The Cassette Player
It’s extremely loud in here. Do you hear that clatter, too?
I don’t think anybody really does, and I feel like I am the only one who hears things.
People around me are crazy. They appear normal. The noise doesn’t bother them.
Why do they seem calm and collected though?
I am annoyed, nervous, and panicking. I want to be indifferent just like them and dance to the noisy tune. But my ears are bleeding and my brain is about to flare up into fireworks.
The echo is exasperating me inside out.
Nobody hears me begging for the screeching music cutoff.
For once, I wish someone would listen to me and take me seriously and know that I am not crazy. I just don’t like the chiming voice of that singer. The chorus is out of balance.
Back in my days, music had style, meaning, and harmony. It wasn’t just the drums, piano, accordion, the saxophone, or the brasses, but you could hear the melodies between the lines.
What happened to this generation?
How is everything that has sound is music?
If you asked me, this is a disturbance in brain cells. The sound is irritating me immensely.
I cannot take it anymore. I just can’t. The noise is getting louder. I am screaming for it to stop.
“Mr. Fletcher, are you okay?” Says a tall lady I’d never seen before. “You look disturbed.”
If she knew how the vibration is impairing my ears, she wouldn’t be asking me such a stupid question.
”What is disturbing you, Mr. Fletcher?”
She continues to infuriate me more than the damn song.
Whenever she says something, even her voice begins to irk my senses.
I ignore her idiocy.
I figured, she’s one of those hippies, who walk around and parade to any drum bangs. Otherwise, she would run to the other room, yank the cassette player, and shut up the humming woman for good.
Unless, of course, I’m solely the only one hearing and whimpering to the loud voice altogether.
Am I really crazy?
No!
That can’t be right, because, crazy people do not hear songs, but dance to the rhythm of soothing sounds in their heads.
Let it just be a dream, a whisper of a terrible dream.
Can it be true that I am really insane?
”Mr. Fletcher, it’s medication time, ” says the same lady. This time, she is holding a tray full of cups that have rainbow pills.
Medication for who? Does this mean I’m living with wackos? am I a sick man?
No, I cannot be a madman! I am just an ordinary individual, but the people around me are the craziest.
MidnightInk 8-8-2020
The Strangest Love Of All - The Sequel - Part Thirteen
After her son told her about the special guest, and what he thought was an amazing story, it all started to come together for Elyse. The officer at the door. Bobby’s telling of a man who had come from a different earth. Fourteen years ago. Bobby!
But how? How could he have found a way here? She had been told by her parents when she first returned home that crossing parallels to different places was impossible, and yet they believed her, especially when Bobby Junior was born. They believed her because lies were something people never told on Alpha-Earth, no matter how impossible a story might be.
And now? He was here!
She tried calling the television station, but all the operators were currently busy, and she didn’t know which police center to call, since she missed the phone numbers that flashed across the tele-prompter.
“Bobby, I have to tell you something.”
“What, mom?”
“Remember me telling you how I met your father and that I told you we would never see him.”
“Yeah.”
“That same man you told me about that you saw on International Speaks—I think that might be your father.”
“Really! That would be … I guess, great, wouldn’t it, mom.”
“Yes, Bobby, it would be great. Now look, first thing in the morning, you and I are going to International Speaks and talk with someone about this show. I only wish I had seen the numbers displayed to call the exact police center, or I would have called them already.
“Bobby, after all this time, we’ll finally have what I have always wanted for us—to be a full and complete family!”
“Mom, do you think he will like me?”
“Oh, Bobby, I’m sure he will like you and I bet he will love you just as much as I do.”
“I hope so. Gee, I’m going to have a dad.”
Realization
I used to say I didn’t have a dream
And up till today I didn’t think I did
But when I looked in the mirror
And saw a face smiling back at me,
I realized what it was.
Yes, I may not have that one thing in mind
That I want to do
Or I might not know the little things
That make me happy just yet,
But my dream for now,
This present moment and the next,
Is that I’m happy.
So I’m going to do the little things
That make me smile.
I'm going to do the big things
That give me a sense of accomplishment.
I'm going to carry through with those random ideas
Because I want to.
My dream is to be happy.
