BAGUETTE ANNIVERSARY RINGS

Heavy Duty - Polished Chrome Roller Shower Curtain Rings - Set of 12 RollerRingsTM

A little change in the decor can make a noticeable and pleasant difference to the ambience. Enhance your bathroom decor with Shower Curtain Rings. Made of durable brass and stainless steel the curtain rings highlight the curtain drapery. These roller rings are corrosion-free, friction free and glide smoothly on the curtain rod. This kind of drapery hardware makes an attractive visual pattern when viewed with the rest of the bathroom decor. Nickel Plated to ensure durability and longevity of finish. Sold in sets of 12.

Icarus Ascending

Soaring alone upon a threatening wind
Just fix your eyes on the horizon
Cut off from everything
you’ve known or have been
I shouldn’t think it’s so surprisin’
Spiraling upward on a freshening lift
Reaching the realms of fleet Apollo
You have been given the most sacred of gifts
You must be fearless now and follow

(Chorus)
Don’t look down
Though your heart may be weary
Don’t look down
Though your wings are on fire
Don’t look down
Though the night may seem endless
There’s a reason you’re flying
this fast and this far
Let your faith be your strength
And your love be your guiding star

Venturing further than
the length of your sight
Out past the reach of your beginnings
There is a gamble in each
proud act of flight
But the losses pale before the winnings
Circling and diving with this
freedom you’ve found
Illusion blows apart and scatters
There is no darkness in this place
that we're bound
Love is the only thing that matters
(Repeat Chorus)
Up.....up.....up.....up.....



Illinois

Dusty day dawning three hours late
Open the curtains and let the rest wait
My mind goes running three thousand miles east
I may miss the harvest but I won't miss the feast
(Chorus)
And it looks like you're gonna have to see me again
And it looks like you're gonna have to see me again
And it looks like you're gonna have to see me again
Illinois...oh, Illinois
Illinois, Illinois

South California, your sun is too cold
It looks like your hills have been raped of their gold
I should have come out when I was first told
This lamb has got to return to the fold
(Chorus)
Illinois, I'm your boy

Flat on the prairies, soil and stone
Stretching forever taking me home
'Cause I've got a woman who waits for me there
And I need a breath of that sweet country air
(Chorus)
Illinois, Illinois
Illinois, I'm your boy



The Innocent Age

Capture the moment, carry the day
Stay with the chase as long as you may
Follow the dreamer, the fool and the sage
Back to the days of the innocent age
Storybook endings never appear
They're just someone's way of leading us here
Waiting for wisdom to open the cage
We forged in the fires of the innocent age

(Chorus)
Back at the start it was easy to see
No one to own to, nowhere to be
Deep in the heartlands a sad memory calls to me, calls to me

Fretful horizons, worrisome skies
Tearful misgivings burning your eyes
Yearnings unanswered, reckon the wage you pay
To recapture the innocent age

(Chorus)

Fretful horizons, worrisome skies
Tearful misgivings burning your eyes
Yearnings unanswered, reckon the wage you
Pay to recapture the innocent age



In The Passage

There's a ring around the moon tonight and a chill in the air
And a fire in the stars that hang so near, so near
There's a sound in the wind that blows through the wild mountain holds
Like the sighs of a thousand crying souls, crying souls
There's a time when the traveler is fated to find
That insight has turned his gaze behind, behind
And the steps taken yesterday will beckon again
And lead to his weary journey's end, his journey's end

((Chorus))
And in the passage from the cradle to the grave we are born, madly dancing
Rushing headlong through the crashing of the days
We run on and on without a backwards glance
We run on and on without a backwards glance

I cast my fate with the wife of Lot, I turned my gaze around
Knowing neither what I sought nor what was to be found
Heeding weakness, feeding strength, oh life at length is frail
I seek again the river's source through time's dark shadowed veil

In the fast fading century, as we spin through the years
I pray that our failing vision clears, our vision clears

((Chorus))

The places dash and the faces dart like fishes in a dream
Hiding 'neath the murky banks of long forgotten streams
The lines of life are never long when seen from end to end
The future's never coming, and the past has never been

There's a ring around the moon tonight, and a chill in the air
And a fire in the stars that hang so near, so near



(Is That) All There Is

In the eyes of the world your touch is like gold
Your reputation's so cool and cruel and controlled
You count your money in your prison tower
Made of concrete, glass, and steel
Feeling cozy in the hollow warmth of another business deal
You've climbed your way to the top but lately it seems
That there's a hole in the heart of the American dream
Sittin' pretty in your trophy room with your shining souvenirs
That just remind you of the wasted time and the lateness of the years

((Chorus))
Is that all...is that all there is
Is that all...there must be more than this

In the eyes of the world your touch is like gold
Your reputation's so cool and cruel and controlled
In a moment it could all be gone in the twinkling of an eye
Then what's your pile of precious pride worth then
If you've never wondered why

(Repeat (Chorus) Twice)
More than this...is that all there is
All th

The apartment had been cleared out when I came back to Modesto. The television was gone; the stereo system, our bikes in the garage, so were the records, the CDs, the DVDs. It was the same in the bedrooms. Jake’s laptop. My computer, the shoes, the cameras, anything that was worth something.

