Rant #3,273: Leader of the Pack

This past weekend was a good one, at least for my mental and physical well being.

I feel like physically, I am getting better by the day.

I can do more, move sround more, and I am not as immobile as I have been.

Sure, it is all in the house, but a few days ago, I couldn't even sit on the couch in the living room for any substantial amount of time, and now, I can do it for an hour or more, so I am not totally confined to my bed.

I am finally beginning to.enjiy my new residence, as I am moving around much better than I had been.

I have also learned that such an injury does take a mental toll on you too.

I was always a very active person, and this injury really has shut me down.

And it has taken quite a bit of time for me to get my brain around the fact that I am in it for the long haul with this injury, and that it is going to take its time in healing itself.

I woke up on Saturday morning feeling so much better about things, and it all had to do with my mental.outlook on the situation.

I have really ridden a mental rollercoaster since I was first injured in late September; I have had many ups, and many downs  too.

But what I am trying to say here is that finally, after all of these months, my mental.putlook and physical outlook have matched in the same plane.

I am getting better--both in my head and in my body--and I am looking forward to what the coming months bring me ...

Hopefully back to as close to where I was as possible.

I don't know how to segue into the next subject, but I am going to try...

One of the first crushes I ever had as a little boy left us a few days ago.

Mary Weiss passed away, and if you don't know who she was, or even if you do know who she was, please read on.

Weiss was the lead singer of 1960s girl group The Shangri-Las, so she was the voice that we heard over the radio on such songs as "Leader of the Pack."

Beyond their recording success, the act were pretty much semi-regulars on "The Clsy Cole Show" on WPIX channel 11 in the early to mid-1960s.

The show--sort of a local "American Bandstand"--highlighted the Queens-based act each week, and Weiss--with her long blond hair parted on the side-- became a crush of mine, even though i probably had no idea why.

I loved their music, but Weiss was IT for me when I was a little kid ... and I listen to.their music today, and it still resonates with me.

And Weiss does too.