Chapter 4: Mississippi Moonpie

Showbiz Misszzip big-time hits are relatively few and far between. From my hometown B.B. King rose to rule the Blues. Up in Tupelo ["…rahwt nexta Onepelo"—Richard Prior (as “Mudbone”)], the king of Rock-n-roll invaded Memphis to take his throne of grace…land. John Grisham wrote his own ticket, while Oprah not only took over the television world but also claimed the letter “O” in the name of her kingdom.


These lofty lords of Olympus and their marble movements notwithstanding—[Amadeus 1984]…


In my day, anyone daft enough to spout off about dreams of fame and fortune might as well have been verbalizing about a personal encounter with Big Foot and the Keebler® elves.


Needless to say I was considered weird by most, cool by many, and unrealistic by but a few of those whose opinions actually counted. Such an environment—for one highly motivated to succeed in spite of overwhelming opposition—germinated seeds of my ambition that grew into an addiction to music making.

Chapter 2: A Theist and an Atheist (the 2nd Cut is the Deepest)

Stop me, if you've heard this one. A theist and an atheist walk into a bar. The theist asks, "How're you doing, Cal?"
The atheist gruffly responds, “I don't appreciate your asking; let's keep our conversations restricted to only professional matters from now on."


Cut to "The Mμne-Pi Parables"—cut: two …“(Humming) 'cross the Chorus of Gleeful Idiocy". It takes place at a cosmic cocktail party, where believers and non-believers are gathered, and inevitably related discussions arise. The listener will be transported into this surreal soiree where surrounding dialogue will vary from staunch literal Bible beliefs to defending current contemporary consensus morality to extremely firm disbelief and dismissal of anything deemed religious. Streams of expressed candid opinions pan out across the soundstage counter-intuitively underscored with ominous incidental music.