The Ghost In This Machine

Me, circa 1975, Seattle, Washington

Photo Marc Sterling

Ball of Seduction

Feminine grace, electric groove, where time passes by in slow motion.

Sometimes drifting, other times removed. The fantasy of flesh, the rhythm of love, the taste, the touch and the twists of fate.

The rise of the new day with the one you love. Timeless wonder. Time to make love -- electric love, the sighs, the moans, the lust, the love, rolled up in a ball of seduction.

Rock me gentle, rock me smooth.

On a whim, I occasionally look for old friends with whom I've long lost touch. Today I used Facebook to search for a few, and happily made contact with a gentle man who once took a lot of photographs of me and weathered the madness I endured in my 20s.

I was so lost then. Even more than I am now. har.

I've often thought of Marc Sterling over the years, wondering where and what and who, but before the advent of the Net, finding him would have necessitated a trek back to the Pacific Northwest. And I was busy living large in Texas, so Marc and many others slipped to the back of my mind. Of course, with the gazillions (that's a technical term) of people connected via the Net, I frequently take a few moments and search for one name or another (Michael Harder of Pacific Grove and Central Point, where ARE you!?!). This morning, I reconnected with Marc Sterling.

When I knew Marc, he worked a gig at Kaye/Smith Studios, the premier recording venue in Seattle of that era, and was building a photographic business on the side. Marc continued photographing the world around him, and has created many beautiful images over the years.

And, I'm pleased to report, Marc has returned to his music, too. When we connected via Facebook, one of his first questions was to ask if his use of an image of me from the dark and distant days of my youth as accompaniment to some music he'd written was copacetic with me. Not merely copacetic, but very groovy indeed. The piece of music is tasty, and the photo suits it well. Seeing that beautiful young woman makes me more than a little sad, for I can see from this aged vantage just how MUCH she had, and I know how little she understood her own value.

Makes me wonder what my future self will have to say about me.

Anyway. Here's the Ball of Seduction track from the cd he made with James Walker Jones, Welcome To Shark Park. The guitar and arrangement sound a bit like Jeff Beck's Blow By Blow album - one of my favourites. Trust me, it's worth a listen, and your purchase, too.