Pure Joy

Nobody has more fun playing American music than the Japanese. This is a terrific jug band called The Bigood!
In case you don't know this great old tune, here are the lyrics in English:
~~~
Wahoo
(Words & Music by Cliff Friend)

Way out west where men are men and women are very sweet,
That's where I wanna be...
That's where I'm gonna be.
Way out west just once again where happiness is complete,
There's just one thing I miss...
And it is this:

OH! gimme a horse, a great big horse, and gimme a buckaroo
And let me Wah-Hoo! Wah-Hoo! WAH-HOO!
OH! gimme a ranch, a big pair of pants, and gimme a stetson too,
And let me Wah-Hoo! Wah-Hoo! WAH-HOO!
Give me the wide o-pen spaces...
For I'm just like a prairie flower,
Growing wilder by the hour.
OH! gimme a moon, a prairie moon, and gimme a gal what's true,
And let me Wah-Hoo! Wah-Hoo! WAH-HOO!

OH! I never could sing a high class thing, good music I never knew,
But I can Wah-Hoo! Wah-Hoo! WAH-HOO!
OH! I never could dance, 'cause when I dance I ruin the lady's shoe,
But I can Wah-Hoo! Wah-Hoo! WAH-HOO!
It's just a gift from the prairie...
You shout it when a bad man jigs,
And it's very good for calling pigs.
I never could speak a word of Greek, I never could poop-poop-a-do,
But I can Wah-Hoo! Wah-Hoo! WAH-HOO!

OH! you open your mouth two feet wide, and take a big breath or two,
And then you Wah-Hoo! Wah-Hoo! WAH-HOO!
OH! you wiggle your toes and grit your teeth
Like Dangerous Dan McGrew
And then you Wah-Hoo! Wah-Hoo! WAH-HOO!
Be careful not to sing soprano;
And never Hi-de-hi-de-ho,
'Cause that don't go out in Idaho.
OH! buckle your belt and fix your hat,
And spit her out (noise) ka-chew!
And then you Wah-Hoo! Wah-Hoo! WAH-HOO!

Oh, what did Miss Cleopatra say to Antony when they met?
She hollered Wah-Hoo! Wah-Hoo! WAH-HOO!
Oh, what did that roaming Romeo yell to Miss Juliet?
He hollered Wah-Hoo! Wah-Hoo! WAH-HOO!
It started way back in Eden
And Eve was the cause, and it's no fib,
She wahooed Adam for a rib.
Oh, what did Miss Pocahontas yell the minute she saw John Smith?
She hollered Wah-Hoo! Wah-Hoo! WAH-HOO!

Oh, gimme the plains, the western plains, and a bottle of apple jack
And let me Wah-Hoo! Wah-Hoo! WAH-HOO!
Oh gimme a saloon, an old spittoon, and a package of chaw tobacc
And let me Wah-Hoo! Wah-Hoo! WAH-HOO!
Give me a gal from dear old Dallas,
And play a Texas Tommy dance
And I'll cut loose with a wild romance;
Oh, gimme a gat, a cowboy hat, a handkerchief red and blue,
And let me Wah-Hoo! Wah-Hoo! WAH-HOO!

Oh, gimme the plains, a pair of reins, and my boots and saddle too,
And let me Wah-Hoo! Wah-Hoo! WAH-HOO!
Oh, lemme get at...a lariat, as a steer comes into view,
And let me Wah-Hoo! Wah-Hoo! WAH-HOO!
Give me the wide open spaces,
Each time I see a sawdust bar,
I wanna be away out thar...
Oh, show me the pal who'll steal my gal, and hand me my .32
And let me Wah-Hoo! Wah-Hoo! WAH-HOO!

I Have Asphyxiphobia

I have asphyxiphobia. There, I said it, and for some reason it's been very bad the past couple of months. I think I nearly had a panic attack a while back. I never had one before. If I owned a gun I might have shot myself. So there you have it. It comes and goes. It's been much better lately though.

I had a couple of bad experiences when I was a kid that left me without air until I nearly passed out. Those were probably the source of the phobia even though it only started hitting me a few years ago. When you're young you don't think about dying, but now that I'm in those prime heart attack years, I suddenly have this phobia that's hit me. I wrote a very short tidbit about it a couple of years ago (though in a veiled context) within a novelette where one of the characters was afraid that death might be a life after death state of never being able to breathe forever. Could the fires of a real Hell be any worse? I don't believe any of that though. Not really. It's mostly just dying from not being able to breathe that I worry about. Once I'm dead I honestly don't think it will be a problem.

Strange the fears we pick up later in life. A lot of people seem to do it. When we're young we're so fearless.