“And when the sun comes up on Molokai the lepers all come out and cry to Nikki Nikki Hoi to guide them to Nikki heaven.” From Nikki Nikki Hoi, written by Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan.

Well, I gotta come clean with you — and with myself. Facts are facts, and the fact is, if you are reading this on its day of posting, Monday, August 4, 2025, I will have just turned the age of 75.

That’s frightening to me. 75? That’s fucking old. I feel like I’m still 18. I act like I’m still 14. And that 14 year-old has been paying my rent since LBJ was sworn in.

To be honest, I have very little to bitch about. Too many of my friends and loved ones are dead, but that’s at least partially my fault. I’ve always liked hanging out with older people; the conversations are more interesting and the likelihood that I might learn something is greater. But I have made my own path in life and I like where I am.

My journey has confused some folks who prefer linear order to negotiable chaos, but for me it all feels natural. Over the past decade, I’ve been telling anybody who’s trapped into listening to me that I have led enough of a life to fill the dance cards of any three people. That’s how I untie Gordian knots. Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo: Unsecret Origins” →