Yesterday was my transplant appointment.  As usual, my bestie & I left in plenty of time to get down there.  From early on, the drive was problematic.  I kept it to myself but something just felt weird about the day  but I couldn’t put my finger on it immediately.

However, I enjoyed that extra time.

As usual, we have good chats & sometimes chats that we just don’t have because we are too distracted with other things going on.

It took us over two hours to get down there. We were running about 15-20 minutes late. I dropped off my concentrator & asked about my breathing test, but they didn’t have me scheduled, so it took a lot of wrangling. Report upstairs to my doc, have them send me back down, hurry up & wait.

During this time I saw a CNN alert about a death investigation at Prince’s estate.  I just shook my head.

A few minutes later she came into to tell me the news & I get a text from my other best friend at home about it.   I just sat there.   I couldn’t really register it.

I was called back & there were several techs & people in the lung function room discussing it.  My tech was about my age & so I told her I was upset to hear.  She recounted she was too but then also remembered how upset she was when she found out Michael Jackson had died because of how much his music had been a part of her life. Prince was the same way, too.

I couldn’t think about it much after because I didn’t have that much time, until we hit the outpatient laboratory as the last stop of the day.

I was really upset about the way some of this was being reported before the facts are in. Such wild speculations.

But here’s the thing, Prince dealt with a lot in his life & although he was open as an artist, there were things he was private about.  That is ok.  People should respect that.

Yet, he was so wildly expressive about so many important issues that needed to be spoken about.

He was a huge part of my life for a long time.  I remember hearing many of his popular songs. As for his movies, I probably have seen Under the Cherry Moon at least 3 times,  Purple Rain close to 12.

Even some of his “panned” albums I bought to support him because he went rogue & independent before most people did & could & before it was a thing to do.

I remember watching him do “1999” live on that very New Year’s Eve with Dick Clark.   Partying with friends at the Lantern while I was in college to P***y Control blaring out the speakers to let off steam. Everyone knows I don’t really dance (especially now), but I would for Prince even with two left feet.

Some of his best work is more obscure which is a shame but I see this happen frequently with artists.

I know I also admired him for taking stands on unpopular subjects & championing causes in a positive way that had a tendency to divide people. He could bring them together through a universal common denominator, a love of music. That’s a powerful gift.

He talked about every aspect of the life experience.  Sex and death & everything else.

Two of my best friends songs they posted yesterday in meaningful tributes are ones that most people don’t remember or never heard (or very few do) but the quality shows in the writing, not just the musicianship.

I think these songs showed the immense depth of Prince as a person.

lyrics from “Sometimes It Snows in April” – Parade (& movie “Under the Cherry Moon”)

Tracy died soon after a long fought civil war,
Just after I’d wiped away his last tear
I guess he’s better off than he was before,
A whole lot better off than the fools he left here
I used to cry for Tracy because he was my only friend
Those kind of cars don’t pass you every day
I used to cry for Tracy because I wanted to see him again,
But sometimes sometimes life ain’t always the way

Sometimes it snows in April
Sometimes I feel so bad, so bad
Sometimes I wish life was never ending,
And all good things, they say, never last

Springtime was always my favorite time of year,
A time for lovers holding hands in the rain
Now springtime only reminds me of Tracy’s tears
Always cry for love, never cry for pain
He used to say so strong unafraid to die
Unafraid of the death that left me hypnotized
No, staring at his picture I realized
No one could cry the way my Tracy cried

Sometimes it snows in April
Sometimes I feel so bad
Sometimes, sometimes I wish that life was never ending,
And all good things, they say, never last

I often dream of heaven and I know that Tracy’s there
I know that he has found another friend
Maybe he’s found the answer to all the April snow
Maybe one day I’ll see my Tracy again

Sometimes it snows in April
Sometimes I feel so bad, so bad
Sometimes I wish that life was never ending,
But all good things, they say, never last

All good things that say, never last
And love, it isn’t love until it’s past

lyrics from “June” (HitnRun-Phase One):

Pasta simmers on the stove in June
Makes no sense yet, but it will soon
Conversation starters come way too hard
Nobody wants to be the martyr,
playin’ the wrong cards
Why did you come to this planet?
Why did you come to this life?
How can you be everybody’s dream,
and still be somebody’s wife?
Tell me, what did you have for lunch today?
That’s right, how would I know?
How would I know?
You are off somewhere, being free
while I starve in the lonesome cold.
Our bodies got used to each other
Now they’re used to the sound
of Richie Havens’ voice on the vinyl,
spinning round and round, round and round
Sometimes I feel I was born way too late
Shoulda been born on the Woodstock stage
But I’m just here, waitin’, and waitin’, and waitin’
Somebody famous had a birthday today
All I saw was another full moon
What’s that?
Something’s burning on the stove
Must be the pasta
Must be the pasta
Oh yeah, it’s June……