I set my bags and laundry down in the middle of the room--I had only been gone a few days; it was the first time I had been home in more than a year. I tried to call Jake but it went straight to voice mail. I didn’t bother leaving a message and called the police instead. I stayed in bed until they came over to collect whatever information they needed. They surveyed the apartment, checked the locks on the front and side doors, had a look at the window latches. It wasn’t the first time, Jake and I had been through this before, and by now, I knew it was a pointless exercise.

When they left I went back to bed and slept until ten.

Jake was in the living room when I woke up. I had heard the shower in the bathroom, then the sink and stove fan out in the kitchen. He was sprawled across the sofa with one arm behind a cushion when I walked into the room. He was reading my copy of Dubliners when he saw me.

The sight of Jake irritated me. His eyes were red and glazed, the room smelled like sweat and chemicals. He was high. It was a given.

“What the hell happened?” I said.
“We were robbed. What else?” he said.
“We were robbed. You seem pretty laid-back about it.”
“What else can we do?”
“I called the police.”
“What did they say?”
“The same thing as last time. The copy said we’re probably the unluckiest people in the neighborhood.”
The entire time, he did not once, look up from his book.
“He’s right. Twice in six months.”
“The fuck.”

I tolerated Jake’s habits. So long as they did not interfere with my world. We kept to ourselves. When I came home, I went stayed in my room. He stayed in his. Our apartment was in the back of the lot. Fairly secluded and under constant shade. Before, if I was not here, then I was at Dorothy’s place on campus. She rarely came over to my place.

“Is that all you have to say?” I said.
Jake put the book down face down on his stomach.
“Are you saying it’s my fault?”
“Look man, I just know that I was gone for a week. You were here. That’s all. Did you lock the doors? The backyard window?”
“Look, just say it. If you think this was me. Then say it.”
“Did you sell all our shit for coke?”
Jake sighed and picked the book back up. I had already forgotten that it was my book.
“I didn’t.”
Same answer as last time.
“You fucking asshole.”
Jake kept reading.

Maybe this time I’d press charges. On who? On what?

There was a time when we’d get high together. I thought about the first time he broke me in; I was puking out all night and called Dorothy five consecutive times to tell her that the Planet Earth documentaries were syncing perfectly with the Coltrane record we were playing, and that she should come over “Are you high?”
“I’m not baby, I’m not. Come over. You have this.”
“No Adrian. I’m not coming over. You are; I don’t want to see you if you’re like this”
She hung and didn’t pick up my calls for the rest of the week.

What would I say about that?

I got my keys from the room and drove to Dorothy’s. All our shit was old anyway; I was reasoning with myself on the way there. Besides the stereo and computer, they wouldn’t be able to pawn our things for much. But I realized that was probably what they wanted to begin with. I rolled the window down and turned the radio up.

Dorothy lived across the street from campus. It was a fifteen minute drive on the freeway. I pulled into the lot of apartment complex. I was about to get out of the car when I remembered that the parking pass she had given me was expired, so I backed out and parked on the sidewalk across the street. A month already--I was barely counting the days.

The lights were on in the apartment when I walked by. Same vases on the kitchen window sill but all the flowers were gone. They should be. After all, it was had been quite a while, I didn’t expect them to last. Not out there on the window sill in the middle of summer.

I rang the door bell twice.
“Hey! Adrian,” she said, “What are you doing here?”
She stood in the doorway and smiled.
“I thought I’d come by and say hi. Do you mind if I come in?” I said.
Dorothy opened the door for me and let me in.
“Do you want something to drink?” she said.
“I can use one.”
“Yeah, it’s warm tonight. A beer? Sorry we don’t have much right now. I didn’t know you’d be coming over”
“It’s alright. I’ll take one.”


She grabbed two bottles from the refrigerator and brought them to the sofa.
“Where are you roomates?”
“Jacky’s back in Los Angeles with her family and Rachel’s at her boyfriend’s place.”
“Ah I see.”
“I heard about your brother. I’m sorry to hear that. I should have called you. Are you doing okay?”
“I’m doing okay. We had the funeral yesterday. It was beautiful. I read the eulog