Category Archives: moldies but moodies

Recent Title

3 Replies

Well I went back to work today, on a Friday. No one was expecting me to come in, but still, I donned the suit and tie, looking rather sharp I might add. I also looked good on Wednesday morning but that ended badly. I slept ok last night though I did wake up before the alarm clock and could not get back to sleep.

So I got up earlier than usual which was ok. Puttered about, taking my time getting ready. Had a bowl of cereal which made me think, what if the cereal got me sick, not the peanut butter and jelly sandwich I had the night before? I gambled and won. I didn’t get sick from the cereal.

I checked my email again, basically repeating the routine I did on Wednesday and was reminded of a chat I had with an online friend yesterday. He had mentioned that I seem to always be sick. He occasionally read this here blog you see.

I protested that I was sick in October, January and now in February. Not always sick. October and January were viruses, Wednesday was obviously food poisoning. Same symptoms as salmonella and with all the news about peanut butter or peanuts in general I think I put 2 and 2 together. Only it didn’t last that long.

We chatted online about a few things and I brought up my lack of self confidence. He was surprised to hear that. We had met once quite by chance on the street and I guess that’s where he got the idea that I exude self confidence. It must be the suit and tie. I wear a suit and tie and I don’t slouch when I walk, I have my chin up, eyes looking forward and I do feel confident.

ooh! it's Mister Confident!!!!

ooh! it's Mister Confident!!!!

In jeans and t shirt I slouch and generally look unkempt. It’s a good thing I suppose putting forth an air of confidence, it certainly has gotten me some good jobs. You want a good job, you gotta dress the part. At least thats how it used to be.

I’ll find out next March how that works out I guess.

But it weighed on my mind all day, my chat and the perception of being confident when behind the fabric I’m still the same old John, a neurotic, insecure mess at times.

It being a Friday, I planned on leaving early, and of course that didn’t work out. I was busy running around to the bank, to this place and that place errands for everyone. I don’t mind, it’s my job and it’s obvious, if I don’t do it, no one will.

I came in this morning and there was the mail from the past 2 days all over my desk. I sorted it out and delivered it to the proper people. I left around 3:00 this afternoon and made my way over to Bill’s building. It was around 50 degrees this afternoon so that afforded us some extra minutes together which of course was nice.

I got him a nice, cheap pair of cuff links for St. Patrick’s Day of 4 leaf clovers. I got the same for myself. It was a nice deal and I gave them to him this afternoon rather than wait. He loved them and we talked a bit about how we might spend March 17 which will be here before we know it.

No bars, we tried that last year and found every place jam packed with some charging an admission. We just walked around last year, smoking cigars and will likely do the same, staring at the visitors and the vomiters.

I was saddened and gobsmacked to read an email from Harpy yesterday, that Randall Bewley, guitarist for Pylon died the other day after having a heart attack at age 53. I met Randy a few times at McSwells when Pylon played.

Pylon was a band from Athens GA that I first saw with my brother Frank in August 1980, opening up for Talking Heads at the Wollman Rink in Central Park. I can’t say I was ‘ready’ for Pylon, I was definitely more into Talking Heads, plus there was so many people there that August night that Randy, Michael, Vanessa and Curtis from Pylon were swallowed up in that summer night.

Even though I was a big B-52’s fan, it didn’t register that Pylon were from Athens, unlike REM who a year or so later, I first saw opening up for Gang of Four and walked away from my prime spot near the stage saying ‘the only thing they have going for them is that they’re from Athens.’

Maybe a few months after that I was in that long lost record store on Second Avenue in the East Village, Free Being where I saw the cover for Chomp, Pylon’s 2nd album. I bought it just for the cover, vaguely remembering who they were and immediately loved it when I played it.

Played it for my friend Jet as well and he loved it too. Pylon was quitting the music biz at that time, it wasn’t fun anymore. They did get back together a few years later and played McSwells where I was able to DJ for the show and got Jet in to see them not long before Jet passed away.

I vaguely remember Rita having a problem with Pylon, Vanessa might have been off-putting with her style of singing after seeing them a few times opening up for some band Rita would rather be seeing, but I did thank Vanessa after a show and Rita was there and felt her opinion of Pylon was wrong since they were all such genuinely nice, sweet people.

And you could dance to their songs.

Now Randy is gone, and Pylon will be no more. He Left behind a wife and 2 kids. Notices from the B-52’s, REM and even members of Gang of Four among others have come in on various websites stating that they were one of the best bands ever and that Randy was certainly a one in a million guitarist.

Sad to see him go as he was one of the nice ones.

Island Girl

2 Replies

It’s Monday and I don’t mind at all. An opportunity to get dressed up in a suit and tie is always a good thing and makes going to work a lot easier. Not much drudgery when you’re looking good. And not only do I think I was looking good, but Bill told me I was.

None of Tom Chin commenting that I wasn’t looking so hot like last week. This week I am back and in fashion. I do think my clothes say I make a lot of money, but I just want to look good. I think I only started wearing a suit and tie comfortably about 10 years ago, after my father died.

I think whatever ‘dandy’ spirit that inhabited him passed onto me. Yeah that’s it! Ghosts of dressing nice inhabit my body! My father always dressed nicely for work and now I do the same. He would more than likely be amused if he saw me walking around Manhattan, just a few blocks away from where his offices were on Lexington Avenue.

I don’t think the building is there anymore, I think it was where Lexington crossed 47th Street. I’m on Third and 49th and 50th Streets. I only went to the office with my father once and that was probably in 1976 or 1977.

It was a experience but mainly I didn’t see much, just dragged around by the hand through crowds getting off the train in Hoboken, taking the tubes (thats what the Path train used to be called, at least by my father), taking the subway to Grand Central then walking to his office. His co-worker, someone who my father couldn’t stand, Chuck Ferguson- wasn’t in.

This was over the Xmas holidays. My father sat in his office and I sat in reception mainly looking at the 4 walls. Not very exciting. I don’t recall going to lunch but I’m sure we did. My father probably resented having to take me to work, but it was something out of the ordinary for me.

After a long day of staring at the walls of my father’s drab office it was time to be dragged home, onto the subway, through the Tubes (no Fee Waybill) and on the Erie Lackawanna 5:42 from Hoboken to Teterboro. Back home to Lodi with my mother driving to the train stop after starting dinner.

I spent the day basically underwhelmed. The city was different then and my father did his best to protect me from the undesirables. I wanted to break away and be with the undesirables, to get away from my father. Of course it never happened.

Here I am over 30 years later, almost retracing his steps, only I walk a lot more where he used the subway. I know my mother would have loved to see me dressed up in a suit and tie. I saw Bill this afternoon and he liked how I looked that he took some pictures which are below.

Nothing special just me outside his office building puffing on a Padron. Our relationship is now about how many minutes we see each other each week. It sucks but it’s what has to be done at this moment. Absence does make the heart grow fonder and it also prevents each one from getting on each others nerves.

1-mailgooglecom

2-mailgooglecom