For all Writers Who Are Music Lovers
I put all of this here because a person’s thoughts and conscious reactions to events, perceived as a continuous flow, lies within all of this. Somewhere throughout the music that surrounded you when growing up, there will be that certain song that stays with you and never leaves your side and has become your continous flow.
From 1960 to 2020 … a little something for everyone. And it’s rather obvious what concerts there were sixty years ago, is far different from today. In the early years, concerts
were actually live TV specials broadcast live. And most of the below are concerts. Concerts perhaps you had wanted to go to but couldn’t for various reasons, but now, I have brought the concerts to you.
What is listed is roughly 150 hours of pure entertainment. Some of these entertainers have gone by the wayside, but their music lives on.
This encompasses the rock era.
Listen to such artists as: Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osborne, Aretha Franklin, David Bowie, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Sheryl Crow, Aerosmith, Queen, Rod Stewart, Earth Wind and Fire, Jimi Hendrix, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ray Charles, Deep Purple, and many more.
If you would like to see another genre of music, such as jazz, blues, contemporary, etcetera … please make mention in your comments. Currently, I am working on country.
If you mention Rap, be aware that Rap/Hip Hop didn’t get its legs until the 1970’s. That’s as far back as I can go.
I will also be working on a special Doo-Wop era, where I will list most, if not all of the singers and groups from that period era with their music and sounds.
If there is enough interest in Big Band music, or the early early days (20′s and 30′s) of blue grass and blues and jazz during that time, I will add those to the mix, but currently, have no plans to do so.
Meantime, enjoy the music and dance like it’s the first, not the last day of your life.
1960: https://youtu.be/hZaaTFQHNAY
1961: https://youtu.be/WFnJ1APJREk - Special
1962: https://youtu.be/bk0_X44GNNs - Part 1
https://youtu.be/iNy-itf_q8w - Part 2
1963: https://youtu.be/J1glriB54oE
1964: https://youtu.be/wEH86PeLe6g
https://youtu.be/JpPPGYLN3ik
https://youtu.be/oPMdZPWH1S4 - intro is Norwegian – stops at 5:10
1965: https://youtu.be/qdcapT2Tdag
1966: https://youtu.be/OFt0UMUI7y4
https://youtu.be/fsvN4YSxg5U
1967: https://youtu.be/zNTqxJiRAQs
https://youtu.be/DHqKSXMzmBE
1968: https://youtu.be/NuwlTzeIcu8
https://youtu.be/dHK-G3_RYe4
1969: https://youtu.be/NNAaMpvc8xE
1970: https://youtu.be/b3_TQKdksyc
https://youtu.be/51SAvWieaNc
1971: https://youtu.be/RXF1MdH8u1I
https://youtu.be/9lpFeopjJhI
1972: https://youtu.be/KVEAqd7WVQM
https://youtu.be/RYY6eVNnZnU
https://youtu.be/-520Wo64Pq8
1973: https://youtu.be/_FBcz3tBH74
https://youtu.be/zLmsZC45-m8
1974: https://youtu.be/0UIp2s61JsQ
1975: https://youtu.be/9Z5vJHnPn_8
https://youtu.be/pBawR2XlfNM
1976: https://youtu.be/HXq73BP5uv4
https://youtu.be/H_gSGfqabrM - video is rough – might be due to age
1977: https://youtu.be/cHa2B78OeMw
https://youtu.be/apzNoZ-MfjM
1978: https://youtu.be/L6U5-CSc_7c
1979: https://youtu.be/7SSrZjSoRj4
1980: https://youtu.be/DkxaMhH9qSs
https://youtu.be/GwWW742T0Wc
1981: https://youtu.be/_62IkzgKpW8
https://youtu.be/xt1k6I0aptM
