tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557564794535751440.post6698113389149789057..comments2023-09-26T07:10:49.169-07:00Comments on Stephen T. McCarthy <i><b>STUFFS</b></i>: GOLDENSHADOW: “THE STAB, THE PANG, THE INCONSOLABLE LONGING”Stephen T. McCarthyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00249125637725791567noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557564794535751440.post-1474024076509687452021-08-06T10:31:20.994-07:002021-08-06T10:31:20.994-07:00dIEDRE ~
Wow! Thank you so much for such a fantas...dIEDRE ~<br /><br />Wow! Thank you so much for such a fantastic comment! Thanks not just for the tremendous compliment you paid me, but for the entirety of that fantastic comment. It's comments / moments like <i>this</i> which made blogging ultimately worthwhile for me. Compliments are nice, but when you express something that someone else can connect so fully with (and vice versa), at a human / soul level that is primarily beyond the ability of words to explain, that is a very, Very, VERY special and satisfying thing!<br /><br />Fun Fact: When you quoted me, I actually had to search through this blog bit to see if I had really written that. I didn't remember it. But sure enough, you quoted me accurately! Funny stuffs!<br /><br />I'm thrilled that you and the sitter were able to save the puppy's life! I love dogs -- I'm definitely a dog kinda guy and have had several in my lifetime. And the puppy story IMMEDIATELY made me think of the story of Moses:<br /><br />[Link> <b><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%201%3A8-2%3A10&version=NKJV" rel="nofollow">Exodus 1:8--2:10</a></b><br /><br />You didn't perchance name that puppy Moses, didja? <br /><b>;^)</b><br /><br />If you ever happen to get back up Phoenix-way, I recommend you check out [Link> <b><a href="https://www.abuelos.com/restaurants/peoria/" rel="nofollow">ABUELO'S Mexican Food Embassy</a></b>. Not only do I really like everything about that restaurant, but that's also where I happened to be when I invented the word "goldenshadow". I had known that feeling for as long as I could remember, but I finally decided that there NEEDED to be a word for it. So, I started thinking about it, and some time between when I ordered my lunch and when my lunch arrived at my table, "goldenshadow" had come to me. <br /><br />Thanks again for the wonderful comment! I truly do appreciate it, my friend!<br /><br />~ Stephen Stephen T. McCarthyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00249125637725791567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557564794535751440.post-48086680604480810862021-08-05T14:17:40.806-07:002021-08-05T14:17:40.806-07:00This was superb, Stephen T. Not that I'm surpr...This was superb, Stephen T. Not that I'm surprised, I know how talented you are. Question is, do you? The Zevon quote...I dropped a call, knowing there'd be a catch in my voice if I answered. I'd almost recovered when you quoted C.S. Lewis realizing he wasn't the only one. With that, I was reminded of how Sitter, surely a sadist in another life, used to rip the covers off me every morning. Her way of saying good morning made me feel vulnerable. However, this same sitter helped me hide a puppy from a murderous stepfather. And there it was, "a prevailing feeling of the soul that I had and yet no one knew I had it because I wasn't telling." (sorry, had to quote ya!) My Storybook Land was a space Sitter cleared beneath a cottonwood (she even swept the dirt!) down by the arroyo - well away from the house - where me and the puppy sat for hours on end just being happy together. Even at such a young age, I knew it had to be a crime to have to sneak or steal something (happiness) that ought to be free. Thanks to you, my friend, I now have a word to describe the feeling. Goldenshadow.<br />Never, ever stop writing. Okay, Stephen T?diedre Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12772557495518846226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557564794535751440.post-36082326202043696492014-12-31T09:56:51.298-08:002014-12-31T09:56:51.298-08:00DIXIE POLKA ~
