Friday, February 9, 2024

Three Beautiful Things 02-08-2024: Resistance Bands, Chicago's First Album, Flautas for Dinner

1. The subject of resistance bands came up between Claudia and me on Tuesday and I asked if she would give me a demonstration of how to use the one they issued me. Today, she walked me through how to use it and now I understand that I can use it in lieu of having hand weights at home. Her instruction was helpful and opened up further possibilities regarding what I can do at home for exercise beyond what I do at the gym.

2. Until today, for some odd reason, I hadn't thought to listen to Chicago's first album (Chicago Transit Authority) while working out. The other day Rick Taylor posted a video of Chicago performing the song "Beginnings" live about fifty years ago and it inspired me to play the (double) album today at the rehab gym.

Immediately, Chicago's music transported me to another location in Coeur d'Alene: the Coakroach Castle near North Idaho College. This album was definitely on the rotation of lps we listened to at the Castle. As I remember, Bruce (Bacco) was especially nuts about Chicago and absolutely loved their trombone player, James Pankow, and often when a Chicago song featured a trombone solo, Bruce would rise to his feet and with great exultation cry out James Pankows' name, sometime play air trombone along with him, and bring anyone in his company into the joy of Pankow's brilliance. 

Listening to this album also brought back more recent memories of when Don Knott lived just down the street in the house he called Penny Lane (or Knott's Landing). From time to time, he hosted gatherings of the Hall of Fame of Great Guys on his patio in the back yard where we sat around and listened to music from when we were in our teens and early 20s, ate food, downed beer and liquor, and yakked and yakked and laughed and laughed. Songs from Chicago's album always popped up and opened the way for us to ask the eternal question: "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?"

3. Before long I was done at the rehab gym and living in 2024 again. I took out the remaining Hello Fresh bag and fixed Debbie and me Black Bean and Green Pepper Flautas. 

They worked! 

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