1982: https://youtu.be/Al3qlST6lnI
https://youtu.be/8bg7pfxxMAk
https://youtu.be/S1KkaE7qVEg
1983: https://youtu.be/igdZKgESbJU
https://youtu.be/Vzcvffff0Ps
1984: https://youtu.be/NksIQdzK6d4
https://youtu.be/ITco4Sj2qNc
1985: https://youtu.be/rTOmG07TDqE
https://youtu.be/S2uMYyAKFvU
1986: https://youtu.be/RP82-Mu3ALA
1987: https://youtu.be/zH6oOYVfKms
1988: https://youtu.be/9shByOh8fVE - this comes with commercial breaks
1989: https://youtu.be/NZRT_jt0UZc
https://youtu.be/eePDXSsDF-k - part two
https://youtu.be/qgTckiJhEC4 - part three
https://youtu.be/cZbns6cg4Mg
1990: https://youtu.be/CpzdVuMR-4Q
https://youtu.be/CVd1pYkx6-E
1991: https://youtu.be/i7crsfJllWo
https://youtu.be/3Mtilj2gKz0
1992: https://youtu.be/3OCL-g92K-E
1993: https://youtu.be/wSmWT8U-7qg ... You may have to turn your sound up
1994: https://youtu.be/M3s02WuWMt0
1995: https://youtu.be/oRbs29fSIgA
https://youtu.be/kv0fqsFm9ew - special concert
1996: https://youtu.be/lF1haxNeqAI
1997: https://youtu.be/O351eKdGopU
https://youtu.be/TmmOxmTfAig
1998: https://youtu.be/A5ZO0CrKo2w
https://youtu.be/O7xKUPtMdNo
1999: https://youtu.be/F9S-JVKw0mE
2000: https://youtu.be/5e3aWA8zHls
2001: https://youtu.be/ssRIT1OwdWE
https://youtu.be/bwDJvDV0SpE
2002: https://youtu.be/8QxaFKmW3aI
https://youtu.be/KHtLbmDe2SA
2003: https://youtu.be/ufy7hNJzmik
2004: https://youtu.be/89L_0YyXtFM
2005: https://youtu.be/hjmX98rMKYM
2006: https://youtu.be/BnBl6spgsS4
https://youtu.be/25bp7FvSNsY
2007: https://youtu.be/YbaHsAjip1w
https://youtu.be/t24Ds-pEbuQ
2008: https://youtu.be/ecKmcF1_rpY
https://youtu.be/o3hf7JNkkR8 - this band is from Amsterdam … good music
2009: https://youtu.be/3PBhOVCtFL8 - classic stuff
2010: https://youtu.be/1SyqpOIoOw0
https://youtu.be/g60l4MSh4n8 - think this out of Brazil
2011: https://youtu.be/cqFjlsxQT4Q
2012: https://youtu.be/eudNu08hD3o
2013: https://youtu.be/8ZXMMsvImGw
https://youtu.be/Sk5zxA9UP2Q - Special
2014: https://youtu.be/dKzrJR2wvTA
https://youtu.be/qfGDrPNZLuk
2015: https://youtu.be/a_FPOTyL7h4
2016: https://youtu.be/pHjY88p0zFQ
https://youtu.be/B3XEOqs0b1o - sound is bad for about a minute
2017: https://youtu.be/U46CLPlCLZI
https://youtu.be/9cDTu6DLg0w
2018: https://youtu.be/bWUYhvh8XaI
https://youtu.be/pnrx1UV6mdQ
https://youtu.be/yiYDDflq860
https://youtu.be/wY3hwEVCong
2019: https://youtu.be/SsJr99FJKKU
https://youtu.be/S0a8mIRpTKE
https://youtu.be/pSN3MO0e4cY - Special
2020: https://youtu.be/CGntXk1U_aE
https://youtu.be/sBlYC2VWmao
https://youtu.be/0xHarkMkWLI
https://youtu.be/QniUFTG3GTs
The Strangest Love Of All - The Sequel - Part Twelve
“Mom! Mom! International Speaks is about to come on.”
“Alright, Bobby. I just about have the snacks finished and will be there in a minute.”
“You better hurry. There was an announcement on the tele-Prompter that tonight is a special.”
“Just thirty more seconds, sweetheart.”
“Hurry!”
Grabbing the try with assorted snacks, Elyse smiled at her son’s insistence.
Sitting next to him on their sofa, she said, “There, snacks are done and now we can enjoy the program.”
In the next second an announcer came onto the screen.
“What you are about to see and hear is unparalleld from anything ever before experienced. Tonight, we will discuss with a special guest the capability to transcend both time and space. And now your host, Denver Rawlings.”
