Tag Archives: Chelsea

Sugar Sugar

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It’s very strange, how if I don’t eat, meaning skipping a meal- my spirits just plunge into despair. It happened today and it was very bad. Last night I saw RoDa and it was good. We talked as he worked at Maxwell’s. I helped out some as he worked and since we are both fans of Jean Michel Basquiat it was planned to go see an exhibition in Chelsea that ends this week. RoDa and I have a habit of trying to see shows and postponing over and over and before you know it the exhibition is over.

RoDa is a bigger Basquiat fan than I am and it seemed imperative that we go today. Hundreds of other people had the same idea apparently. I met up with RoDa with his wife and kids and we all headed onto the Path train. It was good that RoDa brought them though I think a lot of the art was over their heads and they wound up going through the exhibition leaving RoDa and I to check out each and every painting. It was very crowded and that meant inching along.

After the show we met up on the sidewalk. The kids were hungry and wanted McDonald’s and I was tired and wanted to take a nap. The cement floors of the gallery and the slow pace did not help my back at all, neither did helping out at Maxwell’s last night which was also standing around for a spell.

Let’s face it, I am getting old. RoDa understood my desire to go home so he and his family went one way in search of the golden arches and I went towards the Path train. When I entered the station I could feel the air hitting my face meaning a train was about to arrive. I was lucky and nabbed a seat and sat reading Barney Hoskyn’s Across the Great Divide, his book about the Band. I sat next to a man and woman who were discussing how books are read and how information is gathered from them.

I got to Hoboken and my spirits crashed. I just wanted to get home. I called Annemarie who was happy and funny and me on the other end just emotionally flat lining. She hit the nail on the head, I skipped a meal, low blood sugar equals crasherama. So I made a quick peanut butter and jelly sandwich which I washed down with some lemonade and then tried to take a nap. The food helped but the sugar in the lemonade did not help the napping. Instead of an hour like I hoped I got about 20 minutes.

But I do feel better and I will likely follow my sister’s advice and graze throughout the day, healthily rather than depend on the 3 meal plan I’ve been following. And now a cup of coffee since I do have things I have to do tonight.
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RoDa and daughter

RoDa and daughter

And rest in peace Phil Ramone. I worked with Phil in the 1990’s at Skyline Studios and Right Track Recording. Great guy and quite a character, very funny.

Produced by Phil Ramone.

I Can Do Anything (Delacratic)

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Last night I saw a guy wearing a Joy Division Unknown Pleasures T-shirt with Arabic lettering. a few feet behind him was another guy in a red shirt that said something about Punk Rock on it. Just something I noticed last night as I walked to the Path train.

I wasn’t sure if I was going into the city like I had planned. I was supposed to be heading to the Eagle, in Chelsea. It was cigar night on their rooftop deck and the website said the Eagle didn’t open until 10:00PM. The calendar for the the club said the cigar night started at 8:00PM.

I decided to take a chance and headed in. If it wasn’t open until 10:00 I’ll just come back home and chalk it up to experience.

So I headed out and walked down Washington Street, which is where I saw the 2 blokes wearing the t-shirts. I was feeling pretty good. I took half a Xanax a few hours before I headed out so I was pretty mellow, little or no apprehension with regards to going out.

A block later I run into Bill who was coming home from work. He was smoking a cigar and happy to see that I was going out and doing something, rather than just sitting at home in front of the computer with the television to my back. It was good to see him and we talked for a few minutes before I headed to the Path train.

Train was not crowded at all, I sat and read the New Yorker to 23rd Street. Then it was a nice walk down 23rd Street, Lovely Rita’s old stomping grounds, past the Half King pub where I’ve enjoyed a few pints in the past. A walk to 11th Avenue and up to 28th Street.

Walked into the Eagle where I was directed to check my bag, and that the party was upstairs. Of course it was, it’s where the roof top deck must be. Only I didn’t know where the stairs were. Up three flights with a stop on the second floor to relieve myself.

Finally made it to the roof top deck where there were about 40 men and 1 woman standing around smoking cigars. I walked over to the bar and had a Stella Artois. I was feeling good and stood in the corner looking around as I lit a cigar.

I didn’t have the usual vibe, I was feeling mellow from the afternoon half a Xanax. 6 hours later I was still mellow. I walked around a bit and sat along the wall. I did recognize a customer from the store, but wasn’t sure if he saw me.

Maybe he was still in the closet, but he seemed to be having a good time. I didn’t go up to him, though I planned to. I was getting a bit frustrated. I didn’t have a scowl on, in fact I thought I had a bemused smile on my face. I texted Bill, ‘Am I THAT unapproachable?’.

The thing is when I go to a gay bar, if the music isn’t horrible (and it usually is), I might try to strike up a conversation with someone nearby. It tends to freak people out. Bartenders usually ignore me too. But it wasn’t crowded enough to be ignored and I went to the bar for another Stella.

Behind me, I overheard two blokes talking about the song Yellow Bird. They were trying to figure out who sang the song and I suggested that it might have been Trini Lopez. Then I explained I remembered Calamity Jane sing it on an episode of F Troop. There 2 gents turned out to be Aaron and Don. Nice guys both of them, and I wound up talking with Aaron for most of the evening while Don wandered off to talk to other people. It turned out to be a good night.

After about an hour though, it was time for me to go. A pleasant evening and a waiting Path train got me home a little after midnight. Caught last night’s episode of Dead Set, thinking that it would be an hour long show, but that was only the premiere episode.

I missed the first couple of minutes but will try to catch it on Saturday night for the repeat broadcast (actually I can watch it tonight).Today has been a bit busy. Laundry, a trip to the post office. I’m returning my old camera for repair.

Bill got me a new camera but the old one can do things that the new one can’t. It’s not under warranty but it’s only a little over 3 years old, I bought it a week before my niece Meghan’s wedding.

Job interview #2 tomorrow. Please send good wishes to me at 10:00AM!

With great appreciation!

Outside the Eagle