I Can Smell The Electricity In Your Brain

Sonic The Hedgehog 2
Paramount Pictures (2022)

This is the perfect family movie franchise for the 2020's because there's something for almost everyone.  It's appropriate for children, but there's action and humor that their parents and grandparents will enjoy.  It appeals to Gen X like myself who grew up playing Sonic on Genesis.  It's a movie with solid performances all around, a fun story, plenty of laughs, and impressive special effects.  There's really nothing not to love here.

It's appropriate that Sonic The Hedgehog 2 was released the weekend before Easter because it's absolutely loaded with easter eggs for fans of the game series.  Everybody who has ever read a video game magazine in the early to mid 90's is sure to recognize the tag line "Welcome to the next level" from the icon that Sega used on practically everything associated with the company for several years during the 16-bit era.  Gamers will also recognize the name of the coffee shop as an homage to Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, the Sega Genesis instruction manual, the Sonic The Hedgehog game music used as Tom's ringtone, and many other references throughout the movie's runtime.

Jim Carrey is at his absolute wacky best as Dr. Robotnik in the first two movies, but it's not clear if he'll be back for the third installment.  The actor has strongly suggested that he intends to retire after Sonic 2.  I can definitely understand the desire to stop working in your 60's, but it would be a real shame if he decided not to return for the inevitable Sonic The Hedgehog 3.  He's absolutely perfect for this role - so damn zany and over the top that you can't help but to love him.

 

Even if you aren't a big fan of the video game series, I strongly recommend Sonic The Hedgehog 2 on the big screen.  I can't imagine anyone could watch this without a smile on their face.

No Consorting With The Suits

The Secret Of My Success
Universal Pictures (1987)

There were few bigger stars in the world during the mid to late 80's than Michael J. Fox, and there's no better example of this than The Secret Of My Success, which was released to theaters 35 years ago today.

Despite receiving mostly negative reviews from critics, this PG-13 comedy debuted as the #1 film in the box office and stayed there for the next five weeks.  It was the 7th highest grossing film of 1987 with domestic earnings of almost $67 million dollars on a $12 million dollar budget.  To put this in perspective, The Secret Of My Success was a more successful film than Lethal Weapon, Dirty Dancing, Robocop and Predator.

 

Times Leader - July 1, 1987

This was the first movie that my wife had ever watched at a drive-in movie theater.  It was a Michael J. Fox double feature of The Secret Of My Success and Back To The Future.  This is why it's become a tradition in our house.  Once a year, we order pizza and watch these two movies back-to-back.  It's usually on the night of her birthday, but sometimes it's a day before or after.

I didn't see this movie when it first came out.  In fact, I was well into my 30's the first time I watched it, but I'm pretty sure I saw this box about a thousand times when I was a kid.  It seemed like every place that rented movies in the late 80's, from the big chains to the mom and pop shops, had a copy of The Secret Of My Success in the comedy section, and that tape sat there for the next 15 years until the stores started to sell off their VHS inventory and switch over entirely to DVD.

We found this tape for sale at the Hometown Farmers Market about ten years ago from an awesome stand that has unfortunately closed a few years ago, and it's become a birthday tradition for my wife in our household ever since.  This one was released by MCA Canada and I believe it was a video rental store copy, but I'm not sure which store it came from.

 

This movie was torn apart by critics when it was released, and its reviews haven't improved over time.  I'll be the first person to tell you that this movie isn't deep or meaningful, and while it has its funny moments, it's not the type of comedy that will have you rolling on the floor in a fit of laughter.  However, it is the absolute epitome of the 1980's.  The Secret Of My Success is about a small town country boy (Michael J. Fox) who graduates college and goes to New York City to make his mark on the world.  The executive job he had lined up falls through, so he takes a job in the mail room of a large, but disorganized company whose CEO is a distant uncle.  He takes advantage of the chaos to create an alter-ego who simultaneously works as an executive in the company while he holds down his job in the mail room.  Throughout all of this, he becomes involved in a sexual affair with the wife of the CEO (Margaret Whitton, who I know best as the team owner from Major League), and a romantic affair with a fellow executive with a Princess Diana hairstyle (Supergirl star Helen Slater), who has been involved in an affair of her own with the CEO.