I completely adore 'BREAKFAST AT...DIXIE POLKA ~<br />I completely adore 'BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S' (track #7) and the entire soundtrack is one of my most frequently played CDs.<br /><br />In fact, I think I'm gonna put it on right now.<br /><br />~ D-FensDogg<br />'Loyal American Underground'Stephen T. McCarthyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00249125637725791567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557564794535751440.post-23149023241048277252014-12-31T00:22:14.848-08:002014-12-31T00:22:14.848-08:00Even before I realized your link no longer worked,...Even before I realized your link no longer worked, I could hear and feel, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" music. I keep that song in my favorites.<br /><br />I have so many Autumn poems - every year a new crop - can there ever be too many? No, I think not. I sit on the hill among the four o' clocks, the sun begins setting and listen to the birds last calls to each other.<br /><br />Thanks - good memories for me.<br /><br />Strange - I do a Christmas Village and get a strange sensation placing each item. I've been "inside" every one of those tiny shops.(smile)Dixie@dcreliefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11558671709412200904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557564794535751440.post-5937962279355188972012-04-26T11:22:32.165-07:002012-04-26T11:22:32.165-07:00EXACTLY!EXACTLY!farawayeyeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17578277501054242356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557564794535751440.post-60430165967377608442011-04-21T10:23:11.220-07:002011-04-21T10:23:11.220-07:00ANNIEE ~
I just felt that 'The Lion, The Witch...ANNIEE ~<br />I just felt that 'The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe' was symbolically too obvious. And as I recall, with the Lion's sacrifice, it was as if Lewis wanted to suddenly "change the rules" after they had been established and after the damage had been done.<br /><br />Sort of like...<br />"Lois Lane was dead. Oh, but wait! Did I forget to tell you that if Superman flew around the Earth very fast and counter-clockwise, he could turn back time? Well, he could. And that's just what he did. He turned back time, then he saved Lois Lane at the last moment, so that she didn't die afterall, and they lived happily ever after."<br /><br />One can't tell stories like that; it's manipulating the audience and altering the rules of storytelling - it's literary cheating. But that's what they did in a Superman movie, and that's what Lewis did in 'TL,TW&TW'. Yes, I know he was basing it on The Bible but, in my opinion, it doesn't work as a children's story. <br /><br /><i>>>> . . . Of course I've heard the same thing expressed of Jerry Garcia, so maybe that isn't as meaningful as one would think, but I still think it is.</i><br /><br />Ha!-Ha!<br /><br /><i>>>> . . . I harbor little love for Steinbeck or his pitch black stories.</i><br /><br />Can't say I agree with you here. There's certainly nothing pitch black about the way 'The Grapes Of Wrath' ends. <br /><br />When I was in high school, one of my best friends told me that he thought Steinbeck was a socialist. I lightly argued that he wasn't, but at that time I had not read a great deal of his "stuffs". Years later I came to realize that my friend had a point, and that one could discern some socialistic leanings. That's one knock on Steinbeck that I'd probably have to concede.<br /><br />Nevertheless, he had a way of getting in there and exposing so many of the different facets of humanity (yes, the "pitch black", too) that I have little trouble overlooking some of the undertones that might be there and which I intellectually, politically disagree with. <br /><br />Interestingly, although I would rate Steinbeck as one of my very favorite writers, he's one of maybe only a couple who had some stories made into movies and I discovered that I actually liked the movies even better than the books! (Both 'East Of Eden' and 'Tortilla Flat' come to mind.) <br /><br /><i>>>> . . . and she found it crazy, CRAZY I TELL YOU! That anyone objected to this. Um, I object!</i><br /><br />Yeah, you can list me amongst the objectors as well.<br /><br />~ D-FensDogg<br />'Loyal American Underground'Stephen T. McCarthyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00249125637725791567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557564794535751440.post-30026039517732071332011-04-21T00:06:09.817-07:002011-04-21T00:06:09.817-07:00"Only now do I realize that my “voice” is a c..."Only now do I realize that my “voice” is a combination of Twain, Steinbeck, Dylan, and the most lonesome and homesick shade of the color Goldenshadow that we can live with. (If only I had one tenth the talent of any of these three aforementioned artists, I would be rich and famous, and you’d have to pay $ to read what I write… which would be much better than THIS!)"<br /><br />Heh. Steinbeck was a very bitter little man, just like Dickens. In fact he was the American Dickens. And that bitterness is always on display in his work, which makes me want to 'splode my head. Yes I love the version of "Mice and Men" with Malkovitch and Sinise, I REALLY do (you would too; if you've never seen that one, do. It's far superior to the old one, as much as I love Burgess Meredith) but I harbor little love for Steinbeck or his pitch black stories.