I Hanker for a Hunk of Cheese!!

I've got a congested head that's makes me feel like I've slept in a pressurized room for eight hours, it's overcast outside, I'm having second thoughts about this gag gift I bought for a friend's fortieth birthday party this evening, and I'm cranky because of this diet I'm on. I guess I could say that the Nashville hot chicken expedition was the tipping point. The following morning I went with Harry and Monika to the Loveless Cafe in Nashville for an old-style country breakfast. I could smell the spices and grease leeching out of my and Harry's skin and thought, "I could have a coronary on the flight back."

So, after reading an article in Bicycling magazine about seven foods that guarantee energy and help one lose weight, I decided to start eating more sensibly. In addition to the seven foods (eggs, lean protein, fish, oj, water, milk, and almonds) I've thrown some fresh fruits and vegetables into the mix, and reduced my portions in an effort to actually eat three meals a day, instead of my customary two "on the run". Most importantly, I've cut out all fried/fast foods and stopped drinking all beverages containing high fructose corn syrpup. It's been three weeks and I've only had one soda, pizza once, and a chicken parmesan sandwich once. While I don't know if I'm losing weight yet, I do know that I'm not as lethargic as before. And that's a start.

The word itself - "diet" - is a word that I find to be an anathema. I think back to my childhood and the revolving door of diets that our family doctor would place on my mother. These diets all include the dreaded staples of cottage cheese and lowfat milk. Might be the reason why I don't eat cottage cheese to this day; watching Mom eat it like it was a chore certainly didn't leave a positive impression on me. It wasn't until her third or fourth heart attack that Mom finally wisened up and started eating better. She'll never have an ideal weight for her frame, but she isn't morbidly obese these days, either.

Dieting in the family wasn't restricted to just my mother. When I lived with my Uncle Stu and Auntie Ann, Stu would wear out diets like underwear. He was an Atkins devotee, back when Atkins was a cult crakpot diet, not the popular crackpot diet it is today. Then one day, while scraping paint off the house, he had a vertigo attack and almost fell off the ladder. We love to eat on our mother's side of the family, and I believe I would be considered of "average" weight in our family.

I have a musical recommendation for readers: Madeleine Peyroux's "Half the Perfect World" just came out two weeks ago, and it is a joy to listen to her voice. The highlight of the album is this duet with kd lang of Joni Mitchell's "River"; lang, in particular, owns the song. What is it about Joni Mitchell songs that make them so accessible to jazz singers? Karrin Allyson, Jane Monheit, and Cassandra Wilson have all covered her songs, to varying degrees of success (I'd like to hear Monheit takcle "A Case of You" now that she has some years of life experience under her. When she recorded the song, she was 22, and it came across as a college student singing it for her final grade). I'm waiting for Allyson to just break down and record an album of Mitchell covers. Maybe it's the smart lyrics that attract these singers. The songs show vulnerability without being completely full of remorse.

I've come around to the opinion that Joni Mitchell is one of this country's greatest popular songwriters, alongside Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Townes Van Zandt, and Steve Earle. I expressed this opinion to someone the other day, who responded that he thought Mitchell was in the same category as Dylan as a songwriter who he'd rather listen to others cover their songs. I'm not so sure about that. Mitchell never had a voice that was an acquired taste, like Dylan. Second, Dylan can sing with articulation, when he wants. Witness his early recordings pre-1964, and Nashville Skyline, for proof. Largely, the "hee-well-heau-hee" that we asociate with Dylan is largely an affectation. But I digress.

Here are the lyrics to Joni Mitchell's "River". And go buy or download this Madeleine Peyroux record. It's amazing.

It's coming on christmas
They're cutting down trees
They're putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace
Oh I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
But it dont snow here
It stays pretty green
I'm going to make a lot of money
Then I'm going to quit this crazy scene
I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
I wish I had a river so long
I would teach my feet to fly
Oh I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
I made my baby cry

He tried hard to help me
You know, he put me at ease
And he loved me so naughty
Made me weak in the knees
Oh I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
I'm so hard to handle
I'm selfish and I'm sad
Now I've gone and lost the best baby
That I ever had
Oh I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
I wish I had a river so long
I would teach my feet to fly
Oh I wish I had a river
I made my baby say goodbye

It's coming on christmas
They're cutting down trees
They're putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace
I wish I had a river
I could skate away on