Baker's Yodel

There's a thing Chet Baker does when he really wants to communicate something--when there's something he needs or something he's trying to say that we're just not getting. He hates the open wooden stairs up to our tower room; they freak him out. He'll go up them, reluctantly, but absolutely won't go down them. And yet he can't bear to be left behind.
Today we were up in the tower, and Baker came along. When we were done, we came down the wooden stairs, and Baker was stranded at the top. He moaned, and cried a little, and then he yodeled.
It's very hard to catch Baker yodeling. It's usually over before it starts. He usually yodels with his mouth closed, so it's muffled. His voice is low and hoarse and rolling, very endearing. He sounds a little bit like Demi Moore in "Ghost," with that (depending on how you feel about Demi) fetching hoarse catch in it. Rrrroooo rrrooo rrrooo! he says.
He always gets what he wants when he talks like Demi.
Photo credit: Phoebe Thompson
Our band, The Swinging Orangutangs, plays tonight at the Marietta Brewing Company. Wish us luck. I have one friend who's bringing ten people, a few neighbors who are sufficiently intrigued to attend, and there are quite a few Orangs fans in Marietta who haven't had the chance to shake their collective bootays for many a moon. Expect the place will be packed. I have spent the entire day trying to recapture sleep lost last night. I was in bed by midnight, and still staring at the ceiling at 5 AM. What a rotter. Napping today was a struggle, as Liam is practicing becoming airborne. He runs as fast as he can, then launches into the air and lands with a thud. I suppose I should have just gotten up and made him a cape. Off to see if I can put enough spackle on my face to pass for a singer in a rock-and-roll band. Like putting lipstick on a caterpillar, and calling it a butterfly.