Women’s March 2018

Once again, Moonie had cause to join a women’s rally in Providence on January 20th. He said he’s disappointed that the leader of the country he lives in doesn’t respect women, or pretty much anyone who isn’t a rich, white, straight male. So Moonie, who DOES respect women, decided to make his little voice heard on behalf of his other colorful-haired troll friends.

He made some posters: first of his front…

 

and then of his back (because we all know he’s very, very proud of his backside, which he inspected closely to be sure he’d captured its voluptuousness).

Then Moonie and thousands of other women lovers went down to the State House

where he saw lots and lots and lots and lots of posters.

His friend Diana made a sign that said, “perSISTER” on one side and “reSISTER” on the other, which earned her a high-five from little Moonie,

and his friend J.J. had a terrific sign for her dog Alfie, which earned her a big bout of giggles from Moonie.

Moonie was most excited to see his friends in the Extraordinary Rendition Band, who opened and closed the rally with red, white and shiny outfits and upbeat songs. Little Moonie continues to be a BIG fan of ERB! Look how excited he looks to hang out with his friend Greg, who plays washboard for the band.

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ERB member Jessica Brown was a spectacular emcee throughout the rally and gave a really thought-provoking talk near the end about both inherent racism and inclusiveness, with great points on how we all have a responsibility to be aware of our thoughts, actions, privilege, and prejudices. Moonie nodded along with every word, enraptured with truth.

And then (if you look very, very closely you might see his little pink head running around between people’s feet) he got down and danced to ERB’s music with the Brick by Brick activists before joining their rally-ending parade that marched down and across the street to a park.

It’s not good news that we have cause to be even more worried about our country than we were on this date last year. There is more to fear for Moonie’s friends who aren’t straight and who aren’t white and who aren’t cis and who weren’t born here, and there’s a lot to worry about concerning threats to our natural and cultural environments. We’re marching a bit more towards a police state each month, and I’m sad to report that little Moonie, who used to have a smile permanently plastered to his little face, has been frowning with worry, concerned that the country he loves and the people in it aren’t being treated with the respect he thinks they deserve and cringing every time the press or any agency or organization is suppressed when trying to reveal or share truth that differs from what the president wants people to hear or think or believe. Little Moonie never envisioned this after decades of living in the land of the free, and I hadn’t, either.

So as long as it takes, Moonie will stand every bit of his three inches and speak up for those who can’t. And he is glad that he has friends like ERB who commit their time and energy to speaking up for others and spreading positive vibes. We have to look out for each other, Moonie is telling me. Let’s spread the love for every person of every color, gender, size, age, and religion. He’s starting out by giving me a big hug…And he has one for you, too.

Sweet Day at Suite Tart

As we’ve discovered, our little hero Moonie is a fan of the Suite Tart salon in Providence. When Moonie and I arrived there today, proprietor LuLu Locks and visiting educator Jose Ocana were gearing up to lead a coloring class for fellow stylists, lending welcoming smiles to their color models.

(That was us! Whee!)

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We hadn’t been to Suite Tart since they acquired the property adjoining their tucked-away suite, so right away Moonie ran off to explore the new digs. I found him in the front window, entertaining the lovely hair mannequin (he introduced her as “Lola”) with one of his favorite hair jokes.

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“How does a stylist make a phone call?” he asked his new friend Lola.
Lola was quiet, so Moonie supplied the punchline.
“She cuts it short!”
Lola remained quiet.

“Come on, buddy,” I said to Moonie. “There’s a lot more to see!”

And there was.
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Gotcha Day

“Gotcha Day” is how adopted members of families celebrate the day they joined the family.

Friends, today is Moonie’s Gotcha Day. I found him – or he found me – exactly one year ago today, and he’s been looking forward to celebrating.

And not just for the cake.

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Moonie has had a truly wonderful year. I have no idea where he was for the first 30 years of his life (he may look underage, but he’s been around since 1985!), and he isn’t telling. But between April 25, 2015 and April 25, 2016, I’ve seen this nude little dude enjoy himself immensely. His love for people, animals, music, art, rainbows, cookies, and jokes is limitless. And since his little hands have a hard time typing and I handle the blogging for him, he has asked me very nicely to say “thank you” to all of his friends who have given him smiles and hugs – only a few of whom are pictured, because a collage of everyone Moonie loves would be impossibly huge.

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He is giving smiles and hugs right back to you.

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Moonie’s friend MDB (“Emmm Deee Beee!” he shouted happily, recognizing the initials) had a birthday recently. Like a true music lover, he used that as an excuse to host a songwriter in the round with two of his talented friends, Abbie Gardner and Jesse Terry.

