Well, thanks to reader encouragement on the title, I was somehow inspired to work on the song "Hang Out With Me Tonight," and it truly is almost done! I remember now how I got myself to write lots of songs when I first started doing it...I really, really had to say something; I was desperate to explain something or to just get it out there. (Isn't it crazy that I had to remind myself of that? And I've had to do it over and over, too.) Kind of like how some people feel about blogging, probably. So, here's one of the sort of dark lines from the song: "From this sweet little spot/we can see a lot/and let's hope/we can enjoy it/after all of things we've been through." That's probably the darkest line...it's an uplifting song, I swear!
I've been listening to a lot of radio...WNTI in Hackettstown is a station that I love; many's the time they've accompanied me on a morning drive through trees and twisty roads. Also WBGO, right in the heart of Newark, is often the only thing that will let me chill. Both have contributed to the Coolifying of NJ for me.
Saw Walk the Line finally, and the best part of the whole thing are the performance scenes, where they're singing together, and it's that thing where they know they sound great together and they're just totally getting it right, and of course falling in love. I also agree with the lady walking out of the theater behind us who said, "I loved her outfits!"

So, to reiterate, the March 5 are the 5 songs that I said I'd write by March. I think I know what they will be. Of course, these could be supplanted at any time by better ones.
1. Wake Up Crying
2. Light Blue Love (done; one line might be adjusted)
3. Afterwork Breeze
4. Hang Out with Me Tonight
5. I Thought My Secret Was You
So, OK!
The last one is no more than a title and and idea.
There are more ideas should these fail.
When you look at it this way, that you're really going to try to make something out of the idea, each idea seems viable.
Imagine having attempted to make a song out of every single scrap of everything, every note scribbled on a post-it with now-fuzzy adhesive that's stuck in a drawer. Having exhausted everything might actually be good. The big trick is, if you're working on something and it's coming out bad, pulling out and retrying, putting aside the bad jacket you put around the good idea.