Director Herbert Ross made some interesting choices with his presentation of Helen Slater, which resulted in some of the best unintentionally funny moments I have ever seen.  For example, we are introduced to her character when Michael J. Fox meets her for the first time by a drinking fountain.  This becomes a slow motion close-up of Ms. Slater taking a sip of water, followed by a fantasy scene of her in a dress, and ending with her spinning an extra time through a revolving door as she leaves the building.  All of this is set to smooth 80's jazz with Fox practically drooling on the floor as he stares at her in awe.  Click here to see it for yourself, and keep in mind that this isn't meant to be funny.  It's being played straight as a dramatic scene where the male lead meets his love interest.  This scene is cartoonishly silly and completely unaware of how over-the-top it is being.  You can't help but to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all as it unfolds.

The film's use of music is equally cheesy and enjoyable.  Take this cut of Something I Gotta Do by Restless Heart which plays over a montage of Michael J. Fox when he's trying to decide how he's going to work his way up from the mail room.  Tuck this song away in the back of your mind.  Then, the next time you're faced with an annoying task or situation at work, find a quiet place and sing "It's just something I've got to... doooo... ooooooh... oooooh!" to yourself in an overly dramatic tone.  I guarantee you'll burst out laughing so damn hard that it'll take the sting out of whatever was bothering you.

Look, I'm not going to tell you that The Secret Of My Success is a cinematic masterpiece, but it captures the decade in a way that few other films can match.  It's got plenty of laughs (some intentional, some not), and everyone involved delivers a solid performance for the script that they have to work with.  If you don't take it seriously and you can embrace it for all of the cheesy goodness that it has to offer, you'll have a good time with this flick.

The Best Defense Is A Good Offense

After a winter that included a labor dispute and a number of impact free agent signings for the Phillies, we are off and running in the 2022 season.  The Phillies opened their season at home on Friday afternoon with a 9-5 victory against their former cross-town rivals, the Oakland Athletics.

One of the biggest stories of Spring Training for the Phillies has been the remarkable turnaround of center fielder and former #1 pick overall, Mickey Moniak.  He had been all but written off by the front office at the ripe old age of 23, but he had a monster spring, batting .371/.371/.914 with five home runs and four other extra-base hits in 35 plate appearances.  Between his production and Odubel Herrera starting the season on the IL with a strained oblique, Moniak had forced his way onto the roster and would likely have been the starting center fielder for Opening Day.  That all changed in his final at-bat of Spring Training when he was hit by a pitch and fractured his right hand.  He's expected to miss the first six weeks of the season.  He is being replaced on the big league club by the #10 prospect in the Phillies system, Simon Muzziotti, but Matt Vierling got the start in center field.

The game could not possibly have started off any better.  The Phillie Phanatic parachuted onto the field before the start of the game, and our new left fielder, Kyle Schwarber, led off the bottom of the 1st with a home run in his first MLB at-bat in a Phillies uniform, and the first hitter of the Phillies 2022 season. Schwarber ended the day going 2-4 with a walk and 2 RBI.

 

Bryson Stott was the Phillies starting third baseman and made his Major League debut last night.  The Phillies 2019 first round draft pick wore #10 in his time in the minor leagues, but he switched to #5 in a tribute to his best friend, Cooper Ricciardi.  Cooper wore #5 when he played basketball, and he sadly passed away from cancer.  Bryson went 2-4 with a single, a double and an RBI, each of which were his first in the Major Leagues.

Aaron Nola got the Opening Day start for the fifth consecutive season, and his performance was reflective of what we saw out of him last season.  He was dominant for the first six innings, striking out seven batters while only giving up a one hit (a Chad Pinder solo home run in the 4th).  They sent him out to pitch in the top of the 7th, but he was pulled from the inning without recording an out.  He gave up a double to Sean Murphy, a single to Chad Pinder, and a three run homer to Seth Brown before Nola was taken out of the game.  Newcomers Jeurys Familia and Brad Hand finished off the 7th inning, but not before the A's tacked on an unearned run to narrow the Phillies lead to a single run.

The Phillies responded in the bottom half of the inning.  Bryce Harper drew a walk, and Nick Castellanos got his first hit with his new team by smacking an RBI double to extend the Phillies lead to 7-5.  They tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the 8th after a double from Jean Segura, followed by a Bryson Stott RBI double that scored Segura, and a Kyle Schwarber single to score Stott.  The Athletics didn't score again thanks to two beautiful innings from the Phillies bullpen.  Seranthony Domínguez pitched a scoreless 8th, and Corey Knebel shut the door in the 9th to secure the Phillies 9-5 win.

