Co-Mission Contributor: Invisible Familiars

October 29, 2020

Meet Invisible Familiars

i can’t tell you how many different feelings i’ve had, in trying to put into words my own experience of what the hell is going on in this crazy old world right now. the words of this ballad relate, in retrospect, though they may be somewhat deceiving. born out of a new relationship, fortified in part by living in close confines during a shared crisis experience, it could be the voice of a lover lamenting the doomed/finite nature of previous romantic relationships. but now i’m reminded more of that passage from Ecclesiastes about there being “nothing new under the Sun”. (maybe the biblical reference seeped in, having lived in a rented church for the last 6 months…)

that quote is often regarded cynically, but i’ve recently learned it’s meant to warn the reader that all things happen cyclically and to be unaware of the past is to be doomed to repeat it… or maybe to be aware of the past is to also be doomed to repeat it… so we’re “damned if we do”, etc.– i dunno;  i’ve watched Terry Gilliam’s 12 Monkeys at least a half dozen times and i still keep hoping it’ll end differently. my father’s grandfather died of the Spanish flu and somehow that all led to where i currently find myself. i’ve ignored the warnings of various Cassandras, as do we all, daily. and as for my plans? HA! plans have been dashed and smashed, all tour and session work has been postponed, indefinitely, but i thusly feel that much more lucky to be able to still put food on the table. i’ve found other mostly-legal means of squeaking by and if people wanna help additionally they can venmo me at @Hearing-Is-Believing. i’ll wind up donating at least 1/2 of it back to charity because that just seems like the only responsible way to do things right now.

if it’s true that “in much wisdom is much grief” i guess i’m still stupid enough to occasionally find joy, but i can also smell a rat. here’s hoping we all send him packing and turn back that minute hand on the ol’ Doomsday Clock. thanks for listening.