things the grandchildren should know

Today I finished reading Things The Grandchildren Should Know, the autobiography of Mark Oliver Everett (a.k.a. "E" of eels). It's an astonishing recount of the series of tragedies that he has faced in his personal life. The poor guy. What bad luck. Makes you want to give him a hug.

What do you do? When, after having been raised in a neglectful home wrought with dysfunction and mental illness, after your sister commits suicide and both your parents die, when you are the only one left, and you struggle with loneliness and depression and your own string of neuroses, and, not surprisingly, you have a thing for crazy women...

He deals with it. He copes the only way he knows how. Create music. And try to make a living out of it, which also proves to be a major challenge. But he succeeds.

It was sad reading about all of the misfortune in his life. But, in the end, I found it inspiring. His acceptance of it all. Somehow he prevails -- and manages to find hope. You never know, I'd say he might be just about as normal or crazy as the rest of us, considering.

I recommend the book. If you're a fan of his music, it places his songs into context, which explains a lot. Also, his writing style makes for an easy read, as Sam says. It's conversational. It felt like I was listening to a friend talk. Makes me happy that I smiled at him that last time we saw them perform at Tipitina's. He was finishing a song at the keyboard with his head down, then he looked up at me. I was sorta right there in his face. I smiled. He smiled back -- barely, but nevertheless. It seemed real. I felt like I had had an affect, that we shared a moment. I hope it cheered him up. Wish I could remember which song it was. Hang in there, E!




what if i was not your only friend
in this world
can you take me where you're going
if you're never coming back

i'm gonna fly on down for the
last stop to this town
i'm gonna fly on down
then fly away on my way