Morning 40 Federation Powers Down

Earth Hour will be upon my slice of the globe in minutes. For one hour, beginning at 8:30 p.m., We The People are encouraged to switch off the lights. This is an effort to draw attention to our personal energy use and its effect on the planet. My local power company has chipped into the effort with enthusiasm. The electricity at my residence went kaput at around 5 p.m.. If past performance by the power company is any indication, I'm not looking for a resumption of service anytime soon--certainly not today, but who knows? Life is full of surprises. Still, it will make my participation in Earth Hour a given.

Currently, I'm enjoying a brief jolt of power at my local bagel shop --complementary wi-fi included.

And speaking of power--it's nice, but there seems to be less of it in my world. I received the tragic news last week that Morning 40 Federation has gone splitsville. Morning 40 (for mature audiences only) is one of my favorite bands, a local New Orleans phenomenon. I remember stumbling home from their shows just before dawn and undressing on my narrow balcony. It was important to leave all of my clothes outside so as to avoid contaminating my apartment with residual chaos. I'm not sure if I've technically ever been in a mosh pit, but a Morning 40 show was the closest I've ever come. I went back to New Orleans about a year ago, specifically to catch a 40's show at Checkpoint Charlies. My knees still ache when I think about it. It's been eons since I was in any kind of shape to do "the pogo" --and certainly not for two hours straight. What's "the pogo"? Well if you've been to a raucous rock explosion and witnessed a middle-aged man jumping up and down like a wild idiot and flirting with a heart-attack, then you've probably seen "the pogo." I can only hope that the 40's will bless us with a reunion from time to time.

And that I'm in better shape when I get there.

For now, it's time to power down and look to the future.