 

This game played out in a way that I expect the Phillies 2022 season to look when all is said and done.  The defense won't always be perfect (although I expect Bryson Stott will improve at his new position with more experience), but they'll find ways to outhit their shortcomings, and with any luck, the new bullpen acquisitions will live up to their potential and keep things from getting out of hand.

Hurry Boy, It's Waiting There For You

Toto IV
Toto (1982)

I was torn between talking about this or the 45th birthday of the 1977 Cronenberg horror classic, Rabid.  Since I already wrote about the movie when I saw it at the Mahoning Drive-In Theater last year, I went with the music.

One of the greatest rock albums of the 1980's was released 40 years ago today.  The fourth studio album from Toto beat out Paul McCartney and Billy Joel to win Album Of The Year at the 25th Annual Grammy Awards in 1983, and it includes two hit singles that still get plenty of airplay to this day: Rosanna and Africa.

Five years ago, I was lucky enough to get to see Toto in concert, and they were incredible.  Unfortunately, the band broke up two years later after a show at the Metropolitan Opera House in Philadelphia on October 20th, 2019.  They've since reformed and are on the road again in 2022 with The Dogz Of Oz tour, but founding members Steve Porcaro and David Paich have not returned to the band after their 2019 split.  But, to end things on a positive note, the music of the original lineup is still echoing tonight somewhere in the Namid Desert.

Topokki From The Cosmos

Rice Topokki Snack
Cosmos Confectionery Company (2022)

This little snack size bag of snacks from South Korea was available at Wegmans in Wilkes-Barre, PA on my last visit.  I wasn't really sure what it was, but how could I possibly pass up this happy little bastard.

The snacks inside reminded me of crispy rigatoni, but they're supposed to be something else entirely.  Please forgive me for the over-simplification because I did all of three minutes of research on this, but from what I gather, these are meant to be a snack version of a Korean dish called tteokbokki, which is made from a cooked cylinder shaped rice cake called garae-tteok.  This is sometimes seasoned with a red chili paste called gochujang, which I guess is what the makers of this snack are going for with these.

I don't know how spicy the actual dish is, but these snacks are not the least bit hot no matter what the cute little pepper thing on the package has to say about it.  I don't mean this as a half-ass macho claim, like somebody who eats hot peppers and then tries to tell you that they're not spicy as their eyes tear up.  I mean that these snacks aren't spicy... at all.  You could give them to a toddler who has never had a hot or spicy food in their lives and it wouldn't phase them a bit.  They sort of tasted like a bland barbecue sauce mixed with ketchup.  I'm not sure how close they come to tasting like the dish that they're based on, but the best complement I could give to them is to day that they're not disgusting, but they're not especially good either.  The flavor isn't interesting enough to suggest giving them a try.  The best thing about them is the little cartoon pepper on the bag.

Arcades Of Southwest England

Joyland Amusements
Cary Parade - Torquay, Devon, UK

I've never been to an arcade in England, but from the look of this photo from the early 1980's, they weren't much different from the ones that we had here in the states.  The three games in the foreground are Amidar, Berzerk, and a game that I'm not familiar with, King Kong (source: Stephen Wilbraham; Torquay In Pictures).

Croissants, Biking and Whale Watching With The Devil

Witch by Jen Silverman
Bloomsburg Theater Ensemble 

Alvina Krause Theatre - Bloomsburg, PA
I haven't been to very many plays in my life, and the vast majority of the ones that I have been to were musical theater productions at the Dutch Apple Dinner Theater.  There are only two non-musical plays that I can remember going to.  One was a second grade field trip to the Kirby Center to see Daedalus Productions put on Man Of La Mancha in March 1988.  The other was much more recent, when we saw Ed Asner performed a one-man stage play of A Man And His Prostate just a month before he passed away.

In contrast, my dad has probably been to well over a hundred different plays at this point.  He and my stepmother frequently go to New York to see a show, and they've been members of the Bloomsburg Theater Ensemble for about ten years.  We joined them on Sunday to see their production of Witch, and I'm very glad that we did.

Marquee photo source: BTE Instagram

I didn't really know what to expect with this, but I walked away with a new respect for the format and for the Bloomsburg Theater Ensemble.

Kimie Muroya as Winnifred and Aaron White as Frank (source: BTE Instagram)

Dre'land Goar as Cuddy (source: BTE Instagram)

Elizabeth Dowd as Elizabeth and Eric Wunsch as The Devil (source: BTE Instagram)

The acting was absolutely incredible.  Dre'land Goar was both hysterically funny and heartwarming as Cuddy.  Eric Wunsch and Elizabeth Dowd played off of each other brilliantly as The Devil and Elizabeth.  The rest of the cast, which included Aaron White as Frank, Andrew Hubatsek as Sir Arthur, and Kimie Muroya as Winnifred.

