Thoughts Of Jenny Toomey, Tsunami And My Time In D.C.

Last week during the course of my work I came across a person with the last name of Toomey and immediately I thought of Jenny Toomey. She was the singer of a band called Tsunami (amongst others) and she also co-ran an indie record label in the Washington D.C. area during my time there called Simple Machines. I bought a lot of Tsunami 7" singles in addition to other releases by Simple Machines. Also in the area was a band called Velocity Girl who were friends with Toomey and the rest of Tsunami.

While musing over my time in D.C. and pulling out the aforementioned vinyl I realized that I had been an idiot and wasted a lot of time there. True, I was going through a rather horrid broken marriage and divorce and was (okay am) a creature of habit so it was very difficult for me to break out of my comfort zone once one had been established. For instance, even though I bought their music I never actually got to see Tsunami, Velocity Girl or hell, even Fugazi and D.C. was pretty much their damn town. And when I say got to see I really mean I never made it happen, a failing that has followed me thus far in life.

Let me back it up for a moment. In 1992 while on active duty in the Army I was stationed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center which is located in the far North of Washington D.C. Once there I slowly started to make some feeble attempts to find something different culturally and musically. The greater D.C. area is a great place for that. The first place I gravitated to was the 9:30 Club, a dark, dank hole in the wall club located on 9:30 F Street. I loved it there. The way it looked on the outside was the way I felt on the inside. While I could have gone there (or any other club for that matter) much more often I was able to see many very cool bands like Sugar, Cracker, Jesus Lizard, Rocket From The Crypt and Clutch to name a few.

Once firmly established with a music venue I found myself a record store that was only about two to three miles from post. It was called Vinyl Ink and it was legendary. Unfortunately I was too intimidated by the staff and my own lack of knowledge for indie music so I never tried to really connect with them and be guided to some vital music. Had I done so perhaps life would have been much simpler. Instead I would just go in, leaf through the bins and eventually decide on something to buy which still worked out rather well. Within a few miles from post was everything I thought I needed, a McDonalds, a Chinese restaurant, a Jamaican restaurant (something new for me), my record store and even a movie theater. The only thing I had to travel for was live music.

I had it all or at least I thought I did. Even after I moved off post into the surrounding suburbs in Maryland I still stayed true to my comfort zone only adding a video store and changing to a theater and a McDonalds less than a mile from my apartment. The truth is I missed out on a lot. I could have seen far more bands play in a lot of different places. What’s more I could have gone to the people who ran the indie music labels and at the very least become friendly with them. It’s more than likely they wouldn’t have minded some goofy soldier volunteering and helping them out from time to time. What an education that would have been and it would have come in handy for some things I’m thinking about doing now.

Those days were the baby steps I was taking towards becoming the person I wanted to be but it’s only now that I’m becoming mature and realizing that doing the things I always dreamed about can be accomplished. It’s beginning to look like this will be the year that I finally get out and do some spoken word. I’ve found a place in Tulsa that encourages writers creatively like that as well as another that hosts a monthly Story Slam night. There are a few different kinds of music venues that I just became aware of catering to punk/indie music that I’m going to check out even though I’ll probably be labeled as the creepy old guy but that’s all right. I’ve been called better and I’ve been called worse.

Lastly, I’m finally writing lyrics/spoken word the way I’ve wanted to since I got out of the Army back in 1995. Yeah it’s been that long ago, what can I say, I’m lazy like that. My best friend and his son are going to work with me to put some of my words to music and the goal will then be to record them and get them into the Internet-osphere in some form or another. Presuming I can get that done doing a live show wouldn’t be totally out of the question although it would be rather terrifying. You see, another motivating factor is I want my son to see me doing things, making my dreams come true, so that I can teach him to live a life doing what he dreams of instead of waiting around for something to happen like his old man did. After all, actions speak louder than words and I’ve grown tired of talking about it.

Now it’s time to get out and do it. We'll see what the future holds very soon because it's never too late to learn. It just would have made things a whole lot simpler if it hadn't taken me so long
Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Time Off From School

So my son is out of school today and tomorrow for Fall Break. Next month he's out for a week for Thanksgiving and then of course in December it's two weeks for Christmas and New Years. Man, kids today have got it made. I don't even remember if we got s Spring Break much less a Fall one.
So do kids have too little school, too much or just enough? Who knows? Who cares?

Ah well, at least it means I get to spend some time with him before I have to go to work. I need to squeeze some time in for the park or something else he'll like. Maybe some video games too, just for bonding though. Not because I like playing them or anything. It's just important for us to spend time together whatever we end up doing.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Playing Hooky

This past Thursday as I was getting dressed for work I looked over at my wife who hadn’t been feeling well all day. Besides me going to work it was also time for her to go pick our son up from school. She had been laying down and sat up and at that moment I knew what needed to happen. Still, I asked her if she was going to be okay and she merely shook her head no. Next I asked the all important question concerning my job, “Do I need to call in?” This time she nodded her head in the affirmative and asked “Can you?” It was now my turn to nod in the affirmative and I did call right after changing my clothes again. No sense in walking around in work clothes when I don’t have to. Then I was off to pick our son up.

Naturally he was surprised to see me but very happy as well. I informed him what was going on and we traveled back home so that he could change his clothes and get a snack. After checking his school work we left the house (my wife was soundly sleeping at this point and I didn’t want to wake her) and I treated him to a long overdue visit to our comic book store. Yes I did indulge him (and myself) before we blasted off for the library where I again indulged him and let him play on the computer there for over an hour. Oh yeah, we got some books too, that’s always important. We tried going to a park (okay two parks) so he could play for a few minutes before it got dark but it was no good, both were deserted, so instead we monkeyed around for as long as we could.

Returning home once again this time for some dinner we found my wife awake and feeling much better. Before getting ready for bed I went over my son’s spelling words with him so that he would be ready for his test the next day. It turned out to be a very relaxing and very different kind of night for me. I got to do things with my son that I normally don’t get to do on a weeknight because I’m always working. My wife usually helps him with his schoolwork and takes him places. I normally take him on the weekends to do stuff or we do it as a family. That made it all foreign territory for me but in a good way.

It almost felt like I was playing hooky from work even though I wasn’t. I was just taking care of my son and letting my wife rest. As a matter of fact it did remind of those times in high school when I did cut school for a day. Don't worry, it's not as if I was a horrible delinquent or anything. It's just that once or twice a year the pressure of dealing with everything that was high school and life would build up until I felt like I needed a break. So I’d stay home and my older sister Teresa would write me a note and forge our mother’s name on it and all would be well with the world. That’s what Thursday night felt like for me, a nice break where I was able to relax and enjoy my family and life.

It also served to underscore for me how fleeting these times are and if I go around putting things off or waiting for a better time I’ll miss a lot of things. I need to schedule a day off here and there occasionally so that our family can get together and enjoy our time together. Work can wait but doing things together that only helps to strengthen us as a family cannot wait. All you have to do is blink and time will pass you by and you’ll never get the chance to do it again. Thursday was my reminder, let’s hope I keep remembering and doing it. I owe it to them.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.