(I don't know about 'soul.' Maybe?)

My friend, Bart Hager, is a Mensch. He is the most intelligent person I have met since my return to this town four years ago this week. I met Bart a few years back while having lunch in TJ's. He works for a dental doctor making bridges and stuff that goes into people's mouths. Bart has a couple degrees, neither of which offer a career making stuff for people's mouths. He is an artist at heart and a genius mechanical/digital/electronics whiz in reality. He, like me, missed his calling and got clobbered by the whims and wiles of life.

A few weeks ago I mentioned to Bart that I missed my super Sony record turntable, lost in the divorce wars of 2002-2005. The very next day a lightly-used beltless super turntable magically appeared against my front door! I brought it in and marveled at it before I called the obvious perpetrator to thank him. At our next lunch time I mentioned that I would have to go to the big charity garage sales going on this month to find an amplifier/tuner/receiver, so that I could chuck up the turntable and listen to my thousand or so 33 1/3 rpm records.

Yesterday, Bart hammered on my back door and asked me to come out to his car. We carried in

1. A big-power (200 amps) JVC receiver that controls anything that makes a sound or projects a video picture!
2. Two large Fisher wooden-cased floor speakers (about 60 pounds each!)
3. A CD player/changer.

I offered him the choice of any painting I own - other than a couple really old and special ones from long ago. He refused.

After Bart left I began wiring and moving furniture. This is a major task because I have all kinds of stuff. I removed my "Rogue's Gallery" of dead pet photos and the ash remains in boxes of the bird and Bunjii from my living room long buffet. I will replace them in shelves in another room temporarily. Then I shifted pottery, books, lamps, the TV (to access the plugs and wires) and what-not.

After a couple hours I put in a metal tape of Kitaro ("Silk Road") and turned it on to see if the tape sampler worked.

I nearly blew out the windows!

Quickly, I downed the volume and did more testing. I played a CD on my own (not the player he gave me, because my CD player was one of the best, but then who even buys CDs anymore...). Perfect sound clarity and balance.

Then I tried the turntable, DJ Jondude himself playing John Lee Hooker on the vinyl machine, dudes. Perfect.

I decided to stop there and get the mess cleaned up. I may hook up the entire TV apparatus later - TV, DVD, VHS, Tivo, etc... except I don't have a LEGAL Tivo yet.

So I watched a baseball game with the volume off, listening to a couple of albums I have not heard in maybe a decade.

The cats are mystified and are carefully checking out those large boxes where the magic sound emanates and rattles cups and glasses. They have already been admonished about playing with or chewing wires.

I think I will return the favor to Bart with a special painting or something. He has a cat named Rascal. Maybe something like a painting of Rascal?

Now I think I will play some Gerry Mulligan and kick back.