“Thank you, Samuel. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, boys, and girls, tonight you will see and hear the most amazing story imaginable. For nowhere in the annuals of our time has such a thing occurred before, and—it may never happen again. And now, let’s have our special guest come out and tell us his story. I present to you, Robert Addams.”
For a brief second, Elyse’s eyes widened when she heard the name Robert, also her son’s given name. Of course this was just a coincidence.
“Tell us, tell the world, of your incredible journey that brought you here this evening.”
“It all started when I was fourteen. I met the most amazing ….”
The doorbell chimed and Elyse got up to answer. When she opened the door, there stood a tall, bulky-looking officer.
“Can I help you?”
“Yes. Do you recognize this individual?” Officer Decker was one of several to hunt down those, Bobby suspected of being the Elyse he was after, handed her a printed photograph.
After studying the picture for a bit, she shook her head and said, “No, not really.”
“Miss, if you would please, take another look at him and try to think where you may have seen this man before.”
Elyse did. She stared at the image a good five minutes before she handed it back to the officer.
“I’m sorry I can’t be of any help. Is he in some sort of trouble?”
“No, Miss. We are just trying to track down an Elyse, he says he knows. Sorry to trouble you.”
He walked away and she closed the door.
She thought on his words for a bit. He knows an Elyse. Interesting, since there are thousands of women with the same name. Surely the police aren’t asking every Elyse the same question? That would take up valuable time. Then she thought again. That man's eyes. They did have that look she so often fantasized about. But that was coincedence, nothing more.
“Mom! You’re missing the show!”
“I’m on my way, Bobby.”
Plopping down next to him while there was a break for product placers, she said, “So what did I miss?’
***************
“Thank you for being on our show Mr. Addams, and if what you say is true, your Elyse will be contacting us or authorities very soon.”
“I hope so, Mr. Rawlings and thanks for having me on.”
Walking toward two officers he said, “Now it’s wait and see what happens, I guess. And I guess now, we go back to headquarters.”
“Correct, sir.”
The Strangest Love Of All - The Sequel -Part Eleven
It had been the better part of thirty hours before Bobby was brought before the Chief Inspector Carlston again.
“I have here, a printout with names, photographs and dates of birth for the 31, 012 names starting with Elyse. But, this printout,” he slid closer to Bobby, “lists all the dates of birth coinciding within the time frame you mention. There are only 1,278. I want you to got through each of these carefully and see which one is this particular Elyse you are looking for.”
“Thanks. By the way, Inspector, is it possible I could have something to eat. I’m starving.”
“I’ll see what I can get for you. Anything you have in mind?”
“Hmm… French toast and sausage would be good.”
“The French toast we can do, but afraid sausage has been outlawed here for hundreds of years. Actually all meat products have been. It came about from a law passed to save all animals from extinction.”
“Ahh, okay. French toast will do me. But I have a question. If you have no meat products, what kind of sandwich did I eat yesterday for it did have a meaty taste to it.”
“That can vary… Sometimes fruit oils, molasses, and straw, or ask with buttermilk and finely ground stone particles, and Winseed grass, which is found, where we found you. And that’s why that that area is protected land and off-limits to the citizenry. I will return shortly.”
Rocks. I ate rocks!
When the Inspector left, Bobby started sorting through the information, but there was a puzzle here. Each of the pictures showed an adult Elyse. Determining which one would look like the Elyse he remembered was going to be difficult.
***************
“I have a simple plan I would like to set in motion for this Mr. Addams, Inspector.”
“What is your proposal, Officer Hardwick?”
“Why not have him appear on International Speaks. Since it is one of the most watched shows, there is bound to be one Elyse that will recognize him and come to his aid.”
“Brilliant idea. Call their executives to arrange an interview. Perhaps after this, we can close this case and move on to more pressing matters.”
***************
After finishing his breakfast and sorting through four-hundred plus photographs, the next one he looked at, seemed to stick out and call to his senses. The upturned nose, the wistful smile, the sparkle in the eyes. He was afraid to get too excited, but he was almost certain this was the Elyse he came here to be with.
Instead of jumping up and down and shouting, he placed the photograph off to the side and continued looking.
Two hours later, he was finished. To his right were six photographs that reminded him of the Elyse he remembered.
Five minutes after that, Inspector Carlson stepped back inside the room.
