing, really.

Ian Hunter was, again, pretty damned great. It was very cool that he didn't play a carbon-copy of the set he'd played at Maxwell's. He even played some older stuff that he doesn't play often.

If you have the chance or inclination, see Ian Hunter. You won't be disappointed. You can find out about his latest tours/gigs on his web site: IanHunter.com

When I was a teenager, my brother Mark (a year older than I am) tried to introduce me to the joys and impress upon me the significance of "Martha Hoople" (Who's she? And why are you pronouncing it "mawtha"? ... Mott-the-Hoople? Huh?). While I enjoyed the music, I was caught up in o!mygodadoring Bruce Springsteen. I didn't pay much attention to anyone else, except Elvis Costello and Graham Parker (GrahamParker.net). Of course, I liked "All the Young Dudes" (who didn't?) and some of the other songs, but it wasn't my priority.

Later on I'd discover that several of the songs I liked and found sticking in my head were by Ian Hunter ("Cleveland Rocks," "Once Bitten Twice Shy," "Just Another Night," and "When the Daylight Comes" to name only a few). In fact, early in our marriage Eric got me a stuffed toy mouse that I named Cleveland Mouse because that's where he'd been made. I told Eric that Cleveland Mouse's theme song was: "Cleveland Mouse" to the tune of "Cleveland Rocks." He was surprised that I'd ever heard the song, much less knew it well enough to spoof it.

That's about all in the Ian Hunter saga for the late fall/early winter of 2004. I'm hoping he'll play around here again (he lives in Connecticut, so it isn't a stretch to think he'll come back). Next time I want to get my brother Mark to go with us. I don't know if he ever saw Ian Hunter in concert, but I'm sure he'll enjoy it.

Looking For...

I get nostalgic around this time of year. I go to classmates.com or reunion.com and see if anyone I know has registered. Usually the people I'm really interested in finding aren't there. I also try googling the people, but no luck. In an effortless effort to find some of these people from my past, I've decided to post the names here in the hope that they will google themselves one day (that sounds kind of dirty, doesn't it?) and find this entry in my blog. (I forgot to mention: My name used to be Mary Drews.)

Here are the people I'm looking for:

• Katie (Mary Catherine) Campbell (a friend from my childhood)
• Debbie Cowart (also a friend from childhood)
• Carol Donohue (a friend in high school)
• Jeff Negrin (a friend in high school)
• Darlene Gary (a friend in college)
• Billy (William) Hands (a friend in college)
• Janet Rodriguez Sell (college -- actually, I know how to get in touch with her by snail mail)
• Mary McWilliams (college)

I'm sure there are more if I think about it. I'll just keep adding to this list. If you find yourself on this list, e-mail me (mary AT shefferman DOT com), please!

--Mary

Charge to 80

Clear!

I’ve been remiss. I’ve been wrapped up in the trivialities and trials of life. I can’t promise I’m back, but I’m trying.

Charge to 100

Clear!

Seriously, I’ve been working -- trying to make money. Trying to get people’s orders shipped out so they can get them before Christmas. It’s time-consuming work. It’s a lot of running to the post office.

Charge to 120

Clear!

I have several events to discuss here. Several.

As soon as I’m back to life, I’ll get into them, somewhat chronologically (I’ll have to talk about the two Ian Hunter concerts together even though they were nearly two months apart.)

Charge to 140

Clear!

We have a sinus rhythm.

She’s back.