Happy Announcement!

Oh, I have much to report as of the last few weeks, but this is by far the thing I feel I should talk about. Mark and Candy Del Castillo are proud parents yet again!
Their second shild and son, Julian, was born a bit early the other evening. He wasn't due til early November, but that's how babies are- they come when THEY are ready. The healthy mom and baby look terrific, and I suspect the whole house, not to speak of the clan, are turned a bit upside down now! me, I am just one big grin whenever I think about it. They are such sweet people, and have already got one amazing son......who knows. Maybe these brothers will also end up moving the world!

Congratuatulations to the Del Castillo family, both the recently expanded one, as well as the much larger one that covers almost coast to coast!

Pianosaurus

Many years ago, I wandered into the local indie record store, as was my habit. Frank was at the desk, or maybe it was Ruben...don't remember really. But the guys at Hogwild used to love to "introduce" me to new sounds by slipping them on, and not saying a word to me. I am blessed, or cursed, with perfect pitch and a serious understanding of both harmony and melody, and well done music will always catch my attention. This particular day, what ended up being played sounded tinny and a bit amateurish to me at first. When the keyboard guy started rattling off a line in the song "Cherry Street", I turned to Frank (or Ruben...) and asked "who's playing keys for this band, Schroder?!" As Frank laughed, he handed me the cassette case.

Pianosaurus.

This was the time prior to Barney being a household name, or it might never have flown with me. As it was, this bubblegum basic, toy-bashing trio stole my heart. I have been playing that cassette for nearly two decades.

I also had been wondering what I would do if that tape ever wore out....because it was irreplaceable. For not the first time in this music collectour's life, I thank the world of compact discs for saving something simple and precious. I just found their record on CD today, at amazon.com.

A group of classical musicians on holiday from Cambridge U., they ended up pooling their money and buying toy instruments to busk for enough cash to get back to campus. The results of their jams made them incredibly popular, and eventually, they put out this one album. I assume they went on to finish school and may now be playing elsewhere, in a somewhat more regimented form. I may never know. But I would love to be able to tell them how much joy that one cassette brought to me for years, and now for the rest of this lifetime.

Thanks guys.


(i have a lot to write about where DC and Buttercup are concerned, but life in ridiculously busy right now. Soon, I swear!)