Category Archives: What’s it doing outside?

I Live With You

The penultimate day before summer, which is occurring on Thursday. It’s been a very good day. I did receive word from the company I interviewed with last week, the standard ‘Thanks but no thanks. Oh and by the way- Good Luck’ message. It was alright, I did not expect to get the job but still there was a sliver of hope in the back of my mind. I have a cavernous mind and it was all the way in the back next to my Duncan butterfly yoyo and my copy of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, under my autographed Brian Eno records.

I slept fairly well last night. I also stayed up later than usual which probably contributed to the fact that I had a good night’s sleep. I’ve been setting the alarm clock lately, trying to hang onto something resembling a routine. It’s sort of been working but what actually woke me up this morning (after Bill’s farewell kiss to me) was the sound of construction and destruction. Next door they’re doing something to a garage and that’s been noisy but what was even noisier was the water department chopping up the street down the block. Luckily I got out of bed at that time.

I made some coffee and jumped in the shower and then about an hour later, the water was cut off. It was a drag but manageable since I had done the ‘important’ stuff beforehand. That still left some dirty dishes in the sink but I knew the water would be back on eventually. I decided not to wait for the water to come back and headed out to do somethings. A trip to the bibliothèque was in order since I needed to return a CD that I took out yesterday, the Bongos- Numbers With Wings/Beat Hotel.

I used to be a big Bongos fan. Bog enough that I was taller than the guys in the band and most of the audience. Unfortunately the CD was only half good and that was the Numbers With Wings part. The Beat Hotel part is best forgotten and not mentioned. Their first album, Drums Along The Hudson was great and still is fun to listen to. Then they signed to RCA, and it all went pear shaped. It was the eighties and no one knew any better but it was a major misstep for all concerned. Still I am friends with 3 out of 4 Bongos, which is why I am holding back here.

I did see a former Bongo today, Jim Mastro, Mr. Wonderful. Always good to see him. One daughter home from college, another daughter has one more day of being a high school sophomore, and then there is Meghan off for a few weeks before doing something with kids during the summer. I had my bicycle out and decided to go for a ride. I aimed to head up the river rather than down to Liberty State Park. I had heard the Hudson River Walkway was sort of completed and I wanted to see where it would take me.

I got as far as North Bergen before the walkway ended. It was enjoyable though it would have been more fun if there was someone to ride with. I enjoyed the solitude and the weather was perfect for it. I returned back to Hoboken, the same way I left it and stopped to look at some geese with their goslings, none of them named Ryan. Finally by Sybil’s Cave I sat in the shade and enjoyed a cigar while finishing last week’s New Yorker. Then I rode my bike home. .

The water was back on when I came home but there really wasn’t anything to eat. So after putting the bicycle away and climbing the four flights of stairs, I was back on the street heading to the nearby supermarket. It was a gamble and I was hungry and you don’t go food shopping when you are hungry. But I was good and only bought a few things I needed. OK, I also bought some Belsen Dark Chocolate biscuits since they were on sale and I wanted something chocolate. So now after riding about 20 miles today I don’t think I will have any problem sleeping tonight.

Jinx!






Geese & goslings


Ryan Gosling


NOT Ryan Gosling


08 Because

I Keep Forgettin’ (Everytime You’re Near)

Well yesterday turned out to be a washout. It started with me sleeping in bed, Bill hovering over me at 6:45 telling me we were going to have to get a move on. I told him my alarm clock was set for 7AM and to leave me alone for the next 15 minutes. I was able to get another few minutes of slumber in before I trudged through the apartment and into the shower.

Bill had the cereal all set up for me as well as some coffee brewing. I showered and got myself together and threw on a pair of jeans. Outside it was gray skies all around. Soon we were waiting for the bus under threatening skies. Bill had butterflies in his stomach, I had coffee and raisin bran. We walked over to the subway once we got off the bus and out of the terminal.

A 7 train was waiting for us and soon we were en route to Flushing. People getting on and off as we sat there staring out the window. We got off at Willets Point/CitiField, with no one else getting off there. We walked to the Gil Hodges entrance after a few cursory photographs, and were told that we had to wait until we heard from the guy who Bill has been communicating with.

We waited, it drizzled. Bill talked to his cousin Carmen on the phone and I looked around the empty parking lot. Finally Bill got in touch with the guy and we were finally allowed in at around 9:45. We were escorted to the Guest Room and Bill did his warm ups and I read the New Yorker. I also had a cup of coffee thanks to Bill who had to take a walk just to get out of the claustrophobic room.

The guy Bill had been dealing with reappeared and it was time for the sound check. Bill did great in the sound check, sang the National Anthem and God Bless America. They threw God Bless America at Bill at the last minute and Bill was up for the task. It’s a lousy song by the way and I much prefer This Land Is Your Land by Woody Guthrie, written in response to Irving Berlin’s God Bless America.

I did record the sound check and tried to upload it to Facebook and the internet but it didn’t take, in fact I lost everything. My smartphone has been acting up lately much to my dismay and I was upset at the loss. About 45 minutes later with a knock on the door we were told that the game had been called due to rain.

So it was back outside to the subway, past hundreds of fans trying to get their Tom Seaver bobble head dolls. We were both disappointed but not surprised. All week long the forecast had been for rain and now it was raining. A bus ride home, and some bagels were bought once we were back in Hoboken. I ate breakfast and Bill relaxed.

He was fine most of the day, even going so far as to be ME in dealing with my phone service. It turned out I had a corrupted SD Card which we replaced after a walk to Radio Shack. Bill handles the customer service reps better than me. I seem to come down with Tourette’s Syndrome when I have to deal with these people. The day ended with some Grimaldi’s Pizza. It was good to spend the day with Bill but overall we would have preferred to have heard him sing in front of thousands of Mets fans.






02 – Dancing Barefoot