Laura's Daily Special

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reflections, opinions, words, poetry and more

everyone else has one. i want one, too.
my music biz bio....

as a little girl, i would fall asleep with a transistor radio in my bed, looking for as faraway am stations as i could find. i remember listening to records all day on big 70s headphones, here comes the sun twenty or more times in a row, and my mom asking me if everything was okay with me. word for word, i memorized the family 8 tracks - fiddler on the roof, bridge over troubled waters, sgt. peppers lonely heart club band. when i was 11 or 12, i remember making a sign that said "music is my life" and hanging it over my dresser in the room i shared with 2 of my sisters. my daily prayer of sorts in the beautiful noise of my big family. i played clarinet for 7 years and made district and region bands, but not state. :( my first big concert was john denver. mtv started while i was in high school, and it was cool then. the clarinet was put to rest after graduation day, and i went to ut and studied social work while dancing in 80s discos 3-4 nights a week during my summer breaks. i grew up going to aqua fest, symphony square and zilker hillside concerts. later, it was the opera house and kerrville and then anderson fair during my time in houston. it was also in the 80s i recognized my life long love affair with words and lyrics, texas songwriters and music with an edge. my tastes grew eclectic, falling for music intense and real, now loving room 710 as much as the cactus cafe. social work and booking are the same thing. the rest is living history, and there are lots of holes in this bio of mine. music is sacred to me. it gives me life and there's not much more to say.
i am a quintessential austin girl.
6.29.03

4.7.08

i don't like cleaning toilets
or doing laundry
for people who owe me money
there
i said it
wow
is it 2008

7.18.06

men in black shorts
never wear shirts
especially when
it's july in texas

2.20.06
the rosary

what about it? it's the one i got on the bike ride, when i toted you around. i drove you and i biked you. you were so embarrassed, but i was bigger than you. i had to. silly.

we were riding and you said stop. your hand was cupped up, closed up. you told me to give you my hand. you said surprise. and you told me to not tell anyone. there it was. so simple, so plain. just silver. or maybe it was just silver coated. it was a rosary. a gorgeous rosary. a gift from you to me. a gift of enormous love. you broke my heart.

i miss you basant, you and all my brothers. all of you saved me from the sisters. you took care of me. yelling at the protesters who threw rocks at me. catching minnows in the river to feed me. we broke bread. we bathed the poor, gave medicine to lepers, we fed the hungry. right or wrong, i fell in love with each one of you.

2.7.06

your 40 days
in the desert
that's why
and how come
i can't see you

my 6 weeks
in the throes
that's why
and how come
i now need you

8.4.05
passing days of summer

mud and spiders
find a new home in rotting pickets

cans of paint
spill onto the dirt looking like snow

7.16.05

i walk. dragonflys and fish waking up with the day tell me quiet secrets of a good morning sun. i tell them hello. i wait. the turtle, he is the old friend i long to see. he surfaces, looks my way, tells me things are just fine, then disappears. i walk again. the kill deer have travelled south, playing in the field leading to my home. my heart opens with the summer heat.

3.3.05

i saw a beautiful moon monday night, today i loved the rain. all of the birds visit my yard, they can't stop eating. yes, the giant sized bag of feed next time. my mismatched orphaned trees are ready to bloom.

10.27.04

never have i been brought to tears
choosing a candidate
casting a ballot
voting

today i cry

10.20.04
just do it

what do you do
when your healer needs healing

you heal her

and you hold her
you dip her and drop her
into her cider apple soaks

what do you do
when your words need writing

you write them

and you type them
you scribble them and scream them
into your toast morning prayer

9.14.04

i'll karate chop your bouffant
when you turn your back

11.18.03
questions

she was tired
torn
broken
with heavy
heart

so
she walked
the highway
the center line
between the two lanes

she walked
until
she was empty
until the quiet came
until the noise stopped

there was
no shame
no god
no solitude
just the desert sky wind

one lizard
asked her
why does the wind embrace you
will the sky ever betray you
can the desert be your friend

7.14.03
in love

i want to marry ramon estevez.
but he's married.
plus he's too old.
then he's kinda short.
and he's not a texan
or a localboy.
http://www.progressive.org/mag_intvsheen

7.10.03
5 track power pop

new york is not in austin
september is not in november

people who lie suck
but they are funny, too

picking cotton is boring
fence riding is much better

good ol' boys do the butt slap
texas girls don't do the bullshit

lots of people get the finger
still native daughters mother love

4.27.03
consensual sadness

cigarette smoke hides broken hearted lips
and green eyes are blue on eason street

oh sky lovely night...

one look from you is cast my way
with one look back and this to say
i know your sorrow sadness yes
this patio party fails the test

who is real with beauty true
this singer's songs sung sorrily stew
you leave the night on hush tipped toe
one glance whispers all we know

3.29.03
you there

amy from el paso
is history indeed
i'm the girl who loves you
the only one you need
three months from now is galway
and summer by the sea
wind salts on your eyes and lips
you bring me joy simply