As you can see, I am the furthest thing from being qualified to write a review of a play, but if you're like me and have little to no experience with stage performances such as this, please do yourself a favor and go see Witch.  It was a very funny, but also very touching story that will leave you thinking about gender norms and the limits that this world can put on what we could hope to achieve in our time.  It will be showing at the Alvina Krause Theatre through April 16th.  If you go on April 8th, 100% of your ticket price will go towards buying supplies, like sleeping bags, boots, and other necessary items, for the people on the ground in Ukraine.

While you're in Bloomsburg, if you like Italian food, I strongly recommend That's Amore on West Main Street.

 

The pasta dishes come with either soup or salad.  I had the lobster bisque, which was very good.  The carbonara was also delicious.  I had it with the gnocchi, and it made me happy to see that the shape of the white plate and the color of the creamy alfredo sauce made the dish look a bit like a giant deviled egg.  My dad raves about the veal parmigiana at this place.  I'm not a big fan of veal, but I think I'll have to try the eggplant parmigiana next time.

Your Mother's A Tracer!

Chasing Amy
View Askew (1997)

The third movie in the View Askewniverse premiered in theaters 25 years ago today.

In my opinion, this is the closest that Kevin Smith has ever come to doing a John Hughes comedy flick.  I could absolutely have seen this coming out of the late 80's with members of the Brat Pack being cast in the starring roles.   

Some folks may say that this movie hasn't aged well, but I disagree.  A movie can still be worth watching even if your opinions about the characters has changed over time.  In fact, you should watch it today if for no other reason than for the opportunity to reflect on how the world has changed over the past twenty five years.

A movie is a snapshot in time - it holds a mirror up to its audience at the time it was made and remembers what we'd like to forget.  There is no more jarring example of this than the roles given to African American actors and actresses throughout most of the 20th century.  White people today have no problem pointing out how racist many of these depictions are, however they have a bit more of a problem when they have to consider that their parents and grandparents watched those same movies and didn't see a problem.  The truth is that people are a product of the time and place that they happened to be born.  A white person born in the 1930's probably lived most of their lives with views that we would consider today as disgusting, however if that same person were born in 2000, they would never even consider those views as acceptable.  What I think most people fail to accept is that the reverse is also true - if you were born in the 1930's, you would have had many of the same views that you recognize as racist today.  It is also highly probable that all of us have thoughts and actions in our everyday lives that we don't pay any attention to, but that children born in the 2050's will find problematic.  It's something I think about every time I put gas in the car or throw away a disposable product.

 

Chasing Amy is filled with jokes that that are cringe-worthy today, but the plot stands up.  From the first time I saw this movie as a teenager, I thought of Alyssa Jones as a strong woman who won't stay in the boxes that people put her into.  It's pretty clear, from her backstory and her relationship with Holden, that she is a bisexual woman who has a healthy outlook on sexuality.  She owns who she is, and she makes no apologies for it.  However, she finds intolerance at every turn, from her jackass judgmental boyfriend to her circle of gay friends whose reaction to her finding love with a man is obnoxious and insensitive.

Kevin Smith has said that Banky is "the idiot character" in the movie.  I don't disagree with that assessment, but he is not "the" idiot character, but the sidekick of the primary idiot character, which is Holden McNeil.  The final scene of the movie shows that Holden has had time to reflect and comes to the realization that he was an asshole.  His ego was bruised when he learned that his girlfriend had an active sex life that made him feel uncomfortable, and instead of working through these feelings in a healthy way, he attacked and shamed Alyssa.  Instead of backing down, Alyssa stood her ground and tried like hell to get Holden to see what an asshole he was being, but it didn't work.  Finally, Holden put the final nail in the coffin of his relationship to her when he made it all about him.  His suggestion to fix things between them was asinine and incredibly disrespectful to Alyssa.  If he had just shut the fuck up and listened to her that night in the rain, they probably would have been able to work through the problems caused by his initial blow up, but Holden was too arrogant and immature to see it at the time.

Chasing Amy is a good movie.  It has moments that will make you laugh.  It has moments that will make you cringe.  It has moments that will make you want to strangle Ben Affleck.  It may not have the same rewatchability factor as a movie like Clerks or Mallrats, but it's definitely worth watching at least once.

