The Perfect Song Blog

I’m going to have the surgery I’ve been putting it off for years. It will knock me out of commission for at least a week.

So I’ve been trying to figure out what I want to accomplish while I’m down. I’m looking at this as a kind of forced, albeit painful vacation.

Here’s a partial list of what I want to do.

Revisit some old movies:

Casablanca (for the fifth time).

Unforgiven (for the fourth time).

Raiders of the Lost Ark (lost track of number of times I’ve watched this).

B horror movies that I loved as a kid and appreciate anew as a trash loving adult. You know, classics like The Brain That Wouldn’t Die and Attack of the Giant Leeches

TV shows:

The Twilight Zone (I taped the whole series during a marathon on the Sci Fi channel a few years ago)

The Office (may be my favorite show of all time, right up there with 24, Lost, and The X Files.

Books:

Deadline by John Dunning who combines a great detective with the world of rare books which was a passion of mine for years.

At least one book by Hemingway to reconnect with a great author who was an early influence on my writing. Maybe A Moveable Feast, one of the few Hemingway books I haven’t read.

One book by Jim Harrison, one of the great living authors.

On The Road. My son bought me the 50^th anniversary edition for my birthday. It was an influential book on both my literary appreciation and my writing. I’ve read it three times. The second time was at lunch hour in my car in the parking lot of Ames where I worked as a shoe salesman for two weeks. (That is truly a footnote).

Seneca Myths and Stories, which my daughter gave me for my birthday. I’ve always been interested in myths, which you can see in my novel The Perfect Song.

Firefox for Dummies to learn some more things on this browser that I’ve been using for two years.

MacBook for Dummies. I’ve had a Mac for a year and barely used it. It’s time to change that.

Is this enough? I don’t know. I want to mix the classical and the cheesy.

Escargot and French fries.

That’s what life is all about.

Anybody have any other suggestions?

I was just checking my traffic facts (well, I do every night) and was amazed to find I have readers in 25 countries around the world.  There’s a big readership in Panama (thanks, folks) as well as groups of readers in Europe, Russia, Canada and the middle east.

I get involved in the regular postings that I forget that all this started with the Perfect Song Website, whose original purpose was to promote my novel, The Perfect Song.  The book, which still gets glowing reviews from readers, is available at Amazon.com or iUniverse.

All proceeds from the book go to the Perfect Song Scholarship Fund at Mansfield University for future writers.  So if you buy the book, you’re helping future students.  If you want to read the book for free, it’s on my website.  I also recorded an audio version.  Then, if you want to make a donation, you can do it on the site through paypal or send a check to the Mansfield University Foundation, Mansfield, PA  16933.  Mark it: The Perfect Song Scholarship Fund.

Thanks to all my “perfect songsters”  for letting me share my life and thoughts as I make my way through this adventure called life.

Poul wanders across the country in a desperate search for Mendel. He grows gradually weaker. He slowly loses touch with one reality as he moves quietly into another. A group of campers find him as he finds Mendel.

Some readers feel it’s a down ending. Others are mildly shocked. Everyone seems to agree that The Perfect Song ends the only way it can.

If The Perfect Song moved you, helped you, changed you or just entertained you, please send a contribution to The Perfect Song Scholarship, Mansfield University Foundation, Alumni House, Mansfield University, Mansfield, PA 16933. It’s tax deductible.

Thanks for reading The Perfect Song. Tell others about it. Spread the word about the audio version and the text version at www.perfectsong.net

Size: 21.2
Length: 26:24

Poul announces to the new CEO that Mendel is dead. He tells the CEO to announce that he, Poul, is also dead. That night, with the news announcement around the world, the streets fill with millions of people mourning the passing of Mendel. In the middle of the night, half drunk, Poul realizes what Mendel was doing when he finally gave up and left Mendel. He rushes into the street and begins his final journey as he tries to find the composer one last time.

Length: 17:10
Size: 15.7 MB

Mendel’s reputation is at an all-time high.  Riots continue throughout the country.  Phillips, the new CEO of Beasely Inc. has leaked Poul’s name to  the media.  Poul confronts Phillips with a tactic that shocks the CEO.  Mendel has a final, otherwordly vision, and Poul, who has returned to gather papers finds none.  Weary, frustrated and confused, Poul leaves Mendel for the last time.

Length: 17:34
Size: 16 MB

Poul, tired of following Mendel, takes what songs he has back to New York. He is shocked to learn that Beasely is gravely ill. Poul visits his friend and, following Beasely pleas, reveals a secret he has held for decades.

Mendel is closing in on the perfect song. Poul, who has returned to Mendel, watches and knows that something huge is about to happen.

(If you are enjoying this labor of love, please send a contribution to The Perfect Song Scholarship Fund, Mansfield University Foundation, Mansfield University, Mansfield PA 16933. All donations are tax-deductable).

Length: 18:30
Size: 24.3 MB

Poul returns to New York to find Beasely alive but a deeply changed man.  After relaxing, Poul returns to find Mendel.  He finds instead an empty house and knows that something tragic has happened.  The riots and deaths over Mendel’s music continue to mount.  Mendel wanders, alone, trying to survive without the love of his life.  Back in New York, Poul reports the news to Beasely, then leaves to continue his search for Mendel, knowing something doesn’t feel right.

Length: 31:25
Size: 28.7

Traumatized by Beasely’s death, Poul wanders aimlessly until he stops in a southern town in the hills and takes a job as a bartender. He meets a gypsy who invites him to their camp. There, Poul encounters Nadeen, a fortune teller, and has a mystical experience.

Mendel and Mara continue their relationship. Mendel trades in his pencil for carpentry and garden tools.

After his encounter with Nadeen, Poul leaves to return to New York. In Philadelphia he’s caught in the middle of a riot between the A.Ms. and P.Ms where he’s beaten and arrested.

Length: 31:06
Size: 28.4 MB

Poul realizes that Mendel is not dead and that another man was mistakenly murdered. Beasely announces that Mendel is alive, sending Mendel to new heights of popularity. Poul returns to find Mendel and is attacked by a man threatening to kill him because he’s found that Poul is the key to Mendel. Poul gives the man some information and only later realizes he has put Beasely in danger. He rushes back to New York only to find the young man has stabbed Beasely to death.
Length: 29:7
Size: 24.3 MB

On an isolated Appalachain dirt road, Mendel meets Mara. She offers him water and food. They talk. Mendel stays and she becomes the love of his life. He tells himself he’s reached the end of his search, that he’s found happiness forever.

Mara wishes it were true.

Length: 16:30
Size: 15.1 MB