<br /><br />"Geppetto’s Village"<br /><br />Heh, not to bring the feminists into this, but one of the feminists recently wrote an impassioned (ludicrous, as per usual) story about how the story of Gepetto and Santa Claus had been merged into a GAY story (i.e. the two have an affair) and she found it crazy, CRAZY I TELL YOU! That anyone objected to this. Um, I object! You betcher ass I object. Stop stealing our freaking memories, attention whore!<br /><br />And you KNOW I have nothing against gay people, but JEEZ!!! WTF?Anniee451https://www.blogger.com/profile/03066640571157938093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557564794535751440.post-1606563646404783912011-04-21T00:06:04.106-07:002011-04-21T00:06:04.106-07:00"Those first two Lewis books were so rewardin..."Those first two Lewis books were so rewarding that I ended up reading two more of his books – ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ from his Chronicles Of Narnia series (I didn’t care for it)"<br /><br />Heh; yeah I didn't like Lion, Witch and Wardrobe either. ALL of the other 6 books were highly superior works - and extraordinarily entertaining, but LWW just didn't do it for me. If anything, it served as a basis for the other books; the dry stuff you have to get through to get to the good stuff. Let me tell you, Voyage of the Dawn Treader and Silver Chair are some of the best fiction I've ever read (as well as The Great Divorce - which you really should read!!!) I know you're not a fiction fan, so take it from a lifelong fiction fan, ok? I'll only point out stuff that is so good it should never be missed.<br /><br />"How far the story matters to anyone but myself depends on the degree to which others have experienced what I call “joy.”<br /><br />Ah, yes. You know, I experienced what I believe is joy once, and it is beyond description (which of course means I'm about to describe it, right?) It's not happiness.<br /><br />See, I had gotten sick and no one could figure it out,no one. Hell, even when I almost died they tried to send me home without figuring it out but I found the strength to resist by then. Anyway, I had just gotten sick and had been in constant agonizing pain (which merely grew, not diminished) for 4 months. People who have not had ongoing longterm pain can not relate to this (I sure couldn't). They don't know what it does to a person. How it destroys your soul, your hope, your will to live, your heart. And one morning my husband just laid there holding me and...well, and singing to me. He sang "Champagne Supernova" because I wanted to hear it. And for the first time I knew how you could feel JOY without being even remotely happy. No, there was no happiness, but there was joy.<br /><br />And no one could "trigger" joy in me, because I'd never known it before. It could only be "awakened", not recaptured or triggered.<br /><br />"I notice that a man seldom mentions what he had supposed to be his most idiosyncratic sensations without receiving from at least one (often more) of those present the reply, “What! Have you felt that too? I always thought I was the only one.”<br /><br />OH that SOB!! Dammit, that was MY observation!!! That he reaches into your SOUL and pulls out the most obscure stuff, stuff you were sure was JUST YOU, and he lays it bare for the world to see. HOW DID HE KNOW? I've said that a million times, and HE BEAT ME EVEN TO THAT!!! Talk about love-hate.<br /><br />"Nothing, I suspect, is more astonishing in any man’s life than the discovery that there do exist people very, very like himself."<br /><br />As an adult, yes. As an adolescent I had assumed we all had the same secret dark heart. Then I found out that other people, especially other girls, DID NOT have the same deep inner thoughts I did, and I was extraordinarily dark-hearted about it. But at least I knew...I was alone. Completely alone. Except for a few very very broken people. And surely that wasn't me, right?<br /><br />Then Lewis broke it open and said "Yes, here's what's in there" and it was THERE! Even me! How DID he know? That is genius. Of course I've heard the same thing expressed of Jerry Garcia, so maybe that isn't as meaningful as one would think, but I still think it is.Anniee451https://www.blogger.com/profile/03066640571157938093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557564794535751440.post-85832175954393437422011-02-21T20:45:02.209-08:002011-02-21T20:45:02.209-08:00MR. SHEBOYGANBOY SIX ~
