The Perfumed Garden? Not exactly, but that song has a funny story in regards to it. This is about how I came to know what, "The Doors," music was all about. Sort of a reverse osmosis process.

Music collecting with me started at age twelve through fourteen with the likes of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Styx, RUSH and Kiss. The band, Kansas holding a special place in my heart. Outside of the Beatles, these were the only pickings at, Ben Franklin's, the five and dime store. Every week I stopped by to glean from the new pickings.The rock music soon burned out the little portable stereo player and I resorted to my parents.

For Christmas I asked for my own stereo which my mother greatly supported. I remember going to Best and my poor father and encouraging mother where in the stereo room. All may Dad was concerned about was, "Is it too powerful?" We settled for something that was about 25watts per channel, based on my recommendation that it was fairly mild in stereo strength. [Compared to my friends 150 watt per channel stereo units].

Pretty soon the neighbors down the street knew what I liked in rock music and Dad was hot. But mom was happy, I was out of the dining room and away from invading her knitting and needle-working space in the living room.

The Doors were known to be the drug culture of music, but we preferred to go with Van Halen and Lynyrd Skynyrd... Every time we partied, it had to be the long version of, "Free Bird." At least played twice, with us half joining in.

But there was another source of music. The library and I was introduced to music such as Dr. Hook, Grand Funk Railroad, Three Dog Night and some lesser known one's such as, Spartacus by Triumvirate. My friends joked that I was picking up the music from the previous drug generation; that has since OD'ed and for lack of anywhere else to find a place for it, the family donated it to the library.

I was a keyboard person and loved anything to do with them. It wasn't uncommon for me to get all hipped up and jumping with Led Zeppelin and Kansas and the slipping on, "E. Power Biggs, Bach At Zwolle," for the completion. Usually the Prelude and Fugue in D major. That was when my dad entered my room, yelling that I am pulling the nails through the plaster.

Among them was Ray Manzarek's, "The Whole Thing Started With Rock and Roll, Now It's Out Of Control." I absolutely loved it. What immediately attracted me to his album was the keyboards. They had him photographed on the back cover with a fish eye lens, making the keyboards appear as the world and with his long blond hair, he was sitting in the middle smoking a cigarette. What finally capped it was, his name Ray Manzarek. Now that was cool!

I took that out from the library and instantly fell in love with it. Leading you right in was his song, "The Whole Thing Started With Rock and Roll & Now It's Out Of Control." It come on strong and punchy and with just the message a rebellious teen loves. I got the last part down with that Jazzy, "Keep on playing that good old rock and roll. The next song had a powerful beat but a soft low voice, "I'm a gambler, here's my sin; I love to gamble, I love to win." With the chorus, "Roll on roll on boys, roll your life away..."

The pace continued with, "Whirling Dervish," with its middle Eastern metallic sound and horn melody. It was a coo when I photographed a fellow student and jazz dancer to have a little time to dance with this one. My first dance lesson is it is very hard to hold on to someone when both of you are covered with sweat. But I loved trying... The last song on the side was, "Begin The World Again," with its primal beat and unique chorus.

The second side of the alum had another teasingly minuscule song, "Wake Up Screaming," which had that scary laughter and cat screams in it. The next two I passed up two out of three times, I considered them good and I sang them the best, but I enjoyed the last much better. "Perfumed Gardens," a slow, gentle but very deep song that started, "All of my life the love I see in your eyes. All of my love is in knowing you're mine." It blew my mind as I was in a word of adolescent testosterone and the thoughts of just scoring for the first time. I thought, "What a wonderful thing, if I could only sing that as I hold on to that for that person that I really loved."

I became a menace to the library as I returned the album and immediately checked it out. After two months, they decided to limit me to every other time. After about six months, I immortalized Ray Manzarek by transferring that album to eight track tape, so I could always play it... Any where, any time on my technological device, called the Loudmouth II. Finally the took it, atamped, "Withdrawn," on it and handed to me to keep.

That poor library copy was worn out and I stalked the record supplier at the five and dime, but he insisted that he doesn't order and only puts out what he is given. A little while later a record store went up across the street that introduced me to a much larger variety of music, but he just bought what other people brought in but didn't order himself.

That owner did mention that Ray Manzarek was also the keyboardist for, "The Doors" and he had an album of them. I purchased the, "Best Of," but most songs being similar, I had thought I tapped on their essence and moved on without adding any of their other albums. I enjoyed them, but the album filled my immediate need.

