Arthur McBride profile picture

Arthur McBride

If I can trust in Providence, if Providence should prove true, I'll sing ye o' Erin's Isle when I co

About Me

I come to moments in my life where I stammer and shake. I'm brought to my knees sometimes at the sight of a picture I drew when I was five. At the sound of a recording of my grandfather's voice. I sleep sometimes and awake with the sensation of motion; as if I was in a boat gazing at the stars above me. Perfumes and scents come to me as I walk or ride my bike, and I remember the first time I ever experienced them. Lying in the cool grass in my front lawn in my PJs on a summer midnight; inside was too hot to sleep. The look of moonlight on the great palm, and the eerie glow on the house. The low summer moon and the smell of the night blooming jasmine. Eucalyptus trees next to the field where I played by myself in the waist high grass. The abandoned swing on the tallest tree. The excitement of October, when leaves crunch under my shoes on the way to practice, and schoolwork takes a backseat to my costume preparations. The feel of salt caked on canvas. The taste of oranges, tobacco... her. Jasmine, sage, rosemary on the hill when the evening damp closes in. All these visions and smells and memories of emotion make a swirl that take me like a wind. What will become of them when I am gone. Will God keep them? Does She care? Will She share them? How do I tell a story that has no words? How do you do it?

My Interests

Ships and the Sea. Old things; antiques with stories behind them. Music, books, movies. Hymns and folksy spiritals. Scrimshaw. Old suits. Tobacco. Old chairs. Old pubs. Beer. Old tattoos. Pinups. Lying to strangers on the Bus. Blushing. Late night conversations. Confessionals. Old churches with the names of the fallen on the wall. Stories. Women. Faith, Hope, Love, Beauty in all forms. BEING HELD. Family. Innocence and the loss therof. Ireland. War movies. Handshakes. Silence. Honor, sacrifice.

I'd like to meet:

Men and women who have fought for a lost cause. People who weep at the sight of a Van Gough. Ones who roll on the ground and kick their feet when they giggle. Myself when I was six. God... in time. I hope She's nice to me. You should meet all the people whose pictures are below. They are the finest human beings I know and they are all very precious to me.

Music:

The kind the goes perfectly with the situation and how you feel. I got lots.

Movies:

It's Christmas, Charlie Brown!

Television:

The Adventures of Pete and Pete, Twighlight Zone, Reading Rainbow.

Books:

CASH, 9 Stories, Franny and Zooey, Catcher in the Rye, Happiness Is a Sad Song, Cannery Row, Sweet Thursday, Blankets, Co. Aytch, Cold Mountian, Jar of Fools, The Stranger, The Dark Night Returns, Darcy Lever, The Illiad of Homer, To Kill A Mokingbird, Invisible Man, The Sound and the Fury, Slaughterhouse V, Two Years Before The Mast, Psychotic Reactions and Carburator Dung, The Odessey, The Giving Tree, the Watchmen, Quartered Safe Out Here, Ernest Hemmingway's Collected Short Stories, The Cloister Walk, The King Canute Crowd, Doom Patrol.

Heroes:

My father, mother, my grandfather, my great grandfather, my great grandmother. People who make me laugh, my friends who know when not to give me advice and just listen. Friends who can be gentle and firm. John Donne, John R. Cash, Mr. Miagi, Atticus Finch, Lee Marvin, Edward Teach, Popeye, W.B. Yeats, Older Pete from the Adventures of Pete and Pete. BATMAN. Kim Carver. James Padraig McManus.

My Blog

Arthur McBride

I had a first cousin called Arthur McBrideHe and I took a stroll down by the seaside;Seeking good fortune and what might betideIt was just as the day was a'dawnin' After restin' we both took a trampW...
Posted by Arthur McBride on Mon, 28 May 2007 05:47:00 PST

Dr. Strangebear, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Trust the Dog.

 So, I'm in British Columbia, living in a log house in the woods for now. Kinda cool, except for things are done a little differently than in the city or suburbs. Garbage, for instance is separat...
Posted by Arthur McBride on Thu, 24 May 2007 11:42:00 PST

Beauty in Disguise...

I had a really hard time in Humboldt County. I made a lot of friends who I was crummy to and who were crummy to me. Chloe, who is one of three or four people I find the urge to talk to from that place...
Posted by Arthur McBride on Wed, 10 Jan 2007 08:16:00 PST

An Airport Parting

"It was at that exact moment when Ryan realized he would never see again, and that God (the dozy bastard) had a vindictive sense of humor. If there was ever a moment in which he could use his eyesight...
Posted by Arthur McBride on Tue, 19 Dec 2006 11:16:00 PST

MacPhersons Rant

Fareweel, ye dungeons dark and strangFareweel, fareweel, said heMacPherson's time will no' be lang Alow the gallows tree Chorus: Sae rantily and sae wantonly Sae dauntily gae he He sang a tune and he ...
Posted by Arthur McBride on Thu, 09 Nov 2006 12:39:00 PST

Pictures of Lily

Pictures of LilyThe WHOI used to wake up in the morning I used to feel so bad I got so sick of having sleepless nights I went and told my dad He said, "Son now here's some little something" And stuck...
Posted by Arthur McBride on Sun, 09 Apr 2006 02:12:00 PST

I Just Wasn't Made For These Times

I Just Wasn't Made For These Times-Beach Boys I keep looking for a place to fitWhere I can speak my mindI've been trying hard to find the peopleThat I won't leave behindThey say I got brainsBut they a...
Posted by Arthur McBride on Fri, 10 Feb 2006 10:25:00 PST

I'm Waiting For The Day

I'm Waiting For The Day -Beach Boys I came along when he broke your heartThat's when you needed someoneTo help forget about himI gave you love with a brand new startThat's what you needed the mostTo s...
Posted by Arthur McBride on Fri, 10 Feb 2006 10:27:00 PST

That's Not Me

By Beach Boys I had to prove that I could make it aloneBut that's not meI wanted to show how independent I'd grown nowBut that's not meI could try to be big in the eyes of the worldWhat matters to me ...
Posted by Arthur McBride on Fri, 10 Feb 2006 10:21:00 PST

DAYS...

Days Thank you for the days,Those endless days, those sacred days you gave me.Im thinking of the days,I wont forget a single day, believe me.I bless the light,I bless the light that lights on you beli...
Posted by Arthur McBride on Wed, 01 Feb 2006 12:47:00 PST