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And, like a true music lover, Moonie bought us tickets to the show, with his spiky pink head as close to the stage as he could get.

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‘Mericans at Bucket Brewery

Moonie has so many adventures that I sometimes fall behind on writing about them. Boy, did he have a fun one back in November!

He and I met up with friends at Bucket Brewery in Pawtucket, where our favorite Rhode Island band, the ‘Mericans, was set to rock a crowd of craft beer drinkers.

Whee!

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Inside, the brewery was decorated with glittery strings of lights that immediately attracted my shiny-loving dude’s attention.

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Even better, he spotted the ‘Mericans on a makeshift stage.

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Bob Fitzgerald

A couple of weeks ago Moonie and I had a wonderful evening at Brooklyn Coffee and Teahouse enjoying hot drinks and cool music. He was thrilled that the three fantastic acts included Bob Fitzgerald, a near-fixture at some of Moonie’s favorite open mics. Moonie and Bob’s son Ian, as you all know, go to the same barber 😉

Moonie really enjoyed Bob’s set. Bob has written some fantastic songs and played them so well that night on his 12-string guitar. My pink-haired punk was mesmerized from the first chord.

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He did shake himself out of enjoying Bob’s upbeat, bluesy songs to amble over to greet his good friend Marty. Marty and Moonie sure do love being sound engineers together!

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Moonie smiled and wiped away a little tear as Bob finished the last lingering note of “Slowly,” a song he’d written for his wife on their 39th anniversary. In a flash, he ran over to hug his pal, and Bob in turn had a big smile for my little sidekick.

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Between Bob, talented duo Colby and Keila, and the wonderful Lenny Solomon, I thought his little pink head was going to explode with happiness. Thanks to Bob and his fellow musicians for making Moonie’s night!

Greg Andreozzi

Moonie’s pal Greg Andreozzi is a sweet, soft-spoken man in person but a sparkplug on the music scene. Greg plays in all kinds of bands, including the KC Moaners and the Juke Joint Blues Band, but he’s most recognizable dressed in red, white and shiny, playing the rubboard and sometimes drums as well for none other than –

“ERB! ERB! ERB!”

Sorry about that; Moonie, who is reading over my shoulder, got a little carried away and started hooting. Yes, none other than Moonie’s favorite local street marching troupe, the Extraordinary Rendition Band. Moonie and I are used to seeing Greg in his badass sunglasses and gloves, strapped into a rubboard, turning his torso into walking percussion in a midst of merry musical misfits. But last Tuesday, at Joanne Lurgio’s wonderful weekly open mic at Pub on Park in Cranston, Moonie got a different view of his ERB pal. We’re used to him handling beats, but this time Greg, a multi-instrumentalist, chose strings – specifically, the autoharp.

And he played two absolutely beautiful instrumental tunes. Moonie’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in an “oh” as his normally rockin’ and rollin’ bud sat down to caress his corded zither, coaxing out lovely chords.

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45 rp(whee!)m Dance Party

“Whee!” is the first word I heard Moonie say on the first day we met. “Whee!” was his reaction to being lifted off the shelf of an antique shop and placed (after purchase) in my pocketbook. “Whee!” was his reaction to us walking a few blocks away to climb onto the Ghost Bridge amid strong wind gusts to enjoy the view. “Whee!” was his reaction to getting to see Cardboard Ox play in Dedham that evening. And “Whee!” was his reaction to me putting a record on the record player that night after we got home. He stood on the record as it played, enjoying being gently spun around, and to this day he calls records “whees.”

So you can guess that he was pretty happy about being invited by his friend J.J. to a 45 rpm (r-pWHEE-m, as Moonie would call it) record dance party at The Parlour last night. He had a whole entire room of whees!

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He also got to stand near his beloved Marshall stacks. The Marshall stacks gods smiled down, bestowing a beam of light on Moonie.

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And then he had himself a ball crawling into people’s food baskets to sample their sliders and pasta salads. He’s lucky he’s cute.

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Godzilla and More!

Last night Moonie and I headed to the AS220 Project Space to view “Toy Portraits” by Sandy MacDonald Studio, which is on display now through January 30th. He was so excited to see paintings of some of his toy friends!

It was so crowded, packed to the gills with art lovers and well-wishers, that we first ducked into the non-Sandy half of the project space to view works by talented artist Antoine Revoy. His whimsical illustrations featured interesting and colorful character concepts. Moonie really liked “Meteorites (Noah’s Ark)” – although he was a little concerned that the polar bears’ tummies looked suspiciously full.

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But then we found a break in the crowd and headed in to see Sandy’s paintings in their own special little room. Oh boy!

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