Tag Archives: Bill

Starry Eyes

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Another low key, under the radar Saturday. This was intentional since I’m still wrestling with this bug. But not doing much seems the way to go. Same with tomorrow. In Hoboken there is the artist studio tour but I really doubt that I’ll be touring.

Last night was very mellow as well. Juan and Bill couch surfing with me situated between the tv and my computer. Juan called and asked to come down to watch O & RM. He actually called it O & RM, getting a chuckle out of me. After that was Bill Maher and then Juan was shown the door at midnight.

A good night’s sleep without any abuse of Bill much to his relief. Saw Julio and Alexander for a spell and came upstairs and waited for the guy who was supposed to fix the buzzer which has been broken for a few weeks. He wasn’t on time so I had a nice breakfast and read the paper while Bill watched Lawn hor d’oeuvre and got his laundry ready. He washes his laundry in the laundromat since they have dryers.

He was off to see his mother after that. The buzzer repair guy finally came but didn’t do anything since through the process of elimination the problem was figured out to be in one of two apartments where there currently is no access to. So if ordering food we have to walk down four flights of stairs then back up the same four flights or if someone’s visiting- the key drop out the window.

I watched The Limey on cable which I enjoy. It stars Terrance Stamp, Luis Guzman and Peter Fonda and it’s directed by Steven Soderbergh. I’ve seen it before and I liked it. Then I went out and ran into Lois Di Livio at the Guitar Bar.

We walked up Washington Street having a few laughs. Some of the 10,000 McCainiacs tried giving us some info saying the weren’t trying to convert us, they just want us to know the facts. That was another laugh. We then hung around Lois’ apartment. Her husband Fred was working.

They’re having a gate sale tomorrow as are Rand and Lisa. I would have participated but I thought I was going to Garfield and now that I’m not going anywhere I will probably swing by those sales.

I also watched a dvd that Lois lent me, The Mayor of Sunset Strip. It’s a documentary on Rodney Bingenheimer. He’s been a fixture on the Hollywood/LA music scene since the sixties and has a radio show on KROQ.

He’s had an interesting life, he’s definitely a music fan like myself and Chaz and who knows how many other people. Like Chaz he has quite an amount of memorabilia. He also has the lithe figure of Harpy and a voice that could easily be mistaken for Andy Warhol.

It’s a bittersweet movie, Rodney’s a lonely guy and keeps getting his radio slot moved around, you can probably find his show on the net somewhere. He loves to hobnob and met quite a lot of people. It’s worth looking at, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Cellphone pic of Alexander!

I Believe in You and Me

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Well it’s Friday and I had hoped that I would be fully functional, but no, still in the 90% range. But no, that’s not how it works out. Still I am better than I have been most of the week. I am glad I made the decision to do nothing at all this weekend as opposed to the unconscious decision of not doing anything at all.

Last night I broke my ‘fast’ and watched O & RM. Both were entertaining, mainly with Olbermann in the wings at the Letterman show, looking like he was ready to jump in after Biff Henderson measured the size of his ample skull.

And Rachel Maddow had live clips from the Alfred E. Smith dinner at the Waldorf Astoria featuring John McCain and Barack Obama making fun of each other. It was actually very funny, Bill and I were laughing out loud. Whoever wrote their lines did a great job.

Went to sleep and didn’t beat Bill up again which was nice, I know he appreciated it. He was up and out once again leaving me to sleep for a few minutes before I stirred and got out of bed. Had some coffee, showered and was soon at the bus stop.

Missed my usual bus which Casey might have been on if he didn’t catch the bug I may have accidentally given him.

On my way across town this morning I was prepared in case Obama was still around. He wasn’t staying at the Marriott like I thought, he was staying at the W Hotel. Sure enough he spent the night at the hotel.

I had my camera out and loitered on the sidewalk making small talk with a security guard at a smaller hotel next door. She was ready with her cellphone camera. I wound up standing around for 45 minutes then told to stand behind a barricade far away enough to totally miss Barack Obama getting into his car. So once again I got pictures of secret service agents and detectives who were a lot more interesting to look at yesterday.

Work was quiet yet again. I was able to get a birthday card out to my brother Frank for his birthday on Sunday. After lunch and finishing whatever tasks I had I was out on the street at 3:00.

Walked across town, got on the bus and was soon back in Hoboken, where I am now- doing laundry. Had a phone call from Vivek who was trying to figure out how to use the scanner. I tried talking him through it finally telling him that it was pretty much intuitive and he could figure it out.

Just found out that Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops passed away in his sleep at 72. He had a great voice and I always had a soft spot for the Tops, more so than the Temptations. When Bill and I started going out, one Sunday when I knew Bill would be rehearsing at his church, I decided to surprise him.

I got dressed up in a suit and tie and rode into the city from Weehawken. He was surprised to see me and after talking he went to the piano and started playing a song, I Believe in You & Me. My first thought was, ‘oh god, what a corny song’ since I was more familiar with the Whitney Houston version and not the Four Tops even though it was the wedding song for my brother Brain and his wife Karen years before.

Bill really put his heart and soul into it, he’s such a joy to watch when he’s playing the piano and singing. By the end of the song I had tears running down my face. It’s sort of ‘our song’ now with Bill sometimes sending me text messages saying ‘I believe n u & me’ which is still sweet years later.

Here’s a clip that I found on YouTube after finding out about Levi’s passing. Very touching, have the tissues ready.