“Have you found your mysterious Elyse?”
“These six stand out for me from all the rest.” Bobby handed the Inspector the photographs
Looking them over, he said, “I will have each of these people contacted to see if they may know or remember you. But, there is another alternative we are looking at.”
“Oh, what’s that?”
“We have a series that airs every evening called International Speaks. It covers a broad area of daily life to international concerns. Oft times they have special guests appear and we have made arrangements for you to be on their show.”
“Not sure how a public access channel can help.”
“Its viewership covers ninety-six percent of Alpha-Earth One.”
“Wow! That much?”
“Yes,” he smiled. “That much. Once you tell your incredible story, and once she hears it, she will know to contact both the television station and our headquarters. Once that happens, you will be reunited and I daresay, a celebrity and that, Mr. Addams, is ground-breaking history. You will be the first ever to cross over to our world. You may well be sought after from every scientist around our globe, as well as the media. Do you think you can be prepared for that?”
“That’s something I never thought about. Once I do find Elyse, her life would be turned upside down as well and so would our child.”
“If she loves you as you say she does, perhaps she will adjust to the fame that will surround you,”
“Perhaps, but back on my earth, fame really doesn’t last too long unless you are a serial killer, or somebody like Michael Jackson was.”
“Who is this Michael Jackson?”
Bobby went on to explain about Michael.
Love For An Eternity
Sixty-five years ago, Jennifer met Daniel, and they married. Along the way came a daughter and a son who grew to be great parents. Family get-togethers were a tradition based on love and respect. Today is a day of quiet repose as Jennifer and Daniel rest side by side, forever in love in the forever after.
The High Circle
As we glided through the dark clouds to a private island, my mind became restless. I tried to hide my distaste behind a smirking smile. I pretended to enjoy all the conversations, the crystal champagne, and expensive caviar.
Life seemed lavish flying under the sun.
But inside my chest, my heart was screaming loudly as if it wanted to break my bones and fall down from the sky without a parachute.
Mr. Jeffrey Epstein, arched his hands on the expensive leather chair and pulled back his seat and signed effortlessly, nibbling into a delicious grape and cheese loaded on the big tray. The catered food could feed a room full of hungry people.
He smiled at me and whispered slowly into my ears while tapping on the pictures on the big screen.
“When we land, you’ll be a member of the high circle,” he said confidently.
“You get to meet big celebrities, royalties as well as the most powerful men on earth. Just like them, you’ll enjoy the companion of younger girls. It’ll be like heaven on earth,” he said sipping his champagne from the crystal glass.
I wanted to vomit looking at the photos of those underage girls. It was heart-wrenching. They couldn’t have been more than 14 or 15 years of age. Some of them even looked way younger than 10.
I could feel my rib cages cracking in soaring pain. Imagining the heartaches, shattered lives and broken families were unbearable. But mostly, the loss of innocence in those beautiful girls’ eyes was nerve-wracking.
My daughter is a year older than them, and if Anybody ever hurts her like the devil sitting next to me, I couldn’t even imagine what I’d do to him. I’d just cut off all of his limbs, and snap his neck like a stick.
“Are you alright,” he says, staring into my eyes as if he read what was nagging me inside.
“Yes, I’m fine,” I replied, trying to disguise my disgust.
I lied.
I had to obviously, say something that’s not suspicious.
“Sometimes, when I get excited in the air, I tend to get airplane sick,” I concluded.
I wish I told him he was the one making me nauseous. But all I kept thinking was the end of the road for this man with such a dark heart was coming up soon, and I should bear his company for just a little while.
The truth was, I wanted to shove him off the airplane, as we were flying 30,000 feet above the ground.
As we climbed down, the pilot announced that we were about to land.
When we descended over the green pastures and clear blue water, I let out the toxin poisoning me during the long flight and inhaled a breath of relief, and danced with this thought until we touched down.
No, I won’t, you repulsive monster. Besides, when we land, you won’t ever see a light of a day again. You will instead be sleeping in a small block cell until you die. If it was up to me, you deserve more than a cold concrete; I’d badly tortured you and let your soul rotten in hell for eternity, you evil and wicked son-of-a-bitch.
midnightink 8-5-2020