It was a short week, work-wise. Two work days, in fact. To be followed by five – yes, FIVE! – days off. I decided to make the most of it and actually get some work done, while also relaxing a bit.
I am proud to say that, with the exception of posting some July 1/Canada Day socials for the various organizations I do such things for, I have been largely off places like Twitter and Facebook and Instagram since I “left work” on Tuesday. Instead, I’ve been doing some things around the house, but also spent no small amount of time sitting on the back deck my folks are building, reading.
I had a couple of books (On Bowie by Rob Sheffield, Killing Patton by Bill O’Reilly and The Poet in Exile by Ray Manzarek) which I finished off and then started in on The Last Battle by Cornelius Ryan, about the final battle for Berlin in 1945. I have read Ryan’s The Longest Day and, especially, A Bridge Too Far, several times over the years but never The Last Battle. I have picked up a used copy of it somewhere and always meant to get around to reading it and 2021, I guess, is that time. I’ve surprised myself at just how engrossed I can get in the book and I’ve sat down to ready 20-25 pages and ended up reading 50+ pages.
My folks are working on the back deck, having torn down (with some help from yours truly) the one that’s been there since we moved in back in 2009 and building a slightly larger one. There is still a lot of work to be done but we are able to sit out on the back deck. I’ve taken to sitting out there the last few nights and reading, which is a very nice way to spend an hour or so. (I have even passed up watching NASCAR Race Hub, so you know there’s something to be said for this particular pastime.)
SPOILERS FOR The Poet in Exile. The story is supposedly how Ray (or “Roy” in the novel) begins getting cryptic letters that lead him to believe that Jim Morrison (or “The Poet”) is still alive and living on a remote island in the Indian Ocean. Ray does track down the former lead singer of the band who tells him of his life after faking his own death.
Okay, first of all, if this isn’t a thinly-hidden reference to the Doors, this book probably never gets published. It’s basically just two old friends talking about one’s life for the last twenty years. I’m sure I could sit down with someone and relate what I’ve done but that doesn’t meant I’m going to get a book deal out of it. To be brutally honest, it’s going to be boring to anyone who’s not a Doors fan.
As a Doors fan, there is that aspect of “Did this really happen? Is Jim Morrison still alive?” that sparks some interest. But the last half dozen pages has Manzarek tagging on this revelation that “The Poet” is dying of lung cancer, rather than returning to the U.S. with “Roy” to restart the band.
In a way, the reader has found themselves not wanting the Poet to be dissuaded from returning to the limelight. He seems much more at peace with the state of his life, married and with a couple of kids. Any fan of the Doors who has read or heard about Morrison’s wild ways probably hopes that this could have been the way that Jim spent the decade or two after faking his death. And so you read A Poet in Exile, you hope that Manzarek’s story is true – even if Jim ultimately has passed away. But after you think on it a while, the lung cancer twist seems almost as if it was Manzarek’s way of dodging any questions of “If you found Jim still alive, why couldn’t you convince him to come back to the States and reform the Doors?” as well as dissuading any Doors fans from flocking to the island to find Mr. Mojo Risin’.
As much as you’d like A Poet in Exile to be Ray Manzarek’s revelation that Jim Morrison is/was still alive in the years and decades after his supposed death in Paris, the book instead seems more like what Manzarek (and by extension Doors fans) wishes could have happened. It is an interesting idea, just poorly executed.
Okay, so back to what else I have been up to. On July 1, my folks and I went to Embro for their annual town-wide yard sale. There really wasn’t much there but it was fun to get out and check out the yard sales, especially when there was hardly any to be found last year. (I will say I think there might be a podcast in the future about yard sales.)
Speaking of podcasts, I finally got back into the swing of editing Part 1 of the Your Milner Moment podcast episode with my friend and former co-worker Lyz De Marco about our days working together, watching The Last Blockbuster documentary, and how working in retail has changed over the years. Definitely worth checking out.
July 1 was also my nephew, Jack’s birthday. The kid turned 13! Yes, that means I am now the uncle of a teenager. Can you believe it?
Well, I still have a bunch of stuff to get done before I go back to work on Monday. Until next time, stay safe and stay healthy.
johnmilner.ca 