By now, I was age 17 when I walked into a store in Ocean City, Maryland that indeed ordered. At the beginning of my vacation, I mentioned the album, The Whole Thing Started With Rock & Roll," by Ray Manzarek and by the end it was done. I also inquired about an album that contained a mouse in a light bulb and could only admire a person who had as much a love for album art as for the music. With the two most vital works in my album collection, I felt as if I was a millionaire.

I collected several more or Ray Manzareks CD's. More enjoyably the Golden Scarab and Love Her Madly; the latest a week ago. I felt my doors collection was complete with their Hit songs and didn't realize my error until last month [August 2008] With considering to do, "Spirit Woman," with a Doors and Jim Morrison sound. I started collecting, "The Doors," Cd's. I was amazed at the range in not only Jim Morrison's voice, but the variety of styles that he used. Endearing is his, "Psychedelic Sinatra." The Doors movie, really didn't do Jim Morrison justice, there was an easily recognizable flair for performance as he really seemed to add drama to his poems and monologue.

Being 43, I now felt short changed, because of a general rule, I don't buy, "Best of Albums." And would have loved to know the doors better long ago. To me mentioned in a future chapter, "Versions and Bonus Material," one can truly get a sense of not only who, "The Doors," were, but also their contribution to music.

I do have to wonder, just how much of the drug culture they were as their is an incredible amount of talent that was put out on those albums. In Ray Manzareks book, "My Life With The Doors," I really haven't the time to get past the first chapter. "the death of jim morrison. Ray states that to him Jim was a drunkard and he did not know of Jim Morrison every doing heroine. That chapter is a strange mixture of quoted myths, interspersed with statements and memories of what he knew and when. It makes the good point that the myth is bigger then the actual person was.


The perfumed Garden...or tiptoe through the skunk cabbage.

In tenth grade I aced the Photography one class and becoming enthused for the art side of life, I started school a week earlier and set up the darkrooms. The one in the classroom had seven or eight enlargers and quickly became known as Mike's Darkroom. I was accused of deliberately doing this, but the reality was that it was a natural process for me. It just seemed right and with photography I did do well. I came in early and set the darkrooms up, assisted in class and also stayed very late working on my photography.

I was happy with the coffee pot and had that loudmouth playing... It was a matter of a day when someone played, "The Whole Thing Started With Rock & Roll," the contents of the Perfumed Garden song became a matter of classroom discussion. The teacher didn't object to me listening to it, but didn't want the headache of a potential problem from the administration. I agree to label it as, "Night Music" and keeping it in my cabinet. But concentrating on photography, it remained with the rest of the tapes.

I had a person that agreed to model for me coming in and thinking it was the doors tape popped it in. This model was a great find and I was glad that she was coming, I quickly did a test. At the appointed time, I went outside and greeted her and got her over the shock that she was going to be having a discussion with me about the project in my darkroom. As soon as I opened the door, I did a quick check and felt it was Doors music.

I discussed the first part of the shoot and was amazed how excited she was to be on this assignment. Her eyes got as big as silver dollars, he got this warm smile and intently was listening to me... Well, that is what I thought, what got her attention was the lyrics, "Entering you unfolding your velvet flower." I continued with the second part of the shoot, then my attention was grabbed because the keyboard solo became softer and more melodical. I realized the error of my ways and tried to nonchalantly change the music. She inquired and I said that I was board of the song. But she already, knowing most of it, insisted that it continues. An embarrassed me and delighted her got to listen to the orgasm that was part of it.

She said, "Judging by your looks, that wasn't really intended for me, like I thought." I explained that it was a mistake and we listened to the song in its entirety and to make sure she knew that not everything on the tape was perverted, we listen to my other favorite songs. Just glad things remained cool.

This model's name was Susette and she was the most attractive girl in that school. She modeled for me three times, trying to do everything that I could to give her a successful shoot. But there was a problem, the most gorgeous girl in the school was also the most unphotogenic. The shoots went well as she had some Barbazon Modeling School training, but they too washed her out and said sometimes, that is the breaks and pointed her to some non-photographic aspects to use those good looks of hers.

I was warned away from her as she, "played rape." Basically on a date, she would start making-out then back off, try again and back-off. During the shoots we had excellent communication and I brought this up. She said that basically she wasn't ready and didn't always control the person driving the car. She wanted to please, yet remain true to herself. In fact she asked me why I wasn't using this to put the make on my model's. I assured her the thoughts were always there, but I was sort of already dedicated to someone else. Such is life...