Freeze You Scuzzbuckets, This Is A Citizen's Arrest!

Police Academy 4: Citizens On Patrol
Warner Bros (1987)

My favorite movie in the Police Academy series, and one of my favorite comedies of the 1980's premiered in theaters 35 years ago today.

Police Academy 4 is never going to be mistaken for a cinema classic.  It has a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Janet Maslin of the New York Times reviewed the film by saying that "the optimum viewer for Citizens On Patrol would be a 10-year-old boy".  She's not wrong, but I don't see that as a bad thing,

I taped this movie when it aired during an HBO Free Preview Week when I was seven years old, and I can attest that Ms. Maslin is absolutely right.  This movie is a silly and fun comedy that's just edgy enough for a grade school kid without ever crossing a line where it becomes inappropriate for a child to watch.  For god's sake, it has skateboarding, ninjas, an air chase scene with guns, AND Bobcat Goldthwait!  I must have watched that tape a hundred times because it's about as close to perfect for a kid in the 80's as a movie can get.

 

The whole movie is cheesy as hell and the skateboarding part is no exception, but this scene was the coolest thing that the seven-year-old me had seen since Daniel LaRusso crane kicked Johnny in The Karate Kid.  The blonde kid is comedian David Spade in his first movie role, and the other skateboarders in this scene include an 18 year old Tony Hawk, as well as Steve Caballero, Tommy Guerrero, Mike McGill and Lance Mountain.

About halfway through that video clip, David Spade skates through a mall where he's hassled by the police.  I've been obsessed with this mall ever since I first saw this movie.  It's a dimly lit stone and tile atmosphere that has lots of trees and other green plants.  It even has a large carousel.

The area with the carousel has what appears to be shops that have false fronts of two and three story buildings on the walls above them.  Seeing this today reminds me of the Virginia City Buffet that used to be at Bally's Wild Wild West Casino in Atlantic City.

Most of the storefronts aren't on screen long enough to figure out what they are, but you get a pretty clear look at the name and logo of the mall in mosaic tile on the floor when Sgt. Copeland and his partner are coming down in the elevator to confront Kyle.  It's called the Woodbine Centre, and it's a real mall in Toronto that's still open to this day.  The carousel is part of Fantasy Fair, Ontario’s largest indoor amusement park, which is located entirely within the mall.  There is also a roller coaster, bumper cars, and a 50 foot ferris wheel called the Crystal Kaleidoscope which, according to the park, is the only one of its kind in North America.  The carousel that you see in the movie is no ordinary amusement park ride either.  It's an antique 1911 Looff Carousel that was built by master carver Charles Looff, and it's one of only 13 that are still in operation today.  The Grand Carousel at Knoebels Amusement Resort is another one of these that are still running.

If the promise of David Spade skateboarding through an 80's mall with an amusement park inside enough to incite you into giving this movie a try, perhaps the romantic overtures of Officer Zed will change your mind.

Early in the film, Zed (Bobcat Goldthwait) gives his sales pitch for the Citizens On Patrol program to a poetry guild.  While he's there, he decided to share a poem that he knows with the ladies in attendance.

 

Gene, Gene made a machine

And Joe, Joe made it go

Art, Art blew a fart

And blew the whole damn thing apart

His presentation convinces a cute-as-a-button Corinne Bohrer (from Zapped and Joysticks) to sign up for Citizens On Patrol.  She and Zed become an item, after which the officer is inspired to write and perform this piece of music for his new girlfriend.

It's getting to the point now when I'm with you

I no longer want to have something stuck in my eye.

Your mother, my mother

Ain't never looked like Florence Henderson.

If you don't have an old VHS tape from the 80's laying around, you can stream Police Academy 4 on Amazon Prime or YouTube Movies for a few bucks.  It's definitely worth watching if you're the type of movie watcher who can relax and enjoy something silly and fun without taking it too seriously.

Happy Birthday, Pop

My dad turned 63 years old today.  We spend the day hanging out at his house drinking beer, eating calzone, listening to music and talking about everything and anything.  I couldn't ask for a better father.

I'm Looking For The King Of 42nd Street

You Don't Mess Around With Jim
Jim Croce (1972)

The third studio album from legendary singer/songwriter Jim Croce was released 50 years ago this month.

