Mumbo

Fat Charlie the Archangel
Sloped into the room
He said I have no opinion about this
And I have no opinion about that
Sad as a lonely little wrinkled balloon
He said well I don't claim to be happy about this, boys
And I don't seem to be happy about that
–“Crazy Love, Vol. II,” Paul Simon

God, I love that song. Dual electric-guitar figures dancing around a bouncy African rhythm. Then enters Paul Simon, singing oh so delicately about the hollowness that follows an emotional devastation. Lebanese-American author Kahlil Gibran once wrote that joy and sorrow are drawn from the same well. You can hear that truth in “Crazy Love, Vol. II.” Magnifico.

It’ll be 20 years ago this summer that Paul Simon released “Graceland,” the single-greatest achievement of his storied career. And one of the best pop albums ever. The New York Mets won the World Series that year. They haven’t won it since. All the smart money is on them to repeat in 2006. Like most lifelong Mets fans, I’ll believe it when I see it. Yeah yeah yeah, I know all about Delgado, Reyes, Wright, Beltran and Floyd. I know they’ve shored up their bullpen. I know all about Pedro and the depth in their starting rotation. We’re talkin’ the New York Mets here. What makes this money so smart?

And what’s with the Dems? We’ve got Ted Kennedy stuck in the cobwebs of ‘60s east coast liberalism. Nancy Pelosi playing to the west coast leftist fringe. And Hillary Clinton trying to appeal to middle America as a Left-Lite populist and fooling no one in the process. Once again, we have the Democratic Party shaping up to be the political alternative that’s long on blather and short on appeal. Where oh where is my party?

It’s not in Brooklyn, that’s for sure. And neither will I be once my lease is up. In fact, I’m leaving the Big Town, all five boroughs of it. Where am I going? Well, I haven’t signed the lease yet, and I don’t want to jinx myself. I’ll go public Saturday. In the meantime, let’s just say I’m heading north. Far from the madding crowd.

Reelin’ and a rockin’

Well, early in the mornin’ I’m a givin’ you a warnin’
Don’t you step on my blue suede shoes
Hey diddle diddle, I am playin’ my fiddle
Ain’t got nothin’ to lose
Roll over Beethoven and tell Tchaikovsky the news
–“Roll Over Beethoven,” Chuck Berry

Forget about Red Bull.

With Chuck Berry’s “The Great Twenty-Eight” on my iPod, I always get the jolt I need to make it through the most intensive gym workout. I don’t mean to sound like an infomercial; it’s just true. Every fan of rock ‘n roll music should have this seminal album in their collection. Listen to the whole thing nonstop and hear with your own ears how Berry single-handedly transformed the genre into an art form. The man not only invented guitar riffs that would be pilfered by everyone from George Harrison to Stevie Ray Vaughan; he could flat-out write. Not for nothing did John Lennon once say, “If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it Chuck Berry.”

Even with a gym workout behind me, I’m still feeling the stress of knowing I have to move to Brooklyn in less than 30 days. This will be my third move in three years. Ugh. And this one's a big deal. It marks the end of my almost 14 years in Manhattan. Tomorrow I have an appointment to check out a loft apartment in a renovated opera house. Initially I was pretty excited about this place. Now I’m not so sure. If there’s no elevator it’s going to be a real bear of a job getting my office equipment into it. And if there’s no park nearby for Ilsa the wonder dog to run around in, I think I’ll have to pass. Meanwhile I have two e-mails in to a woman who has listed a nice garden apartment in a brownstone in Park Slope. The place has a backyard and is three blocks from Prospect Park. Sounds ideal. I can see myself lounging in a hammock on Saturdays listening to the Mets on the radio. But I’ll bet it’s already rented, which is why I haven’t heard back from her. Oh well. I still have time. But I hope I’ll have something definite by next weekend. That would take the edge off.

I’ll likely post only a few more times before the move. But I’ve got some new and exciting things in store for my readers. Once I'm in Brooklyn, I'll be posting on a new blog. Stay tuned for details. Until then, “Just let me hear some of that rock and roll music.”