As planned, i stayed home for the entire summer, two and a half months of no travel. While, to some, the word “routine” reeks of boredom, uninspiring sameness, and stifling predictability, for me it was the one thing i looked forward to more than anything else for my time at home. After completing the “live” CD in early June, things musical were relegated to a less-pressing spot on my priority list.

The schedule that i lived on for most of the weeks, generally was (1) long, unhurried times on the porch in the morning, (2) “brain” work, that is, anything requiring much thought or concentration (including musical/studio tasks) till lunch time, (3) work outside (when the heat drove saner creatures to shade), (4) knock off late afternoon and usually have supper at home with Gary (we both had very small gardens that kept us in fresh vegetables), and (5) quiet evenings at home or with friends elsewhere. i ended up the summer rested, fit, inspired, encouraged, grateful, and ready for the well-spaced travels that Beth has planned for the fall.

So what’s all that got to do with “Everyday, All-Night-long Grocery Store”?In late July, i began working on a small tool-shed behind my small house.

Given that i know nothing about building or how to use tools, i enlisted the pleasant and able assistance of Bobby Joe Baxley (the same one who inspired the song “A Day With Bobby Joe” from “Tap the Kaleidoscope”) Assistance is not quite the right word. He basically did all the work but allowed me to get in the way, slow him down, and act like i was in charge of the project when visitors came by. His patience is gigantic.

If we did nothing else, we talked. All matters of human significance got covered in our while-we-worked conversations. In one exchange, i suggested to BJ that our little community would be just about perfect if we had one really big grocery store (the nearest one at present is about 25 miles away). Bobby Joe had reservations about the idea. They turned into this rough draft of a song. i don’t know that i’ll ever finish the piece, but the subject matter, in these days of urban/suburban expansion, is something to ponder.