God bless you for your comm...MR. SHEBOYGANBOY SIX ~<br />God bless you for your comment!<br /><br />[In truth, I dislike the phrase "God bless you", because God is ALWAYS blessing EVERYONE, and our requesting it has nothing to do with it. And yet, I haven't found a better expression to express what "God bless you" implies.]<br /><br /><i>>>.....Often it will be a piece of music that triggers it, occasionally a breeze on a summer's day, or a smell.</i><br /><br />Yep! You KNOW what I'm yakkin' 'bout! Only for me, it's more likely to be a breeze on an Autumn day, but for SURE, breezes on Summer days have taken me there too!<br /><br />I'm reminded of the line in the Beach Boys' song 'Good Vibrations':<br /><br /><i><b>"I don't know where but she sends me there."</b></i><br /><br />Except, of course, it's never another person who "sends you there", even though when you're sent there, you don't REALLY know where it is that you've been sent. That's the great mystery and the wonder of it all! But God knows where it is, and... God, it's GREAT!!!<br /><br /><i>>>.....I think that most people whose life features a strong spiritual component have sensed this feeling at one time or another.</i><br /><br />YES! I agree with you! I don't think it is quite a "universal" experience (although it might be, and some just don't know how to categorize it, and thus they "dismiss" it as "nothing" - 'though that's hard to imagine!), but I do believe that EVERYONE with a spiritual mind-set KNOWS what I'm trying to describe here - they have all experienced it and been bewildered by it! I am SURE of THAT! <br /><br /><i>>>.....Disneyland might trigger it for you or me even still!</i><br /><br />Yes, my friend, Disneyland FOR SURE! What the hell is it about Disneyland?! The safety? The controlled environment? Like a substitution for Heaven, where God is in total control and nothing bad or evil can happen to you?<br /><br />Whatever it is we're experiencing, it is somehow reflected in Disneyland! I KNOW it is! (Man, it kills me - <i>KILLS ME!</i> - that I feel honor-bound to boycott Disneyland! I haven't been there since very early '95. I sometimes imagine winning free tickets in some drawing, so I could go there with a clear conscience, knowing I didn't pay my way in.) <br /><br />Yes, for sure, Disneyland in general, but Storybook Land Canal Boats more specifically. I have experienced GOLDENSHADOW numerous times at various places in Disneyland, but it's always "hit-or-miss", however, the Canal Boats brought it out in me frequently. <br /><br /><i>>>.....Say... have you ever TRIED to find this feeling? Make it happen? If so, have you been successful?</i><br /><br />Not really. I wouldn't have any idea how to "MAKE" it happen. I kind of doubt it can be done. The closest I can get to it is to play certain songs at certain times that seem to have a proven track record. As I mentioned, Henry Mancini's theme song for "Breakfast At Tiffany's" is always a good bet. Another one is "Magic Journeys". Also Starbuck's "Moonlight Feels Right" which, oddly enough, also has a Disneyland association for me. <br /><br />I'm glad you know what I'm yakkin' about here. Some readers would undoubtedly think I'm crazy and babbling about nothing REAL! It was the great C.S. Lewis who first made me aware that the "Goldenshadow" feeling was not mine alone. <br /><br />~ D-FensDogg<br />'Loyal American Underground'Stephen T. McCarthyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00249125637725791567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557564794535751440.post-31058217500711268752011-02-21T19:00:31.971-08:002011-02-21T19:00:31.971-08:00Stephen -
Marc's first post is what I planned...Stephen -<br /><br />Marc's first post is what I planned to write (only his is better written!) when I clicked on "comments".<br /><br />What a fine piece, and I am sorry it took so long to finish it. I started it when you first posted, but just now finished it.<br /><br />You do a commendable job of describing something that is impossible to describe using mortal words, as it is a spiritual experience. They best we can do is to get close.<br /><br />I have felt this same way several times. Often it will be a piece of music that triggers it, occasionally a breeze on a summer's day, or a smell. I cannot describe it nearly as well as you did, but I think that most people whose life features a strong spiritual component have sensed this feeling at one time or another.<br /><br />Disneyland might trigger it for you or me even still!<br /><br />Say... have you ever TRIED to find this feeling? Make it happen? If so, have you been successful?Sheboyganboy VInoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557564794535751440.post-80481615359036843232011-02-16T08:54:58.305-08:002011-02-16T08:54:58.305-08:00BR'ER ~
