Neil Young in the Swimming Pool

I had a dog and his name was King

I told the dog about everything

There in my truck the dog and I

Then one day the King up and died

Neil Young

Before I listened to Lou Reed my love of a song well written may have begun with Neil Young. My parents played music in our house just like everybody's parents did. Sonja's parents went for opera. She still enjoys a good Italian holler. My dad went for the music of the Avalon Peninsula's south shore; my mom preferred Bill Haley and the Comets.

Sounds like I grew up on the set of motherfucking "Happy Days", doesn't it?

When I got home from work I watched the last special feature on Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" dvd. Sonja and I watched the rest of it last night as our dog snored in front of the wood fire. The last feature is of Neil singing "The Needle and the Damage Done" on the Johnny Cash show in 1971. I would have watched that performance of Neil's because the one night of the week the Hockey family were allowed to stay up late and watch tv in our pyjamas was the night Johnny Cash was on.

I hear that song about heroin and what sometimes happens when you use it everywhere it seems. I can be swimming in the pool when the crap radio station the pool crew tune into will play Neil, his voice and guitar mingling with the screams of children and their lifeguard babysitters. I hope none of those kids get to using heroin, but some of them will. And it will feel real good for a time.

I gave up on buying all Neil's records about the same time I had to start going into Dope City to buy them because cds took over the shelves of most all the record stores. The last record of his I remember buying close to home was "Ragged Glory." I like that song "Mansion on the Hill."

I like Neil best when he is loud and proud. But I sure do like the Prairie Wind laid back stuff on the dvd. And the singing Emmylou Harris does on some of the songs is enough to make me love America again. If only they would calm down some.