iron maiden

i've got the house to myself and have the music pumped up. it's rare that i do this but feel like it today.

i've got iron maiden jamming. i know it shows my age. i am an 80s heavy fan. i guess i always will be. maiden was the first group that i really got into -- a little too much, probably. still, they rocked.

i got their album "number of the beast" in san antonio in 1985. i was entranced by the album cover and thsi mummified thing (eddie the 'ead as i later found out). that's the reason i bought it. the cover called to me. i didn't understand anything bruce dickinson sang for quite awhile.

other albums followed and son i'd collected everything up to that time. posters came next. soon i adorned the walls of my small room with posters of the band and album and singles covers (the trooper, stranger in a strange land and number of the beast album cover). that last one caused a rift between me and my mom. she didn't like the big red devil on it (it was black light). so we made a deal. she gave me five bucks and i cut the poster in half, eliminated the devil portion of it. silly thing to do,r eally.

the big year came in 1987, after somewhere in time came out. it was such a cool album cover andthe songs were great. loved "wasted years" and "alexander the great." i found out the band was going to play in corpus christi, texas. i begged and finally got permission to go (i was 16 and legally blind). i got my older cousin to go withme. what a show. it's funny since i really couldn't see much because my blindness was severe then. but i heard them and felt the music. (vinnie vincent opened up for them). i left satisfied. but thirsting for more.

as the years went on, i collected more albums as they came out. i was stunned by the greatness of seventh son of aseventh son. i watched adrian smith leave and janick gers enter the band. watched bruce dickinson leave a few albums later and saw blaze bailey come aboard.

it tapered off during the 90s but still i bought the albums. then i heard bruce was back and that adrian was coming aboard. then in sept. 2000, san antonio sunken gardens theater i had my chance again. i went with my brother and his wife. so cool. triple guitar as they played from the past and present (brave new world).

that's when i knew the band's longivity. there were people there that brought their kids along. these were the same people who were at maiden concerts in the 80s. they were all grown up, except for these shows, which gave them a chance to take a trip back in time. i soaked it up.

and today? still, i take out my maiden cds and listen to them. yes, they may sound dated at times.but this is what i grew up listening to. they were the one group that clled to me.
up the irons

the hour runneth late

the hour runneth late,
read the pages, read the pages,
find the errors, seek the typos.

the hour runneth late,
glance over headlines, watch the subs,
do cutlines match or fail to made the grade?

the hour runneth late,
the pages mount, the desk not seen,
sports, news, wire, augh!!
dspair, it won't get done.

the hour runneth late,
the midnight hour is at hand,
will we be late, will the call come in?
if not, let's move ahead and be done with it.

the hour runneth late,
stop no presses, they can't be stopped.
if all is well, all is well.
if not, then the guillotine for me or us

the hour runneth late,
kick back, watch o'brien, ferguson,
chat w/ dawnie, hear the kittens purr.

the hour runneth late,
it's time for bed, as the traffic
out is slow and the midnight moon
decides to take cover. good night