"Rain Dance:" after 47 years, it makes sense now. (Review block)

 

Greetings, friends, neighbors and family out there in Internet Land!

(The reason for that particular greeting: Old Timey radio preachers used to greet their audiences "out there in Radio Land." I'm just updating it.)

I'll get to the relevant part in a minute. But first, here's this:

One of the many songs that made a MINOR contribution to my messed up mind in 1971 was 'Rain Dance' by the Guess Who.

TODAY, I discovered that all the cryptic references in the song were all about local things in Winnipeg, Canada. In particular, the freakiest phrase to my addled mind, because it was spoken without music, was "Where'd you get the gun, John?" And it turns out that is a whimsical reference to John W Gunn Middle School in Winnipeg, named after a prominent local politician of prior years.

John W. Gunn Middle School, Winnipeg, Canada

And the 'rain dance' is all about the drought that hit Winnipeg, right after they had built a huge drainage project (The Red River Floodway) to protect them from floods. People were saying they needed a rain dance to get their money's worth.The Internet is wonderful. If I had access to it back then, I could have been just a little less psycho about this song, and a lot more psycho about the rest of the Internet. So, it all works out, I guess.

Here's the relevant part:

I'm still not reviewing.
I'm not dying, all of my relationships are completely operational, and I am experiencing the normal stress expected for a redneck biker of my age and station. I just can't write reviews.
But I decided, what the heck, you can READ, can't you?

So, I have read two books that I haven't been able to write reviews for: Mackey Chandler's "Been There, Done That," and Tom Rogneby's "Escort Duty."

I have absolutely ZERO wisdom on why I can't review Mackey's EXCELLENT book.
However, on my BEST day, I would have had a problem reviewing Tom's book.
First, it's a short collection of stories, which I love to read, but hate to review, and second; well, they are just STRANGE. I'd bet that at least one of them was written after Tom woke up from a dream, maybe a nightmare.
Don't get me wrong: I really liked the stories. A lot. And I'm gonna recommend that you read them.
But I hope to kiss a duck if I expected THIS stuff coming from Daddy Bear.
That ain't a criticism!

Peace be on your household.