10.16.05 Crawling from the wreckage

Another fine sunny day with the occasional cloud. It’s a windy day in Hoboken, leaves flying off the trees. Still damp in some places. Brisk autumnal weather. Nice day for a walk. And so I met up with Rand and Lisa. Always willing conspirators for cultural events in Hoboken.

This is probably the 3rd tour made with Rand. The previous ones were accompanied by Bill. Would’ve been nice to have him around. I do enjoy turning him onto new things.

We met around 6th Street and Washington Street. I was smoking a cigar. Lot’s of people walking around, some participating on the Studio Tour. Others just brunching.

We went to Newman Leathers and dropped by Tim Daly’s studio. His work is always great. And the fact that he is such a nice guy is more than an added bonus.

Sheilah Scully was there too. She’s always a lot of fun. Totally engaging.

In the studio next to Tim’s was a woman artist who’s name I don’t remember. In her studio was this woman who’s I’ve seen for the past 20 or so years. She’s soft spoken, has a few kids, but didn’t know where I saw her from. Just one of those Hobokeners you see for years and never bother to introduce yourself to them nor they to you.

Such a small town.

Gerri Fallo made her appearance, which was the sign to high tail it out of there. Nothing against her, but it was time to move on. We bee lined thru the bottom of the building and came out on Newark St. We wandered over to my first real neighborhood in Hoboken, 201 Madison Street.

Hiro Takeshita lives there like he used to when I lived on the top floor. Hiro’s a nice guy too. Does some work that keeps getting better each time I see it. Now he’s into paper cutting. He used to do a lot of pastel work, but the cutting is really amazing. An added depth that he couldn’t achieve before. Very warm. His ex wife Terry was there. She was married to him when I moved out of 201 Madison.

They have 2 kids. She lives at 8th and Willow I believe. Very nice and she seems to be still supportive of Hiro. Maybe she’s paying him alimony, though the rent from living there is probably a little over $500.00 after 20 years. We chatted for a little while, Lisa, Rand Hiro, Terry and myself. Hiro and Terry’s kids are showing artistic talents already. One’s a teenager or almost 20. Scary how time flies.

Rand, Lisa and I left the apartment and walked up Madison, deciding to forgo the Monroe Arts Complex. That’s always pandemonium and not much fun. Too many artists in one building. Aesthetic sensibilities run amok.

I told Hiro’s ex wife Terry that artists should be spread out, not concentrated all in one spot. She smiled, but I didn’t know whether or not she ‘got’ me. Lisa spotted a computer tower that was being tossed away. Rand promptly opened it and salvaged some cards and a processor. He’s constantly amazed how people throw out all these good parts just because they got a brand new pc.

I told him not everyone is fortunate enough to have a Randy Hoppe in their lives.

10.16.05