Frankie Sings “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac

Had a nice evening singing for folks outside near Jimmy John’s.  Thanks for stopping by

I saw a cat on my walk to work this morning.  I made clucking sounds and threw out my usual, “Hey Kitty,” rap.  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.  This time it did.  The large, pure white fluff galloped over to where I stood with my hand extended in a friendly, “I’m a nice person,” gesture.

This cat had eyes like I had never seen.  They were completely black even as the morning light hit them.  They were eyes like polished coal. 

I bent at the knees and stroked the white fur.  It was surprisingly rough…bristly to my touch.  I pulled my hand away and saw that all  three of the fingers of my right hand were bleeding from the  tips. I thought there must have been burrs hiding in the cats amazingly clean looking coat. 

I held my hand away not wanting to get blood on my clean work clothes.  I had to maneuver carefully to get my back pack off of my shoulders, so that I could remove a wad of tissue from the front pouch. 

While I worked on my wounds, the large white cat sat directly in front of me as if blocking my path.  It was purring.  I wasn’t sure, but I believed at the time that this was a male cat.  It probably had some clichéd cat name like “Mr. Clean” or “Ajax.,” but the name that was on the tip of my tongue as I observed this bold creature who now seemed to be laughing at me was “Wicked.”  If this were my cat, I would name him “Wicked.”

I had left early for work that morning, so I had plenty of time to linger and contemplate the cat who still sat in the way of my progress.  My plan was to wait the thing out, just to see what it would do.  It was like a contest of wills.

About two minutes into the stand-off, my cell phone rang.  It was a number I didn’t recognize.  It had a lot of sevens and threes in it.  

The voice that I heard when I answered was husky and thick, definitely a male voice, but not definitely human.  “Make a wish,” the voice began without waiting for me to say “Hello.”

 “You only get two,” and then the line went dead.  Later when I looked, I could find no evidence of the call.

The cat was gone.

In it’s place were two perfectly black, perfectly smooth stones about the size and shape of large marbles.  I picked them up.

Make a wish…You only get two.

I held the stones tightly, one in each hand. 

I made my first wish.  “I wish to have enough money, so that I’ll never have to work again!”

The stone in my right hand vanished, and I felt suddenly sick.  I knew what was coming.  I would be crippled in such a way that I would be unable to work.  I would die before I could spend even the meager amount in my checking account.

“I wish… I take back my first wish!”

The stone in my left hand vanished. The cat was back looking slyly up at me with it’s perfectly normal yellow eyes.  I took a step toward him, and he ran under a nearby shrub

Tomorrow, I will drive to work.

Frankie Valinda Ghee

The air has been a bit smoky in Spokane lately, but I haven’t had a lot of trouble with it.  I am still planning to be out throughout the week singing in Spokane parks, store fronts and sidewalks. 

This is my first summer as a regular contributor to the Street Music scene in Spokane.  At first I was nervous because I didn’t know how people would react, and because I didn’t have a lot of tunes I could perform on my own.  These days, I’m much more comfortable.  I keep adding new songs to my set list.  It’s fun to see which people respond to which songs.

If you see me out and about with my guitar, please make sure to stop by and enjoy a bit of free music.  If I Could by Frankie Ghee

“Wayfaring Stranger” was by far the favorite of the ducks on hand.  They were all over the place. Fearless!

This song is an old favorite.  I have heard about a dozen arrangements of this old folksong for choirs and soloists.  This is mine.

Wayfaring Stranger-Arr. Frankie Ghee 

“Baby Will You Let Me Know” is a blues song about not being sure if the person you are with is still with you.  I wrote the lyrics and melody when I was with a band call Cool Man Shoe.

Baby Will You Let Me Know by Frankie Ghee

The song “When I Used to Cry” is one I wrote when I was teaching middle school Choir.  It’s about how when children grow into adults we sometimes get the idea that asking for help shows a lack of character.  Sometimes, we suffer alone when we don’t really need to.

When I Used to Cry by Frankie Ghee

If I Could by Frankie Ghee and Eric Arnold

Today, I went out to Manito Park.  It was nice and cool although rather smoky.  The ducks were friendly.