No problem at all, my friend. Just wan...BR'ER ~<br />No problem at all, my friend. Just wanted to make sure it got to you, and on time. Would hate to think it might have gotten lost in the mail by our efficient federal employees and you mistakenly thought I'd "forgotted".<br /><br />And glad to know you used those Amazon gift certificates on stuffs that the Amazon company probably frowns upon. <br />:o)<br /><br />~ D-FensDogg<br />'Loyal American Underground'Stephen T. McCarthyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00249125637725791567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557564794535751440.post-65602630617535377442011-02-15T16:55:05.195-08:002011-02-15T16:55:05.195-08:00Sorry brother, I was so tired I forgot to thank yo...Sorry brother, I was so tired I forgot to thank you for your very fine card. I very much appreciated it, as did my wife. Only thing is I got 75 bucks in amazon gift cards. Well, I wasn't letting them keep that money so I ordered two research bibles from them. Ah just got back. Had to leave the post as Mr. P opened the fridge, pulled out the apple juice for the very first time and stated, "Dada Juice. Juice!! JUICE!!!!" Well he's about as determined as I am in my daily living. Needless to say he got his juice mixed with water. Gotta protect those teeth.<br /><br /> Brer MarcAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557564794535751440.post-18189296001872035292011-02-14T09:07:37.070-08:002011-02-14T09:07:37.070-08:00BR'ER MARC ~
I thank you, my Brother, for your...BR'ER MARC ~<br />I thank you, my Brother, for your thoughtful comment. Happy to know that you appreciated this one.<br /><br />It wasn't supposed to be so lengthy but - as they often do - it kind of got away from me, and I simply can't quit writing until I feel I've exhausted all I need to say about the subject matter at hand.<br /><br />Nappy also thought that this was one of my better blog bits, but he also felt that few people would really be able to relate to it; he said not many would even know what I was talking about because few have probably experienced this feeling. I don't know, but he might be right. <br /><br /><i>>>.....We truly see through a glass darkly my friend.</i><br /><br />So true, McBuddy!<br /><br />I hope you enjoyed your birthday on Saturday, and trust that my card got there on time.<br /><br />Bless And Be Blessed.<br /><br />~ Stephen<br /><i>"As a dog returns to his own vomit, <br />so a fool repeats his folly." <br />~ Proverbs 26:11</i>Stephen T. McCarthyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00249125637725791567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557564794535751440.post-46917569450264991282011-02-13T22:18:20.722-08:002011-02-13T22:18:20.722-08:00Stephen,
Sorry I didn't comment sooner. I...Stephen,<br /> Sorry I didn't comment sooner. I wanted to read the whole thing prior to posting, and only got half way throuugh about five days ago. Your best blog bit EVER... The joy of Christ, with your writing style, beliefs, and such was a delight. I'm tired and probably not making a lot of sense. So let me just say WELL DONE. Yet, there are so many saved God fearing people who don't understand this joy. Why? Because of some form of dogma either taught or self imposed. We truly see through a glass darkly my friend. How much will be revealed and how much WE ourselves limit what God can do for us. It will be a day of joy, but I know were all going to say, "I could have done more." <br /><br /> Brer MarcAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557564794535751440.post-52842825983907062011-02-08T08:50:31.207-08:002011-02-08T08:50:31.207-08:00Thanks, BOID! :o)
I haven't been to D'Land...Thanks, BOID! :o)<br />I haven't been to D'Land in 15 or 16 years and will probably never be there again. But, yeah, I dug "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" too!<br /><br />~ D-FensDogg<br />'Loyal American Underground'Stephen T. McCarthyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00249125637725791567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-557564794535751440.post-53566688184270266872011-02-07T20:48:29.441-08:002011-02-07T20:48:29.441-08:00That could have been the whole month of April in t...That could have been the whole month of April in the A to Z Challenge. <br />There is a lot of content here but some beautiful writing. Didn't C.S. Lewis have a girlfriend named Joy. Maybe that's what he was really writing about.<br />I haven't been back to Disneyland for about 20 years and I realize that the last time I rode that boat ride was about 50 years ago.<br />That was a nice idyllic ride. I also liked the Peter Pan ride and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.<br /><br />Love reading your writing.<br /><br /><a href="http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Tossing It Out</a>Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.com