When I was growing up, there was a stereo in my bedroom that had a radio tuner, a turntable and an 8-track player.  I'm guessing that it belonged to either my mother or my father when they were teenagers in the 70's.  They had a newer model in the living room, so they just hooked the old one up in my room because I had a lot of records with music for children, and a pile of those "See, Hear & Read" book and record sets.  I'm not sure if they still make them, but it's basically a children's storybook with lots of pictures and a record that read the story to you, with intermittent beeps to tell you when to turn the page.  I think these played a huge role in how I learned to read at such a young age.

Anyway, in addition to the kids stuff, my mother kept a box of records in my room near the stereo.  My parents didn't mind if I listened to them as long as I was careful not to scratch them, and that I put them away when I wasn't listening to them.  There were quite a few full albums and 45 singles from a wide variety of artists, including The Beatles, The Doors, Simon & Garfunkel, Gordon Lightfoot, The Monkees, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Donna Summer, Carl Douglas, Abba, The Mamas & The Papas, Van Halen, Elton John, and many others that I can't think of at the moment.    I don't think that I'll ever be able to express how thankful I am to have been able to discover this music at such a young age.  I spent hours laying on the carpet coloring, or playing with toys or playing with the dog while listening to what would be the foundation of a lifelong love of music.

There was a lot of great music in that box, but the record that I remember playing the most was You Don't Mess Around With Jim by the great Jim Croce.  In fact, one of my earliest childhood memories comes from this record.  I couldn't have been older than six years old because my parents were still together.  Dad was tucking me into bed, and I asked him what Time In A Bottle meant.  I don't remember exactly what he said, but he explained it to me in a way that a little kid could understand, and I loved the song even more from that point forward.

left: New York Daily News (October 1972)
right: The Times Standard (June 1972)

The Evening Sentinel (Carlisle, PA) - July 8, 1972

The review above was published just a couple of months after the album was released.  I don't know the name of the person who wrote it, but they got it right on the money when they said "You'll like Jim Croce.  It's impossible not to."  There are few other artists whose music comes across as warm and heartfelt as his.  These are folk rock songs that tell a story so vividly that it almost forces you to picture it as you're listening.  The title track sounds like a scene out of a Quentin Tarantino flick set to music, while Operator paints a picture of a man thinking about a past relationship in a way that isn't desperate or longing, but with a warm sense of acceptance and love in his heart for someone who destiny took down a different path in life.  Then, there's Time In A Bottle, which I believe is the most beautiful and heartfelt love song ever written.

I have no idea who reads the things I write on here, or when they happen to find them.  So, whether you're reading this the day after I wrote it or decades after I've passed on (assuming that it doesn't get purged at some point), please take a moment to go on YouTube or Spotify or whatever music services exist at the time you're reading this and listen to this record.  Listen to all of his records, and share them with others.  I promise you that you'll be very glad that you did.

We're All Riders On This Train

Human Touch
Bruce Springsteen (1992)

The ninth studio album from Bruce Springsteen was released 30 years ago today.  It's not his strongest album by a long shot, but the title track is one of my favorites.  It features Randy Jackson playing bass a decade before he would become a household name on American Idol, as well as Jeff Porcaro from Toto on drums.  Mr. Porcaro was one of the most prolific drummers of all time, and he passed away less than five months after Human Touch was released.

Human Touch

Bruce Springsteen (1992)

You and me we were the pretenders

We let it all slip away

In the end what you don't surrender

Well, the world just strips away

Girl, ain't no kindness in the face of strangers

Ain't gonna find no miracles here

Well, you can wait on your blessin's, my darlin'

I got a deal for you right here

I ain't lookin' for praise or pity

I ain't comin' 'round searchin' for a crutch

I just want someone to talk to

And a little of that human touch

Just a little of that human touch

Ain't no mercy on the streets of this town

Ain't no bread from heavenly skies

Ain't nobody drawin' wine from this blood

It's just you and me tonight

Tell me, in a world without pity

Do you think what I'm askin's too much?

I just want something to hold on to

And a little of that human touch

Just a little of that human touch

Oh girl, that feeling of safety you prize

Well, it comes at a hard hard price

You can't shut off the risk and the pain

Without losin' the love that remains

We're all riders on this train

So you've been broken and you've been hurt

Show me somebody who ain't

Yeah, I know I ain't nobody's bargain

But, hell, a little touch up

And a little paint

You might need somethin' to hold on to

When all the answers, they don't amount to much

Somebody that you could just to talk to

And a little of that human touch

Baby, in a world without pity

Do you think what I'm askin's too much?

I just want to feel you in my arms

Share a little of that human touch